tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81494922024-03-23T13:27:15.657-05:00RenderingsAlan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-91768080032071949952014-10-09T17:50:00.000-05:002014-10-09T17:50:02.664-05:00New MetricsThis past Sunday, Gracyn and I joined folks at a UCC church in Wailuku, HI for worship on World Communion Sunday. We were warmly greeted by members of the congregation and by the Pastor. As the Pastor began the announcement time (Elder who was supposed to do announcements walked in five minutes late), he looked right at us, apologized for the low attendance, and explained that the church had a food booth at the local county fair, so many people had either been working late into the night on Saturday or were currently working. First of all, way to make visitors feel awkward by singling them out first thing, but that's beside the point of this reflection. The question that immediately popped into my head was: Why do we pastor types ever feel the need to apologize for attendance in worship?<br />
<br />
Is it our egos? Do we want the visitor to know that actually we're way more thriving than that one day might exhibit? Do we hope the folks who are there might lay a little guilt trip on the ones who aren't? <br />
<br />
For the record, there were probably 50 people in attendance at Iao Congregational Church on Sunday, which would probably make a lot of churches feel pretty psyched.<br />
<br />
That little moment in what was otherwise a great worship service full of intergenerational & multi-racial leadership, worldwide perspective, and a most-inclusive invitation to celebrate the Eucharist, caused me to spend much of the afternoon reflecting on the metrics we pastor types use to measure "success" in the churches/ministries where we serve (going forward, I'll just use the word church, but mean all manner of worshipping communities).<br />
<br />
Frankly, I'm over attendance being the primary metric for churches. In fact, I'd like it to to be pretty low on the depth chart. As an aside, Jesus didn't have the best attendance numbers. He had 12 guys who followed him around, plus the rest of the traveling entourage. I'm not even sure the Sermon on the Mount drew a crowd equal to Willow Creek's weekly worship attendance.<br />
<br />
I'm ready for a meaningful conversation about what really matters to the church. If it's just about getting people in the door, I feel quite certain we've lost our way. To be honest, I'd rather have 20 folks exploring scripture, engaging in deep theological reflection, and intentionally seeking to discern how best to follow Jesus Christ in the world than 1,000 people who come because the choir really nails the anthem and the sermon "just makes them feel so good about Jesus" or whatever.<br />
<br />
Clearly, this is turning into a series of posts. For now, here are some questions to ponder:<br />
<br />
What metrics does your church use to measure whether you are meeting goals?<br />
What metrics matter to you?<br />
If not attendance, how do we decide whether we are being faithful to God's call on our communities of faith?<br />
What would it look like for church to embrace smallness?<br />
Is there an ideal size for a church?<br />
Is there a number at which churches might follow a missionary impulse to reach out in new ways?<br />
<br />
As always, I welcome the thoughts of anyone and everyone.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-6951926026526748152014-07-17T09:49:00.001-05:002014-07-17T09:49:22.968-05:00Connectional ChurchTo be honest, I've had numerous reasons to be frustrated with my presbytery in the past year or so. While I won't get into all of that in this post, I will say that I've struggled to embody/live into any excitement about participating in a "connectional church." And then, yesterday, I was given the gift of sharing a cup of coffee with my friend Lee Cannon. Lee is an elder at Downtown Presbyterian Church here in Nashville and was recently featured in The Tennessean for picking up food at a local Publix to be delivered to a local food bank. After reading the article, I decided to reach out and schedule a time to catch up with Lee. You see, Lee was on the Installation Commission for my service as Associate Pastor at Harpeth Presbyterian Church almost nine years ago, and he has made an effort to keep up with me ever since. He is a faithful attender of Presbytery meetings, and pops up at just about any presbytery-wide service event. He will also attend church at various churches around Nashville, just to check in with friends he has made throughout the presbytery. Simply put, Lee is is the ideal Presbyter.<div><br></div><div>During our conversation yesterday, we lifted up various congregations in our presbytery who are going through transitions, commented on ministers who are coming and going, and shared our common vision for a church that is more concerned with the discipleship walk of those who attend our communities of faith than how with how many are on the rolls. We shared personal struggles and joys and agreed to hold one another in prayer. And then, as the time came to leave the trendy local coffee shop, full of hipsters typing away on their MacBooks or reading on their iPads, Lee reached out for my hand and offered to pray over our time together. What a blessing.</div><div><br></div><div>I walked away from that hour and a half or so feeling re-invigorated for the church-at-large, and particularly for our connectional form of being church as Presbyterians. Our entire conversation had revolved around people, God's work in the world, and how we might participate in God's kingdom building. So, for all my recent frustrations, today I remain thankful for the ways that God works generally through the connectional church that is The Presbyterian Church USA, and specifically through the loving, nurturing, God-centered, fellowship of a Presbyterian Ruling Elder named Lee Cannon. </div>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-36252001017461781602014-05-13T15:58:00.005-05:002014-05-13T15:58:51.740-05:00Atonement Series Four: Solidarity...It's a ThingSolidarity...It's a thing<br />
Preached at UKIRK Nashville<br />
Tuesday, April 8th, 2014<br />
Colossians 1:13-23 & 1 John 4:7-16<br />
<br />
Summarize definition of sin<br />
A result of seeking freedom from relationality, thus we sever our relationships with<br />
God<br />
Others,<br />
The world<br />
Ourselves<br />
Fearful avoidance of fulfilling human potential<br />
<br />
<br />
Just as we are, our theological foremothers and forefathers were shaped by the world around them, and thus they read scripture through the lenses of their particular contexts. Sacrificial, Financial, and Legal images to explain God's action in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ made sense for particular times and places, and we must give thanks for the ways those images have helped us to understand atonement.<br />
<br />
Tonight we will wrap up our series on Atonement, and next week we'll explore how we are called to embody our faith, especially in light of John's gospel's story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.<br />
<br />
For tonight, though, I want us to zero in on this passage from Colossians, particularly verses 19-20:<br />
<br />
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.<br />
<br />
For all the theories we've been exploring, engagement with verses like these, or the first chapter of John's gospel, have been mostly absent. While there were voices throughout Christian history that highlighted the incarnation of God in Jesus as crucial to any argument about God's activity (primarily in the Eastern Orthodox tradition), I would argue that most of our talk about Jesus being Immanuel, or God-with-us, was centered around Christmas and Jesus' ability to perform miracles. Historically, when it came to making sense of Jesus' suffering at the hands of Roman rulers and his eventual crucifixion on the cross, most western theologians engaged in what I like to call "shell-game theology" to protect God from truly experiencing that suffering or from experiencing death in any way. Jesus' cry from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" became evidence of God's presence fleeing for the hills when things got really hard. After all, God couldn't possibly suffer or be found in the weakened, whipped, dying body of Jesus Christ, right? Plus, somebody had to make the resurrection happen, so there you go. In so many of our classic theories of atonement, God is involved, but not necessarily invested in a deeply personal way.<br />
<br />
As a way of transitioning from classical theories of atonement to some of the more contemporary views, I'd like to explore The Last Scapegoat theory, which is credited to Rene Girard in the late 20th century.<br />
<br />
In his exploration of scripture and theology, Girard realized that much of classic atonement theory goes back to Leviticus 16, which lays out the regulations for making sacrifices of atonement on the altar in the temple. Throughout the year, priests would assist people in making their sin offerings, and then on the day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, a great sacrifice would be made to atone for all of Israel's sin. Hear now Leviticus 16:6-10.<br />
<br />
Leviticus 16:6-10<br />
Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.<br />
<br />
That word Azazel is traditionally translated as Scapegoat. The purpose of this ritual was to place all the sin of Israel on these two goats, one of which would be sacrificed on the altar, the other which would be sent into the wilderness to wander, and probably die as well. In this system, the goat carries all the guilt, while the community is declared innocent or righteous.<br />
<br />
Girard, and other anthropologists/sociologists, point out that while we don't necessarily sacrifice goats on an altar anymore, we do love the practice of scapegoating. We love to place all our sin, or all the blame, onto individuals, or groups of people and then find ways to punish them, destroy them, or otherwise send them into the wilderness, where they will likely meet an untimely end. We do this so as to rid ourselves of guilt and declare ourselves innocent.<br />
<br />
The example that most immediately comes to mind is the cover story for The Atlantic Monthly magazine last month which focused on the hundreds of lawsuits filed each year against fraternities because of poor safety conditions in their houses, especially cases where people fall out of the houses through open windows or off of dangerous balconies. The long and short of it is that when risk management procedures are set in motion, the national or general fraternity swoops in, does a ton of interviewing, and just when the young man in question needs the insurance and protection of the organization, he is usually denied such protection because of any number of infractions. The individual is kicked out, left to pay their own medical bills, and very often loses cases in court, because the fraternities have so much money to throw at the problem. The young person who falls over a railing that isn't up to code, or rolls out of a window with no screen is found to be guilty and thus the community can continue operations as usual. That, my friends, is an example of scapegoating theology.<br />
Rene Girard, who is an anthropologist and literary critic, in addition to being a theologian offers this way of re-thinking the practice of scapegoating:<br />
<br />
But something happens that begins in the Old Testament. There are many stories that reverse this scapegoat process. In the story of Cain and Abel, the story of Joseph, the book of Job, and many of the Psalms, the persecuting community is pictured as guilty and the victim is innocent. But Christ, the son of God, is the ultimate scapegoat -- precisely because he is the son of God and since he is innocent, he exposes all the myths of scapegoating and shows that the victims were innocent and the communities guilty.<br />
