The Church Providing Relational Community March 17, 2008
Posted by marineben in Church, Theology.add a comment
Today, I was poking around on the internet and ran across an article by Dr. Larry Crabb (http://www.newwayministries.org/sovstumbling.php) Dr. Crabb is Christian Psychologist who is the Spiritual Director of the American Association of Christian Counselors. The article is focused on how God has directed his path during his lifetime, through what he calls, “sovereign stumbling.” He ends the article, though, by telling how God has led him to a focus on the community of God, the church. He says:
In my 10 years of private practice, I became persuaded that the community of God’s people was meant to be the place where the deepest healing takes place. I came to the conclusion that real healing has less to do with technical intervention and more to do with profound relational engagement.
Why did this strike me as very poignant? I am almost finished with two books on helping those suffering from Combat Stress and PTSD (Achilles in Vietnam, by Dr. Jonathan Shay and Down Range: To Iraq and Back by Dr. Bridget Cantrell and Chuck Dean) and I also have been attending a lot of training on the same subject. Almost universally acknowledged is the fact that in order to recover or reach a “new normal” in life and coping with the experiences of combat is the need for proper sharing of your story with others who have been there. The person needs to develop his narrative and share it in a safe environment with others instead of holding everything in and acting out inappropriately on those unexpressed emotions and feelings. I know that this is an oversimplification of the process; but I am not a therapist, and don’t pretend to be one.
I think Dr. Crabb is applying that same idea to the Church, in that when we function as the body of Christ, hurting individuals can find the love, strength and encouragement to overcome problems in their lives through Godly, true, honest and open relationships with others in the Church. However, that can only happen when the Church demonstrates the life changing power of God in those who claim Christ as their Savior. This comes through incarnational ministry as we truly become the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
Could this be what 1 Corinthians 12: 14-26 talks about when Paul writes:
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (NIV – bold not in original)
Would we see more spiritually/mentally healthy people if the church was truly encouraging its members to provide profound relational engagements with others in the church? This would look different depending on location, denomination, culture etc., but I can certainly say that it would go much further than asking people to join a Sunday School class and come to a fellowship meal!
The Great Evangelical Debate!! July 24, 2007
Posted by marineben in Theology, humor.add a comment
I break my long held silence to fill you in on the latest debate that has been holding my attention recently. I am only now stumbling upon this most serious of debates raging on the internet, which holds eternal and serious theological consequences. The original story can be found here. The additional fuel added to the fire here. I reserve my judgement until I can do further in depth research on this most important of Biblical positions. I urge any reader to immediately begin to reason through your position as this will become the issue of the day, surpassing King James Version only and every other debate fundamentalists have had in history.
Learning God’s lesson June 16, 2007
Posted by marineben in Character Training, Personal, Theology.add a comment
Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” I came across this a few days ago in my devotions, and boy was it timely as God has brought it home in a direct way this week. I did not write about it earlier, because I only wanted to talk about it if I passed; but I got a billet to go to Airborne (Jump) School at Ft. Benning GA. For a Sailor or even a Marine, these billets are hard to get, and for a Chaplain nearly impossible, but I got one. I really was excited about it, but knew that physically, I was going to be barely on the edge of passing the very strict standards required on the Army Physical Fitness Test. I’m not in bad shape, in fact I usually score an Outstanding on the Navy’s PRT, but the Army has very tough standards on its push up requirements at its schools.
Well, to make a long story short, I completed 50 pushups for the Marine Corps detachment on Thursday which allowed me to start training; but when it counted on Monday morning for the Army, I only completed 41 when I experienced complete muscle failure, instead of the required 42. I was dropped from training, and was and am extremely disappointed in my performance. However, for some reason I had never felt right about going to this school; and as excited as I was for the opportunity, I had an uncomfortably nervous feeling about it from the day I was asked if I could go on three weeks notice. As disappointed as I was in my failure to meet the standards, on my drive home, I actually had a weirdly peaceful feeling about the whole experience.
The next day as I read in Proverbs, that verse in 16:9 just jumped out at me, as if the Lord was saying that no matter what my plans were, ultimately God controls what I actually do. I have no idea why I failed the school, but I do know that God controls my steps and there is a reason for everything. It proved to be a time for me to refocus on why I am actually here – not to earn nice stuff to wear on my uniform – but to serve God and minister and evangelize the service members God places in my path. Soli Deo Gloria
Christian Liberty, Part 3 March 28, 2007
Posted by marineben in Christian Liberty, Theology.add a comment
This is the continuation of my exegesis on Christian liberty based on 1 Corinthians 8-10. As I previously stated, please feel free to critique and comment. There is more application and refining of thoughts left to come, but this is my initial homiletical interpretation of Paul’s teachings on Christian liberty.
You can find part one here and part two here.
