Out the Door

Too Much Head Knowledge

I just finished the first draft of my sermon for Sunday.  The second in a 3 part series on The Da Vinci Code.  I've been left feeling more like a professor and not a preacher.  My preach is usually aimed at the heart.  It is from the heart that faith flows.  This sermon is any but a heart bound message.

The information I'm sharing I think is important.  Christian need to understand why we believe what we believe.  Perhaps my discomfort comes from my personality type.  I'm a INFP for you Meyers-Briggs fans.  Going with my gut is much more comfortable to me than trying to logically think things through.  And at time I really do try to be somewhat logically.  I make lists of the pros and cons, but inevitably go with what feels right and what is most rational.

I suppose this can drive some people crazy.  They want the facts, "put it down in black and white."  Well, I guess that's what I'm doing with this series of sermons.  Hopefully, they will help somebody.

All Church Garage Sale

Saturday our congregation is holding an all church garage sale to raise money for the Habitat for Humanity house we're helping to build.  Yesterday a bunch of people were in the Fellowship Hall setting up tables and arranging the merchandise. 

I find it intriguing what people put out for sale.  I mean, who wants Tupperware containers without lids.  Doesn't everybody already have a cupboard full of those already.  I think Tupperware and sock manufacturers are part of conspiracy to drive people crazy and take over the world.  But that's another topic.

The key to a successful garage sale is to always remember that one person's trash is another one's treasure.  I suspect what I think is "junk" is just the thing someone else is looking for.  Who can figure out human behavior?

I will admit that there are some pretty nice things, some which are brand new.  There's one men's shirt that's marked, "wife bought, never been worn."  I think I've got some like those in my closet and I know my wife has clothes I've brought for her that never had the tags taken off them.

I guess more than anything else what catching my eye is how much "stuff" we all seem to accumulate.  When we left Storm Lake as I began seminary, we loaded everything we owned into a couple of pickups and a small stock trailer.  Now we could fill a semi-trailer.  Are we happier because of all the stuff we acquired over the years?  I don't think so. 

I keep thinking I need to simplify my life, but boy I sure have a hard time ridding myself of things.  But you can help.  Anybody need some lidless Tupperware or a couple dozen mismatched socks?

PS:  Everything that doesn't sell at the sale is going to be donated to Goodwill.  One way or another we're going to get rid of it.

The Chief Benefit of The Da Vinci Code

Just out of curiosity I googled "The Da Vinci Code" and came up with 27+million hits.  Everybody and their dog are talking about it right now. 

When I preached about it on Sunday, I got several "deer in the headlights" looks from people who were obviously questioning why I was talking about a novel.  That all changed when I mentioned that between our two worship services I was at our coffee house and a community member walked in.  When she learned what we were discussing, her first comment was, "Well, of course Jesus was married.  He was a Jewish rabbi."  People couldn't believe that someone would actually believe the claims found in The Da Vinci Code.

I wonder how many other people have bought into Dan Brown's theology?  I think we'd all be amazed at the number. 

It's so easy to assume that since we live in a "Christian nation," as some claim (I'm not one of them) that everyone has a Biblical worldview.  Tain't so.  Perhaps this will be the greatest benefit The Da Vinci Code provides to the American church.  Maybe people will finally begin to see the truth, that we are not a Christian nation and that the majority of Americans can describe who Jesus is in ways which are not Biblical.

Once the cloak of a "Christian nation" is removed, perhaps the Church will get serious about proclaiming Jesus Christ and him crucified.  Wouldn't that be something!?!

Sermon: Decoding the Da Vinci Code: Part 1

The Da Vinci Code has become a cultural phenomenon.   The characters in the story make numerous claims about the history and beliefs of the Christian Church.  In this three part series, Pastor John will examine and challenge a number of these claims.

Download or listen to: Decoding the Da Vinci Code: Part 1

Reconstruction of Iraq

I happened to catch a little of a program on the History Channel this morning on the occupation of Germany following the allied victory in WW II.  Even after the Nazis were defeated, there were repeated attacks against the allied forces.  These were dealt with very harshly.  The Americans lined up guerrillas before a firing squad.  The British beheaded the resisters.  The French leveled a city with artillery.  The Soviets rounded up 200 male residents of a city and had them shot.  Thousands of German officers and Nazi officials were imprisoned.  Even with these inhuman responses, attacks against the occupying forces continued for three years after the downfall of the Nazi party.  What really grabbed my attention was when the narrator said that it took ten years for democracy to be established in West Germany. 

The program went on to make comparisons with the defeat Sadaam Hussein and the occupation of Iraq.  That got me thinking, if it took ten years to build a democracy in Germany following about 10 years of dictatorship, how long will it take to build one in Iraq after 40 years of dictatorship?

