RE-ENCHANTMENT

I keep coming across this word: enchantment. 

It comes from the same roots as incantation - the placing of a magic spell on something or someone.

I hear people speaking of our need to recapture the enchantment of life. And everything in me screams "Amen!" 

It feels like we are all vaguely aware that some of the magic of existence has disappeared. Or perhaps it has simply been crowded out.

In this high-tech age where gadgets and AI and doomscrolling dominate what little is left of our individual imaginations, we are less likely than ever to stop and smell the roses. 

Depression and loneliness are common. And deadly - if not to the body, then quite often to the soul. You don't run into too many optimists these days. 

Re-enchantment isn't a luxury. It's a necessity. 

Perhaps the church should lead the way. Afterall, we have not been immune to this general disenchantment.

So often our practice of faith, prayer, and worship are routine. Dried out and stale. And Scripture holds no wonder or mystery.

Where are the psalmists who can remind us of the magnificent magic of God and reality?

The church would make for an appropriate launch site for a renewal of hope and wonder. 

How do we recover the enchantment?

God willing, two weeks from now, Melissa and I will be stepping off a plane in Edinburgh, Scotland. I haven't visited Scotland since I spent my junior year at the University of Aberdeen in 1988/89. I am looking forward to touring castles, drinking some whisky, and eating a ton of fish and chips. 

But what I find myself truly excited about is simply the pervasive magic of Scotland. There is something enchanted about the entire country and I feel like I NEED to experience it again. 

OPTIMISM KICKS IN

I think of myself as a generally optimistic person. 

BUT, I have a tendency to fixate on how anything I am directly involved in could go wrong.

And I realized something kind of weird about myself this weekend: I swing from pessimism to optimism as the due date approaches.

Our church was open to switching up our approach to VBS this summer and doing a neighborhood festival instead. It was still aimed at kids, but we weren't doing any explicit Bible lessons during our time together. It was more about simply having a positive interaction with our neighbors.

Anyway, after spending the last four weeks imagining all that could go wrong - even to the point of experiencing stress dreams at night - the Freedom Festival arrived today. 

And this morning my attitude flipped 180 degrees. Here's what went through my mind all day today:

• What's the worst that could happen? 
• Even if the event flops, God is capable of bringing something good out of it.
• God is in control.
• This is a grand experiment and we will undoubtedly learn a lot. 

And guess what.

We got rained on. Hard. And only a few kids showed up.

But the kids and adults who did show up? They thought it was great to see the church doing something for the neighborhood. 

And it was. 

Not only that, but even with a lot of church members out of town this weekend, many others showed up and worked hard. There's is no question how much these people care for those outside our fellowship.

I can't wrap up without giving a huge shout out to Melissa. She did a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make sure the festival was the best it could be. 

And it all paid off. I can't wait to see what God does with our efforts from today.

In the future, I should be more consistently optimistic. Less anxious. 

(P.S. If I wasn't so wiped out, I would post some pictures. Sorry.)

THE MIST

"A mist in the pulpit will result in a fog in the pew." 

This truism, attributed to Charles Spurgeon (among others), is why I don't think I would have made a very good preacher even 5 years ago. 

Now, one of the great blessings of my position as pastor at Sardinia Baptist Church is the opportunity week by week to blow away the mist in my own understanding of the Christian faith.

It gets me excited every time. 

And I'm not talking about Bible trivia - it's big picture stuff. And how everything fits together. 

I'm coming to see that over the years I've swallowed a whole lot of "biblical doctrines" without examining the Scriptural basis for myself. And then I wondered why my beliefs felt so disjointed. 

I was not alone in this. I think this is a great weakness of the modern church in general. If the pastors and teachers have never applied critical thinking skills to their own presuppositions, the congregation is going to be left in a fog.

And if a congregation is in the fog, there's not going to be a lot of forward movement for that church. 

The average church doesn't need to be berated as much as it needs to be educated.

But there's too much mist up front. 

PUDDLES AND LEAKS

“Are you dealing with a leak or a puddle?”

If you are facing a problem in your life -

(And who among us isn’t?)

- You might find the following distinction from author James Clear useful.

He says there are 2 basic types of problems:

• ‘A “Muddy Puddle” problem, if left unbothered, becomes clearer over time and resolves itself. The best approach might be to take a walk, pray about it, and get it out of your head for a while.

• A “Leaky Ceiling” problem, on the other hand, if left unattended, worsens and brings disaster. The best approach is to stop procrastinating on take the first step toward resolving it.

