Packaging 69,400 Meals for Haiti

I still can't figure it out.

We did the math countless times. We took the average pace of a packing station, we looked at how many volunteers had signed up, and it should have taken us... all day.

Instead, we were taping up the last box of food before our contemporary worship service let out. It's a God thing: we packaged 69,400 meals which we're sending down to an orphanage in Haiti. Then, later this year, we'll send a missions team to Haiti to spend time with these orphans and share the love of Christ.

It was one of those mornings when each of us knew, for a fact, that we were making a real difference. These orphans had been rescued off the streets and were desperate for food. Missionaries responded to that need. And now we are one of the churches who supports the missionaries. Praise God for that chain of compassion -- for every volunteer who responds faithfully to God's call.

Already the missions committee is gearing up for our next focus (local needs), praying to be aligned with God's desire for the upcoming season.

What kind of charity gets you excited?
Have you taken part in the ice bucket challenge, or what was the last fundraiser you were a part of?
In your opinion, what are the best aspects of charity and what are the biggest challenges?

Party-animal Jesus (No, Seriously)

When I'm considering a product on Amazon, I always read the most positive and negative reviews. The two extremes reveal a lot. If a negative review says, "I HATE this vacuum cleaner because even though it's affordable, and cleans well, it doesn't have a cappuccino machine attachment!" Then I know, okay, I should get the vacuum.

Here's what the grumblers said about Jesus: "Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" And another time, "The disciples of John fast often and pray frequently. The disciples of the Pharisees do the same, but your disciples are always eating and drinking." In other words, the grumblers were upset with Jesus because so many people felt comfortable around him. >-<

Jesus was fun to be around. We know that because of everyone who flocked to him: tax collectors invited him to their party, sinners wanted to share a meal with him, blue-collar workers would drop their nets to follow and become disciples. Can you imagine the kinds of conversations they must have had around the dinner table?

I'm fascinated by the way Jesus is perceived by his enemies, and the way he is perceived by his friends. One of his very best friends was a guy named Peter. Well, actually, we call him Peter but that's not the name he was born with. Jesus gave him the nickname Peter, which means 'The Rock,' during a time when Peter was being anything but stable and dependable.

So why would Jesus give a nickname like that to his friend? We have two interpretive choices: Either Jesus was being cruel by pointing out Peter's shortcomings. But that doesn't vibe with everything else we know about Jesus' character and his friendship with Peter. OR this is a peek into the type of friendship that Jesus and Peter shared. They were close enough friends that they could have an inside joke. It's like calling a fat guy 'slim.' Jesus knew who Peter was and who Peter would become.

It matters that Jesus was funny.

1. Because otherwise parts of the Bible make no sense.

If you think Jesus is always super-serious, then many stories are going to sit flat on the page. Or worse, they'll entirely confuse you. Theologian Elton Trueblood wrote a book called 'The Humor of Christ' and here's what he had to say about Jesus:

"There are numerous passages... which are practically incomprehensible when regarded as sober prose, but which are luminous once we become liberated from the gratuitous assumption that Christ never joked... Once we realize that Christ was not always engaged in pious talk, we have made an enormous step on the road to understanding."

One example of a story that would be incomprehensible with a super-serious Jesus is the exchange found in Mark 7:24-30 (it's actually told in Matthew 15 as well). I could write a whole post on this passage so I may have to save it for another time.

2. Because Jesus calls us to be joy-filled and good-humored.

We're not called to be like the humorless Pharisees, we're called to be full of praise, in awe of God's grace, and able to give a reason for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. At one point in the Bible it's described like this: you know how happy a person is when they've been forgiven a large debt? [I think of the end of the movie It's a Wonderful Life] The weight of the world has been lifted off that person's shoulders. They skip down the sidewalk, whistling, so thankful for all that's been done for them! That's how we're called to live as believers. Jesus came to give us life, and life to the full.

3. Because having fun with Jesus is the Gospel message.

We sometimes say, "Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins." But that's only half the reason! We're not just saved FROM, we're saved FOR. In the same way Jesus died and then rose again, we're called to let go of our old self-focused lives, and experience a new Jesus-centered life. Life is never the same after you've had an encounter with the living God.

