Work the middle

Speaking of a theological middle ground, C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity said this

Hostility [towards himself] has come more from borderline people whether within the Church of England or without it: men not exactly obedient to any communion. This I find curiously consoling. It is at her centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is really closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine. And this suggests that at the centre of each there is a something or a Someone, who against all divergencies of belief, all differences of
temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice.

I find that statement rich in observation and experience. I see what Lewis said applies to any denomination. When the middle position is thin, when on the right you have the fundamentalist fanatics and on the left you have libertine liberals, it is just a matter of time before a major split happens.

Speaking of my denomination, I like what Dr. Ichabod said one time in his post. He said, he wished the crypto-papists and the church growthers would simply leave, and leave behind, the Concordians in peace. In truth as Augustinian Successor said, the former is more potent and dangerous than the latter. The latter is easily detected, but the former hides under the banner -"confessional", they can easily pull the wool over your eyes, specially if you are not familiar with Scripture and do not have time to check with the BoC.

Irenics, so few and far between

Many people attribute this quote wrongly to Augustine or to John Wesley:

In essntials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity

Actually it was from Peter Medeirlin, a Lutheran pastor of the 17th Century.

Some historians admire the irenic attitude of Medeirlin. That saying of his seems so wise to me. In Concordia land specially in the US, there are only two poles you can be in, either you be in polemics or you be in apologetics, irenics is not that well known.

Irenics came into my mind while I was reading a blog by an LC-MS member who happened to be so critical (even severe) of the way the said Synod is heading. Right now, there are so many folk un-happy about their Synod president, about their Synod's programs and so forth. It seems that their Synod officials can never do anything right, either they have become Seeker Sensitive or has sold out to Church Growth Agenda etc. etc.

I am not LC-MS (perhaps I should be happy I am not) and looking at these bloggers, I wonder if I were in the US how I would feel about this, that is, if I were a member of LC-MS. I have a policy that I do not discuss Synod matters, because in my belief, the real action that concerns me is what happens in my local church. Because if I were handling a congregation, I would rather worry about my flock and my doctrine, I'd rather nose around my business that that of others.

I have no concern for Synod ideals or un-ideals. Whatever they may be, they do not necessarily translate down to where my pew is. At any rate, the way these angry bloggers (angry at their Synod officials) are carrying on, you can not help but wonder of if the LC-MS has become, the LC-M-ess.

At the point of means

I could probably say at the point of Grace. I have in mind the confession of St. Paul in Gal 2:20-21
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

When did Paul's crucifixion with Christ happen? At the Cross? On the road to Damascus? Or at Damascus when Ananias baptized him (or in our language when God baptized him)?

I cast my vote for the last one because of what he wrote in Romans 6:1-6. I am fairly convinced of this, that it happened at Damascus with Ananias. What about you?

I would have agreed or asserted this probably 3-4 years ago, but one thing I learned with Concordians is that they simply say what Scripture says without excuse or rational summersaults.

In/Out or what is it all about

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:27

How often have we heard this exposited? Many times, I am sure. It has been emphasized to no end. From its face value, this text has been used by the moderns to point out the importance of the Jesus that is inside you. It kinda makes others feel insecure, you start wondering or looking for the Jesus within. What is it suppose to be like to have Jesus living in your heart? How does he get there, Oh, I know the answer to that, you pray the sinners prayer and invite Jesus to come in. This is so important because if he ain't in, you are out, you ain't saved.

Back in those days, I was so deep into this. In fact I would lead the people to singing this chorus

"into my heart, into my heart, come in to my heart Lord Jesus, come in today,
come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus".

OK, choir, sing with feelings this time...

Think a bit deeper now. This is mysticality at its best, because how is it like that Jesus is inside? Quite a subjective state of affairs is it not? So you get to hear voices of Jesus or impressions of some sort. Little did I know that the ancients called this mysticism or as the Reformers called this - "enthusiasm". Holy guacamole, I now realize this to be Christian gnosticism, a deadly heretical understanding of how Christian life operates.

How do you properly handle that verse? I have to rely on the Greek, the English is so subject to manipulation by well meaning but misguided pastors/teachers. Don't be like me, I took their word for it because these folk wanted to emphasize the inward internal goings on of a Jesus reality within.

The Greek "you" in that verse is plural. It is not singular. That is significant because it is saying what the preposition "in" means. Looking at the context, this is not referring to the Jesus in you as individual, it refers to Christ "in you" meaning in your midst, in the midst of you Gentile believers. I suggest this is what Paul meant in that passage. Look at the whole chapter's context, it is king.

Let me cut the cheese to the quick, my suggestion is this, to find out if Christ is in you, find out if you are in Christ. Have you been baptized into Christ? In our baptism we were baptized in or into the name of Jesus too. Do you trust the promise that for Christ's sake God is forgiving you of your sins? Then you are in Christ and Christ is in you, not in a mystical experiencial goose bump way, but in the way also promised by God, by faith. The Word says that so that must be true.

