Structure Must Always Submit to Spirit

The fifth core value of Coram Deo is all about the Spirit of God. We want the Spirit to be desperately, powerfully, convictingly at work within our community; for unless the Spirit is leading us, Jesus is not leading us (see Acts 1).

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? How can we tell when it's "really" the Holy Spirit who's doing something? How do we live lives that are full of the Spirit, immersed in His power, serving others out of His work within us? Here are some more resources:

Link 1: Jonathan Edwards on how you discern a true work of the Holy Spirit from a false one.

Link 2: John Piper on what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Link 3: Are regeneration and being given the Holy Spirit the same thing?

Use the comment thread to post additional thoughts or responses.

Help Me Preach, Already

A blog is an interactive environment, and therefore should be a vehicle for our communal learning. In a few weeks, our launch team will consider the question: Why do we gather for worship? In preparation for that discussion, I'd like to ask that question here so some of you can post your answers.

So what about it? Don't be shy... check your ego at the door and throw an answer out there for us to bat around.

If it's true that we are the church, and that we live all of life before the face of God, and that God is present (and can therefore be worshipped) everywhere, then WHY do we gather together to worship?

(Someone better post some comments, or I quit.)

Engaging Culture: Language Matters

Last Sunday night I urged us to speak the truth of Scripture in language and images that connect with the culture. "Revelation is accomodation." God has revealed himself using human language and images. We image Him when we "enter and re-tell the culture's stories with the gospel" (Tim Keller).

From Eugene Peterson:

The Christian gospel is rooted in language: God spoke a creation into being; our Savior was the Word made flesh. The poet is the person who uses words not primarily to convey information but to make a relationship, shape beauty, form truth. This is St. John's work; it is every pastor's work.

...The Christian communities as a whole must rediscover poetry, and the pastors must lead them... The word is creative: it brings into being what was not there before - perception, relationship, belief.

...We live in an age obsessed with communication. Communication is good but a minor good. Knowing about things never has seemed to improve our lives a great deal. The pastoral task with words is not communication but communion - the healing and restoration and creation of love relationships between God and his fighting children and our fought-over creation. Poetry uses words in and for communion... liturgy and story and song and prayer are the work of pastors who are poets.

Engaging Culture: Staying on the Horse

Coram Deo believes that the church must engage culture. Living out this value is designed to keep us from "falling off the horse" in two ways. One way to fall off the horse is to bless the culture's idolatry, soft-stepping around tough issues and changing the essence of the gospel to make it "palatable" to postmodern ears. The other way is to hold to orthodoxy in a way that ignores or drowns out the questions that the culture is asking. Unfortunately, Christianity at large is guilty of both errors.

Christians usually see the first as a more egregious error - a syncretistic slide toward relativism. But the second may be even worse for the progress of the gospel and the honor of God's kingdom.

James B. Jordan is as conservative a theologian as they come. For those of you who know your categories, he is a Reformed Presbyterian of the theonomist/reconstructionist bent. So for him to make the statement I'm about to quote is massive in light of his own convictions and the people he generally runs with. I quote Mr. Jordan to point out that engaging the culture is not some radical notion that only church planters talk about. In fact, if Mr. Jordan is correct, it's our lack of cultural engagement which threatens to doom the church to irrelevance.

Here is what James B. Jordan wrote in a recent article:

“...the Protestant age is coming to an end… The paradigm is exhausted, and the world in which it was worked out no longer exists. We must take all the great gains of the Calvinistic heritage and apply them with an open Bible to the new world in which we are now living. We must be aware that there is far more in the Bible than the Reformation dealt with, and that many of our problems today are addressed by those hitherto unnoticed or undeveloped aspects of the Bible. Those who want to bang the drum for a 450-year old tradition are dooming themselves to irrelevance. Our only concern is to avoid being beat up by them as they thrash about in their death-throes.”

I am a Reformation Christian. If pushed, I'd even be willing to call myself a Calvinist, though I eschew much of the unbiblical and uninformed baggage that comes with that term (usually from those who haven't studied the primary sources). But Mr. Jordan has hit the nail on the head. Living the heritage of the Reformation doesn't mean "beating the drum for a 450-year old tradition." It means taking the great gains of our history and "applying them with an open Bible to the new world in which we are now living." That's a great perspective on what it means to engage the culture.

Church on Christmas?

Coram Deo is a young church. Much of our congregation is made up of young families, young singles, and college students. We're not even having public worship services yet. And we may not be for a couple more months.

This year, Christmas falls on a Sunday. So here's the question: should we have a Coram Deo worship service on Christmas? Post a comment and let me know your opinion.

