Practical Theology – Page 2

Re-Dis-Orientation

Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann has devised a simple but deep way to categorize the Psalms that has real applicability to life. He suggests that most psalms will fall in one of the following three categories: Orientation, Disorientation, and Reorientation. While wordy, perhaps, these labels are very helpful in understanding life. In some Psalms life is good and as it should be, in others psalms life is chaotic, hard, and confusing, and in yet other psalms life is experienced as new beginning, renewal, and moving beyond. Sometimes all three of these can show up in the same psalm, as with Psa 23. The Biblical story resounds with this rhythm. Notice the following examples:

Exodus: Egypt ➤ Wilderness ➤ Promised Land

Exile: In the Land ➤ Exiled in Babylon ➤ Return to the Land

Jesus: Life ➤ Death and Burial ➤ Resurrection

Christians Old Life ➤ Repentance ➤ New Life

What is common to all of these stories is the movement through orientation, disorientation, and into reorientation. Also common is that no one really likes being in the middle phase of disorientation.

William Bridges, in an insightful little book called Transitions: Making Sense of Life Changes, points out that all transitions in life have three basic phrases: the “old,” the “new,” and the “in-between,” this last one Bridges himself calls the “neutral zone.” The old is when life is what life is and we are not complaining because it’s normal. Then something will happen, a death, a divorce, a new opportunity, which changes our old comfortable world. The in-between is uncomfortable because it is no longer the “old,” but neither is it quite yet the “new.” However, this neutral zone of disorientation can be just what we need to grow, to come to new understandings, to get out of old ruts, etc. For some this in-between time can be excruciatingly painful. But often disorientation, in time, gives way to reorientation: a death becomes sweet memories; a loss gives way to new gains; and that which was old is given new life.

Personally, I have found thinking of life in terms of these three categories helpful. I experience life sometimes, as it should be. Things are in place. Life is good. Psalm 23 is true and the Lord really is my shepherd. However, sometimes, and more times than I would like perhaps, life is hard, disconnected, chaotic. With Psalm 23 I walk through the deepest, darkest valley. I don’t like those times but I do usually grow closer to God through them. Then disorientation gives way to new life and I find, again with Psalm 23, a table prepared before me, my head anointed and my cup full, desiring nothing more than to live in God’s house forever.

Lent is the perfect time to reflect on this. Lent is the “neutral zone” between Advent and Resurrection Sunday. You therefore might find the language of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation useful even now.

For further reading, see Walter Brueggemann’s Psalms: A Theological Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1994) and Spirituality of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002); William Bridges, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes (2nd ed.; Cambridge, Mass.: De Capo, 2004).

Copied from http://www.fcchammond.org/MAROUTLOOK2013.aspx.

What is Lent All About?

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” (Matthew 4:1–11 NRSV)

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LENT was originally not a religious word at all. A Teutonic (Germanic) word meaning “long,” it was used to refer to the lengthening days of spring. The word was passed through Anglo-Saxo into English, and finally used to translate the Latin quadragesima (“forty days”) which imitates the Greek name for the season of Lent, tessarakoste, or fortieth. So that is why we call this season Lent.

By the fifth century, church authorities assumed the practice of Lent went back to the apostles. However historians have noted that, in the first three centuries, churches were quite diverse in their practice of the fast before Easter. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius cites a letter from Irenaeus (late second century) who states that there was much confusion over the fast that came before Easter. Some thought it should be one day, others two, and yet others thought forty hours (day and night) as the correct amount. Later when Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History, which contains the letter from Irenaeus, was translated from Greek into Latin, the translator punctuated text so that last group fasted for forty days, not forty hours. So, interestingly, Lent became a forty-day preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

If you would like more information about the origin and development of Lent, see the Catholic Encyclopedia, available online at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm.

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LENT is about repenting, reorienting, recalibrating and realigning. Lent provides an opportunity as we approach Resurrection Sunday to bring our lives more in sync with Jesus. Reflecting on the temptation of Jesus (see the Scripture above) provides resources for this time of penitence and prayer.

Henri Nowen in In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership made the dynamic Jesus’ temptations real for me. Jesus responded to each temptation with Scripture;more specifically, Jesus quotes texts from Deuteronomy 6-8.

Deuteronomy 6-8 tells how the “newly minted” nation of Israel was tested in the wilderness; and how at each test the they failed to trust God.

