Tortured

When I read the confession, I threw the paper on the floor and screamed, not from my agony, but his. In my mind’s eye, I could see the captive tortured. I could hear his bones crack. I could smell his scorched flesh. I could see him enduring it all; saying nothing except the same words that had branded him as a traitor. The words attributed to him had to be those of another.

The captive in this case was not a person, but a passage of scripture. I did throw a paper to the floor and yell. The paper was not a confession. It was simply some notes for a Bible study I was doing. But I, with either spectacular silliness or a degree of perception, reacted to what was written as if it were incredibly important and fundamentally wrong. The author of the notes was attributing meaning and intent to a challenging verse that tortured the context. He broke the bones, the actual structure of the words. He wrote a “confession” that he insisted was endorsed by the captive verse, and broadcasted it to the world. When I read the words, it was as if I were an unwitting witness to a torture born confession.

I was very upset, but to be clear, I was not offended because I have a different doctrine than the writer. I mostly find agreement and use the resource because it takes the study of scripture very seriously. It’s not that I have a different understanding of the passage. I don’t understand it. It does not easily fit in with my admittedly limited understanding of the grand themes of the Bible. But I am offended by the distortion of the text and context to make it fit into a theology, even an accurate theology. We must not adapt scripture to fit our preconceptions and imagine God to say what we think wise and practical. Or expedient. This is the committed Christian’s chief place of vulnerability to betrayal. But how does this happen?

I came of age in a time when prisoners of war were routinely tortured so that they would sign bogus confessions and publicly defame the country that they served. On TV, I saw gaunt, wooden, hollow-eyed men say things that everyone knew refuted everything they held dear. Yet they confessed to things that were not true. The wounded, broken men spoke broken words, emptied of the conviction that had bled out from of their wounds.

I have also seen the Church suffer the effects of torture in our battle with Satan. Only, in this case, the enemy often torments subtly to obtain small concessions rather than outright betrayal. In the midst of loneliness, thoughts bombard the mind to lower the standard for appropriate companionship. Financial pressure cuts at resolve for integrity. Hunger for church growth gnaws at the truth of the cost of following Christ. Most often, we see the process as being flexible; simplifying; or in the case of the Bible study, fitting scripture into our system of understanding. To accomplish His goal of diminishing God’s Word, Satan may say He will end His torture if we give adherence to a doctrine rather than to Truth; give a plan of salvation instead of a Savior; replace peace with the absence of conflict; talk about Jesus instead of obeying Him; or build a building instead of the Church. Too often we can stand no more and have succumbed to these lies.

I wonder if, when others see and hear us, they sometimes see broken, spiritually gaunt, hollowed eyed people speaking broken words, emptied of the conviction that bled out from their wounds. In this, I remember with hope the promise of the prophet. By His wounds we are healed.

By His wounds I am healed.

Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed ; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.

Text and Context

What’s your favorite scripture?

Most of us, me included, gravitate towards passages that give comfort, assurance, or reason to trust. I’ve never heard anyone quote what Jesus said in Matthew 7:23 as one of their top ten: “Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” We understandably want comfort rather than confrontation, but that mindset can lead to misunderstanding.

God loves me and cares for me faithfully. There are many, many passages that affirm those core truths. I need to often be reminded. But it’s also important that I understand that God often describes what He means in more detail before or after our favorite verse. And it’s not necessarily what I would assume. For example, I heard a story about a Northern woman getting a job in the rural South. One day at lunchtime, she was inundated with work and didn’t feel she should take the time to go out for lunch. A co-worker was going out, and the woman asked if the co-worker would pick her up a sandwich and bring it back. The co-worker said, simply: I don’t care to.” and left. The woman was devastated because to her, the answer meant “I don’t want to.” Not only was the woman hungry, but more importantly, she worried about being able to work effectively with cold, mean co-worker— One who wouldn’t even try to offer an excuse like, “I don’t have time— Sorry! Just a blatant, –at least as the woman understood--“ I don’t want to take an extra 30 seconds for you.” A while later, the co-worker returned with sandwich in hand. The conversation that resulted showed the woman that “I don’t care to” really meant “I don’t mind at all.” It was necessary to dig deeper for the context of what the idiom meant in that particular culture. The words isolated from their context resulted in misunderstanding.

