SHORT-CUTS TO IMMATURITY

“The Christian life is not a straight run on a track laid out by a vision statement formulated by a committee. Life meanders much of the time. Unspiritual interruptions, unanticipated people, uncongenial events cannot be pushed aside in our determination to reach the goal unimpeded, undistracted."


“Goal-setting, in the context and on the terms intended by a leadership-obsessed and management programmed business mentality that infiltrates the church far too frequently, is bad spirituality. Too much gets left out. Too many people get brushed aside. Maturity cannot be hurried, programmed, or tinkered with. There are no steroids available for growing up in Christ more quickly. Impatient shortcuts land us in the dead ends of immaturity." 


-Eugene Peterson - “Practice Resurrection,” pg. 133

Review: Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship

Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship by N.T. Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of Tom Wright's earliest books. An important basic read for popular Christianity and beyond.

View all my reviews

Review: Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N.T. Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Those who believe that Jesus is the King and Lord of the world today, accept his kingdom teachings and ways.

Tom Wright helps the reader confront the historical and theological assumptions that so many of the Jews listening to Jesus would have assumed regarding the coming of the Messiah; so many of the modern, western, and American assumptions we make today.

While clearing a path through the confusion of the many looking to shape their own vision of Jesus and a kingdom of their liking, Wright invites us on a journey of accepting the kingly rule of Jesus in all of its subversion, nuance, and complexity. He reveals a Jesus who calls his people to be the worshipping church together, desiring his lordship in every area of their lives and in every category of the created order.

In the end, he calls the church to her true mission: To Worship the triune God of the Bible by receiving her established Lord and King. He tasks the baptized to together open their hearts and lives to the Kingdom work that he longs to do through them. We proclaim the Good News of redemption through Christ and aid people as they begin to live the new creation that has taken and is taking root in the church and in their lives. The kingdoms of this world will not endure, but the powers are unaware of who is truly in control and that they have already been defeated.

It is only our God who builds his eternal kingdom (both now and in completion someday); those building their own kingdoms (while naming them the kingdom of God) will find the life and teachings of Jesus inconvenient, indeed.

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Humility or the Need for Cultural Power?

This is a short article worth reading. If you read it, read all of it to the end.

https://religionnews.com/2020/05/26/aka-jane-roe-and-the-humiliation-of-the-pro-life-movement/

The Model of St. Patrick

As a teenager, Patrick was captured and made a slave by Irish pirates off of the coast of Britain. After six years of labor in Ireland, he escaped with the aid of some fishermen. During his time in Ireland, he became much more devout in his Christian faith. Not only did Patrick forgive those who had enslaved him, but after training and schooling returned to bring them the Gospel as a missionary.

James 1:

2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  

For the Christian, God can always take that which is evil and turn it into good. But he can only do so for those who "count it all joy" when falling into various trials. When we become imbittered and unthankful to the Lord during the most difficult of times, he is unable to heal, strengthen, and lead us. We shut the door of hope to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God for St. Patrick's wonderful model of accepting God's healing, living, and transforming grace through the most difficult and enduring times. May we be encouraged to walk in his shoes.

The Peace of Christ be yours today!!!!

Our Thinking is to Be Turned Inside Out

"Our thinking is to be turned inside out when we realize that the true God raised Jesus from the dead and thereby announced to the whole world that he is the life-giving God, the God of generous love, the God who takes the metaphorical leprosy of the world and deals with it. Let the true God renew your mind as you worship and follow his risen Son."

Wright, N. T. (1994). Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (p. 67). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Discerning Spiritual Leadership

The writer of Hebrews is concerned with some churches who were struggling and being tempted to walk away from their beliefs about Christ. What these Hebrew Christians didn't realize was that their very spiritual lives were at stake. So why were they vulnerable to some of the false doctrines promising them things that the Gospel never had?

Hebrews 5:12-14

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the world of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 6:1
Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity...

"You hear it said [these days], with a great air of religious common sense, that it is the man that the modern age demands in the pulpit, and not his doctrine.  It is the man that counts, and not his creed. But this is one of those shallow and plausible underparts which is blandly offered for the arduous whole. No man has any right in the pulpit in virtue of his personality or manhood in itself, but only in virtue of the sacramental value of his personality for his message. We have no business to worship the elements, which means, in this case, to idolize the preacher ... To be ready to accept any kind of message from a magnetic man is to lose the Gospel in mere impressionism.  It is to sacrifice the moral in religion to the aesthetic. And it is fatal to the authority either of the pulpit or the Gospel. The Church does not live by its preachers, but by its Word."

Peter T. Forsyth - a speech in 1907

We live in a society of people who want to remain children. Children think in very simple and concrete terms: yes or no, black or white, good and bad, my group and your group. This is the crowd most ready to latch onto or commit to "dynamic leaders". They want leaders who will make the complex simple, the profound manageable, the painful anesthetized, and consequences inconsequential. But the mature and the discerning, i.e., "those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil" will not tolerate such things. They are mature and live a life of complexity, discipline, and patience.

Instead of using the church as a spiritual crutch, those who are mature will desire both truth and accountability. The mature will stop church shopping when the going gets tough (or uncomfortable) and commit to a messy but grounded covenant family by which to use their gifts for the kingdom of God, They will accept the complexity and transcendence of God's great character, ways, and salvation, and lay aside the facade of personal control and self-preservation.

Or - like most Americans - Christian or not, they will continue to follow the dynamic leaders and churches that promise things they can't deliver and American dreams that God never promised.

Do you want to be a spiritual child or a mature adult?

If "adult" is you answer, then stop following the salesmen, pop stars, and ringleaders, and start following Jesus through those clergy who are more concerned with giving you Christ and His Kingdom rather than their own answers, visions, and empires; who are committed to leading the church by walking with their people through the joy, confusion, pain, grounding, eternal hope, and lasting peace that Jesus Christ came to give us.

