You believe what? Give me a break.

Caution: The following is a rant.

Don't you just love it when someone "proclaims their beliefs" to you, as if this is going to have some sort of redeeming, transforming affect upon you? By their speaking "The Truth", I suppose their expectation is that the hand of God is going to come down from heaven, grab you by the heart, and instantly transform your life (in a way that they want). By uttering the words, I suppose the Holy Spirit is supposed to leap into action on their command, descend into their targeted convert and act.

There's a problem. Perhaps this works from time to time when someone just shows-up on the doorstep, or sits in the seat next to someone on an airplane - the right person in the right place at the right time. But unless the speaker has made some deposit into the life of the other, the likelihood that they'll really be heard is very low. More often, a negative reaction is experienced: "Who is this person to speak to me about such personal things?" Why would you or anyone else listen? More likely, if you're having this sort of conversation, you probably know this person. You know something about them; the way they behave, the types of relationships they have, something about their family, etc. If you're a rational person, I would expect you to ask a key question: How has this person's "beliefs" been transformational in their life?

Human nature has always been self-seeking. To break this natural tendency, something transformational must occur. All of the enduring faith traditions seek to break us away from selfishness and seek the transformational peace and presence of God. Yet most followers of all of these faith traditions do not actively work to grow in their faith and follow the teachings of their tradition. I've spent decades of my own life in this mode.

Jesus understood human nature when he said “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) Jesus expressed frustration with both the disciples and the townees, often. He was trying to break them free of their selfish nature, legalism, and their lack of faith in God, their creator and provider.


But Jesus saved his strongest criticism for the self-righteous. The Pharisees were the keepers of the law and O how they loved to drop truth-bombs on Jesus. Imagine the arrogance. You don't have to look very far to see Pharisee-esque behavior alive and well with us today. Our churches are full of them. Most of them can recite chapter and verse and hit you with truth-bombs for every situation that your fallen, miserable life encounters...no need to ask, they'll serve it right up. They exist among "evangelical conservatives", eager to tell you that if you don't raise your right hand and ascribe to the literal truth of every syllable of the King James version of the Bible and every element of the Apostles Creed then you're going to hell (a creed probably developed in the fifth-century or so). They exist in the "progressive left", proclaiming all evangelicals idiots, the entire Bible metaphorical, and God, who may have created the universe, incapable of interaction with us today.


I recently had a conversation with a person who asserted "You have to believe in the historical, physical resurrection of Christ!" I continue to dwell upon this notion, the virgin birth, and other elements of Christianity and I keep coming back to the same place. What I want to ask this person and people like him is this: Has Christ been resurrected in your life? Does Christ live in you, in your life, today? Do you dwell on His teachings and want to love others as He loves you? If not, then the historical event has no bearing on you, and as far as your life is concerned, never happened. Apparently, there is no filmed recording of the resurrection; It's only evidence remains in the movement it spawned and the lives it transformed.


Regardless of the theology of any given group, my question remains: How has your belief transformed you? How has it called you to serve others? How do you treat others who are different from you (Gay and lesbian community, minorities, political differences)? Who do you judge and why? If there is no discernible difference in the fruit we bear, there has been no transformation and our beliefs are a dead.


One of my favorite quotes comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can't hear what you're saying." This quote hits me right between the eyes every time I read it. It's a daily thing, to set ourselves aside and choose to live out our beliefs. The truth is, we do live out our real beliefs every day and our actions speak louder than our words.

I'll end this rant with my favorite Bible reading:

Matthew 22: 34-40

The Most Important Commandment

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” ³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^{[e] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[f] 40} The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Blessings my friends,

Allen

When the struggle ends

I received a call and voice mail from my Aunt Jilla while in church this past Sunday.  I reviewed the voice mail immediately upon returning home.  My grandmother was in ICU...again.  Since August of last year, she has suffered pneumonia and chronic pulmonary issues ever since.  At 87 years of age, it was a tough battle.

