Things for Christians to Consider Before Posting on Social Media

We live in a world where the opinions of almost everyone are made known with the tap of a finger. If we want to be heard, all we need to do is take to Facebook and air our thoughts for tons of people to see instantly. This can be both positive and negative. On the positive side, we have the capability of making our thoughts known to wide amounts of people in short amounts of time. This can benefit us when we want to make the Gospel known through social media or plug an awesome company for a friend. On the negative side, we have the capability of making our thoughts known to wide amounts of people in short amounts of time. This unfortunately means that when we get angry, there is the opportunity to take out our frustrations in a Facebook or blog post. It means that others have the opportunity to scrutinize your thoughts and bring you down for your beliefs.

I’m an advocate of social media. I think it can be used for really amazing things like keeping up with family or old friends. We have unfortunately gotten to a place where we have divorced our online presence from who we are in reality. We sit behind a laptop and make bold statements that we would never say in a real setting with real people. This has allowed us to post and comment things that we simply don’t think through very well.

Here are a few questions that Christians should ask themselves before posting to Social Media!

1) Am I adding something of value to the conversation? It’s really important that you use your words wisely. James 3:5-6 says this: “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James teaches that our words are powerful and that they can start a fire if we aren’t careful with them. When you post things to social media, make sure you are adding value to the discussion by saying wise things and not just fueling a wild fire of nonsense.

2) Is what I’m saying hurtful to another person? Whether you realize it or not, you’re the hands and feet of Jesus on your social media outlets just as you are in public. Your identity in Christ doesn’t change because you hopped online. It’s important to remember that you are to represent Christ in all that you say and do, so saying something hurtful to another person is no way to represent Christ. We learn Matthew 7:12 from a very early age: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. If you wouldn’t appreciate hearing it from someone else, don’t comment with it.

3) Is the intent of my message loving? One of my favorite verses in scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:1, which says that “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Sometimes, people need to hear the cold, hard truth. It’s fine to share that with them as long as its done tastefully out of a place of love and respect. You won’t get very far with your Facebook friends if you constantly sound like a clanging cymbal.

4) Would I say something like this in reality? Before posting your thoughts and comments on a social media outlet, make sure that its something you would also feel comfortable saying in a public setting. The internet often gives us a boldness to say things boldly that we might not say face to face with another person. Paul had this issue as well even without the internet. In 2 Corinthians 10:1 he says: “Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ–though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away.” Paul can use his words to cut right to the heart of the problem, but it seems that he may have exercised a little more meekness when he met with his churches face to face. We are to be a people who live above reproach. Don’t even let others accuse you of being bold behind a screen, but timid in reality. Just be yourself consistently!

5) Am I able to support my thoughts with facts and logic? I was scrolling through my Facebook page one day and saw where a lady had posted that LOL stood for Lucifer, our Lord” and she was encouraging everyone to stop using LOL. I literally LOL’d when I read it, because I was aware of the origins of LOL and knew exactly what it meant. She was an older lady who based her knowledge on hearsay. Ephesians 4:11-14 says this: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” In this passage, Paul is saying that there are knowledgable teachers placed in the church to teach the church what it looks like to follow Christ. The more knowledge that’s given to the people of Ephesus, the less they will be prone to believing random teachings that aren’t true. This might be a slight stretch, but just hear me out. If we’re supposed to be people grounded in the truth, then its a poor reflection on the church when we spew nonsense (no matter the subject matter) rather than providing thought provoking ideas based in fact and truth.

These are just a few questions that I think are essential for believer’s to ask themselves before posting on social media outlets. There is a vast world out there full of ideas and opinions. May we approach that diversity with grace, truth, and love.

Uncle Sam and the Kingdom of God

I don’t think the world is tired of Christianity. I think it’s tired of Christians attempting to hold them to a standard they don’t care about, which has never really made much sense to me. Our government’s standard if Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, not the Bible. The Bible is my standard and I’m sure its the personal standard of some of the judges on the court, but I don’t get why Christians are so upset that they ruled in favor of the liberty of gay people to pursue happiness in a lifelong bond? Like… that is the standard and they judged accordingly.
We don’t live in a theocracy. We live in a diverse nation where we are free to live and worship how we individually see fit. Christians are called to be in the world, but not of it. That’s great. Don’t be of it. No one is asking you to be. If John and Ron are two Agnostic gay men tying the knot, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. It is none of your business. They’re in America, not God’s Kingdom. They aren’t interested in Jesus. If they decide to become followers of Christ, then you have a right to step in and have a conversation with them about your thoughts on the testimony of scripture. Until then, mind your own business.
I think for the most part, Christians in the United States believe that this country is God’s Kingdom and it’s not. Just to clarify, I believe along with the testimony of the Word that God is sovereign over all the earth, including the United States. By saying that the US is not God’s Kingdom, I simply mean that it isn’t the established kingdom promised to descend from the sky in Revelation as all things are made right. It’s possible to be a believer and patriotic without confusing the two. If this country is what Heaven is like, I’ll take a rain check. We’re promised a future with no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering, but its future. It’s not right now. This isn’t it. This isn’t as good as it gets. We’re just living in a delusion that this is it. That the USA is the standard, which has caused many believers to overstep their bounds.
We don’t impact the world by running up to Washington and calling for separation of church and state when it benefits us, but bashing it when it doesn’t and attempting to work the system to get what we want. That’s actually a really ungodly thing to do. And that’s going to mean, for example, that the ten commandments can’t be on display in government buildings unless every other religion has the ability to place their laws in the building as well. It’s a standard of fairness. And besides, if God’s law isn’t etched on the hearts of the people in those buildings, what does it matter if there are stone tablets on the grounds or not? It really doesn’t make a difference…
We don’t impact the world by trying to make everyone think and act like we think they should, no matter how sincere the intention. We impact the world by doing what Jesus told us to do: Love God with all your heart, Love other people selflessly, and share the Gospel. That’s it. It’s really not that complicated. It doesn’t have to be messy and full of politics. Christian, you are first a citizen of the Kingdom and secondly a citizen of the USA. Christianity does not equal America. It’s time we realize that and appreciate each entity for what it is.

