church humor – church signs

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 31-07-2009

Category : God, different, humor, just for fun

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Religion can be a serious business. People have tough questions about their lives, their futures, and even their decisions. It’s no wonder that many churches are so solemn. But I think this is a shame. Humor is one of the ways God has made us unique. No other creature can tell a joke. Humor is a reflection of God’s own personality.

It’s unfortunate that Christians are seen as the ones holding everyone back. We should be on the cutting edge of science, literature and yes, humor. God has given us great freedom. Why don’t we take that freedom and make people laugh?

So on this warm summer day, are a few funny church signs.

church-sign01

church-sign02

If you have a favorite church sign, leave a comment and we’ll see about getting it featured on R3. We could all use a little more laughter in our day.

should christians be angry at a defaced bible?

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 29-07-2009

Category : bible, choice, different

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It seems to be that every week an “angry Christian” story hits the news.  This week it’s focused on a church in England.  This particular church decided to have people write in a Bible.  Not just people from the church, but anyone who wanted to do it.  The idea was part art and part an attempt to draw people into looking at the Bible in a new way.  It was hoped that personalizing the Bible would make it more real for people.  However what happened is that many people wrote “controversial” statements.  This, according to the story, upset a lot of Christians.

Some of the comments were:

  • “This is all sexist pish, so disregard it all.”
  • “The biggest lie in human history.”
  • “Mick Jagger and David Bowie belong in here.”
  • “I am Bi, Female and Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this.”

Okay, so I have no idea what the Mick Jagger / David Bowie comment means.  Maybe it’s a British thing?  But beside that, when I read those comments I don’t feel anger, I feel sadness.  I don’t see a defaced Bible, I see breaking hearts.  There is such bitterness and pain in those sentences that it betrays the authors.

I can’t imagine my life without God.  I can’t imagine the loneliness, the hostility, the emptiness I would feel without that relationship.  I understand saying that may seem “insensitive” or “ridiculous.”  And a few years ago I would have agreed.  But after having been on this revolutionary journey with God I have a new perspective.  A perspective I couldn’t have grasped before I met God.

It’s that perspective that makes me see the pain in those sentences.

And it’s that same pain I wish Christians would pay attention to.  Instead of reacting in anger about a “defaced” Bible, Christians should reach out in love.  Yet so often we as Christ followers get wrapped up in our own views that we forget where we once were.  That we once shared (and some still do) the pain and pride of the commentators.

It’s no wonder the world views us as so unChristian.

Believe it or not, humans don’t always want to deal with reality.  Especially if reality conflicts with our lifestyle.  Even when we know something is harmful to us (smoking) we still do it.  Psychologists refer to the uncomfortable feelings two conflicting ideas create as as cognitive dissonance.  One way we deal with this cognitive dissonance is by lashing out.  We know, at some deep level, that the life we’re living isn’t how we were designed to live.  But making a change seems overwhelming, too scary, or too hard.  So we attack the message.

The Christian response should be one of love and compassion.  Our truth should be matched by our grace.  I say we should let more people “deface” the Bible like this.  Their words can’t diminish the truth that’s contained in it’s pages.  And it represents an opportunity to show them God’s grace.  To me that sounds like a win-win situation.  Not a time to get angry and defensive.

forgiveness

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 27-07-2009

Category : Jesus, Matthew, bible, different, hope, living a life of faith

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Think for a moment about someone you really dislike.  Maybe you even hate them.  Maybe they’ve hurt you.  Maybe they’ve lied to you.  Or maybe you just find them annoying.  Are you thinking about them?  Good.  Now what are the first three things that pop into your head?  Is one of them forgiveness?  Because it should be.

Forgiveness.  That’s not something I like to even think about, let alone do.  I have a very hard time backing down from arguments.  I like to be right, and I’m not afraid to fight to be seen as “right.”  So when someone does something that harms me, I have a hard time letting go.

R3 focuses a lot on the idea of living out your faith.  And for a Christian, forgiveness is a major part of that life.  But I really struggle with it.  Intellectually I understand what’s going on.  I even get why God would ask us to do it.  But it’s just hard to pull the trigger on forgiveness.  It’s so much easier to hate.

That’s why I find Jesus’ interaction with Peter so interesting.  And scary.

