Are you as confused by the details of Prop 8 as I am? My fellow Christians, we are quick to put up a wall and say, "God defines marriage as between a man and a woman. What's to argue? It's clear to vote Yes on 8."
I say, "Not so fast." What about Isaiah? He adamantly warns against supporting laws that are unjust, and legislation that oppresses people. So how can we - as believers - possibly stand on our soap boxes and dream of voting for a law that (on the surface) seems to treat a segment of people unjustly, and oppresses them and their children.
Let's not forget separation of church and state: yes, for us believers marriage is for men and women. But the leaders of this state are not put in their positions in order to force God's rules on people. They are put their positions of leadership (by our God) in order that they treat everyone fairly, without judgement....regardless of the population's belief in God or not.
Believers can't force someone to follow God's way. It must be their choice...Oh, yes, God's m/o that little thing called...FREE CHOICE. He doesn't want people to come to Him or follow Him via force. He wants to establish a relationship when we come to him by our own choice. Then, we learn to, love to, and are passionate about His laws...because we love him... Not because it's in the state legislation.
This is precisely why it is hard to be a Lawmaker and a Believer. You have to be able to take care of all people even when you know they are not God's people. Fair in society does not always mean God. In fact, God's way is a narrow and well-defined path...but we can't judge people who are not on that path...Christian lawmakers MUST care for all.
Also, wasn't it Jesus who came to the defense of his disciples when they ate wheat on the Sabbath? We have a living example of breaking the rules when it's the right thing to do in context with the circumstances. So as believers, we need to figure out if Prop 8 is the right thing to do. Not say, "yes" just because we know God's definition of marriage. We are no better than the Pharisees if we vote Yes without knowing if Prop 8 is fair or right in context with the circumstances.
There are things to question: 1. Do same-sex couples already have equal rights when you compare a domestic partnership or civil union to marriage? In other words, do they just want to use the word marriage? Is it the actual word that is in question? Is this another case of the Sneetches? Do gay couples want bellies with stars...want it just because they don't have it? We all know the moral of that story, right?
Side bar: The word marriage is God's word. He introduced in into the human race, and He defined it as His word; and it is wrong to re-define it, or give it a meaning different than what it is. The problem is that laws of this land use Biblical terms. They just do. That doesn't make the term 'marriage' less Biblical. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT PROP 8 IS ABOUT. The state supreme court has already done the redefining, has already taken it, and defines it in the state of California as a thing available to all. Prop 8 is about taking it back.
Ultimately, as it stands now, in the state of California, marriage is available to all sexes; same and opposite. Domestic partnerships have the same benefits as California's marriage. Legally, there is no difference in domestic partnership and California's marriage...(except, if you are not same sex, one partner must be at least 62 years of age in order to get a domestic partnership.) What's done is done. And in May...when marriage was redefined by the California Supreme Court, what happened? What happened was that millions of people felt liberated, freed, treated as equals, treated fairly, they stopped feeling oppressed.
Praise God for that. Praise God for sharing His word so that people He is trying to reach, feel liberated in society.
To overturn this supreme court ruling would be taking something back that has already been given out. It would isolate and treat a sector of society unfairly, emotionally; but not legally.
So, it kind of boils down to this: What honors God more: to advance his kingdom or to preserve His kingdom? What will advance His kingdom more; to take back a word stolen, preserve its meaning and therefore preserve God's mystical relationship between men and women brought together for life, or to let lawmakers use it in order to liberate an oppressed sector of society? Who is Jesus interested in saving? Who has he come for? Are we disciples or guardians?
Now let me ask you believers: what do you think Jesus would do at this juncture?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
So Worth It
I was out running the other day and was thinking about when Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet. Jeremiah didn’t want to be a prophet because he felt too young and that no one would listen to him. Then God told him not to be afraid, and He reached out his hand and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said, “Now, I have put my words into your mouth. I appoint you over nations to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow to build and to plant.” Pretty wild, eh? Can you imagine God touching your lips and then telling you that you would take down nations?
Then I thought of Isaiah and how he was commissioned to prophesy after a seraph in a vision touched his lips with burning coal to remove his guilt and atone his sin.
I kept thinking, that would be so cool to have God touch my lips…or some sign to keep me going …a validation for all the scripture I read and then try to share, and apply to everyday life…it sometimes feels like a burden, even though it’s a burden I love. I know full well that it separates me from many.
So I was running along trying to picture what kind of hands God has, and what would it be like to see them, when all the sudden I got this vision of the most beautiful, full, perfectly shaped, sexy, lick-able, masculine, soft, lips I have ever seen. They were exquisite.
And they pressed against my mouth. I felt like a breeze or something wrapping around me. And it was amazing. I had to stop in my tracks. I was sobbing and laughing all in the same breath. It was so wild and so strong.