Charleston, The Confederacy, and Jesus Christ

The world has watched in bewilderment as droves of people have rallied around the families of those caught up in the tragedy of the AME Emanuel shooting. Charleston has not taken to the streets in protest and vandalism. Instead, the city has taken a different route and taken to the pews of a very historic church.

But in the midst of this loving bond that has formed in the Holy City is a controversy over the Confederate flag. A few years back, the flag flew on top of the State building along with the American and SC flag. After the initial controversy, it was voted to remove the flag from the building and place it a few feet away at the civil war monument.

People all across the country have been quick to offer up their opinions on the confederate flag. While many find the flag offensive and think it should be removed in the wake of this shooting, just as many see the flag as a rich part of South Carolina history and believe it represents something entirely other than racism.

And as opinions fly and the discussion becomes ever more heated, those in favor and in opposition of the flag’s place on state grounds are speaking past each other. Those who favor keeping the flag make the argument that “the confederate flag will not end racism.” What’s interesting about that argument is that no one is saying that removing the flag will end racism. Rather, it is making a positive and respectful statement about who we are as South Carolinians in the midst of this terrible tragedy. If those in favor of the flag want to move forward in a helpful manner, they must engage the argument where it is and not attempt to make those who oppose the flag say something they are not saying.

To the opposite end, those who oppose the flag call it a “symbol of hate,” lumping those who are in favor of the flag with hatred, which is most certainly not the case. Those who are favor of retaining the flag are mostly individuals who are proud to be from the South, who feel the flag is a symbol of “Southern pride.” If those in opposition to the flag want to move forward in a helpful way, they must engage the argument where it is as well and not place stereotypes on people who do not fit into that mold.

The way forward for all of us can be summed up well in Mark 12:28-32, which says:

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”

Jesus says that before we do anything else, we need to make sure we love God with everything we are and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The very often quoted 1 Corinthians 13 passage provides us with a great definition of love. Verses 4-7 says this: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

What would it look like if we approached the issue of the confederate flag by making sure that our hearts first loved God and second loved our neighbors? Ironically, I think it would look much like the unification and support that has surrounded the AME Emanuel family.

If we are going to get past this issue and move forward, the first step is to place our hearts before God and offer up everything we are to Him. If we are surrendered to Him, our actions will surely mimic who He is. This inevitably leads to loving people. It means being kind. It means not getting angry. It means not shaming others. It means hoping and trusting in what is good. It means persevering.

Instead of talking past each other and getting angry over the stupid opinion of someone else, love grounded in Jesus Christ meets others where they are. It means respecting the opinion of the person you disagree with in order to have an honest conversation about the place of the flag and what it represents. It means trusting one another that we all want what’s best for each other. It means coming together in hope that whether the flag is positioned to fly on the state grounds or positioned in a glass box at the museum, our hearts will always be positioned towards reconciliation.

May we not walk far from the Kingdom of God.

ORTHODOXY FOR KIDS: JUSTIFICATION

Have you ever heard the word “justification” while you were at church?

Maybe when you gave your life to Jesus, someone told you that you were justified.

That can be a confusing word at first, but it is actually pretty simple!

To help you understand justification, here’s a story!

Imagine that Danny is at school and it is time to go outside and play at recess.

Recess is Danny’s favorite part of the day and he is so excited to slide on the slide and swing on the swings with all his friends.

One of Danny’s friends, let’s call her Grace, is the smartest kid in school. Grace has a badge on her shirt that shows she makes the best grades in the entire class!

Danny is a very smart student as well, but he has just made a few B’s and Grace has ALWAYS made A’s and NEVER made a B. That is pretty impressive! Keeping straight A’s in school can be really tough sometimes.

Danny and Grace decided to head over to the monkey bars, because it is Grace’s favorite thing to do at Recess.

As Danny walks up to the Monkey Bars, he notices a BIG YELLOW SIGN that says “Monkey Bars are broken. DO NOT climb on them.”

