Reification

Reification is a fancy philosophy concept that I don't completely understand, HOWEVER, part of the meaning has to do with how we take abstract ideas and make them concrete.

A simpler issue is when we take VERBS and turn them into NOUNS. For example, when we take character qualities and activities of God like LOVE, FAITH, GRACE, HOPE, and JOY and consider these something like commodities that we can trade in. What does it mean for us to have more or less faith? ...more or less love? ...more or less grace? Is that possible?

I suspect that if we love as God loves, there is no quantity to our love. It isn't a person, place, or thing that can be measured. It is a quality of God that either characterizes us or doesn't.

How might it change our prayer if we took a break from those words and prayed what they really represent? Prayer that asks that God help us to put God first and to care about others as much as we care about ourselves. Prayer that confesses our belief in God and asks that we might trust him ever-more. Prayer that expresses our gratefulness for God's unmerited favor for ourselves and asks that we might take on that kind of character to extend unmerited favor upon our sisters and brothers.

It isn't that any of these words aren't wonderful words or that they represent anything bad. It just might be that they become such easy labels that we slowly start to forget all that they are really supposed to mean. What does it really mean to LOVE, to be persons of FAITH, to transact PEACE, to be GRACEFUL in our relationships with God and others? Shouldn't these words really always be verbs?

Holiness of Heart and Life

This is an excerpt from a paper that I am submitting in response to my reading of a book by Scott Jones entitled, John Wesley's Conception and Use of Scripture. I'm just curious if any of you who read my blog might have a reaction to my reaction to this book:

Holiness of Heart and Life

This is an area where I have often wished that my denomination (United Methodist) had more closely followed John Wesley’s teaching and example. I fear that much of our preaching, and much of our congregation’s expectations of preaching is based on grace that Dietrich Bonheoffer termed “cheap.” There seems to be little in the way of accountability for “going on to perfection” for the average lay person in membership of the UMC (or for post-ordained clergy for that matter).

I truly doubt that one could preach Christian perfection as presented in Wesley’s sermons and letters as illustrated by Jones (author of above book) without more than a little objection from laity and eventually even from ecclesial executives who love harmony perhaps even more than they love scriptural authenticity. This kind of preaching, in the context of much prayer and by the power of the Holy Spirit, is what I believe brought about the last Great Awakening. Our culture, and that of Great Britain’s as well, is I fear in just as dire a spiritual and cultural predicament as they were prior to that great revival.

Broken World -- Broken People

If you decide to follow the attached website link (by clicking this blogpost title), please be prepared for some pretty sad pictures. The article is about the drinking culture of Great Britain, particularly as experienced over New Year's Eve night. As I viewed the pictures and read the captions, I began to experience a powerful wave of genuine sorrow for the people in them.

It appears to me that Satan must compete with his own personal best for just how much God-given dignity and value he can strip us of in exchange for as little benefit as possible. I wonder what these people anticipated when they set out for their evening? I doubt they anticipated being beaten bloody in a drunken brawl or passing out in a street in a pool of their own vomit.

These were the conditions of most of Europe in the mid-1700's just before the Great Awakening in which genuine Holy Spirit-empowered revival broke out throughout Europe and then America and literally saved their and our culture from self-destructing.

I was just thinking that if all this breaks my heart, how much it must break God's heart, Who created these people in His own image and likeness. I pray for another Great Awakening for all of our world.

What a mission field we live in!

Defeating a Critical Spirit

When I was in college the dean of the school of business really pushed for our curriculum to require a class in critical thinking. She complained that young people don’t possess the ability to think critically.

In some ways she was right. We do need the skills to evaluate an argument or position before we agree with it or reject it. Not everything that we read is true just because it is in print, or because somebody famous said it. It is helpful to be able to evaluate what we encounter with a basic logical critique.

In many other ways, however, I believe that our culture is incredibly predisposed to critique everything. It seems as if: Nobody can rise to the level of hero nowadays without every fault being investigated and exposed. If anyone does anything that might appear truly altruistic, we immediately wonder what their real motivation might have been. I am amazed at how automatic the vilification of a candidate for public service is just by virtue of which party she or he chooses.

