Lewis: routine in war

It may seem odd for us to carry on classes, to go about our academic routine in the midst of a great war. What is the use of beginning when there is so little chance of finishing? How can we study Latin, geography, algebra in a time like this? Aren't we just fiddling while Rome burns?

This impending war has taught us some important things. Life is short. The world is fragile. All of us are vulnerable, but we are here because this is our calling. Our lives are rooted not only in time, but also in eternity, and the life of learning, humbly offered to God, is its own reward. It is one of the appointed approaches to the divine reality and the divine beauty, which we shall hereafter enjoy in heaven and which we are called to display even now amidst the brokenness all around us.

Sermon preached at University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, October 22, 1939.

The contradiction of mediocrity

The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce the action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy. This is the feature of human character that explains why the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

...the disciplined life will cost us. But, as Willard notes, the undisciplined life will cost us far more, now and forever.

Cornelius Plantinga Jr, reviewing Dallas Willard (CT)

The Cross and the Snake

I drew this when I was 19, whilst recovering from a serious illness. I'm not sure I ever drew anything better again, or quite how I managed to understand Christus Victor at that point in my life quite so clearly.

Drink

"As alcohol in the UK has become ever more affordable, alcohol consumption and the rate of alcohol-related deaths continue to rise.

"The price that society is paying for this is a level of heavy drinking that causes violence, crime and disorder and damages health."

Professor Martin Plant, University of the West of England

a Kempis 9

Love is a great thing, on all sides a great good; it alone can make the heavy burden light, and bears with evenness all inequalities. For it bears a burden without a sense of its weight, and makes every bitter thing sweet and pleasant.

Nothing changes

On skipping church:

Still, such is the wretched disposition of the many, that after so much reading, they do not even know the names of the Books, and are not ashamed nor tremble at entering so carelessly into a place where they may hear God's word. Yet if a harper, or dancer, or stage-player call at the city, they all run eagerly, and feel obliged to him for the call, and spend the half of an entire day attending to him alone; but when God speaks to us by the prophets and apostles, we yawn, we scratch ourselves, we are drowsy.

"And in summer, the heat seems too great, and we betake ourselves to the marketplace; and again, in winter, the rain and the mire are a hindrance, and we sit at home; yet at the horse races, though there is no roof over them to keep off the wet, the greater number, while heavy rains are falling, and the wind is dashing the water into their faces, stand like madmen, caring not for the cold, and wet, and mud, and length of the way, and nothing keeps them at home, and prevents their going thither.

"But here, where there are roofs over head, and where the warmth is admirable, they hold back instead of running together; and this, too, when the gain is that of their own souls. How is this tolerable, tell me?"

—John Chrysostom, On St. John, Homily LVIII, ca. A.D. 390

Don't freak

Accept that your life is abnormal. Nothing about life as a ministry leader—from its emotional toll to relational demands and constant interruptions—is normal. Accepting that you are a freak with a freakish life will help you not to freak out.

Mark Driscoll
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2006/002/13.33.html

Fickleness

31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Luke 7:31-35

Jesus warns us not to dance to the tunes of our generation. This isn't, surely, to prevent either relevancy in ministry and outreach, nor legitimate contextualisation of the gospel. But it is a warning against absorbing contemporary sensibilities too deeply.

For example, a church can survey its area and gain a lot of information; some of that information might change the way the church conducts itself when unnecessary obstructions are discovered that have been preventing effective ministry. There is hardly anything unBiblical about putting in new lighting if you discover that local people think your dingy church has the atmosphere of a mortuary (although there might be other reasons for this as well).

But to try to construct a church that fits in with cultural expectations, which removes all offense, which tries to give people the kind of church they can accept, is fatal. One reason is given here: people can be fickle, and disingenuously so. They are like children who cry out "Dance for happiness!" and when one does they shout "No! Mourn!" and so it goes on.

Or as Jesus goes on to say in vv33&34, John came along and was rejected: "he's so austere, hanging around in the desert like a fanatic, he's got a demon! Thanks, but we'll wait for someone more normal". So Jesus comes along and the response is "Look he stuffs himself, he's a drunkard, he goes to parties with weirdos! Thanks, but we'll wait for someone who's more..."

And so on. The underlying dynamic is not one of seeking a leader who matches God's criteria, but of inventing, deleting, rethinking criteria in order to make sure that no one ever fulfils it - because the deepest dynamic is: "I don't want anyone to be Boss of my life".

How many times will a person who calls in their locality to advertise their church get the response "Well, I prefer the Salvation Army, they do so many good things", implying of course that your church does not match their high criteria so they cannot possibly attend. I maintain the only time anyone says this is when there is no Salvation Army base for at least 10 miles. If there was one across the street they would say they preferred the Methodists or Elvis worship or Scientology. Because their true motivation is to avoid God.

Which brings us back to building a church in the image of society: it's pointless. Because if the underlying imperative is avoiding the Lordship of Christ then, as soon as you have made a service which matches their preference, then their preference will change.

It is best to learn to communicate, remove uneccesary obstructions and be faithful to the gospel. Because in the end that is what works (v35).

Badger

Tolerance

If you put up with yourself, why not put up with everyone else?

Guigo I, Meditations

The ultimate obsession

An obsession with the gospel is the one obsession that will stop all other obsessions, all other addictions, all other over-desires.

Tim Keller

Herbert: Justice (1)

I cannot skill of these thy ways.
Lord, thou didst make me, yet thou woundest me;
Lord, thou dost wound me, yet thou dost relieve me:
Lord, thou relievest, yet I die by thee:
Lord, thou dost kill me, yet thou dost reprieve me.
But when I mark my life and praise,
Thy justice me most fitly pays:
For, I do praise thee, yet I praise thee not:
My prayers mean thee, yet my prayers stray:
I would do well, yet sin the hand hath got:
My soul doth love thee, yet it loves delay.
I cannot skill of these my ways.

Pressure

More often than not, the problem (pressure) is not as great as it appears. And even if it is big, that doesn't block your ability to solve the problem. Losing your perspective, however, does prevent you from coming up with creative solutions.

I could tell you stories of the pressure I'm under, but instead, let me ask you a few questions and offer some guidelines to get started. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Have you experienced high pressure without a break for some time? Are you not sure what to do? If you answer these questions with a yes try these steps. First, write down all the issues, then put them in order of priority. That alone may help you to discover the list isn't as long as you thought. Then pray, lots. Give the list to God. Serious. You are His child and it's his church, so they are His problems. God wants you in the game for solutions, but not without Him. Do your part but let Him in. Then connect with two or three people you respect who are wise leaders and let them give you counsel. This is not a solution, but it will provide momentum to help you lower the pressure and begin to solve the issues...

[and]...I'll keep this idea short and simple. If you are not living a pure life as Christ has modeled, you will experience a sort of emotional and spiritual dissonance which will prevent you from experiencing God's peace and thereby increasing your pressure levels.

Dan Reiland

Excitement in perspective

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh", said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing, " he said.

from 'We Say Good-Bye' in Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne

a Kempis 8

Be, then, thankful for that which is least, and you shall be worthy of greater gifts. Let the blessing be to you as a very great one, and a contemptible gift as one of special value. If the dignity of the Giver be considered, no gift will appear small or inconsiderable; for that cannot be small, which is given by the most High God.

Book 2 Chapter 10