my kids and crisis

I am so proud of my kids! Okay...so maybe I am biased. However this week I watched both Heidi and Karisa face crisis and handle it well.

Heidi graduated this spring with a special ed/elementary ed degree. She will work for the Philadelphia School district. On Wednesday she had a meeting in center Philadelphia at the district office to get her placement. When she got there, she was informed that they were placing her in a high school special ed position. In her words - "I had a moment". She has no experience or education dealing with high school students.

Here is where I am so proud of her. After a bit of panic and several phone calls, she arrived at the point where she assumed that God must want her in this specific high school. In spite of her fear, she began to look for the opportunities...maybe she could help coach a girls soccer team...maybe God had something that she did not see yet.

The next day she got called in for a second meeting. At that meeting they reassigned her to a K-4 school where she will teach in an elementary class!

Karisa spent three weeks in India. Her arrival date back in the states was this past Friday, the 17th. The beginning of the week she called us to tell us that she may not be able to get out of the mountains. There was a good deal of political unrest and there was an indefinite strike. In that part of the world, a strike shuts down all transportation, businesses, and markets. In other words, life comes to a standstill. Her response to the strike was that if God wanted her to stay indefinitely, then she would do so.

Incidentally, an influential leader in the town pulled some strings and she got to Delhi on Thursday and we picked her up in Newark on Friday!

Both girls faced crisis. Both responded the same way. After the initial fear and panic, they immediately began to look for the hand God. Both were fully aware the God orders their steps, that He is good, and that He could be trusted with their future.

If we are going to partner with God in his redemptive and transformative work, we must have this kind of attitude. Obstacles become opportunities. We look for the hand of God in the midst of crisis. (Crisis is our perspective not God's.) We must be fully aware of God's goodness. In spite of our emotions we act from the perspective that God is good, that He knows better than I do.

cool and cutting edge?

I recently heard of a young couple who left their church to attend another church that had better children's ministry. That got me started thinking about following Jesus and about the church. For the past twenty years I have been involved with church planting in one capacity or another. For years the "experts" stressed a high quality children's ministry, a really cool youth ministry, and a high energy adult service with cutting edge "worship" as the best way to grow a church rapidly. And you know what? It really did work!

Yet I am wondering if perhaps we didn't miss something. We have created a generation of church attenders that are little more than consumers. Church is the commodity and we attempt to entice them with the promise of a superior product. We have dynamic ministry programs! We are the coolest! (Well...we wouldn't say so but deep inside that it is what we think.) Our kids ministry rocks! And so we present church as a commodity that adds value to your life or to your kid's lives.

I am not sure that Jesus was cool...or cutting edge. We do read of His children's ministry - He took time in the midst of an all important discourse about divorce to hold and bless the children. He didn't mind the interuption. In fact, He became angry with those who attempted to shoo the children away. I can't really find any cool ministry programs He instituted. Jesus did heal the sick, give the sinners hope, and proclaimed the good news that the realm of God was here on earth now.

Might it be that we have substituted dynamic programs for the power of God? Might it be that the kingdom of God is not about cool or cutting edge? Are we simply entertaining and being entertained, seeing who can draw the largest crowd? Where is the power to heal the sick? Where is the power to transfrom lives and bring wholeness?

false realities

In light of my post about Barney Frank, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae, I thought it may be helpful to post something that I wrote some time ago. I am not sure if I ever posted this before. If I did I apologize!

For the past several years, God has been inviting Bev and me to participate with Him in His restorative work in the lives of individuals. It is hard to imagine a greater joy than seeing wholeness come to individuals, to see a life characterized by wreckage be transformed into wholeness. In our interaction with people who need restored, we noticed one constant theme that led to their personal destruction. In every circumstance, a false reality paved the way for destructive behavior to emerge.

I would define a false reality as the creation of a perception or a belief system not based on truth. It is the embracing of any thought process that does not align with reality as defined by God and therefore does not align itself with truth. It is the denial of what really is (true reality), choosing instead to believe and live according to a mindset or thought pattern created to justify or validate certain behaviors. For instance, an alcoholic will insist he can control his drinking or that he can stop drinking whenever he so chooses. The actuality of the situation is that there is no way he can stop without intervention outside of himself. However, he stubbornly clings to the lie that he can control his drinking. That false reality allows the power of alcohol to strengthen its grip in his life. No amount of insistence about the veracity of a false reality will cause the deception to be true.

Most of the restorative situations with which Bev and I work are people who would consider themselves as followers of Jesus. We have made a particularly disturbing discovery about their false realities – initially they have willingly engaged in their specific deception. Rather than seeking and choosing truth, God’s reality, they chose to either create or engage in a false reality because it was more convenient. They embraced a thought pattern that appealed to their base nature, to their “self-god”.

