jordanpfowler

Taking a break for all the strategic marketing talk to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas! I want to share this video with you as a true reminder of the meaning of Christmas.

Jesus Christ left the riches of heaven to come to the squalor of earth, lived a life in perfect obedience and union with the Father. He was crucified to undo the sinful affects of the Fall and our own failures, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our advocate. He will return to establish a new earth. (If this all sounds farfetched see tomorrow’s post on great reads on the rationality of Christianity). This was not merely to perform an act within history, but so that you and I could be ADOPTED into a new spiritual family. If you are a Jesus follower, celebrate your radical adoption like Meredith, with overflowing gratitude.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ… The Apostle Paul Romans 8

Churches are filled with people. People who fill churches are imperfect. Their is only one perfect person. His name is Jesus. Yet those outside the Church seem to think that those inside should be perfect or near perfect, an impossible task. This is not the Gospel the church preaches. Followers of Jesus are to strive, empowered by God, to press toward the high calling of Christ Jesus but they will never arrive anywhere near perfection in this lifetime. (Philippians 3:12-14) Thus, the potential for a true public relations challenge when these people, who trust in Jesus’ vicarious sacrifice for their perfection, fall short–especially when it is the staff member of a church. How does the church communicate in a way that is true, beneficial, and necessary?

A Case Study

Recently a prominent mega-church had to terminate their student pastor for improper conduct. It was alleged, and strong evidence produced, that he had an inordinate amount electronic contact with a woman other than his wife. He denied that anything other than that the e-correspondence had occurred. I will not go into more detail, as it is not crucial to the argument. I also will name neither the church nor the individual staff member as it is unimportant to my point, and in fact could be contra-biblical.

What was the Public Relations response of the church?

This church terminated the staff member. They then chose to hold a meeting with its students and their parents where the lead pastor clearly outlined the case for dismissal. He did this tactfully yet providing clear evidence for the firing. This called meeting was the right move in both the biblical and public relations sense. As the staff member in question, according to church, had not yet fully acknowledged and repented of his behavior, denying it for a long period of time even at direct confrontation, the church family rightly was made aware of the reasons for termination. If he had come forward, himself, with a repentant heart, another tact in the disclosure could have been taken while maintaining the biblical instruction in this regard. (I am not commenting on the point of dismissal here, but the nature of its disclosure.)

The message the lead pastor made that night to the church family that night was on target, and thoroughly lined up with the biblical mandates given the situation.

Did this church go wrong PR wise?

Did this church make a biblical and public relations mistake in what it did with that message? It posted a video of the message for open, public viewing on its website. Then at least one of its staff members tweeted the link to the video, announcing its presence to his numerous followers outside their inner church family. While I am not for subterfuge or opaquing, was this  an inner-family dialogue that should not be on the open internet?

What if?

What if a full disclosure could have been made to the church family by emailing out a private link to the video for those unable to attend the meeting requesting they view the link rather than public tweets and notices? What if a more general statement could have been made to the press if there was inquiry? While the link could have made its way public by any of its receivers, it is obvious that the hearers listened to request of the pastor, as the internet is not full of gossip regarding this situation. This private invitation would also line up with Matthew 18 where the church is told to bring it before the church family and the spirit of I Corinthians 6.

Would this be comparable to the Catholic Church’s public relations debacle? No, a full disclosure would have been made to pertinent and necessary parties, the church membership. This is in stark contrast to the unwillingness of the Catholic Church to acknowledge their serious problem to even their own parishioners.

Would not making this announcement public have stopped those outside the church seeing the Gospel at work? Perhaps, as the lead pastor did an excellent job explaining how grace works. His prime emphasis did not appear to be “we were right in all that we did, so ‘take that’ any who would dissent from our actions.” This, unfortunately, is often the motive of the imperfect people, including leadership in some churches, resulting in the public flagellation of its staff for only covering-our-butts reasons. Not the case here. The Gospel was present.

What if the staff member would have made the initial approach to lead staff  with full disclosure and a repentant heart? A much different announcement could have been made to the church family, much less specific in nature.

Can this individual ultimately return to ministry? This individual is not exempt nor pardoned from ministry now, as that is simply not an option for a Jesus follower. This is true for whatever reason he or she leaves full-time ministry–for personal sanity, moral issues, or otherwise.  It will simply look different in that he or she won’t earn a paycheck from the ministry that God has called them to. One of the best ways to heal is to continue to reach out to others, specifically the hurting even when you are yourself, with the good news seen in Jesus. Nor does it mean that he or she will never be able to be in full-time ministry again.

What other actions should be taken? If the church chooses to leave the video posted for viewing, it should be for a very limited period of time. (I have no clue as to whether this is their intent or not.) To leave it up ad infinitum is not necessary or beneficial for the church or the former staff member.

Concluding Thoughts

All in all, this church did an excellent job communicating a difficult circumstance. This especially considering that they were not sure of the response of the released party, as it outwardly appears he never fully admitted to the behavior in question. The church is full of imperfect people seeking to have the perfection of Jesus credited to them through His death, burial and resurrection. No one in the church will ever be perfect. As such, our communication and public relations as Christians will never be perfect either.

