A Little Old Testament Inspiration in Hollywood

The Coen brothers, the ones who brought us Burn Notice, No Country For Old Men, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Have found inspiration from the Old Testament book of Job for their movie, A Serious Man, released on Oct. 2nd. Roger Ebert gives the black comedy four stars in that linked review.

I love it when Hollywood tackles Biblical texts. That doesn't mean I blindly think they'll do a great job (ha- I just saw the pun). I try to go in with a critical eye. In fact, Hollywood is notorious for not doing Scripture justice, not that it's a surprise. But they tackle it anyways, which suggests they are seeking for Truth and inviting others to join them.

I approach these sorts of movies critically and curiously. I think one complements the other. With a critical eye, I try not read in my own message nor assume there will be great exegetical works coming out of the screen. I let the movie tell its story, then I compare it to what I know of my faith. The curiosity is a sort of hope. Maybe God has something to say in the movie, whatever the size of nugget. I can only learn from the movie. Either there will be something good to say and share with people that will help them in their journey towards/with God. Or there will be nothing and it will still be a good conversation that can still help, just in the opposite way.

As you all see it, let me know what you think! Anything in there worth mentioning?

Community. Confession. Christ.

There is power in community confession.

I confess that it is difficult to put myself in a position to know this with experience. But as I do, I remember how much it is needed. It is hard in the moments to trust Christ is there because it is awkward, vulnerable and I am all to aware of my humanity. Still I do see Christ real and active there, perhaps because of the very reason's I find it hard to trust in the first place. There I recognize how dependent of him I am, how much I yearn to be like him. There I recognize Christ doesn't give up on his end of the deal. So in response, I do my best to keep showing up, trusting Christ's promise.

When an individual gathers with fellow believers in authentic community- whatever the size of group- and shares openly a weakness or wound from within, the power of Jesus Christ has an open door for healing.

We fear vulnerability. And that fear attacks us in two ways: First, creating a barrier between people so that community is stifled. Second, leads us to think that our culture's message of "rugged individualism" is safe and the best way to live. Alone we can ignore that we are as broken as we suspect and never get better. Together we can accept we are as broken as we suspected, and then confess it; and then get over it; and then allow God to overcome it. That process is messy. It can be painful. Oh, it is so rewarding in the end. Community is the hard road of real life individualism tries to shortcut towards mirage.

None of those steps can truly occur for a person apart from others. Other people must mutually be confessed to, help each other get over brokenness, and join together in God's power to overcome it, by God's power.

A person may try, with some sense of success, to try this on their own, outside of community. But it is the success of balancing a playing card on its edge while building a house of cards. There is no real support. "Surely I can confess my sins silently to God- for to God alone will I stand in judgment". Spiritually, yes, God will judge all. And we are to come to Him regularly to confess. But I believe this something Protestants have lost in their break from the Catholic church. The accountability for real transformation that comes from confession to others. And in fact, when we confess to our spiritual siblings, we are confessing to God, who we represent and in whose name we gather. Our confession to God in this way gives us the assurance that those people who hear us will not only watch our confession turn to repentance- a new direction- but they will most certainly encourage and be active in the process. They will know what we deal with and lovingly not let us alone to fall into our traps of sin again. Accountability. Encouragement. Celebration of progress. One cannot truly do this alone. Individual prayers are half the equation and can make us deceptively confident in our strength to avoid the sin we just confessed.

Only within community can this full healing of an individual occur. There Christ will be embodied in the group as they respond to the vulnerable person. When all is well, how they interact will echo Jesus with the Samaritan Woman, Jesus with the paralyzed man, Jesus with Peter on several occasions; Jesus with the Woman caught in adultery, Jesus with the young rich man, Jesus with Zaccheus, Jesus with scores of lame, sick and demon-possessed. Through others, Christ is no longer a moral concept or a Jimminy Cricket on our shoulder, nor mantra or vague sense of self-medication. Jesus becomes a person, actively speaking to us, guiding us, correcting us, accepting us and loving us without end. Jesus remains real and alive in the body of brothers and sisters 'doing life' through the thick and thin of life, never giving up on one another, forgiving sins and speaking hard truth with an embrace. Without this community an individual may never truly know Jesus, the God-man who made real life possible for us, humans, truly in this life now; much more so in the one to come.

