2009 JUL Clothesline

Greetings to all on 1 JUL 2009

Word for the Day
irenic - favoring, conducive to, or operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation

Quote for the Day
If the church isn’t prepared to subvert the kingdoms of the world with the kingdom of God, the only honest thing would be to give up praying this prayer altogether, especially its final doxology. [1]This was said in reference to the last part of the Lord’s Prayer.

Website for the Day
http://oneinjesus.infoI just found this website; check it out if your heritage is the Church of Christ.

Thought for the Day
The past couple of issues have focused on the teachings from N. T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope. Todays’ thoughts will conclude that series by considering “what manner of person we should be” regarding our stewardship of this present world.
What does it matter if this expired and exhausted earth will just be torched on that last day? If that is true, then I guess it really doesn’t make much difference if we trash the planet in our quest for more stuff. Now, someone might counter by saying that God can make all things new, regardless of how badly we mess it up. While that’s certainly true, it doesn’t prove us to be good stewards over little so that we may become stewards over much. [LUK 19.11-27]

To what degree do concerns like air and water pollution enter this discussion? Each person must decide for one’s self. For me, I try to conserve and recycle whenever possible (and practical) but am by no means a fanatic in this area. So many sources of pollution are completely beyond our control unless one feels led to be an activist for some environmental cause.

Every time I look at all the plastic and cardboard that is used for packaging, I am saddened by knowing how much waste will end up in the landfill. Unfortunately, in today’s world, much of that plastic is used for security purposes. Have you had the experience of needing the heavy-duty shears and pliers to extricate that Christmas gift from the box while the child waits impatiently for you to rescue the doll from its “chains?”

Did you know that back in the “old days” you could walk into a hardware store and select the bolts and nuts you needed from open barrels? Then you would put them in a paper bag and bring them to the salesman who would place the bag on a scale and you would pay by the pound. Nowadays, you must pick up multiple plastic bags because thieves would steal you blind if items were left out in open barrels! And so more plastic goes into the landfills.

Is there a precedent for this kind of stewardship in the Tanakh (OT)? This may seem like a stretch, but I’m reminded of the introduction of manna. The people were told to gather only what they could use for the day. Do you remember what happened to the excess? It spoiled. Beyond the obvious physical needs, I believe that God was teaching the people to depend upon him each day, rather than storing up treasures for themselves.

Isn’t that still a valid message for us today? Maybe we can all be environmentalists by only consuming what we need to sustain life. Let us resist the temptation to bow down at the altar of consumerism.

May God Bless
Mike Toole
Lori Moores, Ed.

P.S. If preachers (or writers) only addressed issues they had personally mastered, there would be no sermons!

1. N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, quoted in Christianity Today, June 2009, p.52

2009 AUG Clothesline

Greetings to all on 15 AUG 2009

Word for the Day
Goyim - the Jewish term for Gentiles

Quote for the Day
God can’t clean the house of you when you’re still in it. Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually) [1]

Website for the Day
None this time.

Thought for the DayThis month I would like to draw a message from the seven women at the resurrection. I’m no numerologist, but the Jews did attach importance to certain numbers, such as seven and twelve.

In a previous article, we presented the significance of the leftovers in the two accounts of feeding the multitudes. As a quick review, the 5000 were Jewish people and twelve baskets (tribes) of leftovers were collected. The feeding of the 4000 occurred in the land of the seven nations (Gentiles) which can also be found in Acts 13.19 and Deuteronomy 7.1-2. Notice that seven baskets were collected in this story, which matches with the “seven nations.” The seven represents the Goyim. I believe that these two stories support the teaching that the gospel is for “you and to your children and to all that are far off,” that is, both Jew and Gentile. [ACT 2.39]

Now let’s consider the women at the resurrection. Sifting through the accounts of the resurrection gives a “variety pack” of names near the end of each gospel. I’ll admit that this is not an exact science due to there being three different Marys and at least one of the women is not named at the resurrection but was almost certainly among them. I put forth for your consideration that just as the twelve baskets represented the Jews and the seven represented the Goyim, that the twelve apostles represented the males and the seven women represented females as equals in the new kingdom.

Let’s take a look at the various accounts:

Matthew lists Mary Magdalene (1) and the “other” Mary (2). [MAT 28.1]I contend that the other Mary is the mother of Jesus and also the mother of James and Joseph. [MAT 27.61]

Mark lists Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome (3). [MAR 16.1] I believe that this Mary is the same as Matthew’s “other Mary.”

Luke lists Mary Magdalene, Joanna (4), and Mary the mother of James. [LUK 24.10] Once again, the same Mary.

