No Golden Plates

By Chaplain Mike

One of the better paragraphs I’ve read about the Hebrew Bible (aka the Old Testament)…

Scripture did not appear in the twinkling of an eye or fall from heaven on golden plates. The Hebrew Bible underwent its own convoluted evolution from oral beginnings to edited endings. Its various traditions emerged throughout nearly a millennium of turbulent history and theological toil. Scripture is the product of a community whose identity was shaped by the exigencies of history, on the one hand, and an abiding conviction of divine providence, on the other. Regarding the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, the community in question was ancient “Israel,” whose name, according to the enigmatic story of Genesis 32:22-32, has something to do with “striving with God” (v. 28), bestowed, not coincidentally, upon Jacob, the Bible’s most notorious underdog. Consisting of stories and legal codes, poetry and narrative, genealogies and parables, laments and praise, Scripture reflects the sacred, painful struggle of a community in lively dialogue with itself, the larger world, and God. As the psalmist proclaims about creation, “O Lord, how manifold are your works!” (Ps. 104:24a), so something comparable can be said of the Bible: O Lord, how manifold are your books!

from The Seven Pillars of Creation, p. 11
by William P. Brown

A Black and White Concern

By Chaplain Mike

It is my hope that our conversation here at IM will include perspectives from as many cultures and traditions of the Christian faith as possible.

One privilege a hospice chaplain has is to become acquainted with people from various backgrounds and experiences. For example, I have thoroughly enjoyed befriending, serving, and spending time with many African-American families in Indianapolis.

Now that I am involved here at IM, I would love it if this forum could be used to help us all learn more about the black church tradition in America. Perhaps our conversation could be one small step in helping Jesus’ church, gathered from all peoples and cultures, become more unified in fellowship and mission.Continue reading “A Black and White Concern”

Thoughts about Women in Ministry

A recent iMonk Classic mentioned the issue of women in ministry.  I thought I’d take it up.

  • Armor?  Check.
  • Shield, gas mask, safety glasses, earplugs?  Check.

Here goes.

First of all, I won’t say anything about Bible passages dealing with women’s roles in the church.  Everyone who cares about the issues knows them, and yet there is still no agreement.  So rehashing what they do or don’t say won’t be helpful.

Instead, I wanted to start with defining the term.  What is ministry?

The dictionary definition is “the act of ministering, or serving.”  Of course both men and women do that every day.  But the heated debate starts when ministry is taken to mean leadership in the church.

Is this kind of ministry “running a church,” in Eugene Peterson’s phrase?  Is it preaching?  Is it being in charge, or being a shepherd, or a scholar, or a counselor, or visiting people in the hospital?  Is it filling the role of priest as officiator of sacrifices and intercessor before God?

Already we’re disagreeing with each other, aren’t we?Continue reading “Thoughts about Women in Ministry”

Sailing In Deep Waters

If I had a boat
I’d go out on the ocean
And if I had a pony
I’d ride him on my boat
And we could all together
Go out on the ocean
Me upon my pony on my boat

Lyle Lovett, If I Had A Boat

The walls of college dorm rooms, at least for guys, are just big bulletin boards. When I was in school, we stuck posters, pictures and notes on any free surface. I, of course, had a poster of Pete Rose above my bed. My roommate had pictures of his girlfriend back in Ohio over the desk. But there was one poster I put up that caused no end of dissension between my roomie/best friend and me. It was a picture of a single-mast sailboat out at sea. The caption below it read, A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

This quote is from John A. Shedd’s book, Salt From My Attic, written in 1928. Don’t run to Amazon to order yours; only 500 copies were printed, and it is a very hard book to find today. But the quote made its way to an Argus poster that made its way into our room. I loved it–I felt a call from God to deeper things. But my roommate didn’t understand it.Continue reading “Sailing In Deep Waters”

A Few Reminders (to keep the place from burning down)

By Chaplain Mike

Wow.

We’ve had quite a week so far here at Internet Monk. The comments have been pouring in faster than I can follow them, and I’ve had to go back and clean up several messes where people spilled venom or knocked down a wall trying to create a new corridor for the conversation.

* A special “Thanks” to our Episcopal and Anglican friends, who helped us understand the conflict in their Communion through the eyes of those in its midst.

