Some of My Favorite Things from 2015

Some of My Favorite Things from 2015

Albums of the Year

Something More Than Free—Jason Isbell

Jason’s followup album to his powerful and confessional Southeastern is quite pleasant to the ears. Jason is known for his great songwriting, and this album continues in that tradition. Jason tells captivating stories, belts out infectious melodies, and and does it all in a way that is drenched with emotion. Many of the songs have a soft, country vibe to them. Laura and I went to see Jason in concert with our friends Mike McAlister and Amanda Anderson as well as John and Laura Gallaher at the Ryman in Nashville this year. This guy is an uber-talented musician who knows how to put on a great show. From his solo stuff, I wouldn't have guessed that I was going to a rock show. I was pleasantly surprised. If there’s one complaint I have for this album, it's that it's too soft for me. I think more percussion and dynamic energy could have been employed to give some songs more of a punch. Some of my favorite songs from the album: If It Takes a Lifetime, Something More Than Free, and To a Band that I Loved.

Mali Is…—Mali Music

This technically came out in 2014, but I only discovered it recently. I was exposed to Mali Music through my friend Michael Jefferson, who would play “Beautiful” several times at our Madison youth group. I remember liking the song, but I didn’t really investigate the artist. A few weeks ago, I thought of the song and decided to try to find its maker, and thus happened upon Mali Music. Jamaal (his family called him Mali and it stuck) is a Christian who grew up leading worship in Savannah, GA, and now resides in California. This album combines a variety of genres, blending elements of R&B, Gospel, Reggae, and Hip Hop. Jamaal is a ridiculously talented musician—you should watch some live footage of him performing. Some of his tunes aren’t as believable as others to me, but I dig the songs Beautiful, Walking Shoes, and I Believe. He is a refreshing voice and a serendipitous find in 2015. I hope he comes out with some new stuff soon.

Novel of the Year

Things Fall Apart—Chinua Achebe 

This story, originally published in the early 1950s, focuses on a fictional Nigerian tribesman named Okonkwo who strives to differentiate himself from his father, whom he views as a lazy failure. He wants to be great and leave his mark on his tribe, and so he works hard in harvesting his crops and managing his family of three wives and multiple children. Okonkwo is a forceful man and is rough with his kin, though he shows moments of tenderness. The novel dives head first into issues of colonialism, with white Christians moving in and working to establish hegemony over the tribe, and the tribe figuring out how to respond to these newcomers who were sometimes respectful, many times not. Achebe has a knack for showcasing the goodness and the ugliness of both the colonizers and the tribe. It is a moving story about Okonkwo’s struggle to stay true to his values and community (even if we might find some of those values quite disagreeable) and keep his honor as an free man. The ending is very poignant and full of symbolism. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Christian Books of the Year

God Is Friendship: A Theology of Spirituality, Community, and Society—Brian Edgar 

This book inspired me to preach a series of devotions on friendship at the Downtown Rescue Mission. It takes a look at what Scripture, ancient philosophers, and Christian leaders through the centuries have said about friendship. Edgar makes a case that Americans and Westerners are increasingly feeling isolated, and cites two studies to illustrate his point early in the book. One was done in America in the 1980s, and the results found that on average a person said they had about 3 people they could confide in. When the study was done again in the early 2000s, that number had decreased to 2 people. Friendship seems to be struggling in American culture with feelings of isolation on the rise, and yet friendship is an important theme in Scripture and history. There were many insights in the book. I share a few here:

1. The challenge to view Jesus as a friend in consonance with John 15 was convicting. Edgar says that often we are comfortable with viewing God as Father or King and Jesus as Lord, and these are right and good. God is high above us and has authority and power over us. He wonders if we have neglected the aspect of viewing Jesus as our friend, however, and that we are comfortable putting God far away from us because we don't want to invest in a genuine friendship with him and let him see who we genuinely are. The disciples relationship with Jesus moved from that of service to that of friendship with their Lord (John 15:12-17). If friendship is the higher calling in our relationship with Jesus, then what does it look like for us to be friends with Jesus? Friendship is based more on two separate people valuing each other enough to genuinely know the other person and be known by them, to embody a dynamic of give-and-take. Read the book to see more of Edgar's argument of how to interact with Jesus as our friend.
2. Edgar was convicting in saying that many of us want to serve the poor as Christians, and yet many of us don’t want to be friends with people who are poor. And what is more valuable and meaningful? The early church incorporated people who were poor into their friendship circle. In fact, friendship meets a different need and performs a different function in someone’s life than financial support alone. Do we have any friends who are poor, or are we content to give to them and not know them?
3. Learning that the Greek word katallage, which is used for reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, means not just the removal of enmity (which was my typical understanding of reconciliation), but the establishing of positive affection and friendship, was a deepening experience for me. “Properly understood, katallage refers to the process of 'making friends,' and the intent of the passage is to emphasize the way the death of Christ has actually transformed enemies into friends.”—p. 166. So if we are to be ambassadors of reconciliation in Christ, this means that we should be about making friendships. People are to become friends with Christ and friends with each other in Christ. This is a tall order, but it is the call of the gospel, a call that enemies can become friends because of Christ's defeat of the sins that separate us and his uniting of people into one family of God.

