Mockingbird
(vs. 1)
there are days i don’t believe the words i say
like a life that i’m not living
a song that i’m not singing but to you
there are times that i believe i’m satisfied
like an intimate connection
despite this bad reception with you
(pre-chorus)
because i can’t afford to pay
for most of what i say
so it’s a lucky thing
that the truth’s public domain
(chorus)
and i am like a mockingbird
i’ve got no new song to sing
and i am like an amplifier
i just tell you what i’ve heard
oh, i’m like a mockingbird
(vs. 2)
and yes, it’s true that i need this more than you
like one whose name is many
have mercy, please don’t send me away
(pre-chorus)
and i’ll do all i can
to be a better man
oh i’ll clean up this act
and be worse than we started
(chorus)
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Keeping a Holy Lent, by Craig Higgins
ON KEEPING A HOLY LENT
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Craig R. Higgins
People from different religious backgrounds have very different reactions to the season of Lent. Some grow up in churches where Lent is observed, but with little to no real explanation. Whether observed as a time of strict austerity or merely as a time of forgoing a few simple pleasures, in such cases Lent may seem like an empty, meaningless ritual.
On the other hand, some grow up in church traditions where Lent is not observed at all. These folks may think of Lenten observance as, at best, a hollow custom, or, at worst, quite foreign to authentic Christianity. As a matter of fact, many who grew up in church have the same the question as those who didn’t: “What is Lent, anyway?”
THE MEANING OF LENT
Lent’s origin is hidden in the early centuries of church history, but we do know that it originated as a time of preparation for Easter. From the church’s earliest days, the resurrection of Christ celebrated not only each week (on Sunday, the Lord’s Day), but also in a special festival of the resurrection. This festival we call Easter Day, and it is celebrated as the Sunday of Sundays!
Lent, as a season of preparation, is traditionally focused on repentance. Speaking biblically, to repent means to make a change in our attitudes, words, and lifestyles. As 16th century reformer Martin Luther taught, the Christian life in its totality is a life of repentance. Beginning when we first commit our lives to Christ, and continuing throughout our lives, we are more and more turning away from sin and self-centeredness and more and more turning to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Even though a repentant spirit should mark all we do, it is still appropriate that certain times be set aside for a particular focus on repentance. The church has traditionally done this at the Lenten season (and, to a lesser extent, in the pre-Christmas season of Advent).
Lent, therefore, is a time for focusing on the heart, a time for asking questions about our spiritual health:
• What are my characteristic sins, and how can I work and pray for change?
• What idols have captured my imagination so that my love for the living God has grown cold?
• In what ways is my devotion to Christ and his church less than wholehearted?
The Lenten season is the spiritual equivalent of an annual physical exam; it’s a time to take stock of our lives, our hearts.
Keeping Lent, however, is potentially dangerous, precisely because of this focus on the heart. After all, it is much easier to read a book on prayer than to spend time leisurely speaking with our heavenly Father. It is much easier to fast from certain foods than it is to turn from idols of the heart. It is much easier to write a check than to spend time in ministries of mercy. Consequently, Lent is easily trivialized. The point of Lent is not to give up chocolate; it’s to give up sin!
Even with this warning, however, we need to beware of going from one extreme to the other. Yes, it is possible so completely to externalize your Lenten observance that you end up trivializing it. Yet we need to remember that we are not purely spiritual beings. God created humans as physical beings; we are psychosomatic creatures, a “nexus of body and soul
What we do physically has an effect on us spiritually—and we neglect this principle to our peril.
For example, it is unquestionably true that my attitude in prayer is more important that my posture in prayer. However, sometimes being in a physical posture of humility—kneeling in prayer—helps me get in the right frame of mind. It shouldn’t surprise us in the least that there is a connection between the physical and spiritual; it simply reflects how God created us. That’s why, at the center of Christian worship, God gave us the sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist—simple physical rites involving water, bread, and wine, but rites that communicate to us the most profound of spiritual realities. That’s also why, in the pages of Holy Scripture and throughout the history of the church, we find many physical acts and postures designed to help us worship, to help us pray, to help us in our spiritual growth.
Recognizing this God-created link between the physical and the spiritual, the Lenten season has historically included a physical element, specifically fasting and other acts of self-denial. We’ll deal with these more fully below.
SHOULD WE OBSERVE LENT?
I am sometimes asked why churches should observe Lent at all. Well, I certainly agree that of all the seasons of the church year Lent is the most-often trivialized. Consequently, many churches (including some Presbyterian churches) do not observe the season. There are, however, two good reasons for keeping this tradition:
First, this is a wise tradition. Realizing that repentance should characterize the totality of the Christian life, we should see the practical wisdom in setting aside time especially for this purpose. Just as a baseball player may work at staying in shape year round but still give special attention to conditioning before the start of spring training, so we may find great spiritual benefits in setting aside a few weeks to give special attention to the state of our souls.
Second, it is right that we honor the traditional wisdom of the church, and Lent is a tradition that the church has observed for centuries. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit has been present throughout church history, guiding God’s people into an ever-increasing awareness of biblical truth, we believe that it is foolhardy to disregard history and constantly to try to “reinvent the wheel.” We dishonor our spiritual ancestors when we casually disregard their wisdom.
Are Christians required to observe Lent? Strictly speaking, no; Presbyterians have long emphasized that our consciences are bound to Scripture alone, and there is no biblical mandate to celebrate Lent. But countless generations of Christians have found this a helpful tool.
WHEN IS LENT?
The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter Day. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, which includes both Maundy Thursday (commemorating the institution of the Eucharist) and Good Friday (commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord).
Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lenten season, not counting Sundays, lasts forty days. Sundays are not included because the Lord’s Day, according to church tradition, is never a fast day but always a feast day—a celebration of the resurrection! Therefore, during Lent the Lord’s Days are listed as Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent.
HOW CAN I (& MY FAMILY) KEEP A HOLY LENT?
Traditionally, the Lenten season is observed in four basic (and often overlapping) ways:
Self-examination. As we’ve discussed, this is central to the traditional Lenten observance. Use this time to ask yourself some hard questions about your spiritual life, your spiritual maturity. If you’re married, ask your spouse to give you his or her evaluation of your spiritual health. Many Christians have a Christian friend, or a small group of fellow believers, who have agreed to hold them accountable. If you don’t have an accountability group or partner, Lent might be a good time to initiate such a relationship. Parents—especially fathers—could use Lent as time to spend more time with their children individually, trying to understand their particular spiritual struggles and providing them encouragement.
With all this emphasis on self-examination, however, it is crucial to keep your focus the gospel: All of us are more sinful and helpless than we would’ve ever dared admit, yet in Christ we are more accepted and forgiven than we would’ve ever dared hope. Be careful that your self-examination is centered on this good news. There is always the danger of falling into morbid introspection, which can lead to despair over your own spiritual health and to a harsh legalism toward others.
Self-denial. The Lenten season traditionally is also a time for acts of self-discipline and self-denial, a time to remind ourselves that we do not live by bread alone. Self-denial helps us remember what is so beautifully signified in the Eucharist—that Jesus is the true bread of life, our only source of strength and sustenance.
