Discussing Nothing

February 28, 2007

A Brief Report from Truth and Grace Ventures:

Last Thursday, the Servants Quarters community gathered to discuss 40 Days of Nothing, our walk together through this season of Lent.  In undertaking 40 Days of Nothing, we have entered a season of intense, deliberate reflection, self-denial and, hopefully, transformation.  We are striving to limit our consumption to the basic necessities, resisting the empty promises of the world that we can find well-being through indulging our endless wants and instead focusing on God’s promise that His grace is sufficient. 

The spirit of our discussion and the character of my new friends impressed me greatly.  Our discussion topic, revolving as it did around radical self-denial, is not particularly attractive on its face.  On the contrary, it seems to possess significant potential to generate feelings of depression and self-pity.  In my opinion, though, our time together could be best characterized as joyful.  Despite the nature of the material and its serious implications, the room was filled with laughter and joking and a sense of hope.  Perhaps some would suggest that it was nervous laughter, but I believe the atmosphere was born of a common sense of peace not unease.  These young leaders shared thoughts and stories evidencing not only a commitment to allow God to transform them, but a willingness to share that blessing with others.  I believe that was the immediate reason for the hope permeating our time together. 

Read it all

40 Days of Nothing

February 09, 2007

From the Truth and Grace Ventures Blog 

When Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 21, the Servants Quarters community will embark on 40 Days of Nothing.  As described in the Book of Common Prayer,

The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting.  [Likewise, we are invited] in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

Read it all

Praise the Lord, Punch in Your PIN

January 28, 2007

The Orlando Sentinel had a story yesterday about Stevens Creek Community Church in Augusta, Georgia, where “God takes credit cards.  Debit cards, too.”

Two “giving kiosks” sit just outside the church’s chapel, next-generation collection plates that allow churchgoers to swipe their credit or debit cards and instantly send donations to the church.  . . .  Pastor Marty Baker has renamed the black terminals “automatic tithe machines.”  “We’re just trying to connect with the culture,” Baker says. “And that’s how the culture does business. It’s more than an ATM for Jesus. It’s about erasing barriers.”

The giving kiosks do seem to have erased some barriers to giving.  Since their installation in early 2005, Stevens Creek has experienced an 18% increase in donations.  And they are, in some sense, helping the church “connect with the culture.”  One woman “says she knew the church was the right fit for her the first time she saw the kiosks. ‘This church gets how I live,’ she says.” 

As a Christian committed to helping others understand the joy of giving, I’m intrigued by Pastor Baker’s success in leading his flock to a higher plane of generosity.  As a Christian trying to help the Church and the wider society understand each other, I’m encouraged that Stevens Creek is looking for ways to connect with the culture.  Yet, I wonder whether there is reason for the Christian mind to be concerned with Pastor Baker’s giving kiosks.

Continue reading "Praise the Lord, Punch in Your PIN" »

Worldview Theater: The Shawshank Redemption

January 20, 2007

Servants Quarters 2007 is in full swing.  We convened last night for the third time to continue our year-long dialogue exploring the implications of biblical stewardship principles for living in a culture captive to materialistic ideals.  During this latest gathering, we planned to discuss the worldview perspectives reflected in a specific product of American culture:  the critically-acclaimed and highly popular film, The Shawshank Redemption.  God had other plans. 

I hope and trust we were following His lead, as we shelved our Shawshank examination in favor of a spirited discussion concerning the crisis facing The Episcopal Church (TEC).  In particular, we explored what it means for The Falls Church (and other parishes who only recently disaffiliated from TEC) to be wise and faithful stewards of the property with which they have been blessed – as the Diocese of Virginia and TEC press headlong into litigation aimed at reclaiming that property.

Given the dynamic and volatile nature of the situation, I abstain, at this time, from sharing my specific thoughts on the matter.  What I will say is that we are striving to approach the situation with not just a Christian ethic and Christian spirituality (which no doubt are important) but also a Christian mind.  We are striving to help each other “think christianly” – “to accept all things with the mind as related, directly or indirectly, to man’s eternal destiny as the redeemed and chosen child of God” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind:  How Should a Christian Think? p.44).  We are striving to “set[ ] all earthly issues within the context of the eternal, . . . see[ing] all things here below in terms of God’s supremacy and earth’s transitoriness, in terms of Heaven and Hell” (id. at 4).  In one sense, that’s the primary business of Servants Quarters.

Because of that fruitful detour, we’ve decided to hold our Shawshank discussion here in this forum.  All are welcome to pose questions, share observations or take issue with what I’ve written previously.  (In short, I observed that (1) Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) reflected in important ways the biblical notion of how important it is to maintain an eternal perspective, while living here and now;  and (2) the redemption of Andy’s best friend, Red Redding (Morgan Freeman) was suggestive of a Christian-like process of repentance.) 

