Year: 2013

  • This Kept Me From Abandoning The Church

    crumbling church - cc- flickr - forsaken fotos

    Not so long ago I was ready to abandon the Church, at least in all its institutionalized forms.

    I had been hurt (no one’s fault but my own, really) and was confused by my “sense of call”. I couldn’t seem to get hired full-time at a church, even though I felt I had the skills and was being led that direction by God. Although it’s obvious to me now, I couldn’t understand why churches in my lifelong Christian denomination (Baptist) wouldn’t hire me. I came to faith in the Baptist church, was married in the Baptist church, and started my ministry in the Baptist church. It just turned out I wasn’t Baptist 😉

    After months of interviews and no progress, I decided to take a non-ministry position in Arizona. I saw it as a chance to start fresh and figure out where I belonged. Nothing stuck. It wasn’t that I was looking for a perfect congregation, but going back to the drawing board allowed me to see a fundamental unbalance in the Evangelical landscape. Everybody seemed to emphasize one pet doctrine or worship style at the expense of everything else.

    To make matters worse, my wife and I couldn’t find a spot where we were both comfortable committing to long-term. I contacted a local house-church I found online, explained my situation, and said we needed a place to figure out some things. I was hopeful because they seemed to want to move beyond institutionalism and focus on authentic community. They blew me off on the phone and never reached out again1.

    It was rough. I ached for a church home, and the fact that our search was causing some tension in our marriage only furthered my discouragement. I allowed my disappointment in the whole situation to turn to cynicism.  My wife kept searching though, and didn’t let me give up, even though I wanted to. I was basically done, but she coaxed me into visiting one more church, where we discovered something that was–to us–remarkable.

    Balance.

    We looked in the bulletin we were handed on the way in and discovered this church had a peculiar philosophy of ministry and worship. They called it “three streams” and put it in terms of being liturgical, charismatic, and evangelical.

    This idea of “three streams” Christianity has been vital for keeping me engaged with the Church, because it articulates exactly what I had been yearning and looking for, for so many years. It just makes sense:

    The Scripture – Our authoritative guide in faith

    The Sacramental – Our ancient practices and rhythms in faith

    The Spirit – Our peace and power in faith [source]

    In my own life, I’ve come to articulate this as being Catholic, Evangelical, and Charismatic. Each compliments the other and prevents excesses that are often identified in movements that focus on just one of these aspects of the Christian faith.

    How can we be reverent, enthusiastic, focused on mission, grounded in history, open to the Holy Spirit, and looking to the future, all at once and all the while staying centered on the Gospel?

    I think the balance lies in embracing the “Three Streams.”

    1. One merciful pastor at a local Lutheran church followed up with me, though, and offered to help me in my search, even if our family didn’t choose his church. He said the most important thing to do after a big move and lots of changes was to connect to a body of believers. I think I was too proud to take him up on his offer at that point in time, but I will always remember his kindness. ↩

  • Why I say I am a Catholic Christian

    It often surprises people when I describe myself as a Catholic Christian, because the association immediately goes to the Roman Catholic Church. In reality, Catholic is simply a word that means “universal,” and is particularly associated with the unity of the Church.

    Custom 800px-Basilica_of_the_Holy_Cross_(Aparan,_Armenia) Wikipedia

    One faith, one hope, one Lord, one baptism

    When, in the Apostle’s Creed, we say “I believe in the holy catholic church” we are saying that we believe fundamentally, the church is one. Political and secondary theological issues aside, there is a unity in our common, core confession of Christ that binds all Christians universally into one church. All Christians are part of one catholic Church in this sense and should be able to say this part of the Creed without feeling uncomfortable.

    There is another sense in which the word is used, however, and that is to refer to “the Catholic faith.”

    The faith once delivered

    Jesus gave special teaching authority to the Apostles, who in turn ordained and taught leaders in the church, who came to be called bishops. For one thousand years the Church existed in relative unity under the authority of bishops that came together in ecumenical councils–gatherings of church leaders that passed down what they received from the Apostles and hashed out the theological implications of the Apostolic witness. As challenges to the faith arose, these leaders articulated definitive summaries of the faith and issued theological statements as to how the Scriptures were to be interpreted and Christian worship ordered. The one Catholic Church existed in visible unity.

