5:30 Coffee: Faithful yet lacking...

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Faithful yet lacking...

I am always astonished when I read Hebrews Chapter 11 of the faithfulness of the people of God as they awaited the Messiah. As anyone who has read the chapter knows it's called the faith chapter, but I want to remember what is really astonishing about the text. The writer details the lives of so many men and women who lived by faith... but then in the final two verses we're reminded... "They all lived by faith without receiving the promise."

They worked hard and well... and never got a paycheck...

They did the right thing... and it never paid off in any material, practical terms in the here and now of their lives...

They stayed the course... and never reached the destination...

Personality styles have been likened to the parts of a sailboat... keel, tiller, sail... ballast. In this picture my personality is a sail. It's a critical piece of the sailboat, without which the boat will never catch the wind and get anywhere... however... without a keel and rudder it will go whichever way the wind blows it. Though there is a sense in which I feel directed, and I have those around me who are the tillers, keels, and... should I say it, anchors, I still live by the vision of the moment at times. What is capturing my attention right now is what tends to give me energy and focus. It makes me appreciate the people who lived faithful lives for their whole lives thinking they might see the promised reward, but never did. The text says they were persecuted in horrible ways... but stayed the course. Give me that heart and spirit, and stamina!

It's such an interesting list of people... God is not squeamish about those who are faithful. I think my favorite in the text is Rahab... she shows up in Jesus genealogy too... amazing who He uses when they are focused on His purpose and plan, even when they never see the reward.

The destination is the journey!

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Life and Ministry

I've been alive for 46 years... I know that's not much compared to some people, but it's enough that I realize I'm on the downhill side, probably, unless I live past 92! That would be interesting I think. Otherwise, however, I'm at a point of deep reflection... how will the rest be spent. I've been in the same spot for 20 years now, doing pretty much the same work, so it's time for serious evaluation.

There are two things that have challenged my thinking... one old, one new. First, the 9th stage of Eric Erikson's psycho-social development; "Integrity vs. Despair." It struck me twenty some years ago. Erikson basically says that there will be a time when you will begin to reflect on your life and you will conclude that it's been a life full of good decisions and directions, and work done well - if that's the case you'll come away with a sense of integrity; your life has had meaning and purpose. If on the other hand you look back and see that it's been filled with missed chances and squandered opportunities you'll have a sense of despair. I want my reflection to lead me to integrity!

Second, I had a class on 2 Timothy this summer at Regent College with Earl Palmer. He and I had lunch one day and it was just a great encouragement. He said to me, "Never think of yourself as old... I'm nearing 80 and I don't think of myself as old! You have lots of life ahead of you... your most productive years! Realize that you are young and God has alot of stuff for you to do!"

