Adria's Tribute to Pastor Joanne

Below is the tribute my wife, Adria, gave to Pastor Joanne at her funeral.

"Over the past week, I have begun to realize just how many of us would call Joanne Green-Colon a dear friend, but I also had the tremendous privilege of calling her pastor. Us members of Heart and Soul Community Church got to watch her, on a weekly if not daily basis, do what she loved best.  We got to sit at her feet as she taught us about her beloved Jesus and we got to serve Him alongside her.  What an incredible honor it has been.  What a phenomenal education she gave us."

"When my husband and I showed up on H&S’s doorstep 4.5 years ago, I was broken and hiding.  An earnest request of mine to God for guidance had seemingly gone unmet.  I had cried out, begged, pleaded… nothing.  I didn’t know what to do with the silence.  How could I trust God if he wasn’t there when I needed him?  I felt trapped.  I’d experienced too much to turn away from God, but I felt I couldn’t trust him.  I went on like this for over 6 years.  Until one morning, we stumbled onto Heart & Soul’s doorstep.  From the pulpit, I heard a vaguely similar story.  Many of you know that for over 6 years, Joanne suffered from a disease that caused her debilitating pain and sleeplessness.  It was eventually diagnosed as chronic Lyme disease.  I watched, often from the back row, as she and Pastor Louis shared small glimpses of their struggle.  They prayed and hoped for healing.  They cried out, pleaded- and for a long, long time, silence.  Her sermons during those times were so powerful. Truth about living for God in the midst of suffering was shared with us by someone who was living it out right in our midst.  Sunday after Sunday, it was as if she picked you up on her back and carried you with her to the feet of Jesus and interceded there on your behalf.  Through her suffering, she did not grow hard or numb.  She did not give up, and she never stopped believing that the God of the Bible was who he said he was.  She showed us that in the midst of pain and suffering, we could experience God deeply, and live fully.  And she did.  And as they grappled with this, they completely unknowingly carried me along with them.  Through their preaching, little by little, I began to gain clarity.  I began to see some of the things God was trying to teach me.  I began to have the courage to believe my relationship with God could be restored and healthy again, that He was trustworthy, even when he was silent.  They taught me about the God who was with us, whether I could feel it or not.  They gave us all hope that no matter what we had suffered in our lives, we could walk in hope and victory.  My favorite sermon by pastor Joanne, aside from the one where she gave us all cheesecake, was when she preached on Romans 8:37, which says “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  She explained to us that the Greek word for more there was Hooper-nakao - meaning hyper excessively.  She asked us where we were playing the victim, and then told us we are not victims, we are victors.  In Christ, we are OVERCOMERS."

"Pastor Joanne and Pastor Louis always loved people well, loved them sacrificially.  I never saw them shy away.  Our incredibly diverse church works because they love everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from and we all just follow their lead.  They opened their home, their wallets, their hearts, and their arms to those in our congregation and the surrounding community.  They have loved us as family through our trials and tribulations over and over again."

"As I have spoken with Heart and Soulers over the past week, I have heard story after story of Pastor Joanne’s impact - marriage after marriage that she and Pastor Louis fought and prayed for and guided towards health.  Forgiveness and healing that was found, hope that was given, addictions that were broken, life after life transformed by Christ.  For some, it was just simple inspiration and courage to be more like her - to make the difference they could make."

"In Pastor Joanne, I found someone who I wanted to be, someone I could follow.  I now know just how many women in our church felt the same.  She was strong, yet tender, a spiritual giant, yet one of us.  She did not lead from above, but from alongside.  We never felt that we couldn’t do what she was doing.  It was always attainable.  It was simply Jesus."

"I have argued and pleaded with God, as I imagine many of us have, over his decision to bring Pastor Joanne home now. There is no way to describe the hole left in our church body.  But as a church, we have been well prepared for this.  We know how to persevere through hard times.  We couldn’t have had a better example.  Pastor Joanne, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for all that you gave to us.  You were dearly loved, and we are all better people who love Jesus more because of you.  Pastor Louis, Daniel, sweet little Sara, I know many of us in the congregation have longed for a moment alone with you to tell you how much we love you, how deeply and profoundly we are experiencing this loss with you and that we would do anything for you.  We are ready and willing to carry you on our backs, for years if that is what it takes, to the feet of Jesus and intercede there on your behalf.  We will be there for you.  Afterall, you and your family have done nothing less for us."

