This has been a hard month for me...because of the elections.  I have friends on both sides that have made absolutely crazy statements—both before and after the election.  It is difficult for me because in the past I have had friends who no longer want to be my friend because of my politics.  I hate seeing either side bullying and belittling the other side. 

I have many friends and former students who are not interested in the church because they see that it has become partisan.  I, too, have struggled with the partisanship (on both “sides”) in the American Church and wanted to leave it to its own demise.  It doesn’t take a prophet to proclaim that if the “conservative” church and “liberal” church keep chasing this sort of idolatry, these false churches will disintegrate.

Yet, God has called me to labor for His Church—to help it see past the false measurements of Godliness (remember Galatians?).  In the end, as Paul says, the only thing which counts is love—and no political party has a monopoly on love.  Being a Democrat or being a Republican doesn’t mean you love more than someone from the other party.

We in leadership ought to reflect this truth of the Gospel.  Help me model this truth.  We ought to spur one another on...to love better and love more—not spar with one another about political policies...judging someone when they don’t agree with us.

I am passionate about this (i.e. this mini sermon).  I, we, have to keep struggling toward Christ—moving away from the culture that we were raised in (American) toward the culture Christ has called us into (Christ’s Kingdom).

As I read through the list of those lost in the shootings up in Aurora, my heart hurts and tears form—my spirit groans.  My heart also aches for James Holmes, the one who committed this horrific pain.  This tragedy causes us to ask, “Why? Why did this have to happen, God?”
It is fair to ask God such questions—the Psalms do.  David and the other poets—those who write to God from their hearts—ask God “why” many times.  Sometimes their heart is saddened and other times they are angry. 
One of the biggest traps we can fall into, though, is blaming God for such tragedies.  The reasoning goes that if God is so all-powerful and loving, why doesn’t He just make evil, sin, and all its manifestations go away.  And because that hasn’t happened then either God is fairly impotent or there is no God.  This thinking and living represents many of those I know.
But I think that this is poor thinking, poor living.  I believe that we have been created with the opportunity to make choices—choices that either move us closer to or farther from God.  But we are fools if we think our choices affect only the person making the choice—every choice you and I make affects others and then they must make choices as a result of our choices and the chain has never ended.  It is clear that our sinful choices can have a nasty multiplication factor.
But it isn’t just about God giving us choice in our lives.  God saw that our self-determination would and did lead to our self-destruction.  God does love us and God did step in to stop a world-wide suicide.  That’s where Jesus comes into the picture.  Jesus stopped that nasty chain reaction of sin with his death and resurrection.  When he was resurrected (back to life), it was into a new kind of existence where sin and death will have no power.  And you and I can be a part of that new existence when we are united to Christ.
The completion of that new existence isn’t completely finished.  Sin and death still wage war with this new God-existence…in our world, in our bodies, and in our choices. And we are called to be the loving presence of Jesus Christ in this broken world until he returns.
But this is all thought, and thoughts do little to comfort those who are saddened and angry.  In these times we are called to simply be “present” with those who are hurting—this is love lived out.  We can also be helpful by praying—for the victims’ families, the city of Aurora, those providing counseling and protection, the legal system, and even the killer.  Whether he is mentally ill or evil or whatever, he is broken and in need of healing that only God can give.  Yes, Christ followers are to show love even to their enemies.
It is good that our hearts hurt over this situation—it is a deep sadness over this broken world and a longing hope for the savior of this world to redeem all things to wholeness.

Is it possible for us to hold steadfast in our relationship with Jesus and still remain open to new discovery or understanding in our faith and in general?  

Let me use this example from church history. A thousand years ago the church believed that humanity is the “apple of God’s eye.” We still believe it today (at least I do)—we are the centerpiece or pinnacle of God’s created, material world. And this was confirmed to the church for centuries because, as far as they understood, the created, material world reflected this: the sun revolved around the earth as did the other celestial orbs. Everything spiritual and physical centered on humanity. Then Copernicus and Galileo caused a stir—they discovered that the sun and planets do not revolve around the Earth. It was a crisis of faith for many people. Wouldn’t God align the physical cosmos with the spiritual one? Some abandoned their faith, others came to adjust their faith, and others doggedly held on to what they had always believed, branding the discovery as lies from the Devil.

Here’s another avenue to explore. What if the second letter to Galatia was found? Did you know that the Apostle Paul wrote a second letter to the churches in Galatia? He also wrote letters to churches in Laodicea that we don’t have. What if, in some archeological dig, those letters are discovered? What if they cause a stir—what if these letters challenge some of our theological convictions? My guess is that, depending on how valid and “revelatory” they are, it would cause some to abandon their faith, others to adjust their understanding of God’s activities in the world, and some would continue on stalwartly.

Actually, I don’t think it has to be anything that remarkable to cause a “crisis of faith.” How many people go through a divorce, a loved-one’s death, or even gain fame or success and their faith “changes” because they find themselves in a new situation.

I think these adjustments (whether it be jettisoning, reconciling, or fortifying) reveal the heart that was already there. It is the event or idea that provides the opportunity to live out what was already in the heart. Make sense?

