The Problem with the Church

While reading this quote, I want you to try to guess who said it before reading the name below.

"The contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.  So often it is an archdefender of the status quo.  Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before.  If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.  Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust."  



This letter was written over 40 years ago.  It is from "Letter from the Birmingham jail. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."  I first read it this past week in "a hole in our gospel" by Rich Sterns.  I don't think there is much to add to it.  There are those that have been successful at recapturing the sacrificial spirit and those that haven't.  I think that in this quote we have the solution to the decline of the Church in America.  The church has been loosing followers like crazy, and lots of people do dismiss it as an irrelevant social club, and are disgusted with it.  I know people like this.  How do we reach them? How do we reclaim those that have been lost?  It is by seeking justice, loving the poor, the orphan and the widow.  Too many churches have turned into state of the art entertainment places.  One could walk in and mistake it for a theater.  That is not how we make lasting change.  I think this quote is true or truer now than 40 years ago.


ISA 58:6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?


JER 22:16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?"
declares the LORD.

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Lent

Quote of the Day from Mother Teresa:

I believe it was Saint Vincent de Paul who used to say to those who wanted to join his congregation: " Never forget, my children, that the poor are our masters. That is why we should love them and serve them, with utter respect, and do what they bid us. "
Do you not believe that it can happen, on the other hand, that we treat the poor like they are a garbage bag in which we throw everything we have no use for? Food we do not like or that is going bad-we throw it there.
Perishable goods past their expiration date, and which might harm us, go into the garbage bag: in other words, go to the poor. An article of clothing that is not in style anymore, that we do not want to wear again, goes to the poor.
That does not show any respect for the dignity of the poor; this is not to consider them our masters, like Saint Vincent de Paul taught his religious, but to consider them less than our equals.


I find this quote so interesting because of the Saint Vincent de Paul stores. They are a second hand store. They get the stuff people don't want anymore. Anyway, thought it was an interesting quote.

Lent

To start lent off I thought I would post a quote, I might do something else as we get into it, but for now, I will start with a quote.

St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

Where there is hatred let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

Lord, may I not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

Because it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned.

The other day I went out and took some pictures of the flowers I had driven past on my way home.  I think they turned out pretty good.

Is Christianity a crutch?

It seems like every time there is news about religion someone in the comments section talks about how religion is a crutch for people that don't know better.  However, having been on crutches for a while (when I broke my leg) I can tell you that they are useful in healing my leg.  It would not have gotten better if I kept trying to walk on it with out crutches.  However, like anything they can be abused and if I stay on them too long my leg will get weak again.  And no doubt has religion (Christianity included) been used as a crutch, just like anything it can be exploited.  But at its core, I don't think it can be a crutch. 

I am a really good person.  If being a good person was enough, I wouldn't need Christ.  However, I find that frequently being good, isn't enough.  I know that I am not perfect, I get reminded of that every time I drive my car and get cut off, that I am not 'good enough' to not get mad at this person that I don't even know.  I am reminded of that when I get frustrated with my wife for something little and I don't have enough grace to forgive her.  It is by God's grace and Love that I am able to love and forgive her.  If Christ hadn't loved me, I don't think I would have the quality of relationships I have now.  I am not capable of loving perfectly.  It is by God's love that I am able to love, for with out it, we wouldn't know what love is. It is like C.S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."  Not only that, but I let my friends down, my wife down, and I need them to be able to forgive me, to love me, if someone quit on me every time I let them down, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to. It is by grace that they still talk to me, still care for me in ways I don't deserve.  I need them to support me often (being relational creatures and all), and if there wasn't grace or forgiveness, being a relational creature in this world would suck. 

If I live in darkness, I can't not see anything.  No amount of opening my eyes will be able to make me see.  But when there is light, suddenly I can see.  Is light a crutch for the eye? No, its how it was designed to work.  Is gas a crutch for the car? No, it was designed to run on Gas.  Is Christ a crutch for those who follow him? No He is what we were designed to run on.  