Remembering Pastor Joanne

Pastor Joanne has been my pastor at Heart & Soul Community Church for 4 1/2 years. There are many things I will remember about her. I will remember fun things like when we first moved into the renovated building on 1185 N. Clinton and she wanted to paint everything her favorite color green. I will remember her disdain of football and how she wouldn’t let Louis grow a full beard. 

I will remember how much she loved us. My first son was born a few months after we started attending Heart and Soul. Both her and Louis were some of the few people that visited us at our house when we first got home. Although she could not stand football and Louis detests my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, they bought my son a little Eagles onesie. 

Joanne adored my son and that meant a lot to my wife and I. When my second child arrived she loved her just as much. No one is able to make my seven-month old daughter, Thea, laugh quite like Joanne could. Joanne loved both of my kids so much. I am just heartbroken that neither of my children will be able to remember her.

She loved all of the kids of our church (which has much more kids than adults). Although Heart and Soul has gone through many months without being able to pay her and Louis, she wanted to make sure that we had “A” class VBS’s over the summers and the supplies needed to care for the kids each week for sunday school. Although the Church is currently going through some really hard times financially, she still wanted to fund a Christmas play this coming Christmas Eve. She wanted the best for the kids of our church and the kids of our neighborhood. She loved them so much.

I will also remember how strong she was. For six years, Pastor Janne suffered from chronic lyme disease that gave her immense headaches and sleepless nights for weeks and months at a time. I remember going to church many Sundays not knowing if she would be able to come. On the Sundays she could come she was in so much agony and looked so fragile. But she would never complain. She would always focus on you and how you were doing. She would focus on the paper cuts in your life over the unending discomfort of hers. Her sermons during those times were so powerful. Truth about living for God in the midst of suffering was shared with us by someone who was living it right in our midst.

And her pain transformed my prayer life. I remember praying for years that God would take away her pain. It seemed at the time that she would never be free of it. I got so mad at God. I couldn’t understand how someone so loving, so talented, and so willing to sacrifice so much for the him would have to go through so much pain. And then God showed up. Last winter she became pain free. God finally answered our prayers. He did not let the pain go on forever. He was her healer. 

And now we are going through that process again. We prayed fervently that she would be healed. But this time God took her home. And we are all struggling with the conflicting emotions of what has happened. And I don’t understand why things have happened the way it has. It just doesn’t seem right. But I also know that her pain is now gone. She is with our healer.

A couple years ago in the midst of her struggle with Lyme disease she was telling us a story about her son Daniel being fascinated with Louis and her wedding video. In watching the video she saw herself smiling, laughing, and dancing. Looking back at that day, she was mesmerized by how happy she was before the pain and suffering of the disease. I imagine her now having the joy as she on her wedding day, but a hundredfold. She is now with the Lord dancing eternity away. Joanne will surely be missed, but we will see her again.

Sermon Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

And never brought to mind? 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

And days of auld lang syne! 

For auld lang syne, my dear, 

For auld lang syne. 

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, 

For auld lang syne. 

A Dream

The movie, “Its a wonderful Life” is a story about a man named George Bailey who lived in a small town called Bedford Falls. The quaint little town was actually based on Seneca Falls which is an hour away from here. George was the eldest of two sons. His father was Peter Bailey. Peter ran a local money lending company called the Bailey Savings & Loan with his absent-minded brother Billy. Peter was not a great business man but he was generous and he used his small loan office to help those not as well off afford their own homes. 

But George’s main dream in life was to leave Bedford Falls. One evening he walked home from a high school dance with his future wife, Mary, and she asks him about his future. George responded by saying.

I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long…

What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary

In the Bible there is a prophet named Jeremiah. He spoke God’s word to the people of Judah during the reign of Judah’s last five kings. And when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet as a young man- probably younger than George was, 17 or so- these were the words God spoke to him.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you. I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

Jeremiah 1:5-10

Here we have this awesome calling by God. Before Jeremiah’s birth, God had set him a part for greatness. He was made with a purpose. He was made to have a mission. He was to be the herald of the almighty God, speaking truth to kings and rulers of the world with the authority and protection of the everlasting, omnipotent Being. God was giving him the power both to raise up kingdoms and destroy the nations of the world. Before Jeremiah was born, God had a plan for him. A plan for greatness.