I friend of mine in seminary seemed to be a real stalwart of Christian orthodoxy and what we know as a Fundamentalist and a Pentecostal. Everything was going right. He took a class or two and everything fell apart for him—not because the classes were “liberal,” far from it. What happened was this: I don’t think his heart had ever believed and his mind could no longer carry the “belief” either—he had come to the point where if the Christian faith could not be proved rationally and empirically, he couldn’t buy it. So, he’s an atheist now. In college I went through a similar struggle with faith, rationalism, and empiricism. But instead of jettisoning everything, I found myself wrestling and re-discovering faith in Christ and how myself and the world relate to him (and, for me, it has been much more satisfying). In excitement, I shared my journey with a friend. I was soundly told to stop tempting her—she wanted her faith to be simple and unquestioned, what she had always known. She wanted a “bubble community”—a world populated with the people and ideas she could accept and control.

Or, another friend of mine had hardship after hardship occur: he left his career for ministry, he became an alcoholic, he lost his marriage, he went bankrupt, he faced being defrocked, and the list could go on. Do you think he questioned whether or not there was a God? You bet. And what was his answer—he had experienced Christ and knew that, right now, even in the hole he and others had put him in, Christ was there. He was steadfast in his desire to know Christ more. He had to abandon a lot of assumptions about life and faith, wrestle with what it meant to be “in Christ,” but he never abandoned the fact that Jesus had him wrapped up in an embrace and vice versa.

So what about that first question I asked? You know my answer. How do you answer? Your life with Jesus is like a dance. And in our lives we’ll go through many different “songs.” Some will quit dancing or change partners, others will try to use the same old dance steps to a new song, others will keep their eyes on their partner and learn the new moves to the new song.

"Song of Dedication"

Sometimes I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone's alright

When I know they're not

This world needs God

but it's easier to stand and watch

I could say a prayer and just move on

Like nothing's wrong

But I refuse

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

Oh, I could choose not to move

But I refuse

I can hear the least of these

crying out so desperately

And I know we are the hands and feet

of You oh God

So if You say move

it's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

To stand and watch

the weary and lost cry out for help

I refuse

to turn my back

and try and act like all is well

I refuse

to stay unchanged,

to wait another day to die to myself

I refuse to make one more excuse.

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

Oh, I could choose not to move

But I refuse

--Josh Wilson

A pretty cool thing happened. There was a man and woman who loved the Lord. They decided to dedicate themselves to building a house that honored him. They built their home way out away from the world. When the last pieces of stained glass were put into the windows, they prayed over it, and dwelt within it. It was a place they could escape from the stresses and seductions of the world.

Well, other folks became interested in the couple—godliness is attractive. And the couple had no problems with anybody who wanted to live a godly life. But there were some folks who didn’t seem that serious about the godly life. Well, the couple was in a strange spot—they did want to have community with those who were serious, but they didn’t want to risk the quality of the fellowship (either with God directly or within the community). So, they penned up a community guideline.

In the guideline it established the proper way to go about building a godly house and the proper way to have a godly family life. A village emerged. Then a town. But they still had the problem of those coming who didn’t quite get what kind of commitment it took to live in this town. So, they built a wall—and they had gates that had monitors. It was one thing to ensure that your house was godly, but think of the possibility of knowing that the whole town was going to be godly. Now we can raise a family and we know that our children will be safe as long as they stay within the walls.

As with many walls, no matter the country or time period, there arose certain wall-factors. The first being that a village formed on the other side of the wall! It was a sight: shacks, tents, sheets… they were packed in like rats. And their behavior—most of the godly people were convinced that these “others” had built their shanty town just so that they could live in their sin and leech off of the godly people’s glory. I’m not going to say that the outsiders were really mischaracterized. They were no strangers to sin and, yes, they probably hungered for something inside the walls.

That leads to the second factor: the wall had to be maintained; not just maintained, but fortified. Guards replaced monitors and guard towers were also placed along the wall. So much energy went into protecting the city’s godliness.

The godly people were so tired. They prayed and prayed, scrutinized the city’s covenants and citizen’s behavior to discern whether sin was in the camp and what to do about it. Then, they got word that God was coming. The streets were went over with a toothbrush and then sprinkled with gold dust. The walls were scrutinized, the people were scrutinized… everything was to be made spotless!

Now the folks in the shanty town had heard the rumors of a God-visit and they had them confirmed when some of the godly folks got kicked out of town and needed a place to settle. The sinners didn’t know quite what to do—they were curious, but they were also scared. How many times had the godly citizens taunted them saying, “When my God comes, you are going to get it!” Some started to leave town—just until this God guy came and went—while others went about their business figuring it wouldn’t matter…either way a smiting was going to happen.

“I see him!” a reporter for the Heavenly Herald Network cried. The people were giddy. “Nope. False alarm…this guy isn’t spotless…what? Wait a minute folks I’m told that this is indeed…God.” “Here he is…God, Jarvis Friendly with HHN, any thoughts before you enter into these holy walls?”

“No.” And instead of entering the fortified city of godliness, God goes over to the people watching from their shacks and tents. “Friends, may I eat with you?” he asks a ragged, hung over group of adults. “I guess,” says an old man suspiciously. But suspicion gave way to vulnerability; and vulnerability to warmth; and warmth to celebration amongst the people outside of the city because God was with them.

But the excitement of the city dwellers faded fast. And the respectable people, the clean people, grew red in the face because of embarrassment and then redder because of anger. “This isn’t God! This isn’t God!” And the mayor of the city addressed his people over the broadcast system, “Close the gates and double the guard! We will not tire in waiting for God…we will be vigilant…and we will know God when he comes because He will look like us.”

And the dwellers of the city shut their doors and latched their windows…hoping to keep the music of sinners’ celebration from reaching their own ears lest they, too, were to be distracted from their godliness.

Read more: The Fortified City