So says Tim Keller:
(watch)
Jesus
“Jesus Lived Like Mother Teresa.” – Tim Keller
Freedom is Found in Submission, Authority is Found in Sacrifice
New post over at my writing blog:
Freedom is Found in Submission, Authority is Found in Sacrifice
Every time the word “authority” is mentioned some people shudder at the implications. Some know authority as an abusive father, overly controlling church members or a teacher that used to pick on them. Authority is often seen as a tool to be used for the betterment of one’s own life. In contrast to this, godly authority is something you are given as a responsibility to make the life of another better… (keep reading)
Would You Shield a Muslim?
As a Christian, if Muslims were being attacked by a violent radical sect of Christianity, would you act as a human shield between that sect and a group of Muslims?
The reverse is happening in Egypt, as reported by the National Post:
Muslims offered themselves as “human shields” on Friday to protect Coptic Christians celebrating their Christmas in Egypt just a week after a church bombing that killed 21 people.
Egypt’s Ahramonline reported that droves of Muslims had turned up at Coptic churches to act as “human shields.”
It quoted Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon credited with first floating the “human shield” idea, as saying, “We either live together, or we die together.”
“This is not about us and them,” Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly, told Ahramonline.
“We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
Read the rest here.
Technology as a Form of Wealth
Doug Wilson in a post called “Calvinism, Eschatology, and the New Media“:
Jesus is the Lord of history, and this is why we don’t need to be afraid of Twitter. Or Facebook. Or teenagers typing with their thumbs. Jesus is the Lord of history, which is why we don’t need to worry about Google making us stupid.
***
We also need to remember that the eschatological future promised by the prophet Isaiah, and the future that was shaped by industrial revolution, and will continue to be shaped by the digital revolution, are the same future. I don’t believe in an invisible spiritual future, shaped by the Holy Spirit, full of sweetness and light, and an actual historical future shaped by the Devil, Halliburton, the Illuminati, and Murphy’s law. The world, this world, is presently going where Jesus is taking it.
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And so here is my central thesis: technology in all its forms is a type of wealth. The Bible contains no warnings about technology as such, but is crammed with warnings about the bias of wealth. Which way does wealth set us up? The Bible says that the wealthy are tempted to hubris, self-sufficiency, lack of concern for the poor, oppression, and the rest of that sorry lot. Wealth is a good thing, but it brings temptations. A lot of wealth is a lot of a good thing, but it brings with it a lot of temptations.
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A good example of an erudite worrier would be Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death. But for every book like that, given the propensity of Calvinists to worry needlessly, I would recommend that you read three like Johnson’s Everything Bad is Good for You, Postrel’s The Future and Its Enemies, and Ridley’s The Rational Optimist. Why should Calvinists worry? In the collision between the sovereignty of Jesus in history, and the influence of sin in history, sin is the certain loser.
Now some will object that the books I have cited are not by believers. And I will point out in reply that things have gotten really bad when unbelievers can see what Jesus is doing more accurately than believers can. When unbelievers by common grace are reading history right side up, why should we reject that in favor of believers who are reading their Bible upside down?
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The constant and ever present temptation in the Church is the gnostic temptation of locating sin in the stuff, sin in the matter, sin in the wealth, sin in the technology . . . instead of locating it where it belongs, in the heart of man.
Read the rest here.
When Internal Focus Is External Love
Internal of External Focus?
For some churches, making an effort to be more “externally focused” means, “We’ve been too internally focused and we need balance.” This is probably an accurate diagnosis for most churches and, if followed with a balanced correction, a good way forward.
For other churches, making an effort to be more “externally focused” means, “We’ve been too internally focused so now we’re going to stop that and be externally focused.” Again, it’s probably an accurate diagnosis but it’s a bad way to make a correction. One end of the pendulum is not better than the other, no matter how long you’ve been stuck at one end.
It’s not about one or the other – it’s about both.
The Law of Christ
Everyone has burdens and in Galatians 6:2 Paul tells us that by helping each other along we “fulfill the law of Christ”. What is the “Law of Christ”? In John 13:34-35 Jesus says:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for each other!
Love As Evangelism
So when Paul later says that we are to do good to all, especially those in our community of faith he’s not saying, “Don’t worry about the people outside.” He’s saying that loving each other is one way to be a witness to a watching world. Loving each other can be an evangelistic act!
We need to be demonstrating our love for each other both within the community of faith and in more public places where it can be seen by the broader community.
The “How-To” Part
One way to do this is to reduce church-based activities in order to increase members’ involvement in the community outside the church. But this alone will not ensure loving activity.
Asking the following question might help: What activities are people encouraged to attend “at church” that could easily take place somewhere else and be just as – or more – effective?
- Could we do the 30-hr Famine event at the local high school and invite all students there to take part?
- Could the College and Career group meet in a public park to learn and discuss and pray?
- Could the new believer class be taught in town somewhere with an open invitation?
- Could the Cradle Roll team welcome new babies and provide support to single mothers who don’t attend our church?
- Could the Father-Son Camp and Mother-Daughter Camp integrate the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization into it somehow?
- Could we have our hymn sing nights at a nursing home among the house-bound residents rather than require them to come to the church building?
- Could our marriage and parenting seminars be offered in a public space and opened to all?
- Could the baseball teams play in the city league rather than the church league?
What else can you add to the above list?
Tim Keller on “Doing Justice”
Highlights from an interview with Kevin DeYoung, the full text of which can be found here:
What is justice and what does it mean to do justice?
Doing justice means giving people their due. On the one hand that means restraining and punishing wrongdoers. On the other hand it means giving people what we owe them as beings in the image of God… Doing justice, then, includes everything from law enforcement to being generous to the poor.
