“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Neh 8:10
true, i have not blogged in awhile. This is due to some unforseeable events: 1. I am busy 2. work is busy 3. responsibilities pounce on me like a jungle cat.
I just started a new job doing graphics for an iphone gaming company. This while also straddling consulting work through my design agency.
I also am making new friends and remembering old ones.
To my one or two readers, I promise I’ll post soon.
I am a real critic. I know that’s generally a bad thing, but you know, sometimes it’s both necessary and helpful. Sometimes people are scared of being critics because they don’t want to look prideful, fanatical, or self-centered. Well… can we should all accept the fact that criticism is not about the content of the speaker’s character, but the content of his criticism? Ok.
We should all be humble hearers. Listen to Sermons with gratitude and respect for the Minister. Few people know the cost of the preacher’s labor, and even fewer understand the scale of a pastor’s ministry.
That said, there are some times when I hear a sermon and I am left very very unhappy. This usually happens when one or more of these 10 errors are made:
1. When the pastor obscures the truth in an attempt to simplify it. (e.g. explaining Israel as the people of God and immediately equating that with the Church)
2. When an illustration becomes the sermon itself (e.g. when a sermon should be called “What we can Learn from Wonky the Walrus”)
3. When possible interpretations becomes the point in a Sermon outline. (The 3 meanings of being Salt to the World: 1. you are the “flavor” of Christ 2. you “create thirst” for Christ 3. You “preserve” life from decay)
4. When a certain word is given the wrong definition or a definition that does not clarify it’s signifiance. (e.g. “redeem essentially means to save…”)
5. When the point of the sermon is lost.
6. When the text of the Sermon is a springboard instead of a foundation
7. When the Pastor’s confusions on certain topics leaks into the Sermon only to confuse the hearers
8. When there is no application other than “you are accepted and loved.”
9. When there is a claim referenced to the greek, but the greek does not support the claim.
10. When the message becomes a fun facts session for the theologically nimble, and a bucket of terms for the theologically sluggish.
May all preachers therefore ascend the sacred pulpit with fear and trembling.
When it comes to youth ministry, I’m used to the adolescent, pressured, AZN, manga reading, fob-esque, 2coofoschoo, sort of kid. They look like this:
The youth group I’m getting involved in is the exact opposite. They are largely white, homeschooled, and don’t know what dragonball is. More like this:
Now. How in the world am I supposed to teach these kids about Jesus?
…more to come.
I’ve made this statement before. However, since I have nothing to do today, I’m going to try to go about proving it. For every season of my life, since freshman year of high school there has been a John mayer song to characterize it.
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
And there you have it.
Today I didn’t go to my home church. I went to my old home church. I guess it’s not really home church anymore, but it still sort of feels like home, okay, well not as much these days.
I got to stop by a Sunday school class that was reading a book called, Tender Warrior. My first reaction was intense laughter. And then I realized it was the title of a book, not the creative imaginings of old asian church men. Anyways, I sat in on the class, and listened, while playing Tap Defense, to the teacher talk about the image of children being the arrows in their fathers quiver as derived from Psalm 127.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
If you think about it, it’s a rather cryptic verse. But anyways, it was quoted in the book (ie Tender Warrior) , authored by Stu Weber, a military man turned pastor (also the name of a rather skillful guitarist). His take on the verse is very interesting. creative. epic. As I remember it, the illustration is meant to help us understand that as fathers, we must all learn to let go, like an arrow from the string of a taught bow. Fatherhood is about learning to release our children like arrows into the heart of the….um, the future? Something like that. Anyways, it’s about letting go.
I think that’s too creative, and too reminiscent of High School English. The verse doesn’t seem to be making that point. Sure, arrows are let loose, but what does that have to do with a “Heritage” or a “Reward” or the hand of a “Warrior”?
Here’s what I think, and here’s what I think is the right understanding. Children are an inheritance, passed down from the Lord. And the inheritance is our stewardship. In middle eastern culture, the inheritance is passed down, added to, and passed down again. Likewise children are given to us as a stewardship, and the stewardship changes hands when the children become fathers. Children are also a reward, a treasure, a prize, a thing of great value. Simple enough. So what then of the warrior’s quiver?!
The important question to ask is not, what part of the arrow/quiver/warrior picture can most naturally relate to children, but rather what is the mind of a warrior when his quiver is full of arrows that should make him happy (i.e. “blessed”). In ancient Israel, the warrior at the gate who carried a quiver of arrows was often stationed there in order to hold off a raiding adversary or instill fear in an enemy messenger. The more arrows you had, the more you could shoot. The more you could shoot, the more likely you would make an impact in the battle. I’m not jumping any lines of logic here am I? I think it’s quite obvious why a full quiver of arrows would make a warrior happy, as compared to an empty one. It’s no wonder why the psalmist says, “He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” If I were defending a stronghold, and the enemy came to negotiate, I would want not to bring one bullet in a gun, but a full vest of clips. Wouldn’t you? otherwise, you = epic fail.
So no, I don’t think it’s about release, or even about letting go. The likeness between children and arrows, is clearly that both are purposefully contributed into the world. The more arrows a warrior has, the more he can contribute to the battle. The more children a father has, the more he can contribute to the cause of God. They are our heritage that we must preserve, the vehicle that will carry our names into the future, and the cherished prize of our very lives. When we raise our sons, we raise them in order that they don’t waste their lives on video games and adolescent vegetation, but in order that one day they will affect change that will bring lasting honor to their families and to their God. And the more children we have, the more opportunities we have for greater impact.
A fitting quote concerning a fitting warrior.
“His only regret is that he has so few to sacrifice…”
Sorry kids.
cheers!
I’m reviewing my greek again. Got a thousand or so cards. Hello rote memorization.
Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day .
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I’m singing ‘Spirit,
take me up in arms with You’
And I’m not who I thought I was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I’m singing ‘Spirit,
take me up in arms with You’ .
There’s twenty-four reasons
To admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses
Still twenty-four strong .
See, I’m not copping out
Not copping out
Not copping out
When you’re raising the dead in me
Whenever it’s my birthday, I always get real depressed. Why? Because the man that I am, after 24 years of living, is still such a poor and broken wreck.
O God, I’d like to be the second man. now.
I wonder about my life, and what I’ve amounted to.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
- Albert Einstein
A fantastic quote from a sermon from John Street.
“…The measure of a good shepherd is how he treats his wife… how he shepherds his own…”
…and for the single, I suppose it’s how you treat your girlfriends.
If you haven’t seen this yet, check it out, it’s very well done:
