I'm learning...

12.19.2012

Three blogs written.  Three on the website.  Does that make me an 'official' blogger?  I don't know if I'd say that quite yet!  What I would say, though, is that I'm learning!  I'm learning the process, the unwritten code of blogging. 

Here's what I mean:  last night, my family went over to some friends' house for dinner.  We had a wonderful time.  We ate.  We played.  We laughed.  It was truly refreshing and refilling for my soul.  Eventually, the conversation turned to this blog.  I'm not sure if I asked for feedback or if it was simply volunteered, but here is what I learned about my blogs from those around the table:

My wife: "That last blog was too long!  If I have to scroll down more than once, it shouldn't be called a blog!"

Friend #1:  "Blogs are bathroom reading!  If I can't read it in the time I'm usually in the bathroom, it is too long."

Friend #2: (a bit sheepishly) "I've got to be honest...I haven't read them!"  (This friend never said it, but I think he hadn't read my blogs due to length!)

My mom: (who wasn't around the table last night, but I had received an email from her the day before)  "Are these blogs a copy of your sermons each week?" (For those who don't know, my sermons typically run 20-30 minutes.  I think this legitimate question had something to do with the blog length!)

Because you can't see my face right now, I'll tell you I'm grinning from ear-to-ear!  Comments like these, made in the way they were made, are fantastic!  They help me grow and learn.  And each comment was made with a twinkle in the eye of the person making it!

Thanks for all the feedback!  I'm learning...

It Is No Wonder....

Every year, over the Advent Season, my wife and I try to do something intentional with our sons.  We do this to help shape in them an understanding that Christmas is more than simply lights, a tree, and presents.  We do it to help create a longing in them for Emmanuel—God with us. 

This Advent, we've been reading through some suggested Scripture readings for each day.  Each night, when I read them the passage, I ask Sam and JJ, "Why do you think we read this passage?  What does it have to do with Advent?" 

One night last week, the suggested reading was Micah 5:2-5.  Here is how it reads in the New Living Translation:

 Micah 5:2-5

² But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
    one whose origins are from the distant past.
³ The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
    until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
    will return from exile to their own land.
⁴ And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
    for he will be highly honored around the world.
⁵     And he will be the source of peace....

This is a passage I'm sure you've heard before, especially this time of year.  It is a passage that is familiar to us.  It would also have been a passage very familiar to the Israelites in Jesus' time.  Those living then would have heard this passage taught by their parents, who would have heard it from their parents before them. 

This is a passage they knew and we know.  But it is a passage we hear and understand quite differently.  You see, we today have a tendency to take chunks of Scripture out of its cultural and Biblical context.  For us, a text like this one speaks directly to Jesus.  We hear this passage and we think of a donkey ride to Bethlehem, a very pregnant Mary, and a birth in a stable. 

For the people living in antiquity, this passage would have made them think of freedom, of liberation, and of finally being out from under the heavy thumb of the oppressing nations.  How do I know?  Context!  I look at the verses surrounding Micah 5:2-5!  The end of chapter four is talking about Israel being brought back from exile.  The second half of 5:5 and following speak of this person, this "ruler" from Bethlehem, rescuing the Israelites from the attacking Assyrians.

When we look at our standard "Advent texts," it's no wonder the people back then misunderstood who Jesus was.  They only knew what they were taught...directly out of their Scriptures (what we call our Old Testament).  And to them, the Messiah was a conquering hero.  He was going to bring freedom, redemption from their enemies, power and might.  His life wasn't going to look like Jesus' life looked! 

This passage in Micah is not the only Old Testament passage predicting the coming of the Messiah.  Most of these other passages speak of the Messiah in similar conquering-type language (a notable exception is Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  It's no wonder, when Jesus arrived in a barn, very few recognized him for who he was.  It is no wonder, when Jesus grew and his ministry took root and spread, that many people misunderstood him!  They had been reading their Scriptures through a certain lens.  They understood Scripture through the way it had been taught to them.  They understood the Word of God exactly how they had been told!

But then Jesus came!  And he came in a way no one expected.  And his life looked nothing like the conquering Messiah everyone thought would come!  It's no wonder they were confused!

As I've reflected on their "misunderstanding" of Scripture, I found myself wondering how we are any different!?!  We read Scripture through a specific lens.  We read the story God continues to write the same way we were taught by our parents and their parents before them.  When Jesus returns again (as predicted in the pages we call The Holy Bible), will we be so stuck in our certain understandings that there is a potential we'll miss Him?  Could He surprise us the same way the people 2000+ years ago were surprised?  Could it be there are things we hold on to tightly that are quite simply wrong?

I often sit and wonder what people 100 years from now will think of how we understood and explained faith.  Will they say, "How could they have missed it so badly!??  How could they have been so far off?!?"   

Today, 2000+ years after Jesus' time getting his feet dirty on the trails of our earth, we think a passage like Micah 5:2-5 is a no-brainer!  But is it?  Was it?  We may have the benefit of hindsight, as well as two millennia of doctrinal and theological teaching.  But I still wonder if there is such thing as a no-brainer!

