A Citizen to Remember on Memorial Day

No story of an Anabaptist martyr has captured the imagination more than the tale of Dirk Willems.

Dirk was caught, tried and convicted as an Anabaptist in those later years of harsh Spanish rule under the Duke of Alva in The Netherlands. He escaped from a residential palace turned into a prison by letting himself out of a window with a rope made of knotted rags, dropping onto the ice that covered the castle moat.

Seeing him escape, a palace guard pursued him as he fled. Dirk crossed the thin ice of a pond, the "Hondegat," safely. His own weight had been reduced by short prison rations, but the heavier pursuer broke through.

Hearing the guard's cries for help, Dirk turned back and rescued him. The less-than-grateful guard then seized Dirk and led him back to captivity. This time the authorities threw him into a more secure prison, a small, heavily barred room at the top of a very tall church tower, above the bell, where he was probably locked into the wooden leg stocks that remain in place today. Soon he was led out to be burned to death.

Some inhabitants of present-day Asperen, none of them Mennonite, regard Dirk as a folk hero. A Christian, so compassionate that he risked recapture in order to save the life of his drowning pursuer, stimulates respect and memory. Recently Asperen named a street in Dirk's honor.

From Mirror of the Martyrs.

Encountering the Church

I had planned on posting something different. However, based on something that happened to me yesterday, I had to write about it.

Let me set the stage. I was at McDonalds with my kids. We were there for a nice lunch and some quality time at the Playland. Now there are about 20 people in the foyer waiting for their food. I was getting a Big Mac to take to my wife at school when this guy walks in. He had to be in his low 20s. Normal looking guy. Some sort of Jesus junk shirt on. This guy proceeds to say in a pretty loud voice, “Excuse me folks. My name is Aaron and I am from _________ Church. If anyone would like to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior say the following prayer with me.” He then proceeded to pray aloud a scripted prayer from a card he was holding for about a minute and a half filled with all sorts of Christianese. I stood there dumbfounded. Bewildered. I looked around at the rest of the patrons and workers and all I saw was embarrassment and uncomfortable shifting of feet. This guy finished his prayer, said “Amen,” and turned around and left the restaurant. That’s right – he didn’t stay to see if anyone actually accepted Jesus. He didn’t pursue any sort of follow up. He just left and walked off. All I could do was shake my head.

I tried to stare at the guy so he would see me and maybe come over, but he didn’t. If he had, this is what I would have like to have said to him:

“Aaron, I appreciate your passion for spreading the gospel. However what you are doing is not spreading the gospel. The gospel is good news that transforms, encourages, and brings grace. Your message is devoid of those elements. Evangelizing requires interaction with real people, not simply spouting a rote prayer to nameless faces. Spend your time, energy, and passion building relationships and you will see a much better return on your efforts.”

To be honest, I don’t blame this poor guy. He did not seem to be some lunatic from some crazy cult church. He seemed to be genuinely interested in sharing the message. I blame whoever is discipling this fellow. Who is telling him this is how he should live out his faith? Who is equipping him with the prayer and the tactic? That is the guy who needs to read again James 3:1: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

I guess when it is all said and done, my frustration is this: I understand that the gospel message is scandalous, but does the conveying of that message have to be an embarrassment?

A disturbing piece of WWII propaganda - By His Deeds by John Falter

I recently ran across the following government propaganda from World War II painted by John Falter. I really could not believe that it was made. It is an amazing piece that links patriotism to spirituality by comparing the dead soldier to Jesus and then asking what you have done to support your troops. Tremendously moving (especially for someone set in that time) and tremendously disturbing (at least to me in this time). It was often inscribed with "By His Deeds...Measure Yours". I have found two instances of magazines printing it. I would assume that there were more.



The picture below was the scan from Coronet, January, 1943. You can read the "By His Deeds...Measure Yours" at the bottom.



In Life Magazine, March 15, 1943, the picture was placed in the middle of the following message.

It is not pleasant to have your peaceful life upset by wartime needs and restrictions and activities....It is not pleasant to die, either....Between you who live at home and the men who die at the front there is a direct connection...By your actions, definitely, a certain number of these men will die or they will come through alive. If you do everything you can to hasten victory and do every bit of it as fast as you can....then, sure as fate you will save the lives of some men who will otherwise die because you let the war last too long....Think it over. Till the war is won you cannot, in fairness to them, complain or waste or shirk. Instead, you will apply every last ounce of your effort to getting this thing done....In the name of God and your fellow man, that is your job.

