the Accidental Theologian

It has happened to us all. You're going through life, just minding your own business ... maybe you're at the grocery store, at work, or even with the family. It can happen in such places as a hospital (think emergency room, ICU, or even the waiting room), a church's sanctuary, and even your child's bedroom when you're tucking them in at night. It happens in face-to-face conversation, on the phone, and even strikes while composing a note or email. No one is immune, and no place is sacred. It happened to Job's friends, to the original 12 Israelite spies, and even to Jesus' disciples, especially, it seems, to Peter.

It's being what I call an "accidental theologian". This is a condition that can strike us at any time, in any place. It happens when we are confronted by a person or situation that challenges our understanding of life, and we react by theologizing based on what we think is right, or what we think people need to hear.

Now at first glance, you might think that there's nothing wrong with that; after all, we all give advice now and then, or we are called to comfort or encourage. But the main problem with being this accidental theologian is that we, you and me, are at the center. Period. Or more accurately, our opinions and thoughts about God become the foundation of what we think, say, or do. Sometimes we "accidentally" get it right - we say or do the right thing - but our hearts are not in the right place. The prophet Isaiah recorded God's response to this sort of behavior and its subsequent theology, when he wrote,

"The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

learn to do right!

(Isaiah 1:11-17a, NIV)

While our actions and behavior are important, they are ultimately no better than the condition of the heart out of which they flow. What then, we must ask, pleases God? Isaiah answers that question, too ...

learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

"Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

(Isaiah 1:17-19, NIV)

Isaiah first points us to the problem ... ourselves: our own hearts and minds. When we trust in our own wisdom, when we trust in the religion of our own holy opinion, when we baptize our own thoughts as having some weight from on high, the things we say, no matter how well intentioned, or how pious sounding, will miss the mark. But then Isaiah points us back to God. In this regard, the Psalmist draws us even closer to the best place to root our thoughts. In Psalm 1, we read this ...

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

(Psalm 1:1-3, NIV)

We are to avoid the counsel of the wicked (or giving wicked counsel!), or standing with sinners or sitting with mockers. Good advice. But avoiding the negative is not enough. More importantly, the Psalmist calls us to something more positive; he calls us to God's Word. We are to not only avoid doing evil, but we are to delight in God's word, taking up studying it, meditating on it.

By doing so, we are rooting ourselves, our "theology" in God's Word, His opinion. And we can have confidence in God's Word. The apostle Paul tells us that all Scripture is ...

... God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work.

(2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

By rooting ourselves in God's Word, Scripture, we are "protecting" our theology from becoming "accidental". We are also protecting others - those whom we think we're helping, those who are not like us, not one of us, not us - from a theology that may be from the heart - our heart; not God's - but that ultimately doesn't lead to life. Paul calls us to do this very thing, this rooting ourselves in Scripture, where he writes,

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
him.

(Colossians 3:16, 17, NIV)

One key to this being rooted in Scripture, however, is that our actions as theologians must be guided by wisdom, God's wisdom. Anyone can pick up a Bible, open it up, and start quoting Scripture. But only those who seek to do so in and out of God's wisdom - given through God's Spirit - will wield God's Word properly. James, the brother of Jesus, and the over-seer of the Church in Jerusalem, had this to say about wisdom,

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must
believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown
and tossed by the wind.

(James 1:5,6, NIV)

But we're talking about a particular kind of wisdom. James goes onto clarify this idea of wisdom further, and how wisdom, as the ground in which our being rooted in Scripture lays, is the source of good theology. He writes,

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by
deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter
envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the
truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly,
unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there
you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

(James 3: 13-18, NIV)

Living out of this second kind of Wisdom leads us to living out a theology that is pure (rooted in God's Word, not our own opinion), peace-loving (not feeling like we have to win every argument), considerate (kind), submissive (not having to assert ourselves or our own opinions), full of mercy (not trying to wound or blow our opponents out of the proverbial water), full of good fruit (see Matthew 5:1-12, and Galatians 5:22-23), impartial (we'll let God's Word be the deciding factor, not our own likes and dislikes), and sincere (we're neither trying to impress others, nor act or speak out of selfish motives). When we root our theology in God's Word through His Wisdom, we will be ministers of peace.

