Karma - doing good deeds to counteract the bad

In this day in time, terrorists are getting a really bad rap. Many see them as monsters, but after all, they feel like they are real people. Some of them also have some spiritual concerns: karma is fast on the heels of some, Allah is watching over the works of others, and some are afraid of what the pope might say.

Bottom line, many have burning consciences and are trying to make things right. You never know when a terrorist will help you carry your groceries to your car or open the door for you. For example, this morning I got up and found the unibomber mowing my grass (see the picture to the right).

All jokes aside ... it took over 5 hrs for Cindy to cut the whole front and back yard. The dogs love the yard, but it's about time that they start learning how to push that mower!

Progress on the front of the house

the original siding with rotten fascia boards (07/18/06)

close up of the porch with our new light, old everything else (11/02/06)

new second story, old first story (01/18/07)

siding and new fascia boards on the second story, new siding to the right of the front door. Old siding being ripped off where you see black to the left of the door. (06/14/07)

more siding has been removed where you see black (06/16/07)

all the old siding has been removed from the front and more new siding is going up (06/19/07)

more new siding is up to the left of the door (06/19/07)

look at all that new siding! (06/20/07) compare to ->

blog-bernation

As most of you can tell, I have not written in almost a month. I have two series that are not yet finished, and I would love to spend some time finishing them, but I have been busily working on the house.


Hopefully, I will find some time in the near future to post some, but in the meantime, I am in blog-bernation (both writing and reading blogs).

A week in France: looking for the history of the church - day 1

Our trip starts in beautiful Paris, in one of its train stations to be precise. Having just spent 1 ½ days with my parents and grandparents in the French alps, I took the night train and arrived in Paris at 7:00 ready to meet my friends and board the 9:00 train to Lyon.

I had often passed through Lyon while on my way to my mom’s parents in Paris, but I do not remember ever having really stopped to visit. I discovered that the city with all those buildings that I used to see from the car window has much more history in it than I ever imagined.

At the Lyon train station, we were met by Eric, our driver, who took care of us all day. This man took pride in his work, a rare kind nowadays, and helped us very much on our journey.

First stop on our tour: the baptistery behind the Saint Jean Basilica in the remains of the church of Saint-Etienne which was destroyed during the revolution. For a Baptist, this octagonal 4th century baptistery is great. When it was first built, it had a depth of 80 cm (31 in) so that, as the sign states, “l’évêque baptisait des adultes, qui étaient entièrement plongés dans l’eau” (the bishop baptized adults, who were completely submerged in the water). Over the next four centuries it was resized twice “pour s’adapter à l’évolution du rite du baptême” (to adapt itself to the evolution of the rite of baptism), so that “après le 7e siècle, c’est le baptême des enfants, par simple aspersion d’eau qui est devenu le plus fréquent” (after the 7th century, it’s infant baptism by sprinkling which became more frequent). So, as we can see, the biblical practice of believer’s baptism was followed by the early church up to, and even after, the 4th century!

We then saw a Roman amphitheater where, in the second century, many Christians were eaten by lions. We talked to the Musée de la civilisation Gallo-Romaine about possible future visits, but were not able to visit it since it is closed on Mondays. After lunch we stopped by the church of St. Irenaeus. Under the 19th century church (for the original 9th / 10th century church was destroyed in 1562 during the war of religions by the “Calvinists’ fury”) lays an early crypt which is said to have been built in the midst of an early Christian cemetery and house the remains of three second century church fathers: Irenaeus, Alexander, and Epipodius. We are very thankful to a sweet old lady who took the time to open both the church and the crypt for us, for when we got there, they were closed.

We then headed to Avignon on the 17:45 train, and after a good supper and great conversation, we checked out for the evening.

A week in France: looking for the history of the church - introduction

I have just had the opportunity to be the Cicerone, as my dad would say, for a very loving couple. The plan was to scout the south of France to preview church history sites that will be visited by seminary students in a future site-based summer program. There was much scheduled for us to do, and we knew that we would not see everything. Nevertheless, we tried our best to see as much as we could.

I figured that if you are anything like me, you probably do not have a good idea of just how much there is to visit in France when it comes to the reformation, so hang on and enjoy the ride. We will travel great distances in both space and time. We will gain a better appreciation for what believers have had to suffer as a result of their beliefs. And hopefully you will be encouraged, just as I was.

Pastor/elders should be selected from within the body - 9Marks Trends

As you might have noticed in a quote that I shared in Giftedness is paramount, giftedness is not something that can be seen in a resume or detected from listing to a sermon: it is something that is observed over time. This is why I have been convinced for quite some time that the characteristics of a pastor/elder listed in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9 can only be observed if the church is allowed to share in the life of the believer in question for an extended period of time. Thus a pastor/elder can only be recognized if he has been a member of the community for quite some time (this has all sorts of implications on vocational ministry which I will not tackle at this time). As one example, consider the gift of hospitality: how can a community of believers observe this gifting in a person unless that person lives in the community?

I found that a number of the authors agreed with this way of thinking. Consider these quotes:

“The biblical characteristics for elders are all characteristics of godliness and giftedness that must be proven over time.” - John MacArthur

“If I learned anything ‘the hard way’ over the years, it is that the best way to identify potential elders is in the normal flow of church life. They are evident by their response to what’s being taught; by their willingness to serve; by the abundance of spiritual fruit in their lives; and by many ways their giftedness is manifested in the church before they are singled out for leadership.” - John MacArthur

“These [the elder candidates] completed a rigorous questionnaire as well as interviews before presentation to the congregation. However, I learned through the process that questionnaires effectively test knowledge of basic doctrine but lack the precision to test motives and ambitions. These inner qualities are learned only in the crucible of church life. … Demonstrate that more than doctrinal knowledge and high visibility is needed.” – Phil Newton

“Choose those who are already ‘among’ the flock, and the flock ‘among’ them (1 Pet. 5:2). … ask, ‘does this man love the flock and is he beloved by them? … Avoid appointing those who would commit to loving the flock if they were asked to be elders. Better by far to have men who love the sheep than men who love being shepherds (the former will become the latter, but not vice-versa).” – Sinclair B. Ferguson

Grace and patience in the midst of persecution

I received this e-mail from a friend who herself received it from India.