Back to the subject of comments—If your comment was deleted in one of these discussions, it may have happened for one of several reasons:

  1. You were denying someone’s salvation.
  2. You were being just plain mean. Rude. Impolite. OK, a jackass.
  3. You posted a comment so extensive it broke the record for longest essay on iMonk.
  4. You got off the subject.
  5. You got caught up in a discussion that was off the subject.
  6. You got caught up in a little game of “You vs. Me” and forgot there’s a whole community involved in this discussion.
  7. You gave off the attitude that everyone else involved in the discussion was unworthy of your attention, so you shouted what to you seems obvious, rolled your eyes at being seen in the company of such ignoramuses, and stormed out again. (see #2)

Guess what? The week is not over, and some of the upcoming posts may spark even more spirited debate. So, I thought I’d better take preemptive action and throw out a few reminders to help us as we listen and talk with one another.Continue reading “A Few Reminders (to keep the place from burning down)”

The Archbishop Strikes Back

By Chaplain Mike

Maybe there is some fight left in the Anglican Church after all.

At Pentecost, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, sent a letter to the Anglican Communion encouraging a renewed focus on mission, and suggesting discipline for elements of the church that fail to abide by requests to avoid controversial decisions threatening the unity of the Communion at this time.

Here is an excerpt from that letter:

From the very first, as the New Testament makes plain, the Church has experienced division and internal hostilities. From the very first, the Church has had to repent of its failure to live fully in the light and truth of the Spirit. Jesus tells us in St John’s gospel that the Spirit of truth will ‘prove the world wrong’ in respect of sin and righteousness and judgement (Jn 16.8). But if the Spirit is leading us all further into the truth, the Spirit will convict the Church too of its wrongness and lead it into repentance. And if the Church is a community where we serve each other in the name of Christ, it is a community where we can and should call each other to repentance in the name of Christ and his Spirit – not to make the other feel inferior (because we all need to be called to repentance) but to remind them of the glory of Christ’s gift and the promise that we lose sight of when we fail in our common life as a Church.

Our Anglican fellowship continues to experience painful division, and the events of recent months have not brought us nearer to full reconciliation. There are still things being done that the representative bodies of the Communion have repeatedly pleaded should not be done; and this leads to recrimination, confusion and bitterness all round. It is clear that the official bodies of The Episcopal Church have felt in conscience that they cannot go along with what has been asked of them by others, and the consecration of Canon Mary Glasspool on May 15 has been a clear sign of this. And despite attempts to clarify the situation, activity across provincial boundaries still continues – equally dictated by what people have felt they must in conscience do. Some provinces have within them dioceses that are committed to policies that neither the province as a whole nor the Communion has sanctioned. In several places, not only in North America, Anglicans have not hesitated to involve the law courts in settling disputes, often at great expense and at the cost of the Church’s good name.

All are agreed that the disputes arising around these matters threaten to distract us from our main calling as Christ’s Church.

This week, the other shoe dropped.Continue reading “The Archbishop Strikes Back”

Wash Your Ears Out with This

By Chaplain Mike

I just started reading Eric Metaxas’ acclaimed new biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. I’m anxious to share it with you soon.

In the meantime, and especially in the light of last evening’s post about “Pastor Ted,” wash your ears out, regain your bearings, and stimulate your spirit with a few of Bonhoeffer’s words from The Cost of Discipleship:

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance, and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using it and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?

…Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

The Cost of Discipleship, pp. 45-47

Hear the words of a real pastor. A man who knew what it meant to live in a dangerous world of temptation and testing. Who embraced costly grace and paid the price. Who proclaimed a theology of the cross, not a theology of glory. Who stood against evil. Who took mercy on the poor, outcast, and oppressed, and who rescued the persecuted. Who rejected the superficial and wholeheartedly pursued a rigorous discipleship of mind, soul, and body. Who called his brothers and sisters to follow Jesus and die.

Now that’s a minister I would listen to.

And I wouldn’t need a media company to recruit me and pay my plane ticket to be there at his church’s first service.

Update: Easter Morning…for Ted

By Chaplain Mike

WARNING: As you read this update, the sound you will hear is the voice of cynicism. With a bit of sarcasm thrown in. As well as a healthy dose of antipathy. If I didn’t think the evidence deserves this kind of response, I would stay quiet. But this is bad news, a sorry caricature of what church should be. It deserves pointed ridicule. Sorry if you are offended. I’ll gladly take the flak.

