BreedingFerrets.net

Growing up in Rock Hill, South Carolina I remember the conversation around the filming of the movie “The Patriot”.  Since one of the headquarters for filming was in Rock Hill and in the surrounding countryside, many of my friends went to see if they could watch the filming or even make their way into the movie.  Many auditioned to be extras in the Mel Gibson thriller.

One such friend boldly came back and reported that he had made the movie…He was going to be in “The Patriot.”  While somewhat hesitant, I was excited to see his role in the movie.  With anticipation we sat down to watch the movie and braced ourselves for his appearance.  As the movie neared the point at which he was going to make his cameo, we waited with anticipation. 

Our anticipation was shattered when he exclaimed, “There I was.  Did you see me?”  I was intrigued.  Had I missed something?  I know that I blinked, but that could not have been it.  He rewound the movie and showed it again.  This time I know I did not blink.  And yet, nothing.  Finally, he played it again in slow motion while pointing out that in the far right hand corner of the screen was the back of my buddy’s head. 

It was then that I learned the true meaning of an “extra.”  Yeh, he was in the movie, but not really.  The leading actors and supporting cast were hard to miss, but not the extras.  They were easily passed by in preference for the real stars of the show.

I get the impression that in many churches and ministries in our land the gospel plays the role of an “extra”. It is there, somewhat visible, but rarely heard from and it certainly never plays an important or recognizable role in the film. 

On the other hand, when I read the Scriptures, it seems like the gospel is the leading actor in the film – not Paul, not Moses, not Abraham, but the gospel as revealed through Jesus Christ.  It seems that everywhere you look in Scripture you find someone pointing to the central message of the gospel as the foundation for the local church (1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2:2; Gal. 6:14; Acts 5:42; 10:36; Eph. 2:1-10; Luke 24:26; Gal. 3:21-24; Heb. 2:10). By the gospel, the Scriptural writers refer to the reality of human sinfulness and separation from a holy God, and the offer of salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross (John 1:12-13; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:18-19).  “In line with the truth of the gospel” (Gal.2:14). It seems that the apostles were consistently at war in their day attempting to defend and protect the centrality of the gospel in the church. Luther says, “The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine….Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.” (on Gal.2:14f)

In fact, it was the gospel (i.e. the good news or evangel) which gave the evangelical movement its name.  Being an evangelical Christian used to mean that one adhered to and believed in the core tenants of the gospel message,

Even as I write this post, I am amazed that it even needs to be written.  I mean, it seems that the idea that a proper understanding of the gospel and its centrality to life is foundational to the definition of a church.  Taking it out is utterly foolish, somewhat equivalent to taking a ball out of football or animals out of a zoo.  Once those are taken out, the entire thing falls apart. It seems that modern evangelicals cannot even agree on the nature and message of the gospel or whether it is important to faith at all.   In modern vernacular, the evangelical movement that once was founded on the gospel is not a pejorative description for a group of closed-minded Republicans.

How did this happen?  How did the leading cast get relegated to the role of an extra in the local church?

It seems that in a desire to make evangelical Christianity more appealing to the masses, Christianity has lost what should be its defining characteristic, namely, the gospel as revealed through the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Whether in an attempt to garner academic respectability or develop worldly approval, the gospel was shifted from the leading cast to a supporting role to barely in the movie at all. I often laugh when I read the core values of many churches and “originality” is included.  If my goal is to promote the gospel, which is the leading cast of the redemptive mission of Jesus for thousands of years, then the last thing I want to be is original. 

The gospel is a closed hand issue – there can be no compromise or division here.

§  A church without the gospel is simply not a church.

§  A pastor who does not preach the gospel is not a pastor.

§  A Christian who does not have faith in the gospel is not a Christian

Here we must also be cautious.  My point is not that the gospel must be included in the church for it to be a church (often the gospel is included), but rather, that the gospel must be central. 

It is not simply in having the gospel that one is rightly founded, but in having the gospel in the right place.

This must mean that nothing else can take the leading role in the church:

§  Not social justice

§  Not political activism

§  Not leadership strategy

§  Not cultural savvy

§  Not pastor’s personalities

§  Not anything other than the gospel.

Before the church of Jesus Christ will once again have major implications in our culture, the gospel must return to the leading role.

