In the story of Abraham being called to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22, there are three different dialogues that happen. First there is Abraham's response to God in verses 1-3. Isolating these verses, Abraham has to deal with the thought that God has called him to do something that directly conflicts with His promise to make Abraham's kin a nation. And yet Abraham readily obeys. Here we see Abraham believes that God has a right to mess with His promises and expects obedience even if we don't understand what He is doing.
The second dialogue is with Isaasc in which Isaac asks where the sacrificial lamb was. We see Abraham give a profound answer: "God will provide". Abraham believes in the provision of God not the in the blessing of God. He is not shaken by the fact that Isaac is threatened because His faith is the One who gave him Isaac. We learn from Abraham that our faith should be in God, not in God's blessing. An important distinction in the life of a believer.
The last interaction Abraham has is with God again. God tells Abraham not to kill Isaac. And tells Abraham "now I know that you fear me...". When Abraham looked up there was a ram in a bush that he used for a sacrifice. Now, with the whole story before us, we see that God asking Abraham produced a deeper knowledge of God's providence. Abraham understood in a real way that not only CAN God provide but that He will provide.
But hear is something special.
God gave Abraham a son. Miraculously. Maybe the only greater thing than having a son born to him would be to have his son given to him back from the dead which is what this experience must have felt like. But there is another thing that happened. God restates His original promise. And it is almost a reassurance. It is a reassurance that God's promise will not even be broken by him. And with this experience he has also given Abraham new hands with which to receive this gift. Stronger hands. More sure hands.
And all of this is God's provision. His providence always gives us more than we thought we should have. As Christians, we are those who are supposed to be the salt of the world. World transformers. The aches of the world need those who, like Abraham, are not shaken by God's "messing with" our lives. The world needs us to let God shake us up because the world needs a people who will be a blessing to it.
God's promise to Abraham is our promise. And if we would believe like Abraham, the world will be blessed.
Monday, September 12, 2016
No Stranger to Death
It is a strange thing to have relationship with death. I hear the potential of death outside my window sometimes. It sounds like bullets. I hear the potential of death in the chants of people screaming for my rights. Black Lives Matter. I feel the potential of death every time one of my brothers gets deployed on active military duty. Freedom feels like death. So in my life, death has always been part of the general population. The following poem is a reflection on death.
With the same sands
No Serif
And we'd die there, where no waves break
Just the sand sanks
And we fall slow like credits-no letters
No one would ever see our tragic end
So instead-we float over sharks because we’ve seen that fin
Or better yet that FIN
We fly with friends
Who could be fiends
But they are of the same type so they are fam’
No stranger to Death
We are the type that fly because walking takes us to the same landsWith the same sands
No Serif
And we'd die there, where no waves break
Just the sand sanks
And we fall slow like credits-no letters
No one would ever see our tragic end
So instead-we float over sharks because we’ve seen that fin
Or better yet that FIN
We fly with friends
Who could be fiends
But they are of the same type so they are fam’
And we are heir-real
Authentic Legacy.
Connected like the stars
So we are mars with more son
And rougher terrain to rove on
Our legacy allows our children’s children’s future generations to roll on Excuse me….
I meant fly on.
And we are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
And Truth be Told
We are eternity so death is a slave to us
Because:
We pray like hands pressed-together-no forearms,
We think deep like chin on hand but shoulders with no world on
Because we holding up the galaxy as it leans towards just-us.
They tried to break our backs to build wealth but
Our backs were built to carry the creativity of our creator so we created a people so strong not even racism could crush us
Not even bullets could hush us
And that last line references the whole time we’ve been here
Authentic Legacy.
Connected like the stars
So we are mars with more son
And rougher terrain to rove on
Our legacy allows our children’s children’s future generations to roll on Excuse me….
I meant fly on.
And we are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
And Truth be Told
We are eternity so death is a slave to us
Because:
We pray like hands pressed-together-no forearms,
We think deep like chin on hand but shoulders with no world on
Because we holding up the galaxy as it leans towards just-us.
They tried to break our backs to build wealth but
Our backs were built to carry the creativity of our creator so we created a people so strong not even racism could crush us
Not even bullets could hush us
And that last line references the whole time we’ve been here
We will build here
Something like back nines
Where we walk towards green - no miles
Just pastures
Just pastor your hope when it seems to skip masses
Be something like a prayer rug
Support the weight of desperation and faces downcast when
they look to something greater than the gates keepin’ em’ trapp-ed
That’s tepid in trap
And we've grown far too used to that.