There was another spurt of violence against the christians last week here in this city. One of the local pastor here was beaten up badly in his house last sunday for preaching in one of the slums of the city. Please ask God´s people over there to pray for all of us here as we need more grace and patience from the Lord to face these kind of situations. (emphasis mine)

What an encouragement to see how these believers are reacting to persecution. May we have that same kind of faith when we are persecuted.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. - Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)

Please remember to pray for the persecuted church worldwide.

Deciding in Community

The more I study the New Testament, the more I see a pattern of community involvement in many aspects of the life of the church. We see such patterns in passages like Acts 13:1-3 and Acts 15:6-29. Because of this conviction, I read the following letter to our church this morning:

Dear Messiah Family,

All we do as a body, personally and corporately, should be guided by the Holy Spirit which is according to the will of God. For this reason, I keep on reminding us that throughout the NT, we see that the church is guided by the Holy Spirit resulting in the believers being all in one accord. I strongly believe that God has put us in community for good reasons, and one of those reasons is that when we all seek his wisdom, I strongly believe that He will not only reveal it to us, but that He will make it known to the body in unity.

It is for this reason that I come to you this morning with a prayer request on my and Cindy’s behalf. I thought about sharing this on Sunday night, but I wanted to make sure that my words would not be misunderstood or misquoted. BTW - for this reason I will be posting this letter on my blog, so that people can go and read it if they have any doubts about what I said.

Cindy and I have no intention of moving from this community unless God directs us to do so. I hope this is evidenced by the fact that we bought a house in the community, and we felt so comfortable about the fact that we were going to be here for a while, that we bought the house with a little help from a government program which will penalize us if we sell the house within the first 5 years of ownership.¹

In mid February, I was contacted by LC, a Baptist college in Pineville, LA, asking me if I was interested in applying for a full time math faculty position starting this fall 2007. I answered that I was not interested, but they were persistent and have asked me to consider applying and interviewing for the position now, but waiting to start in fall 2008. Because the job description is very much so what God has gifted me & given me a desire to do and because the administration has been persistent in thinking it could be God’s will for me to fill the full time position and because this opportunity came to me completely unsolicited, I have decided to fill out the application and see where God takes it.

I believe that, like in Acts 13 when the Holy Spirit told the congregation at Antioch to set aside Paul and Barnabas, that if this is God’s will, He will affirm it not just to me, but to this entire body. This thinking is not a foreign thought to our Baptist heritage: there once was a time when a pastor would not leave a congregation until both he and they agreed that his departure was the leading of God.²

Messiah is our family and we could not think of seriously considering this opportunity in secret, as some pastor might sometime feel compelled to do. Cindy and I, like you, seek to serve God with all our heart, our strength, and our soul. We do not want to move from this community at this time, but will obey our Father in heaven in whatever way he directs us. Please be in prayer with us that we all will discern His will in this issue, as well as all areas of life: private and corporate.

¹ I am not mentioning this because of the financial implications, but just to point out that we had no intentions of leaving the area when we bought the house.

² H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (Nashville: Broadman, 1987), 77.

Giftedness is paramount - 9Marks Trends

As I reviewed the 9Marks article (see intro here ), I noticed a first trend: giftedness is paramount. Consider what John MacArthur has to say:

“Furthermore, the gifts and calling of an elder are ultimately far more important than any other formal training track.” - John MacArthur

This is quite the statement from the president of Master’s Seminary.

When looking to recognize a pastor/elder/overseer, much importance is put on the preaching and teaching ability of a pastor/elder/overseer. While these are usually a result of his spiritual gifting, they can be just natural traits of a good speaker, a good theologian, or even of a well trained professional. The question at hand, though, is not are they a good speaker, a good theologian, or even a well trained professional, rather it is: are they a pastor/elder/overseer? Therefore, while not wanting to undermine passages like Tit 1:9 which point to the fact that an overseer must hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict,” we need to see them in the light of passages like Acts 20:28, which points out that the elders of Ephesus had been made overseers by the Holy Spirit (my friend Alan posted on this here), and Eph 4:11, which clearly states that Christ is the one who gave some to be pastors and teachers (gifting/gift, not position). Many can know Scripture and doctrine, many can be great speakers, but not all are gifted by God to be pastor/elder/overseers, therefore it is paramount to recognize the ones who are given this gift by God.

How do we do that? Well first of all, we can only do that by sharing in the life with them so that their life and gifting is allowed to be exhibited (more to come on this topic in my next post in this series). Consider the following statements:

“It is also tempting to appoint someone who is theologically brilliant and agrees with the doctrinal positions of the church. But we need to remember that Paul stresses character qualifications for elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9). We need elders who are theologically faithful and who live out the gospel in their everyday lives. We must not sacrifice the latter simply because the former is present, for the words of elders must accord with a godly life.” – Thomas R. Schreiner

Bruce Keisleing states that: “I learned that concentration of teaching opportunities (assuming an individual teaches well) will heighten the ability of the church to recognize its elders.” While it is true that a concentration of teaching opportunities could provide the opportunity for a pastor/elder/overseer’s gifts to be lived out so that people can recognize them, we need to remember that it might just make someone more visible. Here I think that the words of Phil Newton are to be heeded: “more than doctrinal knowledge and high visibility is needed.” Just because someone is highly visible does not mean that person has the gift of pastoring.

Ultimately, since it is God who gifts, we have to be sure that we are led by the Holy Spirit in the process even when we are not sure what the Spirit is telling us:

“… as you pray for discernment, be conscious of the Holy Spirit setting off ‘alarms’ concerning the character, conduct, or qualities of those aspiring to eldership. If you are hesitant to approve someone, then don’t until your reservations are cleared.” – Phil Newton

The Last Twelve Verses of Mark: Original or Not? Symposium at SEBTS

It would be a waste of my time to re-type my notes on the plenary sessions since I can just direct you to Alan’s and Lew’s notes on the topic:
A L Daniel B. Wallace - shorter ending proponent
A L Maurice Robinson - longer ending proponent
A L Keith Elliott - lost ending proponent
A L David Black - longer ending proponent
A L Darrell Bock - shorter ending proponent
A L Question & Answer Session

First of all, to satisfy my wife’s need for staying on topic, let me state that my preference is to include the last twelve verses of Mark as original. I think the most palatable explanation of a shorter ending is the conjecture that when the reader comes to v. 8 of a shorter Mark, s/he is left in a position where s/he has to make a personal decision about Jesus. But, while this option is very tantalizing, it is a conjecture about authorial intent, and not really a solution which pays attention to all the evidence at hand. On the other hand, the most compelling argument about the authenticity of the last twelve verses is found in the patristic record. While there are some of the fathers who possibly shed some doubt on these verses, it would seem that early and late fathers considered them to be authentic. Their absence in two manuscripts (א and B) seems to indicate that the scribes had some uncertainty about these verses. But ultimately I have to agree with those who claim that the bulk of the discussion is probably happening nowadays only because these two manuscripts do not include the last twelve verses. Debate over authenticity in the first couple of centuries is not alien to other books of the New Testament (the authenticity of the book of Revelation and the letter to the Hebrews was questioned for quite some time in the patristic era) and therefore probably should not be used to justify this level of uncertainty over twelve verses.

