The Story of I am Not

Be Still

“Step out of the traffic!  Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”  Psalm 46:10 (MSG)

 

Today we live in a world that is so complex.  The hustle and bustle of our society tends to drown out the inner voice inside us this is trying so hard to get out.  We all long to be free.  Not just free of our worries and cares, but to be totally free.  The way God intended us to be, but how do we get there?  How do we navigate our way through this maze called life?  In Psalm 46, we hear the voice of God calling us to “Be Still”.  For some of us that is hard.  In our society, we have been conditioned to be busy with our work and even our free time.  We are even so busy on what we call “Vacations” that we come back more tired than when we left.  We return to work tired and more drained instead of refreshed and relaxed.  How do we fix this habit of busyness?

God calls us to be still and know that He is God.  This may seem like a strange phrase, but it is very profound.  David knew all too well the busyness of life.  As he wrote Psalm 46, he was busy fleeing for his life.  Saul was chasing after him and David spent most of this time in hiding.  He begins this Psalm by acknowledging that God is our hiding place and refuge; a place where we can find rest and peace.  We try to find peace in a lot of things.  Our jobs, our bank accounts, and even our church, but God is our true source of peace.  We must seek time to be silent and be alone with God to truly know who He is.  Then and only then will we find true peace.

I like the way the Message uses the phrase “Step out of traffic” in Psalm 46:10.  Doesn’t it seem like we are in this never-ending rush of traffic as we make our way through life.  We feel like we must keep up with the flow of life around us and at times the pace is more that we can take.  We look back at our life and the pace that we have been traveling, only to realize that we have missed some of the most beautiful sights along the journey.  God wants us to step out traffic and rest in Him for a while, but what does that look like. 

In Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas looks at several paths that people journey on as they connect with God.  Most of the pathways align with our unique personality.  God has wired us a certain way, thus we each connect with Him in a unique way.  As we connect with God, we undergo a moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth.   It is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing our lives more and more under the influences of the new principles placed in the soul at salvation.   In other words, the way we connect to God facilitates the process of perfecting the work begun at salvation, and it extends to the whole man.  It is the special function of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work.  Faith is instrumental in how we connect with God.  It secures union to Christ, and brings the believer into living contact with the truth, where he is led to yield to obedience and to embrace the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.  After reading this book, I realize that the Contemplative Path is really the building block for the other paths that were discussed.  For us to be able to connect with God, we must think and contemplate about this God that we are trying to connect with.  This idea of contemplation is the basic DNA or “building block” that the other paths build from.  It is not necessarily the best path, but it is foundational.  I feel that we have not really put enough emphasis on the contemplative process.  We plan our services, Bible Studies, and Small Groups around a curriculum that focuses on facts and intellectual knowledge, but leaves very little room for people to sit in silence and contemplate who God is.  We have a created an entire culture that worships a God that very few have taken the time to get to know.  One thing that I am trying to do in our Student Ministry is to intentionally create some time for our students to connect with God and hear from Him on a new level.  Each quarter we have a Contemplative Prayer Service.  Students go from station to station as music plays.  They participate in the service by interacting with what is written on the signs at each station.  These services have been very meaningful for our students.  Many for the first time felt as if they connected with God.  I believe we need to create environments like this because we can be about the “busy work” of ministry and forget to help people, or even ourselves, connect with the God we serve.  Take some time this week and get alone with God.  Connect with God of the universe, be still, and fall in love with the One who created you.

 

Who is My Neighbor?

In Luke 10:25- 37, when the expert in the Law asks Jesus who his neighbor is, what is he really asking Jesus?  I believe that the expert of the Law was asking a loaded question.  I do not think that he was really interested in identifying who his neighbor was, but wanted to know who he could ignore and get away with it.  Many times questions like this are asked to justify what a person is already doing.

When Jesus suggests through the Parable of the Good Samaritan that it was the Samaritan who acted as a neighbor to the half dead man, how does this answer the earlier question of the expert in the Law? Jesus turns the focus back to motive and action.  Being a neighbor to someone is not a passive thing.  It requires action.  A Neighbor is not just a person who lives next door to you.  He wanted to highlight the fact that a true neighbor would put the needs of another above his own.  The Samaritan went against tradition and custom to help someone in need.  Would we do the same?  Jesus wanted to people to think about how we act toward others on a daily basis.

    What is the implication of Jesus’ answer for who we are to love and what love means in concrete terms?  This has been something that church and believers have struggled with since this parable was spoken.  We know what it means, but we do grasp how to put it into practice.  In Love This, Andy Braner uses a great illustration to shed some light on how this might be lived out.

“Sometimes loving your neighbor means reaching out to people of another generation—people much older than you. Sometimes it involves providing physical care of companionship for someone in the last chapter of life’s adventure.