Jesus radically raises the bar for forgiveness.  When Peter asks him how many times he should forgive someone, Peter suggests seven would be a good number.  Now in Jewish culture you were obligated to forgive someone 3 times.  So Peter was going above and beyond what was expected.  Plus, he chose the number 7 knowing full well that in Jewish culture it  implied a “completeness”.  Peter was trying to say he would forgive someone a lot, more than maybe anyone else.  He thought he was doing something good, going way above and beyond his duty as a Jew.

But this still wasn’t what Jesus was looking for.  Jesus isn’t interested in us “trying harder.”  He’s interested in our lives radically changing.  So he told Peter, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  Jesus wanted to make the point that there isn’t some magical number you hit and then you’re “good.”  Instead, it’s about changing your heart and aligning yourself with God’s forgiving nature.

In the end it was Peter who ultimately needed to receive that forgiveness which Jesus spoke of.  As Jesus was lead away by authorities, Peter had a chance to show support, all he had to do was simply say he knew Jesus.  Yet three times Peter denied even knowing him.  Peter abandoned Jesus when Jesus needed a friend the most.  Yet Jesus still forgave Peter, and actually went on to use him to build the Jerusalem church.

I may never figure out how to forgive people 77 times.  I may only be able to do it once.  But I am grateful that God is forgiving.  Because I know  I certainly need it.  And maybe, right now, the best thing I can do is simply struggle with the idea of forgiveness.  Maybe it’s that struggle in applying Jesus’ teachings to our lives that ultimately builds our faith.  And in turn, allows us to forgive 77 times.

being a credible witness

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 24-07-2009

Category : faith, living a life of faith, taking action

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I know posting on R3 has been a bit light the last couple of weeks.  That’s partly intentional and partly unintentional.  And depending on the day it’s hard to tell the difference!

The last few weeks have been unusually busy for me.  Which means I’ve needed to make some deliberate choices.  If you’ve been reading R3 for any length of time you know the prime question we look at is simply, “what does it mean to live out a life of faith?”   In each post I try to answer that question.  But this isn’t just an intellectual exercise for me.  This is something I am committed to doing.  If you’re going to believe in God, why wouldn’t you want to live out a life that reflects those beliefs?

As the Irish Evangelist, Gypsy Smith once said, “There are five Gospels.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.”

I agree with that.  For many people the only time they get to see God, is when I reflect God in my actions.  The more I live out a life of faith, the more they will see the impact God can have on their life.  And so I’ve made a conscious effort to spend more time with friends and family.  Which, sadly, means I’ve had less time to spend writing.

Something had to give, and for the last few weeks, I chose to give up some of the writing in favor of building into people in my life.  Fortunately this won’t last long – the lack of writing that is.  I should be back into the groove starting next week with the typical Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine.

But in the meantime I’d challenge all of you to consider that Christianity is more than simply knowledge, it’s about action as well.   Greg Boyd recently said in a sermon, “There this a widespread assumption that Christianity is mainly about believing certain things…if you believe those things well then you’re in, if you don’t, well then you’re out….as though God’s greatest aspiration for all of creation was to raise up people who have the right opinion about things.”

So this week go out and do something.  Be a credible witness for Christ.  Live out a life of faith in such a way that people can’t help but ask “what’s going on in your life.”  Go.  Be the church.

what has God done for you lately?

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 20-07-2009

Category : God, Mother Teresa, Psalms, sin, trust

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Sometimes I am amazed, and a bit ashamed, how readily I turn away from God.  It seems that no matter how much God does for me, the minute a problem arises I start wondering why God has abandoned me.  I can’t help but ask, “what have you done for me lately?”

Sadly I am not alone in this.  Maybe I should be encouraged by that.  But I am not.  We all suffer from this same problem.  We all wonder of God, “what have you done for me lately?”  Even Mother Teresa had her moments of doubt and discouragement.  Although in many ways it seems her life proves her exceptionalism in her faith: she experienced an intense interaction with God early in her life – and then virtually nothing for decades.  My faith would have crumbled.  Her faith remained.

We’ve been this way for centuries.  Isn’t that the point of Adam & Eve?  Satan told them, “God is holding out on you.”  And they said, “yeah the garden is nice, and not worrying about zipping our pants is sweet, but what has God done for us lately.”  And so they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

I wonder, what our lives would look like if we remembered his past actions?  What if we took those things seriously instead of tossing them aside?  How many miracles would we need before we believed?  One?  Zero?  Because if I really trusted God, and if I really put all my faith in him, I bet it wouldn’t take a miracle in my life to help me to believe.  How many miraculous healings do you need to see before you think, “wow, maybe there is something to this God character?”

