C.S. Lewis and the Purpose of the Church

The church exists for nothing else but to draw men
into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are
not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions,
sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of
time. God became a Man for no other purpose.

— C. S. Lewis

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The Divine Commodity

I just finished Skye Jethani's book The Divine Commodity and found it to be both fresh and convicting in diagnosing much of the state of contemporary Christianity. One of the main characters in his book is the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Jethani does an excellent job telling the story of the modern church through the works and life van Gogh. Here are a few excerpts from the book that really struck me.

On the church's idolatrous focus of creating a consumer experience:

"Ministries that focus on manufacturing spiritual experiences, despite their laudable intentions, may actually be retarding spiritual growth by making people experience dependent. Like caged animals, consumer Christians lose the ability to do what they were designed by God to do—have a vibrant, self-generating relationship with Christ. Instead, they become dependent upon their zookeeper-pastors for life nourishment. This captive/captor relationship is unlikely to change as long as both the church member and leader are satisfied with the arrangement. But is this what the Christian life is supposed to be?" -pg. 79

On the church's tendancy to practice a form of divination where we try to control God and get him to do our bidding:

"The exchange of an unpredictable God for controllable principles is also common within the church. Our insistence on an institutional and programmatic faith is a savvy new form of divination. Invariably, churches that experience significant numerical growth will publish books outlining their methodology and create conferences so other leaders can reproduce such success in their in their own churches. The assumption is that with the right curriculum, the right principles, and the right programs God’s Spirit will act to produce the outcomes we desire. This plug-and-play approach to the Christian life makes God a cosmic vending machine, and it assumes his Spirit resides within well-produced organizations and systems rather than people." -pg 97

A call to live out the Gospel in the midst of our daily obedience, hospitality and authenticity:

"Our homes are to be hospitals—refuges of healing radiating the light of heaven. And our dinner tables are to be operating tables—the place where broken souls are made whole again. In our churches people should find rest from their battle for acceptance and release from the lie that they are nothing more than the goods they possess. When we lower our defenses, when we remove our facades and our peepholes, and we begin to be truly present with one another—then the healing power of the gospel can begin it’s work." pg-154

Guantanamo: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Design that Saves Lives!

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I paparazzi'd my wife last year when she was reading.

Life is Ministry

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Refugee Stories

This past weekend my family had the privilege of participating in the Ride for Refugees. Sometimes in the USA it is difficult to fully grasp the reality of the situations refugees face. The following is a podcast from the BBC sharing the stories of several refugees. These are very powerful and very touching real life stories.



Organizations that are working with refugees:
World Relief- Partner with churches and connect them with refugees who seek asylum in the USA.
Crossing Borders- Serving refugees and orphans who have fled from North Korea.
World Vision- Serving and helping the poor world wide
Ride for the Refugees- Want to serve refugees and not sure where to start? Join the ride for the refugee with some friends to raise awareness and funds for refugee ministries.

Related L=M Articles
Don't Forget the North Korean Refugees
Human Trafficking
The Mission Field: Coming to a City Near You
God Grew Tired of Us
How do you see the World?

The Ride for Refugees: Family Practice Video

Visit the Ride for Refugees site to find out more.

Photography Fun: Sisters

A year ago after some saving and some birthday cash I was able to purchase a Nikon D40 DSLR which is a great camera for an beginner to check out their chops on. I have been having a blast practicing my amateur photography in the suburbs, in the city as well as friend and family gatherings. I have decided to start highlighting a favorite photo once a week on this blog (the rest of my favorite photos will be published on my Facebook albums). I hope you enjoy them.

Is Your Worldview Frozen in 1952?

A Philosophy of Success?

Some questions I asked myself as I listened to this talk:
How does my view of success and failure cause me to treat others?
Do I consider people who are poor as "unfortunate" or "losers"?
Do I value others based on their station in life?
Where does my idea of "success" come from and is it Biblical?

Sheep Know the Shepherd's Voice!

Image by hoyasmeg via Flickr

I just read a great article from Bill Kinnon. Here is and excerpt:

Jesus, when he speaks of himself as the good shepherd in John 10, says the shepherd knows the name of his sheep and they know the shepherd's voice. There is an intimacy that exists between the shepherd and the sheep - they live together. An average shepherd when Jesus spoke these words, was responsible for around 100 sheep. Yes, these shepherds would often combine their flocks with those of other shepherds - yet they still knew their own sheep - they were still responsible for their 100.

Read the rest of the post here.

