Stu from the Mountain-Top

I’m at YXL youth leadership camp in Glorieta, New Mexico with Kelli and four of our young men (Schyler, Austin Nichols, Andrew Huffman, and Redeemer’s Jake Koenig). YXL is the updated version of the PYA leadership camp that I was involved in back in the 1990’s. We have about 85 PCA kids from all over the country, along with PCA elders, youth leaders, and parents for a total of about 110 folks, living, learning, playing, worshiping, praying, and thinking about being a leader in their ‘world.’ It is a wonderful week. For my own kids it has been life-changing (who am I kidding, for ME it has been life-changing).

I know life isn’t a camp. We have real-world responsibilities and they don’t take place on a mountain-top. But maybe 1) we all need to have an occasional ‘camp’ experience, and 2) we can take more of camp with us than we think.

Every spiritual father since Jesus himself has modeled the need for personal retreat and the opportunity to be quiet with God. A change of pace. God uses these special circumstances to help us see Him, and ourselves, in a new way. Where are you getting that need met? A Piper conference? A L’Abri conference? The women’s retreat? A quiet get-a-way? An hour on the front porch? A bike ride with only your thoughts and prayers? Where? Jesus needed it. You need it.

Camp works (partly) because there is a schedule and pattern for the week. Maybe I need to re-think my weekly routine and reshape it in a way that takes the best part of camp with me all the time. I can do without the water-balloons and camp food, but most of what is here (Glorieta) needs to be with me there (home).

Yours from the Mountain-Top,

Pastor Stu

Hitler and Tiller

I watched “Valkyrie” this past weekend. It is the story of some German officers who opposed Hitler and worked behind the scenes to assassinate him. The movie is pretty historically accurate and the only drama is to see how far they got before they failed (Spoiler: Hitler wasn’t assassinated). It raises a timely ethical question: Would you take a life to save many lives? In the case of Hitler it seems like a no-brainer. He dies, millions are saved, case closed, right?

But isn’t that the same basic logic used by the rogue abortionist murderer in Wichita? One life taken will save many lives, right? Both would argue that there was no way to work within the law to stop the senseless mass-murders so they felt compelled to take matters into their own hands.

A few thoughts:

• First, these two ethical situations have many differences as well as similarities.
• Second, it is an extremely serious matter to go against established authorities as the scriptures command us to obey them unless they tell us to do what God forbids (i.e. Daniel 3) or not do what God commands (i.e. Daniel 6).
• Third, God ordains ‘means’ as well as ‘ends’. The way we do things is just as important (more important?) than the things we do.
• Fourth, Randall Terry noted that any opportunity to repent from his actions was taken from the abortionist when he was murdered. This is no small thing. We DO ‘play God’ when He authorizes us to do so. We are called to be God’s hands and voice, under His terms. When we play God apart from His commandments we are committing blasphemy.

Would I participate in the assassination of Hitler? I’m still thinking…there are quite a few variables and a pastor more godly than me (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) answered the question ‘yes’. But would I condone or participate in the murder of an abortionist? No. Never. It is a blasphemy.

Read Your Bible …

I mentioned in Sunday’s sermon that Moses prophesied about the desire for a king and warnings for that king. In Deuteronomy 17 the king is warned not to acquire many horses, not to go back to Egypt to get horses, not to accumulate excessive silver and gold, and not to take many wives, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. As we flip a head 400 years to Solomon in 1 Kings 10-11 we see a summary of his administration. Lots of horses. Check. Back to Egypt. Check. Tons of silver and gold. Check, check. And a ridiculous number of wives. Check-mate. The two passages are bookends of prophesy and fulfillment. What I didn’t mention was that Moses also prescribed the antidote in advance: “And when [the king] sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law…and it shall be with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the lord his God by keeping all the words of this law…” You can’t obey what you don’t know. You can’t know what you don’t study.

-Pastor Stu

“It’s My Story, Too”

Okay, what I *meant* to say on the occasion of Annica’s membership vows yesterday was that there was this movie I saw, about a little girl in a hospital recovering from a broken arm, who is told a story by another patient, a movie stunt man, who was paralyzed in a fall. He entertains her by telling her an epic adventure, and in the movie we see how she imagines it. Characters in the adventure are imagined to be like people she knows: so her favorite hospital nurse is the beautiful heroine in the story, for example. The hero of the story initially looks like her father, who is dead, but as her understanding changes, the hero becomes the stunt man who is telling the story.

The stunt man is depressed and angry about his injury and decides to end the story. One by one the characters in the hero’s band are killed by the terrible enemy. In the little girl’s imagination, she herself has become a character, and she can’t bear to watch her friends and heroes die. “Why are you killing them?” she asks the stunt man. “Don’t make them die,” she pleads.

“It’s my story, I can do what I want,” he answers.

“Mine, too,” she corrects him.

The stunt man continues the story in its tragic direction. The little girl stands by in the story watching the hero as he loses his climactic fight with the cruel enemy. She is weeping for her friend and for the fallen hero. “Don’t let him die.”

“But he’s no good. He’s a coward. He deserves to die,” explains the stunt man, talking about himself more than the charcter in his story.

“But she loves him,” says the girl.

And at that point all I can think of is Mary in the garden, grieving for her crucified Lord.

