BEREAN YOUNG ADULTS

attention maranatha camp alumni.

When I used to work at a camp we flirted with the idea of having a week or weekend of camp for past campers who had long since graduated.  I left the camp before this ever happened but just recently I was informed of a similar event that Camp Maranatha is putting together for their camp alumni.  If you like the idea of traveling back in time and reliving some of your days as a camper, you might be interested in this.

book: the new shape of global christianity.

Just starting Mark Noll's book, The New Shape Of World Christianity, and on page 1 of the Introduction I'm already struck by this paragraph and its implications:

"But today - when active Christian adherence has become stronger in Africa than in Europe, when the number of practicing Christians in China may be approaching the number in the United States, when live bodies in church are far more numerous in Kenya than in Canada, when more believers worship together in church Sunday by Sunday in Nagaland than in Norway, when India is now home to the world's largest chapter of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order, and when Catholic mass is being said in more languages each Sunday in the United States than ever before in American history - with such realities defining the present situation, there is a pressing need for new historical perspectives that explore the new world situation."

The Church is not in Kansas anymore.

are we serious about sin?

 "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." Genesis 4:7

 "...and give no opportunity to the devil." Ephesians 4:27

Sometimes I wonder how serious we are about dealing with sin. These two verses above highlight the severity of the struggle - sin and its father - the devil - are looking for opportunities, strategic moments if you will. Satan is busy with this kind of activity.  Here's a great picture describing what God is busy with:

"For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout
 the whole earth that he may strongly support
 those whose heart is fully his." 2 Chron. 16:9

What a wonderful picture. I think it is safe to say that the devil is just as busy checking out the scene looking for people who he might encourage towards sin - he has busy eyes. 

One thing I think we are always in danger of is letting a creeping thought into our minds that says sin is not all that powerful, that it is passive. Sin is not passive, it is not slothful, it is always in the starting blocks and ready for the race. It strikes quickly and deftly.  You might have heard the old saying, "Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, cost you more than you wanted to pay, and keep you longer than you wanted to stay." Well, it's true.

So, what is our recourse? I think the first step is acknowledging its savvy - recognizing that Satan is no dummy and starting to pay attention to how he works on us so that we can avoid it.  Paul acknowledges in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are to be people who are familiar with the devils schemes - in other words, we need to get acquainted with his strategy in order to not be taken advantage of by him. 

Temptation is not sin - it is the strong inclination towards sin but it is not sin.  While that is true, I think we would all agree that if we were smart we would avoid tempting situations. In many cases, I think this is where the battle is lost.  Just imagine a few scenarios:

• Perhaps you struggle with lust and pornography and as you're driving home late one evening after hanging with some friends...say 1 a.m....a choice awaits you - what should you do when you get home? Being aware of the struggle I think we'd all agree that the best option upon arriving home would be to go to bed.  Options that would probably be less than ideal would be to scan the t.v. or browse the internet.
• Maybe gossip is a problem and I'm invited to get a drink with some coworkers after work that I know will consist almost entirely of picking apart fellow coworkers for what they wear, how they dress, who they date, etc.  Maybe...that'd be a good gathering to skip out on.
• Perhaps wasting time is an ongoing struggle for you - in that case facebook, StumbleUpon, and YouTube would wisely be avoided, or at least limited. (Notice I didn't link those sites? You're welcome)

You might be finding yourself asking whether I'm serious as I spell out some of these thoughts but I want to ask the same question - Are you serious? 

Let's avoid being disingenuous Christians, saying we want victory but then lacking the willingness to take meaningful and prudent steps toward victory. Sin is no laughing matter and our fight against it should be marked with intensity - remember that Paul tells reminds us that we should run our holy race with the same intensity that an athlete would. I think we would all agree that we would question an athlete's desire to win, or even to compete at a high level, if he or she was committed to a steady diet of bacon and was unwilling to train.

