The “Dreaded Glenn”: A Response to Ms. Gaye Clark

I want to take a few moments to respond to Ms. Gaye Clark’s article posted by The Gospel Coalition, where she offers advice to our white siblings whose children are in interracial relationships.  She writes this in response to the surprise she felt when her white daughter brought home a black man donning dreads named Glenn.  It’s important for me to say I found her insights to be very well intentioned.  I really do believe she gave it the proverbial college try.  She shot her best shot.  But, the article is misinformed.

Her words bore the aroma of reformed theology and were laced with historical references and the requisite John Piper quote.  All standard fare for a blogpost by my beloved friends at The Gospel Coalition.  While I do say this with a degree of tongue in cheek, I feel compelled to wade into her insights out of a conviction of mine that some of the most dangerous and divisive threats to the Christian faith and well being are those that seem the most harmless.

Since Ms. Clarke takes us back parenthetically to 1967, maybe I should begin there.  This was the year the landmark film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” came out.  As you know this was to many a scandalous work, diving headlong into the subject of interracial marriage, as Spencer Tracey (It would be his last film) and Katherine Hepburn’s San Francisco based characters are thrust into the subject, when their daughter comes home with a black man (played by Sidney Poitier).  After initial shock and hesitancy (especially on the part of the dad), they come around and finally embrace him, and you’re left in awe of this “courageous and progressive” white couple who would stand so big while stooping so low as to accept a black man.  Think about it- in 1967 a mark of being what we would now call progressive, is accepting a black person.  So once the final credits roll what are we left thinking?  Oh those great and wonderful white people.  Boy isn’t that big of them to accept us.  They’re the real protagonist’s, the real heroes, of this story.  

And that’s exactly how I felt reading Ms. Gaye Clark’s article.  Now whether or not she meant to do that is not the point.  I fully believe this was not her intention. But I can’t help it, there is just an air of arrogance and paternalism here.  One can easily leave thinking, “Well isn’t that just kind and big of her.  This white woman accepting this black man, dreads and all?”  It’s this subtlety that actually undermines Ms. Clark’s purpose.  Instead of trying to fight against inequality, she actually entrenches it by unintentionally posturing herself as the Katherine Hepburn of this modern day, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

But there’s more.  Now why is it that we would expect a white person to coach other white people on how to accept a black person into their family, but not expect black people to coach other black people on how to accept Heidi (started to say Becky, but that’s already been taken) into their home?  The racially biased innuendo here is that we need to help the “superior” in how to embrace the “inferior”.  

One of my sons in the ministry is not only African American but is a richly deep dark chocolate complexion.  He and his black wife foster.  Not too long ago they fostered a young white girl who immediately took to them, and even called him daddy.  With roars of laughter he regaled us of tales of being in some store in their small southern town, and his daughter calling from across the aisle, “Daddy!” while all the white folk looked on with shock and horror.  You know why they were shocked.  The same reason why we don’t see black folk going on missions trips posting pictures on FaceBook of that impoverished white baby they’re holding: For the historically “inferior,” to help the historically “superior,” is counter-cultural and counter-intuitive.  So Ms. Clark’s article only helps to buttress the long running historically sad narrative that white folk need help in embracing the “Dreaded Glenn’s” of the world.  

If I were to give Ms. Clark a mulligan, I’d want to see more humility from her.  I’d want her to put pen to the culturally conditioned consternation that was in her soul that lead to her surprise when Glenn came to her home for dinner.  Why were you surprised and implicitly filled with an initial angst?  What forces were at work in your own experience that made this even a significant issue for you? Oh yes they were there for you, just like they are for all of us.  I want to hear more about that.  Pull us into that pilgrimage.

And, given the reformed undertones of her article, which I love by the way, shouldn’t Ms. Clark’s “Big God Theology,” lead to a robust anthropology.  She writes of accepting Glenn as if it was a part of God’s permissive will and not his perfect will.  I mean she actually talks about the need to rejoice in the trial.  Is that what we are now?  A trial?  Seen in this light, her eight pieces of advice seem more like strategies in how to cope with some incurable forms of arthritis- you know something you can’t get rid of, but you can take something to make you more comfortable with this less than ideal situation.  Oh how my heart breaks.