When I arrived at the ICU, I decided to wait outside my grandmother's room and wait for Jilla to arrive.  In my grandmother's mental state, I wasn't sure she would recognize me and I didn't want to startle her.  I watched Grandma from outside the room.  Her breathing was very labored and I could tell she was struggling. Once Jilla arrived, we went in and greeted Grandma.  She recognized me and we embraced.  Diminished lung capacity, sheer exhaustion, and the CPAP mask she was wearing made it very difficult for her to speak, but we managed a few sentences here and there, in her brief moments of consciousness.

Grandma had a few visitors throughout the afternoon, including some of her other grandchildren, her Sunday School teacher, and her pastor.  She had brief moments of semi-clarity and exchanges with them, then she would be out again.

While some of these moments were tender, most of the time in between was filled with real struggle.  The doctors were not confused; This situation would not improve.  Her lungs simply could not exhaust the CO2 from her blood on their own and only the CPAP machine and an IV medication to artificially elevate her blood pressure were keeping her alive.

Thankfully, we were not confused either.  Grandma made it clear years ago that she was to be considered a DNR patient (Do Not Resuscitate) and did not want extraordinary life-preserving measures to be performed.  Although we call it a tough decision, given the circumstances, the decision was clear; it was just a matter of when.  How long would we let her go on this way?

As I recall the events of two days ago, the most striking thing to me is the nature of the few thoughts she was able to communicate, not just to me, but to all who came to visit.  I'll spare you the family history and attendant drama, but suffice it to say that not all family relationships have been harmonious all of the time.  However, it became clear that these past events no longer mattered to Grandma.  In spite of her struggle for every breath, it was paramount to her that everyone knew that she loved them, including those who were not there with us.  She struggled mightily to communicate this notion and she did so with all of the assertiveness and force she could muster.

Isn't it interesting that in spite of pain, suffering, and dealing with one's own mortality, only one thing mattered?  Love.  All of the nonsense and baggage melted away.  Only love remained.

As the afternoon turned to evening, so did Grandma's condition.  The decision was made, the time had come.  With Jilla and I each holding a hand, the mask and the IV were removed by the medical team and we were left alone with her.  Grandma's sleep deepened, her grip loosened, her breathing slowed.  In about fifteen minutes, she was gone and the struggle was over.

I'll communicate Grandma's last thoughts to some of those who could not be present on Sunday.  What they do with her words are for them to decide.  As for me, there is a lesson in forgiveness here.  No matter what separates us, life is too short to hold grudges and miss the blessings to be had between the cradle and the grave.  We need to forgive, more for our own benefit than that of our perceived adversary.  No matter what blessings are awaiting us in eternity, there are many here to be had if we'll just accept the gifts of our presence in each others lives.  That being said, Zig Ziglar asserts: "Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom & doom otherwise."  All we can do is forgive on our end regardless of the decision of the other party.

While my relationship with Grandma was never strained, I do regret not been present in her life for many years.  What if I had spent a day here and there, just sitting with her, watching a Texas Rangers game (her favorite team)?  I'll try not to dwell further on regrets, but I pray I don't miss the opportunities with those in my life who remain.

Blessings my friends,

Allen

Antony Flew: A change of heart and mind

A short post today.

Like many of you, I follow several blogs for daily nourishment and information.  I highly recommend Apologetics 315 if you're interested in continual study regarding why belief in God is the most rational answer to our biggest questions.  Today's post, Antony Flew's Change of Mind, is very interesting indeed.

While it's not "new" news, it is news to me.  In 2004, world-renown atheist Antony Flew renounced his naturalist point of view and became a believer in God.  He did not convert to Christianity, but he now believes in a God, creator of the universe in which we live.  I'm really looking forward to reading Antony Flew's book, There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, and have already added it to my Kindle reading list.

Check out Apologetics 315 and click on the links to reviews and commentary on Antony Flew's change of mind.  It's good stuff!

