oasisCHURCH

Why am I so offended?

I know that on more than one occasion I’ve found myself passively reading through scripture in a very blasé sort of fashion. This is to say that I consume words but I don’t fully, if at all, digest them. I make a conscious effort to not do this but it’s sometimes like trying to kick a bad habit that has the persistence of a vicious addiction. It’s often more simple and somehow more convenient if we view scripture as some distant piece of fiction with a nameless narrator. It’s like reading “War of the World’s” by H.G. Wells. You see all this horrific “reality” passing under your pupils but somehow no tangible sense of reality registers. The narrator goes on, sometimes very energetically, with his story and sometimes you find yourself enthralled while at other times you find yourself wishing you were just back to the Martians blowing crap up. Yet at any time you can put the book down, walk away and the story is left behind. There is a dangerous inclination to commit this same act with scripture. It is beyond critical for us to remember the reality that gestates inside every single word of scripture.

A thought occurred to me recently and I was forced to ask myself a question, “What if I were a member of the Corinthian church during the time of Paul’s letters?” The weight of implication that this question carries is really kind of vast when you stop to truly consider it. Think about it. Here is this guy in some other part of the world telling you, armed with what you believe to be only secondhand information, what kind of a person you are and what kind of person you should be. Imagine that you were sitting around in the fellowship that day I Corinthians was read aloud. Imagine that some of the things in this letter were directly addressing you and you were dubiously aware of it. Do you think you would have sat there shaking your head and quietly saying to yourself, “Yes, I must try harder and be better? Well…I’m relieved our brother Paul said all that stuff. I feel so much better now.” To answer this question you need but ask yourself another one.

Has anyone ever related a scriptural truth, or any truth for that matter, to you that really ticked you off because it felt like they were personally attacking you, even if they weren’t? Years later you come to realize that you were wrong and they were right. Then what? Do you get upset because they had a point and you just didn’t want to admit it? Don’t you think there were potentially some in the Corinthian church who got really upset by Paul’s words and, in an absolute fury, might have said something like, “Who does this guy think he is to judge me like that? I’m not doing that stuff and yet here he is making accusations over the whole church like he’s got some kind of special privilege. That’s just not right.”

Here I think it’s important to draw a line between “accusation” and “correction”. An accusation is often filled through and through with that horrible infection of assumption. Correction merely throws the light of truth on a falsehood. The Corinthians, as well as many of the other churches that Paul and others ministered to, were riddled with falsehoods and general misunderstandings about the message of Christ. For example, if you read the letters of Paul with a careful eye you see that Paul makes no assumptions but merely confronts falsehoods that he knew, from proper evidence, were occurring in certain churches. There is no malice or ill intent in his words but merely a strident call to realize that there was a lie to be thrown aside so that truth could take it’s proper home in fellow believers hearts.

When we read any part of scripture we shouldn’t, for example, put the book down and say, “Those silly Corinthians. They were all messed up.” There is a greater reality to take from any reading than just that. Remember that real people were being addressed and that there were very real issues being confronted. None of these issues are remote or in any way not relevant to our modernized culture. The lessons we find in scripture are so timeless because they deal with our intrapersonal natures which, sadly, haven’t really come that far in the last couple thousand years or so. It’s easy to feel attacked by scripture and there have been a massive swell of bad teachers in church culture who have led this onslaught. We must realize that when we recognize something in scripture that speaks to our deficiencies, it is not our instruction to crawl in a hole to sulk for the next twenty years. It is our instruction to acknowledge our submission to something less than God’s will and begin making the necessary steps to return to God’s will. Scripture is not meant to attack and permanently wound you. Scripture is meant to strip away the many dressings of lies that we wear so that the truth can come to the surface and breathe.