True Christian Community

Church Membership and Confirmation

Membership and Confirmation

What is Confirmation? While we do not have the space to delve too deeply into the history and theological ideas behind confirmation in more detail, suffice it to say that in its beginnings, confirmation was an aspect of the Sacrament of Baptism which involved the laying on of hands of a bishop communicating and welcoming the Holy Spirit into the lives of the newly baptized. It was a sign and seal of the mysterious work of God involved in the sacrament of Baptism for those with faith in Jesus Christ (or those being nurtured toward this faith in Christ if infants). 

Confirmation developed in time (in the Western Catholic Church BUT not in the Eastern Church) as a way for the Bishop to still be engaged in the baptism of a child or adult (thus communicating his important place of authority in apostolic succession) after the fact. Thus, pastorally and historically it developed into an aid for the church to encourage those who had been baptized to CONFIRM (both personally and communally) that they understood the Christian faith, were committed to following Jesus as Lord, and were desirous to grow in their learning, obedience, and motivations. In time confirmation especially became the place where those baptized as infants (or those whose baptism coincided with being a citizen of a “Christian” nation), could learn and embrace the Christian faith under the authority and guidance of the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church”.

However, in Scriptural, historic, and theological terms, Confirmation serves Baptism, not the other way around. The sacrament of Confirmation does not seek to solve the mystery or importance of responding in faith to the Gospel message in partnership with the place of Baptism in our conversion – releasing and giving us faith, the Holy Spirit, and new birth in Christ. In other words, Confirmation is not the place where we “ask Jesus into our hearts” but where we personally commit and live out our faith in him in more meaningful and communal ways. If confirmation becomes that place where the Holy Spirit enlightens us to understand and internalize the Gospel message, however, we are joyful, indeed!!!! But there is nothing to say that this has not already happened in the life of the baptized as they kneel to be confirmed by their bishop.

Confirmation helps those who are baptized and committed to Christ (or considering this commitment due to a nominal view of their baptism) to then takes steps toward ever-growing discipleship in Christ, embracing a life of continual “repentance and faith” (thus, a continual conversion). Confirmation can aid all of us as we continue to live out the “already” and “not yet” aspects of our redemption.

Father Tom

Moralism is the Enemy of the Gospel

"Moralism is the enemy of purity, integrity, and authenticity. On its surface, moralism looks helpful, but the surface is deceiving. Moralism is very concerned with what it does and how it looks. It is obsessed with public relations and the perceptions of those that it is trying to impress or motivate.""

"Moralism, in its most basic definition, is the doing of good things, the embrace of good behavior, and the measurability of said things in comparison with others. Moralism is self-serving under the guise of serving and sacrificing for others. This is why it is such a dangerous, capricious, and duplicitous enemy. It (and the Evil One’s subtle use of it) often fools us all."

"Moralism produces visible and short-lived behaviors without changing a person’s beliefs and character. In other words, if the “heart” of a person or an organization does not change, a lasting, loving, authentic behavior will not take root. Integrity cannot be faked, and in the end, is seen most clearly when one has something to be gained or lost. Only a “heart of flesh” can be genuine in its intentions and good works."
("Was Jesus An Evangelical", Reeves, Page 167).

True Freedom

It is hard to intimidate or manipulate those who are willing to die


Willing to Die - John 19:1-16 (Audio)

N.T. Wright - Following Jesus

Do You Have the Courage to Make a Pharisee Mad?

"If you follow Jesus, eventually you are going to tick-off some Pharisee. Stop worrying about what people think, and start thinking about obedience to the will of God."

 -The Rev. Dr. Michael Van Horn

There is a Fountain - Audio

True Healing from God

A wonderful sermon which helps us distinguish between God-ordained healing and the rote incantations of individualistic religious magic.


Audio Sermon - Be Thou My Vision; The Rev. Dr. Michael VanHorn

WWJD? or maybe not.

"What was the cause of their relentless hostility to Christ? Neither his messianic claims nor his occasional Jewish unorthodoxies, it seems to me, account for the bitter resentment he aroused in them. There were others at that time in Judea, each of whom claimed to be the Messiah, and for the most part, Christ conducted himself like a strict and pious Jew."

"No, as I see it, Christ's real crime was simply that he spoke the truth, which is intolerable to all forms of authority--but especially ecclesiastical. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free, Christ said. In the eyes of Caiaphas and his associates, as later in the eyes of Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov, Christ had to die because the truth he spoke and the freedom he offered undermined the authority other men claimed and exercised."

Malcome Muggeridge (1903-1990), Jesus Rediscovered.

Adam...and Scientific Confusion (N.T. Wright and Others)

Book Review: Failure of Nerve

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1182367834?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The Meeting of the Divine Council - Psalm 82 (AUDIO)

https://anchor.fm/fr-thomas-reevess-podcast/episodes/The-Meeting-of-the-Divine-Council---Psalm-82-e4ldfp

Liturgical Anti-intellectualism

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2014/09/26/liturgical-anti-intellectualism/

An Informing Tradition and the Illumination of the Holy Spirit

To my evangelical, congregational, and non-denominational brothers and sisters in Christ, the suggestion of this book is that every American person and church has an informing tradition. “No Creed but Christ” is and has always been an illusion that cannot be maintained. When believers have laid aside the ecumenical creeds as valid representations of their faith, they have – and always will – replace them with more current and highly informed “statements of beliefs” and other kinds of theologies. No one has, and no one ever will read or understand the scriptures inside an individualistic vacuum. It is impossible for us to act in such a way because we are created and made for community. Like it or not, we humans are always dependent on networks of people regarding the way we think and live.