There, enough said, … now I can digress …

To begin my digression, I would like to share some random thoughts that this conference has generated in my mind; I’ll do that by quoting some comments and ideas from the speakers.

While I might not have agreed with Dr. Elliott’s conclusion on the originality of the last twelve verses of Mark, I would like to share this quote, with which I do agree. While talking about the Biblical texts which we were discussing in quite a sterile, academic fashion, he reminded us that “these were texts that were constantly read, used, and lived” in the early church. That raised the question in my mind: these are texts that are read and used in modern Christendom, but are they lived? I pray they are.

While all the speakers presented very academic arguments, it seemed that they reminded us that the gospel is to be lived out. Dr. Black ended his talk with an appeal to the gospel and the need to proclaim it, no matter what our conclusions are on the longer ending of Mark. Dr. Bock reminded us to “live in such a way and engage in dialogue in such a way that” we honor the gospel of Jesus Christ (I’m sorry I only have part of the quote verbatim). The gospel needs to drive all we do: a reminder which we need never to stop heeding and giving.

Dr. Nelson (Senior Vice President for Academic Administration at SEBTS and moderator of the last session) reminded us of the practicality of such academic topics as textual criticism in everyday biblical teaching. To paraphrase Dr. Nelson, when preaching through the book of Mark, the preacher is going to have to deal with the text, decisions are going to have to be made about where the gospel stops, and questions will be asked by the hearers no matter what decision the speaker makes. Thus this is not a sterile, academic, ivory tower discussion, rather this is a practical and important discussion.

Dr. Robinson pointed out that all speakers (at least in the first three sessions) seemed to defend their arguments by the “cumulative strength of their evidence,” and yet they arrived at different conclusions. This presents us with a very sobering warning about how our presuppositions affect us in our study of Biblical texts.

I would also point out a couple of observations. First, I found out that to be a textual critic, you have to either grow a beard or speak with an English accent. I speak with a French/Italian accent, is that enough? I really don’t feel like growing a beard, but I could if I so desired. All jokes aside, I miss spending time looking at text critical questions and look forward to being done with my M Div, so that I can get back to it.

Second, women, with a few exceptions (6 to be exact), are not interested in the originality of the last twelve verses of Mark. While I am trying to be facetious, Cindy and I did wonder why more women did not attend this conference. Cindy knows no Greek and knows little to nothing about textual criticism, yet she thoroughly enjoyed this symposium. Maybe the explanation for the general lack of attendance of both men and women is the fear of the blah blah blah syndrome that plagues so many academicians. If so, don’t fear the blah blah blahs, for in-between them, there is much to be learned.

Overall, this was a great conference. The speakers need to be commended for their humility and the way they interacted. I believe they made Christ proud.

For more comments, pictures, etc. check the following sites:
Lew A. at The Pursuit
David B. at Dave Black Online - Saturday, April 14, 7:38 PM
Alan K. at The Assembling of the Church
Josh McM. at A New Testament Student
Matthew R. at SPLANKNOIS TOU CHRISTOU
Steve S. at Theological Musings
Theron S. at Sharing in the Life who btw is slowly coming out of a long period of blog-bernation.

The function of an elder: what Scripture passages should we consider?

I am going back and revisiting all the Scripture passages from which we can learn the function of a pastor/elder/overseer. Here is my list so far:

Acts 11:29-30
Acts 15:2, 6
Acts 20:28-31
Eph 4:11-16
1 Tim 3:5
1 Tim 5:17
Titus 1:9
James 5:14
1 Pet 5:2-3

Did I forget a passage? If so please let me know. BTW - for you out there who do not always agree with me on my views on pastor/elder/overseers, this is your chance to help me grow in maturity, so please share with me passages I might have forgotten in my search to try to identify the function of an elder. Many of you have been blog-shy, it is time to get out in the open and join the blog-conversation.

Once I have received all your comments, I will spend some time studying these passages and then I will blog on the outcome of this study. Thanks in advance for your encouragement, support, prayers, and your own personal Scriptural study while I go through this process.

Taxes ...

For all of you trying to finish your taxes before April 17, let me point you to the IRS website where you will find a list of many Free File Alliance Companies which will allow you to do your taxes for free, provided you fit their criteria. I'm personally using H&R Block's TaxCut Free File.

Also, don't forget to consider the all new "Federal telephone excise tax refund" and "Energy efficient home improvements" credits!

Recognizing Pastor/Elders - thoughts generated from reading an article

The body of believers with which we gather is in the process of recognizing some more pastor/elders. Currently, the body has recognized two pastor/elders, but I believe that there are other individuals in our body who have been gifted by God with the gift of pastoring (see this post ) and the body has decided that it is time to recognize some of them, so that they can serve in the position of pastor/elder.

Because we are in this process, one of my brothers in Christ gave me a print-out of A Pastors’ and Theologians’ Forum on Selecting Elders, a 9Marks article that can be found here.

I found the article interesting: agreeing with much and disagreeing with some. I get the impression that the writers of the article see a distinction between the pastor and the other elders (a distinction which I do not see in Scripture, and with which I therefore have to disagree), but I thought that some of their comments were still very appropriate and not negated by their presupposition. Therefore, I figured I would share some trends that I noticed in this article. Be on the lookout for 3 or 4 posts with the topic: 9Marks Trends.

Ministers

I have been wanting to write down my thoughts about pastors for quite some time. I’m not sure how to organize them at this time, so I will just post randomly as I have time and maybe in the process of writing I’ll figure out some kind of order.

