Clarity and Scripture

A real temptation for people who do what I do is to assume that our "work" in the area of Bible study, sermon preparation, theology, and all the associated areas those in ministry might participate in is to assume that those activities are a substitute for our own personal spiritual growth.

Two challenges arise when that is our attitude. First - there is great danger in assuming that my Bible study in preparation for a sermon, or in my case, for teaching a college class, is somehow to be separated from allowing God to speak into my own life in Scripture. Second - there is great danger in thinking that "work" related issues can substitute for personal devotion.

It isn't "either/or" for those who are privileged and blessed to "get paid to study Scripture," but "both/and." And if we don't get the "both/and" stuff worked out, our "talk about God" in a variety of roles may be mere "talk," and our own spiritual lives may be little more than "academic." The truth is that a nonbeliever can practice the discipline of "how language works" and interpret Scripture at some basic level. But, to borrow language from Alexander Campbell, only those "within the understanding distance" will really grasp what God is revealing in His Word!

It isn't all that complicated to be a "professional" when it comes to preaching, or teaching, or being a theologian who writes books about God. But it is a whole different world when it comes to being "confessional" when it comes to being a preaching, or teaching, or being a theologian who writes books about God. The flip side of that same coin is that those of us committed to being "confessional" ought to approach our God-given opportunities with "professionalism" appropriate to our role.

As a person who typically walks into a college classroom to speak on behalf of God, my sense of "professionalism" may be different than what would be true for a youth pastor who teaches a group of high school students the truth about God. But both of us can become victims of thinking that "professionalism" is the final answer. Actually, "confessional" will always be the final answer!

For those who might be reading this and are incredibly blessed by the opportunity for "professional ministry" my question is simple. What are you doing in the area of "confession" that gives context, integrity, and meaning to your "profession"?

If the answer to that question doesn't include some private, non-academic, non-job related reading of Scripture, then - sorry for the bluntness - you don't have the right answer to the question!

My own "private, non-academic, non-job related" reading of Scripture right now has me in Leviticus. I read through the Pentateuch at least once every year. You can't read through the Pentateuch - Torah - without reading Leviticus. Over the years I've discovered that reading Leviticus during Lent is not a bad plan! But - who likes Leviticus??

Today my "private, non-academic, non-job related reading" was Leviticus 19-21. (I'm on a "three chapters a day" routine right now.) Every day since I've been reading Leviticus - a week now - the one word that keeps floating to the top of my consciousness is "integrity." That is, God seems to expect that Israel will model "integrity" in its relationship with Him.

I made the mistake today - it's Saturday - of reading through the Atlanta Journal Constitution before doing my "private, non-academic, non-job related" Bible reading.

A new translation of the Old Testament, titled "The First Testament" was recently published. It is the work of John Goldingay, a respected Old Testament professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. It is worth checking out! Whenever my "private, non-academic, non-job related" reading of Scripture is in the Hebrew Bible, I'm reading The First Testament." (For New Testament reading, I'm using N.T. Wright's Kingdom New Testament.)

Here is The First Testament's translation of Leviticus 19:4: "Don't turn your face to non-entities and don't make figurine gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God."

Back to Saturday's edition of the AJC.  Two front page stories: "Scam rankles, but it doesn't surprise" and "Pensions stuck in lackluster fund." The first story is about the college admission scandal, the second about corruption in the City of Atlanta government. Bottom line is "integrity."

The "Metro Section" has a front page story about the Atlanta Regional Commission's chief officer receiving a bonus for 2018, after misusing his agency's purchasing card.  "Integrity."The "Sports" section of the paper's front page is dominated by stories about Georgia Tech and NCAA violations and concern about LSU and a FBI investigation into recruiting practices. "Integrity." Finally, the "Living" section had thoughtful articles about a variety of current issues, including abortion, health, and the son of a famous mega-church pastor.

"Non-entities" and "figurine gods" aren't all that concerned about integrity. But . . . the God behind the words I read in my "private, non-academic, non-job related" reading of Scripture thinks integrity is at the heart of what it means to be an authentic human . . . and a real follower of Jesus.

"I am Yahweh your God." That changes everything. That is embedded in the words of Scripture in ways that can't be missed - if we take the time to have some "private, non-academic, non-job related" reading of Scripture.  All of the "I AM" statements Jesus will make in His ministry among us are rooted in that very idea - "I AM Yahweh your God."

The merely "academic me" can simply say, "those people aren't honest" when reading today's AJC. The person who comes out of a "private, non-academic, non-job related" reading of Scripture sees those stories in a whole different light.

