If You Died Today, How Many People Would Show Up at Your Funeral?

I love movies. Growing up I would go through stages where all I wanted to watch was a single movie, over and over and over.. First there was E.T. Then the Land Before Time, Jurassic Park, Independence day, and of course, The Sandlot. As I got older, movies got put on discs. The first DVD I ever owned was The Truman Show. Talk about a mind bender. Jim Carey plays “Truman” a happy-go-lucky-leave-it-to-beaver kind of character. He’s got a lovely wife, and they live on an island, in one of those creepy planned communities like on the X-files. The hook though, is that Truman does not realize everything he does is being filmed. In fact his whole life has been planned for him. His whole world has been planned for him. His every action is filmed with secret cameras. The food he eats, the house he lives in, the car he drives, even his wife. It’s all planned so that the outside world can look in and watch him. Throughout the movie, Truman realizes what’s going on.

Teenagers going through massive hormonal shifts, like I was, should not repeatedly watch movies that make them think the world exists for their benefit. I lived that way for a long time. In fact I think most people make their everyday decisions like the world revolves around their pleasure. What should I eat today? How should I spend my money? What should I do with my time? My future? My dreams? Just about every human answers that question along the lines of, “Whatever makes me happy.” The older I get the more convinced I’m becoming that the world does have a purpose, it does have a reason, a direction, and a goal, and that goal is not my happiness.

(spoiler alert) The Truman Show ends with Truman fleeing the island. He’s sailing the open ocean, wind blowing through his sails and hair, when he runs into a massive wall painted like a horizon. I still get goose-bumps every time I watch Truman crash into the edge of his world. Reality hits him like a ton of bricks when he finds a door to walk outside this world that has revolved around him. The director of the show speaks to him from a microphone and gives him the option to walk out the door and become just another guy, or to stay and continue to be the focus.

Truman appropriately and powerfully steps into a new reality. He’s no longer the focus. The show finishes with a group of people watching this series of events on T.V. ask, “So, what else is on?” “Where’s the T.V. Guide?”

Are you the focus of your life? Are you living to please yourself? What causes you to make the decisions you do?

Since I became a pastor, I have watched a lot of people live through their last days. Some people die well, and others don’t. Even today I held the hand of, and prayed with a girl who might not see next month. I have noticed a trend. People who live their lives with other people as their focus have more people at their funerals. Why does one guy die and 750 people show up at a building that seats 300? He influenced those 750 people. He interacted with them. He made them a priority. He made them feel important. He cut time out of his schedule. He was a mighty tree in a forest, and when he fell, the whole forest took notice. Why does another guy die and 25 family members show up? They probably want the inheritance..

When I die, I want tons and tons of people there. Not because I'm proud and want to be honored, but because if there are not a ton of people, then I did not live as well as I could have.

If your life is going to make any difference at all, it starts with you crashing into the wall of a self-focused reality and walking out the door into maturity. It ends when 750 people cram into a small building to say one last thank-you.

So, You Married Someone with Depression.

So did I. 

Six months ago my wife was diagnosed as clinically depressed. My thoughts were  a mixture of "I didn't sign up for this.." and "We're going to crush depression like the nasty bug that it is!" Since that point, I've been through a lot as "the spouse". It's really a scary experience to go from laughing and enjoying a sunset with your wife to find out the next morning, before work, she's been contemplating suicide. "Great honey, I'll be home for dinner around 6," doesn't exactly fit the bill.

I've learned a lot about depression since that time. Largely because I ask her everyday how she's doing. I've also read some articles and parts of books on the topic. I felt like I should tailor a blog post for the spouses out there. Maybe you can relate to some of this and maybe we can learn together.

The best thing I've been told throughout this last six months is that I'm not the first person to be in this position. Lots of people go through depression. It is viewed as taboo to talk about publicly, though. That is probably because it makes people uncomfortable to be honest about their feelings. Hearing other people's stories has been the biggest encouragement for me as a husband.

When it became fairly widely known that, as a couple, we were fighting this issue, all sorts of people started giving me advice. Some would say, "Wow, that's rough." (to which I totally agreed, but didn't make me feel any better). Others would give me advice like, "You've got to be around more often.." "She's now your #1 priority" (as if she wasn't before...) or "You can kiss your love life good-bye." "(You/We) Just got to keep praying for her." "See if you can get her involved in more activities.." on and on it goes. Bad advice is far from therapeutic.

