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Michael Card’s New Book Just Out
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, September 21, 2009
This last weekend we were pleased to welcome Michael Card back to Laity Lodge. Michael, as you probably know, is a highly-regarded Christian singer/songwriter. Among his best known favorites are “El Shaddai,” “Immanuel,” and “Joy in the Journey.” Michael has also written many fine books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award winner, A Sacred Sorrow.
At Laity Lodge, Michael was both the musician and the speaker for the retreat . . . a heavy load that he bears admirably. If you know his music, you won’t be surprised to learn that he is a top-notch Bible scholar. Michael’s combination of expertise and enthusaism makes his Bible teaching a delight. During our retreat, he focused on the Gospel of Luke, using this text to help us learn to read the Bible with accuracy and imagination.
We were pleased to have access to some of the first copies of Michael’s newest book, A Better Freedom: Finding Life As Slaves of Christ. He taught the basic content of this book last year at Laity Lodge, and it was enlightening and challenging. Michael brings the highest level of scholarly acumen to this study, and comes up with conclusions that call us to a new level of commitment to Christ. I highly recommend this book, which is now available from Amazon.com.
While you’re at it, be sure to check out one of Michael’s latest endeavors, The By/For Project. This project features a website that includes works of music and visual art that is “by the church and for the church.” Everything on this website, includes works by world-class artists and musicians, is offered for free.
Topics: Laity Lodge, Words to Weigh | No Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, September 20, 2009
God’s Shining Face
May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us.
The New Living Translation of Psalm 67:1 speaks of God’s face smiling with favor on us. This accurately renders the sense of the original language, which reads literally: “May [God’s] face shine upon us.” Peoples of the Ancient Near East would often speak of the shining face of a king or a god. This image may have been based on the way in which a smile “lights up” one’s face. Or it could have been related to the shining of the sun. At any rate, the shining, smiling face of God does not only convey God’s pleasure, but also his blessing. When God’s face shines upon us, he pours his goodness and grace into our lives.
The image of God’s shining face appears in the classic Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (ESV). This passage, including the image of God’s shining face, appears on two small silver scrolls that were found in a burial cave in Jerusalem. These scrolls, inscribed about 700 years before Christ, contain the oldest existing text of Scripture. Thus, they bear witness to the power of the metaphor of God’s shining face.
I know many people who think of God as continually frowning on them. They take seriously God’s displeasure over our sin, and rightly so. But they neglect the good news of God’s love for us and delight in us. In Christ, we are God’s beloved children. He takes joy in us and seeks to bless us. How different our lives would be if we lived each day with the image of God’s shining, smiling face emblazoned on our souls. How reassured we would be of his love for us, and how encouraged we would be to live each moment for his glory and pleasure.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you ever think of God as smiling with favor on you? Why or why not? How have you experienced God’s blessings? In what ways does your life delight the heart of God?
PRAYER: Gracious God, when I think of you looking upon my life, I must confess that my first thought is of my sin. I know that my disobedience displeases you, and it’s surely right for me to take this seriously. But it is equally true that you look upon me with love, mercy, and compassion. Moreover, you delight in me as I offer myself to you as a living sacrifice.
O Lord, may I live today, and each day, in the light of your shining face. May I remember your good pleasure in me.
Emboldened by Psalm 67, I ask you to smile upon me even more, to be merciful to me and bless me. As I receive yet more of your grace, may I give it away generously to others. Let me shine in this world, reflecting your light to others. Amen.
_________________________________________________
Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?
Here’s how . . . .
This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
How the Internet Helped My Church and My Ministry, Section 1
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, September 18, 2009
Part 2 of series: Is Online Church Really Church?
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In this series, I want to examine the thesis that online church is really church. More specifically, I want to consider whether an online church experience can ever be enough. Could a biblically-based Christian rightly believe that everything the church must be can be experienced through the Internet? Or is there a dimension (or many dimensions) of church that require face-to-face interaction?
But before I get to these questions, I want to share some ways that the Internet helped both my church and my ministry. I’m speaking, in particular, of Irvine Presbyterian Church, where I was senior pastor for sixteen plus years. In many ways, the Internet made a positive difference in church life and in my work as a pastor.
A Bit of Ancient History
When I began at Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991, the Internet was used mainly by academics and geeks. We did not have email at church, nor did we have a website. In fact, the World Wide Web didn’t exist in 1991. It debuted in 1993. But in my first couple of years at Irvine Pres, a woman in the church explained to me that she was working in the computer science department of the University of California, Irvine, developing something called the World Wide Web. She told me that someday it would transform the world. I thought she was exaggerating in the extreme. (Photo: Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991, before we built our sanctuary.)