Now comes Jesus’ turn. He too is tested but each time he successfully deflects Satan’s overtures. Where Israel, the nation, had failed, Jesus the Son will succeed. Part of Jesus success was that he knew the story. Because he knew the story of how Israel had failed the test, Jesus knew exactly what he was facing. Now that we have both stories, that of Israel and of Jesus, we know what we need to do when tempted.

Nowen reframes each temptation so we can hear them better. The temptation to turn stone into bread is the temptation to be relevant. The temptation to jump off the temple to be caught by angels is the temptation to be sensational. And the temptation to possess all the kingdoms of the world is the temptation to be powerful.

Each of these are a real temptation because we are all tempted to focus on what we want more than anything else. When we speak of being relevant (particularly in church life) we generally have in mind that notion that if we were more relevant, more people would be interested in church. So the conversation becomes what we need to do to please people and that is where this becomes a problem. Recall another story: when Aaron, the high priest, made a golden calf for the people. The golden calf was relevant but the golden calf was not God.

Each of us have felt the desire to be sensational. Drama Queen seems to be an art form for some today. How often do we walk the line between “doing our deeds before others” and “doing our deeds before othersso that they might see our Heavenly Father.” Jesus could have stepped off the pinnacle of the temple and floated down to the earth impressing all those who saw him. However, as with the stones, Jesus understood that making himself important or impressive works against the mission of God. All three of the temptations partake of the attitude that it’s-about-me.

Finally, the desire to be powerful is so “natural” that in our culture we assume that is what people should aspire to be. Jesus could have had the whole world without the cross! That is what Satan is offering. However, the way of power without the cross is not the way of God. To be powerful is to bypass the way of suffering and the gospel is clear that for Jesus suffering comes before glory. Those who would follow Jesus must learn this, too. As the apostle Paul will say later when we are weak, we are strong (see 1 Cor 4:10; 2 Cor 10:10; 12:10; 13:9).

So what is the meaning of Lent? Well, that depends on what you want to do with it. Let me encourage you to use this season as a time to repent, reorient, recalibrate, and realign your life with that of your Lord Jesus. Let’s resist the temptation to be relevant, sensational, and powerful and simply moving into being who God has called us to be.

To Begin Again

Can a person really start over?

Isn’t there always baggage?

Are habits too ingrained—after a certain amount of living—to change?

The cynic in me wants to see real change as impossible but I’m not sure I want to live in a world where this is the case. No doubt, life is tough and for some and at times really tough. Yet the Bible, which has been around a lot longer than I have, holds out a vision of humanity that has potential. New things can happen!

For example, notice this medley of verses:

[The Lord] put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God (Psalms 40:3); See, I [the Lord] am doing a new thing! (Isaiah 43:19); Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17) “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant ….” (Jeremiah 31:31); Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) … what counts is a new creation. (Galatians 6:15).

The Apostle Paul invited the church at Colossae (in modern day Turkey) to enter into God’s newness. In the third chapter of his letter to that church, Paul points to three areas in which God wants to renew us.

First, God invites us to renew our orientation, to seek what is heavenly, not earthly. Sometimes we live as if the minutia of every moment is the most important issue in our lives. We all—at times—are drama queens. We fail to see that in a few short moments most of what upset us now will not really matter in the grand scheme of things. However, the Apostle is not just suggesting that we get a better mental attitude; this is not how to think your way into a better way of feeling.

The invitation is for complete reorientation. Because we have been baptized into Christ, we now “seek the things above” and we do this because “Christ is there!” Now, as those united with Christ, we are, in some sense, already with him. Imagine living now as if we were already living in heaven.

Next God calls us to reevaluate our identity. In a (religious) world intent on reminding us often that we are sinners (and we are), the Bible most often strikes another note. In this text, believers in Jesus are those who are hidden in Christ, those who have put on the new self that, according to the Apostle, “is being renewed by the knowledge according to the creator’s image.” Our new identity is not defined by religious or socioeconomic labels but by Christ. Therefore, believers should see themselves as God sees them: as specially chosen, holy and deeply loved.

Consequently, God invites to refresh our way of life. Continuing the language of baptism, Paul reminds us to “put to death” dispositions, habits and tendencies that simply do not belong to heaven-minded people. The laundry list is long and dirty: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, idolatry, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and lying, “since” as Paul adds, “you have taken off your old self with its practices.”

Continuing the baptismal image, Paul is confident that believers have “put on” the new self and the associated dispositions, habits, and tendencies. These virtues include compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, telling the truth, speaking wholesome words, love, unity, peace, and thankfulness.