BY HIS DEEDS...MEASURE YOURS

The civilian war orgainzation needs your help. The Government has formed Citizens Service Corps as part of local Defense Councils. If such a group is at work in your community, cooperate with it to the limit of your ability. If none exists, help to organize one. A free booklet telling you what to do and how to do it will be sent to you at no charge if you will write to this magazine. This is your war. Help win it. Choose what you will do -- now!

EVERY CIVILIAN A FIGHTER

A lasting homage to the Prince of Peace.

Resource!

I just got back from Rochester College's Resource! conference. It featured Dr. Gordon Fee, Bob Russel and others. I will write more about it when I get a chance, but I'm really behind right now.

While you're wasting time...

on the net, check out freerice.com. It's a vocabulary game. Every word you get right will count toward 20 grains of rice for the world's hungry.

Living off of fumes

Spiritual fumes.

That is what it seems I am living off of. The recent revelation that I had (I say that in the hopeful sense because it has to be confirmed that I am clear, but signs are good although no medical verification yet) skin cancer has really made me evaluate everything about my life from the time I spend with my family, to my schooling, to work, to volunteering, to church, and to my spiritual life.

I used to believe that one could be spiritual apart from church. All one needs to do is read their Bible and pray regularly. A healthy spiritual life is just between the individual and Jesus. I do not believe that any more. I believe the church (or you can use that word community or Christian friends - people outside of one's family) are essential to healthy spirituality. Although I feel like I am on the verge of experiencing it at the church we are attending, I just do not feel that it is there yet nor am I hopeful that it will ever manifest itself. It seems like we are not of like mind on how communal spirituality should be lived out. Some in the church could care less, but it seems almost impossible to spiritually connect even with those who do care. Maybe it is just me and I need to change, but I just can't put my mind around how to fix myself or the situation. We have a weekly fellowship meal now, but true fellowship cannot be a program that is completed. It has to be a longing in each one's heart.

Through my self-examination (of both my skin and my spiritual life) of the last few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that I have been living off of spiritual fumes since we left the Lansing church. We have made some good friends along the way, but the spiritual union just is not there like we had (still have when we encounter them) with our brothers and sisters in the Lansing church. And I do not know what the hindrance is. It seems that everyone is so busy doing church that we do not take the time or the mental energy to be the church. But I do feel that six years has been long enough to empty the tank. We are empty and running on fumes. Thankfully, God lets these fumes last a long time but I am ready to fill up the tank.

Trinity Sunday

This Sunday is “Trinity Sunday” in the Christian calendar. With this worship service focus in mind, I have a confession to make. I have never been comfortable with the Orthodox view of the Trinity – specifically the Holy Spirit. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the power and in the product of the Holy Spirit, just perhaps not the “person.” I have heard plenty of explanations and metaphors to describe the Trinity (the egg, a river, different roles of the same person, states of matter, etc.), yet none seem overly supported by the Biblical revelation (as the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible either). Nowhere in the Bible do I see the Spirit as a physical entity, or part of the “Godhead.” Rather, the Holy Spirit seems to be a metaphor describing the extension of God’s power and action in the world.

Let me a give a few examples that support such a view:

In the Genesis 1 creation account, the Spirit of God hovered over the water. The picture here is that the power of God contained the mythological waters of chaos. From there, God transformed this chaos into something useful and “good.”

When Jesus quotes the Isaiah scroll in Luke 4, Jesus makes it clear that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him to accomplish a restructuring of the world order. It was the power of the Spirit in Jesus and his actions that would accomplish this, and not some entity.

Acts 2 provides an interesting example. In this story, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit actually makes a physical appearance. The Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, comes down and allows the apostles to speak in different languages. Again, the tongues are a physical representation of what the Spirit is doing by empowering the apostles.

Finally, though the word “Trinity” is not used in Scripture, people often sight the usage of the phrase “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” to point to a 3rd “person” of the Godhead. But using such logic, if Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, wouldn’t we expect the Spirit to be on the left? Yet no description of the heavenly realm contains such a depiction – the Spirit is not mentioned in such contexts.

I could go on, but the point I am trying to draw out of these examples is that I believe the Spirit of God/the Holy Spirit is simply a manifestation of God’s power. Or to put it a different way, the Holy Spirit is a term to describe the presence of God at work in this world in various means and ways. When we ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are asking for God to move in a powerful way in our lives. We are not praying to the Spirit but rather for the Spirit.