Here's a couple of things I've found helpful.

#1, Show Her She Has Value (even though she doesn't realize it)

One of the best things I can do is to tell her how amazing (in reality) she actually is. Lucky for me, my wife really is an amazing woman. I don't know anyone who has a problem with her, her personality, or anything she's done. In spite of this, she has a very low view of herself. She says things like, "I don't want to be a drain on you." or "You don't deserve to go through this." The thing I've learned is that I am never going to get her to realize how amazing she is, but I have to keep trying. It is truthful, I think, that it's hard to be married to a depressed person, but I wouldn't trade her for anything, and I can't seem to make her believe it, but I'm trying.

#2, Be Open and Honest with Society (because you're not alone)

Too many depressed people withdraw within themselves. They lock themselves in their towers and their persons. I've concluded that this only makes matters worse for my wife. So I'm very open about how things are going. I only open up to people I trust. I wouldn't tell someone who had betrayed my trust about how things are going, but I strive for openness and honesty. For example, I spent the night at a friend's house the other night while I was traveling. They asked how my wife was doing and I didn't pull any punches. I laid it out there. They shared a couple of stories about depression in their families and recommended a book, which turned out to be pretty good. I could have lied and said, "My wife? Yeah, she's doing good, enjoying her work.." doing that only creates isolation. Be open. Be honest. You're not alone.

#3, Take Care of Things that Create Stress (so they don't have to)

In our present condition, we don't make a lot of money. We're a paycheck by paycheck family. It creates a lot of stress. My wife also has to work because of this, which may or may not be good for her, I haven't made up my mind on that one. In any case, the situation isn't optimal. Optimal would be where finances weren't an issue, debt free, stable, helping others around us, starting our family... But we're not there. And I get this feeling that everyday stress that we all go through affects my wife much more that it does me. She looks physically exhausted after we do our budget, or out running errands, or grocery shopping, or dealing with unruly people/friends/family.

I've started applying for jobs that would take us above this spot. I haven't gotten any word back yet. I'm getting to the point where I'm considering switching career paths (at least temporarily) to take this financial burden off of her. It's hard to make necessary sacrifices without making her feel like she is somewhat to blame. I wish I could just make her happy. They haven't exactly invented that pill yet.

#4, Realize This is Your New Normal (correct expectations go a long way)

Get used to all the little things that are going to happen. Your spouse will need more sleep than normal, your sex life may be put on pause, when you get home from work you may need to spend extra time walking with your spouse though their day (how it went, how they reacted, why?, and what they can do differently). Realize that this is your new normal. A wise man once said that the key to life is "low expectations." I would say "correct expectations," but the idea's the same. If you are married to someone who is "supposed" to be like people on TV you're going to be disappointed. Reality television is far from reality. Create realistic expectations in your mind for what your spouse can do and be in your relationship.

#5, Face to Face (especially if your spouse is a girl)

One thing I've made a point to do is to spend more face to face time with my wife. Instead of t.v. each night, I bought a "Hobbit" comic book. Before we go to bed, we read a couple of pages from this book together. Another example is that I wake her up every morning, no matter what. I want her to know I'm there each morning even if I have to leave at 6 AM. I always try and do something unique to make her know I care, so I used to do "Superman" jumps onto the bed to wake her up, but I got cut and electrocuted on an outlet by our bed, so I don't do that anymore.. :). Mornings and Evenings are a priority.

Thanks for listening. Any good advice is appreciated. :)

An Extremely Brief Look @ Church Discipline.

     Church discipline from a historical perspective has largely circled around the sacraments and the sacraments represented salvation. Penance, Baptism, Mass, and Communion for a large part Christian history have contained within them salvation. Many divisions of the Church still teach them this way. Excommunication of 1 Corinthians 5 isn’t as big of a deal if the person is still saved. If salvation is somehow mingled into the sacraments and excommunication centers around the sacraments then salvation is ultimately being taken away from the convicted unless they repent. “Excommunication is, and was ever esteemed to be, more than a mere local expulsion from the Church. It always implied a denial of the Gospel-ordinances, and with them the means of saving grace.” The early Church focused primarily on three reasons for discipline: 1. “The honour of the Church”, 2. As an “example to others”, and 3, that the delinquent’s “spirit might be saved.” Also it is clear that the execution of the discipline throughout history has largely been with that of the bishop. A broad view of the Church’s history on this topic would be for another paper.
     For brevity’s sake, the Baptists will see some attention. Compared to contemporary Christianity, early Baptists have some fairly humorous (at least the author of this post finds them humorous) stories to tell as it relates to Church discipline. At a gathering, some elders made known to the congregation the work they were up to in the town recently:

[We] went to the wife of William Austin, unto whom we declared the cause of our coming and the resolutions of the church, as before: which when we had done, she said they were excommunicated already. We told her she was deceived; they were reproved and admonished, but not excommunicated. Then she confessed it and said ‘Tis true I was reproved by Mr. Denne for denying the faith wherein I was baptized, but I do not deny that Christ died for all, for I say that all shall be saved.’…Then being weary with hearing her utter these, and many more wicked and blasphemous speeches against the Lord… we excommunicated her…And so we departed from her.

    The story above represents in large part how many viewed Church discipline for a very long time. Church discipline was a matter of steps. After step one comes step two, after two is three, and after three you’re done. Records, like the one above, seem to indicate that it was a very impersonal process. In the above story the steps take place so fast that the girl in question doesn’t even remember which step she’s on. The process is quick, impersonal, and dutiful. It’s important to point out how nonchalantly the two men are willing to excommunicate. In the above, it seems that they aren’t so much trying to lead this woman back to the Lord, but more like they are enforcing the law.
     At least it wasn’t as bad as Michael Servetus, but it still doesn’t seem to grasp the goal that Jesus had in mind. These are people. Their lives with God are in the balance. It seems as if they should be grieving and aching over the fact that these people aren’t walking with God anymore, but there’s no indication of that. It seems much more like business as usual.

     The Church is different from a club in that Christians have a moral obligation to God to remain pure. It isn’t easy. It isn’t popular. And it isn’t smiled upon. This is the task of people who deeply care for the people of God and ache over their shortcomings. On the flip side, it is a delicate personal process which shouldn’t be done harshly, quickly, or without the true end-goal in mind. Church discipline starts with sin and hopefully ends with a loving embrace back into the community of God. It isn’t for outsiders. It isn’t for the openly repentant. It’s for the kinds of people that nobody likes to deal with anyway. It is rough sledding. It isn’t the ideal, but it is necessary. “It implies…nothing less than a full and faithful application of those scriptural rules and principles, which were designed to preserve the order of the churches, to promote the purity, harmony, and useful efficiency of their faithful members, and to separate the incorrigibly unfaithful from their communion and fellowship.” It is also to be done privately as long as possible. Although this is hard to maintain these days. Wise people should also take care that even a private phone conversation can turn into a national media story these days.
     Church discipline is an intricate process that shouldn’t be handled simply over the course of a week or two. This isn’t a fast-food American ideal, but we would do well to learn how this will affect American culture. We aren’t in the 17th century anymore.
     Despite all of these factors the Church shouldn’t cease from its goal of becoming a beautiful bride set apart for her husband. “Lack of church discipline is to be seen for what it really is -- not a loving concern as is hypocritically claimed, but an indifference to the honour of Christ and the welfare of the flock”

My Normal: Learning How to Deal with Depression. by Alissa Hilley.

Call me dramatic, but it’s kind of scary when your Dr. tells you that you’re going to need to rely on Dr.’s and medications, possibly long term, just to be able to cope with daily life. Suddenly my inward self and thinking for as far back as I can tangibly remember, my “normal”,  is about to change. And I am not sure that I want to meet the “new me.” I mean, doesn’t everyone hate themselves, feel drained, and like living in a cave? I guess not.

  I feel like taking medication and seeing a counselor makes me not in control anymore. No longer is it OK for me to just will-power my way out of negative feelings and shameful self-image…the way I’ve been doing for years. I grew up needing to be in control of my feelings, needing to “buck up” and be self-reliant.

 People think I’m just a quiet, happy girl who doesn’t socialize well. But actually, my insides feel like a war ravaged city. I have to stand daily, hourly, at the walls of my city to keep back the demons that would have me in a box, 6 feet underground. Some days I can fight them off pretty well. Sometimes the sun seems to make them a little more frightened to show their faces. I can forget they exist for the day, but come evening they return. I can set up enough reinforcements like my husband, my best friend, or an encouraging spiritual song that makes me feel good for a little while…they will hold for a day…maybe two. But sometimes, sometimes I surrender and I actually invite these demons inside my walls, into the deepest most sacred halls of my city. And there they whisper what I feel is true. That I am worthless and without hope. 