Any cautions you would give to Christians who are eager to transform the world or make the shalom of the city their church’s mission?
I believe that making disciples and doing justice relate (not exactly) but somewhat in the same way that faith and works relate to one another.
We would say that faith alone is the basis for salvation, and yet true faith will always result in good works. We must not “load in” works as if they are an equal with faith as a salvation-base, but neither can we “detach” works and say that they are optional for a believer.
Similarly, I would say that the first thing I need to tell people when they come to church is “believe in Jesus,” not “do justice.” Why? Because first, believing in Jesus meets a more radical need and second, because if they don’t believe in Jesus they won’t have that gospel-motivation to do justice that I talk about in the book.
So there’s a priority there. On the other hand, for a church to not constantly disciple its people to “do justice” would be utterly wrong, because it is an important part of God’s will. I’m calling for an ‘asymmetrical balance’ here.
It seems to me that some churches try to “load in” doing justice as if it is equally important as believing in Jesus, but others, in fear of falling into the social gospel, do not preach or disciple their people to do justice at all. Both are wrong. A Biblical church should be highly evangelistic yet known for its commitment to the poor of the city.
“I’m not here to change you; I’m here to change WITH you.”
Before I was a pastor I wouldn’t have known where to purchase cocaine. Now, access is just a phone call away.
(For the record, there has been no accessing of this substance on my part.)
What I’ve discovered since becoming a pastor a couple of years ago is that there is more of a drug culture, even in our small towns, than we think. This has led me into some dark places to be with the kinds of people 
that it turns out Jesus was keen on reaching out to.
They’ve brought their friends to meet me too. These meetings – the initial ones and the subsequent ones – never have fairy tale endings. The friends I’ve met, even the ones who have decided to follow Jesus, still struggle with their addictions. They struggle with their addictions, with their ongoing social strife, with the poor start they were given in life, and with their inability to avoid a daily existence involving the worst kinds of drama.
You know, all of the stuff that most of the rest of us don’t need to worry about.
Walking with someone through all of this is frustrating, draining, and difficult… but it’s not boring, I can tell you that, and it is ultimately rewarding.
Sick Physicians
It’s the sick, Jesus tells us that are in need of the physician. Unfortunately too many physicians are happy to gather together weekly for mutual affirmation while ignoring the sick.
Many of these physicians are just as sick in other ways, but it’s really hard to tell that when you’re surrounded by a bunch of other people with the same sickness. More mutual affirmation…
We Need Each Other
The sick and the healthy – we need each other. Those who are sick with addictions need those who are not and those who are sick with pride need those who have none.
I was in a meeting on Saturday night when a thought occurred to me. I was sitting with three very good friends talking about where the ideal place would be to plant a church amongst the homeless, drug addicted, and sex-trade workers.
What’s important at the outset, we all agreed, is to let people know that WE are not there to change THEM. We are there to change WITH them, since WE are not complete in our perfection.
When you meet someone who struggles with addiction, they are changed but you are too. Sometimes, you change more than they do!
Connections
Do you have the right connections to make a call right now and have the ability to purchase cocaine? If not, you probably don’t know enough of the types of people Jesus did.
I can help you find these people if you’re interested. Let me know.
(Of course there are a couple of cautions to throw in here. Don’t do this if you’ve struggled with this type of substance abuse in the past. Don’t walk into an area of weakness and tempt yourself beyond your limits, etc.)
But for most of the rest of you, you really need someone you can look in the face and say:
“I’m not here to change you; I’m here to change WITH you.”
I Need A New Law!
I’ll be honest – I haven’t been a fan of Derek Webb’s work apart from Caedmon’s Call. For some reason though it’s starting to grow on me. Check out the video below… which is serves as a nice visual aid for a sermon on Galatians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr4DBnB7aNQ&feature=player_embedded
A New Law
(Derek Webb)
Don’t teach me about politics and Government
Just tell me who to vote for
Don’t teach me about truth and beauty
Just label my music
Don’t teach me how to live like a free man
Just give me a new law
I don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
So just bring it down from the mountain to me
I want a new law
I want a new law
Gimme that new law
Don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
I prefer a shot of grape juice
Don’t teach me about loving my enemies
Don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
Just give me a new law
I don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
So just bring it down from the mountain to me
I want a new law
I want a new law
Gimme that new law
What’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
For one you can that cannot get you anything
Do not be afraid
Do not be afraid
Do not be afraid
© Derek Webb Music
“Glory To God On High” – A Christmas Song
Here’s a Christmas song I wrote last year around this time (with a bit of help from Madeleine). Feel free to make use of it in any way you see fit.
Listen here:
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Download the MP3 by right-clicking here.
Below are the lyrics. If you’d like to learn to play and sing the song for yourself, click here to download the chord sheet.
Glory To God On High
© Michael Krahn (2009)
Songs in the heavens from angels that shine
Glory to God on high
One tiny baby, the angels proclaim
That man no more may die
Born in a stable with oxen and lamb
Hear the Savior cry
Mary will comfort and Joseph will love
Now sound asleep he lies
REFRAIN
Glory to God on high
Glory to God on high
Kings come to see him, the gifts that they bring
Shine in that great starlight
Herod will seek him but he will not find
No, not on this silent night
Laid in a manger, in humble estate
Already the cross in sight
He would be willing to lay down his life
Forsaking his great might
REFRAIN
Glory to God on high
Glory to God on high
To Mary the favored did Gabriel come
And “Yes!” was her reply
And from that moment the Spirit of God
Dwelt with her inside
REFRAIN
Glory to God on high
Glory to God on high
One tiny baby, the angels proclaim
That man no more may die
Glory to God on high
