Gadfly's Muse

All We, Like Weeds, Have Gone Astray.....

[MorningWeeds, 2008, JAVanDevender]

God's Church has more in common with a field of weeds, I think, than a grape vine trained on a trellis.

It appears to me that the sprouting is much more haphazard and spontaneous ( at least from a human perspective) than orderly and consistent.  This is not, may God forbid, to criticize the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is His Church and He does what is best.  But if Revelations 2 & 3 have anything to teach us, a plethora of churches, having wildly divergent orientations, is not always desirable.

First off, I believe that denominationalism is a good thing and that, within certain limits, it is necessary to have diversity within the broader church.  I believe that there is not only room but blessing in the fact that different communions have different emphases within them.  We need to challenge each other with our views of worship, with how the sacraments are to be understood and practiced, with what constitutes preaching, with how a scriptural ethic plays itself out in everyday discourse, etc. etc.  Apart from this dialog flowing from sincere differences in perspective, the Church grows moribund and sterile... I think.

However, that divergence which is present and which reflects fundamentally different orientations toward Scripture,  is not desirable and is deadly.  The "weeds" in the field, often the ones bearing the most seeds, are often those who have departed from Scriptural authority... who understand the Scriptures as functioning, if at all, within a narrow band of spirituality which allows for most of the church's life to be governed by pragmatism,  bureaucratic formalism, or even worse - impulsive innovationism.  The desire to be "exciting" and "relevant" often means bending Scripture to our will or even ignoring it - making excuses for the parts that don't quite fit with what we think modern minds want to hear.  That divergence which concerns me most is that which is growing out of a sense that Scripture is not God's Word for today... that it does not regulate the Church today... that it only gives us the history of what God has done, how He did it, and very little about how what He did and how He did it has any bearing on "now."  There are those who clearly espouse this idea.  There are those who practically espouse it though giving lip service to a different view.  There are those who go beyond this.  The bottom line... God's field is overgrown with weeds... and the rising sun reveals them glistening in its light.

It's about time for something to be done about this situation and Christians ought to be a bit apprehensive about what God may decide that to be. At the very least we ought to be heeding the Spirit's call to return to Christ as Head of the Church and discover in Scripture His voice calling us back to a more consistent, more unified voice and witness, even within our diversity.  I am convinced that such is not only possible but is, in fact, God's intention for us.  We need to repent and return to the Word of God, both Ruling and Inscripturated.  We need to make His Word central in our lives, our worship and the governance of our churches.

It seems so simple and so plain.  Why is it so hard?

I'm Glad They Cleared That Up: God Can't Be Sued in County District Court

You can read the news article HERE. 

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers is fed up with God raising all kinds of havoc, sending wars, rumors of wars, tornadoes, etc.  But like any good Mid-Westerner, he's not about to just sit around and complain... he, by God... oops, takes action.  He filed a suit against God saying that it is illegal for Him to do this stuff.  Downright unconstitutional if you get my drift.

There were some questions about how to "serve" the indictment - Chambers answered that since God knows everything He cannot plead ignorance.  There was another problem about how you can't sue someone if they can't show up to defend themselves... Chambers was ready for that one... God is everywhere so He's here in the courtroom.

The judge, after lengthy deliberation (I'm betting about 5 seconds) threw the case out.  However, he did so "without prejudice"... don't want to appear to be taking sides here... even if God is one of those sides.

Sheesh....   Like an old friend Tim H. used to say "Arch, they ain't all locked up!"

Defeating "Defeater Beliefs"

[SheepDogTrials, Scottish Festival, 2008, JAVanDevender}

Tim Keller has published an excellent summary article on a major problem presented to the church by the so-called, perhaps mislabeled, "post-modern" society.  You can read it HERE.

Fundamentally, the idea boils down to this:  While the church can "meet folks where they are at" (pardon the abominable colloquial phrasing), the church must never be content to "leave them where they are at."  Though this is so self-evidently true you wonder why it has to be even stated, unfortunately it is not widely practiced. 

Too often our evangelistic efforts, whether immediate, individual and personal, or programmatic, corporate and distanced from the personal, are mostly content to find a common ground for approach.  Hence we accede to the post-modern over-emphasis on the pragmatic and relational and seek to work within that construct to nudge people towards a Christian confession.

As Keller points out, though, even after success in this endeavor we leave them with the initial presuppositions in place.  We leave them with the idea that any "faith" statement is a group feature and not universally binding.  We leave them with the notion that the immediate and pragmatic is all that is really important and that abstracts and propositions cannot be motivational or even desirable.  We leave them at the level of "ethic" and do not argue for a contrasting world view which is thoroughly at odds with most of what they take for granted.  In other words we stop well short of "radical" confrontation.