All Christians read the scriptures with some kind of directing spectacles informed by our church history (or lack of one), church culture, and the society in general that we live in. Can we identify our spectacles, and if we can, are the spectacles worth retaining? The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit will not automatically erase our blind spots or be unhindered by our spiritual, intellectual, and historical laziness.

(WJE, Pages 17-18).

See also the below:

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/06/19/the-optional-bishop/

Wonderful Easter Sermon

Letting Go In Order to Recieve - Rev. Dr. Michael Van Horn

How Do We Carry the Body of Christ's Death in our Bodies?

N.T. Wright commenting on Paul's phrase in 2 Corinthians 4:10 about "carrying the death of Jesus in our bodies": If you want to see resurrection at work here and now, in your own life, you have to be prepared to see crucifixion at work as well. And if the Corinthians want an apostle who is living the gospel he proclaims - Paul isn't sure that they do want this, but they ought to! - then they must look for these signs."

"Don't look in other words, for a showy, flashy rhetorical presentation which leaves the problems and sufferings of the world to someone else. Look for someone who is being given over to death for the sake of Jesus, so that Jesus' life may be revealed even in their mortal humanity.""2nd Corinthians for Everyone", pg. 45

The FIRST THINGS as Grounded by Historic Precedence

The reality is that Protestants can claim no authority for the New Testament as Holy Scripture without Apostolic and Patristic credibility, care, and precedence, yet we feel so free to make up our interpretations of Christianity as we see fit as if the Bible was penned outside of a context.  God breaks into space and time, but he engages it and uses it.  The Holy Scriptures were not written in a Gnostic and esoteric vacuum chamber.

We Anglicans spend so much of our time over-reacting to Roman Catholicism, that we end up throwing out the very foundations of our discernment regarding our history and theology.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-decision-women-deacons-cannot-be-made-without-historical-foundation?clickSource=email

Healthy Relationships or Divided Allegiance?

Thy Kingdom come...Matthew 6:10

As God is everywhere, so is His kingdom everywhere. But there are tracts and territories that are not under the domination of their rightful King, and that is what is meant by sin. Men are always trying to find satisfaction in creatures, but where they give their first allegiance to created beings the result is an inevitable disappointment, and that disappointment is a symptom of their disloyalty or their divided allegiance.

Fr Andrew - Meditations, pg. 298

Do a Few Things and Do the Well (Part 2)

So what are those “few things” right now that God wants St. Peter and St. Paul to be (and DO!)? Well, in part this question still needs to be worked out together in tangible ways, however, I think that there are some things that we all need to think and pray about.


It is my belief that the scriptures teach that there are key characteristics that a healthy church will exhibit (making the main things, the main things). These identification markers should include:


ñ the worship of the triune God in discipline and sacramental mystery
ñ the effective communication of the Holy Scriptures
ñ the development of Biblical family
ñ the centrality of prayer (liturgy and free)
ñ the training of people in their ministry gifts
ñ a life-long approach to reaching out to others with the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ.


God calls the church to engage these things as a gathered “body” of Christ, and individually[1] out in the world.


As we have heard the Holy Scriptures preached and taught over the years, we have engaged each of the above listed characteristics (we will also continue to do so). If we as a church body want God to bless, and if we indeed want to encourage a real season of “growth” (spiritually and numerically) then what can we do to prepare for it?


While we are a family together, we are also unique individuals, given gifts by Christ to serve his church and thus, the world. How does God want to use you? Yes, I am talking to you (insert your name here:___________________________).


First of all, do you believe that he wants to use you? You are the one who has to believe that God wants to use you right where you are, at your age, in your circumstance, and in your financial situation. Do you believe it? We close off the power of the Holy Spirit when we lay aside God’s promises and callings due to our own inferiority or excuses.


Secondly, are you asking him to use you in any way that he chooses? We are not the lords of our own lives, HE is. So are you willing to submit to this? This might mean that you will be called by God to involve yourself in attempting things that you have never attempted before. This may mean that you may need to STOP doing other good things in the church (or in your life), so you can do what God is calling you to do FIRST OF ALL. Open your heart to him in regular prayer and ask HIM how he wants to use you. He promises to answer us.


Thirdly, are you praying for others in our body, that God would use them? Yep, more prayer (grin). Sometimes we are so busy doing, that we don't take the time to stop to listen and communicate with our Lord. Through the resurrection power of the Spirit, we can change this. Don't beat yourself up, or put unrealistic expectations on yourself, but make time during the week to pray for yourself and others so that we as a body will be truly led by him. It is his strength and guidance that we must have.


Fourthly, do you love those you know who are unchurched? Are you praying regularly for these same people? Who are those people in your life? Start (or continue) praying for them, that God would soften their hearts to the Gospel and use our church (starting with you [insert your name here:___________]) to lead them to Jesus Christ. You don’t need to be anybody else to lead someone to consider Jesus as their savior and Lord. The Lord wants to you use you with your gifts, personality, and background.


Lastly, prepare yourself through prayer and meditation for UNCOMFORTABLE CHANGE as our church grows. NO, this does not mean that the pastor has any crazy ideas that he is going to surprise you with...what it means is that if a church is going to choose to love one another and love the world outside, then we must embrace that there is no real love without sacrifice.


As a body grows numerically, the dynamics of that body will also change...the relationships and warmth don't have to change...but you might find God using you (or those you know now) to spend time with other newer people in our church that need to be served. He might call you to do different things...which means YOU (meaning all of us) may have to give up your control over what God wants to do in our church.


He might answer our prayers by bringing (who others may see as) “undesirables” to our church (remember Jesus and the Leper?). Embrace this pain, don't run away from it! Through prayer and seeking God with all your heart, prepare yourself now to be what he wants you (and all of us at SP & SP) to be.