I see the response of the majority of Americans to the occupation of Iraq as yet another contrast between "the greatest generation" and my own.  Americans today have come to expect immediate results.  For many three years is far too long to wait for the radical changes needed in Iraq to take place.  We have failed to learn the lessons of history, our own as well as other democracies, that freedom from tyranny is a slow and difficult process.

Will Iraq be able to establish and maintain a democratic form of governance?  I don't know.  I'm am pretty well convinced that it will take longer than most of us are willing to wait.

The Power of Story

     I appreciate all the positive feedback I’ve received following the portrayal of Peter which I did on Easter Sunday.  It’s been considerably more than what I usually receive.  I’m not quite sure what to make of that fact.  I don’t know whether it means that the portrayal was that extraordinary or if anything would be better than one of my regular sermons?!?

Seriously, though, I think what it really means is that there is power in stories.  We western world Christians have too often diluted the scriptures into a series of principles; “do these things and you’ll be happy, wealthy and wise.”  And while there are certainly principles for life found in the Bible, the scriptures are made up primarily of stories.

It is stories which define who we are and how we live.  If you ask me to tell you something about myself, I could say, “I’m six feet tall.  I have blue eyes.  I have brown hair and a beard.”  I have truthfully told you something about me, but you could not say you really knew me.  We can’t know other people until we know the stories of their lives.  It’s the same with God.
Getting to know God requires we know God’s stories.  That’s one of the reasons the Jewish people have celebrated Passover for thousands of years.  In the Passover celebration the story of God’s deliverance is retold.  Through that story, God’s people come to know who God is.  Jesus was a supreme storyteller.  His primary of teaching was telling stories (parables).

My portrayal of Peter was nothing more than a story told in the first person.  The way it touched people demonstrates the power of story.

What’s really incredible is that the power of story is being discovered by people one would not normally think of when talking about stories.  Daniel Pink in A Whole New Mind (one of the best books I’ve read in a long time) devotes an entire chapter on how businesses and other institutions are using stories to help them achieve their goals.  Pink quotes Dr. Howard Brody, a family practice physician:

Stories—that’s how people make sense of what’s happening to them when they get sick.  They tell stories about themselves.  Our ability as doctors to treat and heal is bound up in our ability to accurately perceive a patient’s story.

So what’s your story?  And in particular, what’s your God story?  Find somebody to tell your story to this week and watch what happens.

Decoding the Da Vinci Code

I'm getting ready to do a series of sermons addressing some of the claims Dan Brown makes in The Da Vinci Code.  It's been a real learning experience for me.  I've long been aware of the gnostic gospels, but have never spent much time reading them.  In order to speak to the claims of the Code, I've had to investigate some of the origins of these claims.

While this is still a work in progress, I have narrowed the questions I plan to address somewhat.

• Did Jesus have to be married to be considered a "good" Jew?
• Is it possible that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene?
• Who exactly is Mary Magdalene?
• What really was Mary Magdalene's role in spreading the gospel?
• Why aren't the accounts of the gospel recorded in writings other than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John credible?
• How did the New Testament canon come to be?

Are there other questions you think should be answered, based on your reading of the Code?

Post Easter Letdown

Every year right after Easter, I experience an emotional letdown.  The last few weeks have been filled to overflowing and it's been three weeks since the last time I've had a full day off.  I'm not complaining, just explaining my situation.

Like most pastors, I invest a lot of energy into making Holy Week services extra special.  These are extra special days and they deserve this attention.  But when it's over, I end up feeling like Superman in the presence of kytonite.  I wish I had something witty or passionate to say.  It's just not happening.

Keep me and all pastors in your prayers, so that having been poured out we might be refilled by the Spirit.

Sermon: Who Will Sing Now?

The crowds of Jerusalem joyfully sang Jesus' praises on Palm Sunday and laid palm branches and their cloaks before him.  But by Friday, the palm branches were trampled under anger feet, and the songs of praise were now shouts of curses.  So who will sing now?  That's the question for this Palm Sunday.

Listen to or Download "Who Will Sing Now?"

Holy Week stress

I really shouldn't be writing this.  But I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the things I have to get done in the next four days.  I find that when there's so much to do it's hard for me to stay focused on any one thing for very long.  Writing this is a case in point.

I'm not really sure why I'm feeling all that stressed.  There's just a few details I have to finish up, like setting up for our Holy Thursday Seder, preparing for our Good Friday Healing Service, and writing a sermon for Easter Sunday; piece of cake!

Actually, I've had much more demanding Holy Weeks.  One year while I was in seminary, between Palm Sunday and the Monday after Easter, I was involved in eleven different worship services in one way or another.  Good thing we always had Holy Week off from classes. 

So hey, what's four in four days?  Enough so you probably won't hear from me again until next week.  I pray you will have a blessed Easter.

Christ is Risen!  He is risen, indeed!