Blessings my friends,

Allen

"Talk amongst yourselves...Here, I'll give you a topic:"

In my last post, I discussed feeding ourselves in 2010 with things that will build character.  It seems only natural that we should build a solid foundation first then build up from there.

At the base of everything we experience is our belief system.  It is the lens through which we see and experience the world.  It affects how we approach all of our relationships and it is there that true character is revealed.

It should be no secret to anyone who has read my previous posts that I am a Christian.  What's unfortunate, is that some who have known me throughout my life might be shocked by this revelation.  All I can say in response is "yep...guilty".  My life has not always been characterized by a "walk with God".  The good news is that my life is indeed a work in progress.  I hope that the transformation will become increasingly visible to those around me.

Some of us were born in great circumstances and rarely, if ever, really stepped off the path.  They were in church as an infant, came to know God at an early age, accepted certain truths without much questioning, and hit the ground running as it were.  That's not me.  I'll spare you the biography, but although I was exposed to Christianity early, it wasn't often.  Although I don't think I've ever really questioned the existence of God (I've always felt His presence), there were certain issues with the ultra-conservative bent of our faith that have been problematic for me.  In recent years, I've come to understand that my faith had to be of both the head and the heart.

When discussing my beliefs and understandings with a friend who I would characterize more as a Buddhist (who had been run away from Christianity by an overly aggressive conservative family), I had to ask myself a tough question:  Why do I believe what I believe?  Is it because of my heritage?  I was fortunate to have a Christian father who took me to church on the weekends I visited him, often less than once a month, then much less often as I grew up?  This question drove me to begin looking into apologetics.

Let me start with a huge disclaimer regarding my beliefs and what I'm going to assert:  I don't believe for a second that apologetic study and reasoning is necessary for many to come to understand God.  God has made himself available to every human being to ever walk the face of the Earth.  God is as available to a person with a very low IQ as a college professor.  God is also equally accessible to a person driven primarily by their heart as a person driven by their head.  Everyone lives on a unique point on the head-heart continuum.  As for me, I've come to understand that my head needs to understand at least some of what my heart feels.

Now let me get back to the "talk amongst yourselves" topic.  Before even considering Christianity, one usually must consider the existence and nature of God.  But before considering God, one might consider an even more fundamental question:"Why does anything exist?"

Yep...I've done it...I've started the new year with a discussion that could also be characterized as The Meaning of Life; The BIG question.  I would assert however, that if we do not seek to understand this question and why its answer matters, our world view will be adrift and overly subject to influences that can destroy our character.

Richard Dawkins is arguably this most popular atheist apologist in the world these days.  His recent book, The God Delusion, has sold over 8.5 million copies worldwide.  Dawkins has been described as "the world's most famous atheist" and a "militant atheist".  In fact, there is a debate raging around Dawkins and his contemporaries asserting that "the New Atheism" has become "the New Fundamentalism".

If you read Dawkins' work, you'll find plenty of venom and heavy-handed criticism of religion and faith of any sort.  After all, people of different faiths have at times taken heavy-handed and hateful approaches toward those who believe differently than themselves, especially toward atheists.  Turnabout is fair game...right?  Whether in his books or in live debates with Christian apologists, Dawkins often draws conclusions about religion from atrocities committed in the name of religion.  This is like placing blame on any specific object used as a weapon in a crime, as opposed to the person committing the crime.  But I digress.

Many will read Dawkins and be convinced of his rationale; He is a learned biologist, ethologist, and sociobiologist.  It is unsettling to me however that many will not look further.  Obviously, there is much that science teaches us and much more yet to be revealed about the universe in which we live.  But there are things that cannot ever be explained fully by science.  In fact, there are notions in mathematics that cannot ever exist in reality, for example, an infinite set of events in the past and imaginary numbers.  Many of the notions that Dawkins and others assert regarding the origin of the universe and the existence or lack of existence of God, might appear as "good science" on the surface, but they fail miserably by philosophical reasoning.

