Check out those Love Jugs

You’ve heard of the idea of love languages right?

Basically it’s the idea that we understand love given and received in a certain form better than others.  You might give and receive love in terms of touch.  You might give and receive love through helping out – serving people.  You might understand love communicated through kind words, quality time & attention or possibly even through giving and receiving gifts.

Love languages.  They’ve helped my wife and me understand and communicate our love better.  I think they’re great but let’s not get stuck in one metaphor.

Studies: Scripture and Authority

Here’s the question of the week:  if the Bible is a story, in what sense can it be authoritative?

This is my first ever class in academic theology and I was slightly underwhelmed.  My first reflection was that it was rather a bizarre reflection on the philosophy of language, the way in which God might or might not guide our behaviour and the destruction of some fairly feeble straw men.

We got tied up in knots discussing whether God dictates the Bible or in some other sense fixes every iota of the text in some magical way.  We felt good about ourselves for dismissing the demythologising of the likes of Spinoza, Kant and Bultmann.

There was a fairly frustrated discussion about the degree to which the church creates or discovers the Scriptures. And we had fun ridiculing the ESV for fixing their translation for all time after a couple of pretty controversial translation edits in the final version.

I’m no academic theologian – at least not yet – but I’m a Pastor and practical theologian by trade.

My sense is that people need to know they can trust the Bible as authoritative – but they have no idea quite what that means.  This class did little to reinforce or clarify but it did allow for some interesting exchanges.

For what it’s worth – probably nothing in an academic sense – my answer to the authority question is fairly simple.  It’s all about Jesus.

You are my son

Let me tell you about this hero.  Ethan is 5 now - nearly 6.  He's hilarious, beautiful and smart.  He's the world's greatest oldest brother - and has the world at his feet.

Last week my wife and I had a couple over to dinner after he (and his little brother and sister) had gone to bed. Just as we're serving food he rocks up in the dining room asking for a drink - he didn't know we had guests over and when they greeted him he was terrified.

I'm standing near Ethan so I pick him up and hold him close.  Ethan buries his head in my chest and looks for the world to swallow him up.  I feel for you little man - I've been there - we've all been there.

Except this time your dad's got you safe.  I introduced him like this:

"Hey guys this is Ethan.  He's amazing.  He's so big he's nearly six now.  Did you know he is so clever - he even got 6 on his spelling test this morning.  He's my biggest boy and I'm so proud of him."  Or something equally gushing and cringe-worthy.

Except he didn't cringe.  He didn't hide even more.  He jumped down to show off his spellings, talked about his day at school and his computer game and his little brother.  He came out of himself and our guests got to see the 'real' Ethan.

I wonder if that's how Jesus felt when the Father says "this is my son - I love him - I'm proud of him"?  As Christians we have the same status as Jesus - so maybe today - if you're struggling to show people the 'real' you the solution is not another social media update, drink or label.  Maybe just maybe the solution is stopping to let yourself hear God your Father whisper

"You are mine.  I love you.  I'm proud of you."

It worked for Ethan.

Salzburg - the 3rd story

I constantly live my life in two stories.  In one story I'm boss - nothing happens outside my will.  In one story I'm hopeful - I have no idea what will happen but I trust it will turn out OK.

In the first story I'm sending a team of students to Salzburg in March.  Inspired by Fusion's 'Escape & Pray' initiative I'm committed to letting the blessing God has poured on our church impact on the European church scene.  I'm excited about the idea of linking Christian groups across the continent to serve students who are becoming increasingly internationally mobile.  I'm convinced that a cross-cultural mission partnership for our students will increase our boldness in sharing faith back home.

In the second story I have arranged transport and accommodation but little else. We're going over the top in faith.  I don't know if we'll be able to minister God's healing, grace and truth on the streets of Salzburg - but I know we can't if we're not there!  We have an invite from a Catholic group called Loretto but I don't know how to connect people with church in Salzburg - but I know we can't if we're not there.  In fact I don't know anything much about out time there except that we will pray our hearts out, serve our butts off to make Jesus famous in Salzburg - and that we can't do that if we're not there.

But maybe there's a third story?  Maybe there's a divine narrative that we connect with through faith not risk assessments?  Maybe there's an adventure to be lived, a set of assumptions about church to be shaken and new story to be written?  And what if we're invited to join by trusting the master storyteller??

I want to live my life in the third story - not one where I'm struggling to control details, or one where I'm pretending to understand what's happening - one where I admit I have no idea, that there is a master storyteller and my place in the story is determined by my willingness to trust him exactly where I don't understand why.

I don't understand why we're going to Salzburg - but I trust there is a third story, a master storyteller and that he rewards those who seek him in faith.  And we'll never know if we don't put ourselves in the game.