The question is, how? How can you show genuine, heartfelt love to someone you have nothing in common with? How can you initiate a meaningful relationship with someone old enough to be your grandparent?

One of the greatest gifts you can offer someone is a genuine interest in his or her life. Many elderly people are especially grateful for the opportunity to pass on their personal history. If you come equipped with a sense of curiosity, a respectful attitude, and a listening ear, you have nothing to fear when it comes to interacting with senior citizens. Work through your apprehension to become someone who is interested in learning about people from previous generations, someone who will tend to their needs, someone who will listen to their stories and laugh at their jokes.

I met my wife in college when her grandfather (Pappy) was still alive. I met Pappy for the first time when he was 79 years old. I’ll never forget it. He shook my hand, looked me in the eyes as only Pappy could do, and made me feel truly welcome—even though I was just a punk college student dating his prized granddaughter.

Every time I visited his house on Whippoorwill Hill, he would pour me a cup of coffee and tell me the most outrageous stories I’d ever heard. I don’t know if they were all true or not, but the man knew how to hold my attention. I remember sitting at the foot of his old blue leather chair, listening for hours as he told about all the history he’d lived. He told stories about the war, how he met Gram, the old days of the camping business, and how he loved to build stuff. Every story session always went back to some building he built back in the good old days.

With each visit I was happy to learn about the past, but I wanted to learn more about the man telling the story. I knew Pappy had graduated from USC with a degree in engineering. I also knew he loved to construct buildings. So I went down to the local hardware store and purchased a set of building plans for a garage-style barn to be build beside my house.

I took the plans straight to Pappy’s house. I knocked on the door, and he welcomed me in with his usual warm smile. “Can I get you some coffee?” he asked. I walked in with the plans under my arm. When we reached the kitchen table, I rolled them out. “What are those for, Boy?” (He always called me “Boy”—not in a derogatory way but as a term of endearment.) I asked if he would teach me how to build the barn. His face immediately lit up, and he asked, “When do we start?”

For the next few months we worked on the barn, and I learned a lot about the man his friends called Spike. He was super funny. He was incredibly creative. And he didn’t mind taking time out of his life to teach me a few things about building. He showed me the power of patience, the value of precision, and the price for making something nice. He helped me understand how to create foundations, how to build walls, and how to measure for roofing structures. It was one of the greatest times in my life.” (Braner, p. 114-118)

    Are there any people or people groups in the immediate context of your church that some in your congregation do not thing of as “neighbors” in the manner of the parable?   I do believe there is still an air of arrogance among white Christians.  I believe this attitude is due to the mainstream marketing that has occurred within the American Church.  If you look at the Bible Study Material, Book Covers, Websites, or other promotional material it depicts only white people.  It is very rare to find promotional material that is culturally inclusive.  I do not think that this is intentional.  I just think that we do not know how to market to other cultures.  Therefore, it seems that White Christians are only interested in reaching their own kind and are not interested in the rest of the world.  That can appear to be arrogance if viewed by one looking from the outside.  Also when White Christians talk about other churches, they feel the need to classify them by race rather than just another church within the Kingdom.  For example, they talk with their friends and say, “Have you heard about what is going on at Salem Baptist Church”?  You know that’s the Black Church on the corner.”  Or they will classify a church as a “Hispanic Church” or an “Asian Church”.  We are all one church.  You do not hear people saying “Hey I visited First Baptist today.  I really liked it.  You know that’s the White Church on the corner.”  Sometimes it seems as though we feel that we have cornered the market on what it means to be Christian just because we are white.  We need to move past this arrogance and see all people as Jesus did.  He had compassion for all.  If we are going to be the church that God called us to be, we must humbly take His message of saving grace to all.  The church as a whole does not think about the “The Third Church” because many people see that is being across the ocean.  The do not see as it being right in their backyard.  They say, “Reaching those people is the missionaries job.”  Many do not realize the “Third Church” is right in their neighborhood.  We must help our people grasp a Glocal Vision to reach “all” with the Gospel of Christ.  

 

Book Review: Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service

Ministry in the Image of God:  The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service
 By Stephen Seamands                                                           
 © 2005, Downers Grove, IL, Intervarsity Press.  ISBN 978-0-8308-3338-2           

 

CHAPTER TITLES & MINI-SUMMARIES 

1. Trinitarian Ministry:  Why it Matters:  As Ministers, we need to recognize the working of the Trinity in the task and motivation of ministry.

2. Relational Priesthood:  The Nature of Trinitarian Ministry:  The Trinity helps us view the relational aspect of ministry through the lens of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3.  Joyful Intimacy:  The Heart of Trinitarian Ministry:  We must be open and honest with God in order to create intimacy with him.  Also if we can connect with others on more than just a superficial level, we can attain true intimacy as we minister to the local church.