We who "follow Jesus" - not only professionally but confessionally - have a lot of work to do!

Here I Am!

On the Christian Calendar, today is Ash Wednesday – the beginning of a period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) where believers from centuries ago began to focus on their relationship with God. Not all followers of Jesus follow the Christian Calendar and not all who do observe Ash Wednesday and Lent in the same manner.

But, whether or not you use language like Lent and Ash Wednesday, most would agree that these are troubled times and troubled times call people of faith to reexamine the relationship we have with God. Doing that will often call us to repentance – a word that Jesus Himself used to begin His ministry according to Mark 1:14, 15 – “the time is fulfilled – the kingdom is near – repent and believe the good news.”

My own personal response to Lent this year is to say to God – in response to Jesus’ announcement about the Kingdom and the need for repentance – “Here I am.”

We all know, however, that declaring ourselves ready before God can be a dangerous thing to do. We ought to be sure the seatbelt is buckled before we get that bold.

In my daily reading of Scripture I’m currently reading the Torah. One of the great stories in Genesis of course is the story of Joseph. There is a new, rather innovative, translation of the Hebrew Bible called The First Testament. The translation was done by John Goldingay, an acclaimed Old Testament scholar who teaches at Fuller Seminary. One, among several, innovative things he does is to make the proper names in the Hebrew Bible sound more like Hebrew than the English names we know.

In the first story of Genesis 37, Joseph’s father sends Joseph to go check on his brothers – who have been away with the sheep finding pasture. Here’s how Goldingay translates a part of that story:

His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shekem. Yisra’el said to Yoseph, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shekem, aren’t they. Come on. I’ll send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”  (Genesis 37:12, 13, the First Testament)

Think about this for a moment. Joseph says to his father, “Here I am.” If you read a few paragraphs down the page, as soon as the brothers saw him coming they start plotting to kill him. (37:20) Only “Re’uben’s” protest and the providence of a caravan’s passing by prevented that from happening. Most of know how this incident plays out. It can be a dangerous thing to say to God, “Here I am.”

You may protest here and say, “Yoseph” was talking to “Yissra’el” not Yahweh. At one level you would be correct – but at another, not so correct! In Genesis 45:5, as “Yhoseph” is identifying himself to his famine-stricken brothers, he says, “But now, don’t be pained, don ‘t let it make you rage at yourselves because you sold me here, because it was to save life that God sent me before you.” (The First Testament)

I’m not sure “Ýoseph” realized all he was saying when he told “Yisra’el” “Here I am.” But then I’m not sure any of us know all we are saying when we declare “Here I am” when it comes to serving Christ as Lord. Most of us won’t likely have quite the kind of story “Yoseph” did – but we never know.

So, as this period of reflection and repentance we call Lent begins today – what might happen if we boldly say to God “Here I am” and mean it so honestly that we will even go to “Misrayim” (Egypt) and become a key person in the house of “Par’oh” (Pharaoh). 

Joseph likely had no idea, despite the fact he was a dreamer. 

You and I likely have no idea what God could do with us if we said “Here I am” and really meant it.

Buckle your seatbelts for Lent.

Acknowledging the Truth

One of my earliest memories of my parents is the annual tradition at Christmas where they would buy gifts for children who likely wouldn't have much of a Christmas morning surprise. My Dad would dress up as Santa Claus and in an old, pale green, late 1950s International pickup, would go around to families who lived near by with Christmas gifts. I have a mental picture in my head of riding with him, still not sure about whether Santa was real or not - but somehow knowing that the best of Santa happened to live int he spirit of my parents. By 12 years old, or so, I was actually driving the pickup.

Maybe that is what has me thinking these days about the life I live. I have it pretty easy. The garbage gets picked up every week. My neighborhood is safe. I can call "Robert Firewood" as he is listed in my contact list on my smart phone, and get a load of wood to have a nice fire on holidays like today when I didn't have to get up and go to work. Two pretty good grocery stores are within two miles either direction of my house. Fresh vegetables and fruit are plentiful in each. I love the newspaper - despite the fact I don't think the AJC is a particularly good paper - and can drive a mile and buy one any morning I want. When someone in my family needs medical care, I have insurance and providers of every kind surround me.

It is so easy for all of that to become routine. It's the norm. Doesn't everyone live the same way? That's life is zip code 30290! And, because my zip code abuts 30269, a "really well-to-do" zip code, I can excuse my sense of "routine" by comparing life in that zip code to mine!