Mother Teresa didn't need Christ to be her crutch.  Many people can give to the poor, can help the poor out, but she was able to do it on a completely different level.  She didn't just serve the poor because it was her job, she served to the fullest of her capacity because she was in love with Christ.  "There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible. " Mother Teresa.  She didn't just limp along on crutches she was able to fly.  

Isaiah 40:29-31:
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Here we see that Christ is not a crutch, that God promised not only to get us back to a good condition, but he promises to take us further, he promises to give us wings to fly like an Eagle.  That is something I want.  Maybe the problem people have is that they want people to only use religion as a crutch, and not to go soaring.  After all, it gets kind of dangerous when one starts living a life like Christ (they killed Him).  But even death could not keep him down, he was raised up.  That is the hope we have.  And the hope that we want everyone to have.  That Death is not the end.  Suffering is not the end.  We want to live life to the fullest and that is only possible with Christ's help.  I can't fly on my own and crutches aren't going to help me fly either.

I refuse

Heard this song on the radio the other day, loved the lyrics. It's by Josh Wilson



I Refuse

Sometimes I, I just want to close my eyes
And act like everyone's alright
When I know they're not
This world needs God, but it's easier to stand and watch
I could pray a prayer and just move on
Like nothing's wrong

But I Refuse

I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
I could choose not to move
But I refuse

I can hear the least of these, crying out so desperately
And I know we are the hands and feet of You, oh God
So if You say move, it's time for me to follow through
And do what I was made to do
And show them who You are

I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
I could choose not to move
But I refuse

I refuse to stand and watch the weary and lost cry out for help
I refuse to turn my back and try and act like all is well
I refuse to stay unchanged, to wait another day to die to myself
I refuse to make one more excuse

I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
I could choose not to move
But I refuse

G.K. Chesterton

I bought G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy after last weekending listening to a lecture on it.  I don't really know what I expected starting to read this book. The lecture was quite good, but having picked up this book and read the opening couple of chapters, I am quickly becoming a fan of Chesterton.  Who would have guessed that he wrote this over 100 years ago, it is just as practical and applicable to today's society.  Let us dig into some quotes.

The second chapter starts out with a conversation he had with his publisher.  The publisher believes that if a man believes in himself he will do just fine.  And I love the response.  He basically tells the publisher that he knows where he can find people that believe in themselves, they are in the insane asylum.  They truly believe they are a cup or king, and no amount of arguing with them will convince them otherwise.  We have made a world where most of us are taught to believe in our selves, we have exchanged God's truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Roman's 1:25).  We have been taught to worship the parts as if they were the whole.  That's not to say that we should never believe in ourselves, I don't think, I think it is to remember the Truth, and our place in it.  For the Truth shall set us free, the lies, shall bind us up. 

When Christendom has been shattered (which he would say it has been), all the sins and "vices" are let loose to do evil, but worse he says.  "The virtues are let loose also (when religion is shattered); and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage (than vices)...The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wondering alone."  We see this all the time in our society.  We try to keep Christianity out of the public world and we wonder why the world is falling apart.  We see people wanting to help, but in their eagerness to help they avoid the truth and end up doing more harm then good.  We see the Christians trying to spread the truth of the Gospel, but it has a hole in it (Richard Sterns has a good book by this title).  They try to spread the truth without any love, or mercy and end up spreading hate and contempt.  They teach Christ gets you into heaven, but doesn't/shouldn't change your life.

"A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed."  He then goes on to mention that we are "on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table."  Has he been sitting in classrooms around the country? Where some kids are taught that it doesn't matter what your answer is to the multiplication problem, it just matters that you all agree (not every school, but some schools).  Has relativism been so prevalent for so long?  If it feels good do it (doesn't matter what the truth says).  There are absolutely no absolute truths, what is true for me may not be true for someone else.  These are things people say, today, and this is the very thing Chesterton is trying to combat here in Orthodoxy.  We are supposed to keep truth in its place, truth by definition has to be true always, otherwise it was never true.  If we won the game, that is the truth and it cannot be taken from us.  Ever.  It doesn't change the next day when the loosing team decides to say that they won.  Can you imagine a group building a boat and they all come to a consensus that it will float, even though it has more holes than Swiss cheese?  That is crazy, but we wouldn't want to hurt their feelings with the truth. 