I came away from this book with a renewed sense of friendship being a core part of God’s gospel of reconciliation of all things. I also hope to be a better friend because of this book.

Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World than Actually Changing the World?—Eugene Cho

What a great book. I recently finished it. Cho comes from a place of deep spiritual rootedness and thoughtful societal engagement. He also writes in a way that millennials (or at least this millennial) really can connect with. He is funny—I mean the guy writes in Twitter hashtags and refers to himself as Indiana “Cho”nes. I found myself laughing out loud at several points in the book. Cho is honest about his successes and failures in planting Quest Church and starting the nonprofit One Day’s Wages. He also is very challenging, in a way that is biblically centered and tries to call the best out of you. His main point is that it can be trendy today in some circles to identify with justice work, but often times we do it with the mindset of changing others and drawing attention to ourselves instead of letting God change us (I've definitely been guilty of this!). If we’re serious about justice work, we need to be humble, receptive to our sisters and brothers we want to be in ministry with, and thoughtfully engaged. He advocates for a life of simplicity, generosity, spiritual depth, and educated action. I was very encouraged by this brother in Christ and am grateful for what God is doing in his ministry. Cho is coming to the Prayer and Mission Conference at Asbury UMC in Madison on February 20th and I’m excited to see him in the new year.

Leadership Book of the Year

Creativity, Inc.—Ed Catmull  

I saw Catmull at a simulcast of Willow Creek’s Global Leadership Summit this year. He came across as a very intelligent and quirky leader. This doesn’t read like some dry leadership books where a guru preaches concepts at you. Instead, the book is honest, humble, and very well written. Catmull tells story after story of the various successes and failures at Pixar and Disney, using them to illustrate leadership principles he’s learned along the way. Here are a couple things I learned from Catmull:

Ugly Babies and The Hungry Beast—Catmull uses the illustration of an ugly baby and a hungry beast to describe a common tension that is present in organizations, especially creative ones. He says that new ideas are like ugly babies. When we first hear of them, they are often gangly, incomplete, and not very pretty in their embryonic state. The hungry beast is the push of organizations to expand, produce, and become more and more efficient. The hungry beast will eat ugly babies if they are not protected and given time to mature, even though those babies could become something beautiful if given time to grow. So Catmull advocates for protecting ugly babies for a while to see if these new ideas can develop. Here's a good quote: “I am saying that when someone hatches an original idea, it may be ungainly and poorly defined, but it is also the opposite of established and entrenched—and that is precisely what is most exciting about it (p. 132). I think his concept here is great. If we see that someone has an idea that may be unpolished but has a lot of potential, then maybe we shouldn't kill it immediately. Give it time to grow, develop, and become beautiful. Ruthless efficiency can kill creativity. The Hungry Beast isn't all bad, however. Some ugly babies never develop into something beautiful, and people can dally for extended periods of time on developing them and never get anywhere. If you've given an idea time to mature and it is stalled out, stop protecting it and realize that it's not going to arrive. Let the beast consume it and move on.

Patterns and Randomness—Catmull says there are often two ways that people work with change. Some people gravitate toward patterns, looking for causes and effects in why a change happens so they can create an explanation for it that can guide them in the future. The strength of this approach is increased understanding and wisdom we can apply when facing similar obstacles in the future. The danger is that we can completely misunderstand why a certain change happened, so our paradigm for explaining it can be completely off base and unhelpful. Some successes are almost random. The other approach describes those who embrace the randomness of change, that we cannot fully know why things turned out a certain way; I like to think of them as the more mystical sorts of people. There is no clear or apprehensible explanation for why something happened the way it did, we simply embrace it and acknowledge that forces beyond our control played a part in the outcome. This keeps us humble, recognizing that sometimes our successes or failures happen quite in spite of our best thinking and efforts. On the other hand, being too liberal with this mindset denies us valuable lessons we could learn from seeing genuine patterns that occur in life. Catmull then articulates the challenge that all of us will face: “This is the puzzle of trying to understand [change]: Real patterns are mixed in with random events, so it is extraordinarily difficult for us to differentiate between chance and skill” (p. 156). I loved this. It helps me understand people better, because I know people who lean more heavily in the “pattern” direction and  some who follow the “randomness” direction. We need to embrace both methods in our lives—the learning and wisdom that comes from analyzing patterns, and the humility and openness that comes from embracing randomness (or should I say, providence?). 

I hope to take these lessons and more from Catmull. It was a very good book that I hope to refer back to in the coming years. There are a lot of applications to what Catmull says, in ministry, business, art. I highly recommend this book.

Bringing It All Home

Overall, 2015 has been a great year. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I got married to Laura in July, which has been the biggest blessing of 2015. She has made my life more social and fun. She is very smart, strategic, is a great connector, and is quite a skilled people-gatherer. She is teaching me more about what the faithful love of Jesus looks like. I'm honored to have her as my wife and am excited for what the future has in store for us. Just in case you can't tell, I like her ;). I can't resist, so here's a picture of us on our honeymoon in Portland.

I hope you've had a delectable 2015 and pray that your 2016 is shaping up to be nothing short of amazing and is full of God's best for your life. What are some of your favorite things you're taking from 2015?