When life seems out of control, I often think of Jeremiah 29:11:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

At first reading, this passage seemed to give a promise for a rosy future. I want to prosper! I want God to bless me with a bright future! And He does! It’s just not necessarily in the ways that I would imagine. The context of these incredible promises was that Israel was beginning a long period of exile to Babylon. Sin had resulted in discipline and it was important for exiles to remember that, in spite of the present pain, God’s long term plans and promises remained intact. Out of context, the verse seemed to mean that they (and consequently me) would avoid difficulties that brought short term harm. The context is that God’s faithfulness transcends current circumstances. Although they couldn’t return to the Promised Land, their children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren would. If you or I misunderstand God to promise that life will always be pleasant based on scriptures such as this, then we will come to believe that either God is a liar or that we are somehow disqualified from enjoying His promises..

I’m not a Biblical scholar. It’s important to have scholars searching the nuances that knowledge of original languages and culture can bring. Those who do that can deepen our understanding and enrich us. But the intended audience of the Bible has never been the scholar. It’s always been “us” –the Israelites, the Church, the seekers. The majority of difficulties that we have in understanding are the same as woman in the story. She made a reasonable assumption of what her co-worker meant, but until she had a conversation with her, she didn’t and couldn’t understand the context. Until we begin to dialogue with scripture, we will be stuck in misunderstanding. If we don’t understand what a person says, we might ask, “What did you say?” The actual words, the ‘text, is the starting point. If we still don’t understand, we might say, “What do you mean?” The surrounding life events, culture, and other things said that modify or enhance the meaning of the words is the context. Whether in life or scripture, text and context are the keys to understanding. It often takes some effort to dig out the context, but it’s well worth the effort.

If you don’t believe me yet, just ask the husband whose wife just said she was fine after a tough argument and he took the words at face value without looking at her face and body language. I’m sure he eventually found out he didn’t understand at all.

Who’s Your Daddy?

My wife and I traveled to a southern state for our honeymoon. We stayed at a cabin in the mountains. When we saw a large insect that looked like a cricket by the fireplace, I performed my “manly” duties and dispatched the intruder. As we examined the remains, we saw it had a cricket’s body and a scorpion’s stinger. A friend later shared she had had a similar incident, but was stung and her arm went numb. She also killed the culprit, and when she looked closely at it and saw the same odd mixture of species, she took the offender to the local university entomologist (bug-ologist). The scientist explained that scorpions were migrating and occasionally interbred with crickets and the result was what she brought in. The daddy of this aberation was an aggressive, virulent intruder who mixed his genes with an unsuspecting, peace loving local. The result of this union wounded our friend.

A few years ago, I became close to a fellow leader at our local church. I enjoyed him and respected him immensely. He also had a very responsible position at the corporation for which he had worked at for many years. One evening his wife shared with great pride that he had learned many things from his management position at work and he was looking forward to implementing them in his responsibilities at church.

Unfortunately, he did act on what he had learned. I’m confident that his intentions were good, but incorporating corporate “wisdom” and giving it equal or greater weight than biblical wisdom ended up causing great harm. In a time of crisis for our church, his response was that we immediately needed to do something. A number of people strongly agreed. Others said; “Pray! Seek God! And after we’ve done that, we’ll make a plan of action.” We came to a bitter impasse. Both groups wanted the church to overcome adversity and thrive, but the “father” of the first mindset was human wisdom and the “father” of the second mindset was God as the source of wisdom. Sadly, we are routinely ruled by mindsets and principles that do not come from this side of the Cross.

For example, who and what is the pastor? Is this minister an individual who serves at the pleasure of people, and so must, first and foremost, be a politician. Or is he, or she, a shepherd who is allotted responsibility to care for some of the Chief Shepherd’s sheep? Is pastoral ministry a job or a calling? Boards and congregations have tended to regard the pastor as an “at will” employee who can be dismissed based on a lack of popularity. They don’t understand that, in the short term, unpopularity is often the result of following God closely. (Think “Jesus.”) They don’t understand the difference between a job and a God given calling.