In summary, Paul is not inviting his readers to embrace the power of positive thinking, but rather of taking hold of a completely different paradigm for reality. The primary feature of this new paradigm is that we are now united with Christ. This union with Christ instigates certain new realities, namely, that we are now “hidden in Christ.” The changes called for grows out of a relationship with Christ. If one belongs to Jesus, then it follows that such a person would think differently about who they are. This, then, would (naturally) lead believers to put off things that work against their new identity and to put on attributes that are consistent with that new identity.

Can a person really start over? Yes, with Jesus they can.

Isn’t there always baggage? Yes, but God can handle your baggage.

Are habits too ingrained—after a certain amount of living—to change? Only if you so choose; it is not the way of Jesus.

Also published at http://www.fcchammond.org/JANNEWSLETTER.aspx.

How Well Do You Hear? (Mark 4.21-34)

The need to listen well remains the focus of the rest of the parables in Mark 4. At the end of the interpretation of the Parable of the Soils, Jesus left us with four options: (1) we don’t get it; (2) we are not very deep; (3) we care more about other things; and finally (4) we get it and live it.

While hearing is the primary sense noted in Mark 4, other words are used to underscore what Jesus is after: Do you get it? Therefore, verbs of seeing, perceiving and understanding are also present.

For example, in Mark 4.21-23, Jesus notes that a lamp belongs in a lamp stand so that it might provide light for those in the room. In this way, what is hidden (the “secret” of the kingdom of God, that is, Jesus) is meant to be “brought out into the open.” Though a lamp helps one see, the next line is the familiar: “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

If we missed it, the next parable begins with “Consider carefully how you hear.” The enigmatic saying that follow these words makes more sense if they refers to how well we hear. Below are the text and my paraphrase.

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

The level at which you listen, it the measure you will get, and more than that. Whoever listens well will get even more; however, those who do not listen will lose even what they think they have.

The final two parables in Mark 4 deal with perceiving (hearing) what God is up to. In the first the kingdom of God (God’s will or reign) is compared to the process of planting grain. The farmer does his part in planting the seed but does not know the mystery of how it grows, but because it is the work of God, it does. The last parable compares the kingdom of God to the growth of a mustard seed that far beyond its size becomes large enough that birds can find shelter on its branches.

Mark closes these parables with the comment that Jesus told the crowd as much as they could understand, but that he explained everything to his disciples.

The bottom line of why Jesus used parables is so people could “hear” his mission.

Sacrifice of Praise (Hebrews 13.15-16)

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13.15–16 NIV)

Throughout the sermon that we call the Letter to the Hebrews, the preacher has emphasized that Jesus is our perfect High Priest; his qualifications is that as God he can connect us with the Father and as a human he can understand and sympathize with us. Better than any of the early high priests Jesus can truly mediate the things of God to people.

Yet one of the most important functions of a High Priest was to offer sacrifices, first for himself and his family, and then for the people. Analogous to this, Jesus, while not needing to offer anything for himself, still needed, in the logic of Leviticus, to offer a sacrifice for his people. Here, the preacher offers his most significant insight: Jesus is both Priest and victim—but he is not a victim in that he is a willing and living sacrifice.

Now we are able to look back at the beginning of Hebrews to see why making purifications for sins before sitting down at the right hand of God (1.3b) is such a big deal.

Since Jesus has accomplished atonement (at-one-ment) with God, there no longer remains any useful reason for continuing animal sacrifices. They simply are not necessary since Jesus’ self-sacrifice in the heavenly temple.

However, there was one sacrifice from Leviticus that was not connected with the “forgiveness of sins.” The peace or thanksgiving offering was a free will offering just to express gratitude to God. In the passage cited above, this offering is transformed into “sacrifice of praise,” also called “the fruit of lips that confess his name.” This would include the public confession of Jesus in word and song.

Yet there is one more form of sacrifice mentioned in this text: to do good and to share with others. Furthermore, this kind of sacrifice pleases God. Amazingly—to me—the kind of sacrifices that God is seeking through the Letter to the Hebrews are these: to love God by confessing him and by doing good to others.

And so closes Hebrews on the note of loving God and loving people.

Only Two Ways

In an age of too-many options—too many cable channels, too many brands, too many things—I’m not sure we can believe there are really only two ways when it comes to life. Now I would be quick to add that there is lots of variety within each of these ways, but would still contend with the wisdom of the past that there are only two ways to live and one leads to life and the other, destruction.