So, to begin with, I would like to talk about the term minister. People use this term in a variety of ways, and often they associate it with the concept of clergy, but should they? Is the pastor the minister? Consider the following Scriptures (emphasis mine):

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, … - Eph 4:11-12

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. - 1 Pet 4:10

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, [in that] you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. - Heb 6:10

It would seem from these Scriptures that we are all called to be ministers (διακονος) and to minister (διακονεω). Thus, it would seem that the term minister is not used in the New Testament for pastors only, but for all believers. If this is the case, then is there any other term in Scripture that warrants the making of a clergy - laity differentiation? Are there such things as offices in the church?

On this topic Schweizer (I know some of you are going to discount him because he is a liberal theologian, but I think that on this issue he happens to make some good comments), in his book Church Order in the New Testament, makes several insightful comments. He looks at all the terms used in NT Greek to convey the idea of office or ruler: αρχη (ruling power, authority, ruler), αρχων (ruler, official authority, judge), τιμη (place of honor), τελος (used outside the NT to define the complete power of office), λειτουργια (service, ministry seen in LXX to be performed by the priests), and λειτουργος (servant, minister, one performing λειτουργια). He concludes that outside of their use for Judaism, pagan religions, and the political system of the time, these terms are primarily used (with the exception of Paul being called λειτουργος in Rom 15:16) to refer solely to Christ Himself.

So, is there a term used in the New Testament, referring to believers, which warrants the making of a clergy - laity differentiation? Is there a term which is consistently used just to describe Christian leaders? Schweizer points out that, even though there was quite the selection of terms which the New Testament authors could have used, the New Testament authors consistently used the term διακονος (servant, helper, minister). Since this term is used for all believers without differentiation, then the answer is no. The New Testament authors never use the term minister or any of the other terms mentioned above to point selectively to pastors or leaders. Consider Schweizer’s comments:

“In view of the large number of terms available, the evidence of the choice of words is unmistakable. … all the New Testament witnesses are sure of one decisive fact: official priesthood, which exists to conciliate and mediate between God and community, is found in Judaism and paganism; but since Jesus Christ there has been only one such office - that of Jesus himself. It is shared by the whole Church, and never by one church member as distinct from others. Here therefore there is without exception the common priesthood, with no laity. … The very choice of the word, which still clearly involves the idea of humble activity, proves that the Church wishes to denote the attitude of one who is at the service of God and his fellow-men, not a position carrying with it rights and powers. … It is nowhere forgotten that such renunciation of titles, honors, and offices testifies to the Church’s newness in contrast to the old religious or secular order.”¹

Schweizer does not deny the different roles and gifts seen in the church, but he does point out that unlike Judaism, pagan religions, and the political system of the time, the Church is radically different because it has only one high priest, Jesus Christ (Heb 8:1-2), only one head, Jesus Christ (Col 1:18), and only one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Cor 8:6). Under Him, all are ministers: there is no clergy vs. laity.

So when I talk of pastors/elders/overseers, I will be talking of a specific role/gifting within the context of a church made up entirely of believers who are all ministers and not of a clergy position.

By the way - if my conclusions are correct, does anybody know why we have a clergy-laity distinction in Christendom today?

¹Eduard Schweizer, Church Order in the New Testament, trans. Frank Clarke (Naperville, IL: Alec R. Allenson, 1961), 176-8.

Does our philosophy on the church matter?

Much discussion has taken place and is taking place in Christendom on ‘what is the church’, ‘how does a church operate’, etc. Some stress the importance of tradition, some stress the importance of changing with the times, some are seeking to go back to the church of the first century, and some say that it really does not matter, that it is just a matter of preference. Is it?

I believe that much of the discussion on style and music can be regarded as a discussion about preference, but I also believe that which is central to making the church the church is of great importance. Consider this quote:

“The New Testament’s pronouncements on Church order are to be read as a gospel - that is, Church order is to be regarded as a part of the proclamation in which the Church’s witness is expressed, as it is in its preaching. There may be times when this kind of proclamation is better heard and regarded by the world than are any words; and for that reason this part of the Church’s witness too must be given clearly and plainly.”¹

Thus according to Schweizer, church order is not just a matter of preference, but a way of proclaiming the gospel. A clear example of this is found in the first letter to the church in Corinth.

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on [his] face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. - 1 Cor 14:24-25

Here we see how the observance of a healthy meeting of believers can clearly convey the gospel message to unbelievers. But it should not stop with the gathering. Scripture states that we are the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27). Doesn’t it make sense that we, the church, therefore represent Christ? Since that is the case, I would say that our philosophy on the church matters. It is not a matter of preference; even when Scripture is not prescriptive, it is a matter of representing the gospel to a dying world. I love reading the church fathers and have appreciated the wisdom that we find in tradition, but if tradition does not align itself with Scripture, we have the potential of presenting the wrong image of Christ to a lost world. We have to ask ourselves two questions: “what kind of picture are we painting?” and "what kind of picture is the church we meet with painting?”

I believe that I am living in an age where God is raising men and women who are willing to think critically and Biblically about the church; who are questioning our practices and asking if they align with Scripture; and who have a desire to be as Biblical as possible. I join Paul in saying: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” - Eph 3:20-21 (emphasis mine)

¹ Eduard Schweizer, Church Order in the New Testament, trans. Frank Clarke (Naperville, IL: Alec R. Allenson, 1961), 14.

Tae Kwon Dodo!

We spent the morning at a Taekwondo competition. Our friend, Cheryl, and her Christian Martials Art School competed at the Third Annual Factory Taekwondo tournament. I am very proud of them: they not only did very well when it comes to technique, they were a great example of what it means to be a Christian martial artist. Great job y’all!

Still alive ...

So, life has been busy lately. I have not been reading or writing much, but I have been doing lots of thinking, thus hopefully I will have some time to write it down soon.

On the house front, with spring comes much yard work. Cindy has waged battle against the invasion of the weeds (click on the picture to see the transformation).

Together, and with the help of a couple of neighbors, we have also moved two Bradford pear trees and a dogwood tree from the front of the house to the back yard.
Finally the table saw is being set up in the dining room so that I can start cutting molding for the bathroom mirror and then have it set up to help with the hardwood floor installation.

