The Rambling Disciple

Too often I am numb to the extraordinary truth of Christianity. My whole life is inundated with theology, church, prayer, and the whole religion thing. I work for a church so everything I do, in some way or another, is about or at least related to faith. This means that I hear and read the language of grace, redemption, resurrection, and all the rest all the time. I will admit that I sometimes just get used to it. Grace no longer astounds me, its just a part of life. Redemption is something brought up twenty or thirty times a day. The Resurrection of Jesus, the center point of history and the fundamental fact of Christianity, is just a given fact. Prayer becomes mundane, worship rote, and reading the Bible something I have to do because I teach multiple Bible studies a week. I get the feeling that I'm not alone in this. Many Christians at some point in their life get in a rut. The more you are around something the more accustomed to it you get, and sadly this holds true to the trut...

We're all biased in many ways. The tradition we grew up in, our family life, nationality, language, and many other factors contribute to the way we look at the world. As we all know this happens in our churches too. We get used to one way of doing things or even try to be different from other groups. This can have the unfortunate effect of leaving us without some excellent tools for spiritual growth and discipline. One such thing is prayer. Most people I know from my particular tradition are very much against pre-written, repeated prayers. They want prayers to be "authentic" and "from the heart," so all prayers are therefore improvised. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this way of praying, but there is also nothing wrong with praying through an already written prayer. In fact, I'd argue that sometimes it's better. Written prayers help us pray when we don't know what to say. Too often I think instead of using a written prayer or even being silen...

Every one of us has regrets. I think it's a normal part of living in this world. Some regrets are small, like having a second helping at dinner that makes our stomach upset. There are others that are big. These are the regrets that keep us up at night. They keep us wondering if we had just said something different or had been there a little earlier things would be different now. I have no answer for how to deal with regret. Everyone is different and copes differently with this issue. Some bury regret deep down and let it fester, but never really acknowledge it. Others act out and their guilt or other feelings manifests as increasingly dangerous or risky behavior. Still others dwell in their regret and become depressed, running through scenarios over and over again even years later. To be completely honest, I'm one of the latter people. There are days where my mind is filled with nothing but regrets of things I said (or didn't say) and did (or didn't do). I can stay awak...

When we think of Christmas trees the primary thing I think most people think of is the lights and ornaments hanging on the branches. They are colorful and catch our eye. In many respects, the tree is there solely to support the beautiful and eye catching ornaments. They are the center of attention in many cases. In our analogy of the Christmas tree for theology and faith, the ornaments serve much the same function with one major exception; the tree does not exist to support the ornaments. They are often the thing that everyone gravitates towards and gawks at. The ornaments are usually the things that get our blood boiling and start arguments, and they can quickly consume all of our attention. This forgets the fact that the living tree supporting them is actually far more important. So what do I mean by ornaments? These are the hot button issues of our time or particular place. For example, in the Churches of Christ the question of instrumental music is unquestionably a flashy ornament ...

We've seen the roots of our faith, those things that deal directly with Jesus and God. Last week we examined the trunk, those large matters of faith that grow directly out of the roots. These two things form the foundation and primary tenets of the Christian faith. The roots anchor our tree (the Trinity, Incarnation, Resurrection, etc.,) and the trunk is where the tree grows tall (Scripture, salvation, the imago dei, etc.) Next up are the branches. On a Christmas tree the branches are one of the most visible parts. They fan out and cover a great deal of ground. The branches grow out of the tree trunk, receiving their nutrients from the roots below. In our analogy of theology and faith, the branches represent the outworking of various beliefs. For example, a root belief of Christianity is that God has revealed himself to us, specifically in Jesus. In the trunk that grows up from that root is the firm conviction that the Bible is from God and the authoritative source of God's rev...

Last week we examined the roots of the tree. These are the foundational issues of the faith that anchor all other doctrines and practices without which there would be no Christianity. This week we examine the next part of  the Christmas tree analogy, the trunk. From the roots grows the trunk of the tree. The trunk stands tall and gives the tree its height and girth. A strong trunk means resistance to the wind and other forces of nature. It also means there can be many branches that grow from it, each able to fan out and cover a lot of ground. If the roots of our tree are issues directly pertaining to who God is and what God has done, then the trunk is what grows directly out of that. God has revealed himself to us. This leads directly to the Bible and our definitions of authority, inspiration, and so on. God made human beings. This goes into the concept of being made in God's image. God is our savior, which naturally means that there is something that God is saving us from. The tru...

Last week we discussed the analogy of a Christmas tree for discussing Christian theology and doctrine. In brief a living, growing Christmas tree has four parts: roots, a trunk, branches, and ornaments. When thinking about our beliefs and how important they are in relation to one another and living the Christian life, this analogy can be helpful. Today we are going to talk about the first part of the analogy, the roots. Every system of belief is built on something. There is always a foundational principle that anchors the rest of the beliefs, even if it is not readily seen. These are the beliefs so central and core to the rest that without them the whole system falls apart. The roots of tree serve much the same purpose. They are what keeps the tree alive and secure on the ground. The roots collect water and nutrients, feeding the rest of the tree so it may grow big and tall. The roots are also the thing that keep the tree in place during storms and massive winds. If the roots are weak a...