Father Tom


Remember, the Lord is already in the future waiting for us. We have nothing to fear.

---

[1]    Individually, but never on our own...we are always a part of the one church of Jesus Christ

An Introduction to the Theology of Baptism of the Church Fathers

A Brief Interaction with the Church Fathers on Baptism

Do a Few Things and Do Them Well (Part 1)

There is only one being who can do all things at once and do them well. Only our triune God is unlimited by time, space, and situation. As Paul reminds us in Colossians 1:17, “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together... “ The reality is that God not only is a wonderful creator, he is the wonderful sustainer.


God is intricately involved in his created universe, and he never becomes tired or overwhelmed. This is a mind-numbing thought for we humans (who often get tired AND overwhelmed), and this reality should encourage us that we do not have a “Clark Kent/Superman” kind of God, but a God, while comprehended in part, is none-the-less, incomprehensible. Not only are there things that we do not understand about him and his ways, there will always be a vast gap between the creator and his creation. If it were not so, then we would have a God that is more like the mythological and pagan gods of old; more super-human and maniacal than truly god-like in character and power.


I continue to be encouraged with how well we are able to accomplish a helpful and sharp presentation regarding our worship and church life. We are small in number and resources, but our way of doing things reflects a desire to do things well. For example, our banners are tasteful and first rate. Our worship space is simple but communicates an appreciation of historic symbol and the importance of art in worship. We are led musically in worship by people who take their craft seriously, yet do not want worship to be hindered by an attitude of “performance.” We present a wonderful newsletter, missal, and are meticulous in our Council and committee notes to be truthful and accurate. Led by the building and grounds committees past and present, we have a well-maintained and beautiful church building and property that enhances our ability to worship and minister to people. Our many volunteers are doing a wonderful job keeping our facilities clean and presentable.


All that said, however, we are still limited according to God’s design. We are often driven by many things in our lives, that if not reflected on (and changed by the Word and Spirit) end up driving us. We all have insecurities and hurts that need healing and that can make us feel inadequate; we have self-imposed requirements on ourselves that are often unrealistic; we at times take a “blasie-someone-else-can-do-that attitude” (that puts the burden on too few); we are tempted to put our glory and control in front of the glory of Jesus; and we have to fight a constant need to “do God's job for him” if we don't like the way he is choosing to work in someone's life or our church as a whole.


Listen to the wise words of Eugene Peterson:


“It was a favorite them of C.S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone.”


“But if I vainly crowd my day with conspicuous activity or let others fill my day with imperious demands, I don’t have time to do my proper work, the work to which I have been called.”


I think that God has much for us in 2019 and beyond. However, like his process in our sanctification, he does not give us everything at once to handle. He gives us our responsibilities and callings gradually. When we follow his timing and are PATIENT (not irresponsible or unresponsive), we find his moving and power is PERFECT. When we run ahead of his timing, we are usually pushy, anxious, and potentially divisive.


How can we balance the limits of our finiteness while being faithful stewards seeking to be disciplined and effective in our “ministry” to the people God has called us to love? Well, the scriptures tell us that we are to do so meditatively (evaluating ourselves and our motives), prayerfully (realizing it is only the Holy Spirit that can break through our blindness and hardness), patiently (moving TOGETHER in the Spirit while possibly having differing applications and specific ministries in our faithfulness), and sacrificially, modeling the Christ who came that the world might have lasting life and light.






Father Tom

Review: Theology: The Basics

Theology: The Basics by Alister E. McGrath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read in the hope of using this tome for the training and teaching of parishioners. Have read multiple of his books before, but was disappointed with the usual Evangelical Pietistic Anglican approach to treating the core Patristic Church fathers as “Mascots” in CORE AREAS to be read and interpreted through, Luther, Calvin, and current modern theological lenses. Most Protestants, however, will have fewer qualms.

I.e., while I am a fan in many ways of Karl Barth's theology (especially his Doctrine of God), he is almost helpless regarding his views on the sacraments as they have been historically understood. McGrath jumps all over this and continues to fuel the limits of Reformational myopia when it comes to an ecclesiological application of the mystery of God's work in the sacraments and within his Covenant Community as a whole (this also crops up in multiple ways in McGraths "Historical Theology", but in far less obvious ways). McGrath's Genevan Reformed bias is evident in his treatment of tradition, Holy Scripture, the sacraments, and the church.

As an Anglican Priest, I found this book too often showing forth the individualism as birthed by the enlightenment and modernity. That said, there is much to commend the book for in its basic assertions, and the attempt by the author to expose the reader to core thinkers and theologians of every age. McGrath is a top-notch Christian thinker and scholar. Until I find something more integrative with a Patristic Covenantal understanding of conversion and ecclesiology, I will use this book with my parishioners.

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Review: Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought

Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought by Alister E. McGrath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A helpful introduction to many of the key periods of the church and some of the theological developments today. Only read up through the Medieval period, but found his treatment of key theologians and the development of theology fair and helpful. Will continue to use this work as a reference.

I have read and have used much of McGrath's writing for my study and use in my ministry over the years. He is a top-notch scholar with a Protestant/Evangelical bent when it comes to his Anglicanism. In this book, he addresses the importance of tradition (more than many Protestants will do), but still functions theologically as if the Reformation is the true birth of the Church. His Genevan Reformed bias is often clear to see for those with a nominal understanding of the Reformation.

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Review: Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape

Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape by Andrew Stephen Damick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Against the Protestant Gnostics

Against the Protestant Gnostics by Philip J. Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent and important read for discerning the creational disdain and Gnostic influence in Western Society and in Protestantism in particular. Without a good Creator who cares about all of his creation, we have no New Heavens and New Earth. Without a communal salvation, we have no individual salvation, and salvation is not found within our individualistic sin-ridden self, but outside of ourselves in the objective work of Christ. We have a personal faith, but it is a creational, personal, and communal faith. This is orthodox Christianity and salvation.