The humorless are deeply offended by this Gospel message. It doesn't seem fair that God would show so much grace towards imperfect persons. They're writing their negative review, "Sure, Jesus can do the miraculous, and he rose from the dead, and he offers a relationship with the Triune God. But do you see who he ate lunch with yesterday!?"

Jesus is Funny (Parables and Similes)

I ended my last entry with a mention of funny images in the Bible. The words "funny" and "Bible" don't usually appear in the same sentence. But really they should! Check out some of the images Jesus shared:

     Building house upon the sand instead of the rock

     Mustard seed growing into a big tree

     Parents giving their child a stone instead of bread

     Putting a lamp under a basket

     A camel through the eye of a needle

     Straining a gnat out of soup and then swallowing a camel

     Washing the outside of a cup but leaving the inside dirty

     Pointing out a splinter in another's eye when you have a plank in yours

We've been trained to think of these in very serious ways. But try to suspend your training for just a second and consider how absurd these would have been to the first audiences.

These images teach us about deeper truths, sure, but they also elicit a smile when we actually picture what Jesus is describing.

Still not convinced that Jesus told jokes? Well let's look at what Jesus said about the Pharisees. These guys were the very definition of humorless. Their goal was to create enough rules that they would be guaranteed "good," and guarantee all non-Pharisees as being not good enough.

Jesus had a great time poking fun of these guys. He made fun of the way the Pharisees prayed; we get this image of the Pharisees scrunching their faces and clenching really hard to squeeze out their prayer. Jesus made fun of the way they tithed; it is crazy to think of someone tithing out of their spice rack.

Probably my favorite little exchange, though, comes from Mark 7. And to fully appreciate this joke, you have to understand the concept of corban. Corban is when some money or resources were set aside to later give to God. This tradition was just fine for most Jewish believers but the Pharisees had taken corban to a strange new extreme. Basically, picture going to your friend and asking for $10 and the friend says, "Oh, eeps, well I would, but the thing is that I plan on giving God $10 in about 5 years. So I can't loan you money to buy a sandwich right now."  That's basically what the Pharisees were doing.

Jesus teases the Pharisees by explaining to them that food is great for everyone when it comes from the outside. But if you keep it to yourself, what comes from the inside is no longer good. Oh, snap! Now if you're like me, or like the 12 disciples, then we missed the joke. But the Pharisees sure got it. They were enraged.

The disciples, a little later, pulled Jesus aside to ask why the Pharisees got so upset. Jesus explains the joke and in Mark 7:19 even spells out that he was talking about feces. Haha, basically, Jesus was saying, "Those Pharisees are obsessed with staying ritually clean but they are full of crap." That's funny.

Stay tuned for my next post which will look at Jesus being funny with his disciples, and, why it even matters that Jesus was funny.

The Bible (tl;dr)

Let's face it: the Bible isn't always easy to read. There are parts that seem dry, outdated, or downright confusing. Many well-intentioned readers have planned to go cover to cover, only to get bogged down in a section like Leviticus.

Yet the stories of the Bible are meant to come alive, to jump off the page, and give us a clear picture of how God can be found in our lives. We are meant to open the Scriptures and discover the truth of phrases like, "All Scripture is God-breathed," and, "The Word of God is living and active." (2 Tim 3:16 and Heb. 4:12).

Why the disconnect? Well, in my previous post I shared about a humorous exchange between Jesus and Nathanael. Here are 4 reasons why it's hard to access the humor of the Bible:

1. We are separated by culture.

We pack ourselves into stuffy sanctuaries and share Scripture like it's a classroom lecture hall. But think about where and how these Bible stories were first shared: in the hustle and bustle of a Middle Eastern marketplace, or out in the open countryside. People didn't have time for boring stories. No wonder the early rabbis were such great storytellers! And Jesus was part of that dynamic, oral culture.

2. We are separated by time.

Have you ever tried to look at political cartoons from the past? The jokes no longer make sense. In fact, you may feel old looking at this old cartoons because there are entire generations of kids who won't recognize the political figures. The same is true of some of the jokes in the Bible; unless we learn about the 1st century society, we will miss the punchlines.

