There Is Always A Way To Be Productive

(imagerymajestic - FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

One of the questions I hear often is, "How do I, as an average person who works a 9-5 job, serve God more fully?  How do I go and 'make disciples' when all I do is __________________ (fill in the blank - 'run a business', 'clean offices', 'live as a stay-at-home mom', 'program computers')?"  Ephesians 5:16 tells us to redeem the time, but to this point - how do we do this?  How do we redeem the time?

It's a fair question, and I often hear a follow-up comment as people say that this is easy for me (Tim) since I work in ministry "full-time".

Here are 3 quick thoughts.

First, we are all in full-time ministry, period.  It's just that some of us have it as both a calling and a form of employment.

Secondly, we must not think that 'making disciples' = evangelism = preaching and having people, in response to a message, pray the 'I accept Jesus' prayer.  Making disciples is a process of helping people become whole-hearted followers and students of Jesus Christ.  That said, we can all help people move forward in this process by...

Third - prayer.  We can always redeem the time and play a role in making disciples by praying for people.
Over the past few months I have had the chance to read several biographies of Christians who have made a significant impact on the world (Hudson Taylor, George Muller, etc.).  One of the most powerful truths I have gleaned from these books is the power of prayer.  It is not something that some special prayer warriors do - it is a calling for every person who names the Name of  Jesus Christ.  Thus, if you want to redeem the time but don't know how - pray for people you know.  Pray for those who don't yet know Jesus.  Pray for those who do know Him.  Redeem the time.

- tC  

Mental Health, Prayer in School, Assault Weapons, and The Gospel

(My old reflecting pool from when we lived in Nottingham)

If you had a chance to read my last post, you may recall that I spoke about the notion of 'trite answers'.  Our culture specializes in short, trite, and oftentimes overly-simplistic answers.  If you aren't sure about this consider the following: the number of bumper stickers you see expressing political and religious views, the reality of that each 1/2 hour show on television is almost half made up of commercials (how does one expect to have meaningful dialogue in snippets between advertisements), and that Twitter by its very nature makes its users to share in only 140 characters.  Now before you avid Tweeters and bumper sticker-stickerers get all up in arms, I'm not saying that all of this is bad.  What I am saying that when addressing a monumental issue like the Sandy Hook shooting, we cannot think that we can summarize or even start to deal with it in a few moments.

Is Sandy Hook about mental health?  Certainly.
Was a firearm used in this massacre?  Clearly.
Does our culture (and perhaps most cultures throughout history) glorify violence? Yes.
Are broken families and broken communities playing some role in these mass killings? Again - yes.
Do we need to research why it is that young males from often upper-middle class families are the perpetrators?  Of course.

Does the Gospel speak into this situation?  Undoubtedly.

As I have listened to the pundits and politicians speak, I came back to the same refrain again and again in my head, "Well, yes...sort of...".  Many shared truths, but most shared incomplete truths.  And I do not attempt here to offer the whole picture of how to think about Sandy Hook - no person in his or her right mind would attempt that.  What I can offer, however, is a Gospel-centered worldview response to the tragedy.

While I realize that many who read this blog are not followers of Christ, I would be remiss to not be clear on not only my, but the stance given by the Bible: people, concepts, laws, health care - change in all of these areas fall short of what we need which is a life that is internally transformed by the saving grace of Christ.    We can pass laws to make the world safer, and  we likely do need to consider legislation in dealing with education, violence, firearms, and assistance for those with mental health issues.  Consider, however, that changing the external does not necessarily change the internal.  Consider that Martin Luther once noted he needed no scantily-clad woman to lust - his imagination was enough.  Consider the words of D.L. Moody that "If a man is stealing railroad ties, and we put him into prison and educate him, when he gets out - he will steal the entire railroad."  Laws that allow prayer in school or laws that keep prayer out of school - these do not fundamentally change things.  The Gospel of Christ changes things.

Changing legislation may help, but it is a band-aid on a gaping wound, the wound of a darkness that lurks within not only the heart of mass murderers, but in the heart of every human.  Many will read this and smirk or roll their eyes, but truth bears witness over time.  When people give themselves as whole-hearted, Spirit-led, transformed Christ followers, they become different people.  Not because Christianity is 'America's religion', but because a gracious God comes to abide within anyone humble enough to say, "God, I don't just need help - I need to be changed by You."

This transformation is exactly what our world often avoids because it is costly, time-consuming, and it does not happen overnight.  It is not trite, it cannot be wrapped up in a sound-byte, and I cannot be Tweeted, but it can and does bring lasting change in the lives of those who bow with the once Doubting Thomas and say to Christ, "My Lord and my God."

- tC

Another School Shooting: What Do We Say? What Can We Learn?

 

(Photo from Bela Kiefer - FreeDigitalPhotos.net) 

I can recall where I was when I heard about the Columbine shooting many years ago.  I can recall where I was when I once said to a group of college students that the Columbine shooting was a watershed moment in our generation's collective psyche.  But the reality is that there have been so many shootings like this in recent years that I can't keep track of them all.

It's the understood role of all the media to share information with the public, and when situations like this occur, they not only pass on the details, but they offer us analysis and reflections.  If I may do so humbly, I feel that in a moment like this, it's imperative that someone share a Christian perspective.  Here are my thoughts - take them for any good they might offer.

1. We must mourn with those who mourn.  Romans 12:15 tells us to do just that.  I heard Dr. Timothy Keller say the other day that the job of the Christian in moments like this is to listen and to speak when spoken to.  I also think it is the job of the Christian to weep with and pray for those who suffer so deeply in situations like this.  I sat staring at my computer screen for quite some time before I began to write this post because I didn't want to be 'that person' who is offering advice and direction (i.e. "What you need to understand is that...") when all that is needed is presence.  God, grant me the grace to share just barely enough to encourage those who need it today.

2. We must ask questions and not seek trite answers.  In the aftermath of these tragedies, many will post things on the blessed/cursed reality known as Facebook, posts like, "And people say we DON'T need gun control" or "IF there was a person with a gun in this school, we could have stopped this killer" or "This is what happens when you take prayer out of schools."  There may be truth in many of the statements that you read, but we are wise to speak only after much prayer, thought, and research, because the responses that often cause more harm are those that essentialize and  minimize all the dynamics of such a situation.  We must look past the sound-byte culture in which we live and dig into the hows and whys of this shooting, but let us not think that answers some in some quick, downloadable form - they will not.

3. We must offer grace.  We must offer grace to those who are angry, for there is, in the heart of every human, some form of a God-given desire for justice.  We must offer grace to those who are grieving, because they are in need of supernatural care.  We must offer grace to all who speak out about this day even when they say things that seem innane or inaccurate - very few see clearly in the fog of war, in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy.

4. We must ask for help from God to trust that He is not distant from or callous toward suffering.  Psalm 34:18 tells us that God is near the brokenhearted.  These are moments when people sometimes choose to abandon God.  The clear and even understandable response to a tragedy like what happened in Connecticut today is, "I cannot believe  in a God that could allow this kind of evil."  Many Christians jump back at such a comment, and then follow up with a barrage of apologetic reasons why we can believe in God.  There is certainly a place for apologetics, but if I may - in the immediate aftermath - the only response I dare offer is this: Somehow, God understands our suffering and weeps with us.  Somehow God can bring hope from death.  The Cross is the example I see, and to the Cross I cling in moments like these.

- tC

Make Disciples - Food for Thought

- tC