#WednesdayReview - Celebration of Discipline (Foster)

Last Saturday, I had a chance to catch up with a dear brother of mine, JR Woodward, for coffee. As we sat there talking about some of our favorite books we decided to start a new feature, via blog and twitter, called #WednesdayReview. I had one particular book in mind originally but, this morning, God put another book on my heart as I was reading through 1 Corinthians 9, here's what I read:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (vv. 24-27)

With this, God reminded me of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. This book is an absolute classic on the spiritual disciplines and a must read for every serious Christ follower. In a surprisingly ease-to-read manner, Foster lays out some of the most foundational spiritual practices in a compelling and practical way. His chapters on Prayer and Fasting, were so influential in my walk and his chapter on Simplicity absolutely changed my life. Its a fairly quick read but I actually recommend downloading the audio version and listening to it while you run or on a long car ride (its only 3 hours long).

The passage I read this morning and Foster's classic both remind me that, in life, there is no such thing as stasis. It's been said many times before that you can either grow or atrophy, which is very true of your spirituality. Our spiritual fitness is not something we can neglect one day and then count on the next - it must always be before us as a priority.

If this feature was helpful to you, please feel free to (1) check out Celebration of Disciplines (2) retweet or link to my review and (3) take part in #WednesdayReview and recommend one of your favorite books!

What's our standard for worship?

Last night my friends and I were at a concert featuring Matt Nathanson and Jack's Mannequin which was absolutely incredible. Beyond just being good music, both of these bands were incredible live because of the emotion with which they played their music. To watch these guys on stage was to see true artists totally unleashed. Poets of any age have the most incredible ability to tap into emotion in a way that's infectious to their listeners.

A very simple thought occurred to me during the concert but its one I want to meditate on for a while. In the Church, do we mistake excellence for true passion when it comes to our worship - musical or otherwise? So much focus these days seems to be on the production value of our church product that excellence can subtly become a means to its own end.

I spent some time this morning reflecting on the widow's offering in Luke 21 and Jesus' observations on who gave the most. Somehow with any form of worship, its not the show that God is concerned with the but the heart. If you need any further verification you can pretty much read any verse in Isaiah.

The Church today is suffering because its lost its heart in so many ways. Strip off the all the halos and flowing garments and God ends up looking like a pretty ordinary Galilean; a nondescript rabbi that has mesmerized the world for 2,000 years because of His heart and passion - our worship of Him should be no different. Where excellence and passion intersect, its an incredible gift. But if given a choice of one or the other, I'll take the latter every time.

Comfort's Thorns

Sunlight tumbled through my bedroom window early this morning finding its resting place directly on my face.  It's my day off and, on a day I would normally sleep in much later, I felt this great need to get up and on with the day.  There were things to be accomplished and potential to be realized of this day that were simply out of reach in the confines of my bed.

Every morning is a small dilemma though; why leave the comfortable confines of my bed, a place where I'm warm, calm, safe, and relaxed, on the promised potential of a day I'm not yet acquainted with?  I don't mean this to be a cynical viewpoint but more of an esoteric perspective on life as a whole.

It seems that comfort is our temptation in almost every decision we make in life.  The "easy way" always presents itself, enticing us to either do or not do something that seems inherently more risky than simply rolling over in our proverbial bed and sleeping for another hour.  Gone is the great potential in risk when we would settle for much more meager assurances.

My time with God this morning has been spent on the question of how much I have done or not done because of my infatuation with comfort.  Have I gained as much as I thought I did when I decided to play it safe in life?  And when I suffered the consequences of risk, was it worth it?  So many times, whether its Joshua or Gideon or the disciples, God sends his people out into danger with only the assurance of His presence (Joshua 1, Judges 6, Matthew 10 & 28). These are the stories of people that decided it was better to risk everything to be used by God than to settle for temporal and apathetic comforts.  I wonder if these folks were nagged by the same question that haunts me when I'm when faced with these situations - what am I missing out on if I don't follow God's calling however risky it might seem?