In First Corinthians 10:14-11:1, Paul finishes the passage by delineating 4 principles in using Christian liberty that provide his final thoughts to the Corinthians on this subject.
In verses 14-22, Paul clearly shows that there is a principle of separation involved in the use of our Christian Liberty. The separation is to occur from idolatry. No matter where the other lines are drawn, for the follower of Christ there is to be no hint of idolatry in his life. Paul explains that as Christians when we participate in Communion, we are partaking in Christ’s sacrificial death (which is one reason I don’t hold to a strict memorial view of the Lord’s Supper, but that is for another post). He then uses another illustration from Israel, that the ones (priests) eating the meat offerings were those who actually offered the sacrifices in worship to God. In the same way the pagans who feast on the meat actually used that meat not to worship God, but to worship false gods, which are actually demons. It is from that Satanic activity that Paul is warning his listeners to separate. It seems he is also trying to get those who would say that you can eat anything, to think about what activity this meat has actually been used in. Therefore, as a Christian who participates with Christ in communion, you cannot participate with demons in your eating.
Paul continues in verses 23 and 24 to explain the principle that I call, constructive benefit. The issue is not one of, “can I do this?” It is instead, will this activity benefit me (spiritually) and/or will it build up (spiritually) a fellow believer. This speaks to the strong believer on two levels: one, will it be spiritually destructive or beneficial for me to eat this food, but secondly, can the use of this liberty build up in a constructive way my fellow believer with the weak conscience.
The third principle is the principle of conscience, and is seen in verses 25-30. This applies to both your own conscience and your fellow believers. Paul says when you go to the market, do not look for reasons to be offended. Just eat what you can get. The same applies when an unbeliever invites you to dinner, just eat the food. However, if another believer happens to be at that same meal and he raises the issue that the meat has been offered to idols, then you should not eat it. Is that because it is wrong or offends your conscience? No. It is because by bringing up the issue, it clearly is an issue for his conscience, and therefore out of consideration for his conscience, you refrain.
The fourth and final principle that Paul spells out is the principle of God’s glory in verse 31. Whatever you choose to do as you act within your liberty as a Christian, ultimately it must be done to bring glory to God. That is the greatest principle to apply our actions against – will what I am about to do bring glory to God.
Paul closes his exposition on Christian liberty with verses 32-11:1, by reinforcing his overall theses of not being a stumbling block and making choices with our liberty that will help us win people to Christ. He then wraps it up by saying that this is what Christ practiced and as he (Paul) follows Christ’s example, the Corinthians should follow his example in the same way.
Christian Liberty Part 2 February 28, 2007
Posted by marineben in Christian Liberty, Theology.add a comment
This is the continuation of my exegesis on Christian liberty based on 1 Corinthians 8-10. As I previously stated, please feel free to critique and comment. There is more application and refining of thoughts left to come, but this is my initial homiletical interpretation of Paul’s teachings on Christian liberty.
You can find part one here.
1 Corinthians 10 is where Paul makes one more illustration, this time of the misuse and abuse of Christian liberty, and then puts forth the final principles for using Christian liberty. The first 10 verses of the chapter starts off with Paul using the illustration of Israel and their fall into idolatry and complaining, and warns the reader against both of these sins. The interesting way that Paul sets up the first part of this passage is by pointing out that Israel had everything going for them, with the presence of God, the power of God, and the perfect leader and example in the man of God. Despite all of those things, they turned to idolatry and griping. In every Bible translation, this illustration of Israel seems to be treated as being separate from his dealing with the issue of Christian liberty as seen in the “meat eating” question. The same is true for the majority of commentators that I have access to. The only commentary that I thought made a decent attempt to fit this into the overall passage was “Expositor’s Bible Commentary.” I really do believe, though, that given the fact that this illustration falls between a clear teaching on Christian liberty and the final verses on Christian liberty, it has to relate in some way to that teaching. I believe the answer to how it relates is found in verses 11-13
11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
I think that the illustration from Israel’s history is teaching us that even though God has given us everything in Christ, including liberty, if we use that liberty to indulgence it can go too far and lead us into sin. When Israel was at the height of God’s blessing – Moses was on the mountain receiving God’s law, and they were worshiping God at a feast – their feasting and worshiping turned into a desire for a concrete physical image and the idolatry of the golden calf. The temptation to use our liberty as indulgence in physical pleasure can easily lead us into sin if we are not careful. While the temptation to abuse our liberty and commit sin may be great, God will provide a way out of the temptation without falling into sin. My thought is that a careful use of our liberty will help us to see God’s way out.
I intended to take this post to the end of the chapter, but I will do Paul’s final principles later.
