The Rambling Disciple

"The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things ought not be so." - James 3:6-10 I am not one to comment openly on politics or my political opinions, and I am not going to start here. These past few weeks have only served to reinforce my conviction that engaging in political discussions, especially on social media, is mainly a detriment to the Christian goal of declaring the Good News of Jesus Christ. Openly touting a political agenda instantly alienates at least half y

Those that know me well know that I'm not the biggest fan of most contemporary Christian music. I find the style to be largely repetitive, but that isn't my issue. The lyrics are often just so mediocre. They are often more about feeling good about yourself than worshiping God, and the ones that do try to praise God often are so theologically bland that they amount to nothing more than a sweet nothing. Of course not all contemporary Christian music suffers from this problem. If I'm being honest, a lot of the old hymns suffer from the same problem. Occasionally, however, I stumble across a song that has a profound theological message that actually connects with me. Now I know that I am not the most emotionally connective person in the world. I don't really encounter God through emotional experiences. I never really felt the "mountaintop" feeling a lot of my peers would experience after summer camp or a mission trip. So maybe this is one reason why I don'

Our Father Who is in heaven Hallowed by your name Your kingdom come Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts As we also forgive our debtors Lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil. The Lord's Prayer - ESV The Lord's Prayer is one of the central passages of Scripture. Jesus, teaching his followers how to pray, says this prayer during the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. It is, in a way, a summary of the entire Sermon on the Mount. It can be summed up in several points. 1. Glorify God 2. Obey God 3. Trust God Point one is easy. Only God, who is in heaven, deserves to be glorified. We should treat his name with the utmost respect and reverence. Point two is interesting. "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We should pray that God's will be done here on earth just as it is in heaven. This means that earth s

If I were to ask what is the single most important of the spiritual disciplines that a Christian could practice, the majority of people I know would probably say reading the Bible. This is not a bad answer. After all Scripture is the primary avenue through which we come to know who God is and what Christ has done for us. It is our first source of information about the history of God in this world and the best place to go to understand how God wants us to live our lives.  As good of an answer that Scripture reading is, I think it is the second most important of the spiritual disciplines. While it is obviously something indispensable, and I am in no way suggesting that we should all read our Bibles less or something, I do think there is one discipline that must come first. Prayer. Now praying has taken something of a hit in recent years. In the wake of tragedies the world over, the people of the internet generally sends their "thoughts and prayers" to the victims o

One of the most frequent comparisons I hear is that church is like a family. That is often the goal of many churches, to create a family environment where people feel welcome and included. This is a sentiment I agree with, but I also think that we often don't realize what we are asking for. Families, by their very nature, bear responsibility. When we say family, what we mean is a place of warmth and caring. What we usually don't mean is vulnerability. We want the picturesque TV family, where all the problems are solved by supper and there is no lasting stakes. This isn't the kind of family church is meant to be. Church is a real family. Real families don't always get along. Real families see the ugly side of each member. Real families have to work through their problems over the course of years. Real families are vulnerable. Warmth and care are easy when everyone pretends to have it all together. How much more impactful would it be if in our churches we showed t

Dear Mom, I know this letter won't reach you, as you are blissfully resting in the everlasting arms of Christ. This knowledge and hope make me smile, as I know that the pains and trials you experienced at the end are now but a distant memory as you cling to the glory of our God and Father whose face you sought with fervor and devotion your whole life. Still, with it being Mother's Day and all, I feel the need to say something; and it was always easier to say what I needed to when I was talking to you. Mom, I miss you so much. The pain of losing you still festers in my heart. While the wound has begun to heal and the joys, burdens, and minutia of life have started to close over it, it is never far from my mind. I have never hurt so much in my life. Reminders of you crop up all over the place. I'm reminded of you whenever I begin to worship, as you taught me its importance. Every time I open the Bible I am reminded of the long conversations we would have over this and

