Christianity

Humble orthodoxy and the narrow well

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I recently listened to a message by Joshua Harris put out by The Gospel Coalition on the subject of “Humble Orthodoxy”. I have to say that he hit the mark generally, although I slightly question his exegesis of some of the scriptures he used to defend his position. That’s neither here nor there – I don’t want to debate pins and angels. He made a good point in that, in defending doctrine many Christians come off sounding conceited or arrogant. At worst, we have Fred Phelps. Harris proposed rightfully that supporting orthodox doctrine is not about asserting our own rightness but about pointing to God and His rightness. Though some may say “the gospel offends”, we don’t need to add to the offense.

However I don’t think he went quite far enough. I think we need to be not only humble in regard to our presentation of our faith, we need to be humble about what we believe our faith is. That is to say, not only do we need to be humble but our orthodoxy needs to be humble. We need to acknowledge that our wisdom is limited and our knowledge is finite. We are still, along with Paul, looking through the glass darkly.  Continue reading →

Thinking about discrepancies in Scripture

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I highly recommend Relevant Magazine, both online and in print. This article is a bit shallow but raises interesting questions important for anyone studying the Bible. How you answer the question of “is the Bible inerrant?” – which leads to the question “well what do we mean by inerrant?” – will completely shape how you read and interpret Scripture.

While in seminary this was a challenge to me. I had never even heard of the idea that there were discrepancies in the Bible, and honestly believed that there simply couldn’t be. However when confronted with the idea that Jericho may have not had the enormous walls attributed to it, or that there were differences in some other historical accounts, I was a bit flummoxed. And if you haven’t thought about it, read the Gospels and consider what day Jesus was crucified on. Anyway, this article makes a good point regarding what we can and should mean by “inerrant”.

I think the sad thing that is brought out in this article is how, in many Christian circles, asking these kinds of questions is not permitted. Questioning details is tantamount to questioning Scripture. The argument goes that if Scripture isn’t fundamentally and literally perfect in every detail then there’s no reason to believe any of it (which is a huge jump). If we can’t have a Christian culture where asking questions about a fundamental resource for our faith is OK, then our faith is built on a shaky foundation.

article after the jump >>

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Keep your friends close, and your “-ism”s closer

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yes, that's Geneva in the background

I’m trying to work on a new post on Calvinism and having a bit of a hard time, so I thought I’d take a break.

I grew up Calvinist but only because that was the only pool I could swim in at the time. During and after seminary I questioned things more but still held on to a lot of it. Now I’m investigating the other side of the fence – that would be the more Arminian traditions including the Anabaptists – and even the contemplative Catholics like Thomas Merton. All of this has been great, and disturbing at the same time. Continue reading →

Why is Christian radio so… frustrating?

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**update**I changed the original title from “Christian music” to “Christian radio”, as that’s more accurately where my complaint lies. Thanks Jnana!

As I sat down to write this, I just couldn’t think of an appropriate word to express myself regarding Christian music. Segregated? Balkanized? Overlooked? Mediocre? None of these are accurate, and that leads to the main point of my frustration. Christian music is in a hole.

Growing up I listened to a lot of Christian rock. My first real concert was a Rez Band show in Pittsburgh at Soldiers and Sailors Hall. I also dug a  lot of Christian punk (MXPX, Altar Boys, One Bad Pig). I even used some money I got to start a music library for our youth group. I did that because it was so hard to find good (or at least what I thought was good) Christian music on the radio.

Unfortunately I think that’s still the case. Not Christian music, but Christian music radio. At least here in Pittsburgh, we have only one station devoted to Christian music, the grand mammoth that is K-Love. Our other Christian stations are devoted to teaching and preaching, though one has music on the weekends. But on the weekends it sounds just like K-Love. Continue reading →

On Donald Miller and Christ outside the church

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image: Amy Corron Power

Donald Miller recently wrote in his blog, “I don’t connect with God by singing to Him.” Well Don, I don’t either.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t sing to God. But I find that the only time I do is in church on Sunday for about 20 minutes. At times I find myself being drawn closer to God by music, including Christian music, but those songs somehow never make their way into the worship center.

Plus I don’t sing well. While I knew this all along, it became glaringly obvious to me when I attended a Reformed Presbyterian church in college. At RP services no hymns are sung, and there is no musical accompaniment. The congregants sing the Psalms a-capella, often breaking into multiple lush harmonies as the verses change. I just stood and listened. It was beautiful, but I was a spectator, not a participant.

Continue reading →

What do we mean by inerrant?

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I highly recommend Relevant Magazine, both online and in print. This article is a bit shallow but raises interesting questions important for anyone studying the Bible. How you answer the question of “is the Bible inerrant?” – which leads to the question “well what do we mean by inerrant?” – will completely shape how you read and interpret Scripture.

article after the jump >> Continue reading →

“Son of God”: For us, by us, but what for?

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“S’cool dude! It’s all good!”

The movie “Son of God” opens today and I, for one, am not interested. This is not to diss the movie at all. I’m not here to judge it on it’s cinematic merits, cinematography or anything else really. I’m just wondering if a movie of this type really needed to be made.