My question for you is, what dreams do you have? What dreams has God laid on your heart?

A Dream Dashed

Going back to George’s story, the night that he declared his dreams to Mary- about building cities and traveling the world- that very night those dreams all began to fall apart. Moments after he shared his dream with Mary he gets a message that his Dad died. And because of the death of his father, Peter Bailey, the stockholders of the Bailey Savings & Loan wanted to sell the business to Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter was an old, greedy businessman who didn’t care about the poor and the foreigners in Bedford Falls. All he cared about was money and power. The only way the stockholders were willing to keep the Bailey Building and Loan was if George ran it. So, George’s plan to see the world was halted. He agrees to run the Building and Loan until his brother, Harry, gets back from college. 

But years later, when Harry returns, Harry is married and has a great job set up in another town. George sees the opportunity for his brother and congratulates him. And George is stuck still in Bedford Falls. 

Later, George gets married and he starts driving off to his honeymoon where he finally has the  opportunity to leave Bedford Falls and explore the world, even if it is just for a short period of time. But as he drives off, he sees a crowd gathered at the Savings and Loan office. The year was 1929 and the great stock market crash just happened. In order to save the Building and Loan and care for the people in his community, George had to use up all of the money he had saved for his honeymoon.

And George Bailey never goes out and sees the world. He never builds buildings or skyscrapers. He never lassos down the moon for Mary. He never leaves Bedford Falls.

I wonder if Jeremiah also had his dreams dashed. I do not know what Jeremiah’s expectations were when God called him, but the reality of his life was filled with much more pain and hardship than what I would expect it to be based on the promise God had for him.

• Because of his calling, Jeremiah  never married or had children “Jeremiah 16:2”
• Because of his calling, he never attended weddings or funerals “Jeremiah 16:5"
• Because of his calling, he never never even got to go to any parties or feasts. Jeremiah 16:8
• Actually because of his calling, he never joined the company of anyone who was involved with any type of celebration whatsoever Jeremiah 15:17.
• His enemies threatened to have him killed again and again.
• He was thrown into a well to be left to starve to death.
• He was left in jail in spite of innocence.
• The people he was called to give God’s message to, never listened to what he had to say. 
• He had to sit and watch his city go through war, famine, and destruction as the Babylonian empire took over.
• The only friendship he received was from someone who wasn’t of his own people, a foreigner, an African, that rescued him after the Babylonian invasion.
• And even then, he was taken to Egypt against his will by his own people. In Egypt, they continued to not listen to his guidance and his wisdom. 

Now, none of us can say that we have had a life like Jeremiah’s. Most of us have not experienced the tragedy, hardship, and rejection he has. But we all still have things in our lives that we sit back and say, “This is not how its supposed to be.”

• Maybe you are like George Bailey and have planned your whole life to see the world, and build cities or companies and it just never came together.
• Or maybe although you grew up with a close knit family, divorce has invaded your life and now things are not right at home.
• Or Maybe death has taken away one of the people you were closest to. And now you have to deal with living the rest of your life with that person not being here.
• Or maybe you were in a romantic relationship and you were thinking, “wow, maybe this could be the one” and now… that relationship is just over. 
• Or maybe you had a close relationship with someone and something got in the way and things have just been distant over time. And it doesn’t look like it will ever be like it ever was before ever again.
• Or Maybe you or someone you deeply love is suffering from an illness or a disorder and healing has not come yet.
• Or Maybe you feel trapped in an addiction and have lost hope.
• Or maybe you have a child who has strayed away from the Lord and you are wondering if you will be with them in heaven some day.
• Or maybe you have been violated in some unspeakable manner which has torn apart your life.
• Or maybe even being part of a fellowship like this where everyone loves each other and cares for each other, for some reason you feel isolated and alone.

And you think to yourself. This is not how its supposed to be. This is not how its supposed to be.

George Bailey wasn’t supposed to be stuck for the rest of his life in Bedford Falls. He was supposed to see the world. He was supposed to see Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. He was supposed to build things, airfields, skyscrapers a hundred stories high, bridges a mile long… You want the moon Mary? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. But the only things George Bailey feels like he is pulling down is pain, mediocrity and regret.