Sometimes when I hear people in my generation talk about God in general and the church in particular, I am embarrassed.  Kinda like that feeling you get when you watch someone on stage forget their lines.  I don’t know whether to giggle or puke, but I know that I am uncomfortable. 

The conversations are endless in their redundancy…Statements such as these:

·         “Why can’t people just love Jesus?”

·         “I like God, but I don’t like the Church.”

·         “Denominations make me mad.  Why can’t people just agree?”

·         “Let’s just make a difference in the world (end poverty, curb homelessness, etc.).”

·         “Forget the church, house church is the way to go…”

I don’t know if other people get uncomfortable with these statements, but they scare me.  They scare me because they are the fruit of a misunderstanding of the message of the gospel and the purpose of the church.  Or more appropriately, they are evidence of someone who may not have deeply considered the truth claims of Scripture and how best to evidence them in our world.

In great contrast to the classic work of CS Lewis, today’s Mere Christianity is a cultural fad of minimalistic Christianity without any solid foundation or doctrinal elaboration. 

Again, I find Carl Trueman helpful at this point:

“Salvation does not depend upon the individual’s possession of an elaborate doctrinal system or a profound grasp of intricate and complex theology.  Yet this is not my point.  What I am claiming is that mere Christianity, a Christianity which lacks this doctrinal elaboration, is an insufficient basis either for building a church or for guarantying the long-term stability of the tradition of the church.”

Carl Trueman, “Minority Report”

Living next to a college campus, I see this trend often.  The typical rallying cry of parachurch ministries and many so-called non-denominational churches lies in their attempt to transcend natural denominational boundaries to impact people for the cause of the kingdom.  The problem is not in this goal, but in its implications.  By removing doctrine from the formula for a church or ministry, faith in Jesus and association with the church becomes such a broad umbrella that almost anybody can fit under it.

The question is whether or not this is wise or realistic.  Can you remove theology and doctrine from the life of the church and still have a church or ministry?   For example, is there such a thing as non-denominational church?

In one sense, yes.  churches can chose to not associate with a denominational camp and, for multiple purposes, choose to carve their own path.  However, in a more important sense, no.  Denominations exist because people are forced to make theological claims.   All churches must make theological claims.  Therefore, the theological claims to which one holds must serve as the foundation for association with any church or ministry. 

The underlying motive behind most non-denominational, non-doctrinal movements is a desire to just reach people. In order to just reach people you must cater to the American consumerism that makes doctrinal minimalism possible.  It is easier to attract a wide audience to something that lacks theological nuance and complexity, than it is to attract them to a robust doctrine and healthy church.  

Mark Driscoll illustrates this to his church using an open hand and a closed hand.  In the closed hand are all the theological issues that are a non-negotiable for him and those that join Mars Hill.  In the open hand are those issues on which there can be disagreement and debate while still having unity in association.  The question is still:  Who or what determines what theological claims go in what hand?

To this question, my generation has answered by placing almost nothing in the closed hand and leaving everything in the open hand. It is all up for debate:

·         What is man’s condition?

·         How is man reconciled to God?

·         What is the church and how is it to be led?

These are just a few of the questions that many of my peers have placed in the open hand.   And in so doing, they have created a massive umbrella and attempted to rally the troops.  But they have simply rallied the troops to a group gathering that stands for little or nothing. 

In my opinion, this is why social justice issues are so central to younger evangelicals today.  There is no question that social justice causes have been neglected by the church in the past.  However, there is also little doubt that social justice issues are the easiest issues to get most within the church to verbally agree to.  Should we feed the poor? Yes, certainly.  Should we give to disaster relief?  Yes, again.  The only issue here is motivating people to actually do it (something many within the church fail to do).

However, when you get to more central theological issues (who is God, what is man’s problem, how is man reconciled to God, what is the nature of the church, who should lead the church) it is much more difficult to find consistent assent.  Start talking about substitutionary atonement and you are likely to get much fewer amens than preaching on loving hurting people.  Talk about God’s sovereignty and you are likely to get an answer that basically says “that’s above my pay grade,” but homelessness, I can handle that. 

It seems that there is within Christianity a natural gravitational pull to the lowest common denominator and the biggest umbrella.  Does this mean that you must be a part of a certain denomination?  No.  However, does it mean that you must have a Biblically informed doctrinal basis for what you believe about God, man, and sin. 

Find a broad enough umbrella that everyone can agree upon,

and before long you believe nothing.

