To be, or not to be...strategic

I was corresponding with a young woman about how she might have impact on the Kingdom in a cross-cultural setting. Her degree was not along the “normal” paths followed by most missionary candidates. “If I had just been more strategic when I was picking a degree to pursue,” she lamented. I assured her that her training and education would have plenty of application in Kingdom work and would open doors for her that would never open for traditional missionary types.

Her lament has set me to thinking about the value of being strategic. The modern missionary movement (as opposed to the pre- and post-modern missionary movement) has certainly made being strategic a mantra for finishing the job, so much so that you can hardly go to a gathering of leaders where that term is not used again and again.

My concern is that God’s acts are anything but strategic from our human viewpoint. They always end up being the exact right act, of course, but most of the time we would not have picked that direction in our human evaluation. Let’s review just a couple…

God directed Israel to the absolute “worst” spot along the Red Sea with the Egyptians closing in…the end of a canyon with only water ahead of them. Samuel was pretty impressed with all of David’s brothers, but God chose the youngest and least experienced to be the king of Israel. God could have brought Jesus to the world as a king, but instead brought him as a baby, the child of nobody from nowhere. Jesus picked disciples who would not have been on anyone’s “who’s who” list…except maybe for Judas. And what about the paradoxes that Jesus threw out there. “The least will be the greatest.” The last will be first.” “To be great, you must be the servant of all.” “To live you must die.”

Being strategic affords us the opportunity to have greater impact. But I wonder just how great the impact would be if we allowed ourselves to do the non-strategic thing and give God the freedom to work? The spiritual reality is that God can and will use the least of these because then the glory can go only one place. Jesus told us we must become like children…but, wow, that is hard…no…impossible! We would never get anything done.

Exactly!!

Help us to humble ourselves and our ideas before you, God. Have mercy on us!

Are you a "Cat" or a "Dog?"

Last Sunday we sang How He Loves by John Mark McMillan. My favorite version is performed by David Crowder. You can experience that at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ on YouTube. As I prepared for that Sunday my mind returned to ponderings about Dog and Cat theology.

Bob Sjogren wrote a book called Cat and Dog Theology in which the basic premise is that “cats” have an underlying belief that “you exist to serve me” while “dogs” believe that “I exist to serve you.” Cat lovers, please notice that I put “cats” in quotes because I don’t personally believe that all cats hold this philosophy (just most of them!).

Several years ago I heard Mr. Sjogren give a presentation of this concept. It was challenging and convicting. His warning was that the Church needs to guard against “cat theology;” the basic idea that it is all about us.  How He Loves could be considered a “cat theology” song in that the song focuses on God’s incomprehensible love for us. I am sure I have just polarized my reading audience…sorry. Mr. Sjogren used the song Above All, by Paul Baloche. Michael W. Smith really brought that song to popularity and it is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNv4xVVVHd8 on YouTube.

Here is the dilemma, and it is a common one for my feeble mind. Scripture clearly supports both “cats” and “dogs” in their thinking about their relationship with God. “Cats” hold tightly onto the John 3 discourse as well as 1 John and many other passages of scripture clearly proclaiming that God’s love for us is so deep that it brought about the greatest of sacrifices to redeem us to himself. “Dogs” would respond with the comment that God did all of that to bring glory to himself, also supported by pages and pages of Scripture. Obviously this could be fleshed out much more deeply, but you get the idea.

One person explained these types of challenges in our faith to me as a mountain where the slopes of either side are clearly visible but the peak, where both sides come together, is obscured by clouds. Brian McLaren, in A New Kind of Christian, explains that most of us think and take our stand somewhere along a continuum from one extreme to the other. God’s truth, however, lies somewhere above our human continuum, on a different plane altogether. You could say that all things like this, where contradictory concepts are both supported in Scripture, find their intersection somewhere in our infinite God.

Someday we may know how all those things come together; but my personal belief is that, when that time comes, stuff like this will have lost its interest for us being overwhelmed by the glory of our God and Savior. So, for now, let’s have fun dissecting these issues but focus on loving each other anyway…whether “cats” or “dogs!”

Does Tim Tebow offend you?

The reasoning behind being offended is of interest to me. I have heard many people, both Christians and non-Christians, say that Tim Tebow offends them with his openness about his faith. The success of the Broncos this season with Tebow as quarterback has certainly made that openness a nationwide affair...not to mention that "tebowing" has actually become a word and action used both with respect and ridicule.

Living in Colorado has given me a lot of exposure to Tim on the air. I have never once heard him defame someone else or even suggest that others should be like himself. To my knowledge He has never said that God gave the Broncos the victory or blamed God for not coming through for them in a loss. He simply has been thankful for the gifts he believes God has given him and for the opportunity to play a game for a living. Would that we all be so blessed.