A genuine calling results in devotion to ministry, and giving far beyond what is “required.” To the ones called to pastoral ministry, the cost of sacrifice to themselves and their families is secondary to their passion for Christ and for those for whom He died. But there is sacrifice too painful to bear. Having their high calling treated as only a job that can easily be filled by another imparts to those in ministry a sense of personal dishonor and disrespect for the office of pastor. Too many have been so grievously wounded by this that they are lost to ministry. And sometimes, they are even lost to themselves.

There are broader implications. Few mourn the loss of the wounded left to suffer in their solitude, and fewer still turn aside from their busy lives to care for the hurting. In doing this, we deny that we, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the well and the hurting, are the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. We deny that what we do for the least of these hurting ones, we do for Jesus Himself. And I’m terrified by the knowledge that some believe they have served God well in their mutiny from God’s seemingly impractical ways. Those who devalue their pastor for the sake of growth in numbers or finances, or who shut their ears to the cry of wounded so they can accomplish their goals believe they can serve God better in the manner of their own choosing rather than in the ways that He mandates. The father of their understanding is no longer God but human wisdom. I’d much rather face a giant mutant scorpion-cricket hybrid than Biblical purpose crossbred with worldly perspectives.

Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will

Colossians 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

I John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

“Church, The Series”

If the Church were a TV series, what would it be?

There are, of course, programs that gain popularity because they play to our worst inclinations. Lust, violence, greed, and the desire to see others demeaned are a negative aspect of our humanity that an increasing amount of television caters to. But many others are based on our common needs, desires, and experiences. If well done, these can even become an integral part of our common culture. Mayberry means a close knit small town. Ozzie and Harriet communicates an idyllic family even to those who never have seen the show.

In my imagination, “Church, The Series” might be about sports. Perhaps it would be about an underdog team that always wins in the final moments of the big game. Jesus does win at the end, and the devil is our adversary. (I guess it sounds like a movie, not a series.) Or maybe, the show could be about a hero like Jack Bauer from “24” who reluctantly saves an oblivious world season after season with a team of mostly expendable characters. (Jesus did save an oblivious world, didn’t He? But I guess He didn’t torture anyone—He allowed Himself to be tortured.) Or how about a romance? We are the Bride of Christ, aren’t we? (Unfortunately, there would be fewer men watching than are interested in attending church.)

After eliminating those possibilities, my mind turns toward reality TV and comedies. A reality show about the church could work, but it’s too painful to even consider. But an ensemble comedy could work. I can see it now: a group of people thrown together, muddling through obstacles together, and growing to love one another in spite of often not liking one another. And there are classic comedies to consider as examples, aren’t there? “Andy Griffith”, “Mary Tyler Moore”, “Taxi”, “MASH”, “Bill Cosby”, “Cheers”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld”, and “The Office” are some that come to mind.

“MASH”, a comedy about the doctors, nurses, and staff of an army mobile hospital unit in the Korean War, makes the top of my list for three reasons. It was the most popular. Until the recent Superbowl, the final episode was the most watched show of all time in America. The show was successful in connecting the audience to the story and the characters. Secondly, the characters were flawed and funny, but passionate about their mission of healing the wounded. And lastly, their relationships were forged by their shared commitment to the mission, not by similar cultural background or interests or inclinations.

In many ways, MASH could be a parable of what the Church looks like when it works. Our mission is never funny, but we often are. We are quirky and murky when we have too much time on our hands, but when there is a noble mission, we risk everything for each other or even a stranger. When we realize that we are sent to be mobile healers of those wounded by wiles and weapons of Satan, we become heroes—reluctant, comic heroes-- but heroes none the less.

Unfortunately, those who view us from a distance often see us more like Seinfeld, famous for being about nothing. I don’t mind being laughed at, but I don’t want to be about nothing.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last.

The Two Walls

I walked in through the city gate after working hard in the groves all day. I was weary, but content. The olives were nearly ready, and soon I would start the harvest. The rain had come at the right times. There was peace and few bandits. I looked forward to tending our small garden and then sitting in the twilight with my family.

When I reached home, I checked on my children and our garden. The children were fine, but the plants were all trampled down. I yelled for my wife, and she tried to calm me, explaining that the neighbor children had been playing without supervision and had run through our garden. All that contentment was trampled with my plants. I did my best to stake up what I could. I picked damaged vegetables that were still unripe and hoped we could get some good from them. As I worked, I decided what I would do to keep this from ever happening again.