In almost every instance, people needing restoration have asked “How did we get here?” The creation of these false realities have simultaneously created and strengthened the deception. Not only does the creation of a false reality facilitate deception, it concurrently strengthens the deception and gives birth to new false realities. The vicious cycle opens the door for destruction and wreckage to occur.

Prior to people choosing to engage in the initial deception, there is another underlying condition that gives rise to the vulnerability toward accepting and creating false realities. The most essential nature of humanity is that we are created as a spirit being. God “breathed” and His image was imparted to Adam. We frequently call this spirit component of our being our heart. It is the heart that is born from above through Christ. It is the heart that is joined in union with God. The spirit is overtaken by Him becoming one with Him. As such, this union becomes our center, the source of true life. Everything that pertains to life, to godliness, and to wisdom flows from our union with God in our heart.

The self-god, which is centered in the realm of the intellect and the emotions, violently opposes our spiritual union with God. The self-god attempts to entice each of us to abandon living from our union with God and draws us to engaging in our intellect and emotions as our sole source of life and wisdom.

In our experience, every person purposefully engaging in a false reality was prepared to receive that reality when they turned from living from their union with God to living from intellect and emotions. Universally, people caught in destructive behaviors have no idea what God is saying about them, about who they are or about their situation. That ignorance is not a result of the destructive behavior; rather the ignorance creates the conditions for the destructive behavior to take root.

Ultimately, the way to keep from being entangled by false realities is by guarding our heart. We must continually keep the place of our oneness with God as the center that determines our actions. God frequently invites us to live in ways that feel dangerous to our intellect and emotions. At the point of that invitation, we choose whether we will live according to God’s reality or whether we will open the door to the possibility of engaging in false realities because we are choosing to live according to the self-god.

We must ruthlessly oppose the self-god and its desires, choosing the way of the cross. We must take an honest look at our thought processes, realizing our predisposition to deception apart from Christ. For the past number of years, I have asked God to judge me, to judge my motives, to reveal reality and truth. The result of that prayer is that I am confronted regularly with the choice of either embracing my definition of reality or choosing to embrace the Father’s definition. God has taken aim at my motives and perceptions so frequently that it seems to me that He is my enemy much of the time.

Yet I am fully aware that the judgment of God springs from His incredible love toward me. I am also deeply aware of my own vulnerability to perceptions that lead to destruction. Therefore the only safe path is the reality as defined by God, regardless of how painful or difficult it seems to me. Not only is reality as defined by God a place of safety, living according to His reality leads to abundant life.

barney frank, fannie mae, freddie mac, and christians

Recently I heard a news clip of Barney Frank (current House of Representatives Financial Services committee chairman) from several years ago. When questioned about the solvency of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (both government-sponsored mortgage giants) Mr. Frank became rather indignant. As long ago as 2003, people were raising serious questions about the financial health of the mortgage industry. Yet Mr. Frank repeatedly attempted to paint over the cracks in the foundation of the two government entities. In the past year, the truth became evident for all to see. The concerns that had been raised were correct. Regardless of Mr. Franks efforts at painting, the fatal flaws finally brought down the mortgage industry starting our economy on it's downward slide.

I don't think that Mr. Frank is somehow malicious. Rather, I think that 6 years ago he chose to not believe the truth. He created a false reality and clung to his perception of reality. In other words, he chose to believe what he wanted to believe regardless of what he was seeing. As a result, his paradigm dictated his sight instead of his sight dictating his paradigm.

So what's the lesson here? I see a lot of similarities between Mr. Frank and Christians. Without a doubt we are in the midst of a season of God exposing the cracks in our spiritual foundations. Far to many Christians are busy trying to paint over the cracks instead of embracing the truth that comes in the midst the exposure. There are major denial issues in Christendom right now. We refuse to believe what we are seeing choosing instead to create our own false reality. We need to be aware, however, just as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's fatal flaws could only be hidden so long, our desired false realities will only stand for so long before they will crumble as well.

where are the fathers?

Bev and I were in NY for the Memorial Day weekend. We worked on our cabin project and were able to get in a bit of fishing as well. While we were there, Bev had a phone conversation with a young lady from Pennsylvania. This young lady and her husband connected with us last winter at a marriage event. They have had a good deal of marriage struggles in the past year. Unfortunately they live in another community so heart to heart connections are more difficult to build. Any face to face interaction must be scheduled.

Their story breaks our heart – it is one that is all too familiar to us. They cry out for parents. They want to know how do life together. They have questions about things like sex, how to handle conflict, and parenting issues. They live in a community that is full of churches – more traditional churches like Methodist, Lutheran, and Mennonite. Then there are the independent churches and the churches who like to be on the “cutting edge”. Yet in the midst of all these churches, this couple still misses the very thing for which they long.