So what is so offending? Don't we enjoy the freedom in our country to express ourselves openly as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others? If what Tebow says really rubs you the wrong way then don't listen (if you can swing it). Perhaps his openness feels like judgement. Certainly judging others for doing this or not doing that is the favorite pastime of some people in the church. Something about looking down the log in my eye to point out the speck in your eye comes to mind here. Shouldn't we seek to live our lives with a greater measure of grace?

Living committed to what I believe while granting freedom and grace to those who choose another path seems the Biblical way forward here. Tebow's freedom to express his faith openly should also extend to those who do not share his beliefs. Neither should be offended by the other. Certainly, within the church, loving each other in spite of ourselves is our greatest witness to who Jesus is. Maybe we should focus our combined energies on that and leave the judgement to God. Fortunately, He was not, and is not, offended by us!

Expectations and Thanksgiving

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving is so yesterday...last week? Two weeks ago! But still, for me, it should be everyday, right?

On a recent trip to Virginia I heard a radio broadcast (what else can you legally do driving anymore??) which presented an article written by John Fischer (singer/songwriter turned philosopher) about the danger of expectations in our lives. I have written on this subject before, as it pertains to our relationships here; however, Mr. Fischer's article discussed our need for examining our expectations in light of our responses to what God does and doesn't do. Any of you who read this blog regularly know dealing with "a God who doesn't behave" is huge topic of pondery for me (not sure "pondery" is a word, but you get the idea).

Here's the bottom line...if we deserve nothing we should be thankful for anything (or everything).

Fast forward to this morning. Negative seven degrees outside and I am laying in bed at 5 AM awake but trying not to be. The thought strikes me that I didn't leave any water running. Heart begins to pick up steam. Then I realize I don't hear the hot tub pump humming (I know, its like asking for prayer because the Beamer is in the shop...a little grace please...really!). At this point I begin to feel anxious so, get out of bed and throw on about 5 layers of clothes. I turn on a faucet and realize that the water in the house is okay. Thankful. Step outside and, sure enough, no life in the tub. Lid frozen down. All not good. I am praying some more negative type prayers at this point and cursing my bent toward procrastination. I force the lid up and, by God's grace, the water is still warm but the level is low and the system had shut down to protect itself. Thankful for both things. All garden hoses frozen. Thankfulness leaves. Again the procrastination of not getting around to moving at least one hose inside renews a heightened level of frustration. Begin to fill the tub using a small trash can. Did I mention it is negative seven degrees?? Get it done. Turn on the tub. All is well.

Now, I am very thankful. But Mr. Fischer is in the back of my mind saying, "If the tub had been destroyed would you still be thankful? Do you realize that this tub is a gift that you didn't deserve in the first place?"

Pretty easy to see a hot tub as something extra and if it had been destroyed I would have eventually gotten around to forgiving myself for that. And what would a hot tub have to do with the grand spiritual scheme of things?? But we can get much more personal, can't we? What about our health? What about our family?

I just saw in the news this morning the report about the young model in Texas who walked into an aircraft propeller by accident. Her mom was at the airport, heard what had happened and ran out to help. All she could do was hold her daughter, pray for her and wait for the emergency team. How helpless we parents are in those situations! As I stood there in our family room tearing up, Mr. Fischer came back into my head. "Are your children yours? Are they not a gift you don't deserve?"

When it comes down to it, the Bible is clear. The very breath we breathe every couple seconds is a gift we don't deserve. Once again I am reduced back to my basal prayer, "Have mercy on me, a sinner!"

Be thankful with me today...and tomorrow...and forever for every thing...as God may bring them to mind.

No Proof is Possible

Stuart Chase, an American economist of the last century, once wrote, "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible" (For those of you who maintain that nothing of value can be learned from television, I first heard this quote on the series, "Criminal Minds"...and, yes, I could have also learned it from reading).

Two things pounce upon me from this insightful quote. First, the foundational principle is "belief"...or we might say, "faith." What we believe to be true is based on something that happened a couple of millennium ago passed down to us through the lives of the faithful and an ancient book which cannot be supported by original documents. Truly this is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb 11:1 NIV

Though it would really be convenient for us in "The Way" to be able to point at something and say, "See, this proves we are right!" those kind of proofs just don't exist. And even if "proof" does exist for us internally, through personal experiences or the experiences of others of whom we have heard, that doesn't mean they are convincing for those skeptical of our faith.

That segues us to "pounce" two. The burden of proof does not lie with us. Though we must witness to the Truth (Acts 1:8) which we have experienced, the responsibility for proof of truth lies with someone else. Only God can undo unbelief and reframe it as belief. He IS truth. God must interrupt the contentment of the unbelieving with a longing for himself...a felt need to fill the God-shaped void in the soul. Until that happens, "no proof is possible."

May we recommit ourselves to be relevant people in the lives of those God interrupts!