deTheos

Those who get “it”

I want to celebrate those who get "it." What’s the "it?" It is the Gospel.

It is the lens through which we are to see, and the engine for what should drive us in life. We are far worse than we realize, yet, in Christ, far more loved than we every imagined. God relates to us totally on the basis of His free grace. We cannot earn, should not deceive ourselves into thinking we could or should, and God has designed that we can only relate to Him rightly on the basis of the finished work of His Son. He treated Jesus like He was us, so He could treat us who trust in Christ like we are Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

A friend recently noted — in speaking on the theme of thankfulness — that those who truly get the Gospel, are thankful people. Period. Contrastingly, those who are bitter and complaining, well, they don’t get "it." (See complaining Israel in the OT; cf. 1 Cor. 10.)

If we have tasted of Christ we become changed beings, transformed by grace and living in it. Oh how I want to get "it" today, all over again.

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Another 3:16 worth meditating on

Perhaps we are so familiar with John 3:16 that we lose the gravity of the serious joy Jesus communicates to us:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

That’s shorthand for the Gospel.

Before Christ rescued me, I did not even know who John was, what the 3 meant, and especially why there was a colon before 16. When my eyes went open to see the light of the glory of Christ who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4-6 ), this truth became the deep end in which I have swam for twelve years now. The more I swim in it, the more I see my need for Jesus. Having been saved, I need to continually be saved, and one day look oh so eagerly to the final redemption.

Another 3:16

Another 3:16 is worth meditating on all the same. It comes into practical life in a powerful way. Let us consider James 3:16 :

"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."

Think about how that truth relates to leadership . Since leadership is influence, we are all leaders on some level — in our homes, in our workplaces, in public and private — is there a disorder and chaos because of my ambitions? The command denominator in all my problems is me — a truth we must each own up to. Yet Christ can move us past ourselves, compelled by His truth, beauty and love, to live above the level of ourselves. Where He is, there is no disorder, for He is renewing and recreating all things, especially us (Col. 3:10).

Let’s continually explore our own motives, check our ambitions, and remove the idols of control, allowing a free worship of God in the Gospel of grace. For the sake of others, and ourselves.

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I should be happier

A couple conversations yesterday got me thinking how Christians ought to be the happiest people on the planet.

The first was an afternoon idea-ing and planning session talking about our church’s Advent series coming up the few weeks before Christmas. One theme will be JOY … and how much Joy there was when Christ came the first time, how much there shall be one day when He returns in the fullness of His glory, and the unending pleasure to be found as subjects and sons and daughters in His Kingdom.

Being forgiven and right with God on the basis of nothing we have done in and of ourselves (except to contribute to the need for redemption and a Savior) is the basis of our joy. God is our joy. Find as much pleasure as you can in God — for we were created to prefer Him above all else. (And as we recognize that Jesus Himself gave Himself away, for the joy set before Him ( Heb. 12:2 ) and laid down His life, enduring the cross, then we see that quickest path to joy today is to resolve to find our identity in Jesus, and to give our time and resources — our very lives — in the service of others.)

The second centered around the message last night at high school group. Aaron preached on Romans 3:21-26 , a passage packed with the mystery and wonder of what God has done in His Son. Yes, that is a place in Scripture full of "happy tensions," for in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not holding their (our) sins against them (us). Justification. Propitiation. Forgiveness. Redemption. All wonderful and transforming realities. Yet, none of them has the value they were meant to, apart from what they do — they remove all the obstacles to our getting to God. (Or, really, His getting to us, since He is the One who initiated and came to us, removing all the obstacles.) Wow. So much to think of. So much to be happier about. There, joy came and found me today. It came from outside of myself, and drew me outside of myself. Much happier now.

Posted in GOD is the Gospel, Happy Tensions, Joy | 1 Comment »

Would you speak like that to your Creator?

Some of us do speak of to/about God and people in the exact same way, making our communication with God (or lack thereof) truly profane. That is, we take something sacred and precious and make it common , just like everything else.
There is a startling paradox to ponder in James 3:5-12 :

"How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water."