The truth is this --- the "in" preposition is not the operational word, it is the "for" preposition. It is the FOR YOU, that determines the IN YOU. More importantly "in" in the sense that he is in your presence, in your midst, not in the sense that he is in there, dangling in you heart.

The trusting of the promise that Christ is FOR YOU, implies, you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. So don't start looking IN, always look OUT.

(The White Horse Inn in yesterdays broadcast has just discussed - The Gospel of Personal Relationship)

Bring Back Sin in the Church

"You must make it palatable to your hearers". This was the advice given to me by a pastor a few years my senior when I was in my early years in ministry. I won't name the denomination of that pastor but you can guess if you have been visiting this blog. I almost choked when I heard that comment, living me speechless for a few minutes, I could not believe my ears.

"Relativize". That seems to be the cause of anxiety now a days. How does one make Christianity relevant to pop culture? In this post-Christian age, people are no longer into religion as once known, they are now into spirituality. People's problems center around what is seen, heard or felt. For example, their problem is not having money, not having relationships, not having _______ (you can fill in the blank).

So do we talk to them about those surface level things hoping we can get them to listen about the main thing, their lost relationship with God?

Today's pop culture is not even exactly angry at the Church, it is indifferent. They look at Christians as like looking at a museum. Just old artifacts of history gone by.

Jesus said "they will hate you because of me". In the Western world, we are not exactly hated, and when we are hated, it is not because of Jesus. It is because of the foul things we have done, the scandalous actions and not because of the message of Jesus, no sir ree.

There is always something that the Church has that will never be found anywhere else in the world. Forgiveness of sins. Notice, in todays language there really is no such thing as sin. People are not really Law breakers, they are just making bad choices. People generally think they are quite ok with God. They got a good heart. The Church is by default agreeing with this when it allows itself to be side tracked and go along with pop culture's conversations.

When the Church stops discussing sin, it will stop giving the answer for it, the needed forgiveness that can only be found in Christ's death and resurrection.

Who said this

[HT: Jim P.]

Your Baptism does you no good if you don’t have faith in Jesus.

Who could have said this? You only have 2 choices.

a.) A Lutheran pastor said this.
b.) A non-Lutheran pastor said this.

Discuss your answer. Why is the statement true/not true?

It will be good, one day

we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

I have been reading FC, Epitome on Original Sin. Here is what it says...

6] In like manner Christ has also redeemed it (human nature) as His work,
sanctifies it as His work, raises it from the dead, and gloriously adorns it as
His work. But original sin He has not created, assumed, redeemed, sanctified;
nor will He raise it, will neither adorn nor save it in the elect, but in the
(blessed] resurrection it will be entirely destroyed.

It will all be good one day. When I see the effects of my sin to myself and to others and I see their sin's effects on me, I do want to recall what we have in the creed about the resurrection...at the resurrection, sin will be no more. When life here is not the way it should be, it is amazing how the heart hopes and becomes eager for that day, when tears and sorrows he will wipe away. Sin is the cause of these sad days, I mean in the ultimate sense. But what a day will it be when it is no more...one day, it will be no more.

Romans 6:5 (New King James Version)
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Abusive Churches

I encountered this book many years ago. In the last post, we mentioned that you can really get hurt in the least expected place, in church. Often, abuse happens from the top leaders of a church.

BTW, sometimes, also, in well meaning environments, the one that gets abused is the pastor itself, and the pastor's wife feels this more than we can ever appreciate. Just be aware of that, that they do get abused too.

In Enroth's book, as I recall in reading it, one will find characteristics of churches that abuse. One example I can think of is when a member leaves. In the circle I was in, shunning either explicitly or implied happens. That is, the withdrawing of friendship or good will. Some church groups consider it a personal insult to them, that you are leaving them for another church. The puzzling thing is that when one leaves a church and transfers to even the same denomination, I have seen shunning still happens! This is just an example of an abuse in the social direction.

Enroth mentions cult like behavior in some churches. IMHO, some cultic churches are masking inside mainstream evangelical denominations. In other words, they are really cultic in behavior and belief but they go undetected simply because they belong to a mainstream denomination. In my observation, local churches can be cultic even though they reject cultic beliefs. Sure they may affirm the Trinity , affirm the Scripture, affirm all the nice points and appear even orthodox, but in the social aspect, they really are operating as a cult. One example is the way they handle dissent.

How a translation can screw you up.

John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I
came that they may have and enjoy
life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows).

Amplified Bible

Compare with...

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.

NKJV

Discuss...