(In defense of organized religion) "Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first...In so far as religion is gone, reason is going."  This may be the weakest quote I have chosen, however, I think that it is true.  We live in the information age, but not the reasonable age.  We do things that are politically correct, not because they are the right thing, but because no one should get offended.  Reason has been thrown out along with religion in the marketplace of ideas.  We do things that aren't going to hurt someone in the short term, even though they may be deadly (at least really damaging) in the long term. 

"Akin to these, is the false theory of progress, which maintains that we alter the test instead of trying to pass the test."  I love this quote so much.  How often do we see this in our society.  Kids pushed to the next grade, even though they have no mastery of the last grade.  Kids are failing to graduate, so let us lessen the standard, and not worry about teaching them better.  After all, taxpayers want to see high graduation rates, it doesn't matter that those that graduate can't balance a checkbook or do anything. 

These great quotes are just in the first three chapters, which is all the further I am at this point.

Deception Pass

On our way home from Orcas, we stopped by deception pass, because we were like 5 miles away, and its such a cool place.  Deb took all these pictures, this was a great time. 

"None of us feels the true love of God till we realize how wicked we are. But you can't teach people that - they have to learn by experience. " - Dorothy L. Sayers 
Romans 5:20(b) - "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."   It is only when we realize that we are sinners that God's grace can really work.  

Beer and Burgundy

I think that this quote was one of the best in a weekend full of great quotes.
"We should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them." - G.K. Chesterton.
Earl Palmer mentioned this quote, while talking about how to get the same 'high' one has to have more of the indulgence every time.  Eventually, if it is not contained it will consume the person.  There is a line that gets crossed from enjoying alcohol to becoming an alcoholic.  There is a similar line in all things in life.   There is a need for moderation in our life for all that we do, so that it doesn't consume us (C.S. Lewis calls this Temperance in Mere Christianity).  The problem with moderation is that everything in our society tells us to have more.  TV/movies are always pushing the boundaries.  Everything wants more and more of my life, and it is only my responsibility to stop pushing the boundaries.  What are some things in my life that I let control me?  What are some things that could control me?  Have I given them over to God? 

Here are some more pictures from this weekend (Deb took all of these).

The other ferry passes within a stones throw of this sailboat.

I got to drive the ferry!!!

Orcas Island

This weekend we spent the time at WinterFest on Orcas Island. It was a blast.We got to spend some good time with some great friends and take a lot of pictures. 
WinterFest Speaker this year was Earl Palmer, and he spoke of 4 defiant traditionalists.  Karl Barth, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers and C.S. Lewis.  In the coming months (as I get the opportunity to read more of their writings) there will be more quotes and information about them.  Two things stuck out to me.  1 it is important to be well versed in what one believes and 2 that those four people were full of whit.  They were smart and funny. 

I leave with a quote from G.K. Chesterton. More will follow:
"The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people."

Cross Ornament

My Wife and I found this ornament and we really like the message on it.



Here is what it says:
"Lord make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred,
let me sow love where there is injury,
pardon where there is doubt,
faith where there is despair,
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life."

I think it is good to remember this as we come to the season of giving.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is only one week away.

Today I am thankful for all the little things that make life so good. Food, cold water, warm water, ice cream, milk, OJ, heaters, blankets.

I have no clue who this guy is but I thought this was a killer quote. I have been trying to talk to one of the older kids at my daycare about this very concept. It's definitely easy to say and harder to practice.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
-Frederick Keonig

Maybe the Grinch said it best, "maybe Christmas, he said, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas means a little bit more." - Dr. Seuss.
Life isn't really about the things its about us and whats on the inside. One could be content with very little, and one could be unhappy and have 'everything' imaginable.

