Freedom to live

It is only through God Himself existing and being my Creator that I, and the world, has life. We are free; free to think, to play, to eat, to fast, to speak, to love, to bless each other; free to kill, steal, lie, to sin against one another and God Himself. We are free because God lives and made us in His image. We are not deterministic automatons, merely fulfilling the biding of our bodily chemistry. We are filled with ability, hope, and joy because God made us and gives us the breath of life.

Problems with good intentions

An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture by Peter Block
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While I appreciate the vision of this book - and economy based on covenant and common good rather than contract and individualism - I disagree with much of its application. The only way to bring the vision into practice is through excessive government intervention into people's lives. There are many problems with much of our economy, but those can't be fixed by further regulation and redistribution.

Some of their interpretation of other writers is poor. For example, the authors reduce Adam Smith to a modern-day Libertarian. But their view shows a stereotype of Smith rather than a true reading of his work. He was far more nuanced in his approach of political economy than such an surface-reading suggests. Also, the use of Scripture to support their goals is admirable, but it is one-sided, neglecting what Scripture says about the personal responsibility people must take for their choices.

The language of neighborliness, mystery, liturgy, and covenant is humane way of presenting their arguments, but the application left much to be desired.

Help for Teachers

December is a time of year when teachers (and students) are ready for a break. We have taught for several months and, after grading exams, need to recharge. Discouragement fostered by fatigue could easily set in if not for the hope of Christmas and the anticipation of communing with family and friends.

But what about all those other times of the year when you give everything you have to teaching and it seems like little good comes from it? At those points we need someone to come alongside us and offer encouragement. That's where Augustine of Hippo comes in.

St. Augustine (354-430 AD) was a North African Bishop. His conversion story is famous, as chronicled in his Confessions. The other work for which he is famous is The City of God. Both are excellent books and should be read more than a few times. However he wrote much more than that, and it's another one of his works I'd like to tell you about.

He wrote a long letter to a deacon named Deogratias who was charged with instructing people who were interested in the Christian faith. Deogratias was facing discouragement in his work and Augustine, as a loving father, comes alongside to encourage and exhort him in his teaching.

The advice is sound and as relevant today as it was then. Augustine advises him to be aware of the different levels of education among the students and to adjust his teaching accordingly. He calls him to focus on the story of redemption, from creation through the final advent, with love of God being the final goal of education (here, here!).

The part that stuck with me the most though was his advice for dealing with teacher discouragement. He says that a teacher should strive to always be cheerful. If the teacher doesn't rejoice in what he is teaching, the students will not either.

But this cheerfulness is under constant attack. The twin termites of doubt and discouragement gnaw away at our joy, tempting us to hold back, ease up, and give in. They leave us empty on the inside, merely going through the motions while waiting for the time to pass. What then should we do?

Augustine, the veteran teacher and pastor that he is, gives sage counsel. I will summarize several of his points regarding this topic but it is best to read it for yourself.

1. If the material is too lofty for them, you may need to simplify so that the students can understand. We like to show our intellect in our teaching, proving how much we know. But we don't teach for the goal of showing our intelligence. Imitate Christ and humble yourself.

2. Don't get tired of repeating yourself. Be like a gracious father or mother and continue patiently with your students. God has given you the opportunity to enlighten their minds to great truths. Be thankful and make good use of it.

3. Don't let the apathy pass but approach and reprove it with grace. Sometimes students, to borrow Augustine's words, "no longer commends what is said, but gapes and yawns, and even unwillingly exhibits a disposition to depart..." When that happen we should directly question the reason for the apathy and reprove it, not harshly but firmly.

4. When you think you could be making more money doing something else, remember that you are here as a teacher because God placed you here. You don't know what is the most profitable thing you could be doing. Be thankful for the opportunity to obey God right now where you are.

5. When a student offends you and you are tempted to be cold and aloof, remember the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus died so that sinners, like you and those students, would be redeemed. He loves them despite their sin; we should love them also.

6. When your own personal sin robs you of your joy, repent. Confess it and take whatever steps are needed to put it to death. Don't try to teach while under the weight of guilt. Confess your sin, be cleansed and freed.

There is much more that I could say about this wonderful letter, but as I said earlier, read it for yourself. Let the words of the wise saint of old refresh you and restore you in your calling to feed those who have need.

Preparation for Spiritual Warfare

     There is a growing market for books about manhood and the family. A couple of years back, Pastor Chris Wiley contributed to that market with his book, Man of the House: a “how to” book for young men on how to build a household. While not overtly religious, it is based in a Judeo-Christian, natural law ethic. It serves as a guide for young men who want to know how to build a household.

     His new book, TheHousehold and the War for the Cosmos, serves as a prequel to Man of the House. It clearly presents the foundation for a Christian household. The subtitle is “recovering a Christian vision for the family” but this not your typical, Evangelical (read mushy) book on how to be a better dad. It is a book about what leadership in a Christian household looks like. And it begins with piety.

     

     The piety he describes is not the piety of abstaining from cards and alcohol, but a virtue that is much more profound. He describes its meaning in Roman times when the Apostle Paul wrote about it, and how the meaning of the word was emasculated in modern times. When we hear the word “piety” we should think more about sacrifice, patriotism, and responsibility than quiet walks on a Sunday afternoon. Piety is a masculine virtue.