Remember that old saying “the truth hurts”? I think this is often true in the spiritual sense because when we begin to grasp the spiritual truths of God we must literally tear ourselves away from a life that separates us from God. Along this trail of spiritual growth we will hear many lessons. Some lessons will not be pleasant to our ears because they represent the counter nature of something in our old lives that we’re still very attached to. In a moment like this we may find ourselves somewhat blind, or at least torn, between the actual truth and a cleverly represented lie. It is important to remember that at this pivotal crossroad God is the standard that everything else is measured against. So what does that mean for us exactly? Many people have opinions about God. Some of those opinions are correct while others are laughably off the mark. It is essential that we STUDY!!! This doesn’t just mean to sit down and read your Bible although I believe that this is a very essential part of what is being discussed here. To study up on a spiritual life properly I believe that you have to experience God not just theorize about Him. Experiencing God isn’t always cute and cuddly though. Sometimes God has very hard things to teach us but any such topic is always fair on God’s grounds. Remember, God doesn’t make accusations. God is the great leveler who brings correction in both stark and subtle shades. Please keep in your regard that accusation, which festers with assumption, is a human plague and it is, fortunately, not something from which God suffers. God simply delivers the truth whether it is to our liking or not.

And now we come to an endpoint where understanding between individuals must be met. As I just said, many people have opinions about God. I think it is safe to say that some individuals have a better understanding of God than others. This statement is not meant to make understanding God some kind of contest where the best and brightest compete in a sort of deity quiz bowl so that the winner can attain eternal favor with the creator. As we experience God together our goal should not be to one up each other but rather help to strengthen one another so that we all grow and share in an intensified understanding of what it means to live in the grace of God. As we share our understandings with one another we’re going to find that we don’t always meet in the center with everyone else’s views. Here I think it is important to remark that you should not measure your spiritual growth in terms of right and wrong. If you do that you only fertilize a breeding ground for pointless arguments that aren’t conducive to helping one another grow spiritually. We should be patient and nurturing with one another not confrontational. I want to end with a thought for you to ponder.

I’m going to propose a hypothetical situation. Let’s pretend for the moment that there is a standing issue in our Oasis fellowship that is causing great confusion over worship. Let’s pretend that Chris had gone away for three months and left us to continue our Sunday meetings on our own steam. Upon returning Chris finds that we have greatly botched what it means to have an orderly worship service. He’s so shocked by what he finds that he sets about correcting us. What do you think that Sunday morning teaching would be like? The word comfortable does not come to my mind in any way. In our scenario Chris would work his way through scripture to illustrate to us why we were in the wrong for the actions that occurred during his absence. Though he might not single any individual out, it would be clear by certain issues that were addressed who was responsible for this or that getting away from scriptural truth. This is the place where battle lines begin to get drawn. This is also that key moment when people might just feel vulnerable and settle themselves in to lash out in an attempt to justify their actions. Then Chris comes at us with a twist. He begins and ends his message with his vote of love for us as family in the body of Christ. I don’t know how I might respond to something like that especially if I had formerly held a strong belief that my previous actions were in no way wrong. I’d like to believe that I’d see the error of my ways and immediately turn on the dime to do the right thing. No doubt that would be the actions of many. But I also know that I’m stubborn and easily offended if somebody tells me I’ve been making bad choices. What might be a good prayer for somebody like me? I think it might be something like this: God help me to know you better in this situation. Open my ears to hear what your servants, who you’ve given great wisdom and discernment, have to say. Give me patience to know the truth and room to grow from ignorance to enlightenment in Your greater truth.

In short, the moral of this story is that we owe it to God and to ourselves to be patient with one another. Our lives together are bonded in the sacrifice of Christ and for no reason should we forsake that. Know this: we are all striving to know how to serve our God better. This is no self-serving credo but rather something that we should share with all who come into contact with us. Under the umbrella of God there are no secrets. We have each other for a reason and that reason is not to be embittered with one another. I believe that God puts us in this arena together because he knows that when it comes to his creation, two heads are better than one. And that’s nothing to get all steamed up about. It’s simply how we learn to grow.

Biblical Manhood, Part One

It's a bit of a rainy morning, and I'm spending a few minutes inside, so I thought I would post some of the material I have been working on over the past few weeks. Last weekend I taught a workshop at a College student retreat called Deeper Life. My topic was "Biblical Manhood" AKA "Being A Godly Man."

This has become a subject of great interest for me. Perhaps it is because I see a decline in manliness. I don't mean machismo... but manliness. I look around the world and cultures, and even in the church there seems to be a common thread of unmanly, unmen. Today's men have had their masculinity removed and have been told its' something they must apologize for. Psychology has taught us that a man who has discovered his "feminine side" is caring and sharing, but our "masculine side" is aggressive, domineering, and territorial. We have been conditioned to see masculinity in a negative light. And I submit that it is all reactionary.

