An Interesting Read

I read this today and felt it was worth sharing with you.

http://www.firstthings.com/blog/2008/08/26/back-to-saddleback/

Thoughts? Comments?

A Pilgrims Progress - Some Thoughts on Talkative

As I have shared before, I am reading A Pilgrims Progress. It is skillfully and wonderfully written and has caused me to see some things in new light. Below is a piece of the story.

At this point, Christian and Faithful have come upon a man named Talkative. Talkative desired conversation about edifying things about God and Salvation. During the conversation Faithful was convinced that they had come across a brother and fellow pilgrim on the journey to Zion. That is until Christian advised him that he knew the man from his days in the town of destruction and that he was not what he seemed. Faithful decides to steer the conversation in the direction of what saving faith is really all about. Here is part of Talkative's answer and then Faithfull’s response.

TALKATIVE. Great knowledge of gospel mysteries.

FAITHFUL. This sign should have been first; but first or last, it isalso false; for knowledge, great knowledge, may be obtained in themysteries of the gospel, and yet no work of grace in the soul. [1Cor. 13] Yea, if a man have all knowledge, he may yet be nothing, and so consequently be no child of God. When Christ said, "Do youknow all these things?" and the disciples had answered, Yes; headdeth, "Blessed are ye if ye do them." He doth not lay the blessingin the knowing of them, but in the doing of them. For there isa knowledge that is not attended with doing: He that knoweth hismasters will, and doeth it not. A man may know like an angel, andyet be no Christian, therefore your sign of it is not true. Indeed,to know is a thing that pleaseth talkers and boasters, but to do isthat which pleaseth God. Not that the heart can be good ithoutknowledge; for without that, the heart is naught. There is,therefore, knowledge and knowledge. Knowledge that resteth in the bare speculation of things; and knowledge that is accompanied withthe grace of faith and love; which puts a man upon doing even thewill of God from the heart: the first of these will serve thetalker; but without the other the true Christian is not content."Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shallobserve it with my whole heart." [Ps. 119:34]

TALKATIVE. You lie at the catch again; this is not for edification.

FAITHFUL. Well, if you please, propound another sign how this work of grace discovereth itself where it is.

TALKATIVE. Not I, for I see we shall not agree.

This exchange has reminded me that although there are those in the visible church who have great knowledge of the gospel message, they are not actually Christians. I work with the teens in my church. Many of them have been raised in the church and they know more about the Bible than some pastors of other churches (the liberal ones….ha ha). Anyway, when you strip it all away it is just what knowledge. To paraphrase John MacArthur, hey haven’t made Jesus Lord. They aren’t living out there faith in fear and trembling and that leads me to believe that they have no faith……just knowledge.

This goes way beyond the teens I know. I feel that there are adults in my life where this may be the same thing. Is this judgmental….a little I guess, but the passage above reminds me that these conversations need to be had. We need to talk to those in our lives about such things to either help them strengthen their faith or to understand where they are so we know how to best interact (read: evangelize) with them. Of course all of this should be wrapped in respect and love, and we are not to walk around quizzing everyone like some crazed all knowing super spiritual Christian. We are to look for the opportunity and enter the conversation wisely.

Interestingly, the answer Talkative gives is very familiar. Is this what we are afraid of? To disagree? Something to think about.

Again, I highly recommend reading Pilgrims Progress. It looks daunting, but I read it in small chunks. There is a site called dailylit.com. You can go there and sign up for free and every day (or every other day) or once a week they will send you an email with part of the book. It usually takes me 5 minutes to really read and digest what they have sent. These books are all out of copyright so it is perfectly legal to read them for free this way. Check it out.

Pilgrims Progress

I have been reading Pilgrims Progress. I purchased it several years ago. At that time an older man that was mentoring me said "you'll never finish it." He apparantly had a problem with books that are not written in the modern tounge. Anyway, I got distracted and put it down. I have recently started again and am determined to finish. I find that if I take it in small chunks I can really reflect on the story and what it is saying. Anyway, here is a little something I took from it...this is a song Christian sings as he is coming out of the valley of the shadow of death, after he has encountered Pagan and Pope. Enjoy!

O world of wonders! (I can say no less),

That I should be preserved in that distress

That I have met with here! O blessed be

That hand that from it hath deliver'd me!

Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin

Did compass me, while I this vale was in:

Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets, did lie

My path about, that worthless, silly I

Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;

But since I live, let JESUS wear the crown.

Are You Serious?!?!

Well, I have been lax in posting again, but I think I have an excuse. I have been faced with some major life changing decisions lately. Let me start from the beginning.....

I have previously written about the things happening at my job. I work for a major American life insurance company, and they are consolidating some operations. In that post I shared that I had somewhere between now and 18 months before my job would be phased out and moved to Columbus Ohio. I did what every person in that position should do; I started the process of finding another job. Delaware has some good opportunities, and I just needed to find the right one. I had plenty of time because I was sure that I would be safe for about a year.

About three weeks after the big announcement, I was called into our director’s office. She wanted to know what my plans were for the future. I told her that I was looking around. I anticipated that she was going to offer me some sort of incentive to stay till the end. This is a common practice for companies to offer cash bonuses if you don't jump ship before they have moved your function. To my surprise, she said that my company wanted to keep me. They offered me a promotion as well. The caveat was that I would have to move to Ohio. The package was attractive, and I advised I needed to think about it. She told me that her boss in Columbus was going to be in town the next day and that I should talk to her about it.

I had the meeting and the info was very interesting. She advised me that I didn't have to move for a while (at least 6 months, maybe a year), and that I had two weeks to think about it. Wow, I needed to make that decision in two weeks. There was MUCH about this deal that was attractive.