3. We're separated by language.

While we certainly can trust the modern English translations of the Bible, we still need to recognize that not everything can be translated exactly. Sometimes a word has shades of meaning in one language that it doesn't have in another. If you're confused by a verse, don't worry, research a little or ask a pastor you trust.  [or send me a message -- I'm a nerd when it comes to translation and linguistics]

4. We're separated by familiarity.

People in the first century were able to hear those New Testament passages for the very first time. Inventive wording caught people by surprise. Images popped and grabbed attention. Nowadays we have these same phrases plastered across bumper stickers and coffee mugs. We have forgotten how absurd, silly, and unexpected some of these original stories were. My next post will explore some of these silly, unexpected images.

Jesus is Hilarious (John 1:43-51)

Have you noticed how movies about Jesus always portray him as deeply serious? These film versions act as if every statement he uttered was breathy and didactic. But is that the Jesus we see in the Bible? Or as Christians know him?

Consider the exchange Jesus has with Nathanael in the first chapter of John: When Nathanael's friends come to tell him they've found the Messiah, Nathanael responds, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

Nathanael reacts like this because Nazareth is known as a backwater kind of place. I grew up in New York and it's similar to what we'd say, "Can anything good come out of New Jersey?" [And we were saying this even before The Jersey Shore aired]

If we view this scene as a deeply serious exchange, we may imagine Jesus walking up to Nathanael, wagging his finger, and gently chiding, "Tsk, tsk, Nathanael. I know your thoughts. Be serious and follow me." That's not what Jesus does at all.

Jesus responds, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" This is hilarious but it's easy to miss the punchline unless you know the back story. Before Israel was a nation, God named a guy Israel, whose birth name was Jacob. Jacob was a deceiver, constantly tricking his family, friends, and even kings. When he was young, for example, Jacob fooled his blind father into thinking Jacob was actually his hairy brother Esau. The father mistakingly gave the birthright to Jacob, which could not be undone.

Jesus' response could be paraphrased, "Hey guys, gather around and take a picture! I found a mythical creature: the first son of Jacob who isn't being deceptive!" Ha, this is a great comeback. Jesus responds to humor with more humor.

There are funny little exchanges like this throughout the entire Bible. One author said it well when he wrote, "The Bible is full of irony, wit, double entendre, paradox, epigrams, incongruity, hyperbole, absurdity, verbal subtleties, indirection, clever turns of phrases, and pungency of speech."

If you find a humorous moment/story in the Bible, message me and let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts. My next post is going to be on what makes it difficult to access the humor of the Bible.

Young believers don't know any better

My friend just e-mailed me to say, "I was listening to the radio and heard that 80 to 90% of the people who share the word of Christ have been a Christian for less than 2 years. Where are the people who have believed longer?"

I have trouble fact-checking this statistic [if you can, please leave a comment] but I know the general observation is true.

Why? Why are the long-term-churched people holding back from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? What is it about new believers that makes them so willing to share? As sad as I am that old timers are holding back, I am unbelievably excited that younger believers are sharing at such a high rate. What great news!

Here are three things young believers feel that go missing in the old timers:

1. Newness

If you recently began a relationship with Jesus then everything feels new and exciting. It's like the honeymoon phase of a romantic relationship. You love every minute of being with that person and you want to shout it from the mountaintops. Old timers get desensitized. They can finish the end of the verse before the liturgist shares it. The message feels obvious so why share it?

BUT here's the thing the old timers are missing: God's grace is infinite. We can never reach the end of new, fresh discoveries about God's character and His plan. If we're not experiencing newness in our faith it's because we stopped reaching for new experiences, new faithfulness, seeking God's presence around the bend. In other words, we settled.

Let's emulate these new believers and discover truths for the very first time. Let's be shaped by awe. Let's be faithful stewards of God's great mysteries.

2. Expectation

Someone who has been a believer less than 2 years might think, "A Christian shared the truth with me; that must be what Christians do. Since someone shared with me and it changed my life, I should share with others."