There came a point for the little girl when she entered the story and took an active part. It was no longer just something she was listening to, it was something she was involved in. She was so strongly taken up, she even began to call the hero “father.”

This is the normal course of development for the children of the church, and we mark and celebrate their progress in making the story of the gospel their own. We rejoice to see them take ownership of their part and articulate the truth, “It’s my story, too.”

————–
P.S. The movie is now available on DVD and is entitled The Fall. Not everyone loves it like I do, so if you decide to watch it, temper your expectations.

Fall Fest 2008

More fall fest photos here …

Do What You Can, With What You Have …

The Book Nook at Zion is nominally a “children’s library”, but don’t let that keep you from visiting. This week I checked out a 2-DVD set “Teddy Roosevelt: An American Lion”, which was produced by The History Channel. “TR”, as he was known, was an astonishing man of enormous energy and purpose. God was gracious to our country in raising up such a man. He fought corruption, opposed the monopolistic abuses of big business, established National Forests and Parks to preserve disappearing resources, and started the Panama Canal. All before he was 50. He had a large family and was famously undignified playing with his children. There are few of his measure today.

When I read (or watch) the biography of such a man, I can’t help but take a personal measure, and I always notice lots of ways that I compare unfavorably. I have had similar feelings recently as I read through a pile of old letters from 1941 and 1942 from my parents attic as they prepare to move out of their house of 50 years. My father excelled in many ways. His family was proud of him. In one letter, his older brother complimented him on one of his recent achievements and closed his letter with the remark, “you did better than I did.” It was a simple, honest compliment without rivalry or resentment. And as I compare the accomplishments of my father with my own record, I share the feeling: he did better than I have.

Someplace in here this kind of reflection and comparison can become sinful. Paul says “”… when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Cor. 10:12) As Pastor Stu reminded us a few weeks ago, Jesus rebuked Peter for asking about the role and ministry of John: “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.”

Examples can inspire. Comparisons can cripple. TR would say, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” May God help us to encourage one another to love and good deeds. And may God keep us from comparing ourselves to one another.

Isabella

Good work, Julia. Pat and the boys are proud. Our Youth Director has another young one.

Life Chain

Most people look. Some just drive by. Others wave or give a thumbs up. I saw only one who was trying to be rude. Life Chain gave me an hour to watch people drive by on “O” street. My sign said, “Abortion Kills Children.”

Most people in America are aware of the debate, and I suspect most would like for it to just go away: Yes, the nation is divided. No, those of fervent conviction on both sides will not be moved. So why go through with this useless exercise?

First, it is not pointless. Many people just haven’t thought about it. When I was in college in the early 1970′s and first heard the issue of abortion raised, my first thought was a completely uninformed “well, why not?” Our greatest impact can be with those who just haven’t thought about it.

Second, there are others who are watching. I saw a car drive by with some passengers that, for some reason, I had a strong sense that they were foreign nationals. Wherever you go in the world, the United States makes news. How does the spectacle of Life Chain strike a Chinese national, or a man from India, or a woman from Angola? If I were visiting another country and drove through one of their cities and saw a demonstration or a protest, it would make an impression. When I came home and people asked about my trip, that event would be part of my story.

Ultimately, even if none of the people in the cars on “O” street pay any attention, and nobody changes their mind, and no one sees, and nobody cares, Life Chain has another witness: God himself. He knows the thoughts I think, and that standing in line holding a sign prompts me to review my convictions. He knows that I tire of the issue, and that sometimes I wish it would just go away. He knows the clarity and simplicity I need: Abortion Kills Children. And I must not make peace with those things that God condemns.

God in the Gallery: Books Available

Saturday morning October 18, Zion will welcome Dan Siedell to the Zion Coffee House for a book talk: God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Dan is the son of Barry and Linda Siedell (and brother of Angie), a professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and past curator of Sheldon Art Gallery.

We now have some copies of the book in the church office. You may wish to purchase a copy ($20) to read before the event.

Encouragement

June 2008 was a month of questions. How would the Redeemer Plant go? How would things be at Zion with the Redeemer folks gone? What would happen to the budget? And more personally, how hard would it be to move ahead with those empty places in our hearts?

Those questions will not be answered quickly. But there are some initial signs of encouragement. The Redeemer Plant is finding its stride; worship, attendance, giving, community life—there are many encouraging signs. At Zion, we can feel the reduced numbers, but the June attendance was actually not much lower than what we might see in a normal summer. There were some special gifts that actually made June the best month of the year so far. These early signs are encouraging, though it is too early to draw any conclusions about overall attendance and giving patterns.

Personal adjustments will continue to be hard. There is no way around that. Though we can be happy if there must be a separation, then that this kind of separation is just about the best kind possible.

Zion has a 3-year committment to Redeemer in the budget. Even with what looks like one of the best starts you could hope to see, Redeemer will continue to need outside support.

The Staff, Elders, and Deacons at Zion will continue to work towards strengthening our position as a resource church for planting more new congregations in Lincoln. What can we learn from our experience with Grace Chapel in 2000 and Redeemer in 2008? When will we be ready for another? What will it look like? What if we keep the church plant line item in the budget after Redeemer is on its own? We could be in a position to build a church planting fund ahead of the next need.

And, may we never forget, no matter how we plan, God may break in and do something beyond all our expectations. Jesus will build his church. Lets keep our eyes open and give ourselves to the work, whatever shape it has.