Year: 2013

I have failed at being consistent with daily devotions. I have failed a lot.

I have for the past year been attempting to pray the Daily Office, an Anglican tradition of daily prayer in the morning and evening. Prior to that, I had been reading through The NLT One-Year Chronological Bible, a fifteen-minute per day plan.

Some days and weeks and months are great; others make me feel as if I’ve forgotten the very meaning of the word discipline. Still, I’ve generally been able to pick up where I left off after a day or two and keep going.

An important truth that I’ve begun to see in this process is that something is better than nothing. Just like some exercise is better than no physical activity, even taking the time to just read one chapter or a simple three-minute pause to listen to the Holy Spirit is better than simply doing nothing when you forget your normal quiet time or unexpected events shift your schedule during the day. Consider saying the Lord’s Prayer as you get ready for your day or mediating on a Bible verse you have memorized on your lunch break.

Remember, too, that we do not exist in a legalistic relationship with God. This doesn’t mean we abandon discipline, but it does mean we should approach God as a loving, grace-giving father. We needn’t allow guilt over not meeting our devotional goals on occasion keep us from seeking the Lord at every opportunity.

I’ve found it interesting–and disconcerting–that in many evangelical circles there is a high degree of suspicion regarding Roman Catholicism. “Are Roman Catholics even Christians?” I’ve heard some ask, “Isn’t the Roman Catholic Church kind of like a cult?”

I’ve noticed quite a few misconceptions about Roman Catholic belief and practice among my friends and acquaintances, so this series will be an attempt to set the record straight and establish that yes, the Roman Catholic Church is indeed a Christian Church¹, and Roman Catholics are Christians. We will also examine some of the more misunderstood and/or controversial Roman Catholic doctrines together.

As human beings, we naturally tend to be afraid of things that are unfamiliar or that we do not understand. We must not allow fear to play any part in our interactions with any person or group, whether they are Christian or not. Fear has nothing to do with love! “Perfect love casts out fear” (John 4:18). Coming to this and all conversations with humility and charity is key to honoring our Lord Jesus and fellow human beings made in the image of God.

I enter into wholehearted agreement with Alan Schreck when he says, “Satan as been able to use…lack of understanding (both among Catholics and others) to divide Christians from one another and to divert their attention and energies away from proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and advancing his kingdom on earth.”²

A few myths that need to be dispelled right off the bat:

• Roman Catholics don’t believe that Jesus is raised from the dead (some people mistakenly think this because of the prominence of the crucifix in Roman Catholic piety)
• Roman Catholics worship Mary and other saints
• Roman Catholics believe they can save themselves apart from the work of Christ
• Roman Catholics believe that only Roman Catholics are saved

In reality, evangelicals and Roman Catholics have these basic beliefs of Christianity in common:

• The historical reality of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone
• There is one God existing as a Trinity comprised of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• The Bible is the inspired word of God
• Only the true God is to be worshiped; idolatry is strictly forbidden.
• All people that accept Jesus as Lord and Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ

Dive deeper by reading this essential ecumenical document, authored by evangelical and Catholic leaders together:

Evangelicals & Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium

Over the next several weeks we will look at some of these issues in more depth.

As we continue to discuss those things we have in common with Roman Catholics as well what does separate us, remember the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, “that they all may be one” (John 17:21) and the Apostle’s words,

“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 4:4-6, ESV)

As a parent it can be so frustrating just to get a child to sleep. You’ve worked all day, had some time with the kids, battled your way through bath-and-bedtime. Now you’d just like a few moments of silence to unwind, maybe some adult conversation with your wife or husband. But…

Your precious little one just…Will. Not. Go. To. Sleep.

You bounce, you rock, you pat them on the back. You tell stories and sing songs. You’re exhausted and you realize this is taking an hour. You’re not going to get to watch that movie, read that book, finish that project. Relaxing for part of the evening is definitely out.

This is the fifth night in a row your little one has refused to go to bed. You’re exhausted, bored, frustrated. This is the life of a parent of small children. There have been seasons where this has been every night with my daughter.

Finally, she starts to calm down. She settles into my arms. I keep rocking, afraid to breathe too loudly. Her eyes stop darting to and fro and rest on mine. I wonder what this little person could possibly be thinking. I remember how beautiful she is and pray for her as we continue to gaze at one another. I still don’t know her thoughts but somewhere deep inside I feel that she loves me.

“I love you, baby girl,” I whisper as softly as humanly possible.

Her tiny hand slowly loosens its grip around my thumb as she finally succumbs to slumber. I keep rocking her for a few minutes, because now I don’t care about doing the dishes or writing a blog post.

I just know that in this frustrating, exhausting, mundane moment, there’s also a measure of love that is worth it all.

There’s a lot to be excited about regarding Donald Miller’s new project, Storyline. I just finished the process and I am filled with many emotions: relief, release, energy, gratefulness. Most importantly I have increased focus and clarity about the things I need to do going forward. For a guy like me with a million competing interests, passions, and responsibilities, this is a sort of Holy Grail.

In a nutshell, Storyline is a process by which you examine your own life as story…specifically, a subplot in God’s grand narrative. I love the God-centeredness of this.

One of the best things about the Storyline process is how it gives you useful constraints. For instance, during one module you will examine the different roles that you play in life. This might be husband, wife, leader, mentor, artist, etc. According the psychology behind Storyline, you can really only be concentrating on five roles at a time. This alone was incredibly freeing as I made hard choices about the roles I need to be playing and that I believe God wants me to be filling.

The most important aspect of the process for me was discerning (along with input from my wife and others) my “life theme” or the way God has been consistently working in my life to equip me to help others. This element serves as a help to make decisions (is this action consistent with my life theme?) and can serve as a filter to focus projects (how will my next musical endeavor help others in a way consistent with my life theme?)

My life theme was “To find my identity in Jesus and help others do the same.” If you’re interested, you can see my stories here. This marks the second time that Donald Miller has changed my life for the better.

Check out the promo video:

→ Get Storyline on Amazon

An acquaintance recently linked to article about recent Muslim attacks on Christians in Pakistan. They understandably asked, “In light of events like these, is dialog even possible?” (paraphrase).

* * *

Dialog is always possible, because all things are possible with God.

As we live into our Christ-identity as peacemakers, we must have faith. The Holy Spirit will do his work.

We may indeed die in the process, but we have the hope of resurrection.

Isn’t that the example of the cross, and aren’t we called to follow Jesus there?

* * *

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

God does use tradition to communicate his will and make his voice known. Tradition is any teaching, thought, or practice that is handed down or passed on. It could be a ritual, interpretive framework or a specific view on what a passage of Scripture means. The Bible itself is an example of God working through tradition (cf. 2 Thes 2:15), along with the development of doctrines derived from the Bible like the Trinity.

Christians evaluate all traditions (Col 2:8; 1 Thes 5:21) and it is the Holy Spirit that reveals to the community of faith whether or not a tradition is from God. Historically we see the church working in a communal and conciliar way to hear from the Holy Spirit on controversies of faith, from the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-21) onward. Read More “Traditions of God and Men”

Christian parenting isn’t easy. Several books I’ve read or skimmed recently speak of reminding our children of who they are in Christ…something I’ve not put a lot of thought into until recently. Once I did actually think about it for a bit, it made sense that this is an essential part of discipling our children, just as it’s an essential part of training all who are seeking to grow in their Christian faith.

Core to Christian discipleship is living into one’s new identity as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). It’s something we need to be reminded of often, and I think we forget that our children need these reminders as much as we do. Read More “Teach Your Children Who They Are”