Five Things That Are Definitely Huntsville

Hello, blogging world!

Much has changed since I last posted.  I have exchanged the rolling hills of the heart of Kentucky for the suburban sprawl and soybean patches of Madison, Alabama.  I have gone from being a full-time student to the associate pastor at CrossWinds Church.  I have left familiar roles, friendships, and surroundings for the new, the next step in the journey.  What deep, profound insights have I ascertained from being here for almost three months?

Well... I'll come down from the mountaintop and bring you these five things that I've noticed about the Huntsville area.

1. Mexican restaurants abound.  People argue about which one is the best.  Some say Casa Blanca, others say Rosie's.  Folks swear by Phil Sandoval's, while others muster up argument and counterargument for Las Trojas.  There's a Burritos-To-Go on 72, and you might even have the good fortune of spotting a taco truck.  Want to know the kind of restaurant my senior pastors took me to when I first visited Huntsville?  Yep.
2. Everyone loves karate.  Or at least that's the impression I get, because there are literally a bajillion martial arts studios around here.  Want pure, Okinawan Karate?  You got it.  Want Tae Kwon Do, the Korean classic?  Sign right up.  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?  Check.  If you can't find it here, it probably doesn't exist.  I'm the peace-loving kind of Christian, but if I weren't, the plethora of dojos solely dedicated to making people better fighters would make me want to think twice about starting a brawl with the people of Hunts-vegas.
3. People like space.  In fact, they like it so much that Huntsville is known as Rocket City.  We have the U. S. Space and Rocket Center, which documents the history of America's relationship with space and showcases some of NASA's latest developments.  Not to mention kids can go to Space Camp there!  There's a planetarium on top of Monte Sano Mountain, and you never know when you'll bump into a rocket scientist/engineer.  
4. People from all over the nation live here.  Just at my church, people hail from California, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, New York, and even the bustling metropolis of Woodland, AL!  Talk about being multi-cultural.  Globalization also has left an imprint on Huntsville, and it seems to be particularly Indian in flavor.  There are signs for the services of Hindu priests, and the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama is located here.
5. There is a good outdoors culture.  You have the option to kayak down the Flint River or spend some quality time in Monte Sano State Park.  Madison has several greenways built around the area, where you are certain to find joggers and dogs galore.  There are clubs for running, hiking, and biking.  You'll find people who have hiked on the Appalachian Trail, done an Iron Man, or are training for their next marathon.  These are the kind of folks who will make you feel extra guilty about eating that tub of ice cream.  Sinner.

Huntsville sure is an interesting area, and I'm certain that I've neglected to report some of its idiosyncrasies.  I'm grateful that God has me in this place at this time, and that I've been blessed with such a wonderful church family in CrossWinds UMC.  Talk about people who go above and beyond in hospitality!  I've been surprised and humbled by the warm welcome I've received, and am looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future.

What do you think about my top five?  Do you agree?  Disagree?  What did I miss that is definitely a Huntsville thing?

Letting Go of the Old, Reaching Out for the New

There's something sad about leaving people you know and love.

I tend to hold on to people and places in my heart, not wanting to let them go.  At certain times in my life, I've felt like I've been dragged kicking and screaming into change.  Right now is no different as a major change is creeping ever closer to me, slowly but surely descending from the ethereal clouds of theory into the realm of reality.  In less than two months, I'll be packing up my bags and leaving Kentucky in order to serve as a pastor in Alabama.  Relationships that have been cultivated for over two and a half years are poised to undergo drastic change.  Activities that I have come to love, like going for a run down North Lexington Avenue, taking a walk around UK's Arboretum, and having a beer with friends in various Lexington homes will all soon fade into the mists of distance and nostalgia.  Old routines and opportunities, like Asbury's daily Eucharist, the wonderful international community, and the stimulation of formal theological education will be gone.  I'm trying, but it's not easy to let go.

Transition brings about quite an eclectic mix of emotions.  I have a sense of great gratitude for all the good friends, experiences, growth, and opportunities with which God has blessed me.  And yet the gratitude is tinged with the ache that comes from knowing that I will have to leave such gifts behind.  Then there is the excitement of the new, of possibilities, of friends yet to be made, of things yet to be tried, of all manner of people and places yet to be loved.  And yet from time to time the excitement is accompanied by the fear of the unknown, of failure, of struggle, and of isolation.  It's like being on a trapeze knowing that you're about to have to release one bar so that you can soar on to the next.

So many of my friends are in this same liminal space with me.  And I believe God is in this place with us.  It's my prayer that He helps us reflect on this chapter of life with gratitude, not regret and longing for times gone by.  I want Him to cast out all fear so we can look toward the future in expectancy and hope.  And I pray that in the time that remains, He helps us live to the fullest with the people who are such wonderful gifts along the journey.  And when the time comes, may we let go of the old in grace and reach out for the new in trust.

Spiritual Warfare: Important or Inexcusable?

What follows is a slightly modified paper from my Spiritual Warfare class in which I briefly addressed some areas related to the topic.  I haven't heard much serious discussion about this in my church context.  Most people I've met either think it's weird and best ignored or they are uncomfortably passionate about it.  Here are some of my thoughts.  What do you think about spiritual warfare?