So, over the next few weeks I am going to attempt to spell out what I believe are the essential core values for a church or ministry.  And, no Rihanna, I will not stand under your umbrella no matter how many times you ask!

I have a confession.  The other day I actually watched almost a full episode of King of the Hill.  While I do find the show moderately funny, this is way out of the norm for me.  Typically, if it does not involve ESPN I am not interested in the TV, but this show caught my attention.

As you may know, Hank works at Strickland Propane and is passionate about his job of selling propane and propane accessories.  After seeing an ice cream store that appeared to be a fun place to work, Hank’s boss, Buck, decides to make a few changes to the store in an effort to make it a “fun” place to work and for people to shop.  In order to do this he forces his workers to wear costumes to work, have sleepovers in the office, use stupid selling jingles, ring a bell and sing a song when some buys a tank of propane, and sell the propane in three sizes: Like it, Love it, Blow Your Hair Back It’s So Big.   In this episode, Hank’s job is to somehow convince his co-workers that their boss has gone mad and that people have forgotten why they work at Strickland Propane in the first place.  For Hank, it’s not about the extra stuff, but the propane. 

As I read and write, I often feel like Hank Hill in this episode.  If I could only have the hours of my life back that I have wasted learning stupid church sells tactics.  We have missed the point.  Somehow in the process of “doing church” we have missed God and we have taught other people to do the same. 

As the summer comes to a close and the school year begins I want to suggest that maybe the church needs to go back to school. 

I am weird, but I miss it.  This week many young men and women will get the opportunity to go back to school and I won’t.  The year marks the second year since I was five that I will not be in school and I don’t like it.  Now granted, I did not like school in middle and high school, but when I finally got to the point that I actually cared, school became a lot of fun.  I loved learning, loved reading, and loved challenging myself. 

And this passion carried over to the church.  As a young man beginning to walk with the Lord I found myself consumed with learning all I could about my newfound faith in Jesus. However, it was quickly apparent that this was not the case for everyone.  People did not seem to desire to know God.  They showed up for Sunday School, survived church, and enjoyed the week, only to repeat the process again the following week.  They did not know their Bibles, much less how to apply them to their lives.   And to make it worse, many of these people I observed had been Christians for 30-40 years.  I have to agree with Alan Bloom when he says “As the respect for the Sacred - the latest fad - has soared, real religion and knowledge of the Bible have diminished to the vanishing point.” (The Closing of the American Mind, p. 56)

Now most people would not admit it, but they are more than satisfied with some various emotional experiences and a pervasive lack of knowledge of God.  However, when you look at Scripture, this is foreign to the Biblical discussions of what it means to love God.  In fact everywhere you look, Scripture connects love for God with obedience to his commands.

• “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15)
• “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

And these statements are not hidden in Scripture.  The need for the church to love God with their minds is even found in the two “great” statements in Scripture: the great commandment and the great commission.

The Great commandment states that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).  Did you see it?  You are to love him with your heart and soul, but also with your mind and strength. Clearly, loving God is not just a heart thing, but a head thing as well.

And the second “great” is the Great Commission in which Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19).  Now this verse is a little more difficult to see the point I am trying to make.  We are told to go, make disciples, and baptize them, and then what?  We are to teach them to do everything that God commanded us to do.”  While this passage is often cited as providing the foundation of the mission of the church, many churches fail to work towards the accomplishment of the task of teaching people to do everything that Jesus commanded, a failure Dallas Willard calls the “great omission from the great commission.”[1]  Os Guinness, in his marvelous work Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, points to a condition he calls anti-intellectualism in the church, which he describes as “a disposition to discount the importance of truth and the life of the mind.”[2]  Unfortunately many Christians and churches fail to love God well with their minds and do not associate learning with the love of God. 

Charles Malik, speaking at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, poignantly says: “I must be frank with you: the greatest danger besetting American Evangelical Christianity is the danger of anti-intellectualism.  The mind, as to its greatest and deepest reaches, is not cared for enough.”[3]  Granted, knowledge of God is not an end in and of itself.  But knowledge of God leads to proper worship of God, which helps to fight against gospel substitutes. 

So over the next few days (or weeks or months) I am going to ponder some of the reasons for the overwhelming lack of knowledge of God in our world and in our churches.  If you have some suggestions, I would love to hear them.