2nd Reading of certain sections for use in the writing of my second book.

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Review: The Meaning is in the Waiting: The Spirit of Advent

The Meaning is in the Waiting: The Spirit of Advent by Paula Gooder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Used it for a 5-week Advent study in my parish. Good scholarship and application. I would use Paula Gooder again in a heartbeat.

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Review: Against Heresies

Against Heresies by Irenaeus of Lyons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A foundational book for understanding Patristic and Eastern theology and ecclesiology. Some of the earlier books are mind-numbingly detailed about many or the heresies contained in the various Gnostic groups and heresies. Will try to add to this review in specifics at a later date.

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Review: Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers: Focusing Concern and Action

Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers: Focusing Concern and Action by Christopher A. Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very thoughtful and good introduction to the Church Fathers especially written for those from a Protestant and Individualistic Christian background. Unfortunately, most clergy and parishioners will likely give up too early on this book before understanding the benefits awaiting them. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I would encourage you to read the final chapter first (chapter 8) so as to bolster your resolve in your discipline to understand and benefit from this book.

Christopher Hall has a strong grasp of the audience that he is writing to and does a nice job preparing them not only to be introduced to some of the central Western and Eastern Patristic Fathers but also to the importance of the Fathers for belief and life today.

The last chapter alone is worth the purchase of the book especially for American Christians who value their Christianity and their "personal relationship with the Lord" as the center of their universe because they believe themselves (and God's interest in them) to be what really matters in life. Not only will the truths in this book potentially ground a teachable heart to the Word, Scriptures, it might also save some from turning away from Christianity and/or the church.

Too often, people not grounded in the core foundations of their faith (and how their beliefs have been handed down from the faithful Covenant People of God) will begin to be disillusioned with Jesus and his church when the church disappoints them, or when Jesus doesn't show up on their timetable. When questioning their faith, and while the world around them offers them so many options, a foundational "big picture" and the greatness of God in the past, present, and future can help stabilize them as they navigate life.

My criticism of the book also comes from statements in the last chapter which reveal the "Protestant Angst" that comes in admitting that we all have informing traditions. The writer (quoting another Evangelical Scholar) talks of the need for different traditions not to "shove their traditions on others". Valid point, but that said, the phrase should be "shove SOME of their traditions" on others. The one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, DOES have quite a bit of core tradition that MUST be insisted upon, and no cross-reference verse in scripture is going to clear it up for us outside of communal interpretation.

The concepts of a slowly gathered Biblical Cannon developed over thousands of years IN AND WITH THE COVENANT COMMUNITY OF CHRIST (both old and new covenants) insists that there is core tradition that we DO require, no matter what Christian group it is. There was a relationship with a Covenant Communal People and our Lord before a word of Scripture was penned (both Old and New Testaments). Through the Holy Spirit, He used the faithful people of God in Community to pen, gather, assemble and disseminate our Holy Cannon. He used the Councils to clarify the Incarnation of Christ, and the Triune beliefs about our saving covenant God (neither of the words " Incarnate" or "Trinity" appear in scripture). This means that the Spirit DOES establish and insist on good and non-optional tradition, no matter the tensions and mystery involved. Supra-scriptura, YES; Sola-scriptura has NEVER been true.

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Review: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I decided to read this book after watching an extensive documentary on the life and writing of J.D. Salinger. Of course, I first heard about the book because it is still required reading in schools across the country to this day. It is a book that continues to sell very well and it is seen as an American Classic.

As a Christian (and a pastor), I also believe it important to understand and interact intelligently with literary forms which reflect or influence today's art and culture.

I am not sure if this is the most influential book regarding the "stream of consciousness" approach to writing, but it certainly engages the style in a profound way. On the one hand, the author is trying to represent an adolescent who is seemingly more introspective, thoughtful, and resentful than most of his peers. On the other, the writing seems to purposely revel in dialogue which often seems to have little purpose, coherence, or direction. The style seems purposeful so as to communicate a disdain for the key subject matters (shallowness, phoniness, and greed) coupled with a pretentious obsession to critique and morally rise above them.

It may be that this book resonated so deeply in the American culture in its day (and now) because Holden Caufield is such a contradictory, narcissistic, moralistic and hypocritical character while finding people with similar characteristics (and especially the older generations) "goddamn" unbearable. Holden has little hesitation in playing judge, jury, and executioner for whoever he finds as an irritant. Few escape his scrutiny, and most people he meets wear the tag phony, largely, it seems, because they do not share his acidic resentments and simplistic unnuanced judgments. And yet, Holden DOES see legitimate patterns of hypocrisy and phoniness; shallowness and greed; selfishness and brutality. However, he seems to see little value in constructive and sacrificial ways of approaching these challenges or problems.

While Holden may be written to reflect a spoiled middle-class teen with profound resentments and cynicism, his characteristics seem celebrated not critiqued. This seems to reflect on Salinger's upbringing, life, and his intolerance of others. Holden Caulfield in the quintessential individualist who makes himself both his own deity and self-destroyer at once.

Could it be that this book resonated (and still resonates) with an American audience because it reflects the hypocrisy and pain so many have experienced as they were reared in families, institutions, and places of worship that they have encountered? Does it resonate with them because of the frustration, boredom, and emptiness of the expected directions that they have felt entombed to fulfill? Does it reflect our own struggle with our empty individualism, narcissism, hypocrisy, and greed; our own search for our own kind of moral superiority? I think so.

I didn't care much for Holden until the end of the book, where he finds himself challenged and softened by the love of a child. To his credit, he allowed it to happen.



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Reflections on the Beginning of a New Era

Wonderful article. May the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul be one of those small parishes.  May we truly be used to unify and invigorate Christ's "one holy catholic and apostolic church."