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The Importance of Spiritual Warfare for Ministry Today

Contemporary Relevance

Spiritual warfare is a blind spot to the Western world and church today.  A large number of people go about their lives completely oblivious to the deeper spiritual reality that lies beneath the surface of their activities.  There can be good reasons behind this ignorance.  As Clinton Arnold notes, the idea of spiritual battle typically leads Westerners to think about the odd, sometimes macabre religious rituals of foreign, “primitive” people (think animal sacrifices), or the Hollywood depictions of demon possession in movies like The Exorcist or Paranormal Activity (17-18).  Then there are the fanatical religious types within Christianity, who seem to find demons under every rock and are more preoccupied with binding Satan than with loving and obeying the Triune God.  There is another factor that has had a major influence on the West: a materialistic philosophy combined with science as the only true epistemology has led many to believe that what people used to consider demonization was really misunderstood mental illness.  This has led to the demythologizing of the demonic, and truth be told, sometimes rightfully so.  The combination of these pieces can make spiritual warfare seem quite a bitter pill indeed to the modern Westerner, best to be avoided.

Yet, in spite of all these difficulties, people everywhere cannot avoid the spiritual dimension, for though some Westerners try to deny it, certain phenomena seem impossible to explain apart from it.  It is important to note that “reports of something like ‘demon-possession’ and ‘exorcism’ can be found in most cultures and religions throughout history” (Boyd 143).  More and more anthropologists are reporting the reality of the spiritual realm as they immerse themselves in the religious practices of the people groups they study and encounter things that do not fit their materialistic paradigm (Boyd 143-147, see famous example of anthropologist Edith Turner's encounter with shamanism here), not to mention the reports of the miraculous, curses, and power encounters that Christians bring from all over the world.  “To think that a Christian could avoid spiritual warfare is like imagining a gardener could avoid dealing with weeds.  Our goal should be rather to gain an accurate and sober-minded understanding of spiritual warfare–not a view tainted by frightening superstitions and odd practices” (Arnold 19).  Though uncomfortable to a Western mindset, this is an issue with which everyone, Christian or non-Christian, needs to grapple.  It is not going away.

Scriptural Foundations

What resources does a Christian have for understanding the spirit world?  Foundational to the Christian religion is that God is Spirit (John 4:24), that his existence is on a plane of reality we cannot see.  While the Old Testament does not have as developed a demonology as the New Testament does, YHWH still is depicted as battling cosmic powers represented in the waters of chaos (Job 38:8-11; Ps. 29:10), Behemoth and Leviathan (Job 40:15-41:34), and foreign deities like Baal (1 Kings 18).  YHWH  hedges in and limits the Satan (Job 1:10), and hostile spiritual forces seem to be signified in Daniel, with the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece (Daniel 10:12-13, 20-21) doing battle with God’s messenger (Boyd 132-134).  All throughout the New Testament there is the assumption that there are two kingdoms at war (Rev. 19:11-21): the Kingdom of God led by Christ, and the kingdom of this world led by Satan and his minions (Arnold 19-20).  Jesus’ acts of healing and deliverance were a sign of the advancement of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20).  In fact, Jesus was incarnate in order to drive out Satan (John 12:31) and to destroy his works (1 John 3:8).  Jesus has already won the decisive victory over all hostile forces by his suffering and death on the cross (Col. 2:15), and soon he will put all his enemies under his feet at his return (1 Cor. 15:25).

So yes, there is a cosmic battle under way, but how does the average Christian fit inside this drama?  Christians are not to stand idly by, but have an important part to play in spiritual warfare.  In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul says that we must stand against the machinations of the devil, and that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (NIV).  Satan desires to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8-9) and to establish footholds in us that tempt us toward disobeying God (Eph. 4:27).  We wage war by prayer and drawing near to God (Eph. 6:18; Jas. 4:7-10), taking a firm stand against the devil in the strength of the Spirit by deciding to live the holy lifestyle that God desires.  We also are empowered by the Spirit to be a means of deliverance to the demonized, just as Jesus was (Matt. 10:1; Acts 16:16-18). 

Not all temptations arise from the spiritual realm, however.  Scripture also reveals that there are other forces at work for evil.  James notes that we have foul desires that arise from within us (1:13-15), Peter writes about not living for evil human desires (1 Pet. 4:2) and Paul says that the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).  Other people can also entice us to sin, and the writers of biblical Wisdom Literature often warn about not going along with these tempters (Psalm 1; Prov. 1:10-19).  John writes of entire systems being at cross-purposes with God (Rev. 17-18), and the prophets write of nations being opposed to God (Amos 1-2).  So there seems to be an unholy triumvirate that leads people to sin: the world (wicked people and crooked systems), the flesh (our own inner leanings toward wrongdoing), and the devil (the spiritual forces of evil).

Helpful Approaches to Spiritual Warfare

There have been several approaches given on how the church should engage in spiritual warfare.  One position is that of Walter Wink and others like him, who demythologize Satan into a metaphor for “the symbolic repository of the entire complex of evil existing in the present order” (57).   Wink holds up a mirror, forcing us to realize that we ourselves are complicit in the evils we see today, and we have helped produce vile systems by our collective wrongdoing.  While this position has several important things to say about the nature of human evil and the corruption of structures, it is founded upon questionable exegesis and contradicts itself by holding a materialist paradigm when it comes to Satan and yet denying that materialist framework by affirming the spiritual reality of God.  Still, this approach is correct in asserting that how we live our lives ethically is part of how we wage spiritual warfare–any framework that is worth its weight in salt must have this component.