The two major fast days of the traditional church year—Ash Wednesday and Good Friday—both occur during the Lenten season. Traditionally, the other days of Lent—except Sundays, of course —are marked by other acts of self-denial. Some common examples would be giving up one meal a day or giving up a particular food. Self-denial, however, doesn’t always involve what we eat; some people may work on other habits, seeking better to use their time. (I’ve known some people to fast from watching too much television!) For families in this dangerously frenetic culture, Lent would be certainly be an appropriate time to cut back on the seemingly-endless flow of activities and spend time worshipping, praying, and learning together.
Since fasting is so unfamiliar to many in our culture, it is wise to consult with a pastor or other spiritual leader before making any decisions in this area. (Some people, of course—such as expectant or nursing mothers, the sick, and those on special diets—should not fast.) Before you begin fasting, I would recommend that you look at what the Scriptures say about the practice (see especially Matthew 6), and perhaps get some guidance from good books on the subject. And again, remember that there is nothing magic in these spiritual disciplines; they are tools to help you grow closer to Christ.
Acts of compassion. The Lenten season is a particularly appropriate time to ask God to fill you with compassion for the poor and oppressed and to put this into practice in concrete ways. This can take many practical forms. For example, there are Christians who give up one meal a day as a Lenten discipline, and then give the money they’ve saved by doing so to the poor. Many churches—including ours—have an Easter offering for ministries of mercy, so money saved during Lent could be given at that time.
There are many ways in which families can practice compassion during Lent. In your neighborhood, there may be a poor family you could help (with or without drawing attention to yourselves). Or maybe you know an older person who lives alone who could use some help around the house—or would simply like having a friend. Some families save their loose change or forego some simple expenditures, then give the money to the poor. Lent can be an excellent opportunity to teach our children the value of compassion
Using the means of grace. Finally, the Lenten season is a time for renewing our focus on the means of grace—a focus that all-too-easily fades when not given adequate attention. Historically, the church has said there are three means of grace—three instruments through which God helps us grow to be more and more like Christ: the Scriptures, prayer, and the sacraments.
If regular times of prayer and Bible study have never been a part of your life (or if they once were but have become less so) then Lent is a wonderful opportunity to begin these life-changing practice. There are scores of lectionaries and Bible-reading plans out there; talk with a pastor or mature Christian to help you find one right for you; there are also many helpful aids for developing a consistent life of prayer. The Lenten season would also be a good time to get involved in a small group—a practice that generations of Christians have commended as key to their spiritual growth. And if your family doesn’t have a time of worship together, Lent is a great time to start—and then keep going the rest of the year!
In our individualistic culture, it is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that Christianity is a communal faith, that the center of Christian life is not private religious devotion but corporate worship, gathering with fellow believers to sing, pray, and receive Holy Communion. There are many today who identify themselves as Christians but for whom the church is peripheral and tangential. If this sounds like you, then use this Lenten season to commit yourself to the community of God’s people. If you are a follower of Christ and yet have never been baptized, then make every effort to be baptized as soon as possible. If you have been baptized, remember that in baptism you were incorporated into a community, the family of God, and that you are to join in the family meal, the Eucharist. And parents, the Lenten season is a wonderful time to help your children realize that the church is their family, that worship is their first duty and greatest joy. And if your children understand the gospel, then this season could be a wonderful time to take the steps toward having them admitted to the Lord’s Table.
As Lent begins this year, my prayer for you is that this would be a truly blessed season, a time of genuine and significant spiritual growth for you and for your family. May God grant you a truly holy Lent.
Lord God, eternal and almighty Father, we join with the first Christians in praising you for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received forgiveness and eternal life. We thank you too that it became the custom of the church to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection in a time of penitence and self-examination. Grant us, therefore, gracious Father, the grace to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on your holy Word. Grant that we may remember that though we are dust, and to dust we shall return, that we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Appendix: Questions for Self-Examination
1. Have I been fervent in prayer? Was there warmth? access?
2. Have I prayed at my stated times? with my family?
3. Have I practiced God’s presence, at least every hour?
4. Have I, before every deliberate action or conversation, considered how it might be turned to God’s glory?
5. Have I sought to center conversations on the other person’s interests and needs and ultimately toward God, or did I turn them toward my own interests?
6. Have I given thanks to God after every pleasant occurrence or time?
7. Have I thought or spoken unkindly of anyone?
8. Have I been careful to avoid proud thoughts or comparing myself to others? Have I done things just for appearance? Have I mused on my own fame or acclaim?
9. Have I been sensitive, warm, and cheerful toward everyone?
10. Have I been impure in my thoughts or glances?
11. Have I confessed sins toward God and others swiftly?
12. Have I over- or under-eaten, -slept, -worked?
13. Have I twisted the truth to look good?
14. Have I been leading in my home, or only reacting to situations?
In his set of questions for self-examination, the late Jack Miller gets right to the point:
1. Is God working in your life?
2. Have you been repenting of your sin lately?
3. Are you building your life on Christ’s free justification or are you insecure and guilt-ridden?
4. Have you done anything simply because you love Jesus?
5. Have you stopped anything simply because you love Jesus?
One interesting thought on fasting from things other than food/drink:
"... we should regularly practice media fasts: days or
weeks during which we reduce the flood of information we receive
to the merest trickle. Not only will such a practice enable us to
set our knowledge in perspective, it also will help us recognize
the love/hate relationship we have with information overload. We
say we are frustrated by having so much to respond to, but we
still carry cell-phones everywhere and check our e-mail every 10
minutes. It makes us feel important to be so busy. Media fasts
should help us become more honest about our motivations."
Ken Meyers, Tabletalk Nov 2000
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Craig R. Higgins
People from different religious backgrounds have very different reactions to the season of Lent. Some grow up in churches where Lent is observed, but with little to no real explanation. Whether observed as a time of strict austerity or merely as a time of forgoing a few simple pleasures, in such cases Lent may seem like an empty, meaningless ritual.
On the other hand, some grow up in church traditions where Lent is not observed at all. These folks may think of Lenten observance as, at best, a hollow custom, or, at worst, quite foreign to authentic Christianity. As a matter of fact, many who grew up in church have the same the question as those who didn’t: “What is Lent, anyway?”
THE MEANING OF LENT
Lent’s origin is hidden in the early centuries of church history, but we do know that it originated as a time of preparation for Easter. From the church’s earliest days, the resurrection of Christ celebrated not only each week (on Sunday, the Lord’s Day), but also in a special festival of the resurrection. This festival we call Easter Day, and it is celebrated as the Sunday of Sundays!
Lent, as a season of preparation, is traditionally focused on repentance. Speaking biblically, to repent means to make a change in our attitudes, words, and lifestyles. As 16th century reformer Martin Luther taught, the Christian life in its totality is a life of repentance. Beginning when we first commit our lives to Christ, and continuing throughout our lives, we are more and more turning away from sin and self-centeredness and more and more turning to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Even though a repentant spirit should mark all we do, it is still appropriate that certain times be set aside for a particular focus on repentance. The church has traditionally done this at the Lenten season (and, to a lesser extent, in the pre-Christmas season of Advent).
Lent, therefore, is a time for focusing on the heart, a time for asking questions about our spiritual health:
• What are my characteristic sins, and how can I work and pray for change?
• What idols have captured my imagination so that my love for the living God has grown cold?
• In what ways is my devotion to Christ and his church less than wholehearted?
The Lenten season is the spiritual equivalent of an annual physical exam; it’s a time to take stock of our lives, our hearts.
