Why I Blog

This is a question I’ve been asked on a number of occasions by everyone from my wife to colleagues to prominent pastors in my denomination.  I have several reasons for blogging – some good, some for rather selfish reasons.  So here’s a few of my reasons why I do this:

1. I love to write. Writing has always been something I love doing.  I’ve always dreamed of writing a few books (I actually have a list of about 11 possible topics).  Blogging helps me to sort out my thoughts, bounce ideas around in a public forum, ask questions, wrestle, find answers, vent, help others, and the list goes on.  As a pastor, blogging is one way in which I let people into my inner life, showing that I’m not perfect and often struggle with many of the same things others do.  It may be safe to say that blogging/writing is a way for me to maintain my sanity.
2. Vulnerability. This may be the most controversial reason for my blogging and is often the reason I find myself getting into trouble for what I say.  It’s my opinion that vulnerability is a good thing, while most see it as a fault.  Vulnerability often leads getting screwed over by someone or something or digging myself a hole.  The common mindset is that church leaders should never make themselves as vulnerable as I often do.  Frankly, conventional wisdom on this point doesn’t mean a whole lot to me.  As a church member I want to know that my pastor is just as screwed up as I am (I’m sure that makes me weird).  And so being pastor, I make myself vulnerable for the simple reason that I want people to know that they can come to me, talk to me, and complain to about anything…no limits.
3. Discipleship.  I certainly don’t expect anyone to actually become a saint as a result of reading what I write, but I do hope that readers can go away with something worth grasping on to.  The unfortunate reality is that most followers of Jesus seldom ever open their Bible’s.  Biblical literacy in the western world is in the toilet and that really bothers me.  Over the years, I’ve developed a unwavering love affair with Scripture.  I spend a lot of time thinking about it, meditating upon it, studying it, and looking for ways to applying to life.  Much of my blogging revolves around my study of the Bible.  This is an attempt to show people that Bible’s influence goes well beyond church, cutting right to the heart of everyday life.  I’m also continually amazed that much of Scripture is not so cut-and-dry as Americans have long believed.  For me that just helps to emphasize the awesomeness of what is contained within its pages.  So I study it, become amazed by it, and pass on what I learn to the rest of the world – all in the hope that someone somewhere will gain through what I learn and in turn serve God better and grow in their own commitment to “The Walk.”

Filed under: Random

Out of Egypt (Mt. 2:13-18)

Honestly, this is one of the most difficult passage in the Gospels for me to make sense of.  I know that sounds strange; it’s pretty straightforward after all.  At some point after the Magi leave, Joseph has a dream in which an angel tells him to take the family to Egypt and escape persecution.  But when you get down to the point of asking what this story means for Matthew’s overall narrative, things start to get pretty muddled.  My suspicion at this point is that this story will make more sense once we get through the entire book and are able to look at things in a bigger picture (I’ll have to try and remember to come back to it after all’s said and done and see if I can make better sense out it).

A few not-so-obvious observations:

1. By this point I’m starting to notice a trend: Matthew seldom addresses Mary by name.  In many cases, she’s referred to more benignly within the phrase, “the child and his mother.”  This seems a bit unexpected to me in light of the unconventional step of mentioning four women within Jesus family tree, Mary being one of them.  Perhaps Matthew has suddenly had a change of heart?  Or perhaps a reference to Mary no matter how “hidden” is still a compliment given the time period.  In other words, Matthew is showing that God was not just concerned for the infant Jesus, but also for his mother.
2. Matthew continues his generous use of the OT here, but this time in a way that most scholars today would string him up for.  In other words, Matthew is applying various prophetic texts in a way that doesn’t seem to be completely in line with their original context.  The first quotes Hosea 11:1, a text that is speaking of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.  The second OT quotation is form Jeremiah 31:15, and is a clear reference to the Babylonian captivity.  While Matthew’s choice of words may be comforting to his readers, they seem an odd choice to us today.
3. Furthermore, with these choices in “proof-text,” Matthew is drawing an unmistakeable connection between Jesus’ time in Egypt and Israel’s, as if to cast a typological glow on the Egyptian captivity (that is, it was a fore-telling of sorts and further evidence of Jesus’ identity).

I really struggle with making sense of the proof-texting.  What exactly does it mean?  What is its significance?  What are we to glean through this?