The first impact of the Internet on my ministry came around 1993, I believe. I was deciding whether to buy a CD drive (read-only) or a modem with which to access the Internet. I chose a modem, which transferred information at the blazing speed of 14.4 kbit/s. The Web didn’t exist yet, so I played around with a few sites that used FTP and Gopher. Then I discovered AOL. Soon I was hearing the ubiquitous “You’ve Got Mail!” As one of the early AOL subscribers, my email address was actually “mroberts@aol.com.” Since very few people had email back then, I didn’t use this address very much for ministry. But I did begin to use AOL as a research resource for preaching, a very rudimentary resource, I might add.
The Impact of Email
Somewhere in the 1990s, Irvine Presbyterian Church got email. Many church members had email by this time, though I can remember when just about every committee had some members without email. Nevertheless, I began around that time to use email as a major means of doing church administration. This helped me to communicate with my staff and lay leaders with unprecedented speed and immediacy.
Yet I also learned how email could be a royal pain in my pastoral backside. I started getting copied on emails that really didn’t concern me, but took up my time nevertheless. More significantly, I learned the hard way how bad email was for communicating complaints and criticism. I myself sent too many emails while angry before I realized what a terrible idea this was.
Though I originally thought of email primarily as a leadership tool rather than a means of pastoral care, once my email address became known to my congregation, I started getting emails that were surprisingly vulnerable. Many men, in particular, seemed to find it much easier to open up in email than in person. In fact, many of the men who shared deeply personal struggles in emails would never have made an appointment to see me, but were boldly honest in their emails. Sometimes, after several email interactions, they would come in to see me. Sometimes our sharing would remain safely electronic. But this is not to denigrate the quality of the communication, though I always preferred a face-to-face conversation.
Some of the men who shared deep struggles with me through email were in small groups with other Christians. But they did not feel free to share what was really going on in their lives with their group partners. The safe distance of email allowed them to open up with me in a way they couldn’t do in person.
I’m not suggesting that email intimacy is best, or that it is even adequate. But I do think that, for some people, email fosters unprecedented intimacy. It allowed me to know some of the people in my congregation more deeply, to counsel and pray with them. Yes, I often prayed through email. (No, I didn’t know God’s email address.)
I know that some who read this post will bemoan the role of email as I’ve been describing it. But in many ways the story I’ve just told is not particularly new. Yes, email is relatively new. But, for centuries, people have shared deep things through written correspondence. Often, in fact, people were able to be more open or bold or courageous in letters than in person. This seems to have been true, by the way, of the Apostle Paul (see 2 Cor 10:10).
Before I finish this post, I should also mention that in the last couple years of my ministry at Irvine Pres I began sending an email blast to everybody in the congregation. My so-called “Pastor’s Letter” dealt with a wide variety of subject matter, from the theological to the programmatic to the personal. My congregation responded to the Pastor’s Letter with unexpected enthusiasm. Though they knew that I was sending this letter to a large mailing list, many church members felt as if they had received a personal letter from me. I only wish I had been sending an email blast like this years earlier.
In my next post I’ll say more about how the Internet impacted Irvine Presbyterian Church and my ministry there.
Topics: Online Church | 2 Comments »
Is Online Church Really Church? Introduction
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, September 17, 2009
Part 1 of series: Is Online Church Really Church?
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In yesterday’s post I reviewed some of the highlights of the recent Christian Web Conference at Biola University. In this post I mentioned several conversations I had with people who are convinced that online church can be truly and fully church. They believe that so-called “virtual church,” in which people interact only through the Internet, can fulfill all that is necessary for the church. Those who are involved in such a church needn’t feel that they are missing out on anything essential. Sure, they might decide at some point to become part of a church that meets in person, but there’s no reason why they should have to do this.
I had been vaguely aware of online church prior to my trip to the CWC. I had seen references to this phenomenon in various sources, including a recent critique on the Out of Ur blog (an online publication of Christianity Today). I even knew that growing numbers of churches are developing “online campuses.” But I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that intelligent, Bible-believing Christians would actually entertain the notion that online church is really enough. Then I met some of these people and talked with them at length. (Ironically, my longest conversation with a couple of them happened over dinner at Downtown Disney. Someone it only seemed right to talk about virtual church in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom, one of the world’s sanctuaries of fantasy and illusion. Photo: Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California)
I must confess that my first, knee-jerk reaction to one who claimed that online church could be real church was to wonder if I was being set up as the dupe in a joke. Was I about to be the unwitting star of some Candid Camera sketch? My initial response to one who advocated the sufficiency of online church was something like, “You’ve got to be kidding!” But I could see in his startled and hurt expression that he was not kidding, not at all. He truly believed, not only that online church was sufficient, but also that the advent of this form was church as a great thing for the kingdom of God.
Once I got beyond my initial surprise over the fact that somebody of apparent intelligence and integrity was making the case of the adequacy of online church, I thought it might be helpful to raise some objections. I thought my first one would euthanize the idea of online church once and for all. “How can you celebrate the sacraments?” I asked. “Surely you can’t have online communion, online baptism.”
“Why not?” my earnest interlocutor asked. “People do it all the time.”
