9-1-1

Today I observed my sixth Patriot Day.

I was in a middle school where most in my 8th grade math classes were very young children when it happened.

I posted 0846, 0902, 0938 and 1006 on the board. They did not recognize these as significant. I solemnly explained that these were the times that each of the 4 hi-jacked planes crashed--3 into buildings symbolizing American greatness and 1 into a field in PA. I went on to highlight the last crash as significant because the Americans on board deliberately crashed it into the ground to prevent further destruction and death.

This is also the first Patriot Day in which I paused to reflect with a Muslim. He is a student who is currently participating in the Ramadan fast. I was very conscious of my words while describing those who carried out these atrosities.

How odd, I thought, the perspective of myself and these kids on this day.

God bless the survivors and families of 9-1-1.

Emphasis needed...

We sing a variety of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs at Faith Community. One that we sing often is Sing to the King. In the second verse there is a line that I always crescendo to triple forte (VERY loud.) "we'll join in singing with all the redeemed, 'CAUSE SATAN IS VANQUISHED AND JESUS IS KING!!!!!"

I sing with that musical emphasis because I need to be reminded that evil will some day cease to be due to the consumation of Christ's rule of the universe. I need to be reminded that evil is contengent not self-existant. Goodness, because it is the nature of God, is eternal.

Last week I sat and cried with a friend who was waiting for his wife to come back from surgery. He had just made a series of medical decisions for her after learning her cancer had come back in a different part of her body. While we waited for this second of three procedures, we just cried together.

I HATE cancer. The physical pain and suffering is enough to loathe. But the emotional stress and pain is immeasurable at times. The financial burden of treatment costs and lost work is huge.

I need to know from time to time that all this evil will end. I need to remind my friends at times that all this evil will end. My heart cries out, "even so, Lord, PLEASE come quickly!"

Re-Newed Vows

During the summer I was privileged to officiate at a wedding. And as a special treat, Lisa was able to attend with me. I always enjoy weddings in that I am called back to my dedication to Lisa as I lead the soon-to-be-weds through the covenant. It is very much like attending a baptism and renewing my covenant with the God who loves and saves me.

It was a delight to lead the recital of vows with my gal in the corner of my eye. I fell in love with her again. Fourteen years and two children later, she is the love of my life!

Afterwards, I sat with an elder member of our congregation at the reception. He began relating to me the narrative of his wife's last day of life--how they spoke lovingly to each other, how they held each other in love's comforting embrace. The recital of vows had stirred within him the actual "'til death do us part" commitment that it takes for marriage to be blessed and enduring. With tears in our eyes we celebrated marriage -- from beginning to natural end.

I left that day renewed in my determination to be a man of integrity and live with my beloved so that if ever I might sit in my elder brother's seat at a future wedding reception, I too might weep the bitter-sweet tears of a lifelong commitment.

The Way We Were

Back when Lis and I were first married, we used to spend time together doing this:


[click on the picture to work the puzzle yourself. Go ahead take a trip down Memory Lane.]

Broke and in love, enjoying life's simpler pleasures -- that's the way we were.

Parting Thoughts

Last week I officiated at two funeral/memorial services for the same family. The first was for a ninety-year-old man and the second for a twenty-eight-year-old woman. Here are some words of comfort from those gatherings.


Gathering One:

The family requested Psalm 121 be read. This makes preaching simpler for me. I have always believed the text will tell you what to say. The greatest challenge is picking the text. Especially in this very emotional time. The initial question and central concern of Psalm 121 is "Where does my help come from?"

My Help Comes from the LORD...
Even when he is not found in the usual places.
Psalm 121 is among the Songs of Ascents. These were sung by pilgrims on their way to worship at the Temple. The Temple sat upon the top of Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. This traveling hymn must have been inspired by the view from the bottom of the Temple Mount. There are times when God might not be found in the usual "old, familiar" places. But He will still come to your aid. Sometimes we need His help just to make it to the place of aide.

My Help Comes from the LORD...
He is bigger than the hill.
The LORD is the Maker of heaven and earth. There is nothing in the created order that can overpower or stymie God. We may be overwhelmed by life and its challenges, but God is more than enough for the challenge. He is the source of our help -- in everything.

My Help Comes from the LORD...
He is committed to His people.
The name for God in these verse is LORD.This is His personal, covenant-name. This is the name He employes when He obligates Himself to someone in promised, personal relationships. God is more than an idea, He is a person who has committed Himself to you and invites you to know Him personally.