Musing on Support for Pastors

In the 1800's, the church began experiencing the fervor for democracy already in the larger culture. This current of democratization in the stream of American Christianity brought certain trends into the waters: Individualism, power of the common man, deconstructing the power of elite/educated leaders as a group in charge of the masses, and the migration away from a few large denominations to the emergence of lots of other new, or sub-denominations. Nearly 200 years later we still have a culture that values people organizing themselves apart from larger networks: nondenominational churches, grass roots approach to ministry, post denominational movements, etc...

I wonder if in this trend the Unite States Christianity has accidently lost some important systems that were vital to health and well-being of people in ministry, espcecially the pastors.

When you're a pastor in a specific denomination, you have support and security from a larger governing body. The Catholic church is perhaps the most visible model of this system. The denominations can support clergy by helping them find (or assigning them) a congregation to lead; they can provide them with schooling options, retirement, and/or housing options. On the topic of teachings, they help clergy know what is acceptable teaching (more some than others). Administratively, there is a network to help connect clergy and congregations with resources, and with each other. I'm sure I miss other benefits and support, but the point is, they can be a big help!

I'm not familiar with nondenominational churches, but I feel safe imagining that they do not have as readily at hand the same network of support as a denominational church. No doubt Pastors have the responsibility to create their own networks. This is all well and good, but what if they never do? Who is there to come alongside them? Are denominational pastors better off over all?

Pastors face the same crises as everyone else: questions of purpose, calling, temptations, stress, family matters, job security, mid-life crises, financial matters, etc. Just because they are supposed to "be in tight with the Big Man Upstairs" doesn't give them teflon suits to wear against life's struggles. I'm thinking of big scandals like the sex abuse scandals that ruined pastors from every sort of church, catholic, protestant, denominational, or nondenominational. My suscpicion is, our cultural influence to "go at it alone" has helped us neglect the need to maintain support for our leaders as they face crises of well-being, spiritual, emotional, and otherwise.

How do pastors seek help if they struggle with something that could be damaging to their, calling, their faith, their family, their churches? Do denominations have people in place that are "Pastors to the pastors"? Counselors for pastors? Do they know they are not alone in dark hours of the heart, or that someone can help them avoid it? Do non-affiliated pastors have such a network in place to help them? Are they told to create one?

Are there people going into ministry with the calling to be a help for struggling pastors? That is, to work as counselors who are trained in spiritual and psychological matters to help afflicted clergy? There is a large market (i.e. need) for it, but is there a recognition of the need?

Will seminaries create a program, or help students create such a program? Will demoninations be willing to create those positions at regional/state/district offices? Will churches hire pastors on staff who can counsel their peers in this way?

Is there this big need as I see it or am unaware and without perspective?

Thoughts are appreciated.

Counting the Cost: Transparency with God

Two separate moments of reading highlighted the importance of transparency with God for me. Time in prayer, time in spiritual disciplines, I have found, lead us to a place where God wants to experience us, and even more, God wants us to experience his presence. The readings shared two thoughts that stem from each other.

Transparency, or full honesty, leads to intimacy which strengthens our relationship with God.

The first came yesterday as I was reading Eugene Peterson's Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. In it he illuminates a crucial stone within Song of Songs within a biblical foundation for working as a pastor: Intimacy in relationship. The apex of human relational intimacy is found in a marriage, as the Song of Songs portrays in candidly vulnerable and beautify language. This parallels the divine nature of the relationship God calls us to nurture with Him. Though we can more easily start by speaking of human intimacy to describe divine intimacy, the former (human) finds fulfillment in the latter (divine). Human and divine intimacy can be interwoven as windows offering a view into the realm and possibility of the other. If we understand one, but struggle with the other, we can at least begin to understand the one we struggle with by considering the one we understand already.

