The Sermon on the Mount

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

This morning my devotional reading has carried me into Matthew, arriving at the Beatitudes.  However, of more interest to me than the text of this “Sermon on the Mount,” was where my spirit went when I read the words from verse 4:25-5:1, “Large crowds …followed him.  Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.  His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them,…”

Rather than immediately focusing on the crowd, Jesus sat down and afforded his disciples critical insights into God’s remedy for human behavior.  The typical celebrity type minister of today’s television hype, or even the average politician (trust me, I am not oblivious to this) would be energized by crowds.  Jesus’ words imply that he was somewhat troubled, “blessed are the poor in spirit…, those who mourn…” not because of the great needs of this throng of people from multiple cities, for the crowds were there in part because of all the great miracles that happened around him.

Jesus, the God-man saw through people and was moved to his core with compassion.  In fact, by the end of the message in verse 7:28 he had begun talking to the crowd, or at least they were privy in some way to his words. “…the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (their own religious leaders).”

I sense that the crowd was initially boisterous, caught up in this Messiah moment, though they had not yet connected with his true mission and in fact would soon play into his murder.  We humans are a fickle bunch and far removed from the beatitude descriptors that flowed first out of Jesus’ heart as he sat down with some few men, who at that moment had no clue as to where their allegiance to Jesus would of necessity take them.

My own heart is full at this time as well, with new opportunities to lead, set up in part by a disappointing response to a great community vision, which I must say caught be a little off guard.   I underestimated humans; Jesus saw right through them, but his response unlike my own, was not anger but reality.  We are sheep without a Shepard and we perish without vision; often even in the face of true vision, we are easily scattered toward our fears without courageous leaders who will stand alone.

America and its communities are at this critical juncture in this 2012 election year.  Party politics are in a feeding frenzy, polarizing people with fears and fantasies.  People who lack the virtues described in this Sermon on the Mount are gullible, overly religious and easily seduced.  In fact, the traditional image I had of Jesus, stepping to the plate before a crowd of cheerleaders ready to hear this miracle worker, was not what I sensed this morning. Rather, I saw a man who loved people but was wearied by their need for a hero.  He sat down for a moment of personal preparation with his “salt of the earth” disciples, quietly beginning the long journey that would reestablish the Kingdom of God.

Oh how our current culture so needs leaders, men and women, who possess the courage to face religious and political zealots, who mean well, but are so deeply entrenched in legislating the morality long lost by a wayward church, that they have forsaken the love of God and the compassion that their prosperity would otherwise afford the least of these.

Hello America.

Posted in Leadership, Post Christian, Spiritual Revolution, Transformation | 1 Comment

The House of Judah

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

I continue to be amazed at the encouragement that I am experiencing around my study of Judah and Joseph this year.  For those who have been reading my blog for some time, you know the infatuation I have always had with the younger brother, Joseph.

This favored son of Jacob was quite the visionary leader, climbing to the highest ranks in Egypt due to his giftedness, commitment to excellence and obedience to God.  Surviving several bouts that would have ended the careers of most, Joseph was sold out by hostile family members; later imprisoned when he rejected the seduction of Potiphar’s wife; and then forgotten in prison by the cupbearer to whose aid he had come.  Joseph was rediscovered only after the Lord so troubled the king that a dream proficient leader was sought out.  Of course from that moment on, not only was Joseph able to interpret the King’s dream but also to enable Egypt’s survival through the horrible famine demonstrated in the dream.  Joseph was a renaissance man, a political leader and far from the norm.

Judah was quite the opposite.  In fact, he was there when young Joseph was sold by his brothers; it was even his idea!  Whether Judah’s intent or God’s intervention that might have saved Joseph’s life, as some of his kin had recommended that he be killed.  If they listened to Judah then, he obviously was a person of influence as well.

Judah’s main life event was somewhat negative, nestled in between Joseph’s sale into slavery and the young dreamer’s infamous encounter with Potiphar’s wife.  Other than his voice at Joseph’s sale, it was the impregnation of his daughter in law, Tamar that was recorded in history.  Brought about in a weak moment, after the death of Judah’s sons and his wife, his lineage would have ended had Tamar not pursued her own dream of a son and her right by custom, though she secured it through trickery.  That story (Gen. 38) reveals the birth of two sons, both later mentioned by Matthew as he describes the glorious birth of Christ.

Jacob, Judah’s father would also prophesy over this wayward son, the “scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.”  How Jacob could have known that century’s later in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread”, the ruler of nations, the Messiah of Israel, the Christ himself would be born, is a story in itself.