While Dawkins may be the worlds leading atheist apologist, arguably the worlds leading Christian apologist is Dr. William Lane Craig.  Craig's book Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics is a staple in apologetics study.  Originally authored as a seminary text, it can be a heavy read, but is accessible to the layperson as well.  Craig's book is written with two main points to demonstrate: 1) How to we know that Christianity is true? 2) How do we show that Christianity is true.  Many Christians would agree that we know Christianity is true because the Holy Spirit makes itself known to us and is an a prioi truth.  This argument will not hold water with an atheist.  We also cannot argue "Because the Bible tells me so", as a some Christians who believe the Bible is the Word of God might be tempted to do; It's circular reasoning since the authority of the Bible is questioned by the non-believer.  Therefore, if we are to become instrumental in opening hearts to The Holy Spirit, we should consider meeting people where they are and show that Christianity is the most reasonable fit for the data.  Craig covers many rationale as to why God MUST exist, including reasoning in mathematics, cosmology, physics, philosophy and much more.  Again, many are prone to leading with the head and not the heart, therefore apologetics is a tool useful in reaching them.

A side note: It is interesting to me that Dawkins will not debate William Lane Craig.  He asserts that Craig does not have credentials beyond "being a good debater", which is patently absurd given Craig's resume.  Check him out on Wikipedia.

Back to the topic at hand:"Why does anything exist?"  If you've bought into the atheists' argument, I  ask that you look into the question and also consider philosophy offered by sources other than that of the atheists.  Even if you're a believer in God, this sort of study will indeed strengthen your faith.  We should listen to both sides of an argument before deciding what is true.  Even scientists have faith in something, even if it's an atheistic faith that there is no meaning, no purpose, no creator of the universe.  In short, I'm asking everyone to look deeper into their faith, question things, and seek deeper understanding.  We should never be afraid of The Truth, otherwise our faith will be shallow.

Let me leave you with the following source: The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe by William Lane Craig.

Blessings my friends,

Allen

Hope for 2010

I love New Year's Eve!  So much reflection on the events of this year, so much hope and anticipation for the year to come!

We'll be hearing much about the passing of 2009.  In some cases, it'll be easy to review the history, see what happened, and draw some conclusions about why and how something happened as it did.  In other cases, reasons might elude us for some time to come - perhaps we'll never really know.

For many, 2009 was a very difficult year.  Careers, finances, home ownership, health, relationships...you name it, many were hit very hard.  If you are among them (and I am), this is not a revelation to you.  I hope it is of some solace to you that you are not alone, both from the perspective of shared suffering and spiritually.

But what about 2010?  There's nothing really magical about tomorrow's date per se.  Our calendar is of our own making and there's no cosmic event tied to it; the New Year could just as easily have begun in August, as it does with a new school year, or on February 14, 2010 (The 2010 Chinese New Year).  The date isn't special, but our attitude toward it can be.

What will 2010 hold for each of us?  What will be our attitude toward 2010, beginning right now, and how will it change throughout the year?  As I've asserted in previous posts, what we take in starts the following cycle:
Thoughts --> Words --> Actions --> Habits --> Character.
I would assert further that those with the strongest character, are the most successful (by measures that matter...NOT necessarily financially).  We watched in amazement this year as so many celebrities, politicians, and business leaders came tumbling down due to character flaws.  What will we actively do, starting now, to positively effect this chain of events?  What will we read, study, learn, dwell upon, and do that will positively shape our character, make us better parents, mates, friends, servants, and leaders?  Growth aside, at a minimum if we can avoid the pitfalls of the character flaws we watch in the public forum, this sort of investment would be well worth the time, wouldn't it?