It’s important to know which kind of problem you’ve got on your plate!

If you want to read Clear’s explanation for yourself, you can find it HERE accompanied by a “sketchplanation” by artist Jono Hey. The little visual helps to make Clear’s point stick. 

CASE CLOSED

When I was younger, I was impressed by any Biblical "expert" who could rattle off a dozen verses proving their particular viewpoint on Scripture. I assumed it meant that teacher really knew their Bible inside and out. 

Now I know that this is called proof texting - and, when it comes to defending a "Biblical doctrine", I consider it a practice which is suspect at best.

There was a (brief) time when Calvinism actually appealed to me. This was about 15 years ago when I was invited to a Together for the Gospel conference without knowing it was organized by Calvinists to promote Calvinism.

The two qualities which drew me in at that time were these:

1. It was presented as a "hard teaching that you just had to accept if you take the Bible seriously".
2. Several well-known pastors gave talks on all the Calvinist distinctives - based on plenty of verses from the Old and New Testaments.

At the time I didn't understand the inevitable damage done to a verse when it is isolated from its context. I was simply impressed that these men (always men!) could cite so much evidence for their hard teachings. 

I never stopped to consider that the flaws in proof texting make it as useful in promoting some obvious heresy like the Prosperity Gospel as it is for Calvinism.

If you aren't familiar with the dangers of proof texting yourself, consider one of the Prosperity Gospel preachers' favorite teachings from the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 8:9 - "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." 

Or these words from Jesus Himself in Mark 11:22-24 - “Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. “Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

And a little Old Testament for good measure, in Malachi 3:10 - "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure."

How many more verses do you need to see the Bible's clear teaching that God's desire is to bless you with great riches ... as long as you tithe?

The case is settled. Right?

PERHAPS

"15 Perhaps the reason [Onesimus] was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for ever – 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord." Philemon 15-16

As he is writing to Philemon about receiving back his slave, Onesimus, the Apostle Paul is engaging in some conjecture about what God was doing behind the scenes in this whole scenario. 

Many people assume that Onesimus was a runaway slave, but there's nothing in the letter to confirm this as the backstory. It's just as likely that Philemon sent Onesimus to Paul for a short time in order to care for Paul's needs while he was imprisoned. 

Regardless of how Onesimus came in contact with Paul, he seems to have given his life to Christ during his time away from home and Paul now loves him like a son. 

Now, as he sends Onesimus back to his earthly master, Paul speculates that this round trip wasn't just about bringing aid and comfort to Paul.

Perhaps it was because the Lord knew that Paul would persuasively share the gospel with Onesimus, leading to a new birth. 

And THEN - even better - Onesimus would return to Philemon, not to help with household chores, but to function as a co-worker, a brother, in spreading the gospel.

I love the fact that Paul uses that word "perhaps". Even as Spirit-led as the Apostle is, he still only gets glimpses of what the Lord is up to as He guides His children this way and that. 

THE DONKEY

There is a fable about human nature I don't want to forget.

Here it is as retold by Sahil Bloom:

A man and his son were bringing their donkey to the market.

As they were walking along the path, a man passed them and said: "You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?"

So the man put the boy on the donkey and continued. They passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides."

So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. They passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along."

So the man took his boy up with him on the donkey. People began to jeer: "Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey?"

So the man and boy got off and carried the donkey on their shoulders. As they crossed a bridge, it kicked loose, fell over the side, and drowned.

Viewed from the perspective of the man and his son, the traditional moral goes something like this: "Please all, and you will please none."

But I too easily identify with the critics along the road and so I read it as a fable about how inclined we are to sit in judgement of others, even when we know next to nothing about their situation. 

So I might state the moral along these lines: "Those who are being judged simply cannot win."

YOUR OWN SYSTEMATIC

The Church would be much healthier if we ditched the system where each generation two or three persons develop a systematic theology to be shared with millions, in favor of ....

Millions of believers developing their own systematic theology and each sharing their ideas with two or three other believers. 

Wouldn't that be something?

No longer would we blindly swallow what we've been taught by other well-meaning Christians - who have never questioned anything they themselves were taught.

In a way, my unofficial theological project since stepping into the role of pastor has been to develop my own systematic understanding of what is taught in Scripture. I am making good progress but still far from being finished. 

I don't necessarily assume I will finish in my lifetime. 

One of my goals is to make sure there are no blatant contradictions in my faith.

And I think developing your own "systematic" theology would be an incredibly edifying process for any believer serious about his or her faith, not just pastors. 