     He showcases this piety through comparing and contrasting the patriarch Abraham with Aeneas, the founder of Rome. Without giving away the history, there is much more in common with those two men than I ever thought, and they both go a long way in teaching us how piety is displayed. This was an especially good chapter.

     In the last half of the book, Pastor Wiley applies this stronger piety to us, explaining how Scripture calls for fathers to teach their families to be pious, pointing again to Abraham as an example. My favorite chapter was when he walks the reader through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, documenting how piety is developed from chapter 1 through chapter 6. The pinnacle was when he connected the household codes of Ephesians (5:22-6:9) to spiritual warfare (6:10-21). I’ve never read a commentator who could convincingly explain Paul’s logic in writing about households to writing about warfare, but the author’s explanation is more than convincing. To summarize: the household was (and still is) an instrument of warfare. In ancient times it was literal warfare; today godly households are to be instruments of spiritual warfare. Hence the application: get married and begin your battle plans.

     This book accomplishes what is purports to do: present a vision for the Christian family. It doesn’t present the detailed plans of Man of the House, but it lays the necessary foundation. I would have enjoyed a longer treatment of some of the ideas, but I’m sure he will present those in time.

Sometimes books on the family leave you feeling discouraged; either you can’t possibly put into practice what they suggest, or they tell dads to become more feminine and less masculine. This book does neither. It points out a real problem and shows how we can begin the repair process. I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, and am thankful; it will benefit me for many years.

A Pastor's Need to pray

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father [a]of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians 3:14-21

After Paul wrote of the divine mystery of God, bringing the Gentiles into the covenant and making them a part of his plan to reorder the world under Christ, he prays this prayer. The first half of this letter has addressed the work that God has done for us. He chose us for adoption; he redeemed us through Christ from our former slavery, gave us his Spirit, and proclaimed the good news to us through apostles and prophets. He brought us into his presence, the heavenly places in Christ. Now what? Now Paul prays. We, the adopted former slaves, have been brought into God’s household. Like all household members, we have responsibilities assigned to us. We are a part of God’s cosmic restoration plan. But before Paul comes to that, he prays, for it is only in prayer that we become the faithful servants God calls us to be.

A pastor's job is first and foremost, to pray. No shepherd can lead his sheep if he does not first pray for them. I am tempted to rush to the work of men, admonishing them to complete the work God calls them to, warning them of danger, and encouraging them in their walk. But all is empty without the power of prayer. Paul says here that the Father can "do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (emphasis mine). What though, stirs the power of the Spirit in the lives of believers? The prayer of their shepherd, as in Paul's prayer here. Certainly do the work; counsel, teach, encourage, admonish, and warn, but first, always first, pray.

A Preacher Has to Preach

I read this article yesterday from Pastor Tim Bayly and it was convicting. The thing that sticks out to me is the burden of leadership that falls on pastors. We can't escape leading; the problem is how we lead and the direction in which we lead. I'm either leading my congregation to flowery beds of ease a.k.a. destruction or I'm leading them to take up the cross and follow Christ on the narrow way.

Earlier in the day I'd read Isaiah 58:1, "Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins." Pastors must not hold back in their preaching. This doesn't mean they should preach uncontrolled but they can't worry about repercussions or blow-back from calling out the sins of the people. God began His word to Isaiah in this chapter by warning him to cry aloud, to not withhold his voice, even though the things God would say through his prophet would be hard to hear. Pastors today must do that same.

We live in sinful times (nothing is new under the sun). If I fail to boldly proclaim the whole counsel of God, I fail as God's minister. I must not shirk back from applying the word to the people of God, especially when it's uncomfortable.

Scripture says if a man fails to provide for his children, his fundamental duty as head of the household, he's worse than an infidel. If a pastor fails to provide for and lead his flock, he's not much better.

Learning the Joy of Contentment

In her book, Seeking God, Esther de Waal describes the problems with the excessive freedom of our lifestyle choices:

"Simply at the level of working out an acceptable life-style the choices have now become quite bewildering. Shall I support Mother Teresa in Calcutta or help leprous children in Tanzania...I may well end up flitting form one to the other until I have collected a tagbag for myself of well-intentioned but half-thought-out ideals based on a confused and superficial amalgam of some of the more attractive elements in each. The danger then of course that I become too confused and superficial.
Instead of this bewildering and exhausting rushing from one thing to another monastic stability means accepting this particular community, this place and these people, this and no other, as the way of God."

The book is on what we can learn from The Rule of Saint Benedict, so don't let the word "monastic" throw you off. Christians should be the most stable people in the world. We are built on the Rock, after all. This doesn't mean we will be born and die in the same place, the ideals of Wendell Berry notwithstanding. I am a transplant to the Northwest after six generations of living in northern Alabama, after all. But we should not easily flit from one place to another, from one church to another, or from one cause to another. God has called us wherever we are right now.

We are called to love our neighbors in front of us first, before giving to and thinking about our invisible neighbors across the world. When we discipline ourselves to give to our church, our neighbors, and our family, one of the by-products is the joy of contentment.