So let’s shawshank a map until we free men
And free us
And we are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
And Truth be Told
We are eternal-so dying is more like sleep to us.
More like unconscious weeping that does Not complete our pain
But instead our joy, our laughter
Our heavenly ever after
So here in this land
We see the fight against our flight but we bring bags
No carry-on
Just the type that zip black
For that carrion
After overcoming we carry on
Even if it means we carry our young in caskets
Rest in peace George Stinney
You were more a man than those who accused, convicted and electrified you
You sat on the Bible because it was God that held you up
May your spirit wake up, inspire and inject the youth
With a passion that only God gives- To cups
Waiting to be filled like young kids at the supper table.
And we are no strangers to death
Because truth be told
It has been next door for so long,
We’ve considered selling house and moving out to find other neighbors
But death is pedophile and stalks the child with unwanted touches
So we’ve found our own law enforcement:
It travels underground with shotgun in hand,
It flies north like hummingbird attracted to star,
It dies on cross with body beat till resembling the rot of man,
And it rises to rebuild our crumbling world-like taking us back to the start.
And if you tracked with that, it’s a cold play.
Like Coltrane in winter
Like spade played on ace
Like Ancient of Sondown to Sonup
Bringing joy to a new day
And truth be told
TRUTH BE TOLD!
Forget death and world
We were meant to fly with Forever anyway!
Where we walk towards green - no miles
Just pastures
Just pastor your hope when it seems to skip masses
Be something like a prayer rug
Support the weight of desperation and faces downcast when
they look to something greater than the gates keepin’ em’ trapp-ed
That’s tepid in trap
And we've grown far too used to that.
So let’s shawshank a map until we free men
And free us
And we are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
We are no strangers to death
And Truth be Told
We are eternal-so dying is more like sleep to us.
More like unconscious weeping that does Not complete our pain
But instead our joy, our laughter
Our heavenly ever after
So here in this land
We see the fight against our flight but we bring bags
No carry-on
Just the type that zip black
For that carrion
After overcoming we carry on
Even if it means we carry our young in caskets
Rest in peace George Stinney
You were more a man than those who accused, convicted and electrified you
You sat on the Bible because it was God that held you up
May your spirit wake up, inspire and inject the youth
With a passion that only God gives- To cups
Waiting to be filled like young kids at the supper table.
And we are no strangers to death
Because truth be told
It has been next door for so long,
We’ve considered selling house and moving out to find other neighbors
But death is pedophile and stalks the child with unwanted touches
So we’ve found our own law enforcement:
It travels underground with shotgun in hand,
It flies north like hummingbird attracted to star,
It dies on cross with body beat till resembling the rot of man,
And it rises to rebuild our crumbling world-like taking us back to the start.
And if you tracked with that, it’s a cold play.
Like Coltrane in winter
Like spade played on ace
Like Ancient of Sondown to Sonup
Bringing joy to a new day
And truth be told
TRUTH BE TOLD!
Forget death and world
We were meant to fly with Forever anyway!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
After The Spiritual High: VOL Happened! Now What?
After every conference I experienced as a college student, I felt like I was the strongest I'd been in months. My faith was encouraged, my emotions were soaring and I knew I had heard God speak something deeply to me. Who wouldn't be walking on clouds and water after an experience like this. This is commonly called a spiritual high and it is sort of like a drug. This drug is not only common to conferences. Spiritual highs happen in all sorts of Churches nation wide every Sunday. The problem is that we can become addicted to getting High. This short burst of spiritual elevation can become an idol. After attending several Christian conferences as a student I realized my faith had to become more than a High. And as I grew in my knowledge of scripture I realized a deep truth. When the followers of God had a significant experience with Him, they did not live the same. After hearing God through a burning bush, Moses went on to lay down his life(with many failures) for the Israelites. When Gideon hears God he leads the people of Israel out of oppression. When Paul experiences Jesus, He goes from persecuting Jesus-followers to suffering with and for them. I believe when we experience spiritual highs we should seek out the place of greatest service and sacrifice. Our attitudes should immediately be like that of Jesus "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant."
So the question is "what do we now?" How do we take what we received at the Voice of Legacy conference back to our contexts and take on the nature of a servant. I want to speak to 3 groups of people as we consider what it looks like to do this. These groups are those in a traditional church, InterVarsity students, and those who consider themselves part of the Underground community.