From the Colorado Springs Gazette:

It was only supposed to be a launch party and focus meeting of St. James Church in Colorado Springs. But something changed since Wednesday’s press conference that officially announced the start of St. James.

On Sunday Ted Haggard presided over the first St. James service in his barn next to his home on Old Ranch Road.

So writes Mark Barna, the only reporter among the 160 or so who attended the “launch party,” uh . . . first church service AND launch party at Pastor Ted’s house. Oh yeah, the film crew was there too. Shouldn’t leave them out. Because this is about a movement of the Spirit. And everyone knows his favorite tool is the media and its marketing prowess.

“This is Easter morning for me,” the comeback “pastor” proclaimed. Excuse me, but I thought Easter morning was reserved for Someone Else. After the service, he continued, “”This was a resurrection party for me, I am out of the grave. And we are rolling.” (Cue praise band playing “Up from the Grave He Arose”.)

“I don’t know if you heard about it, but I had a tough time 3 1/2 years ago,” he continued, with a wink and smile. Cue audience laughter. This is how he summarizes what happened? I had a tough time? He can say that to elicit laughs? With his wife in the room? To the faces of former parishioners? Less than a mile from the church where he had resigned in disgrace?

Inviting people to enjoy the pool at the party following the service, Ted quipped, “But no skinny dipping,” he said. “I’ve got a bad enough reputation. Keep your clothes on.” Ah yes, nothing like the old pastoral scandal joke to bring the congregation together! Brother, that’s fellowship.

During the service, a 31 year-old massage therapist (ironically, the profession of Haggard’s gay prostitute friend) gave her testimony—“I believe in Ted,” she proclaimed. Was there an altar call for others to do the same?

Two gay men who gave testimony were there because they had answered a Craigslist ad placed by Long Pond Media, the company filming a documentary about the new church. The company paid their way to get to the service. Nothing like the Spirit gathering God’s people together, huh?

“I like Ted’s church because it’s open to everyone,” one of them said after the service. Ah, there’s the good ol’ evangelical formula—”Ted’s church.”

And that’s the bottom line, folks. It’s Ted’s church.

No thanks.

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: I don’t plan on following this very closely. It is definitely not good for my digestion, or my sanctification. Nor do I want to inflict this on you, my friends, any longer.

The Season after Pentecost: “Ordinary Time”

By Chaplain Mike

For those who follow the Christian Calendar, we are now in the season after Pentecost. This season is also known as, “Ordinary Time.” Robert Webber explains the meaning of the term, and how this season compares to the rest of the liturgical year:

The period between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent is called ordinary time. By contrast the period through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, the Great Triduum, and the Easter season ending on Pentecost is called extraordinary time. Extraordinary time is so designated because its chief purpose is to celebrate the specific historic, supernatural acts of God in history that result in the salvation of creatures and creation.

Ancient-Future Time, p. 167

From Advent to Pentecost, we celebrate what God has done to inaugurate the new creation through Christ’s finished work. In the season after Pentecost, we celebrate what God does to empower us to live out the Gospel day to day and week to week in the context of our ordinary lives.

Ordinary Time = Counted Time
Many sources point to the connection between the word “ordinary” and the “ordinal” (counted) numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Ordinary time is “counted” time:

  • Rather than moving from season to season, in Ordinary Time we move simply from Sunday to Sunday. Each Sunday stands on its own, and is counted as the Xth Sunday after Pentecost.
  • During this season it is also proper to emphasize that we are called to live out the Gospel day by day, one day at a time, not only in the notable experiences of life, but also in the mundane. As Chuck Sackett wrote in a devotional on Preaching.com: “These Sundays remind us of a simple truth—most time is ordinary time, neither crisis nor climax, tragedy nor comedy, just ordinary.”

Worship Approaches and Themes
First, because this season emphasizes the church’s daily and weekly walk with Christ, it would be a fine time to explore the meaning of Sunday as the Lord’s Day and the day set apart for Christian congregations to worship. During Ordinary Time, we can help one another remember why Sunday is special and how we can commemorate it as a special day for individuals, families and Christian communities.

