When 5 Smooth Stones of Strategies Aren't The Point

In the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) little, untrained David reject Saul's armor and goes out to meet the giant with his slingshot and 5 smooth stones he finds along the way.  I've heard (and used) applications of this story 100 times.  Most of them involve identifying 5 actions to take in overcoming the giant of (fill in blank here...addictions, sins, relationships, etc).  I've heard (and taught) about putting off Saul's armor because God wants to use you and me just as we are, not wearing someone else's strengths and gifts.  I've even taught about how God used past experiences in David's life to prepare him for this moment.


These applications are not wrong, per ce, but what if we looked a little deeper to see how the narrative fits into the larger story of salvation?  How would that affect my reading of the narrative?

The larger narrative of Scripture and for that matter, Redemption History, is our representative in Christ defeating death and sin through His death and resurrection.  This would mean that in the David and Goliath story, the person I should identify with is not David.  It's not Goliath either.  If David represents a Christological figure and Goliath represents sin and death, then where do I fit in the story?

When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.  [1Sa 17:11 ESV]

I'm one of the scared Israelites hiding in the camp.  I'm not looking for strategic stones to overcome this evil.  I'm not getting out my sling to slay a giant of addiction.  I'm hiding in my tent hoping someone will come deal with this!

This is where it gets good!

Look what happens when David defeats the giant.

And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. [1Sa 17:52 ESV]

Once the battle was won, the scared Israelites came charging out of the camp full of confidence and strength!

This narrative took on new meaning for me as I reflected on my role as a pastor.  I'm constantly looking for 5 strategic stones to grow the church, have more effective ministry, and build a lasting impression on our community.  Maybe I need to quit looking for stones, and instead look up and see that Jesus already conquered the giant that mattered.  Maybe I need to find my confidence in the One who defeated death rather than a smoother stone.  Maybe I need to leave the camp and start doing what God called me to do - share the good news of freedom from sin and death!

What does this mean for you?  If you aren't David trying to conquer a "giant" in your life, but instead you were one of the scared men hiding in the camp, then how does it change your perspective on life if Jesus already won the battle that mattered?  How does this affect your confidence? How does this impact your willingness to talk about the battle Jesus won on our behalf as opposed to how you applied a 5 step process to overcome an addiction?

Confidence comes in the victory won by Jesus, not in better stones.

(note: thanks to Jared Wilson's book "The Pastor's Justification" for this idea and reading of the text)

Election Day Musings

I’m sitting at the church watching the RV’s come and go today - covered in election/political signs.  Each one is filled with young men and women trying to look serious and official while hiding their giddy excitement about being involved in something so much bigger than themselves.  

Whether you are Republican or Democrat or Libertarian or Constitutional or Independent or whatever, as an American, you have the distinct privilege of participating in the governing process.  There is no precedent in Scripture to look to if you want to know “how to vote.”  In the First Century, the Church had no say in the governmental process and eventually became objects of its wrath.  It wasn’t until after 300AD that Christianity had any influence in the Empire.

Here is what I find interesting...the Church flourished and grew when she was oppressed and suffering.  Once she had influence and power in the world, she really stopped flourishing.  There were (and are) pockets of faith communities growing and thriving in healthy relationships, but those became less and less the norm.  

Even today, the Church in America is very visible and stable, but I wonder how truly vibrant and transformational she is.  I am constantly thinking about who much it DOESN’T cost me to be a follower of Jesus.  I wonder how much stronger my faith and my relationship with Christ would be if I needed it more.  

Living in America is a great privilege that I do not take lightly.  Yet, if I am honest, I must confess that such a great blessing can also serve as a my greatest curse.  I have never had my faith tested in such a way that my life truly depended on it.  I might never experience that living in America.  And so I wonder how strong my faith really is.  

This election day don’t forget to vote, but also take a few minutes and remember that we live in a society that makes it easy to be a Christian.  While this is great on some levels, we can never forget that Christ’s call of discipleship was a call to come and die.  While you might never face that reality in our culture today, don’t ever get complacent with your faith and your relationship with Christ.  Take time each day to stop and connect with God lest you forget that your relationship with Him is built on a bloody cross, not in a voting booth.

Pat Robertson & Haiti

I posted my status on Facebook yesterday by saying this, "Someone needs to tell Pat Robertson to shut up." I still feel this way. Robertson basically said the the people of Haiti swore a pact with the devil and this is why they are suffering. He is citing a story he read (he does not give a reference) about how they did this to drive out the French.