Turning Up the VOL at Church: VOL and Traditional Church
If you hadn't noticed, the VOL team is made up of young black leaders who could not do what God was calling them to do in a traditional church. By traditional I am referring to Church organized in such a way that the central activities happen in a building and with one central leader. The black leaders I interact with see the pain of the world around them and scheme and dream about how to set their pews in the darkest places of our city. We have Church in Strip club dressing rooms where women of God share Jesus with women who may be seen as the furthest away from God. We bring Jesus to at risk youth, not waiting for them to come inside the Church but meeting them where they are, showing them that Jesus spent most of his time on the street and it is where some of his most powerful miracles occurred. We desire a discipleship that has it's lessons in everyday life and the suffering therein.
We are those who did not find the necessary support from the traditional expression of church. But here is the catch. We love the Church, even in its traditional expression. We know that it holds power. In my opinion much of that power has become latent. This is why we invited many traditional churches and church leaders to the conference. Because we had all encountered pastors and church leaders who expressed a yearning to see young black leaders empowered to serve and lead. Though those who showed up from traditional settings were few, we want to give you a few next steps.
The campus is one of the most critical places of need and discipleship for God's global church. The leaders of tomorrow are formed there. If you are a college student, your life as a black leader is vital to God's work in the world. In a place where identity and purpose is being developed, black students need to see what a life totally devoted to Jesus looks like. They need to see how following Jesus has everything to do with their identity as a black student. They need to have the good news of Jesus delivered to them from black hands. Here are a few suggestions in doing this.
So the question is "what do we now?" How do we take what we received at the Voice of Legacy conference back to our contexts and take on the nature of a servant. I want to speak to 3 groups of people as we consider what it looks like to do this. These groups are those in a traditional church, InterVarsity students, and those who consider themselves part of the Underground community.
Turning Up the VOL at Church: VOL and Traditional Church
If you hadn't noticed, the VOL team is made up of young black leaders who could not do what God was calling them to do in a traditional church. By traditional I am referring to Church organized in such a way that the central activities happen in a building and with one central leader. The black leaders I interact with see the pain of the world around them and scheme and dream about how to set their pews in the darkest places of our city. We have Church in Strip club dressing rooms where women of God share Jesus with women who may be seen as the furthest away from God. We bring Jesus to at risk youth, not waiting for them to come inside the Church but meeting them where they are, showing them that Jesus spent most of his time on the street and it is where some of his most powerful miracles occurred. We desire a discipleship that has it's lessons in everyday life and the suffering therein.
We are those who did not find the necessary support from the traditional expression of church. But here is the catch. We love the Church, even in its traditional expression. We know that it holds power. In my opinion much of that power has become latent. This is why we invited many traditional churches and church leaders to the conference. Because we had all encountered pastors and church leaders who expressed a yearning to see young black leaders empowered to serve and lead. Though those who showed up from traditional settings were few, we want to give you a few next steps.
- Pray and Process with Jesus. It was not the conference that changed your life. It was Jesus' interactions with you. This came through worship, the speaker, fellowship with other Jesus-followers, prayer and your open heart. We attribute all of this to God's voice and his want to speak to you. Be sure to take some time to be with him if you haven't already.
- Take Small Risks. Plan to take one small risk for Jesus. This could be sharing your faith with a stranger, making a meal for someone and spending an evening with them, or even pursuing reconciliation in that one relationship in your life that is the most broken. These small steps of faith are important as you consider the bigger picture that God has for your life.
- Share what God is doing in your life and Consider your calling. God said a lot during the conference. As you spend time with him, consider what he might be calling you to lay down your life for. Think about all the darkness in the world: hunger, human trafficking, sex slavery, homelessness, reading deficits, fatherlessness, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and imprisonment to name a few. Consider what darkness God may be calling you to fight against and share this with a trusted elder in your church and begin dreaming about what it might look like to give your life to this calling in your Church context.
The campus is one of the most critical places of need and discipleship for God's global church. The leaders of tomorrow are formed there. If you are a college student, your life as a black leader is vital to God's work in the world. In a place where identity and purpose is being developed, black students need to see what a life totally devoted to Jesus looks like. They need to see how following Jesus has everything to do with their identity as a black student. They need to have the good news of Jesus delivered to them from black hands. Here are a few suggestions in doing this.