4.  Glad Surrender:  The Heart of Trinitarian Ministry:  The surrendering of our lives to serve Christ is a human expression of the attitude of how each member of the Trinity relates to the other.

5. Complex Simplicity:  The Mystery of Trinitarian Ministry: The Trinity sounds simple, but the Trinity is man’s feeble effort to define the attributes of God.  This mystery helps provide a frame-work for service and ministry.

6.  Gracious Self Acceptance:  The Particularity of Trinitarian Ministry:  The uniqueness of each member of the Trinity allows ministry to be shaped and colored in special ways to accomplish God’s mission.

7.  Mutual Indwelling:  The Reciprocity of Trinitarian Ministry:  The fact that we are filled with the Holy Spirit allows us to allow every member of the Trinity to work in and through us.

8.  Passionate Ministry:  The Impulse of Trinitarian Ministry:  The work of the Trinity helps to control the heartbeat and origin of the ministry that we fulfill.

 

SUMMARY:

In Ministry in the Image of God, Seamands explores the impact of the Trinity on the function of ministry.  He begins looking at the need to recognize the working of the Trinity in the task and motivation of ministry.  He points out the fact that the Trinity helps us view the relational aspect of ministry through the lens of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We must be open and honest with God in order to create intimacy with him.  Intimacy is something that I think is misunderstood.  In our society, intimacy is equated with sex.  I believe that true intimacy occurs when we really get to know people, and we are known.  We each long to be understood and accepted.  If we can connect with others on more than just a superficial level, we can attain true intimacy.  I think we can really experience God when we are honest with Him.  He knows us and longs for us to know Him.  Seamands also points out that the surrendering of our lives to serve Christ is a human expression of the attitude of how each member of the Trinity relates to the other.  The Trinity sounds simple, but the Trinity is man’s feeble effort to define the attributes of God.  This mystery helps provide a framework for service and ministry.  The uniqueness of each member of the Trinity allows ministry to be shaped and colored in special ways to accomplish God’s mission.  The fact that we are filled with the Holy Spirit allows us to allow every member of the Trinity to work in and through us.  Finally, Seamands closes with the thought that the work of the Trinity helps to control the heartbeat and origin of the ministry that we fulfill.

KEY IDEAS: 

             The overarching idea is that the Trinity should be fleshed out in our ministry on a daily basis.  For example, the Father is expressed in our theology or the way we view God.  The Son is represented in our view of the Gospel and how it is shared and preached.  The Holy Spirit should be the fuel that powers our ministry in the present and into the future.  Seamands outlines seven main characteristic of the Trinitarian lifestyle as:

1.              Relational Personhood: The Nature of Trinitarian Ministry

2.              Joyful Intimacy: The Foundation of Trinitarian Ministry

3.              Glad Surrender: The Heart of Trinitarian Ministry

4.              Complex Simplicity: The Mystery of Trinitarian Ministry

5.              Gracious Self-Acceptance: The Particularity of Trinitarian Ministry

6.              Mutual Indwelling: The Reciprocity of Trinitarian Ministry

7.      Passionate Mission: The Impulse of Trinitarian Ministry

 

GREAT QUOTES: 

“The primary purpose of the Trinitarian grammar is not for comprehension or communication, but communion with God.” (p.12)

“The Trinity not only reveals that persons are essentially relational, it also discloses characteristics that define healthy interpersonal relationships.” (p. 35)

“No Trinity is conceivable without the lamb, without the sacrifice of love, without the crucified Son.” (p. 79)

As we apprehend God’s triune self-revelation, we also acknowledge and gladly confess that we do not full comprehend God.” (p. 103) 

The Trinitarian circle where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit indwell and are indwelt by one another is open, not closed.  We have been invited into the circle to participate I the divine dance. (p. 145)

 

SUGGESTED READING:

Knowing the Name of God: Trinitarian Tapestry of Grace, Faith, and Community, Roderick Luepp

Beholding the Beauty of the Lord, Henri Nouwen

These Three Are One:  The Practice of Trinitarian Theology, David Cunningham

The Promise of the Trinity, Colin Gunton

 

REFLECTION AND REACTION: 

The Trinity is man’s feeble effort to define the attributes of God. The Bible points to the fact that the Trinity refers to the triune personalities of God.  If you look to the early Church Fathers, the Trinity was an issue that they spent a lot of time trying to wrap their minds around. It is still true today. We must develop a clear theology of the Trinity and be able to articulate it well, if we are going to communicate this major tenant of our faith with those who are seeking to join mankind’s conversation with the God who created them.  We hold to the substance of the Trinity, but have no clue how to articulate it.  God did not give us much information on how God can be three and one, but I think that the more we get to know Him and really follow Him it will become clearer.  For example, I knew my role as a son as I was growing up.  I dreamed one day of being a husband and a father.  I knew that I would reach that goal one day, and believed I could be all three (Son, father, and husband), but until I became intimately involved in each of those areas I really did not understand those roles.  It is the same with God.  The more we understand the role of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the better equipped we will be to do ministry.

