Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Reformed African American Network (Check it Out!!)

Too often it is said that Christianity is the white man's religion. Those who believe in Christ, they say, are intolerant, dogmatic, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white guys who live to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the world. This may be hyperbolic language, but it is not unjustified. I have heard it with my own ears.

Of course, the statement is not completely true. From the beginning, Christianity has been a religion for the nations. And even when it was "just for the Jews", it was really for the world, through the Jews.

But I must confess. While I may reject the indictment that Christianity is the white man's religion, there are significant parts of my life that invite it. I may say that Christianity is for all peoples and has been lived out and promoted by all peoples, but I have not embraced this truth in many significant parts of my Christian education and practice.

I don't believe I am alone. For some time, middle-upper class white evangelicals have believed that they are the only significant, right, articulators of theology - especially Reformed Theology. And like I said before, I don't believe any one of us would say this, but we do believe it.

Take a look at your book shelf or blogroll. What percentage are white (or, Anglo) authors? What percentage are African-American, Mexican, Latin American, African, or Asian? I haven't conducted a survey, but I'd be willing to bet, from the libraries I have seen (even my own!), that the majority of our theological learning comes from the white community.

I don't believe that this is malicious in nature or overtly racial. White authors, because of many factors (good and bad), have probably published and produced more material. But is this a good excuse? Shouldn't we be seeking out different cultural perspectives on theology? Shouldn't we be promoting and subsidizing multicultural theological expressions? Do we not see the cultural one-sidedness of our own theological framework?

Without the significant theological insights from multicultural communities, can we really say we are Reformed? Don't we realize that Reformed Theology is not just written doctrinal truths, but also the existential expressions of those doctrines in every culture and among all people groups under heaven?

If you are looking at your bookshelf and blogroll, and notice an absence of multicultural influence, there is no need to despair. I have good news for you today. I'd like to introduce you to RAAN.

The Reformed African American Network (RAAN) is a great organization that seeks to faithfully share and express Reformed Theology from an African American perspective. It's purpose is to "fuel the modern reformation in the African American community and the multi-ethnic nation beyond."

RAAN is a great resource for all peoples. It allows us to gain tremendous theological insights from the African American perspective. In short, I believe RAAN will add much needed color to our modern Reformed tradition.

Below is a video from the founders of RAAN explaining what the organization is all about. I hope you will make this network a part of your regular theological diet. I pray that it would be a significant means by which the Lord's church "continually reforms."



Saturday, October 27, 2012

Mopping Up the Bloody Mess

Every sin, no matter how small, creates a chasm between us and the other that we are not able to cross. Every transgression makes a mess that we are ill-equipped to clean up. Sin is something so easy to do, but it is impossible to repair. With our actions we fracture other people so badly that even the best of our actions would never restore the relationship to what it once was.

When we sin, we are like a child who just burned down our home - completely guilty and completely helpless. A small action by small fingers, lights a match that burns a big house down.

We don't really believe this though do we? Some sins, like adultery or murder are obviously "that bad." But other sins like lying or lusting are, well, not "that bad." Most of the time we don't notice how bad they are until we are found out by another individual. We see the damage in the tears or expressions of the person against whom we have transgressed.

Because we don't believe the devastating nature of sin, we leave the mess unaddressed - like a husband who expects his wife to be okay after he lets her know he doesn't plan on committing adultery any more; like a wife who simply disciplines herself out of the habit of gossip; and like a college student who reads a book on procrastination in an effort to break the cycle.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking if we stop the behavior the mess will go away. Our right actions will mop the bloody floor. We actually think that we can make the [burned] house come back by saying, "I won't play with fire ever again."

Once more, all of these actions fail to recognize the personal nature of sin - that, though we are in control to commit the sin, we surrender our control (by that very action) to repair it. Once the deed is done, we are completely at the mercy of the other to make things right. Nothing we do will do - no matter how good that doing may be.