Counting the cost, is a way of being transparent, of leading to deeper intimacy with God.
The second came this morning during my devotional time, reading an excerpt of CS Lewis' Mere Christianity in the Devotional Classics anthology. Here I read how Christ desires us in full. To follow Christ, it costs our very life. And yet Lewis highlights that this is easy, and quite difficult. It is easy because we simply stop trying to feed our own nature/desires, and follow Christ's. But it is difficult to do so, when we take the easy road of only giving pieces of ourselves, which in reality, makes the easy road of Christ, all the more muddled and frustrating.

The CS Lewis reading ended with a series of questions, the last one being,

"What has it cost you to follow Christ?"

I hesitated. It seemed sacrilegious to think about the answers I could write down. It felt selfish, resentful. Or, at least it seemed it could become this way easily.

But then again, if God wants us in full, he wants our honesty, he wants us to come before him and share with him the cost. That's what he asked those listening to him to do in Luke 14:25-33.

It's easy to brush the question off glibly, though with good intentions; "Why worry about the cost when I have gained so much?"

Fair enough. Consider this though:

Think of a "major" possession you own. A car. A house/apartment. A laptop. Who bought it for you, or did you buy it? If someone else bought it for you do you know how much it cost? How much would it cost you to replace it or even maintain it (if it was a gift, or not)?

These questions probe at the cost, because it's a fairly well known fact that if you know how much something you own cost, and even more so if you were the one actually paying for it, you'll be more likely to appreciate it, value it and invest time in it's upkeep.

Does it not make sense then that after considering the cost in your life of following Christ, you may not grow resentful or bitter, but in reality, more appreciative? More motivated to invest in this life? If you have truly experienced the Spirit of Christ in your life, will not knowing the cost also lead back to knowing how much more you have gained, only with a fuller love for it? Will you not be able to share that with "seekers", " the "fainthearted" and the "critics"?

What does this do with transparency with Christ? With intimacy with Christ?

If you are married, you know, or should know, the need for and benefit in being transparent with your spouse. This is the person who knows you more fully: dreams, fears, warts, thoughts and morning breath than anyone else, save God. Intimacy of this sort is only possible when you allow them to see you as you are. When he know your strengths and dreams, he can spur you on. When she knows your struggles and fears, she can be a shelter and a source of help. Bringing full transparency into your entire self leads to intimacy, which hopefully strengthens commitment between the two.

This is so with God. Yes, he knows it all already, but he wants that intentional effort on our end at sharing it with him. He'll not be hurt when we say, "I gave up this to follow you", only willing to show us what he can offer us in its place. When he makes the call to give our whole selves to him, this includes a invitation to bring our emotions, our incomplete understanding. This looks like praying/journaling openly our thoughts:

"God, it seems as if I gave up the ease of discerning my own path in life to follow you, which places me in a position of not always knowing where I'm going or how a decision will turn out. It would be easier to just do it myself. But it is truly better in the long run to follow you by faith, amid unknowing, for I have the assurance you are in control beyond what I could orchestrate myself."

We give the burden of the cost back to God after recognizing the value of our life in Him. We can invest more of our selves into it. And God, in seeing our willing heart to invest, remains faithfully there with us. Intimacy has been developed, our commitment strengthened.

I encourage you to try as a devotional for yourself reading the Luke passage above and answering the question. It may be a question you revisit time and again before you get a sense of it being a powerful, useful exercise. Great, let the process draw you to Christ, however long or short it is.

"What has it cost you to follow Christ?"

Let your answers be honest.

Maybe certain ones have been a source of some amount of resentment in your relationship with God. In this case, counting the cost includes a confession, which God calls us to do; "Forgive us our debts" we pray.

Although I've spoken of the cost being things we may have wished we'd be able to keep, perhaps your "cost" is something you're glad to pay. Did it following Christ cost you an addiction, and thus saved you from a painful life? Did it cost you lifestyle of greed, indulgence and selfishness?
These are equally valid costs and it is good to celebrate the "loss" of those things to the greater gifts God offers.

