Separation and The World as God's Sanctuary

This past Sunday I talked about the fact that God thru his word: 1. Separated to form a world that is hospitable to life. 2. granted and filled the world with life. Separation is key to life with God. So we as Christians are to live separated from the world. Now I grew up in a conservative Baptist church. They took this too far--don't wear shorts, women wear skirts, men no hair on collar, no cards...etc. What does it mean to be separate? What is too separate? What is not separate enough?


Another point I made is that the entire world is God's Sanctuary. We need to be separate or different in our whole lives not just at church (or in the sanctuary) on Sunday morning. In fact when we do things different on Sunday morning but not during the rest of the week, we give the church a bad name. People think the church is irrelevant---because it doesn’t make a difference in their everyday lives. Further people think the church is full of hypocrites because people act different on Sunday than they do the rest of the week. Does our church have a problem with this? If it does explain why you think so? Have you met people that feel this way about the church in general in the US? Can or should the church do something to change this perception that the church is full of hypocrites and doesn't make a difference in everyday life?

God's Temple Sanctuary: The World

Hi Everyone!  Sorry it has been so long between posts--it has been hard to keep up with the blog and Facebook since we haven't closed on our home and we don't have Internet yet. 

This Sunday I promised I would post an article that discusses all the similarities between Israel's Temple, The Garden of Eden, and The World as God's Temple.  But, before I do, I want to highlight or summarize a section of this material that I didn't get a chance to talk about on Sunday, because I was running out of time.  The section I just barely touched upon was the connection between Israel's Temple and all of creation.

Here are a few of the connections that show how Israel's Temple was to reflect Creation as God's Temple:

1. The Holy of Holies represented the invisible heavens God formed on day 1 and filled on day 4 of creation.  Cherubim and heavenly angels guard God's throne in the invisible heaven.  They also guard the Ark of the Covenant in Israel's temple.  These angels are mounted on the Ark and woven into the curtain that divided the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place.  Further, the ark was called the footstool of God--where the invisible heavens meet the earth. The earth is also called the footstool of God.  Additionally, the Holy of Holies is is partitioned from the rest of the temple by a curtain--making it "invisible" to the rest of the temple--again contributing to the symbolism of the invisible heavens.
2. The Holy Place represented the sky or visible havens that God form on day 2 and filled on day 5 of creation.  The Curtains of the Holy Place were blue, purple, and scarlet representing the different of the sky.  Adding to the symbolism of the visible heavens are the picture of birds woven into these tapestries.  Reinforcing the image of the visible heavens in the Holy Place is the lampstand.  One lampstand had 7 lights and there were 10 lampstands in Solomon's Temple. This made 70 lights against the dark curtains of the Holy Place reminding the people that would peer into this area of the heavenly lights--the sun, moon, and stars.  Additionally the Hebrew word for lights is used 10 times in the Pentateuch for the lights on the lampstand and the only other place this Hebrew word occurs is in the creation account to refer to the sun, moon, and stars in Genesis 1:14-16.
3. Finally the Courtyard of Israel represents the visible land and earth.  This is indicated by the fact that the large wash basin in this area is referred to as the sea in other areas of the Old Testament, and further indicated by the alter which is called the "bosom of the earth" and the "mount of God" in other parts of the Old Testament.  Additionally the alter was to be an "'alter of earth' made from uncut stone." 

The Garden of Eden and Israel's Temple are pictures of what God original intended--that all of creation would be his sanctuary.  We need to separate ourselves as unto God in all of creation.  (Remember we learned that to create on days 1-3 means God's Word SEPARATES to create a world that will be a conducive place for the life he will fill it with on days 4-6.)  Our whole lives need to be different and not just artificially different in the church sanctuary on Sunday morning because the whole world is God's sanctuary.