Why this early morning entry, given that my devotional reading was in Zechariah 10:3-6.

Read for yourself:

“for the LORD Almighty will care  for his flock, the people of Judah,

and make them like a proud horse in battle.

 

From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg,

from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.

 

Together they will be like warriors in battle

trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.

 

They will fight because the LORD is with them,

and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

 

‘I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph.

I will restore them because I have compassion on them.

 

They will be as though I had not rejected them,

for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.’”

 

Joseph’s blessing by Zechariah, I can understand…he was a Christ like image of perfection.

Judah, I cannot; but, I can identify with him…and in that rests my excitement this morning!

Whether successful or requiring great acts of redemption, God is on our side and “if God be for us, who can be against us!”

Out of Judah came “the cornerstone, from him the tent peg,

from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.” (vs. 4)

If God could take these two opposites and the broad spectrum of human journey which they represent, then within their lifetime, extract a moment that frames the story of the King of Eternity, there is hope for all of us!

My successes and my failures are but moments for His intervention and though this Old Testament language has thankfully been buffered  by the Spirit of Christ and His love, the victories implied are just as real today for the people of God:

“Together they will be like warriors in battle

trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.

 

They will fight because the LORD is with them,

and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.”(vs.5).

 

“and their hearts will be glad as with wine.   Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.” (vs. 7).

Life is Good!

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Parallels

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

I sit here this a.m. reflecting on almost 40 years of service to the church and to my community.  Grateful for the scores of lives touched in multiple cities; conversations and interventions of which many of those served were unaware.

I am not aware of any melodramatic mood this morning, simply attempting a realistic assessment of my next steps, and the energy and resources necessary for my next quest.  My first meeting this a.m. is with a political consultant.

Politics never entered my mind in 1978 as I prayed for God to use my life to reach cities.  I guess I was so locked into the congregational model that I assumed I would enable others and they would then be impactful at some larger scale?

However, I never dreamed some thirty years into my journey that the church would be so out of position in effective leadership within this country, while so oblivious to its plight. 

Let me say that there are churches now deep into that aHa, and headed toward transformation.  I am a part of one.

At least we symbolically have chosen to begin the journey, adjusting logos, web sites, even our name to imply our heart for the city over our commitment to our denomination. 

As well, we have begun to understand the concept of body life beyond our own campus, collaborating within a construct of multiple congregations and non-profits.  Those institutions are to be applauded.

Yet, something of concern looms on the horizon as we approach the state and national elections.  Damaged by a broken economy, alarmed by the fear of insufficient means remaining for retirement and for some, a growing expectation of entitlement, people are easily drawn into the divisions of a deeply polarized country.  A bi-partisan competition for power is now sanctioned as a way of life in America, but far from productive.

Throw in the attempts by some to legislate morality in areas, where love has long departed, and the democratic and theological institutions of our beloved nation become further biased toward failure.

Is there a place for a representative in government whose heart is to love people, reflect Christ and use wisdom?  We shall see.

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The Main Thing

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

Leadership, “they” say, is about keeping the main thing, the main thing.  Every morning, refocusing on that main thing is the challenge of the leader.

 

That refocusing seems to come for me as I read the scriptures each new day.  Rising early, sometimes too early, allows me ample time to enter a place with God alone in my spirit.  It is within that space that the scriptures come alive, often in some surreal C.S Lewis wardrobe kind of way.

 

This morning it was the Book of Jonah, a brief story that I have heard all my life and a text read by me scores of times.  Yet again, each reading is a “first time,” convincing me that these ancient words are alive in some way!

 

Here we have a man off mission, running from God and yet, the finger prints of God are all over his story.  His aversion to God is the antithesis of the Christ and yet the similarities of his story set up an uncanny contrast for the story of Jesus soon to come.     Jonah, like Jesus, had fallen asleep in a storm.  Jonah’s ship mates, like those in the boat with Jesus centuries later get all in a tizzy: “How can you sleep?  Get up and call on your God!  Maybe He will take notice of us and we will not perish.” (Jonah 1:6 NIV).

 

It seems that they, like the sons of Baal in Elijah’s day, had already exhausted their own attempts at divine intervention, even throwing their goods over board as a last resort. (Jonah 1:5).

 

My questions are many?   What had Jonah done previous to his falling asleep to cause them to turn to him for leadership?  What did Jonah possess that like Jesus, allowed him to sleep through such a major storm event?  Was providence more at work in Jonah’s struggle than his own disobedience?  The latter would seem to be true given that when he was awakened he was so on point in his response and so readily open to what was required for the sake of others, that even the sailors resisted his recommendations.