Once more I had to suppress my astonishment. “How could this be?” I asked.
“It’s easy,” my online enthusiast explained. “For communion, each person prepares the elements. By using some form of live, online communication, somebody says the traditional words, and then everybody takes communion at the same time. When somebody wants to get baptized, they fill their bathtub with water. Then they proclaim their faith and dunk themselves while the other church members watch on their computers. It’s just like what happens in a physical church.”
Yet again I wanted to spit out something like, “You’re out of your mind!” But I realized that this wouldn’t be respectful or helpful. Nor would it help us get closer to the truth about the adequacy of virtual church. I found myself curiously confused at first about how to respond to what I was hearing. Yet as I asked more questions and tried really to listen to what I was hearing rather than just respond negatively to it, I began to grasp why somebody might believe as my new friend believed. Moreover, I also started to get clear on what I believe to be the inadequacies of virtual church.
I doubt you’ll be surprised to learn that I’m not convinced of the sufficiency of online church. I do not believe that we can experience the fullness of what church out to be if our interaction with other believers is only through the Internet. Thus I am worried about what happens when Christians think they can have an adequate church experience without ever being face-to-face with other believers.
But, having said this, I must also admit that I found my interaction with my online church supporters to be quite engaging. Many of their insights are worthy of serious consideration. Moreover, the places where they are wrong, in my opinion, are also worthy of serious consideration. They can lead us forward into a fuller and more biblical experience of genuine church.
Moreover, as I’ll explain in my next post, I think there are some marvelous benefits for the church in the creative and careful use of the Internet. I’m not opposed to virtual church per se, but rather to the notion that virtual church is enough.
Topics: Online Church | 9 Comments »
Christian Web Conference: A Review
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Last week I participated in the Christian Web Conference at Biola University in La Mirada, California. I represented The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a sister ministry of Laity Lodge, which helped to sponsor the conference. The CWC is the newest update of GodBlogCon, a conference originally focused on blogging. Now the conference looks at a wide range of online media, especially social media such as Facebook, etc. I thought I might share with you a few observations about the CWC.
First, I was impressed once again by the hospitality of Biola University, especially the Torrey Honors Institute. This institute was the main sponsor of the CWC, and the Torrey students were the heavy lifters for planning and programming. They did an exemplary job. The Torrey students are bright, committed, and hard-working. They are well on their way to being the top leaders of the future. Dr. John Mark Reynolds, founder and director of the Institute, has done a fantastic job. He and his people are to be highly commended. (Photo: Biola University)
Second, I was impressed by the maturing of Web-based ministries. When we first got together at GodBlogCon, most of us were just beginning to expore the power of the Internet. Now, many of the participants and leaders at the CWC are wise and sophisticated users of the Internet. The original euphoria about the power of blogging and the Web is mostly gone, replaced by a more grown up perspective on its benefits and detriments.
Third, that’s not to say that some people aren’t dangerously ensnared in the Web and its allurements. I was impressed (and, frankly, distressed) to have several conversations with people who are truly convinced that its is possible to have church that is 100% an online experience. That’s right, no human contact that is not mediated by the Internet. “What about the sacraments?” you ask. Some of the folks at the CWC were seriously arguing that one could even have communion and practice baptism virtually, by using web cams, texting, etc. No joke! Let me add that many of the leaders of the CWC, while seeing potential for the Internet to help the church, are strongly opposed to the idea that one could have a full church experience via the Internet alone. Neverthless, the idea is out there and thriving in some circles. It is closely related to the growing popularity of multi-site churches, where, for example, a preacher preaches in one location, and is beamed to several others.
Fourth, I was reminded again of the fact that the Internet is simply a tool, an extremely powerful tool, but only a tool. It can be used for all sorts of purposes, but is, itself, rather purposeless. We who use the Internet need to employ it wisely for the work of the kingdom of God. This is not as easy as it sounds.
Fifth, one of the highlights of the CWC was a guided tour of Downtown Disney by Mel McGowan, one of its chief designers. It was fascinating to hear a world leader of architecture and urban planning talk about how he and others envisioned the amazing space that adjoins Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, California. Mel, who is a vibrant Christian, is now putting his immense creativity to work in Visioneering Studios, a company that seeks to give visual and spatial expression to “re-integrate sustainable Christ-centered community into urban redevelopment and new mixed-use community development globally.” Through what some have called “architectural evangelism,” McGowan and his colleagues seek “to tear down the walls that separate Christians from Community, the Church from Culture, and Christ from the lost.”
Sixth, on a personal level, I was reminded at CWC of how thankful I am to be part of a ministry that seeks to use the Internet in creative ways for God’s purposes. I’m referring, in particular, to The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a Web-based ministry of the Foundations for Laity Renewal, the parent organization of Laity Lodge. Joining me at CWC was Marcus Goodyear, one of the writers and editors at the High Calling, and a pioneer of the High Calling Blog Network. Marcus, and our colleague “Ramblin’ Dan” Roloff, are great partners to me and teachers in things related to the Internet. Together, with the rest of our team at the Foundations for Laity Renewal, we are continually looking for how best to advance the “high calling or our daily work” through the power of the Web.