<br />
The Last Scapegoat theory, as Girard presents it, serves as a bridge of sorts to many conversations in which contemporary theologians return to an emphasis on the Christ event as God's act of ultimate solidarity with humankind. <br />
<br />
Tonight, and hopefully after tonight as well, I want us to join the conversation of many folks in the contemporary church who adopt the perspective of our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters in which God is fully present in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Instead of relegating such language to Christmas hymns alone or moving too quickly to "son of God" language, I'd like for us to seriously consider how our theology might change if all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in the person of Jesus Christ. <br />
<br />
Pleased to dwell. <br />
Not dwelling out of obligation to some deep laws of time. <br />
Not dwelling, like a little bit, except when things were difficult. <br />
Not dwelling in only one part of Jesus, as in only his mind or his soul. <br />
Not dwelling only when it was convenient or during the good times.<br />
All the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
If the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus Christ, then I believe God was out to experience as much of the human experience as possible, including all physicality that comes with human existence, even the rough stuff, and especially the brutal suffering at the hands of the Roman authorities.<br />
<br />
If we take seriously God's fullness dwelling in Jesus Christ, then even The Last Scapegoat gets a tweak, as Tony Jones writes in A Better Atonement,<br />
<br />
God becomes the one who is rejected and expelled. That is, the scapegoat is not one of us who is sacrificed to appease an angry deity. Instead, the deity enters our society, becomes the scapegoat, and thereby eliminates the need for future scapegoats or sacrifices.<br />
<br />
It's my view that The Last Scapegoat is a wonderful corrective to Penal Substitutionary Atonement or Satisfaction theory. In the classical views, Jesus is sacrificed at the altar of the cross in order to pay the penalty of the people, whereas in The Last Scapegoat, God is fully present on the cross, suffering all the indignity and the physical pain of that torturous form of state-sanctioned murder. God no longer looks down judging whether the sacrifice has been enough, but rather takes on the punishment in God's very self. And, as Girard points out, by taking on the cross, God reveals the ugliness of such brutality, and thus calls us to re-examine our cultural, society, communal brokenness. The cross is no longer simply about individuals finding some sort of individual pass into God's good graces or heaven, but about convicting communities of the ways we fail to value the image of God in every human being.<br />
<br />
As we join our Orthodox brothers and sisters in taking seriously God's full indwelling of Jesus Christ, we witness God drawing near to humanity in complete and total solidarity. God no longer looks on from a distance, but is intimately connected to the human experience. One commentator wrote that Jesus Christ is the intersection of Immanence and Transcendence. The fullness of God is present in the immanent human being named Jesus, just as the fullness of Jesus is present in the transcendent God of the universe.<br />
<br />
I think it's worth noting that God chose to become incarnate in Jesus Christ at a difficult time in history for the Jewish people. God chose to draw near in a child born in a stable in Bethlehem at a time when a crazy tyrant would have all Jewish children of a certain age exterminated. God chose to become incarnate in Jesus Christ when the Jewish people were subject to the occupying force of Rome. God chose to become a person on the margins who had to work hard just to make ends meet. God chose to become human when speaking the truth to power landed you on the wrong side of the principalities and powers, religious and otherwise. The intersection of immanence and transcendence didn't take place in a middle class white guy from the suburbs, as some of our classical images of Jesus might imply.<br />
<br />
In claiming God's solidarity with humankind in the person of Jesus Christ, we gain concrete insight into how God seeks to restore those broken relationships we've been discussing during this Lenten season. God is not paying a ransom. God is the ransom. God doesn't send a first lieutenant to defeat the powers of evil. God shows up...fully. God isn't sitting on a throne somewhere in the heavens fuming and plotting dark revenge on sinful human beings. God enters into the fray to more fully understand this brokenness and sin that seem to pervade human existence. When a penalty is to be paid, God pays it. When a scapegoat is needed for human beings to fulfill their desire for violence, God receives that violence willingly. The lenten Friday morning prayer makes reference to Hebrews 12 in saying, "Jesus, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross,"<br />
<br />
When we read about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the lens of Solidarity, we see a God who desperately wants us to be reconciled with God, others, the world, and ourselves. If God is fully present in Jesus Christ, and I truly believe that is true, our theories of atonement are expanded and we see that God's presence with us is about so much more than a change in our status as righteous, or the guarantee of our eternal insurance policy. In the gospels, we see Jesus:<br />
<br />
bring good news to the poor.<br />
proclaim release to the captives<br />
grant recovery of sight to the blind,<br />
let the oppressed go free,<br />
and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.<br />
<br />
God's incarnation in Jesus Christ and ongoing abiding presence in the Holy Spirit proclaim once and for all that God is in complete and total solidarity with humankind, that as we have been reconciled to God, we are called to be reconciled to one another, and that the image of God inside of us has been restored and will be restored from any brokenness we might encounter.<br />
<br />
In summary of the belief that God is fully present in the person of Jesus Christ, I share these words from Andrew T. Lincoln's reflections in The New Interpreter's Bible<br />
<br />
"The effect of such a belief should be to make redeemed humans more fully human. It should enable them to appreciate the creation and to work to transform the structures of this world rather than to produce a private piety or spirituality that attempts to cut itself off from the body, ignores the natural environment, and disdains culture. If reconciliation of all things in Christ is at the center of God's purposes, then the pursuit of peace and acts of reconciliation by Christians serve those purposes."<br />
<br />
May it be so.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-90028929140877926352014-05-06T10:43:00.001-05:002014-05-06T10:43:30.246-05:00Atonement Series Three: Rethinking PSA
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Courier New";
panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 2 1 2 1 8 4 8 7 8;
mso-font-charset:2;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 65536 0 -2147483648 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Palatino;
panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
span.sc
{mso-style-name:sc;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:102190177;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-86759848 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:573052873;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1683014392 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:836699375;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:208315160 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:843252501;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1113277642 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l4
{mso-list-id:995230575;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-799357742 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l4:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l4:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l5
{mso-list-id:1433893315;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-201301164 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l5:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l6
{mso-list-id:1680423709;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:864027802 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l6:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l7
{mso-list-id:1815750801;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-15681106 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l7:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l8
{mso-list-id:2119370796;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-843383284 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l8:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Rethinking PSA</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Preached at UKIRK Nashville</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">March 25, 2014</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Romans 3:19-31</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">There it is.<span>
</span>Verses 25-26 cast a long shadow on the history of Christian theology
related to justification and atonement.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">“whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his
blood, effective through faith.<span> </span>He
did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had
passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time
that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in
Jesus.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">This week we will engage with the theory of Penal
Substitutionary Atonement, or PSA.<span>
</span>Some call it Satisfaction Theory, but for tonight, we’re just going to
call it PSA.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In summary:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Anselm takes issue with Ransom Captive and
Christus Victor for some of the same reasons we explored last week, but
primarily because those theories elevate Satan or evil.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Anselm claims that we are not captives to Satan or
evil, but rather to our own sin.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Sin, Anselm claimed, places us in debt to
God.<span> </span>God’s eternal laws of justice
have been broken, and there’s no way we can possibly overcome that debt of
obedience.<span> </span>This leaves humanity
eternally separated from God. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Just as the debt of sin began with Adam, so must
the debt of sin sin be destroyed by a perfect God-man, Jesus. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">God sends Jesus, who lives in perfect obedience,
and who eventually must be sacrificed, Leviticus style, to atone for the sins
of humanity.<span> </span>You know Leviticus
16, right?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><span>o<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Leviticus 16:29-34: </span>This shall be a statute
to you for ever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall
deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who
resides among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse
you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the <span class="sc">Lord</span>.