As if this isn’t enough she pleads with our white siblings to show patience with the white bigots in their family who won’t accept the “Dreaded Glen”.  Patience with racist’s.  Now this has been the historical christian narrative in this country. This is the very reason why MLK wrote his prison epistle, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, to white clergy (many Christians), who like Ms. Clark pleaded patience.  No, what we need is a kind of awkward prophetic courage that has the biblical audacity to call this stuff out around the Thanksgiving table, forcing cousin (and probably deacon) Jim to turn red, and abruptly leave the table to use the bathroom for his nonsense.  

If you sense some passion in me it’s because like the “Dreaded Glenn,” my mother-in-law is white.  But unlike Ms. Clark, my white, Irish mother-in-law is at best a very private person of faith who occasionally (as far as we know) goes to church.  Sure we got off to a bumpy start but that was never about race.  She just profoundly loved me, loves our ti-racial children, and has never used me as a teachable moment for some blog she’d write on how to help her white siblings to cope with a trial like me.  And for that matter, my black parents never asked me to be a show and tell item to the evangelical world to announce how progressive they were in accepting my beloved Korie and her Irish and Mexican sides of the family.  Oh yes, white folk aren’t the only one’s who can struggle with accepting what MLK called the beloved other.  

Permit me one more moment.  Why would our friends at The Gospel Coalition publish this?  Are they bigots?  Hardly.  I know many of them and they love Jesus, but some of the many are likewise misinformed.  Ms. Clark’s heart felt piece is a very dangerous one that can perpetuate a kind of narcissistic, evangelical paternalistic imperialism cloaked in white garb.  Next time I’d love to have her article coupled with the “Dreaded Glenn’s” insights, or better yet his folks.  We need a multiethnic tribe of voices wading in to this piece.  It’s in that eclectic cohort and conversation that  somewhere in the midst of it all truth can be found.  

The Kingdom of God on Your Street/In Your Apartment Building

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that if aChristian moved out of their neighborhood and no one felt a sense of loss, hewondered if that person was ever legitimately saved? Strong words, I know, butsobering.

Our family is settling into our newNorthern California neighborhood, and all that comes with it—meeting newneighbors, figuring out grocery stores and vetting potential barbers. Amidstall the newness plays an old familiar question in our souls as we walk thesidewalks, “How can we bring the kingdom to this rustic neighborhood populatedby old Victorian homes?” Of course this question leads to another moreessential one, “What exactly is the kingdom?”

Jesus shows us in Matthew 9:35, “AndJesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagoguesand proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and everyaffliction.” In this one verse, we see the kingdom is both preaching ANDhealing; it addresses the physical AND the spiritual; the body AND thesoul.  

We Christians have made this simple,comprehensive question of the kingdom so complex and messy. Someone once saidthe mark of brilliance is the ability to make the complex simple. Well, ifthat’s true, then the mark of idiocy is the ability to make the simple complex.Historically, the church hasn’t been too bright. During the fundamentalist/modernistsplit of the early 20th century, the fracture took place over this veryquestion of the kingdom with one side saying it’s essentially preaching, andthe other countering with the kingdom being more about the body and issues ofjustice and care. During the civil rights movement, it was the church whomarched in the streets, standing up against injustice, and it was the churchwho sat in the pews, at the same time, listening to truth and giving altar callsfor people to get saved. A few years ago, there were some aspects of the churchwho were content to sit in bars, smoking a cigar and dropping a few expletivesin jest as they took a break from reading the latest Brian McLaren book to formcommunity with “pre-Christians.” While at the same time, hoards of Christians chosethe cognitive route, rediscovering Calvin, and trying (and mostly failing) tomake their way through his Institutes.  

Whatis the kingdom?

Asis often the case, Jesus presents us a third way, a way not marked by aneither/or scenario, but a both/and posture. The Jesus of the gospels would’vecalled people to repentance in church on Sunday, then jetted out the back doorto march for voter rights in Selma. Jesus would go to the backyard party overmy neighbor’s house, miraculously cause cases of the best wine to appear,blessing everyone there, and then proceed to preach an extemporaneous sermoninviting people into the joy of the kingdom.

Bodyand soul. Physical and spiritual. Feeding and proclaiming. This is the kingdom.

Sowhat does it mean for us to bring the kingdom to our neighborhood? A fewthoughts come to mind:

1. Mindful. I need to be mindful that God hasplanted our family on that block for a much bigger reason than a good investment,or safety and security. What if God wants us to be the chaplains of our street?I need to be mindful of this.