Topics: Internet | 2 Comments »
Addicted to Facebook? Part 2
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Yesterday I put up some excerpts from a study published by Gordon College. It found that a significant number of Christian college students report “several negative consequences” from their electronic activities. 12.7% of students report that they cannot stop using Facebook and similar technologies, even if they wanted to. This sounds rather like addiction, does it not?
I closed yesterday’s post by asking a series of questions:
So, what do you think? Is there such a thing as a Facebook addiction? If so, it is wrong (morally, psychologically, spiritually)? If so, what makes it wrong? How can we know if our use of Facebook (and related media) is problematic, even an unhealthy addiction?
As usual, I received some insightful comments. Thanks to those of you who participated (or sent emails). I want to respond to a few of the comments.
Michael noted how some people are quick to judge the use of things such as Facebook. He said, “The legalists love to speculate on how ‘wrong’ it is. I think adults are perpetually in a process of looking at what teenagers are doing and trying to decide how wrong it is. They are wonderfully blind to their own versions of it all (past and present).” I think Michael is right that it is tempting for people who don’t relate to Facebook to rush to judgment. It’s easy to criticize by saying something like: “Kids are spending more than two hours a day glued to their computer screens! How terrible!” How different it would sound if this behavior were described in another way: “Kids are spending more than two hours a day communicating with their friends!” In fact, Facebook is making it possible for millions of people to develop new relationships and build friendships. Surely this isn’t all bad!
My teenage children do spend quite a bit of time using Facebook and other electronice media to interact with their friends. This practice has not had a negative impact on their grades, morals, or ability to be physically with people. Nevertheless, I have sometimes fretted about how much time they’re spending in Web-based social media. But then I have thought back to my teenage years. What did I do when I was done with my homework? Usually, I watched TV. Were endless episodes of Gilligan’s Island more edifying than chatting online with a friend?
Bruce critiqued the language of the Gordon study, noting that a division between Facebook and “life” assumes that Facebook is somehow different or separate from life. In fact, Bruce observes, “[Facebook is] already “in” their lives. . . and the question becomes how does that fact enhance or detract from how they want their lives to be?” Great observation! We can easily talk as if Facebook-based communication is somehow less real than other kinds of communication. Yes, it is real in a different way from talking on the phone or speaking with someone face-to-face. But does that mean online communication is less real?
I am a moderate Facebook user. I spend less than a half-hour a day with Facebook and other social media (as opposed to two hours a day with email, mostly work related). What have I gained through Facebook? Mostly, I am able to stay in touch with friends and family members whom I can’t see very often because they live far away. Facebook hasn’t taken away from my face-to-face relationships. On the contrary, it has enhanced them. Moreover, because of Facebook, I am in much more communication with the teenage children of my friends, as well as with the friends of my children. Facebook has facilitated unprecedented inter-generational communication in my life.
I have also watched Facebook and similar media provide an opportunity for introverted people to forge relationships that they almost certainly would not have had without the Internet. Moreover, the use of online discussion in education gives those who are shy an opportunity to be more expressive. I heard this very thing from a college professor, who noted that outspoken individuals used to have an unfair advantage in classroom conversations. When he added an online discussion component to his classes, many quieter students turned out to have much to say. Not only were the introverted students included in a way that seemed fair, but also the overall quality of class interaction was raised.
It seems to me that when it comes to Facebook and other sorts of media, we must think carefully and critically about its impact on our lives. In order to think this way, we must beware of knee-jerk, biased responses, whether they be positive or negative. Moreover, we need to think about our use of the media from a diversity of perspectives. For example, I have spoken with a leading brain scientist who is deeply concerned that the way teenagers communicate electronically may be harming their mental and emotional development. He is worried that the tendency for teenagers to be chatting online with friends and texting through their phone while doing their homework is preventing their brains from learning to do sustained, deep, focused thinking. It may turn out that what is truly harmful to young people isn’t spending three hours a day on Facebook, but rather staying online while doing work that deserves more thoughtfulness.
Topics: Internet | 5 Comments »
Addicted to Facebook?
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, September 14, 2009
Here are some excerpts from a new release that we just published by Gordon College, an evangelical Christian college in Massachusetts:
When they’re not sending text messages or tweets, today’s Christian college students are spending time on Facebook. A lot of it. One in every three says he’s spending 1-2 hours a day on the site; twelve percent report using it 2-4 hours each day and 2.8 percent report usage at 4-7 hours a day. That’s in addition to other forms of social media and electronic usage such as video games, blogs, e-mail and Internet browsing. . . .
