This week, Lynne and I enjoyed a visit from the department chairman of Talbot School of Theology, my alma mater in Southern California. Mick and his wife Rolane Boersma minister to graduates by scheduling annual trips to visit the alum in a given geographic location. Dr. Boersma also taught several of my classes in pastoral ministry when I was working on my M. Div. degree.
One of the things I shared with Dr. Boersma is my gratitude for his role in instilling in us students an intangible "thing" - an immeasurable quality that so many Talbot graduates have that defines how we view all of ministry. It's hard to explain, but it's an entire understanding of the role of the pastor. I'm not saying we're necessarily better pastors than those from other seminaries, but that this immeasurable "thing" makes us better pastors than we would be otherwise.
As we have moved from place to place, I've met a lot of pastors who studied in a variety of seminaries. Many have it, even though they didn't attend Talbot. But many are missing that intangible "thing." Talbot is one of the few schools that, in my experience, consistently produces pastors who have it. More than a few times I've run into a Talbot graduate who I didn't know while in school, but feel a stronger connection within 15 minutes than I have with some pastors I've known for years. It's that intangible "thing."
Dr. Boersma (along with many other faithful men and women who teach at Talbot) is particularly responsible for instilling this intangible "thing" in thousands of graduates over the 25 years he's served so far at Talbot. For that, I am unceasingly grateful to him.
I'm glad for the opportunity to tell him that face-to-face.
Consider talking with those who have invested so much in you and tell them how you appreciate who they are and what they've done.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I Swear
The Ten Commandments includes the "biggies" - murder, lying, adultery, idolatry. And ... not taking the Lord's name in vain. Most commonly, people take this to mean to not use God's name as part of a swear phrase, or even to not make a vow using God's name. Have you ever wondered why that one made the list of "biggies"? It seems so much less crucial than the others.
First, let's challenge the idea of what it means. Is the main idea really "don't use God's name when you swear"? Certainly, that doesn't please God, but is that it? Is it about not making vows using His name? That's also something we know is displeasing to Him. And I think that both of these ideas are part of what is meant. But also consider that at the time the commandment was given, the people of Israel, for the first time, were taking God's name for themselves - a nation called by His name. It would be greatly displeasing to God if they were to do that in vain - to be a nation called by God's name, but lived in a way that was drastically contrary to the character of God.
Second, this raises the question about swearing. If this commandment is not primarily about swearing, what should a Christian do about using swear words? Certainly, there's no evil in a certain sequence of vocal sounds. We cannot be made unclean by forming certain words, can we?
Given that we know some people will be offended by words we use, to then still use those words is to choose to knowingly offend others. It is true that offending others is sometimes necessary for a greater good, but that's rarely the case. To choose offensive words is often showing disrespect to another person, and doing so knowingly.
On the other hand, choosing to avoid commonly offensive words is an easy way to stand out against the crowd, to attach the name of Christ to something better than the common. When we have the freedom to use questionable words, but choose not to, we can distinguish ourselves from the commonness that surrounds us. Without being judgmental, we can easily display something better. Some words are "uglier" than others - we can choose to "beautify" our surroundings, or add to the ugliness.
More importantly, the idea of holiness means that we're shooting for the bull's eye. We should not be content with just being inside the lines, but we should persistently pursue the center of the target. The words we choose can either be those that keep us just inside the lines, or words that drive toward the center. Only Christ can make us holy, but pursuing holiness means pursuing the best and purest - even in the words we choose.
Finally, consider Eph 5:4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. Without the legalism of listing which words are allowed and which are not, clearly the principle here is to adopt habits of language that edify, not words and phrases that are coarse or vulgar. This also includes "substitute" swear words we tend to use (I know I do).
Do we have freedom in Christ? Of course. But this freedom includes the freedom to find ways to reflect the character of Christ. I am by no means a great example of this, but the words we choose are tools we have to either reflect Christ's character more, or to reflect the common and vulgar around us. Let us not use our words in vain.
First, let's challenge the idea of what it means. Is the main idea really "don't use God's name when you swear"? Certainly, that doesn't please God, but is that it? Is it about not making vows using His name? That's also something we know is displeasing to Him. And I think that both of these ideas are part of what is meant. But also consider that at the time the commandment was given, the people of Israel, for the first time, were taking God's name for themselves - a nation called by His name. It would be greatly displeasing to God if they were to do that in vain - to be a nation called by God's name, but lived in a way that was drastically contrary to the character of God.
Second, this raises the question about swearing. If this commandment is not primarily about swearing, what should a Christian do about using swear words? Certainly, there's no evil in a certain sequence of vocal sounds. We cannot be made unclean by forming certain words, can we?
Given that we know some people will be offended by words we use, to then still use those words is to choose to knowingly offend others. It is true that offending others is sometimes necessary for a greater good, but that's rarely the case. To choose offensive words is often showing disrespect to another person, and doing so knowingly.
On the other hand, choosing to avoid commonly offensive words is an easy way to stand out against the crowd, to attach the name of Christ to something better than the common. When we have the freedom to use questionable words, but choose not to, we can distinguish ourselves from the commonness that surrounds us. Without being judgmental, we can easily display something better. Some words are "uglier" than others - we can choose to "beautify" our surroundings, or add to the ugliness.
More importantly, the idea of holiness means that we're shooting for the bull's eye. We should not be content with just being inside the lines, but we should persistently pursue the center of the target. The words we choose can either be those that keep us just inside the lines, or words that drive toward the center. Only Christ can make us holy, but pursuing holiness means pursuing the best and purest - even in the words we choose.