Let yourself experience emotions/thoughts if they start come. Talk/journal to God about what you feel or think as you count the cost.

Now that you have opened yourself to God so honestly, how do you sense God's response? Has he offered a new thought in response? Has he entered into your emotions? Has he given you new perspective on the cost?

What you've gained from following Christ? How has it outweight, fulfilled the cost of what you had before?

Think now how God can use you as a blessing to others as a result of deeper intimacy with him? After knowing the cost and gain of following Christ?
Amen.

Responding to Family Controversy with Christ's Spirit

" EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA: 4.7 million U.S. members. The church voted Friday to strike down a policy that required celibacy of gay clergy, becoming the largest U.S. denomination to take that stance. The change allows those in committed same-gender relationships to be on official ELCA church rosters and serve as pastors at congregations that want them." -The Associated Press- Gay Clergy: Where the Largest Protestant Churches Stand

I won't go into the "right or wrong" of this recent decision, though I do have my opinions. I have heard some Christians respond with sadness at this, "another blow from cultural permissiveness in the Church's integrity" and with a sigh, wondering what is next on the cutting board. Where I want to lead this conversation is in the response we as Christians will offer as a body and as individuals. It made me curious at how the church-at-large will portray itself in the days to come as they respond to the ELCA decision. Will is reveal Christ?

This discussion about Gay clergy is at heart a family matter for the church, although it's become something of a reality show-like item for everyone else when it gets coverage. It doesn't make a lot of sense to the secular world outside of the fold; because of the large discrepancy between worldviews some of what the church discusses is out of sync with prevailing cultural winds. They think they understand when hear about it but largely their views are based on misrepresentations of the family dynamics. It's like saying you know for certain what the divorced couple Jon and Kate are experiencing and believe by watching episodes of their reality TV show, Jon and Kate Plus 8. Are you kidding? You know nothing about them other than what producers have orchestrated for entertainment's sake, but I digress.

Christians must remember that how we talk about this increasingly public family issue will have as much of an effect as the subject itself, for better or worse. I don't expect that the news coverage will improve things, so its really up to Christians themselves, regardless of where they fall on the issue to make improvements.

I suggest that we spend time in prayer before we react to such decisions and talk about it with others. I mean this at a corporate and individual level. Pray not just for yourself or "your team", but instead for those involved and on the other side of the issue. No doubt the ELCA is hurting from the pain of being split on a tough issue. Pray they are seeking God and to continue to be his light and presence, his aroma in a world that needs transformation, that will one day be transformed. Pray on their behalf and for their benefit. From that time conversing with God without looking to justify your own position, you'll know better how to talk about it. A spirit of humility goes a long way.

I find it helpful to remember that the church has a long history of being faced with tough decisions since its creation in the early centuries following Christ's commissioning of his disciples. Some decisions have proven right and for the best, others have proven wrong and harmful. Through the unfolding of time we see how God uses these decisions for blessing or judgement- even both from the same decision. That is even how he worked with the Israel's monarchy in 1 and 2 Kings as well as the Christian church thereafter.

The point is, although it is intended for divine purposes, the body (church) of believers bearing Christ's name are still imperfect humans like everyone else. Though we seek God and his purposes, we sometimes miss the mark and sometime nail it right on the head. And yet, the head of the church is not a human, but God, creator and sovereign power of the universe, whose mission of hope and transformation is behind it all. That gives me the assurance that the church's mistakes aren't too big to ruin God's plans, our success too big as to overpower God's plans, and that as both success and failure will come equally, God's plan still will come in full.

When we remember this as we pray for our diverse family of brothers and sisters in faith, there is a renewed perspective of love, compassion, respect and dignity that informs how we act through points of harmony and contention.

Coupled with opposition to the ELCA's choice, it removes the concern for integrity, orthodoxy and orthopraxy from the poisons of bitterness and hatred (it keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth). Mixed in with support for the ELCA, it accepts criticism appropriately, and it does not boast, it is not proud, It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.