Today I decided to get out of bed and the day has not disappointed.  In hindsight I realize that I haven't regretted risk when I've taken it.  I haven't enjoyed suffering but I've seen purpose in it as well.  By God's grace, I hope that I can push into that ideal leaving Comfort, thorns and all, left to be picked by some other unfortunate soul.

It Doesn't Matter Who You Voted For

With almost three months separating us from what was probably the most grueling political season ever, I now feel like I can take some time to reflect on it with out being sick. While much of the attention last year focused on the presidential election, many other offices were being sorted out as well. In Richmond alone, we were deciding on a new mayor, city councilperson, and school board who would then, in turn, decide on our police chief and school superintendent. Whew, no wonder I felt tired on November 5th...

With so many important offices being filled, I'm sure this election season was a mixed bag for most. You probably got some of the folks you wanted in and odds are a couple people made it in that you're not too happy about. Losing sucks in general and, when it comes to an election, people tend to salve the wound by becoming impassioned detractors of the person they didn't vote for who is now in office. Setting aside whether this behavior is constructive, it is oddly therapeutic and an important part of our democratic society.

In at least one case, the vote didn't go in the direction I wanted it to in November. I allowed myself 10 minutes to be disappointed but then I dusted myself off, knelt down, and prayed for said person. That God would bless them with wisdom and guide me in how I could support that all of our newly elected officials in achieving God's purpose through their office. In short, I would submit this - on Novement 5th and going forward, it doesn't matter who you voted for.

In a democratic society, that statement may be the political equivalent of blashphemy but I would simply ask what withholding your support for those now in office is going to achieve for the next four years. Scream and spit and snip all you want, they're in office until the next election. We can choose to obstruct to the detrement of the city and nation we love or we can choose to find common ground and offer our help on the points we agree.

Christ followers in particular are commanded to do this. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul instructs us:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

In many cases, we boil our allegence down to one issue that we either agree or disagree. When we're not downright hateful about our opposition of said elected official, Christians in particular are very good at passive-agressive hatefulness (ex. "Well I just hope he doesn't screw things up too badly..."). Beyond one person in a particular office, we're also commanded to seek the good of the land that we're in:

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. - Jeremiah 29:7

So Christians really have no excuse for sitting on the sidelines and complaining when the person we want in office isn't. We should love our country and our city enough to find common ground and seek God's will there. There is too much need and too much injustice for there not to be some issue we can agree on. Lets involve ourselves there, putting away hatefulness and divisivness, we can be what God calls us to be - positive forces of mercy and generosity in our world. God is not glorified by our complaining, as a Church, lets be about something more positive in 2009 and going forward.

Who's Hope is it?

On the heels of Barak Obama's inauguration, I feel a certain weighty inspiration. Here is a man that appeals to our ideals of hope. Agree or disagree with his specific stances on issues, but hope is universal because it springs from our God and it was Jesus' message, His Good News, before it was anyone elses.

There was one particular part of our President's speech today that captured me because I feel like its a message the Church could take to heart in the era of transition we find ourselves collectively in.

...They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint...

The Church for too long has enjoyed a season of Power and has operated in the world under that mode. The consequence is a culture that rejects us because the Gospel is not a message about power. The Gospel is a message about justness, humility, and restraint (more on this in a future post).

Earlier in his speech, President Obama said that the world has changed and so should we. He meant the country but I think its a message for the Church as well. We shouldn't fear change as if the Gospel will be altered in the process. And we shouldn't see change as merely packaging. If the Gospel is timeless, it will find context in our current time. In these changing times, we will contexts shift but our Gospel of Hope remain the same. As I said, before Hope was Barack Obama's message, it was God's. As followers of Christ, we should be a people inspired by Jesus' message of Hope and Change. To those that carry that banner, I look forward to joining with you...