You can get hurt in church, that is true

The irony is that, the very vehicle of healing for repentant sinners is the very instrument of stumbling too. That is right, as much as the church provides the blessings of having a family, a place you can belong and be treated as part of a larger whole, it too is a place where injuries are inflicted. Sometimes, there is so much fun in church fellowship and you get a drop of heaven, but wait till a crisis happens, it can be hell too. Take the story below as a case study. We can cite a lot more.

Think of the hospital. We bring our sick there to get cured. Sometimes, the cure does not happen, instead the situation gets even worst. Like, the time I heard a surgeon left a scissor in one of his patients after the operation. He was doing a procedure to fix something but instead, he left a new problem. For months it was tucked in the patient's abdomen, left accidentally by the surgeon, it was only revealed by x-ray the bizarre truth, the patient was carrying a foreign object. The real problem was fixed but a new and different one needs fixing too.

So what do you do when bad things happen to you, in church. Well, what should the patient do in that story? Where does he go but to a hospital again, no matter what. Perhaps he might go to a different hospital and get fixed by a different surgeon, but no one denies, he has to go back to 'a hospital'. Going to the fire station won't fix his problem.

Church, even though it does not purposely try to disappoint us, will disappoint us. That is the nature of being a sinner and saint in a grand scale. It happens, because it ain't The Messiah.

See: The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church, by R. Rosenbladt

An Un-Testimony - How a girl became happy not to be in church

[HT: C. Michael Patton]

Below is the un-testimony of a girl who be came an un-believer. You might say from being a Church-ian to being Un-Churched. It is a sad story worthy of our tears. This is the story of a girl who struggled with lesbian attraction. Her church background would have been irrelevant. I think this is what happens when people are hounded by the Law but no Gospel. How do you think we should respond to her? She could be listening, what would you say to her?

“I realized at an early age that something was very wrong with the Baptist church I went to. It was pretty bad when a eight year old child can tell a place is corrupt.

My first of many churches was in north Alabama, a very horrid and dim place where half the population cannot read or write. At the early age of four I was taught that homosexuality was wrong, and if you were you would go straight to hell. In fact, you would go straight to hell for lots of things it seemed.

If you read anything by Darwin, you were doomed.

If you talked back to your husband, then I hope you enjoy fire.

If you think about sex you are a dirty whore and you will go to hell.

The place was really more like a cult then anything. The people were brainwashed into believing that everything they did was evil.

Luckily we moved from there, not long after we found out that a small religious faction that had developed in the town was over throwing the pastor because his daughter was a lesbian.

We moved to Montgomery when I was ten, which was when the big topic of the 10 commandments being in the capitol building was being disputed, and I think that was the real start of my fall from faith. Not from the big deal that society was making out of religion, but from the new church that I had become a part of making such a huge deal.. I remember my preacher saying loudly at the top of his lungs one Sunday morning as I sat in the pew hanging on his every word, that the only reason that the people were protesting was because they were dirty, filthy atheist homosexuals. I thought to myself “Why would they care though? It’s not hurting anyone if it is or is not in there.”

As I grew older I began to learn new things about myself that worried me: I liked girls. I had always grown up learning that if I did like girls, I would go to hell and god wouldn’t love me anymore because I was an abomination. I struggled with the issue for a year before coming out to my best friend. She said she did not agree, but swore to never tell anyone. I felt better finally letting someone know that I am a lesbian. That Wednesday I went to church like I always had since I was eleven, and I walked over to the preacher who was a friend of mine and said “Hello.” and he would not speak to me. He looked through me like I was not even there.

I walked over to my best friend and sat down beside her, still hurt. To my surprise she got up, and everyone in my youth group followed her. I left, and went home crying. The next Sunday the preacher told us about the evils of homosexuality, and how no matter what you did you were no longer a child of god, but of Satan. My mother, being sympathetic looked over to me and offered to take me home. I shook my head refusing and stayed through the whole service. At the end I was close to tears, but I was filled with a new understanding. Something that I had never knew was in me before. Something that the people of the church could not see because they were blinded by their stupid convictions.

God failed. Not God himself, because he does not exist; he was just an idea started by some people who needed hope for something. But the idea of God failed. In the start God was made to give people hope and a reason to live a good life of humility and purity. But soon, those same people changed it. They turned it into something ugly and hateful, damning whatever they did not like, or fixing the words to make whatever they wanted it to say.

I went home and cried for three hours that day, and my mother thought I was sad because of what had happened at church. But I wasn’t. I was crying tears of joy, For the first time in my life I felt free. I felt like I was my own person, I felt free of burden or depression.

It has been four years since that day, and I can happily say that I have not stepped foot in a church since.

This is my fall from god I suppose, there is nothing remarkable about it. And there is nothing heart breaking about it. But it feels good to get it out in the open.”

“I realized at an early age that something was very wrong with the Baptist church I went to. It was pretty bad when a eight year old child can tell a place is corrupt.