Do you agree or disagree with these thoughts? I am open for dialogue. (Notice: If you name names, your comment will not be approved.)

This week I watched two view worthy documentaries on atheism and intelligent design.  (I also watched a documentary called The God Who Isn’t There but it well lacked the scholarly weight of the two I am recommending).

The first, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed was written from intelligent design perspective of the always witty Ben Stein.

The second, Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus, was hosted by the likeable and friendly atheist Randy Olson (I mean that).

Both documentaries are available on netflix. They pair to make a nice viewing from two opposite perspectives. Both hosts are guys with whom you would generally love “to hang.” Watching these reminds me of the degree of faith that both sides must use in defense of their case. It also spurred me to further reading as I go back and revisit the subject of philosophical atheism. I am reading at the far ends of the spectrum. Click the book cover to view in Amazon. Save paper and shelf-space with a Kindle.

One book by a former evangelical pastor who turned atheist.

Another by one of the foremost former defenders of atheism now turned theist.

_________

One book by a respected astronomer on intelligent design.

One re-reading of a book by a vehement evangelist of atheism.

________

And finally one by a renowned scholar who argues for the veracity of the Gospels based upon the fact that they are eyewitness accounts and not merely the gathering of distant oral traditions. This because so many atheists and Jesus Seminar types still lean on the legacy of form criticism to doubt the historical reliability of the Gospels as redacted to serve only the faith communities’ interest regardless of truth.

Of course I am doing a lot of Bible reading alongside these with a bit of lighter-fun reading so I don’t lose my mind or my soul in the process..ha!

I will review some of these here after I complete them or point to other solid reviews. I will also recommend a couple of more works that I have already read or plan to read soon on this topic in the next few days.

A couple of weeks ago we showed this video again in our service and it had a powerful effect. Thanks Mike for your transparency. To see more of how this video went down, read Chris Johns’ account.

Forgiveness from Northwood Church on Vimeo.

You eagerly lay your head on the pillow but find yourself staring at a shadowed ceiling, sleepless. Mind racing, you suffer from a troubled soul that offers no concessions to your wearied body. When battered by the chaos of life, we need to learn the art of resting. Not merely physical rest but a deeper soul rest.  True rest is actually something we learn from God and gain access to through Christ.

God rested

In Genesis 1 after God created order from the chaos, He rested. That doesn’t mean that God disconnected from creation for a moment of respite in His heavenly hammock. By saying God rested, the author of Genesis means to convey that God had demonstrated His sovereignty over the forces of chaos in the creative week.

In the Old Testament, after the Temple was built, God was said to rest there (I Chronicles 28:2, Isaiah 66:1, 2 Chronicles 6:41, etc.). Though the Holy of Holies could not completely contain the omnipresent God, this sacred place within the Temple was said to be God’s footstool. The Temple was built after after Israel had defeated its enemies and entered the promised land. In fact, David and Solomon both note that God has given them rest by defeating their enemies and, thus, they are able to build Him a temple which may serve as His place of rest (I Kings 5:4-5). In a sense, God’s enemies and their foreign “gods” had been put under His feet.

God promises rest to His people.

God promises rest to Adam  if he took care of the Garden (Genesis 2:15 the Hebrew word for put is not the normal word but one that carries and overtone of rest). He promises rest to Israel if they lived faithfully in the promised land (Exodus 33:14, Deuteronomy 3:20, 2 Samuel 7:1-6).

How we get in on God’s rest.

Soul rest is a realization that God has defeated His enemies and dwells with us. Biblical rest is not merely being inactive physically, or chillaxing as my 11 year-old daughter says, though sometimes that plays a part. Rather, it is understanding that God’s presence is with us and that we, in Christ, can overcome the apparent chaos that surrounds us and causes us anxiety and turmoil.

True rest stems from the following understanding:

1. We are now God’s temple where Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit takes up residence. Our hearts are, in that sense, like the Holy of Holies in the Temple, God’s resting place.
2. That in Christ, we have entered His rest (Hebrews 4:2-4), meaning that we trust that our sovereign God has defeated, is defeating, and will fully defeat our enemies (sickness & death, evil, Satan) and bring order to the chaos that seems to be the root of our anxiety and lack of rest.

How do we get in on that rest?

Though we do not see the full victory over our enemies and chaos presently, we live in faith that God will do what He has promised (Revelation 20:10, 14 & Revelation 21:4). Satan, sin, death, mourning, and sorrow will be ultimately overcome. The chaos that appears to run rampant on earth will be put away and God’s order will be established as peace rules the earth.

We gain rest for our souls as we access these biblical promises in our daily lives. Paul instructs us how to live by faith in this way. This is what we are to do when the swirling waters of chaos overtake us and our natural response is to panic and have rest absent from our souls.

Philippians 4:5b The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

1. Declare the nearness of God. “The Lord is at hand.” He is in you and you are in Him. He calls you a son and daughter. He has not abandoned you to the chaos or lost you to your enemies, but has placed them under His feet (Luke 10:18-19; Acts 2:34-36) . You might even have to say this aloud to yourself and to others to walk in this truth.