Keeping Lent, however, is potentially dangerous, precisely because of this focus on the heart. After all, it is much easier to read a book on prayer than to spend time leisurely speaking with our heavenly Father. It is much easier to fast from certain foods than it is to turn from idols of the heart. It is much easier to write a check than to spend time in ministries of mercy. Consequently, Lent is easily trivialized. The point of Lent is not to give up chocolate; it’s to give up sin!
Even with this warning, however, we need to beware of going from one extreme to the other. Yes, it is possible so completely to externalize your Lenten observance that you end up trivializing it. Yet we need to remember that we are not purely spiritual beings. God created humans as physical beings; we are psychosomatic creatures, a “nexus of body and soul
What we do physically has an effect on us spiritually—and we neglect this principle to our peril.
For example, it is unquestionably true that my attitude in prayer is more important that my posture in prayer. However, sometimes being in a physical posture of humility—kneeling in prayer—helps me get in the right frame of mind. It shouldn’t surprise us in the least that there is a connection between the physical and spiritual; it simply reflects how God created us. That’s why, at the center of Christian worship, God gave us the sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist—simple physical rites involving water, bread, and wine, but rites that communicate to us the most profound of spiritual realities. That’s also why, in the pages of Holy Scripture and throughout the history of the church, we find many physical acts and postures designed to help us worship, to help us pray, to help us in our spiritual growth.
Recognizing this God-created link between the physical and the spiritual, the Lenten season has historically included a physical element, specifically fasting and other acts of self-denial. We’ll deal with these more fully below.
SHOULD WE OBSERVE LENT?
I am sometimes asked why churches should observe Lent at all. Well, I certainly agree that of all the seasons of the church year Lent is the most-often trivialized. Consequently, many churches (including some Presbyterian churches) do not observe the season. There are, however, two good reasons for keeping this tradition:
First, this is a wise tradition. Realizing that repentance should characterize the totality of the Christian life, we should see the practical wisdom in setting aside time especially for this purpose. Just as a baseball player may work at staying in shape year round but still give special attention to conditioning before the start of spring training, so we may find great spiritual benefits in setting aside a few weeks to give special attention to the state of our souls.
Second, it is right that we honor the traditional wisdom of the church, and Lent is a tradition that the church has observed for centuries. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit has been present throughout church history, guiding God’s people into an ever-increasing awareness of biblical truth, we believe that it is foolhardy to disregard history and constantly to try to “reinvent the wheel.” We dishonor our spiritual ancestors when we casually disregard their wisdom.
Are Christians required to observe Lent? Strictly speaking, no; Presbyterians have long emphasized that our consciences are bound to Scripture alone, and there is no biblical mandate to celebrate Lent. But countless generations of Christians have found this a helpful tool.
WHEN IS LENT?
The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter Day. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, which includes both Maundy Thursday (commemorating the institution of the Eucharist) and Good Friday (commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord).
Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lenten season, not counting Sundays, lasts forty days. Sundays are not included because the Lord’s Day, according to church tradition, is never a fast day but always a feast day—a celebration of the resurrection! Therefore, during Lent the Lord’s Days are listed as Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent.
HOW CAN I (& MY FAMILY) KEEP A HOLY LENT?
Traditionally, the Lenten season is observed in four basic (and often overlapping) ways:
Self-examination. As we’ve discussed, this is central to the traditional Lenten observance. Use this time to ask yourself some hard questions about your spiritual life, your spiritual maturity. If you’re married, ask your spouse to give you his or her evaluation of your spiritual health. Many Christians have a Christian friend, or a small group of fellow believers, who have agreed to hold them accountable. If you don’t have an accountability group or partner, Lent might be a good time to initiate such a relationship. Parents—especially fathers—could use Lent as time to spend more time with their children individually, trying to understand their particular spiritual struggles and providing them encouragement.
With all this emphasis on self-examination, however, it is crucial to keep your focus the gospel: All of us are more sinful and helpless than we would’ve ever dared admit, yet in Christ we are more accepted and forgiven than we would’ve ever dared hope. Be careful that your self-examination is centered on this good news. There is always the danger of falling into morbid introspection, which can lead to despair over your own spiritual health and to a harsh legalism toward others.
Self-denial. The Lenten season traditionally is also a time for acts of self-discipline and self-denial, a time to remind ourselves that we do not live by bread alone. Self-denial helps us remember what is so beautifully signified in the Eucharist—that Jesus is the true bread of life, our only source of strength and sustenance.
The two major fast days of the traditional church year—Ash Wednesday and Good Friday—both occur during the Lenten season. Traditionally, the other days of Lent—except Sundays, of course —are marked by other acts of self-denial. Some common examples would be giving up one meal a day or giving up a particular food. Self-denial, however, doesn’t always involve what we eat; some people may work on other habits, seeking better to use their time. (I’ve known some people to fast from watching too much television!) For families in this dangerously frenetic culture, Lent would be certainly be an appropriate time to cut back on the seemingly-endless flow of activities and spend time worshipping, praying, and learning together.
Since fasting is so unfamiliar to many in our culture, it is wise to consult with a pastor or other spiritual leader before making any decisions in this area. (Some people, of course—such as expectant or nursing mothers, the sick, and those on special diets—should not fast.) Before you begin fasting, I would recommend that you look at what the Scriptures say about the practice (see especially Matthew 6), and perhaps get some guidance from good books on the subject. And again, remember that there is nothing magic in these spiritual disciplines; they are tools to help you grow closer to Christ.
Acts of compassion. The Lenten season is a particularly appropriate time to ask God to fill you with compassion for the poor and oppressed and to put this into practice in concrete ways. This can take many practical forms. For example, there are Christians who give up one meal a day as a Lenten discipline, and then give the money they’ve saved by doing so to the poor. Many churches—including ours—have an Easter offering for ministries of mercy, so money saved during Lent could be given at that time.
There are many ways in which families can practice compassion during Lent. In your neighborhood, there may be a poor family you could help (with or without drawing attention to yourselves). Or maybe you know an older person who lives alone who could use some help around the house—or would simply like having a friend. Some families save their loose change or forego some simple expenditures, then give the money to the poor. Lent can be an excellent opportunity to teach our children the value of compassion
Using the means of grace. Finally, the Lenten season is a time for renewing our focus on the means of grace—a focus that all-too-easily fades when not given adequate attention. Historically, the church has said there are three means of grace—three instruments through which God helps us grow to be more and more like Christ: the Scriptures, prayer, and the sacraments.
If regular times of prayer and Bible study have never been a part of your life (or if they once were but have become less so) then Lent is a wonderful opportunity to begin these life-changing practice. There are scores of lectionaries and Bible-reading plans out there; talk with a pastor or mature Christian to help you find one right for you; there are also many helpful aids for developing a consistent life of prayer. The Lenten season would also be a good time to get involved in a small group—a practice that generations of Christians have commended as key to their spiritual growth. And if your family doesn’t have a time of worship together, Lent is a great time to start—and then keep going the rest of the year!