Even though there is a sign there, he looks up at the monkey bars and they seem fine! They don’t look very broken!

In a moment of weakness, Danny decides to climb on the monkey bars anyway. Grace tells him that this is not a very good idea, but he goes ahead anyway.

He places one hand on the first bar and everything is fine.

He grabs the bar with the other hand and leaps off the edge!

“There’s nothing wrong with these monkey bars,” Danny thinks to himself.

Suddenly, as he grabs the next bar, everyone hears a loud CRACKKKKKK!

The monkey bar breaks and Danny comes tumbling to the ground.

The crack is so loud that the teacher, Mrs. Rush, rushes over to make sure everything is okay!

“What happened here?” Mrs. Rush asks.

As soon as Danny confesses that he climbed on the monkey bars anyway, Grace pipes up and says:

“Teacher, I know that I was not the one to climb on the monkey bars, but I take full responsibility. Danny knows that what he did was wrong, and I would like to take his punishment for him. I will even let him wear my badge for the rest of the day.”

As you continue to play for the rest of Recess, Grace has to go a sit by the fence.

Even though Grace was the perfect student and didn’t do anything wrong, she loved her friend Danny and did not want him to suffer punishment for his mistakes! What a great friend Grace must be!

There is actually someone we know that has done something very similar for us! His name is Jesus. Just like Danny made a mistake, we all make mistakes and do the wrong thing from time to time. Luckily, like Grace, Jesus loves us and took our punishment for the bad stuff we do by dying on the cross!

Just like Grace let Danny wear her badge of honor, Jesus gives us His honor so that when God looks at you and I, he does not see the bad things we do, but see’s the perfection of His son Jesus!

That is justification! We have done wrong, but because of Jesus, our sins are washed away and its as if we haven’t done anything wrong!

If Grace was such a good friend to Danny, how much more of a friend do we have in Jesus, who died for our sins to justify us before a perfect God?

That is pretty incredible! And the cool thing is that Jesus did not just do that for you. He did that for everyone in the whole world! That’s why its so important to tell your friends at school about Jesus! He can justify them too!

SHOULD CHRISTIANS TITHE?

Introduction

The protestant evangelical church is replete with pastors and their staff who stand in the pulpit every Sunday with a message from God. One such message is tithing. Spend any amount of time in a Southern Baptist megachurch and there will most likely be a sermon preached from the book of Malachi about how not tithing ten percent of a household’s income is robbing God. Perhaps God feels more robbed when a ministry uses funds to purchase a fog machine for the sake of a cool worship experience rather than individuals giving more or less than ten percent of their income. Tithing matters because pastors are telling entire congregations, which can often be thousands of people, that God expects each of them to hand over at least ten percent of his/her household’s income. For emphasis, pastors will also add the retribution principle to the tithing principle. If an individual gives the church ten percent, God will then pour out more blessing than he/she can handle. If the individual has a hard heart and will not tithe, God will not bless him/her since these people are robbing God. This paper seeks to walk through the scriptures and look at arguments made for a ten percent tithe to reveal that these defenses are not substantiated in the Scriptures for New Testament believers. This does not mean, however, that believers should not give. Christians are to be led through the power of the Spirit to give generously out the abundance of a transformed heart.

Tithing and the Old Testament

            The Old Testament covers the pre-mosaic, mosaic, and prophetic periods. Some scholars, such as George Davis, attempt to argue that if there was a tithe before the Law, then no argument can be made about tithing being legalistic. Davis argues that in Gen. 14:18-20, Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. He concludes from this passage that tithing was an acceptable form of worship, and Paul, in hindsight, never called him a legalist, but an example of being justified by faith. Because Christians are also justified by faith like Abraham, Christians should tithe like him.

Unfortunately, this conclusion misses the point of the text. Abraham is not tithing to support a ministry or out of obligation. He is showing worship to God through the tithe to Melchizedek. Abraham was simply acknowledging Yahweh as His God. This will be briefly discussed further under the thought process present in Hebrews 7.

The most famous passage concerning the tithe is Malachi 3:7-12. The Israelites have accused God of being unreliable and fall into a downward spiral of doubt and faithlessness. In 3:7, God calls them to return to Him, yet they ask Him how it is possible. This is most likely not a genuine question out of desire for reconciliation, but a suspicious question out of their ignorance of sin. God then accuses them of robbing Him of tithes and offerings and curses them for their thievery. These tithes were used to support the Levitical priesthood, the temple, and support for the community’s poor. Failing to adhere to this tithing command was robbing God, because robbing the temple and the needy was akin to robbing Yahweh. God tells them that if they bring the full tithe to the storehouse, He will pour out blessing on them. The storehouse was a room in the temple used to store the first tithe so that it could be redistributed later and refilled. This promise is made in relation to the laws in Lev. 23:23 and 27:30-33. If they return to worshipping God and obey the law, He will bless them for it.