Whenever you discover a new problem in culture, usually all you have to do is go back a few years and you find the reason why the new problem has developed. Everything we experience in culture is a reaction from the previous culture. For instance, there was a day when men's and women's roles were clearly defined and distinct. You only need to go back about 50 years to find this truth.

Males had a particular role in society, while females had another. We lived with the false idea that a man should come home from work with a pregnant, barefoot wife working in the kitchen for his every need and desire. A male was seen as strong, the leaders, the providers... and the world was really seen as a man’s world.

Even if things appeared to be in order, great problems lived underneath. Men were often chauvinists; they used their power to look at women like second-class citizens. For example, American women were below the male only being allowed to vote in 1920, which passed Congress by one vote. For centuries, Anglo-American common law granted the husband the right as head of the household to beat his wife as long as he did not cause permanent damage. Domestic violence perpetrated by males accounts for more adult female emergency room visits than traffic accidents, muggings, and rape combined, and according to the U.S. surgeon general it is the greatest single cause of injury to American women. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 30% of women who are murdered, are killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends.

These days are often looked upon with great nostalgia. But let me say with great assurance, we do not want to return to these past sins. We must learn from the errors our fathers and grandfathers made. It was these chauvinistic lazy sins of men that caused a great movement by women to rebel against the failure of men.

It was during the late 1960’s that the rebellion really started advancing mainstream. Women nationwide had become sick of men being in power, telling women how to live. Feminist organizations were founded to change society’s structures so that sexual distinctions might be minimized or overcome. At first feminists protested the Miss America pageant; they threw their dishcloths, girdles, false eyelashes, bras, and copies of Vogue, and the Ladies Home Journal into a “Freedom Trash Can”.

It wasn't until the 1970's that these ideas began to gain steam. Women realized that the change had to come from a position of power. To challenge this, feminists developed a woman-centered analysis of all culture. Every facet of human experience had to be challenged and redefined.

Language: Feminists maintained that a bias favoring males was present in language. Gender neutrality was brought forth.  “Stewardess” became “flight attendant”; no longer could you speak of mankind; even in marriage women began to keep their own last names.

Motherhood: Each individual woman must have the right to determine when, where, and how to become a mother. If she had an unwanted pregnancy, she must have the right to abort her child. Abortion numbers rose dramatically. If she chose to have a child, it was to be cared for by society as a whole so that the responsibility would not restrict her in any way. Daycares sprung up across the country.

Sexual Relationships: Following the sexual revolution of the 60s, feminists agreed that women should be free to have sex with whomever they wanted. However, up until this point, the matter of sexual relationships between women was not discussed in public. In the early 70s, a woman's choice of sexual partners became more than a personal choice; it became a political statement. This led to the rise of lesbianism and promiscuity.

As these changes became reality, a whole new generation of children were reared under these ideas, Women changed. Also, the next generatikon of men were changing.

You see what I mean by "reactionary". The culture we now understand and are forced to accept is a reaction of the bad things from the previous culture. In my pursuit of Godliness, and Biblical Manhood, I want to seek and find what God's original plan for man and woman was. And once we find that, pray for His strength and wisdom to live that out in today's warped world.

More to come on this subject. I have lots and lots of notes. I just wanted to give a little teaser right now. In the Fall of 2005 I plan to host a class for the men of Oasis and anyone else who wants to attend. Our goal will be this search and discovery I mentioned above.

An Accidental New Look

You may have noticed that some of the colors and fonts look a little different on the blog. Nope, you're not going crazy, and your browser isn't wigging out on you. I was playing around with some new ideas in the design interface and accidentally re-published the site in the middle of my work. So, I had to quickly find some fonts and colors that looked decent enough and make a quick fix. So you can call this the "late summer look."

I know the blog has been pretty quiet lately. But that's okay. I'm okay with it... hopefully you are okay with it too. Hopefully you have been outside in the beautiful summer weather so much, and playing with your family so much, etc... that you haven't even taken too much notice of it.

There will be much to write about soon. Soon the fall season will be upon us, and new house churches will start, and more opportunities to write will be available to our authors, and you will be inside more often to read what is written, etc. Everything has a season. For me, this is the season of less computer interaction and more people interaction. And I am enjoying quite a bit to be honest.