I'm reading a good, short book on my Kindle right now: God's Timing for Your Life, by Dutch Sheets.  Dutch speaks of the different words in the Bible for time: chronos, the general process of time or chronological time; kairos, the "right" time, the opportune or strategic time; and pleroo, the fullness of time.  As we read both Old Testament and New Testament stories, we see a pattern emerge over and over again.  The Jews of the Old Testament had times of chronos, leading to kairos, then back to chronos (read Exodus).  Learning to rely upon God and His timing proved difficult for the Jews.  In the New Testament, Jesus' growth through childhood was a period of chronos before his ministry began (kairos), leading to his crucifixion, and ultimately his resurrection (pleroo).  The disciples and the early Christian church went through these periods as well.  News flash: we all go through them...it is the nature of life.

I don't want to sugarcoat this notion: periods of chronos can suck, big-time.  Sometimes we've put ourselves in difficult situations where everything seems to be moving backward or sidways and the lessons are difficult to swallow.  In other cases, times like these have been thrust upon us through no fault of our own.  We are all in different phases of our lives, for different reasons - on different calendars.  By studying the path that got us here, we might be able to determine whether we are in a state of chronos, kairos, or pleroo.  If we are in chronos, let's not miss the opportunity to prepare for kairos.  We are where we are and we need to face reality; but we need not stay here forever.  The sooner we learn the necessary lessons and prepare for kairos, the sooner it will come.

We have reason to hope, but hope itself is not a strategy.  We need to show up and actively participate with The Holy every day.  Let's feed on the good stuff.

Philippians 4: 4-8
⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.


Blessings my friends,

Allen

A Griswold moment

Well, that didn't take long.  After all of my "Kumbaya" postings of late, it didn't take long for the Clark Griswold in me to emerge.  We hadn't been on the road home from visiting my in-laws 10 minutes before aggravation began to set in.

After laboring to load the Ford-a-saurus (Excursion) with the 2 1/2 tons of Christmas presents for the kids, two German Shepherds, and half of our worldly possessions required for the 3-hour trip, we were finally on the road.  Bladders were empty, beverages were handy, sun glasses donned.  Now for some tunes.  What's the radio doing?  It's "seeking".  Randomly.  Hmm.  Clearly the sort of thing I can diagnose while piloting the world's largest SUV down the highway at 73 1/2 MPH.

I'll spare you the sequence of events that followed, except the last two.  Convinced that one of the buttons is stuck from the previous night's freeze, I begin to deliver a series of sharp blows in the general area of the radio to "jiggle it loose".  Nope.  Sigh.  Pursed lips.  I'm now about a pitching wedge away from pulling over and taking a pickaxe to the dashboard.  Just in the nick of time, my bride determines that boxes on the floor behind the center console are pushing the rear radio controls (that I don't even remember are there).  Problem solved.  Whew...that was close.  I was trying to imagine 3+ hours of road noise and an ever-tightening grip on the steering wheel during holiday traffic between Dallas and Austin.  Like an old Merrie Melodies cartoon, I also felt my head morphing into that of a Jackass.

All the Christmas season merriment, thoughts of good will, reflection of The Holy, desire for a year of service, vanished in an instant while I obsessed about something so trivial.  It's funny now, but requires some deeper reflection still.  I'm having a hard time imagining those whom I admire most becoming so irritated over such trivialities.  Character isn't revealed only in the big moments of life, but also in the smaller moments.  Smaller moments happen more often and our character is revealed more often than we think (or perhaps would like).

Blessings my friends,

Allen

I wonder...

The Christmas visit to our extended family is almost over and tomorrow we'll be journeying back to the Austin area. If we're not careful, we'll also begin resuming our "regular" lives.

What a shame that might be. We've spent several weeks preparing to spend quality time with those we love. We've reflected on our spiritual life, blessings, and served those less fortunate. In short, we've filled our lives with more important things, if only briefly.

I previously posted some thoughts regarding our thought life. What we consume shapes our thoughts, attitudes, and ultimately our actions. In the afterglow of Christmas, I've already endured more "cable news" than I can stand - a constant stream of hate, fear, and bad news. I wonder what next year would feel like if we just chose not to buy-in to this madness? What if we turned the tube off more often and read more? Not just more stuff, but intentional, edifying material? Is it possible that that feeding would result in more positive outcomes on several fronts?