The risk we face in responding out of reaction instead of prayer is such responses only confirm the notion that the church is just a bunch of hypocrites. Take a step back and consider it: Doesn't that make sense? Knowing that if the only exposure to church many people have will be what they hear/read/see on the news, do we really want to be caught on video/recording/print spewing condemnation at our fellow believers? Do we want to be seen pointing the finger self-righteously at the other side while ignoring our blind-spots on other issues? Do we want to be known as arrogant people flaunting a decision with a sort of grown up "nanny-nanny-boo-boo?" I would hope not. Though it need not be the case, I fear that is what we'll hear from a loud select few on both sides that always seem to get the most coverage. They need prayer too.

Your reaction may be one of the only exposure some people will have, or it will be added to the exploits of the media. How do you want it to be gathered? I would hope that many of us recognize the need for more compassion toward those fellow Christians we disagree with, and choose to act accordingly; in doing so we can challenge the caricatures the media and loud minority portray with more a accurate spirit of Christ. It may be at a social party, in line waiting for your grande two-pump vanilla latte, or with family over dinner (remember, the kids are watching, and learn best by modeling). Whatever you choose to believe about the issue, why not try to respond out of compassion and love?

Reviving Quality Christian Art in Culture...

...And I am not talking about about a facelift in the Contemporary Christian Subculture (I'll refer to it as CCS from now on). It's existence as the sole hub of Christian creative activity as a protected bubble within the broader culture is part of the problem needing fixed. To be sure, the CCS is a great source of worshipful, God-blessed music, and I suppose film that provides people hope and encouragement. I'll explain my beef with it soon.

What I am talking about is the need for a bursting of the bubble, and with a dedication to truly quality, provocative art that was common in the Renaissance and in art composed by the likes of Handel, Bach and so many others. We forget, perhaps, today that so many of those great compositions were created for the glory of God, requested by the church. And, foreign to what we know today, it was in the mainstream culture, not a subculture. It did not need the stamp of approval of Corporate Christianity before being marketed to the fold, "safe for the whole family". This stuff was provocative, cutting-edge, worshipful, faith-inspired and mainstream. It was admired by everyone Christian or not.

What if our church worship music was infused with modern music, but in the same vein as Handel's Messiah? I'm not necessarily suggesting classical music be revived, (although there are many church organ pieces that bring me to tears with their beauty) but more broadly the resurgence of great well-developed music, beyond easy to follow songs that only require chords D E G, a basic drum beat a male tenor? Imagine how much richer a service that would be!

Imagine a Christian screenwriter that did more than make us feel warm and fuzzy with platitudes, instead adapting many of the Old Testament stories we rarely hear preached (because they're too dang complex) into films that rivaled the likes of 300 in creative graphics, or Crash in commentary on the true complexity and brokeness of human relationships and need for reconciliation; or even Slumdog Millionaire in shedding light on the unjust realities that we need to address in our structures. Imagine how much more interest it would bring to actually cracking open the Scripture, seeing that it really did speak to our lives.

Why have we allowed for the CCS to become so removed from the mainstream? Why have we settled with mediocre "pop culture" as the main expression of Christian faith in the greater culture? When will a generation of Christians resolve to make the shift back to what it once was before?

I can't help but wonder if by spending more energy on infusing the mainstream culture with the essence of Christ and less overpowering them like a militia if we'd fare better. In fact, I see this approach already working well for at least one other faith: Buddhism. Turn on Cartoon Network and watch animé that all our youngsters enjoy. Or simply watch commercials for just about anything. Or the rise of yoga and other Eastern health and well-being practices/philosophies. (Not that those are threatening to our faith, but it states the point) Buddhism is all over the place. We miss it because many of us are unfamiliar with many of its ideas, or don't take time to critically think about the messages we receive in comparison to our own faith. Those who favor Buddhism's ideas have done a commendable job of creating an integration of mainstream art and faith in a way Christianity seems to still only dream of. Why? By whatever means, it moved beyond a bubble-subculture mentality. And it those in power saw they didn't need to shove in people's faces (Buddha is good, everyone else is bad!), but subtly exposed the Buddhist essence in small, but intriguing ways.

