Faith Venture

What Does a Christian Gathering Look Like

August 1, 2012

Paul lays out his vision of an ideal Christian gathering (or church) in his letter of advice to Timothy (1 Timothy). I think if we step back and stop picking on certain things that you may either agree or disagree with (a common way of reading), we can discern some interesting things.

Men should be praying.
Women should not be flaunting wealth.
Women should be humble before the Lord.
Leaders should lead orderly lives based on God’s principles.

Actually, I think that’s pretty cool. I’d like that sort of church. Forget the politics and personal promotion. Focus on God and on living a life of walking with God. We pray. We care for one another. We attract new people because we don’t act like “leaders” from business or entertainment or whatever. We are with-God and people know it.

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Do As I Say, Not As I Do

July 31, 2012

Do as I say, not as I do.

I started thinking about that phrase as I was thinking about the implications of Paul’s advice in 1 Timothy that I discussed yesterday.

Through the mid 20th century, there were role models. Teachers were supposed to exhibit good behaviour, for example. Priests and preachers. I remember a young teacher we had when I was upper class in high school. She was doing something in the cafeteria that she would have admonished a student for doing. She used that phrase.

I heard many education students when I was an undergrad at the university also comment that their behaviour should not be a factor in their teaching. Some preachers/pastors have been prone to the fallacy of thinking that their words should be separated from their deeds.

Paul advises women to be modest and male church leaders to live lives above reproach. Americans read this and are shocked. “You mean we are supposed to act like we tell others?”

Parents learn (too late sometimes) that children mimic what they do, not what they say.

So, don’t do as my colleague, who suggested that if Paul had proof-read what he wrote he would have deleted parts of 1 Timothy. No, he wouldn’t have. His vision of a church was one in which people acted out in life the beliefs that they hold about how God wants us to live.

We may struggle to behave as we wish, but at least we shun hypocrisy.

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Be Modest and Humble Before the Lord

July 30, 2012

Our small group is reading 1 Timothy. Got to Chapter 2 yesterday reading about how a church should be a praying church–oh, yes, and how women should dress with modesty before the Lord. The leader suggested that if Paul would have proof read what he wrote, he’d have deleted those couple of sentences. This same (male) leader often has suggested taking a black magic marker to parts of Paul’s instructions.

I had been contemplating that chapter and said that, on the contrary, Paul knew exactly what he was writing. I presume that men, much like through the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, wore pretty boring attire. We started changing by the 70s, but even there we went to khakis and polos rather than black suits, white shirts and ties.

But women–they were for adornment. In those New Testament times according to our resident historian, women displayed the family wealth. You knew the family was wealthy depending upon the amount of jewelery displayed. But I think even more than that, the focus became on the external person of the woman and not on her soul. We are all to be humble before God, but women can show it externally more than the average man when they are not.

I asked the group (rhetorically, of course, and understand that I’m the youngest one in the group), when you stand in front of the mirror getting prepared for church, are you thinking about how great you look or are you thinking about being humble before God.

My wife told me I wasn’t very uplifting to the women. I said, I’m a teacher not a motivational speaker. I want people to think. Is it all about them? Or is it all about God?

So, have I made you stop and think about why you dress as you do? If so, then I succeeded.

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Do The Right Thing

July 24, 2012

Wise thought from Andy Stanley, senior pastor of Northpoint Church in suburban Atlanta, from one of his podcasts on leadership. He says he started telling his children this every night when he put them to bed. Doesn’t remember where the phrase came from or when he started.

I think that this is a good one to put on a sticky on your computer monitor, or on your desk, or on your bathroom mirror–somewhere that you will see at least daily and remember it.

“Give me the wisdom to know the right thing and the courage to do the right thing, no matter how hard it gets.”

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Rest for the Soul

July 23, 2012

I was recently listening to Nancy Ortberg speak. She is a teaching pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and wife of senior pastor John Ortberg. The sermon series has been “Soul-ology”–all about the health of the soul.

They have been discussing how the soul is the sum of your being. You have a body and a mind (which the ancients, and now us moderns, see as a combination of brain and emotion) and a will. But your soul is owned by God and is all of that plus.

Nancy talked about the problem many of us have in finding rest. So many are “Type A” personalities. We worry, we plan, we crave, we act. But we can’t rest.

