GO

Now an angel of the Lord said 

To Philip, 

"Go south to the road - 

The desert road - 

That goes down 

From Jerusalem to Gaza."

And that, 

Apparently, 

Was all the angel told him: 

Which road,

Which direction. 

And Philip 

Started 

Out.

(ACTS 8: 26-7)

HOLY SPIRIT

I grew up attending worship, Sunday school, and youth group at the local United Methodist Church, within walking distance of our house on East Hendricks Street. I spent many hours at First UMC, week after week and year after year, until I went off to college.

In all that time, I never really heard anything about the Holy Spirit. 

Sure, the Spirit got a weekly mention in the Doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Otherwise, the Third Person of the Trinity didn't get much air time. 

I don't think my church was unusual in this respect. It has been my experience that churches will invoke the Trinity at baptisms and communion, and may even acknowledge Pentecost one Sunday each spring, but otherwise they avoid talking about the Holy Spirit.

Even the occasional sermon on the "fruit of the Spirit" will focus more on the fruit and less on the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing about the fruit.

Why is that?

I am currently reading - very slowly - through the book of Acts. 

And it seems like getting filled with the Holy Spirit is kind of a big deal. 

LEARNING

At the moment I find myself on a steep learning curve. I am reading books and listening to podcasts every spare moment. All for the sake of my new role with Mission Resource International.

And I am loving it.

I am studying how to write copy for advertisements in print or email. Exploring ways to optimize websites and utilize social media. And even reading up on the history of fertilizer.*

I used to tell my 8th graders that it was a fact that they enjoyed learning. They loudly protested such an idea, of course. 

Then I would say, "I said LEARNING, not schooling." 

When we have an interest in something and can see its usefulness, the act of learning becomes indistinguishable from play. 

____________________________

* Later I will explain the use for this. The book I am reading is called The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager. I am not yet halfway through it, but I recommend it, especially if you have interests in both science and history. It even has a Hitler angle to it! Go figure.

IT WOULD NOT BE RIGHT?

One of my professors raised a question about an incident recorded in the book of Acts. Chapter 6 records the early church's first ongoing service project to the community: the daily feeding of widows. 

This resulted in another first: the first known church squabble. 

The Hebraic Jews were feeding their own widows but neglecting to feed those among the Grecian Jews. The Grecian Jews complained. 

So the Apostles pulled everyone together and made arrangements for seven men to be chosen to take charge of the ministry.  

The Apostles instituted this because, they said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables."

And that line, verse 2 of Acts 6, is what generated my professor's question. Most theologians assume that this is a straightforward note on how the early church sought to organize itself by differentiating roles.

But what if the Apostles are in the wrong here? They sidestep the conflict by not rebuking the Hebraic Jews! And their "solution" looks like a bit of pride. What kind of example are they setting? 

"We've got more important things to do than feed widows!"

I think the question of whether this was actually a bad move by the Apostles has merit. For one thing, it doesn't sound at all like Jesus. It feels like he would simply command those in charge to do right. And then he would pitch in with serving lunch.

And also, take a look at two of the seven chosen to wait on the tables since the Apostles were too busy: Stephen and Philip.

Stephen gets the rest of Chapter 6 and all of Chapter 7 devoted to his "miraculous signs" and powerful preaching (which gets him killed).

And Philip is the star of Chapter 8 with his own miracles and his successful evangelistic efforts.

At the very least, these two men were better than the Apostles at multitasking.

PROSOPAGNOSIA

Being a modern American male, I have diagnosed myself via the internet for a condition I would never see a doctor about. And I am confident of my diagnosis.

(Although I have a relatively mild case.)

I have Prosopagnosia.

And I am not alone. Prosopagnosia is estimated to afflict 1 out of every 50 human beings.

The common term is Face Blindness and it is the "inability to recognize or differentiate faces". It's a brain disorder.

I am only half joking about diagnosing myself with Prosopagnosia. I definitely have a harder time than most people in recognizing faces.

You often hear "I might not recall your name, but I never forget a face". 

I forget both.

During many social interactions, I find myself wondering "have I met you before?" or "how do I know you?" 

Pair this with my weak memory, and it can really add to my social anxiety.

Here's a recent example: On a particular Sunday morning this past December, I was introduced to two gentlemen at church who expressed interest in joining the men's small group I am leading. One of these guys walked away to greet someone else, but I spoke to the other for about five minutes. I told both of them that we would be restarting the group after the holidays and I got their names and phone numbers. 

So I have been in contact with them by texting, but if I have seen them in passing on the Sunday mornings since our conversation, I have not recognized them or greeted them.

I seriously don't remember what either man looks like.

So I imagine they have both smiled at me at church and I have walked right past them without acknowledging them. Or asking how they are doing. Or inviting them again to join our group.

And they probably think I am a jerk.

I'm not a jerk. And I am not uncaring.

I have Prosopagnosia. And there's no cure.

(Now I just have to figure out how to pronounce it.) 

DEVOTIONS

I don't want to name any names, so I will just say it is "a currently famous pastor". 

This guy is cranking out podcasts on "leadership", and I listened to a couple the other day. 

Before I say anything more, I will confess that I have a bias against this guy. My gut doesn't like him. A little too smooth and not very deep, that's my general impression. 

(I could be wrong.)

These particular podcasts caught my attention because his subject was habit formation. 

On the front end he gave credit to Charles Duhigg and James Clear for their research and their books on the topic, but he really should have sprinkled the credit throughout his entire teaching because it was ALL stuff I had read in Duhigg and Clear with only the smallest of variations. 

But what really bothered me was that in all his talk of good habits leaders should develop, there was virtually no mention of spiritual disciplines. Sure, he had some nice ideas - like developing a habit of writing notes of appreciation daily - but where was prayer? Where was fasting? Where was Scripture?

The only mention of a spiritual habit was a quick run down of his morning routine: something like "I shower, I have breakfast, I do my devotions, then I kiss my wife and head to work". 

"Do devotions"? That struck me as odd, at least for a nationally known pastor. 

"Doing devotions" has the connotation of sitting down with a "Guideposts" magazine devotional for five minutes. Am I wrong?

Just my opinion, but pastors worth their salt do not "do devotions". They "study Scripture" and they pray. 

What do you think? Is that a too casual way to refer to something which should be central to a pastor's role? Or is this just my confirmation bias looking for something to criticize about this guy?

BLESSED?

A man returning from a short term mission trip to Haiti said, "It made me realize how incredibly blessed I am". 

I have heard similar things from others. It's a common reaction to visiting the third world.

But it misses the mark.

I would have no problem hearing, "I realized how wealthy I am." 

"How comfortable I am."

"How much security I have."

In fact, every one of those insights would be worthy of applause even. Perhaps these are what the man meant to say. 

But when we say "how blessed we are here in the U.S.", our language reveals a misguided and unbiblical feeling in our gut: that material wealth is a sign of God's favor. 

Here are two major points about wealth and poverty we must always keep in mind:

1) Material wealth can be as much a curse as a blessing. 

    Jesus said, "How difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven"! 

    And he asked, "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" 

2) There is more than one way to be poor. 

    Americans, with our abundance of possessions, tend to be poor in relationships. 

    And since the Bible frames the whole meaning of life in terms of relationship - "Love God with all you've got and love your neighbor too" - to be poor relationally is more dire than being poor materially. 

The sweet spot would be to become rich both financially AND relationally. 😉

(Of course, if you truly hit that sweet spot, most of those financial riches would be funneled toward the many people you care deeply about, close to home and around the world.)