My Help Comes from the LORD...
He allows hurts but prevents harm.
Multiple times Psalm 121 promises that God will "keep you from harm." Life is full of hurts, sadness and disappointments. But the LORD shields His people from the full effect of these so that no lasting harm comes. Moments like these need not set a course for self-destruction. God will bind up the broken-hearted and heal the hurts so that life might go on.

My Help Comes from the LORD...
He watches over your coming and going.
The LORD is the Lord of Life. He is at the beginning, loving forming the new life. He is at the end, gently receiving the spirit which He gave. We can find God's help because even here, in the hour and article of death, He is Lord. And he has conquered Death, Hades and the Grave to bring us full and final victory.

Has It Really Been Fourteen Years?!?

On this date in 1994, I began the most significant phase of my life. I entered into the Marriage Covenant with Lisa Renee McCoy. We were both so sure and so young. Could it really have been 14 years-ago?

We had a wonderful day. She did all the planning and decorating. I wrote the service including the sermon. We tried to pay for most things ourselves as we felt we were not kids but 20-somethings who did not want to over burden our parents.

She was radiant. Whenever I hear How Beautiful I still see Lisa walking down that isle. I will always cherish the lighting of the unity candle. We tried repeatedly to light it but it was a used candle that had already burned down 2 inches or so. We both giggled.

My only regret is not looking her fully in the eyes during the vows. I just knew if I did I'd start crying (like I am now thinking about her beauty and the intense commitment we were making.) I still should have.

We have travelled a lot of miles together since that first ride off into the sunset in her dad's Buick. I thank God for every moment and mile with her. The red in my beard has faded to grey, but my love for Lisa has only deepened. I only pray I have helped and enriched her half as much as she has me.

Has it really been fourteen years...

Happy Birthday Kiddos

Today E turns 3 and J turns 1. Happy birthday!

He is such the little man. He watches, hugs and bosses little sister. He wears bigboy underpants and helps clean house.

She is walking. She sits in a front-facing car seat. She pets my beard for comfort (mine as well as hers.) She prefers food to the bottle and formula is a thing of the past.

My babies are not babies anymore.

Happy birthday, kiddos!

Who Do You Think You Are?

The text surrounding David's confrontation of Goliath has three separate groups asking David, "Who do you think you are?" It makes for a 3 layered outline.

Who do you think you are? -- his brothers



Who do you think you are? -- his king



Who do you think you are? -- his adversary


David answered all three, "I know who God is."

Facing Giants

We continue our look into the life of David, a man after God's own heart, with 1 Samuel 17.
Here we find the best known episode of David's life -- the battle with Goliath, the Giant.


It is noteworthy that the tone of the description here is far from mythological. The large man, the sling and all else seem reasonable and realistic. There are men playing professional basketball that are over 7 feet running, jumping and otherwise functioning nibbly. The sling was a weapon of war. It launched fist-sized projectiles at very high velocity. Whole sections of ancient Israeli armies were devoted to this form of deadly artillary. David was just previously described as a young man enrolled in the military/court service of King Saul. He was a National Guard-type, reporting for duty when needed and working at home when not.


Facing Giants...
...does not mean ignoring reality. It means seeing the reality of God.


The other men had seen and heard Goliath's defiant challenge. They could see how big he was, feel how intimidating he was and get a sense of how expert he was in the arts of war. Every morning and every evening. 80 times they cowered at the huge opponent.

David saw the giant. He did not deny his prowess or towering presence. He instead focused his attention on the size of the God who had claimed his country as His special covenant people. God could certainly handle one like Goliath.

Our faith-walk is not blind to the challenges of sickness, financial setback or relationship ills. Our faith sees a God who is able in the face of the giants. The challenge may be, and probably is, too bifg for us, but not for God. The question is not, "How big is your problem?" The question is, "How big is your God?"

Facing giants...
...means conflict avoidance is not conflict resolution.

David addressed the BIG challenge. Everyone else had hidden from it, tried to ignore it, tune it out. But big problems only get bigger when they are not faced. The army seemed content to battle it out, hoping for victory without fighting the Big man. But if they continued in this way, they would still eventually face him. He was part of the army they battled!

We, too, wil either meet challenges on our terms or theirs. Ignoring or avoiding will not resolve the conflict. We must face the challenges in order to move past them.

Facing giants...
...means not all opposition will come from the giants.

When David expressed his trust in a covenant LORD who was bigger than the challenge of Goliath, his brothers became furious. "Who do you think you are?" was their response to his facing the giant. King Saul said, "Who do you think you are?" Goliath said, "Who do you think you are?"

