Theological Musings

t’s been a long time since I posted on here (last July, I think, so almost nine months).  And the title of this first-in-a-long-time post is meant to be  somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The reality is that I was fully aware that today was Easter. But what struck me the most today was that today was not really that different from any other day.

Since leaving the traditional institutional expression of “church” about six years ago, there have been so many changes in my thinking and perspective. Things that used to be so important to me ceased to seem that important. And other things that seemed to be so trivial or unimportant before suddenly took on new meaning.

Easter is one of those things that ceased seeming to be so important. No, I do not mean that the resurrection of Jesus ceased to have any importance for me! But what I mean is that the single day of celebrating that changed dramatically for me.

When I was working in the institution, Easter was one of the biggest days of the year work-wise. It usually involved quite a bit of musical preparation (perhaps a cantata, or just extra-big congregational music). We would celebrate the resurrection and all that it meant to us like we would never have the chance to do so again.  At least we wouldn’t really get that chance for another year…

So what has changed for me? The resurrection now seems significant to me every day of the year. It’s no longer something to be singled out one day a year, but rather is a life-changing, life-altering, life-encompassing thing for me now.

For me, the resurrection “tops off” the work that was done on the cross. Jesus gave his life to ransom us from the power of sin and death. And because of his sacrifice in this regard, the Father rewarded him by bringing him back to life after he had done the work necessary to purchase us back from the powers of darkness.

So, the resurrection is important to me because it means death is not the end of the story. As Paul wrote, and I paraphrase here, since Jesus was resurrected, we have hope for life beyond the grave as well.

Today, I was aware that many churches were putting their all into celebrating the resurrection. And I think they should. I just think it shouldn’t be a one-day-a-year event. As for me, it was pretty much just another day. Another day of living in gratitude for the resurrection of Jesus. Just like every other day.

Until next time,

steve

any are familiar with sayings similar to, “It is not what a man does that measures his worth, but what he is.” And on several levels, that is true. However, Jesus also said that we would know people by “their fruit”. Fruit can be what a person is, but it also often manifests in what they do. So, what a man does really can be important in measuring his worth, right?

Barb, blogging at A Former Leader, wrote a post called “Husband Replacement“. While the major gist of the post is not what I’m trying to blog about here, she wrote a few sentences that I find really pertinent to this question about how we measure spirituality and “leadership”.

I measured [my husband] Marshall for so many years by a measuring stick that was skewed. On one stick was all the things that I thought made you a good Christian – things like being faithful to daily Bible reading, memorizing, journaling, church attendance and fulfilling all the expectations of the leader of whatever church we were in. On the other stick – (God’s stick, btw) – were things like faithfulness, kindness, loving the unlovely, willingness to help me and others, love for his kids, the ability to laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep. If I were to have used the right stick he was head and shoulders above any one I knew.

How often do we judge leaders (or just any Christian) based on their faithfulness to the checklist? You know the checklist I’m talking about. All those things we have been taught indicate that we’re a “good Christian”. We honor church attendance, scripture memorization, etc. Yet how often do we look at the relationships people have? How often do we look at how their heart is displayed in their life?

To paraphrase Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, you can memorize scripture, journal diligently, attend anytime the church doors are opened, etc., but if you don’t have love (or, I would add, any of the other fruit of the Spirit), it is completely worthless.

I think this goes along with a post that Alan Knox recently reposted regarding the story we usually call “the good Samaritan”. The one who didn’t have his theology “correct” becomes the hero of the story. He becomes the one Jesus offers as the model to follow. Why? Because he lived it out.

Until next time,
steve

ome of you might remember my good friend Raborn Johnson.  Ray and I have been friends for quite a while now.  For about 2 1/2 years, we have been meeting regularly — almost every week — at local restaurants for breakfast or lunch, and to share the journey together.

Many times in the past, blog posts by either of us have been sparked by the discussion that ensues in those times together (many of them lasting more than 2 hours).  For over a year, another good friend Tom has been joining us, too.  And sometimes when his schedule allows, frequent commenter “ded” (David) has joined us, too.

For a while now, Ray and I have talked about how much fun it would be to capture those times together to share with others.  Neither of us really knew anything about podcasting, nor did we know exactly how best to bring those discussions to others.

Instead of trying to actually record our conversations in a noisy restaurant, however, Ray and I have decided to start recording podcasts in a more controlled environment, but with the same type of conversations that take place in our weekly get-togethers.

So, I am excited to announce the start of a new podcast, with its own website:  Beyond the Box.  You can listen to the podcasts right there, if you want, on each post.  If you prefer to use iTunes to download them and listen there or on your iPod, the feed you need to subscribe to in iTunes is http://www.beyondtheboxpodcast.com/?feed=podcast.

Each episode (we intend to post a new episode weekly, if possible) runs about 30 minutes.  Our first episode, entitled What Is the Box?,  gives a pretty good idea of what you can expect.

Fun? It is for us, and I hope so for you, too.  Challenging?  Maybe, maybe not.  Controversial?  Probably.  But it’s not much that you haven’t already read on this blog in the past.  Instead of reading posts that have been thought out, edited, and refined, you’ll hear two guys just thinking out loud about some of the topics that pertain to our journey.

Comments on each post are more than welcome, and I hope that some of you will be listening regularly and giving us feedback as we bring the discussion to you in a new way for us.

We invite you to join us on the journey…beyond the box!

Until next time,

steve

oday is Christy’s and my fourth wedding anniversary!! I can’t tell you how happy I am being married to Christy. She is not only my wife, but my very best friend.  Every day of my relationship with Christy is a reminder of just how awesome our Father’s grace is.  It is a reminder of his love for me.

Christy, thank you for four amazing years of marriage together. I look forward to the next four, the next fourteen, the next forty…however long we remain in this life. Thank you for being who you are and for helping me be who I am.

I love you!

oday (technically yesterday now, as late as I’m posting this), I had the wonderful blessing of spending some time with my good friend and blogging buddy, Tony Sisk. Tony and I had met twice before in person, once just the two of us, and the other time as complete families.

Spending time with Tony in person is great! He’s got a terrific sense of humor, gracious spirit, and is very easy to talk to on just about any subject. In fact, Tony and I have a tendency to not really finish any subject, but rather to travel down innumerable rabbit trails — sometimes mid-sentence!

For this meeting, Tony and I had decided to go golfing together. I Googled to find a golf course that was sort of halfway in between us, and we decided to meet at the Old Fort Golf Course in (duh) Old Fort, NC. It’s a 9-hole, par 36 course that actually ended up being extremely affordable ($16 each to ride 9 holes).

Between theological discussions and analysis of recent blogging conversations, Tony and I had a blast batting our golf balls in all directions on the fairways, into the woods, etc. And when the dust settled, we got a great chuckle out of realizing that we were actually tied (guaranteeing a future playoff, I hope?)!

I won’t embarrass either of us by posting our actual score, but I can tell you that we both hit par on one hole. My approach shot to the green on that hole was actually from the next fairway over (!!), but we both managed to hit the green in regulation and two-putt for almost textbook par. The other 8 holes weren’t quite so textbook!!

At any rate, between the time talking on the course and a relaxed lunch afterwards (no thanks to the fact that Tony’s GPS unit doesn’t tell you that it’s actually a smoky truck stop that it’s leading you to!), we had some wonderful fellowship and some really deep conversation.

If you don’t already know Tony (he’s a frequent commenter here), I encourage you strongly to check out his two blogs (Rambling Prophet and Rambling Prophet 2) and enter into conversation with him on a wide variety of topics.

And Tony, watch out on that tie-breaker round next time. I know your tricks now