This is nothing new.  This is the exact same phenomenon that, in a different form, occurred in the enlightenment.  A new "truth" principle arose which was oriented against and grew out of the post-Reformation abuse (30 years war) of Dogmatic Confessionalism.  The Church did not rise to the challenge of refutation then but rather, as it is doing today, in large settled for accommodation.  The goal was syncretism under the banner of "all truth is God's truth."  The outcome was disaster.  The same general outcome looms large on our horizon today.  An entire generation, as with the enlightenment, is at risk and the battle for their minds is not going well.

Like the sheep dog at work in the photo above, there is a need for the guardians of the flock to "drive" the herd to the pastures where they can safely graze.  It is not enough to discover, through outreach, the lost sheep that are forlornly bleating in the bushes, despairing of hope.  Once discovered, they must be brought back to the fold where, with their fellows, they may prosper.

It is not enough to make converts, we must make disciples.  The Great Commission does not just say "Go"... it says "Go and make disciples..."

Listen To the Mockingbird....

[Mockingbird&StreetLamp, 2008, JAVanDevender]

This little guy greets me just about every morning.  Sometimes he's perched on the gable above the Church porch, sometimes sitting just at the edge of the high roof, peering over the ledge, sometimes he flutters in the trees.  His cheeriness is a decided contrast to my usual mood but then, that's my problem not his, isn't it?

I have threatened to snap his picture many times, but usually he doesn't perch still long enough for it.  Today he was content to pose for a while.

I am not sure that there is much more to this experience than the simple "life-ness" of it, but one, probably far-fetched, notion did cross my mind.  Perhaps this little guy kind of embodies something significant about the Christian life.  He is dwarfed by the immense light on which he stands and yet, from that foundation he fills the morning with his song.  We Christians are dwarfed by the Light on which we stand also.  Our Lord's light fills the world, not just a parking lot.  He is the Light of the world, no man comes to the Father except through Him, and yet, it is our privilege to stand on Him and sing.  We have the privilege of filling this world with our song, living out our moments by drawing attention to the One from whence the light comes.

Maybe, sometimes, we take our lives too seriously.  We seem to think that the world, the Kingdom, the country, our church, our families, depend entirely on us.  We load ourselves down with an over-burden of "oughtness" that translates into "do-this" or "do-that" objective type accomplishments.  We carry the weight of "success" on our shoulders.  True, we must be clear-headed and mission oriented.  We must not diminish the importance of accomplished tasks.  But, maybe, just maybe, the primary reason we are in this world is to simply sing.  The mockingbird has to eat, build a nest, hatch the eggs, and fight off intruders (a task for which he shows remarkable enthusiasm).  But, that for which he is known and loved, is his song.  You know... that might be something to ponder and embrace for our lives also.

Maybe, this morning, there was a reason why the little guy sat still.  He was just waiting for me to appreciate how he serves the Lord God also.

I Just Read: "We’re Stupid and Irrational, so Why Should Palin’s Popularity Shock Us?"

The following is quoted from Brittanica Blog post, you can read the entire article HERE.  The added emphasis is mine.

["Bookshelf", 2008, JAVanDevender, Yes... I really do read N. T. Wright]

Many claim to be disturbed by Palin’s popularity in the face of ever-more evidence that she is out of her depth in discussing world affairs.  If they truly are it means they haven’t been paying attention.  Surveys over the last half century have consistently demonstrated that voters simply do not know much about politics nor care about it.  A majority of Americans cannot name the three branches of the federal government.   Only one in five know we have 100 United States senators.  Most think a president’s veto of legislation is final and that the Congress cannot override it. A near-majority—49 percent—believe the president can legally suspend the Constitution. 

What do Americans know? 

As citizens of our 21st-century consumer’s republic they know the price of a gallon of gas or the cost of a fast-food pizza.  And they are experts in pop culture. While only one in four can name more than one of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, a majority can name at least two members of the cartoon Simpson’s family.   If I may:  We need more Lisa Simpsons, the brainy one in the cartoon bunch, and fewer Homers.  Alas, just as Lisa is outnumbered by the lovable dolts in her family, so are well-informed voters in the real world.

OK - is anyone ready to truly reform our educational system?  Maybe it's time to actually start doing math drills (1+1 = 2, 2+2 =4, etc.), history drills ("the three branches of constitutional Federal government in the United States are: the legislative, judical and executive), science drills, etc.  Anyone familiar with "Classical Education" knows that the first step is "grammar", the acquisition of facts in each particular discipline - hence, math "grammar", science "grammar", etc.  The American educational experiment, dreamed up by fanciful "educationists" over the past half-century has entirely discounted this idea.  Schools are not educational institutions, they are education "facilitators" wherein the students are provided materials, introduced to concepts and the parents are supposed to teach the kid in two hours of homework what the school spent eight hours "introducing." 