My first of many churches was in north Alabama, a very horrid and dim place where half the population cannot read or write. At the early age of four I was taught that homosexuality was wrong, and if you were you would go straight to hell. In fact, you would go straight to hell for lots of things it seemed.

If you read anything by Darwin, you were doomed.

If you talked back to your husband, then I hope you enjoy fire.

If you think about sex you are a dirty whore and you will go to hell.

The place was really more like a cult then anything. The people were brainwashed into believing that everything they did was evil.

Luckily we moved from there, not long after we found out that a small religious faction that had developed in the town was over throwing the pastor because his daughter was a lesbian.

We moved to Montgomery when I was ten, which was when the big topic of the 10 commandments being in the capitol building was being disputed, and I think that was the real start of my fall from faith. Not from the big deal that society was making out of religion, but from the new church that I had become a part of making such a huge deal.. I remember my preacher saying loudly at the top of his lungs one Sunday morning as I sat in the pew hanging on his every word, that the only reason that the people were protesting was because they were dirty, filthy atheist homosexuals. I thought to myself “Why would they care though? It’s not hurting anyone if it is or is not in there.”

As I grew older I began to learn new things about myself that worried me: I liked girls. I had always grown up learning that if I did like girls, I would go to hell and god wouldn’t love me anymore because I was an abomination. I struggled with the issue for a year before coming out to my best friend. She said she did not agree, but swore to never tell anyone. I felt better finally letting someone know that I am a lesbian. That Wednesday I went to church like I always had since I was eleven, and I walked over to the preacher who was a friend of mine and said “Hello.” and he would not speak to me. He looked through me like I was not even there.

I walked over to my best friend and sat down beside her, still hurt. To my surprise she got up, and everyone in my youth group followed her. I left, and went home crying. The next Sunday the preacher told us about the evils of homosexuality, and how no matter what you did you were no longer a child of god, but of Satan. My mother, being sympathetic looked over to me and offered to take me home. I shook my head refusing and stayed through the whole service. At the end I was close to tears, but I was filled with a new understanding. Something that I had never knew was in me before. Something that the people of the church could not see because they were blinded by their stupid convictions.

God failed. Not God himself, because he does not exist; he was just an idea started by some people who needed hope for something. But the idea of God failed. In the start God was made to give people hope and a reason to live a good life of humility and purity. But soon, those same people changed it. They turned it into something ugly and hateful, damning whatever they did not like, or fixing the words to make whatever they wanted it to say.

I went home and cried for three hours that day, and my mother thought I was sad because of what had happened at church. But I wasn’t. I was crying tears of joy, For the first time in my life I felt free. I felt like I was my own person, I felt free of burden or depression.

It has been four years since that day, and I can happily say that I have not stepped foot in a church since.

This is my fall from god I suppose, there is nothing remarkable about it. And there is nothing heart breaking about it. But it feels good to get it out in the open.”

Low Fat, Low Salt, Low on Ethics of Caring...

[HT: The Missus]

www.spirituality.ucla.edu is a web site I will be setting my eyes on. It is part of UCLA and they conduct research on the spirituality of college students in USA.

The missus alerted me to one of their current research findings on the spiritual life of college students, mainly entering freshmen. You can read the details here. This study surveyed 112,232 entering first-year students from 236 diverse colleges and universities. It hopes to track the spiritual development of these students as they go through courses.

I like to draw their findings on students who identified themselves to be Lutheran. Here is what the reports says...

Lutherans also receive below average scores on four
measures: Religious Skepticism, Religious Struggle,
Spiritual Quest, and Ethic of Caring (their average
scores on these last two measures are the lowest of
all groups).

* Low on Religious Skepticism - this means they are less skeptical about the truthfulness of religion or less skeptical about their faith. Well done.
* Low on Religious Struggle - this means they rank low when it comes to, say crisis of faith, they are stable. Well done.
* Low on Spiritual Quest - This means they are not searching anymore, perhaps they found the answer, they are settled. Well done.
* Low on Ethic of Caring - This means they careless. They should get an F - i.e. Fail on this one.

The Ethic of Caring stands for the commitment to values such as helping others in difficulty, reducing pain and suffering in the world, and making the world a better place.

You know there is another way of reading the good results of the first 3 categories. Perhaps they scored low there because in the first place, they have been indifferent.

When I read the last comment of that quote, I am reminded of a t-shirt print ..."Low on Sanctification". If that means I do not use good works to gain merit, I am happy to wear such a t-shirt. But if it means, what this score means, I will hide it under my jacket and not parade it to the world. It will be one of those left in the closet.

To whom much is given, much is required.

A Confession, not a Denomination

Find more videos like this on The Wittenberg Trail

1 John 4:15
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God

A Christian without a confession is like a ship in the ocean, without rudder and without sail. To be a Christian is to confess the Gospel. To believe is to confess, to confess is to believe.