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/07/18/reflections-on-the-beginning-of-a-new-era/

Toward Vocation

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three-thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:41-42

...each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one in body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them... Romans 12:3-5

Often, we think of ourselves first of all in relation to the way that we provide for our and our family’s needs. We might hear some appreciative wife state that her husband “is a good provider.” While, certainly, this is a good thing, is this the starting place for our values? How does our Lord Christ think of us? Does what we do in our professions truly make us who we are?

Father Andrew has some helpful words in this regard.

There are three ways in which we can look at what we do as an occupation, a profession, or a vocation. Roughly speaking, our occupation is that which we do because we think we will or because we have nothing better to do; our profession is that which we are paid to do.  But our vocation is that which we do because we believe the great God, Who gave us our mind and intellect and affections and every part of our being, is calling us to use all that He has given us in harmony with Him, to glorify Him, and to express His beauty in our life.

Our Lord had His times of recreation, when He went to the marriage-feast at Cana, or the house of His friends at Bethany.  But all the while He was doing the will of God.  His occupations were lifted to the level of vocation.  He had His profession.  He was a carpenter, and doubtless a very good carpenter.  But His profession all the while was fulfilled in obedience to, and to the glory of, His Father.  Again, to the Scribes and the Pharisees their religion was their profession, and to many people it is just an occupation, but our Lord’s religion was always a vocation.  He went to His prayer with a sense that He was called to it.  He came from His prayer with a sense that all His life was to be lived in communion with His Father.

Father Andrew’s astute observations coincide with the words of Jesus when he detailed and explained the futility of life associated with mere existence and self-provision in Matthew chapter 6:

For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

We must pray that our religion may never drop into being occupation or profession, but that the occupation and profession and the whole of life may be lifted to the level of vocation, that God’s Holy Spirit ‘may in all things direct and rule our hearts.’ (Father Andrew, Meditations, pg. 257)

May our prayer and aim be that our Kingdom vocations will saturate and direct how we occupy ourselves in the created order and engage the professions to which we are tasked. When we see everything in our lives as Kingdom energy, our discernment grows.

-Father Tom

My first published article (weblog of "The Living Church Magazine").

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/06/19/the-optional-bishop/

Review: Meditations for Every Day

Meditations for Every Day by Father Andrew
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A devotional for those who don't want easy answers to complex problems. While each day's devotion is concise, there is a lot of knowledge packed into those few paragraphs.

Father Andrew gives Christ-centered instruction from an Anglo-catholic viewpoint.

I have found this devotional to be a true treasure.

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Review: The Epistles of St. Ignatius

The Epistles of St. Ignatius by Ignatius of Antioch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very helpful. Great exposure to St. Ignatius direct writings via audio book.

St. Ignatius is an important early church father who was a ministry compadre of Polycarp and likely was discipled directly by the Apostle John. One of the earliest church Bishops, Patrisitic Fathers, and Martyrs, his writings give us insights in the beliefs and ecclesiology of the earliest of Christians.

Found it at loyalbooks.com. A website for downloads of free audiobooks.



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Review: Luther and His World

Luther and His World by Graham Tomlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic little book. I would start a college student, new seminarian, or lay-person in the church with this book before introducing them to anything else on Luther. Well-done, balanced, and with helpful artwork and drawings. Tomlin has a profound sense of the time-period and an excellent grasp of the complexities, contradictions, and impact of this man called Martin Luther.

Highly Recommended.

I would also add that he is an Anglican Scholar, and this also makes me proud! (when too often I am not!)

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Review: In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri J.M. Nouwen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a short, well-written, and important book for any parishioner who wants to be encouraged regarding what is at the heart of serving others in the church, and any clergy person who wants to be encouraged regarding what is at the heart of pastoring.

Henri Nouwen understands the heart of true leadership as reflected by the teaching of the beatitudes, and the spirit of the New Testament pastoral epistles. A book I plan to read, again, and again.

Successful Professionals and impatient salesmen beware!

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Timing

It has been speculated that the ministry of Jesus Christ spanned three years, culminating with his death around the age of thirty-three.  We know that Christ started his public ministry with his baptism by John the Baptist; following this he began teaching and healing in Capernaum.  Around the same time, Christ chose twelve specific disciples who in time would lead, teach and train others for future ministry and leadership.

That said, have you ever wondered what the life of Jesus consisted of before age thirty?  We have some scriptural evidence, but not much.  What we do know is that Christ submitted to his Father's will and timing.  In the right “season” Jesus began his ministry, called his disciples, taught the crowds, healed people, and challenged the surface religiosity of the Jewish leaders.  During Holy Week, at just the right time, he clearly revealed himself to be the Son of God.  He rebuked and confronted the corruption in the Temple and no longer side-stepped full-disclosure regarding his Messianic position and mission.  At just the right time he died, rose again, and ascended to the right hand of the Father.  God's timing is always perfect, but it often makes little sense to us.

In Acts chapter one, the soon-to-be-born Jewish Church had some clear direction.  They were to prioritize bringing the gospel and thus, the church to their local fellow Jews.  After this they were to continue to bring the good news into regional areas (even among the Samaritans who these Apostles had been reared to despise) and finally to the end of the world.

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8)

As a church we are called to have a concern for our local, regional, and global world.  It is our desire to support brothers and sisters in Christ anywhere they are located, and it is our desire to be a part of reaching people with the gospel wherever humanity is found.  However, the Scriptures are not clear on when, what, or how the church should go about this.  Like everything else in the Kingdom of God, submitting to God's timing and “seasons” is an important part of discerning his will.