Kitchen tiles ... done

Well, we have finished tiling the kitchen floor, or at least the part we will be tiling for now (the far end is still untiled to protect the tiles from being damaged during some future demolition). The accent tile really ties the whole floor together.

We used two different color grouts; this turned out to be less of a pain than first expected. We also inserted floor outlets for my desk and a future kitchen island. I am about to start the sealing process and then we can move the dining table in the kitchen while I transform the dining room into a wood shop for a time.

Week-end off ... part II

So we spent 3.5 hours shooting all sorts of guns.
We started out shooting a Smith and Wesson 38 special (100 bullets) and a 40 caliber Glock (50 bullets). We then proceeded to shoot some 20 gauge and 12 gauge shotguns (250+ shells). The girls shot stationary targets, and the boys shot clay skeets. BTW - my favorite was the 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Finally we moved to rifles: the boys each took a long range shot with a deer hunting rifle (4 bullets) and all did a lot of shooting with some smaller 22 rifles (200 bullets).
We then finished the day with some great food, fellowship, a lunar eclipse, and a couple of movies.


Cindy and I also took some time to talk to Kenny, Rob's dad, about landscaping for the house. Hopefully in the not too distant future we will be able to post some pictures of the results of our conversation.

Week-end off ...

Well, this is the picture of the year: Cheryl with a dog on her lap and a smile on her face!

All over the world ...

It amazes me how technology has allowed communication to become so worldwide. Look from where Google Analytics tells me people are viewing this blog. Isn't that amazing?! It is also humbling and sobering that my ideas are traveling so far. I pray to God that they are sound and according to truth.

Amazing Grace - the movie

Cindy and I had the opportunity to see a free pre-screening of Amazing Grace (we were blessed with two free tickets in my college faculty mailbox). It was a good movie, not so much about John Newton (the author of the hymn Amazing Grace) as it was about William Wilberforce and the English abolition movement. The characters’ faith was depicted unashamedly. Consider this great statement that John Newton states in one scene: “I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great savior.” I strongly recommend that you go see Amazing Grace. This movie is rated PG, probably for the occasional cursing and the 18th century cleavage.

Picture taken from http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/movies/AmazingGraceMoviePosterTrailerMichaelAptedIoanGruffudd.php

Entertain strangers

Just the other day Alan, at the Assembling of the Church, posted an article entitled Justice, Kindness, Mercy..., reminding us that the early church followed the mandates in Scripture to take care of the elderly and the poor. He then shared his own struggles and need for God’s teaching and guidance in the matter.

With that post in the background, let me share with you some of my struggles. Yesterday I was walking home after class when, while still on campus, I was approached by an elderly lady who asked me for $10 so that she could get some food. As has been my custom now for years, I told her that I would not give her money, but I’d be glad to buy her some food. This is a practice that I learned from my mom, who taught me to have compassion for people in need. I can remember many times when mom stopped at a store to buy a beggar something to eat. She always told me never to give them money, for who knows what they will use it for, but instead, to go ahead and buy them some food. Sadly, I have to admit that I did not put her advice into practice until after I became a Christian: before Christ transformed my life there was much selfishness and very little compassion in my heart.

But getting back to my story … so I asked the lady where she was planning to go eat. She told me Skippers. Now, Cindy and I rarely go out to eat (our entertainment budget is set at $20 per month) and thus I had no idea of the price range of dishes at Skippers, all I knew is that it was located close by. On the way, the lady shared with me that she has a couple of young ones at home, so I kindly suggested that maybe we could go to Domino’s and I could buy her a pizza that she could take home. She told me that she had been craving real food, so we continued to Skippers.

Upon arrival, I discovered that the dish she wanted was $15.99. I told her that was too expensive and that it would be better to go and get her a pizza. She then asked if she could get the shrimp dish instead of the barbeque, she thought it was less expensive. It turns out that it was $10.99: cheaper, but still very expensive for a single meal. I reasoned with her that it would make more sense to get a pizza for that price, so that she could share it with her family. Apparently, her heart was set on shrimp because she told me that she would not eat it all and would share her leftover shrimp with her family. I couldn’t believe my ears!

I finally told her that I would buy her a pizza, and we headed over to Domino’s. On the way and as well as in the store, I shared with her about the God who changed my life: the reason why I was actually doing this. She told me I was a good person, to which I answered that I was not: the good she saw was God acting in my life.

I was not being pious, inside I was extremely frustrated with her, and the only thing that kept me from just leaving was the love of Christ. Cindy and I had discussed earlier that day that we did not have money to go eat at Taco Bell, and here I was buying a stranger food and she was being picky about the food she was getting, wanting to go eat out at a restaurant that my wife and I would not go to because we consider it too expensive.

I sit here asking myself did she just take advantage of me. Then I think of Alan’s post and Scriptures like Heb 13:2 which states: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

And there in lies my struggle: what has God called me to do in a situation like this?

Ephesians 4:11 - Spiritual gifts or positions?

And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

For quite some time I have been thinking of this verse, Eph 4:11, as being a list of gifts, not a list of positions in the church. As usual, I have godly brothers in Christ who will call me to account for my opinions, and so I've decided to spend some time looking into this passage.

Where could the idea of gifting come from when looking at this passage? After all, the NKJV titles it Spiritual Gifts, the NLT actually renders it “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles …”. Paige Patterson and D.A. Carson both present this passage as a list of gifts¹, and Horner entitles this section of his commentary “The distribution of the gifts,”² just to name a few examples.

If you look back at v. 7, "Paul states that each believer is given a gift according to the measure of the gift of Christ."³ Paul then proceeds to quote Psalm 68 in v. 8 in which we see that the one who ascended on high, that is Christ, gave gifts to men. Ephesians 4:9-10 then parenthetically comments on Psalm 68. Thus v. 11 is positioned on the tail of a discussion about gifting, not positions in the church, and from that perspective it seems logical to assume that in v. 11 the topic of discussion continues to be gifting rather than positions.

One could point out that this is not a list of gifts, but a list of gifted people. I would agree with that, but the fact that they are gifted people does not make this a list of positions, or as some would call them: offices (I personally do not like the term office … I guess that will be the topic of a future post). We see something similar in 1 Cor 12 where Paul lists gifts in vv. 8-10, and then in vv. 27-30 he lists people who are gifted in such a way. The fact that he is talking of gifted people rather than positions in the church is emphasized by v. 31 where he states: “But earnestly desire the best gifts” (emphasis mine) not “the best positions”. In contrast, we see Scripture teaching in 1 Tim 3:1 that the people desiring the position of overseer desire a good work, not a good gift.