Here is the link to the article containing this information that I promised to post:

Eden, the Temple, and the church's Mission in the New Creation.pdf

Here is a diagram of Israel's Temple:

Judging, Mispercieving, Not Real w/ Each Other

   This past Sunday I began my first teaching series at First Baptist Lockport. The title of the series is Beginning in the Beginning: The Beginning of God's Story and my first talk or communication was called "The Greatest Story Ever Told." I used the lyrics of a Five Iron Frenzy song call "The Greatest Story Ever Told" to illustrate my point--all too often we are not real with each other; we say we're fine and we're not and like the song says our answer smells like bile. We are afraid to be real because we are afraid that people will judge us and misperceive us. So, people are unable to learn our stories and we short circuit the relationships God intended us to have in order to grow and help others grow. We saw that with the Israelites. The same is true with God. We are not open and real with God because we don't know him and his story. This was true of Israel. They had forgotten God's story and thus forgotten God always has their best interest at heart. We also saw that all the ancient civilizations and forgotten God's story. Thus Moses writes Genesis and the entire Pentateuch to remind Israel of God's story so they can live out his story and remind humanity of that story. The church is to be like Israel today. We are to do the same thing. But too often we don't. We are afraid to take off our masks and be real with God--develop a real and close relationship with him and we are afraid to take off our masks and be real with each other developing real and close relationships. No wonder non-Christians are not interested in the Christian story. It appears to them we are a bunch of fakes, wearing masks and costumes that cover up the real and the raw aspects of our life. The world wants Christians to be real, honest and vulnerable. They want to see that our faith makes a difference in the real world.

So the other night I was reading the book Who Stole My Church and I came across a section that I wish I had for my sermon last Sunday. In this book there are a group of Christians meeting together to because they feel their church is being stolen out from underneath them. They miss the hymns. They wonder why they need more audio-visual equipment. They wander why they can't have a choir any more...etc. Essentially they had cleaned up the church and separated it from the real world. The result had filtered into their lives. They put on a show on Sunday morning to honor God but were not honoring him at all because they were not real with him and each other. It was all a facade.

Anyway, an outsider comes into the church. Ben, he has long hair, a tattoo, struggled with substance abuse...etc. One of the members of the little group, Ernie, makes some nasty comments about that Sunday's visitor only to find the person was a relative of another member of this group, Connie. God had dealt with her to take in this individual and help him. She had invited him to her church. To make a long story short this lady begins to share the things going on in her life and the life of her extended family. This opens the door for the whole group to get honest and real with each other.

The pastor of this fictitious church comments about the evening:

"What in the world is happening here? I asked myself. It was as if we were at a costume party where, at the stroke of midnight, everyone had to remove their disguises. People were exposing their broken hearts sharing the darker parts of their own private stories for the first time. Faces usually smiling and projecting confidence were now marked with deep pain and struggle. Burdens of worry, grief, confusion, and regret, never before mentioned, where being placed, as it were, right on the table.

"No one in the room was more shaken at these disclosures than I was. I'd been preaching to these people week after week and didn't have the slightest idea that some of these things were going on in their hearts. What in the world is church life about, I asked myself, if stories like these remain hidden in the hearts of the people you thought you knew well."

Later in the story Ernie--the one that made the negative comments about Ben--takes Ben to a ballgame. There Ernie opens up about the things in his life --some of the same things Ben has been struggling with. Ben, who had no use for Christians and Christianity in the past, is now open to God's story thru Ben's story.

I believe this is perfect example of why it is important for us as a church to open up with each other and share our stories. We need to hear how each of us is struggling to live God's story in our world and how we are being successful at it. The world wants to know we are real. They want to know that God's story connects with them right where they are. I want our church to be a place where it is safe for real, fallen people to come and learn God's story and see how God's story makes sense out of their world. I want us to be a people that can be open and real with each other and those who don't know God's story.

Here are a couple of questions:

1. What are some of the "church" things we do that may make an outsider like Ben feel like church is fake and doesn't connect with the real world?

2. What keeps you from opening up with other Christians

3. What would help you open up with other Christians?

4. What keeps you from sharing Christ's story with those who have misunderstood God because they don't have a relationship with God or other Christians have misrepresented God because their relationship with God isn't what it should be?

5. What can we do as a church to make it a place where people feel comfortable learning about God's story? What attitudes need to be adjusted if any?

6. Do you feel our church is a safe place to bring a friend who wants to learn God's story? Why or Why not?

Kidney Stone Procedure--Sat. July 24

Just an update to let everyone know that my precedure to remove my kidney stone well be done this Saturday at 6:30 am.  Thanks for your prayers.