In this season of Lent, where we open our hearts to those things that may hinder us from loving our God and loving our neighbor, will you pray with me about what the Lord would have for us as we faithfully seek to reach others for Christ? As we begin our 12^th year as a church, please pray with me regarding this time in our church’s history.  Pray that we might have the discernment to see where God is going before us to use us as light and salt.  Pray that he will bring just the right people to come alongside of us, and to minister with us.  Pray that we would have a soft heart to his Word and Spirit, and that we will truly be led to follow “his Kingdom come, his will be done”.  Pray that we would have the wisdom to see his clear leading, and the courage and power to follow him.

As we looked at in a recent sermon, let us claim the promise that “they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar with the wings as eagles. They will run and not be weary, they will walk and not faint”.

-Father Tom

For Life and Lordship

There are a lot of beliefs swirling around in our popular culture claiming that “science has proved” such and such, or “archaeology shows” this and that is true.  I am a big fan of thoughtful research among trained and accountable professionals in these helpful and important fields of pursuit.  However, there are many in these fields that interpret their data and skew their results based on the desired outcomes for which they have been hoping and looking.  Of course, we Christians are constantly faced with these same temptations.

Many actors, politicians, activists, and others on social media are far less careful and down-right manipulative with the data and truth they want to find.  Thus, if the pop-music-star, Lady Gaga, sings that her sexual orientation and/or behavior has nothing to do with the complexities of her sin, hurts, skewed knowledge, or influences – she is just “born this way” – how dare we “judge” that she is possibly wrong?  Most in her general profession is praising her, the masses are cheering her on, and pundits are telling her how wonderful she is…so how could she be wrong?

In a similar vein, many in our culture will tell us, “a woman’s body is her own to do with what she wants” which wittingly or unwittingly buys into a belief-system that proclaims that the fetus she is carrying is not a human being made in the image of God.  The scriptures tell us that mankind outside of redemption and a desire for Christ as their Lord, can only (spiritually) come up with skewed truth and a destructive way of life.  The culture, those in important academic disciplines, medical fields, economic intelligence, Law Enforcement, Justice, etc., all have philosophies, theologies, and beliefs by which they live and choose (or ignore) real “life”.

But the foundations for the Church of Jesus Christ have not changed.  God as creator made us in his image.  Unlike we human parents that rear children to grow and function someday on their own in society, God never stops “parenting us” or being our Lord.  The creator dictates to the created what is true and real, NOT his selfish, rebellious children that still want their own ways on their own terms.

 For those Baptized and committed to Christ, we are thus, NOT OUR OWN.  Listen to the words of Paul by which he reminds the Corinthian Church of their identity:

I Corinthians 6:
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

The context here in these chapters in I Corinthians is NOT the world outside of the church, but of the community inside the church.  Taking one another to court, using grace and Christian freedom for immorality, and the blatant disregard for new believers (not yet grounded in their faith), are just a few of the many problems Corinthians are facing. They had gotten turned around regarding who their Lord was, and what it meant to follow him.

A foundation in our evangelism and discipleship is NOT making sure that new believers have all of our political, personal, and moralistic viewpoints, but a grounded and growing understanding in the absolute Lordship of Christ in their motives, lives, and behavior. We clergy are NOT to be gurus, but under-shepherds.  The Historic Church (i.e., the church “catholic”) has never changed her beliefs regarding the life of the unborn, holy matrimony, or the place of suffering and mourning in the world in which we now live. As believers, reconciled to the Father through Christ, we are AGAIN his true spiritual children through adoption.  Thus, we are now able to obey and follow him for the right reasons in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Word, Spirit, and Sacrament, we are now marked, guided, and move as a united church family.

We can lead people to the waters of Baptism through faith in Christ, but in the end, when the going get’s tough, a person (or person’s) must choose Christ as their Lord above all else.  This change of heart, is a true and miraculous work of God. We hold true to the challenge of helping those we are reaching that they must “count the costs” of what it means to follow and know Christ.  As we graciously teach, lead, and shepherd people through the clarity that Holy Scriptures give us about the value of human life, (and the application for the unborn, ageing, dis-formed, or those suffering in illness) we should ourselves pause and consider.  We too must recommit to the reality that Jesus Christ is our Lord, and that he knows BETTER than we do. 

You see, the temptation to see ourselves as the master of our own bodies and directions stays with us to the grave.

Father Tom

Review: The Epistle to the Romans

The Epistle to the Romans by Karl Barth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stopped reading at about 150 pages, but will continue to use this book as a reference work as I exegete and engage the book of Romans in my ministry and in my theological development.

I so appreciate Barth's Christ-centered soteriology and his very OTHER, transcendent God. That said, I am struggling a bit with his seeming need to make salvation so esoteric that it smacks of an etheral form of Gnosticism. Of course, this is seen in other places where he works out his "dialectic theology" (and perhaps this theology finds it's rational end in Bultmann?). It seems erroneous to this reader that the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection would be so "other" as not to occur in time and space. I believe the Patristic Fathers and Magisterial Reformers would agree.

That said, Barth's Doctrine of God has greatly encouraged this reader in seeing the Triune God in much more of his majesty, and it is a mistake of many that Barth does not respect and try to do justice to both Holy Scriptures and a historic orthodoxy. That said, Barth's modernistic shaped Biblical Theology, could use a dose of humility and pause regarding those on whose shoulders he builds; those in the past that enable him to have a scriptural text or theology by which to begin his work.

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Review: T&T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology

T&T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology by David M. Whitford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Racism: A Brief History

See the below link for a well-done presentation regarding the historical definition of racism and how it has progressed in the History of the United States especially as seen through an Anglican lense.