A quick peek at Rotten Tomatoes gives “Son of God” an 18% rating, and even skimming over the positive reviews you’ll see that this is a good movie – for Christians. I’m not sure if the film was designed to be evangelical in nature, as in “invite your non-believer friends to the show with you”, but it doesn’t seem like it was designed to change anyone’s mind about anything. That said, I have to wonder if this film really needed to be made at all.

No doubt many Christians will view it favorably and find it affirming of their own beliefs. However it does not, at least on the surface, seem to make one think about Jesus, the nature of His ministry, or legacy in any new way. Reviewers note that it’s “incredibly safe” and “made by believers for believers”. However if a film, or even a novel or other piece of media, serves only to affirm one’s already held belief without enhancing or challenging it in some way, I have to wonder what the point of it is other than to provide a sense of familiar satisfaction.

“The Passion of the Christ”, for example, tells an extremely familiar story but was compelling in how direct and brutal it was, to the point where some Christians thought it was too violent. However this also made it one of the more historically accurate representations of what crucifixion was like. For me, as a Protestant, it really opened up the role and character of Mary in an unexpected way. Watching the film as a new dad, the image of Mary comforting a young Jesus after he fell juxtaposed against her inability to help him as he is tortured, broke my heart and was the prevalent image and lesson I took from it. It spurred a lot of discussion both within and without the faithful, which is a good thing.

But is this another case of Jesus being too safe for our own good? If this film changes some minds and gives the opportunity for others to talk about their faith in a positive way, then yay SoG. But what else could have been done with a $22 million film that is basically an edited-down version of the History Channel’s “The Bible” with deleted/extra scenes added in?

If this is a film for Christians by Christians, why couldn’t it challenge the faithful as well as the unwashed masses?

Do seminaries teach practical ministry?

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In seminary much of the coursework, depending on where you go, is geared toward making you an effective preacher, evangelist or scholar. You can’t get out without studying original languages (except at Yale Divinity School, which was why I went there!), systematic theology, preaching, church history and so on. But are schools that train ministers effectively training them for practical areas of ministry, such as pastoral care and counseling?

I use the term “practical” here as a way to distinguish between the more typical idea of ministry from the pulpit from the ministry that happens outside of it, such as chaplaincy and counseling.

Is there a gulf between ministry and counseling? Are they seen as not incompatible but effectively separate fields?

I’m interested to find out people’s experiences in terms of their training in and for the more practical parts of ministry that they had in seminary. At YDS for example, CPE was an option but not necessarily a requirement. There were a smattering of courses offered in the areas of pastoral care and counseling, but again these weren’t a requirement and the classes were rather small.

So what were your experiences? Please comment below and keep the conversation going…

Hospice Chaplain Myth #2: Fulfillment

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Being in hospice means having to travel quite a bit some days. I’ve learned all the places – grocery stores and gas stations especially – that have places to sit down and eat my brought lunch on the go. I remember walking in to a grocery store to sit down and have lunch during a particularly hectic day. I still had my ID on and when the person at the counter noticed that I worked for hospice, he said “you must have a very fulfilling job”.

I remember thinking for a minute, saying “yes it is”, paying for my coffee and sitting down, knowing that I wasn’t sure if I meant what I said.

The truth is that this is a very fulfilling job, some days. But not always, and not often most. Personally, many days are filled with anxiety beforehand about how I’m going to get done what I need to, planning my route so that I don’t end up downtown after 3pm and so on. Some days I can see half a dozen people and feel like I accomplished little else but meet the medicare requirements for my position. Other days I hear of a death of a patient and my first thought is “well at least that’s one stop off my list today!”

Does all this point to burnout? Maybe. Hospice has a high rate of burnout among staff and I’ve seen it happen. Individuals are drawn to hospice work because they are caring and want to make a difference no matter what the cost. This can mean crossed boundaries, late night calls, and overextension. And more often than not it’s those individuals that get the rewards and Kudos – rightfully so for putting themselves out there, but it can also feel to those that try to guard their boundaries and time that they are getting the short end of the stick.

I also feel that sometimes chaplains especially can feel that what they do doesn’t matter all that much in comparison to other disciplines. Nursing runs the show and calls the shots. Social workers can provide counsel and care as well as crisis intervention. Everyone can pray with and for their patients. Medicare doesn’t even necessitate that there is a chaplain on staff – only that spiritual counseling be available. This can make a chaplain feel as if he or she is a bit of a wallflower.

But can chaplaincy be a fulfilling job? Absolutely. The flip side of this myth is also a myth – that what I do doesn’t matter that much. When chaplains do what they are specifically trained to be good at – being present spiritually with another – this can be the most fulfilling job on the planet. Even when you’re sitting at a comatose patient’s bedside for an hour, or taking a demented patient outside for a breath of fresh air that he hasn’t had in probably six months, when it’s done in the proper mindset these can be incredibly fulfilling.

But the day-to-day often gets in the way. Being mindful of my own cares and worries and trying to put them aside when I’m with a patient makes a big difference in terms of how I perceive my contribution to their care.