Another nice aspect of the Season after Pentecost is that it provides more latitude in choosing themes for worship and preaching in our corporate worship. Robert Webber gives the following suggestion about studying a book of the Bible together during this season:

In ordinary time the theme is simply God’s saving event. Worship planners and preachers have much more flexibility to choose various biblical themes within the overarching theme of salvation history. This flexibility is evident, for example, in the various lectionaries for the Christian year. In ordinary time lectionaries suggest preaching continuously through select books of the Bible. Worship and preaching that follow a particular book of the Bible is called Lectio Continua….

I think a valid way to form congregational spirituality through the Christian year is to follow the lectionary texts from Advent to Pentecost, then do a book of the Bible during ordinary time. (emphasis mine)

Ancient-Future Time, p. 175f

This would be a particularly appropriate time to focus on the Book of Acts, with its stirring descriptions of church life and mission, or on one of the Epistles written to edify and encourage believers to live in the Gospel.

Many evangelicals take this approach throughout the year. For more liturgically-oriented traditions, the Season after Pentecost would be a good time to discover the benefits of this practice.

Third, one theological theme that I have appreciated in the Lutheran tradition is the doctrine of vocation. This would be a wonderful subject on which to focus during the season after Pentecost. Gene Edward Veith gives a good Lutheran perspective on this:

This is the doctrine of vocation. God works through people, in their ordinary stations of life to which He has called them, to care for His creation. In this way, He cares for everyone—Christian and non-Christian—whom He has given life.

Luther puts it even more strongly: Vocations are “masks of God.” On the surface, we see an ordinary human face—our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our pastor—but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them. God is hidden in human vocations.

The other side of the coin is that God is hidden in us. When we live out our callings— as spouses, parents, children, employers, employees, citizens, and the rest—God is working through us. Even when we do not realize it, when we fulfill our callings, we too are masks of God.

Ordinary time provides a perfect canvas on which to portray how God works through us in daily life—in our families, our work, our relationships with our neighbors, in our communities and in the world, in our care for creation, in our recreation and leisure activities.

Finally, Ordinary Time, with its emphasis on daily living in the world, is a great opportunity to teach about and practice evangelism and missions. Vacation Bible Schools, special community outreaches, camps, mission trips, and training classes to help believers learn to share their faith would all fit well with the themes of this season.

Special Days
There are a few special days that we (in the Western church) mark in the season after Pentecost.

  • Trinity Sunday (First Sunday after Pentecost)
  • All Saints Day (Nov. 1)
  • Christ the King (final Sunday before Advent)

Nothing Ordinary
The Book of Acts, which is volume 2 of Luke-Acts, begins with this introduction:

In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:1-2, NLT)

Note: the first book (Luke) was about “everything Jesus BEGAN to do and teach.” Luke’s second volume — Acts — is about everything Jesus CONTINUED to do and teach from his exalted position at the Father’s right hand, through the Spirit he sent to indwell and empower the church.

The first part of the Christian Year (extraordinary time) corresponds to the Gospel story. This second part of the year (ordinary time) celebrates the continuing story of Jesus as seen in in Acts, and as we continue to experience it today.

The season after Pentecost, is by no means “ordinary” in the sense of being unremarkable or unimportant. This season celebrates the ongoing work of Jesus in and through his people. With the Gospel, empowered by the Spirit, we walk day by day and week by week in his salvation. The church, through God’s ongoing presence, continues to plant seeds that will bring forth a harvest in the new creation.

A Prayer for Ordinary Time

Lord,
You are the fullness of life, of holiness, and of joy.
Fill our days and nights with the love of your wisdom,
that we may bear fruit in the beauty of holiness,
like a tree watered by running streams.

The Comeback Kid?

By Chaplain Mike

Americans love a comeback story. Don’t we?

And Christians believe in the God of second (and third and fourth…etc.) chances. Don’t we?

Yesterday in Saturday Ramblings, Jeff noted and commented on Ted Haggard’s return to ministry.

Ted Haggard’s “surprise announcement” was anything but a surprise. He is planning to launch a new church sometime soon in Colorado Springs. How many sheep will be stolen from sheepfolds in that town? (And I can almost guarantee Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality will not be recommended reading for Haggard’s new congregation.)

Jeff obviously shares the skepticism of a large number of people about this move. And I’m right there with him. One might think, being the staunch advocates of grace that we are around here, that we would be featuring this story as a great example of God’s restoring power, in spite of our weaknesses and failures.

Is this a comeback story we should love?Continue reading “The Comeback Kid?”