When we determine we will face life's challenges trusting in God's help, we should not be suprised when others respond in kind. Those who choose the hard path of improvement will often be opposed by those who have yet to decide to change.

Facing giants...
...means you must be yourself.

David was given a suit of armor and a sword from King Saul. Perhaps Saul was hoping others would think he was facing the giant when they saw someone in his armor marching to the challenge. Perhaps he genuinely wanted to help David. David tries them on but has never tried them out. He is not a warrior-king, yet. His weapon of choice and experience is the sling. He declines the king's offer.

Isn't it funny how those who are not willing to face the challenge have advice for those who are?
We cannot face challenges like so-and-so does or has. We need to face up in the way our personality, talents and skills will allow us. All we ever have to be is who God made us to be. Any more would be a step out of his plan.

Facing giants...
...means small successes lead to big victories.

David made his choice for weapons based on his past experiences as a shepherd. His responsibilities included protecting the sheep from ravenous preditors. Usually a direct hit from a sling would be enough to injure and drive away a wild beast. But on two ocassions David had to literally fight a lion and a bear. In both cases, God delivered the dangerous creatures into David's hand. David was able to face a giant man because he had grown through these and other past experience.

When we find favor and make progress we are able to build toward future success.

Pages from Ruth's Scrapbook, Part Last

Wow! Did I really turn this into a three-part post?!?!?!

Any way, Ruth is a picture of ordinary people trying to make their way and walk by faith in the God who invites them into a personal, covenant relationship.

Page One

Naomi and her family travel to Moab during a famine to find food. She goes out full, but returns empty. Her husband dies, her sons marry local gals and then 10 years later they die, too. In this time, that means she has no future, no hope. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth, comes back to Israel, too.

Page one has three Memorial Cards and a fold of black cloth.

Page Two

Women are not allowed to own property in this culture. So the ladies are destitute. Ruth goes out to support her aging mother-in-law the only way available--she goes to "glean" from the barley and wheat harvests. The Feast of Weeks regulations included a provision for the underprivileged. Farmers could not cut the grain in the corners of their fields. Those without means of support could then harvest these left-overs. Ruth and Naomi were at the mercy of God who made provision for them and at the mercy of the landowner as well.

Well, it just so happens (no such thing really), that the owner of this particular field was a man who could help with her inability to own property or support herself. And it just so happens that this particular man comes to this particular field on the day Ruth starts gleaning. And it just so happens that upon finding out she is the young woman caring for his widowed relative, he gives her favored treatment and things start looking up for Ruth. It just so happens that Boaz is a bachelor.

Page two has a shaft of barley and a shaft of wheat laying criss-cross.

Page Three

Naomi seizes on this show of kindness from God and Boaz to try and help Ruth find a home and a future. Whe lays out a plan for Ruth to invite Boaz to redeem their property and provide her a home and family. Boaz sees Ruth invitation as an act of kindess to him greater than the act of kindness she had shown to his family in gleaning to support her. He was an older man of limited means and is flattered that she would seek him out as her future.

Page three has a picture of a couple holding hands and an engagement announcement.

Page Four

The final scene of this scrapbook is an older lady bouncing a baby boy on her knee. There is a huge smile upon her face.

Boaz redeems the property and marries Ruth. After dealing with infertility, Ruth is blessed to have a son. He grows up to have a son. His son's youngest son is named David. Yes, THAT David--king of Israel.

Pages from Ruth's Scrapbook, Part 2

Ruth is an unusual book in the Jewish Scriptures.

First, it details a series of events in the life of a WOMAN of faith. A quick survey of the OT shows only two books with women as title or main character. A slightly closer reading reveals the role of women is almost entirely seen as supportive, not determinative. There is a phrase from an ancient morning prayer that says, "Thank you, LORD, that I was not born a Gentile, a dog or a woman."

Second, it details a series of events in the life of a NON-HEBREW woman who comes to embrace God and his covenant people. To be born a outside the covenant people was to be "without God and hope in this world." God had chosen a family/nation to be his special people, to reveal himself and to bring his son, our savior, into the world. Literally, to be a non-Hebrew was "too bad, so sad."

Third, it is about ordinary people. No father Abraham or King David. Everyone involved fits inside the normal section of the bell curve. Not rich, or overly intellegent or prominant or talented. Their connection to God's Grand His Story is only seen in the closing verses.

Lastly, it is very short (just 4 chapters and just a few months time.)

