On Gleaning and Grace

A few weeks ago, our missions pastor, Jeff Reams preached at DBC and he made this statement about our benevolence, our mission outlay and our charity:

We are simply doing for others what has been done for us."

This startled me a little--I try to be "wise" about money I give to causes outside of my regular tithes and offerings to my church. I sometimes give money to people who are begging and sometimes I don't.  Jesus said that the poor would always be with us and Jeff's comments made me feel more responsible than ever to stop long enough to hear a story and then try to discern what I should do.

Jeff also quoted the early church writer, Tertullian who said, “It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents, who say, ‘See those Christians, how they love one another.’” This love has to begin at home. It has to begin in the domestic church.

I came home and did a little rooting around and found that the early Christians were known for their charity, even leading an anti-Christian Roman emperor named Julian to take notice. The emperor so hated Christians and Christianity that he sought to "re-paganize" the Roman empire following the expansion of Christ's kingdom. Nonetheless, Julian noticed the benevolence of the early church, saying “The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well. Everyone can see that our poor lack aid from us.” (see http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=17-04-038-f#ixzz4RhIJvwZu).

So now I am really intrigued. How are we supposed to help the poor break out of a lifestyle of poverty? Is is an act of faith to give money to a homeless man, even though you suspect he will spend it on something other than food?

I have been pondering the "boring" books of the Bible, the ones that often stymie our attempts to read through the whole Bible. I am talking about Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  Genesis it great with all the stories, but then you get to Exodus and the adrenaline level plummets as you begin to read about "Sundry Laws." Leviticus 23:22 says,

"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.'"

A quick search found more than 20 other verses which mention the idea of gleaning. The principle of gleaning is that a farmer is supposed to leave edible crops behind. When harvesting was complete, some of the stalks, grain, grapes--whatever was to be intentionally un-reaped so that a person in need could go through the field behind the workers who harvest and get food for them and their family.

Don't "amen" with an attitude of "if they don't work, they don't eat." Many are not able to adequately provide for their basic needs. As a church, we are called to help them. The Bible usually calls them widows and orphans and the signature verse is James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Paul also implied of this responsibility: "Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." (Galatians 2:10).

I am provoked to do both. I am praying for a way to create microbusiness opportunities for underserved or marginalized who are willing to work and I am praying for wisdom in distribution of resources for the widows and orphans. Unfortunately, all who give generously have been taken advantage of by persons who played the system. I am praying for my attitude that God forgives me for my attitude towards the con artists and gives me a spirit of forgiveness and trust that He sees everything.

On Christmas Eve

In Psychology 101, we learned the obvious: most people anticipate happy experiences. We look forward to marriage, to a job change, to a vacation, to school being out–to Christmas. We can’t help it. Anticipation part of us. It is actually a brain function, where a chemical called dopamine is released as a chemical neurotransmitter. It’s released from the brain’s frontal lobe and acts as a stimulant that prevents pain, stimulates pleasure and causes excitement. Dopamine stimulation happens when we experience and expect good things. Anticipating positive events sustains the output of dopamine into the brain’s chemical pathways.

Scientific experiments show that most people anticipate future positive events, as opposed to future negative events. It doesn’t matter if you’re an optimist or a pessimist; the brain is wired to anticipate positive experiences. And this is the way God made us. It is why the prophecies of the birth of Jesus are so important–they let us anticipate that God has been working all along, ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.

The Bible says that the whole earth–all of creation–is in a state of anticipation as to what God is going to do next. In Romans 8:18-19, Paul writes,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

The creation. We humans and the rest of this planet (and possibly others) presently face suffering, much of it of our own making. When Adam sinned, God sentenced all of creation: "Cursed is the ground because of you" (Gen 3:17 NRSV). Since then, the world has suffered decay and pollution, largely because people have forgotten or ignored their responsibilities as stewards of the earth.

As individuals, our pathway is reversed because of Christmas. Christ came into the world–God sent His only Son into the world that we would not perish, but have everlasting life.  The Savior was born as an infant, and our gift-giving, extravagant as it is, is but a shadow of the worth of God’s gift to us.