Maybe we could use those critical thinking skills a little better by choosing not to listen to allegations which are offered without a basis in provable fact (like at least 75% of the allegations I have heard about our new President-Elect). Maybe we could assume that people are people before they are republicans or democrats or liberal media or fundamentalist or right wing or whatever other label they wear. Maybe we could give people we don't agree with at least enough credit to assume that they love their families, their country, and God as much as we do.

I believe that there is truly room for critique and disagreement. I believe that we often need to contend with others for what we believe. I also believe that if we aren't careful, we exceed these values and descend into a truly (unconstructively) habitually critical perspective about everything and everyone. I have excused much of my own critique of others, particularly in the Church, as an expression of my passion to be an effective leader in an effective Church. While I have no intention of any apathy with regard to my love of God, my core values, my faith, or my ambition for the Church or myself; I do purpose to value others and to be more free with affirmation and more reserved with critique. I purpose to assume the best rather than the worst about those I disagree with, at least until when and if I'm proven wrong. I purpose to value collaboration at points of agreement over seeking to defeat those I disagree with. I want to live by the conviction that love truly does prevail!

Watch Night Thoughts

This time of year provides a kind of vantage point for me to look back at the previous year and reconcile my actual behaviors and commitments to what I believe are my real values. I often use my calendar, my journal, and my checkbook register as tools to get a real picture of how I've lived out my values. As usual, this year, I've discovered several things that I am proud of and several things that I believe I really need to change (for example, do I really need to spend over $500 per year on cups of coffee???).

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, borrowed a tradition from the Moravians of a "Watch Night" service. They did this several times throughout the year initially, but particularly on New Year's Eve night. Judging from what I've read, this service wasn't necessarily a celebration for ringing in the new year, but was instead a somber time of taking real inventory about one's values, relationships, and spiritual maturity.

I've been thinking of some of the things that God may be calling upon me to add in, to give up, to keep, or to change as I move into 2009. I'd love to hear from you in the "comments" about what God may be saying to you along these lines.

I am particularly inspired by a prayer that John Wesley modified from the Pietists:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

What Should We Spend Our Time Doing?

I have a friend who seems to worry constantly about what the UM church is going to do with regards to the homosexual agenda. I know others who are very concerned about a “fairness doctrine” as it relates to talk radio programming. Another is very concerned about immigration enforcement. Still others are concerned about whether we should be able to pray in schools or post The Ten Commandments in public places and about those who wish to post atheistic statements alongside Christmas decorations. There are many who are very concerned about holiday greetings versus Christmas greetings.

As a Christian leader, there seem to be so many things that vie for my time, energies, and general leadership capital. There are sermons to prepare and preach, Bible studies to prepare and share, staff to lead, finances to manage, etc. There is the Discipleship plan for our ministries to be considered and implemented. There are connectional leadership opportunities. I sit on the Board of Directors of a wonderful senior living community. There are continuing educational pursuits, the investment back into the lives of those who are still in the academy preparing for pastoral ministry. We are working on a capital campaign and a building program.

Then there are social issues of justice such as: advocacy relating to capital punishment, the aching needs of immigrant communities all around us, runaway drug addiction, domestic abuse, teenage pregnancies, etc.

Sometimes I feel that there either are, or should be, a kind of prioritization of opportunities and issues for me to concentrate on so that I don’t become “a mile wide and an inch deep.” At other times, I wonder if by being a pastor, I simply cannot remain silent on particular issues regardless of how demanding my other ministry responsibilities may be.

I wonder a lot about what issues are truly the ministry responsibilities of Christians in general and of Church leaders specifically. What can we simply not ignore without being negligent? Thoughts?

Food for Hungry People

Today about a dozen members of our church, ranging from age 20 to age 81, got together and spent over $4000 of money donated in special offerings from this December on groceries. A local grocery store kicked in a discount also. We loaded all this food on or in personal cars, trucks, and a trailer and transported it to our building where we separated it into 130 bags to be given to senior citizens and hungry families in Mercer County. We are coordinating with a local food pantry to identify those who need the food the most.

Left brained people did left brained things like counting, quality checking, and organizing. Right brained people did right brained things like sing songs, cheer-lead, and encourage. There were very few arguments and generally great attitudes (morning caffeine helped). It took about 5 hours and we're all ready to distribute tomorrow morning.

I love the Body of Christ at work!