Their situation mirrors so many. Young adults deeply desire to be taught – not in a class or a seminar but in the everyday grind of life. They want to learn from the experiences of a generation that has gone before. Unfortunately that older generation seems to be too busy building their own ministries or too preoccupied with their own issues. They (the older generation) seem to be more interested in relationships that will benefit them instead of giving their life to a younger generation. They invite the younger generation to come to their meetings and listen to their teaching but they almost never invite people deeply into their life experiences. They may give their lives to build a “ministry” but they won’t give their lives to build the character of Christ in people.

The prophet Malachi spoke of a curse that comes as the hearts of the fathers are hard toward the children. And so we find ourselves under a curse. The fathers are too self-absorbed to give themselves to their children. The children suffer as a result. Bev and are frequently overwhelmed by the cry of the children – won’t someone teach us? Won’t someone help us? They don’t want a formula; they want interaction. They don’t want a class once a week; they want someone with which to walk.

I dream of a day when the hearts of the fathers reflect the heart of the Father. I dream of a day when fathers will give themselves for the good of the children. I pray for the spirit of Elijah to overtake us, driving the curse from our land.

entering the kingdom

In various recent dialogues with people, I see a common thread concerning the Kingdom of God. It seems to me that we are frequently attempting to interpret and understand the Kingdom of God through the lens of the natural mind. This leads to a great deal of misunderstanding about the nature of the Kingdom.

God created mankind in His own image[1]. As such, He granted humanity the possibility of being god in our individual lives. He allows us the freedom to determine the course of our life. He grants the choice of ignoring or acknowledging Him to every individual person. While He invites us to participate with Him in the stewardship of the earth, He never forces us to participate either. The choice is ours to make.

The freedom He gives me to be my own god sets up a great battle between Him and me. I have discovered that the greatest battles in my life have not pitted me against the devil or some sin but against God Himself. The self-god continually seeks to be enthroned as the chief determiner of my course of life. The self-god rebels against any kind of submission to any other being, especially to God. The self-god desires to make God subservient to the ways of mankind and in so doing attempts to create a god according to my own image.

Throughout history, people have formed gods according to their own perceptions of what a god should be. In ancient cultures, craftsmen carved statues and images to reflect their own desires for the characteristics of their own god. This tendency still prevails today. While we may not carve idols, we do set up images of God in our inmost being, images that are determined by our desire to be god. We project our personal perceptions on God in an attempt to further our personal desires. This is the work of the natural mind.

The Kingdom of God (literally the rule of God) is diametrically opposed to the way of the self-god, the way of the natural mind. This sets the stage for a great conflict. On the most basic level, the battle is between the Kingdom of God (the rule of God) and the Kingdom of Self (the rule of self). Furthermore, I believe that it is impossible to comprehend the realm of God through the perception of the self-rule. From the self-perspective, everything God is and does is filtered through the understanding and wisdom that comes from self. Unwittingly, we reduce God to acting and reacting as we would act and react in any given situation. We interpret the Bible through the carnal mind, resulting in teaching and doctrine that, while sounding pious and correct, is at best far from the heart of God and at worst opposes God.

For instance, the ways of the realm of God and His Kingdom are outlined clearly in Jesus’ teaching in Matthew chapters 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount). Yet as we read His words, the impossibility of living according to the way given by Jesus becomes evident. The “how” questions bombard our mind. How do I love my neighbor? How do I keep from worrying? How do I rejoice when people speak evil of me?

The carnal mind, the self-god responds to these questions with one answer – I’ll try. I’ll try to love; I’ll try to quit worrying; I’ll try to rejoice. Yet Jesus does not ask us to simply try to attain these ideals. We must love; we must cease from worry. To which the self-god immediately responds, “Living that way is impossible”. From that perspective, these words of Jesus become unattainable ideals toward which we strive. However if we take an honest look at Jesus’ words, He never presents them as unattainable goals but the reality of living in the realm of God.

Therefore we are faced with a question – how do I ever comprehend God and His Kingdom if not done through my natural mind? How do I arrive at spiritual transformation if not by human effort? Like with other difficult questions, we find the answer in the life and example of Jesus. Paul, in his letter to the church at Philippi succinctly outlines the Jesus pattern.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.[2]

Notice the downward spiral in Jesus’ experience. He began as God with the rights and privileges of God. Instead of grasping for self-preservation, He freely relinquished His rights to all power and glory to enter into a place of nothingness. Any vestiges of self were demolished by the radical submission to the plan of the Father that led to and through the cross.