Approaches that affirm the reality of evil spiritual beings are most helpful for us today, and there are several important things that we should know as practitioners who encounter spiritual oppression.  When engaging in spiritual warfare, we are coming against forces that are stronger than us.  Fortunately, Christians are deeply connected to the omnipotent God of all existence!  We must acknowledge that apart from God, we have no chance of success, and we need him to fight for us.  Such a recognition of our own dependence and weakness drives us to God in prayer; in fact, Clinton Arnold notes that “prayer is the heart of spiritual warfare” (43).  Going forward means we must rely on the strength of the Spirit.  Tom White adds some further insight into spiritual warfare:

While many of the devil’s devices may appear complex, breaking them is scripturally quite simple.  Faith in the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus’ name (see Mark 11:22-24; Matt. 18:18-20), confidence in the power of his atoning blood (see Rev. 12:11), courage to claim and use our authority in resisting evil (see Luke 10:19), and total trust in the immanent power of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 10:38) will break oppression (70).

When counseling a person who might be demon-possessed, do not rule out mental illness as a possible cause–“avoid the temptation to quickly [sic] attribute demonic activity to any given problem” (White 36).  Instead, it can be helpful to “shoot in both directions” when counseling people–simultaneously explore the possibilities of past emotional woundedness and demonization (Boyd 155).  There are times when both are present and are holding a person back from the fullness of life that God has for them, and ministry to both areas may be required.  If you do think demonization is occurring, boldly proceed in the faith and power of Christ, commanding the demon(s) to leave.  “You do not need to be oratorically correct and say things ‘just right.’  Just cry out to the Lord from your heart, as King David so often did, and ask Him to put your enemy to flight” (White 74).

Another aspect of spiritual warfare is what Paul refers to as the “demolishing of strongholds” in 2 Cor. 10:3-5.  Arnold argues that this involves “changing wrong ideas about Christ in the minds of believers who have been influenced by demonically inspired teaching” (55).  There is a pedagogical, Christological aspect to this passage when set in its original context.  The teaching and spread of right thinking about Jesus can be understood as engaging in spiritual warfare.

Additionally, several Christians are big proponents of engaging territorial spirits in the practice of spiritual warfare.  While there appears to be some support for the reality of territorial spirits in the Bible and there are some examples of early church members engaging in territorial warfare, “there is no example in Scripture of God’s people engaging in this type of spiritual warfare, and this must surely be considered relevant” (Boyd 156).  While some good may come from ministries that engage territorial spirits, I agree with Boyd–Jesus and the New Testament church do not seem to have their focus on such things.  We would be wise to follow in their footsteps.

Relevance for My Ministry

I see practicing spiritual warfare as very important for my ministry as a pastor.  It is an encouragement to me to pray for God’s grace to break into the lives of friends and family members who do not believe and are struggling, for there is more at play with them than innate human desires.  It gives me some more tools to use when I counsel others who are going through hard times, knowing that demonization may be a possibility as to what is ailing a person, even a Christian.  It helps me understand that living righteously in the power of the Spirit can shine Christ’s light on dark places and serve as an encouragement to other sisters and brothers in Christ.  It reminds me that teaching Christian orthodoxy is a way of demolishing devilish strongholds and demonically inspired heresies that lead people away from the true Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2).  It helps me be on guard against attacks from the enemy and understand that sometimes there can be more to difficult emotional states and circumstances than appears on the surface, though I do not plan on looking for a demon under every rock.  I also feel more prepared to function as a global Christian, since Christians in the Global South have no problem with the spiritual realm and do deliverance ministry all the time.  For all of these reasons, I see spiritual warfare as a useful tool for how I desire to operate and minister in the future.

Works Cited

Arnold, Clinton E. 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

Academic, 1997. Print.

Boyd, Gregory. “The Ground-Level Deliverance Model.” Understanding Spiritual Warfare:

Four Views. Eds. James Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

Academic, 2012. 129-157. Print.

White, Tom. The Believer’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare. Ventura, CA: Regal, 2011. Print.

Wink, Walter, Gareth Higgins, and Michael Hardin. “The World Systems Model.”

Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views. Eds. James Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012. 47-71. Print.

One with Christ:The God Who Shares in Our Hurts and Happiness

There haven't been many times when I've been genuinely angry, but the end of Fall 2012 was one of them.  For one of the first times in my life, I was consistently in over my head with schoolwork and I couldn't keep up.  I also had several volunteer responsibilities, personal frustrations, and demands on me without many rewards.  I was angry because I was hurting and there wasn't a way to change my circumstances for quite some time.

It is no mystery that life doles out its fair share of pain.  It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, strong or weak.  The ache of the world has a way of finding your heart as people die, relationships crumble, isolation grips you, dreams go deferred, and a whole laundry list of other bruising maladies creep their way into your soul.