Moving, Health Concern

Sorry it has been so long since I posted again.  Last week our family loaded up the van and took a road trip to Lockport.  It was a very productive couple of days. 

First, we were able to check out a temporary place to live while we are waiting for our homes to close.  At first it seemed no one would rent to us on a month to month basis, but Annie who volunteers in the church office heard about our situation and offered the parsonage of the AME church on South Street, one block north of the church God is good.   We checked it out and it will definitely meet our needs for the short term.

Second, we sold our house.  At least we have a contract on it.  We had three offers while we were in Lockport.  We accepted an offer that was not contingent on the purchaser's home selling.  If all goes as expected we should close on or before August 24.  We have an inspection scheduled for today--pray we do not have any unexpected fixes to pay for.  As soon as the inspection goes thru, we can begin moving forward with removing the contingency on the home on Union  Street in Lockport.  Also, we visited the home with the boys.  They loved the pool and were excited to pick out their rooms.

Third, we were able to register our boys for school.  Keegan, by the grace of God, got the last preschool spot available.  The boys we able to visit their school and play on the playground.  God is good.

I have rented a Uhaul for July 29-31.  We plan to load our home in Indiana on the 29th, drive to Lockport on the 30th, and unload on the 31st.

Finally, I went to see the doctor yesterday.  I have a large Kidney Stone that has been causing considerable pain on the right side of my abdomen.  The doctor will try to schedule surgery to break up the stone before we move.  Please pray we can get this taken care of before we move.

Trip to Lockport, Home Showings

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted an update to my blog.  Over the past week invited all of Paula's family up to our home for a couple of days--for a surprise 70th birthday party for her Dad.  We had a great time--and Jim was really surprised.  (By the way--I won the corn hole tournament.)  We also took her Paula's family to Winona Lake for the 4th of July celebration--fireworks were great.  We then went camping on my parents property in Southern Indiana and to Cincinnati to visit one of our very good friends.

Today I going to begin calling rental properties in Lockport to find a place where our family can rent on a month to month basis while we wait for our home to sell.  Let me know if you know of any places I should check out.  We plan to drive to Lockport on Monday to look for a place to rent.  Can't wait to be in our new home town.

On Weds. and Thurs. we had 2 couples view our home and three showings--one couple viewed it twice.  This is the most activity we have had on our home in a short period of time--maybe because we reduced our asking price 5k.  Also, we have an open house scheduled for this Sunday.

Keep praying for us. Specifically, pray for me as I have begun to work on my first sermon series.  Pray for my family as we begin to make our transition to Lockport.  Pray that we can find an inexpensive place to rent on a month to month basis 'till our home sells, and pray that our home sells quickly.  We know God's timing is perfect.

See you soon!

Still Trying to Sell Our Home

Thought I would write a quick update on the progress being made to sell our home.  This past Thursday we had a couple view our home for a second time.  They put it as the number 1 home on their list, but weren't ready to make an offer.  Our home is at the upper end of their price range and they wanted to look at a few more homes.  According to our realtor, another couple that look at our home twice is still very interested--yet no offers.  Today we have dropped our asking price 5k to help increase the traffic on our home and perhaps ellicit  an offer from one of these potential buyers.  Keep praying our home sells quickly.  Paula and I are beginning to plan a visit to Lockport to view rentals.  It is beginning to appear that we will likely have to rent as we are waiting for our home to sell and close.  Keep us in your prayers as we begin to consider this possibility.

The Hole in Our Gospel Book Review--Pt. 2

Part 2 of The Hole in Our Gospel is called "The Hole Gets Deeper."  In this section of the book Richard Stearns describes how the evangelical church has lost sight of the Bible's big picture or in technical language its metanarrative, suggesting many have "missed the forest for the trees." 

 In chapter 4 Richard describes what he calls "the twin pillars of compassion and justice."  He begins by quoting Micah 6:8--We know what God wants and thinks is good: Act Justly; Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with God--The McBeath Authorized Version.  He then explores Is. 58 and Matthew 25. 