    In 1054 the Great Schism occurred between the East and the West, and with it the degradation of visible unity of the Church. Without a universally agreed-upon authority structure, truly ecumenical councils became impossible. By time the Protestant Reformation had run its course, there were many competing theologies, confessions, and particular churches.

    Nevertheless, some churches (while introducing and perhaps over-emphasizing secondary matters) remained faithful to the pre-Schism practice of the Catholic Church and the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils. This doctrine and practice together, once universally acknowledged by all orthodox Christians, are what we now call “the Catholic faith.”

    Today all orthodox Christians hold to at least part of the Catholic doctrinal tradition, which includes the doctrine of the Trinity, the dual nature of Christ as fully human and fully Divine, and the rejection of Pelagianism.

    In broad strokes, the core of Catholic faith may be said to include:

    • Recognition of the Bible as Holy Scripture
    • Leadership by bishops in apostolic succession (this means each bishop must trace his ordination back to the Apostles)
    • Recognition of the Seven Ecumenical Councils as authoritative in their theological statements
    • Acceptance of the Nicene Creed as a definitive statement of Christian orthodoxy
    • Worship that is liturgical/ceremonial and centers around Holy Communion
    • Sacramental theology that considers Holy Communion and Holy Baptism as real means of grace and signs of the New Covenant.

    Everywhere, always, and by all

    This is the Christ-centered and authoritative faith we see in a visibly united Catholic Church for one thousand years, illumined by the Holy Spirit as she met challenge after challenge. This Catholic faith has been faithfully passed from generation to generation in the Church from the most ancient times.

    In every place the the Gospel has been preached the Catholic faith has been believed, and it endures still to this day, with the majority of the world’s Christians (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and more) remaining steadfast in their witness to it as the truth. Historically it is certain that this is the faith of the early church and thus–I believe–that of the Apostles. This is important because if the Catholic faith is the faith of the Apostles, then it is the fullness of the truth from the Holy Spirit and carries the authority of Jesus.

    This is why I am a Catholic Christian.

    Further Reading:

  • My 3-Year-Old Son: “Daddy, can we help her?”

    We were driving to church; it was a fairly typical Sunday morning. I was thinking about new improvements to this site, the worship set I would be leading during the service, the new drum we’d bought to give some more energy to our acoustic sound. I was feeling a bit nervous about singing some fairly new songs and working with the drum for only the second time. It was a cold night for Phoenix the night before, down in the fifties. The morning air was still chill enough for me to start the heater in our car.

    I pulled up to a stoplight near Mountain View and 7th Street, the outskirts of one of the less great parts of central Phoenix. There is a large homeless population in this area that begs for money at lights while camping out at abandoned gas stations. Today a younger-than-normal blonde woman stood by the side of the road with the typical cardboard sign and grocery cart full of old clothes and bags. She stretched our her arm to wave, and I noticed her hands were dirty. She’d been on the street a while. She shuffled alongside the road, eyes tired and downcast.

    <img class=”size-medium wp-image-2716″ alt=”Appropriately, Jensen means “God is gracious.” Photo by Amber Joy Photography” src=”https://nathanrhale.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/a44e88770a.jpg” width=”300″ height=”279″ /> Appropriately, Jensen means “God is gracious.” Photo by Amber Joy Photography

    My three-year-old son Jensen asked–as he often–does, what her cardboard sign said. “It says she needs help,” I said, as I tried not to think about it too much. She probably got herself into this mess anyways…she has a sweatshirt on…it’s not too cold out…

    “Daddy?” he asked, “can we help her?”

    “Not today,” I replied, “we don’t have anything for her in the car right now.” After all, I didn’t have any cash in the car. I also knew that if I pulled over, I’d be late for church. And I needed to get there to make sure the new drum was set up and that we had the right songs to project on the screen.

    * * *

    In church, I felt like I should pray for this woman, and as I did so, I felt as if God just punched me in face. Repeatedly. I realized the depth of my sin and my brokenness in that moment.

    No I didn’t have cash, but I could’ve bought her a hot meal at a drive through. That would’ve meant I’d have been late to “worship” rehearsal though. Worship is way of life, Nathan. Not just three songs on Sunday morning. When. Will. You. Get It?

    Oh, and I did have something for her in the car. Bibles. Two or three, in fact. Purchased just to give away.

