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Category: Discipleship (Page 20 of 30)

A Tidbit After Bread

January 10, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Regular readers of this blog will know of my deep respect and admiration for German theologian and Christian martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. No books have had more of an impact on my walk with Christ, my calling as a congregational preacher, and my faith in God than Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship and Life Together. Costly grace. True discipleship. Christian community. These are all concepts that Bonhoeffer not only wrote about brilliantly, but also lived out genuinely.

So you can imagine my delight at receiving over the Christmas holidays the first Bonhoeffer biography in almost 50 years. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by New York author Eric Metaxas. I took a big bite out of this massive 542-page volume last night. And I intend to have it completed by the end of the week. It is excellent.

In the several books on Bonhoeffer I’ve read, I’ve seen his “tidbit” quote about complete commitment to Christ.

“The religion of Christ is not a tidbit after one’s bread; on the contrary, it is the bread or nothing. People should at least understand and concede this if they call themselves Christian.”

I knew the quote was taken from a lecture on the essence of Christianity that Bonhoeffer delivered early on his career. But this new book tells me it was part of a three-lecture series to a group of teenage boys he was mentoring in Barcelona in the winter of 1928. Bonhoeffer was 22-years-old. But he already had a firm grip on what Jesus meant when he said, “Follow me.”

The title of the lecture is “Jesus Christ and the Essence of Christianity.” It was number two in his series, preached to the teens on December 11, 1928. And this new book has published a pretty big chunk of it.

Bonhoeffer begins by talking about the fact that most Christians have actually exiled Christ from their lives. He says, “Of course we build him a temple, but we live in our own houses.” Bonhoeffer points out that we only take Jesus seriously on Sunday mornings. Our religion only has meaning on the first day of the week where one “gladly withdraws for a couple of hours, but only to get back to one’s place of work immediately afterward.”

OK, now here’s the really good stuff about taking Christ and his call seriously:

“One admires Christ according to aesthetic categories as an aesthetic genius, calls him the greatest ethicist; one admires his going to his death as a heroic sacrifice for his ideas. Only one thing one doesn’t do: one doesn’t take him seriously. That is, one doesn’t bring the center of his or her own life into contact with the claim of Christ to speak the revelation of God and to be that revelation. One maintains a distance between himself or herself and the word of Christ, and allows no serious encounter to take place. I can doubtless live with or without Jesus as a religious genius, as an ethicist, as a gentleman — just as, after all, I can also live without Plato and Kant. Should, however, there be something in Christ that claims my life entirely with the full seriousness that here God himself speaks and if the word of God once become present only in Christ, then Christ has not only relative but absolute, urgent significance for me. Understanding Christ means taking Christ seriously. Understanding this claim means taking seriously his absolute claim on our commitment. And it is now of importance for us to clarify the seriousness of this matter and to extricate Christ from the secularization process in which he has been incorporated since the Enlightenment.”

Yes, Christ Jesus is an all-or-nothing proposition. Yes, we have a long way to go in our understanding and our practice.

Peace,

Allan

What’s NEXT?

January 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

I’m intrigued this week by these words of Paul:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on… I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on… ~Philippians 3:12-14

Think about everything the apostle Paul had achieved at this point. He had received the best formal education available. He had studied and excelled at the feet of the very best teachers alive. He had been on the fast track, politically and religiously, to the highest positions of power and authority. He had seen the risen Lord. He had spoken with the Christ. He had witnessed and performed many miracles. He had been delivered from danger time and time again by God’s Holy Spirit. He had preached in the most important cities. He had trained the greatest teachers. He had planted the best churches.

Paul’s list of spiritual experiences and religious achievements was long.

But he presses on as if he’s accomplished nothing. He strains ahead as if he’s had no success. He keeps looking for and yearning for what’s next.

And then he writes, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things” (Phil. 3:15)

I think Peter had the same attitude:

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective adn unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~2 Peter 1:5-8

It seems to me that the older we are, the more Christ-like we should be. It’s the oldest among us, the ones who’ve been at this longer, who display more self-control. Our older brothers and sisters show more kindness and love. The ones who’ve been disciples longer are the ones who are “more good.” More persevering. More like our God than those who are younger.