Jesus, when speaking about living in the kingdom, taught there were only two ways, one broad and wide, the other narrow and tight; he even said that only a few folks find the nar-row path of the kingdom of God. His longest-living disciple John wrote about the “two ways” to point followers of Jesus within the way of life, not death. Later, an early Christian document called the Didache (Or, the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), begins, “There are two ways…” then repeats much from the Sermon on the Mount.

However, way before even Jesus, Psalms and Proverbs employed the “two ways.” For example, the first Psalm does this with poetic flair.

In Psalm 1, there are only two kinds of people: the righteous and the wicked. There is no gray here. Life here comes only in black and white. We, with all our options, bristle at the no-tion but deep down most people are willing to admit that one can live either wisely or fool-ishly.

The Psalmist describes the righteous in three main moves. The righteous does not keep bad company, is devoted to God’s law, and is fruitful as a tree by a river. Conversely, the wicked will not be found in good company (when it really counts), doesn’t care about God’s law (notice that this should be vs. 4 ½ but the psalmist is silent on this point), and is like fruitless chaff from the wheat harvest.

The psalm ends with a final contrast showing God’s perspective: God is attentive to those in the path of righteousness but the way of the wicked can only lead to destruction.

The Psalms were the songbook of ancient Israel. So I think we should give notice that the first song in the book contains instructions for wise living. Is there a connection to be made here? Perhaps it is that worship has something to do with the kind of people we are become. If that is the case, then let me ask you once again to consider: there are only two ways. Pick carefully, ok?

The Five Most Important Questions

When Jesus formed the church, he had at least two aims in mind. Church would first of all be about loving God with heart, soul, mind and body (or strength) and, secondly, that this group of people would love their neighbors as themselves (Mark 12:28-34). While “neighbor” might include other church members, Jesus nearly always used the term to push us toward those who are different from us. Given the centrality of this teaching for Jesus, it would be hard to suggest that the church should be doing something other than fulfilling these commands.

Since Jesus says these are the most important commands, any other command we find in the Bible must somehow fit under these. Additionally, any understanding of any of the lesser command that ignores or bypasses these two must be seen as an misinterpretation of the lesser command.

So, if these are the core values of Jesus for the church, how are we doing?

I have found Peter Drucker, the well-known business specialist, to be helpful in this regard. He once framed what he called “The Five Most Important Questions” any organization must ask if it wanted to remain true to its mission. I think you might find them instructive as we seek God’s specific missional vocation for Tammany Oaks.

What is our mission?

Who is our customer?

What does the customer value?

What are our results?

What is our plan?*

I have found these questions very helpful in thinking out where God might be leading us. While the church is not a business, it is in the business of announcing the kingdom of God and our “success” can be measured in how well we are doing that and lives that are transformed because of it.

So what is our mission? While each congregation needs a specific focus, we can be sure that it involves loving God and loving “other” people. So who are the church’s customers? Again, Jesus helps us here: God and “other” people. When the church views her members as the primary “customers,” her mission will always get redirected to “our” perceived needs. Members should see themselves more as customer service representatives who are eager to please God and serve others.

The final two questions are the hard ones, and as such, deserve more of our attention than I can give here. However, we should be able to see that the answers lie near the two greatest commands.

What are the markers of a “successful” church? Two of the makers, of course, would be that a successful church loves God and other people.

So what is the church’s plan? While the answer to this question needs to have specifics based on where God has placed each congregation, we can be sure the plan should be the outworking of loving God and others.

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* Peter F. Drucker, The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask about Your Nonprofit Organization (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993).

Where were You on August 29, 2005?

Within American history, there have been several events that qualify as “conscientious altering.” Among these one might list the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Great Wars (I and II), the assassination of Kennedy, 9-11, and, I would class with these, Hurricane Katrina.

Of this level of event, you can ask people, “Do you remember where you were that day?” and they can tell you exactly where they were. While I’m too young to remember Kennedy’s assassination, I remember the impression the event left on my parents and grandparents. They would tell stories about where they were at the exact moment they heard the news.

I remember 9-11 vividly. I was in New Orleans, more precisely, I was getting ready to take Rachel to school. We were watching the morning news and watched, along with millions of other viewers, as the first place crashed into the World Trade Center. The scenes are forever sketched on my mind.

For me, Katrina was much more personal. I knew people who were forever affected by the storm. I was in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada when Katrina struck but my family, but because of our ties to New Orleans, we helplessly watched CNN for a month because it felt like it was happening to us, too. We gasped as reporters showed us places we knew. Now that we are back in this area, I understand what people mean when they say things have changed—alot.