As a final note, I would say that if this were a list of positions in the church, one would expect to see overseers and deacons mentioned as well, but they are not. Some might counter that pastor/teachers are mentioned in the place of overseers. I would argue instead that here we read about the gifting, pastor/teacher, that every overseer/elder should have (see Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2, and the qualifications for overseers in 1 Tim 3), but which gifting some others in the church could have even though they do not have the position of overseer/elder.⁴ I co-pastor a congregation which has many who are gifted as pastor/teachers, but at this time the congregation only recognizes two as holding the position of pastor/elder.

¹ Paige Patterson, The Troubled Triumphant Church – an Exposition of First Corinthians (Dallas: Criswell Publications, 1983), 211 and D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit – A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 35-6.

² Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians - An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 538.

³ Ibid, 541.

⁴ Ibid., 544-7.

Young Christian Filmmaker

I just wanted to put in a plug for one of my students: Josef Solc. His passion is movie making and will soon transfer from Southeastern College to UNCW to pursue a filmmaking degree. Josef has recently submitted an entry to the new FOX reality show On the Lot. You can view Shadowlight here. His movie is about hopelessness resulting in suicide: a hopelessness which is way too common among unbelievers and unfortunately also among believers. Even though it was hard to portray this in a 5 min film, Josef has shared with me that his passion is to be able to make movies with an underlying Christian worldview. So, if you get a chance, support young Christian filmmakers like Josef.

Church stretching

So I'm trying a out this new term. Since I don't like the term "church planting" (see here), I was wondering what term I should use. What do y'all think of church stretching (again go here to see where I am coming from)?

Also on the same topic, Cindy and I were talking and we were discussing that all the times we saw people traveling alone they were going to an established church, thus not necessitating the 2 or 3.

Thinking in community ...

The other day I was talking to a friend about a variety of things including the church. His opinion, and he is not alone on this, is that the preferred mode of teaching/learning in the church, is for a learned man to study a scripture passage for 20+ hours (preferably 40+) and then explain it to others at a weekly meeting.

Why am I mentioning all of this? It has been my conviction for some time, that lecturing is not the ideal way of learning for most people. I put this conviction to practice in my math/physics/computer classes by alternating lecturing with practice time, work on the board time, discussion time, etc. I put that conviction to practice in the classes I take by participating and asking questions. I put that conviction to practice when I disciple, by not relegating discipleship to just sitting down and teaching, but by also making sure that I live out my faith (on this last one, see a great post by Alan).

But I think that this discussion goes beyond the best way for the pupil to learn and includes the best way for ALL to learn. The other day I was sitting in Philosophy class and the professor stated that class discussion was beneficial, even for him, because it helped us ALL to learn. That is learning in community. Think about it this way ...

I stand and state my knowledge. Guido disagrees with me. If I am just lecturing, that is where Guido's learning process and my learning process stops (at least in that occasion). If we are learning in community, Guido states his disagreement. To be able to do that Guido has to think about his opinion and formulate it in a intelligible way. It is also possible that Guido has a good point and in that case I am forced to adjust my views. OR Guido has a flawed view and I then reply to Guido. To do that I have had to process Guido's view, which might be something I have never thought about, and see its impact on my views. After I stated my reply Guido is faced with a challenge to his opinion which forces him to see it from a different perspective and possibly adjust his views. As you can see, learning is happening everywhere in this scenario. Disagreement is not necessary, though. Guido could be furnishing complimentary information.

Consider the following scenario. Mandie comes to the house for supper. As usual we talk about many things and I mention that I have been trying to understand why I think that Eph 4:11 is talking about spiritual gifts and not positions in the church (post to come soon). I am doing this because of a question asked by another brother in Christ while we where learning in community on a Wednesday night home group. Immediately Mandie, who is very interested in women's issues, starts thinking out laud about this passage and the implications of the spiritual gift vs. position discussion from the perspective of women in the church, authority, etc. I, who love women, after all I married the best one out there, realize that I had not even thought about those implications while I was thinking of Eph 4:11. You see what happened? We learned in community. Had Mandie not come by the house or had I been lecturing, this stretching of my thoughts would not have happened.

Should I study 20+ (or even 40+) to understand God's word better. Yes! Should the people I interact with do the same and be allowed to share their thought publicly for maximized learning of all parties. Yes!

Grout gives hope ...

Just a word of encouragement to y'all tiling out there. Grout really makes a difference. You might look at your pre-grout work and even be slightly disappointed, but once the grout goes down ... wow, what a difference. I furnished the three pictures above to make my point. BTW - we are almost finished with the kitchen floor. Praise God!
Another tip: since we could not go without using the kitchen, I grouted the inside and I will grout the outside on Friday, that way there was always a part of the kitchen that we could walk on.

Alan's Blog, a must read!

* that is a reference to a comment Margaret made on my blog.

Not planting churches

This past Wednesday we discussed the beginning of Acts 13 in our home Bible study. We were discussing how, most often in the New Testament, we see people going out in groups of two or more. We spent some time discussing the fact that we thought there was much wisdom in sending groups versus individuals, but soon after that , our discussion turned to how this might relate to Matt. 18:20

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

(This passage is clearly in a section dealing with church discipline, and this should not be forgotten, as many do when they quote it out of context. In its context, though, it can help us understand the church since in v. 17, Jesus had just told them: "tell it to the church." As Miroslav Volf points out, as seen in More on Defining the Church..., there is a long tradition [Ignatius, Tertullian, Cyprian, John Smyth] that sees Matt. 18:20 as the foundation of, not only determining what the church is, but also of how it manifests itself externally as a church.)

Maybe, then the importance of sending out two or three was not only practical, but was also a way of sending the essence of the church. In our discussion Theron S. (who, by the way, has NOT written much at all lately) stated it best: they were not planting churches, they were sending the church there so that it might be salt and light and God might grow it in that new location.

I was reading an article by Alvin Reid in which he states:

...if the 1950s come back, we are ready.