ALLEGIANCE

Once you start to notice the misalignment of the American gospel with the biblical gospel, it's hard to ignore. 

I am reading Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Dr. Matthew Bates and giving a hearty "Amen!" with every page. The subtitle is Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King.

Here's the book's argument, "reduced to its simplest terms":

1) The true climax of the gospel - Jesus's enthronement - has generally been deemphasized or omitted from the gospel.

2) Consequently, pistis has been misaimed and inappropriately nuanced with respect to the gospel. It is regarded as "trust" in Jesus's righteousness alone or "faith" that Jesus's death covers my sins rather than "allegiance" to Jesus as King.

3) Final salvation is not about attainment of heaven but about embodied participation in the new creation. When the true goal of salvation is recognized, terms such as "faith," "works," "righteousness," and "the gospel" can be more accurately reframed.

4) Once it is agreed that salvation is by allegiance alone, matters that have traditionally divided Catholics and Protestants - the essence of the gospel, faith alone versus works, declared righteousness versus infused righteousness - are reconfigured in ways that may prove helpful for reconciliation.  (p.9)

Not surprisingly, Bates briefly points backward to the era where the church started to get off track and it is the life and writings of one man: Saint Augustine. 

(Someday I would love to do a deep dive into Augustine - he seems like a fascinating individual and to say he had an outsized influence on the church would be the greatest understatement of all time.) 

I wholeheartedly echo this line from Bates: "I hope that the correct identification of the high point of the gospel as Jesus's kingship and a retargeting of "faith" as allegiance will reinvigorate the life and mission of the church today." (p.9)

In fact, this sentiment is what motivates my dissertation work. 

WEDDING WEEKEND IN PHOTOS

It was quite the weekend for our family. We had a perfectly timed beginning on Friday: I picked Caleb up at the airport and returned to the house about 3:30 pm, just two minutes before Melissa and Hannah pulled up after driving from Myrtle Beach. 

From there it was a whirlwind of activities as we attempted to maximize our short time together. The photos below are in no particular order and that seems fitting: 

A WEDDING MESSAGE

We had a fantastic weekend - all 4 kids were home together and today we celebrated the wedding of a family friend.

I had the honor of officiating the wedding and got positive feedback on what I said to the couple, so here it is:

Matthew and Elizabeth, you two are about to embark on a great adventure. Unlike anything either of you have experienced up until now. And everyone gathered here this afternoon is rooting for both of you. 

My wife, Melissa, and I today are exactly one month shy of our 25th anniversary and so I feel like I know a little bit about marriage. And I can say this with 100% confidence: marriage has changed me profoundly – for the better. And it will change you. And “change” is THE key word I want to focus on for just a moment because I want to make a case for change being the whole point of marriage. 

Now I don’t want anybody here to think that I am advocating some process where you create a list of all the things that need to be changed about your spouse and then go to work. You don’t set out to force change on your partner. That’s a bad idea. 

There’s a story about a bride on her wedding day suffering a terrible case of butterflies. Minutes before the ceremony is supposed to start, she confides in the pastor saying, “I’m so nervous, I’m afraid I will pass out before I can say ‘I do’!”

The pastor gives her some advice: “Focus on one thing at a time. First, as you walk into the sanctuary, just look down and focus on the AISLE. Put all your attention on the aisle. Once you approach the front of the church, focus on the ALTAR. All your attention on the altar. And then once you step into place, just put all your focus on the groom. All your attention on HIM. You’ll do just fine.”

The bride thinks this is good advice but she’s afraid she will forget, so she starts repeating it to herself. When the processional starts and the bride makes her way entry, the crowd grows very concerned that the marriage is doomed from the beginning because the bride is staring at the floor as she walks and muttering to herself, “Aisle. Altar. Him. Aisle. Altar. Him.”

And, yes, it is a bad idea to approach marriage as a grand opportunity to fix your spouse.  But the truth is, your spouse does need fixing. At least as much as you do!

Reality is that none of us are living up to our God-given potential. We all stumble over our own selfishness, our angers, our desires, and a thousand temptations which leave us less than we want to be. 

Fortunately, God has sent a person who sees something special in you. Who has told you that you are worthy of love. More than that – Who has SHOWN you that you are worthy of love. A person who is willing to lay down what their own life could have been otherwise and come alongside you and promise to never leave you – for richer or poorer, for better or for worse. A person who is already functioning in your life much like Jesus does.