Ecclesiastes 4:8
There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!

Sixpence

Philippians 4: ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

Today I am thankful for my family who has been so important in my life and development.  They have blessed me so much and I thank God for the great family I have been given.

On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.  ~William Jennings Bryan

This quote goes along with what we have been reading in my Mere Christianity study, that we need to acknowledge our bankruptcy to God.  That anything we give back to God was already his, and that we can't give him anything he hasn't already given us.  

Lewis talks about the story of a dad giving his daughter a sixpence, because she wanted to buy him a gift.  When he receives the gift he is over joyed, but only a fool would think the dad is sixpence richer. Thus the quote, sixpence none the richer.  

Starting Now

 Song of the day for today is  City on Our Knees - Toby Mac.  It is a great song about starting to live how God wants us to live.

In my small group we have been reading and discussing C.S. Lewis, and this week we talked about our view of Heaven has been distorted.  It is hard for me to wrap my mind around heaven and all the good that will be there.  Often I feel like my life is good here, why would I want to give it up.  C.S. Lewis mentions that people often think of heaven as some fantasy land, and people that spend time thinking a lot about it get a bad rap, as people that are escaping this world.  But when we look back at history he argues, we see that people who are most concerned with Heaven are the very ones making the most impact on Earth.  We get this dilemma,  "aim for heaven and you get earth thrown in, aim for earth and you get nothing" (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).  The song talks about why not now?  what excuses am I making that keep me from living life to the fullest?

Luke Chapter 9:
 ⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
 ⁵⁸Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
 ⁵⁹He said to another man, "Follow me."
      But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
 ⁶⁰Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
 ⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
 ⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

 It's good to take time and evaluate where my real priorities are.  Am I fit for service in God Kingdom?

Good Vs. Evil

We have been reading C.S. Lewis' classic book "Mere Christianity" in our Monday night small group.  We just started and are only a few chapters in, but Lewis has some great quotes that I wanted to share with you.

Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.

When we were discussing this quote, someone asked why God would give us free will, is it worth it.  I think the simplest answer is to ask a husband or wife if it is worth loving the spouse through all the tough times. Or to ask a parent is your child really worth all the pain and stress they bring to your life?
I think to of something I just read about stocks (One up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch), that you can only lose so much of your investment.  If I invest $1000, I can only lose a $1000, but I can gain untold riches right?  It could double in value, triple, 10 fold, whatever, the sky is the limit.  Ok so maybe that isn't quite the same thing, but you can get the idea, you can only lose so much but the amount that you can gain is off the charts. 

Often times when when talking about God with people they may make some argument about if there really was a god he wouldn't let all these bad things happen.  On a more personal note, it is easy for me to look at the news stories of the day and get frustrated at how evil human's can be and wonder why it can be.  Not to worry though, Lewis will save the day for us with this great quote.


The better stuff a creature is made of-the cleverer and stronger and freer it is-then the better it will be if it goes right, but also the worse it will be if it goes wrong.

Kind of amazing to think of huh?  We are only capable of such awful things because we are made of such great material.   We have so much potential to be good. 

This last quote I think is one of Lewis' all time best.  I think it is something that all Christian's should know about.  It is the perfect response to those that say Jesus was just a great teacher...

Jesus cannot be just a moral teacher. "He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg,- or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.

I think the next time someone tells me that Jesus was just a great teacher, I will have to ask them if they have read anything about him or what he said.  Looking at Scripture there is no way he could be just a teacher.  He turned away the rich man not because he wasn't "good" for society, but because he couldn't part with his money.  It came between him and God.  He picked the losers, he picked the very people that society thought were useless and he revealed himself to them.  He was a radical preacher that wasn't liked by the establishment (remember, they did kill him for what he said and claimed to be).  If he was a good little preacher, I doubt he would have been killed for it.