It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves; it is a
statute for ever. The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his
father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy
vestments. He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make
atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make
atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. This shall be
an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once
in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the <span class="sc">Lord</span>
had commanded him.<span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In his death on the cross, Jesus takes on the sins
of the entire world, eliminates the need for the annual day of atonement, and
thus pays the debt, reconciles our account with God, and satisfies God’s wrath
and need for divine justice.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">This theology of justification, PSA, becomes the
predominant theology for the second thousand years of Christianity, and still
holds a primary place in the hearts and minds of Christians all around the
world.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Contemporary proponents/advocates for PSA include John
Piper and Marc Driscoll, and they are almost militant in their defense of its
truth and primacy.<span> </span>Both of these
men, and those who support them, emphasize the wrath of God and say that it is:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Eternal</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Terrible</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Deserved</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Escapable</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">As you might imagine, it is escapable by simply
acknowledging Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, thus only those who make
such confessions of faith escape the eternal, terrible wrath of God.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In his book <i>Love
Wins</i>, Rob Bell shares some statements from church websites that believe
strongly in PSA<br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The unsaved will be separated forever from God in
hell.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Those who don’t believe in Jesus will be sent to
eternal punishment in hell.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The unsaved dead will be committed to an eternal
conscious punishment.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">So, not only will the “unsaved” be separated from God,
but they will be punished and be conscious of that punishment, to which Rob
Bell writes, “in case we were concerned they might down an Ambien or two when
God wasn’t looking.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">I tell you what.<span>
</span>If I’m trying to figure out what I believe about God, I’m sure as
shootin’ not going to walk in the door of <i>those</i>
churches.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">And yet, up until very recently, the churches in our
country that have been on the rise, have espoused some version of PSA as the
only way to make sense of the cross of Jesus Christ.<span> </span>In the not so distant past, folks seeking ordination in the
Presbyterian Church USA and the denominations that preceded her had to stand up
and profess strict allegiance to PSA.<span>
</span>If you go home tonight and Google PSA and click on the video tab, you’ll
find some interesting videos of Mark Driscoll and a guy named Todd Friel who
lay it out in some pretty strong ways.<span>
</span>They are clearly convinced and convicted that to question PSA is to
question the very foundations of Christianity, and possibly to invalidate any
salvation you might have previously achieved.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Before we dive headlong into some analysis of our
scripture for tonight and the issues with PSA, let’s at least take a look at
how it addresses the fourfold brokenness we’re using as a definition for sin.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">As a refresher, Scot McKnight, in his book entitled <i>A Community of Atonement</i> defines sin as
brokenness in how we relate to:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">God</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Our fellow human beings</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The world around us</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Ourselves</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">PSA speaks definitively about mending the broken
relationship between humanity and God, although it attaches certain strings.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">At some level, PSA speaks to God’s redemption of all
things through the cross of Jesus Christ, but not necessarily our relationship
with our world.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">It does speak to the elimination of sin from our lives,
which might allow us to be more fully ourselves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">However, PSA, like all our previous theories, does
nothing to really address the brokenness between human beings.<span> </span>It claims to settle the account with
God, but it says nothing about societal sin, and it doesn’t really say anything
about the world around us.<span> </span>In
fact, it might promote a certain escapism whereby the injustices of this world
don’t matter all that much.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">This is the point in the evening that if this were a
youth group lesson, we would pull out our Presbyterian hymnals (in this case
the blue ones, because we haven’t bought the new ones yet) and look for hymns
that promote PSA.<span> </span>I imagine there
would be a ton of them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">For now, I’d like to share the lyrics from a song that
seems to be pretty popular in certain circles.<span> </span>I say that, because I think I’ve sung it every time I’ve
been a Belmont chapel service or at what might be considered a neo-evangelical
community of faith.<span> </span>The title of
the hymn is <i>How Deep the Father’s Love
For Us</i>, and I’m going to put the lyrics up for us to explore, and as we do
so, I’ll offer some critiques of PSA.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Palatino;">How deep the
Father's love for us,<br />
How vast beyond all measure<br />
That He should give His only Son<br />
To make a wretch His treasure</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Would it have killed them
to use the word “maker” instead of Father?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">One might argue that
these opening lyrics set up a subordinate relationship between the 1<sup>st</sup>
and 2<sup>nd</sup> persons of the trinity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">While I don’t love the
wretch language, I do appreciate PSA’s emphasis on our inability to earn God’s
love or favor.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Some feminist theologians
have asked, “What kind of Parent is God if God sacrifices God’s child?<span> </span>Are we to worship a divine child
abuser?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">How great the pain of searing loss,<br />
The Father turns His face away<br />
As wounds which mar the chosen One,<br />
Bring many sons to glory<br />
<br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Umm…seriously?<span> </span>The Father turns his face away?<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">First of all,
if God is incarnate in Jesus Christ, it’s not as if God isn’t experiencing the
excruciating suffering of the cross.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Second, if
this is the plan for God’s eternal wrath and justice to be fulfilled, God
doesn’t need to be looking away.<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Chosen one
sounds a little too much like the Matrix or something, and borders on adoptionism,
a heresy that says Jesus wasn’t really God-with-us, but was adopted as God’s
chosen one based on his faithfulness to serve as the sacrifice to end all
sacrifices.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Many
sons?<span> </span>I mean, seriously?<span> </span>This is a fairly contemporary hymn.<span> </span>What about the ladies?<span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Palatino;">Behold the Man
upon a cross,<br />
My sin upon His shoulders<br />
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,<br />
Call out among the scoffers</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">This verse
isn’t the worst.<span> </span>It does hearken
back to Isaiah and Leviticus, and some of what we read from Romans today.<span> </span>It takes seriously the weight of sin
that Jesus carried with him to the cross.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">I do wonder,
though, about universalizing the scoffing.<span> </span>It seems to imply that sin is a cookie cutter kind of
thing.<span> </span>Maybe I’m not so much a
scoffer of Christ as I am an aggressive, angry, oppressive person to my fellow
human beings.<span> </span>Or, maybe I scoff at
myself and undervalue the image of God inside me.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Palatino;">It was my sin
that held Him there<br />
Until it was accomplished<br />
His dying breath has brought me life<br />
I know that it is finished</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">There it is.<span>
</span>That implication that the same God who created everything that is, must
follow some sort of script for appeasing God’s own wrath and justice.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The sin didn’t hold Jesus Christ on the
cross.<span> </span>God’s love and compassion
for a broken humanity did!<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Our sin does not motivate God or bind God’s
hands.<span> </span>God acts in self-giving
love to mend our brokenness and to eliminate sin’s dominion over human beings.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Is it really Jesus’ dying breath that has brought
us life, or is it the resurrection.<span>
</span>I would argue that the Bible points to resurrection as the assurance of
new life.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Palatino;">I will not
boast in anything<br />
No gifts, no power, no wisdom<br />
But I will boast in Jesus Christ<br />
His death and resurrection</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Ah, there’s
the resurrection.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">No
boasting.<span> </span>That’s straight out of
Romans 3, and yet I think it misses the point a little bit.<span> </span>In the context of Romans 3, Paul is
probably not thinking about our western American tendency toward legalism, but
more about his fellow Jews boasting about their status as the chosen people of
God.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">I would say
that in our context, there are plenty of church folk who need to hear a little
something about not boasting…maybe not even boasting about how right they are
about PSA.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Palatino;">Why should I
gain from His reward?<br />
I cannot give an answer<br />
But this I know with all my heart<br />
His wounds have paid my ransom</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">And, we’re back to Ransom Captive and Christus
Victor, and we already parsed those last week.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">One of these days, I’m going to write my own hymn lyrics
to that tune, because it’s one that gets in your head, and I’d love for
different lyrics to be in my head.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In order to really explore this passage of scripture, and
to more fully understand justification from Paul’s perspective, we have to take
a serious look at the word “faith” and the way it’s used here.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Verses 21-22, in the NRSV, reads:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">But now, apart from the law,
the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the
prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who
believe.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The NIV, and many other translations, make it sound as if
righteousness is granted to people who believe in Jesus Christ, thus Marc
Driscoll’s claim that God’s wrath is escapable.<span> </span>If you just believe that you’re an awful sinner, unworthy of
God’s love <i>and </i>that<span> </span>Jesus got in the way on the cross,
satisfied God’s seething wrath, and then pleaded your case, you’ll find
yourself in heaven for eternity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The problem with that translation, and all the subsequent
interpretations, is that the Greek isn’t quite that clear, and many scholars
think it should probably be translated much more like the Common English Bible,
which reads:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">But now God’s righteousness has
been revealed apart from the Law, which is confirmed by the Law and the
Prophets.<span> </span>God’s righteousness
comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">So maybe it isn’t necessarily about us having enough
faith, or the right kind of faith, but more about Jesus’ faithfulness to God’s
plan of salvation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Somehow the hard-core PSA evangelists skip right over the
following verses that read:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">For there is no distinction,
since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now
justified by his grace as a <i>gift</i>,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom <i>God</i> put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective
through faith.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">As I read this passage and ones similar to it later in
Romans or from Galatians, I read a strong proclamation of God’s choice to eliminate
sin as a determining factor in God’s relationship with humankind.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">These are not words of a court of justice, but words of
covenantal theology.<span> </span>As one author
writes,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">On the cross Jesus accomplished
what God has always intended the covenant to achieve.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Not only does the cross rescue sinful humanity from its