Sin makes us, for all practical purposes, dead - and desperate. The life we need must come from the person we have deeply offended. It is their blood on the floor. Our bloody mop has only spread it around. Only their clean mop will do.

And that is why the gospel is so good. Christ, in his great mercy, mops up our mess. He repairs the breech and crosses the chasm. His cleanness takes away our dirtiness. His death brings us life. He personally restores things beyond what they once were. He makes us new.

Changing behavior will never work. Only honest repentance and full reliance upon the person and work of Christ can cure the curse of sin. This is why a change in countenance tends to bring about forgiveness more than change in behavior. This is why we can be both sinner and saint. Humble repentance and faith is the way of life. Christ is the good news we all must hear, love, and proclaim.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

One of the Best Albums I Own

Please allow me to recommend to you one of the best albums I own. For years it has played in the background of my studies and prayers. And, it was created by one of my dearest friends.

You can now get Still Waters by Jeremy Mayfield on Amazon.  It is nothing more than Jeremy at the piano; but nothing less than magnificent. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Coffee is Making My Stomach Upset

It's been a few weeks since I have posted anything. I simply haven't had the time, the topic, or motivation to do so. Writing consistently, I am finding, is not something "scramblers" do well; and that is exactly what I am these days - a scrambler.

I have a to-do list a mile long that grows more than shrinks. I put off the tasks I dread most. And those tasks linger in the back of my conscience (as well as bug me in the little red circle on my iPhone!), reminding me that, not only am I a scrambler, I am a procrastinator.

I am also becoming more aware of the fact that there is no neutral existence. If we are not living, we are dying. If I am not getting stronger, I am getting weaker. If it is not being cleaned, it is getting dirty. If I am not trusting in Christ, I am trusting in myself - or something else which usually lingers in the shadow of self.

I feel like the guy who spins a dozen plates at once (or more!) for half-time entertainment. Only I am not so good at keeping all of my plates spinning. I knock some down with my scrambling. I allow others to wobble because of neglect. And I simply forget others.

Plus, I have a sinus infection.

Not only am I scattered outside, but I feel scattered inside. This makes life less than exciting. Hope is now just a religious word. Right now I feel like I am everywhere.

My life is a mess.

Often I feel alone.

But there is something that continues to nag me. A soft but strong warmth that lingers all-the-while. It is personal. Constant. Beckoning me to conversation, it seems, with the air. Invisible, but visible enough to be uncomfortable with using anything other than the word "he" to describe it. So, I will use "he".

He patiently forces me to surrender my timeline, and, to reject every pragmatic method for rest. I am losing my confidence in everything to do that which only he can do. I hate waiting, but it is all I have now.

Coffee is making my stomach upset.

There are no updates.

People aren't answering.

I can barely muster up the desire to read or write.

And so, I am here. Face to face with a God who is spirit and has not a body like men. I don't think it'll work, but I am going to spend time in prayer with this Lord. I am going to take him at his word that he will answer me. I am fully expecting to wait for his response, while at the same time trust he is here with me.

I am reminded of Eugene Peterson's words: "A sense of hurry in pastoral work disqualifies one for the work of conversation and prayer that develops relationships that meet personal needs. There are heavy demands put upon pastoral work, true; there is difficult work to be engaged in, yes. But the pastor must not be "busy." Busyness is an illness of spirit, a rush from one thing to another because there is no ballast of vocational integrity and no confidence in the primacy of grace."

Please pray with me that I will once again - day to day - find my ballast and confidence in the primacy of God's glorious grace.


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Free Kindle Book - Honest to God by Joshua Weidmann

While I have not read this book, it does seem to discuss something that is very important to me - honesty and transparency. I am becoming more convinced that these important aspects of the Christian life are the missing key postures in modern Christianity. Transparency is often the difference between hypocrisy and humility. Honesty is what keeps us from being more than image bearers. It affirms what the world already knows about us - that we are not the Image Himself.

I am looking forward to reading this book. Even more, it's free! Enjoy.

You can get Honest to God by Joshua Weidmann here.