- Pray and Process with Jesus. It was not the conference that changed your life. It was Jesus' interactions with you. Keep interacting with Him. Discipline on campus tends to revolve around academics and getting ahead. Deep, Jesus-centered lives require discipline around the reading of God's word, prayer and obedience to God's voice. Set some regular time to be with Jesus. Especially dedicate some time to be with Jesus to continue your conversation with him that started at VOL.
- Share With Your Staff Worker. Share what God did in your heart with your InterVarsity staff worker. You staff worker will be one of your best allies and someone who can keep you accountable as you grow in knowing and embracing your ethnic identity and in your journey of learning what it means to join the legacy of the black voice God has called us to.
- Enter into Your MultiEthnic Settings with Grace. There may be some dissonance that you feel as you enter into your multiethnic gatherings. This is normal and not a bad thing. It is actually a reminder of what we sacrifice in order to achieve "heaven on earth" on our campuses. Be fully who you are in your multiethnic settings and know that there others around the state entering the awkwardness that comes with "hard identification". I believe our communities will be better as we fight assimilation in our own hearts and pursue authenticity.
- Step Up in Leadership. With humility and a learning posture, pursue leadership in your InterVarsity community. Being in InterVarsity leadership does three key things that are vital to your Christian walk: It provides a community of like-minded people who want to be part of God's mission on campus, it provides the necessary challenge and accountability we all need in growing our relationship with Jesus, and it provides the training, mentoring and growth opportunities you need to foster a missional life. Great leaders have the humility to submit to God, community and God's mission in order to become like Jesus.
Turning up the VOL at the Underground: The Need for Young Black Missionaries
I am a firm believer that the soul of America was saved by the suffering Black Church. As I consider the Black church among the Underground community I am desperate to see a community of Black missionaries empowered and fully living in the call that God has on their lives. From VOL, I believe there are at least 3 or 4 new ministries that are supposed to be birthed, led by black leaders(not necessarily reaching only black people). The Underground is fertile soil for Black Leaders. There are always difficulties in being a black leader but consider this: the legacy of raising our voices and leading has always carried suffering with it and suffering only caused us to shout louder. What would it look like for you to step up. Here are a few suggestions.
- Refer to number 1 and 3 of the above section for college students. Remix it to fit our UG context.
- Seriously Consider and Pursue Your Calling. There is a leadership path in the Underground. It involves the Calling Lab, the Leadership Training Course, Elders in Training and many other trainings. Following your calling involves the possibility that it may take a few years of struggle and training before you start anything. The pursuit of your calling is just as important as living it out and I am not naive to what this means. It means that you will have to consider a more difficult life as you turn away from the "American dream" type of life that says consider yourself first and you turn to the Jesus-like life that says consider God's call first. In doing this you will be joining a growing group of black leaders who "consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." IMMEDIATELY talk to the Underground elder closest to you about the next steps in pursuing your calling.
During the VOL Conference, the UG elders gathered with a number of pastors and ministry leaders. Pastor Darryl Williamson gave us a word of encouragement that I believe was for any black leader who is considering fighting against the darkness that God calls them to fight. It is this:
We need to pursue pouring ourselves into [others], invest time. You will go to bed later, you will get up earlier. The cost of that [may] mean discipleship at 630[am]. It may shorten your life. But those are the things that it means.
The response to VOL is to lay down our lives MORE. Though we all may have various difficulties that come with laying down our lives, "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
We need to pursue pouring ourselves into [others], invest time. You will go to bed later, you will get up earlier. The cost of that [may] mean discipleship at 630[am]. It may shorten your life. But those are the things that it means.
The response to VOL is to lay down our lives MORE. Though we all may have various difficulties that come with laying down our lives, "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Why A Black Conference? Is it genius or foolishness...
On October 24th there will be a conference called the Voice of Legacy Conference for black people only. This means that only black people are invited(in case that wasn't clear). When me and a handful of other black leaders decided to put this on this conference I INSTANTLY knew the questions that would come up.
My short response to the questions is:
- Is this segregation?
- Is this reverse racism?
- Isn't this unbiblical?
- There can't be anything good in this, can there?
My short response to the questions is:
- Is this segregation? No, I can't nor will I ever force non-black people to not attend anything that is black specific. I only ask that you give us the space to do so.
- Is this reverse racism? Most definitely not. Borrowing from Beverly Tatum, racism is "a system of advantage based on race" where privelege plus power combines to enforce a racist system or propagate a racist ideology. To be clear, we don't have the power to do that nor would we ever do this.