Stearns breaks Is. 58 down as follows:

1. Verses 1-3--An inappropriate and insincere fast. The people of God's "holiness is shallow and insincere", concerned with letter and going through the motions of religious practices that have not change their heart.
2. Verses 3-5--God can tell  their heart has not been changed because their actions are not just.  They exploit workers, quarrel, fight...etc.  Its not about bowing one's head and wearing sackcloth and ashes.
3. Verses 6-7--God describes what he wants from society (his people): loose the chains of justice, untie yokes, set oppressed free, break every yoke, share food with hungry  provide poor with shelter, clothe those who have none...etc.  Stearns goes on to say that breaking every yoke is breaking any system, law, practice, that is unjust whether social, political, personal, economic.
4. Verses 8-11--God describes what a benefit a just society would be like--what he wants his Kingdom People to be like and the impact they would have: Light, Justice, Righteousness, Glory of God.

Next, he explains Matthew 25.  In this passage on the sheep and the goats those who take care of the "least of these" are the ones that inherit eternal life.  Then in Chapter 5, Stearns describes Jesus' 3 greatest commandments for his Kingdom people.

1. Love God
2. Love Others
3. Spread the love revolution around the world by making disciples

 Stearns quotes John 20:21 where Jesus says, "As the Father sent me, so I send you."  If one puts this in the context of Jesus' mission and strategy--we are sent with the "Whole Gospel" not just a truncated academic, head knowledge version.  Indeed, Jesus death and Resurrection or founded on Christ love for the Father and his love for us!

Finally, Richard ends this section of the book by describing the hole in him and his ability to love "the least of these" in this way suggesting that this lack of love was a result of idolatry in his life.  He continues by describing Jonah's experience in the belly of the great fish as Jonah's clinging to the idolatry of what he wanted instead of what God wanted.  Further, we cannot find security in the idolatry of our ways; rather, this security is found in follow God's desires.  None of us are truly capable and equipped--like Moses--but God will equip those he calls to this revolution of love.

House and Showing Update

Hi Everyone.  Just an update to let you know we have another showing this Thursday between 5-6.  This is a second showing with a couple that viewed our home on Sunday.  They weren't very interested after that showing, but have changed their mind.  Additionally, their is another couple that is still interested.  Keep praying because your prayers are working!

Hole in Our Gospel--Book Review Pt. 1

I recently finished the book A Hole in Our Gospel. It is written by Richard Stearn the president of World Vision U.S.   He is a committed evangelical Christian.  The book has had positive reviews a broad spectrum of the evangelical world including notables Luci Swindoll, Kay Warren, Chuck Colson, Bill Hybels...etc.   Part 1 of this review will encompass part 1 of the book called "The hole in My Gospel--and Maybe Yours."

In part 1 of the book Stearn describes the "hole" in much of the "evangelical" worlds gospel--ch1.  Ch. 2 is called "A Coward for God."  In this chapter Richard describes his slow and cowardly realization that there must be "more" to the gospel.  And ch. 3 titled "You Lack One Thing," relates the parable of the Rich Young Ruler to the idea there is a hole in our gospel.

According to Stearn their is a hole in many Christian's "Whole" gospel and goes on define the word gospel as "Glad tidings esp. concerning salvation and the kingdom of God as announced by Jesus."  He continues by suggested that "Jesus' kingdom announcement  is very different than our truncated version of the gospel," that minimizes this life, emphasizes escape to the next life, comes across as little more than a fire insurance policy to keep one out of hell."
the king.

Next Stearn quotes Jesus in Luke 17:21 who says, "The Kingdom is within you."  He goes on to describe the Christian as one who initiates God's kingdom reign, the "first fruits" of the kingdom as the Apostle Paul describes.  As such, the Christian is to challenge the fallen world here and now with God's kingdom ethic.  He then explains that the primary metaphor for evangelism is "the harvest".  There is a lot of prep that goes into a harvest--in fact this is most of the work of the harvest.  One is supposed to prepare the soil, plant, water, week...etc for a wholes season.  Yet, most of our evangelism approaches don't emphasize the amount a relationship it takes to prepare for the harvest.  We rush straight to a 4 Spiritual Laws proclamation of the Good News and forget to prepare the soil through building relationships and helping/serving others. 