 

Jonah’s response after the lot (another story) fell on him was extraordinarily powerful:  “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land.”  These are not the words of a Judas, but rather a man stayed in his faith, though strayed in his journey.

 

The next verse is interesting, “This terrified them….”  He was so full of faith that his God talk both before the incident and afterwards, shook these calloused men to their core. “They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.”  If there is a calling on your life, it’s hard to hide!  People knew he was different and thus their expectation of leadership, even if it came in somewhat bizarre fashion.

 

They are the sailors, he a fleeing saint; yet their question, “What should we do to make the sea calm down for us?”  His testimony had already cultivated a supernatural trust.

 

Jonas’ answer, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea.”  Unlike today’s American Christian, Jonah knew that his life on this earth was about sacrificial leadership among those caught in life’s storm, even if he himself perished. In fact, he brought his own storm, not intentionally, though that was exactly God’s plan for Nineveh’s wake-up call.  Can I ever relate to that!

Spiritual leadership definitely marches to a different drummer; sometimes the recommendations of one such leader may make no sense to others.  In fact, the sailors rejected his first response and simply tried rowing harder.  If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten!  The sailors’ initial attempts at their proverbial “insanity” simply intensified the storm, until they finally acquiesced to Jonah.

 

Yet it was not the storm, nor the outcome of the story that caught my attention this a.m., but rather the wonder at how these scriptures set up the Christ.  Both the huge contrasts and the perfect parallels between Jonah and the Christ are important in the framing a future moment when God will become flesh.

 

God was so in control of the storms in the life of this ancient mariner, that subtle nuances were constructed, such that when a 21st Century Jonah reads this story, he or she may find refreshing for the contemporary storms of life in the now.   I challenge you to compare the response of the sailors with that of the disciples when Jesus slept in their boat.  Jesus was God, Jonah was of God, and both brought calming effects when they responded to the spirit.  Jonah was cast into the sea, Jesus was cast into Hell; both acts were about calming the storms of life and reclaiming the lives of men!  Needless to say, both required extreme faith in a God who could rescue.

That’s spiritual leadership and in fact the main thing!

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Aspirations

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

This morning and particularly with the events planned for this coming week, there seems an almost overwhelming awareness to the growing confluence of the many unrelated sectors of my life.  Unrelated in that each could stand singularly on its own; maybe even deserving full focus.  Yet, these disparate arenas like ropes in a large net, seem spiritually intertwined with the lifelong goal of my calling: reaching cities.

My community service, leadership within the church, my political role, and the various income streams that enable such freedom, all seem to be piloting me toward a dream to live out my faith beyond the walls of any one sanctuary, truly impacting the marketplace.

Some of this may be driven by my annual scripture readings; this week, the Book of Daniel.  This ancient prophet was described by one of the secular leaders of his day as having “the spirit of the holy gods in him…found to have insight, intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods.” (Dan.5:11 NIV).   All my life, I have aspired to be such a man of God; at least for the last 40 years, given that like many, my teen and early twenty’s tested grace.

Daniel, extracted from his native land at an early age, was a part of a select group chosen on such criteria as: young, without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of training, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. (Dan.1:4 NIV).  He was certainly the Tim Tebow of his day!

Of course, he became renowned when his writings were selected for the canon of scripture, a combination of sixty six books from multiple authors, living on various continents and spanning centuries of time.   Yet, as I read Daniel’s composition now over a millennia passed, my subconscious is drawn to parallels and possibilities for my own life.

Why would I search these ancient scriptures each morning for relevant insight?  The reliability seems sufficient when compared with the thoughts of his companion authors, whom he never met.

As he describes his dream in Chapter 7 and various beasts which undoubtedly portray a series of empires forthcoming on the earth (much of that now confirmed by history), a subsequent event is occurring in the Heavens, with a throne established similar to that described earlier in the canon by Isaiah.  “The Ancient of Days took his seat.” (Dan.7:9); “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted and the train of his robe filed the temple.” (Is. 6:1).  Daniel then offers a description hauntingly similar to that of John, in the Book of the Revelation.  He even mentions “wheels” just as did Ezekiel and yes, all three writers purifying fire!

Rivers are coming out of that throne and again, like Ezekiel and John, he attests to the life giving power wherever that river flows.  Daniel affirms John’s vision even more as “one like a son of man” approaches the Ancient of Days and is given authority, remarkably similar to Revelation chapter 5.