In the midst of my troubles, I was asking an age old question that most every believer has asked at one time or another: where are you God?  I am perennially puzzling over this question.  I find myself in good company, however, when I read through the pages of Scripture.  The characters and authors of the Bible were no strangers to the sting of life, to feeling like God was absent.  Yet through reading the Scriptures, I have come to believe that God was right there experiencing my anguish with me, walking with me through my difficulties, even when I couldn't feel his presence.

The Old Testament often showcases the pathos of God.  God is deeply wounded when Israel commits idolatry against him, even likening it to adultery (Ezekiel 16; Hosea 2).  God is filled righteous anger toward those who abuse the marginalized (Isa. 58; Amos 2:6-16).  God  is mercifully present to those who are disappointed and depressed (Gen. 21:8-21; 30:31-35; 1 Kings 19).  Scripture further says that Jesus, God-in-flesh, was a man of sorrows, that he bore our sins and suffered for us for our salvation (Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:18-25).  Jesus has demonstrated to us that God is well acquainted with our suffering, that God is not afraid to go through suffering himself.  It is not as though God never suffered before Jesus came.  The cross, rather, is the ultimate revelation to humanity of who God has always been, and it shows us the unfathomable depths of God's unconditional, sacrificial, suffering love.  It is God's great show and tell to us that he knows pain and is willing to go through it so that we can be rescued from the evils that plague us and experientially know God's life, love, and light.

But did Jesus suffer only during his time on earth?  Is he done with pain, enjoying piña coladas at the sunny right hand of God, high-fiving angels Gabriel and Michael for all time?  I don't think he is, at least not yet.  In fact, I think Jesus, though now raised from death into eternal life, still experiences both joy and suffering, and through his church in particular, because he is deeply, personally, mystically a part of us.  He experiences those things with us, because Jesus is united to us and we are united to him.  I think this is part of what it means to be one with Christ, to have Christ "in you" (Col. 1:27) and to be "in Christ" (1:28)- -we share in the divine life and Christ shares in our lives.

Let's look at some pieces of the New Testament concerning this issue.  Consider the oft quoted Matthew 25:31-46, the separation of the sheep and the goats.  King Jesus says to the sheep that whatever they did for "one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me," (25:40, NIV), and to the goats he says that whatever they "did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (25:45, NIV).  I think that the identity of the "brothers" in this passage is not every poor and needy person in the world, but rather Christians.  My friend David Hull put it well in an e-newsletter he sent out this January:

Nowhere in the New Testament is such language [familial, brother/sister language] used to refer to all people in general.  In fact, earlier in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks the question, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" (Matt. 12:48)  He then progresses by "pointing to his disciples, (saying), 'Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'"

I still think Christianity is a religion of mercy and justice for all, I just don't think that Matthew 25 is the best text to use to advocate for that (see Luke 10:25-37 for a better one).  If we're right in this interpretation that Jesus is referring to Christians specifically in Matthew 25, then the gospel-writer is saying that Jesus so identifies with his people that whatever love and grace we show or fail to show to each other in the church, we are doing that to Jesus himself.  We are one with Christ, and he is one with us.

Think also of what Jesus says to Saul when he throws him off his mount on the Damascus road: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4, NIV).  Now Paul didn't find the risen Christ out in a field somewhere and throw rocks at him.  Saul was "breathing murderous threats" (Acts 9:1) against followers of Jesus, trying to quell this new movement by throwing Christians in jail (Acts 9:2) and giving sanction to their deaths (Acts 7:58; 8:1).  Saul was persecuting Jesus because he was persecuting Jesus' church.  Jesus' inquiry to Saul shows that he is in such close solidarity with his church that their persecutions become his persecutions.

This same Saul had a drastic conversion experience with Christ and later became known as Paul, author of the majority of the New Testament.  In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Paul notes that every Christian has been baptized into Christ's body (a metaphor for the church) by the Spirit, so that now "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it" (1 Cor. 12:26 NIV).  Does not Christ, who is the head of this mystical body (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16), go through these experiences along with his church?  Does not the bridegroom (Jesus) and bride (the church) share each others' joys and tribulations, since they have been made one (Eph. 5:21-33)?  Does not the Father, who is perfect in love (Mat. 5:43-48), ache when his children suffer, especially when they reject him?

And then there's the enigmatic phrase that Paul writes in Colossians 1:24- -"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church" (NIV).  In this passage, I do not think Paul is saying that there is a lack of efficacy in the atoning work of Jesus, which is complete.  Could it be that Paul is saying that Christ is still taking on the afflictions of his people, that our distress in some mysterious way falls on him?  Perhaps.

This line of interpretation also brings up questions about eschatology and the nature of Jesus' present resurrected and ascended state.  I contend that by his resurrection, Jesus personally defeated death and will never die again (1 Cor. 15:42-44), though he is still working to completely defeat death (15:23-26).  He has been highly honored and exalted (Eph. 1:18-23; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Pet. 3:21b-22) in his resurrection and ascension.  However, I have not been able to find a text that says he is not currently suffering now that he is in his resurrection body.  I argue that Christ is rejoicing and suffering even now as people accept or reject him, as they live in the love of God or the pride of self, as they encounter sublime blessings or heart-wrenching wrongs.  In fact, the final judgment seems to be the critical moment when everything is set right and there is no more pain, death, or crying (Rev. 20:11-21:8), not necessarily Christ's resurrection and ascension.  For us also, it seems that we may not be through with pain even in our own resurrection (though it is closely paired with the final judgment) or in the intermediate state (which is the state of consciousness in-between our death our resurrection), although, as Paul notes in Phil. 1:23, it is "better by far" to depart this life and be with Christ.  How else could the martyrs cry out for justice if there was nothing to cry about in the presence of Jesus in paradise (Rev. 6:9-11)?  The final judgment is the gateway to the fullness of the New Creation breaking in, the final step in God restoring life to what he intends it to be.