sin, but it also ushers in a worldwide family of forgiven sinners.<span> </span>To quote Galatians 3:28</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">There is no longer Jew or
Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female;
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Or, the end of tonight’s passage:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Or is God the God of Jews
only?<span> </span>Is he not the God of
Gentiles also?<span> </span>Yes, of Gentiles alos,
since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith
and the uncircumcised through that same faith.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">I think it is quite possible that all this language about
faith goes back to Jesus’ faithfulness and thus God’s faithfulness.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In his chapter on “atonement” Shirley Guthrie offers what
I find to be helpful correctives to PSA, and these correctives will begin to
shape our conversation for the rest of the semester.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">In summary:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Jesus came to express God’s mind and will, not to
somehow change it through a grand gesture of self sacrifice.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">If there is a ransom to be paid, it is paid <i>by</i> God, not purchased <i>from</i> God.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">If we do speak about God’s wrath, let us do so in
the context of God being deeply hurt by the consequences of human
brokenness.<span> </span>God wants what is best
for us as human beings…God wants us to achieve our highest potential as human
beings bearing the image of God.<span>
</span>When we fall short, this grieves God and causes pain within God’s very self.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">If there is a sacrifice to be made on behalf of
that “wrath” or “grief”, it is because we need it, not God.<span> </span>God makes the sacrifice in the person
of Jesus Christ because that is how God <i>chooses</i>
to satisfy justice and to overthrow sin.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Indeed, the maker’s love for us is deep and wide, and God
is willing to go to any length, even suffering death within God’s self, to
achieve that which we can not achieve for ourselves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-49410676599395593292014-05-01T10:14:00.001-05:002014-05-01T10:14:18.439-05:00Atonement Series Two: Ransom Captive and Christus Victor
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Courier New";
panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 2 1 2 1 8 4 8 7 8;
mso-font-charset:2;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 65536 0 -2147483648 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Palatino;
panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:241767322;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:2068380040 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:765005788;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1172460954 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:928082647;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-294207784 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l2:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>A Better Atonement: Ransom Captive & Christus Victor</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Preached at UKIRK Nashville, March 18, 2014</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>1 Timothy 2:5-6, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Corinthians 15:17-26</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tonight we begin our look at various Atonement Theories,
and as we begin, I’d like to share some words from Rob Bell’s book <i>Love Wins</i> that I also shared in this
week’s devotional:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>What happened on the cross is
like…</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>A defendant going free,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>A relationship being reconciled,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>A battle being won,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>A redeeming of something/a people that was lost,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>A final sacrifice being offered, so that no one
ever has to offer another one again,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>An enemy being loved.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I’d also like for us to keep the words Shirley Guthrie
wrote in his wonderful book <i>Christian
Doctrine:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>[the early followers of Jesus]
used various images or analogies already at their disposal from everyday
life.<span> </span>If we are to understand
their significance, we need to remember two things about them.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>First, the images do not
describe a “theory of atonement” or “plan of salvation” that explains what God
must do and what must happen to Jesus if God wants to save the world.<span> </span>The first Christians had been forced to
give up all their theories and plans, because God did not act according to
their calculations and expectations.<span>
</span>They used these images not to explain what God <i>must</i> do in order to save us but to interpret what God actually <i>did </i>do.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Second, it is no accident that
in the New Testament several images are used to interpret the meaning of Jesus’
death.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>So, knowing that we need a variety of images to get
anywhere close to understanding what God was up to in the incarnation, life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and even in the giving of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, let’s dive in.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tonight we’ll look at two theories of the atonement that
dominated the first millennium of Christianity.<span> </span>The first is centered on a financial image and is called <i>Ransom Captive</i>.<span> </span>To give you a visual representation for
this, we’ll watch a scene from the movie The Lion, the Witch, and The
Wardrobe.<span> </span>Right before the scene
we’re about to watch, the White Witch, who currently rules the magical land of
Narnia, has pronounced the Edmund Pevensie must die for his “sin” of betraying
his siblings.<span> </span>She and Aslan have a
secret meeting in a tent, and Aslan walks out of the tent to pronounce that the
sentence of death for Edmund has been commuted.<span> </span>That’s where we pick up.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>We viewed the <span style="font-size: small;">scene from <span style="font-size: small;">The Lion, The Witch, and <span style="font-size: small;">The Wardrobe in which Aslan is sacrificed on the table.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Effectively, this scene is a perfect display of the
Ransom Captive theory.<span> </span>In this
theory, Adam and Eve, with their disobedience in the garden, gave away all hope
for freedom for the human race to Satan, and thus, Satan has had power and
dominion over humanity and the entire world, and this explains all the
brokenness of human history.<span> </span>But,
in a moment of true sacrifice, God makes a deal with Satan and offers God’s
only son, Jesus, as a ransom for the captive human race.<span> </span>When Jesus dies on the cross, the
ransom is paid, and humanity is now free.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Clearly, we might take some issue with this theory for a
variety of reasons.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>To whom is the ransom paid? </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>o<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span>If to
Satan, this surely elevates Satan to a level of power and authority he might no
previously had</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>o<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span>If it
is to God, what does it say about God?<span>
</span>Is God our enemy in need of appeasement?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>o<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span>What do
we do with incarnational theology of God being present to humanity in Jesus
Christ? </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>What’s the point of the resurrection?<span> </span>If everything’s been paid in full with
the crucifixion, why bother with a resurrection?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>To return to our definition of sin as brokenness in four
areas, <i>Ransom Captive</i> might mend the
brokenness between us and God, maybe, and it might achieve a change in our
status as captives, but it doesn’t really address our broken relationships with
our fellow human beings, or with the world around us.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>To be sure, this theory has its proponents, and it does
speak to the reality of human beings being trapped in cycles of sin and
brokenness, and it points to Jesus as one willing to sacrifice himself on our
behalf to free us from those cycles, but we have to be careful about pushing this
analogy too far.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>The second theory we’ll explore tonight is centered
around a Military Image, and again, we’ll look to Narnia for a visual
representation.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>WATCH RESURRECTION CLIP</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>The stone table is cracked, the witch has been fooled,
Aslan is alive and roaring!<span> </span>The
scene in between the two we’re watching depicts the armies of good and evil
facing off and eventually engaging one another in a great battle, and this is
the context for <i>Christus Victor</i>.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In this model, there is a war going on between the forces
of good and evil, and at some point, it seems as if evil has the upper hand.<span> </span>Jesus is sent to do battle with the
forces of evil and is eventually destroyed on the cross, granting the ultimate
victory to evil…only evil has been fooled…On Easter morning, Jesus is
resurrected, having conquered death from the inside out.<span> </span>Good triumphs over evil, all the
victims and captives of this cosmic battle have been freed, Jesus is the
ultimate Victor in the ultimate battle between good and evil.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>This strain of theology finds its way into much of our
language about Jesus being “Lord of Heaven and Earth” or into hymns like “A
Mighty Fortress is Our God.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In today’s world, this is a tough image to wrap our heads
around.<span> </span>Very few, if any of us,
really believe in a battle between God and the devil, and if we do, we sure
aren’t willing to grant that the devil is able to get the upper hand.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>We also might wonder why God had to play the trickster to
conquer death.<span> </span>And, was the
presence of Immanuel just a strategic battle ploy?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>And, what are these ancient rules that God has to play by?<span> </span>Deep magic from the beginning of
time?<span> </span>That seems to limit God’s
freedom in concerning ways.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>To give <i>Christus
Victor</i> its due, it <i>does</i> take the
resurrection seriously.<span> </span>It
highlights the reality of evil in the world and offers a vision in which God
conquers evil through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I think the main issue with these two theories, or images
of atonement is that they are basically transactional and impersonal.<span> </span>God either pays a ransom, or fights a
battle on our behalf (even if that battle leads to an experience of death
within God’s self), but in the end, human beings are simply prizes to be won in
a great battle between satan/the devil/evil.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In viewing the cross through this transactional lens,
there are really not repercussions for humanity other than our change in
status.<span> </span>Neither image calls us to a
different life as a result of God’s actions.<span> </span>If anything, it might be possible to get caught up what
Dietrich <span style="font-size: small;">Bonhoeffer</span> called “Cheap Grace” whereby we say something like, “Well,
my sins have been taken care of, so I can live however I want.”<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I think these images are also troublesome in a world that
is already full of warfare and violence.<span>
</span>Is war imagery really what we need to be lifting up in our communities
of faith?<span> </span>Do we really want to
make faith about waging war?<span> </span>It
doesn’t take too long to get to a place of triumphalism, or of perpetrating
various levels of emotional, spiritual, and maybe even physical violence on
those whom we label as “evil.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>While these transactional images might emphasize the
freedom <i>from </i>evil that God has won
for us, they offer no guidance as to what we are freed <i>for</i>.<span> </span>Or, to return to
our definition of sin as “fearful avoidance of human potential” how do these
images pull us toward a more complete, faithful, humanity where our
relationships with God, others, the earth, and self are restored?<span> </span>That will be the key question, I think,
for all of these theories/images that we explore.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>For this week, we I propose we thank that first Millenium
of Christianity for giving us <i>Ransom
Captive</i> and <i>Christus Victor</i> for
these reasons:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>They take seriously our inability to work
ourselves out of brokenness</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>They offer images of a God who is willing to quite
literally get skin in the game</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>They proclaim that death does not, in the end,
have the final word.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>In tandem with that, they proclaim that God brings
about new life, even when it seems that all is lost.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>So, may you hold onto hope, even in dark times.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>May you truly believe that death does <i>not</i> have the final say in God’s creation.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>May you experience the grace, mercy, transforming love,