End of your rope

But George Bailey seems to deal with his life even with his dreams gone. When he hears stories of his brother and his friends doing things he always wanted to do, it is hard for him. But for the most part he shuts out his dreams and lives out his life. He becomes numb to the loss. How about you? Do you do that? Are you numb to the loss?

Then one day, around Christmas time, George’s coworker uncle Billy comes back to the office saying he misplaced eight thousand dollars of the company’s money. By today’s currency that is about the equivalent of over $96,000. 96,000 dollars! George knows its the end of him. It is the end of the Bailey Savings and Loan. It is the end of his life as he knows it. He is going to be thrown in jail for mismanagement and corruption. He will be taken away from his family and friends. His name and reputation will be strung through the mud. The little he feels like he does have is being taken away from him.

So what does George do. All through his life, he never had  enough money to save for retirement or anything like that. The only option George thinks he has is to go to the evil, greedy Mr. Potter and ask for a loan. But Potter throws him out, telling him to go to his poor friends. He tells George to go to the ones he has devoted his life to helping care for all of these years. But George knows they don’t have the resources to help him out. George believes he is left with one last option. He has to kill himself so that his life insurance will provide for his family with enough money to survive. 

And thats when an angel shows up. Clarence. Now Clarence isn’t the smartest angel of the bunch but Clarence is able to do something for George. He allows him to see what the world would be like if he had never been born. 

And with this new picture of reality George realizes

• His brother Harry never would have become a war hero without George saving him from drowning as a child
• His old boss, the pharmacist Mr. Gower would have become a destitute man without George  stopping him from accidentally giving poison to a couple of boys. 
• The Bailey Savings and loan would have fell apart as soon as George’s dad died without George stepping in to help.
• George’s uncle Billy would have went to an insane asylum because he was so bereaved from his Brother, Peter’s death, without George’s leadership and guidance.
• George’s mom would not have a family without having George, Harry, Peter, and Uncle Billy.
• And the entire town of Bedford Falls would have become a place filled with blight and immorality because George wasn’t there to fight the big, greedy businesses and care for the needy.

And as we look back at George’s life we see that he never built buildings or saw the world. He never brought a moon down for Mary. He never left Bedford Falls. But he did have a wonderful life. Because of the sacrificial love he showed to other people, he saved many people from ruin and despair. He provided ways for those in his community to live life well. A faithful life of loving others is wonderful life.

As for Jeremiah. We see a man who was faithful to God. Through Jeremiah’s obedience, the people of Judah had the opportunity to know God as Jeremiah spoke to them about God’s Word. And we, today, also have the opportunity to understand God better through the writings Jeremiah left us. But, one of the most important things that Jeremiah did was give hope to remnant of Jews that survived the Babylonian take over. According to the Book of Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” Jeremiah 29:1-14

Jeremiah gave the Jews taken away to Babylon a hope for the future. A hope that God would show up. That one day, in the near future, God would bring them back from exile and he would be with them again. A faithful life of loving others is wonderful life. And a faithful life of obedience to God is a wonderful life.

And this is the story for us too. If we live a life of sacrificial love, if we live a life of obedience to God, we too will live a wonderful life. We may not build buildings, see the world, or lasso down the moon, but we will do what God has called us to do. There will be parts of our lives that are tragic, but God will use us for his purposes and there is no greater use for our lives than that.

After George’s epiphany he calls out to God and he is brought back to his normal life again. He goes throughout Bedford Falls and finds everything as it was before. He returns home happy to see his family. Ready for the consequences of the lost money, but happy to be alive.

A Bigger Story

We never know what happens to Jeremiah. The last place we hear of him he is being taken against his will out to Egypt. I would like to think that after all of trials, and seeing all of his prophesies of death and destruction come true, that God gives him a plot of land, a quaint little home, and a family to raise. But we will never know. The book of Jeremiah ends by saying.

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on March 31 of that year. He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.  He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.  So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death. 

Jeremiah 52:31-34

The last chapter of the book of Jeremiah has nothing to do with Jeremiah at all. It has to do with the last king of Judah, Jehoiachin. But why? To the Jews this ending is very interesting. It was very important. This was a message of hope for them. To think of Jehoiachin’s prosperity, they were reminded about a prophesy from long, long time ago given to King David. 

Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings!  For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong.  He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 

2 Samuel 11a-13

Jehoiachin was one of the descendants of David. His prosperity meant that the line of David would go on. Although Jerusalem had fallen, God’s promise to raise up a descendant of David to have an everlasting kingdom can still come true.

At this time of year, Christians celebrate the season of advent. We remember the time before Christ and how they waited expectantly for the messiah to come, the king who would rule an everlasting kingdom. And on Christmas we celebrate the birth of that King. Jesus Christ. The Godman who came down from heaven and dwelt among us. The sacrificial lamb that paid the price with his life that we may be united to our father in heaven. And if you have not made a decision to follow Christ, may the advent of your waiting for the messiah end today. Put your faith in Jesus Christ that through his death and resurrection you can have forgiveness of sins and be born again. You can be united with God and have everlasting life within his kingdom.

So what happens to Jeremiah is of little consequence. His life was caught up in a greater story pointing to the coming messiah. And in many ways our lives are that way as well. We wait in advent for the time to come when Christ will return and rule the nations. We wait for the day when He brings heaven down to earth. All of the pain and suffering that Jeremiah went through is because he had a hope in something greater. Something that would last beyond him. We see this faith in all of the heroes in the Bible: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, Paul, and John. In book of Hebrews it says

"All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.  Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.  But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Hebrews 11:11a-13

There will be a day, when we all be home. Where Job, Peter, and Jeremiah can all sit together and laugh. And we can be there too with all the saints and all those who came before us. We can sit enjoy the deliverance of our strong God. And all of the toils and strife we run into in this life will dissolve into a vapor. In the book of Revelation it says,

Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Glimmers of Heaven

But! sometimes, we even see glimmers of heaven here and now. Even today, we see shadows of what is still to come.

We left George running home in celebration of own life thinking that he still had to face years in jail away from his family and friends. But while he was gone, people all over the city and all over the country were praying for him. And God was calling them. God was calling others to be there for George. And when George gets home something amazing happens. All of the people he has cared for and shown love to all of these years show up at his home. Although they were people of little means they each gave what they could to help George out. Soon friends from all over the world call George up telling him that they are sending him money. A party breaks out. People start passing around Champagne and start singing songs . There is joy and laughter. Even those who come to put George in jail start to chip in. They rip up the warrant for his arrest. By the end of the story, George has become the richest man in town. 

Just thinking about this story gets me choked up. George is at the end of his rope, thinking that his life is over. Then God shows up. God uses the love of the community of his people to care for George and his needs. God mocks the lie that says staying in the small town of Bedford Falls was a waste of George’s life. Sacrificial love and obedience to God is worth it. And although this is a fictional story, we see glimmers of heaven just like this all of the time.

We have seen these glimmers of heaven. We have watched our pastor for six years go through sleepless nights, pain, and suffering, not knowing if that pain would ever end. not knowing what the physical toll on her body would mean for the future. Not knowing if having another child could even be a possibility. So we prayed and we prayed and we prayed. And we hoped and we hoped and we hoped. So what happened. God showed up. Pastor Joanne is living pain free and has just yesterday given birth to a second child. We are all witnesses of a glimmer of heaven.

And we saw another glimmer of heaven this past week. As I stated earlier, we have friends in our family here, Chris and Ronnie and their girls, who suffered a great tragedy this week. They lost everything. All that they owned. A lot of items that had significant value to them. And I can’t minimize that. I can’t minimize the unsettledness they still feel. Their experience this week was absolutely terrible. But then we prayed and hoped and prayed and hoped. And God showed up. And now people are donating money and gifts from literally all over the United States. Hundreds of items. Thousands of dollars. The community of God has come together just like it did for George Bailey. And although the pain is still ripe, we can celebrate. We have witnessed the acts of the one true God. And he has given us another glimmer of heaven.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, Friends, guests, its a Wonderful Life. It is filled to the rim with pain and hardship many of us unfortunately know all too very well. But if we give our dreams to God, put our faith in him, love sacrificially, follow him obediently, pray with a hope that he will come back and make everything the way it is supposed to be, we will live in joy. We will live in peace. We will live truly wonderful lives.