Since it was Mother's Day/Pentecost, these reflections were framed by the analogy of a scrapbook. Each chapter gives a snapshot of the key events surrounding this particular Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost.

Pages from Ruth's Scrapbook, Part 1

May 11, 2008 was a convergence of two key events in the yearly life-cycle of the Church. One was a holiday, one a holy day. The second Sunday of May is always Mother's Day. It is one of the "Big Three" invitations Sundays (Christmas and Easter the other two.) It also is a great day of importance to the ministry of the church in that we support families and mothers.

May 11 was also Pentecost -- the birthday of the Church at the coming of the Holy Spirit. This happened 50 days after the Good Friday/Easter Sunday event at the time of an ancient Jewish holy day. The Bible name for this feast was the Festival of Weeks (7 Weeks after Passover) which celebrated the first reaping of grain during the Spring barley and wheat harvests.

Many preachers and teachers were paralyzed in preparation trying to decide which event to emphasize. There was a lot of philosophical rangling over the priority of marking our time (xpovos) with Christ's time (kaipos) verses impacting people at their point of need, interest or contact. Add to this convergence the Teaching Time series at Faith Community currently focuses on lessons from the life of David. These are some of the internal issues preachers/teachers wrestle with during preparation.

During prayer and preparation time, I found a line connecting these three dots -- the story of Ruth.

First, Ruth is a female ancestor of David. So there is connection one. She was a mother. Connection two. Ruth is read every year by Jews during the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) because it reveals events surrounding one barley/wheat harvest. Connection three.

A future post will outline the encouragement found in this special May 11 Teaching Time. I just marvel at the interconnectedness of Scripture.

God Looks at the Heart

We have started a series at Faith Community Church exploring the life of David, second King of Israel. He is one of a handful of individuals mentioned repeatedly throughout the Canon. We will delve into the lessons this prominant man presents throughout the summer months.

The Bible says David was a man "after God's own heart." This is such a loaded descripter I will need to dedicate an entire future post to it. Let's just say part of what it involves is an extreme compliment.

The first mention of David is in 1 Samuel 16. God has rejected Saul as king and sends Samuel to anoint a successor. The words of verse 7 form the challenge of this passage, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart."

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart.

Pretty is as Pretty Does. 1 Peter 3 was a favorite text in my conservative holiness home church. Preachers loved to pound the prohibitions listed there into the ears, and hopefully the hearts, of young women. No jewelry, no braided hair, etc. Peter's admonition is not so much concerned with these externals as it is a challenge to the internal adornment of persons.

But our view of things and that of the LORD differs. We need to refocus.
So...what would our character "look" like if we spent as much time getting ready internally as we do fixin'up our outsides? What would we do to improve our internal "beauty routine" each day? What would we have to do internally or we would not leave the house?

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart.

Prejudice is appearance-based. James 2 forbids favoritism in the community of Christ-followers. He specifically sights giving priority to persons who appear to have wealth and discriminating against those who appear not to have it. How many different ways does prejudice manefest itself in our society? We make decisions about how we will relate to persons based not on who they are or our knowledge of them individually. Rather we act based on stereotypes and with little real knowledge of the person. Like a trauma center of a hospital, triage determines treatment. What would be different in our lives if we saw persons as God does--character, intention and so on? How can we make first impresstions last determinants in our treatment of others?

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart.

No only does the shift from looking at outward appearances toward looking at the heart mean Pretty Is as Pretty Does and Prejudice is Appearance-Based, it also means Looks Can Be Deceiving. Saul had been chosen as the first national king of Israel primarily due to his kingly appearance. Literally, he was "head and shoulders" taller than others. He appeared humble when he hid from the crowd among the baggage. But the reality was Saul was vain and weak of character. He was also mentally unstable. In a personality driven culture we need to focus more on the substance of a person and his or her positions rather than their presentation. Repeatedly we are warned about wolves in sheeps clothing, false teachers who appeal to our hubris or comfort zone yet lead us astray from the one true Faith.

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart.

The Picture of Dorian Grey illustates the importance of looking inward as well as outward. Dorian, a handsome and hedonistic young man, makes a wish that a painted portrait of him would age rather than he. Finding the wish has come true, he pursues a life of sin and evil. With each act his physical appearance does not change, but the portrait becomes more marred and aged. In the end, while trying to cover up his bad behavior by stabbing another man, he accidentally cuts his portrait. He is found later, a withered old dead man.