At what point does a churched person begin to believe the lie that evangelism is only for the special few? Old timers begin to think that only the pastor can pray, or the spiritually charged extroverts, or the Bible scholars with all the right answers.

Every believer has a story worth sharing. Get out there and be willing to give the reason for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus.

3. Diversity

If someone has been a believer for less than 2 years then chances are high they have a lot of non-Christian friends. When a person finds something life-changing, they want to share it with those who mean the most to them: friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else you want to encourage.

Many of us old-timers have fallen into the holy huddle. We get into our Christian cars and turn on the Christian radio to go have Christian picnics with Christian friends. Maybe, just maybe, we should extend our social circle. Because the world has a lot of interesting people and it's honestly more satisfying to be open and friendly with everyone.

Are you an "old-timer" who can't remember the last time you shared the message of Jesus with someone new? It's okay, be encouraged, and join the 80-90% my friend mentioned who are sharing the word of Christ.

Why No One Cares about Soccer

Where I live (in Algona, Iowa) virtually no one is interested in the World Cup. And the more I think about that fact, the more I am bothered by it. Why? Because the World Cup is a worldwide phenomenon. Almost half the world's population tunes in to watch. HALF!!! I don't think that many people even own television sets so that really shows how many people go out of their way to watch.

It makes the Super Bowl look like an adorably tiny event in comparison. Even if you're not into sports, you have to recognize the political and cultural impact of these soccer teams. For example, I'm fascinated by how Barcelona and Madrid's teams represent long-feuding political factions.

Not watching the World Cup is like saying you don't care what happens in other countries. The World Cup is one of the largest shared events in world history... not participating just seems wrong.

Of course, maybe I'm just biased. A recent Freakonomics podcast had the title "Why America Doesn't Love Soccer (Yet)." [Even that title reveals something, haha, because South America loves soccer. It's only the USA that doesn't care]. The podcast suggested that most people who watch soccer have a connection to Africa, Europe, or South America. For me that's the case: my dad was born in Zaire and I have relatives living overseas.

I also wouldn't exist if it weren't for soccer. It's true. My dad was playing on his college soccer team and my mom joined a 'cheer squad' which wrote little encouraging notes to leave in their lockers. They didn't know each other before that. My dad asked her to dinner as a way of saying thank you and, as they say, the rest is history.

So where does all of this leave me? I've resigned myself to the fact that no one around me watches soccer. I'm okay watching in isolation (though actually, my wife has surprisingly gotten excited for this World Cup). My only concluding statement would be this: if you have never watched a high-quality soccer game before, check out one of these final games of the World Cup. Try to imagine what gets the world so excited every four years.

Church Photo Directory

Our church is about to take pictures for a new photo directory. The last one came out years ago so we are all excited to have something that represents our current community. And in scheduling the photos we have discovered two interesting groups:

1. Those who are not "members" but still want to be in our directory.

Several of these individuals have approached us cautiously to say, "I'm not really an official member. But I feel connected to the people of this church and I have enjoyed my time here. May I be in the photo directory?" For example, a person may come to our Saturday night worship service but then go to a different church on Sunday morning. Or they may join a midweek small group and begin to build meaningful friendships there.

We actually have quite a few people that fall into this category because our church cares more about spiritual encouragement than institutional loyalty. And truly, when I think of Algona UMC, many of these "non-members" are the first to come to mind because they are seeking and building the kingdom of God. They are the ones who want to grow in their faith, who share their victories and struggles, and are seeking God's will no matter where it may take them.

Should we allow them to join our directory? Absolutely! It makes no sense to say these individuals are not part of our church family. They are with us week in and week out, blessing and challenging us (and hopefully vice-versa). Including them in the directory is just common sense.

2. Those "members" who are M.I.A.

I had someone approach me today and ask, "What about our church members who have not heard that we are scheduling photos to be taken?"

I misunderstood the heart of the question so I answered, "Oh, good question! We have been encouraging the church family to share with other members about the photo directory. We also have been announcing it in church service for a couple of months. Plus, we have been e-mailing the announcement weekly and have included it in our monthly newsletters that are sent out."