[2] Os Guinness, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don’t Think and What to do About It (Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 1994), 9.

[3] Quoted in Guinness, Fat Minds, 11.

I think they are stupid.

“To be honest”                                   Do you typically lie?

“In my opinion”                                  Who else’s opinion do you normally give?

“In the final analysis”                         Then why are you still talking?

“Subject to Availability”                      Is there anything not subject to availability?

“Without Further Delay”                      Aren’t you delaying me further by saying that?

“Willy Nilly”                                        Is that a person’s name or just exposing your ignorance?

“A rose by any other name”                Would no longer be a rose.

I think they are stupid because I have no clue what they mean.

“As beautiful as the day is long”        My days are short, so is it ugly?

“Be there or be square”                      If I don’t show up am I a circle?

“Cat got your tongue”                        No. never.  I hate cats and they would never touch my tongue

“Clean your clock”                             How does a timing devise relate to making a football tackle?

“Even Stevens”                                   Is he related to the stunt man?

“Fly by the Seat of Your Pants”          What about wings? A plane? Or a magic carpet?

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times.”  What if you only said it 995 times?

You know what I mean?  Stupid clichés that people use all the time and yet I have no clue what they mean.  This one’s my favorite:

“You are what you eat.”

Well I like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with a little 2% milk.  I eat it right out of the pot, sometimes with a side of pinto beans.  What does that make me?  Fat? Sloppy? Cheesy?

Clichés are not my thing, so I am surprised to be giving you one for my blog today.  However, I understand this cliché because it is lifted right from the pages of Scripture.  It goes like this:

“You are what you worship.”

Fortunately, I didn’t make this one up.  The Psalmist tells us this one is true.

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.  They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.  They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.  They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.  Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”  Ps. 115:4-8

Clearly the Psalmist does not think much of the things that you and I worship. In fact his description is that they are impotent to meet any of our expectations.

And, that’s not the bad news.  The bad news is in the last phrase: “Those who make them become like them.”    He says that we become what we worship.  In other words, the things that we worship direct the trajectory of our lives and ultimately determine the type of person that you and I develop into.

Latin scholars had a maxim by which they expressed this concept: lex orandi, lex credenda, lex vivendi.  The statement literally says that the law of prayer (what we worship) leads to the law of belief (what we believe to be true) which leads to the law of life (how we live).  More succinctly we can say that what we worship determines what we believe which shapes how we live.

We take on the qualities and characteristics of what we worship.  As a result, it is important that we think about some of the characteristics of the gospel substitutes that we worship.  Here are a few:

1.      Temporal

Have you ever known one of your gospel substitutes to last?  No.  That is the folly of gospel substitutes.  They always promise something that they can’t provide.  Be it lust, power, pride, anger, or whatever, it never provides the fulfillment that you thought it would.  As Dr. Christopher Wright says, “False gods fail. That is their only truth. For although false gods never fail to fail, it seem humans never fail to forget that this is indeed the case” (Dr. Christopher Wright, The Mission of God, p. 171). And if you worship these gods you will become just like them – you will promise something that you can’t fulfill due to your faulty worship.  Maybe that is the underlying cause of the epidemic divorce rates, absentee fathers, and moral compromise.  We, like them, always fail.

2.      Lifeless

False gods give the appearance of life while lacking the reality.  People become convinced that gospel substitutes actually possess the life they are looking for, but in the end the false gods reveal their true, dead nature. Same with you.  If you worship false gods long enough you will prove the reality of your death by your actions.  While you may give the appearance of life – nice marriage, well adjusted kids, smiles at the right time, you might be just like your gods. We, like them, are lifeless.

3.      Powerless

We think that these gospel substitutes are going to come through for us.  If we only had a happy marriage, a life free of pain, more money, people who respected me, or children who obeyed then I would have the life I desire.  However, like all false gods, these objects of our sinful worship lack the power to provide that which our hearts long for.  We, like them, become powerless.

4.      Fragile

False gods break so easily.  Drop a golden calf on the ground and what happens?  It shatters into a million pieces.  It’s sad when a golden cow shatters, but I have seen much worse.  Our world is littered with people whose lives shattered due to their poor worship.  The storms of life came and because they worshipped at the feet of the god of comfort, fulfillment, happiness, or security their lives crumbled as well.  We, like them, become incredibly fragile.