We may try to disguise our inner selves. We may try to hid our inner selves. But we must begin to see ourselves as God does, to place more value on the beauty of a Christ-like character, to participate with the Spirit in the transformation of ourselves into persons of integrety.

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. The LORD looks at the heart.

Tunnel Vision

This is the third in the Vision-Impairment series of posts.

Tunnel vision is a narrowed field of vision. The loss of peripheral perception of tunnel vision limits activity and accuracy of actions. Things might hit us literally from the blind side, because there is so much blind side.

Narrowed field of vision...
Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." Matthew 6.22-23

So often we focus so tightly on the limited world that is our life. We do so to the exclusion of others around us. We actually get more moved that an accident on the highway will make us late for our shopping than we are that one or more human beings quite possibly have suffered loss or physical hurt.

We see how things affect us and seldom realize how things might be affecting others. Our vision has veen diseased with "You deserve a break today!" mentality of entitled America.

We tune in to hours of "reality" TV where folks cry because they have lost weight, are trying to win the "love"of some personality or survived. The family next door might be facing autism in a child, the declining health of an aging parent or the raw anguish of gambling addiction. We might see it, but even then do little more than wish them well out of our car window on the way to some store.

Ever watch a funeral procession in the Middle East. Those folks are wailing--and with good reason. Someone they love has just died. They are at least in tune with what is happening around them.

From the lips of children...PRAISE!

E. has a Shout to the Lord CD recorded live at Northside Baptist, Atlanta GA (Andy Stanley's church.) It features the children of Northside. It really touches me to hear the kids praising God. He has taken a liking to track 3. He, like his momma, is a little OCD and wants it played over and over and over and over...

On the way to school, it was playing. I became aware of a child's voice in # 3 that I hadn't noticed before. Suddenly, I realized it was E. singing at the top of his voice.

"...and I delight myself in You...Your praise is always on my lips...when I'm poor, I know I'm rich,'cause in the power of Your name ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, all things are possible..."

While the sound of my own son's voice ringing in abandoned worship was enough to tear me up and cause me to join in the praise song, the reality of the words literally took my breath away and cracked my voice.

You see, there in the back seat of my car, singing at the top of his voice, "All things are possible..." sits the empirical evidence of the words.

For years we had hoped and tried to bring children into our life. We had consigned ourselves to the adoption route when along came E. then J.G. Through His mercy we now have that dream fulfilled.

With God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Play it again and crank it up this time, boy-o-mine!

Far-Sighted

Some time ago, I posted about my nearsightedness problem, both visual and visionary. Today, I will expand on that with a second edition of vision issues.

Farsightedness is the opposite condition of nearsightedness. It it the inability, or reduced ability, to see what is nearer and have clear focus at a distance. This is often remedied with "reading glasses" to be worn only for up close activities.

I think the church often suffers from farsightedness. We focus our sights on eternity to come and cannot see the existence that is. That explains why we do not take better care of our selves, our neighbors or our world. For, you see, it will all be better in the sweet by and by.

We abuse our bodies with practices like overeating, poor food choices, overexposure to UV and lack of exercise. We will have a new body at the resurrection, so we run this one into the ground--literally.

We will cross oceans, mountain ranges and deserts to bring Africans, Asians or others to Jesus. Yet, we won't cross the street to bring our neighbors who are of African, Asian or other descent to our church.

We will donate our used-up things to the needy but rarely donate ourselves in actual time and contact with the needy. By acting so impersonally, we further diminish the persons we seek to serve.

We claim "dominion" over the earth as a license to remove the mountaintops, pollute the drinking water and fill the ground with disposable everything to satisfy our desire for convenience and profit. We forget that humanity's dominion was a charge to tend (manage like a steward) the earth.

Like a farsightedness condition in the eye, such church farsightedness can be corrected. The usual prescription is "reading glasses."

We need to re-read the Word and the world around us. We need to return to God asking him to teach us what is blessed and stop asking him to bless what we have already determined to do. We need to stop offering advice and answers and resources until we first discover what the problems, questions and challenges are. We need to reconnect with our neighborhoods, our homes and our world.

Think of the humility and wisdom of Jesus to ask an obviously blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?" May his life refocus the living of his body, the church.

Infant Baptism

My parents expressed their commitment to raising me in the Faith by a ceremony known as Dedication. They made a series of promises and literally dedicated my life to the purpose for which God created me.

However, our church (The Wesleyan Church) also practices infant baptism. It was not the tradition of my home church or my home district of this church. I have always suggested the Dedication ceremony to avoid the issues involved in it.