Next Richard describes Jesus' mission to spread the "Good News" and who this "Good News" is for.  He begins this section by quoting John 10:10 where Jesus states that "he has come to give life and life to the full."  Stearn believes this is Jesus' mission. Nest Richard describes Jesus announcement of his ministry and mission in Luke 4:18-21:

"And the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

"Then he rolled up the scroll , gave it back to the attendant and sat down.   The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began saying to them, 'Today the Scripture this fulfilled in your hearing.'"

Again Stearn suggest that the Good News Jesus has come to proclaim is more than an "escape from hell".  And that this is Jesus' action plan or strategy for accomplishing his mission to give life and life to the full.  In this passage Jesus strategy can be summarized with the following 4 points.

1. Proclamation of Good News of Salvation--more than escape from hell yet including this escape--even to the poor.
2. This full life includes helping people recover their sight which is a metaphor for a spiritual life that is represented by compassion for the blind, sick and sorrowful--see Is. 61--Jesus is quoting this passage.
3. Social Justice for those oppressed under Rome's occupation (any world's system that opposes God's ways), that includes freedom for the prisoners of that system, releasing the oppressed of that system, and offer God's system which is represented by a Jubilee year of God's favor where slaves are freed, debts are forgiven and land is returned to its original owners. 

It is Stearn's contention that when Christians offer a "whole gospel" that includes these things, we offer people an alternative system to the worlds system.  We offer a system that is based on God's Kingdom Way that is only available to those who place their faith in Christ, Christ's work on the cross, and resurrection where the believer receives new life that is characterized by this way of life. 

Questions:

1. What do you think of Stearn's assumption that their is a "hole" in the Gospel?
2. What do you think of Stearn's definition of the Gospel ans including the "Kingdom of God" or God's Kingdom way?
3. What do you think of the Stearn's suggestion that "The Kingdom"  is within the Christian and that the Christian is the firstfruits of that Kingdom?
4. What do you think of Stearn's assertion that to much of evangelism focus on the reaping of the harvest and not the preparation that goes into the harvest--before reaping can occur?
5. What do you think of Jesus' mission statement and strategy for accomplishing that mission as stated by Stearn?

Update on House and Move to Lockport

We had a good showing Friday.  The couple stayed 45 minutes and really liked the house.  They are taking the weekend to talk it over.  We have another showing Sunday between 3-4 with another possible buyer.  Keep praying our home will sell quickly.  We received our home inspection for the Union Street home we would like to buy in Lockport, made some fix it requests, should hear today what the owner's counter--if any. 

Boys, Beach, Creation, and the Image of God

Yesterday, I spent a day at Pike Lake beach with my boys.  They had a wonderful time.  It was a beautiful day--warm in the sun and nice in the shade (I was sitting in the shade).  As I watched I couldn't help but think about God, his creation, and my boys being made in his image.   While I was watching them, I was struck with the fact that humanity is happiest when they are reflecting our Creator God.  Keegan was all smiles as he was creating his sand angels (think snow angel).  All three of the boys were laughing and giggling and carrying on as they were creating castles, and motes, and houses, and mountains, and sand soup.  Additionally, all three of the boys were playing with new and old friends (friends from the t-ball team) on the beach.  (Isn't it amazing with young kids there is no in and out group--they just enjoy each other's company.)  It is no surprise that these our some of my happiest memories of childhood as well.  Why?  I believe it is because we are created and in God's image and derive the most joy out of life when we are reflecting that image.  God is a God of relationship.  He is in perfect relationship with the members of the God-head.  What's more, God created humankind to have a relationship with them.  My boys were just reflect the image of our relationship God.  The weren't old enough to have the many things that encumber adult relationships.  Even more, my boys were reflecting our Creative God.  Just think of everything God created.  My boys, it seems, were creating hundreds of things there on the beach with their friends.  Oh to be like kids!  Not to be stilted and rejected in relationships that keep us or makes us slow to develop relationships.  I am sure this is why there are so many adults in and outside the church that have a hard time establishing and maintaining their relationship with God.  And shouldn't we all be stoked about creating things (lines in our yard as we mow, our gardens and landscaping, woodworking (I made a corn hole board a year ago), and. ...etc.  Sometimes I see these things as work, but most of the time I enjoy them like my boys liked creating at the beach--because I am made in the image of a creative God that likes to create.

