the church as the body of Christ

So the church is the body of Christ.  Casting Crowns had a wonderful song awhile back with the lyrics “If we are the body why arent his feet going, why arent his feet reaching…”  It is without question that the church fails to nurture, worship, or do mission in a god-glorifying manner.  (But thank God for his grace!) The mark of a Christian is love, as the late Francis Schaeffer put it.  If the world, or even Christians, are going to know that we are sons and daughters of heaven then we must love our neighbors and our enemies.

Why? Simply put: if you want to know what Jesus is like, then look to the church.  If you want to know what God is like, then look to the church.  If you want to know what God’s love is like, then look to his body, look to his community, his people, his temple.

One movement that I throw my energy into is To Write Love On Her Arms, these guys have a story to share and that story in many ways parallels God’s design for the church.  A group of friends came along side to assist a friend in pain. They wrote love on their arms as a visible expression to this young lady, who was suicidal, that she would know she was loved. Further they never left her alone.

Take a step back and look at the church like this: God calls sinners to him and makes those sinners his children. But he does not stop there; he makes them a people- his church. But we are still sinners, yet God designed our salvation to be completed through relationships and our mundane lives. So we are people needing change, helping people needing change.  We all have our issues as none of us are perfect and like Christ on this side of heaven. Some may be more godly than others, some may have more insane, crazy, wacky issues- but we are all messed up. Gossip is just as ugly as murder. Depression, lust, gluttony, and lies are not kosher either.

How people change is through relationships; through a community that orients each other to God through his revelation. That community shares a life and does mission together. Church is not just worship on Sunday morning or the spiritual formation classes or even fellowship dinners.  The body of Christ must engage in worship and mission, but it also must focus on developing a community that loves people together.

Things I am thankful for

The real big ones:

God: His love for me and his revelation of himself and my need for a savior. (And the daily provision/sustenance given)

Jesus: the one and only Savior, Lord, and Judge.

The Holy Spirit: he is not done with me yet.

Jen – for many, many things; cooking, doing laundry, but most importantly for sharing her life with me.

my family; both my in-laws and my family

my church – New Covenant – for teaching me the godward life lived in community

my friends – Paneras Bread, Dave and Busters, for jello shots, tea time, study groups; for pointing me to Christ and showing me that life is not all about myself.

my job – for allowing me to do my passion: teach people about the historic work of the Lord

my students – for putting up with my antics, my confusion, and learning about Jesus; also for Ninja, Call of Duty, Halo… and allowing me to be a part of your lives.

my colleagues – for teaching and showing me what it means to be a teacher

mentors – alive and dead, met and unmet – thank you for showing me the way.

the tiny ones (in no particular order and they are random)

laughing; color; Music; Things that stretch my mind: from books to TV shows (Fringe, Stargate Universe, Glee, Community, the Office); Cars; Macs; bookcases; desks, and folders (they help my organization); lactaid milk and tablets; creeds/confessions/prayer books, social media – facebook, blogs, and twitter; as they allow me to meet new people; jeans, wool sweaters, tweed, and argyle; pictures; powerschool, and my couch.

relationships matter

Yesterday I alluded to a recent heart struggle where discontentment abounded because of teaching at Trinity.  Or so I thought.  Again I wanted to move to the next stage in life- go to seminary, graduate, plant a church, and minister in THAT context.  I’m still searching my own heart to why that is the case, but I was discontent with the calling, role, and vocation the Lord gave me.  I’m finding that the best place for pastoral training is Trinity at this time in my life.  If I went to seminary I would learn invaluable disciplines; my mind would be stretched as I learned Greek and mastered the Hebrew, church history, systematics, and counseling methodology.  But what one really needs is life experience that teaches you about yourself, people, and life.  Trinity allows for an outlet of immediate application as I study God’s word.

Theological knowledge does not make you a better Christian, nor does it save you.  Instead it equips you, provided you understand and know people, to minister to them more effectively.  Ministry is not about teaching theology, apologetics, etc., instead it is about sharing lives with one another.  That is what church is all about; and discipleship is what the Christian life is for.  How God designed us to grow, mature, and develop in grace is through one another.  ”As iron sharpens iron, one friend sharpens another.” (An Ancient Hebrew Proverb, my paraphrase)

recent thoughts (the 11.16 edition)

Posting has been scarce recently, but my mind has been and currently is in overdrive.  This week is finals week at RPTS so over the weekend I wrote my final.  (Jen was in Philadelphia.)  My last paper for Pentateuch is due this week as well.  School’s been busy, in terms of Trinity and RPTS; but my mind has been on the quasi related topic of counseling and discipling students.

Recently some of my students, individually, came up to me and shared with me some issues in their lives.  The effect this has had on my life is positive and encouraging.  You see a month or so ago I was contemplating going to seminary full time.  I wanted to get out: preach, teach, and counsel in the context of the organized church.  But that subject has not been on my mind for many days and weeks. God has used these students to encourage me in the calling that he has upon my life now.  What I wanted, God provided in a way that I did not see coming at all.  So my mind has been filled with the topics of same-sex attraction, romantic relationships, image, family, assurance of salvation, depression, and how the gospel applies to these situations.

In doing so I’ve learned much about teaching and the importance of a relationship.  I enjoy my students, and they need to know that.  They need to know that I love and care about them and the reality that teaching is not “just a job.”   When they do know this about me, when I chastise them for ruckus, pranks, improper conversation topics, etc. (the list is long) the words go further.

PS. this is why I am taking biblical counseling classes and reading all the CCEF stuff I can find.

“Death be not Proud” by John Donne

A few years ago my good high school friend Rachel passed away.  Recently in apologetics I’ve taught on the problem of evil and theodicy. So the pain of the past revisited me of late. But when Rachel passed away another high school friend sat in an English class at Covenant College.  One of the reading selections that he had was John Donne’s Death be not Proud.

Holy Sonnett #10

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell’st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.