In an effort to stay informed, we can easily get sucked-in to feeding on the madness, allowing it in turn to feed upon us.

Please join me in a concerted effort to make 2010 a more fruitful year, beginning with what we dwell upon.

Blessings my friends,

Allen

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Resting in good company?

It's Christmas Day.  The presents have been opened and the feast has been consumed.  Family is scattered around the in-law's home.  One is snoozing in the Lazy Boy in front of the TV, ladies are still chatting around the dinner table over dessert and coffee, kids are amusing themselves with some of the cheaper toys from their stockings.

We don't see all of these family members very often.  As I contemplate this notion, it occurs to me that we don't have each other for very long.  Beyond genes, we share a few common experiences and even fewer common points of view.  Generational differences, political differences, religious / spiritual differences, different preferences of all sorts.  Yet somehow we manage to come together and actively love one another every so often.  It's a choice.

Come to think of it, none of us have each other for very long.  We work, learn, play, run, and worship together for small subsets of our lives and we all have differences which could divide us.  But we often choose to set those differences aside and share the common experience.  Other times we decide to poke, push, annoy, quarrel, and judge.

What's really fascinating to me is the rationale we use for this divisive and fruitless behavior.  Ever know one of those people who thinks that you are somehow accountable to them?  Perhaps they'll justify it with a Bible verse about accountability.  Guess what 'sport'?  If you haven't made deposits into someone's life, they are very unlikely to feel even the remotest sense of responsibility to you and your view.  Take your projection, judgment, opinion, and keep walking.

This season is too short.  We'll be in one another's company for too little time.  As much as we would like others to share our point of view, many just simply won't.  Can we love them anyway?  Can we keep from annoying them to death?  Let's make the best of each circle we're in, make deposits with one another that matter; deposits that come from love and concern for each other, then rest in enjoyments of one another's good company with no expectation.  A new year is upon us and it will be over all too quickly.

Blessings my friends,

Allen

New Perspective, Unexpectedly

Anyone who has ever attended a church for any period of time has encountered, oh, let's call it "theological diversity" within the flock. As much as we believe we share spiritual and religious perspective, there is only so much overlap between each of us. Everyone has a unique point of view because every single one of us is unique. And that's a beautiful thing!

I would assert that most who believe in a single God, creator of the universe, believe that God is the ultimate, absolute truth. Most would also agree that our understanding of God is far from absolute; each perspective, relationship, and experience of God is unique.

With that backdrop, let me step out onto the eggshells. I've recently witnessed a bit of a storm between different factions (yes, within my own church). Risky labels to follow: Conservative vs. Progressive. Members in each camp probably offer other labels, but I'll stick with those. The topic that caused the chasm? A group of biblical scholars was to visit our church (sponsored by several other churches in the area as well) to host a weekend seminar. This particular group was famous (or infamous, depending on your bent) for a "search for the historical Jesus" in an endeavor to reveal the Jesus of history from the Jesus of myth.

An interesting set of behaviors and events began to emerge. Firstly, one would think that any Christian church would welcome a discussion about Jesus, his life as a man, as well as his ministry and spiritual purpose. Secondly, one might also assert that the debate that ensues would be held on reasonably high ground; after all, we're a church. We're also human, and indeed, our humanity shows more often that we would like.

The interesting thing I've found through all of this, is that the fuss actually drove me to investigate further what the fuss was all about. I'll be specific: The conservative camp did not want certain progressive concepts discussed in our church, for fear it would "lead astray those weak in their faith." Sounded like a case for dogma to me and that's all I needed. If they found it threatening, then I needed to see what it was all about. Their objection actually drew attention to something that might have gone largely unnoticed by many.

Pause. I don't want to be overly critical of the conservative camp. I've been very positively influenced in my spiritual journey through some relatively conservative apologists (Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Timothy Keller, and C.S. Lewis to name a few). These guys are clearly in the more conservative camp and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I've taught their concepts in my adult Sunday school class and continue to be fed by many of their perspectives.