At bedtime, I lay down and pretended to sleep. When I heard everyone had the breath of sleep, I quietly got up and went to the city wall. I climbed up, took an armful of stones and carried them home to my garden. I laid them out for the beginning of a little barrier to protect my garden. Surely, the absence of a few rocks from the wall wouldn’t be noticed and would hurt no one…A week later, I did the same. Another week or so later, I went out once again. Soon, my garden was protected.
I thought no one noticed. At least no one said anything, but I noticed other little walls slowly growing as our city’s wall gradually grew shorter. I didn’t care. My garden was safe. Besides, our city hadn’t been attacked in generations.

The next year at harvest time, I was again coming home from working in the olive groves feeling contented. There were rumors of war, but one always heard all sorts of rumors. The harvest was going to be good, and my garden would this year provide for our needs. As I walked along the path, others ran past me, yelling, “Run! Run for your life! They’re coming!” Though I didn’t know who was coming, I, ran. And though I ran fast, the horses carrying the men with swords and spears ran much faster. I stumbled and fell senseless and the riders passed me by, thinking me dead like many others all around me.

When I came to myself, it was almost dark. I saw the city gates closed, but it was clear that wall was no longer a barrier to anyone determined to enter. I, too, was determined, as were the warriors who had gone over the wall before me. Stealthily, I went from building to building. The soldiers had finished conquering and now were now giving themselves to the rewards of that conquest. Now and again, I heard a woman or child cry out in anguish.

Finally, I reached our home. The door was askew. No one was there, but there was blood on the threshold. I heard drunken voices talking and laughing, coming in my direction, and hid in what had been our home. As I cowered in the corner, the sound of one of the neighbor children screaming, first in terror, then in pain, filled the night. He was one who had thoughtlessly played in my garden. When his cries stopped, I knew he would never play thoughtlessly again.

I remembered my anger. I remembered just wanting to keep my garden safe. And I remembered stealing the stones that were for my community’s protection and taking them for myself, and then others doing the same. I remembered my wife's face and my children's' laughter. I knew I would remember always because memories were all that remained--except my garden wall.

Haggai 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.

Waiting, but Not Ready

I'm usually the first one up on the mornings our family is taking a trip. But somehow, I am also usually the last one ready. I say I'm waiting on them, but I get distracted and don't get 100% finished with my own preparations. Maybe I haven't yet showered, or brushed my teeth, or put on my shoes. So even though I'm early, I'm late because I'm not quite ready.

I drive an old car. I love it and enjoy driving it. It runs well and dependably in spite of over 200,000 miles of use. Other than maintenance, I've done hardly anything to it. It was a huge surprise a few months ago when I turned the key and it didn't start immediately. It made a single click and then did nothing. I tried again and it started immediately. So it wasn't the battery, it was the starter. Most of the time, the car would start fine. But increasingly, it would only click. And increasingly, it would take longer and longer for it to start. Occasionally, I'd even have to get out and tap the starter with a hammer. But money was really tight, and there never seemed to be enough for new starter. When it was time, however, to drive hours to another state, I knew I couldn't delay any longer. I knew I wasn't prepared for the trip. I could get stranded in the proverbial middle of nowhere. A long standing, long deferred need suddenly became urgent. I've been waiting for this trip for a long time, but I wasn't ready.

I feel the same way about the Church. I love the Church. I don't mind that many don't find it attractive in a trendy way. We are well worn, but built to last a long time. But increasingly, I have a sense of urgency. There is a road ahead of us that we are not ready to travel. The familiar ways that we have been accustomed to navigate are closing. The culture that has mostly been friendly to us is changing. No longer will that culture help us; indeed it is becoming hostile. We can't afford to "break down" in that neighborhood.

After 9/11, many people were saying, "This changes everything." There was an awareness that an era had ended, and a new one had begun. But that awareness seemed to be quickly lost, and for most, lives continued as if the old ways of understanding the world hadn't been outdated. Those who maintained the same assumptions about the economy as before have had a wakeup call. Savings depleted. Homes foreclosed. Whole industries decimated. It is as if there were a sudden temperature change from 35 degrees to 30 degrees. We'd been used to water being a liquid. If we stepped in a puddle, we'd get wet. Now, if we step in the same place, we'll slip. Or more apropos, we've been driving on a rainy day. The temperature falls below freezing as we're in the comfortable car and are totally unaware that the wet looking spot ahead is a patch of ice. Soon we'll be in the ditch and we don't have a clue.