When we find ourselves in those times where we are called on to speak, whether it be on the scene of an emergency, when a friend asks us for advice, when someone asks what we think about a particular issue or topic, or when our child asks us what God means or is saying after we've read with them from God's Word, by knowing God's Word, by praying for God's Wisdom, we can have confidence that the theology we speak out of, speak from, is not at all accidental, but is rooted in the heart of God, and will serve His purpose in that situation.

What do you think?

thoughts before school ...

While I don't have much in the way of deep thoughts to share, seeing that the new school year begins tomorrow for me and my kids, I'm feeling like I should at least have something "penned" for the occasion. That being said, I'm astonished at how quickly summer passed by. All three of my kids have grown so much over the summer. And we've done a number of fun things together this summer ... the usual trip to grandparents for long weekend excursions (the kids loved the pool!), trips into Chicago to visit various and sundry museums, and a number of walks around a few different Forest Preserves were among our summer's activities.

We also had many a trip to the town library ... on average of at least once a week, and sometimes twice. In order to connect with my oldest daughter, and gain some insights into her own reading habits, I spent the last week and a half reading all four of the Twilight series books. I have to admit, they are really well written with a good story line that pulls the reader in. As my wife told me last winter, it's more Pride and Prejudice meets the Vampire than a typical monster/horror story. But she's also read biographies of Christian missionaries, and so many other titles that I cannot hope to relay them all to you. My youngest daughter adopted her older sister's appetite for reading, and has devoured a great many books herself, including an interest in the Guiness Book of World Records genre of encyclopedias. My son was the most noticable in his growth of reading habits. He went from only getting out kid's graphic novels to increasing his reading level through the likes of A to Z Mysterys and the Chet Gecko mystery series. It's all very encouraging to see. My wife enjoyed the library, but in addition to the books, she encouraged us to attend a couple of Monday night concerts hosted on the library green. The first one we attended was a Steel Drum band, while the last was a young Christian band. Both were very enjoyable.

But now it's back to school. The kids are nervous - they still feel unsettled after having moved out here almost nine months ago - but to be honest, so am I. Tomorrow begins year two of my classroom studies, and in some ways, I feel more pressure. I am looking forward to being in classes with friends, and hanging out and catching up. I think I missed that a great deal during the summer break. But it is also back to a break-neck reading, research and writing schedule.
Sarah has taken the last few days off from work so that we could have some family time together before the school year started back up. Our staycation was good. But she heads back into her office tomorrow, with all of it's own rollercoasterness.

And I am reminded that we are not going through our various and sundry first days of school alone. The Lord is with us - He goes before us, beckoning us to follow Him. And when I focus on that, when I remember that He called me to this program of study and that He called our family out here so that we would be together, then I remember that He who called us is faithful, and He will accomplish His purpose(s) in our lives. Oh, that faith in Christ would be the constancy of my focus each and every day, and throughout. That God would be glorified in every thought, word, and deed that described my daily walk. This is my hope ... for tomorrow ... for every day.

These are my thoughts before school. As things get going, I hope to add more.

Sermon Podcast: "Rooted in Scripture"

For those interested, my latest sermon is online at http://joycast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=508393. Thanks to Pastor Scott Hackler for the invite to proclaim and share God's Word on Sunday, July 26. Feel free to give a listen, and share your thoughts. God bless!

'The Shack'

As the title implies, I am interested in your thoughts, your feelings, ... your reaction to this book, "The Shack". I just finished reading it this evening, and my feelings are ... well, I don't want to unduly influence your own comments or thoughts.