Katrina and aftermath had an enormous impact on the life of the Tammany Oaks Church of Christ. On August 28, 2005, the building where we now worship was to be formally dedicated to God’s purpose. The church numbered over 200 in regular attendance; things looked up. That is a far cry to where the church finds itself today, but that dogged determinism remains and though the times have been hard, we are still here. And that signals hope.

It is not unusual for someone who has survived a terrible car accident to believe they are still here because God has a mission for them. I wonder if that is the same attitude we should take. God has preserved us to this day, thus, he must have a purpose for us. We are here; we have survived.

Long ago, when the Judeans were forcefully exiled to Babylon, they experienced an event as soul-shaking as our Katrina. When they finally returned home, they thought it would never be the same. They looked at the once magnificant Temple which now seemed only a shell of its former self. When they thought that things could never be as good as they once were. God announced through his prophet Haggai:

‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (Haggai 2:8–9 NIV)

Perhaps that is what God has in mind for us, too. In Christ, we have to believe that the best days are yet to come.

Copied from Tammany Oaks Church of Christ Bulletin, 29 August, 2010.

Jonah: Missional Misdirection

“I worship the Lord, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the land”
(Jonah 1:9 NIV)

Once I was looking for a fun way to introduce Jonah and thought that showing adults the VT version of Jonah might be the ticket. According to Veggie Tales (VT), Jonah is a story about a prophet who got a second chance. After viewing it, I chose not to use it because the book of Jonah is not really about second chances.

Jonah may be the oldest critique of tribalism and prejudice we have. But I’m jumping ahead of the story.

The Jonah story comes in four scenes: on the sea, in the sea, in the city, and near the city. Furthermore, there is a symmetry to the story with chapters one and two paralleling chapters three and four (compare 1.1 with 3.1).

In chapter one, Jonah hires a boat to take him to Tarshish which is about as far as one can get from Nineveh. Nineveh, in the context of Jonah’s time, was the capitol of the imperialistic empire Assyria. To Jonah, the people of Nineveh was the enemy.

The suspense of the story is built around contradictions and ironies. Jonah knows he can’t flee from the God because God made the sea and the land, still he tries. Jonah is asleep while the pagan sailors are seeking to save him. The sailors even feel guilty in throwing Jonah overboard. They care more about Jonah than Jonah cares about the people of Nineveh.

In the second scene (and chapter), Jonah cares more about his salvation than that of the Ninevites, which becomes clear in v. 8: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8 NIV). No point of wasting ones time on the Ninevites, then! Jonah proves the maxim: “you will never evangelize those whom you hate or fear.”

With the third scene, Jonah seems to be repent, but a closer reading reveals that he does the bare minimum to warn the city. In his fire and brimstone preaching, Jonah leaves no room for the people to repent, yet, they do.

Finally, in the last scene, Jonah seeks a comfortable place from which to enjoy the destruction of the city. When God takes away his comfort, he remains more concerned about his fate than he does for the city below.

The story concludes with punch line: “Should I [God] not be concerned about that great city?”

Well, should he? Should we?

If you are interested in a more detail investigation of Jonah, see my friend Bobby Valentines’ blog: http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com/2010/07/jonah-gods-heart-his-struggle-with.html#links

Hope

If I have hope, I can make another day. Yet, there are times when all the challenges makes one wonder if it is all worth it.

I remember meeting some inner city young men in New Orleans who had lost all hope. They moved zombie-like from one place to the next. The lights had gone out in their eyes. They were already among the living dead.

That is what we can become without hope. Notice how the apostle Paul speaks of hope:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:1–5 NIV)

We often think of hope as the natural state of things—and so it should be. However, Paul treats hope as it if is a virtue that one develops. Though Paul is confident that Christians are justified—made right before God, he also speaks of suffering and perseverance as precursors to hope.

We both rejoice in the hope of the glory of God and our sufferings. The hope of God’s glory points to our future union with God while sufferings describes some of our present realities. However, in the space between glory and sufferings, God is at work shaping us into virtuous people. According to this text, God’s formula for character development follows this path:

Suffering >>> Perseverance >>> Character >>> Hope

There is some logic to this, even if it not a route any of us would choose naturally. There is something about suffering that makes us more aware of our finite nature and that we need God. Perseverance, or getting through a tough time, increases our awareness of God and that with God’s help we can survive. This confidence in God shows in the way we carry ourselves as people of integrity—having remained true against the odds. Through this process, then, God grows hope within us.

Ultimately, hope involves a connection to the Holy Spirit through whom God pours his love into our lives. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is always hope.