I was recently asked to baptize a new baby. I finally had to find a better reason to do so than, "My church says so." Or else, I would need to decline the invitation.

Some years ago, I was involved in a debate at United Wesleyan College concerning the merits of the baby dedication tradition. I was on the side affirmative. The leading debator for the negative actually said, "There is more scriptural warrent for infant baptism than this made up dedication ceremony."

So I began reflecting on the scriptural and historical underpinings of both. My reflection revealed a pattern in the New Testament of all in a household being baptized when a leading member came to faith (Acts 1615, 16.33, 18.8., 1 Corinthians 1.16.) While this does not expressly command or mention the baptism of infants or young children, it does not exclude it. The scenes of baptism in the NT almost always center on those who have come to faith as adults. They form a description not a prescription.

Paul discusses baptism in close connection with circumcision (Colossians 2.11-13.) The Hebrew nation was commanded by God to circumcise all male babies when they were 8 days old. This marked them as one of God's covenant people. Then they were to be instructed in the faith, values and behavioral norms associated with the Law God had given them. At age 12 they assumed full rights and responsibilities as a member of this group of God-followers.

It seem likely that this pattern would apply to the new Covenant community. Believing parents would present their children for baptism, our identifying/initiation ceremony, and then instruct them, with the help of the church. Then at the age they can choose to affirm this act as a symbol of their personal faith, they would do so publically. Those who come to faith as adults would be trained first and baptized second after coming to personal faith.

This is how I will approach baptism in the future and it is consistant with scripture, the practice of the church from the earliest records we have and my own Wesleyan heritage.

Well...Happy Birthday to Me?!?!

Today I reached my 39th birthday. This is, for the most part,an insignificant birthday year, typically. I still feel like a kid, though I can see gray in my beard.

Eli was home sick, so he helped Momma make me a cherry-chip birthday cake. As SOON as I came through the door, we had to eat a slice of the cake. He had been anxiously awaiting this all day long.

Suddenly it hit me. I am as old today as my dad was when he left our family and home. I was stunned. There is nothing about my life that I would want to leave. I would actually fight to stay. I seriously miss my wife, son and daughter even when I have to go to work or some other activity without them. How different was my dad's life experience that he ran away when he was 39?

He had been married 21 years. I've been married 14. He was in a marriage with a cycle of relationship and financial stress. I've a great life with an awesome partner and have only known joy with Lisa. He had been a father for 19 years. I've been for 3. He had 4 sons. I have a son and daughter. His oldest child was beginning adult life away at college. My oldest is beginning potty training. I feel so young and life is so good. I remember him as being older somehow...and life was not so good.

Still...I feel ill at ease being 39 now.

Foundational Questions

I recently heard a rabbi say that the central question Christianity asks is "Have you saved all the world, yet?" He then suggested the central issue for Judaism is, "Have you sanctified all the world, yet?"

Those words struck home to the heart of this Christian raised in the holiness tradition. I think the second question moves past the Evangelical emphasis on beginning a personal relationship with God toward the traditional holiness emphasis on the restoration of imago dei in the believer. Evangelicalism sees salvation as a past, completed action while traditional Wesleyan/Arminian holiness theology sees salvation as a present, progressing action.

I am asking myself, my local community of faith and my denominational connection, "Have we sanctified all the world, yet?"

Holiness?!?!

I was raised in a VERY conservative holiness church, in a VERY, VERY conservative district of conservative holiness churches. We were separatists from other believers as well as the unsaved masses. We defined holiness mostly by externals. Most of these focused on length (e.g. hair: long for girls, short for boys, sleeves: long for everyone.) There was a sense of elitism and hubris that was unattractive to the unsaved, believers of other persuasions and even to me.

However, I found God through this witness. Then God helped me find Christian Liberty that moved me away from much of the legalistic trappings of this witness without abandoning its principles.

A few years ago, a pastor in my same holiness connection authored a book asking the question, What Ever Became of Holiness? It chiefly delt with nuances of the theology of holiness.

I have recently begun a personal study and discipleship journey seeking to answer this question from another angle. Where does holiness, or the idea of being set apart from and set apart for, fit into my life, my local community of faith and my larger denomination connection?

Holiness in scripture is a sign of belonging to God's people. Kosher laws in the Old Testament and abstaining from food offered to idols in the New Testament are examples. Both create noticable patterns that distinguish the believing community from the community at large. There really is no other reason for them.

So how do Christ-followers (individually, locally or collectively) express holiness and still engage others in loving, attractive ways?

More thinking-out-loud will follow.