Calvin's Institutes

John Calvin - you either love him or you hate him right?

I mean 'Calvinism' is either synonymous with the orthodox faith or the most serious danger to that faith. Depends on your theological stable.

To call someone a Calvinist could either be an insult or a acclamation. In some ways the word Calvinist divides Christians like none other.

Here's the irony. We've never read any of Calvin's writings. If you know anything about Calvinism it's probably associated to the acronym TULIP which stands for:

Beautiful Beauty Broken Broke

We get to host this amazing exhibition at St George's Church this week - and I get to write a piece about the heart behind it.  The text is here - but there's nothing like coming and seeing it for yourself.

Beauty.  The thing that creates intense pleasure or deep satisfaction.

Beauty in the wrinkles around deep and soulful eyes.  Beauty in the sun-kissed landscape.  Beauty in the moment of connection of two hearts.  Beauty in the moments of massed non-violent protests against injustice.

Beauty.  In the miniscule and the massive.  It’s everywhere and it’s just out of reach.

Brokenness.  The thing that’s left after violation, crushing or forcible separation.

Brokenness in the frail, aging and dying body.  Brokenness in the scorching and devastation of the rainforest.  Brokenness in the heart of a child who can’t understand why their parents hate each other.  Brokenness in the society that allows the 1% to abuse the 99.

Brokenness.  In the miniscule and the massive.  It’s everywhere and just beyond cure.

As a society we have a strange relationship with birth and death.  The two most natural of all human passages.  Our society would have us hide them away in whitewashed, clinical, sterile environments.  We take the most human moments and put them in the most inhumane buildings.

Maybe we can’t really cope with seeing beauty and brokenness up close and personal.  Maybe there’s something in us that is happier to pretend everything is ok rather than face the fact that we’re surrounded by astonishing beauty and devastating brokenness.

Maybe the reason we hide behind facebook profiles, dress ourselves in other people’s labels, define ourselves by what we do, maybe it’s because we can’t bear the idea that this beauty and brokenness is not just outside us.

If there’s real beauty then there’s real value.  If there’s real value then there’s a real value-giver.  If there’s real brokenness then there’s real value – destroyed.  If there’s real value then there’s a real value giver and they will be eager to restore value.

The Christian message is born in the cauldron of beauty and brokenness.  In the beginning God created… and he declared it was very beautiful.  Then, as the story goes, brokenness enters our beauty.  Mistrust into a perfect moment of vulnerability.  Pain shatters perfection leaving a world divided, unequal and hurting.

The good news of the Christian ‘gospel’ is that God himself has stepped into his beautiful and broken creation.  He is not hiding behind a facebook profile, a book, a messenger or an institution.  God himself has come face to face with the highest heights of beauty and the deepest depths of brokenness.

The cross where Jesus died shows the brokenness of the world absorbed in one man.  The empty tomb bears witness to the fact that beauty wins.  God wins.

The invitation of Christianity is to allow God to restore you to the person you were meant to be.  As you become restored you will join in the work of restoring beauty in a profoundly broken world.

This is why St George’s are thrilled to host such a spectacular exhibition.  We are in awe of the quality of these artists and their ability to bring beauty and brokenness to our attention.  We believe that you cannot know beauty and brokenness intimately and not be drawn to Jesus – the pinnacle of beauty and brokenness.

How big is your kingdom?

I spent part of yesterday doing some teaching to church leaders about how to be better leaders.  I started off with the premise that John C Maxwell coined as the ‘law of the lid’.  It says that the limit of the kingdom you’re building is determined by how good you are at leading.

This gives us two options.  See, I really want God’s kingdom to grow and be fruitful in Leeds especially among students.  What can I do?  Either I can get better at leading it; or support things that I’m not building.  I’m committed to get better at leading – but I’ll never be good enough as a leader to see God’s church grow enough for my liking – let alone for His!

Here’s my solution: I will encourage, support and pray for things that I’m not building.  I will not get the credit for their successes.  Sometimes their successes will make me look less good.  I will advertise other people’s churches – not because they’re better but because we need each other.  I will support the CU AND I will support the local church – because we need all the help we can get.

We've just released a map (below) pointing students in Leeds to churches who are working together with the CUs for the gospel.  There are 12 churches on my list.  I wish there were hundreds.  There are around 70,000 students in Leeds and I can’t find more than 350 in Christian communities in this city – I’ve been looking for three years now.

I might be able to run a student ministry that, God willing, impacts 1,000 or 2,000 students every year.  Even then, there’s still enough work to go round.  I must encourage, support and pray for that other work. Even if I look less good as a result.