So long have I fought off only to turn around and invite in these whispers, that now I am utterly exhausted. I lie awake at night, overwhelmed by fear or shame, and then I hear a whisper, deep within me. Saying it might be a good idea to lie in my bathtub with a razor…that might finally find me escape. I drive home from work at night from my job in Centralia wondering if I would feel any pain if I just drove into a ditch at 70 mph. When I was just a child, I would lay in the dark loneliness of my room and envision myself dangling from a rope.

And this terrifies me! No child of God should feel like that. It must be a sin. I failed again. And then shame crashes in…the most effective battering ram in the artillery of those that try to enter my gates. 

Just writing these words makes me feel guilty. I feel like I am just an attention hungry sap that can’t handle a little hardship. I feel like I am burdening others with my neediness. God must be ashamed of a child that is so easily manipulated and won over by self-loathing . And what about my husband? He is going to have to deal with a needy, emotional, delusional burden of a wife for the rest of either of our lives. He deserves to have a woman who is self-confident and strong, who can greet him after work with dinner prepared and the house spotless. He deserves a wife that will not drain him, but uplift and fill him. 

A wise man whom I respect said once that part of finding healing and strength is in being vulnerable with those around us (within context of course). I think he's right. So, here I am. As vulnerable as I can get. I know this is a messy issue and makes people uncomfortable. We don't often really want to know what our friends are dealing with, because then we have to deal with their mess as well. I am not seeking a pat on the back or weeping over my misfortune. But I do hope that people will have a broader picture of who I am, as I learn myself who I am. And I hope that at least some people will realize that they are not the only one that feels depressed This is a “normal” day for me. But I am learning. I am trying to be excited about the possibility of a medication and counseling that can give me the opportunity to live outside of walls, among wholesome people. I might finally be a little more normal.

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 7:24-25a, 8:1

Why Do So Many Christians Disagree?

Have you ever wondered why so many Christians disagree? It seems to me like the more I study theology, the more issues I find Christians disagreeing on. Calvinism or Arminianism, Cessationist or Charismatic, to tithe or not to tithe: these are the questions. And it really bothers me when Christians following Jesus end up mad, angry, and bitter with each other. I get that it will happen a little bit, but even in formal debates, I've seen blood vessels burst in people's foreheads as they explain how right they are. 

I want to propose a new direction. And it really isn't that new. Instead of the Calvinists having their verses and the Arminians having theirs, why don't we learn to live with the tension in Scripture?

Take Romans 9 for example. Paul has no problem at all with the Calvinist idea that God sovereignly chooses who will be chosen for salvation. In the next chapter he has no problem agreeing with the Arminian idea that whoever wants to be a Christian can.

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." -- Romans 9:15-16

"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." -- Romans 10:9-10

There's a textual reason why we all disagree. The writers of the Bible we're much less concerned with the tension than we are. They didn't explain the tension away; they lived with it. 

Certainly there are issues that are vital. The trinity, Jesus' death and resurrection, that soccer is the best sport..., but there are all sorts of issues that really shouldn't divide us person to person.

I heard a story about a guy who was stuck in trying to decide between Calvinism and Arminianism. He was pushed from both sides by family and church. It was driving him mad. He came up with a way to decide. He took a quarter and said, "Heads is Calvinism, Tails is Arminianism." He flipped the coin and his beliefs were determined.

I've certainly got my leanings on a lot of the issues, but I'm also left with a quandry on some of them too. If God really does want everyone to be saved like 1 Timothy 2  says, then why would he sovereignly create any scenario where anyone ends up in hell? If God gives significant libertarian freedom to each individual, then what's with all this election business? Why elect people that would choose Him anyway? it doesn't make total sense either direction you go.

My proposal is this, "Keep the coin in the air." Live with the tension in Scripture. Maybe we might even be able to live with each other too.

Creativity

I'm a pastor. I didn't plan on this when I decided to become one, but a large part of my job is simply being creative. This is good and bad. It is bad when I'm lazy (which is more often than I'd like to admit and will probably write about later). It is good because creativity can powerfully affect people. I wish I were more creative than I am. I wish I could be more like this guy.