John lists Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary’s sister (5), Mary the wife of Clopas (6) and Mary Magdalene. [JOH 19.25] This reference is at the crucifixion; John only mentions Mary Magdalene at the resurrection. [JOH 20.1]

Finally, I would include Susanna (7) as one of the other women referenced in Luke 24.10. You can find Susanna and Joanna mentioned in Luke 8.2. Notice the irony that Johanna’s money would have come from her husband who was Herod’s CFO. If you are bothered by the fuzzy math of this endeavor, let me encourage you to read with Eastern eyes, with a little sense of mysticism, rather than with our Western analytical schemata.

Notice that the women are the first at the tomb. The women are present at the crucifixion. The women are the only named financial supporters of Jesus. [LUK 8.1-3] See also Mark 15.41 for corroboration of this position. This also fits with Ray Vander Laan’s assertion that the disciples were teenagers. That is, they had no source of income either.

I believe the inclusion of women in these stories is one of the signposts pointing us toward the full inclusion of women as equal partners with men in this new kingdom. Jesus has cancelled the debt of sin. Both the curse of Adam and of Eve have been removed. Do I believe that men should be the spiritual leaders in the home? I most certainly do and research confirms that when the man abdicates this to the wife, the children will suffer spiritually.

Here’s the irony in the execution of our (male) thinking. We have insisted on male leadership in all the corporate church while at the same time abdicating the spiritual leadership of the home to our wives. Look at your friends and fellow church members; look at yourself. Have we not all been guilty of this? As is often the case, we’ve got it all backwards, or as my Dad used to say “bass-ackward.” May God grant us the time to lift up the next generation and let them stand upon our shoulders as they journey closer to the goal of equality for Jew and Goyim, for slave and free, for male and female. [GAL 3.28]

May God Bless
Mike Toole
Lori Moores, ed.

1. Christianity Today, August 2009, p.51

2009 NOV Clothesline

Greetings to all on 27 OCT 2009

Word for the Day Presbytery – generally, a governing body of ordained leaders, sometimes referred to as elders.

Quote for the Day
Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. [1]

Website for the Day
www.olivetree.com
Since more and more of us are using PDA’s, this is a great source for Bible software. They have a wide variety of products for most every phone.

Thought for the Day
Several comments and questions about leadership have been raised over the past few weeks. A couple of reasons come to mind. People are looking for authentic leadership and/or people are questioning modern leadership models. Maybe those two reasons are really one and the same.

It is my observation that our model for the last half of the 20th century was biased toward the administrative gift, or qualification. Because America emerged from World War II as the world leader in so many areas, it was only natural that the church concept of leadership would be clouded by the national model for success. This is not meant to impugn those who selflessly served as elders for all those years gone by. We, as lay members, all too gladly gave over responsibilities to these men so that we wouldn’t have to be bothered with business meetings. My Dad served as one of these elders for the last few years of his life. I know that he was happy to help people with life’s problems, but would rather have taken a beating than discuss the new carpet color.

It seems to me that the first century shepherds were those honored as leaders because of their age and wisdom. They were local but may have served several house churches in a city. Those of you from my tribe will easily recall that every time we are ready to select elders, the preacher gives a lesson or two from 1Timothy 3. However, have you ever heard Acts 20.13-38 exegeted as a model for shepherds? Listen to a few lines from Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders:

“served with great humility and tears” [v.19]

“preaching and teaching” [v.25-27]

“help the weak” [v.35]

Paul concluded by saying that, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Jesus himself, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.” [2] Paul is saying that he served as an example of a shepherd for them.

In his book, They Smell Like Sheep, Lynn Anderson makes the case that what we have labeled qualifications would be better thought of as qualities. [3] While that may sound like quibbling over semantics, I believe his point is that just checking off a qualification list does not automatically equate with being a good shepherd. Instead, shepherds should be recognized – not elected. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd and my sheep know my voice and follow me. [JOH 10.1-5] Look around; who has a voice that people follow? Is that person a disciple of Jesus and someone who has the qualities found in 1Timothy 3 and Acts 20?

John goes on to say that the sheep will not recognize the voice of a stranger. In fact, they will run away. [JOH 10.5] Ezekiel 34 tells of false shepherds who “have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the crippled, brought back the strays or sought the lost. With force and harshness you have ruled over them.” [34.4] The LORD declared that He was against the shepherds and that He would gather his sheep and feed them in good pasture. The LORD said, “I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. [34.23]

It is not an office but a calling of servant-leadership. The word “office” of 1TIM 3.1 is not in the original Greek but was added to imply an official position in line with the church hierarchy of the King James translators. Three Greek words are found in the NT discussions of elders or shepherds. The word presbuteros refers to the character of the man, an older, experienced and respected person. The other two original words poimen (shepherd) and episkopos (overseer) refer to what the person does. My tribe has lumped all of these into one role. The validity of that practice is beyond the scope of this article.