We've been comfortable, and unaware of fundamental changes going on outside. For the most part, the world has been, at worst, neutral towards the Church in America and has even often helped us. In a sense, our culture (and government) has financed our buildings, programs, and staffs. We don't pay property taxes. Our contributions are tax deductable. There have been relatively few strings attached. But it seems likely that either those "subsidies" with cease or become leverage to force compliance to ways of acting and speaking that are clearly not Biblical. And then, what will we do? The level of giving will decrease if giving is no longer tax deductible. We will be unable to pay for buildings we have built on the assumption that giving would always increase, not decrease. Or if it's decreed that we can no longer proclaim Jesus as the only way to know God, or lose our tax deductibility status, what will we choose?

It is, I believe, inevitable that our favored status with the government ends. That is only the most obvious outcome of the changes already begun. It is not the most difficult. Ridicule will morph into persecution. Worldwide economic and political policies, unfettered greed and lust for power, and growing unrest among many groups could lead to unemployment and need and suffering that dwarfs anything most of us in the Western world have ever experienced. What do we do? Some will want to get involved politically. Do it, if the Lord moves you, but don't expect too much. Political victories do not change men's hearts. Others will want to stock pile food or invest in gold. Again, do it, if the Lord moves you, but food can rot and gold be stolen. These things can be blessing and provision, but they are not the answer.

Jesus tells the parable of the foolish and wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom in the night. All are asleep, and wake up when the message arrives that the bridegroom is coming. All begin to get their lamps ready, but five have no oil, no fuel. They were waiting but not ready. I think that this may apply to most of us. We are waiting, but asleep. And we are not ready. We have not learned how to depend on God rather than the world. We howl when a privilege like tax-deductibility is threatened, but remain silent when hypocrisy in our local churches demean the Name of God. We have not learned how to care for one another let alone lay our lives down for one another. When serious difficulties come, it may be too late to decide we were not prepared. We are waiting for Jesus to return, but not ready to live for Him now.

Matthew 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Forest AND the Trees: The Good News (part 5)

It seems to me that I most often hear the Gospel of John quoted, especially in regards to sharing the good news. "You must be born again;" ' For God so loved the world;" "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly;" and "I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me" are rightly quoted often. But they are relational verses--verses that allow me to see myself from God's perspective. I, and all the individuals around me, can each be a "tree" in God's forest. That's great news, but by itself, it is the story of each tree. Other parts of the Bible give the perspective of seeing the "forest" rather than the individual.

Matthew is often a "big picture" account of the good news rather than focusing on the individual seeker. Early in the gospel, as Jesus' ministry is beginning in earnest, he writes: "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. He speaks about the kingdom of God in over fifty verses. John does it in about three. Simply put, the kingdom of God is Jesus, as king, and those whom He rules. Being part of that kingdom is what we're told to seek first. It's the pearl that we should sell everything we possess in order to purchase. It's the tiny mustard seed that grows to be huge.

The possibility of being a part of God's rule, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son, is good news. Those that He rules get to enjoy Him for all eternity. Within His borders are protection and provision. In His garden are productivity and fruitfulness. Being under His rule gives unity and common purpose to all the divergent trees and allows then to become a forest.

Individual salvation is essential, but it's not what we are commanded to seek first. Forgiveness of sins makes it possible to have fellowship with a holy God, but it's not the thing for which I sell everything to purchase. Those things are among the individual elements that make up the larger picture. They are trees that make up the forest.

Preaching the good news of the kingdom focuses on Jesus as King. Jesus as King rules His followers and gives all that is necessary for them to obey and productively work together for the King's benefit. Preaching the good news of salvation focuses on Jesus as Savior. Jesus as Savior forgives sins and saves us from the judgement we deserve. Announcing salvation while neglecting to proclaim the rule of God gives those who believe permission to go to heaven but no power to obey and be changed on this earth.

I want to go to heaven, but I also want to be productive. And I don't just want to be productive. I long to be part of what God has been doing since the beginning of time. I may be a little tree, but I'm part of a big forest. To me, that's incredibly good news!

Matthew 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.