Syria

            They are now saying that over 96,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war. That is as many people as will attend a sold out Ohio State football game after a new expansion they are working on. Imagine an entire stadium of all of those people gone. I had high hopes that at the recent G8 summit that they richest countries of the world would do something to stop this terrible conflict. It seems that they have come up with nothing.

            Where should we stand on this issue, (or all other violent conflicts) as Christians? Of course, its complicated. I have spoken to Christians who take a noninvolvement approach. “If they want to blow each other up, that’s up to them.” They do not see it as worthwhile to use our time and energy to care for these foreignors, nor advocate the use of our countries’ tax dollars and government resources to do something to bring peace. But this is not an option. We must do what we can to love our neighbor even if they live on the other side of the world. These are people Christ bled and died for. We are our brothers’ keepers.

            Many look back at Christian’s lack of response to the Rwandan genocide as a failure of the church. Now the fact that many who claimed to be followers of Christ participate in the atrocities is a separate issue, but our lack of involvement in stopping the genocide needs to be considered. In a matter of a few months it is estimated over a million lives were taken in the genocide. Nearly half were killed in the first couple weeks. What really could we have done? Of course we could, and should have, prayed. But our prayers should have also lead to personal action. It is believed that a deployment of troops to protect churches and other sanctuaries could have save at least a tenth of the innocent. Surely we could have done something.

            Now, we aren’t seeing the amount of deaths in Syria as we did in Rwanda but the death toll is rising. I appreciate how the Lutheran Church has responded and I think the rest of us should stand with them. They have communicated their desire to the president that our country intervene and they have also worked hard to care for refugees in Jordan. I think we would be wise to support them or others who are trying to make a difference. I do not want to be sitting around talking to other Christians in twenty years saying we should have done something.

Radical and Missional

This article was circling around about a month ago. One of my students asked me to respond to it.

I totally agree that you can make anything into legalism. As soon as you think you can earn your salvation, something is wrong. “All of our righteousness is like filthy rags.” (Isa. 64:6). 

I also agree that it is wrong to seek the kingdom of God for some kind of fame or YOLO experience. That is not what being radical and missional is about. It’s about enduring hardship and perseverance for the kingdom of God. We shouldn’t think about giving a year of service to work of God but a lifetime. Plus, there is nothing glamorous about serving the least in the world and sharing your faith with the lost. But that is building the kingdom and it’s worth everything.

With that said, I disagree with a lot of his comments. He balances his whole argument one two passages. First, he uses 1 Thess 4:11“aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you.” I think we need to think about the context with this scripture is written. Paul was serving the Thessalonians, started a small church, and was forced away from some intense persecution. (Acts 17:1-10). Paul was advising the church to win over their neighbors in this time of great hardship through their quiet, peaceful existence. Paul was setting up a missional strategy for a persecuted church that may be applicable for the Middle Eastern and Chinese church. If Paul was trying to communicate what Bradley was interpreting him to say, Paul would have said, “Run. Get out of Thessalonica. Go start a gated community outside the city.” If Bradley’s interpretation that living a quiet, peaceful lifestyle was meant for all Christians, he would have never felt the need to go preach to Thessalonica in the first place. Paul modeled and preached radical, missional living.

The second argument is that we are only called to love God and love our neighbors (Matt. 22:36-40). But we need to make sure that we don’t interpret the word “love” according to our own cultural values rather than God’s principles. This is the same issue we see when people say Christians are against love when they are against homosexuality. We start defining what love is in our own terms. Jesus said love is giving up your life for your friends (John 15:13). He told his disciple we need to take up our cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The life Jesus called us to live is radical and missional. The love Jesus called us to have is radical and missional. It’s not about having a cozy, affluent existence.

We also cannot interpret our neighbors in our own terms. The story of the Good Samaritan shows that our neighbor is the outcast and the suffering. In our global community, there are few that are out of reach of our influence as the affluent Americans. There are few people in the world who we can’t call neighbors. There are 160 million orphans living in extreme poverty today; we can and should do something. We need to care for the least of these as mandated by Christ. Our own cities are broken and following apart; we can and should do something. I think what is unique about cities that for the first time in history more people live in cities than anywhere else. The Church needs to be at the forefront of seeing their renewal. But anyone’s call to serve the poor and marginalized in rural or suburban areas are just as important.