and holistic Shalom Peace that God enters the world to offer to all of
humanity.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Amen.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span> </span></span></span></span></div>
Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-23773829423346909532014-04-24T14:09:00.000-05:002014-04-24T14:09:23.414-05:00Atonement Series for Lent<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">During Lent this year, I worked up a sermon series on various atonement theories and how they are/are not helpful. I figured I might as well put the sermon texts out here and let the calls of "Heresy!" begin.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you'd like to hear the sermons, which inevitably include more than is in print, they can be found on online by searching for UKIRK Nashville in the iTunes store.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, here's week one: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Genesis 3:1-24 (read along with <a href="http://www.thebricktestament.com/home.html" target="_blank">The Brick Testament</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Original Sin...Is It Really a Thing?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Courier New";
panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 2 1 2 1 8 4 8 7 8;
mso-font-charset:2;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 65536 0 -2147483648 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Palatino;
panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:118377432;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1446987026 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:510223453;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:538872856 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:588580723;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-679805190 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:765005788;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1172460954 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l4
{mso-list-id:998919154;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1372443644 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l4:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Throughout Lent, we’re going to explore the theological
topic of “Atonement.”<span> </span>To simplify
such a theologically loaded word, many people like to say it’s is all about
At-One-Ment between God and humanity.<span>
</span>Another question we might ask is, “What happened at the cross?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>My hope is that throughout this series, we might walk
away with a broader, fuller, and deeper understanding of what scripture and
centuries of Christian tradition have to say about how God addresses the
problem of sin in the world.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Before we can get to “theories of the atonement,” I think
it’s important to take a step back and talk about the word “sin.”<span> </span>It’s a word that gets tossed around an
awful lot in our communities of faith, and depending on the theological
leanings of the faith community that raised you, it might have been emphasized
a lot, a little, or really not at all.<span>
</span>And besides that, the definition of “sin” changes depending on one’s
theological tradition.<span> </span>So,
tonight, we go all the way back to the beginning of scripture and take a look
at an archetypal text about sin.<span>
</span>So, hear now, and see, with the help of the Brick Testament.<span> </span>Genesis 2:25-3:24.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>READ SCRIPTURE</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>So, there it is.<span>
</span>The story of “the fall from grace.” The beginning of all sin that has
been passed on to every human being in the history of the world.<span> </span>Many people, if not most, would say
that this is the story of “Original Sin.”<span>
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Original sin is defined by the good people at the BBC as:
<i>a Christian doctrine that says that
everyone is born sinful.<span> </span>This
means that they are born with a built-in urge to do bad things and to disobey
God.<span> </span>Original sin is not just this
inherited spiritual disease or defect in human nature; it’s also the
‘condemnation’ that goes with that fault.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Sound familiar?<span>
</span>As Presbyterians, or reformed Christians, we might hear John Calvin’s
voice in the background using the term <i>Total
Depravity</i>, by which he meant that there is no part of our humanity that is
not corrupted by sin.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Basically, in the traditional view, Adam and Eve’s
transgression resulted in a loss of living forever and in their guilt being
passed on to every human being…ever.<span>
</span>This “original sin” is used to explain the darker side of humanity and
becomes the way to explain the presence of sin in the world.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Some of you are fidgeting a bit, I would imagine.<span> </span>One of my former youth would always
push me when it came to this topic, making the case for human beings being
basically good, with good intentions, but that they just make bad choices.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>So, which is it?<span>
</span>And what does the scripture actually say?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Does Genesis 3 clearly describe <i>original sin?</i><span> </span>If you
go back and read it, you might notice that words like <i>sin</i> and <i>fall </i>are
absent.<span> </span>To be sure, there are
consequences for disobeying God, and one of those is being cast out of the
garden before Adam and Eve can get their hands on the fruit of the tree of
life.<span> </span>So, were they created to be
immortal, or would that have happened upon eating from the fruit of the tree of
life?<span> </span>Depending on who you read,
the answer varies.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I stand before you and admit that over the past couple of
years, I’ve come to seriously question the doctrines of original sin and total
depravity.<span> </span>Now, before you all
start calling the presbytery or the denominational headquarters, let me tell
you why.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>As I hinted at above, I just don’t read Genesis the same
way as Augustine and other folks who truly believe in the doctrine of original
sin.<span> </span>I just don’t hear God say,
“You all messed up, and now all people in the history of the world will bear
the guilt of your sin.”<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>This falls into the category of setting aside the
question of “Did it happen?” and instead asking the question, “Does it happen?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Do I look around the world and see people who willfully
disobey the commandments and guidelines that God has set in place for the
welfare of humankind?<span> </span>Yes!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Have I joined someone in doing something I knew was a bad
idea, or against the rules, been caught, and uttered the cry of every desperate
person, “But-she?”<span> </span>Absolutely.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I tell you what, those But-he and But-she kids are in
every youth group and every classroom in the world.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>It seems to me that we can look at the world around us
and speak of fallibility and brokenness without using terms like <i>total depravity </i>and <i>original sin</i>.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>There is clearly something about humanity as it exists
now, that falls short of God’s best plans for us.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Oh, but Alan, the Bible clearly presents a theology of
original sin.<span> </span>Right?<span> </span>I mean, it does, doesn’t it? </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Does it?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>As we read the stories of the Hebrew Bible, we see a
cyclical pattern that goes something like this:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>God lays out expectations for faithful obedience</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Individuals or groups of people fall short of
those expectations</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>God sets forth consequences</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>People seek to make things right, either by
turning back to God or offering sacrifices</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>And finally, God offers healing and forgiveness
and relationship</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In all of that, I’m not sure the Biblical record really
points to some genetic defect passed along from Adam and Eve to all of humanity.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>This is not to dismiss the presence of sin in the world,
but it is to say that I have serious doubts as to that sin being passed along
in sperm and egg.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In fact, I’ve come to believe that we probably need to
take sin more seriously than we do, but not in the judgy, equating faithfulness
with western moralistic values, be a good American kind of way.<span> </span>I think we could stand to take the
entire biblical record into account when we make pronouncements about what is
sinful in the eyes of God.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>For tonight, though, and for the sake of our series, I’d
like to think a bit more broadly about the nature of sin and how it affects our
humanity.<span> </span>A few weeks ago, Decker
asked me for a good definition of sin, and that question has been weighing on
me, especially in light of this series.<span>
</span>Up until yesterday, I had a working definition from some theological
textbook that was way too technical, but at church yesterday, Chris Adams
quoted an article from workingpreacher.org that really spoke to me, and I want
to share it with you.<span> </span>So, here
goes:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Biddle rather proposes that
Genesis 3 is the story of the human condition that is complex and paradoxical
in nature. Moreover, instead of viewing this text in terms of a “‘fall’ from
original essential humanity,” one would be better served to view this text in
terms of the human’s “failure to develop into the fullness of being human” (p
7).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>The author goes on to say:
Viewed in this way, sin may be understood as the fearful avoidance of human
potential.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Wolfhart Pannenburg said that sin is, “the universal
failure to achieve our human destiny.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I like those definitions so much better than the many
definitions of sin that sound kind of scary.<span> </span>The fearful avoidance of human potential.<span> </span>Sin is no longer a boogeyman in your
soul, or in your genetic makeup, lurking to work evil in your life.<span> </span>With this definition, sin becomes that
fearful part of you that prevents you from achieving the full humanity that God
has planned.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Scot McKnight in his book <i>A Community Called Atonement</i>, makes the case that we are made for
relationship, just as God in God’s Trinitarian self is relational, and that we
need four basic relationships to achieve full humanity:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Union with God</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Communion with other human beings</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Love of self</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Care for the world</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>In other words, to pursue absolute freedom in all
directions severs us from God, from others, from the world, and therefore the
self, and that is really what constitutes sin, a brokenness in any and/or all
of these relationships.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Throughout the rest of the semester, we’ll be exploring
various theories of the atonement, and I’d like for us to decide, together, how
they address the brokenness we experience in those four areas of our
lives.<span> </span>I hope we will find that we
need many understandings of atonement in order to make sense of the ways God
has accomplished wholeness and calls us toward full humanity.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>One final note:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Yes, we are in the season of Lent, and we are on
the journey to Jerusalem and the cross, and we aren’t there yet.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Yes, we have much to discuss with relation to sin
and atonement.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span>Yes, I started our series with a story about Adam
and Eve being cast out of the garden.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>But, did you notice verse 21?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Verse 21 is one of those places in the Bible where I go to
point to the motherly aspects of God, and let explain why.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>My Mom, who is here this evening, is a master on the
sewing machine.<span> </span>When I was kid,
she made me and my sister clothes to wear.<span> </span>When I was marching with The Cavaliers, my Mom made me
practice shorts out of fabric that could be washed out in the shower and would
be dry by the next day so my laundry loads would be lighter.<span> </span>When my luggage, and consequently 10
pairs of boxers, was stolen in Honduras, my Mother lovingly sewed me six new
pair, and express mailed them, because she knew I was a broke seminary student.<span> </span>So, verse 21 is one in which <i>I</i> see motherly love, not because God’s
act is inherently male or female, but because I see my Mother doing just such a
thing.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Genesis 3, verse 21: And the Lord God made garments of
skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Even as God has pronounced strong judgment on Adam and
Eve, and even as God is casting them out of the garden, God takes the time to
make clothes for this man and woman, because those fig leaves just wouldn’t do