We will all stand before the Judge at the end. He will weigh our life and sentence us accordingly. He holds the standard of righteousness in his hands, and we must live up to it. The thought of being judged is not a pleasant one for most people. Most don't want to have to stand before a judge in a court of law. We don't like handing control over our lives to someone else. It's unsettling and most of us would rather imagine that we are in control. People really don't like the idea of being judged by Christ at the end of all things, testing the contents of their life. This is probably the most hated aspect of Christianity. People don't like that there is a moral standard and that they will be held accountable to it by God. What we must never forget is that Christ is not only our Judge, but he is also our Advocate. He stands as our intercessor, bringing our prayers to the Father as our great High Priest. He works on our behalf, offering grace and mercy at every t

Our Father Omnipotent, almighty God Name above all names Exalted above the heavens Whose glory has no end Who no man can comprehend We come to you in humility Father of lights Illuminate our weary minds Orient our very being Our heart, soul, mind, and strength To your wisdom and will Fill us with your Spirit That Holy Spirit of power and grace That same Spirit that came upon your Son That Spirit that is truly of you, from you, and one with you We ask that you fill us with his presence Help us to grasp the depths of our own failings Help us to find peace in your mystery Help us to walk in holiness Help us, Lord We ask this of you, oh Father In the name of of your Son The Lord, Christ Jesus To whom we give all honor and devotion Amen

There are many issues that and topics that come up in churches today. The Churches of Christ have their own set of issues and hot button topics just like any other tradition. Some of these are issues we share with the larger Christian world while others are issues all our own. Regardless, these are the things that get people riled up and that everyone wants to talk about.  Unfortunately, we aren't very good at talking about them. Every time a flashy issue arises, so do the polemics. People pick their side and the fight begins. The problem isn't the issues. In fact part of the problem is that we believe that the hot button issues of our time are the real issue. They aren't. The real issue is that we don't seek God anymore. Too often what we want in life isn't God but moral superiority. We want to say "I'm right, you're wrong." By chasing that kind of superiority we lose sight of that which is truly superior; God. In the end it doesn&#

This past Sunday was Easter, the single most significant day in history. Many Christians around the world gathered to praise God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an event that signaled the end of the old creation and the ushering in of the new. It is the pinnacle of history, when God raised Jesus from the dead. For the first time death had lost its grip on someone forever. Things would never be the same. In 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul writes what is one of the most important passages of all time. He writes that everything hangs on the resurrection; if Christ did not rise from the dead, then Christianity is worthless. It is the linchpin of our entire faith. In this age of skepticism and hunger for evidence, many Christians have engaged the world with arguments and proofs of the reality of the resurrection. This is a good thing and I wholeheartedly encourage people to check out videos and articles that do a credible job of demonstrating the viability and reality of the C

"Peace in our time." Those admirable words were uttered by Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on September 30, 1938. He proudly announced that he had ensured a lasting peace between the Britain and Germany, led by Adolf Hitler. It considered one of the biggest blunders in world history, since almost exactly a year later Nazi Germany invaded Poland and initiated the European theater of World War 2. However flawed Chamberlain may have been in his interactions with one of history's most horrific tyrants, one cannot deny that his intentions were admirable. He sought peace for his country. He had witnessed one World War and did not want to see that amount of suffering and destruction inflicted upon his people yet again. Chamberlain wanted peace, but his replacement had a different view. Winston Churchill is one of the most recognizable figures in world history. He heroically led the British people through World War 2, holding off the Nazi forces u

The birth of the ancient nation of Israel was truly a unique event. Imagine it from the perspective of an ancient Israelite living in Egypt. You are a slave. You have been your entire life, as have your parents and grandparents before going back several generations. You do not have much of a national identity. All you have ever known is servitude to Egypt and the Pharaohs. Your entire life has been spent in fear of the Egyptian gods. Clearly they are powerful, otherwise you wouldn't have been enslaved. Your ancestors worshiped a God too, YHWH his name was, but no one seems to have heard from him in a while. You live in abject terror of the horrors they, embodied by the living god-king Pharaoh, might do to you and your family. Thousands of men, women, and even children have been slaughtered at this tyrant's command. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Moses arrives. This man is a Hebrew like you, but he was raised under very different circumstances. He grew up in the house of