            The Trinity has been evident from the beginning of time.  Creation is a perfect example of the Trinity working together to accomplish God’s overall purpose. In Genesis 1:2 we see that the earth was formless and darkness covered the deep waters, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.  The Holy Spirit played an active role in the creation account.  A little further in Genesis 1 we get a glimpse of a conversation between all members of the Trinity as they discussed creating man.  In Genesis 1:26, we see the God Head conferring with the other two members of the Trinity as they decide to make man “in our image”.  Jesus also played a vital role in creation.  In John 1:3, we see that God created everything “through Christ”.  Jesus was the agent of Creation.  That is why it is so profound that the very person who played the most active role in Creation came back to give His life to redeem the very thing He created.  The Trinity is one of the basic foundations of the Christian Faith, but also the most misunderstood.  When we look at it against the backdrop of the entirety of Scripture, we can see that each member of the Trinity has a unique role in the Great, Grand Story of God.

     The Holy Spirit is the unifying factor within the Trinity.  What I mean by that is it can be explained by the analogy of a person.  God is the head.  All things originate from the head and thus communicates those things to the body.  The body represents Christ.  Christ is the active part of the Trinity that executes the head’s will.  The Holy Spirit is like the blood that flows through the body unifying the Trinity into one unified being.  The Holy Spirit’s role is to help conform us to the image of Christ.  This process is know as Sanctification, but I like to refer to it as transformation.  It is a process that we go through in order to become more like Jesus. 

 Today we live in a world that is so complex.  The hustle and bustle of our society tends to drown out the inner voice inside us this is trying so hard to get out.  We all long to be free.  Not just free of our worries and cares, but to be totally free.  The way God intended us to be, but how do we get there?  How do we navigate our way through this maze called life?  The key is transformation.  A caterpillar cannot truly be free and become what God intended it to be until it goes through a transformation process and becomes a butterfly.  If that is possible for every part of nature, then why not for us.  The transformation process is not an easy one.  Very few people could explain what it means to be transformed.  In order to begin this journey, we must do an inventory of who we are.  Who are we created to be?  We must be liberated from this hectic, burdensome life, and live a life of freedom that Christ has in store for all of us.  In order to be truly free, we must allow Christ to be in total control of our lives by yielding to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life and let Him have total control of our lives.

 The Holy Spirit allows us to be the “incarnate” representative of Christ on earth.  We will have the same spirit and mind of Christ if we tap into the power and guidance that the Holy Spirit offers thus allowing us to form our Ministry in the Image of God.

 

Reign of God

I believe the Reign of God as it refers to the church means that we must have a Kingdom focus to our ministry.  Is the church that God established strayed from the very mission that it was given in the beginning?  I think that many churches do not understand that the church can not function properly unless it is functioning under the Reign of God.  The late author and Christian historian Robert Webber may have found part of the answer in this startling quote he picked up from an unknown source:

· The Church started as a missionary movement in Jerusalem.

· It moved to Rome and became an institution.

· It traveled to Europe and became a culture.

· It crossed the Atlantic to America and became a big business.

While this is simplistic, it does ring true. It appears that religious people have, on the whole, lost their “transforming salt” and are no longer an “attractive light” that most people want to follow. Webber and many others believe that traditional evangelism reached its high point in North America in the 1980s and by 2000 was in the throes of its last gasps.  The church began to see itself as an entity and not a connected part of the Reign of God.

It may seem strange to think that traditional evangelism is in its last gasps when some North American churches seem to be increasing in number. Indeed, if the measure of success is church attendance, donations, people’s participation, numbers of programs, or square footage of church space, then many of today’s churches would be considered overwhelming successful. But are these factors valid measurements for the success of a church? If not, what is? The apostle Paul established some indicators. He stated that the leadership of the church was responsible “to equip God’s people to do his work…” so they would be “…mature and full grown in the Lord,measuring up to the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13, NLT). “Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live…so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NLT). The disciple James went on to add: “Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions?” (James 2:14, NLT).

We can not forget that the church was established by God through what Christ did on the cross to ultimately fulfill His mission in the world.  When we get outside of the Reign of God (kingdom focus), we dishonor they very message that we are called to spread to the ends of the earth.