for God’s beloved children.<span> </span>In my
book, that loving moment of provision is the prequel to all the at-one-ment to
come.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Amen.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-14232342790644639042014-04-07T14:34:00.001-05:002014-04-07T14:34:36.319-05:00To drive or not to driveAs I was weaving my way through the streets on Vanderbilt's campus to get to the Panera where I have multiple meetings scheduled today, I began to ponder just why I drove today. Two hours before, as I was eating breakfast, I read about opposition to a proposed Bus Rapid Transit system in Nashville (The AMP), and I became frustrated with people who don't see the importance of Nashville having good public transportation options. Then, when it came time to head to work, my first thought was how glad I was that the places I was going today had free parking lots, and that even if they were full, I could probably find some free two hour parking on the street. Yes, the prevalance of parking made more of an impact on my decision to drive than anything else, even the threat of rain throughout the day. Whereas I could have easily ridden Bus #3 or #5 and been dropped off within a 10 minute walk of all the places where I would meet with people today, the thought didn't cross my mind until I was frustrated by the weaving streets in and around Vanderbilt. Even as I wag my finger at public transportation haters, I realize that my own mindset needs an adjustment. <div><br></div><div>It might be time to change the way we talk about public transportation in a city like Nashville. Instead of relying on tropes like, "Good cities have good public transportation," we might help people think about the actual logistics of riding the bus, or the future bus rapid transit, including the cost and the timing of it all. Maybe all the people with Yes AMP! signs in their yards need to renew their commitment to riding the bus more often, or even every day for awhile so as to better address folks with questions. Who knows? Taking that simple step might actually raise some questions that haven't been asked.</div><div><br></div><div>As for me, now that spring is here (mostly), I'm hoping to make more of a commitment to riding the bus or my bike when possible, even if it means leaving earlier, or not getting home as immediately as I'd like.</div><div><br></div>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-25369129965087614362014-03-06T08:13:00.001-06:002014-03-06T08:13:39.191-06:00Ashes to goYou know you run in churchy circles when your facebook news feed is a flurry of comments surrounding the ritual act of burning last year's palm branches so that they may be used for Ash Wednesday. Some people speak of the beauty of the act, while others say the palm leaves smell like marijuana, while others bemoan an inappropriate consistency/hue or share stories of palm burning disaster. In any case, yesterday was a day when, I would guess, millions of people find their way to houses of worship to be reminded that they are dust and to dust they will return. Yes, we line up to have ashes placed on our forehead and be reminded that we aren't the masters of the universe we think we are. Ministers, priests, pastors, teaching elders (not a fan of this name, btw) entreat followers of Jesus Christ to embark on a 40 day (not counting Sundays) journey of reflection, self-denial, and spiritual development. We have entered a penitential season in which the word "discipline" pops up an awful lot.<div><br></div><div>So, you might imagine my surprise when I opened my tablet edition of The Tennesseean this morning and read about a movement called "Ashes to Go" whereby people can basically drive up in their cars and have ashes imposed on their foreheads. "The national movement is becoming an Ash Wednesday tradition -- free of long prayers and church clothes -- that invites drivers to pull over for a moment of grace in a busy day."</div><div><br></div><div>Ummm...I wonder what kind of sense ashes on the forehead make without at least one prayer of penitence or contrition or acknowledgment that God is the maker of all things. To say that one is dust and to dust they will return sounds downright hopeless without "all that God stuff" as some folks might say. What does it say that one seeks to mark the beginning of Lent, a penitential, reflective season in which one is called to potentially fast or sacrifice something, with a drive by liturgical experience? Is such an ancient ritual really to be separated from the communal gathering of the body of Christ? </div><div><br></div><div>As always, I welcome any thoughts or reflections.</div>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-18607577652795752852014-01-20T13:26:00.001-06:002014-01-20T13:26:57.424-06:00Why We Can't WaitOn this MLK Day, I was on campus early to help coordinate students, faculty, and staff who were participating in the Nashville Freedom March. Things ran as smoothly as possible with so many folks gathering in two places to catch buses. While the march is short, I appreciate the symbolism if it, especially with its starting point at Jefferson Street Baptist Church in North Nashville.<br />
<br />
Upon returning to campus, I walked into a lunchtime symposium, mostly, if I'm being honest, to snag the free lunch being offered. Then, I realized the speaker was talking about immigration reform, and I spent a good part of the weekend reading about immigration reform for a class I'm auditing at Vanderbilt Divinity School. "Why we can't wait any longer for comprehensive immigration reform," was the theme of Elliott Ozment's symposium, and he did an excellent job of making his point. Between my reading and Ozment's impassioned presentation of the state of things related to immigration, I'm feeling pretty fired up about the injustice of our current system and the unwillingness of congress to do anything. I know, I know, congress doesn't get things done, but in this regard, it seems like folks should be able to find some common ground. <br />
<br />
Shouldn't all the "family values" people be able to talk with immigration activists who want immigrant families to stay together? <br />
<br />
Shouldn't the big agri-businesses who want more access to temporary/seasonal workers be able to talk to folks seeking worker justice?<br />
<br />
Do we really want to be a country motivated by fear and xenophobia? Can people of faith really stay silent on this issue any longer? I think not, and I hope not.<br />
<br />
I'd love to engage in some conversation on this topic, so fire away.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-8716791120549523232013-12-20T07:59:00.001-06:002013-12-20T07:59:48.733-06:00O PhiliposPhilipos was a central character for awhile in my Classical Greek textbook in college. He got into all kinds of trouble, mostly by shirking responsibility. Many times, he was addressed with the vocative O Philipos.<div><br></div><div>I've spent the past couple of days thinking, "O Philipos" in response to Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame's GQ article. Facebook and Twitter are full of conversation, and my mind has been swirling a bit, so here are my thoughts.</div><div><br></div><div>Full disclosure: I've been a Duck Dynasty fan, and while not always appreciating some of the viewpoints expressed by the Robertson clan, I generally enjoy the show.</div><div><br></div><div>If I hear one more person use the term "free speech" inappropriately, I just might scream. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Free speech does not mean you get to say whatever the heck you want without facing any consequences.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Free speech protects us from government censorship or jailing or various other government reactions. Police are not breaking down the door of the Duck Commander factory. Free speech for Phil Robertson is intact. Free speech for A&E (now that corporations have free speech) is intact.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We shouldn't be shocked by the statements made by Phil Robertson. He's expressing a very common viewpoint about homosexuality that is shared by many conservative/evangelical Christians across the United States. My guess is that most people, especially church leaders, in his community interpret scripture to condemn homosexuality. I'm not justifying that, or agreeing with it. Anybody who has read this blog over the years knows that I get the most drive-by bloggers when I voice my support of marriage equality. I'm just saying we shouldn't shocked.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I've grown so, so, so tired of the "attack on Christianity" schtick. Why on earth wouldn't people be skeptical about and/or reject a Christianity that only gets really fired up when Christians in prominent positions face consequences for expressing prejudicial views? Seriously, if the only righteous indignation the Christian community is known for is related to protecting the rights of "Bible believing Christians" to bash on LGBQ folks, there is something seriously wrong. Christianity is fine. A&E will not bring the body of Christ in the world to its knees by suspending Phil Robertson. Oy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">By the way, why isn't there more press about Phil's comments about the Jim Crow south? That was ridiculous.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">My final thoughts are really addressed to Phil Robertson and other folks who are given a chance to speak publicly about their faith. O Philipos, do you really believe that homosexuality is the gravest of sins facing our world today? What about the imbalance of wealth in our country and around the world? What about the greed that leads to that imbalance? What about our failure as a nation to care for "the least of these"? What about increasing gun violence and no real efforts to curb it? </font><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> What about our failure to practice sabbath? You didn't expect me to finish with that one, did you? And yet, it pops up more than you might think in Deuteronomy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">OK, I've rambled on long enough. As always, I welcome any feeback.</span></div>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-74633173275648828932013-12-18T11:11:00.000-06:002013-12-18T11:11:11.450-06:00It's been awhileWithin the past few weeks, I've had numerous people note that I haven't blogged in a long time. "For seven years!" one person said. It looks more like a few months, but definitely not much in the past couple of years. Not to get too "meta" about it, but I appreciate my wife's question as to why it is I think I don't blog as much anymore. Here are some stabs at answering that question:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Last year I was blogging more for the campus ministry at Vanderbilt and Belmont. This year, that excuse has disappeared.</li>
<li>For a good bit of time after I left Harpeth Presbyterian Church, I was doing more personal journaling, and didn't have much energy left to reflect publicly on what was a painful time in my life.</li>
<li>Campus Ministry, even more than Youth Ministry (why I capitalized all that, I don't know), feels like an ongoing person-to-person blog most of the time. I'm engaging in meaningful conversations every day with folks who are seeking to deepen their faith and/or understanding. At the end of the day, I think I prefer to schedule that one more chat at a local coffee shop than compose a blog post that potentially nobody will read.</li>
<li>It's possible that I blogged more during times when I felt isolated or alone, and when I feel more connected to my fellow human beings, I feel less need to broadcast.</li>
<li>I preach every week now, so I think a good bit of my creative energy goes into that endeavor. </li>
</ul>
So, there are some brief thoughts as to why I haven't blogged much in the past couple of years. <br />
<br />
All of that being said, I think I have the thought, "Now that's a bloggable moment/topic/issue," two or three times a day. It is my hope that in the new year, I will re-engage with this blog and with the UKIRK blog and invite folks to engage with me as well.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-19530097863516092562013-08-12T18:05:00.002-05:002013-08-12T18:05:24.731-05:00Inspiration at The Wild Goose FestivalThat's right, folks, I am just back from four days of hanging out with other justice-oriented followers of Jesus at <a href="http://wildgoosefestival.org/" target="_blank">The Wild Goose Festival</a> in Hot Springs, NC. Among other highlights, I particularly enjoyed hearing from Nadia Bolz-Weber, Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, and Vincent Harding. As always, the speakers at such an event challenge me to think about "doing church" in new ways. My hope is to post a few blog posts over the coming weeks in response to some of the talks I heard.<br />
<br />
For now, I'd like to reflect a bit on a talk that my wife and I attended entitled <i>The Worst of the Scriptures: Why We Should Read It and What We Can Learn From It</i>. The speaker was a woman by the name of <a href="http://wildgoosefestival.org/amy-yoder-mcgloughlin" target="_blank">Amy Yoder McGloughlin</a> who did a wonderful job of addressing the many and varied issues found in the disturbing words of Judges 19-20. She challenged us to consider why the church avoids such disturbing stories in worship and in educational settings, especially when stories in the news of the contemporary world sometimes parallel such atrocities. Conversations like that one remind me to not spend so much time on the questions of "Did it happen?" but rather to ask "Does it happen?" In the case of mob violence, rape, torture, retributive violence, the answer to all is, "Yes, it does happen." While not taking any definitive stand, Amy at least invited those assembled to think seriously about texts in which violence (especially retributive violence) is chalked up to the command/desire/will of God, and to reject those who use such texts to justify their own violent behavior.<br />
<br />
