I still love music but I just don’t have time to pay attention to release schedules and I don’t have the disposable income to buy new music all the time.
With the recent release of iTunes Radio I’m realizing that there are tons of bands that I’ve never heard of. And many of them are amazing. I’m remembering how great it feels to discover new music.
New music reminds me of a vacation that Kathy and I took before we had kids. We flew to San Francisco, and drove down Highway 1 to Los Angeles. It was one of the best vacations that we’ve ever been on and we still talk about that drive. We purchased two CDs in a Monterey Target store. The best was Jamie Cullum’s Twentysomething.
As we drove down the beautiful California Coast we saw some of the most amazing views and we have this soundtrack that reminds us of those moments of discovery.
Finding new music reminds of of those moments when we would turn a corner on the freeway and were greeted by a pristine beach. Or diving the mountainous road through Big Sur and seeing the amazing bridges connect cliffs.
I love those moments of surprise and discovery. And music is a great partner for that journey. When I listen to Jamie Cullum’s CD now I go right back to that trip. Thanks iTunes Radio.
Kathy and I watched the Jimmy Fallon sketch about Hashtags.
Brilliant. Hashtags on social media are getting #ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is when people use # in #EveryDayLife.
But I started thinking about the purpose of hashtags. They started to make it easy to find topics on social media and to see what topics were trending and what conversations were worth following.
Think about your day. What would be the hashtags for your conversations? #sarcasm, #snark, #arrogant, #selfcentered?
What about your thoughts? What about your actions? I think if I’m really honest with myself, I wouldn’t want to see my life in hashtags. Because my natural inclination is pretty selfish.
But what if we tried to change the conversation. What if we lived our lives in such a way that people would see some different hashtags.
What if we were marked by
#humility
#Love
#grace
#hospitiality
#compassion
Wouldn’t it be amazing if instead of using hash tags to promote our own agenda, we could see the values of Jesus in our life?
This morning I was reading a book by someone I often disagree with.
It’s easy to dismiss a lot of what this guy says.
But as I was reading I found that he was saying so much that I agree with. A few years ago this would have been really troubling. I probably would have thought there was something wrong with me.
I have come to realize that I don’t have to agree with someone 100% of the time to find something of value in what they say.
I think one of the challenges in our culture is that it’s really easy to find the people you agree with 100% of the time, and never challenge yourself to learn something from people that you disagree with.
Maybe instead of disregarding everything from a particular source, take a minute and listen to what they are actually saying and not what you think they are saying.
Do you have to agree all the time? No. But there is also a possibility that you may be wrong. There is also a possibility that these people are asking questions that you haven’t asked yet.
We have been walking around the neighborhood in Salto. Every time we have passed by this car. we don’t know what it is or who made it. It kind of looks like a Volkswagen Thing but its not.
This morning we were doing a prayer walk and we passed this car again. I felt the Spirit say to me that this peculiar car is a metaphor for the church. We are called to be a peculiar people. We are called to be a little different, to stand out. In the States it’s really easy to just blend in but the church isn’t supposed to blend it. We are set apart. We are in the world but not of the world.
It’s a great metaphor for the church but an even better metaphor for the church and missions in Uruguay. The church has a very small footprint in this country. The government basically eliminated any church influence in the nation. For example people don’t have a common understanding of Christmas or Easter. They call those holidays Family Day and Tourism Day respectively.
Christians here in Uruguay are different by default here. In the States we have lost a lot of our particularity. How can we gain it back?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the doctrine of election. Mainly because I have been doing a lot of research in the Minor Prophets. The Prophets were addressing the nation of Israel, which was elected by God to be his nation among the many nations. The problem though was that even though they were an elect nation Israel was made up of a bunch of people who disobeyed God and were punished for their sin. How can individuals be elect and not obey God? This is a troubling place to be.
The doctrine of election as played out in traditional reformed (calvinist) theology makes election sound like God is electing individuals to salvation. But there are no individual examples of election to salvation for individuals. Election is always talked about corporately.
I am an individual who has placed my faith in Jesus’ saving work on the Cross. And I am saved. But am I elect?
If I’m reading scripture through a lens that says that election is corporate, then it changes from I am elect, to we, the Church, are elect. The Church is God’s chosen plan to carry out the mission of rescuing humans from sins and we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
This underscores the notion that our job as Christians is not to just secure our individual salvation. Instead it is about trying to help as many people as possible receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to become part of the Community of Faith, through which we are encouraged and equipped to help others find grace and so on.