In our individualistic culture, it is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that Christianity is a communal faith, that the center of Christian life is not private religious devotion but corporate worship, gathering with fellow believers to sing, pray, and receive Holy Communion. There are many today who identify themselves as Christians but for whom the church is peripheral and tangential. If this sounds like you, then use this Lenten season to commit yourself to the community of God’s people. If you are a follower of Christ and yet have never been baptized, then make every effort to be baptized as soon as possible. If you have been baptized, remember that in baptism you were incorporated into a community, the family of God, and that you are to join in the family meal, the Eucharist. And parents, the Lenten season is a wonderful time to help your children realize that the church is their family, that worship is their first duty and greatest joy. And if your children understand the gospel, then this season could be a wonderful time to take the steps toward having them admitted to the Lord’s Table.
As Lent begins this year, my prayer for you is that this would be a truly blessed season, a time of genuine and significant spiritual growth for you and for your family. May God grant you a truly holy Lent.
Lord God, eternal and almighty Father, we join with the first Christians in praising you for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received forgiveness and eternal life. We thank you too that it became the custom of the church to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection in a time of penitence and self-examination. Grant us, therefore, gracious Father, the grace to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on your holy Word. Grant that we may remember that though we are dust, and to dust we shall return, that we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Appendix: Questions for Self-Examination
1. Have I been fervent in prayer? Was there warmth? access?
2. Have I prayed at my stated times? with my family?
3. Have I practiced God’s presence, at least every hour?
4. Have I, before every deliberate action or conversation, considered how it might be turned to God’s glory?
5. Have I sought to center conversations on the other person’s interests and needs and ultimately toward God, or did I turn them toward my own interests?
6. Have I given thanks to God after every pleasant occurrence or time?
7. Have I thought or spoken unkindly of anyone?
8. Have I been careful to avoid proud thoughts or comparing myself to others? Have I done things just for appearance? Have I mused on my own fame or acclaim?
9. Have I been sensitive, warm, and cheerful toward everyone?
10. Have I been impure in my thoughts or glances?
11. Have I confessed sins toward God and others swiftly?
12. Have I over- or under-eaten, -slept, -worked?
13. Have I twisted the truth to look good?
14. Have I been leading in my home, or only reacting to situations?
In his set of questions for self-examination, the late Jack Miller gets right to the point:
1. Is God working in your life?
2. Have you been repenting of your sin lately?
3. Are you building your life on Christ’s free justification or are you insecure and guilt-ridden?
4. Have you done anything simply because you love Jesus?
5. Have you stopped anything simply because you love Jesus?
One interesting thought on fasting from things other than food/drink:
"... we should regularly practice media fasts: days or
weeks during which we reduce the flood of information we receive
to the merest trickle. Not only will such a practice enable us to
set our knowledge in perspective, it also will help us recognize
the love/hate relationship we have with information overload. We
say we are frustrated by having so much to respond to, but we
still carry cell-phones everywhere and check our e-mail every 10
minutes. It makes us feel important to be so busy. Media fasts
should help us become more honest about our motivations."
Ken Meyers, Tabletalk Nov 2000
Saturday, February 25, 2006
this pic is key to u'standing Apollos in acts 19
how could he have gotten such an incomplete understanding of the gospel????
The gospel had reached Apollos by a different road from that traced in the main narrative of Acts . . . by a road, that is to say, which did not start in Jerusalem.
--FF Bruce
Alexandrian Christianity, whatever the date and circumstances of its inception may have been, was for some generations regarded as defective by the standards of Jerusalem (in the apostolic age) and Rome (in post-apostolic times).
--FF Bruce
Apollos seems to have been one of the traveling Jewish merchants who combined a readiness to give religious instruction with whatever other business took them from place to place. --FF Bruce
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
God grabs the entrenched
The presence of a person by the name of Sosthenes as co-writer with Paul of
I Corinthians is intriguing. Although by no means an un-known name at the time, it is sufficiently uncommon for us to assume that this is the same Sosthenes who replaced Crispus as ruler of the synagogue in Corinth when the latter turned to Christ. The fact that Paul included Sosthenes without comment indicated that he was well known to the Christians at Corinth. The conversion to Christ of two leading officials in the Jewish community one after the other must have thrown them all into some disarray. A parallel situation emerged at Oxford University in the early 1960’s in the heyday of the Humanist Society. Its president was converted to Christ, which led to an extraordinary general meeting of the Society. The person then elected was himself converted within a few weeks, thus necessitating another extraordinary general meeting. The Sosthenes affair should spur our faith in presenting the claim of Jesus Christ to those who seem most entrenched in the official opposition.
-David Prior The Message of I Corinthians
I Corinthians is intriguing. Although by no means an un-known name at the time, it is sufficiently uncommon for us to assume that this is the same Sosthenes who replaced Crispus as ruler of the synagogue in Corinth when the latter turned to Christ. The fact that Paul included Sosthenes without comment indicated that he was well known to the Christians at Corinth. The conversion to Christ of two leading officials in the Jewish community one after the other must have thrown them all into some disarray. A parallel situation emerged at Oxford University in the early 1960’s in the heyday of the Humanist Society. Its president was converted to Christ, which led to an extraordinary general meeting of the Society. The person then elected was himself converted within a few weeks, thus necessitating another extraordinary general meeting. The Sosthenes affair should spur our faith in presenting the claim of Jesus Christ to those who seem most entrenched in the official opposition.
-David Prior The Message of I Corinthians
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Robertson McQuilkin
After twenty-two years as President at Columbia International University he made the decision to resign. Some of the Board members said, "You shouldn't do it. You were called to lead this school. You made a promise to lead this school." Here is the letter he wrote:
"Twenty-two years is a long time, but then again, it can be shorter than one anticipates. How do you say goodbye to friends you don't wish to leave? The decision to come to Columbia was the most difficult I had to make. The decision to leave twenty-two years later, though painful, was one of the easiest. It was almost as if God engineered the circumstances so that I had no alternatives. Let me explain. My dear wife, Muriel, has been in failing mental health for about twelve years. So far I have been able to carry both her ever growing needs and my leadership responsibility at Columbia. But recently it has become apparent that Muriel is contented most of the time when she is with me, and almost none of the time when I am away from her. It is not just discontent, she is filled with fear, even terror that she has lost me, and always goes in search of me when I leave home. So it is clear to me that she needs me now, full time. Perhaps it will help you understand if I share with you what I shared in Chapel at the time of the announcement of my resignation.
The decision was made in a way forty-two years ago when I promised Muriel to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death us do part. But there is more. She has cared for me fully and sacrificially for all these years. If I care for her for the next forty years, I would not be out of her debt. Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. There is more - I love Muriel. She is a delight to me. I don't have to care for her - I get to. It is a high honor to care for so wonderful a person."
That was his letter. He got an outpouring of love and many people were thinking that he was remarkable. He said, "It is more than keeping promises and being fair. I watch her brave descent into oblivion - by the way, she can't talk, and occasionally she smiles." Do you know what he does when she smiles? He raises his flag to full mast. When she doesn't smile, he keeps it down. So when you are driving through Columbia, South Carolina, and go by Robertson McQuilkin's house, and the flag is up, you know she smiled at him that day. "She is the joy of my life. Daily I discern new manifestations of the kind of person she is, the wife I always loved."