They are not coming back. We must affirm the truth more than ever. We must teach our children the best of our heritage, including great hymns and the best of our past—how God has moved in mighty awakenings, how Christianity has influenced society for the better time and time again. We need to keep a love for preaching the Word and a love for the Word, and a passion for souls. But we must also be the people of God for this time, in this culture, in a way that brings glory to God and makes disciples of men and women.

I wish I knew a simple way to accomplish that. I don’t. I don’t think the early church had a clear idea of how to do that beyond the Great Commission and walking with God. ...

I just wanted to encourage you, as I tried to encourage him, that the answer is just that. It is not a program, but radically changed lives. It is people that disciple as they go (Matt. 28): lost people for the purpose of seeing God change their heart and saved people for the purpose of seeing them mature. It is leaven that leavens all the meal around them (Matt 13:33). It is believers who are all in one accord (Act 1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25) and who love one another (Jn 13:35) and therefore become irresistible light and salt (Matt 5:13-16).
When people look at me, is that what they see? When people look at you, is that what they see?

Second snow of the year ...

Well ... yesterday it snowed again! It came down harder than last time, but did not stick as much. I got to stay home from work: I slept in, spent some good time in Bible study and scripture memorization, got some school reading done, and got some work done on the house. As for the dogs ... as you can see, they loved to play in the snow ... just like kids.

The kingdom of heaven

I teach at a Christian high school in the mornings, and on Wednesdays we have a Chapel service to start the day. Last week Eric F. taught from Matthew 13:33

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

This parable is very convicting. If we, believers, are the leaven, and the meal is the people around us, then Christ has "hid" us in our neighborhoods, in our jobs, in our walks of live. It does not take much leaven to affect a huge batch (possibly 22 liters) of meal. Are we affecting all "the meal" around us?

Purpose ...

Having been at SEBTS since the Fall of 2002, I have run into many people and have had many conversations with them. It is not uncommon for me to talk to some who are at the end of their time here and who unfortunately feel like this has been the driest spiritual experience in their life.
How could one feel dry at seminary, you might ask. Well the following conversation will probably answer the question for you, as it usually does for them ...

"So why are you here at seminary?"
"To get prepared for the ministry!"
"So God has called you to minister?"
"Yes."
"Have you been doing that these last years?"
"Well, no, I've been too busy with school and work."
"So, what you are saying is that you were created for a purpose, and you are not fulfilling it. Can you understand why you are miserable? "

Are you fulfilling your purpose in life?

Kitchen tiles ...

Tile work is progressing in the kitchen ... the plan is to be done by the end of the week. We put down a brown tile border (shown in the top part of the picture) before we moved in. I have currently been installing the lighter tiles in the middle. They are rotated diagonally and have 12 accent tiles interspersed throughout the room.

New Camera

Yesterday I mentioned that we had purchased a new camera. Actually, it was a combination of Christmas gifts from la mamma e papà, mamie monette, & the mama, that allowed us to purchase it. Thanks y'all!

As with the saw, I figured I'd share with y'all what I learned in our buying process. Unlike the saw, though, I did find a site with a 5 part, all inclusive, buying guide, so I'll refer you to it and will not try to distill all that information into this post (happy Margaret ... no bla bla bla). What I will share is how we ended up deciding on the Sony α100 digital SLR.

Background: I have been shooting with SLRs for now 15 something years. I started with an all manual Yashica FX-3 Super 2, which I loved and still have (I keep black and white film in it). Then several years ago, to make it easier to take action shots and to make it easier for Cindy to take pictures, we bought a Minolta Maxxum XT. We have no beef with the Minolta and plan to keep on using it, but with the house renovations and the blog, it was going to be more convenient to have a digital camera.

The decision process: So, we saw our options as follows: small cheap digital, medium grade digital, digital SLR.
If digital was not up to par then the SLR was out of the question. It was probably going to be a the small cheaper camera or it was going to be the medium digital. What's the difference? The main one, for us, was that the small cheap digitals do not have good zooms and Cindy is addicted to zooms. We would use the Minolta for all important shots, and the digital for all the keeping track of progress on the house and blog shots.
So the main question was: was digital technology up to par for Cindy? (Ok, I'm picky too ... but she is the pickiest ... I think it is all those years of working as a database publisher) We were hoping that stores would have sample pictures taken with various cameras, but they did not. We thus decided to go to Wolf Camera and try two cameras out against our Maxxum. Cindy took two shots of me (one against a light background and one against a dark background) with a medium digital, the Sony SLR (the only camera which will accept the α mount lenses we had with our Minolta Maxxum SLR), and our Maxxum.

The Verdict: we looked at the results and had friends look at the result. The medium grade did not compare with the DSLR or the Maxxum, and was thus eliminated. As for the others, our friends correclty identified one digital picture shot with the DSLR, but missed the other. Bottom line ... they could not tell the difference. Thus we went with the Sony α100 digital SLR.
Why Sony vs. the other brands: it's the only one which could use our α mount Sigma lenses.

First snow of the year ...

It is snowing! So I took the opportunity to go out and take our new camera (Sony α100 digitlal SLR) out for a test spin. This picture is not full resolution: I am at home with dial-up and I did not want to upload a 10Mpixel picture. I will write more later.

A new table saw (part II)

So, it’s been almost a month since I’ve bought the new table saw (DELTA ShopMaster TS350), but believe it or not, I have yet to try it out. We have to do some furniture re-arranging before we can put it in the dining room: the room that was selected for me to make some saw dust in. I think God is continuing to teach me patience and self control because I’m like a little kid not able to play with his new toy and it is torturing me inside. The other day I did scratch that itch a little by turning on the saw (I was very surprised at how quiet it was - see the induction motor comment below), but that is as far as I’ve gone. Oh well, I’ve got to be patient.

In the meantime I wanted to compile thoughts about saw options and why I’ve learned that they are important (or not).