Or I wish I could be more like a great writer. I have a favorite poem. It is called "Design" by Robert Frost. It shouldn't be my favorite because I'm a professional holy man and all, but I am captivated by the word pictures and thought process it causes within me.

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth --
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth --
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small. 

Or even a great photographer. Have you seen these pictures floating around on Facebook?  http:www.boredpanda.com/animal..

The time that must have gone into all 3 of these projects must have been astounding. Creativity is taking hours and hours (or 9 months) of diligent, thoughtful work and cramming it into a bite-sized morsel that hits people deep where they live.

One of my favorite stories is where God tells humans to fill the world and subdue it. My environmentalist friends won't be too pleased about that. There's a festering theological perspective that says you're a terrible person unless you drive a Prius, recycle, feel bad about the industrial revolution and eat organic. That's partially true, we should take care of what God has given us, but it's also true that I'm allowed to enjoy my iPhone, to enjoy the blessings (which are many) that come from plastic, and to enjoy driving a big fat white Ford F-100 from 1967 that get's 8 MPG, runs on leaded gasoline, and only has 4 gears. It's time we found the balance between stewardship and enjoyment. Whenever I get to travel and see the world God created and the world we've been allowed to create by His good graces, it astounds me.

Have you ever been to Berlin? Manhattan? Cairo? San Francisco? Prague? I hope you never look at a city's skyline the same way again. Or maybe you're partial to another skyline. The point is that these are massive, amazing structures that we humans have made. We've come a long way from living in caves, and it isn't wrong..

"You never really finish a creative project..."

 I don't move boxes, or clean toilets, or build houses and so there's an aspect of my job that isn't ever finished. I once had a professor who was writing a paper he would have to present to a bunch of big wigs from other schools. He had fallen behind on the project (I bet because he was watching The Walking Dead on Netflix). He gave us some lame excuse for not grading our tests on time and working on his paper (at least I thought it was lame); he said, "You never really finish a creative project, you just run out of time to keep working on it."

I think that is true. Creative projects never really get finished. We just run out of time to keep working on them.

So, whether you realize it or not, you're part of this grand scheme. The creation of the world is essentially ongoing, and you have a role to play. My deepest desire is that you would believe this. I pray you can see that God has created you and has a purpose for you. In fact, I wish we all could realize that, because soon, each and every one of us is going to run out of time to play our part.

Travis.

What the Bible says about Alcohol, Tatoos, and Harry Potter.

“Let’s make one thing clear, we all live by different rules.”

Have you ever been in one of those conversations with people where you talk deep into the night about theological issues that may or may not be important? I loved those growing up. I used to go over to a mentor’s house with a few other guys and we would talk forever it seemed. One night we got into a particular rant about alcohol that was quite memorable to me.

I, for a number of reasons, didn’t believe that it was correct for me to drink alcohol at the time. My mentor/discipler on the other hand believed it was more than ok for him to drink and that God wouldn’t tell me not too when even Jesus drank and made alcohol. So, to clarify (which it most certainly did not clarify anything), I said, “Let’s make one thing clear, we all live by different rules.” He exploded. To this day he has me in his Facebook quotes page saying that we all live by different rules.

Strong & Weak. Which Is Better?

Romans 14 addresses the issue in unique terms.

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.” -- Rom 14:1-2

There are opinionable matters in Scripture: judgment calls, disputable matters, principles of conscience, non-essentials. The first example in the passage is a person who’s conscience, for whatever reason, doesn’t all them to eat meat. The Bible most certainly permits us to eat meat. “That’s why God made cows out of steak, so we’d eat em.” -- Driscoll. The person who chooses not to eat would be called weak. The person who chooses to eat would be called strong. One guy said,

“The weak in faith are not necessarily lesser Christians than the strong. They are simply those who do not think their faith allows them to do certain things that the strong feel free to do.” -- Moo

It’s interesting to note that nowhere does the Bible say that the weak have to change their view. Nowhere does it say that they have to go against their conscience. It is neither better to be strong nor to be weak.

The Disputable Matters.

Christians most certainly do have liberty in these issues, but some Christians become “weak” on certain issues. Here’s an incomplete list to give you an idea. Maybe you can see areas you are “weak” or “strong” in. 1, 2, & 3 are the only explicitly Biblical ones I know of. The others are all ones I’ve run into over the last 9 years of being a Christian.