    I hesitated to give them to the homeless woman because I always like to provide some “practical” assistance (read: cash or food) along with them. Tangible assistance is absolutely important, of course, but in my mind my options were limited to cash or food on hand, and I had neither of those so…Better for her to not receive a Bible at all than to get it with no money. Right.

    How little faith I have.

    How deep is my prejudice and dehumanization of those with less than me. I’d like to think I’m a compassionate, empathetic person, but I acted as if money is the solution to her problems. As if.

    As if a kind word, a smile, eye contact, a simple prayer and respect for another human being is worthless and wasted on this person if I can’t just throw some money at them.

    I preach about “Jesus is enough” all the time on this site and as part of other ministries. But this Sunday, Jesus wasn’t enough of a reason for me to pull over and show some kindness to someone in need.

    God I believe; help my unbelief.

    The truth? My lack of compassion was not enough for the homeless person on the corner. Me getting to church on time was not enough for her. Me ignoring God’s voice in the sincere desire of my little boy to help another human being was not enough.

    But Jesus really is enough. I had the opportunity to be the hands and feet and voice of Jesus, and I elected to take a pass.

    Christ, forgive my hardness of heart.

    Christ, have mercy on me.

  • Contentment Isn’t Just About Material Things

    emily hildebrand-cc-flickr

    I’ve been thinking this week a lot about contentment, and how I seem to focus on ridding myself of desires for material things. This is all well and good, after all the Bible tells us:

    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

    “The Lord is my helper;

    I will not fear;

    what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, ESV)

    Yet, we often forget to also cultivate contentment with our circumstances as well, not just our financial situation.

    You may be too busy, you may be in pain, you may be in a place you don’t want to be in, you may be dealing with an avalanche of relational issues and heartache. You may be facing slander or a scenario where it seems there is no good decision to be made.

    Can you and I be content, even in the midst of it all? 

    “…for those who love God all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

    Yes, because Jesus is present with and for us in every situation.

    And he is enough.

  • Why I Consider Myself Charismatic

    The Charismatic movement has been (often rightly) taken to task for excesses, abuses, and cultural flaws that obstruct the Gospel. Nevertheless the Charismatic renewal throughout the world has been in my estimation a mostly positive movement, and has given us a language and theology to describe the more experiential aspects of the Christian faith. Although in past I have been hesitant to use the label, I now embrace charismatic as a word that accurately describes one aspect of my faith practice. Here are three reasons I still consider myself a charismatic Christian:

    1) I believe in mystical experiencs and the value of contemplative practice. I believe that as result of the merits of Christ and gift of the Holy Spirit, it is possible and desirable for Christians to have direct, unmediated experiences of God. These kind of experiences include visions, dreams, “promptings,” and deepened awareness of the presence of and union with God. I also find great value in practicing the Spiritual Disciplines as means to strengthen my consciousness of the Divine and open myself to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit on my heart. Mystical experiences have been part of Christianity from the beginning–whole passages and books of the Bible were written as a result of such things. Many passages also detail the kind of direct experience I am talking about (cf. Acts 9:10, Acts 11:5, Rom. 8:16, Rom. 9:1, etc).

    2) I believe all of the biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to contemporary Christians. I am as-yet unconvinced that the so-called “sign gifts” of speaking in tongues (“private prayer language”) and prophetic speech (“words of knowledge”) and healing have ceased for any compelling theological reason. I know too many Godly, sane, people that have experienced these things to simply dismiss them as “emotionalism” or “a psychological phenomenon.” I see God using people with these gifts for his glory all over the world and in many corners of Christendom. (cf. 1 Cor. 14:5, Matt. 12:33, etc).

    3) I believe ritual can and should be infused with emotional response. A wonderful part of Charismatic culture is its emphasis on expressiveness in worship. Biblical worship is full of emotion (just see the Psalms!) including kneeling and raising hands, falling prostrate, clapping and shouting (cf. Ezra 5:9, Rev. 4:10, Psalm 47:1, etc). Yes, our corporate worship should be full of rich theological content, but that doesn’t mean it simply must be reserved in character. Proper reverence does not preclude an authentic response to the Holy Spirit that is deeply and openly heartfelt.

    Although I understand and appreciate the point of view of my ceasationist brothers and sisters (at one point I was very close to committing to the position), I cannot reconcile it with the Scriptures or the witness of the Church throughout history.