Maybe this is why the first commandment says that we are not to have any other gods besides the one true God.  Far from an unreasonable command, this command truly has our best interest at heart because it protects our very humanity from being like the things we worship.  If I am going to be like someone, I would much rather be like the One True God than some silly gospel substitute.

Watch out.

“You are what you worship”

In a 2004 session of the Resurgence Conference, Mark Driscoll discuss the theme of gospel substitutes in the book of Genesis.  He clearly points out that false gospels are the natural result of fallen humanities rebellion from God.

http://www.theresurgence.com/reformission_2004-11-10_session_04_audio_driscoll  

My wife is really sick.  Typical symptoms: headache, nausea, vomiting, aches, pains, tiredness…the works.  You name it she’s got it.  For the last three weeks, she has been sick nearly every day: sometimes multiple times a day.  She can only eat a little bit of food at each meal and is going to bed early in order to avoid another round of sickness.  I wanted to ask her for sickness pictures, but I was afraid I would get punched.

But I’m not worried.  In fact, I’m encouraged.

No…I am not some insensitive, ruthless husband.  I am encouraged because I know what is causing the sickness. 

My new little baby is the culprit.  This is our next baby…right now at 10 weeks and 4 days old.

Sarah is struggling with the typical sickness associated with the first trimester of a new pregnancy.  And while she is experiencing all of the above symptoms and is miserable at times, her symptoms are not cause for concern. We are not running out and filling her full of medicine, rushing her to the hospital, or doing multiple medical tests.   We know where the symptoms come from and that gives us great encouragement to know how to deal with the symptoms.

And this is vital knowledge.  In life, in order to properly address any symptoms, you better know what the real problem is or you will find yourself missing the diagnosis. Were we to treat the symptoms, we might believe that Sarah has some type of horrible virus.  But she doesn’t, she is pregnant. 

UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSE EXPLAINS THE SYMPTOMS.

It is the  distinction between the symptoms and the cause that is critical to understanding Paul’s explanation of the human condition in Romans  1 as he writes:

26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

What a fun passage!  All kinds of juicy sin.  If you are like me, when you read this passage you have a picture of some overweight dude in a tie, behind a pulpit, pointing fingers at a humiliated audience, while further exposing the intense sweat stains that are gathering on his overly starched shirt.  All the while he is pointing out all the things that people typically think of when they discuss sin.

And we must admit that the sin list is impressive:  Homosexuality, unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slander, hate of God, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness, inventors of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness.  Horrible sin. The real problem. Avoid these.  Right?

Maybe not.

While this is a clear picture of sinful humanity, I would argue that this list is not the point of the passage.  This list comprises the symptoms of the human condition and not the cause.    Notice two critical phrases in this passage which serve as the foundation for its understanding: 1. “For this reason” and 2. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God.”  Both of these phrases reveal that the sin list (the symptoms) is the result of something else (the cause).

Clearly, the impetus of these phrases is that the sin list points to something else which undergirds, motivates, and causes these sinful actions.  The main problem is actually much deeper than any individual sins.  The list of items above is rightfully labeled as sinful, but they are not the SIN.  The SIN is the fatal exchange that humanity makes when they exchange worship of God for the worship of gospel substitutes.  Anytime a person elevates himself to the place rightfully belonging to God, SIN has occurred.  This SIN leads to various sinful actions described in the sin list above. 

If we were to diagnosis the human condition, we could rightly say that everyone is guilty before God of SIN, which leads to guilt of sin.  This SIN which leads to sin is a result of a worship disorder inherent to all makind. (Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane, How People Change, 153).   We are all born with a nature inclined to worship ourselves.  As with our ultrasound, the symptoms (sin) reveal something deeper (SIN).  For my wife, the developing life on the inside motivates and causes symptoms on the outside.  For you and me, the rotting death of SIN on the inside leads to sin on the outside.

With this in mind, I would make a few observations about how we should respond to SIN and sin.

1.      Repent of SIN and sin.

The main problem between each of us and God are not the individual sins that we commit, but the one fatal SIN of worshipping ourselves rather than God.  Therefore, when each of us is convicted of sin, we must acknowledge our guilt before God for SIN and sin.   For example, in times of anger, the response to God should be: “God, I have sinned against you not simply because I got angry, but because I attempted to take a place that rightfully belongs to you.  I have made myself God in my life and that has led to my angry actions.  Would you forgive me for worshipping and serving someone other than you?”  This is the same way to respond to lust, pride, doubt, or any other sinful action mentioned above.  We must address our repentance to the heart of the problem and not simply to the symptom.