More like God?

Yeah. Peter says “in increasing measure.”

This means it’s the older among us who would be more forgiving, more patient, more gracious and compassionate, more sacrificing and giving, more tolerant of the shortcomings of others. Adding those Christ-like qualities in increasing quantities every day keeps us from getting stale. It prevents us from getting into a rut and not being any good to God’s Kingdom.

“I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” ~2 Peter 1:12

We older Christians can be prone to crankiness and sour attitudes. We can sometimes be bossy and demanding and impatient. We can occasionally come across to others as unkind or unloving.

It’s just that we have much less of an excuse than the younger ones.

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It’s getting harder and harder to root against the Cowboys.

I have always loved Jason Garrett. Garrett is all business. He doesn’t mess around. He knows what it takes to get where they want and he won’t let anybody or anything stop him from getting there. He does it with integrity. And character. He’ll cut slackers and send loafers to the asthma field. He’ll jump up and down and celebrate at the appropriate times. And not a minute sooner.

If Jerry Wayne really is going to give Garrett as much control as he gave Jimmy Johnson, if Jerry really is going to back off on demanding his way in on-the-field matters, if Jerry is going to allow coaches to coach and players to play, then I think I’m going to take a very neutral and un-biased approach to this next season. Providing there is one.

It’s nice to occasionally see the good guys prevail. The ones who do it right, starting from scratch and making it happen with dedication and hard work. Smart guys. People who use their brains and think right. Good for Jason Garrett. And good for these young men who get to play for him.

Peace,

Allan

Daniel’s Innocence

December 16, 2010 / / 1 Comment

I’ve missed something in the story of Daniel and the Lions Den. I know about the praying three times a day toward Jerusalem, the King’s edict outlawing that practice, Daniel’s insistence on obeying God rather than man, his execution sentence, and the angel of God that shut the mouths of the killer cats. I know all that. What I’ve missed all these years is Daniel’s over-the-top integrity in every single facet of his life. I’ve missed his uncompromising character that controls every aspect, reigns over every compartment and category of his existence.

Daniel is so good, so loyal, so successful that King Darius is planning to make him second in command. Daniel’s peers become upset and look for ways to discredit their rival.

“The administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” ~Daniel 6:4

They’re looking for a scandal. They’re searching for some dirt. Something. Anything. They’re desperate. They want his job. They’re jealous. They deserve it more than he. They’re afraid. Daniel knows where all the bodies are buried. They’re digging through his trash. They’re talking to all his neighbors. They’re stalking him, trailing him, studying him, trying to discover his one vice, his fatal flaw.

“Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.'” ~Daniel 6:5

You ever noticed that before?

Can people say that about me? Would people who know you say that about you?

“We will never find any basis for charges against this man unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

If someone were looking to find fault with you, how hard would they have to look? Could they check the “history” on your computer browser, the menu on your DVR, the text messages on your phone and still say there’s no fault here? What if they interviewed your spouse, had lunch with your co-workers, talked to your kids? Would the report be good? What if they had access to your emails? What if they sat in the back seat as you drove home from work? Let’s say they followed you around for a month and analyzed every word that came out of your mouth, recorded your every action, wrote down your every move. Would the enemies looking so hard to find fault with you finally slam their pencils down in frustration and hurl their recording devices through the window and shout in frustration, “There’s nothing wrong with this person! Unless we can make loving God and loving others illegal, we’ve got nothing on this guy!”

I’m afraid on some days the men trailing me would be done before lunch. It wouldn’t take long.

I pray that, by God’s grace and the transforming power of his Spirit, I’m getting better.

You, too?

Peace,

Allan

Of Elders Meetings, Atheists, and Huskers

December 3, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Steve Pelluer…

At the beginning of last night’s elders / ministers  meeting, one of our saintly-est members walked in out of the blue to pray for us. He told us he appreciated us, that he prays for us every day, and that he believes we’re all doing the right things. He prayed for us. He thanked God for us. He asked God to bless us and our families. He asked God to protect us. And this wonderful man thanked us again for allowing him the privilege of working for the Lord at this congregation. Then he begged us to use him even more. As he walked out, he patted a few of us on the back. We had been blessed.

