New Blog

Greg and I started a new join venture blog.

http://uniformlyecclectic.wordpress.com/

Check it out.

Purpose of Theological study

So I was reading some blogs, looking at some things from my immediate elders (those in the 45 to 60 age range) and some from my contemporaries (25-45) I noticed a sharp contrast. Those who are the older men, in ministry pre-retired look at theology as a weapon. They study to sharpen their swords, to grind the axe to sharp, to fill their quiver with arrows in order to defeat the onslaught. Theology for that generation is public, to be shared and debated. You fall into one of the camps, you are here or there. Many of this group (most of them are Trailing Edge Baby Boomers, or TREBS, born between 56 and 64) have become frustrated and turned off to theological thought or study.

Those of us who are Busters, 1965-1981 (65-76 is the X-ers, which I am a part) have a more individual mindset than the Boomers (for the most part, I know these are broad generalization). This has changed the way we see the world, and why Trebs and X-ers have so much conflict. Theology is very different for me, it's not a weapon, it's a shield. While those in the older generations wield theology to vanquish a foe, I use theology to extinguish arrows from those who would hold a view that is not compatible. There are many in my convention who would to beliefs that I don't agree with. There are many Landmarkests in my denomination. There are many non-Calvinists in my denomination. There are those who do not champion the Sovereignty of God like I believe the Bible does.

For those of you who have turned from Theology because you are tired of the attacks, I apologize to you for the part I played. Let me urge you to learn and study and wrestle. Biblical truth requires us to study and to learn. To understand God is outside the confines of the sinful mind to comprehend. We have to learn to think different, to see different, and that takes struggle. Wrestle with your own flesh to try to reconcile all the truths in the scripture, not just those verses you are comfortable with. Reconcile Romans, Hebrews, James and 1 Peter together in one view of God, salvation, Christ and eternity. It won't be as simple as you'd like, but your faith will emerge so much deeper.

To be, or not to be: that is the question

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

I am pretty sure that Shakespeare was talking about being a Calvinist. I have suffered no greater attack than I have since moving to Iowa and having the audacity to call myself a Calvinist. In the SBC, I have discovered there are Calvinists and Non-Calvinists in the SBC. The alternative is Arminianism, which is Semi-Pelagianism which has already been condemned as a heresy. So we have the advent of the 2, 3 and 4 point Calvinist.

I agree with Piper. In one of his messages he makes the statement that Calvinism is a system and goes on to say "I give a hoot about systems". I don't care if you call in Calvinism, Augustinianism, Paulinism, whatever. I need a doctrinal system of Theology that can reconcile the full cannon of scripture, Peter, Paul, John, James and the writers of Hebrews, and both extremes of High Calvinism and Arminiamism (low Calvinism?) don't cover it. I need a system that can answer the questions about God's love, His sovereignty, how sin and grace and suffering all happen.

I struggle with those who would say that evangelism is based upon my ability to talk someone into heaven. Dr Reid said something about pleading for people to get saved. If I am responsible for pleading people into Heaven and I fail, what does that mean? How do I carry around the weight of my own deficiency? How do I rectify the fact that I am responsible for doing something that I can't seem to do. I have tried to plead, argue, fight, coerce, and manipulate people into the kingdom, and it is an unsuccessful venture. So, my non-Calvinist friends, what does that mean? Is God responsible for salvation? If so, at what point did He decide when you bring someone to faith? How does this happen? Do we make a choice that God is unaware of, and then they are brought to Salvation?

So, after these years, I am no longer going to call myself a Calvinist. I am tried of the attacking. I'll just settle on Christian. Most people don't have the desire to really try to understand anything past that level anyway.

Slowing Down

Have you ever met someone who would work themselves into the ground? I know someone like that. Ok, I am someone like that. Here is something that I was told by a very wise person today. That sometimes God gives us problems to make us rest. My back has been hashed all weekend. I've had to be in best for a big part of it. The times I did get out of bed to do stuff, it make things worse. So now, much to my dismay, I am back in bed. I have things I would like to do, but I can't really do them. Here I will stay, learning that being still often has greater value than being in motion. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

The poisenous human tounge

I have been insulted by lots of people in lots of places. Mostly in High School, some in college. Occasionally by those who hold a political belief that is in opposition to what I think. I think the most disturbing or helpful is when I am criticized, teased or mocked by those who claim to be Christians. When you try to share with them a life lesson, open your life and you get met with ridicule.

I have been known to be rude myself, and I am doing to do my best to stop this process. Ephesians 4:29 tell us to speak in a way to build up one another. Why do we spend so much time tearing each other down? Lack of self-esteem maybe, which so often we get from the world. Insecurities perhaps. Whatever the reason is, I am going to work at being a Barnabas, to be an encourager and not a stumbling block.

Opening the Soul

Are you a fixer? When someone comes to you with a problem, do you fix it? Just tell them what to do, how to live, what expectations God has? I've been a fixer, and I know a lot of fixers. At this point in my life, I don't talk to those people anymore. Here is what I have found.

1. Most issues (probably all) are beyond your fixing. If the person can be fixed by you just telling them something surface, they wouldn't need your help. Think about it, if you can just say "well love God", what would they need you for? Would they really be struggling deep down with an issue you can solve with a few verses?

2. You have baggage, and often we speak from our own baggage. Without talking to the person, investing in the person and working to get into the issues, you have no idea what the real issue is. You hear a few buzz words, and then relate them to your own experiences. Your experience and the person's experiences are not the same. Don't make the assumption that what fixed you will fix them.

3. What are you trying to do. Are you trying to fix the person? There is a messiah available, and you are not Him. You can't fix a person, people need a divine healer.

So why do people come to us with issues? What do they want? Do they want fixed? No. They want someone to come along side of them. I think most people know the answers already and just need someone to talk to, to help them work through it. They want to answer questions, they want to evaluate, to look at and to examine their own soul. I think this is part of the reason we don't commune with our soul. Every time we begin to reach down in our own soul, someone gives us a surface fix. The person never reaches down into the soul, we never reach down into our soul. The soul remains unopened and the garbage never comes out.

Check out christancourses.com and watch Dr. Larry Crabb on Soul Care, he talks about this in great, great detail.

A bird in the hand and a burning bush.

So I had lunch at Carlos O'Kelly. I had the corned beef chimi and potato burrito. Just kidding. It did give me some smokin heartburn. At lunch I heard one of the other pastors at the other end of the table talking about how young people in the church don't want pad answers anymore. That is exactly how I have been feeling lately. I don't want to hear the cliches we use in the American church anymore. No one really knows what half of them mean. "Give it to God". I've never met anyone who can actually do that. What does that really mean? You can pray and ask God to help, you can try to relax and meditate on the fact that God can, has and will take care of you. How do you take a situation and give it away? It's a cliche. It's not helpful.

Have you ever heard this one "just climb up in God's lap"? What does that even mean? Does God have a lap? If so, where is it? How do we live that out? I think we tell people these things cause it's safe and easy and we don't really have to invest. Well I'm not gonna say em anymore. It's no wonder that the number one complaint of people outside the church is that the church is irrelevant to their lives. That is horrible, instead of teaching the foundational truths from the word of God, we've given our cliches and made it seem irrelevant. That's worse than Irish/Mexican salsa. Peppers, onion and cabbage?