While the workshop didn't really go there, my wife and I left that small tent by the French Broad River feeling more sure than ever that the current Revised Common Lectionary needs serious attention. While I know there is a movement afoot to add a fourth year, I somehow doubt that stories such as those found at the end of Judges made the cut for the fourth year. If there is to be a churchwide emphasis on truth telling, it makes one wonder just how far to take a lectionarial revolution.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-5100180030052722302012-09-29T09:44:00.000-05:002012-09-29T09:44:31.304-05:00"Politics in the pulpit"These words mark the header in the "The U.S. at a glance..." section of this week's issue of The Week Magazine (a great way to get your news in a quickly digestable form). Apparently a group of pastors who are part of a group called Alliance Defending Freedom (whatever that means) plan to endorse political candidates from their pulpits on October 7th, and then send videos of said endorsements to the IRS, basically daring them to remove their tax exempt status.<br />
<br />
I hope the IRS throws the book at them, and I don't want to hear anything about how oppressed Christians are in our hedonistic culture, blah, blah, blah. The law is clear. Churches and other non-profits are exempt from paying any income tax or sales tax as long as they don't endorse particular candidates. Throw the book at 'em.<br />
<br />
Are you telling me that there aren't enough major issues facing the world today that those preachers could preach about? <br />
<br />
Besides all the legal stuff, to stand in the pulpit and endorse a human candidate for office smacks of idolatry and lack of faith to me. As Christians, we are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom or Realm of God, not the United States of America. The voice of the prophet is one who calls us to follow the ways of God, especially as we witness God's actions in Jesus Christ. To do otherwise is an abuse of the privilege granted to those of us who dare to stand behind a pulpit (or music stand in some cases).<br />
<br />
Open questions to those pastors: In whom does your faith lie? Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-43894492653483249792012-08-23T10:29:00.000-05:002012-08-23T10:29:27.212-05:00A week of atonementThis week is brought to you by <i>A Better Atonement</i>.<br />
<br />
This post is inspired by three things:<br />
<ul>
<li>Listening to an episode (Hunger Games and A Better Atonement) of the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/homebrewed-christianity-tnt/id496117868?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank">Theology Nerd Throwdown</a> podcast produced by the guys over at <a href="http://homebrewedchristianity.com/" target="_blank">Homebrewed Christianity</a> in which they interview Tony Jones about his book <i>A Better Atonement</i>.</li>
<li>Thusly reading Tony Jones book <i>A Better Atonement</i> (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Better-Atonement-Depraved-Doctrine-ebook/dp/B007MD0AK8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345735704&sr=8-1&keywords=better+atonement" target="_blank">e-book on Amazon for 2.99 or free for prime members</a>). </li>
<li>Attending an event advertised as a worship service.</li>
</ul>
Within the podcast and in his book, Tony Jones offers wonderful, articulate, valid critiques of many traditional theories of atonement, especially Penal Substitution Atonement (PSA). Basically, he challenges his readers to consider alternative ways of explaining just what meaning we make out of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'll let you check him out to learn more.<br />
<br />
Then, I attended an event advertised as a worship service. It consisted of standing in a room with a band leading us in song for over an hour. Two scripture passages were read that were seemingly unrelated to any of the songs we were singing, and no attempt to expound on said scripture was made. Practically every song promoted PSA (you know, Jesus took the blame, God's wrath is satisfied, Jesus-you're awesome because you died for me), or talked about elevating God above everything else, or threw around holy, worthy, and glorious so much they lost all meaning. To be fair, we did sing Be Thou My Vision, and My Hope is Built on Nothing Less. The final hymn to go home on was How Deep the Father's Love For Us (<a href="http://www.ap0s7le.com/list/song/28/Stuart_Townend/How_Deep_The_Father%27s_Love_For_Us/" target="_blank">find the lyrics here</a>) in which we are reminded of our wretchedness, our blame for the crucifixion, and about the unspecified reward we have received because of the gruesome event of the cross. <br />
<br />
I left feeling convicted that there is a great need to introduce people, through song, liturgy, and preaching to alternative views of the incarnational event and thus the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
I found myself wondering if God might actually be a bit embarrassed by some of the so-called praise songs that are sung in God's name. Does God delight in "Our God is greater, our God is stronger<br />
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God..."? What happened to Christ being found in the least of these? Does God want us to sing about how wretched we are to God except for Jesus changing the channel with the cross?<br />
<br />
To quote Tony Jones as he addresses those who claim the wrath of God: "So it seems odd to first have to convince people that God's wrath burns against them, then to convince them that Jesus lovingly took on that wrath."<br />
Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-84802130320008278512012-08-07T10:09:00.000-05:002012-08-07T10:09:36.130-05:00Just like the movie DaveTis the season for children to buy notebooks, pencils, erasers, and Trapper Keepers (OK, maybe not anymore) in preparation for the return to school. Working parents breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their children will be in school for the bulk of the day, while stay-at-home parents make plans to put the house back together after a summer of good times.<br />
<br />
Well, this isn't the case in Sumner County, TN. The school board submitted their annual budget to the county commissioners, and they waited until the week before school to say, "Nope. You need to do it again, and this time cut 7.5 million dollars." They did this after asking for similar cuts for the past few years. The school board pushed back and said they are already running at minimum capacity and that further cuts will adversely affect education of students. Currently, school is on hold while the school board and county commissioners try to work out a deal.<br />
<br />
And now I'll get to the title of this post. I have become utterly convinced that many Americans, especially the Tea Party, No More Taxes, and No Big Government types think that all government agencies, including school boards just need to call in somebody's loveable family accountant to look at the budget and find all of the ridiculous spending that's clearly ridiculous and wrong headed. This happens in the movie Dave, starring Kevin Cline, and he's able to find 10 million dollars or so in the budget to fund a a program for needy children. <br />
<br />
Here's the problem, though. That's hollywood and this is the real world. I would imagine that if the loveable family accountant were to sit down with the school board and work through their budget, he/she wouldn't find much that's clearly ridiculous. The county commissioners suggested lowering teacher pay. Seriously? Because they're really raking it in. Somehow we're all fans of eliminating teacher tenure and placing government mandated restrictions on what they teach and how they teach, while also placing a cap on how much they get paid, and yet when one makes the exact same argument for running health care that way, people throw a total hissy fit. Let's compare the rhetoric surrounding health care and education:<br />
<br />
Health Care:<br />
"Nobody will want to be a doctor if you limit pay. We have to pay the most money possible to get the best possible candidates!" "I don't want a gu-ment bean counter controlling my health care!" "Rationing health care is bad."<br />
<br />
Education:<br />
"We need to get a handle on what those public schools are teaching our kids." "Being a teacher is a calling...they should understand that we can't afford to pay them very much." "Make due with limited resources and outdated equipment/books/supplies"<br />
<br />
OK, I'm about to seriously go on a rant, so I'll wrap it up for now. I would simply love for some logical consistency as people make their arguments for or against the role of government in society.<br />Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-88162879891390366822012-05-08T09:07:00.001-05:002012-05-08T09:07:18.211-05:00Atonement vs. Reconciliation<br /><br /><br />Today's Daily Lectionary reading from the Old Testament is Leviticus 16:20-34 in which instructions continue for how Aaron, as the priest of the Israelites, will deal with the sins of the people. This is where the practice of the "scape goat" is established. I've been using the newly published Common English Bible for my daily scripture reading/prayer time, and I am often pleasantly surprised by the choices made by the translators. For example, verse 30 reads, "On that day reconciliation will be made for you in order to cleanse you. You will be clean before the Lord from all your sins." In the NRSV, the word is atonement, not reconciliation. As the passage continues, Aaron continues to make reconciliation instead of atonement. <br /><br />To my knowledge, this translation is the result of the input of many scholars from varied traditions, and they claim to be making an effort at an accurate, readable translation. When they vary from the Greek or Hebrew, they note that (unlike the NIV which just changes it). While some Hebrew scholars might take issue with reconciliation as a substitute word for atonement, I think it's a wonderful move. It implies the healing of an ongoing relationship rather than the payment of some debt owed. I wonder how different discussions of salvation and the removal of sins might be if we rooted ourselves in the word reconciliation instead of atonement.<br /><br />For additional reading, check out Tony Jones blog series on rethinking atonement: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/tag/atonement/">Tony Jones Atonement</a><br />Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-59354338449453300792011-11-03T08:43:00.002-05:002011-11-03T09:10:31.699-05:00Sow it on the MountainI'm currently reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Born to Run</span> by Christopher McDougall. <br /><br />As a side note, I was able to download it for free to the Kindle app from my public library for three weeks. Technology can be so cool.<br /><br />As McDougall meanders through stories of ultramarathoners and other long distance running junkies, he circles, time and again, through the notion that the great runners simply love running and find joy in its simplicity. So far, the people highlighted seem less concerned with all the physical/technical aspects of running. They simply love running and find it to be a great adventure. They also tend to be adverse to promoting themselves, and often go out of their way to lift up other runners.<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago, I attended a joint middle school and senior high choir concert. The middle schoolers sang Sow It On the Mountain with the following lyrics:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chorus</span><br />Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley<br />Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley<br />Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley<br />You’re gonna reap just what you sow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Verse One</span><br />If you’re feeling lonely,<br />Won’t you be a friend to someone? (3x)<br />You’re gonna reap just what you sow!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Verse Two</span><br />If you’re feeling hungry,<br />Won’t you share your bread with someone? (3x)<br />You’re gonna reap just what you sow!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Verse Three</span><br />If you’re feeling weary,<br />Won’t you lend a hand to someone? (3x)<br />You’re gonna reap just what you sow!<br /><br />Somehow, those lyrics find their way into my consciousness as I'm reading Born to Run. Many of the stories so far take place in the mountains, so that has something to do with it, but it's more than that. These runners are sowing seeds of peace and joy as they run, and then then reap those seeds in other areas of their lives.<br /><br />Many times, I find running serves a similar function in my life. When I feel particularly stressed or bound up about something, I like to lace 'em up and head out for an hour of simply putting one foot in front of the other. I typically spend the first mile or two mulling over the pressing issues, but as time goes by, the wide open sky forces my mind to let go of whatever issue/situation is pressing in on me, and as time goes on, I find myself having big thoughts and exploring lofty dreams. I feel myself loosen up physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is often the peace I experience on a 5-miler that carries through to my day to day engagement with the world.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-37926036943644140972011-10-13T18:01:00.002-05:002011-10-13T18:10:36.341-05:00Reading Presbyterians TodayI'm finally catching up on reading the last few issues of Presbyterians Today, which sounds like a daily paper, but isn't. The July/August issue cover touted stories about High Tech High Touch Finding the Balance. Amidst well-written articles by Kathy Wolf Reed about the use of technology in our congregations and Cary Estes about how to reflect creation care in our church facilities, I found an article entitled "Virtual World Congregation." This article takes a look at 1st Presbyterian Church of Second Life (1PCSL), an online worshipping community. I was intrigued by the various comments offered by those who participate in this community. It made me wonder if this kind of virtual worshipping community might be a forecast of things to come, and if it is, I wonder how those of us in professional ministry might adjust our thinking and practice when it comes to leading congregations.<div><br /></div><div>At a recent meeting of the Committee on Theological Education (COTE), we discussed many issues facing theological education both in seminaries and in the church at large, and while distance learning came up, I don't recall anyone talking about virtual community. It seems that we might need to encourage seminaries to take a serious look at how our traditional models of theological education come to bear on the non-geographical, non-physical, probably non-denominational world of Second Life and similar online communities. </div><div><br /></div><div>For now, I think I'll make an attempt to explore this online worshipping community and find out how it might feed my own need for spiritual nourishment.