Just bringin' a few spare gods for the road!

"When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods." Gen 31:19

I learned the Apostle's Creed in a confirmation class when I was 7:

"I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord..."

I am a Christian; I worship the One True God.

But I am also pagan because, like Rachel, when my Lord called me away from my old house, I went back and stole the household gods.

See, I have no doubt that Rachel believed in Jacob's God. I think she did, or at least was on her way there. I think she was just hedging her bets, or maybe she was just a greedy little thief, either way, she wasn't devoted to Jacob's God, she still had enough love for her old life that she brought part of it with her.

It's so easy to do isn't it? Because it's not like you're deny God altogether, you're just packing something extra "just in case." Maybe its not a little golden goat-man or a buddha, maybe its that "Plan B" you keep on a back burner in case God doesn't actually keep his promises. Maybe it's skipping that sponsorship payment this month because you want that extra cushion that makes you feel a little less desperate. Or maybe it's choosing to take your hour half-hour 24-minute quiet time to finish up a project when you have a deadline looming.

I know I do all of those.

More frequently, however, I worship at the altar of self-improvement, praying to the twin gods of Knowledge and Skill.

They are particularly nasty gods because they're disguised as "preparation." They sidle up to me and ask, "How are you ever going to serve God like that? You're in no condition to do the work He has for you, now you're just being irresponsible. Here, I found these seven articles for you to read. You can take this e-course tonight and there's a webinar next week."

This is not to say that you don't hone the tools god has given you. But you don't show up to your first day of work in God's office with gods in your backpack.

"What these? Oh, no worries! They just help me learn to do your work better."

"Yeah, thanks," God says, "but we do all of our training in-house."

New Things

I've been hinting at some new things going on in my life these past few days but these "new" things are really just a renaissance, a renewal of the old things.

Recently, I've been growing weary of the new things I've invited into my world: blogs I read, people I follow on Twitter and philosophies I've adopted. What was once a revolutionary idea has turned into an empty ideology. Free and fearless thinkers just sound like sarcastic critics with a megaphones.

What was all of this supposed to be, I wonder? I know this was all going somewhere once, but I can't remember where that was.

See, I can get caught up in waves of revolutionary ideas, swept along by "new winds of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). This doctrines are not necessarily new biblical theologies but rather new ways of thinking. New business models, new philosophies and methods, new trends and fads, new perspectives and ideas.

I like new ideas. In fact, I think that's a good thing.

It's a good thing to challenge your assumptions. It's a good thing to stretch your limits. My pastor likes to say that if you're not changing you're not growing. So new things can be good, right?

Sometimes. But almost always, new things are seductive, alluring in their freshness and mystery. Like a bored housewife, we can be dazzled by the novelty of a new "doctrine" that says, "You don't have to be careful about what you say, raw honesty is healthier." Or, "Naivete and innocence is a crutch for the ignorant; a critical heart and a cynical tongue, these are the tools of the wise."

Sometimes a new idea can seem so stupid that it makes perfect sense. But, more often then not, that new idea really is just stupid. Sometimes, believe it or not, the crusty old fossils actually have the right idea.

Paul's letters to Timothy are some of my favorite passages in the bible. Timothy was a young pastor, a kid full of energy and excitement but, like any young minister, he was prone to doubt, fear and confusion. So Paul writes two letters to Timothy encouraging him to remember where he came from, to trust in his calling and stick to the things that he knew:

"Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you learned them." 2 Tim 3:13-14

I love these verses because, in part, Paul is talking about himself! He's saying, "Dude, I taught you this stuff, remember that? Don't you trust me? Don't worry about these new ideas cropping up, these new 'gospels' or methods that you hear about at that last leaders' conference. Get back to the basics and stick to what you know.

So let me admit, I've been seduced by new ideas. I've tried on the shoes and danced in them. Some of them are awesome and some have given me blisters. But the real money question here is: What are the things that I have learned and been assured of?


I have learned that God loves humans, radically and scandalously. I've learned that God's love for people is filtered through people like me. And I've been assured that God's first purpose, in every circumstance, is always to redeem.


What have you learned? What have you been assured of?

Have you ever been seduced or confused by new winds of doctrine?

One Word 2011: Review

Last January, as a follow to choosing One Word 2011: Trust, I went through a series of posts about what that meant in the present and what I thought it meant for the future. These posts ruminated through a variety of different subjects (money, culture, insecurity, depression, vision).

It was a haphazard mix of things that God was turning over in my soul, observations about the world, and things that scared the crap out of me. But in every area, God was asking me the same questions: "Do you trust the call I put on your life? Do you trust me to take you somewhere new?"

This culminated in a list of "I am going to," statements. Looking back, I think these are too much like the resolutions that I am trying so hard to avoid, so I'm not going to repeat this practice this year. But, because God deserves mad props for this, here is the best one:

"I am going back to Haiti."

Of all of my "I am going to," statements, this is one that I actually believe was a promise from God. He made me this promise in January. In July, I was invited to visit Haiti with Compassion International...with 3 weeks to raise $1500. By September, God had completely funded my trip and plane tickets with $700 to spare, and, on November 14th, I was in Haiti.

Tomorrow, I am going to share some thoughts about the upcoming year and One Word 2012: Surrender.

Links to last year's posts are below (each post links to the following post).

The Highlights
I'm Not THAT Person
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
A Culture of Affluence
A Curveball
What's Your Angle? Part One
What's Your Angle? Part Two
Continuing the Journey

One Word: Out of the same mouth

In the midst of my search this past month, I stumbled across post on a blog that I half-heartedly follow. It is one of those inspirational blogs full of poetry, confusing symbolism and google-poached photos...

Um...

But I've recently become aware of an underlying current of hostility and bitterness in the tone. I'm not sure if the tone has changed or I've just become more sensitive to it recently, but it's a bizarre juxtaposition to be sure. Why would you preach love and grace one day and judgement and cynicism the next?

Two things came violently to the front of my mind as I read this post.

First, James 3:8-10: 

"No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so."

Immediately after this, I realized that this is me.

Then come the questions: Who are you serving? What are you called to do? Who are you called to love? What is the purpose and product of your words? To whom do they belong?

Surrender.

Surrender your spring to fresh water or yield to salty. 

Wisdom: Giving In

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." James 3:17

Surrender

What's yours?