Here, Paul uses a Greek verb to describe our anticipation of the time that the earth will be set right again. The word, is used other times in the NT and to describe the anticipation of followers of Christ that He will return again. Here it is used in connection with creation anticipating that day. In the meantime, the created order functions in spite of its flaws. Broken, damaged, sinful people, living in the marvelous grace of our loving Lord. Diseases, and suffering, depleted resources, unequal wealth–all constantly remind us that all is not right with us or with the planet.  Poor choices, even among the followers of Christ remind us to lean on Jesus by realizing our need for forgiveness and grace. In this life, I have to confess, with Paul that, “In my flesh; the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (Rom 7:18, Allen’s Paraphrase). I need Immanuel to be with me, to be with my family, to be with my church–to dwell among us that we might life forgiven and abundantly in the hope of His return.

Jesus came in a manger. He will come again in glory.  “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Mt. 24:27, NASB)

So, there's just something about Christmas Eve. The anticipation...the wonder...the excitement about what's coming...the feeling that moves over DBC when we let the children light glow sticks and the adults light candles and we sing "Silent Night" at the Christmas Eve service...the memories of loved ones who are no longer with us...watching the DBC children who are beginning to understand the joy of this time of year. Thank you for letting me be your pastor. This season–this night–Christmas Eve is just special.

You see, I desire to wonder. I don’t really want to figure it all out, I want to embrace the crazy idea that a baby born in a manger is the very essence of God in our midst. I want to lay my pride and my troubles and my inability to always “make it all better as a pastor, a husband, or a dad. I want to rest in my heavenly Father and his plan. I want anticipate what He will do next, in this little community of faith called Dunwoody Baptist Church.

Takeaways

1. Almost all of us agree that we desire a plan that gives us hope. God’s plan is revealed through the predictions of the birth of Jesus which should assure us that God’s plans for us and for all of creation are not being made up on the fly.  God is God and I am not, and He has got this.

2. When we gather for Christmas and enjoy the company of family and friends, exchanging gifts and stories, we get a picture of the harmony that God has in mind. Even those of us who are sad because of the absence of persons we love have a sense that the images of Christmas that we observe hint at God’s ultimate healing of our pain and our planet.

3. Christmas should remind us that God has a plan for us and that to walk in relationship with Him through following Jesus is the best path we can be on. Jesus says that He came that we might have an abundant life, yet so many of us continue to try to solve everything on our own. Can Christmas and the coming of a new year be an inspiration to reordering priorities in 2017 in such a way that your relationship with Jesus is the thing that changes everything?

I pray for you to take time today to stop in the midst of whatever is going on around you and soak it all in. Breathe in the smells, etch the faces on your heart, put the cell phones down, hug your loved ones an extra second longer, and remember the reason for all of this is not under a tree or down a chimney, but rather that God so loved the world that He gave us the perfect gift of love and hope: Jesus. I pray you have a wonderful Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!

Anticipate Christmas. Anticipate Jesus. Anticipate Discipleship in 2017.

On the Magic of Rome

I was privileged to go to Rome with Judi for a tour of churches, art museums, and generally to walk and take public transportation around this magical city.

It is an ancient city, with many layers. I got to reconnect with friends from New Orleans, and eat gelato and see things I had only heard about.

I came away with two impressions. First, we are chronological narcissists. We think we are the first generation to experience the things we are seeing in the world. Political unrest, economic hardship, social injustice, disrespect for God, and especially for the gift of grace in Jesus. But we are not. I saw three millenia of the same cycles, memorials in art, sculpture, buildings, and stories.

Second, we humans have tried forever to try to bring understanding of the vastness of God's grace through our social infrastructures--art, sculpture, governments, media, and stories.

I wrote a poem on the way home.

Mother Rome
The vanity of pursuit
Finding beauty but seldom meaning
Art, love, lust, power, oppression
Seeking to elevate man
Seeking to enlighten
Seeking renaissance
But God demonstrates his love
No longer on a cross
But in hearts of friends who are brothers
And in His Kingdom which has no end.