You may say to yourself, “Okay. This is not overly helpful.” On the contrary. I think it alleviates the burden of explaining an unexplainable concept. I believe this understanding also sheds light on what God is actually up to.

Patriotism and the Church - An alternative celebration for Memorial Day - State Violence in the Old Testament

I received an email from a friend (his name will remain anonymous because I do not know if he would want this posted on the internet as coming from him) and he recommended a book to me on the subject of Christian nonviolence. He instructs churches and individuals on nonviolence, but he has not been comfortable with any of the books out there - some are too dense or argumentative while others come across as too abrasive. He says that John Roth's Choosing Against War: A Christian View is a great book for the average person to read on the subject; it rides that fine line between too scholarly and too abrasive. I ordered mine from Amazon and it is on the way. I'll post a review when I get a chance. Right now, you can get a used copy for less than $6.00 after shipping if you want to check it out.

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Personally, I am still very hesitant to broach the subject of nonviolence in the Sunday School class I teach although I do think it will come up when we start to tackle our next book (Irresistible Revolution). I am focusing on being people of love. Eventually, my stance on nonviolence will come up, but I hope that the foundation of Christlike love will be enough to tackle the tough demand of being Christlike in all situations, even when the government wants you to take the life of another. It is a tough subject to broach in the presence of military veterans, of which I have one in my Sunday School class.

The subject of patriotism in the church came up in one of our elders' and deacons' meetings as we were discussing supporting the building of a veteran's memorial in the local park. I mentioned that I would not be comfortable doing that. It progressed into a discussion of why. It did not go well as one of the elders declared that I am at liberty to have my position because of people who have fought for my freedom. I tried to remain peaceful in the situation, and I think only through the grace of God was I able to maintain a peace witness through that conversation. The awkwardness of the situation was exacerbated by the fact that the deacon sitting across from the table from me is a member of the National Guard and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. We did refrain from supporting the memorial, but it is only a minor victory if even that. I must always remain focused on more than just being nonviolent; I must be a Christlike example of love. We need to be loving to the community, not just refrain from supporting the building of veterans' memorials.

For Memorial Day, we are going to remember and celebrate the saints who have been among us but have since passed on. There will be no nationalistic songs or recognition of our nation, except in praying for our leaders. We will tell the story of the servants from our midst in the hope that it will inspire us to be more faithful disciples today. I am nervous about the service and hope that it does the job of inspiring more Christlike devotion rather than ruffle any one's feathers.

Likewise, I am trying to think of an alternative celebration for Veterans' Day, one in which we will not have the military veterans stand up and applaud them. I am thinking along the lines of celebrating those who have served faithfully in the church for many years. Those veterans of the kingdom deserve proper recognition, not to puff them up but to show them as an example we all would benefit from seeing. We are so quick to celebrate sacrifice for our temporal kingdom, yet, to our detriment, those who spend years sacrificing for our eternal kingdom are not lifted up as examples to follow.

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Another individual sent me links to the following Greg Boyd's review of Peter Craigie's The Problem of War in the Old Testament. I found the posts to be an extremely interesting read.

Part 1 - The Problem of War in the Old Testament
Part 2 - Revealing the Horror of War
Part 3 - A Negative Object Lesson

After reading it, there is a variety of ways in which we can view war in the Old Testament. I have not firmly settled on one yet. For some it is a big hangup that God at times commanded war in the Old Testament; that subject seems to come up with most people who argue for us to take up arms for the state. Boyd lays out the idea that the commands in the Old Testament for warfare were made because God knew they were already set on warfare and he wanted to guide it to the best possible outcome. It is an interesting theory. It deals honestly with the Scriptures and does not cross the line into saying some parts of Scripture are inspired and others are made up propaganda. I like that in the view. I am not sure that I will become a teacher of Boyd's view. I will try to have a variety of views in my head to throw out there to those who have that hang up, but I do not know if I will ever firmly cling to a view of violence in the Old Testament. It just does not seem all that relevant to me and my daily journey as a disciple.