Desperate times call for desperate measures but that statement begs a question: how desperate am I?

lbc at the pinewood bowl tomorrow.

Check out this opportunity to hang out with some young adults tomorrow... http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130942683603574

porn stats.

Following up on the latest blog post, I thought I'd include some stats about the porn industry and pornography use.  All this stuff has been pulled form the website xxxchurch.com. If you haven't checked it out, you should.  These guys are dealing with a real serious problem in a pretty novel way and their free accountability software is a great resource for anyone struggling with pornography. 

Here goes...

• PORN IN AMERICA
• • 12% of the websites on the Internet are pornographic - that's 24,644,172 sites
  • 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites
  • $2.8 billion - the amount of money US based porn pulls in per year
  • 25% of all search engine requests are porn based - that's 68 million
  • 11 - the average age a child first sees porn on the internet
  • Sunday - most popular day of the week to view porn
• MEN
• • 20% of men admit to accessing porn while at work
  • 53% of Promise Keeper men admitted to accessing porn in the last week
  • 72% of pornography users are men
  • 70% of men aged 18-24 visit porn sites in a typical month
• WOMEN
• • 28% of pornography users are women
  • 70% of women keep their use secret
• PASTORS
• • 37% of pastors say porn is currently a struggle
  • 18% of pastors look at porn a couple of times per month
  • 4 in 10 pastors looked at porn today 

 There you have it. 

beyond pornography.

A major problem for men (up to 80% of Christian men according to some) and women (we must acknowledge this as a growing and very real problem for women as well) is the viewing of and, on more extreme levels the addiction to, pornography. In fact, one recent study suggested that up to 50% of pastors had viewed pornography intentionally within the past month.

Seeing that it is such a major problem I am constantly working on how to help people move along the path to victory - and by victory I don't mean simply not viewing pornography, I mean breaking free of the draw to it altogether.  So, I read much on this and am constantly thinking about steps that can be taken towards freedom.  Recently, as I was reading, I came across this statement:

"...most people involved with the use of pornography have not come
to the place where they desire not to desire it. For whatever reasons,
they think it is too important to them and that they would
 be "missing out" if they did not have the desire for it. That
 concession traps them into continued use." (link)

This is a really strong statement but I have found that it stands as valid. Many people will say that they want to be free of pornography or of cultivated lusting but when you begin to really talk about what life would be like if they would never again view someone of the opposite sex through a sexual lens or if they would never again gratify themselves sexually - ever again - you can see in their face a certain level of disappointment, a certain sadness. The reason for this is because as it stands sexuality and the gratification of sexual desire are viewed as essential goods - things that if they were taken away would leave life dull and unsatisfying. 

At its root, the problem is one of elevating sex to a level that is unhealthy and borderline idolatrous. I have found that this problem - while perhaps more acutely perceptible in singles due to the fact that they are waiting to have sex - is not one that married people are immune to. Many marriages suffer from sexual bondage and many within marriage still find it necessary to turn to pornography or some other outlet in order to have their desires fulfilled.

Getting back to the quote, what is really being said is that at the root of pornographic and sexual addiction is bad theology. A very small and inadequate vision of God is central to this problem - the fact is, most of us do not view God as the one who fulfills our needs to such a degree that we need not worry about unsatisfied desire.  This is the constant confession of Scripture - think of David in the psalms - "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." Or "I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken." Or "I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing.'"  The person who believes these things will not turn to lesser goods in order to find satisfaction - they live in the reality that God provides all they need and so sex, food, clothing, money, etc. while not bad, cannot serve as replacements for fulfillment that can only be found in him.

These are things we profess but our professions don't always reveal our beliefs. Actions reveal beliefs. Are my actions saying to those around me that my satisfaction is in God or in some alternative god?

All this to say - freedom from pornography or sexual addiction must have as its starting place, a right view of God and his provision. I need to be able to echo David's sentiments in the 23rd psalm with all my being and without hesitation - where there is hesitation there is the propensity to fill up what is lacking in my life according to my own power.  A proper view of God allows me to say that there is nothing I lack because he oversees my life.