Notice that portion in vv. 9 & 10. The duplicity — and power (vv. 5-8) — of our words is astonishing. We used to chant the lie, that "sticks and stones … but words will never hurt me." That’s totally false. Words are far more destructive than any object thrown. At least with sticks and stones the damage is seen, and visible reminder. Yet, words can wound far deeper, and the scars remind though hidden.

The point is illustrated deeply in my own mind as I contemplate my son’s increasing vocabulary (all dozen or so words), and think of how he said "Bible" for the first time today. Wow.

Someday he will realize the infinite worth of the Book he is talking about — I hope and pray his eyes go open as God shines His light. Yet, today, I am really his best connection to what the Bible is all about. Do I bless God, and speak of and from the Bible, and then turn around and reveal a disdain for people, for whom Christ died? He sees it when I do. And although he cannot speak in sentences, he certainly can think complete thoughts. He is arriving at conclusions about our Creator on the basis of our few hours together each day. I speak and pray in front of my son: that God is our Father. Who is Dutch’s father? Does he see a correlation, and will he desire to know this Father whom I love and know and weep at His sheer grace. Is that coming across to my son?

Kari assures me I’m doing well. Yet as a father — twice now — these thoughts weigh on me, as they should. And I hope and pray to be like my own Dad who always has joyful and pleasant words, who is a gentle man who radiates care as a father should.

Resolve to make our words personal

Can we resolve to use our words for the building up of one another?

• Have you recently harmed someone with words, even in a small way? Will you resolve to take practical, even humiliating steps, to seek forgiveness and reconciliation?
• Or, perhaps it is the other way around: How can you forgive them in love?
• Start with those you are connected to. If getting out of that rut seems insurmountable, with and the bickering, complaining and sarcasm, then start "small."
• Begin with those who may seem to be of little importance, on the fringe of your daily life — like those who pump your gas, serve your feed, and drive your kid’s school bus. We can tell a lot about a person by how he or she treats people who supposedly are not adding value to our lives. Are we adding value to theirs?
• Have you realized they may be having a worse day than you are? (Have I realized that?)

Take an interest in them, and in doing so, lose yourself in the beauty of what it means for all persons to be image-bearers of our Creator. Each one of us is marred and worse off than we realize, yet more loved than we dared imagine.

Let’s speak to one another (as made in the image/likeness of God) like we are speaking to Christ, who is The Image of God. That is how it is supposed to be.

Posted in Blog, Gospel Rhythms, Happy Tensions, Joy, Listening, Questions, Reflections, Sanctification, humility, repentance | No Comments »

Mac Bible study software

This week I transitioned (back) to Mac — thanks to our church leadership. A decade ago had to make the switch to PC as an engineering student, after never having ever touched one growing up (always Apple, after Commodore 64). Didn’t realize how much I missed working on an Apple computer until the last few days. Wow.

This presents a little dilemma, as I could run some of my PC software on Parallels or a similar Windows emulator. For Bible study software, I stick to Bibleworks 7 for help with the original text, and sometimes e-Sword (free), and have the old standard Quickverse 7, though I don’t open that one much. All three of those are on my PC.

But for Apple …

Logos for Mac is finally here.  Pre-orders are being taken and the rumor is that it should ship in time for Christmas-time. A friend uses Accordance on his Mac, until he transitioned to working for Logos, and now they roll out this sweet verision. Bet he is stoked. Their Libronix database system is pretty sweet and expandable. Check it out . (More info here .)

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New Foothills website

This week I began my role as Associate Pastor at Willamette Christian Church in West Linn, but there was one project that needed to be finalized with the church we transitioned from: Foothills Community Church in Molalla.

The project? A new website.

I pitched the idea of revamping the old site back in January (actually suggested we use the great CMS Ekklesia360 ), and the discussions turned to a home-group system, where one team member provided the design mockup, and then I took the lead over the Summer in coding, styling and configuring the site to function (running Wordpress as the CMS).

With the consistent feedback and editing of volunteers and the input of the Web Team, we were able to get the new Foothills 2.0 website up and running tonight — it’s live: foothillsonline.com .