For me, violence, especially for the state, just does not gel with the teachings of Jesus on loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, loving our neighbors, and the teaching that our fellow citizens in the kingdom reside all around the world. My temporal citizenship might be in the United States, but my eternal citizenship is in the kingdom of God. I know we are supposed to submit to the government, but our obedience to the government only occurs when the government does not command us to sin, whether that be by sins of commission (doing what we should not do) or omission (not doing what we should do). If the government tells us to sin, then we gladly submit to the government's punishment but we must remain obedient to modelling the life of Christ. There is a difference between obedience and submission. The Bible tells us to submit to the government, not obey.

Our eternal citizenship always overrides our temporal citizenship. Some people like to think that America is the most Christian nation on earth. This view is also linked to the belief that our nation was created by God in a special way (I am sure he had a role in guiding its birth just like he has had a role in the creation of every temporal nation on earth). This myth that America is God's special nation allows us to blindly follow and obey our government no matter what they say. Obedience like that should be reserved solely for Christ. All other entities, including the church, should be followed discerningly.

Pentecost Prayer

Spirit of the Living Christ,
Come upon us in the glory of your risen power;

Spirit of the Living Christ,
Come upon us in all the humility of your wondrous love;

Spirit of the Living Christ,
Come upon us, that new life may course within our veins,
new love bid us together in one family,
a new vision of the kingdom of God spur us on
to serve you with fearless passion.

-source unknown

Just War Revisited

My mother sent me an article from the newspaper covering a service that honored some veterans. Her church had a nice recognition service that apparently was very well received. I quote the following not to vilify the pastor or negate what the church did. I feel that people who have fought for a just and right cause should be given proper respect and honor, even if I don’t necessarily agree with their means. However, there is a sentiment conveyed here that I have a difficult time accepting. The following is quoted from the article:

"Even in Old Testament times, God worked His will through warfare," Bliffon said. "If one nation sees another nation being oppressed and doesn't go to its aid, you're just as guilty as the oppressor." World War II offered a clear case of oppression by both Germany and Japan, he said.

"War is never the preference, but at times, it has to be an option," Bliffon said. "At times in American history, you can see the hand of God working through warfare to bring about His will."

On the one hand, I love what he had to say about nations rising up against oppression. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible are clear that such oppression is an abomination. But the follow up statement regarding war being an option holds the crux of the problem. Does God actually use warfare to bring about God’s will? Does God want us engaging in such things? Doesn’t God’s will for us to live override some other will that we think God has?

It is a sticky subject and I have no answers. As I said, I applaud the church for honoring these men and women because they have sacrificed much in the name of freedom and justice. I guess I am looking for alternatives other than war and bloodshed to bring about these ideals.

The Value of Art These Days

I just read an interesting article. It was about the parallel universe where there is a Christian version of everything in pop culture. We've all ranted about this before, but what made this article different is that it comes from someone outside the Evangelical Christian subculture. So, her shock and horror were fresh and authentic.

I thought the best line was this: "Striking a balance between reverence and hip relevance can be a near-impossible feat."

But what really got me thinking was what happens when you try to fuse a message with an unfitting genre. For instance, if you match the music stylings of Nirvana which are nihilistic and subversive with the Christian message of theologically-ordered obedience, what happens? Does the message lose something because of the music it is matched with? Does the music lose something? Yes and yes, potentially.

I remember thinking about this when I went to some hardcore concerts with my buddy, Chad Cronin. The range of emotions evoked by the music was limited to one, rage. As Christians there are things to be angry about. I get that. But if anger is the only thing people hear from you, their understanding of the Christian faith is likely going to be skewed a bit. Just as if all they heard from you was "I've got sunshine in my soul today... since Jesus came into my heart... and now I am happy all the day."

I wondered even more loudly when I discovered the goth Christian bands. "Isn't goth a celebration of darkness and perversion? "

So, this is what I have been thinking. Art is only as good as the messages it communicates. I don't just mean lyrics to a song either. The lyrics can be all about how great Jesus is, but if it sounds like a commercial jingle (as many songs on Christian radio do) then that communicates something irreverent about Jesus. Does it not?

What to do to help?

I watched the Iron Man movie last week. It was one of the best superhero movies that I have ever seen. It's theme focused on making a difference in the world. Tony Stark faced the stark reality of what he was doing and decided to make a difference in the world; he created an iron suit and took down the bad guys. In the real world, I do not know if the bad guys are as cut and dried as they are in the Marvel Universe. I also do not find easy ways to help people.

Let's say that you were to use $500 to help someone. What would you use it on?

This isn't just some abstract discussion. We all have rebate checks coming and could use them to help people. I am just wondering what the best use of the money would be for myself and, possibly, for you.