    The Holy Spirit continues his work now as he began it at the foundation of the world: revealing mysteries, changing hearts, healing the broken, and all to point to Jesus.

  • Give It All Up For This

    hungy

    To reach satisfaction in all
    desire its possession in nothing.

    To come to possess all
    desire the possession of nothing.

    To arrive at being all
    desire to be nothing.

    To come to the knowledge of all
    desire the knowledge of nothing.

    To come to the pleasure you have not
    you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.

    To come to the knowledge you have not
    you must go by a way in which you know not.

    To come to the possession you have not
    you must go by a way in which you possess not.

    To come to be that which you are not
    you must go by a way in which you are not.

    When you turn toward something
    you cease to cast yourself upon the all.

    For to go from all to the all
    you must deny yourself of all in all.

    And when you come to the possession of the all
    you must possess it without wanting anything.

    Because if you desire to have something in all
    your treasure in God is not purely your all.

    ~ John of the Cross

    Be hungry for God and nothing else. Find good in things not for their own sake, but because they express the goodness of God.

    Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39, ESV)

  • Don’t Just Stand There, PRAY!

    …confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16, ESV)

    You know the situation. You’re with a friend, also a believer, and they begin to confide in you. Things aren’t going as they hoped…maybe they’ve had a rough day, they’re concerned for the health of a loved one, or they’re facing a particularly tough decision.

    You offer some kind words of advice, the best stuff you can think up on the spot. Maybe you share a story about how you’ve gone through something similar. You do your best to sympathize, empathize, and encourage.

    Finally the conversation begins to wrap up, and you say, “I’ll be praying for you” and that’s that (if we’re honest with ourselves we might realize we often forget these promises).

    But what if that wasn’t the end? What if you made it your habit to vocalize your prayer, right then and right there?

    “Heavenly Father, thank you that are with my friend. Give them guidance in this situation, Lord. Protect them and reveal yourself to them by your Holy Spirit. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.”

    These short, sweet, to-the-point “in the moment prayers” are powerful! Not only do they help to keep you in the habit of praying without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17), but you let the person you’re speaking with know you’re serious about bringing their concerns before the Lord. I think making space in our day for these prayers honors our friends and God as an act of service and love.

    Honestly, I think our conversations and relationships would be transformed if we stopped talking about prayer so much, and started actually praying together like this more. When we come before God with a sincere heart, we tend to be open and vulnerable, which naturally strengthens trust between those praying together. Spontaneous prayer like this reminds us of the continual presence of God, and intentionally seeks him out in every situation.

    Don’t always wait until the end of your conversation to pray. Practice the presence of God by acknowledging and inviting him at the beginning.

    I’ll never forget when a good friend of mine introduced me to this practice by simply doing it…he just started praying right as we began our conversation! I had begun our talk by sharing about a choice I was having trouble with, and he immediately responded with something like this:

    “Heavenly Father thanks for being here with us. Help me to know how to help Nathan, and guide our conversation in a way that is pleasing to you.”

    What an encouraging, humbling way to focus our time together.

    So next time you have one of those conversations with a friend desperately in need of help that only God can give, don’t just stand there. Don’t simply talk about praying.

    Pray.

  • Reformation Day Shouldn’t Be a Celebration

    It’s not that I don’t recognize that the Church was in a rough spot in the Middle Ages.

    It’s not that I don’t admire the courage and tenacity of the Reformers in fighting for a faith that was closer to the Early Church that addressed abuses, un-Godly practices, and biblical illiteracy.

    But I can’t celebrate Reformation Day.

    I’m profoundly grateful for so many things that came out of the Reformation, like the beautiful English liturgy used by Anglicans, a rediscovery of the primacy of Scripture, the Authorized Version, and renewed focus on clergy formation through biblical training. God used the Reformation to bring light into places of darkness, to give the people of God worship in their own language and access to the Sacraments. Historic revival movements began, and many were willing to die and did for their stand for biblical, ancient, and Apostolic truth.

    Yes, God has used and continues to used the Reformation and its children, but the Christian Church has failed to really, truly reform from within. Instead the Reformers (sometimes against their will) had to separate themselves, forming new Churches. Ultimately new ecclessiologies developed that essentially gave the individual permission to break communion with other Christians and start their own semi-autonomous group if they are not in full doctrinal agreement.