The most common interpretation of this text among evangelicals today is that failing to give God ten percent of one’s income is robbing what God has given to bless that person. Not returning a tenth back to what is God’s in the first place may incur God’s punishment on the believer. Therefore, simply give a tenth to the “storehouse” (church), and God will bless it. This is blatant misapplication of the text. As shown in the previous paragraph, this text was directed towards Israelites under the law. The Lord created the tithing system as a type of income tax to support the priests who owned nothing and the needy. Frank Viola concludes from the context of the passage that God’s main concern is oppression of the downtrodden. Nevertheless, there is no idea concerning the storehouse in the New Testament. The believer is the temple, not the building. Ministries are supplied and supported by people. Church buildings are not storehouses, but places of worship.

Tithing and the New Testament

There is clearly a tithing system present in the Old Testament under the mosaic law. The question must be raised, however, as to the nature of tithing for a people no longer under that law. Jesus is the fulfiller of the law, and he mentions tithing once in a discussion found in Matthew 23. Jesus tells the Pharisees that they tithed but neglected the more important aspects of the law, such as justice and mercy. Jesus calls them blind and says that they should have practiced both. What it comes down to for those who support tithing is that this verse suggests that Jesus believed in tithing. If Jesus does it, Christians should do it. While this logic seems fairly straightforward, there are a few things to consider about this passage. First, Jesus is addressing scribes and Pharisees who are under the law. Jesus tells them that they should tithe, because the law commands them to do so. Second, the point of the passage is not obedience to a tithing law, but a lack of concern for love, mercy, and justice. Laws are not supposed to distract people from love, but lead them towards it. Finally, James Quiggle concludes that Jesus’ point can be found in verse 24. According to Lev. 11, a gnat was the smallest unclean animal and the camel was the largest. The principle here is that one righteous act does not alleviate a person from living righteously all the time. Tithing cannot be substituted for weightier aspects of the law like love and mercy.

Second Corinthians 9:6-7 is the most important passage for Christians attempting to understand what their obligations are concerning the tithe. Paul tells the Corinthians that they should give from their hearts and not under compulsion. God loves a cheerful giver. He begins in verse six with farming language. A good harvest is produced from good seeds being sown, while little seed produces a poor harvest. Paul emphasizes reaping in his verse in order to encourage giving. According to Paul, this giving should be done from the heart and not reluctantly. A willing heart is grounded in the Old Testament by willingly giving towards the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:2, 35:5). This collection from voluntary giving turned out to be more than enough (Ex. 36:5-7). Furthermore, God’s love for the cheerful giver has a foundation in Proverbs 22:8. There is honor for those who are willing to give generously. If tithing were an obligation, this would be the perfect opportunity to explain it. Yet, Paul is absolutely silent on the concept of tithing in all of his letters. Instead of telling them what they must give as a tithe, he simply tells them to offer up what they willingly decide to give from the heart. A lack of obligation diction softens arguments made in favor of the tithe.

The final passage germane to this discussion is Hebrews 7:1-10. Gary North argues that because the priestly office of Christ is equated with that of Melchizedek, the tithe is still required. This is because the order of Melchizedek is superior to that of the Levitical priesthood. Christians, therefore, cannot dismiss tithing as a mosaic law, but must adhere to it, since Hebrews 7 grounds tithing into Melchizedek. Attempting to escape the tithe is therefore an assault to the order of Melchizedek, who is the representation of Jesus Christ. There are several problems with using Hebrews 7 to justify tithing. First, the flow of the author’s argument in Hebrews has the ultimate goal of setting Jesus up as the high priest who is far more superior to the Levites. Melchizedek is simply used as an analogy for Christ’s superiority based out of Psalm 110:4. Tithing is used as an example for why Melchizedek was so great. Second, this reading of Hebrews 7 back into Gen. 14 requires that Abraham act as an archetype for Christians. If this is true, tithing still would not look like it does today, because Abraham gave his spoils from war voluntarily and only once. An obligatory ten percent tithe to the church is not in view here. Finally, if the passage is followed carefully, then the conclusion is that believers actually do not tithe. Levi is said to have tithed to Melchizedek through Abraham. Levi’s order is then inferior to Melchizedek. Jesus, who is the representative of Melchizedek’s order, then becomes superior to the Levite priesthood. The logical conclusion for Christians is that since they are in Christ and He tithes to no one, believers tithe to no one.

Conclusions from the Scripture

In the Old Testament, God institutes a tithing system to care for the priesthood and the needy. This was a mandate, because God cared for the oppressed. God binds Himself to His covenant and promises to bless those who give their tithes. There were three different types of tithes collected: those for Levites with no inheritance in Canaan (Lev. 27:30-33), those for religious festivals in Jerusalem (Deut. 14:22-27), and those for the needy (Deut. 14:28-29). Rather than ten percent, this turned out to be around twenty-three percent of yearly income. These tithes were grains, fruits, nuts, and cattle given eight out of twelve months. Money was never tithed, and priests were not required to participate. Entering into the New Testament period, Jesus sets aside what is old and ushers in the new (Heb. 7:12-18, 8:13). Through Christ, each person is now a priest. There is no temple other than the gathered body and no priesthood that represents God to man. The veil has been torn, and each person has access to God through Jesus. The Christian call, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is to give generously from the heart. This is not an obligation, because God loves a cheerful giver. Furthermore, the New Testament offers principles of giving that seemingly contradict the tithing system of the Old Testament. Some of the most obvious are: Christians live from the gospel rather than the law (1 Cor. 9:14), each person gives from his/her own ability (Acts 11:29), believers are to give consistently and regularly (1 Cor. 9:13), giving should be done willingly and sacrificially (2 Cor. 8:2-3, 12), giving should be done cheerfully and not from obligation (2 Cor. 9:7), and believers should not burden themselves financially (2 Cor. 8:13). The principle that seems to endure both old and new covenants is generosity.