It isn’t yet clear whether over-zealous use of computer-based activities will be formally accepted in the U.S. as a distinctive, unique form of addiction,” said Auday. “What is clear from our study is that a surprisingly high percentage of Christian students who frequently engage in electronic activities report several troubling negative consequences. But ironically they also mention many positive outcomes related to the time that is spent on Facebook or text messaging their friends.”
Over half (54 percent) reported that they were “neglecting important areas of their life” due to spending too much time on these sites. And when asked if one were to define addiction as “any behavior you cannot stop, regardless of the consequences,” 12.7 percent affirmed that they believe they are addicted to some form of electronic activity. Another 8.7 percent report that they are unsure. For small campuses, that translates into large numbers. And 21 percent felt that their level of engagement with electronic activities at times caused a conflict with their Christian values.
So, what do you think? Is there such a thing as a Facebook addiction? If so, it is wrong (morally, psychologically, spiritually)? If so, what makes it wrong? How can we know if our use of Facebook (and related media) is problematic, even an unhealthy addiction?
Topics: Internet | 6 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Hillsides Blossom with Joy
The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
As I reflect on Psalm 65:12, my mind envisions the lush wilderness “pastures” of Montana. On a recent vacation to the “Big Sky” state, my family and I hiked along the South Fork of Spanish Creek on the way to Pioneer Falls. We passed through dozens of meadows lit with rainbows of wildflowers. There, the hillsides did indeed “blossom with joy” (65:12). (Photo: My son enjoying a Montana meadow)
Even though we live in a world that is marred by sin, even though creation now “groans” with longing for the new creation still to come (Rom. 8:22), still the goodness and beauty of God’s perfect creation shines through. In the lavish wildflowers of a mountain meadow or in the cool breeze of an early autumn evening or in the pounding waves of an isolated beach, we glimpse God’s grandeur, his artistic vision.
Those who worship nature rightly delight in the glory of the world, but wrongly worship the creation rather than the creator. The natural world is indeed glorious and worthy of praise. Yet it is meant to point us to the one whose glory immeasurably exceeds that of this world, the creator who is worthy of endless praise.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What aspects of the natural world lift your heart to praise God? Why?
PRAYER: Mighty God, you are the creator of all things. This world in all of its majesty and beauty is your work of art. And though our sin has disfigured your masterpiece, even so the grandeur of your creation shines through. It reminds us of who you are and calls us to worship you.
Thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of creation. Thank you for making us so that, like yourself, we might perceive and delight in beauty. Thank you for the lush pastures of the wilderness and the hillsides that blossom with joy.
All praise be to you, God our creator, for the world you have made. How I look forward to seeing this world when it is fully renewed in the age to come! But, in the meanwhile, may I enjoy the goodness of creation, and may it turn my heart to you. Amen.
_________________________________________________
Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?
Here’s how . . . .
This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, September 11, 2009
Shirking Responsibility
“So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
Exodus 32 reveals that the idea of making an image to represent the “gods” originated with the Israelites. But, thereafter, Aaron enthusiastically led this idolatrous effort. He summoned the people to provide gold for the golden calf, which he formed from their contributions (32:4). Aaron also built an altar for sacrifices and instigated the festival filled with pagan revelry. He failed in his leadership as Moses’ colleague and Israel’s high priest, not only by not keeping the people from doing wrong, but also by leading the charge into grievous sin.
But when Moses challenged Aaron to account for what he had done, Aaron showed himself to be a poor leader by shirking responsibility for his actions. He blamed the evil of the people (32:22). They had asked him to make an idol because Moses had disappeared (32:33). Finally, Aaron claimed that the golden calf had magically emerged from the fire, rather than admitting that he had formed this calf himself (32:24).
A strong leader must take responsibility, not only for guiding his or her followers into what is right, but also for owning failures in leadership. Every leader fails. Better leaders fail often because they are risk-taking visionaries who run a greater risk of failure. The best leaders take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them. Aaron fell far short of the high watermark for leadership.
His behavior is common, though. Too often we hear our leaders trying to explain their way out of trouble with unconvincing spin. Yet it’s not just political and religious leaders who try to bend the truth to get out of trouble. Recently, I made a mistake in disciplining my daughter. When I undid my error, my first thought was to guard my pride, rather than tell the truth that “I blew it.” Evading responsibility for one’s mistakes is as old as Adam and Eve (see Gen. 3). Yet the wise leader, and, indeed, the mature Christian, confesses the truth, asking for forgiveness and learning invaluable lessons from failure.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever done something like Aaron when confronted with your failure? Why? Can you think of mistakes from which you have learned? Are there any failures you need to acknowledge and learn from now?
PRAYER: O Lord, I can sure relate to Aaron. He messed up big time in his leadership of the Israelites. But when confronted by Moses, he tried to weasel out of responsibility for his actions. Lord, you know how I’m tempted to do this and how many times I have given in to temptation. Forgive me, Lord, for my failure to acknowledge my failures.