The Bible has 1,189 chapters in total. It mentions marriage in Chapter 2 when Adam is created and then God notes that it is not good for Adam to be alone so He creates Eve. And in the very last chapter, Revelation 22, when God’s people are called His Bride, it becomes clear that the Lord did not invent marriage simply as a cure for loneliness, but as something much greater: a miniature model of His own relationship with humanity. His desire for us, His love for us. 

And that love is meant to transform us – to shape us into the people He always intended us to be. 

When Adam and Eve went astray in the Garden of Eden, they ended up estranged from each other and from God, but God did not give up on them. All of human history since that day is a testament to how sin separates us from God and brings strife, suffering, shame, and death into our lives. AND to how God continues to pursue us.

When Jesus came, He came to show us what God is really like. And it turns out that God is all of those things that Anna and Megan just read about: He’s compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient towards us. And above all else, He is LOVE and He invites us into a relationship with Him. 

If you asked most people on the street, “What is the goal of the Christian life?” I think most would say something like, “Getting your sins forgiven so that you can go to heaven someday.” But that’s so narrow as to miss the actual bullseye. The true goal of the Christian life is not heaven sometime in the future but it is being reshaped in the image of Christ right now. God wants to change us from the inside out. If we will let Him – if we accept His proposal, He wants to remake us into the people we were always meant to be. 

A Christian marriage has the same goal: change - transformation into the people we were meant to be. 

Marriage then, is both a blessing and a challenge because it is the proving grounds for both parties to practice the kind of radical, self-giving, self-sacrificing kind of love that Jesus has demonstrated toward them.

A successful marriage is one where the quality of the love being practiced day in and day out is an imitation of God’s own love for us in Jesus Christ. With Jesus as your example, practice that kind of love at home daily and, over time, each of you individually and the two of you together will be transformed in remarkable ways, to the glory of God. And this world will be the better for the union which begins here today.

God bless you and the home you will create. 

[Maybe tomorrow I will post some photos from the weekend.]

PAUL'S MESSAGE EMBODIED

The American Church sure could use some men like Paul lists in the closing of his letter to the Colossians.

In the final verses, the Apostle sends greetings from Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, and Epaphras, among others. 

Look at the descriptors Paul chooses for some of these men:

• Tychicus: Beloved Brother, Faithful Minister, and Fellow Servant in the Lord 
• Onesimus: Our faithful and Beloved Brother 
• Aristarchus: My Fellow Prisoner 
• Epaphras: A Servant of Christ 

You get the impression these are a true band of brothers, facing true hardship for the cause of Christ - yet standing firmly beside each other.

And then take a look at what Paul says his brothers have been doing or will do:

• Tychicus: Encouraging the hearts of his fellow believers
• Onesimus: Trusted with relaying important information: “They (he and Tychicus) will tell you of everything that has taken place here.”
• Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus: Comforting Paul
• Epaphras: Always struggling on the church's behalf in his prayers

These are men who embody all that Paul has written as instruction to the believers at Colossae. 

His last command of the letter is a command within a command, directed to the members of the church: "Say to Archippus, 'See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord'.” 

Men, there's much to be done. 

Fulfill the ministry God has given you!

#2,000

Behind the scenes here on Blogspot there is a counter which keeps track of the number of posts you have drafted and the number which have been published. 

That's how I know today's post marks an important and fairly unbelievable milestone: I have now published 2,000 individual pieces here.

I started this blog on November 7, 2010, back when we were first feeling called to serve God in Haiti. In the beginning, it was a way to document my process of downsizing in preparation for moving the family to the mission field.

Back then, I determined that each day I would find some item around the house to either sell, give away, or toss - and then I would document those decisions daily. 

I remember the experience as fun and liberating on the whole. 

(Which surprised me then but wouldn't now.)

These days I keep writing in order to process my thoughts on a myriad of topics - whatever has captured my attention on any particular day. 

Plus, it serves as a place to record all of them. If they don't get written down, they simply evaporate.

And what good is an idea if it disappears before it's even fully formed?

Hitting the 2,000-post milestone might just inspire me to follow through on a vague desire lodged in the back of my mind for many years now: to write my own book. 

Afterall, if this is an average post - and it's over 200 words - then I've likely written and edited over 400,000 words here.

That's equivalent (in word count at least) to 10 average-sized non-fiction books. 

Little by little.

So what would keep me from writing a book the same way?

WORTHY OF THE TOP TEN?