This individual responded, "Some people don't come to church activities and don't read those announcements. How are they going to hear?"

Hmm. So let me get this straight -- we are talking about a group of people who, at least for the last several months, have not wanted to come to church activities or be involved with the church community?

Not only would I question if these individuals are part of our church in any real sense of the word... but I would also question, "Why!?" Why in the world would a person want to be in our church directory if they do not want to be involved with our church community or in any of our church activities? That makes no sense. It's absurd. Yet, I've recently been having this kind of conversation with a handful of different persons.

I want to end on a positive note by saying that if they are lapsed members, who are not active, M.I.A., those who have cut themselves off... then certainly our desire should be to reach out with truth and love. I encourage every member of our church to invite their friends and neighbors to come experience Christ-centered community. That's not just the job of church staff: If you are motivated by God's love then sharing an invite like that is just common sense.

A Healthy Church: 1 Thessalonians 1:5

 

"Our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction."

 What made the church in Thessalonica so healthy and successful? Paul describes the reasons in the sentence above. Let's go through them one at a time:

1. Power

A healthy church has power. Paul was the first to admit he had no power of his own. The only way a ministry can have power is if it points to, and draws from, the ultimate source of power, which is God. In this context, ‘power’ means things that happen which are impossible without God in the equation. Miracles. I think that’s why God uses such imperfect people. A healthy church knows the true source of their power.

2. Holy Spirit

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, his disciples were freaked out. They didn’t know how they would grow the church without the physical presence of their Lord.   But Jesus told them that something even better was about to happen. After Jesus left, every believer would be filled with the Holy Spirit.  So at any moment of the day, in any place, you could have an immediate and up-close communion with God. If the believers in the Old Testament had any idea then I think they would have been jealous of the opportunity we have to be indwelt by God's presence. So really, for a healthy church to have the Holy Spirit means that a healthy church is aware of this up-close presence of God in their lives.



3. Full Conviction

What "full conviction" means is being sure of your beliefs. And how do you become sure? Well, over time you see the solid and lasting changes that following Jesus has made in your life. You become convinced that God has transformed you into a new person. And you know that nothing in this world could ever undo the love that God has for you.

When you think of this on the level of community, it has some really powerful implications.   One implication that pops into my mind is that genuine faith will outlast inauthentic faith, every time. All those bitter people who have taken their eyes off of Jesus, can’t outlast the love and hope that is being built up between followers of Jesus. Just can’t be done.

Rage against God

Christopher Hitchens was the charismatic and witty leader of a movement called the New Atheists. His debates are fascinating to watch and it only takes a few moments to see why he was the poster boy for militant anti-theism. For example, just watch the 4-minute opening statements of these panelists (Christopher was pitted against 4 esteemed theologians/professors).


I've recently been thinking about Christopher's struggles because I just finished a book by his famous brother, Peter Hitchens. Peter is an accomplished journalist who is just as articulate and brilliant as his sibling. What makes the story of these two brothers so interesting is that Peter was also an anti-theist until, in his adult life, he came to a powerful realization that Jesus is indeed the risen Christ.

Am I intrigued by these brothers because I also have a brother who seems the polar opposite of me? Just consider how my brother runs a successful fashion blog and is an incredible visual artist. I, on the other hand, wear clothes until they fall apart (though my wife is quickly changing that bad habit) and can barely draw stick figures. It's almost comical how evenly split we seem in life's pursuits, each being the complement of the other.

Regardless of how different brothers are, they love each other. At least I know I love my brother, and I believe Peter and Christopher (though their relationship was at many times rocky) still cared for one another.

The way I love is defined and motivated by one thing more than any other: the more I love someone, the more I want to tell them about Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the redeemer.

Just like the panelists share in the above video, Jesus reveals the meaning of life. He is historically proven to be a man who resurrected from the dead, which he claimed is proof of his divinity. And following Jesus leads to an endless series of fun, fulfilling discoveries.

So today I've going to lift up a prayer for every pair of siblings who have differences. And as Mother's Day approaches, I pray for all families who will discuss matters of faith around the kitchen table or family room. May their conversations bring them deeper into relationship. Amen.