If you prefer specific to open-ended questions, let’s begin the discussion with the subject of beauty.  What is attractive in the film?  What people, places, behavior or ideas?  To whom?  How is it made attractive?

The Son of God Enters Human History

December 25, 2006

[God] is no longer distant.  He is no longer unknown.  He is no longer beyond the reach of our heart.  He has become a child for us, and in so doing he has dispelled all doubt.  He has become our neighbour, restoring in this way the image of man, whom we often find so hard to love.  For us, God has become a gift.  He has given himself.  He has entered time for us.  He who is the Eternal One, above time, he has assumed our time and raised it to himself on high.  Christmas has become the Feast of gifts in imitation of God who has given himself to us.  Let us allow our heart, our soul and our mind to be touched by this fact!  Among the many gifts that we buy and receive, let us not forget the true gift: to give each other something of ourselves, to give each other something of our time, to open our time to God.                        – Pope Benedict XVI, December 24, 2006

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

International Justice Mission: Please Give Generously

December 09, 2006

In this season of faith, hope and love – and end-of-year giving decisions – I urge you to consider partnering with International Justice Mission (“IJM”), a leading human rights agency dedicated to rescuing victims of sexual exploitation and slavery, forced labor and oppression. 

The UN’s International Labor Organization estimates that, at any given time, there are 12.3 million people around the world in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor and sexual servitude.  Other estimates are as high as 27 million people.  (See US Department of State, 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report.)  Overseas relief and development workers and missionaries often can aid by providing food, shelter and spiritual sustenance, but they lack the expertise and resources to combat human exploitation.  Undertaking that mission not only requires prompting police and other local authorities to investigate and prosecute the abuses, but oftentimes involves confronting abuses of power by those authorities themselves.  Gary Haugen established IJM “to help fill this void, acting as an organization that stands in the gap for victims when they are left without an advocate.”  (See IJM History.) 

IJM is restraining evil and saving lives all over the world.  If you have any doubt about that, take a moment to watch this October 2006 Today Show feature of their work combating sex trafficking – what Haugen calls the “global trade in rape for profit.”  Then, if you dare, plan to attend an IJM benefit dinner, where you will hear gripping first hand accounts from victims and their rescuers from IJM. 

With our support, IJM professionals will conduct investigations necessary to rescue men, women and children from forced prostitution, forced labor and unlawful seizures of property.  They will ensure that emancipated victims receive desperately needed aftercare to help them heal from the horrors of their ordeal.  They will bring perpetrators to justice, seeking jail time and fines, making clear to criminal enterprises throughout the world that they will pay dearly for their wrongs.  They also will train national authorities to investigate, prosecute and deter these types of human rights violations.

Please give generously. 

Additional resources:

Gary Haugen, Terrify No More (book documenting the events leading up to, and surrounding, IJM’s raids in the notorious Cambodian village of Svay Pak where their workers rescued 37 underage victims of sex-trafficking, many of them under the age of 10).

Faithful Stewardship: How Far Might It Take Us?

December 01, 2006

Heather Koerner at Boundless Webzine shares an interesting, and inconvenient, spiritual growth experience concerning stewardship.  (HT Catherina Hurlburt)  While listening to a sermon about the early church, Heather came to see that her stewardship habits, while admirable from a human perspective, were unduly narrow from God’s perspective.

The scripture that grabbed Heather’s attention and wouldn’t let go was Acts 2:44-45.

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

I kept reading it over and over.  . . .  “They had everything in common?” I thought.  “Well, that’s nice for them, but that would never work nowadays. I can’t see Christian communal living working — even here in the Bible Belt.  . . .  And selling their possessions and goods to give to anyone as he has need?” I continued. “Wow! That’s awesome, but if the church can’t even get a handle on tithing, I doubt that most people would actually sell their stuff.” 

At that point, Heather found herself prompted to reexamine her incredulity.  She realized that, unless she were ready and willing to sell her possessions at the Lord’s request, she would “be clinging to [her] possessions as if they are really [her] own.”  Even if she were tithing and generously making freewill offerings, she would not be behaving as a faithful steward.  Heather tried to assure herself, “I know what being a steward is,” but she ultimately found herself unconvinced.

[S]itting there, I realized I had restricted myself to a narrow practice of the concept — that, as a steward, I should be “wise” with my money.  You know, not spend it foolishly.  Spend it where God wants.