Stupidity is rampant, parents are burnt out and we scratch our heads and wonder why the local sales clerk cannot make change from a five dollar bill without the aid of a computerized cash register.

Bah, humbug.  Throw the bums out.  It's foolish to decry the literacy of the general population in articles such as this one without addressing the root causes.

A Ride Fit For A King, Or At Least A Sub-Regent....

[Corsair Roadster, 2008, JAVanDevender, CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW]

Genesis 1:28  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12   that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,  that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

You know, some mechanical things are truly works of art.  When I look at some of the stuff that passes off as art these days (the hideous statue "male-female" in downtown Baltimore, for example - you can see it HERE) such things as steam engines, bridges and classic motorcars easily rise to that status.   This particular beauty was the hit of the antique car exhibit at the National Apple Harvest festival this past Saturday and I spent a bit of time just sitting on the ground and pondering it.  It occurs to me that God may be just as pleased when men build things like this as we are.

God created man to be useful but not slavish.  As opposed to the old Sumerian creation / flood accounts, where man was just a tool, created to furnish the Sumerian Pantheon with the sacrifices they craved as they pursued their vocation of divine indolence, the true God is a God of "doing", of "ordering" as well as "order", of craftsmanship who delights in the work of His own hands and calling it good.  It is inherent in the Divine image which man bears, to follow this pattern: to be busy in exercising dominion under our King, subject to Him in humility, but rejoicing in the work that is to be done.

It is not to be despised that man makes useful things.  Not all "good works" are relational, furnishing the poor, healing the sick, lifting the down-trodden.  Paul tells the Thessalonians that they are to work with their own hands so that they lack nothing.  Certainly the intent was to furnish their own needs and to proved an abundance to share with others.  Certainly the command to love one's neighbor as ones self is not absent from a Christian's activity in building things, doing things, accomplishing physical tasks.  But neither are those things simply to be relegated to the status of inconsequential, or an over subordination akin to despising.  God is delighted I think when man transcends mere workman like quality and rises to craftsmanship.  I believe it honors Him to make things not just useful, but beautiful.  The quiet satisfaction that comes from listening to an engine purr, or pondering the mechanisms of a clock ticking away, or thrilling to the thunder of a passing freight train, does not have to be prideful.  If it leads man to worship, to giving thanks to the God who provides man with the wisdom of talented hands, then God, I think, shares in our delight.

This was one nice car.  I thank God for the artist who designed and built it.  Man can do good stuff when he sets his mind to it.  All his efforts do not have to be confined to greed and selfishness.

Changed... from this poor creature that I am....

(BlackSwallowtailCaterpillar, 2008, JAVanDevender)

2 Corinthians 5:16-17   16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

There is an old Southern Gospel song - "There Will Be Peace In The Valley" - sung by multitudes of professionals and amateurs alike - most notably by Elvis.  Like most Southern Gospel music, theology is not its long suit, but the hope expressed in one of its verses - "I will be changed... changed ... from this creature that I am!" lies at the very heart of the Good News.

Jesus didn't come into this fallen world to save us "as we are" - He came to save us into something better.  He came to take hold of our cold stony hearts and transform them into something warm and living and truly human.  He came to take our sin-befuddled brains and enable them to turn from the shadows with which they had been fixed and preoccupied, to the clear light of truth - the truth of God, of His Son, and the Holy Spirit.  He came to shift our emotions from an essential narcissism to an embracing love for others.  Those things in and of themselves are astonishing.  They constitute the birth of a new humanity, a new creation, an emerging community entirely free and able to move.  Like the difference between a leaf bound caterpillar, crawling slowly and narrowly over the closed stalks of existence, concerned almost entirely with where comes its next meal - and the fluttering freedom of the butterfly into which it is transformed - gaining freedom to soar on the breeze - so is the work of the Holy Spirit in His people.  Truly He is invisible, like the wind in the trees, but even more truly His work is identifiable - clearly distinguished by the shackles left behind by those who have been set free.

But it  doesn't end there - there is more to come!  There is the glorious freedom of the Sons of God which is yet to be provided... the glistening robes of glorification which provide true holiness and true wisdom and even greater joy.  The final transformation will enable us to know even as we are known, to be empowered and authorized to stand at the very throne of glory and toss our crowns at our Savior's feet.  The last enemy, death, will be destroyed and the perfection of all things will include our own final completion. 

What a fellowship... what a joy divine... leaning on the everlasting arms!  The old song is right... it centers our hope and expectation of blessing in the day when there truly will be Peace in the Valley... for me... and for all who know Christ.

Hallelujah.