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” Exodus 20:7

Many folks - believers and non-believers alike - are taught the 3rd commandment is a prohibition against cussing, especially any angry outburst using the words “God” or “Jesus Christ”.

This might leave you wondering: Why did this command make God’s Top Ten list, right alongside murder and adultery?

It turns out there is a major problem with this assumed interpretation:

The Hebrew word translated as “take” has nothing to do with speech.

It means to bear or to carry.

So it seems the commandment’s concept of “taking God’s name” is more like what we mean when we say a woman has “taken” her new husband’s name: She has chosen to identify herself with him in a very public and long-term way.

Some reflection, then, as to what God means when He warns of taking His name in vain, might make it clear why it’s worthy of the Top Ten!

DAY 3 OF FASTING

I attended a local conference today, kicking off at 8:30 am and not ending until 4:00 pm. With breakfast and lunch both on the schedule, I had worried that it would be awkward for me to continue fasting. Or that I would be tempted to end my fast earlier than I intended. 

But the breakfast was "continental" and nothing too tempting and plenty of people were eating very little or only drinking coffee. No awkwardness at all. 

There were "box" lunches provided later and I'm sure they were good, but I resolved not to end my fast just because I have trouble passing up free food.

I sat down next to a couple of men I had chatted with throughout the morning and when they asked why I wasn't eating lunch, I told them. 

It sparked a great conversation, actually. One of the guys was into monthly fasting himself. 

I went straight from the conference to my English class. Those three hours were tough - my energy was really lagging by then. 

One of my students brought me a snack cake from Mexico as a gift tonight. It looked REALLY good and I was sorely tempted. But I resisted.

Originally, I planned to fast until Melissa and Hannah and Caleb all returned on Friday. We will go as a family for an early dinner out.

But that might not be wise. I am likely to eat too much and that could cause problems. So maybe tomorrow I will start eating some fruits and veggies to ease back into routine.

I am hopeful that my routine eating will prove to be healthier and more measured as a result of these three days. 

Time will tell. 

(I do plan to continue avoiding coffee in the coming weeks. I suspect it's not my friend.)

WHILE MY WIFE IS AWAY...

I have taken an extended break from my daily writing - not intentionally and not for any reason beyond the busyness of life. But when I don't write, I miss it. It's been a useful practice for me. 

I thought this week might be a good time to restart - Melissa is away for a few days and so my evenings are a bit more open. And, I've been thinking "the sooner, the better" to restart, since I want to be fully back in the habit of writing daily before we travel to Scotland next month. 

For tonight's post, I've got fasting on my mind again. With Melissa flying to Myrtle Beach yesterday in order to help Hannah drive back home on Friday for a family friend's wedding this coming weekend - and with plenty of leftovers in the fridge for Samuel and Sarah to survive on for a few days - I thought it would be a good week for a longer fast.

It's more of a health fast than a spiritual fast. My weight keeps creeping upward and I experience a lot of sleep issues at night and brain fog during the day. Maybe my present reality is simply the aging process, but I suspect at least some, if not all, of these issues are exacerbated by my diet and eating habits. 

So, for the past 48 hours, I have consumed nothing but water and a single cup of coffee. 

(And the coffee was a mistake. I brewed it Monday morning out of habit, forgetting that I intended to break from caffeine during this fast.) 

As always, the experience of fasting is fascinating to me. 

There are hunger pangs, but they fade. There were a few headaches yesterday and this morning, but I wonder if those are caffeine withdrawals. I feel a little tired on a long walk, but I had the strength to do more pushups than ever this morning. And, at least tonight, my thinking feels clearer. I have been able to get some reading done without it putting me to sleep. 

But my biggest takeaway so far is the realization that I do not eat to survive, nor to nourish my body, nor to ease hunger. 

I eat to combat boredom. 

I've been trying to figure out why I snack constantly - even when I am not at all hungry - and I have now concluded that it is my main method of entertaining myself. 

That strikes me as weird and unhealthy. 

By "weird" I don't mean that nobody else does this. I mean it is not how God designed us to function in relation to food.

And by "unhealthy" I don't just mean that eating as escape from boredom is bound to add pounds to my midsection. I mean it points to some deeper problem in how I relate to this life that God has blessed me with.

So, unhealthy for body AND spirit.

Just as "doom scrollers" spend hours watching other people's accomplishments via online videos and never get off the couch to accomplish something meaningful in their own lives, perhaps the excitement and variety I seek in the snack drawer is blinding me to my need to find more meaningful engagement in life as a whole. 

And so I guess this HAS become a spiritual fast.