A similar thing happened at the beginning of last month’s meeting. A couple who have only been Legacy members for about eight weeks popped in to meet everybody. They shook our  hands, and expressed a desire to pray for us. They told us they loved this church, they supported the leadership, and they had every intention of getting busy in God’s work here. And we prayed. And we were blessed.

What a breath of fresh air. What a shot in the arm. What a glorious gift of affirmation and encouragement from our Father through these dear brothers and sisters. And what a carry-over effect it seems to have throughout our meeting! Both of our past two meetings have gone really, really well. I think we’re happier, more confident, more willing to step up and do the right things, less willing to get bogged down in unimportant matters.

We always open up our time together in those Thursday meetings with a passage from Scripture and prayer. I’ve always thought that’s the best way to begin any elders’ meeting — the only way. Now, I’m re-thinking it. The past two meetings have started off really nicely.

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By now you’ve seen the stories and heard the news about the four city of Fort Worth buses that will be sporting atheist advertising on their sides beginning next week. The DFW Coalition of Reason purchased the ads for a little over $2,480 to run for 30 days. They say the slogan on the boards, “Millions of Americans are good without God,” is intended to encourage people who don’t believe in God during the Christmas season when they can feel so left out and isolated. The Christians who are being interviewed for the stories, however, see the billboards as offensive and insulting.

Yeah, the ads are insulting to Christian disciples. To suggest that one must abandon all reason to accept God as Almighty Creator or Christ as Lord is terribly offensive to me.

Now there are groups of church leaders and pastors and ministers who are pushing for a boycott of the Fort Worth Public Transit system as long as the ads are displayed on the sides of these four buses. One local preacher I saw on TV last night declared something along the lines of “If the signs go up, we will walk!” He added that their Christian boycott will “force” the city to remove these ads that “don’t agree with what we believe!” The premise of a boycott is that the offenders will be pressured by money, the potential loss of money, and bow to the boycotters’ demands. It’s an economic battle. A fight fought with weapons of money and commerce.

I know that Christ Jesus never forced his way onto anybody. He never imposed his will on anybody. He never used a position of strength to get his way. He never gathered up large groups of disciples to subdue by power those who opposed him. He never tried to influence with money. He never threatened. He never intimidated or bullied. What in the world makes Christians today think that’s the best way to handle these kinds of situations?

I imagine actually riding the buses would be a much better idea for Christians who really do want to be more like their King. I imagine the billboards would provide the perfect starter for spiritual conversations. I imagine perfect strangers on these buses — especially on one of the four buses — will be talking about the ads. “Hey, we’re actually riding one of the buses that’s causing all the uproar!”

“I don’t think it’s that big a deal. What do you think?”

And there it is. Your opportunity to share your faith. Your opening to profess your belief in a Sovereign God and his crucified and resurrected Son. Your platform to declare your hope and your peace and the heavenly source of your eternal life.

Every day we’re met with moments in which we can act like Christ or act in a way that denies Christ. I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a “christian boycott.”

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Nebraska plays OU for the Big XII title tomorrow night. And I’m torn.

On the one hand, everything in my very, very Texas bones cries out against Zero-U. My four years at Oklahoma Christian and exposure to Sooners fans there only solidified my inherited bias against the Crimson and Cream. I can’t root for OU.

But, Nebraska? I can’t cheer for them either. I’ve never personally held anything agaisnt Nebraska. I always thought Tom Osbourn versus Barry Switzer was an easy call. But Bo Pelini is a different story. Hard to root for a guy who seemingly treats players and officials and his own coaches as less than human. But the bigger issue at hand is Nebraska’s pending Big XII defection. They’re leaving the conference, abandoning the league because they feel they’re mistreated by a Texas bias. We can’t have the Huskers leave the Big XII with the championship trophy!