But I don’t take him seriously.  Oh I say I do, and on the good days maybe I get close.  I guess that’s part of the struggle of our faith.  It’s this conflict that reminds me not to become too prideful.  Because when it comes to crunch time I find myself demanding, “what have you done for me lately?!”  I am no better than anyone else in that regard.

Which why I am grateful God is merciful.  As the Psalmist said:

Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.

He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

real people, real pain

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Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 17-07-2009

Category : bible, failure, faith, hope, trust

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Life is filled with problems.  Often unexpected ones.  And while I don’t mean to sound like a pessimist, there is no doubt that we all will be blindsided by at least one major catastrophe in our lives.  And many little problems too.

I think this economic recession is an example.  I never dreamed that stores like Circuit City would fold.  And when I drive around town I am shocked by the number of empty office buildings.  Each one of those office buildings is a dream that’s been shattered.

These shattered dreams, though, allow me to find comfort in the Bible.

I know that sounds shocking.  But stay with me for a minute – the Bible is filled with stories of people being murdered, sold into slavery, invaded, and generally run out of town.  There are entire books of the Bible devoted to stories of suffering and pain.  You can’t read for very long without noticing it.

Have you ever wondered why the stories don’t hold back?  Have you ever wondered why there are stories of people railing against God in their anger and despair?  Stories of people questioning why God isn’t showing up as their dreams are being torn apart.

It’s because the Bible is filled with real people and real pain.

And so as my dreams are crushed, I can find comfort in the pages of the Bible because I know I’m not alone.  I know that what I’m experiencing other people have as well.  I know that they were able to trust God no matter how hard it got and I can too.  After all these years the Bible remains as relevant to us, as it did to the original audience.

This is why the Psalm 73 really hits home.  Asaph (the writer) has been where I am.  He sees that while he struggles people who go along ignoring God seem to be rewarded.  He’s noticed that even when you do the right thing, you sometimes end up worse for it.  But he also realized that if he trusted God, in the end, he would be all right.  As close as Asaph was to the brink, he held on:

“But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked”
(Psalm 73: 2-3)

If God was faithful to him, then I am reminded that God will be faithful to me.  And so I hold on no matter how close to the brink I get.

prayer thursday: why do you lead

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 16-07-2009

Category : God, different, faith, prayer thursday, sharing faith

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The more involved I become with my church, the more I ask myself, “why do I lead?”  Do I lead because I want to serve people in my community?  Or do I lead because I want to be seen as insightful and intelligent?  Or maybe even to be useful?

Right now I can say with confidence that it’s because I want to serve.  I want to make the world better.  I want more people to know Jesus.  I want more people to experience the freedom I have because of my relationship with God.

But there’s always a temptation there.  Satan is clever, and he’s good at using our own strengths against us.  I am no exception.

Serving

God – Please keep me centered on you.  Don’t let the excitement of new opportunities, new challenges, and new contributions pull me from you.  Don’t let me think that what the church needs is more of me, remind me that what it really needs is more of you.  Help me fight back the temptations to be seen as smart, to be seen as clever, to feel that I am needed.  Let me serve because I love you, and nothing more.

reader comment: will the evildoers never learn

Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 13-07-2009

Category : Jesus, faith, living a life of faith, reader comments, sin

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Chris, over at Got-Fruit.net, had a good addition to Friday’s post “will the evildoers never learn:”

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1st John 1:9)

Perhaps this is a case of semantics, but I would say that it’s not that we’re captives of sin but rather that as you later say in your post; “it still lingers” ie;  we still struggle with sin even though we’ve been sanctified and justified by the blood of Christ.  In my own experiences as a Christian I can recall being so occupied with being good; not sinning, that I missed the point of Christianity, that Christ has already done all of the work, therefore there’s nothing that I can do to add to it. (Ephesians 2:8-9).

When you enter into a relationship with God, you are most certainly set free from the final bondage of sin (something I should have made more clear in that post).  Yet it seems that on some level we are willing to pick that bondage back up.  We seem to want to be put back into slavery. And the truth is, we do this willingly.

So while we are fully sanctified and justified by the blood of Christ (something I agree with, and believe the Bible teaches, and am grateful to Chris for pointing out) I think we are at least perceptually controlled by sin, if not in actual reality.  And as most psychologists would tell you, perception is reality. We live by how we see the world.