Is election a biblical idea? Yes. But instead of I am among the elect. It may be better to say, we are working in God’s elected plan to rescue humanity from sin.
I have been focusing a lot of reading and thought about how to help Creekside develop disciples. It’s not enough to just gather a crowd. Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples, not just have a lot of people around.
Why is making disciples so important? Because part of being a disciple is that you will make more disciples. Discipleship is not just for the individual.
So what was the model that Jesus gave us?
Be with – Jesus called disciples to follow him and spend time with him.
Do with – the disciples did ministry with Jesus. They were there when he healed people, when he fed the 5,000, when he taught the multitudes. They saw Jesus do ministry and then worked along side him.
Go and do likewise – Jesus sent his disciples out to do ministry and they came back and reviewed what happened. But when Jesus ascended to the Father he commissioned his disciples to go and do like wise.
When thinking about discipleship today, those same principles still apply. The problem that I think I (and probably many church leaders) fall into is trying to do more than be with, do with and do likewise. We want to get everyone to do our thing, we want to have all these steps and programs and initiatives for our discipleship plan. We want to give everyone a binder that they can keep their notes in. We want so much, and instead of creating space to be with, do with and go do likewise, we create a bunch of busy people who feel like they can’t keep up with all the work of discipleship and they don’t want to bring other people into this. And they just give up.
What an incredible blessing this sabbatical has been. It was great to spend so much time with Kathy and the kids. It was great to read, rest, reflect, and recharge.
I am deeply grateful to Creekside Church and the Elders and Deacons who saw the great benefit of extending Sabbaticals to the pastoral staff. Working in the Church is an incredible joy but there a lot of things that can wear a person down. This sabbatical came at just the right time.
So thank you Creekside for your generosity. Thank you for your prayers and support. Thank you for loving my family. It was great to come to the 6pm service last night and to see my church family, to see some new faces, to worship together, to celebrate communion together. I missed you all so much.
I’m looking forward to what’s next for Creekside. And I’m honored to be part of the journey!
This week Kathy and I will be travelling to New York City. I’ve never been to New York. Neither has Kathy. We are really excited to go see the sights, hang out with some friends, visit two churches, enjoy so food, etc.
But the thing that I am most excited about is that this is the first trip that Kathy and I will be taking without kids (excluding missions trips) in 6 years. We are pretty excited to get away and spend some time together.
I love being home when I’m in town but I love to get on a plane and go to new places. I hate actually being on the plane, but I it’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make.
I love that Kathy and I will be doing this together. Both of us being first time New York Tourists it’s going to be fun to experience all this new stuff together. And it’s our 9 year anniversary while we are away. Bonus!
SInce there will be so much new stuff that Kathy and I will be experiencing there will probably be loads of pictures and stuff. So if you are interested you can find my feeds here:
Twitter.com/jdeuman
facebook.com/Jason.deuman
flickr.com/photos/deumania500
Where are you travelling this summer? Leave a comment.
I fell into a Facebook debate the other day. I don’t know how it happened, it just did. Anyway, the debate revolved around poverty and being a Christian.
At one point someone said, “Poverty is a horrible testimony.” This statement floored me because it seems to mean that Jesus who didn’t seem to have a ton of cash on hand (Matt 17:24-27), or a house (Matt 8:20), or a family, and didn’t leave any kind of financial inheritance then would have a horrible testimony.
People in favor of “claiming” and “walking in” the blessing of Abraham are nice people. The problem I see however with this idea that Christians shouldn’t be poor is that it would put Jesus as well as most Christians in the developing world in the camp of having a bad testimony. It would put most of the early church in a the category of a horrible testimony, as they faced persecution, losing jobs and their lives, for their faith.
This idea that poverty is in some way evidence of not having a good testimony is troubling. Also, as a side note, for Christians, our testimony is all tied to whether or not we said yes to the grace of Jesus which was extended to us. Rich or poor that’s the greatest testimony you can have. But back to the matter at hand. Someone could follow Jesus with all their heart, lead many people to faith in Christ, and they may never have “finanicial victory.” Would that person be a bad representation of Jesus to the world? Of course not. Someone could lose everything through no fault of their own, but still be a committed follower of Jesus and, they may work dilligently to get their finances back on track but to no avail. Does that person have a bad testimony? No.