A final place of contention on this issue is how schools of thought view the law. Some groups, such as the Dispensationalists, believe that the entire law is a unit. Other groups, such a Reformed Covenant theology, split the law into moral, civil, and ceremonial. This may cause some groups to see the tithe as still binding. While it may be convenient to split the law, the Bible itself never seems to do this. Hebrews 8 speaks of the law as a unit which Jesus’ ministry made obsolete. In Matt. 5:17, Jesus also says that He came to fulfill the law and prophets. A straightforward reading indicates the entire law is in view, not portions of it. If the law cannot be split, it becomes much more difficult to justify a tithe based in the law.

Theological Integration

            The implications of tithing have a direct connection to ministry. While ministry is so much more than money, it is difficult for one to flourish without the financial giving of the ministry’s congregation. This does not mean, however, that congregants should be placed under a tithing law in which they do not belong. D.A. Carson warns that tithing can foster a sense of pride. If one believes that God demands ten percent and nothing more, it can breed idolatry. Further, choosing to give more than ten percent can breed pride. He concludes with a passage of scripture that speaks towards giving. 2 Cor. 8-9 shows the people in Corinth under tribulation. In the midst of their sorrow, they gave themselves first to the Lord (8:5) and gave generously even in their poverty (8:2). In 8:9, the text says that Christ became poor so that the Corinthians might become rich through His poverty. This is obviously not monetary wealth, but in the same generous spirit, believers should overflow with generosity knowing what the Son of God did on the cross.

Pastors are standing in pulpits across the world and demanding that their congregations give ten percent of their paycheck, because God requires it. The tithe in the Old Testament was good news to the poor, not a burden. People who can barely make ends meet are giving out of obligation, because they feel as though they cannot afford to not tithe. The Old Testament tithe was designed to help these people from the abundance of others, not make them go deeper into poverty. On the opposite end, churches are full of people to whom ten percent of their income is nothing. These individuals have been blessed with great jobs, but they are only giving ten percent when much more could be offered for advancing the kingdom. Ten percent is not a magic number that pleases God. What pleases God is a cheerful giver. The church should not be afraid to step away from an obligatory tithe. Christians, those who have trusted in the gospel of Christ and are currently indwelled with the Spirit, should seek to live a life pleasing to God and reminiscent of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The power of God, which is now at work in each believer, will not move the body away from generosity but spur it on towards a Christ-like generosity.

Mrs. Jenner

First, I’m not saying I agree with what Bruce Jenner has done. These are simply things that I’m trying to work through. I honestly do not understand what the trans community is going through. I’m sure it brings about a lot of heartache and confusion that none of us understand, especially those of us who have never felt that way. So I just don’t have a fully functioning opinion on this subject yet. I still have a lot of questions.

But if you’re going to publicly shame someone and call them nasty, make sure you don’t use stupid arguments in God’s name. If you invoke the Sovereign God of the universe’s name in an argument, make sure your argument isn’t ridiculous.

Like… if God wanted him to be a woman, He would have just made him that way. Okay, the only problem is that we don’t use that for ANYTHING else that we find wrong with a person. Deafness, Blindness, Hair color, Make Up, Mental Disorders. That’s a stupid thing to say…
Is Make-Up a sin because God made you ugly? I don’t think so.

Is it a sin to have plastic surgery? Some people would say yes. For those who would say no, why is it different to have your nose chopped off and reassigned but not your penis? What makes a penis special?

Why can we change any natural thing about ourselves, except for gender? Why can you go to the salon and dye your naturally gray hair to appear younger to other people and feel better about yourself without any conviction that you’re changing what God has made?

Why can you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day without conviction that you’re destroying your body that God has made, and then turn around a point your finger at Bruce Jenner for destroying the body that God made him?

If the Bible says that God does not look at the outside, but at the heart, does that have any bearing on the transgendered community? What does that mean for them?

I read one article that presupposed that our souls are gendered. This brings up other questions like the make-up of the soul and its function.Do our souls have a gender? The Bible never says that it does.

I think these are really important questions we need to think through and answer before we go wielding the sword around.I feel like most of the time (not always), the world hates when Christians speak up because its out of ignorance. We aren’t speaking as informed individuals. We get zealous for the truth and rush to speak up against things we know nothing about.