Ascension Day Prayer

O God, the king of glory –
You have exalted your only Son Jesus our Messiah
with great triumph into your kingdom in heaven.
You have shown that you are not only risen and alive, you are Lord.
You stand over and above all that is best in life as its source
You stand over all that is worst as ultimate victor
You stand above all powers and authorities as judge
You stand above all failure and weakness and sin as forgiveness and love
You alone are worthy of total allegiance, total commitment.
You are my Lord and my God.
We pray that you do not leave us comfortless
but send your Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us
Exalt us to the same place that our Savior Jesus has gone before us.
May we live and reign with you, our God, in a world without end.

Amen

Teacher Fired for Refusing to Sign Loyalty Oath

The story can be found here.

What would you do?

In Honor and Remembrance

Andy and Denise Timm were honored this past weekend at Macomb Christian Church for 20 years of ministry at that church. These days, 2 years is an accomplishment, much less 20. So, congratulations to them. For those who don’t know, Andy was my youth minister and very formative in me becoming who I am (the good aspects that is). I was asked to write a letter that was read at the banquet describing their impact upon me. So here it is:


Andy and Denise arrived at Macomb at about the same time as my family. We were both new to the area and new to the church. We experienced so much together – the purchase of the current property, the sell of the old property, the meeting at Stevenson High School, and finally the ground breaking and building of the current facility. There were plenty of ups and downs and through it all Andy and Denise continued to minister to the youth in the church.

I remember the beginning when we were a small, fledgling youth group. From Sunday to Sunday Andy would not know whether to expect 2 or 10. I remember a few youth groups at Andy and Denise’s old house when it was just Ryan Taylor, David Tanner and myself. I also remember a packed out downstairs where it was sitting room only. Or perhaps we were outside, experiencing another one of the many “Stupid Andy Games” that somehow introduced a new twist with a Frisbee, kickball, and 2-Liter bottle. Through it all – the games, the lessons, and the activities – Andy and Denise continued to pour their lives into ours.

I suppose what I appreciate most about their ministry to me was their patience. Yes, they were intelligent, spiritual, encouraging, and loving. But let’s be honest – how many people could put up with the immature behavior displayed by the group that Andy cut his Youth Ministry teeth on? I’ll never forget that fateful trip to the North American Christian Convention in Kansas City. One day we packed 10 people into a mini-van and as the boisterous teenagers had a good time Andy broadsided a car. Though I might have reprimanded said teens for distracting me and causing the accident, Andy went out, dealt with the situation and in an act of sheer patience, handed me the license plate from our van with a wry smile on his face. Yes, the Timms did more than put up with us – they encouraged us to grow and become who God created us to be.

From a personal standpoint, I was impressed and impacted by Andy’s intelligence in the Bible and the Biblical languages. He may have never realized this, but part of the reason I was eager to take Greek and Hebrew at GLCC was because of Andy’s use of the languages in our more in-depth discussions. He was the first to introduce me to the intellectual side of the faith.

And then there was Denise and her desire to use her vocal gifts by forming a youth choir. I will never forget our 5 member choir belting out Gaither tunes to a packed out audience of 20 at the old Hayes Road Property. How she made that group of tone deaf kids sound good I will never know.

A final impact that I wanted to touch on revolved around praise and worship. Both Andy and Denise displayed an understanding that worship is more than singing but connects the worshiper with the Creator. I distinctly remember the praise time at CIY in the early 90s where I was less than interested in singing along with Tony and Doni. But there they were showing that one could be led into the throne of God even by these long haired relics from the 80s. It didn’t matter the setting, they made it clear that the worship of our Almighty God, though it could be fun, exciting, and even emotional at times, was a privilege that should be taken seriously.

Plenty of stories could be recounted, from the police invading our Lock-ins – sometimes twice in one night – to the Love fests of encouragement at CIY, and through it all, wonderful memories were created. For these and the many reasons time does not permit me to expound upon, I will be forever grateful for the influence that Andy and Denise have had on my life. As I enter into my PhD study, I am constantly reminded that the academic world places a high priority on one’s background – where you have studied and more importantly under whom you have studied. But for me, the background that contains far more impact is the formative people in one’s Christian walk. And for me, the Timms are at the top of the list. Thank you for all you have done for me, and continue to do for the Kingdom. May God bless you in your ministry, because you have surely blessed me.