Next time you are asked to consider someone for this leadership role, ask yourself, “Who is already serving in this way?” It seems odd to me that we sometimes choose people, albeit good people, who lead quiet and private lives, but not well known by the flock, and then expect these people to be our shepherds. How often have we been guilty of forcing a square peg into a round hole?

May God Bless
Mike Toole
Lori Moores, ed.

1. Malcolm Muggeridge, born in 1903, he was one of the notable Christian apologists of the twentieth century.

2. Trivia: Paul only quotes Jesus twice; this is one. Do you know the other quote?

3. Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep, Howard Publ. Co., West Monroe LA, 1997
This is still the watershed work on shepherds. It is an easy to read book, written for the laity. Volume two is now available.

Greetings to all on 10 DEC 2009

Word for the Day
Insula – isle, lit. (Latin), also used to refer to adjoining apartment-like housing in the first century.

Quote for the Day
The gospel isn’t “Follow Jesus’ example” or “How to raise good children.” The gospel is: Jesus Christ came to save sinners – even bad parents, even lousy parents, even lousy followers of Jesus.
Michael Horton [1]

Website for the Day
www.youtube.com Go there and search for Bubble Creek Canyon; it is a great satire on post-modern American Christianity. You can also find it on Mike Cope’s: http://preachermike.com Scroll down the right side to find Archive, then select NOV 2009, look back to the left and you will see the choice for the Bubble Creek Canyon video.

Thought for the Day
Have you noticed the proliferation of Christian businesses? My guess is that the three largest marketing avenues are Christian education, publishing and radio. Christian conferences probably rank near the top as well. And then there’s Christian car repair, plumbing, remodeling, counseling, dating services … and the list goes on. By the way, if you skipped the Bubble Creek Canyon video, go back and watch it before continuing.

Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy listening to contemporary Christian music on the radio. You know I order plenty of books from Christian publishers. I prefer doing business with Christians. And, yes, Pam and I met through a Christian pen-pal exchange. If we had met 20 years later, I suppose we would have used an online dating service like Christian Singles.

During the NT times, families were close knit and tended to live beside each other in what we would call a compound. Between the engagement and the wedding day, the groom would be busy constructing an addition to the insula for his new bride. [2] When Jesus said “I go to prepare a place for you…” he used that same imagery. [JOH 14] When Christians moved out from Jerusalem and were dispersed to places like Asia Minor, they lived in proximity to one another for safety and support. [3] So, I don’t think there is anything wrong with preferring one another. [ROM 12.10]

But lately, our practice of this has begun to bother me. I’m wondering if we have run to the extreme degree on this. Is it possible to become so clannish as to no longer be “in the world?” [1COR 5.10] It seems that for many Christians, our goal is to be neither of the world nor in the world. Our motives may be noble, often to shield our children from the evils of the world. Have we been overzealous, even misguided, toward that goal? Fortunately, our children seem to be much more comfortable than us in engaging the world and taking the good news with them wherever they go.

My observation is that the corporate church gladly bought into the concept of insular thinking. Through the implementation of on-site education, child-care, entertainment, etc. we encouraged parents to keep their children in a protective bubble. As parents, we all want to protect our children, but I’m beginning to realize that it’s also possible to be overly protective. In the education business, we refer to those folks as “helicopter” parents.

I recently read an article in Christianity Today about Derek Webb and his family, who left their safe suburban neighborhood and moved into inner-city Nashville. Their purpose is to bring good news to those people; they are taking a risk for Jesus. [4] Sisters and brothers, how many of us are willing to do something like that? The safety and security of the insulated church is powerful, even addictive. Our invitation to “come visit us” no longer works – if it ever did. Jesus said “Go into all the world … and I will be with you.” Jesus was always leading the way, telling the disciples to “come, follow me.”

I wonder where he is leading us in today’s post-modern world. Where is he leading you and me?

May God Bless
Mike Toole
Lori Moores, ed.

1. Christ At The Center, Christianity Today, NOV 2009, p.46
2. Ray Vander Laan, www.followtherabbi.com
3. Ibid.
4. A Different Kind Of Neighbor, Christianity Today, NOV 2009, p.37
Derek Webb was formerly with the group Caedmon’s Call.