Upside-Down Spirituality

Chad Bird has been a pastor and seminary professor.  Now, he is a truck driver.  His work has led him to befriend all kinds of people.  He's seen both the good and bad in folks and in himself.  He has a graduate degree from the school of hard knocks.  He's not afraid to write about his failures.

His latest book, "Upside-Down Spirituality," comes with the sub-title, "The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life."  In each  chapter he writes at how we fail at life - ourselves, our lives & our churches.  According to Bird, until we see how completely we fail at life, we'll never be the people who completely rely on God for living a faithful life.

But the book was frustrating and, at times, hard to read.  For example, on page 35 he writes: Like the king (Nebuchadnezzar) we are natural born believers (in ourselves).  It's just that we always gravitate toward believing the wrong thing.  We perform quite well in putting our faith in everything but God.

Bird paints with such a wide brush.  You mean that "we always gravitate toward believing the wrong thing?" Is there never a time when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to lead us to look to the Lord for strength, help and salvation? Do we always put "our faith in everything but God?" When going to the hospital do we always put our faith in the surgeon instead of the Savior? That's not what I find when I make hospital calls.  People are eager to pray for God's protection and healing.  We might pray for the surgeon.  But "our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8).

If we are truly the complete failures that Bird pictures, he doesn't seem to explain why this is so.  Surely he is pointing to the original sin in which we are all born. But it seems to me that you don't assume that your readers understand this doctrine.  With that foundation in place, then the rest of what is written makes sense.  Maybe I missed it but I didn't find this doctrine articulated in "Upside-Down Spirituality."  And you need that understanding to really appreciate this book.

It doesn't take a lot of law to show a person how much they need the Gospel of Jesus for forgiveness, new life in Christ and salvation.  CFW Walther, the first president of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod said that where Law and Gospel is preached, the Gospel must predominate.  I didn't find that to be the case with "Upside Down Spirituality."

How is the weekend looking for you?

Working out in the yard? Taking the kids or grandkids to the park? Going to see the "Unplanned" film (you really should).  Passing the time until the Final Four begins?

I hope you've included worship in your agenda.  Today, we offer a 5 pm service and tomorrow you can join us at 8, 9:30 or 11 am.

Imagine how good you will feel when you check "worship" off your weekend "to do" list.  Hope to see you this weekend at Life in Christ!

Dogs who study cats

One of my favorite Far Side cartoons.  I can see my dog, Jake, sitting in on such a class.

Throw back Thursday - 4/4/14

The Day of the Lord...

A day filled with many blessings from God for His dearly beloved children.

A day in which all our needs will be met and then some.

A day to rejoice in the redemption that is ours by faith in Christ Jesus.

A day for the Holy Spirit to grow and nurture our faith.

This is the day the Lord has made.

Rejoice in it!

Plan to see Unplanned!

I won't soon forget seeing the "Unplanned" film last night.

The film is not light-hearted.  It is not two hours of escapist fun.

In fact, in its opening minutes, there is a scene of a doctor performing an abortion.  What takes place is seen via an ultrasound machine.  I couldn't help but walk away believing that abortion is a cruel, barbaric method for bringing a human life to an end.  Sickening!

The film presents the journey of Abby Johnson from a naive college student who gets involved with Planned Parenthood as a way to support women's rights to a person who climbs up the corporate ladder, so to speak, to lead her own Planned Parenthood clinic to a person to is crushed by being a part of the abortion industry and is determined to get out.

Ashley Bratcher plays Abby Johnson in the film.  She does a marvelous and convincing job of portraying a committed worker in the abortion industry who realizes that the women walking in the doors of her clinic are not just carrying a blob of matter but a living human being.  When she finally sees what Planned Parenthood stands for and that its services are not designed for women's health, she breaks down under the weight of guilt and shame.  It was heartbreaking to watch.

It was at this point in the film that I would have liked to have seen Jesus.  Abby's heart needed to hear the Gospel.  She needed to hear that in Jesus there is forgiveness.  She needed to know that her guilt and shame - her sin - had been placed 2000 years earlier on Jesus as he suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world.  She needed to be reassured that the faithful and repentant are not condemned but loved by God and set free to live for Him.

Nevertheless, the love of God is seen in Abby's mother and father, who keep on loving their daughter in spite of her career choice; her husband, who stands by Abby even though he strongly believes that abortion is the taking of a life, not a painless way of solving a problem; of the life supporters who offer love and understanding even while they pray for an end to the abortions performed at the clinic where Abby works.

I hope I haven't given too much away.  I encourage you to see "Unplanned."  It's not an easy film to watch.  There may be times when you have to look away (as I did).  There may be moments when certain scenes will drive you to tears (as I experienced).  It's a remarkable film, a film you will not soon forget.

Who would you rather preach to?

I have reflected often on this quote attributed to Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

"It's better to preach to a laughing man than a sleeping one."

Motivational speaker and author, Zig Zigler, once said that he built something humorous every two to three minutes into his presentations.  He realized 1) that the attention span of his listeners was not very long and 2) humor has a way of reconnecting with those whose minds have wandered off.

To be sure, a sermon is not designed to be a comedy monologue.  In its simpliest form, the sermon is the opportunity to proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But the utilization of humor or visual aids or power point slides (so long as they are not overdone) help the speaker engage his hearers, enabling the message to be better heard.

I agree with Spurgeon - I'd rather preach to a person who is fully engaged than one that I've sent to la-la land!

Joy!

The late pastor and author, Eugene Peterson, was a provocative writer.  I enjoyed digging into his books, often finding a nugget or three that gave me insight into the glorious grace of God.

I copied down in my journal some of Peterson's interesting observations regarding "joy." For example:

Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship; it is a consequence...it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.

All suffering, all pain, all emptiness, all disappointment is seed; sow it in God and He will, finally, bring a crop of joy out of it.

The joy comes because God knows how to wipe away tears, and, in His resurrection work, create the smile of new life. Joy is what God gives, not what we work up.

So often we believe that joy is something that we must muster up for ourselves. We are led to believe that purchasing a new car or new clothes or season tickets for our favorite team will put a smile on our face and joy in our heart. Such joy, however, is fleeting; when the car breaks down or the clothes wear out or the team goes on a losing streak, our joy pretty much evaporates.

Instead, worship God faithfully, read the Scriptures daily and pray continually.  Walk with God by faith and see if He won't fill your heart with joy this week!