Reflections
Thoughts about living a more beautiful story.
The only thing that counts
It is oh so easy to get stuck studying the words written 2000 years ago and turning them into laws to govern our behavior and religious practice.
It is oh so easy to get distracted by definitions of theological words found in the ancient writings.
It is oh so easy to make correct doctrinal beliefs the highest priority.
It is oh so easy to create to-do and don’t-do lists based on the ancient writings.
It is oh so easy to focus on creating and maintaining religious structures and systems, at great financial cost and human energy cost.
It is oh so easy to police the beliefs and behavior of those within and without the community of Jesus-followers.
But what did Paul say again?
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
How partying might make you more like Jesus
“A glutton and a wine bibber.” That’s how Jesus’ critics described him. What does this suggest about Jesus’ eating and drinking habits? Well, when was the last time you called someone with a runner’s body a glutton? Isn’t it possible Jesus enjoyed food - maybe a little too much at times - and just might even have had a few extra pounds around his waist?
And when was the last time you called someone a wine bibber who was a teetotaler? Well you probably have never used the term wine bibber but I looked it up and the Greek word for that literally means “one who drinks wine” and the derisive meaning attached to it was one who REALLY LIKES drinking wine. In other words, “a wino” as one Bible dictionary says.
The beautiful art of asking questions
What is your reaction when you are at home and you have an unexpected knock on your front door? I know what mine is. There is a quick impulse to just hunker down as if I’m not home. Maybe they will go away.
A couple decades ago when I was a young pastor, Ann and I were visited by a couple of Mormon missionaries at our door. I decided to engage them in conversation, but didn’t hide the fact that I was a pastor in a local church. We ended up conversing for a while, and then had a couple follow up meetings in our living room, where I did my best to show them how Mormonism was wrong, and in turn they tried to show me why it was actually the best way to follow God.
Can you guess how many conversions were recorded by either side? Yep. Zero.
Why giving up on Hell made me a better Christian
Rather than just getting to know my neighbors because, well, they were my neighbors, everything I did in getting to know them became a foundation for “planting a seed” or priming them for a future spiritual conversation. I could feel the smarmy-ness of it. What was supposedly founded on love for my neighbor never felt like it. It felt more like disingenuous manipulation of my neighbor. I’m pretty sure they felt that, too. It might be why in 15 years at one address I didn’t get much beyond polite cul-de-sac conversations with those folks.
Since changing my beliefs about a literal hell, and a point-of-no-return when a person’s heart stops beating I’ve been able to love people better.
But could it be wrong?
Could the Bible be wrong? It's a foundation-shaking question for those who are Jews or Christians. It is so problematic that most Christians I know will not even consider any answer besides a certain, loud "NO!" To many the answer must be "NO" because the Bible is God's Word, and God cannot lie, so there cannot be any lies, contradictions, or inconsistencies in it's compilation of 66 pieces of literature. The Bible is without error in everything it touches, and so it absolutely cannot be wrong about anything.
I am left handed
What if I grew up going to church every week, and found a few obscure passages in which the Biblical authors called left-handedness an abomination? What if I discovered that the Apostle Paul, a brilliant legal and theological mind, occasionally slipped a condemnation of left-handedness into his writings? What if I heard sermons denouncing left-handedness as sin?
They'll know we are Christians by our what?
I meet regularly with a friend named Scott who has been exploring the same path I've been traversing. We are both deeply committed to following Jesus Christ. And we're both coming to grips with the fact that we no longer believe the same way we did earlier in our lives.
My story of following Jesus toward a more beautiful story since the 1980s, with evolving and expanding views of the love of God in and out of pastoral ministry.
Want to jumpstart your own journey? These books, podcasts, and individuals have guided me toward a more beautiful story and could help you too.