Christmas

Reading the Christmas story this year, I reflected on who I most identified with. This is an interesting exercise and proves a useful way to evaluate your spiritual journey. By placing myself right in the Christmas story made it more vivid and real.

Am I a magi? Have I seen some evidence of Christ and journey long and far to seek Him? Do I bring Him my most precious positions to lay at His little feet?

Or perhaps I am like the star that guided them. The star shown bright in a dark world to proclaim the good news for all to see. Not only this but the star was steady and precisely guided the magi to the exact location of Christ. Do I point the world to the Christchild?

The star was not alone in proclaiming the great news of the Incarnation. Scripture tells us that angels appeared to shepherds. These angels shown with the radiance of God in a way that startled the shepherds. These shepherds were the outcasts of society, but for them the angels left the very presence of God to share the good of great joy. Do I proclaim the message of the coming of Christ to the lowest of society with such joy as the angels?

The shepherds rushed to the manger and although they did not have expensive gifts like the magi, they demonstrate their faith with the act of utter obedience. They told all those they came into contact with about what they had seen and heard. Am I shepherd, do I offer my obedience to the King of Kings?

To be honest, more often than not I feel like the innkeeper, who shuts Christ out. It's not that he wouldn't have made room for the Son of God, but did He have to come right now? I, too, tend to push Christ away in the midst of my 'busy' life. The innkeeper isn't in the Biblical account of the birth of Christ, but we can be sure there was one. His disregard for God is noted by his absence from the story.

At this time however, I probably feel the most like Mary or Joseph. They stand as two examples of faith and perseverance in a difficult circumstance. Even with the message of the angels, they probably were still very confused with what God was doing. They had lived faithful lives, but now God was calling them to endure a long journey, social scorn and eventual exile to Egypt. They obeyed even though they did not fully understand. This is faith.

Who are you in the Christmas story?

Merry Christmas!

Second-Term Woes

With President Bush suffering two significant political defeats in recent days, is his presidency now permanently crippled? He continues to suffer very low poll numbers and has been unable to move any issue forward for months. He has been unable to capitalize on improving economic conditions.

Perhaps Bush is simply suffering from second-term woes. All recent presidents who served two terms (Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton) suffered major scandals and waning political influence during the last four years of their time in office. This may be the result of term limits, that once a president is longer running for anything, he becomes unimportant and easy target for enemies and friends alike. Conservatives have sought to distance themselves from Bush, particularly on the Miers matter while Democrats take glee in the current CIA scandal.

Is there anything Bush can do to break out of this conundrum? I think for Bush to regain the trust of the American people he needs to start anew. Get rid of Rove and Cheney. Rethink Iraq (not complete withdrawal but a new strategy). Appoint a Robert-esqe Supreme Court nominee. This would not signal weakness or defeat but an honest assessment of where the country is. I think most conservatives would welcome this move. Bush's message for the past eighteen months has been 'we need to stay the course' but this become ineffective when most people see the course as wrong.

Katrina - Wrath from God?

Before Pat Robinson shoots off his mouth again, I'd like to make it clear that common Christian beliefs do not accept the idea that Hurricane Katrina is somehow divine punishment for Mardi Gra or Bourbon Street. This concept seems acceptable at first but it is flawed but not for the reason you might think.

First glance gives credence to the idea of holy wrath. First, it is certainly within the power and authority of God to administer such punishment. Both the Old Testament and Revelation confirm this power. Second, if God were to exact such wrath it would in no way be unjust. God's justice is perfect and we can not be the judge of His actions. Similarly the punishment of 'innocent' people does not make the action unjust. Third, the sins of New Orleans are certainly worthy of such punishment. The wages of sin are death and few can argue with the presence of sin in this city (or any other city, town, nation or person for that matter).

Why then can I say that Katrina is not God's judgment on Mardi Gra and such? First, if God was trying to wipe out the sin, he missed. The French Quarter was one the areas that faired the best in the onslaught of the hurricane. So if we say that God was punishing He would be ineffective. This is impossible. Second, in Scripture there is clear warning to cities and peoples before God uses natural disaster. Think of Sodom or the Tribulation? God used Lot and will use the 144,000 witnesses to warn His intended targets of destruction with clear command to repent. No such call for repentance was made. So if we say that God was punishing He would be inconsistent. This, too is impossible. Third, now is not the time for divine judgment. When we read the Bible we can easily see that God acts in different ways at different times. In the Old Testament God acted through a singular nation and today He acts through His Church. Simply put, God is not in 'destroy' mode right now. He has been and will be but is not presently.