- Isn't this unbiblical? Actually no. If anything the Bible leads us to investigate the wisdom in temporary ethnic specific gatherings. Jesus spent around three years closely teaching only jewish disciples. This led to a multiethnic movement. We have to leverage the wisdom in this.
- There can't be anything good in this, can there? The legacy of ethnic specific gatherings in InterVarsity and the Underground has led to deep relationships that cross ethnic barriers. In my experience this has led to a lot of good.
So what is the genius in having ethnic specific gatherings? Among many, there are three realities that ethnic specific gatherings give us access to.
The first is communal humility. Allowing ethnic specific gatherings(when they are requested, not forced) is a powerful way for a multiethnic community to say that they acknowledge that there are differences and needs that can't be addressed or met for every ethnicity represented. It is an act of humility to recognize and acknowledge that you probably won't achieve Revelation 5 type worship any time soon but that you can try to get close. Now it is in this "trying to get close" that humility needs to rule the day. Any multiethnic community has to confess that as they "try" it is difficult. This can be tiresome and tough for minority cultures in a multiethnic environment. There is still so much of their culture not seen or empowered. And it isn't that it is disempowered but rather that it is not seen. Omitted. This is hard to deal with. Could you imagine how you would feel if every song played during worship had bagpipes as the lead instrument and the people in the crowd never talked to one another. How weird would that feel. This is sorta how it feels for me in a multiethnic setting. Just different. Worship is a far cry from my black MB church and I am used to call-and-response type preaching where we talk back to the preacher as he goes. Communal humility is acknowledging this reality and, in response to it, allowing ethnic specific gatherings to restore the value of every culture.
The second reality that ethnic specific gatherings give us access to is communal empowerment. One of the best ways to say I believe in you, I trust you and I need you to help us navigate multiethnicity is ethnic specific gatherings. To make this clear I will use my ethnicity as an example. There are so many non-black opinions that I've heard through out my life that assume they have the best solution for how I, as a black man, should navigate a majority white environment. This is like me telling my pregnant wife(just an example, Steph isn't pregnant), I know exactly what you are going through so let me give you the best tips. Instead, I should probably refer her to other women who have been pregnant. When we allow ethnic specific gatherings, we escape the trap of egocentrism that disempowers and embrace a learning posture that empowers.
The last reality that materializes when we allow ethnic specific gatherings is a strong multiethnic movement. I make this statement strictly from experience. If there is one thing that was a constant in my journey with my current InterVarsity/Underground community, it is ethnic specific gatherings. Both informal and formal. We would meet informally to talk about what has been hard in pursuing true reconciliation and encourage one another to keep going. We would find peace in people of our ethnicity who understood us deeply and from this place push each other back into our cross cultural relationships. We would gather formally to check on each other and enjoy being in a space where we could just be who we were without questions or eyebrows being raised. We always knew this atmosphere was temporary and it always sent us back into our multiethnic communities stronger and grateful for the ethnic specific space. These gatherings helped us be fully who we are and I believe it's because, in these gatherings, we are reminded that God made us beautiful and strong. We see it in those who look like us and carry the same values and heritage. Everything that is omitted in our multiethnic gatherings is brought to light and constantly repeated by God.
And it is in hearing God that we find the hope of Revelation 5 reborn. Why a black conference? Because we know God wants to lead us deeper into his multiethinic church...and though it seems counterintuitive, in ethnic specific gatherings, this happens. And that is God's genius.
And it is in hearing God that we find the hope of Revelation 5 reborn. Why a black conference? Because we know God wants to lead us deeper into his multiethinic church...and though it seems counterintuitive, in ethnic specific gatherings, this happens. And that is God's genius.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Honor Where God Says it is Due
When Kobe Bryant came into the National Basketball Association out of high school, he had scored an 1100 on his SAT's, he spoke two languages fluently (after a chunk of his childhood was spent in Europe due to his father's professional basketball career), he had taken famous singer Brandy to his prom and by the time he was 19 he was playing in the NBA All Star game where he was matched up with arguably the best player in history, Michael Jordan. This can go to your head. And it did. When Phil Jackson, a coach who had coached Michael Jordan and was now coaching Kobe, wanted to help Kobe mature his basketball skills in a healthy way. Bryant had been in the NBA for 3 years and Jordan was retiring after a long and illustrious(some would say legendary) career. Jackson thought sitting Kobe down with Jordan would be a great idea. Here is how the meeting started:
"...Jackson said that he asked Michael Jordan to talk to Kobe Bryant shortly after Jordan's second retirement in 1999. One might expect a young player to be a bit star-struck when meeting a legend like Jordan, but this is Kobe Bryant we're talking about here. Jackson said the first thing that Kobe said to MJ upon meeting him was ''I could kick your ass one-on-one.'' " [ESPN]
Kobe's comment was most certainly said in jest but the fact that He thought it ok to approach Jordan in this way says something about his view of reality. Even though this was one of the first times He was meeting the living basketball legend in this way, he thought his status was worthy of being able to joke with Jordan. We who grew up in the "Jordan era" know that Kobe should have had a more humble posture.