</div>Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-60663844803394493782011-10-10T13:23:00.002-05:002011-10-10T13:31:13.948-05:00A ridiculous Jesus Is My Boyfriend songI was cruising along with the windows down on this beautiful fall day here in Middle Tennessee, scanning the radio for fun music, when I came across a peppy little tune I knew I had heard before. As the girl with Colbie Callet type voice began singing, I remembered that the song is entitled "Hold Me" and the girl singing was Jamie Grace. I think this song wins the prize for the most blatant "Jesus Is My Boyfriend/I wrote a peppy romantic song and decided to make it about Jesus to make a profit off the Christian market" song I've ever heard. Some sample lyrics:<br /><br />I’ve had a long day, I just wanna relax<br />Don’t have time for my friends, no time to chit-chat<br />Problems at my job, wonderin’ what to do<br />I know I should be working but I’m thinking of You and<br />Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down<br />That’s when Your smile comes around<br /><br />Oh, I love the way You hold me, by my side You’ll always be<br />You take each and every day, make it special in some way<br />I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I’ll always be<br />You take each and every day, make it special in some way<br />I love You more than the words in my brain can express<br />I can’t imagine even loving You less<br />Lord, I love the way You hold me<br /><br />And the sappy love song, oops, I mean praise, no wait, sappy love song goes on and on. I don't really have time to get into a long tirade about why I dislike using contemporary romantic imagery to discuss one's relationship with God, but I'd like to go on the record as saying this song is utterly and completely ridiculous.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-54844075995221522022011-05-03T16:05:00.002-05:002011-05-03T16:17:32.622-05:00Efficiency in the church"We take a task that we could simply pay someone to do, and we divide it into fifteen parts so that everyone has a job. Is it efficient? No. Not if all you care about is getting the job done. But in the church we should care less about getting the job done and more about the people doing it. We are not in the efficiency business. We are in the business of making disciples."<br />--Page 116 in <span style="font-style: italic;">This Odd and Wondrous Calling</span> by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver<br /><br />I came across these words during my weekly restorative reading time yesterday. Thanks to Lillian Daniel for offering such wonderful insight. I remember, as a youth, serving on the National Presbyterian Youth Ministry Committee (yes, the name was too long) and wondering if the process of bringing together a youth and adult from every Synod in our denomination for an annual meeting for four days was the most efficient/helpful/productive way of "doing youth ministry" for the <a href="http://www.pcusa.org">PCUSA</a>. I've had similar thoughts while sitting in planning team meetings for the <a href="http://www.montreat.org">Montreat Youth Conferences</a>. Over time, I've come to understand that efficiency wasn't the only priority. The leaders of those groups also prioritized leadership training, spirit-led group process, hearing many voices, and bringing people together who might otherwise never meet, just to name a few.<br /><br />In my current context as a pastor in a local parish, I sometimes wonder if we might be more efficient if we got a handful of like-minded, passionate, hard-working folks together and made all the decisions. We might be, but we would miss out on the voices of those with whom we disagree or who simply has the church-life-transforming idea bubbling up inside of them. <br /><br />As I reflect on the biblical witness, it doesn't appear as if God always chose the most efficient people or methods:<br /><ul><li>Was building an ark and gather animals all that efficient?</li><li>Moses had a speech impediment</li><li>40 years wandering in the wilderness. I mean, come on!</li><li>King David was kind of a runt and "ruddy faced"</li><li>On the heels of Lent and Good Friday, I wonder how "efficient" the passion narrative and cross of Jesus were.</li></ul>So, maybe we can let go of efficiency the next time we walk into a church meeting and reflect more on making disciples.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-52109348263876790422011-04-27T16:10:00.002-05:002011-04-27T16:17:39.387-05:00Invisible Realities"Our worship is often centered on the expectation that our words will change things. Our liturgies remind us of invisible realities that may not be clear in our ordinary lives but become apparent when we gather together." Carol Howard Merritt, <span style="font-style: italic;">Reframing Hope</span><br /><br />These are beautiful words about the power of the language we use in worship. To be reminded of those invisible realities of grace, mercy, compassion, etc. each week is powerful. <br /><br />I wonder why some of those invisible realities are only made apparent when we gather together.<br />I wonder why we walk out the door, get into a conversation about where to have lunch, and quickly forget about all that was present in the liturgy.<br />I wonder why our refrigerators aren't more full of bulletin clippings<br />I wonder how much more extra-ordinary our lives would be if we made those invisible realities more front and center in our minds each day.<br /><br />Finally, I wonder if anybody even notices the extra-ordinary language of liturgy.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-31643172251907719082011-04-26T16:33:00.001-05:002011-04-26T16:33:56.282-05:00Thoughts on Rob BellIt's been at least two weeks since I went to hear Rob Bell speak at Belmont, but I just finished his book, Love Wins, last week, so his words are still rattling around in my brain. Here are some thoughts from the night I heard him speak:<br /><br />Kung Fu Commentary: While talking about the discussions that often ensue among pastors and in some Sunday school classes, Rob used the term "Kung Fu Commentary." I sometimes catch myself in the midst of an explanation realizing that I've dissected somebody's question in a hundred different ways, and then I wonder if I've been helpful at all. I also wonder if so many sermons in mainline churches sound like Kung Fu Commentary? I'd also like to see a move with that title.<br /><br />"For it to be real, you have to own it. For it to be authentic, you may have to wrestle with it." While I don't remember what "it" Rob was talking about, I like these words. There are plenty of platitudes that we "Christian" folks like to throw around, but I wonder how many of us actually take the time to wrestle with our theological platitudes so that they become authentic to who we are and how we see the world. <br /><br />"The thoughts come in a certain rhythm." When asked about the format of his books, particularly all the white space, Rob said that he formats the book to match the rhythm that his thoughts take. It makes me wonder about how I write. Instead of simply hitting the space bar twice after each thought, maybe I ought to be hitting the hard return.<br />Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-80515064401682641412011-04-15T18:09:00.000-05:002011-04-15T18:19:04.773-05:00Evolution instead of a floodThis afternoon I joined a group of Harpeth Youth for coffee and muffins. <br /><br />As a side note, while we were there, Brad Paisley walked in. His producer, Frank Rogers, is a church member, so as they were leaving I made sure to get his attention. One of the girls with me went ahead and greeted Brad as well. Good times.<br /><br />The topic of conversation for today's coffee meeting was the authority of Scripture, not that the youth would have said that. "We talked about whether the Bible is true" is probably the report they gave their parents. As were were talking about how we understand Scripture and how we seek to interpret it for our lives today, the topic of evolution came up, as it inevitably does when I have this conversation with youth. In the midst of that conversation, Cayla Jones, a sophomore, said something like, "I see evolution as God's way of changing everything instead of using the flood to wipe everything out and start over." Now, I imagine somebody has made similar theological statements, but I thought that was a pretty cool idea, that God, following the flood, would find another way to bring about change in the world. There's no doubt that humanity continues to find ways to mess up God's plan, but maybe nature is right on track. In any case, I wanted to give Cayla props for offering a great idea and making me see things in a new way.<br />Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-6082681324498660162011-04-09T19:52:00.003-05:002011-04-09T20:05:47.304-05:00Nice Weather and Summer MemoriesYesterday evening I was driving home from work with the windows down, and I got a whiff of diesel fumes. I know that for most people that wouldn't be such an enjoyable experience, but it immediately took my mind to the summers of 1997 and 1998 when I stood around buses and trucks while marching with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. I'm sure fellow drum corps folks will attest to the powerful ability of diesel fumes to transport them to some random parking lot in Anywhere, USA.<br /><br />For the sake of this post, though, I want to reflect on the thoughts that quickly followed my nostalgia for the wonderful world of drum corps. I remember sitting in some high school gym on a rainy day near the end of pre-tour rehearsals and somehow "realizing" that I was about to be a part of that 49th iteration of The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. At that moment I was mindful of the thousands of young men who had gone before me, and was full of excitement to join the stream. I had the privilege of being a part of that particular present. As we marched around that summer, the performances of Cavaliers past set the foundation, and yet they had no bearing on how we 128 young men would come together in those summer months.<br /><br />For a variety of reasons, those two summers with The Cavaliers reflected very purposeful times in my life. The particular present I was called to embody was clearly set forth by the routines, goals, and rituals of the organization of which I was a part. I awoke each day knowing what I was there to do.<br /><br />It isn't always so clear in the "real world," though, is it? We find ourselves pulled in so many different directions. Mindfulness of the presence gives way to analyzing the past and making plans for the future. We are at once a part of so many organizations or groups of people who vie for our attention and focus. <br /><br />You will never hear me say that drum corps was "easy," but I do think there was a simplicity to that life that adds to the nostalgia. I imagine we all have our days when moving to a monastery or cloister sounds quite nice. I wonder, though, if we might find ways to simplify, even in the midst of our daily lives. I wonder if we might take opportunities each and every day to pay attention to the particular present to which we have been called.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149492.post-90540713212092776802011-04-07T17:02:00.003-05:002011-04-07T17:24:33.669-05:00Much to think about latelyHow is it possible that I haven't published a blog post since November of 2010? I apologize to anybody who's still keeping an eye on this thing. I've had a number of opportunities lately to hear great speakers or read great stuff, so for the next few days my goal is to share some reflections.<br /><br />YCHRCH<br />This was an event sponsored by the <a href="http://www.coyammidtn.org">College and Young Adult Ministries Unit</a> of my presbytery. We invited author Carol Howard Merritt to come and speak about her books <span style="font-style: italic;">Tribal Church</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Reframing Hope</span> in which she addresses the issues surrounding young adults and their participation in churches in the early part of this century. While I haven't read <span style="font-style: italic;">Reframing Hope </span>yet, I thoroughly enjoyed <span style="font-style: italic;">Tribal Church</span> and every young adult I speak to who reads it says that it's "spot on" in describing their experience of the church. While I'm not going to summarize the book here, I do want to share a thought she offered during her time at YCHRCH that was particularly meaningful, in my opinion.<br /><br />During a discussion of social media, Carol took issue with the prevailing idea that those who blog, twitter, or use facebook are simply narcissistic fame-seekers. Instead, she talked about how she used to join her Mother and Aunt on the back porch to help in the preparation of fresh vegetables for cooking. Actually, as I've thought about this, I may have translated her words into my own memories of sitting on the back porch of my grandparents' house with my own Mom and Grandma. Anyway, she recalled the stories that her Mom and Aunt would tell about their lives, and how great that was for a child to hear. Then, as time marched on and air conditioning became more prevalent, as well as cable television, the chores moved indoors in front of a television. At that point, her Mom and Aunt let the professionals of TV tell the stories. As Carol watches her nieces and nephews now, they sit around together with laptops and smartphones, and, as she posits, they seek to reclaim the role of story-teller. I think the idea of blogs, twitter feeds, and facebook status updates as taking back the story from the professional media is quite wonderful. Instead of lecturing the youth and young adults of our churches about the harmful effects of all that faceless social media, maybe we could be inviting them to share more and to help us reclaim the story of our communities. Maybe the cyber-voices of young people with their consistent insistence on narratives of hope, acceptance, love, and compassion are re-shaping the world around us. Maybe our church websites could be less full of calendars and staff directories and instead contain more story-telling by saints of all ages.<br /><br />In the days to come, thoughts and reflections on what I heard from Rob Bell at Belmont University this past week.Alan Bancrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134303488661330868noreply@blogger.com0