Crash the Future

Ok, so I received an early Christmas present this year. It was probably the COOLEST Christmas present I've received. It's the Joby Harris framed print "The Barbarian Revolt" you see on my wall. I say, "was," because I'm not sure whether I still have it. You see, we just had someone try to burn down our church building and my office is now no longer quite as pristine as it appears in this picture. In fact, I'm thinking that I'll probably have to replace a fair number of items in my office. I'm just not sure how many yet.

The CSI guys are still combing through a bunch of ash, snow, and nastiness to look for evidence, so we haven't been able to actually step foot in our offices yet. I did get to look in from out in the hall, and it sure wasn't pretty. Maybe I'll post some initial pictures a little later, after the investigation has died down. But for right now I should wait to share those. Anyway...

The print was an idea of my Mom and Dad's. They contacted Joby Harris and got the print from him. Sarah then had it matted and framed. It was STINKIN' AWESOME! Who knows, maybe I'll be able to hang on to it and it won't be a total loss. I hope so.

My Grandmom Brown died this past Thursday. The funeral was Monday. I've been at a loss for how to write anything on the blog for the last week. Really, I've wanted to write something recognizing my Grandmom and her life. I've found myself writing a post, just to turn around and delete what I've written, and then do it all over again. It's just that my words seem to fall flat. At the same time, I can't imagine writing anything else and not recognizing this event in the life of an amazing woman whom I had the priviledge to have as a part of my family and heritage.

Here's the thing...

I'm saddened by the loss because she has been a regular part of my world for so many years, and I won't have any more opportunities to have her presence here.

I'm thankful for the deliverance because her quality of life has been a shadow of its former brilliance these past years.

I'm rejoicing because I am absolutely confident that she is experiencing a quality of life with Christ that she has never known.

At the funeral one of my uncles read Proverbs 31. And though I struggle with words to describe and pay tribute to Grandmom Brown, I can affirm that she was, and is, the Proverbs 31 woman. Read that, and that's her. She was one of the most no-nonsense ladies I've ever known. I'm pretty sure that up until the last few years she could have outworked a decent number of full-grown men I know. She loved her family and she loved her Lord, and she was dedicated to both. She truly exemplified Proverbs 31 in a very real way. And so... I can think of no better tribute to Grandmom than just sharing this with you all...

Proverbs 31, a portrait of my Grandmom Brown.

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

So, I went ahead and placed a few new items on the blog.

First, I updated my favorite book list. It has links to get some reviews and summaries and such. The one thing I would say is that "Starship Troopers" really is much more than what the title, cover, and summary would suggest. It's actually a treatise on civic duty in novel form. It's a really good book and a fast read. I would make it part of any class, high school or college, that I taught on government and civics. So in this instance the proverb, "Don't judge a book by its cover" is accurate.

Also, I placed two playlists on the sidebar. I always have music playing, even if only in my mind, and thought it might be a little fun to share some samples of the music I've enjoyed as of late. As a point of clarification... no, not all the bands are "Christian." However, they are all bands that operate from a Christian worldview. In the words of Lacey Mosley, the lead singer for Flyleaf, when she was asked if they are a 'Christian band'... "We all share the same faith. And so when we deal with the whole 'Christian band thing,' we kind of think about something P.O.D. says, like, 'If you're a Christian, it affects everything in your life. So if you're a plumber, does that make you a Christian plumber?' I don't know the answer. We're a band, it's part of who we are, so it comes out in our music, and it's the fuel for what we do. And finding faith saved my life. So I'm not ashamed of it at all. And most of our album reflects that."

MAN... I hope more bands come out with that mindset, whether they're writing praise songs or jsut some fun stuff to listen to! (Oh, and if you're interested in some other music that is a variety of mellow stuff that has a little different vibe, check out the playlist on my wife's blog. It's some good stuff, too.)

Anyway, I thought I'd also include for your reading enjoyment the lyrics from one of the songs that many of you are less likely to have heard. (It doesn't really get play on either mainstream radio - lyrics, you know - or on your average KLOVE Christian radio station - beat, you know.) It's the song "Passion" by Kutless.