It should be a fantastic game. The bitter hatred between these two teams goes back more than a hundred years. This is one of the greatest rivalries in college football. And there hasn’t been this much riding on a Nebraska-Oklahoma game in decades. It’ll be nuts inside Jerry’s Stadium. And I’m going to be blessed to enjoy the game wtih one of my greatest friends, good ol’ Dan Miller, and his family. Dan is a Husker to the core. Life long. He grew up just outside Lincoln. Went to school at Nebraska. He’s been foaming at the mouth for a month.

You won’t catch me wearing red. And I’ll never sing that most banal and tiresome of fight songs, Boomer Sooner. But I’m cheering for Zero-U tomorrow.

Don’t tell anybody.

Peace,

Allan

Believer or Convert?

October 29, 2010 / / 0 Comments

So, the Giants go more than four weeks without scoring more than five runs in a game; now they’re the first NL team in history to score nine or more runs in the first two games of the World Series. San Francisco scores six runs or more in an inning just five times the entire regular season; now they’ve done it twice in two days. Edgar Renteria has only hit one homerun since July 27, and that was over eight weeks ago; until last night. C. J. Wilson’s only given up ten homers all year. Last night’s was huge. And how does Kinsler’s fifth inning homer bounce off the top of the wall back into play for a double? That bounce defied all the eternal laws of physics!

Yes, Cain and Lincecum have been tremendous. Yes, the Giants are getting some really timely hits. But this 0-2 hole isn’t about the Giants. And it’s not about fate or luck. It’s about the Rangers.

Yuk.

Young and Hamilton and Cruz are hitting a combined .120 in the World Series. Young is 1-8. So is Hammy. Last night the Rangers went 0-8 with runners in scoring position.

And I’m tired — very, very tired — of watching Ron Washington play Bullpen Bingo. It’s not working.

Q: How many Rangers relievers does it take to get one out?
A: Three

Whatever Derek Holland was screaming into his glove when Wash came out to pull him and again as Holland walked to the dugout, I concur! He throws 13 pitches, 12 of them balls, and walks the only three batters he faces. As my great friend, Jim Gardner, told me this morning, Holland is the new Walker, Texas Ranger.

Is it so impossible to leave O’Day out there for more than one batter? Why is Holland even out there? And what about Lowe and Kirkman? Who are Lowe and Kirkman?!? Is Ogando not an option? Feliz didn’t pitch in Game One and today is a day off. What are we waiting for with him, to be available for the first game of the Cactus League?!?

Only eleven teams have ever come back from an 0-2 hole to win the World Series.

Colby Lewis could be the stopper we need. It could all turn around tomorrow. The lineup will be back to normal. The Rangers had the best home record in baseball this year. The games will be at night. The fans will be sporting claws and antlers instead of pandas and beards. The Rangers are not done yet. There’s still a chance Washington knows something we don’t. There’s still a chance he knows what he’s doing. He’s proven most of us wrong all year.

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In our efforts to run away from old 1950s & 1960s Church of Christ sectarianism, I fear we’re in danger of mindlessly trashing good traditions and leaving behind strong concepts and words. Now, don’t get me wrong, we do need to run very, very fast away from any form of sectarianism. That should be condemned in all of its various evil forms. But sometimes in our zeal to be different, we tend to go overboard the other way.

Have you noticed that we don’t use the word “convert” anymore?

He is a convert. When did she become a convert? Fourteen men and women were converted during our mission trip.

We don’t use that term anymore. Maybe it’s more cultural than theological. It’s possible we don’t even realize we don’t say it anymore. It’s probably not a conscious decision. But I think it does have consequences.

Conversion means to change. To alter. To make something different than what it was before. To transform something. We have conversion vans. We have converted garages. And disciples of Christ are to be converted people.

Shane Claiborne, in his book Jesus for President, says this about conversion:

“We need conversion in the best sense of the word — people who are marked by the renewing of their minds and imaginations, who no longer conform to the pattern that is destroying our world. Otherwise we have only believers, not converts. And believers are a dime a dozen nowadays.”

What the Kingdom really needs is a bunch of people who believe so much in Christ and in the salvation of the world that we cannot help but live it. We believe so much in God’s righteousness and justice that we enact it. We’ve been changed so much by Jesus’ love and mercy and forgiveness that we take it and bring it and share it!