Here’s the new look (2.0):

And the old (1.0):

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5 from 50: a brief list of lessons learned

Yesterday I shared a bit of our story — and realize their are so many gaps I left out. Since this really isn’t about us , but rather about Christ and His worth, those gaps will have to be like the cracks in a clay pot that reveals the excellency and worth of the object inside ( 2 Cor. 4 ). Please look past us and see the beauty of God.

Here are the top five lessons I (think I) have learned over this past 50 month journey and beyond. All are interconnected:

1. People are more important that what they do. Personalizing it: I am not what I do . That is, my identity is rooted in Christ, not my performance. I work from significance in the Gospel, not for it, as the Gospel would have it. (Repeat that last sentence with me! This message never grows old, and must be the cornerstone of a daily life. We must preach that application of the Christ’s glorious grace to ourselves every day.) In this season, I had to learn to do a few things well. To be fine with not being a perfectionist (okay, I am a recovering one). To release myself from forming a tiny view of life, all centered on me and what I am doing. I was a chronic do-er five years ago, and will never be that again, by the grace of God. Reality is, I work harder now, more efficiently, and am more content to simple BE, motivated by the Gospel.
2. Life is meant to have rhythm. Walking in step with the Spirit is a relationship worth fighting like heaven to keep vital. He is the One working in me to fulfill God’s ultimate purposes. Some people like to refer to life as being in "balance," and I probably should like that word as an engineer-type. It sounds so mathematical. Yet, it fails to see life in proper perspective, for we are not weighing things against one another (the definition of balance), but seeing them come together in harmony. Some like to pit propositional statements of faith against the story of faith. Jesus against Paul. The Bible against the Spirit. Truth versus experience. That’s utter foolishness. They are not against one another, but serve one another in love. Inexplicably connected. For example, in the Gospel rhythms, my job does not compete with my family.They are interwoven in a beautiful work of art by the Father, Son and Spirit.
3. GOD is the Gospel ( tag | search ). If there is one message I hope to bring to the local church, it is this one (along with the view that the Gospel is for all of life, even for Christians). I read the book by that title in 2006 while on hiatus from seminary (Kari was pregnant, I focused on working to provide for us). Lightning struck my soul. It is essentially 180 pages of meditation on two primary verses: 2 Corinthians 4:4,6 . Wow. All things exist and move towards the public display of God’s infinite worth (His glory). Since God Himself is the great good of the Gospel, entering into relationship like Him is like diving into a pool, not just off a diving board. As God is meant to permeate all of life, the Gospel is meant for all of life (like a living room, as opposed to simply the doorway to new life).
4. All of life is preparation. God will, as a loving Father, use every means possible shape us into the image of His Son ( Romans 8:28-30 , Hebrews 12 ). This process of sanctification (purifying) is deep and lasting, and cannot happen without pain, tragedy, relationships (including conflict and resolution) triumphs, and dependence. As a single man I began to see the need for Lamentations 3:25-33 and Habakkuk 3:17-19 become reality in my own life, asking God to shape me into the kind of man who praises Him no matter the circumstance. Doing that deep work requires preparation, which requires suffering. From a broken vertebrae that remains today, to relational brokenness, to physical pain in my feet, to disappoints of various sorts, there is no end to the design of God’s good for us through these experiences.
5. My life is meant to be wrapped about God’s story, not Him around mine. This couples with the others, and specifically #4, as God’s story is simply bigger than teeny, tiny me. That is because the Gospel is not merely good advice. It is the Good News — check that — the best news possible, that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all His enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe in Him, but only everlasting joy in God. Thus, God and His Word are the ultimate reality. I don’t apply the Bible to my life, I rather press my life into His Word, applying my life to Him. This is more than semantics, for each of us is prone to by default live for the glory of ourselves, to seek to further our own kingdom. I am a servant of King Jesus. I am part of His Kingdom. He holds the keys to the future, and I gladly submit to His leading, whatever that entails. As all good story feature conflict and resolution, the Grand Story of the Bible being played out in the universe by the Triune God is the best possible mixture of both.
6. (Just like yesterday there are six. Forgive me.) Faithfulness is our part, fruitfulness is God’s. Actually, our faithfulness is enabled by His ( Phil. 2:12-13; 1 John 5:3 ). Kari and I remind one another weekly that our home and family is the first ministry. Being faithful starts here. For whatever "success" I find in vocation, in being a pastor, in whatever, it is worthless if I fail as a faithful husband and loving father. That is the definition of success.

