brennan manning

A Good Pastor is Hard to Find

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I’m blessed to be able to sit under the teaching of one Aaron Bryant at The Church at Avenue South. He is most definitely God’s man for the role of campus pastor.

I’ve been to more than a few churches in my lifetime. I’ve sat under men who had a heart for people but weren’t the greatest expositors. I’ve also know a few that could alliterate with the best of them but weren’t that good with people outside the pulpit.

I remember I worked in a church office once where the pastor insisted that everyone address him as Doctor. I’m fairly certain that he didn’t pay for all that education only to boost his ego. Well, hopefully not. I’m sure he had his good qualities, but that onesn’t one of them.

But Mr. Bryant is the real deal. He’s a gifted communicator and a compassionate shepherd. He’s one of the main reasons that Ave South has flourished in just under 4 years of existence.

I seem to remember that while it’s good to have a good pastor, that doesn’t give me any excuse to opt out of ministry myself. If I read my Bible correctly, we’re all in the ministry, whether that’s what we do professionally or not. We’re all called to be evangelists at some point in our dealings with those with whom we live, work, and play.

As Dwight Moody put it, we just might be the only Bible some will ever read. We might be the only sermon some will ever listen to, and we might be the only Jesus that some will ever see. You might be the only gospel access to people who would never set foot in a church building.

That’s a sobering thought. Hopefully, that changes the way we live. Hopefully, it changes our conversations and helps us see that God has strategically placed these people in our lives for a reason.

 

Wise Words

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“Jesus, the favorite Child of God, is persecuted. He who is poor, gentle, mourning; he who hungers and thirsts for uprightness; is merciful, pure of heart and a peacemaker is not welcome in this world. The Blessed One of God is a threat to the established order and a source of constant irritation to those who consider themselves the rulers of this world. Without his accusing anyone he is considered an accuser, without his condemning anyone he makes people feel guilty and ashamed, without his judging anyone those who see him feel judged. In their eyes, he cannot be tolerated and needs to be destroyed, because letting him be seems like a confession of guilt.

When we want to become like Jesus, we cannot expect always to be liked and admired. We have to be prepared to be rejected” (Henri Nouwen).

I seem to remember that Jesus said something like woe to you when all people speak well of you. If you’re doing the right thing the right way, you’re going to rub some people the wrong way, regardless.

It’s better to stand alone in your convictions and remain true to what you believe than to compromise away your beliefs for the sake of conformity and tolerance.

 

More About Laments

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I have a random mind. I have all sorts of songs playing in my head all the time that seem to almost come out of nowhere. Also, I don’t know why certain topics come up in my head at random times, but today, the theme that popped up out of nowhere was that of laments as a form of praise.

I took a class in early spring about Laments. Basically, a lament is a form of gut-level honesty that most of us are afraid to express. It’s along the line of the Psalms where David wonders where God is in the midst of his suffering and why evil men seem to prosper and live long lives while the righteous lives are short and full of woe.

I think my takeaway from that class is that a lament is not only a viable form of worship but also a necessary one. It’s good to vent. It’s good to give voice to anger over injustice and wrong and take it to God, knowing that He will be the one to repay the wrongdoing.

I’ve figured out in my own life that I can take my frustrations, complaints, and doubts to God. He already knows my deepest thoughts in spite of my dressed up prayers that say what I think He wants to hear instead of what’s on my heart.

A good place to start to discover the lost art of the lament is the Psalms and Job. Oh, and there’s a little book called Lamentations. I’d also check that one out, too.

Above all, God desires honesty and transparency above praying the “right” words in order to sound more spiritual. In the words of the old MTV reality series, maybe it’s time to stop being polite with God and start getting real.

Memorial Day Thoughts

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“Jesus comes into the prison of our fears and regrets and guilt and shame and sadness and says ‘I love you no matter what.’ You are free” (Tullian Tchividjian).

It’s nice to have a three-day weekend periodically. Having Monday off is just about always a plus, although that generally means that the following Tuesday will be like a regular Monday on steroids.

Still, that extra day to sleep in is nice.

Better still is remembering why we celebrate Memorial Day.

It’s not National BBQ Day. It’s not Take Your Boat to the Lake Day. While all these activities are fun and great, they aren’t the reason for this special day.

On this last Monday in May, we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy. We say to those who fell in combat, “What you did was not in vain.”

We also remember as believers that Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we could be free. Not just from hell, but from our own prison of shame, guilt, regret, and fear.

We’re saved not just for a heaven down the road but for a full and abundant life here and now. We get to know and experience all of God’s love here and now.

We’re saved because Jesus chose the way of suffering out of a great love for us. Not because He had to but because He’d rather go through hell for us so that we could know heaven with Him.

I hope your Memorial Day was memorable. I hope you spent quality time with family and friends. I even hope you got lots of good food.

Most of all, I hope you and I never forget that our freedoms, whether national or spiritual, are never free. They always come with a cost.

Let’s be thankful to all who paid that cost.

 

 

A Beautiful Wedding

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Tonight I was privileged to be a part of a beautiful wedding ceremony.

I don’t mean beautiful in the sense that there were flowers in abundance and a picturesque setting. I mean beautiful as in a God-honoring, worship-ful, Gospel-centric ceremony where Jesus took prominence.

I’ve been to lots of weddings in my lifetime, but very few where the bride and groom were secondary to Christ and the Gospel. I think that reflects of two people with servant hearts whose marriage will be about the both of them serving God together better than they could apart.