Within my mind's eye
Flickering from the past
Come images that terrify and calm
A paradox in me

Nail pierced hands they run with blood
A splitting brow forced by the thorns
His face is writhing with the pain yet it's comforting to me

He chose to give it all
Jesus endured the pain
Paying a debt I owed and created a paradox in me

Nail pierced hands they run with blood
A splitting brow forced by the thorns
His face is writhing with the pain yet it's comforting to me

And in my heart I know that you're the only one
Who could of came and died, a sacrifice
As your God's only son

Nail pierced hands they run with blood
A splitting brow forced by the thorns
His face is writhing with the pain yet it's comforting to me

Over the last 6 weeks I've been leading two different application groups for our church. The application groups have been part of a program we're doing this year at our church as we go through the book of Acts. These groups, in particular, are intended to aid people in Recognizing and Responding to the Holy Spirit. Over the 6 weeks we introduce different spiritual disciplines centered around Scripture. It's been a fun experience through which to lead two seperate groups of people. Each week we would journal and then come together to discuss things we saw in Scripture, circumstances, and conversations. As I have looked back over the last six weeks something hit me profoundly.

In the last few months (since mid-summer) God has been convicting me heavily about sharing my faith. It's as though I was regularly confronted with the need to share the gospel any time I would read Scripture. I would hear a sermon and the need to share the gospel would beat me over the head. Conversations I had with other believers would challenge me to step up in this area of my life. And that was really just the stuff that started it all.

In the last month and a half several cool but crazy things have happened in this area of my life. The end result is that I currently have several neat opportunities to talk about the gospel with various people. We just had a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses stop by. This was the third or fourth conversation we've had with these particular people. Today we were talking a bit about whether or not Jesus was God or claimed to be God. (They know I'm a pastor, but they keep coming back.) Likewise, three Mormon missionaries stopped by just a day or two ago. They'll be coming over for dinner with us in about a week and a half. They know that I'm a pastor as well, but Sarah let them know that we've love to let them practice their presentations on us, talk with them about Jesus, and discuss our faith. I think it has the potential to grow into a really cool dialogue, and who knows how God will use it. Additionally, I was emailed by a Roman Catholic gentleman in Missouri a month or so ago. He had some questions about how a "Scripture only" person would understand certain doctrines. We've since been emailing back and forth discussing various issues of Church history, doctrine, and the gospel. It's been an interesting exchange that seems likely to continue for quite some time yet. And finally, just this week I got an email from a friend of mine who is an atheist. We haven't talked about matters of God and faith in about a year, but he asked me a question, based on a recent sermon I preached, and we've been discussing it briefly the last few days. I have been VERY thankful for this last exchange, and it has also provided some food for thought.

My friend looked at Christians in general and is turned off by what he sees. In particular, he has a hard time believing that many of us actually believe that Jesus is the only way someone comes to know God. After all, he argues, how would our lives look if we really believed it? He wrote, "What would change in my life if I really believed what you say you believe? My answer would be, "Everything"... most Christians' answers, "Just enough." That pierced my heart because sadly its often true.

If I truly believe in the reality of God and Hell, and I truly believe that Jesus Christ is the only distinction between the two, then why am I sometimes hesitant to clearly share the gospel with someone. If I'm honest there's only two possible solutions. 1) I don't actually believe the truth of the gospel. or 2) I don't actually love other people. I'm just selfish and love myself, so I'm more concerned about their opinion of me than whether or not they ever truly experience life with God. Either option is rather disturbing. Option #1 means I'm a massive hypocrite. Option #2 means I'm self-absorbed and unloving. Either way, those aren't pleasant options.

I suppose the only right answer is that I'd better not try to sit on the fence. Either the gospel is true, or it's not. And if it is, then everything in my life should look different than it otherwise would. Which reminds me of a quote that I'll close with. (It's from Renovation of the Heart, by Dallas Willard, and I'm quoting from memory, so please forgive me if you know the quote and it's not worded exactly right.)

"We don't believe something merely because we say we believe it, nor do we believe something just because we believe we believe it. We believe something when we act as though it were true."