Home Showing

Our realtor called today to tell us he has set up an appointment for Noon on Friday.  It is for a couple that went through our home at our open house on last Sunday.  The realtor said the couple seemed very interested, is working on a pre-approval letter, and could likely make an offer.  It will be a contingent offer however.  Please continue to pray that we sell our home quickly.  Maybe this will be the one, cause we can't wait to be back in Lockport.  I will keep you all updated with what is happening.

Letter to First Baptist Lockport

Dear Friends:

It is a beautiful morning in Warsaw, Indiana and the weather has caused me pause to reflect on being called as your pastor at FBC Lockport. It is sunny and the temperature is perfect as I sit on my front porch and watch my youngest son Keegan ride his bike up and down our driveway and street. Everything seems right--picture perfect!

This is how Paula and I feel about being called to First Baptist. It was a slow process but in God’s wisdom and timing—perfect. As we got to know the church, first through Doug Meye and Transformation Ministries, then through the search team, over the phone, we became increasingly aware of the solid foundation and heart for ministry that has been laid by many members and by the congregational leadership. Indeed, we learned that there is a solid foundation to be built upon to Grow God’s Kingdom. As we learned these things, Paula and I became increasingly optimistic that this may be the ministry God was calling us to.

As we visited with the search team in Lockport we instantly fell in love with the people we were meeting, your beautiful city, and the church. This love only grew as we began to meet the members of the congregation, answered your questions, and worshiped together. Lockport instantly became home and First Baptist instantly became family!

Paula, the boys, and I can’t wait to finally be home with our new Family at FBC! August 2nd in all likelihood will be my start date can’t come soon enough. Our home has been on the market for nearly three weeks. Please pray that it sells quickly. We have put a contingent offer on a home in the city and we can’t wait to begin having our new friends and family at FBC over. I know many of you can’t wait to get to know us better. Feel free to “friend” us on Facebook. I will try to frequently update my status—to let you know how the process of getting ready to move is going.
 
We look forward to seeing what God has in store for my family and FBC. Indeed we are all embarking on a new adventure full of possibilities and wonder as we await the awesome way He will work in us and thru us to Grow His Kingdom in Lockport. God is good!!

Trinity, Hierarchy and Subodrindation

I just learned that early Christians understood person in a much different way than we do. Their word for person--persona--means mask worn by an actor. Bruce Shelley in his Church History in Plain Language writes, "In Trinitarian thought the "mask" is not worn by God to hide but to reveal his true character. It is clear that when we think of the Trinity, we should not try to think of three persons in our sense of the term, but three personal disclosures of God that correspond to what he is really like."

Now this is messing with my mind as I am wrestling with the quesitons of hierarchy and subordination in the Godhead.

Bruce Shelley is pretty conservative so I am surprised he discusses the trinity like he does.  Are there any Theology Proper people out there that have some thoughts and insights.  Did Shelley take things a little too far or is he on the money?

Why Do They Hate Us--From Mikle Spencer's Blog (AKA Internetmonk)

Mike Spencer a Southern Baptist Lists Reason's the World Dislikes (Evangelicals) Christians So Much. It's rough--true of me in many areas--and true of many churches I have been a part of. What do you think?

1. We endorse a high standard of conduct for others and then largely excuse ourselves from a serious persuit of such a life.

2. Our piety is mostly public. We love others to see what God is doing in our lives.

3. Many of us relate to others with and obvious--or thinly disguised--agenda. In other words, those who work with us or go to school with us think we are "up to something."

4. Many of us are bizarrely shallow and legalistic about minute matters. We are not as healthy and happy as we portray ourselves.

5. We may deny that we have made God into a political, financial or cultural commodity, but the world knows better.

6. We are too slow to seperate ourselves from what's wrong. It's clear to many that we no longer have the cutting-edge moral sense of Martin Luther King Jr. or William Wilberforce.

7. We take ourselves far to seriously and appear to be opposed to normal life. What normal, healthy people find laughable, we find threatening and often labe with the ridiculous label "of the devil."

What do you think--is he right?