We need to speak up. The Christian voice needs to be heard, but ignorance does not. What needs to be heard are informed Christian voices that are grounded in love, lest we scream out as noisy gongs and clanging symbols.

I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE OLD TESTAMENT

If you’ve read up on your church history, you might have encountered the name Marcion. Marcion caused a huge controversy when he said that the God of the Old Testament was not the same God presented in Christ in the New Testament. For obvious reasons, that did not go well. Many in the church today would deny that they believed this line of thinking, but buy into it practically. That is not a totally insane idea. The Old Testament presents us with some very challenging passages that seemingly have little resemblance to Jesus. One of the biggest problem passages comes in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. God is going over the rules of warfare with Moses, and He tells Moses that all the neighboring cities (men, women, and children) are to all be destroyed. That doesn’t really sound like Jesus when He tells his followers to turn the other cheek and pray for your enemies. This is more or less a mandate to destroy your enemies. The Old Testament is full of tricky passages like this that will have you locked down in more chains than Nick Jonas. These few passages will often scare us away from reading the Old Testament, but that would be detrimental to our theology. John 3:16 really doesn’t mean much without the Old Testament to back it up. To help you wade through the chaotic waters of the Old Testament, here are three things to remember as you read things that make absolutely no sense to you.

God’s Character

One of the fascinatingly frustrating things about the Bible is that orthodox Christianity teaches that the God revealed in the Old Testament in the same God revealed in Jesus, who is the true image of the invisible God. As we look at Jesus’ teachings and example in the New Testament and then look back at some of Yahweh’s rather violent commands, a very helpful question to ask is: “How is God’s character consistent in both of these instances?” In our example from Deuteronomy, God reveals His love for His people through His jealous demand that Israel is to have no other gods. He wants Israel to enter into His shalom, His peace. This can’t be done if Israel’s heart is wandering after false gods. Jesus loves his followers and is jealous for them too. He says that He is the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him. God’s character will never change, but the way He deals with people will. So the next time you’re confused about an Old Testament text, ask yourself about God’s unchanging character!

Biblical Culture

When you step into the world of the Bible, you’re entering into the Ancient Near East. Fire falls down from heaven a lot. Locusts plague villages and destroy years worth of food. And you thought having to wait so long for Friends to show up on Netflix was bad. It was a completely different time with a different set of standards, social norms, and expectations. You can’t expect tribal people to act like sophisticated aristocrats. Biblical characters are going to act like ancient people, because that is exactly what they are. They spoke and thought in ancient ways. And God dealt with them in ancient ways. Remember from the previous section how God does not change, but the way He works in relation to people does? There you go. You cannot demand that God speak to people from an ANE culture in 21st century ways. That is not how God works. The next question to ask yourself as you read the Old Testament is: “What is the cultural situation in the text I’m reading?” In our example from Deuteronomy, an important principle to understand would be “herem.” It was the idea that all the spoils of war were consecrated to God in an act of worship. This was not the way God alone handled things. It was the way war worked in the Ancient Near East. Make sure you account for the culture in the Old Testament (and the New).

Jesus

As all good Christians know, Jesus is always the answer. Making your way through the Old Testament, you will begin to see just how literally true this is. Jesus is the answer. The third question to ask yourself is: “How does Jesus fit into what is happening in the text?” If we’re trusting the testimony set forth in the New Testament, then we believe that Jesus was the plan from before the foundations of the earth. God does what He does, as bizarre as it may seem, because there is a plan. As we read these complicated stories, we can begin to see the necessity of Jesus’ death and resurrection. From our example in Deuteronomy 20, God commands that the pagan enemies of Israel be destroyed. Looking forward in the grand narrative, we can see that God does not like destruction, but desires all to be saved. To end the destruction, He allows His son to take on flesh and dwell among us, so that He can go to the cross, pay the debt of our sin, and rise victorious over that sin and death. Just like the pagans in Deuteronomy 20, we are hopeless and stand condemned under the law, yet we have an advocate in Jesus who extends to us His grace so that we may become children of God.

The Old Testament can be more difficult to understand than Iggy Azalea. I’ve got 99 problems and the Torah is one. These three questions aren’t going to magically solve all the complications, but they may help you see things in a new light.

Evangelicalism as Boats

From the moment the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost, Christianity has been on the move. The gates of Hell cannot prevail against us! We’ve never stopped moving, and we won’t stop until Jesus returns. We’re constantly growing and changing. God is always doing something new and it is such a journey to see Him work and follow this wild, untamable Spirit. Imagine what Peter must have thought when God told him on the rooftop to eat foods he knew were forbidden in the Law. I’ve kept the law! I’ve remained Kosher and YOU commanded all my life! Yeah, well Peter, I’ve made those things clean. I’m doing something new, so stop arguing with me and go eat!

If you’ve spent any amount of time walking with the Lord, you already know that He is always on the move! Always doing something new! Always full of surprises.