This is not a personal attack on Kobe. There is no scandal that came of this story but this story has everything to do with how we view honor. After doing an exercise with my staff team on defining honor, we came up with the following list.
"...Jackson said that he asked Michael Jordan to talk to Kobe Bryant shortly after Jordan's second retirement in 1999. One might expect a young player to be a bit star-struck when meeting a legend like Jordan, but this is Kobe Bryant we're talking about here. Jackson said the first thing that Kobe said to MJ upon meeting him was ''I could kick your ass one-on-one.'' " [ESPN]
Kobe's comment was most certainly said in jest but the fact that He thought it ok to approach Jordan in this way says something about his view of reality. Even though this was one of the first times He was meeting the living basketball legend in this way, he thought his status was worthy of being able to joke with Jordan. We who grew up in the "Jordan era" know that Kobe should have had a more humble posture.
This is not a personal attack on Kobe. There is no scandal that came of this story but this story has everything to do with how we view honor. After doing an exercise with my staff team on defining honor, we came up with the following list.
When we did a deep introspection of our hearts we realized that our generation that is largely enthusiastic about independence and proving ourselves(this may be more related to our age), honor can be fleeting. But honor is a chief character trait that we need in order to fully engage the calling of God on our lives. Why? Because there are those who lead us who are God's prophet's in our lives, those who have seen more of God's grace and power simply because they have been around longer. But also, because their lives show they are leaders who God has gifted us with and who are worthy of being admired. We realized that our want to be honored can sometimes cause us to kill the leaders in our lives. Not physically but, even worse, in our hearts. And what is in the heart can always be noticed on the surface even with the best cover job.
But where does honor come from? Is it earned? Are we called to honor everyone? I like Paul's words in Ephesians 5:21-6:9. He tells wives to submit to their husbands, children to honor their parents, slaves to honor their masters("obey with respect"). Likewise, husbands are told to love their wives like Christ loved the Chruch, parents are told not to irritate their children, and masters are told to treat their slaves with respect and fear(some inductive study in needed to see this). There is honor through out this passage and I believe Paul is very intentional in making sure these aren't "if then" statements. Honor is not earned neither is it conditional upon recieving it. In the kingdom, it comes from Jesus. Paul says to submit(honor) to each other out of reverence for Christ and even ends these verses by saying to masters that "you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven..." Honor ultimately comes from an honoring of God. Even though we could respect those who have come before us by their accomplishments alone(many of those I honor most have lived lives that merit more respect than I can give), we choose to see deeper than that. We choose to recognize that God has placed a special authority in them that should be honored. We choose to recognize our own short comings and that we can never measure up to the standards our hearts put on those we view as leaders in our lives. We recognize that we need prophets who have seen more of God knowing that this does not equate to our relationship with God being worth less. We choose to get out of our heads and out of God's way and honor those who challenge us, push us, teach us, who, with love, help us grow out of shame into humility, out of hurt into toughness, and out of immaturity into unshakeable passion.
In the age of the "selfie" we want to be those who constantly take pictures of the sky because there is a God beyond who deserves our full attention. Maybe my generation's greatest achievement will be to get out of the picture so that our heads won't be in the center but rather God or those who God has placed in our lives. We will be those who make frames for these pictures and who hang them in the most honorable place in our hearts. In the name of Jesus.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
The First being Last Doesn't Mean You Should Try to Be Last
I remember playing dodgeball in middle school and never being really great because I had the muscle strength of a 3rd grader. I was agile but not a threat which made me get really good at avoiding lots of fast approaching balls at once. This tactic often caused me to get out quickly. Getting out first in dodgeball was like coming in last for a race. Something I would say to myself is that the "last will be first and the first will be last".
