Swedish History Month?

We have been having a wonderful time celebrating Black History Month at New Community Church in LaGrange, Georgia. At first glance it might seem to have very little to do with me. How is Black History Month relevant to a pastor who is the product of Swedish immigrants who traveled all the way to North Dakota for the large tracks of farm land? Why can't we have a Swedish History Month?
Well, let me count the ways:

1. I'm now living in the great state of Georgia, and while I see more blond hair and blue eyes than I thought I would, Swedish farming families haven't played much of a role in our state.
2. On the other hand, those of African ancestry have played a huge role in our state and region. Starting in 1619 these brothers and sisters have been a big part of our story.
3. I'm a part of the pastoral leadership team of a local church that is currently 60% Black and 40% White. We have six pastors, 3 Black (including our senior pastor) and 3 White. We have six elders, 4 Black and 2 White. In other words, Black History Month is personally significant to our beautiful congregation.
4. Black history is a major part of my Christian story, both in the Bible and in early church history. As someone trained in biblical studies and church history I have always been fascinated by the importance of my Black brothers and sisters to my Christian story.
5. As a follower of Jesus and a member in the Body of Christ, fellow members of African descent are my brothers and sisters; we are family. What is significant to them is significant to me. It is my story as well.

So it is no wonder we find special significance to Black History Month. Rickey and I taught a class called "Africa in the Bible," highlighting the significance of the descendants of Ham in the Bible. I offered to teach a class called "Swedes in the Bible," but I couldn't find any. We also taught on the important African Church Fathers in the early church. Once again, I offered to teach on the Swedish Church Fathers, but they were entirely absent. But I was not disappointed; I can claim the story of my brothers and sisters as my own. We are enjoying praising the Lord with Gospel music, both traditional and contemporary. We are enjoying each other.

For me, Black History Month is a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly celebration. But since we have a designated month, why not pull out all the stops and celebrate the goodness of God revealed through my Black brothers and sisters. I love you all and celebrate the important contributions you have made to the Body of Christ, to our nation, and to my life.

A New Scorecard for a New Year

Now that we have begun a new year I'm struck by the new opportunities before us. 2011 seemed like a year of growth in so many ways, a year that positioned us to make significant Kingdom contributions in 2012.

Reflecting on the journey we have been on brought to mind patterns we've observed in our various approaches to "church." Traditionally, the church was viewed as the primary receptor and distributor of God's grace (sacraments, etc.), and the focus was on "going to church." Everyone needed what the church provided in order to survive on the way to God's Heavenly Kingdom.

That model of church served us well (at least from around AD 100 to the 1970s). Then a new generation (my Baby Boomer generation) began to see the need to innovate, to change things up in the church. The focus became more on "church growth" and being "culturally relevant." Whether it involved a "seeker-sensitive model" or the more recent "emerging church model," the emphasis was on "doing church." Our various congregations were judged on how successfully they "did church" in their immediate context.

The more recent Baby Boomer model of "doing church" measures success in terms of Bodies, Buildings and Budgets. How many bodies are we attracting onto our church campus? How well are we doing building elaborate structures that house our new, culturally relevant ways of doing church? And, because "if you build it they will come," how well are we able to raise the money needed to keep feeding the seeker machine?

It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer that noted the absence of a well-developed doctrine of the church (ecclesiology) in America. For that reason, we are free to tweak our model of the church any way we desire, so long as it meets the need of the moment. However, at some point it might be nice to ask how the Bible defines and describes the church, and how we match up with that description. All of us claim to be a "New Testament Church," and even an "Acts Two" church, but are we really?

For us, 2011 was an opportunity to take a critical look at how we view the church and compare that to what God says about the church. For that reason, we are moving away from the "Bodies/Buildings/Budgets" scorecard to a "Transformation Scorecard." At our New Community Church Vision Night service last week we described the new scorecard in terms of "Communion, Community, and Commission." "Communion" refers to our personal relationship with God and our progressive experience of being transformed into the likeness of Christ. "Community" clearly points to the fact that spiritual formation can only take place in relationship; we need God, but we also need each other. "Commission" acknowledges that Communion and Community alone has the potential of turning us into a spiritually inbred club. We are called to live on mission with Christ in the world. The simple fact is this: Transformed people transform the world."

And so, we are asking God to do something new, something more in and through our lives this year. We want to do so much more than "go to church" or "do church." We want to "be the church." We want to experience true transformation as a people in community, and then represent Jesus as salt and light, as instruments of transformation in our time and place. And this we will do, by God's grace.