Highly Recommended as an informative introduction to the topic.

https://youtu.be/o6hhR57IVSs

Review: Pastor

Pastor by William H. Willimon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommended for clergy seeking to pastor with integrity, authenticity, and honesty regarding the challenges and joys of pastoring...especially within a Protestant milieu. Some of the final chapters on the calling of the clergy, ordination, the long view on ministry, etc. will be a great comfort and reminder for those who seek to pastor in keeping with the calls of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.

The author shows experience, theological and historical competence as well as nuance in application to life and pastoral leadership. The author also exposes the reader to some seemingly helpful books for further study and consideration.

The Author is at his best when he is not trying to legitimize Wesley or the anti-intellectual revivalism and pietism of Methodism. That said, he largely focuses on solid historical sources and solid theological influences of the 20th century.

However, I did find his chapter on preaching disappointing and typically Protestant...i.e., worship is seen as an event that is really about preaching that is dependent on a creative orator/leader instead of the historic idea of corporate worship as a spiritual discipline for both congregation and preacher (the main reason I give this book a 4-star rating instead of a 5) .

While it is important for clergy to be competent in knowledge and growing as communicators (stewardship), parishioners should be coming to worship their God and desirous to learn (faithfulness), not looking for excuses not to listen with an expectation to be titillated. When we succumb to this consumerist tendency we do not challenge our people to greater growth and thoughtfulness but enable their self-centered default settings and laziness. This approach to preaching has a long history in Protestant and Puritanical/pietistic preaching (although, I believe that Luther and Calvin would have chafed at it).

In the end, I recommend this book and will continue to refer to and use it in my future ministry and development.

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A Very Scary Situation

The fall season is probably my favorite time of the year.  The cooling down of temperatures, the changing of the leaves, the wearing of sweatshirts, the eating of homemade donuts (and, of course, good coffee) and, also, on the negative side (for me); Halloween.

If the "celebration" of Halloween disappeared, I would not shed a tear.  While we don't have the space to develop it here, Halloween is loosely connected to the earliest of pagan holidays and focuses on death, fear, and (in America) gore.  Now, I don't want to be misunderstood here.  I am not “anti-Halloween” completely as we celebrate it in the states either.  My children have always gone “trick-or-treating” with an emphasis on fun and a kind of “scary ghost story around the fire” atmosphere.  However, whatever one thinks of Halloween, it does highlight a few realities that many people would rather push out of their minds: death is real, fear often permeates our lives, and the Spirit-world...well...exists.

Not surprisingly, the Scriptures contain a story where all three of the above-mentioned realities come in to play.  It is a scary witch story which God uses to teach a King (and us) some valuable lessons. 

As you might remember from our recent sermon series in I Samuel this past Summer, King Saul was given the difficult task of being Israel's first King (the nation of Israel wanted a king “like the other nations”).  Unfortunately, for the people, Saul was a lot like them.  I Samuel 13 tells us that he was impatient with God's timing and felt that he needed to step in and help God out to make sure he didn't lose too many troops before an important battle.  In I Samuel 15, Saul believes that when God says: “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey (NRSV) that it is just a general command that needed some “tweaking” so as to be more culturally relevant.  I mean, hey, any smart king of that day would keep the best of the spoils of war (including the Amalekite King as a trophy), as this helps a king build up his treasury and gives him something more to give to God at worship...so if it is doing some good, it must be OK, right?  I mean, God needs our help, doesn't he?

Interestingly, when Samuel rebukes Saul for his wickedness and self-idolatry in I Samuel 15:23, he likens his sin with...wait for it...divination.  Divination is used by those who are separated from God and his Kingdom yet still wish to connect with the spirit-world and with those that have died.  Instead of a relationship with the Lord, these persons, through witchcraft and “magic”, take short-cuts in the hopes that they will attain great success, power, and wealth.

In I Samuel 28 we find King Saul in a miserable place emotionally and spiritually.  He no longer has the prophet Samuel in his life and is cut off from gleaning any wisdom or direction from the Lord.  In his desperation and fear, King Saul decides that he will try to glean some insight from those who are connected to the dead and the demonic.

In going to the Witch at Endor in I Samuel 28, King Saul continues his pattern of “going his own way” as reflected in I Sam 13 and15.  Saul is so desperate and full of fear that he goes to dark magic to try and communicate with Samuel for help.  The witch is shocked when she does bring Samuel back from the dead, revealing that whatever her connections with the underworld, she has never seen something this graphic!  On top of this, God allows Samuel to talk with Saul!  Saul's attempt to contact Samuel works, but his fear and desperation do not dissipate.

Before we get too critical of Saul, we should take a hard look at ourselves and our own decision making as believers and as churches.  The scary part of this story has little to do with the Witch at Endor.  The most frightening part of this story is how easy it is for us to place our plans ahead of the Lord's plans; to rely on our wisdom and cultural assumptions, before relying on the lived-out gospel; to hold on to our own fear instead of embracing a courageous trust in him, his ways, and his outcomes.  We too often look for this world’s “magic” as a replacement for the difficult “obedience” that even the Lord Jesus Christ had to “learn” in submitting and honoring his Father.

What might the Lord desire from us this year as we seek to "love him with all of our hearts" and "love others as we love ourselves"?  Where might he already be working amongst people that he wants us to love with the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Where might we be a support to people in our neighborhoods, a listening ear in our families, a touch of care to those who know little of true love?  How might God use us to further build the Kingdom of God?  I am not sure, but I know that he is the one who truly changes lives and converts hearts.  He can be trusted, and he wants to use us as his hands, feet, and mouth.

Will you join me in praying and seeking to be a people who strive toward these Gospel ideals?  The journey will often be hard and long, but as we focus on and listen to our Lord, it will be an adventure that we will never regret.

Father Tom

Review: The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

2nd Read. Highly recommended for people concerned with a more authentic and honest form of Christianity.

Those committed to the external realities of moralism (liberal or conservative) and those given over to emotional dishonesty, beware.

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