Moreover, help me to have the courage to admit when I am wrong. May my leadership—at work, in my family, at church, and beyond—be grounded in the truth. Give me the courage to own my failures and the wisdom to learn from them.
Also, I ask that you help me to foster an environment where the acknowledgement of failure is accepted without shame. May this be true especially in my workplace and in my family. Help me to help those with whom I work and live to say, “Yes, I was wrong.” Amen.
_________________________________________________
Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?
Here’s how . . . .
This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Inspiration | No Comments »
Newsbreak: American Idol Gets a Shot in the Arm
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, September 10, 2009
Today the producers of American Idol announced that talk-show-host and comedienne Ellen Degeneres will permanently fill the role of judge, taking the position that had belonged to Paul Abdul.
Now this is news for American Idol fans, several of which live in my family. With the loss of Paula and the addition of Ellen, we lose Paula’s experience as a successful recording artist and entertainer. We will gain Ellen playing the role of Everyperson, one who responds as a non-expert to the American Idol contestants.
Perhaps more importantly, Ellen will continue the sweetness shtick popularized by Paula, but she’ll no doubt do it with more cleverness and humor. In fact, what Ellen will add to American Idol, more than anything else, is a lot of laughs. That might be a nice addition to a show that can take itself too seriously.
What do you think about Ellen as a judge?
Topics: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Work and Prayer in Nehemiah 1
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Part 5 of series: A Theology of Work in Ezra and Nehemiah
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In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, chapter 1 introduces the main character and sets up the story of the book. Nehemiah is a Jewish man who worked as the cupbearer for the Persian king Artaxerxes. While serving the king in his winter residence at Susa, Nehemiah received a report about the state of his fellow Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon. The report was dire, focusing especially on the vulnerability of the city because its walls had been destroyed.
In response to this intelligence, Nehemiah “sat down and wept.” Then, for says he “mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven” (1:4). In this prayer Nehemiah confessed God’s covenant faithfulness and the covenant unfaithfulness of the Jews. He asked for God’s help with his plan, yet unexplained, that would require the support of the king (1:11).
Nehemiah 1 introduces his work as cupbearer in the final verse. Thus the chapter leaves to the reader to fill in the blanks concerning this assignment. As I explained in yesterday’s post, the cupbearer was a committed servant to the king and often a trusted adviser. Nehemiah’s work was in support of a pagan king, and would have required full commitment as well as countless hours of service.
Nehemiah 1 also presents Nehemiah as a person of faith, a man of prayer. In fact, his passion for the people of God is powerful enough to lead Nehemiah to risk his life and radically change his career path.
The introduction of Nehemiah illustrates how work and prayer can be joined in our lives. Surely, Nehemiah became the king’s cupbearer because of his excellence in royal service. Yet this consummate professional was also a man of deep religious conviction. We do not see in Nehemiah a tension between secular employment and devotion to God. Rather, they appear to go hand-in-hand. (Photo: A sign outside of the Benedictine Monastery in Rudy, Poland.)
Nehemiah 1 presents the man Nehemiah as a potential poster child for the Benedictine Order, the motto of which is ora et labora (“prayer and work” in Latin. This, by the way, was apparently not stated by St. Benedict himself, but rather reflects a 19th condensation of Benedict’s emphases.) Nehemiah works and Nehemiah prays. Both are expressions of his covenantal relationship with God. Both are ways Nehemiah lives out his faith. Both will be used by God in his effort to bring restoration to the Jewish people.
Topics: Theology of Work Project | 2 Comments »
Introduction to Nehemiah
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Part 4 of series: A Theology of Work in Ezra and Nehemiah
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Last week I introduced the Theology of Work Project (TOWP). I explained the vision of this project and my own participation in it. My task, as you may recall, is to do a commentary-like overview of the Old Testament books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. For each book, this overview seeks to answer the question: What is the theology of work in this book?
As I mentioned before, none of these books is composed primarily of didactic or legal or prophetic material. You can’t turn to a chapter that instructs on the nature of work or how we should do it. Rather, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are narratives, and in these narrative, work happens. Thus we can learn from the example of the “workers” in these books. Moreover, upon occasion, one of the leading characters says something that, by implication, helps us to glimpse an implicit theology of work.
At the end of last week I examined the book of Ezra, introducing the text and then examining it for theology of work material. Ezra doesn’t have much to say about work, per se, though it does feature a kind of work, namely building (or rebuilding) the Temple in Jerusalem. This effort reveals something of the nature of work, when seen from a biblical point of view.
The book of Nehemiah is similar to Ezra in many ways. This comes as no surprise, of course, once we know that Ezra and Nehemiah were once part of a single, two-part work. In fact, in my commentary on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther for the Communicator’s/Preacher’s Commentary series, I treated Ezra-Nehemiah as a single work. The book we call Nehemiah continues the story began in Ezra, focusing on the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the people of God in light of the covenant.
