Mar
12
2012
Words matter.
So does the way we choose to phrase things, even the little things. Words matter because when you string enough of them together, they are imbued with meaning. All of a sudden, this string of words conveys an idea. It speaks. That is the very purpose of words. Their purpose is the communication of meaning.
But where do words find their meaning?
Roaming around on my regular string of news sites, I ran across a great example of this today. In a recent meeting between President Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, our president was presented with a gift from Netanyahu. It was the book of Esther. This book of the Bible is one that is used by both Judaism and Christianity. It exists as part of both the Jewish canon and our own. It is, for lack of a better word, a shared resource, one that both Jew and Christian should hold as significant. Obama is, by confession, a Christian and Netanyahu is, by ethnicity, a Jew.
The gift was deeply symbolic and meant to call Obama to a decision about the state of affairs concerning Israel and the Middle East. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, Hermeneutics
Feb
13
2012
In Genesis, we are introduced to the heavens and the earth. God said that they were good; it was creation in its perfect state, as it was meant to be. In the middle of paradise, he made man to rule as regent over this newly formed kingdom. In the very image of God, man would rule the earth.
Man did the exact opposite. He did not rule over creation, instead, he let it talk him into disobedience when the serpent said those viral words, “You will not surely die.” As that fruit crossed man’s lips, all of creation fell from perfection into the pit of depravity. The curse of sin spread from Adam’s lips out into every corner of the created order. Sin’s grip wound its way, like the very thorns it produced, into every crevice as all of creation cried out against this tragedy.
Yet, in the very same words God used to curse man, woman, and all of creation for its disobedience to his almighty lordship, he uttered a promise. In Genesis 3:15, God made creation a promise. In that moment, God promised to fix it. He would correct our mistake.
Talking to the serpent, the very representative of evil, God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen. 3:15, NIV)
A hero was promised. This hero would come as a man from the woman’s seed. The serpent may strike his heel, but he will deal the final, crushing blow of death to the serpent.
So begins the story. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from the Word, Hermeneutics
Feb
6
2012
The Bible is not a book of rules, although many treat it as such. It is also not a book of heroes recounting the dashing deeds and heroic adventures of great men. No, truth be told, the prominent figures usually fail.
Certainly, the Bible contains rules and it tells many great stories, yet its purpose is so much greater than a cosmic law code and those great stories are centered on the lives of liars, adulterers, and murderers, save one. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, Hermeneutics
Jul
19
2010
The Romans had chariots, the cowboys in the Wild West had their horses, the modern American has the mid-sized sedan (or oversized SUV for some) and West Africans have the “bush taxi.” Labeled the bush taxi more for where it goes than its appearance (they look nothing like a bush), this fine mode of transportation is the staple in this area. For inter-village travel, there are few options other than walking, and this venerable vehicle has found its niche here in the jungles of West Africa.
The bush taxi starts its life some 20 years prior to its service in Africa as a compact, European sedan. It was cheap when it was produced in 1986, so imagine it now. After a long life serving its European owner(s), and sometime just after is falls completely apart, the loosely assembled pile of car parts makes its way across the ocean in a shipping container bound for the dark continent. Here, it will serve out the remainder of its life toiling down the dirt trails these folk call roads. When I say dirt trail, I want to be sure you understand that I am referring to something that would make the moon rover cry. I simply do not know how they do it, but they do. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jul
12
2010
If ever there was a strategy that would reach the world for Christ, it must be the church sign. Crowning the curb of church properties across America, these little, often backlit, beacons of truth shine out to a lost world. If am not mistaken (and I may be), the origin of the church sign can be traced back to the Apostolic Fathers. Ignatius himself has been quoted as saying, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” Indeed some of the earliest extra-canonical sources we have include such pithy statements as: “Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives,” “Forbidden fruit creates many jams,” and “Searching for a new look? Get a faith lift!” If statements such as these are not going to do the trick, than what better solution do we have?
In all honestly, there are probably few things for which we Christians are more mocked. Statements like these are shallow. How do you sum up God’s grace in a sentence? I can tell you one thing, it is not by saying, “Free trip to Heaven… details inside!” In a world with hundreds of competing worldviews, we claim ours is the only true solution. We say that it answers all of life’s most important questions and explains all of existence. Then we hang the truth of God on statements that barely support themselves. These church sign slogans are weak nails indeed. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jul
5
2010
I have a confession. Pulling water is not one of my spiritual gifts. For those of you too pampered to have ever experienced this, “pulling water” is the euphemism applied to dragging buckets of water up a rope and out of a 50ft-deep well.