But there are many people who I respect who have a different perspective. Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People holds the following as Habit #5: Seek first to understand then to be understood. Following this habit, I decided to look into some of the progressive view.

Honestly, it was a scary proposition. I fully expected to encounter points of view that were uncomfortable for me. Perhaps questioning things that I've accepted as non-negotiable, as dogma. Was I really willing to engage in this conversation? Finally, I decided that if I believed in God and I was honestly seeking Truth, then how could I not engage the questions? It has been one of the best decisions I've ever made.

To be clear, not all of the perspectives I've read thus far in the progressive camp completely square with my own experience. For example, I believe that God is with us and actually does more than just listen; He is active in our lives when we are open to Him, but it is our responsibility to seek His will and not our own. This is not a concept of God that is equally shared among all Christians. As I mentioned earlier, each of our life experiences and relationships are unique. My relationship with my two daughters are each unique, why wouldn't each of our relationships with God be unique as well? But there are some perspectives the progressives have that have been very helpful to me.

A particularly enlightening notion held dear by the progressives is the metaphorical view of the Bible. So much of the teaching that I've been exposed to early in life has focused almost exclusively on "belief" in the literal events of the Bible. In the back of my mind, some of this perspective has troubled me. Which parts of the Bible are historical accounts vs. metaphorical in nature? The parables that Jesus told are obvious standouts; clearly he's not retelling history, but illustrating a point. But what about Jonah and the whale? What about Job? In the story of Job, did Satan really go up to heaven and have this conversation with God? Does the story lose its meaning if Job was not a real person? Can't we all see ourselves in this story in different ways? What if we take it further? How about the virgin birth? The physical resurrection of Jesus? Does this change the reality of his life and its impact ours? Where does it end? Each of us must answer for ourselves, and if I may, be careful not to answer it for others.

One writer asserts that the hundreds of witnesses to the physically resurrected body of Jesus may have indeed had an experience with Jesus, but was it necessary to be the physical body to still be a true story? Could we have filmed it? I would add to this argument: Has any Christian alive today witnessed the physical body of Jesus? Yet how many feel that Christ is alive in them today in a very real way? The physical / literal nature of the story doesn't fully communicate the many, much more important lessons that the scriptures tell. If we believe that God is the creator of the universe (look into the Original Cause case in the Kalam Cosmological Argument ), then the miracles that Jesus performed pale in comparison. There is much more metaphorical meaning behind them than the events themselves. If we believe that Jesus is God with us and the knowable representation of God, then of course he could have performed the miracles, but in the bigger sense, the events themselves are not the greatest points.

Write down all of the metaphors you can recall about Jesus. Just to name a few: Lamb of God, Savior, Way, Shepherd, Word, Truth, Life, Vine. Was he literally any of these things? Much more importantly, why were these metaphors chosen and what did they represent to the people at the time? What can we glean from them today? I would assert that when we harvest the greater metaphorical meaning, they are as true today as they were then.

Once again, for the record, the apologetic arguments that Dr. William Lane Craig and others make surrounding the historicity of the Bible speak to me. But to make my entire spiritual life revolve around "believing" the actual events vs. moving past the events to the bigger truth they tell seems like a relatively impotent faith; it's a "belief of the head" and not faith of the heart and is not very transforming.

It's easy to see how someone would be very unsettled by anyone calling into question the historical accuracy of stories they've been told were absolutely flawless, inerrant, direct-from-the-mouth-of-God truths. But does a story have to be historically accurate to be true? A Native American's might start a story with the following lead-in: “Now I don’t know if it happened this way or not, but I know this story is true.” A Catholic priest recently said "The Bible is true - and some of it happened."