Her talk started me thinking. Sometimes rest comes from non-action. One benefit of meditation is to quiet the mind. There are people who confuse this with a direct spiritual benefit, but that is something more. Meditation to rest the soul is simply following a technique of sitting comfortably, focusing on breathing, clearing the mind without effort.

Type A personalities have much difficulty with this. It’s hard for them to sit still. It’s even harder for them to quiet the mind. Aside from helping the soul find rest, studies have revealed that this practice helps reduce stress, bring down blood pressure, prevent onset of Type II diabetes.

Another type of rest actually involves action. Nancy grew up hunting and fishing. She related a vacation they took to Montana to go fly fishing. That is an active vacation. The technique of fly fishing, though physically active, requires utmost concentration. Concentration of this type actually quiets the mind and allows the soul to rest.

I achieve the same state of consciousness through refereeing soccer. The more intense and higher level the game, the higher my concentration. The more the rest of my soul relaxes.

Others have hobbies of various types. Or other recreation. What do you do for your soul?

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How Do I Achieve Peace

July 20, 2012

As I ended Yoga practice last night, one member of the class asked that question. I’ll always end with a motivational or thought provoking quote. Last night’s had to do with diseases of the mind being more destructive than those of the body (Cicero).

Well, I’m not a psychologist. And even though I teach Yoga, I’m not a Hindu. But I am a life-long seeker. So I shared some of the wisdom literature such as has been the topic of my last several posts. Seek contentment. Try to remove attachment to worldly things.

That wasn’t enough. So I thought about it. The trouble with wisdom tradition is that although it’s universal, it lacks grounding. First, you must have the foundation of walking with God. Historically, monotheists (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) practice a personal relationship with God rather than having a pantheon of gods or union with a mystical “Divine” that is sort of nameless.

New Age people–who are all around us–mix up a lot of that. Take a mix of a measure of Wisdom literature, a dash of Asian religions (without the “religion” part), a piece of Christian teaching, stir well and live some sort of peaceful life. Trouble is, there is no foundation. One of Jesus’ parables warned about building your life on unstable ground rather than a firm foundation.

So, our discussion last night went back to a grounding in God. Then you turn to your mind. The ultimate freedom humans have is the freedom to choose what we think about. We can choose our response to the situations life puts us through. For more than 40 years I’ve practiced the technique of diverting my mind from worries and negativity by focusing my thoughts on something positive or pleasurable.

I was raised by a worrier, it’s in my genes and my early experience. I had to learn to overcome it. That’s how I did. Although you never are “cured.” You just live each day. With God. Choosing to set your mind on the things of heaven, not the things of the world.

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Non-Possessiveness or Are You Packing Too Much Stuff

July 19, 2012

I’m beginning to practice minimalist packing for traveling. In this era of airlines charging fees for checking baggage, people respond by carrying on more and more luggage. Overhead bins fill. Even though I have “status” and early boarding rights (and can check for free), it’s still a hassle.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in St. Louis. Everything I needed I took in my backpack. Razor, toothbrush, hair brush, a little bag of toiletries, a little bag of connectors for my electronics, a couple of books, laptop, iPad, change of shirts and underwear.

I always pack running and workout gear and then seldom use them on trips. I need to do my normal work packed in to a couple of hours early in the morning before heading out to breakfast meetings and then meetings. Then dinner. So, I left them behind. No sense packing extra clothes I’ll not wear.

The ethical behavior I was just reading about is non-possessiveness. Do you carry more baggage than you need?

Jesus talked about this several times–storing up treasures in heaven, not on earth. We get tied to our material possessions.

You can take the baggage metaphor a number of ways. Sometimes we possess old hurts and longings that we actually are tied to. We perhaps like that victim feeling.

What is essential for your journey through life? What can you really do without? Getting rid of the need for possessions can be freeing.

It’s not that I don’t have possessions. They are not bad. The question is rather am I tied to them. Is my self worth wrapped up in having a certain car, house, painting, shoes, whatever?

Pack light for the journey. Carrying too many possessions is like a boat anchor dragging you down.

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Contentment or Wish I Were Somewhere Else

July 18, 2012

Ever think that someone else is “over there” having a lot of fun and you’re left out? I bet most of us had those feelings at least once during our adolescent years. I did.

Was it true? Did you ever get “over there” and discover that there really wasn’t much going on?