With that, other scriptures flood the mind, such as Luke’s writings in the Book of Acts that “God is no respecter of persons.”  (Acts 10:34 KJV).   Though some might attribute my thoughts to arrogance, I too can expect similar support from the heavens, and my possibilities as a leader are thus elevated, along with the probability of a life sovereignly orchestrated and divinely protected, just as it was with Daniel, the great tamer of lion’s.

And by the way, that same possibility is your own!

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Does Your Community Know You?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by

I was praying just a few weeks ago about how entrenched I was becoming in the political arena, and in fact, that it had been sometime since I had spoken in a church outside typical deacon duties at WS1st.  I even mentioned to God that it seemed that I had little sense of Word still treasured in my heart.  I was questioning my calling.

Just as God often does, he orchestrated a call from a friend, whom frankly I had not seen for some time.  Out of the blue he called and asked if I would have lunch, then at that lunch asked if I might be interested in speaking early in the New Year. I am always amazed at the process the Lord uses in constructing a message within me.  That process may be more rewarding for me, than the message is for the hearers! Again, I am grateful.

I now have three points of focus to which I will speak this evening:

*The Righteousness of Christ

*Relationship with God

 and

*Our Role

#1 Righteousness: Everything we do is by His Grace, and platformed only upon His righteousness; whatever I do that is constructive for the Kingdom has more to do with Him than my own skill set; and often in spite of my own sinfulness.  In fact he even selects foolish people (I qualify) to confound the wise!  There is purpose in Him using me.

Of late, I have been in a study of Judah, one of the sons of Israel; the study a part of a book I am writing.

If you study the lineage of Christ, you easily make the connection with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Their story is a beautiful allegory of human development from risk taking to personal transformation.  Ultimately Joseph is born, the dream child and certainly a Christ-type.

But despite Joseph’s lifestyle, you will not hear God aligning himself with Joseph; He prefers to be called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Then, when Jacob was prophesying over, or blessing his sons, it was Judah, not Joseph to whom he attached the Messianic scepter, the ruler’s staff.

Ironically, Judah’s firstborn died prematurely with no offspring; his daughter in law Tamar, being denied the cultural obligation of her near-kinsman to aid in bearing children, was then left alone in life.  The plot thickens as she later dresses as a prostitute and pursues Judah for that right.  In a moment of his own grief after the loss of his wife and all his sons, he unknowingly stumbles upon a prostitute, “lies with her,” producing twins.  Jacob’s prophecy is redeemed and the Christ, who was God,  aligns himself not with the winsome and righteous Joseph, but with the lesser Judah, one who had violated the laws of this God of Jacob.

The Lion of Judah is  on our side, regardless of our failures.  He is not just the God of perfection and promise but chooses to also identify with those of us who need a redeemer.  He does not even require righteousness of us, he brings it.

I need not fear as a leader, sharing my ineptness, for I am broken at best, otherwise there would have been no need for a Lamb.  Yet, not only did this Lamb become the sacrifice for my sins, this Lion by way of the cross forever drove a stake in the ground regarding righteousness…it is a gift from God.

 #2 Relationship with God: In my recent reading of I Samuel 20: 41-42 I was again struck by the open relationship between David and Jonathon.  In these verses a secondary story seems to backdrop the challenges of Israel, revealing the true heart of these two men of God, though their lives were marred by the political pressures of Saul and the trauma of a nation constantly at war.  David had a heart after God as a young man and a deep brotherly love for his companion Jonathon, one that depicts the true nature of an undistracted relationship with Christ.  Even David’s warring was out of a passion for the people of God, unlike Saul, who was seduced by the politics of people.

Back to David’s heart and the relationship of intimacy between Jonathon and David, these verses are a part of a scarlet cord of righteousness and relationship that connect the true attributes and desires of God, He desires relationship with you more than you desire relationship with him.  We have lost that somewhat in the evangelical church, in our overly religious and legalistic attempts to war and win for the Kingdom, if not for building our own empires!  His Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.  Religion has tainted the message of Christ, focusing more on life’s battle than our personal intimacy with Him.  Post war Baby-boomers were told too many stories about Goliath and the battles with the Philistines than the intimacy of David and Jonathon; and now, even marring that message with our own sexual and gender challenges.

We have created a system that demands service and giving, more often than enabling an understanding of righteousness and relationship, which takes me to my third and final objective, our Roles.

In the spill over of our industrial age transition, the work of the Lord has been given more emphasis than the Lord of the Work.

Trust me; you as an individual are more important than your service to any one church.  You are the Church; our sanctuaries are simply gathering places.  In fact, as a tool for reaching the unredeemed masses, it may be the least effective tool.  Churches are only effective when they enable people to deliver righteous returns within real marketplace scenarios…community leadership that glorifies God; that is worship too!