The Coming Advent

We seem to be in the midst of an end-of-the-world fever. Many well meaning intelligent believers were convinced that Jesus was coming on May 21 this year. When Jesus didn't show up the date was moved up to October 21. Unless I'm completely unconscious, Jesus didn't come then either. The ancient Mayans predicted that the world would end on December 21, 2012, less than a year away. And these aren't the first attempts to predict the exact time of the return of Christ, even though Jesus himself said, "the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew 25:44). For Jesus, the reason why the timing of his coming is purposely unknown is so his followers will remain alert and ready. For James, patience is advised, knowing that Christ will not return until the full human "harvest" is brought in. "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near" (James 5:7-8). Jesus doesn't want anyone to miss out on the Great Advent at the end of the age.


It's possible for some to assume that the return of Christ is irrelevant. However, the second Advent is vitally important for several reasons: (1) It paints an important picture of human history; we are not caught in a repeating cycle of human risings and fallings, there is a clear culmination point, an end of the age inaugurated by the first Advent all those years ago. Human history has a goal, it is going somewhere. (2) It gives meaning to our current time in human history; we find ourselves in the "Kingdom Age," the "Age of the Holy Spirit," the "Messianic Age," brought in and governed by Christ. While we are not yet in Paradise, we see the promise of his coming and the hope of a world without sin and rebellion against the Creator. (3) Seeing the "light at the end of tunnel" gives meaning to every day God gives us; today is a Kingdom day with Kingdom opportunities. We are alive each day to represent the King and his ultimate rule in creation. (4) It causes us to be alert to the working of God's Spirit in the world and those "kairos" moments when God's people can be empowered to be salt and light. (5) It shows us that even in our darkest hour, God reigns supreme, and will continue to reign until every enemy is under his feet; the last enemy is death.


At the end of the Revelation of John Jesus himself gives us the "punchline": "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life" (22:17). The invitation goes out every day to those who are thirsty for more, thirsty for God. Jesus then gives us his final promise: "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon'" (22:20). And the response? "Amen. Come Lord Jesus."


We are looking forward to the triumphant conclusion to this present Age of Redemption. However, like our Lord, we want everyone who is thirsty to have an opportunity to participate in the coming Age of Glory. While we are looking for the Coming of Jesus (and he will come for each of us individually at just the right time) we join with Jesus in saying, "Come and take the free gift of the water of life." Amen. Come.

God Is With Us!

God is love. That means God's first purpose - his Plan A - always involves relationship. All God's plans and all God's methods are relational. God's very identity is wrapped up in relationships. Because God created human beings for relationship we share a similar identity. When Moses asked, "Who am I," God answered, "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:11-12). When Jeremiah objected, "I am too young," God countered with, "I am with you" (Jeremiah 1:6-8). Unfortunately, as fallen, self-centered human beings, relationships can seem a bit nebulous, unpredictable, and insecure. When it comes to religion, we prefer some kind of sanctified magic to relationship - we just want to find ways to get God to fix it - to make it stop, to keep it from happening, to give us whatever we want. What God wants to give us is his presence, his companionship.

The mystery and wonder of Christmas is the miracle of Immanuel, God With Us, in the person of Jesus Christ. Our Father-Creator was so determined to have a real, personal, intimate relationship with us God poured himself into humanity, entered into human history in time and space, and invited "whosoever will" to come back into the God-family. We want to make it about presents and events. For God, the Advent/Coming of Immanuel is all about relationships.

I suggest we can give two kinds of Advent gifts this year: (1) the gift of relationship with God through Christ, and (2) the gift of relationship with God through relationship with you. Be on the alert for someone who is hurting and alone, and offer them the gift of yourself as an expression of God's love. God is with us in Christ; God is also with us in our real, loving, human connections with each other and with "the least of these." Go and give yourself away!

Thankful for Jesus

As an old "Jesus freak" I am often struck by how quickly we can become distracted by our religious, ecclesiastical, and theological issues. We worry and fuss about so many things. We argue incessantly about abstract issues. (I don't ever want to hear another debate about hell.) We have questions about who's "in" and who's "out." Some wonder whether or not it's possible to be a "Christian" and still be a Democrat (or a member of the Tea/Coffee/Cocktail Party). We work hard to maintain the walls we've built around ourselves and our faith communities.

But in the end, only one thing matter - Jesus! When reviewing all the religious issues of his day Paul wrote, "I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8). When all is said and done, whatever does not reveal Jesus, whatever does not bring honor and advance the cause of Jesus, whatever does not lead us and others closer to Jesus, will fall into dust.

That's why we can always be thankful. No matter what our circumstances, Jesus remains the same. It is "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Even when a "super-committee" proves to be super dysfunctional (along with the whole government), Jesus is the same. Even when our favorite team loses, Jesus is the same. Even when we are unemployed and can't pay our bills (or our store burns down), Jesus is the same. Even when we lose a loved one in very tragic circumstances, Jesus is the same.

And so, I don't believe it's trite for me to wish you all (y'all) a very happy Thanksgiving. Let's celebrate Jesus!