This reading I’ve been doing on ethical principles landed on the principle of contentment. The author cites a Chinese proverb that says, “People in the West are always getting ready to live.” The saying sounds a little suspicious to me as far as origin, but the thought is interesting.

We could be content in living the life we’re living and not so much worried about what other people are doing.

Last Friday I led a Yoga class with a group of about 20 kids ranging in age from perhaps 7 to 14. These are “disadvantaged” kids. They were all worried about another kid. “He’s not doing it.” “She’s not paying attention.” My response–let’s just pay attention to ourselves and not worry about them.

Then I thought, what a good phrase to bring into my life. Make sure my life is right with God first. Or as Jesus said, why worry about the speck in someone else’s eye when you have a log in yours.

Maybe somewhere else the sun is shining (or in our case, since we’re in the midst of a drought, somewhere else they have rain). But I can live contented where I am with what I have. And if a new opportunity for learning, growth or service is presented to me by God, then I am prepared to take that next step.

Oh, those Yoga kids… At the end of the class, I had them sitting cross-legged on the ground. Trying to teach them to find a safe place in their imagination to go when they get upset–to calm down before acting. Imagine 20 restless kids on summer break sitting outside in the sun quiet for about 6 minutes. It was amazing.

Posted in Disciplines, Ethics | 1 Comment »

Walk With God Leaving Excess Behind

July 17, 2012

I’m a little late today. Had a 6 am flight from Dayton to St. Louis. Having trouble with my wireless modem, so finally broke down and spent $7.95 for Internet access at the St. Louis airport.

Read a book on ethics on the flight here. Obviously not deep, but had many good thoughts.

One chapter discussed walking with God in the sense of approaching each day with holiness rather than indulgence. Interesting thought–especially for those in a western culture. We live in an economy based on consumption. Messages surround us, penetrating our souls constantly, telling us we can be happier, more attractive, more successful, more popular, smarter if only we’d buy something.

Indulge yourself the beautiful models tell us. You can’t have too much–at least until you reach the point you can qualify for one of those hoarder “reality” TV shows.

We can indulge in other ways, too. Maybe we indulge in silence when there’s a lot of life around us. Maybe we indulge in WiFi–wait, don’t hit me too close to home.

All I wanted was a quiet little spot to have some breakfast and wait for my colleague to arrive. The airport is not busy. No one else is at this nice little airport restaurant. All is well. I guess I’m indulging. Then a family comes in. With every other place open, they choose to sit at the booth behind me. Boy of around 6 is in the group, with mom and grandparents. Boy is loud and kicks the booth–same seat as mine. I feel every kick. Grandpa is a whiner. Flight was cancelled due to mechanical failure. Upset their day. He whines about the flight, about the airport, about the kid, about relatives….

Ah, but I just read this book. In the end, it’s not all about me. I can adjust and calmly do my work. Probably got more done than in the quiet of my study. Hope they have a good next flight!

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Boosting the Next Generation

July 16, 2012

Investing in the next generation pays so many dividends. It raises the community level while reducing crime.

I’ve devoted much of the past 25 years developing soccer referees. Many are young people. Most won’t referee for many years. But I’ve felt that if I can influence them in a positive direction and give them some life skills, then I’ve made a positive impact on them and on society.

For this work, I’ve just received an award from the Southern Ohio Adult Soccer Association and the Ohio South State Referee Committee. It is a great honor.

That’s me in the blue shirt. On either side are the youth referees of the year from Ohio South (on my left) and Ohio North. Talking with them after the award ceremony at half-time of the Columbus Crew MLS match last Saturday was rewarding. They are great kids with a great outlook on life. When you get discouraged reading media reports about the next generation, just go out and work with some of them.

Couple this with a TED Talk I just heard from David R. Dow, a death row lawyer. He notes that 76% of inmates on death row had previously in life been involved in the juvenile justice system. What if, he asks, we as a community had intervened in their lives when they were at risk, but before they had taken someone’s life?

We would not only have saved a couple of lives, but we’d save a lot of money (if you’re of a frugal mindset) from the court and jail system.

I think that it is a human task–to bring up the next generation. It’s not something that should be pushed off to someone else while we pursue our own selfish “happiness.” It’s not something that stops after you’ve raised your own kids. It’s our task until we die.

I wish I could help everyone of these people that I meet. It’s never enough.

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