When I left home just after 7:00 a.m. today to go get a paper - the temperature on my outdoor thermometer was 17 degrees. That's cold. Of course inside my house the temperature was somewhere around 68 degrees, that is what the furnace is set to reach early in the morning.

Zip code 30290 is Tyrone, Georgia. Our garbage service is on Thursday, unless there is a major holiday during the week. When that happens the garbage day is Friday. Christmas and New Year's Day are, of course, major holidays. We try to remember not to put the garbage and recycling cans out on Wednesday evening those weeks.

Both of those weeks this year brought heavy rains on Friday. Driving home on Wednesday evening, I noticed a lot of people in our neighborhood put their cans out that evening - forgetting that the garbage wouldn't come until Friday. I'm not trying to be self-righteous, but it reminded me of how easy it is to forget the lives of those who do things that make ours so much better. When the garbage trucks showed up at our house on those Fridays, it was pouring down rain. I did a little research on salaries for people who work on garbage trucks. It isn't impressive.

Yet, on a cold, pouring-down rain kind of day during the week of Christmas and New Year's, those men faithfully picked up my garbage and recycling. I'm pretty sure my parents would have wanted to buy some Christmas gifts, my Dad dress up as Santa, and go around in his old International pickup and deliver some gifts.

Every morning when I walk into my office, the trash can is empty, the floor has been vacuumed, and the bathrooms are clean. Who does that? Do I care enough to even know?

MLK was assassinated in Memphis while there to help gain a better life for garbage collectors in the city of Memphis who, if you read the history of their work, were greatly underpaid and greatly mistreated. Don't be too hard on Memphis, they weren't the only city like that then - or now.  A recent article about garbage service in King's hometown of Atlanta makes you think if alive, he might be making a speech today. But every week, garbage men faithfully pick up my garbage. That costs me a whopping $4.23 per week!

Those grocery stores that I frequent - are replenished daily by people like the young man unloading ice at a convenience store on a 17 degree morning. They are delivering vegetables and fruit, groceries of all kinds, often picked by migrant workers whose lives are lived in poverty and the overly self-righteous among us want to put in the back of our pickups and take back to Mexico, rather than loading our pickups with gifts of grace to brightened a small child's day.

The most casual reading of the four gospels - any one of them are all together - would show us that if Jesus were living in our time, He would likely be hanging out with the garbage truck workers and picking green beans with the migrants.

God help us - on a day set aside to honor one who saw the world in many ways like Jesus did - to be more Christ-like in how we see those who make our lives so "blessed!"

I'm grateful that I had parents who didn't define generosity on the basis of status, skin color, or some sense of "I'm better than you."

Point Prayer Cards

At our November chapel (held the Thursday before Thanksgiving week) we created a number of opportunities for students to engage in meaningful ways in the worship experience. They could go to a table where there were cards on which thankyou notes could be written. They could go to a different place and receive the Lord’s Supper. They could go to another table and think about their commitment to follow Jesus.

Yet another table had cards upon which they could write prayer requests. As I write this I am looking at a stack of well over 200 cards where Point students wrote prayer requests down in November. The 15^th to be precise. I’ve read through and prayed about these requests.

Here are a few observations:

·         I was stunned by how many of our students have lost close loved ones to death – parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. Their notes reflected a kind of hurt that is heart breaking.

·         Many students prayed for “help from God” in some form or fashion. Perhaps the most moving way that was said was “God, I just need you.”

·         It was encouraging to see how many of the notes either were completely or at least contained a word of thanksgiving in them.

·         We had lots of prayer requests written in Spanish! It is amazing to realize just how diverse our Point community really is.

·         More than a few mentioned parents – both Moms and Dads – who are serving in some branch of the military overseas.

·         We have athletes who wrote words like these: “Lord, please put your hands on my teammates who are hurting.”

·         What about this one? “Lord, help me to seek you fully and to live a life as an example, a light, and in a way pleasing to you?”

·         “Thank you for a second chance, for Point, and for not giving up on me.”

·         “I don’t deserve all your blessings, yet you continue to bless me.”

·         “I need to pass my classes. Please help Lord.”

·         “Thank you for all the good people who work for Point.”

·         “For bringing me to Point University and for the constant support from friends and family.”

This list could on and on, but hopefully what you’ve read above gives you a kind of inside portrait of what happens at Point every day. Just like is true for all of us, Point faculty, staff, coaches, and students aren’t perfect and don’t life in a perfect world.