Here are some questions to help prime the proverbial pump for discussion:

• What do you think is Paul Young's purpose in presenting this story?
• What were your "gut" feelings about the story?
• What did you think about the presentation of God?
• Did this story provoke any theological questions for you? If so, what were they?
• Did this story provoke any theological concerns for you? If so, what?
• How do you reconcile the "theology" of "The Shack" with the whole message of Scripture?
• How might this story be useful in communicating the gospel in today's culture/world?
• Do you see any limitations to this story's use in communicating the Christian faith? If so, what would they be?
• Does this book get you thinking about your own "theology"? How so?

I certainly don't expect anyone to answer all of these questions, though you are each welcome to try. I do encourage you consider each of them before you begin answering. I'm hoping that a number of people will indeed respond, and do so respectfully and thoughtfully, to any and all responses, not least, my own.

God's blessings to you!

The Difference of a Year

I'm living in the Chicagoland area, much as I was a year ago. The only difference is that a year ago, I just gotten out here, having driven cross-country to begin a grueling Summer of intensive German language reading studies. Back East, in Philadelphia, my family was adjusting to not having me around. It was hot and humid back in the Philadelphia region. Lots of thunderstorms. Lots. Back here in Chicago, it was hot, but not oppressive. Low humidity compared to what I was used to back East. Even comfortable.

Emily had just returned from completing her freshman year at Houghton College in upstate New York. She had done well, and had plans to major in Pre-Med. Emily is the third of seven kids. Her father is a Methodist pastor, and a year ago, was in the midst of packing up the church-owned parsonage he and his family had lived in for over fifteen years for a move to a new church family in the Delaware Water Gap region, north of Philadelphia.

That was a year ago.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, a terrible wave of thunderstorms blew through the Philadelphia region. That evening, Emily was outside, raking up fresh-cut grass, with one of her younger brothers when the storm hit. They went in, waiting out the storm, hoping for it to end so they could go back outside and cool off. From what I was told, the storm seemed to have ended. Emily and her brother went back outside, maybe fifty yards from their house. It thundered, and her brother decided to go in. There was a loud a thundering crash of lightening, and he decided to run inside, turning to yell to his sister to do the same, but she was lying on the ground.

I won't try to recount all the details to the story that was told to me many times. But Emily was struck by lightening. And she was dead. Her brother ran in, and told his parents, a neighbor called 9-1-1, and her father ran out and began CPR. An ambulance showed up, and continued trying to recusitate Emily. CPR wasn't working, and neither did the defibulator. My understanding was that after administering adrenalin along with another shot from the defibulator were they able to get her heart started ... somewhere around fifteen minutes after her heart had first stopped beating.

That was a year ago.

The initial prognosis was not good. It was an emotionally painful time. But after weeks in the burn unit, and then more weeks at a rehab hospital, Emily was able to go home. But she is not the same Emily. She suffered brain trauma due to the lack of oxygen, and requires much attention. However, God in His grace, delivered her. She undergoes regular therapy sessions due to the great attention, courage, and love of her parents and siblings. She has made noticable, if slow progress. And it is far greater progress than any of her initial physicians estimated possible.

She is relegated to a wheel chair, and needs help being fed. But with great effort, she can respond to some questions. She is aware of her surroundings.

That was a year ago.

She was dead, but now she is alive. It's the difference of a year. While there is no prodigalness (if there is such a word) to this story, Emily's parents are today thankful to God, the God of mercy and grace. God restored her, gave her back to them. Their lives are not at all what they thought they'd be at this point. Their life as a family is are hard. But they would not trade it for the alternative. They trust God. Trust Him to work through life's difficulties. Trust Him for the grace to deal with the day-to-day difficulties. Trust Him to bring life out of death.

The difference of a year can be absolutely incredible. It can also be absolutely frightening. We, like the hypothetical man in the book of James - whom James holds up as making all of life's plans without any care or concern for God - too often live our lives without any sense of how quickly life can change. Only those who have experienced tragedy, whose faith has been tested in the crucible of pain and suffering like Emily and her family, know how fragile is humanity. As Isaiah, and Peter after him remind us, the grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.

The difference of a year reminds me that God, and God alone, must be our foundation. As Emily's mom and dad have reminded me solely by the way they've lived out their faith this past year, only faith in God is enough to get us through a year.