In all of this, I am arguing that because of God's outreaching grace, we get to share the life of God in Christ by the Spirit, and God shares in our lives, the highs and the lows, because he has so deeply attached himself to us.  This adds a deeper dimension to Jesus' promise to be with us always.  Are you filled with joy and happiness?  God is the source of joy; he shares your elation and celebrates with you.  Are you confused and needing direction?  The Holy Spirit knows your needs and intercedes on your behalf to the Father.  Are you down in a dark valley?  Jesus experiences your hurt with you and yet is the means of transcending and moving beyond it.  We serve a God who is presently encountering our pain with us, and yet in love is working for the good of us and those around us, bringing about new life and transformation through Christ's resurrection power.  In God we have one who completely empathizes with us, gives us strength, and is our hope for victory and bliss.  To be one with Christ and one with the Body of Christ are great blessings.  The communion, joy, strength, and goodness of the Trinity flows through us, and we have the privilege of embodying this divine life in community as the church for the sake of the world.  God's "with-ness" with us is quite special indeed.

2013 in Gratitude

I must confess, this post germinated from observing a habitual practice of my friend Chris Peters.  He randomly lists things for which he's thankful around Thanksgiving.  It's hard to go wrong in being grateful, so I decided to do it on New Year's Eve for the year 2013.  Here we go!

Over the past year, I am thankful for (in no particular order):

• My Life of Prayer class
• The South Korean Church
• My favorite book that I've read thus far in seminary
• Music
• People who are good with biblical languages
• New friends
• Hawaiian breeze scent sticks
• Panda toothbrush holders
• Auburn football
• Finishing my paperwork for provisional membership in the North Alabama Conference of the UMC
• Getting to meet and be prayed over by Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett
• The One and Onlys
• Family
• Laughter
• Growth
• The trusty Toyota Corolla
• Embrace UMC
• Old friends
• Faithful volunteers
• People who are hospitable with their homes/good hosts
• The Book of Common Prayer
• Praying with others
• Concerts
• The Nutcracker
• The Triune God
• Exercise
• Asbury Theological Seminary
• Mentors
• Healthy Choice microwaveable dinners
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Beard experimentation
• Hikes in rain or shine
• Novels
• Running shoes
• Home-cooked meals
• Hugs
• Healing
• Risking
• Lectio Divina
• Sleep
• Preaching
• Honest people
• Saying goodbye
• Pictures
• Rest

I'll stop with these.  Here's hoping that in 2014, we discover again and again that God is better than out best thoughts, that the darkness cannot overpower the Light, that life really is a gift, and that we need Jesus and each other.  Blessings.

My Top 5 Album Discoveries of 2013

2013 has held some cherished music finds for me.  I'll give this disclaimer up front: Some of these albums did not come out in 2013, yet all of them are discoveries that I made throughout the year.  Some are from bands that have been familiar to me for quite a while; others I had never encountered before this year.  I share here what I like about each record.  I hope you enjoy these artists as much as I have!

#5- -I Am Mountain by Gungor

Gungor take a turn toward the mystical in their latest effort.  The lyrics are often searching and full of wonder, betraying hearts that yearn to move further in and higher up in the mysteries of life.  The technical prowess of the band is not in doubt in my mind.  Guitarist and vocalist Michael Gungor is at home leading flamenco-style acoustic songs, ripping a thick blues solo, and shredding with the best of rockers, while pianist and vocalist Lisa Gungor deftly moves from classical arrangements to pop ballads.  Such proficiency is quite a rarity for artists who make music for both the church and wider audiences today.  These same chops can be detected in I Am Mountain, though tastefully employed in service to the songs.

Musically, I Am Mountain is at home in several different genres, capable of offering something that will satisfy a diverse range of palettes.  The album has a more electronic feel than the band's previous work.  The title track sounds like it could have come from the 80s with its oddly paced guitar and keys.  "Let It Go" sounds like 70s disco/funk and 80s synth had a love child that has just come of age.  "Wayward and Torn" is a short, rough-and-tumble, folksy tune that seems to be out of place when compared to the rest of the album, but is still good.  My favorite song, "Long Way Off," is a great pop tune that will have you singing along by the end, and it is the only song I know that has "apophatic mystic" as part of the lyrics.  Seminary win!

Listen to "Long Way Off" here: 

#4- - Glad All Over by The Wallflowers

I remember hearing The Wallflowers as a kid.  My brother got their Bringing Down the Horse album, and "One Headlight" was on the radio all the time in the 90s.  Frontman Jakob Dylan's cool voice and penchant for songwriting were evident even then, though my young mind did not recognize it.  Both incarnations of Dylan are hard to top when it comes to lyrics.  I happen to prefer Jakob over his father Bob- -he writes and performs in a way that is more appealing to me.  Unfortunately, The Wallflowers faded from my ears and mind until recently.