Do we really consider what's going on when we partake of the Lord's Supper? Often times it feels like we don't take the Lord's Supper seriously. It's that time on Sunday mornings where we say a few words about Jesus' death, pass come crackers and juice, and sit in silence. While many do use this as a time of prayer and reflection, as a collective it feels like a necessary inconvenience. It's just something we have to do because we are commanded to do it. The highest praise we can offer the one presiding over communion is, often times, that they kept their thoughts brief. The Lord's Supper is best when it is done quickly and efficiently, leaving more time for the sermon. We take it because we must. Again, I know many Christians who use this time to focus on Christ. The problem, I think, lies in the way we treat it as a community. At the heart of this problem is, of course, a theological issue. We don't know what the Lord's Supper is. Tra

Every week around the world millions of Christians gather together in the name of Jesus. Followers of Christ from hundreds of different traditions meet together to worship God and study Scripture. While they come from every tribe, nation, and tongue there is one thing every week that these Christians celebrate in common; the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, is one of the great commonalities of the various Christian traditions. While there is some disagreement on what actually happens during the breaking of the bread and taking of the cup, all agree that the Lord's Supper is an indispensable part of the Christian faith. It is one of the great gifts that unites us. I believe that there is a lot to learn from the Lord's Supper. That's why an ongoing series on this blog will be Reflections on the Lord's Supper. This is the first of several posts examining the mystery that is the supper of our Lord. They won't be back to back, but I think th

What is the Bible? This is one of the central questions that dominates the Christian faith. It is essential to have an answer to this question. Knowing what the Bible is, and is not, influences our entire walk of faith. What you believe the Bible to be determines how you read it and what you read it for. The Churches of Christ, my tradition and the tradition of most of my readers, was founded on taking the Bible seriously. The early members wanted to get away from the various creeds, traditions, and articles of faith that defined so many other denominations. They wanted to be Christians only, without the added denominational titles. To do this they turned to Scripture as their sole authority. This ethic has continued to the present day. You will be hard pressed to find a group of people who long for biblical teaching more than us. This is a quality I am proud of and I think it speaks volumes of my brothers and sisters' heart for God. In our efforts to treat the Bible with r

As we approach Valentine's Day, the subject of love looms over us. It is the season of romantic gestures, fancy dates, and heart shaped chocolates. Little angels in diapers with arrows adorn stores and the colors pink and red are everywhere. Our culture has something of an obsession with romantic love. While the Valentine's season accentuates this craze, it exists year round. Just think of the number of songs that are written, from any era, that concern romance in some way. Most movies aren't complete without a romance subplot woven into the script. Suffice it to say that we love, well, love. Or at least we think we do. Confusing Our Terms The common understanding of love is that of a feeling. Love is that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, or the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you are with someone you like. We define love in a variety of ways, most of which have to do with feelings. What has happened is that we have confused love with two other emotion

It has been quite a while since I posted to this blog. I have never been the most consistent at this, but the past six months or so I've completely stopped posting. In fact I've rarely even thought about the blog. I simply haven't wanted to write. Ever since my mother passed away I've had a very hard time engaging with God on a personal level. The primary thing my mother and I would talk about was God, Christ, and Scripture. When she passed opening the Bible was like opening a wound. I'd read a passage and all I could think about was the conversations she and I had about it. So I created a defense mechanism; I began to look at theology, Scripture, and everything related to it in a purely intellectual light. Don't get me wrong; I firmly believe in the importance of scholarship. That is, after all, a big focus of my life and service to God and the Kingdom. What is not OK is reducing God to a mere intellectual exercise. That was what I was doing in an effort to