Christian Liberty Part 1 February 24, 2007
Posted by marineben in Christian Liberty, Theology.2 comments
I have been preaching through First Corinthians in our chapel services on the base, and have been extremely challenged and even convicted by my study through chapter 8-10. I grew up with one view of Christian liberty, which was very restrictive, and I have seen some versions of Christian liberty, which seem to make anything allowable for a Christian. However, as I have been studying 1 Corinthians 8-10, I come up with a more complete and purposeful view of Christian liberty. This is only the beginning of my thoughts and I know there will be more to come. I would welcome any comments as I continue to refine my thinking in this area. Today I just want to lay out an initial overview of the total passage.
To start with, I believe from my study that the theme of 1 Corinthians is spiritual maturity. Everything Paul deals with is heading toward encouraging Christians to be completely mature in their faith.
In chapter 8, Paul is answering the question from the Corinthians which was addressed to him in a letter about whether it was right to eat meat which had been sacrificed to idols. He begins his discussion of this subject by saying that knowledge can make a person proud and arrogant, but love will build up the other person and seek their best. This will be important in his discussion. He then goes on to make it clear that an idol is absolutely powerless and worthless, therefore to have anything sacrificed to one of these inanimate objects means nothing. He continues the discussion, however, by saying that there are some Christian brothers and sisters whose faith is not strong and they are unable to eat this meat without it defiling their conscience. I believe Paul is saying with this line of argumentation that these people are immature in their faith. He continues, though, by giving the mature view of Christian liberty – that the mature Christian will set aside his freedom to indulge in that meat for the sake of the weaker (immature) brother. That is the short view of chapter 8.
Chapter 9 is an illustration from Paul’s own life of how he uses his Christian liberty. He starts off with a series of rhetorical questions that show his apostleship and the right he has to expect certain rewards and treatment because of that apostleship. His overall point is that he has the right to have a wife and travel with his family and expect the churches to take care of him and his family financially. Then he begins his example of how he sets aside this liberty he has to expect this treatment. He willingly preaches the gospel and asks for nothing in return, because he does not want anyone to ever get the impression that what he does is for money. He then closes his illustration from his life by making the statement that he would become “all things to all people” in order to present the gospel to them. My interpretation of this is that his use of Christian liberty is not to bring himself pleasure, but to be flexible enough to participate in whatever the activity that did not cross the line into sin. I say this because one of the statements he makes is that he will become a Jew to the Jew and a Gentile to the Gentile in order to see them come to Christ. The way I see this is that when he was with Jewish people, he willingly at Kosher, although he realized that God did not require this of him. When he ate with Gentiles and they served pork, he would utilize his freedom in the opposite direction and eat the pork. Everything he did was for the purpose of forming relationships that would lead to salvation of the individual.
For now, that is all that I am going to discuss, but stay tune to part 2 covering chapter 10.
Running the Race February 17, 2007
Posted by marineben in Theology, running.add a comment
This was in our local paper this morning. (Hopefully, I’m not violating any copyright by posting it here!) Our base participated in the Step Up Florida! health event. The two guys running on either side of me and the guy on the bicycle in the back are all Navy SEALS that are stationed on our base. They asked me if I wanted to run with them for their leg of the event.
One of the Apostle Paul’s favorite pictures of the Christian life is that of a runner. A verse that I used in last Sunday’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 9, was Phillippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” This is just one of Paul’s pictures of the Christian life as a race with a goal to be reached at the end. Unfortunately, many times I find that running for physical benefits is much easier than living my life in a way to please God and reach for that Heavenly and spiritual prize that should be our goal. I like the way that The Message paraphrases Phillippians 3:12-14,
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
It shows us that the goal is Christlikeness, our reaching out for Christ, in response to Christ’s shed blood that reached out with God’s love for us. The part that I really like is that Paul says that even he doesn’t have it completely together, but he keeps his eye on the goal, that ultimately will never be reached here on earth. I can relate to that! Although I will never experience perfect Christlikeness, I can keep my eye on Christ and my back to the world. Easier said than done at times, but the goal of pleasing, and one day seeing, my Savior is the ultimate prize!
Update on life i.e. “It is well with my soul” February 3, 2007
Posted by marineben in Personal, Theology.2 comments
Wow, its been nearly 2 months since I last posted. I don’t know that I will ever be better about posting here. I am not very good at getting around to things as I should.
So, what’s been going on?
1. Christmas and New Year’s passed by. It was pretty good. We didn’t go anywhere, but I had a lot of time off work between Christmas, New Year’s and then the following Monday for President’s Ford Memorial, and then MLK Jr. Day. You gotta love working for the government.
2. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service at the base chapel, where we had 36 people attend. I know what you are thinking – that is pathetic! When you are used to seeing 7-12 people in a service, you feel like Billy Graham when preaching to more than 30 people. I don’t push the chapel very much, and refer many more people to local churches in town than the base chapel. It’s not that I don’t want people to come, but theologically, I think the concept of a base chapel with no local membership accountability is Biblically problematic. No offense to other followers of Christ who would interpret church membership differently.