Finally, consider Eph 5:4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. Without the legalism of listing which words are allowed and which are not, clearly the principle here is to adopt habits of language that edify, not words and phrases that are coarse or vulgar. This also includes "substitute" swear words we tend to use (I know I do).
Do we have freedom in Christ? Of course. But this freedom includes the freedom to find ways to reflect the character of Christ. I am by no means a great example of this, but the words we choose are tools we have to either reflect Christ's character more, or to reflect the common and vulgar around us. Let us not use our words in vain.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
In all things, rejoi... you've got to be kidding!
The weekend was one of those rare weekends filled with almost entirely positive events. We had a great time with my folks and my oldest brother visiting, we made great progress on several very important decisions involving my parents, we had a great time in the car driving them to Branson and spending the night playing cards and talking with them. They finished their journey home safely, and we had a fun, casual time away from responsibilities and demands for a few days.
"Almost entirely positive events." When we came back to the car after one last sight-seeing diversion, we found that someone has smashed out one of the car windows and stolen Lynne's purse - right in broad daylight in a parking lot that has frequent traffic. They could have stolen my computer bag, they even could have stolen the entire car, and no one got hurt, but still, we've lost some money and we've inherited a whole lot of hassle. The cost to restore things will be more than the money the thieves netted out of this.
The entire weekend, Lynne had been very careful to put her purse in the trunk. This was the only stop where she thought that hiding it on the floor under a sweater in broad daylight at a busy attraction outside the city would be OK. I certainly thought leaving my computer bag up on the seat in plain view was OK. And it was the last stop of so many stops on this trip. How the thieves found an opening to smash a window in, and then the rest of it out is beyond us. (This also surprised the manager of the facility, who, by the way, was extraordinarily helpful - he even vacuumed out our car for us.) We were gone from the car about 90 minutes, and by no means did our car even look like a cash-rich target.
So, what to make of this? I don't believe in pure accidents. I'm already hesitant to take vacations because they are so much hassle and so expensive (we did OK on both counts, until this event exploded both of them). We had such a positive weekend up until the very last thing. And we almost went to a different attraction than this one. Plus ... I'm already 2 1/2 days behind this week because of the vacation, and now I'm going to lose one or two more days just getting things restored.
God never promises us that we'll understand every event that happens to us, whether "good" or "bad." But He does promise that He has a purpose for every event that happens to us. We sometimes are left with nothing but trust that this is always, always, always true. God never promises that he'll use this somewhere down the road in a way that it'll be obvious that He turned this event into something good, like the person later coming to faith in Christ. But He does promise that He is always, always, always with us in every event, and that He never gets caught by surprise by the things that happen to us.
I want an answer. But I might not get one. Will I still trust that He's always working together things for good for us? Will I praise Him only when events please me? Will I maintain a Christlike attitude when maliciously aggravated for no good reason? Will I try to make myself feel better with some lame platitude, or will I allow God's purpose to be a mystery for as long as He wants?
And I say all of this knowing full well that there are some in our own church family who persistently suffer worse than this one setback, let alone the living conditions of our orphans in Kenya.
I long for heaven, where this stuff will never bother us again. But God has us here now on purpose. I might not always know what the purpose is, but I know that there is one. And I know it's a good one.
"Almost entirely positive events." When we came back to the car after one last sight-seeing diversion, we found that someone has smashed out one of the car windows and stolen Lynne's purse - right in broad daylight in a parking lot that has frequent traffic. They could have stolen my computer bag, they even could have stolen the entire car, and no one got hurt, but still, we've lost some money and we've inherited a whole lot of hassle. The cost to restore things will be more than the money the thieves netted out of this.
The entire weekend, Lynne had been very careful to put her purse in the trunk. This was the only stop where she thought that hiding it on the floor under a sweater in broad daylight at a busy attraction outside the city would be OK. I certainly thought leaving my computer bag up on the seat in plain view was OK. And it was the last stop of so many stops on this trip. How the thieves found an opening to smash a window in, and then the rest of it out is beyond us. (This also surprised the manager of the facility, who, by the way, was extraordinarily helpful - he even vacuumed out our car for us.) We were gone from the car about 90 minutes, and by no means did our car even look like a cash-rich target.
So, what to make of this? I don't believe in pure accidents. I'm already hesitant to take vacations because they are so much hassle and so expensive (we did OK on both counts, until this event exploded both of them). We had such a positive weekend up until the very last thing. And we almost went to a different attraction than this one. Plus ... I'm already 2 1/2 days behind this week because of the vacation, and now I'm going to lose one or two more days just getting things restored.
God never promises us that we'll understand every event that happens to us, whether "good" or "bad." But He does promise that He has a purpose for every event that happens to us. We sometimes are left with nothing but trust that this is always, always, always true. God never promises that he'll use this somewhere down the road in a way that it'll be obvious that He turned this event into something good, like the person later coming to faith in Christ. But He does promise that He is always, always, always with us in every event, and that He never gets caught by surprise by the things that happen to us.
I want an answer. But I might not get one. Will I still trust that He's always working together things for good for us? Will I praise Him only when events please me? Will I maintain a Christlike attitude when maliciously aggravated for no good reason? Will I try to make myself feel better with some lame platitude, or will I allow God's purpose to be a mystery for as long as He wants?
And I say all of this knowing full well that there are some in our own church family who persistently suffer worse than this one setback, let alone the living conditions of our orphans in Kenya.
I long for heaven, where this stuff will never bother us again. But God has us here now on purpose. I might not always know what the purpose is, but I know that there is one. And I know it's a good one.
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