I wonder if in this Advent season, we need to once again allow a little more of God's mystery to flow freely into the story He is still writing?  I wonder if we need to approach the story we are so familiar with through a set of more humble eyes?  I wonder if we need to give God permission to be Emmanuel in whatever way He so chooses to be "with us?" 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!!  And may you give us the grace we will need when you do!

What Price Are We Willing To Pay?

This past week, our church (myself, another staff and member of our Board of Directors) wrestled with a request for money from someone.  Requests for money are not uncommon.  In today's economy, many people have less yet their bills remain the same (or go up even more).  As a church, we've been faithful to do as much as we can...with what we can. 

The request for money this past week was not an enormous amount.  In fact, the person/people requesting the money "promised" to repay it all.  They even came to us with half the total amount the service they needed would cost.  And they had a plan to pay off the remaining amount! 

"So what is the hesitation?" you may be asking. 

Here's why we wrestled: 

We wrestled with the request because the people asking us have a long history of making the poor choices that got them into the situation they were in, which led to the need to make the request to us as a church.  This was the first time they had approached us for financial assistance, but this wasn't the first time we had helped them.  And it wasn't the first time they had found themselves in this specific situation. 

Listening to the conversation taking place in the church and over the phone, I found myself wondering what price we are willing to pay to continue to have a voice into people's lives.   Ultimately, if we said yes, I felt like we'd be earning the right to speak truth into the lives of those involved. 

But our history with helping in the past, both with them and others in similar situations, has been not good.  Once aid had been given, we've found those requiring help, most often disappear.  What would make this time any different?  Is there a specific dollar amount we should be willing to pay out? 

What price, as Christians, are we willing to pay for someone?

Are we willing to pay for a cup of coffee?  Are we willing to take someone out to lunch?  How many times would we do that (with the cost of Starbucks these days!!) before simply saying "Enough!"; especially if the behaviors and patterns we're hoping to see transform never change! Is coffee or a meal as far as we'd go?

Would we be willing to put a small amount towards someone's unpaid utilities bill?  Or what about paying the whole amount?!  Should we cover a mortgage payment for the single mom in between jobs, even if this "changing jobs" happens quite often?!  If we do, would we (should we) request repayment?  Would helping out in bigger amounts "earn" us more opportunity to speak truth and, thus, increase the potential for change?  I don't know. 

How much is enough?  How much is too much?

We're living in a time when we realize we need to be prudent with the money people tithe to the church.  There is less money coming in, which means there is less money able to go out.  God wants us to steward our resources well.  I know this.  Are we being good stewards by giving money to those that may be higher risk?

Are our resources only financial?  Maybe what those who come asking for money really need is something more.  Yes, they need the financial help, but perhaps something deeper is needed as well. 

Maybe the actual dollar amount shouldn't matter when asking how much we are willing to pay.  Maybe the real question is "Will we pay the price in the relationships?"  If we help, are we willing to follow up—more than once or twice!?!! 

Relationships are messy.  People are messy.  They take time.  People often take much and give little in return.  Let's be honest, the time and energy we spend investing in relationships often does not seem worth it.  We don’t see visible signs of change or growth.  We personally do not gain anything.  And many times, the people we pour our lives into fall right back into old life patterns and/or cycles. 

Is it worth it?  How much is worth it?

When we give money with the "promise" it'll be repaid, it is a risk.  When we invest in people, it is a risk.  Are we willing to risk paying the price in relationships with messy people with very uncertain returns?  What price are we willing to pay? 

Shoot me an email with your thoughts (bikingforbikes@gmail.com).  I'd love to hear from you....

pastor j. 

Why "bikingforbikes?"

Why "bikingforbikes?"

A few years ago, I was talking to Bishop Matt about opportunities globally that our church could be a part of.  One of the things he mentioned was the ability to purchase bikes for pastors in Asia.  Apparently, you can buy a good bike there for $60!!  Though our church ultimately partnered with a different global ministry, my own personal interest perked up! 

I've been an "avid" recreational cyclist for quite some time.  I experience great freedom, peacefulness, and often a filling of my soul when I am on the road, peddling hard.  Some of my best times in prayer are when my body is turning the crank, yet my mind is not in gear.  Believe it or not, I am more rested holistically after a 50+ mile ride than I am before.  Crazy, I know!! 

Recreational riding for the pastors in Asia, according to Bishop Matt, is virtually unheard of.  The pastors there cannot fathom riding a bike "for fun."  For them, riding is about getting from Point A to Point B.  When they have a bike, the territory they can reach out to raises to about a 30 mile radius.  This is a drastic increase from what they are able to reach on foot.  So for them, a bicycle means a very tangible increased spreading of the Gospel.  The equation is simple:  pastor + bike = more people hearing about Jesus!

On one ride a few years back, I had an epiphany.  What if I gave up driving for one year, cycled instead, and raised "pledges/donations" for every mile I rode that year.  Then, all money could be given to buy bikes for the pastors in Asia.  Selfishly, I'd be on my bike more.  Unselfishly, more people would hear the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.  It seemed like a win-win.  This idea was followed up by the name "bikingforbikes."  I nabbed that name as an email address (bikingforbikes@gmail.com), and though the first bike has yet to be purchased, I have great dreams of buying 100+ bikes to pastors I may never meet.    

Combining passions:  cycling and Jesus!  That's why I call this blog "bikingforbikes!"