It is imperative to be aware that the primary objective of the self-god is self-preservation. Everything about the downward spiral into submission to the rule of God will feel unnatural. The self-god will protest vehemently. Emotions of fear, anger, worry, and doubt will swirl seeking to cause you to self-protect.

At this point we are faced with a crucial choice – Will I enter the vortex of emotions, abandoning all hope for survival in order to pursue the way of God? The greatest temptation is to retreat from the rule of God in order to self-protect. Somehow I must numb the pain; somehow I must regain control of my life. Yet the only way to reach the realm of God, the only way to enter His kingdom is a headlong plunge into and through the cross.

Paul spoke of this difficulty in entering into the realm of God as he and Barnabas encourage the first century believers.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”[3]

The Greek word translated as “tribulations” literally means “pressure, anguish, or trouble”. We experience the realm of God only through the pathway of difficulty. There are no shortcuts, no easy roads that circumvent the cross.

It is important to note that while the cross signified Jesus’ complete surrender to the rule of the Father, it was not the final destination. Paul goes on to explain the eternal results of Jesus’ repudiation of self to embrace the desire of the Father.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[4]

In the place of utter dependency on the will of the Father, in the place of complete death to the self-god, a spiritual transformation occurs. We find ourselves in a new dimension, the realm of God. We cease from striving, worrying, fear, and the related symptoms arising from living according to the self-god. In my experience, quite literally, the world becomes a different place. We cease to operate in the ways of man. We cease to understand through the filter of our natural mind. The dimension in which we find ourselves is one of supernatural existence. We discover abundant life. The nature of Christ becomes formed in us. We recognize our oneness with Creator of the universe and begin to live from that oneness.

However, let me be clear once again – we can never enter this dimension of God’s rule through our own efforts. We can never comprehend the Kingdom of God from the perspective offered by the self-god. There are no ways to circumvent the cross; we must fully embrace it and the pain it brings. It is only in a place of utter despondency, of complete poverty of spirit that we discover resurrection life. Jesus, in His great outline of Kingdom principles in the book of Matthew, puts it this way:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”[5]

I passionately urge you to embrace the way of poverty of spirit. The downward spiral that leads to death of the self-god is the only way to experience and comprehend the supernatural realm of God. Oppose the temptation to self-preserve, to evade the cross. Lose your life so that you may find it!

[1] Genesis 1:26,27
[2] Philippians 2:5-8
[3] Acts 14:21-22
[4] Philippians 2:9-11
[5] Matthew 5:3

the severity of God

I am deeply convinced of the goodness of God. The longer I walk with Him, the more evident His goodness becomes to me. As I submit to His goodness, I am also increasingly aware of His severity. His overwhelming goodness does not negate the fact the He is God and I am not. While we have been created in the image of God, we frequently attempt to create God in our own image. In other words we create a god with whom we are comfortable. Our creation of our own personal god displaces the Creator with self.

Ananias and Sapphira greatly underestimated the severity of God. They attempted to appear godly by their giving to the church what they presented as the entire proceeds of the sale of some land. In reality, they kept some of the proceeds of sale for themselves (which was their prerogative). As a result of their fraudulent actions, God struck them down with death.

When I read the gospels, I watch for what affects Jesus. At one point, Jesus was deeply angered by the hardness of the religious leaders' hearts. They were more interested in the proper protocol than they were with healing to come to a man with a crippled hand. The hardness of their hear provoked the anger of God.

Hebrews tells us that God disciplines those He loves. There are times when the discipline of God seems harsh. However I have discovered that even His discipline comes from His goodness. He ruthlessly attacks the self-god that seeks to control my life. As I submit to His hand, His directives, and His ways, His goodness is showered on my life.

I am concerned that Christians today do not understand the severity of God. Repeatedly I hear people say "God told me to..." Yet they turn around and act in complete opposition to what they heard God say. Is it any wonder that people like this usually struggle with life? They are miserable and conflicted. It is because they have chosen to self-determine instead of submit to God. Perhaps God's invitation seems too difficult or perhaps they want the glory of sacrifice without ever truly making the sacrifice. Whatever the reason, they assume that God won't mind their disobedience.

Not only do people not heed the voice of God, they hide their own self-centered desires and actions behind God. God gets the blame for a lot of evil actions. We justify our sin by saying "God told me...."

While God is deeply good and His heart is toward me, I must yield to Him. To be in His kingdom implies that He is King. As a righteous King, He deals severely with unrighteousness. To those who resist Him, He becomes their enemy.

We live in perilous times. Safety is found only in the place of yielding to God and His ways. Abundant life comes only as we submit to Him. Do not believe for a minute that you can negotiated with Him. He is God - you are not!