"Twenty-two years is a long time, but then again, it can be shorter than one anticipates. How do you say goodbye to friends you don't wish to leave? The decision to come to Columbia was the most difficult I had to make. The decision to leave twenty-two years later, though painful, was one of the easiest. It was almost as if God engineered the circumstances so that I had no alternatives. Let me explain. My dear wife, Muriel, has been in failing mental health for about twelve years. So far I have been able to carry both her ever growing needs and my leadership responsibility at Columbia. But recently it has become apparent that Muriel is contented most of the time when she is with me, and almost none of the time when I am away from her. It is not just discontent, she is filled with fear, even terror that she has lost me, and always goes in search of me when I leave home. So it is clear to me that she needs me now, full time. Perhaps it will help you understand if I share with you what I shared in Chapel at the time of the announcement of my resignation.
The decision was made in a way forty-two years ago when I promised Muriel to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death us do part. But there is more. She has cared for me fully and sacrificially for all these years. If I care for her for the next forty years, I would not be out of her debt. Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. There is more - I love Muriel. She is a delight to me. I don't have to care for her - I get to. It is a high honor to care for so wonderful a person."
That was his letter. He got an outpouring of love and many people were thinking that he was remarkable. He said, "It is more than keeping promises and being fair. I watch her brave descent into oblivion - by the way, she can't talk, and occasionally she smiles." Do you know what he does when she smiles? He raises his flag to full mast. When she doesn't smile, he keeps it down. So when you are driving through Columbia, South Carolina, and go by Robertson McQuilkin's house, and the flag is up, you know she smiled at him that day. "She is the joy of my life. Daily I discern new manifestations of the kind of person she is, the wife I always loved."
Friday, January 27, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
buidlings for community building article
Many today call not for churches without buildings nor for traditional church buildings, but for church
buildings that serve as ‘proximity space’ in which believers can meet, live with, and know their neighbors.
See Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21
Century Church (Hendrickson, 2003.)
lifted from: redeemer
buildings that serve as ‘proximity space’ in which believers can meet, live with, and know their neighbors.
See Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21
Century Church (Hendrickson, 2003.)
lifted from: redeemer
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The A-Team Blog :: Interview With Glenn Lucke - Part Two: Is Evidence Valuable When Telling Others About Christ?
evans group.... did you already tell me about this? Guy who is putting pratt's kingdom stuff into a 5 part narrative?????
The A-Team Blog :: Interview With Glenn Lucke - Part Two: Is Evidence Valuable When Telling Others About Christ?
The A-Team Blog :: Interview With Glenn Lucke - Part Two: Is Evidence Valuable When Telling Others About Christ?
Friday, January 13, 2006
incarnational evangelism
We do not follow in the footsteps of Jesus if
we develop a ghetto mentality, if we withdraw
from the world into our evangelical
monasteries (though we do not call them
that, and they have no walls)... What we
are called to is not “arm’s length evangelism,”
but “incarnational evangelism.”
This means that we have to listen before
we speak, for, “if one gives answer before
he hears, it is his folly and shame”
(Proverbs 18:13). We have to struggle to
enter the other person’s thought world,
however alien it may be to our own... We
have to respect his integrity as a person,
and his convictions, however contrary they
may seem to us to be. In a word, we must
feel the pain of his alienation and weep
the tears of his lostness, just as
Jesus wept over the blind folly
of Jerusalem’s impenitence.
quote 2: There was no aloofness about Jesus. He
never kept his distance, even from sinners.
He did not share the Pharisees’ false fear
of contamination. He fraternized with
dropouts and was criticized for it. “This
man receives sinners and eats with them,”
people scoffed. “Friend of swindlers and
sinners, that’s what he is,” they sneered.
They hoped to ruin his reputation by this
whispering campaign, but they succeeded
only in enhancing it. The nickname they
thought dishonorable was one of supreme
honor. If Jesus were not the friend of sinners,
he could be no friend of mine—or
yours. So he touched untouchable lepers
and allowed prostitutes to touch him. He
shrank from nobody. He offered friendship,
understanding, acceptance, love.
--both of these are from John Stott's essay: "The LORD Christ is a Missionary Christ"
we develop a ghetto mentality, if we withdraw
from the world into our evangelical
monasteries (though we do not call them
that, and they have no walls)... What we
are called to is not “arm’s length evangelism,”
but “incarnational evangelism.”
This means that we have to listen before
we speak, for, “if one gives answer before
he hears, it is his folly and shame”
(Proverbs 18:13). We have to struggle to
enter the other person’s thought world,
however alien it may be to our own... We
have to respect his integrity as a person,
and his convictions, however contrary they
may seem to us to be. In a word, we must
feel the pain of his alienation and weep
the tears of his lostness, just as
Jesus wept over the blind folly
of Jerusalem’s impenitence.
quote 2: There was no aloofness about Jesus. He
never kept his distance, even from sinners.
He did not share the Pharisees’ false fear
of contamination. He fraternized with
dropouts and was criticized for it. “This
man receives sinners and eats with them,”
people scoffed. “Friend of swindlers and
sinners, that’s what he is,” they sneered.
They hoped to ruin his reputation by this
whispering campaign, but they succeeded
only in enhancing it. The nickname they
thought dishonorable was one of supreme
honor. If Jesus were not the friend of sinners,
he could be no friend of mine—or
yours. So he touched untouchable lepers
and allowed prostitutes to touch him. He
shrank from nobody. He offered friendship,
understanding, acceptance, love.
--both of these are from John Stott's essay: "The LORD Christ is a Missionary Christ"
Background on Athens & Acts 17
In Athens Paul found himself surrounded by people who did not share his
deepest convictions. And there was much in Athens to assault a Christian’s sensibilities.
-dennis haack
Sin is offensive, but if any barrier
occurs in our interaction with unbelievers,
it should be the offense of the cross, not
our being offended by sinners who act naturally,
which is to say, sinfully. By God’s
grace may we grow so that our “distress” over a lost world causes us, like Paul in
Athens, to identify points of contact and
agreement in the surrounding culture for
the sake of the gospel. Allowing the offensiveness
of sin to deter us from finding a
creative opening for the gospel is a luxury
we simply can not afford. If we invest emotional
energy in being offended at sin, may
it be over our own. --haack
deepest convictions. And there was much in Athens to assault a Christian’s sensibilities.
-dennis haack
Sin is offensive, but if any barrier
occurs in our interaction with unbelievers,
it should be the offense of the cross, not
our being offended by sinners who act naturally,
which is to say, sinfully. By God’s
grace may we grow so that our “distress” over a lost world causes us, like Paul in
Athens, to identify points of contact and
agreement in the surrounding culture for
the sake of the gospel. Allowing the offensiveness
of sin to deter us from finding a
creative opening for the gospel is a luxury
we simply can not afford. If we invest emotional
energy in being offended at sin, may
it be over our own. --haack
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
info meeting(s)
Dear People of Christ Community
There will be two meetings to "kick off the year" to help us get on the same page as 2006 starts.
The first meeting will be THIS coming Sunday (January 15th) 9:05am in the Theatre at Oak Hall.
Rebecca Schackow has arranged it so that there is childcare for ages 4 and below; those children 5+ will need to be in the theatre,
as we cannot let them play outside unattended.
We'll meet from 9:05 'til 9:45am when we'll take a brief break before worship begins at 10:00am.
The second meeting will be next Friday (January 20th) 7:00-8:00pm at Hope Church.
If you are out of town January 15th and cannot attend, we will have the same meeting on Friday night, January 20th at Hope Church.
(there will be NO childcare for this meeting at Hope Church on Jan.20th, but your children are always welcome in any meeting I am leading).