Imagine if we did the same, what could be gained; nothing could really be lost in changing tactics. If we want to escape what I'll dare call a Dark Age of Christian art, I suggest we start bursting the bubble and creatively spread the essence of Christ in broader circles.

For a good read on this subject I recommend:

The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Culture in an Age of Christianity-Lite, by Dick Staub

Letter from Afghanistan

I share this as a reminder of the prayers needed for soldiers in Afghanistan. Politics aside, these men and women need it. This letter comes in a newsletter from my home church in Colorado Springs, Colorado from a family's son-in-law, Marc Marmino who has been station in Kandahar just about a month now. If you plan to skim, read at least the third paragraph and the July 20th update; the latter especially is truly emotionally moving.

-Will

(July 15)
I am about three weeks into my time in the deployed location. The war is intense and things are seriously heating up in Afghanistan. [Kandahar] is the home of one of our major airbases in the south, famous for being the place where Bin Laden set up the Taliban capital when they overtook Afghanistan in 1996. It is a huge slap in their face that we occupy that territory, and that we've never allowed them to have a major presence in that city since then.

A major vehicle-borne IED exploded at the gate there last week, left a 9 foot crater in the earth and killed/wounded several Afghans. Being on the ground was surreal. There was literally so much going on that I didn't know where to look. Reapers were taking off with hell-fire missles, Predators were landing, Mi-8's (ISAF) were taking off every minute. Saw the Tornado two ship (Brit fighter) take off, Mirage 2000 (French Fighter) and F-16 two ship take off. Chinooks, Little Birds, UH-60's... The amount of airfield saturation was ridiculous. There were also some international helo's that I had never seen before with gunners hanging out of the dor ready to light up some insurgents. We had a successful mission and returned safely. That was my fourth flight into the warzone. My other three were all Iraqi airbases.

Keep praying for the American and Biritish Ops going on in Helmand Province right now. These are going to be pivotal to the road ahead there. the Birts are getting slaughtered in the early going of their Op (Panther Claw) and we are fairing only slightly better in ours (Khanjari). The Op's Tempo is brutal for our guys, and I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be an Amy soldier or Marine right now. I interact daily with the Brits and I can tell you that they are very committed to ending terrorism once and ofr all. They've lost a lot of men in the past two weeks, this should tell you something about their resolve. Our guys are incredibly committed as well, but it is very strange to be over here with all of these brave guys dying every day and see Michael Jackson coverage on the major news networks for two weeks straight when we kicked off a D-Day like invasion in Afghanistan at the exact same time. (Blogger's emphasis).

(July 20, 2009)

Today was not a good day over here. The identity of one of the f-15E pilots that craches in AFG (Afghanistan) was revealed to be Capt. Mark McDowell from Seymor Johnson. Mark was in Cadet Squadron 34 with Jay Ford and myself freshman year as an upperclassman (2005 grad). This guy had a smile from ear to ear all the time, and was trl an amazing Christian. It was clear that he really cared about us in basic (2nd BCT cadre), and Jay can attest that he was just an awesome guy to be around. The bottom line is that the world lost a great guy two days ago.

On my end, I was intimate with the information leading all they way up until they released the names last night. So it hit me like a ton of bricks to be briefing a gruesome picture an all the details of the crash site to commanders, and the to be slammed with a name this morning just prior to briefing again. We actually had a crew listening to the freqency with the distress call from the incident while in transit out of the AOR. Another pilot out war in our squadron and Mark's same class year at USAFA (United States Air Force Academy), and he was fighting back tears this morning. This as been an absolutely horrible week.

Pray for his family, I am not exaggerating when I say this guy will truly be missed. He was originally from Colorado Springs. Thanks for all of your prayers thus far, Afghanistan contiunes to be very, very busy right now, unfortunately. Pray for all of the US and NATO forces fighting the cowardly oppressors in Helmand Province, AFG right now so that others might experience the same freedoms we enjoy in the states.

Take care and stay in touch.

Marc