As I was reading Matthew's account of Jesus' teaching about the first being last I had a total paradigm shift. Maybe I haven't been reading the passage close enough but I realized that when Jesus says "the last will be first, and the first last" it is a statement of equality. If you grew up like me you always interpretted the scripture as an instruction to be ok with being the last one to get food, or the last one to get a gift. My interpretation of this saying was infused with years of hearing it out of context and so I thought I needed to be ok with finishing last which a lot of times is just an excuse to not strive as hard. Shame on me(can I get a witness or at least someone who is with me). And how was this statement logical? If the last will be first what happens when the last gets to the first position. According to the saying the "first will be last" so there is this tragic cycle of never being able to be first and so it seems first should be avoided.
When Jesus wants to explain what this first last business means he tells a parable about a master of a house who went out early to hire people to work for his vineyard for him. Going through the market place he hired people who needed work and agreed to pay them a days wage. The problem was that this master payed everyone the same wage no matter when He hired them. So at the end of the day, the laborers who worked the whole day were upset that they received the same pay as those who had only worked an hour. The workers who had worked all day approached the master angrily saying "you have made them equal to us ". The reply of the master uncovers a great truth about God's Kingdom that is true today. The master replies:
Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” -Matthew 20
The first will be last is not a trading of positions but a promise of God that no matter when you choose to follow Him and do the everlasting work of laboring in His kingdom, he will give you just as much as he does those who you see as "Jesus Superstars". The first will be last means that the pew is just as sacred as the pulpit, the children's minister is just as critical as the executive pastor, the student leader is just as valued as the campus minister and the faithful neighbor just as important as the civil rights icon. In God's kingdom he rewards us for our faithfulness no matter how long we've been laboring. This is good news for us who have chosen to give our lives as missionaries. And I am talking about the everyday missionaries who have chosen to be intentional at their jobs, in school, in their homes and in their neighborhoods. This is good news for those who are thinking about following the call of Jesus to start something that God has called them to. You may feel that you are "last" in someways. Know that you are first in an eternal way.
As I was reading Matthew's account of Jesus' teaching about the first being last I had a total paradigm shift. Maybe I haven't been reading the passage close enough but I realized that when Jesus says "the last will be first, and the first last" it is a statement of equality. If you grew up like me you always interpretted the scripture as an instruction to be ok with being the last one to get food, or the last one to get a gift. My interpretation of this saying was infused with years of hearing it out of context and so I thought I needed to be ok with finishing last which a lot of times is just an excuse to not strive as hard. Shame on me(can I get a witness or at least someone who is with me). And how was this statement logical? If the last will be first what happens when the last gets to the first position. According to the saying the "first will be last" so there is this tragic cycle of never being able to be first and so it seems first should be avoided.
When Jesus wants to explain what this first last business means he tells a parable about a master of a house who went out early to hire people to work for his vineyard for him. Going through the market place he hired people who needed work and agreed to pay them a days wage. The problem was that this master payed everyone the same wage no matter when He hired them. So at the end of the day, the laborers who worked the whole day were upset that they received the same pay as those who had only worked an hour. The workers who had worked all day approached the master angrily saying "you have made them equal to us ". The reply of the master uncovers a great truth about God's Kingdom that is true today. The master replies:
Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” -Matthew 20
The first will be last is not a trading of positions but a promise of God that no matter when you choose to follow Him and do the everlasting work of laboring in His kingdom, he will give you just as much as he does those who you see as "Jesus Superstars". The first will be last means that the pew is just as sacred as the pulpit, the children's minister is just as critical as the executive pastor, the student leader is just as valued as the campus minister and the faithful neighbor just as important as the civil rights icon. In God's kingdom he rewards us for our faithfulness no matter how long we've been laboring. This is good news for us who have chosen to give our lives as missionaries. And I am talking about the everyday missionaries who have chosen to be intentional at their jobs, in school, in their homes and in their neighborhoods. This is good news for those who are thinking about following the call of Jesus to start something that God has called them to. You may feel that you are "last" in someways. Know that you are first in an eternal way.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Denial, Submission, and the Pursuasion
In order to come after Jesus we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross DAILY and follow him. Not my words. Those are Jesus' words as told by Luke. This scripture is one of the most difficult scriptures I've read. On first read it seems to be the worst recruitment I've ever seen. When I think of asking someone to be like me, I wouldn't think to ask them to forget who they are. But this is Jesus' first request. His second request seems to be an even crazier. Take up a cross. Take up a crude torture device and live with it on your back. Live as if you are willing to die for the one you are walking after at a moments notice.