Jesus wants his disciples to be like him. Which means we must live lives that honor God. Rich or poor, every Christians should strive to be like Jesus.
So let’s actually look at what Jesus said about poverty and wealth.
What did Jesus say about the poor?
Matt 5:3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
Luke 6:20
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.”
This Matthean passage compared to the Lukan parallel is particularly interesting. In Luke Jesus gives no qualifier to the poverty. “Blessed are you who are poor.” Pretty obvious. Matthew qualifies being poor with “in spirit.” Which one does Jesus mean? Both. Keener in the IVP Bible Background Commentary says,
“Poverty and piety were often associated in Judaism; the term poor could encompass either physical poverty (Lk 6:20), or the faithful dependence on God that it often produced (“in spirit,” as here).”
The word for poor is the word used for utter destitution. So in Luke Jesus is saying the very poor will be blessed. In Matthew the very poor also recognize also their “utter spiritual destitution, the consciousness of which precedes the entrance into the kingdom of God, and which cannot be relieved by one’s own efforts, but only by the free mercy of God.” (Word Studies in the New Testament Logos Bible Software) Physical poverty can lead people to recognize their physical and spiritual dependence on God the Father. When we recognize our deep need for God, we can receive his promise, “the kingdom of God.”
This is another example of Jesus blessing the poor Luke 21:1-4:
“As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
This woman, who has no name in scripture trusted God, gave all she had. Now, is this Jesus saying to everyone, “Give everything and be blessed? Be poor!” No, but he is also not saying, “This poor woman has a horrible testimony.” He calls her blessed, because she didn’t just give what she could. She was generous in her worship of God through giving. The Bible doesn’t say then she went out and won the lottery. But I bet the next week she had another pair of small copper coins. She was poor, trusted God, and Jesus said she gave more than the rich.
Jesus had more of a concern that his followers would desire to be rich.
What did Jesus say about wealth?
Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Jesus is clearly telling his followers to focus their heart on God and not on money. You can’t seek God and seek a so called “promise” that you will be rich.
Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Jesus’ story here is about somebody who put his confidence in the riches he had produced through his fields. He then turned his focus on taking it easy, trusting in what he has earned, thinking that everything was set. But his wealth wouldn’t keep him alive forever. He died rich and a fool.
Luke 18:18-30
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Here is a rich man who couldn’t follow Jesus’s command to sell everything. His hope and security was in his riches and his possessions. His hope and confidence were not in God. He wanted God’s blessing but didn’t want to actually trust God. Jesus was calling him to a life of poverty and obedience. But he couldn’t handle it. Does Jesus call everyone to poverty? No. But he does call everyone to put their hope, trust and confidence in him.
Because the only way we are going to be saved, is through faith in Jesus.
Should poverty be glorified by Christians? No, that’s ridiculous. But poverty should not be shunned. Jesus’ words are pretty clear that focusing on money (rich or poor) instead of the things of God is a path to destruction.
This week I have been auditing a class on Theology of Disability with Amos Yong. It has been really helpful personally. And I think it can be helpful for Creekside as we have been partnering with YoungLife Capernaum for many years.
One of the things that struck me today is how do we do ministry with people with disabilities. This challenged me even deeper because I think there can be a tendency to do ministry at people instead of with people.
One of the truly beautiful things about the incarnation of Jesus Christ is that he was with us. He lived among us. He did ministry with his disciples. If anyone had the right to do ministry at people it was Jesus. But instead he:
6 . . .did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus humbled himself to become a priest for and with:
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Jesus was a priest for us, but also with us. He identifies with our weaknesses (disability even) and was without sin.
As a leader in the church I recognize that I get frustrated when I stop doing ministry with and do ministry at. I get upset when I preach at instead of with. Because when I preach at I feel like I’m in a battle. But when I recognize I’m preaching with the congregation, we are all participating in the message. Sure I did the prep work, I spent the time praying about the text, I rehearsed the message in pre-preach, I did most of the work it seems.
But when it comes to actually preaching, I need to be with the people. I need to learn with the people. I may be speaking but I still need to hear with the people. And together we need to respond to God’s leading. Together we need to take the mission of God into our weeks.
We need to do this with one another. And the only way we can do this with one another is recognizing that Jesus is with us, and the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go.
Ministry that truly represents the Body of Christ requires with-ness.
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