Bradley says that many are leaving the Church because its setting standards to high. I disagree. I think people are leaving the Church because they are receiving a watered down gospel that says its okay to live lives just like everybody else accept you need to go to church on Sundays. The “being good” of the boomer generation still holds the most ground. Back in the middle ages it was the Christians who would run to the city to care for those dying of plague. They lost their lives for it, but the Church grew immensely. The Church seems to be growing the most where people are giving their lives to mission of God.

Even if Bradley is right and more people are leaving the faith because of the supposed “new legalism” I would argue that it is the rich young rulers, the father buriers (Matt 8:21), and those that are unwilling to hate all else are the ones walking away. Jesus turned away more disciples than we like to think about because of the high cost of discipleship. We should not be surprised when people count the cost and walk away as well.

Bradley is also just trading one supposed legalism for another. He is pretty much saying if I am a nice guy and keep my head low, I am okay. That will not earn your way to heaven either. Following Jesus is about faithfulness. If God is calling you to live quietly in the suburbs, be faithful (There a huge needs in the ‘burbs especially since it is receiving a huge influx of the poor).

If you find someone you want to spend a lifetime doing God’s mission with, get married. God can use you married or single. If you want to have kids, have kids and train them to follow Christ. Admittedly, raising kids is time consuming and makes doing other aspects of kingdom work harder, but it can be helpful as well. If you want to not have kids and give as much of your excess time and resources to help orphans, that is also honorable. But it doesn’t mean someone else isn’t following Jesus by having kids and raising them either.

I think the key thing is being faithful. Are you doing what you want to do because it is comfortable, or are you willing to sacrifice for the kingdom of God and follow Jesus?

A thought about Giving

Today I read Deuteronomy 26. I was struck by the ritual the Israelites did while presenting the first fruits of their labor. They would go before the altar and say,

“I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us... My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;  and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you,Lord, have given me.”

And or the third year tithe they would say,

“I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

I am taken by the ritual. There is something powerful about the declarations that they made. The declaration does brings a centerness on God that a passed bucket or an electronic transfer cannot compare with. Through the declaration the Israelites gave verbal praise to God as redeemer, provider, and creator. It recollects the history of God's goodness. They remembered who he was and why he is deserving of the sacrifice. 

Through declaration, the Israelites recognize that their offering is not really a gift, but it is already owned by God to be packaged to be given to spiritual leaders and the poor. 

Also, the declaration says that our offering cannot make up for a lack of righteousness, but is deeply related to our obedience in other areas as well. 

Lastly, giving is a sign of God's promise that he will care for our needs. 

In offering my tithe to the Lord, I need to learn to do it less out of habit or duty, but more out of praise.

Blogging

I thought about blogging for a long time. It’s funny though because I’m not actually a blog reader. I know people that have blogs and I feel guilty because I feel like I should read them, but I don’t. So here I am blogging. Ironically, if I were you, I probably wouldn’t be reading this. Don’t worry; I won’t make fun of you if you do.

So, why blog? Well, I’ve been thinking that I may need some way to bring together my thoughts. Supposedly, I’m an abstract thinker. When I think, I don’t process things linearly, but rather information will send cues to different parts of my brain than what other people tell me is the logical progression. I’m not sure what they’re talking about, but I just go with it. To me it’s all just thinking. However, thinking the way I do tends to draw conclusions in my head that may not always make any sense (hence the name of my blog). Through blogging I hope to process my thoughts out to gain some conclusions but I bet I’ll just end up with more questions. (You know you've been in InterVarsity too long when you end up writing a purpose statement for your blog.)

So why not journal? Well, I tried journaling ten years ago but I got out of it after around six months. It was a cool, but what killed journaling for me was that when I went back to look at some of my journal entries a year later, I was embarrassed about all the stupid things I was thinking and journaling. You’d think that would make me even less likely to blog, but I’m inclined otherwise (once again, hence the name of my blog). Well, I’m planning on never reading this blog ever again. However, it seems ridiculous to me to write something down for no one to read, therefore I blog. Also, I figure the few followers I may acquire might be able to enlighten me with what they think about the things I'm thinking and that just makes my day.

So, if you’re interested in reading the soulful verbiage of this neophytic wanderer, you are welcome.