The book of Nehemiah, which features the rebuilding efforts of the man Nehemiah, opens by placing the events in a historical context: “In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa . . .” (1:1). This gives us a date and a place. Of course we have to ask, “In the twentieth year of what?” The answer comes in Neh 2:1, where it says, “In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes . . .” (2:1). But even this isn’t entirely helpful, because the Persians had three kings named Artaxerxes. So which one is in view here? Though there is not scholarly unanimity on this matter, many believe that Nehemiah refers to Artaxerxes I who ruled from 465 to 423 B.C. This would place the beginning of Nehemiah in 445 B.C., which would be about thirteen years after Ezra’s work in Jerusalem.
The “citadel of Susa,” or perhaps the “capital of Susa,” points to the winter lodging for Persian kings. The city of Susa, located in modern Iran, not far from the Iraqi border, included a large palace that had been built by Darius. The fact that Nehemiah was in Susa suggests what is made explicit in the last verse of the first chapter, that Nehemiah was associated with the Persian king Artaxerxes I. (Photo: Excavation of the palace in Susa. The cell phone tower in the background was a later addition, not found in the time of the Persian kings.)
In fact, Nehemiah was the king’s “cupbearer” (1:11). To us, this may sound like a lowly position. After all, Nehemiah was not only the one who held the king’s cup, but also the one who tested the king’s drink to make sure it was safe. Even as Secret Service agents are committed to “take a bullet” for the President, so Nehemiah was willing to “drink the poison” to protect his king. But, in reality, the cupbearer was also a trusted adviser to the king. He enjoyed a position of honor, luxury, and authority. As we’ll see in the unfolding drama of Nehemiah, his position with the king was crucial in his effort to restore the city of Jerusalem.
In my next post I’ll have more to say about what we learn about Nehemiah in chapter 1, and how this touches upon our understanding of work.
Topics: Theology of Work Project | No Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, September 6, 2009
Fat and Fatness
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
Psalm 63:5 is one of those verses that doesn’t sound as inviting when it’s translated literally. If you were to look at the Hebrew phrase rendered here as “You satisfy me more than the richest feast,” and then translate it verbatim, you’d get something like: “Like with fat and fatness [chelev wa deshen] my soul is satisfied.” Given our current understanding that fatty foods aren’t necessarily our friends, we may not get the original sense of Psalm 63:5.
Above, the NLT translates the verse faithfully, though perhaps not as creatively as Eugene Peterson in The Message: “I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy; I smack my lips. It’s time to shout praises!” Actually, this verse reminds me of deep-fried cheese curds at the Rutabaga Fest in Cumberland, Wisconsin, where my family and I used to visit on summer vacations. (Ironically, as I write this reflection, the Fest is going on in Cumberland, only 1,320 miles up the road!)
For speakers of ancient Hebrew, chelev wa deshen conjured up pictures of rich food, bounty reserved for special feasts. Moreover, the word chelev was used in Scripture mainly for the fatty portions of a sacrifice that were reserved for God and burned on the altar, rather than eaten. As it says in Leviticus 3:16, “All the fat belongs to the LORD.” It makes a “pleasing aroma” to him, rather like grilling a piece of prime steak on a barbeque.
So, when David speaks of “fat and fatness,” he’s not only imagining the most lavish of feasts, but he’s also including the Lord as a fellow feaster. As he spends time with God in prayer and praise, David’s whole being is satisfied. It’s a feeling that’s similar to sharing a celebratory meal with your dearest loved ones and closest friends.
Of course, such a feeling of deep satisfaction doesn’t just happen. It comes only as we savor the rich food on our plate and the lavish love around our table. So it is in our relationship with God. We will only be satisfied in him as we spend time with him, drinking deeply of his truth and reveling in his presence.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When have you experienced deep satisfaction and delight? Has this happened in the context of a meal? What made this experience so wonderful? Have you ever known this kind of satisfaction with God? How might you open yourself to a deeper and more satisfying experience of the Lord?
PRAYER: Gracious God, first of all, though it’s not the main point of this psalm, I do want to thank you for the delights of good food. How wonderful that you have created such marvelous tastes and textures, allowing us to enjoy your culinary masterpieces. Thank you!
Even more, I thank you for the opportunity to know you in a deep and deeply satisfying way. I think of times when being with you has been like enjoying a fine meal with my loved ones. How amazing and profoundly gratifying!
Help me, dear Lord, to spend time with you, the kind of quality time that opens my soul to be satisfied by your presence. May I eagerly seek you, even as you are seeking me. Amen.
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
More items from the local police blotter . . . .
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, September 5, 2009
From the Boerne Star:
Aug 23
1000 block of Adler Road, 4:37 p.m., A man reported that someone in the area fired a rifle in the air and the bullet came down through the caller’s roof. No injuries were reported. [MDR - Yikes! I always wondered if something like this ever happened.]
