Hold on loosely

In May I packed up all my belongings that I'd stuffed into a small bedroom and living room with the help of my parents before my first year of seminary. I'm really not sure how we made it all fit...I have too much stuff. I've always been somewhat of a sentimentalist, I have a hard time parting with things. Without the help of my folks to pack up stuff, and doing most of the packing over a weekend, convinced me that it was time to reduce.

"At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth." Mark 10:22

In the past two weeks I've parted with two things- giving them as gifts to friends. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say that they were things that I "needed" (or even for that matter, wanted). But I let them go. Which is kind of big for me. And rather than throwing them away, I gave them to people I thought might actually have some use for them. After I gave the second item away, I realized that I'd accidentally come up with a way to reduce my possessions. So, I think I'll start a practice, of giving at least one thing away a week for the foreseeable future. In doing this, I hope to lessen the grip that possessing things has on me, and hope to become slower to consider things as being "mine."

Just something to think about.

Is it about reassurance?

The NFL kicks off soon. As a child, this was always a favorite time of the year...and I still love it. But this year a commercial caught my eye and got me to wondering about the church's perception in the public eye. Here, watch the commercial by clicking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gracQf60DrE&feature=related

While I think the commercial is funny to as a fan, as someone involved in serving the church, I believe it does offer some social commentary as to how the church is viewed by society. The commercial shows the priest meeting with the woman who discusses a problem and how she was dealing with it. Finally, when the woman is finished explaining, the priest offers a simple reassuring phrase that essentially communicates, "You're a good person." I wonder if that's all that is expected of the church these days?

Does the church exist merely to pat us on the back and congratulate us for being not as bad as some other people? Do we view our pastors and preachers as people to give us comfort and reassurance that we are good people? Have the church been diminished so much that it no longer calls people to be changed and pursue a life like Christ's, but instead is content with merely commending little virtues?

Don't get me wrong, I think that the church should encourage it's people, especially when there is something that is commendable. But the commercial portrays (and what I'm assuming much of society thinks) that the role of the pastor ends there- to offer that little "attaboy." If the church is to change its image from this quiet, listening and reassuring one to a transforming and dangerous to the status quo image, we must not get too involved in congratulating things done to be nice and begin encouraging actions inspired by obedience to the will of God.

Consumed

I owe the inspiration and some of the content of this post to recent reading and discussions.

I would like to think that after years of working in the church and a year of seminary that I have a pretty good grasp on this whole Christianity thing... after all, it is sort of my life. But I recently had to check myself against the truth spoken to me by a good friend as I expressed some struggles and frustrations. The irritating thing is that I've talked about this before, I agree with it, but I seem to have forgotten it somewhere along the way.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." " Hebrews 12:28-29

These words speak of God as a consuming fire- something uncontrollable. Have you ever witnessed a fire that is out of control? It's scary. How frightening to know that we're not capable of containing something. In this passage, the author states this exact thing in regard to a relationship with God. When we are in a relationship with God, we must realize that God is jealous (as Deuteronomy 4:24 says), and wants every part of our lives to be a reflection of God. Every part. When we stop insisting on containing our Christian urges, we allow this consuming fire to take control of every part of our being. We no longer make decisions thinking of ourselves, but rather do things with the will of God as our direction. Fires dramatically change the appearance of that which burns. I wonder how different I would be if I allowed myself to be consumed? And I wonder how it would be accepted...judging by the fates of Jesus and his closest friends and followers, I can see why it is so difficult to let this fire rage and consume ALL of us.