All my life I’ve heard the saying, “God doesn’t just own 10 percent of your finances, He owns it all.”  I knew that.  But did I practice it?  Would a steward even flinch if the landowner told him to sell a field?  I doubt it.  It’s not the steward’s field, why should he care?  He’d just go do it.  Yet, here I was, flinching just at the idea of having to sell something of value to me.  . . .  Now, I’m starting to see the person that God wants — and is teaching me — to be.  The person He can trust to obey.  To do my duty in giving, yes.  But to be willing to do so much more.  To sell the field, if He commands it, without batting an eye.

While I haven’t heard God give me a direct command to sell or give away a specific possession, I can relate to Heather’s story.  Since moving back to the Washington, DC area two years ago, I have felt a deep, unshakeable desire to shed possessions.  The furniture, electronic equipment, old books and children’s toys – all of these possessions that we acquired over the years to enhance our comfort instead have become a heavy burden.  They feel like a millstone tied around my neck.  My wife and I are concerned that, if we hold onto these possessions, they easily could interfere with God’s plan for our lives.  They stand between us and a simpler, less acquisitive, lower income lifestyle, to which we may be called.

For several months now, in an attempt to right the situation and assuage this conviction, we have been engaged in a steady effort to give away the things that someone else might want and dispose of the rest.  How far will we go?  It is hard to imagine that we’ll go anywhere near as far as the believers in Acts 2, selling or giving everything away.  All I can say at this point is that the burden remains, and it hasn’t lessened appreciably yet.

How Rich Are You?

November 26, 2006

The creators of the Global Rich List are asking a good question, one that provokes some discomfort within me:  How rich are you, in terms of income relative to the rest of the world?  (HT:  Roberto Rivera)  Our family rests comfortably in the top 1%.  Your family does too if you earn at least $47,500 per year.  The average household income in Northern Virginia ($91,343), where we live, is somewhere near the top seven-tenths of one percent worldwide.

Continue reading "How Rich Are You?" »

Practicing Discernment in Political Giving

October 18, 2006

Until recently, I haven’t paid much attention this year to electoral politics outside of Virginia.  That changed when friends asked my wife and me to provide financial support to the Congressional election campaign of a non-Virginian Republican in the midst of a tight race.  As a way of helping me think through this decision, allow me to explain why I find it to be a difficult one. 

Not until the 1992 presidential campaign did I first consider the issue of abortion.  As I recall, I was drawn to some candidate’s explanation that, while he is personally opposed to abortion, he would not seek to make his personal view the law of the land.  As a budding libertarian raised in a churched environment, this private/public distinction appealed to me, and I made it my own. 

Continue reading "Practicing Discernment in Political Giving" »

Ridiculously Expensive Designer Footwear: What Can We Learn From It?

September 23, 2006

The cover of this Tuesday’s Washington Post Business Section included an article celebrating the emergence of a class of DC professionals wearing $1,000+ pairs of high-end designer footwear, Taking a Stiletto To D.C.’s Drab Image: A Sensible-Pumps Town Develops Taste for Manolo and Jimmy.  The story features Kira Lieberman, a 29-year-old political consultant, who owns 371 pairs of shoes and 25 pairs of boots.  It showers attention on Charrisse Jordan, wife of Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, who isn't bashful about posing for a picture among some of the 200 or so pairs of shoes she has at their Maryland home.  (No estimate of how many additional pairs she keeps at their home in New Jersey.) 

Continue reading "Ridiculously Expensive Designer Footwear: What Can We Learn From It?" »

Money and Possessions: from Greed to a Biblical Motivation for Reward

September 19, 2006

Time’s cover story for the week of September 18 – Does God Want You To Be Rich? – explores the hold that the so-called “prosperity gospel” has on a significant fraction of the Church.  When prosperity preachers say that God wants His followers to be rich in the things of this world, it riles me.  When their destructive message is amplified through mainstream media reports, it angers me. 

My sinful nature would love for the prosperity gospel to be true.  In fact, if I were to design a religion, it no doubt would include a god who wants me to be rich right here, right now.  As recently as two years ago, my adoration of money may have rivaled the most decadent among us.  As an adolescent, Alex P. Keaton was among my role models.  Later, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, consistently rated as one of my favorite movies.  The major appeal:  Gordon Gekko (played by Douglas). 

As slick and twisted as Gekko was, I admired what I perceived as a willingness to discuss the pursuit of self-interest in language stripped bare of political correctness.  Recall his climactic speech at the Teldar Paper shareholders’ meeting: 

Continue reading "Money and Possessions: from Greed to a Biblical Motivation for Reward" »

My Faith: An Introduction

March 31, 2005

In March 2005, I created Hisevidence.com, publishing my personal testimony out of a desire to give my bride an Easter gift, and to make a written record for our family of this special time. 

 You can find that testimony here.