I know that telling someone to shut up is not a very nice thing to say, and I know that Pat Robertson in no way represents what the majority of Christians think, but it really angers me that people like that become the loudest voice in the crowd. The more I hear about what happened in Haiti, the more amazed I am at the devastation. I pray that we, the Church, will be able to help restore and rebuild this country.

The Church is not in (nor should it engage in) a public relations war. We are to let God justify us. Our love for each other and the world around us ought to be evidence enough of our faith. When outspoken men or women declare things about us or about God that are simply untrue and misrepresent the truth, our job is not to shout louder in return, but to demonstrate love with even more fervor.

I hope Robertson realizes the damage he has done to the credibility of the Gospel, yet I also know that I, too, am guilty of misrepresenting God's love in a million small ways.

Under the Mercy,
Jason

What the Church Can Learn from "Public Enemies"

I went to see the movie “Public Enemies” with the guys from my family last week. I won’t give a critical review of the film, but I did notice something that made me think. The movie was about John Dillenger – public enemy #1 in the 1930’s. It traced his heyday of bank robberies and narrow escapes from the law. He became a sort of hero (many would call him an “antihero” today) in those hard times.

Here’s what caught my eye. In a poignant scene, Johnny is talking to a Syndicate (mafia) boss. They are in a hidden room filled with telephones and guys taking bets on horse races. Johnny is ready for another big score and is a little frustrated that his mafia connections are letting him down. As he confronts the mafia guy, the mob boss finally says:

“Johnny, what did you score in that last heist? $74,203? Yeah! Well this operation in this room brings that in every day now! This is a river of money from all over the U.S. Helping you is too risky because what you are doing is making the Feds pass laws to make interstate crimes a Federal issue. When that happens, this river could dry up!”

That is a paraphrase – I wasn’t taking notes in the movie theater!

Here’s what ran across my mind. Johnny was stuck in an old way of doing things. He couldn’t move forward with the times. He couldn’t think outside of his one way of doing things – robbing banks. When you already have the answer to the question – no matter what the question is – you will eventually be wrong. Johnny’s answer was “rob a bank.” It didn’t matter what the question was. But the question was changing…

In our life as a church (we don’t rob banks or run a gambling syndicate…or anything illegal!) we have to constantly ask ourselves if we are doing the most effective thing to accomplish our goal. Our goals are not nice clothes, lots of money, and fast cars – like John Dillenger. Our goals are helping people find hope in Jesus and live lives of meaning and significance.

Are we doing the best things possible to accomplish our goals? Are we becoming more known for a method and not for the message? Are we more married to a method of doing “church” than to the message of Jesus?

These are questions we must constantly ask ourselves.

Under the Mercy,
Jason

Organic Community

It has been a long time since I last posted...my apologies.

This week we will be studying the concept of an "Organic Community" at Terra Nova. This term means a lot of things to a lot of people. I want to set out here my working definition of this term and get some feed back before Sunday.

An organic community fosters naturally occurring relationships and creates spaces for them to grow and flourish. An OC is focused on people as opposed to programs.

Some further explanation...

Naturally occurring relationships are those relationships that grow out of commonality (i.e. proximity, common interests, mutual friends, etc). In other words, an OC strives to create space for these relationships to be established and then grow rather than focusing on creating a program that forces people into relationships. An OC leverages what naturally happens and waters and feeds those relationships so that they can grow into healthy, thriving communities.

An OC might have programs (probably will!), but the focus is always on the people. The programs are only thereto help people grow in relationships. As soon as a program becomes more important than the people who run or for whom it was developed, it is scrapped.

Personally, I think the majority of churches in America today are far more programmatic than they are organic. That is pure opinion and I admit that. I hope Terra Nova can break that model and be a truly organic, connected community.

I guess time will tell.

Any feedback?

Under the Mercy,

Jason

Missing Church

Due to my surgery Friday, I was unable to be in church this morning. As a pastor, this is both freeing and terribly difficult. It is not difficult because I feel guilty about missing church - not in the least! It is difficult because it demonstrates to me my own control issues.

As a pastor, I have to realize that it is God's job to build His Church and it is my job to equip His people. If I am doing my job, they shouldn't miss a beat when I am gone. As I write this it is the middle of the second service at Terra Nova and I have no idea what is going on...but I think I'm okay with that. I have an amazing community and staff who will worship God without me.

I hope they want me to come back eventually, but right now, I'm sure they are fine without me! Honestly, though, I do miss them.