From these lessons I formed the chief objective of my life: To help everyone breathing know the one and only Triune God, in Christ, better than they know anyone or anything else, and to love and enjoy Him together more than anyone or anything else in all the world.

Ever a life-long learner (through all eternity), swimming in the depths of the Gospel and seeing how necessary these truths are, and looking for more to discover.

Posted in Adventures, Blog, Ekklesia, Faithfulness, Family, God-centered, Gospel Rhythms, Jeff, Ministry, Sanctification, Theology, deTheos moments, godly trajectory | No Comments »

5 from 50: a brief memoir

This week I embark on a new adventure as a pastor. It almost seems surreal to me. Really, I get to do full-time what I have felt God calling us to and shaping us for a decade? Is this for real? Kari and I have had glimpses and tremendous opportunities to serve in the Gospel, pastoring others (as a verb, not noun). Now the stakes are heightened.

• Tomorrow I’ll share 5 lessons learned over these last 50 months . For now, here are five signposts along the journey to being a pastor (stretching back before these last 4+ years).

In 1998 I first sensed Christ’s call to enter the ministry. My heart and mind was electrified as a sophomore at OSU, an engineering student, and oh so fed up with how far behind I was spiritually. In that day, specifically Super Bowl weekend in late January, He ignited in me a spark that grew larger and larger, coupled with an insatiable desire for God’s Word. Those college years and serving in the local church and on the OSU campus were invaluable experiences. Many lessons learned, lots of failure. More grace. The relational connections made still remain firmly intact. The Gospel was our chief unifying reality. I have been blessed to see fellow students, and then my own students from Real Life and the School of Ministry forge ahead in their part of God’s grand story.

In 2003 I was graciously enabled to marry the woman of my dreams. Kari, I l. No matter what "success" I achieve as a pastor, my first duty is to be a faithful husband and loving father. Before God, let all these other things serve to reinforce that trajectory, not divert from it. Without you, Dutch, and now Heidi, this journey would not be worth taking.

Fifty months ago (2004) Kari and I took the plunge and moved to another state for the sake of my becoming a pastor in the official sense for the first time. Until then I had been "pastoring" in many ways, and while I knew the title would not add an inch to my stature, it was to be a significant jump in responsibility before God and men. And boy was it. Nothing like we imagined, and I never did became a "pastor" in the official sense. We felt "shelved." But God broke me, and rebuilt me again to be the kind of man who loves Him more than a title and is willing to suffer for the Gospel. People became real to me. The Gospel went deeper. Christ became huge, more than adequate and satisfying. We look back fondly on that season now with the vantage point of having come through it. Warren Wiersbe in On Being a Servant of God reminds us to not ask God to get us out of our trials, but to ask Him, "What do You want me to get out of this trial?" God had a whole different plan for us, a crucible of what seemed like an endless string of disappointments. Our character needed it. I thank Him for it — without reservation — and would not for a million dollars trade any of those experiences. Please don’t sign me up for it again, our good Father, but I would not go back and chart a different course.

In 2005 we came back to Oregon, continuing in a career of construction management  in construction for my good friend Ben was the sweet spot of God’s will for us at the time. As were were a growing company, and I needed to gain credibility with the crew, I took to being the lowest grunt of the lot, moving aluminum shoring and pipes, and finally getting some good callouses from hands fully engaged in some good manual labor. Installing sewer lines 8 feet below the ground surface and mortoring up manholes was a crucible for learning. I remember the guys often asking me during lunch, "They didn’t teach you that in college, eh, Mr. Civil Engineer!?" I thank them for it. During the process I learned that nothing is secular, the construction workers need the Gospel just like I do, and that all circumstances are "sacred" in that they are meant to be used for worshipping God. Without those "silent years" we would not be here (positionally, and certainly not ready in our character). I learned to practice God’s joy in all of life, especially the mundane things. That is why I plead with people to find their identity in Christ alone and not in what they do. Funny to thing back how my move into the office became official when on the eve of Thanksgiving I ran over my left foot with the Jeep Wrangler. (Yeah, it really hurt, and I walk with a slight limp today.)