There is the same agenda for both meetings. Here it is:
1.) Brief review of 2005
2.) Goals for early 2006
a. Second Pastoral staff
b. Facilities (max current & steady progress towards building)
c. Importance of 9:00am hour
d. New effort to be seated in theater at 10:00am and why.
3.) Budget distributed and overviewed
4.) Elders
I look forward to seeing you in the theater at 9:05am Sunday. Also, please remember to check in weekly at www.robpendley.blogspot.com and
www.christcommunitychurch.com these sites are updated regularly for your connectedness & growth in mind.
Rob
There will be two meetings to "kick off the year" to help us get on the same page as 2006 starts.
The first meeting will be THIS coming Sunday (January 15th) 9:05am in the Theatre at Oak Hall.
Rebecca Schackow has arranged it so that there is childcare for ages 4 and below; those children 5+ will need to be in the theatre,
as we cannot let them play outside unattended.
We'll meet from 9:05 'til 9:45am when we'll take a brief break before worship begins at 10:00am.
The second meeting will be next Friday (January 20th) 7:00-8:00pm at Hope Church.
If you are out of town January 15th and cannot attend, we will have the same meeting on Friday night, January 20th at Hope Church.
(there will be NO childcare for this meeting at Hope Church on Jan.20th, but your children are always welcome in any meeting I am leading).
There is the same agenda for both meetings. Here it is:
1.) Brief review of 2005
2.) Goals for early 2006
a. Second Pastoral staff
b. Facilities (max current & steady progress towards building)
c. Importance of 9:00am hour
d. New effort to be seated in theater at 10:00am and why.
3.) Budget distributed and overviewed
4.) Elders
I look forward to seeing you in the theater at 9:05am Sunday. Also, please remember to check in weekly at www.robpendley.blogspot.com and
www.christcommunitychurch.com these sites are updated regularly for your connectedness & growth in mind.
Rob
Monday, January 09, 2006
Lead me to the cross... a puritan prayer
Lead me to the cross
(A Puritan Prayer)
O Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on me. Move, I beg You, upon my
disordered heart. Take away the infirmities of
unruly desires and hateful lusts. Lift the mists
and darkness of unbelief. Brighten my soul with
the pure light of truth. Make my soul . . .
as fragrant as the garden of paradise,
rich with every goodly fruit,
beautiful with heavenly grace,
radiant with rays of divine light.
Be my comforter, light, guide, sanctifier.
Take of the things of Christ and show them
to my soul. Teach me more of His . . .
love,
grace,
compassion,
faithfulness,
beauty.
Lead me to the cross and show me . . .
His wounds,
the hateful nature of sin,
the power of Satan.
May I there see my sins as . . .
the nails which transfixed Him,
the cords which bound Him,
the thorns which tore Him,
the sword which pierced Him.
Help me to see in His death, the reality
and immensity of His love. Increase my
faith in the clear knowledge of . . .
atonement achieved,
expiation completed,
satisfaction for sin made,
guilt done away.
(A Puritan Prayer)
O Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on me. Move, I beg You, upon my
disordered heart. Take away the infirmities of
unruly desires and hateful lusts. Lift the mists
and darkness of unbelief. Brighten my soul with
the pure light of truth. Make my soul . . .
as fragrant as the garden of paradise,
rich with every goodly fruit,
beautiful with heavenly grace,
radiant with rays of divine light.
Be my comforter, light, guide, sanctifier.
Take of the things of Christ and show them
to my soul. Teach me more of His . . .
love,
grace,
compassion,
faithfulness,
beauty.
Lead me to the cross and show me . . .
His wounds,
the hateful nature of sin,
the power of Satan.
May I there see my sins as . . .
the nails which transfixed Him,
the cords which bound Him,
the thorns which tore Him,
the sword which pierced Him.
Help me to see in His death, the reality
and immensity of His love. Increase my
faith in the clear knowledge of . . .
atonement achieved,
expiation completed,
satisfaction for sin made,
guilt done away.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Christmas Eve Service 6pm
Lanya prelude
O Come All Ye Faithful
1.) The Story Told from Scripture
Micah
Isaiah
Luke 1
Luke 2
John 1
2.) The Story Explained in Preaching
A. Wonderful COunselor
B. Mighty God
3.) The STory Celebrated in Song
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Joy To the World
doles song
candlelighting
Silent Night
O Come All Ye Faithful
1.) The Story Told from Scripture
Micah
Isaiah
Luke 1
Luke 2
John 1
2.) The Story Explained in Preaching
A. Wonderful COunselor
B. Mighty God
3.) The STory Celebrated in Song
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Joy To the World
doles song
candlelighting
Silent Night
Saturday, December 17, 2005
nyt article on business start up
November 14, 2005
Religion
Their Mission: Spreading the Word Through Business
By ANDY NEWMAN
TOM SUDYK is not most people's idea of a missionary.
On paper, he looks like a modern global capitalist, which he is. Mr. Sudyk, an entrepreneur from Michigan, runs, among other things, an outsourcing company in Chennai, India, providing medical transcribers and software engineers to American businesses. In six years, the Indian company - a subsidiary of EC Group International, a larger outsourcing company that Mr. Sudyk founded in Grand Rapids - has grown to 75 employees and is moving into a building triple its present size.
But the Gospel, Mr. Sudyk says, illuminates every aspect of his business, from its ethics to its help to local ministries to the technical support it lends a Christian-run vocational school for polio victims in Chennai. Each afternoon at the Chennai office, there is a 10-minute prayer, and while the prayer is interdenominational, employees who ask to learn more about Jesus Christ - as many have - are gladly accommodated.
"We don't push our religion down their throat," Mr. Sudyk said. "Our philosophy is that you're not going to talk anybody into it. But they clearly know it's a Christian-run company."
Christian-run companies are multiplying in just about every corner of the globe, reshaping overseas mission work. These businesses form a movement known variously as business as mission, kingdom business and great commission companies, after the biblical charge to "make disciples of all the nations."
In Romania, for example, a Californian who runs a Tex-Mex restaurant and catering hall said that he expected to clear $250,000 in profit this year, most of which will be donated to local ministries. And in a Muslim country with a history of hostility to Christianity, a medical-supply importer from the Midwest leverages the trust she earns through her business dealings to quietly spread the word.
Some supporters of business as mission set up microlending banks or fair-trade coffee companies. In countries where there is more hunger for economic development than for missionaries, some of these supporters think that a profit-oriented company centered around Christian values can be a powerful tool for building a Christian society. A job-creating, taxpaying enterprise, they say, will be more legitimate in the eyes of locals, harder for a government to expel and better for the resident economy than one propped up by handouts from back home.
"The real power of the movement is that it's not donor-funded, it's basically globally funded," Mr. Sudyk said. "There's no restraint in the capacity of this system, because you avert the donor and plug into globalization."
Business as mission grew from a 1980's mission movement to reach people in the "resistant belt" across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia where Muslim, Buddhist or antitheistic governments made it hard or impossible for religious workers to get visas. Missionaries with no business experience opened travel agencies, Internet cafes and other small companies, sometimes accused of being little more than fronts for proselytizing.
"That model was about getting missionaries into these countries by whatever means you could, whether it's teaching or business or whatever," said Steven L. Rundle, an associate professor of economics at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., and an author of a 2003 book, "Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions."