Oppression

Hopefully this isn't too over the top and you can get something out of it.  We start with a quote.

 

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. -C.S. Lewis

 

Think about that...

 

I read this the other day.   How true it is, that those that think they are doing good, can do so much harm.  I think of a mother 'loving' her child too much, she coddles it and ends up doing more harm to her child then she would like. 

 

But I also think of our broken welfare system. My understanding of welfare is that it is there to help people get back on their feet when they have fallen on tough times.  But I have found in working with people that are in our welfare system, that it appears to be there to keep them down, not to help them get out.  

 

We had a single mom at my daycare (a while back)whose two kids were part of my class, and part of their payment was made by DSHS (department of social and human services).  She worked for a small company doing front office work I think. After about a year she received a small pay raise.  Great, she is moving up and forward in her work.  DSHS saw the pay raise and cut off all her child care payment (even though the amount cut was more than the amount she would make in a month with her raise.  Now she would be forced to make a decision, keep her job and lower her lifestyle further, or quit and so she could take care of her kids.  The DSHS payment should have gone down to allow for her to pay a little more, but it makes no sense taking it away.  It was there to keep her down.  

 

This is how our welfare systems work, they punish success, and encourage contentment with the status quo.  And I understand that is only one example, but there are many many more stories just like that.  Government in my opinion will never be able to fully solve this problem.  It takes people working and building relationships with those in need, that can encourage and promote a better lifestyle.  A personal help, one that can look at the situation and make the decision to help and not just one that has to follow the rules.  And the Church and other NGOs (non-government organizations) need to step up and find ways of filling this hole. We as Christian's need to get off the side lines and show how real lasting change can come about, by being the hands and feet of Christ.  

Quote of the Week

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert Einstein

How do I see life? Is my cup always half full?  or half empty?  God has done so much for me, everywhere I look I can see evidence of his loving touch.  

Why Religion

Religion gives meaning to life - USA Today
This morning I read this article.  I didn't really care to much for it, my faith has some to do with religion, but I don't follow Christianity, I follow Christ, To me my faith is so much more than just a way for my life to have meaning.  What really got me (and normally does) is reading the opinions of people that have read the article at the bottom.  Either a lot of people got up on the wrong side of the bed, or their are a lot of people with something against religion.

As with most things, it is so easy to focus on the negative side of things.  Look at all the wars, and murders and evil done in the name of religion (people with this view are the same people probably complain about wall street greed, which has nothing to do with religion).  But what about all the good?  What about the hospitals, schools, ministries that are out serving good to so many people. Maybe if as a society if we had more grounded morals (not what is good for me is what I am going to do), we would have a better society, but where does that come from if not from religion.  Look at Mother Teresa's life, do I think she served in Calcutta for all those years, because she needed to find some meaning in her life?  She didn't make large strides in improving the life of the people in Calcutta, she didn't do it for that, she didn't do it for the fame.  I would say she served, because there was meaning to her life, she realized how blessed she was to be one of God's children, and wanted to bless others because of that. 

My belief in Christ as savior does more than give meaning to my life, it gives me a direction and a focus. It allows me to not be concerned with just my own well being, but with the well being of those in this life with me.  I don't follow Christ out of fear [of Hell], I follow Christ out of the knowledge of what he has done for me, and what he has opened up for me.

I don't know all the answers, and this may just be a bunch of rambling, but I do know that no one else walking this earth knows all as well.

What I do know is that we as the Church of Christ need to become relevant again, we need to be the hands and feet of Christ so that this world may see by our fruit that we are of Christ.  We need to let our light shine from the hill top, and not hide it.  We need to be the salt again. 

Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

Quote of the Week (July 14th)

"Open your hearts to the love God instills in them. God loves you tenderly. What he gives you is not to be kept under lock and key, but to be shared. The more you save, the less you will be able to give. The less you have, the more you will know how to share. Let us ask God, when it comes time to ask him for something, to help us to be generous. " -Mother Teresa