The Shack, Church History, and The World

A quote from The Shack--Jesus talking to Mack:


"Mack, the world system is what it is. Institutions, systems, ideologies, and all the vain, futile efforts of humanity that go with them are everywhere, and interaction with all of it is unavoidable. But, I can give you freedom to overcome a system of power in which you find yourself, be it religious, economic, social, or political. You will grow in the freedom to be inside or outside all kinds of systems and to move freely between and among them. Together, you and I can be in it and not of it."

There are many people that are knocking this book because the way it represents God's disdain for worldly institutions including the church that developed power structures for institutional gain. I wonder if these critics are so caught up in these institutions and power structures because they use them for personal gain. In Wiliston Walker's A History of the Christian Church, he writes:

"...Christian writers from Hermas to Origen and Tertullian, make it plain that the churches of the second and third centuries continued to see themselves as a society some how "set apart"--governed by a Spirit other than the spirits that ruled the world at large. The original source of this attitude can no doubt be sought in the world-view of the Jewish apocalyptic [The Jewish Prophets]. Repudiating the political, moral, and religious corruption of a world trapped in the nets of evil, the apocalyptist had looked to the future for that world's overthrow--to a new age when God would punish evil, reward suffering for righteousness, and so set the creation right [looked forward to Jesus]. Since, however, those who had believed the message of Jesus' resurrection and had entered, by baptism, upon his new life knew themselves to have a share even now in the good things of the age to come, they also knew that it was their business to live as people "crucified...to the world."

It seems to be me The Shack is calling the church back to its original perspective and Christ's directive to be in the world and not of it. Are we so much a part of our world's institutions that we can't see we are a part of them? Do we not see that God has called us out from them? I grew up in Baptist circles and my extremely conservative Baptist church emphasized being different from the world. The problem: They only wanted us to be different in our private morality--don't drink, don't chew, don't go to movies, don't have sex out of marriage...etc. Granted they were right about some things in which we are a called to be different--sex out of marriage. They were legalists about others--don't go to movies. INSTEAD of focusing on private morality the church must focus on being different from corporate morality as well, it must be different from the world's systems and institutions, it and its members must act differently from them. We, the church, have to look at ourselves, both individually and corporately, to see how presuppositions are are based upon this world's understanding and way of doing things and not God's way revealed in Scripture. We have to know that we are so a part of these systems and institutions a part of us that we will have to work extremely hard not to twist the Bible to support our way of doing these, but rather use the Bible to examine how we have been co-opted by these institutions.

Slavery, The Politics of Power, and The Risk of Grace

The following is a great quote from a New Testament scholar regarding his reflections on the message of Philemon:

"All societies rest upon inequities--some concealed, others noticed--that make brotherhood impossible. Every age and locale has its particular and familiar slaveries. What heightens injustice is that all believers--exploiters or exploited--are equally nearsighted about the oppressions we have unwittingly learned to live with. No one cries out: the strong because they need not, the weak for they dare not. Or perhaps this unfair: it might seem that slaves would sense injustice that owners ignor. But even slaves must have their eyes and their feelings dulled; you cannot long entertain hope for what is unattainable. So, rather than live in perpetual frustration, the enslaved man generally will not allow his conscience to become too sensitive...Yet there is no social order, no revision of the economy, no advance in politics, no possible world situation that adequaetely conforms to the gospel or even makes room for its full realization, no revolution that does not eventually redistribute injustice."

This is the whole point of Paul not commanding Philemone to emancipate Onesimous; rather, tries to persuade Philemon in love and relationship. He (Paul) is trying to live out the Gospel that restores creation with Shalom or peace and he courageously keeps his "power" as an apostle under control--so he will not become an oppressor or exploiter and operate by the same world system that Christ came to redeem, and calls his church to redeem by operating Christ's way (love and self-sacrifice, power under not power over)--not the world's way.  Further, we have the Hope that God, when he returns, will finally correct all injustices--1 Samuel 2 is an example of this Hope/Faith in the life of Hannah.

I have a lot to learn from Paul and this letter to Philemon. I dare say the church in general has a lot to learn as well.

The quote above is from J. T. Burtchaell as quoted by Ben Worthington the III in his Socio-rhetorical Commentary on The Prison Epistles.