Of course, the bride was lovely. While all eyes are on her as she walks down the aisle, I still love to catch a quick glimpse of the groom as his expression changes once he sees her. Sometimes it’s shock and awe. Sometimes it’s tears. Sometimes it’s overwhelming joy. Always it’s priceless.

I’ve been to much more elaborate (and costly) ceremonies where the marriage didn’t last six months. Big weddings don’t have to mean misplaced priorities, but I’ve never been to a small, quiet ceremony that focused on God that didn’t turn into a blessed marriage.

Thanks, Jeff and Megan, for inviting me to share in the joy of your wedding. I feel blessed to have been a part of it. My prayer echoes that of the pastor that your marriage will be a manifestation of heaven on earth and a demonstration of how much Christ loves His church.

 

One Less on the Bucket List

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Man, I’m pooped. But it’s the really good kind of pooped. Like the kind where you get to cross through one of your bucket list items.

I saw U2 at Bridgestone Arena tonight. It was everything I always dreamed a U2 concert would be (and more). They played a lot of favorites. They threw in some unexpected delights like Gloria (not the Van Morrison version) and Acrobat (from Achtung Baby, I think).

After nearly 40 years in the business, they still put on an amazing show. The stage, the lighting, the screens were as good as I’ve ever seen. The band had an incredible amount of energy and kept it up for over 2 hours.

I didn’t agree 100% with all of Bono’s politics, but I did what all mature adults do and let it slide. I did like it when he talked about how the left and the right have to come together to form a solution to the current plight of this country. He said that there is no us and them. There’s only us.

I agree. Whenever I hear people tearing down the current President (as well as people who vilified the last one), I don’t see any good coming from that. As one astute person observed, as emotionally satisfying as it may be (and how morally superior it may make you feel), it can actually be more counter productive than productive. You only end up preaching to the choir, the people who already agreed with your side in the first place.

What we need is more dialogue and far less diatribes. But that’s for another post and another day.

I only wish U2 could have closed out the set with the song 40 from the album War, but other than that, I’m completely and thoroughly satisfied. It was a great night and a good time was had by all.

 

That Green Elephant in the Room

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As the old saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. Nothing robs your peace and contentment more than falling into the trap of comparing your life to someone else’s and letting jealousy take over.

I confess that I get a little envious from time to time. That’s when I notice that I’m less joyful and more stressed. That’s when I start believing that all the good things in my life that I’m waiting for must happen immediately, and I must be the one to make them happen.

The antidote is still gratitude for your own life. Giving thanks goes a long way toward helping you from seeing life as a competition and making it easier to celebrate other people’s victories instead of letting bitterness set in.

God’s will for your life is still to “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV). If you make those a daily habit, you won’t have time to play the comparison game or to be overcome by envy.

 

Dumb Stuff

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All I can say in my defense is that it’s been a long week and I was tired. I walked right out of that restaurant and got all the way home before I was reminded that I hadn’t paid for my dinner [insert face palm here].

Thankfully, I was able pay with my credit card over the phone, adding a little extra gratuity for my temporary attack of stupidity.

I confess my faux pas in order to remind us all that we will all do stupid stuff from time to time. We will do what we shouldn’t have done and leave undone what we should have done.

As I’m learning, the key is to give yourself grace and to allow yourself to be human. If God, who knows far more about you and your inner workings than even you do, is able to forgive you, why can’t you forgive yourself? Why can’t I?

Of course, the idea is to learn from your dumb stuff and not do a repeat of your stupid mistakes. Common sense and good judgment go along way. Still, there will be the inevitable lapses, especially when you’re tired, and you will have those head slapping moments when you realize just what an idiot moment you just had.

Give grace to others always, but in the process, don’t forget to give yourself a little grace as well.

 

Resolved

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Tonight, I heard one of the minsters in residence speak at an event. He mentioned one of his favorite dead theologians and authors, Jonathan Edwards, had made some resolutions.

Originally, my goal was to reproduce them all here, but after a little research, I found that would make for a mighty long blog post, so I’m picking a few that strike me:

“Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.”

“Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.”

“Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.”

“Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.”

“Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.”

“Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.”

“Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.”

“Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.”

Maybe this will inspire you (or me) to make our own new resolutions. It doesn’t have to wait until next January 1. It’s never too early or too late to change and make a new start.

 

Love That Says No

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“Love loves unto purity. Love has ever in view the absolute loveliness of that which it beholds. Therefore all that is not beautiful in the beloved, all that comes between and is not of love’s kind, must be destroyed. And our God is a consuming fire” (George MacDonald).

I think as a society we’ve turned love into a vague kind of permissiveness that tolerates anything and has no will of its own, a thinly disguised kind of lust that puts self-gratification above all else.

Not so with the ruthless, radical, relentless love of God. Not so with the love that took Jesus to a bloody death on a cross.

I’m finding out in my own life that this love of God, while pure and perfect and good, won’t tolerate anything but God’s very best for me.

While I’ve received God’s YES in Jesus, often that YES means a No to lesser desires and wants in my life. Sometimes, they’re bad and harmful. Sometimes they’re good. But just as bad is an enemy of good, so can good be an enemy of the best.

I still believe that the times God has said no to my prayers have been great mercies, maybe even more so than when He says yes. He’s kept me from finding the end result of me getting my own way, which usually doesn’t turn out well. Especially since I’m not always certain that I actually know what I want.

God will burn away anything in me that’s not pure and lovely. The bad, the ugly, and yes, sometimes the good. That’s what hurts the most.

Maybe the best kind of love is that which seeks to bring out the best in others and won’t settle for anything less. That’s God’s kind of love. The kind that sometimes says no.