2. Presence. The house we bought doesn’t have agarage, and I’m kind of glad about that. It makes it much easier to interactwith our neighbors. Already our family has taken long walks, and on the waywe’ve met some people and had some great conversations. There’s just somethingabout being out among the people. Jesus modeled this well.

3. Seek. What if Korie and I started to seek fortangible ways to bless others in our neighborhood? Gifts. Invitations.Cookouts. Help. All of this is in the category of Jesus healing and feeding.

4. Pray. While we’re helping to get the mail ofour neighbors who’ve left town for a week, why not pray for them and othersthat God would save their souls.  

5. Proclaim. Picking up mail is part of bringing thekingdom, but to do so without proclaiming how their deepest needs are met inthe person of Jesus Christ is only half the story. Yes we need to be carefulhere. We don’t want to do the old bait and switch and make people feel as ifour kindness is setting them up for a punch line. But people need to hear thegood news. I want my street to come to know Jesus. How can they come to believewithout hearing?

Check out Pastor Bryan’s messages on ALCF’s iTunes podcast

The Emotionally Healthy Leader:Seven Reflections

This week,I finished Pete Scazzero’s TheEmotionally Healthy Leader, and it couldn’t come at a better time for me. Asmany of you know, I recently took over as Lead Pastor for Abundant Life inSilicon Valley, California. After some prayerful consideration, Korie and I,along with our elders, thought it would be good for me to begin my role inMarch, which meant a season of commuting back and forth from New York, untilour kids finish school. As you can imagine, the pace of our life has picked uptremendously, and trying to find some semblance of emotional health is a matterof life and death for me and our family. Pete’sbook ministered deeply to my soul and, as I devoured its pages, I found myselfreflecting on seven guiding principles—that I either need to return to orbegin—if I am going to lead from more than just competence, but a deep innerwell:

1. “To thyown self be true.” No I’mnot talking here of a radical individualism that places ourselves in the centerof the universe and leaves God out at the periphery.  Instead, I need to be comfortable in how Godhas uniquely wired me. Words and phrases—like introverted, morning person,reader, loves to study, reflective—come to mind here. I get my energy being alone. If I go through periods thatare all people with no significant times for solitude, my soul shrivels. In themidst of this busy season, I’ve got to find times to pull away. What about you?How are you wired? What gives you energy?

2. Margin. Reading Pete’s book, I found myself at timesreflecting back on Dr. Richard Swenson’s gem, Margin, where he defines margin as the space between our load andour limits. If we don’t have these gaps, we won’t know what Pete describes asemotional health. To paraphrase, Pete, in one of his passages, either wevoluntarily find margin, or margin will forcibly find us.

3. Sabbathdelight. Here, I’m not paraphrasingPete, but I’m using his exact verbiage. While I’ve attempted periods of Sabbathin the past, I felt both challenged and inspired to make Sabbath delight aregular part of my weekly rhythm. To point two, this will create that regularmargin in my life. Six p.m. Friday to six p.m. Saturday has been good for me. I’vereally enjoyed shutting it down. No social media, emails or work. Just rest,enjoyment and focusing on God.  I canfeel something going on within as I emerge from Sabbath, something I can’t yetput into words, but it’s marvelous.

4. Heartcheck. Pete talks a lot about theimportance of processing your feelings in real time. This concept was foreignto me until I read Chip Dodd’s Voices ofthe Heart some years ago, where he talks in detail about being in tune withour feelings, something many men struggle with. For several years, I was in amen’s group where we used Dodd’s model to think through our feelings and toarticulate them. The residual of this left me with an ongoing conversation I constantlyhave with myself as things happen to me in real time. Now, I “feel” as if I’mno longer just leading from competence, but am able to connect my head with myheart, which enables me to connect better with others.

5. Youcan’t give what you don’t have. Muchof my preaching and teaching and leading in my younger days was me merelyparroting what some expert, or well known deceased preacher said. I spoke inplagiarized one-sentence zingers, and came across as if I was deep, but it wasa façade. If I could go back and have some sushi with my twenty-something-self,I would make a heartfelt plea to cultivate an inner life that dives deeply withGod, pouring over the Scriptures and lingering through prayer in His presence. Thisis where real power comes, not by dragging off of someone else’s walk with God.