3. Along with several other younger pastors in the local area, we have started a theological reading club. The name is as yet undecided, but we have Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and hopefully Calvary Chapel represented. Judging by the discussion we had at our first monthly meeting in January, this should be an interesting time for “iron to sharpen iron.” Our first discussion in February will center around the book, Perspectives on Church Government: Five views of Church Polity. I am almost through it and will try to comment on it when finished, (although, I wouldn’t wait with baited breath on that review, however, given my timely entries to this blog). I am in charge of April’s meeting, and I am probably going to go with Brian McLaren’s, A Generous Orthodoxy.
Well, to wrap up, I have to relate an experience from last week. I attended the Professional Development Training Conference for Navy Chaplains at NAS JAX in Jacksonville FL. On my way to the conference last Monday, I was listening to numerous CD’s during the 6 hour drive. I listened to some country, but mostly Christian including Spanish Praise and Worship by Marcos Witt, “Lifesong” by Casting Crowns and other Praise and Worship. Out of all the more contemporary songs I was listening to, though, I found myself most moved to worship God by the hymn, “It is Well With My Soul” on one of the Passion CD’s. This great hymn of the faith is one of those that will last and fit into any contemporary setting because of its timeless message and truth, and musically it works well in almost any setting. Everytime I hear that song and think about the history behind it, I find myself worshipping with all my being. The words are deeply theological and remind us of all aspects of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Chorus:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
My prayer is that I live my life in the knowledge of Christ’s sacrifice that has paid for my forgiveness! My favorite verse is “…my sin…is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more” and my only response is how that verse ends, “Praise the Lord”!!
Post Election Thoughts November 10, 2006
Posted by marineben in Politics, Theology.add a comment
Well, the election is over, and I for one am glad. I was getting so tired of seeing 10-15 different political advertisements every time I turned on the television or listened to the radio. I have become pretty jaded with any and all politicians in the past couple of years, but I still had to vote for who would best represent my conservative social and fiscal views. The Republicans have not done this well recently, but they still give more lip service to conservatism than Democrats so with the exception of one state office, they received my vote.
While I did cast my vote for Republicans, it is very obvious that the majority of people in the USA wanted change. It seems to me that most have become jaded with the war in Iraq. I am still one of those people who thinks that the war in Iraq is keeping terrorism from rearing its head again here for the present, but I can see how many people would not want to keep hearing the bad news that seems to come weekly from Iraq. No matter what your view of why or how we got there, the fact is we are there and need to finish the job. It also looked to me like many of the Republicans who were defeated were those of the more liberal persuasion anyway and were simply RINO Republicans. I would rather have a minority party of true conservatives than a majority party that is so big tent, it becomes the party of big government. I think when it all comes down to it, people don’t see any difference in the two parties, and what was really interesting was one exit poll I saw (I don’t remember where) that showed that by an 11% majority, voters believed that the Republicans were the party of big government. In many ways they have become that, which is why when it is all said and done, they may not have deserved to win and I won’t shed any tears over their loss.
To wrap it all up though, no matter why or how the election results happened, God ordained the results. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it really doesn’t matter to me whether Democrats or Republicans are in place, because I know that for good or bad, God has placed them there. He is ultimately in control, and politicians are not the ones who will determine our nation’s future. Our job as believers is to follow God and live our lives to spread his gospel to others – everything else including politics is far below that priority. Too many Christians have forgotten that God doesn’t command us to make Republicans or Democrats, but He tells us to make Disciples of Jesus Christ. This is my focus, no matter who is in Washington.
Two good articles on the election that I read today are linked here.
Russ Moore talks about the importance of praying for our leaders no matter who they are.
My favorite talk show host, Ralph Bristol, has a great commentary as well. (Look at November 9th daily dispatch if it doesn’t come up)
Weak Praying August 5, 2006
Posted by marineben in Theology.add a comment
This is the link to an article that was written by Dr. David Powlison for the “Journal of Biblical Counseling.” It is a particularly challenging message about the content, particularly the lack thereof, in our prayers. It is well worth the time to read it, and I believe the truth of it will convict most of us as it convicted me. Too many times my prayers are strictly “help this, help that,” with no thoughts of the greater power and kingdom increasing potential of our prayers when we pray as thoroughly as Scripture commands us to.
His basic premise is that there are three types of prayers, circumstantial (change our circumstances – prayers for healing etc.), wisdom (change us spiritually in some way), and Kingdom (change everything by revealing Himself more fully). Most of us never leave the circumstantial category of prayer.
http://www.9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2238798,00.html
For another really good blog on this same article, see Ben Wright’s post at paleoevangelical.
http://paleoevangelical.blogspot.com/2006/08/overcoming-wednesday-night-organ.html