Now, Professor Rundle said, evangelical groups are recognizing that mission-minded businesspeople can do things that traditional missionaries cannot. "The future generation of missionary will be the rank-and-file businessman," he said. The wheel, he added, has come full circle: many of the first emissaries of the Gospel were tradesmen, not priests.
One businessman from California, Jeri Little, visited Romania in 1988 on a church trip and was moved by the desperate conditions there. After the fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, Mr. Little went to Romania with $100,000 in medicine and supplies.
But Mr. Little, a financial planner who now lives in Romania, wanted to do something beyond a quick fix. "I realized that we needed to not just send them money and create another banana republic dependent on our aid," he said. "We needed people to create business." The question was what kind.
Mr. Little decided to open what he said was the first secondhand clothing store in Iasi (pronounced yahsh), Romania's second-largest city. "Good used clothing from America at good prices," he recalled. "And we introduced a number of new measures, like smiling." Soon there were three stores, and Mr. Little and his wife plowed the profits into local mission projects.
Then, Mr. Little said, God gave him a new assignment: open a restaurant. Why not, Mr. Little, thought, although he knew nothing about it. "The most popular TV show after the revolution was 'Dallas,' " Mr. Little said. "So we said, 'Let's do a Texas theme, make it a Tex-Mex restaurant.' "
The Littles gave the clothing stores to local ministries, and in 1997 opened Little Texas, by all reliable accounts the most popular and authentic, not to mention only, Tex-Mex restaurant in northeastern Romania. As diners in the John Wayne dining room eat their enchiladas and homemade tortillas, they can study a passage on the wall from the 20th Psalm: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
The couple built a hotel above the restaurant, for Romanian business travelers, with 32 rooms.
Some of the restaurant's profit this year will be put back into expanding the business, but the rest will go to local aid and ministry projects, Mr. Little said. These have included opening a kindergarten and day-care center in one of Iasi's poorest neighborhoods. Soon, Mr. Little and his associates plan to open the first dental clinic in a town in Moldova, several hours from Iasi.
Mr. Little also helped some Romanian friends start a housing company that gives 25 percent of its profit to evangelical ministries. "If I'm going to be involved," he said, "there's going to have to be a significant win for the ministry right off the top."
It is one thing to establish an evangelical presence in a Christian country, another to do it where opening a new Christian church is illegal and evangelizing is frowned upon.
Mary, a 52-year-old from the Midwest who imports medical products into a country she identified only as "98.9 percent Muslim" because she feared hurting her credibility, said that in her four years there she learned to let people come to her.
"I get a call from a doctor working for one of the major drug companies here, a local guy," Mary said a few weeks ago. "He said, 'I haven't seen you in a while, let's get something to drink after work.' " Neither business nor romance was on his mind.
"The real issue is he's empty inside," she said. "And because I've earned the right to speak deeply into his life, I could say, 'God really loves you.' This door that was opened was not opened for any other reason than that I worked with him for a long time on a legitimate project that we both spent hours sweating over.
"There has been this idea that it's not as spiritual to be a businessperson," Mary added. "The truth is totally the opposite because this is genuinely how most people have to live their lives. People who work with me, when they see me lose my temper, or when I have to make a hard business decision, that's authentic Christianity."
Religion
Their Mission: Spreading the Word Through Business
By ANDY NEWMAN
TOM SUDYK is not most people's idea of a missionary.
On paper, he looks like a modern global capitalist, which he is. Mr. Sudyk, an entrepreneur from Michigan, runs, among other things, an outsourcing company in Chennai, India, providing medical transcribers and software engineers to American businesses. In six years, the Indian company - a subsidiary of EC Group International, a larger outsourcing company that Mr. Sudyk founded in Grand Rapids - has grown to 75 employees and is moving into a building triple its present size.
But the Gospel, Mr. Sudyk says, illuminates every aspect of his business, from its ethics to its help to local ministries to the technical support it lends a Christian-run vocational school for polio victims in Chennai. Each afternoon at the Chennai office, there is a 10-minute prayer, and while the prayer is interdenominational, employees who ask to learn more about Jesus Christ - as many have - are gladly accommodated.
"We don't push our religion down their throat," Mr. Sudyk said. "Our philosophy is that you're not going to talk anybody into it. But they clearly know it's a Christian-run company."
Christian-run companies are multiplying in just about every corner of the globe, reshaping overseas mission work. These businesses form a movement known variously as business as mission, kingdom business and great commission companies, after the biblical charge to "make disciples of all the nations."
In Romania, for example, a Californian who runs a Tex-Mex restaurant and catering hall said that he expected to clear $250,000 in profit this year, most of which will be donated to local ministries. And in a Muslim country with a history of hostility to Christianity, a medical-supply importer from the Midwest leverages the trust she earns through her business dealings to quietly spread the word.
Some supporters of business as mission set up microlending banks or fair-trade coffee companies. In countries where there is more hunger for economic development than for missionaries, some of these supporters think that a profit-oriented company centered around Christian values can be a powerful tool for building a Christian society. A job-creating, taxpaying enterprise, they say, will be more legitimate in the eyes of locals, harder for a government to expel and better for the resident economy than one propped up by handouts from back home.
"The real power of the movement is that it's not donor-funded, it's basically globally funded," Mr. Sudyk said. "There's no restraint in the capacity of this system, because you avert the donor and plug into globalization."
Business as mission grew from a 1980's mission movement to reach people in the "resistant belt" across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia where Muslim, Buddhist or antitheistic governments made it hard or impossible for religious workers to get visas. Missionaries with no business experience opened travel agencies, Internet cafes and other small companies, sometimes accused of being little more than fronts for proselytizing.
"That model was about getting missionaries into these countries by whatever means you could, whether it's teaching or business or whatever," said Steven L. Rundle, an associate professor of economics at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., and an author of a 2003 book, "Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions."
Now, Professor Rundle said, evangelical groups are recognizing that mission-minded businesspeople can do things that traditional missionaries cannot. "The future generation of missionary will be the rank-and-file businessman," he said. The wheel, he added, has come full circle: many of the first emissaries of the Gospel were tradesmen, not priests.
One businessman from California, Jeri Little, visited Romania in 1988 on a church trip and was moved by the desperate conditions there. After the fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, Mr. Little went to Romania with $100,000 in medicine and supplies.
But Mr. Little, a financial planner who now lives in Romania, wanted to do something beyond a quick fix. "I realized that we needed to not just send them money and create another banana republic dependent on our aid," he said. "We needed people to create business." The question was what kind.
Mr. Little decided to open what he said was the first secondhand clothing store in Iasi (pronounced yahsh), Romania's second-largest city. "Good used clothing from America at good prices," he recalled. "And we introduced a number of new measures, like smiling." Soon there were three stores, and Mr. Little and his wife plowed the profits into local mission projects.
Then, Mr. Little said, God gave him a new assignment: open a restaurant. Why not, Mr. Little, thought, although he knew nothing about it. "The most popular TV show after the revolution was 'Dallas,' " Mr. Little said. "So we said, 'Let's do a Texas theme, make it a Tex-Mex restaurant.' "
The Littles gave the clothing stores to local ministries, and in 1997 opened Little Texas, by all reliable accounts the most popular and authentic, not to mention only, Tex-Mex restaurant in northeastern Romania. As diners in the John Wayne dining room eat their enchiladas and homemade tortillas, they can study a passage on the wall from the 20th Psalm: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
The couple built a hotel above the restaurant, for Romanian business travelers, with 32 rooms.