6. Keepturning back to the “History Channel.” Petetalks a lot about being aware of how your family of origin has impacted you. Weare all born and raised into a context, with each family marking us for goodand for bad. And so it is with me, and while I won’t divulge any details here,I was reminded of some things that have impacted me negatively that I must workthrough.

7. Lead outof your marriage. Thereal test of my emotional health is not in the church, but in the home. I’vealways felt the moment my wife could no longer sit on the front row and listento me preach was the day I needed to quit the ministry.  But what’s more is that Pete talks aboutemotional health, not just for the husband engaged in vocational ministry, buthis wife as well. Church impacts both Korie and me. In one of those recent “whatif,” conversations, I asked Korie if she would marry another pastor if I died?I won’t tell you her answer, but I will say that lead into a very insightfulconversation on the pressures of ministry and church on the spouse. Pete’sjourney with his bride, Geri, into emotional health, revealed to me that I needto venture down this road with Korie.

I highlycommend The Emotionally Healthy Leaderto you. It’s one of those rare books that speak to your soul. Whatever yourseason of life, no matter how busy or relaxed you may be, it’s well worth yourtime.  

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When God Loves You Enough to Interrupt You, Part 4

Jonah 4

If you’ve ever read Philip Yancey’s rivetingbook, What’s So Amazing About Grace,you know right from the story your heart is gripped as he opens up by tellingof a prostitute who figured out she could make more money renting her toddlerdaughter out to men in one hour than she could of herself in a whole day.  Then one day, she meets a group of Christianswho try to share the love of Christ with her and invite her to church, when sheresponds, “Church?  Church? Why would Iever want to go there? They would only make me feel worse than I already do.” Whatthis woman places her finger on is a sad reality of the local church, and thatis we are known for a lot of things, but grace is not one of them! We are notknown for being a place of grace.

I say this is sad, because grace was thehallmark of Jesus’ ministry. John said that when he saw Jesus, he saw a manfull of grace and truth. We see Jesus incarnating grace as He sits with thewoman at the well, lunched with tax collectors and spoke words of life overprostitutes at parties. Grace. What is grace? It is God’s unmerited favor? It’sgetting what we don’t deserve. Grace says, “I’ve got you covered, even when youdidn’t merit the covering.” Grace is getting the promotion when you didn’tdeserve it. Grace is godly children even though you weren’t the best parent. Graceis financial blessings even though you weren’t the best steward. Grace is theforgiveness of God even though you had the affair or the abortion. Grace.

Oh, if I can take a pit stop right here ALCF, Iwant to fire a shot and just declare that this is going to be a grace place. No,this is not going to be a place where we gloss over sin, for grace is notignorance. In fact, John said when he saw Jesus, he saw a man full of grace and truth. Grace without truth iscompromise, while truth without grace is condemnation. Grace sees sin, callsout sin, but grace still forgives and invites and loves. This is not going tobe a place where sinners get beat up, but ALCF will be the kind of church thatchallenges each other in our mess, yet does so with an arm around the personand says at the same time, “We’re family, and I ain’t giving up on you.” Grace!

Vesselsof Grace

If you want to know what grace is, look nofurther than the book we’ve been studying the last several weeks, Jonah. Herewe see God saving a whole city of pagans, adopting them into His family when theywere formerly the enemies of God and His people—we call this grace. Ah, butit’s important to ask the question: How did the people of Nineveh get thisgrace? Jonah. And how did Jonah get to Nineveh?Answer: the grace of God seen in God interrupting him over and over andover again, as He sends storms, oversees lots and appoints a great fish tointerrupt Jonah, so that Jonah would become a vessel of grace to these waywardpeople of Nineveh.  

I’m at your neighborhood, now. What does thishave to do with me? We’ve learned that God’s interruptions are not Hiseruptions, but are expressions of His grace. It’s important to see that whenGod interrupts your life, His interruptions in your life are not ultimatelyabout your life. Instead, God’s gracious interruptions in our lives is done forthe purpose of making us vessels of grace in the lives of others. Or to say itanother way, God’s grace interrupts us so that we can extend that sameinterrupting grace to others.  