If all we are doing is bringing people together to arouse some spirit like emotion, in order to further the strategies of some lone organization, pay its bills and bless the leader, what a waste of kingdom resources. That is the reality in many churches.

Our role is to demonstrate Christ through our lives each day in the marketplace, not simply to earn a living, and then return on Sundays with our tithe.

Though used numerous times in Old Testament Hebrew language, the Greek word for congregation, is used only once in the New Testament.  It comes from two words, one from which we derive our word agonize, the other “together”.

We should not be surprised when there is conflict in our churches, for they are a crucible of sorts for the development of each individual, more than a gathering place for the “unsaved.”

We have been raised to believe conflict is bad and only occurs in such radical places as the senate floor.   Struggle is necessary for life, in fact for birth!  Watch a chick peck and push its way out of the shell.  If you dare pick up the egg and begin to peel it off with compassion, the chick will most probably die!  Our churches should cause us to struggle, to morph, to become so that His Kingdom may!  If all we do is attend on weekends, what merit is that facility.

We have now framed the gospel in such a way that people need a leader to follow and a place to gather.  Your role is more than with just any singular church, but in personal leadership within the world at large.  We are a royal priesthood and rightful leaders of His kingdom on earth.  We are called out of darkness to bring light, thus we are all leaders in our own way.

The church with its many needs of time talent and resources, may actually hinder the development of our full leadership, if it holds us away from a struggling world that gropes for leadership.

You have the righteousness of Christ; the Father is in love with you and desires relationship with you beyond your comprehension.  You carry the capacity to bring His Kingdom to this Earth, and to deliver the dream that is captive inside each individual; a dream sufficient to redeem creation.  And yes you personally have a specific role, a calling and therefore a voice in this world, outside the church; at a time, when our nation suffers daily from a dearth of integrity and leadership, from Congress to Main Street.

Are you a leader?  Does your community know it?

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Containment or Partnership

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

Occasionally a strange sensation seems to overtake me in the early morning hours.  I will begin to emerge from my sleep with an idea, not anxious but growing.  The longer I contemplate, the more solid and developed the thought becomes.  I then become driven to capture my thoughts, not only so others may read, but that I may process and learn as well.  I am not sure this is a good thing, for I no longer enjoy rest as much as thought.

If I have been scheduled to speak somewhere, then I understand the source of my distracted sleep, and occasionally will jot down notes on a pad (one that contains its own source of light for my wife’s sake) which I keep at my bedside.   I then may return to sleep, as I will have scheduled time later for that preparation.  Usually those thoughts are specific to the audience to whom I shall speak, and may be related to some recent life experience or recent reading.  However, as with this morning, there are times that my thoughts are open ended and free flowing, as if there is something to be captured not yet experienced.

As I lay on my pillow, long before daylight this a.m., the two words “containment” and “partnership” repeatedly came to mind.  Containment being what we typically do with our faith.  I believe I am a spirit, housed in a vessel, yet co-occupied by a Being greater than myself.  Yes, I am a container of God.

Yet, when I ponder or attempt to language those beliefs to others, or to this same God in prayer, He is so much more audacious than my limited self could ever accommodate.  Like when I look up into the heavens each new day on my retrieval of the morning newspaper, He is both up there and in “here”.  Nothing new to my readers thus far.

Partnership though, takes us to another plane.  If I allow God to be who I say He is, One who sits over the universe, while having taken on the form of a man (not only for my redemption, but for my cognitive benefit) with an attitude of advocacy for me, that’s huge! Beyond comprehending, unless one is in fact “occupied.”

I just took down a sticky note that I have had at my desk for some time; on the note I had earlier attempted to define advocacy:  A person of influence who is where I need to be, who believes in me and is willing to risk their own position of influence to get me there.  That my friend is who Christ is!

God, who is not a man, became flesh to demonstrate His love for me.  He risked His glorious position as Creator to reposition His creation.  “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone…” an advocate, a partner.  That partnership is now sealed and recorded and the physical heavens now set at my beckon if need be!  He could have called ten thousand angels, but He died alone for you and me.

Shall I now dare contain this awesome partner in the small self that i am?  Would it not be better to step outside what life has told me that i am and walk along side the I Am, who was, and is, and ever shall be?  I am sounding more religious than I desire.

Shall I fear the challenges of life as I lead others, given the ocean of advocacy that I have both within and around me.  The heavens are mine, the galaxies were made for me.  I have belittled Him by my inability to fully engage with Him.

I have held Him too close, like a firefly in a Mason jar.  Today, dare I take the lid off my small jar?

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