Now I am not the sort of person who makes life decisions on a whim, so I really began to think about it, and pray. I sought advice from those that I respect and those that love me. The reactions were very consistent. They went something like this....."We/I love you and don't want you to be out of my/our lives, but this seems to really be a good opportunity for you and it seems that God is leading you there." I also went to my family, who immediately said I should go (insert joke here).

So after much thought I made the decision to accept the job. I will be moving to Columbus Ohio sometime in the next 6-9 months. I'm excited, and a little nervous. I have never lived anywhere outside of the same 10 square mile are area in DE. I never went away to college, or spent a summer living at camp. I am really looking forward to what God has in store for me.

My plan is to dedicate two years of my life to this. At the end of two years I will evaluate the decision and if God is leading me back to Delaware, then I will return. This is really going to be an adventure in worship. Pray for me.

A Thing Happened at Work Today

So today as I entered the building a strange feeling was the air. I didn't exactly know what it was, but it felt ominous. Certain people had a strange knowing looks in their eyes and others just looked like they hated their jobs or had a very rough weekend. I shrugged it off and got on the elevator. When I got off on my floor and entered my team's area, there were three coworkers huddled in a conspiratorial fashion. At first I thought they were talking about the weekend football playoff games and the way they had worked out, but I was wrong. They didn't look like they were enjoying the conversation. I walked over to a guy who sits near me and casually asked him what was going on. He casually replied that one of the managers in our area had been laid off, or so he had heard.

At this point my area erupted into disarray. There was wild speculation and at lot of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) running rampant. Then we got an email invitation to a meeting for everyone at 10:30. A couple ladies in my area started to immediately pack up their personal belongings because they believed that they would be able to just grab them and go home after this "termination" meeting. My manager came in and very emotionally asked them to stop speculating about what was going on, they would find out soon enough. There was complaining and a little argument.

I have to say that I was very calm. People get so caught up in their emotions. I understand that people have mortgages and car payments and debt payments and need to eat, but I usually err on the side of not worrying about a situation. It may have something with what Jesus said in Mathew 6: 27-33

27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the
field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in
all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the
grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry,
saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.

There are things in this world you can not control. I'm grateful for those things because they make me depend on Christ more. If I could control everything what need would I have for a Savior? I'm not saying that I never worry, but I worry much less than those with no hope.

So we had our meeting at 10:30, and we were told that 15 people got 60 day termination notices and that the rest of us will be phased out over the next 18 months. I suspect that I have around a year left. Lots of time to still have a job, but also lots of time to rely on Christ and to truly discern what he wants for me. I can't wait to see what opportunities He has for me. Yes, I have a mortgage and a car payment, and credit cards and I have to eat (I could actually do this less), but overall I must trust in Romans 8:28

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.

I just need to understand and trust in His purpose. So I am employed for now, and grateful for it. But I may not be employed tomorrow. I need to prepare for this, but not worry. I need to make the necessary decisions to make sure I meet my responsibilities, but I need not fret. It will work out to His purpose for my life. Amen amen.

Sabbatical (A return to blogging)

So it is obvious that my posting has slowed considerably, and then when I did post they were either video clips or little things. I know that this is a horrible thing for bloggers. I must admit that I have been a bit overwhelmed with life the last several months. Some of you may be thinking that a single man with no kids should not be so overwhelmed with life. I disagree from the observations of my own life. I over commit. I work a full time Monday thru Friday job, on top

of that I was spending on average 4 nights a week participating in something at church. I also began kickboxing at the beginning of October. My home life consisted of me leaving my home in the morning and then stopping in to change clothes or grab this or that. My condo became for of a convenience store stop for me that my home. I was getting burned out.

 

This became apparent to me around early November. I began to speak to some people whose counsel I trusted about these feelings. Through that counsel and my own thoughts I decided to take a sabbatical from everything. I would take a break from youth work, choir, etc.. I can't tell you the last time I read a good book on theology or even my Bible consistently. I think that I can be held up as the poster child for doing ministry work, without personal growth. So beginning in January I am free. I still attend Sunday morning worship and sing on the worship team when needed, but that is a one morning a week commitment. The rest of the time I am focusing on some things that I have let slip. I am taking two classes this semester to accelerate finishing this degree hanging over my head. I am also looking to dramatically increase my working out and health goals.

 

I have also decided that I want to write more. I have long had a dream of being a writer of some sort. This means that I need to actually write something. Part of my dearth of blogging is because I want to put well thought out posts up, not just quick quips here and there. You will see more of that going forward. I know that most of this post is driving you English scholars crazy, but I think that writing well is like building a muscle. We'll see if I improve.

 

So there you have it. I'm going to be blogging more, and here is a list of things that I plan on talking about in the months ahead.

 

1. I want to decide how I feel about infant baptism. It has long been a topic of conversation between me and a couple of my more theologically interested friends. Some are for it, and some are not. I have always said I don't have to make up my mind since I have no kids, but......I just need to explore this issue and decide.

 

2. Issues of the modern church and how we "do" church. There is a lot of discussion going on about the emerging vs. emergent vs. traditional churches. I've posted some videos in the past with very little comment, but I want to actually discuss some of these ideas.

 

3. My goals with my weight loss. My successes and my failures. I have a friend who feels that journaling some of this stuff was vital to her journey. She blogs about it and suggested I try the same. It will be personal and I will need to become more public about some of this, but I think that it can be worth it in the long run. I really feel that there are certain things in my life that I either can't deal with or God is waiting to give me until I deal with this issue. More late...

 

4. Interesting stories and other odd posts that I think I may have a good angle on.

 

So I hope I can recapture your readership if I have let you done over the last 6 months, and if your new to my blog, then say hi.

 

RAV