Unfortunately, Conservative Evangelicalism has stopped moving. They’ve buried their feet in the sand, drawn their lines, and refuse to rethink where they’ve planted their feet or the lines they’ve drawn. I don’t believe its bad to have boundaries or refuse to go lax on the beliefs you hold dear. The problem is a refusal to rethink or reexamine presuppositions. Conservatives have presuppositions on a lot of things: The Bible, God, Morality, Politics, and Culture. Its not that nobody else has presuppositions. We all have them. The difference is that most people are willing to think through and reexamine those commonly held beliefs. Inerrancy, for example, is not a biblical argument. Its a philosophical one, based on the premise that when God speaks, it cannot be a lie. If that is true, and the Bible is God’s word, then the Bible is perfect and contains no contradictions. The only issue with that is the first page where Genesis 1 tells an entirely different creation story than Genesis 2. I do not believe that these two passages contradict themselves in purpose, but they literally do not fit together cohesively. But that doesn’t matter, because the presupposition can’t be challenged. And if you can’t challenge the presupposition without being ostracized from your community, you’re going to get stuck with nowhere to go. I’m not going to offer a solution here. I think the Bible tells us exactly what it is. I do know that the solution will never be found in refusing to ask questions or challenging tradition.

I see Evangelicalism as three boats: The Conservative Boat, The Progressive Boat, and the Liberal Boat.

The Conservative boat has thrown down its anchor and is “standing on a firm foundation” Meanwhile, its 2015 and they’re still trying to figure out if God likes guitars in worship services. If you can’t even get past something that simple, I’m not sure the anchor sunk all the way to the bottom. While the landscape is changing and the fish are moving up stream, this group threw down the boat anchor and refuse to set sail. They’re in the same old spot, offering the same old solutions.

The Liberal Boat got traded in for a speed boat. They don’t own an anchor (or lifejackets) and they are cruising through the lake without a care in the world. They’re rippling the waves without considering the other boaters out there who are trying to fish and jet ski. But if they see someone doing something old school, they don’t mind stopping their party to offer up their opinions to others who never asked for it. They’re having a good time. There really aren’t any rules at all on their boat.

Then there’s the Progressive Boat. They’ve pulled up their anchor, let the mast out, and going where the winds lead them. But when they get to a new spot, they don’t mind throwing out their anchor and hanging out for a while. They look over at the Conservative Boat and wish they’d realize how freeing it is to let the anchor up. They look over at the Liberal Boat and wish they’d invest in an anchor and a few life jackets.

I’ve been on the Conservative Boat my entire life, and unfortunately, its time to jump ship before that suckers sinks. I’m swimming over to the Progressive Boat, because at least their going somewhere. I’m ready to be apart of a community that embraces diversity, that doesn’t hide from differing opinions, that asks tough questions and doesn’t ask you to check your ability to think and reason at the door.

Even if the Bible was perfect (and I believe that it is perfect in purpose and intent), the people reading it are very much flawed. We’re never going to get everything in the Bible right. And that’s okay. Our interpretations don’t have to all be the same. We can disagree on some things without getting rid of all our boundaries. We can appreciate diverse opinions through the unity we find in the grace of the Gospel.

I’m tired of being anchored down in the same old dimly lit cove I’ve always been wading in. I’m ready to pull up the anchor, let the mast out, and set sail on the glorious adventures which the Spirit will lead me.

I appreciate the boat I was brought up on. It has taught me many valuable lessons. It has taught me who Jesus is and how to love God. But I think it’s time to follow the Spirit as He does something new. I think God is telling us something similar to what He told Peter! It’s okay to eat meat. It’s okay to pull up the anchor and journey out into the sun.

3 Reasons We Love Making The Bible A Rule Book

The Bible is first and foremost a story. It is a story that reveals who the creator of the universe is, His dealings with humanity, the redemption He offers through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and how that played out through the early church as they sought to advance the Kingdom of God. We should primarily relate to scripture as the continuation of the story that God is making and fulfilling. Yet, this is not how we find ourselves using the Bible often times. We would rather search for verses that will produce 5 tips for healthy relationships. We would also rather have a Bible that lays out rules so that we know exactly whats expected of us at all times. We want answers, but the Bible isn’t always set up to provide the answers we are seeking. It is, however, set up to show us our maker’s character through the true image of our God who is Jesus! Through His life and death, we can learn so much about what it means to live out Christ’s call to love God and love others in our present day and time. But there is still something inside of us that desperately wants to cling to a Bible that offers rules, instead of a Bible that offers us a story.

Here are three reasons I believe that we love making the Bible a rule book:

1) It’s easier to follow rules than live a life grounded in love

For a person who is born into sin, love isn’t exactly something that comes natural to us. The only thing we enter the world loving is ourselves. Unfortunately, God doesn’t tell us that the greatest command is to love ourselves. He says that the greatest command is to first love God and to secondly love other people. If we are following the example of Christ, then love is going to look humble, selfless, gracious, compassionate, gentle, and kind. Living out this kind of love is much more difficult than living out a prescribed set of rules. If you have had a hard day at work, and your spouse nags you for not taking out the trash, it would be much easier to not yell if there was simply an established rule that forbade yelling at a spouse. It would be much more difficult to take a deep breath and ask ones’ self “what is the best way to love my spouse in a compassionate and gentle way.” We’re sinners. We aren’t wired to naturally think about others. Rules are easy. Living out love is hard. Ultimately, when we choose to live from a place of love that comes from an overflow of the love that Christ has filled in our hearts, it is a much more satisfying experience than simply obeying a bunch of rules that has no connection to who we are (or who we desire to be) as people.