So what can we learn Katrina? In a way Katrina was punishment for sin, but not for New Orleans'. Hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters are the result of the Fall. When Adam and Eve ate that apple they brought destruction and death into the world. Sin is serious stuff.

A time to study

With the fall term about to begin, I feel a mixture of dread and joy. I know I have a daunting task ahead of me but I also know that if I make it through I will be one semester closer to finishing my master's degree. But greater still, is the opportunity to struggle, to do something difficult for Christ, to bring myself closer in my own dependence on Him.

Last year was an awesome time not only to grow in knowledge but also in spirit. Seminary is sort of like going to church everyday, or being at camp all year long. One of the principal benefits is to be in daily exposure to the Word and to godly ideas. Seminary gives ample opportunity to live out Paul's instruction to the Colossians, "Set your mind on things above" (3:2 NIV). But it should also be an opportunity to "set your hearts on things above." (3:1) I've found that the mind and heart work together, one can lead the other. I pray that as I engage my mind, my heart will follow. Only by loving Christ can I truly love Him.

Another lesson from the book of Colossians is that when faced with wrong ideas, focus on Christ. Seminary is as much an exposure to heresy as it is to truth. Knowing what's wrong is part of knowing what's right. I don't know how many times I have been in class and thought "people actually believe that!" For me it is tempting to get drawn into theological battles when exposed to heresy. But the approach that Paul uses when addressing the Gnostic heresy at Colosse is to refute and refocus.

For example, in 3:8-3:12 Paul deals a blow to Gnostic ideas by reaffirming Christ's physical body and real death. He then immediately turns to the believers own experience to validate true theology. "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive in Christ. He forgave us all our sins." Paul gives a one-two punch by first showing the errors of false theology and then reminding them of what Christ accomplished for them. In effect he says, "that Gnosticism is wrong and false, don't you remember what you were like before Christ, what more do you need!"

The purpose of protest?

With the Iraq war quickly losing public support and with the anti-war movement gaining new supporters, I have been thinking more about what is the best way to go. There is little doubt that much of the Iraq war was a mistake, WMDs, Abu Graib, unexpected insurgency, etc... And while we as a nation need to own up to these mistakes, I don't think pulling out immediately is the best way. Pulling out now would leave an Iraq in the hands of extremists. The comparitively few Americans that will die helping Iraq move towards self-rule will save many more lives. We did make a mistake in Iraq and that mistake is going to cost hundreds of American lives. But to pull out now would be yet another mistake that could costs thousands more. The only reason toi pull out is greed, feeling that American lives are worth more than Iraqi lives.

Your Preferred Model of Church

I recently came across this quiz on 'The Ooze'. I thought it was quite interesting. Link.

Personally, I scored highest in the 'Herald Model' meaning that the organization is secondary to the church's principle purpose of proclaiming the Gospel. I think that how you feel about church is often the combination of theology and experience. More specifically how you view God most directly impacts what you think His people should be doing. If God is primarily concerned with redemption of individuals than a church that loudly proclaims the Gospel is needed. If God rather wants to bring about a sort of cultural or social redemption (through His people) than a more social justice model fits.

ATSKids

After a couple of months of work, we have finished ATS Kids and the Island of Know, a gospel adventure game for kids. The game is designed to present the gospel as children play the game. If you are curious of my contribution to the game, I did all of the coding meaning basically everything you don't see I did. David, my coworker, did all of the graphics. Since neither David or myself have designed a game, I am quite happy with the result. If you are interested in doing a creative outreach to children please consider using this game. It is available for free online play (high speed connection reccomended) or on a CD (PC and Mac). Check it out at www.ATSKids.com

Narnia

Thought it might be a good idea to update this thing every year or so, in case by some miracle someone would happen to look at it :-)

Anyway, I have just finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis which as you may know is the first (or second depending on whose order you use) in the Chronicles of Narnia series. The book is the basis for a major movie that is scheduled to be released by Disney in December. Said movie is pumped up by major Christian companies and organizations (think the Passion) as a tool for outreach. While the book does contain clear imagery of the gospel message, why the intense effort on this particular movie? Other movies have themes that easily could lead into an explanation of the Gospel. In fact most any topic can lead to the gospel. If you have ever met an effective evangelist you know this to be true. The search for ultimate truth is universal.

The most effective single evangelistic outreach ever document occured in a time before movies, mass-marketing and mega-churches. The apostle Peter simply address a crowd with the gospel. Acts 2:41 records "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Even for the people of that time, this was no fancy message. A simple man simply delivered a simple message of sin and salvation.

I think the hype around Narnia says much about the state of American Evangelicalism, when we have to wait for Hollywood to produce an overtly 'Christian' movie before we will engage in evangelism.