Looking forward!
John

Book Reviews

Are Women Human (Dorothy Sayers): This little book (about 80 pages at most) is a lot of fun, but also profound. It's actually a compilation of two essays - I think both lectures - which Sayers gave around 1938 to a women's group in London. They wanted her to talk about the importance of feminism – which she didn’t want to talk about specifically. She's very fun to read... very British... very to the point... very intelligent and articulate. I read it as preparation for the sermon series in 2 Timothy because I'm trying to think of Paul's treatment of women and this book was suggested to me by Earl Palmer (University Presbyterian - Seattle) at a class I recently took from him. Here, in my estimation, is the essence of Sayer's view, "Women should be doing everything they're gifted to do... but not in order to prove that they can do what men can do. There are fundamental differences between men and women; they're made for different things. If you have to choose between a woman or a man to do a certain task you should choose the one who is best at that task. It gives our lives meaning to do what we're good at... it honors God to do what we're made for. A woman shouldn't become a mechanic to prove that women can be mechanics... nor should she be kept from mechanics because she is a woman. Great treatment of the subject I thought. My view of Paul and women, incidentally, is that he thought very highly of them. He speaks specifically in a coupe places about them being silent, but then talks all over the place about their roles as prophets, teachers, deacons, and "outstanding among the apostles." I take his specific instructions about women and silence to be a specific address to a specific problem. Barth says, "There are no NT letters apart from the troubles of the NT church." He's right about that.
Searching for God Knows What (Donald Miller): Miller is great... his writing style is interesting and very conversational. A little too conversational at times for me. But I love to be challenged by what he's saying, both in this book, and "Blue like Jazz" which is also enjoyable, and challenges some ideas that we have about life, faith, and church. Miller makes me laugh at one moment, and then get very serious the next. Honestly, I howled with laughter during the first chapter, "Fine Wine: The Failure of Formulas." He gave me cause to think anew about Shakespeare’s Play, "Romeo and Juliet." I have to go back and reread it... it's been way too long. Here's a bit of a summary statement for the book, from chapter one: "I realized the gospel of Jesus, I mean the essence of God's message to mankind, wasn't a bunch of hoops we needed to jump through to get saved, and it wasn't a series of ideas we had to agree with either; rather, it was an invitation, an invitation to know God."
Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters (Peter Kreeft):Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters (Peter Kreeft): This is simply a delightful little book. I don't mean "little" in a way to demean it... rather it reads like a little book. There are 161 short letters, from a couple sentences to a couple pages of advice that Kreeft is leaving mostly for his children. Here is a quote from #23, Sacred Time: "Visit a church at least once a week and just spend five minutes in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, just adoring Him. He came a long way for this meeting: all the way from heaven. And He brought you a long way for this meeting: all the way from nothingness, out of which he created you. He thinks this meeting is that important. And you don't? Which one of the two of you do you think has it right?" I love the sacredness of Kreeft's Catholicism. I like his writing. This book is full of good stuff. It's been especially meaningful to me since I'm preaching through 2 Timothy which is Paul's "Last Words" -- literally.
Playing for Pizza (John Grisham): Nothing profound here, but it's an enjoyable read. Maybe I'd classify this as a "feel good" novel. It's not going to change the world, but it's a story with some redemption, victory, set mostly in Parma, Italy. There is some interesting information here about various parts of Italy. Story is an NFL Quarterback, Rick Dockery, who can't seem to make it in the NFL, and ends up playing in the Italian NFL, for the Parma Panthers. They're putting all their hopes on him to win the Italian Superbowl! In the end... Easy read about 260 pages.
Fish!: This is a great little book,sort of expensive for the size of the book, less than a hundred pages. This book is really helpful for getting refocused on how to be a positive influence in a "toxic energy dump."
Real Sex (Lauren Winner): I really like Winner's writing. Heard her speak at the National Pastor's Conference in '07... she's fun. I read another of her books, Mudhouse Sabbath, which I loved. I think you should read this very articulate and frank discussion of Sex within the faith framework. Read it.
Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell): Thought provoking look at the church, faith, and the journey. I'm not crazy about Bell's writing style, but readable, and challenging ideas. I'd recommend it. If the church doesn't stay relevant it will end up the like the "Velvet Elvis" painting Bell found in the basement of his house... obsolete.
His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman): I read the trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) as well as Lyra's Oxford. As advertised the books are hard on "the Church" but that's to be expected from Pullman's atheism. The books were a fun read, we're reading them to our boys now. Good opportunity for dialogue about important ideas. Lyra's Oxford was disappointing, and very short. Few observations: (1) "The Church" is probably a little too exercised about this series. (2) I think "killing God" is a little too strong a description of what happens. (3) I think it's very interesting, given Pullman's atheism, that there is so much metaphysical stuff in this series. (4) If you haven't read the books or seen the movie... see the movie first... they foul up everything in the movie which makes it difficult to enjoy if you've read the books. Trilogy books are around 250 pages. Fun, but definitely not The Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia... not close.
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck): This is a classic that I'd never read until recently. It's a very interesting portrayal of friendship, caring, and loyalty. It's accessible, and about 90 pages. Glad I read it.

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Faithful yet lacking...

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