Believe what you must regarding the historicity of each event and story. The Bible is full of rich stories of both early Jewish and early Christian struggle to understand and commune with The Holy. Let's not miss the greater point:

Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)

³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^a]">[a] ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^b]">[b] ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Blessings my friends,

Allen

And Then There Was Change

Originally posted September 5, 2009
Confession time: “It’s been seven weeks since my last blog entry.”

Much has changed since then and I really wish that I had made time to blog during recent events to honestly capture my thoughts and feelings throughout. Instead, I buckled-down and focused on moving ahead. Now that some dust has settled, let me get back to it.

On the morning of Friday, July 24th, I received a call from my boss informing me of a lot of changes in our company. Rumor had it that there was going to be a major blood-letting elsewhere in the company, but most thought that the sales team would mostly be spared. The news? Our Senior VP of Worldwide Sales - gone. Most of his VP’s - gone. All but one Director - gone. Now...wait for it...”I’m going to have to RIF you too.” That means “Reduction In Force” for the non-corporate types out there. By noon that same day, I was meeting with human resources, turning in my laptop, cell phone, badge, etc. and receiving my “package”. I was done there.

Many others were in line as well. Some had been recruited to come to our company less than one year prior (some very talented people) and they were also summarily dismissed. Hasta la bye bye.

This was a new one for me. I had done the best I could with the territory I was given and had been continually reassured that I was on track and doing what they expected of me. Now this? I’ve been through four mergers and acquisitions, three start-ups and all sorts of commercial silliness during my professional life. I’ve got a Masters in Business Administration from a good school. All this to say that I’ve always prided myself on my ability to “read the tea leaves” and see what was coming. This one caught me completely flat-footed.

The last paragraph represents the story I had been telling myself. In retrospect, everything I just said seems laughable and describes the arrogance so many of us carry around in our human struggle. Do any of us really know what’s coming? We try our best to predict, prognosticate, forecast, and plan. But it takes a nanosecond for anyone’s life to change. Accidents, illness, even bankruptcy can be thrust upon us due to circumstances beyond our control. We’re delusional if we think we’re more in control than we really are. None of this is to say that we aren’t supposed to do our best every single day with what we’ve been given, but that’s all we can do (read Ecclesiastes in the Bible for some heavy examples).

Sales people in particular should understand this concept, but many still believe it’s “all them”. I’ve won and lost deals that I’ve poured my life, heart, and soul into. I’ve won deals that flew into my life with almost no effort and almost closed themselves. I’ve gotten promoted when I was mediocre at best and I’ve gotten smoked when I’ve done some of my best work. Enough already. I’ll just do my very best every day. The rest will to take care of itself and shouldn’t be my concern (Matthew 6:25-34).

So there I was, “my services no longer required” by my last employer. I won’t kid you - it sucked. But I had no time for sulking. My family needed a breadwinner, so I started getting the word out. The past six weeks have been full of 12-16 hour days on the phone, two trips to Dallas, one trip to Houston, many interviews and a few opportunities.

I’ve been praying for the past three years about my career. I’ve been through a lot of turmoil and had decided to “keep my head over my own knitting” and let Him lead when it’s time to serve elsewhere. Things get pretty clear when you get smoked in a layoff - no choice here, move on. But where? Again, prayer to close the doors that I don’t belong walking through and to illuminate and open the door through which I am to pass.

While on a run last Thursday morning, a Bible story popped into my head from the book of Luke:
Luke 5
The Calling of the First Disciples
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down[b] the nets for a catch."
5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

The stand-out points for me were as follows:
Jesus told them where to cast their nets.
Simon acknowledged that they had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything.
But because the Master said so, they would be obedient and fish there.
They caught a bounty and were fed.
This bounty was just a precursor to a higher calling.

I received a job offer a few hours later. The only opportunity of four which seemed to be the right fit in so many ways. I start work on Tuesday and will “let my nets down here”. I am praying for a bounty. But a bounty without serving a higher calling is a bounty wasted.

May this new opportunity be a blessing not only to me and my family, but to many others as well. Amen.

Blessings to you my friends.