Pulling water, that sounds easy. At least I thought so when I first heard this would be part of my daily routine in the village. That was one of many stupid assumptions I would make adjusting to life in the bush.
Before I ever tried this activity for myself, I watched as the women and little kids would go casually over to the well, throw the bucket down into the chasm and effortlessly lift the water out of the hole and pour it into their own containers. It appeared to be a cinch, and the concept was simple. Drop in bucket, pull out water. Anybody could do that. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jun
28
2010
Why do we overcomplicate things? Is it part of human nature, possibly a result of the fall? Take for instance that master of ingenuity, Wile E. Coyote. There are few things in life that bring me as much happiness as laughing at his misery. In his eternal effort to snare the Roadrunner, or more precisely to satisfy his hunger, he stops at no lengths. I know I personally have watched him strap himself to a rocket, shoot out of a catapult, construct the most absurd Rube Goldbergs and single-handedly keep the ACME company in business with endless purchases of iron birdseed, fake holes, and industrial-size magnets. Indeed, would it not be far more cost effective for him to save the money he spends at ACME and go buy a burger?
Yet, there is some mystical force behind the gimmick. We have all been guilty of using gimmicks. Each of us have a secret love affair with that particular “as seen on TV” item. At current, mine is the Snuggie®. What a great gimmick. You can have your blanket on and still use the remote! (If you order now, you will receive a free book light.) Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jun
22
2010
There are a lot of things in life that we want to make sure we do not misuse. For instance, those little signs that have replaced the words “Men” and “Women” on most public bathrooms are important. Another example is the inappropriate way the referee used his whistle in the USA-Slovenia game last week. Or perhaps the way “Ke$ha” completely misuses that dollar sign in the middle of her name. It is important to get those things right.
It is important to get scripture right too. If indeed the Bible is the second greatest form of revelation given to mankind, if indeed these 66 books are the best and most complete understanding we will receive of God almighty this side of heaven; then it is of the utmost importance that we use this tool in the proper manner. However, I have a hunch that many (if not most) people sitting in the pews of our churches today have at best a misunderstanding of scripture, its purpose and its use. (See my earlier post on this here.) The last couple of posts have discussed scripture’s purpose. Now, I am going to look at its use. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jun
14
2010
Communication is an interesting process. The transmission of information is a goal that is seldom achieved with the precision that was initially intended. For instance, I imagine most of you have participated in a “chain story” at some point. Being a communications major in college, I feel like I have done this exercise at least eleventy-two times, if not more.
The object is for one person to begin the telling of a story, either verbally or by writing it on a sheet of paper. Each person is responsible for one sentence and then is required to pass the story on to the next participant. Now, you can only imagine what happens as the plot advances. With each person’s twist on the story, the gradual result is a mad conglomeration of ideas. Rarely (if ever) does the storyline make sense by the end of the project, and I have never seen it finish with the original author’s intent staying intact. Usually some goof in the middle throws in a random character like Batman or Michael Jackson and the plot winds up spiraling into anarchy. Needless to say, the idea of telling one coherent story through many authors seems like an exercise in futility.
Yet, I will assert that the greatest story ever penned on paper was written in precisely this manner. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
Jun
10
2010
How do you know God? For that matter, how do you know anything about God? Maybe it was your parents that first introduced you to this idea that there was some big something out there in charge of everything. Maybe it was a Sunday School teacher or Saturday morning cartoons for that matter. Can you think back to a time when you did not believe God was out there? I cannot. And for those of you who currently do not believe there is a god, I imagine you did when you were a child and your opinion has changed somewhere along the way. I have never met a little kid that does not believe in God to some capacity. A from-birth atheist may exist, but I have not been introduced to one at present. Feel free to peruse this issue if you’d like. You can start here for a “scientific” perspective on this one.
Let me draw the lens out a little further. Historically, I have never heard mention of a “religionless” people group. I know of no ancient (or modern for that matter) tribe tucked off in the far reaches of the globe that were (are) intrinsically atheistic. It appears, at its core, the very idea of worshipping something is hard-wired into our skull. But from where did these wires come? Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Hermeneutics