Even the demons believe and shudder.

The Kingdom needs converts.

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I can’t help but leave you with this picture of Carley. As part of their annual Red Ribbon Week to raise drug and alcohol awareness, today is 50s day at Green Valley Elementary. She’s definitely the cutest girl at the sock-hop!

Peace,

Allan

You Give Them Something To Eat

October 27, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Rangers in Six!Who figured last July 13 when the National League won the All-Star Game for the first time in 13 years that it would cost the Texas Rangers home field advantage in the World Series? Who would have ever believed that the number one best pitcher in the sport is the Rangers’ ace? Who would have thought that, if the Rangers ever actually got to the Fall Classic, they would actually be favored by the national media and experts to win it?

It will never be this special again. It will never be this exciting. The first time is always the best. It can never happen again. The Rangers could win the next ten championships in a row and none of them will be as special as this first time experience. As I tell my girls, let’s really savor this moment. Let’s really enjoy this series. Let’s cheer for every hit. Let’s high-five for every stolen base. Let’s hold our breath on every 3-2 count. Let’s run in place like Ron Washington on every play at the plate. Let’s grin with every Cliff Lee “K.” Let’s cringe with every Vladdie whiff and erupt with joy every time he makes contact. Let’s appreciate every re-telling of Josh Hamilton’s redemption story. Let’s swell our chests out with pride every time the TV cameras show Nolan and Ruth. Let’s allow our hearts to start and stop with the drama of every single pitch. And let’s live and die with this team for the next week and a half as they make more history with every passing minute.

Get your antlers up and, if you haven’t already, allow yourself to fall in love with these guys and this story.

Go, Rangers!

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You give them something to eat. In Matthew 14, Jesus is teaching and healing the crowds on the other side of the lake. They’ve all been together most of the day. Huge crowd. Five thousand men. Who knows how many women and children? And it’s getting to be dinner time. It’s getting late. Evening is quickly approaching. And there’s not a Cheddar’s or a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru in sight.

All these people are hungry. They need food. And the apostles are concerned for these people. The apostles are worried. They tell Jesus, “Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus has a better idea:

“You give them something to eat.”

Yeah, right. How in the world are these twelve disciples going to feed more than five thousand people in the middle of this remote place? Even if there was a Kroger around the corner, how would they pay for it? Surely Jesus is kidding. We’ve got a total of five little loaves of bread and two tiny fish. Seriously, Lord, what’s the plan here?

“He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”

Same thing in Matthew 15: “…he broke them and gave them to his disciples, and they in turn to the people.” Mark 6: “…he gave them to his disciples to set before the people.” Mark 8: “…he told the disciples to distribute them.” Luke 9: “…he gave the bread to the disciples to set before the people.”

Church of Christ — yes, forgive us — we’re always looking for a pattern. You want a pattern? Here’s a pattern that the apostles and the writers of Scripture and God’s Holy Spirit feel like is pretty important. We find the exact same quote, the exact same words of Jesus, preserved in each of the synoptic Gospels: You give them something to eat.

You give them something to eat. Here’s the pattern: Jesus gives to his disciples; in turn, his disciples give to others. That’s the plan. That’s the way it works. Throughout his earthly ministry our Lord was intentional about equipping and empowering his followers to do the work. He sent them out, over and over again, two by two, giving them authority and power to heal and feed and minister and love. Luke 9. Luke 10. Mark 6. Jesus sends his disciples to do his work, he says don’t take anything with you, depend on the Father to protect you and provide for you and work with you and through you. And in every instance, Scripture tells us they did. And they were blown away by the results.

“Even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”

And around the table on that last night, he reminded his disciples, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14:12).

As a child of God and a disciple of his Christ, you don’t need any special permission to serve and minister to others. You’ve already got it. When Jesus says, “You give them something to eat,” he’s talking to you. You have the power. You have the authority. You have the right. And the obligation. We were all created and redeemed by the Father to be his kings and priests. All of us. And we — all of us — need to start acting like it.

Peace,

Allan

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