On Politics, Presidents, and Being a Disciple

I am processing the results of the election, and I am truly at a loss for words. The outcome was so unexpected for me. Like many persons who follow Christ, my dilemma in the voting booth was to choose between two candidates who each have many troubling issues or writing in a candidate whom I knew couldn’t win. I will not share what I did.

I know that the statements made by our president elect are unacceptable. Period. End of discussion. No part of my walk with Jesus allows statements that are bigoted and hateful towards any person or group of people who are created in His image. We live in a fallen world, and I do not agree with choices that some persons have made any more than others would embrace some of my choices. And yes, I have had to repent for many of my choices.  I believe that the Bible is my guide for determining the rightness or wrong-ness of choices and that it is my job–all of our jobs to rightly interpret it.

So I have struggled for words. In my processing, I have discovered two voices that have helped me. I listened to Ernie Johnson calling Atlanta Braves baseball games in the early 90's and he has since moved on to a national microphone for several networks. His commentary helped me to frame my thoughts and maybe a way forward. Find it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayU5kw7Kf5U

I also found help in Ed Stetzer’s take on the response that might be appropriate for those of us who are trying to passionately become more like Jesus. His blog post, “What do White Evangelicals Owe People of Color” helped me to balance my emotions following the election.  Find his post here:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/november/what-do-white-evangelicals-owe-people-of-color-in-trumps-am.html

Like many of you, the emotional carnage of this election is not just theoretical for me. I have friends, family, and church members who fit into the categories of marginalized persons who have been verbally maligned by our new president. I have friends, family, and church members who have felt marginalized by the policies of the existing president. It is time to find some common ground.  I hope to be a voice for the transformation that can come when we listen to each other–really listen–and make the personal  adjustments of repentance, forgiveness, humility, acceptance that will create dialog and not dissension.

On Transitions

I have neglected my blog for quite awhile now.  I have been keeping up with two places--my 22 year career as full time faculty at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is coming to an end and my new career as a full time pastor at Dunwoody Baptist Church is beginning.  It has been all I do in the past year to keep up with both places.

I have finished the good-byes and the see you laters at the seminary--though I will stay connected through a part-time status--and it was more emotional than I predicted.  I have a great team there. The best of leadership is that your team is strong where you are weak, and that has so been the case. Much of me has been invested in the work of the Youth Ministry Institute (YMI) which is the youth ministry training and equipping arm of the seminary.  In my transition from leadership there, I feel a little like a person who has sold a house to a new owner, yet wants to tell him how to maintain the yard.  I know that whatever legacy I leave is just that--what I leave.  I trust that God will take my "baby" in the direction He wants it to go.

Humans don't like change, but I want to be an Abraham who is obedient to travel to a place yet to be known, yet to be predicted, not even close to being scripted.

I want to be Job--calling upon God (though grudgingly at first) in whatever circumstances come.

I want to be Daniel, Esther, Peter--trusting God for the absurd.

I want to be Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, knowing that Jesus is present in the fire.

I want to be a father in Mark 9 who cries out to Jesus to "help me in my unbelief."

I don't have it figured out as to what it means to be a pastor. I have discovered in my character flaw of acting first and thinking later ("ready, fire, aim") that my humility and wisdom need developing. I have discovered that the first chair is very different from the second chair, where I have sat for the entire 35 years of my ministry. I have felt a renewed love and admiration for my bride of 32 years who trusts me and trusts God to stay by my side in this transition.

I am thankful to serve a church that believes that my clay feet are ok for walking through this season with them. I am grateful for men and women who have faithfully served this great church both on stage and behind the scenes for the fifty years of its existence. I am strengthened by the members of the search team, leadership team, deacons and staff who continue to declare, "whatever it takes."

I am amazed that even through the painful journey of their beloved pastor's final years, they still have an expectation that Jesus desires people to be saved and discipled, that worship can be vibrant and deep, that missions start where they are and extend around the world.  I would ask you to pray for me for wisdom, humility, inspiration, and sermon material...Sundays are relentless for pastors.

Stay tuned.