2.      Apply the gospel to SIN and sin.

The gospel is not about changing your behavior.  The gospel is about changing your worship.  Due to the sacrificial death of Jesus on one’s behalf, that individual is given the privilege of having someone other than themselves to worship.  And this change in worship should be the focus of our understanding of the gospel. Now certainly behavioral change should result from a rightful understanding of the gospel.  But this behavioral change happens when one begins to rightly worship God and not the other way around.

3.      Teach about SIN and sin.

Whether you are discipling someone else, preaching a sermon, or raising kids, we must begin to teach people that the problem with humanity is SIN.  Rather than endless railing about the ills of video games, movies, music, sex, and drugs, we must understand that those are symptomatic of a deeper issue.  If this was not the case, the hope for humanity would be better schools, a new president, or purging our world from the steady stream of godless media.  While these may be good things, they will do little to change the human heart.  It is only when people are taught that their problem is not their “sin list” but their SIN.

And praise God that Jesus died to pay the price for our SIN.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

1 Corinthians 15:3

By the way…this is Corrie, our now 19 month old daughter, at our 8 week ultrasound. 

Amazing!

Baseball’s trading deadline came and went this week with the typical shuffle of overhyped and overpaid players all attempting to make a run for the World Series. Outside of Stuart Scott and Colin Cowherd, I am not sure anyone really noticed or cared. Except me. Yes, I am that sports geek that analyzes ESPN2, listens to The Herd in my truck, and secretly fantasizes about being a basketball commentator after Dicky V hangs it up.

While I love sports, professional sports trades make me angry. As soon as I begin to pull for one team, the star player is shipped out to the West coast to play for a team that I hate, and now I am left with a goofy looking, lanky, overpaid scrub. And the trades don’t make any sense. A great player is traded for four players I have never heard of, the proverbial “player to be named later” and some money. What?

In spite of the stupidity of many trades in American professional sports, trades don’t get any better than one made by a soccer team in Romania. The Romanian second division soccer club, UT Arad, sold a player to another team in exchange for 15 kilograms of meat. And to make matters worse, the player who was traded resigned before ever playing a game for his new team. The coach is quoted as saying: “We are upset because we lost twice – firstly because we lost a good player and secondly because we lost our team’s food for a whole week.”

Stupid trades are commonplace today: both in the sporting arena and in a place you would not think to look – your life. It seems that this concept of a trade forms the central metaphor Paul uses to explain what humanity has done to God. In the first chapter of his treatise on the gospel to the church at Rome he writes:

21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Romans 1:18-25

Read the rest of this entry »

The words are so familiar: 

“Jesus Loves me this I know

For the Bible tells me so..”

“What were they thinking?”

To someone outside of the playground, the question would have made no sense. It looked like your normal, everyday child paradise filled with slides, swings, and other things that kids enjoy. The playground equipment was in perfect condition and was the picturesque site for a fun-filled family play day. This playground served as the site of a mission project for myself and a group of high school students.

The only given objective was to pick up trash from around the perimeter of the playground, particularly concentrating on the broken glass that we might find strewn about. The wry smile on the project coordinator’s face should have given us a clue as to what was to come.

What were they thinking?

However, to those inside the playground the question could not have been more appropriate. The problem was not with the playground equipment, but with the playground’s foundation. You see, this lovely, picturesque playground was built over a landfill.

It seems that some ingenious worker decided that the best way to utilize the land previously taken up by a large landfill was to build a place for kids to play over top of it. So, as time went by, rain came and washed the top layers of the ground away, exposing the top remnants of this old, abandoned landfill. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the playground was covered with shards of glass, broken bottles, old shoes, shot glasses, etc. It was only a matter of time before these discarded remnants of days gone by bubbled up and revealed the playground’s true foundation. With each layer of glass we removed, more was exposed. There was an endless depth to the brokenness and in spite of the seemingly serenity of the playground, nothing could disguise the depravity of the foundation.

What were they thinking?

While I am unsure of the answer to this question as it relates to the playground, I am certain that this playground provides a perfect picture of many of our lives and even the state of the modern, American, evangelical church.

Read the rest of this entry »