I can safely say that the entire example of the exodus was a symbol of salvation.  Israel was under the oppressive thumb of Pharaoh much as we are with sin.  God sent a deliverer in Moses (like Jesus) and delivered his people (salvation) fulfilling his promise to give them a land of “milk and honey” (heaven in the form of Cana).  But none of this applies to Jesus given that he was the one doing the delivering.  The connection between Jesus being brought up out of Egypt and Israel brought out of Egypt is still weak to me.

Please don’t take this as a suggestion that there isn’t a good reason for these passages or that Matthew messed up, I’m just not sure what it is.  There’s something there – I know there is.  I just don’t know what.  Any thoughts are much appreciated…

Filed under: Random

The Politics of a Follower

The other day I was a fly on the wall for a conversation about politics.  Both people were Christians – one in the generation above me, the other in my generation. The gist of the conversation revolved around the principles used for determining how to vote on various issues or persons.  The older of the two kept making the point that when voting, you vote for “the right person/side.”  The younger kept asking “How do you know who/what is right?  What determines or distinguishes something as right or wrong?”

These questions highlight a major shift that is taking place within culture as a whole, and that shift is making it’s way into the contemporary church.  I also think it’s a key component to the debate between the traditional and emergent churches.  And I think the root of these questions reveals something about worldview and the general mindset of younger followers of Jesus.

By my view, the conversation – which ultimately ended in a draw – is destined to never be resolved.  The reason being that there were two completely different views of politics and worldview at play.  Underlying many of the things discussed were questions such as 1) What is the Christian’s relationship to the state? 2) What is the purpose of voting? 3) What is the role of theocracy and Christendom?

I must admit that I personally was more sympathetic to the younger conversant, and I ultimately believe (or else I wouldn’t hold these views) that the younger’s view is the more Biblical view.  Before I go any further, let me admit that much of what I will say here is largely opinion – albeit an opinion shaped by reading Scripture.

Filed under: Random

Call, Affiliation, and CPE

I’ve had a number of conversations recently regarding my call and affiliation with the Christian Reformed Church.  In my mind, these are two different things.  First there is God’s call upon my life to plant a church in Portland – a call that has been affirmed by a variety of people from a variety of places.  And then, there is my affiliation with the CRC – something I’ve been working toward for a couple years now.  Ideally, the two will be joined and I will plant a church in Portland for the CRC.  But what if something (my connection to the CRC) falls through?  I’m not saying I expect it to, but what if it did?

Here’s where it’s important to make a distinction between the two.  When push comes to shove, which way will you go?

To be born and raised in the CRC is to be born into a long, grand history and tradition.  But what I’ve seen happen since coming to GR is a tendency to elevate some of that to an authoritative level.  We have our systems and procedures and check-lists, and we become suspicious of anything or anyone that may not fit inside these boxes.

Filed under: Random

Updates

I’ve been really bad at this the past few weeks.  That’s what happens when you’re ONE WEEK FROM GRADUATION!!!!!

A few updates:

1. July 5th is move-out day.  We’re leaving Grand Rapids nice and early in the morning, driving backwards through our favorite Starbucks drive-through on our way out of town, and in Chicago by 10.  We’ll be spending two days in Chicago before going on to Minneapolis, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Victoria – wrapping up back in Portland just one-week short of 2 years from when we left for GR.
2. No call yet – but we’re moving back anyway and I’m going to start putting a church together our very first week back in town.  Whenever Home Missions and classis decide to join us, we’ll be ready.
3. Although I graduate next Saturday (WOOT!), I have one more class to take to fulfill all requirements: Reformed World and Life View.  That wraps the last week of June.  By that point, I should know something from Synod about whether or not they’re going to let me get ordained .
4. Speaking of ordination, still haven’t heard from the Candidacy Committee regarding the official word on whether or not I have to do CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) or some other alternative.  I sent them a letter a few weeks back asking for an alternative, and from what I hear, there’s a third option on the table.  I’ll find out next Tuesday.
5. My summer preaching schedule (well, through June):
   • June 7: Lee Street CRC, Wyoming (AM & PM services)
   • June 14: Monroe Community Church, Grand Rapids (AM); East Paris CRC, Kentwood (PM)
   • June 21: Fellowship CRC, Hudsonville (AM), East Paris CRC, Kentwood (PM)
   • June 28: Not preaching – but commissioning service @ Monroe Community Church.
6. I’ll be posting a bunch of sermons over the next few days that I’ve been a little negligent about because of all the end-of-year stuff.  So check back to read up on what I’ve been preaching about…

Filed under: Random