2. Declare that He is coming soon to put all the enemies and chaos that trouble your soul under His feet. The Lord’s Day is at hand. In that moment, all our present sufferings will be placed in perspective (Romans 8:18) and we will be given our ultimate rest. This is promised to you and will be given to you no matter how much chaotic unrest you feel now. Live in the promise and let it anchor you in the present.

3. Pray. Prayer is faith in action. Prayer says, “I believe God has a vested interest in me and in preserving His glory.” Thus, He will act in a way that supports both of these, even if I do not see its actualization in my earthly lifetime. He cares for my concerns and even if my circumstances don’t immediately change, I am capable of having a peace-filled, restful soul as I focus on Him. God can center me in what appears to be a storm.

4. Practice. Even if you are not feeling rested, practice the spiritual disciplines. Practice setting your mind on Jesus and the things above by setting apart intentional times of Biblical meditation. Then seek to bring that centering on Christ found in those set apart times into your daily living as you drive, work, run errands, etc.  Pray by talking internally to God and listening to Him in the daily ebb and flow of life.

In his recent Christianity Today article, Jesus vs. Paul, McKnight wrestles with what I, too, have perceived and at times felt some tension over. There appears to be a different emphasis from Paul (justification by faith) and Jesus (Kingdom of God). In “Jesus,” it should be noted that McKnight, I feel, is referring to the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and what these authors, Spirit inspired yet also addressing a specific context not unlike Paul, chose to record to address their contextualized issues. McKnight seeks to find a way through in his article.

My question is, are their some bridging elements between Jesus and Paul within the Biblical text itself? I see two bridges that need further examination in this light. We shall look at the first in this post and the second in a later one.

The Gospel of John. John’s Gospel has a much different tone than the Synoptic Gospels. The later authoring date of the fourth Gospel makes me ask, was John aware of Paul’s writings and, if so, to what degree was he aware of their theological emphasis? In John, there seems to bus seat constructed that allows the emphasis of the Synoptic Gospels (Kingdom of God) and the Pauline Epistles (justification by faith/union in Christ) to do more than ride side by in harmony, but to sit in one another’s lap to some degree.

Adolf Deissmann has taken note of this in The Religion of Jesus and the Faith of Paul (1923) writing,

I regard the Gospel of John, and in still greater measure, the religious attitude which finds its expression in the that Gospel and in the other Johannine writings, as a great synthesis of the Synoptic Jesus and the Pauline Christ. John amalgamated ancient, genuine traditions concerning Jesus – traditions which were partly his own recollection – with his experience of  communion with Christ, and in this way created a Gospel which was in the first place destined to render service in the post-Pauline generation, and in the struggle with Gnosticism, Judaism, and the followers of John the Baptist. Thus we have in John’s Gospel an intimate combination of the tradition concerning Jesus and Christ-mysticism [by which he means our in union in Christ so emphasized in Paul].

Obviously, a further examination of how John relates to Paul and vice versa is needed. If you are aware of key resources on this particular topic, I’d appreciate your suggestions as a comment.

Scott McKnight has a great article in Christianity Today on how many biblical scholars and lay Christians have noted that Jesus preached almost exclusively about the kingdom of heaven, while Paul highlighted justification by faith—and not vice versa. Some conclude that they preached two different gospels. Others argue that really they both preached justification; still others say it’s all about the kingdom. What gives?

Here are the video links contained in the article….

See more videos after the break…. (more…)

Several weeks ago we informed our kids via homemade fortune cookies that we were going to Disney World, a first for all us. Upon reading that news and after overcoming some disbelief, spontaneous dancing and cheering erupted. My oldest is now reading the Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World cover to cover, a huge tome of 860 pages. There are discussions of how we will pack, what it is like to fly on a plane, and how they will get their school makeup work done early. Piper and I are constantly hearing their thoughts of how joyous an occasion it will be. Our future trip to a magical kingdom is deeply affecting our lives in the present.

And then God spoke to me, “Why doesn’t my coming Kingdom affect you as deeply?” Touche’, Lord, Touche’.

A great post. Solid reflection on false gospels. If people adhere to these that camouflage themselves as the true Gospel, unfortunately, this also means that many people are one discontinued “favorite” ministry event (formalism), one rule disagreement (legalism), one “unanswered” prayer” (mysticism), one allowance for introspection (activism), one new hurt (therapism), or one less friend (social-ism) from bailing out. Until Christ is the anchor, we shall be tossed at sea.

The first modernized classic I have posted on this site. Thomas Chalmer’s The Expulsion of Sin By Means of a New Affection.

The Expulsion of Sin by a New Affection Thomas Chalmers-Modernized

Why you should read it? If you struggle with sin and wish you could stop or find yourself tired of chasing after things in this world . Chalmers offers a view that concentrating on your merely ridding yourself of sin is doomed for failure. Instead, receive and revel in the love of God. In this, sin will be displaced.

To read why I modernize, check this.