Also in 2005 we also became students again. A couple years earlier we had wanted to go to seminary (in Chicago, we thought), but Christ had some pre-graduate school preparation for us (see above). Now, we were able to do this together , both as students, and those Friday-only classes and one night course during that first year at Multnomah was a unique experience. Not sure how we managed the 90 minute commute both ways (fuel was much cheaper), but that time did serve to be like mini "dates" for Kari and I. We entered seminary as a young married couple, and when Kari graduates this year she will have given birth to two children while a student. (She’s incredible, by the way…)

So much more could be said. Dutch was born around Christmas 2006, and our lives have been changed for the better because of him. Last year we lived with Kari’s parents, on purpose, and it was a tremendous experience for Dutch. For us, it showed us how much we love family, need them, and love to live on our own again Without it, we would have had to quit seminary. The last year of interning with Foothills Community Church has been mightily used of God. He reprogrammed me in many ways, especially relationally, bringing out lessons and things from our experiences through Pastor Dale’s care and mentoring. Again, without them, we would not be who and where we are today.

Some may be thinking — are they done with seminary? Not exactly. Kari will finish her last class in December and then graduate in May with a MA in Pastoral Studies with a concentration in Women’s Ministry. I will close out this semester, take a bit off, and then (probably, open to revision, as the above story proves!) take one class at a time when possible. Since pastoring (again, a verb) and serving the local church was and is the "end goal," seminary has served that purpose in part, and I hope to see it continue towards an MDiv (at least 2/3 complete now). We wouldn’t be here without Multnomah , in more ways than one. We love our professors, the staff, fellow students, and alums!

(Okay, this is six…) Today Christ has more of me than He did back then. Some like to talk about returning to their first love (see Rev. 2 ). For me, returning to that teeny, tiny love would be going backwards, for my vision of Christ and seeing as the ultimate cause, reason, object and satisfaction of my life is far greater today than it was then. Truly, all of life is preparation .

Helping others know, love and enjoy God above all else,

JP

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Saying goodbye and hello

Last Sunday was our sendoff from Foothills Community Church. Funny how teaching in front of dozens and giving the announcements each week doesn’t faze me, but then I go to say goodbye and get all nervous. Goodbyes are meant to be like that — a bit uncomfortable, and always somewhat bittersweet, especially with those you love. One sister in Christ noted that it really wasn’t goodbye, but rather "See you later." Indeed.

Next Monday Kari and being our new journey with our new church family — about which I’m eager to speak and write about.

This week’s "staycation" has provided a little bit of reflection time. (And lots of needing wrestling time with Dutch.) In these days I’ve written down much to come back to later — for seasons of less clarity — a portion of which I plan to post on the ol’ blog this weekend. A brief five-point memoir, and a list of five lessons learned over this past 50 month journey.

Today was a unique time, a luncheon to get to know the church staff more. A great time, and really good food, mixed in with lots of laughs. What a great team of Gospel-centered, others-directed people we are joining.

My favorite moment what when we all were asked to answer briefly, "What were you like as a child?" Right then Dutch (the only kid in the room) walked out in the middle of everyone and threw his toy. Seeing it coming I pointed at him, saying "Just like that!" and tossed a toy over his shoulder too. I’d like to say he gets his dramatic flair from his mom, but we know better.

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A few good books from a good son

Dutch likes to "sort" our books — meaning he enjoys moving them all around, on different shelves, under and on top of objects, and "reading" them from time to time in his spare time.

Yesterday he put four books in my book bag, thinking I needed to meditate on the Gospel.

He selected one paperback each from four great authors: Andrew Murray, H.A. Ironside, D.L. Moody, and J.I. Packer.

Thanks son, your exhortation is heeded!

(The yellow duct tape hold together my DIY laptop case.)

Posted in Adventures, Blog, Books, Dutch, Family, Reading | 2 Comments »