Has sex or pornography come to the point where it is a good with which you could not live without? Consider - whether you're single or married - if you would never again be able to view or foster a mental sexual image, is there any part of you that feels your shoulders slump because life wouldn't be quite as exciting or good? Another question - Jesus never engaged in anything like what we've been talking about...was his life impoverished or lacking in some essential goodness that you couldn't go without? 

In order to move beyond pornography a vision of the goodness it brings my life (let's get honest) must be replaced with a larger vision of a God who loves us and always provides us with what we need - a vision that can truly confess, "I lack nothing."

tuesday morning reflection.

After taking a huge break from writing post-message reflections I am back on the wagon and ready to roll.  I'm not sure about you but I love the summer at Lincoln Berean Church because we get to reflect on the Psalms - the prayer book of the Church through the ages.  This past weekend marked the beginning of this summer's series as Bryan led us through psalm 92.

First, you might not have found Bryan's informative aside on chiastic structure in the Psalms to be interesting but I loved it and for those of you who are a little nerdy about these things, like me, here's a Wikipedia article on Chiastic Structure. The basic idea is that the psalm follows a structure that reaches a pinnacle at its midpoint and then returns to the point that the psalm began with by the time you reach the end.  So, for psalm 92 the pinnacle "moment" is found in verse 8:

"But you, O Lord, are on high forever"

The entire psalm is seen through the lens of God's everlasting reign. His reign, his rule forever, is reason for exuding thanks from the psalmist.  Not only this but the psalmist looks upon the wicked in light of God's everlasting reign - when seen in this light the wicked become a mere blip on the screen, a vapor, like grass that grows and is cut and forgotten.

The point of the psalm, however, is not that the wicked get theirs in the end, the point is that the righteous have the opportunity to get caught up with God in his everlasting reign. It is precisely because God reigns forever that it can be said of the righteous who are caught up into his life, "They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green."

In the day and age this psalm was written, terms like wicked and evildoer were ripe with meaning - meaning that might be lost to us now.  The wicked and evildoer were those that stand opposed to the way of God - they were those who mocked his righteousness.  This is still the point of these passages but sometimes it is easy for us to forget that this psalm was written from the context of a specific life and the authors troubles were brought up because they were very real. 

With this in mind, it would be a mistake for us to try and conjure up pictures of a 8th century B.C. evildoer.  No, a thoughtful reading today requires that we understand the context but that we then try to find an accurate modern application, one that would be appropriate to our lives.

So, how would you rewrite this psalm for your own life? Who or what would be the evildoers that set themselves against the ways of God and how do we cultivate an eye to see them for what they are? They are as substantive as weeds and they pale in comparison to the everlasting reign of God.

human nature and jesus.

I was sitting in a waiting room today, waiting, and I picked up a TIME magazine from September 21, 2009 and as I was flipping through I came to the page that is full of recent and notable quotes and this one caught my eye: 

"Unless someone can find a way to change
human nature, we will have more crises."
Former chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan

Greenspan was, of course, referencing the recent and seismic financial debacle that ripped through the United States and much of the world, and that was the impetus behind our current economic situation. No matter the side of the political aisle you find yourself on, whether you think the government needs to be more involved or less involved in the worlds of banking and finance, the issue that Greenspan is raising is a relevant one - if genuinely "good" people were running banks, governments, private businesses, etc. then we could probably avoid many of crises  that we often find ourselves in.  As it stands, however, these entities are often run by people who, despite their possible desire to be a good person, are incapable of really acting in a way that is good because they have a corrupted human nature.  This is what Greenspan is arguing and it is a conclusion that the Biblical witness would attest to.