Don't ask, "Will we be public yet?" or "What time of day would we be talking about?" or any other questions like that. The answer is: I don't know. Just register your opinion about having church on Christmas!

Oh, and no anonymous posts. If you choose to use Blogger's option of "posting anonymously," put your name in the text of your comment. If you have an opinion, own it!

I Repent

On Sunday night, Todd called us to repentance for making "being missional" our new legalism... for making our pursuit of mission the thing that makes us worthy before God. During communion we used Derek Webb's song "I Repent" as a way to fuel our interaction with God. In case you missed them, here are some of the lyrics:

i repent, i repent, of my pursuit of america's dream
i repent, i repent, of living like i deserve anything
of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
in our suburb where we're safe and white
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent, i repent, of parading my liberty
i repent. i repent, of paying for what i get for free
and for the way i believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
i am wrong and of these things i repent

Of all the singer/songwriters dotting the planet right now, Derek is one of the most intriguing and theologically deep. Read more about him at DerekWebb.com.

Chained Up

My friend Brett has an insightful post over at the Musings blog that's right in line with the thoughts on internal change that we've been discussing. Check it out here.

Middle Space

Last night I had my first experience with Middle Space.

Middle Space is the term we use at Coram Deo for that "third space" - a neutral place for dialogue and conversation about spiritual matters. It's the middle ground between a church service environment and the secular, "talk about anything except God" environment we often work in.

Last night, Derrick and I sat down for coffee with three of our friends from Starbucks who have definite issues with church. We read the first chapter of John out loud and talked about what questions it raised in our minds. Then we just chatted for an hour about all sorts of things: their view of Christianity, the existence of the soul, their understanding of God, what bothered them most about church people. It was an honest, no-bull conversation.

I walked away feeling full in my soul. I hurt for their bad experiences with Christians. I feel united with them in the brokenness of life because of sin. I long for them to find Jesus attractive and compelling. And most of all, I am thankful for their friendship. I don't feel compelled to "share the gospel" with them, as if what is keeping them from Jesus is just a lack of facts about sin and salvation. What is keeping them from Jesus is Christians. And that will only change through long-term friendship, and dialogue, and them understanding that following Jesus doesn't mean voting Republican and hating gays.

Derrick and I created this middle space opportunity just by asking. People are pretty cool about reading the Bible or talking about God when you give them the chance. May God use Coram Deo to create all sorts of these conversations, all over the city!!

Barna Meets Missional Church

An interesting angle on the changing church landscape in America is offered by George Barna in a new book based on some of his cultural research. Apparently the culture-watchers are cluing in to the difference between going to church and being the church. Click here to visit Barna's site and read more.

Caution: Take Barna's confident assertions with a grain of salt. Remember, his goal is to sell books. He has a penchant for oversimplified distinctions that cater to the consumerist mindset of the Christian subculture. As Will Rogers said, "There are lies, there are damn lies... and then there are statistics." The latter is Barna's specialty.

What We Want

"Change isn't change unless it changes what I WANT."

That was the sound bite from Sunday night, as we focused on what it means to live in light of the gospel.

Behavior modification - the "change strategy" that drives most of Christianity - doesn't work in the long run. In the short run, it can bring some benefits. But it doesn't change our desires. It doesn't change our hearts. It doesn't change our character. Dallas Willard explains why a focus on behavior masks the real problem: "…There is a rigorous consistency in the human self and its actions. This is one of the things we are most inclined to deceive ourselves about. If I do evil, I am the kind of person who does evil; if I do good, I am the kind of person who does good... Actions are not impositions on who we are, but are expressions of who we are.”

Consider the clear teaching of Scripture that sin starts with what we WANT:

James 1:13-15: When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Eph 4:22-24: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Jesus put it this way: ...the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil (Matthew 12:34-35).

So change isn't change unless it changes what I WANT. And that is exactly what the gospel promises to do. Perhaps the best barometer of your spiritual growth is to ask the question: What do I want? Can I see my desires changing? Is there a true, honest, heart-longing for Christ and for the mission of God within me?

What about you - what's your take on the idea that "change isn't change unless it changes what I want?"

Free?

Ah, freedom... that oft-invoked yet little-understood word. Clear enough to elicit our affirmation, yet cliche enough to make us skeptical. What does it mean for the human will to be free?

Some fairly simplistic thinkers suggest that freedom means being able to choose any action at any moment. That definition will suffice for many who simply want to justify their choices. But for those who are more philosophically rigorous in their thinking, there is more to freedom than meets the eye.

For what is it that actually moves us to act - to exercise our wills in a certain direction? It is our desires. And so, in a very real sense, we are free to do only what we want to do. If we have no desire to do something, we are in some sense not "free" to do it.