Cultivating Life in the Dessert

It was a scorching afternoon, but as they say in Arizona it was a dry heat. That did not stop the sunshine from feeling like a cosmic laser beam that was attempting to burn your skin right off your body. The day before I had been invited as part of a small group to see a local pastor's field. Coming from Ohio where large swaths of land are covered by corn, wheat and soybean I had been trying to imagine what this field might look like in the Arizona dessert in the middle of the Hopi and Navajo reservation. I had seen no sign of vegetation and each time the pastor said he went to his field, I imagined that he would go to a small piece of Ohio-like farm land hidden somewhere nearby near an oasis behind a barrier of trees.

The small group of us piled into the white rental van and passed through one of two stoplights that Tuba City has. We drove to the edge of town and our guide took us on a driving tour of the new and the old Hopi villages. The older village looked like it could have been a small pueblo straight out of Galicia, Spain except that it was in the middle dessert land and over looked a small (small by Arizona standards) canyon.

As we drove out of the village the road began to descend slowly into the small canyon. Along the way we passed by a spring where some people were filling of large plastic containers with water (many of the homes on the reservation have no running water). The pastor explained that the Mormons helped the Hopi's find this spring several generations ago. As the road brought us down between the canyon walls we could see the land divided into small fields before us. We parked the van in a space that entirely shaded by a fruit tree and as we got out we heard the distinct sound of rushing water. Beside the parking spot was a ditch with clean, potable water rushing through it. The ditch made it's way down into the canyon, bisecting the fields.

A Communal Culture- According to Hopi culture and law, the land is not owned by individuals but it is owned by the tribe. If you want to farm a piece of the land you can petition the tribal counsel. Our guide said that if you let your farm land lie fallow for two complete seasons then someone else could bring a petition to the counsel asking to take over the field. Since our guide was also a pastor he said he personally observed the Old Testament practice of working the land for six years and then letting it rest on the seventh year. The first time he did this his Father thought he was crazy, but on the eighth year his crop was significantly more robust than the other nearby fields and now his Father lets his own field rest on occasion.

The water that comes down the ditch in the middle of the field can be hooked up to pipes that will divert some of it to the fields. Our friend comes to his field every morning at 5am. In the dessert the air is crisp and cool and refreshing in the early morning. He said he will spend about two hours taking care of the plants in the field. He waters the crops and hoes the weeds so they can't take root. Sometimes he said that coyotes or foxes will come at night and gobble up the water melons. He also pointed out that some of the other farmers had over-watered their crops (this was evident by leaves that were yellowing).

The pastor grew peppers, melons, squash and a lot of corn. He said that the Hopis use corn for a lot of different dishes and so they plant several different kinds and colors of corn. In his larger of the two fields that he works, it was entirely planted with corn. At the end of the season he said it would produce multiple barrels of corn that could be dried and stored. Whenever some was needed for a meal it would be boiled in water and was ready to eat. He said that of all the barrels of corn that this one field would make he would keep one and then deliver the rest to cousins, aunts and relatives around the reservation. At this point in out tour one of the visiting group members asked, "Do your relatives come and help you plant, cultivate, or Harvest the fields?" The Pastor thought for a moment and said, "No, not really." Our group member said, "Well, it seems strange that they get to benefit from the harvest even though they did not participate at all in the work." The pastor smiled and nodded in a knowing way and said, "This is just the Hopi way. The one who has takes care of those who do not."

I was totally impressed by the richness of Hopi culture and the way it was displayed even through such a small task as having a small field of crops in the middle of such and arid landscape. I also had the sense that this field was a living, tangible illustration of the spiritual work that good pastors are engaged in every day. Watering, cultivating, protecting from weeds and pests that would devour the crop, it reminded me that there is someone working hard on our behalf to help us bear fruit, even in the worst of soils and conditions. Not only that, but like this pastor's relatives, I know I receive far more of the blessings then I ever deserve or worked for. It is my prayer that I can be more like this Hopi Pastor in the way I think about and care for those around me.

Eugene Peterson: Wisdom for Church Planters

I just stumbled upon some letters that Eugene Peterson has been hand writing to a church planter and pastor on J.R. Briggs blog. These letters are full of wisdom to those in occupational ministry. Here is a quote that struck me:

"The killing frost in too much new church development is forming programs that will attract people or serve their perceived 'needs,' getting them 'involved.' The overriding need they have is worship and that is the one thing that is lowest on their 'needs' list. Insist on it: keep it simple – learn to know every last one of them relationally. And call them to worship – and not entertainment worship, but a community at worship."

(Click here to read more)