Just that little glimpse makes it all worth it. So worth it.
Then I thought of Isaiah and how he was commissioned to prophesy after a seraph in a vision touched his lips with burning coal to remove his guilt and atone his sin.
I kept thinking, that would be so cool to have God touch my lips…or some sign to keep me going …a validation for all the scripture I read and then try to share, and apply to everyday life…it sometimes feels like a burden, even though it’s a burden I love. I know full well that it separates me from many.
So I was running along trying to picture what kind of hands God has, and what would it be like to see them, when all the sudden I got this vision of the most beautiful, full, perfectly shaped, sexy, lick-able, masculine, soft, lips I have ever seen. They were exquisite.
And they pressed against my mouth. I felt like a breeze or something wrapping around me. And it was amazing. I had to stop in my tracks. I was sobbing and laughing all in the same breath. It was so wild and so strong.
Just that little glimpse makes it all worth it. So worth it.
Financial Ruin is Good For Believers...Believe it or Not!
A question I hear a lot, and ask a lot is this: “Why do mean people prosper?” Or, “Why do people of no faith live in such ease?” Why are the banking CEO’s and Wall Street suits making off like bandits with all our money? Where’s God in that? Where’s God when so many people are facing financial ruin? Most of us won’t know the full extent of how much we lost until 4th quarter numbers come out in January on all of our mutual fund statements and IRA’s. By then, the greed of Wall Street will be forgotten, all the money we have loaned the banking system will still be a burden to our kids and grandkids…while all of our retirements will have evaporated into thin air. If I can ever find a real job that pays anything worth while, I won’t be able to retire until at least the age of 75. We are all going to be holding a big bag of shit for a long time. It’s not fair for sure.
Thank God – thank you God – that Jeremiah asked the same questions so long ago; and thank you for your answer. Look at Jeremiah 12. These exact questions are asked flat out. And the answer is a fresh re-framing of the mind. I think of my husband a lot when I read this section – and I read it over and over. My husband is under extreme pressure as the sole provider of our household…it’s crazy. And now with the financial crisis adversely affecting our only hope of a lucrative retirement, he is really worried… and rightfully so. If you have no faith, there probably isn’t much hope. But I believe, and reading Jeremiah confirms, that God will bring His faithful through this valley…and rebuild what was lost even more abundantly than before.
God is the first to tell us that bad things will happen. But believers are expected to be strengthened by adversity…not sit back and say, “hey, what kind of God let’s this happen?” Because the answer is, “a good God.” In Jeremiah, God says, “if you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country how will you manage in the thickets? Your brothers, your own family even they have betrayed you, raising a loud cry against you. Do not fall into the trap of trusting them even when they speak well of you.
What God is saying is that in your profession you will compete, but don’t measure yourself against your competition, your peers - -set your sights higher. In your own personal growth, you will make mistakes, but don’t let them defeat you. Rather, prepare for tougher obstacles, greater temptations. And in your own family, you will be betrayed and rejected, so don’t fall into a trap of kindness. Be a guard of your trust. God goes on to say, I will send the ones I love into the hands of their enemies.
It is a loving act - -breaking you down - - in order to build you up and strengthen you. The chapter of Jeremiah is all about being broken and rebuilt. If we can focus on God, ask Him to walk us through this valley of financial devastation, we will be strengthened by it and not defeated. He will take care of us through it. All of us in the whole country are going through this…will you look to God and come out stronger and more prosperous as a result...or not?
Thank God – thank you God – that Jeremiah asked the same questions so long ago; and thank you for your answer. Look at Jeremiah 12. These exact questions are asked flat out. And the answer is a fresh re-framing of the mind. I think of my husband a lot when I read this section – and I read it over and over. My husband is under extreme pressure as the sole provider of our household…it’s crazy. And now with the financial crisis adversely affecting our only hope of a lucrative retirement, he is really worried… and rightfully so. If you have no faith, there probably isn’t much hope. But I believe, and reading Jeremiah confirms, that God will bring His faithful through this valley…and rebuild what was lost even more abundantly than before.
God is the first to tell us that bad things will happen. But believers are expected to be strengthened by adversity…not sit back and say, “hey, what kind of God let’s this happen?” Because the answer is, “a good God.” In Jeremiah, God says, “if you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country how will you manage in the thickets? Your brothers, your own family even they have betrayed you, raising a loud cry against you. Do not fall into the trap of trusting them even when they speak well of you.
What God is saying is that in your profession you will compete, but don’t measure yourself against your competition, your peers - -set your sights higher. In your own personal growth, you will make mistakes, but don’t let them defeat you. Rather, prepare for tougher obstacles, greater temptations. And in your own family, you will be betrayed and rejected, so don’t fall into a trap of kindness. Be a guard of your trust. God goes on to say, I will send the ones I love into the hands of their enemies.
It is a loving act - -breaking you down - - in order to build you up and strengthen you. The chapter of Jeremiah is all about being broken and rebuilt. If we can focus on God, ask Him to walk us through this valley of financial devastation, we will be strengthened by it and not defeated. He will take care of us through it. All of us in the whole country are going through this…will you look to God and come out stronger and more prosperous as a result...or not?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A Cancer Waiting To Happen
Heads-up church leaders, especially Tim Stevens, you’ve got to listen to this. Pastor Andy Stanley (he's a PWP below to the right) offers a leadership podcast, a conversation designed and to help church leaders go further, faster (their words). I just listened to the latest conversation* where Andy talks about assumptions and emotional attachments church leaders inherently cultivate in running their ministries over time.
What happens in a church is this: when the leaders have all built and settled into their ministries, they fall in love with the way they do ministry - -whether it’s effective or not. And because of that emotional attachment, there will always be a reason why an ineffective program continues. The church won’t consider changing because (for example)…it will hurt someone’s feelings, or the older people don’t use computers, or she lives to deliver flowers, or he brought all his kids up through that program…you get the idea. These are all the types of comments that indicate a cancer growing in ministry.
Andy attributes emotionalized ministry work to long-term staff members getting settled in their love for the way they do their ministry; and he compares that emotional bond to the same kind of bond you might have with an old couch: it’s plain ugly, but you can’t get rid of it because of all the memories it holds, like, the new puppy that slept on it when he was sick; all the kids were raised with it, our first kiss was on that couch; and so on. A new person would walk up and say, “Let’s get rid of that ugly couch!” A long-term person would say, “We can’t get rid of that good ol’ couch!” The problem when ministry is the old couch is this: the tendency to become emotionally attached to your ministry is an inward emotional movement, it moves your focus to your self, your center of emotional need - -which might not be God’s need for His church.
Andy Stanley’s message calls for fresh new eyes, new ideas – ones that have no emotional attachment – that are focused on Gods vision for the church- he calls for courage to make effective changes in the church. He suggests this:
What happens in a church is this: when the leaders have all built and settled into their ministries, they fall in love with the way they do ministry - -whether it’s effective or not. And because of that emotional attachment, there will always be a reason why an ineffective program continues. The church won’t consider changing because (for example)…it will hurt someone’s feelings, or the older people don’t use computers, or she lives to deliver flowers, or he brought all his kids up through that program…you get the idea. These are all the types of comments that indicate a cancer growing in ministry.
Andy attributes emotionalized ministry work to long-term staff members getting settled in their love for the way they do their ministry; and he compares that emotional bond to the same kind of bond you might have with an old couch: it’s plain ugly, but you can’t get rid of it because of all the memories it holds, like, the new puppy that slept on it when he was sick; all the kids were raised with it, our first kiss was on that couch; and so on. A new person would walk up and say, “Let’s get rid of that ugly couch!” A long-term person would say, “We can’t get rid of that good ol’ couch!” The problem when ministry is the old couch is this: the tendency to become emotionally attached to your ministry is an inward emotional movement, it moves your focus to your self, your center of emotional need - -which might not be God’s need for His church.
Andy Stanley’s message calls for fresh new eyes, new ideas – ones that have no emotional attachment – that are focused on Gods vision for the church- he calls for courage to make effective changes in the church. He suggests this:
- Ask your leaders: if someone came into our church today that was qualified, convicted to help the church reach people for Christ, had no emotional attachment to any ministry or person, had a plan for change, what changes would they make in our church?
- Brainstorm with your leaders: list all the possible changes an outsider would make?
- Then ask your leaders: why don’t we make those changes?
If it’s possible for your staff to have the courage to let go of the emotion and comfort that develops over time, to drop a few ‘old couch’ programs and make effective Christ-centered changes, then do it. But if your staff cannot separate themselves from their (natural) attachments, I still say, it’s time to hire someone with new eyes.
This narrative is building– Praise God - the need for churches to REFORM and consider fresh management. I call for churches to consider hiring from the outside. Andy Stanley calls for churches to challenge themselves as an outsider would. The inward, only-hire-the-people-we-know-and-do-what-we-want narrative is a cancer waiting to happen.
I appreicate Tim Steven's point of view (of only hiring within) because he says it works for Granger, an amazing church that has transformed thousands of lives towards Christ. And he is this country's most innovative Executive Pastor. But I know that hiring-from-within-only is not now, and has not been successful for the vast majority of American churches - they don't know it, can't see it, and would never admit it.
*(Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast. Itunes. August 28, 2008.)
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