Made for more . . .

Turns out, I have an infinite capacity to be a dink! No, no - it's true. Really it is. 

Seriously, have you ever watched yourself do life - only to be really disappointed with how much of a dink you can really be? I mean, you know you should be better. You know you can be better. You even observe yourself in the moment knowing full well that the next words or actions that are going to come from you are, in fact, ridiculous and stupid. And yet, you persist. You speak. You act. And then, you regret it (and feel compelled to blog about it)

Yep, that was my day, - or at least part of it. I was in a conversation today with an old friend and colleague today over lunch. Sadly, I was argumentative, judgmental and more than a bit off-putting - and all of that was before we had even ordered our meal!

Why? I mean, I know that there have been some really great things that I have learned from God in the past few years. I have learned that it's way better to encourage others than recklessly criticize. I have learned that it is really better to applaud efforts that others are making - as opposed to make being critical of them simply out of sport. And yet, in both cases I dropped the ball, lapsing into a discouraging diatribe of oppositional thinking and conversation - all the while being sure to thinly veil it in ways that make me appear smarter than I really am, thereby affording me at least the appearance of being smart. And, all the while I was simply being a dink.

Part of the reason for writing about this is because I think that this might happen to more than just me. If not - that's fine too. I simply think that I needed to acknowledge it - and deal with how disappointing we can be to our own selves. Sometimes I am frustrated at how easily I slip into patterns of conversation and thought that I really had convinced myself were a part of my past - that God had actually healed me of some of these things. And then, I go and prove that I am still not as far down the road of sanctification and good leadership that I thought I was. 

More than the disappointment, however, I think I also realized something else. In these moments - and hundreds of others that happen to all of us every day - we have the chance to treat others in (at least) one of two ways: a) as the person they have been in our lives in the past; or, b) as the person God imagines/ longs for and is making them to be. 

I find it soooooo easy to treat people as they have been in my life. When I do this I intuitively chart out the sum total of my interactions with them in the past, assigning a series of check and minuses based on what they have said, done, etc., in relationship to myself. The end result is that all of this history serves a a predeterminer of the script  and dialogue that I will have with them in the future. Sometimes the script has been great in the past - and lunch goes well. Other times, not so much.

Last week someone challenged me to think/ act differently with people. What I mean is this: I was challenged to treat everyone I meet/ talk to/ live with/ go to church with/ work with/ am neighbours with/ etc., etc., (you get the picture) as the person God would have them be as a new creation in Christ Jesus. This means that I refuse to treat them as the sum of my interactions with them - but honour them as people in the imagine of God. It means that rather than acting out of pride, hard heartedness, born out of my past interactions with them, that I would treat others with a humility that sees God's work in them and cooperates with it; with a encouraging spirit that tries to fuel the work of God in them; and with a Kingdom vision that understands that both of us are people for whom God has great plans. 

So, swing and a miss on a number of accounts today at lunch. 

However, there are dozens of people on my horizon in the rest of this week that will give me a chance to try again. My prayer this week? That God will show me how I can - in each conversation and interaction - cooperate with what God is trying to do in the lives of people with whom I interact.  

I know - it sounds simple. But, the truth is I am sick and tired of being a dink. . . . 

Pretty

I read a blog or two. Not many - but a few. And, often - like this blog - they are interesting meanderings and people that I know, trust, am curious about, etc. One blog that I take a look at pretty regularly is from my friend Phil.

In addition to being a grand friend - Phil is thoughtful, expresses himself with beauty and often provokes thought about topics that you and I might "feel" but aren't able to put into really clear words.

Well, Phil did it again the other day. Since both he and I are the fathers to young girls, I know that resonated with a post he made recently. I originally thought that I would try to re-capture it in my own words. But, truthfully, I can't do much better than he did. So, below is a link to Phil's blog. I heartily recommend it as a place worth reading. In particular, the link that I am giving is to the recent post he made about raising our children.

I also found the video link on this particular post to be pretty effective and worthwhile. However, like Phil, I would add that anyone with an aversion to the F-Bomb might want to avoid it. That said, I would add that given the reality that is being described, the vulgarity might actually be pretty fitting.

Here's the link to Phil's blog.

http://squinch.net/2011/03/07/a-pretty-dangerous-place/

Tweeting Truth?

Know who they guy in the picture is? His name is Rob Bell. He is a poet, artist, teacher and pastor who happens to work at a church called Mars Hill. It's in Michigan. If you listen to Rob via podcasts or video, or, for some reason end up @ Mars Hill on a Sunday he is preaching you will appreciate that he is a very gifted communicator with some provocative thoughts about God and life with Him. 

In a few weeks Rob will release a book entitled, "Love Wins." 

You can read the write up to the book here 

(http://www.amazon.ca/Love-Wins-About-Heaven-Person/dp/006204964X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299535597&sr=8-1) 

You can watch the promo video for it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUvw2McL8g&hd=1

Now, I am not making any claims about Rob Bell, what he thinks, believes or is asserting in this book. In part because I think that would be foolish, since the book isn't out yet. I will admit that he asks provocative questions and clearly the book and video are designed to get people thinking - and, the cynic in me says, to sell lots and lots of books!

Anyway, here's the reason for this post: a few weeks ago a bunch of other church leaders (Justin Taylor and John Piper) watched the video and read the release re: the book. Their claim? Rob Bell is a - wait for it - he's a ghastly universalist!!!!! That's right, their CLAIM is that Rob Bell thinks everyone goes to heaven! 

I say claim, because, neither have actually read the book. They are inferring it. And, in so doing, John Piper tweeted, "Farewell Rob Bell" as if to say that we ought to bid adieu those in our midst who espouse anything short of what we think represents orthodoxy.

Again, let me be clear: I don't know what Rob Bell beleives about this sort of thing. I have neither asked him, nor read the book. But, here's what I find really, really hard to understand: if I did believe that someone (of influence or not) was spousing something that I found hard to stomach, understand or swallow, why oh why would i bid them farewell? Why wouldn't I, especially in this case, want to go to their place, grab a coffee and say, "tell me about what you are thinking on this topic cuz we see it so differently and I might have something to learn!"

What is it about Christian leaders that makes them feel like we ought to always distance, shun or shame the people with whom we disagree? 

Why wouldn't we, in the pursuit of truth, always and by default want to talk to everyone with whom we disagree, listen intently to how they see things, engage in the dialogue of ideas and pursue truth?

I know - some of you are going to say that's a bit naive and I should put down my rose coloured glasses. Others are going to feel - but never say - that this is a very fearful place to live - because others with whom we disagree might influence our thoughts and if they do, our whole house of cards might come crashing down!

Again, call me idealistic, but I genuinely believe God to be a God of truth. That means that he is the Lord of ALL truth, no matter where it is found. So, could Rob Bell teach me something? I hope so. Could Piper and others - again, I hope so! However, if we Christians keep parceling up the world along the lines of who thinks the same as us @ every turn we will sacrifice any hope of being friendly and kind, let alone having even a distant shot at being things like salt and light.