    This has resulted in–over time–thousands of new competing versions of Christianity, all of which claim to be “the most true” based on sectarian readings of the Scriptures. Obviously, they cannot all be correct, yet division, anger, and disunity remain. Unity within diversity is possible and in fact exists as a result of our common confession of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet we do not exhibit it with our attitudes and actions.

    We refuse Holy Communion to those that differ with us on the exact nature of the Eucharistic mystery, we invalidate baptisms because of secondary issues of form, and there’s often not a sense of a hierarchy of truths. It seems as if some people all but explicitly say, “Either you agree me all the way, or God bless you, I hope you get to heaven but it’s not looking good.”

    What about authority? Many say they find it in the Bible, but in practice they find in themselves and their own judgement of the “plain and obvious meaning” of passages that have from the beginning been debated. Never mind that for most of these issues, an Undivided Church spoke with one authoritative voice–a voice most of us that identify as Evangelicals have largely forgotten or chosen to ignore.

    The divisions (not necessarily disagreements) that exist in the Church today damage the credibility of our witness to truth of Christ and stand in direct opposition to will of our Lord, that

    they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:21-23, ESV)

    It’s one thing to bear with one another, as the Scriptures teach, striving with zeal to “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…,” but too many Christians have stopped trying (Ephesians 4:12-13, ESV). Phrases like, “we’ll never be one visible church again this side of Jesus coming back” are thrown around with careless abandon. With Christ all things are possible and this is his desire for us. 

    Don’t shortchange the Holy Spirit.

    Reformation Day has become in many corners an excuse to celebrate caricature and delight in division instead of remembering God’s faithfulness to his church and pursuing unity in the Spirit. It’s time for Protestants to take the log out of our eye and get to work on being the Body of Christ.

    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6, ESV)

  • Gloria Patri – Original Acoustic Worship Song

    I was changing the strings on my guitar late at night and came up with this little chord progression to help sooth my kids to sleep. Started singing softly, and this is what came out! After they fell asleep, I set up a mic in the living room and pressed record.

    I’ve got one other song I’ve written (but not decently recorded) in a similar vein, so stay tuned for more like this in the future.

  • This is the Most Insanely Durable ESV Bible I’ve Seen

    I’ve been looking for a Bible that’s not too big or too small, but that’s rugged enough to take camping and traveling without a lot of worry. I’m definitely not going to take my super-nice ESV Legacy to the beach! The problem is that most Bibles just can’t stand up to dirt or moisture of any kind. The good news is that the ESV Waterproof Bible from Bardin Marsee Publishing isn’t most Bibles.

    My brother-in-law got me the ESV New Testament and Psalms with the camouflage cover (pictured). Excited and nervous, I decided to put the Bible to the test immediately. I unpackaged the Waterproof Bible and let my kids take it for a spin in the tub. Yes, you read correctly–I let my toddler and pre-schooler test the Bible in a bath full of soapy water.

    I was impressed that all I had to do was let the book dry for a few hours, and it was like new! I brought it in to the office the next day and my coworkers could hardly believe it had been practically immersed the night before.

    The secret is that the Waterproof Bible isn’t actually made out of paper, but rather plastic.

    The plastic pages make sure that water and mud are no problem. They are also quite tear-resistant, and completely opaque. You know how Bible paper is often annoyingly see-through? Not a problem with the ESV Waterproof Bible. In fact, this feature means the text is amazingly clear and easy to read (although it is in a two-column setting). You can even write in it with a pencil.

    The only real trade off here is that the pages in the Waterproof Bible are necessarily thick, so the New Testament with Psalms is about the thickness of most full-text thinline-Bibles. A Waterproof Bible with the whole Old and New Testaments will probably be a little inconvenient to carry around in a backpack or purse all the time.

    If you’re not an ESV fan like me, you can get the Waterproof Bible in KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, and Spanish editions. There also a few cover designs to choose from, depending on the translation.

    I love that I finally have a Bible that I throw in a backpack and not worry about. Look, the Waterproof Bible is no match for my Pitt Minion or Legacy in terms of aesthetics or craftsmanship, but it’s amazingly readable and can take a beating (or a dunk in a river). I’m sure I’ll get many years of use out it.