Glad All Over is an album formed out of a reunion- -the band had been on hiatus for several years before working on this record.  They are composed of several artists who are well known for their work in other bands: Rami Jaffee is a touring keyboardist for the Foo Fighters and drummer Jack Irons plays with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They deliver a full, invigorating, pop-rock sort of sound.  No one musical instrument seems to take precedence; here we have a good example of a bunch of guys who play as a unit, making some good rock n' roll.  My favorite song is the epic "Love is a Country," which puts Dylan's lyricism on full display.  Other good songs are "Misfits and Lovers," "Reboot the Mission," and "First One in the Car."  

Check out "Love is a Country" here:

#3- -One True Vine by Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples is a great American icon.  You may not recognize her, but the chances are good that you've heard her.  She, along with her family in the Staple Singers, are responsible for the great oldie "Take You There."  Add in that she and her family were closely connected with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement and that Bob Dylan once asked her father for her hand in marriage, and it quickly becomes apparent that Mavis is someone special.  One True Vine is her second album to be produced by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, who is a musical tour de force in his own right.  Their collaboration has led to great things in the past, yielding a Grammy in 2011 for You Are Not Alone.  

This album has a profoundly religious vibe to it; it is authentic gospel music of the best quality, though some of the lyricists may not be Christian.  Sometimes arrangements are sparse, showcasing Staples' great voice, as in "Holy Ghost."  The bluesy "Every Step" feels like it could have been an old African American spiritual or sung marching in the Civil Rights Movement- -it got me through my finals week this Fall semester.  "Can You Get to That" is a fun cover of a Funkadelic classic.  "I Like the Things About Me" is a dirty, groovy tune about self-acceptance.  "Jesus Wept" is a visceral song about wrestling with loss, and is my favorite from the record.  Here are the lyrics for the chorus:

     Side streets I have worn

     Through late summer storms

     I should've told you

     I could live without you

     But I don't want to

Listen to it here:

#2- -Bloom by Beach House

April 2013.  I was on a 12 hour flight from Narita airport in Japan to Detroit after a wonderful taste of the South Korean Church.  Trying to find ways to pass the time that did not involve me wondering about the neighboring Japanese man who never used the bathroom the entire flight, I decided to peruse the musical selections on the American Airlines console.  I selected the Americana genre and listened to some of the artists they had on display.  Nothing really seemed to capture my attention.  Then I selected the Bloom album by a band I had never heard of: Beach House.  The first song on the album, "Myth," started playing.  From the first counting off of the drum machine to the incoming wave of effects-laden guitar and arpeggiated keys, my attention was transfixed.  Here was something melodic and musically fresh- -it reminded me of The Cure.  I had so many questions: "Is the singer a man or a woman?"  "How on earth did this get put in the 'Americana' genre?"  "What the heck are the lyrics about?"  No matter.  I was along for the ride and thoroughly enjoyed my first listen through the album.  I still have no idea how this album made it into the Americana genre; perhaps the American Airlines folks decided it would serve as a nice catch-all since they didn't have a "Dream Pop" genre.

"Lazuli" was the first song to get stuck in my head.  With French-born Victoria Legrand's haunting huffs to guitarist Alex Scally's pleasant melodic descents, the song swells as Legrand chants with mantra-like obsession Like no other you can't be replaced.  "Wishes" is another good tune, and "The Hours" holds more good guitar work with wistful lyrics.  I liked this album so much that I got it for my brother for Christmas!  It's stuck with me for months now.  It may not suit everyone's tastes, but I found it to be quite enjoyable.

Listen to "Myth" here:

#1- -Inland by Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is one of those bands that has stuck with me over the years.  A friend got me into them back when I was in a church youth group as a teenager.  Some of their songs have spoken to me in profound ways.  I can still recall the first time I heard "The Valley Song" when I was listening to the radio in my Mercury Cougar as a teenager.  

Inland is an album on which the band spent a lot of time- -years, in fact.  They recorded in Portland, OR and had to pare down from the many songs they had written to the twelve on the record.  This is a return to form for the band, particularly since their last couple of albums had bright spots, but left more to be desired for me as a fan.  There is a raw honesty in this record, and the lyrics are pure poetry.  Jars take you from playfulness about the innocence and silliness of new love in "Age of Immature Mistakes" to brooding depression in "Pennsylvania."  "Human Race" is a favorite of mine, and depicts a whimsical commentary on the shallowness present in all of us.  "Fall Asleep" is a poignant piano ballad and is the most powerful song on the record.  To me, the song is about loss, cherishing the moments as they pass, and getting older.  In fact, this whole album seems to have a strong theme of coming of age, of maturing.  Overall, this is a wonderful album with many strong songs and a discernible theme throughout.  They don't make 'em like this much anymore.  I highly recommend it.  The song I've kept coming back to the most is "Love in the Hard Times," a song about the commitment to love in spite of limitations, disappointments, and arguments.  

Listen to it here:

There you have it folks, my prized gems culled from a year in music.  I hope you like them!