Cast Iron vs. Stamped Iron Tabletop
According to two articles written by American Woodworker, cast iron wing have “four valuable benefits that are worth the extra money.” The first advantage is the ruggedness of cast iron wings: you will not risk bending them as you might with stamped iron wings. The second is the added weight which dampens vibrations. The third is that they provide a great “dead-flat” surface which can be extremely useful for furniture assembly and more. And the fourth is that the table top, due to its solid flat nature, can be a very convenient surface to sharpen tools.^{1, 2}

Belt-Drive vs. Direct-Drive Motor
The general consensus is that belt-driven motors are a preferred option. By connecting the motor to the saw blade with the use of a belt, stress on the motor shaft bearings is reduced, vibration and noise are decreased (if the belt is healthy or if you have a segmented belt), and shaft elevation in less impaired.³ The motor is usually hanging in the back of the saw, on contractor models, or inside the cabinet, in cabinet saws. For contractor models, this decreases the mount of saw dust that the motor is exposed to, therefore causing the motor to last longer.⁴ It also makes it easier to replace the saw motor with more generic models instead of having to buy overpriced replacement motors for the original manufacturers.
On the other hand the advantages of direct-drive saws is that they are more economical³, they require a little less preventive maintenance (no belts and pulleys to check), and they transfer more of the motor’s power to the blade. Thus allowing a lower horsepower motor to do more work⁴.
Of interest is that fact that when American Woodworker in October 2002 published an article entitled “Small Shop Table saws”¹ in which they explain what they consider to be important features a saw should have, they did not mention the belt-drive vs. direct-drive issue.

Induction vs. Brush Motor
In case you were wondering what the difference was, an induction motor is a brushless motor.
Induction motors have a longer life time and are quieter, more efficient, and heavier than brush (or universal) motors. In addition induction motors, apparently, are “more of an "off the shelf" item.” The main advantage of brush motors is that they are cheap, lighter, and usually smaller.⁵

Evaluating the DELTA ShopMaster TS350
The TS350 has two great cast iron wings, definitely a plus. This makes the saw weight over 170 lbs, which makes it a pain to move, but more importantly, it makes it nice and solid.
The TS350 is a direct-drive motor saw. This is probably the one feature that I did not like on this saw because it decreases that the cutting height, possibly adds more vibrations, and might decrease the life of my motor. I think I read somewhere that it might actually be a belt driven motor, but that the belt is encased in the motor housing. Even if that is the case, blade height is not improved, vibrations might still be an issue, and if there is a problem with the belt, DELTA only sell the motor as a unit, so it only helps with a possible decrease of stress on the motor shaft. Again, I am not sure this is the case with the TS350, but I think that I read that somewhere.
The TS350 has an induction motor, which is a great plus.
The TS350 also is very enclosed with a dust port at the bottom, ready to be attached to a vacuum system. Dust collection was an important criteria for the American Woodworker¹, but I’m not sure if this was what they had in mind.
I’ll be honest, the ultimate keeping point for the TS350 is that I bought it for $270. I saw many saws that might have had a belt driven motor, but were twice the price and had stamped wings.

I look forward to testing this saw out and writing more about it in the future. BTW - I did download all the needed manuals and drawings directly from the DELTA website.

Sources
1. American Woodworker, October 2002
2. American Woodworker, September 2004
3. www.motherearthnews.com
4. Lowes Home Improvement
5. Ridgid Forum “Can’t decide on the saw” discussion

Our week-end off - part IV: so what did we do ...

While in St. Simons we rested (mentally more than physically). We ate some seafood. We took bike rides (including one which concluded with a wet ride home). We climbed to the top of the light house. And we walked (and sometimes ran) on the beach. As you can see below, the dogs loved the beach: so many birds to chase ...

Our week-end off - part III: honoring a pastor

At the center of this trip is the fact that our church wanted to honor its pastors. This is quite a "hot" topic in our community of believers. What does it really mean to honor a pastor?[1] I have much to say on the topic, but for this post let me focus on how this trip honored me, much more than a salary ever would.

Scripture states: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine - 1 Tim 5:17 (NKJV) From this passage, it seems to me that this honoring comes as a response to a job well done.

This is exactly how this trip was honoring to us. It was given to the pastors to thank us for all the work we have put into pastoring this family of believers. It was a gesture of appreciation and honor for the work that we did, not a way to hold us accountable or to free up our schedule. In addition, before we left, we were presented with gifts for our trip. The neat thing about these items is that they were the result of people knowing us. You see, this part of the honoring was personal. Just as Paul told Timothy to honor (personally) elders, so these people honored us in a personal way beyond the corporate gesture.

I do want to thank our body for honoring us in such a way. It meant so much to us.

[1] For some great throughts and conversation on the topic see:
*Theron's Honoring Elders post, posted on December 13, 2006 at 11:19 AM
*Alan's On Being Honored ... post, posted on December 16, 2006 at 10:52 AM

Natale

English translation found in the comment section

La mia mamma, sul suo blog, ha cominciato una serie di articoli sul metodo Tomatis. Nella sua introduzione scrive, a proposito di un libro di Tomatis: "Si conclude con una frase che per me era ed è tuttora il massimo “affermerò che ciò che conta nell’esistenza dell’uomo, è la fortuna di scoprire Dio stesso.”"

In questa stagione di Natale, questo commento mi fa pensare alla ragione per la quale Dio si è incarnato. Dio ci insegna nella Bibbia: "Dio ha tanto amato il mondo, che ha dato il suo unigenito Figlio, affinché chiunque crede in lui non perisca, ma abbia vita eterna." (Giovanni 3:16) Questo figlio non era semplicemente un figlio di Dio, come insegna il mormonismo, o un'incarnazione dell'angelo Michele, come insegnano i testimoni di Jahova, o un profeta, come insegna l'Islam, ma Dio stesso. Nel quattordicesimo capitolo del vangelo di Giovanni:

Gesù gli disse: «Io sono la via, la verità e la vita; nessuno viene al Padre se non per mezzo di me. Se mi aveste conosciuto avreste conosciuto anche mio Padre; e fin da ora lo conoscete, e l'avete visto ... Chi ha visto me, ha visto il Padre; ... Le parole che io vi dico, non le dico di mio; ma il Padre che dimora in me, fa le opere sue. Credetemi: io sono nel Padre e il Padre è in me; se no, credete a causa di quelle opere stesse. (Giovanni 14:6-10)

Dunque "la fortuna di scoprire Dio stesso" è la fortuna di scoprire il Cristo della Bibbia: questo Gesù bambino che celebriamo a natale che ha vissuto 33 anni (Dio e uomo), che è stato crocifisso per i nostri peccati, che è risuscitato, e che adesso è seduto alla destra del padre (non perché sono due, ma perché il padre è solo spirito, ma il figlio è anche corpo risuscitato). L'avete scoperto voi il Cristo della Bibbia? No? Potreste cominciare con leggere il vangelo di Giovanni.