Some of the restaurant's profit this year will be put back into expanding the business, but the rest will go to local aid and ministry projects, Mr. Little said. These have included opening a kindergarten and day-care center in one of Iasi's poorest neighborhoods. Soon, Mr. Little and his associates plan to open the first dental clinic in a town in Moldova, several hours from Iasi.
Mr. Little also helped some Romanian friends start a housing company that gives 25 percent of its profit to evangelical ministries. "If I'm going to be involved," he said, "there's going to have to be a significant win for the ministry right off the top."
It is one thing to establish an evangelical presence in a Christian country, another to do it where opening a new Christian church is illegal and evangelizing is frowned upon.
Mary, a 52-year-old from the Midwest who imports medical products into a country she identified only as "98.9 percent Muslim" because she feared hurting her credibility, said that in her four years there she learned to let people come to her.
"I get a call from a doctor working for one of the major drug companies here, a local guy," Mary said a few weeks ago. "He said, 'I haven't seen you in a while, let's get something to drink after work.' " Neither business nor romance was on his mind.
"The real issue is he's empty inside," she said. "And because I've earned the right to speak deeply into his life, I could say, 'God really loves you.' This door that was opened was not opened for any other reason than that I worked with him for a long time on a legitimate project that we both spent hours sweating over.
"There has been this idea that it's not as spiritual to be a businessperson," Mary added. "The truth is totally the opposite because this is genuinely how most people have to live their lives. People who work with me, when they see me lose my temper, or when I have to make a hard business decision, that's authentic Christianity."
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
john piper didn't think this stuff up
Happiness hunters!
(Cornelius Tyree of the 19th century)
A higher degree of personal piety, will promote
a higher degree of personal happiness.
"Sin and sorrow are bound together by
adamantine chains." Hence man increases
in misery--as he increases in sin. It is upon this
principle that the devil is the most miserable
being in the universe--because he is the most
depraved.
So, on the other hand, there is an inseparable
connection between holiness and happiness. God
is the most happy being in the universe--because
He is the most holy. And the happiness of His
people is just in proportion as they resemble
Him in righteousness and true holiness.
Heaven is a world of supreme happiness,
because it is a world of supreme holiness.
Hell is a world of supreme misery,
because sin is there fully developed.
God has so ordered it, that our comfort and happiness
in this world can only be found in a pious life. For the
last six thousand years mankind have been happiness
hunters. In all ages and lands the eager query has been,
"Who will show us any good?" But every device has been
a failure! The recorded and unrecorded experience of all
has been, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit!" We can
no more expect to find happiness in the pursuits and
objects of this world--than we may expect to find
luscious grapes growing at the icy North Pole.
But in the likeness and service of Christ, is found
a happiness which is pure, elevating, perennial,
inexhaustible--a happiness that will go with us
in all conditions, all lands, and all worlds!
The great cause of all the sadness and depression
in the followers of Christ, is the small degree of their
piety. The only reason why they are disconsolate,
is because they "follow the Lord afar off." One single
uncrucified, unbemoaned sin--will not only destroy
all pious enjoyment--but open the soul to the devil,
with his whole black train of guilt and misery. It
matters not what this sin is. Any one sin habitually
indulged in, whether it is pride, malice, backbiting,
covetousness, filling the mind with unholy images,
or murmuring under adverse providences--will
exclude from the soul all pious enjoyment.
After all, the great secret of being happy, is
to be holy. He who grows in practical piety has
opened a thousand sources of true bliss.
The "golden fruit of happiness" grows only on the
"tree of holiness". If happiness is sought in any
other way than by being holy--it is sought in vain.
(Cornelius Tyree of the 19th century)
A higher degree of personal piety, will promote
a higher degree of personal happiness.
"Sin and sorrow are bound together by
adamantine chains." Hence man increases
in misery--as he increases in sin. It is upon this
principle that the devil is the most miserable
being in the universe--because he is the most
depraved.
So, on the other hand, there is an inseparable
connection between holiness and happiness. God
is the most happy being in the universe--because
He is the most holy. And the happiness of His
people is just in proportion as they resemble
Him in righteousness and true holiness.
Heaven is a world of supreme happiness,
because it is a world of supreme holiness.
Hell is a world of supreme misery,
because sin is there fully developed.
God has so ordered it, that our comfort and happiness
in this world can only be found in a pious life. For the
last six thousand years mankind have been happiness
hunters. In all ages and lands the eager query has been,
"Who will show us any good?" But every device has been
a failure! The recorded and unrecorded experience of all
has been, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit!" We can
no more expect to find happiness in the pursuits and
objects of this world--than we may expect to find
luscious grapes growing at the icy North Pole.
But in the likeness and service of Christ, is found
a happiness which is pure, elevating, perennial,
inexhaustible--a happiness that will go with us
in all conditions, all lands, and all worlds!
The great cause of all the sadness and depression
in the followers of Christ, is the small degree of their
piety. The only reason why they are disconsolate,
is because they "follow the Lord afar off." One single
uncrucified, unbemoaned sin--will not only destroy
all pious enjoyment--but open the soul to the devil,
with his whole black train of guilt and misery. It
matters not what this sin is. Any one sin habitually
indulged in, whether it is pride, malice, backbiting,
covetousness, filling the mind with unholy images,
or murmuring under adverse providences--will
exclude from the soul all pious enjoyment.
After all, the great secret of being happy, is
to be holy. He who grows in practical piety has
opened a thousand sources of true bliss.
The "golden fruit of happiness" grows only on the
"tree of holiness". If happiness is sought in any
other way than by being holy--it is sought in vain.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Incarnation thoughts by Octavius Winslow
How could a holy God advance towards me, or I draw near to Him? But He takes my nature that He may descend to me, and He gives me His nature that I may ascend to Him. He stoops, because I could not rise! Oh mystery of grace, wisdom, and love! Shall I doubt it? I go to the manger of Bethlehem, and gaze upon the infant Savior. My faith is staggered, and I exclaim, "Is this the Son of God?" Retiring, I track that infant's steps along its future path. I mark the wisdom that He displayed, and I behold the wonders that He wrought. I mark the revelations that He disclosed, the doctrines that He propounded, the precepts that He taught, the magnanimity that He displayed. I follow Him to Gethsemane, to the judgment-hall, and then to Calvary, and I witness the closing scene of wonder. I return to Bethlehem, and with the evidences which my hesitating faith has thus collected, I exclaim, with the awe-struck and believing centurion, "Truly this is the Son of God!" All the mystery of His lowly incarnation vanishes, and my adoring soul embraces the incarnate God within its arms. We marvel not that, hovering over the spot where this great mystery of godliness transpired, the celestial choir, in the stillness of the night, awoke such strains of music along the plains of Bethlehem as were never heard before. They left the realms of glory to escort the Lord of glory in His advent to our earth. How gladly they trooped around Him, thronging His wondrous way, their benevolent bosoms dilating in sympathy with the grand object of His mission. And this was the angel's message to the astonished shepherds: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men." Shall angels rejoice in the incarnation of the Son of God, and our hearts be cold and unmoved? Forbid it love, forbid it gratitude, forbid it, O my soul!
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