1. The Sabbath and other Jewish observances. (Rom 14:5-6, Col 2:16)

2. Meat sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians 8)

3. Drinking alcohol (Romans 14:21, Col 2:16)

4. Unhealthy foods.

5. Playing poker or other forms of gambling.

6. Playing card games like Magic or Pokemon.

7. Playing Video Games.

8. Watching movies with blood, sex, nudity, disturbing images, drugs, or foul language.

9. Which version of the Bible to read.

10. Listening to certain kinds of music.

11. Reading books that don’t align with the Bible (including Narnia or Lord of the Rings).

12. Types of clothes we wear. Especially on Sunday mornings.

13. Tattoos.

14. Environmentalism.

15. Modes of baptism or communion.

16. Playing darts or pool in a tavern.

17. Weapons or Firearms.

18. Smoking.

19. Celebrating Halloween and other pagan holidays.

20. Home-schooling.

These are all non-essentials that become essential in a subjective way through each individual’s conscience. Usually the “weak” person will say something like, “I’m uncomfortable with…”.

No one is all strong. No one is all weak. Everybody has areas where they are strong. Everybody has areas where they are weak.

Two things I’m weak in are alcohol (as I mentioned above) and sex scenes in movies. I’m not sure why, but I can’t make it through a James Bond film or a similar show without having the nudity or sex embedded into my brain. Is it a sin to go watch James Bond films? No. Is it a sin for me to go watch James Bond films? Yeah. Is it a sin to drink Alcohol? No. Is it a sin for me to drink alcohol? Yep.

One thing I’m strong in is food. I was in Germany visiting with some people I knew there, and we went out to a pizza place. This older woman ordered a pizza and watched with x-ray vision as the woman started to make her pizza. It just so happened that the woman didn’t wash her hands before putting on her gloves. The older woman I was visiting asked her daughter to go to another food place and buy her some food because she wasn’t going to eat the pizza because of germs.

“Do you know where her hands have been? I haven’t been sick for 14 years and don’t intend on starting today.” Wow! I thought. She had a very “weak” theology that equated getting sick with sin (semi-Charismatic-faith-healing-name-it-claim-it stuff). Is it a sin to eat food with germs? No. Would it have been for her? As crazy as it sounds, Yeah (1 Cor 8:7-11). Going against our conscience is a sin.

I ate a meal off of a dirt floor in an Egyptian village once.. I figured it wasn’t a good time to bring that up though.

If You’re Strong.

 1. Don’t “regard with contempt” the weak in faith. “The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat…” -- Rom 14:3a

“But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” -- 1 Corinthians 8:9

Don’t look down on people because they are weak. You are weak in some areas also. I have to admit, I’m not very good at this. It becomes even more difficult when someone who is weak in faith binds everyone under their conscience. If the older girl I was visiting in Germany said to me, “you can’t eat that pizza either. That could get you sick…” I would have a hard time not looking down on her. Or if the KJV only guy says to me, “God inspired this version above all other English translations and it should be the only Bible read,” I would have a hard time not looking down on him. Liberty is wonderful, but love is even greater.

Another example. A pastor’s kid was offered the opportunity of a lifetime in Chicago. In 1998 at the height of Michael Jordan’s success, a man who recently won his first Master’s tournament named Tiger Woods came to play golf with him. The pastor’s kid happened to work as a caddy at the golf course they were coming too. Days before the event the owner hand picked the kid to caddy for Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. If it were me, I would have exploded with happiness. Two of the world’s biggest superstar athletes chatting it up after dominating their sports. Only, there was one problem, they were going to be golfing on a Sunday. The kid, as it turns out, was weak on the issue of the Sabbath. For him, it was a sin in his eyes to work on Sundays. He humbly turned down the opportunity of a lifetime. When I first heard the story I thought the kid was an idiot. How crazy do you have to be to turn down the chance to caddy for Michael Jordan? I was way off the mark with my response. God will honor his choice for following his conscience.

2. Don’t place a “stumbling block” in front of the weak in faith. This can happen a couple of ways. #1 is internal struggles. I was in a Christian school that didn’t allow alcohol on campus. A bunch of guys went out to a restaurant the day after school was over and invited my friend Chris. Chris grew up in a family traumatized by alcohol abuse. He was incredibly weak on the issue. Just by my friends drinking in front of him, he was visibly agitated and offended. He left early. 

“Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” -- 1 Cor 8:13. #2 is peer pressure. 1 Cor 8:10-12 describes how a person whose conscience is weak can be strengthened through peer pressure to eat meat sacrificed to idols and become ruined. The section concludes by saying, “And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” Don’t impel your will upon a weak person.

If You’re Weak.

1. For everyone’s sanity, DO NOT BIND OTHER PEOPLE BY YOUR CONSCIENCE. That bugs the heck out of me. If you, like me, can’t watch James Bond, that’s fine. But don’t say it is a sin to watch James Bond.

Tons of Christians do this. They overstretch principles they feel convicted by, tie a Bible verse to it, and call it a doctrine. I hate that. Philippians 4:8 does not say Christians cannot watch Pulp Fiction. It doesn’t say it. Don’t make it say that.

A lot of Christians get it in their mind that they can only watch movies with talking produce or a stamp of approval from the Kendrick brothers. These movies aren’t bad, but they are a lot like the “Mirror of Erised” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Whenever anyone looks into the mirror they see their deepest longings fulfilled. When Harry looks into it he sees his family (since he grew up without his immediate family). When his friend Ron looks into it he sees himself winning a sporting trophy for his school team. This is good and does have a purpose. Dumbledore, The headmaster of Harry and Ron’s school makes an interesting observation about the mirror though, “…this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth.” It doesn’t portray reality. When we submit to God it doesn’t mean that we’ll get a new truck, our barren wife will get pregnant, and our struggling football team will start winning. That’s not how life works. “Neither knowledge nor truth.”

2. Don’t judge people on disputable issues. “…the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Rom 14:3b & 4

On disputable issues, the strong and the weak person are both right so long as no one begins judging or holding the other in contempt.

Fellowship.

Augustine has a famous saying, “In the essentials Unity, In the non-essentials Liberty.” And certainly he’s right. We do have liberty, but the better response is love. The whole point Paul is trying to make is that the Romans “…should not allow differences over ‘disputable matters’ to interfere with full fellowship in the body of Christ.” I think we should certainly hold our essential doctrines tight to our chest, but on the disputable issues we should take Paul’s approach. “The faith you have, have as your own conviction before God.” Rom 14:22.

God Bless,

Travis.

Time With God

I heard a story about a guy who had to spend a year and a half away from his wife. He loved his wife dramatically. Each day he woke up early to write his wife a letter. After the time had passed, he eagerly flew home to find that his wife married the mail-man. 

I think that we tend to fall in love with the things we give time towards. If you aren't spending time with God then you probably aren't going to fall in love with him. When I first started trying to spend time alone with God I was told that you were supposed to be quiet and not make any movements. I spent about an hour each day upset because my heartbeat kept me from being still and everywhere I went was noisy.

About a year after struggling in this stuff, I read a book that made a simple suggestion. Before you go to bed at night, "go outside, and taste the silent night." There's not a lot of things as powerful as one person alone under the stars. 

If you have any struggle spending time with God, get outside before bed and taste the silent night. The heaven's speak louder and deeper than sound. The more you do it, the more you'll start to hear God. We tend to fall in love with that to which we devote our time.

-- Travis

Belief in the Invisible.

A lot of people talk about God like they had breakfast with Him earlier in the day. "God told me..." or "God did some amazing things..." are normal Christianese. There are moments when it feels like God is closer to me than my own skin, but the vast majority of the time is that it is hard to believe in God. The tricky part is that I work for a church.

I get paid to live out my Christian life. It feels a little inauthentic at times when I preach to a crowd to believe and commit themselves when I'm having doubts of my own. At a lot of those times, I would rather be hiking up Mount Rainier, but I think it is good to be authentic. There's no need to put on a show. God has room in His kingdom for people like me. And you too I would mention. Thank God.

"And have mercy on some, who are doubting;" -- Jude 22.

"Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." -- Mark 9:24

Even by definition, faith requires uncertainty. If we could prove the existence of God beyond the shadow of a doubt, we wouldn't need faith anymore. The Bible teaches that there will be a day where we won't need faith anymore, and I think I will welcome that day with open arms, but until then, have a bit of mercy on me.

-- Travis.