This is such a pressurized moment. In reading this Jesus asked his disciples to forget themselves and be willing to suffer and die for the one who told them to forget. This is Jesus' persuasion.
And it is this persuasion that has caused a history of disciples to deny themselves and be willing to die for Him. What?
This is a reality that we almost have no way to connect to. It is partially because if we began to let our parents, pastors, friends, mentors, and family know that we are willing to die for God's call on our life to the campus, office, classroom or whatever place we feel called, we would possibly be admitted. To die for Jesus is not the "in" thing anymore. But reality is that, among Christians, it never really was the in thing. It was what came with carrying a cross. To the early church Peter wrote:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
To this community enduring persecution, this would have been hard words to live out. But this is not the full view of Paul's heart. In Acts 4, Peter and John are advised by the rulers, elders and scribes to discontinue teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them,“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
In this case Peter himself denies the religious institution and this causes the rulers, elders, and scribes to look for a way to punish them(even though they couldn't). But there are those who are our ancient predecessors, our spiritual heroes and family, who died because of these kinds of stances. They were persecuted not because they were looking for it, but because they carried a cross on their backs and there were those willing to kill them for it. This is complete self denial; a willingness to take on the burdens, abuse, misunderstanding and suffering that come not because of who they have denied themselves in order to gain Jesus. We can imitate this, whether here in America or in a hostile country.
And if we do, we enter into space where walking on water and calming storms are part of the deal. It is in this space, where we totally deny our hopes, dreams, aspirations and loves, and allow God to give us his hopes, dreams, aspirations and love for us. And when he does this, we find that we were made to serve. We were made to be fully submitted to the needs of others. We find that who we were made to be is eternally intertwined with a historic community of believers and a special group of people Jesus calls us to serve. It is here that we find ourselves and we don't even care as much about finding ourselves as we do for those we are called to. This is the persuasion of Jesus. Joy in knowing who you are while being overwhelmed by how He uses your "broken self" to love those around you. And this can only be found in Him. And when we submit to that truth, we begin to understand that Jesus was right when he said that "there are some who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God" and, while on this earth, we enter this kingdom with a crosses on our back.
This is such a pressurized moment. In reading this Jesus asked his disciples to forget themselves and be willing to suffer and die for the one who told them to forget. This is Jesus' persuasion.
And it is this persuasion that has caused a history of disciples to deny themselves and be willing to die for Him. What?
This is a reality that we almost have no way to connect to. It is partially because if we began to let our parents, pastors, friends, mentors, and family know that we are willing to die for God's call on our life to the campus, office, classroom or whatever place we feel called, we would possibly be admitted. To die for Jesus is not the "in" thing anymore. But reality is that, among Christians, it never really was the in thing. It was what came with carrying a cross. To the early church Peter wrote:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
To this community enduring persecution, this would have been hard words to live out. But this is not the full view of Paul's heart. In Acts 4, Peter and John are advised by the rulers, elders and scribes to discontinue teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them,“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
In this case Peter himself denies the religious institution and this causes the rulers, elders, and scribes to look for a way to punish them(even though they couldn't). But there are those who are our ancient predecessors, our spiritual heroes and family, who died because of these kinds of stances. They were persecuted not because they were looking for it, but because they carried a cross on their backs and there were those willing to kill them for it. This is complete self denial; a willingness to take on the burdens, abuse, misunderstanding and suffering that come not because of who they have denied themselves in order to gain Jesus. We can imitate this, whether here in America or in a hostile country.
And if we do, we enter into space where walking on water and calming storms are part of the deal. It is in this space, where we totally deny our hopes, dreams, aspirations and loves, and allow God to give us his hopes, dreams, aspirations and love for us. And when he does this, we find that we were made to serve. We were made to be fully submitted to the needs of others. We find that who we were made to be is eternally intertwined with a historic community of believers and a special group of people Jesus calls us to serve. It is here that we find ourselves and we don't even care as much about finding ourselves as we do for those we are called to. This is the persuasion of Jesus. Joy in knowing who you are while being overwhelmed by how He uses your "broken self" to love those around you. And this can only be found in Him. And when we submit to that truth, we begin to understand that Jesus was right when he said that "there are some who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God" and, while on this earth, we enter this kingdom with a crosses on our back.
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