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So where have I been?

I would call the yearning for no programs idyllic rather than naïve. I say this because I am not naïve about programs, but still yearn for such a world. I would like to think that I don’t need someone else to tell me what to do and then to check and see if I did it. But without such a person or system, I would be a disaster, and I might add, so would you. I have heard it said by people I respect that you can’t program transformation, it is too organic and authentic to be organized. When the yearning for no programs becomes a philosophical position then the word naïve is appropriate.  Normally this position is based on the loftiest of goals, that much prayer and mediation will replace the need for study guides and meetings.

Any human will develop misunderstandings and mental confusions about guidance. There will be times when we get it wrong, this however, should not discourage us from seeking God’s pathway. This is why it is so essential to rest our minds and wills in the written word of God. We can’t always make the right application or even get the right interpretation, but we can avoid big mistakes by not violating the main tenets of scripture.

On one of my trips I was picked up at the airport by a church leader. It took just a few moments for my driver to start voicing his concerns about his pastor. He gave me a very reasoned history of his relationship to the church and to his pastor. He spoke of the congregations decline, of the many faithful families who had chosen to leave the church, thus attendance was down and money was scarce. He presented himself as a close friend of the pastor, they met weekly. He had purchased a Health Club membership for the pastor so they could work out together, so they could sweat as one, so they could have that relaxed informal time when defenses are low,where reasoned persuasion would find its mark.

The world, the flesh and the Devil's goal is to defeat the gospel. And this is how they are attempting to do it. Unlike Solomon we have cut the baby [aka the gospel] in half. Actually in thirds, the gospel could be equated with the entire redemptive drama under the rubric SALVATION. The first third is regeneration, the second is sanctification and the third is glorification.  Or in more street level language, convert, disciple, and entry into heaven. In this way of thinking, the first step into Salvation is becoming a convert, your are reborn, and your entry into heaven is assured. A convert is a new Christian, but not necessarily a disciple. A disciple is a more serious Christian, committed to follow Christ daily, but not necessary for heaven.

The contemporary church’s neglect of intentional spiritual formation into the image of Christ has cost us the kind of witness that early Christians had. In the Northern Hemisphere, it has lead to a serious decline ininfluence and credibility. Consider the difference between the martyrdom ofJames, Paul and Peter in the decade of the sixties and present day luminaries.  They went to their deaths with joy and great courage. Contrary to common opinion, very few ordinary Christians were killed by the Romans. The vast majority were leaders, Bishops and the famous.The apostles and Bishops who were killed faced it bravely, they were wonderful examples of the sacrificial life.

It depends on what “gospel” we believe and teach. It is a term so common in the English language that it creates different meanings to the hearers. It has been said that the gospel is so simple a child can understand it, yet so deeply profound that the greatest minds have yet to conqueror its depth. So let us get real basic and take a look at what is meant by the gospel. The Greek word itself is euaggelion, used 95 times in the NewTestament and means good news. It was used liberally by the authors with the assumption that the readers would know what it meant. Paul was so sure he knew what it meant that he warned people against teaching another version. This is because he claimed that God himself revealed it to him.

Sociologist Rodney Stark begins his book, The Rise Of Christianity by concluding, “Finally, all questions concerning the rise of Christianity are one: How was it done?

A certain part of the world is all a twitter about actress Helen Mirren wearing a red bikini. An attractive famous sixty three year old woman in a bikini can be interesting, I clicked on the daily news site to behold this wonder. Yes, there she was, she looked pretty good, then I saw other pictures of her in a Magazine, I went there, then I noticed some video ofher sans bikini, then it morphed into an outright porn site, I caught myself and stopped. I marveled at how fast I was at a porn site, it was scary. I am sixty-two and I must confess have seen a lot of naked women, but something physical, mental, and emotional was powerfully at work in me to keep me interested.

There is an ever increasing body of writing on the subject of Spiritual Disciplines. I have contributed to the pile of new books on the subject with Choose The Life, Exploring a faith that embraces discipleship and with, [pardon the title] The Complete Book of Discipleship. This writing encourages readers to intentionally choose to follow Jesus, and part of that means engaging in the same practices he modeled. For example, prayer, fasting, silence, solitude, frugality, worship, service, and sacrifice. Practicing the intentional ones or voluntary disciplines are like preventive health care, there is not a lot of buzz about it, because it helps us avoid a lot of life's negative experience that comes from bad habits and attitudes.

Richard Foster made the keen observation that " The modern hero is the poor boy who purposefully becomes rich rather than the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor." Isn't interesting how we try to recuse ourselves from the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler?

Tim Russert was known as the King of Washington DC. The reason was his affable personality which wrapped around his keen love of politics, his brilliance, and his love for country and family. He loved his son Luke and wife Maureen deeply and of course his Dad, "Big Russ," whom he wrote best selling book about in 2004. Luke said that "Meet The Press" was his Dad's second son, a program that Russert took to such heights that it was the High Church of Sunday Morning Political Talk. An appearance on Meet The Press was both a rite of passage and a test of one's nerves, mind, and ambition.

"The story of the manna gathered and set aside by the Hebrews is deeply significant. It so happened that the manna rotted when it was kept. And perhaps this means that all spiritual reading which is not consumed-by prayer and by works- ends by causing a sort of rotting inside us. You die with a head full of fine sayings and a perfectly empty heart."  Julian Green Diaries [New York: Macmillian, 1955], p. 101   

Many aspiring authors, more that I could ever count, have interviewed me about how I write. There is deep intrigue as to why and how those who write many books get it done. There are some brilliant writers, but most are simply smart, courageous, or driven. If you have enough fame or money, you can write or have someone write for you. This is because of what is called name recognition, that means people know who you are, so they will buy your book. But most of the questioners are people who just have an idea and a desire to communicate with others and be validated by having it published. Most writing is never published, publishers themselves can tell you this by the 95% rejection rate at most publishing companies.

Just finished Brian McLaren's latest offering, Everything Must Change. Brian is changing, he is a moving target, he is morphing at an alarming rate. I am not sure what he believes, and I have read all his books.

He now hangs with Jim Wallis of Sojourners fame, he is very "green" as regards the environment, and he takes several shots at Republicans in his latest work. I think running with the left requires one to take a obligatory shot at George Bush and the war in Iraq.

I am not sure why moving theologically left requires one to go politically left, it does seem like a package deal. Brian is a brilliant thinker, a great writer, a warm and personable man, and asks some of today's best questions.

 I have been reading a lot lately about culture, not on purpose; it is just the raft of manuscripts that young writers send for my endorsement. I normally wouldn’t read these works, but I take them on because I benefit from their ideas. I find it funny that they want my wisdom, but then proceed in their books to tell me how much I don’t know. I’ve lost my edge, I’m yesterday’s news, I can’t possibility stay in touch with their thinking, vocabulary, ideas, methods, it is all moving faster than I do these days.

plu·per·fect (pl-pûrfkt)

adj. More than perfect

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