But reading through these prayer requests again reminds me of what an amazing kingdom outpost Point really is. Students who have the courage to ask for prayer like these students did on the night of 15 November will have the courage to change the world.

As our traditional students plan to return to campus next week and our online students begin new classes starting on Monday, could I encourage you to join with them in praying that God would watch over them, encourage them, strengthen them, and challenge them to be the people He made them to be!

It's Too Cold to Eat in Here

I meet a staff member from the campus ministry at GT (CCF) at the Shamrock Kitchen in Tyrone most Tuesday mornings. The Shamrock – meat and two vegetables kind of place – opens at 7 a.m. and he and I were the first two people there this morning. It was pretty cold here this morning – my outdoor thermometer had 26 degrees on it when I left home – and we both commented on how cold it was in the Shamrock. I assumed that whoever turns on the heat earlier in the mornings had forgotten to do that and the heat was trying to “catch up.”

Wrong. The furnace was out – since yesterday – and it was really cold in there. Some part to the furnace was apparently hard to fine and they company fixing it (the owner eats in there often as well) still didn’t have the part. Did I say it was cold inside the Shamrock???

A couple of ladies who come in together most mornings came in, all wrapped up in their coats and scarves, etc.  They sat down and the server brought them coffee (one has her own Christmas coffee cup she leaves in there during the season!).  After a few minutes they got up and told the server “it’s too cold to eat” we can’t stay. They got their coffee in to-go cups and left.

It was cold in there. But that whole experience has had me thinking all morning.

• Have I been thankful in recent days that I live in a warm, dry house and I don’t have to eat in the cold?

• Have I been thankful that, even when it is cold and I have to be outside, I have lots of clothes – sweaters, jackets, gloves, hats, etc. – to keep me warm?

• When is the last time I actually had to eat where it was “too cold to eat” – not because the furnace was out, but because I couldn’t afford a place where there was heat?

• If I think it was too cold to eat in the Shamrock, I wonder about the people who struggle daily with a place to live - decent shelter, decent food, decent clothes – and can’t help but think, “what would Jesus do about this?”

This past Sunday’s gospel text in the Lectionary was Luke 3:1-6 – the John the Baptist text for Advent. This is where John quotes Isaiah saying “every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crocked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” I do understand that the coming of Jesus into the world was about “salvation” – but wonder if sometimes, to borrow N.T.  Wright language, we don’t get so wrapped up in “dying and going to heaven” that we fail to “make the rough places level” in the lives of people who struggle – who have to eat where it is too cold to eat.

Then, in my own personal Bible reading, I am getting near the end of Isaiah – chapter 61 was a part of today’s three chapters. That’s were Isaiah writes the words that Jesus quotes in the synagogue in Nazareth in Luke 4 – “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Sometimes God can get a bit intrusive!

At the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama (run by the Equal Justice Initiative) a week ago, I bought a magnet with a quote from Bryan Stevenson to hang on my office door. It says, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated and the condemned.” Apparently Bryan Stevenson has read Matthew 25!

I’m grateful that we have moved beyond the age where massive grave markers/tombstones were erected in cemeteries. But, if we lived in that age and my family put one of those up, I’d only want one word to be on it. That word would be “generous.” Generosity isn’t a word to be reserved for the rich and well-to-do among us. As Paul suggests in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, even those in “deep poverty” can be generous. Generosity has far more to do with how we use what we have than it does how much we give because we have so much!

None of us has enough in the way of resources to fix all the problems we see. But we can help fix some! The season of Advent leading up to Christmas is a great time of the year to begin a journey of generosity that recognizes such a character trait needs to survive the holidays and be found in our lives on regular days.

As followers of Jesus, to what extent do we care about and help provide for the poor? Do we abuse Paul's "if a man doesn't work he doesn't eat" statement in 2 Thessalonians as an excuse for not hleping?

What about the "disfavored"? If you read Scot McKnight's A Fellowship of Differents, you will quickly discovered that many of the kinds of people we deem "disfavored" are the very people who made up the members of all those first-century kingdom outposts founded by people like Paul!

Do we have the courage to insist that our justice system treat the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned with some reasonably semblance of grace and mercy? Or, are we more like people who call themselves Christians but think God is far more interested in punishment than redemption? 

Poverty, mental illness, lack of education, failure of people like me to make Jesus more inviting, district attorneys on steroids to get another conviction on the record, prison systems filled to overflowing and inadequately funded . . . and lots of other troubling realities - means that it is past time for followers of Jesus to show character.

After all, what value is there to a religious freedom bill if it protects a religion without the courage to help change what we see all around us?