St. Augustine (354-430) put it this way: “I am free with respect to any action… to the extent that my wanting and choosing to perform that action are sufficient for my performing it.” In other words, desire is really the essence of freedom. Desire moves the will. In order to choose something, we must first want to choose it.

This has obvious implications for the movement of our souls toward God. God must first create in us the desire to believe in Him before we can choose to do so. In Augustine’s words, “there is no ability whatever in free will to believe, unless there be persuasion or summons towards some one in whom to believe.” Free will is neutral. It does not move in a direction unless desire spurs it to.

An even more important implication confronts those of us who would seek to follow the way of Jesus: changing what we do isn't nearly as important as changing what we want. The goal of apprenticeship to Jesus is the transformation of our very desires. And that is no small task.

I Confess... My Ignorance of Westminster

This last week we quoted together from the WCF (Westminster Confession of Faith). Todd said he had to concentrate so hard on 'saying it right' that he couldn't reflect on what it was actually saying about God! So here it is, for all of us to ponder...

Westminster Confession of Faith, 2.2:

God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone foundation of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them.

More here if you like this sort of thing.

By the way, I repent: the photo above is actually of Westminster Abbey, whereas the one in last week's post was of the Parliament building. Correction noted by Gavin, venerable world traveler. He went to London with Grandma just last month and visited all these places. So I've never been to London, OK?

More from Miller

Relevant Magazine online has an interesting interview with Don Miller (thanks Dusty). Here's an excerpt that resonates with the feelings of many of us in Coram Deo as we try to plant a church that engages the culture. Miller is talking about walking away from his role as a college leader at a megachurch in Houston, and how his faith was being stunted in that context:

Let me preface all this by saying that I love church, I love my church, that it's a wonderful community, and I'm very faithful to it. I think the idea of church or the Church around the globe is certainly imparting God's presence in the world. That said, I have not grown personally in terms of faith with the kind of consumer-oriented Christianity that is prevalent in America. That has never helped me; it's only stunted my growth. What I mean by that is the self-help, formulaic kind of stuff; the moralist/political angles on our faith tradition. None of that helped me. I didn't grow. And really what happened was there was a switch that turned where I got interested in the more relational dynamic of faith, the whole notion of God fathering us rather than focusing on the rules or whatever.

See, the pressure to be a certain kind of person in the context of the church culture I was living in was intense. When the pressure was taken off and I was surrounded by people who would describe themselves as pagans, there was suddenly no pressure for me to perform or be like anything. They didn't care, and that allowed my faith to grow for real.

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=6995

(Lane, how about some props? The posts are flying this week!)

The Supremacy of God in Spelling

Last Sunday night (10/2) we considered what it means that God is primary. In the course of our teaching time, we listened to a quote from John Piper about the supremacy of God in spelling. Is there a God-centered answer when your third-grader asks, "Why should I care about spelling?" Piper suggests yes: spelling matters because we are made in the image of God, and God is a communicative God, and we have the most important message in the universe to deliver to people, and we shouldn't put "spelling stumbling blocks" in the way of that message. To suggest that your kid should learn to spell so he can be successful in life and make more money is, to use Piper's words, "Godless" and "blasphemous."

In light of the supremacy of God in spelling, does anyone find it interesting that Arabic names have no correct spelling? Mohammed, Muhammad... it doesn't matter. There is no right way to spell it. That may or may not mean anything... my linguist friends will have to render their judgment. But it's at least "anecdotally interesting" that an idolatrous religion has no correct way to spell the name of its Prophet.

Does anyone have trouble with the fact that I just called Islam idolatrous? I flinched even as I wrote it. Just goes to show how much our pluralistic culture has pushed us toward a false definition of "tolerance." There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved - Acts 4:12.

The Preservation of Don Miller

In keeping with our discussion on preservation, I ran across this interesting montage from Donald Miller in my re-reading of Blue Like Jazz:

I am wanted by God. He is wanting to preserve me, to guide me through the darkness of the shadow of death, up into the highlands of his presence and afterlife. I understand that I am temporary, in this shell of a thing on this dirt of an earth. I am being tempted by Satan, we all are being tempted by Satan, but I am preserved to tell those who do not know about our Savior and our Redeemer...

I am human because God made me. I experience suffering and temptation because mankind chose to follow Satan. God is reaching out to rescue me. I am learning to trust Him, learning to live by His precepts that I might be preserved.

By the way, if you haven't read Blue Like Jazz... seriously, what's wrong with you? Do you hate God? How did you make it onto the Coram Deo launch team without reading this book? Go buy it!