I don’t know where I fall on this fine line of semantics.  Maybe this is just a word game, or maybe it’s meaningful theology.  But what I do know is sin destroys people’s lives.  And if we’re not careful, even though Jesus’ death atones for our sins, we end up living out a life as if it didn’t.

will the evildoers never learn

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Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 10-07-2009

Category : God, R3, failure, sin

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I rarely start out with such inflammatory headings.  R3 is a place for people to explore what it means to live out a life of faith.  I am fully aware that a lot of people who read R3 aren’t self-identified Christians.  That’s fine.  You don’t have to be.  So while I don’t pull any punches, I also don’t intentionally mean to offend people.  Insulting someone is never a way to show God’s love for each of us.

But there is something about the nature of sin that’s been bothering me the last few weeks.  And there is no easy way to say it.  The fact is, the damage sin causes shouldn’t be “sugar coated.”  So allow me to be as blunt as David was when he wrote Psalm 53: “Will the evildoers never learn?”

I’m not the first to ask.  And I won’t be the last.  Ever since that fateful decision by Adam & Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, things have been a mess.  It seems that we simply can’t stop following in their footsteps.

Why?  Why is it “evildoers never learn.”  And by the way, those evildoers – that’s us, all of us.

Are we so blinded by our pride that we can’t even see where our actions lead?  Are we so sure that we can fix any problem we make that we simply don’t care?  Or is the devil just too good at tricking us into believing that God is holding out.  Or maybe we are just so blind we fall for his same tricks every time.  Even Tom couldn’t fool Jerry every time!

What I find disturbing in all of this is that I am no different.  And neither are you.  We are all held captive to sin.  We all fall short of where we were designed to be.  And none of us can seem to break the cycle.  That’s how powerful sin is.  That’s how much control it has.

That’s why Jesus is so important.  He’s broken the chains of sin.  When we are in relationship with him, in God’s eyes we are sin free.  But sin still lingers on us.  It still hurts our relationships with others (and God).  It still causes pain and suffering.  It still destroys like a thief in the night.

Pavlov, in his famous experiment, taught dogs to salivate by hearing a bell.  If dogs can do something like that, why can’t we break free from sin?

God never gives us more than we can handle

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Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 08-07-2009

Category : God, bible, hope, sin, trust

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God will never give us more than we can carry.

Or at least that’s what we’re told.  But is this true?  Unfortunately it’s actually a more complicated answer than you might guess.  The Bible never uses this exact phrase (the closest is 1 Corinthians 10:13).  Which means God never explicitly promises this protection.  Yet I believe it is true.  I believe that it’s in line with God’s character to never give us more than we can carry.

Sometimes, though, we pick up extra baggage along the way.

It wasn’t God’s intention for us to have this new problem (whatever it may be).  We did it all on our own.  Yet we start blaming God for what we’re experiencing.  As if he’s somehow responsible for us ignoring his advice!

Sin leads to things God never intended for us to handle.  The more we move away from how we were designed, they more things break down.  That’s a fundamental principle of how the world works.  If you build a house and forget to lay the foundation first, you’re going to have problems.  If I’m trying to write out this post and I just randomly type letters, you won’t be able to read it (some of you may suspect I do this already).

God may never give us more than we can handle, but we have a knack of making things difficult on ourselves.

Why do we do it then?  Why do we fall into the traps of addictions or greed when we know it will only harm us?  I have  to wonder if this is partly a pride issue.  We’ve become so full of ourselves, that we think we must be the solution to everything.  So we just keep piling on problem after problem, bad choice after bad choice with the foolish belief that we can “handle it.”

In his book, Wide Awake, Erwin McManus says, “I love this about Daniel and Esther – they did what they could and let God fill in the blanks where they didn’t know how it could possibly work out.” (Wide Awake, p. 73)

We worry so much about having everything perfectly mapped out before we move and act.  But maybe that’s not always the right way to do it.  Maybe what we need to do most is to act, and trust God will be in the gaps.  Maybe the reason we have so little faith in miracles, is that we leave so little room for them.

I believe that God never gives me more than I can handle.  But I also believe that 9 times out of 10 I’m an idiot.  I allow my pride to control my behaviors, and I end up making my burden too heavy.

Here is my challenge to you (and myself).  Something will come up this week.  I don’t know what it will be.  But it will be more than you know how to handle.  Pray about it.  And then whatever God tells you to do – act on it.  Don’t worry if you don’t know how it will shake out.  Don’t worry if you aren’t sure what the “plan” looks like.  Trust that God’s foolishness is better than your wisdom, and God’s weakness is better than your strength.  I think we’ll all be amazed at what happens when we let God be God.

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