2) The Holy Spirit can be dangerous

In many churches, the Spirit functions like that weird uncle at Christmas that no one wants to talk about. He’s there, but He’s a little different from the rest of the group, and when He starts to speak up or do something out of the ordinary (which is always likely to happen), the subject is quickly changed and heads and quickly turned the other way. Jesus doesn’t teach us that He is going to leave us with a book that has rules in it to guide us. He teaches us that he is going to leave us his Spirit. Let me interject here that I totally believe that scripture is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness. But we often cling to the Bible to the neglect of the Spirit (as if they were equals). We worship the God who is presented in the Bible, yet many come eerily close to worshipping the Bible itself. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, you can just close the book. It’s not going to work the way it needs to work without God being totally present in His guidance as you read His word. We worship a God that is never dull. He is full of surprises, yet we tend to flee from progress and change. We would much rather stick to what we know. The Bible is a book where the words never change. John 3:16 is always going to be John 3:16 no matter what day you turn there. But the Spirit is constantly pushing us to see things in a new way. The Spirit challenges our boundaries and often sends us off the edge as we attempt to weave our way through this journey called life. When we cling to a familiar Bible full of rules and devoid of a wild Spirit, we will never live up to the potential that God created us to have.

3) We believe God’s holiness and perfection necessitates strictness and black and white thinking.

God tells the Israelites that they have to be holy, because He is holy. They are supposed to obey all the laws set for them in the Old Testament, which sets the apart from the other nations. In the New Testament, we learn that the law was set up to reveal the sinfulness of our hearts. Fortunately, we serve a God of grace. And where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Think of a daughter who disobeys her father. He must punish her for her disobedience and says that she is not allowed to use the phone for 2 weeks. There is nothing inherently wrong about using the phone. It is the Father’s way of punishing His daughter for disobeying. Its super similar with the laws that God establishes for Israel. God had planned on making Israel a kingdom of priests. He tells them to come up Mt. Sinai with Moses, but they get afraid and refuse to go. Instead of consecrating them at the top of the mountain as a Kingdom of Priests, God gives Moses laws and creates a Kingdom with priests instead. Hebrews teaches us that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest and that through Him, we also are a kingdom of priests. It is so awesome how God unfolds His story! I don’t believe that dads are unreasonable or believe talking on phones is evil when daughters are punished for disobeying. I don’t believe God is unreasonable or believes that lobster is evil because His sons and daughters disobeyed Him. There is a time and purpose for everything that God does! We are living in and through a Messiah who understands what it means to be human. God is holy, but that doesn’t mean he loves to weigh us down with rules. If He did, He would not have sacrificed His son to set us free!

May you live in the grace and peace of a God who desperately loves you and wants to use you to tell His story.

WICKED Dream Cast

Okay… So this is an out of place post for this blog, but I honestly LOVE the broadway production of Wicked! And ever since they announced a motion picture to be released hopefully in 2016, I’ve been seriously thinking about who I would like to see in this roles. Here is (in my personal opinion) who I wanna see play this beloved characters:

Elphaba – Lea Michele – There is just no other option. She has the acting ability, the singing talent, the emotional draw to be the perfect Elphaba. She has already sung Defying gravity on Glee, Idina Menzel played her mother on Glee, and she has sung For Good with Kristen Chenoweth. She is perfect for the part.
Glinda – Taylor Swift – I love Taylor Swift. She is so cute and in her role of “Valentine’s Day,” I genuinely laughed. At first, I was against the idea, but the more I dwelt on it, the more I could see Taylor being the perfect Glinda.
Nessa – Anna Kendrick – Anna has a beautiful voice and I think she has the perfect personality to play Nessarose. Kendrick is amazing in EVERYTHING she does, and I feel like this would be no exception.
Fiyero – Eddie Redmayne – This guy is a hot commodity right now in Hollywood. He is sought after actor and he proved his musical ability in his role in Les Mis. He has that classic look and voice that would make him perfect for this role.
Boq – Josh Hutcherson – Another hot commodity in Hollywood for his Hunger Games role, I think Josh is a genuinely kind and funny guy who really captures the spirit of Boq’s character. And Josh is super short, which makes him ideal.
Mme Morrible – Jessica Lange – There is no one I love to hate more on American Horror Story than Jessica Lange. She is so amazing and can do just about anything! I think she would add so much by playing Morrible!
The Wizard – Johnny Depp – What can’t Depp do? I think he would make the perfect wizard because he can be funny, quirky, and serious all at the same time, which is super demanding, but necessary to be the Wizard.

This would be my Wicked dream cast! 🙂