Aug. 24
29000 block of High Eschelon, 8:37 a.m., A caller complained about a truck that had been driving slowly in the area and that the driver had “shot the finger” at her. [MDR – Never heard that expression before, though I’ve received it every now and then while driving.]
Aug 29
533-mile marker Interstate 10, 7:15 p.m., A caller reported a motorcycle rider wearing an orange shirt with the word “inmate” on the back. Police stopped the motorcycle rider who was wearing a Batman shirt. [MDR – Photo of the Batman Arkham Asylum Inmate Shirt.]
Sept 1
600 block of Oak Park, 2:28 p.m., A woman called police because her son was upset that his wife was talking to another man online. [MDR – Think about it. If a mother calls the police because the wife of her married son was talking to another man online, what does that tell you about the son and his mother? Yikes! You may begin to understand why the wife would be tempted to chat online with other men.]
From the Hill Country Weekly:
Aug 21
1:38: a.m. 29700 High Eschelon – A man in the back seat with six cell phones connected to three laptops undoubtedly wasn’t what the officer expected when he stopped the car with Louisiana plates for running through a stop sign. The driver said they worked for a subcontractor of AT&T and were checking 3G-network reception in the area. Come to find out, that’s exactly what they were doing. The officer, who gave the driver a warning on the stop sign violation, asked them to let the local law know the next time they might be in the area. [MDR – You get a little more editorializing from the Hill Country Weekly]
Aug 22
7:30 p.m. 8400 Rolling Acres Trail – A couple of officers tried to help a resident get a raccoon out from under the hood of his car, but nothing they tried worked and the resilient raccoon was left to come out on its own. [MDR – I hate it when that happens!]
Aug 26
1:17 p.m., N. School Street – Caller has a man who is asking about a million dollar home he will be buying for the pope and has been in the office several times. Officer advised guy to leave till he’s ready to purchase. [MDR – Everybody is moving to Boerne, even the Pope!]
Topics: Police Blotter | 2 Comments »
Recommendation: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, September 4, 2009
Okay, okay, this book has been around since 2001. I’m sure many of my readers have read Peace Like a River and loved it. But if you haven’t read it, I want to bring it to your attention. This is a book you will love.
I started reading this book on vacation. More accurately, I started listening to this book being read while we were on vacation, driving through the Montana wilderness. It isn’t the sort of book that reaches out and grabs you. It isn’t a thriller, nor is it meant to be. Peace Like a River saunters rather than sprints. It draws you in slowly but powerfully through images that fuel the imagination, characters that move the heart, and stories that make you both laugh and cry.
The world of Peace Like a River is one in which miracles occur, though the protagonist/narrator leaves it up to you to decide what’s real. This book portrays predominantly Christian people for whom faith is a genuine, essential part of their lives. At first, this made me nervous, I must confess. So often, especially in contemporary fiction, Christians end up looking like ghouls and Christianity like something either bizarre or dangerous or both. Yet, as I made my way through Peace Like a River, I soon came to trust that the author would respect Christians and their faith. That’s not to say this book is preachy, not at all. Nor is it “Christian fiction” in the narrow sense of the word. The Christianity in Peace Like a River is mostly genuine, humble, and faithful, though not without its rough edges. I wouldn’t be surprised if the author, Leif Enger, is a believing Christian. But whether he is or not, he treats faith, even as he treats people and the world in which they live, with respect.
Peace Like a River is narrated by Reuben Land, an eleven-year-old boy with asthma. The novel largely focuses on crucial events during this season of his life, though these are framed in the context of his unusual birth and later life. To be honest, I found the beginning of Peace Like a River rather strange, since miracles feature prominently. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that miracles happen. But I get nervous when a novel majors in them. Nevertheless, since I didn’t have anything else to listen to while I drove across Montana, I kept on listening to Peace Life a River, and I’m glad that I did.
The author, Leif Enger, used to work for Minnesota Public Radio. When his first “serious” book, Peace Like a River, became a huge success, Enger focused on writing. His second novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome, has been out for just over a year. I look forward to reading it.
By the way, you can purchase Peace Like a River in the ordinary paperback form from Amazon.com. You can also purchase a Kindle edition. The recorded version can be downloaded from iTunes. The narrator, actor Chad Lowe, brother of Rob Lowe, does a fine job bringing the book to life.
In a 2004 interview for Whitworth University Communication, Leif Enger said something about writing that I find wise and provocative. I’ll end with his comment:
[I]t seems to me that a writer’s job — and not just a Christian writer’s job, but I think Christians often have a harder time doing this than secular writers — is to become invisible in his or her work, to step back and let the story just be a story, to not preach, to bury your agenda, if you have one, to dare to be entertaining and to trust that the story then will become what it is supposed to be.
Thanks to my son, Nathan, for reminding me of this quotation.
Topics: Book Reviews, Recommendations | 4 Comments »