There is a certain desperation in his tone, however, that the Bible agrees with but also provides an answer to.  You might remember Paul's exasperated statement at the end of Romans 7:

"For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want
is what I keep on doing...Wretched man that I am! Who will
deliver me from this body of death?" (Vv. 19, 24)

This issue of a corrupt human nature - of a human nature that might be able to profess what is good but remain incapable of consistently doing the good it professes, is a problem that has confused the best minds throughout human history.  Even a quick browsing of Ancient Philosophy will reveal that thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had a pretty good grasp of what the "Good" was and affirmed that humankind, civilizations, and even the human soul would be healthier, more well-ordered, if they actually did what was agreed upon to be good and upright.  The problem they could never solve was how you actually make people good - knowing what is good is nothing if one remains incapable of doing what is good.

They had no solution to the problem, and apparently neither does Alan Greenspan, but this is precisely the problem to which Jesus stands as the solution.  The precise project that God has undertaken in Christ is that of actually transforming human nature, transforming human character, into the exact nature of his very son, Jesus.  

This is why Jesus says that your and my righteousness must surpass that of the Scribes and the Pharisees -theirs was a righteousness based merely on outward conformity and not on inward transformation.  In other words, Jesus isn't as concerned with you doing what he says as he is with you becoming the type of person that would naturally do what he says. That is the task that he is committed to.

Read through any page of the New Testament and you'll find this to be the plan and the mission and Paul, a great thinker in his own right, sums it up this way in Colossians: 

"To them [his saints] God chose to make known
how great among the Gentiles are the riches of 
the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)

Chairmen Greenspan is asking the right questions...I just wish someone in his world would let him know the answer.

i feel...community-ish.

Community.  It's a hot word these days. Community organizers. Community soup kitchens. Spiritual communities.  It's interesting to note that as our culture has become more technologically savvy we have also begun to focus more and more energy on the creation of community.  Seemingly, our ever-connected potential does not actually bring us any closer to a true other - and that's good. I can't imagine a more depressing day than the day I realize I can sum up my day/life/feeling/etc. in quippy characters or less. 

But the question that begs asking is what do we mean when we say community? I have found that for our generation it has become a Holy Grail of sorts - the type of thing that you search for forever but never really seem to find.  We are, as Lewis says, capable of being in a room filled with people and yet feeling as if we are alone.  

I've often thought that part of the reason that community seems to be the ever-sought but never found goal of our generation is that community is actually a by-product, it happens but shouldn't be sought in and of itself.  I've even begun blog entries on this very subject but I can never finish them because after typing for awhile I usually end up thinking that I'm wrong on that - and I think I am wrong.

I don't believe that community is a by-product - it is an actual good that can be sought - but if that's true, why does it remain so unattainable for so many?  I wonder whether it is because we have settled for an inadequate definition of community - I wonder whether some of us have begun to define community according to our feelings, we feel lonely or not lonely, connected or unconnected, etc.  Once we make this turn we have made community a feeling and have relegated it to the sphere of by-products, just like the rest of our feelings.

Feelings are by-products. For example, Will Smith's movie The Pursuit Of Happiness, should be named, How To Be Miserable because making happiness (a feeling) a pursuit will drive you insane.  Feelings are not to be sought in and of themselves - they make great servants and awful masters. 

Have we begun to define community
predominantly by how we feel?

I wonder sometimes whether we've made finding community too hard? Maybe that's because it's become defined by our feelings, but maybe it is also because we are seeking it as we would a feeling - we are just hoping we'll come upon it one day and realize we've found it without even knowing it. (Dear diary, today I woke up and felt community-ish). 

Unfortunately, community isn't that sort of thing. It doesn't just happen. Community is the sure result of deep commitment and investment in another person.  If you want it, it's right there for the taking - all you have to do is open your life to someone else and remain committed and invested in them.  In short, love others (seek their good) and community will suddenly be all around you.  The problem is that loving others - really investing in others even when they are particularly unlikeable - is not a journey for the fainthearted.  Maybe that's why community seems so elusive.

bbq planned at sarah roby's.