Several years ago I did lunch with a prostitute(I’m not feeling much grace from you right now). Let me clarify. She was anex-prostitute, and there were about 10 of us at the table together. She told usof how she came to Christ. A man approached her one day with money wanting tobuy an hour of her time. She was shocked to discover that the only thing hewanted from her was for her to listen as he shared the love of Jesus with her. Shewas interrupted that day in the most amazing way by grace and she became afollower of Jesus Christ. She then went to rehab, got off drugs and left herlife of prostitution. You know what she’s doing now? Having been delivered, shenow has a burden to help other prostitutes—caught in their immoral life andaddicted to drugs—get free by the grace of God. God has used her to set dozensof prostitutes free. God’s grace interrupted her life, and now she’s become avessel of grace.

That’s what God wants of each of us. Hear me—allof us have received the grace of God, and the worse thing we could ever be is arule keeping, legalistic person who castigates and condemns people for failingto perform, as if you’ve dotted every I and crossed every T all of your life.None of us measure up! All of us need grace. And having received the grace ofGod, I want that same grace to flow freely through my life.

TheProblem With Grace

Ah, but grace is not easy. In fact, as we cometo our text, we’re going to see some very unsettling truths about grace thatJonah wrestles with, and that we all need to grapple with. Notice something oddin our text as it opens up—Jonah is angry. I say this is odd, because he’s justwitnessed what one scholar calls the greatest revival in human history—a wholecity comes to faith in God, but now when we meet Jonah right on the heels ofthis revival, he’s angry. And it is out of this anger that Jonah prays.  

Now let me stop right here and deal withsomething real quick that I hope will bless you. This idea of talking to Godout of anger is a real hard concept for me. Now I know we’re in progressiveCalifornia, but I grew up down south in Georgia, and in my house we didn’t talkto daddy and mama out of anger. If mama made you angry, you held it in, andthen I went to my room that was all the way at the end of the house, stood inthe corner of my room and whispered, “I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!” Thenway at the other end of the house, mama’s bionic hearing would kick in andshe’d say, “I heard that!” But again, this notion of talking to authorityfigures out of anger is foreign to me, and I’ve viewed it as sinful, but it’snot.

Notice, God never castigates Jonah for talkingto Him out of anger. He questions the validity of his anger, but doesn’tcondemn him for being angry. Why? Well, anger is not a sin. Paul says to theEphesians, “In your anger do not sin.” Jesus got angry when He cleansed thetemple, and theologians say that one of the attributes of God is His wrath oranger. If anger was a sin, then God is not holy, because God gets angry.  See, I think the lesson is this—we can trustGod with our feelings, not just with our facts, but with our feelings. Now weneed to be respectful in how we express anger, but God is all knowing, and ifyou feel angry, He knows it regardless of if you express it or not. God canhandle our feelings, even our anger.

Now, here’s the question: Why is Jonah angry? Look at verse 2 with me. Jonah is angry becauseGod has shown grace to the people of Nineveh. See, the problem with grace, hearme, is that we want it when it comes to ourselves, we just don’t want grace whenit comes to the people we don’t like. To say it another way, we don’t want toget what we deserve, but we want the folk we don’t like to get what they dodeserve.  Do I have any witnesses in thehouse today? The very thought of a group of people whom Jonah doesn’t likegetting grace angers him.

Grace isInsulting (1–2)

See, the first problematic thing we learn aboutgrace, is that grace is insulting. As my friend, Pastor Tullian says, “graceinsults our sensibilities.” Now why is this? Well, because we live in ameritocracy. A meritocracy is a society that is based on earning and effort. It’san equation society, that for the most part says, “do good things over there,get a good outcome over here.”

Tomorrow afternoon I will get on an airplaneand fly back to NYC. When I get to the airport, I won’t have to stand in linewith the regular folk, but will go to a special expedited line to check in. I’llalso go through the fast lane through security. Then I will sit in the DeltaSky Club—which I didn’t have to pay a dime for—and finally will sit in a nicebusiness class seat that was a free upgrade. Why all this specialtreatment?  Well, because I’ve flown overa million miles with Delta, and I have what’s called Diamond Status. I gettreated great because, well, I’ve earned it because of my status. That’s lifein the meritocracy—do good things over here, get good things over there.

That’s many of your stories. I’ve talked tomany of you who have put in the time with your education. You’ve gone to someelite university. You’ve earned the MBA, and the doctorate degrees, burning themidnight oil. Now you’re working great jobs and living in one of the mostdesirable places in the world to live, why? Well you’ve put your time in, youdid good things over there, and now you’re reaping good things over here. Thisis the equation; this is life in the meritocracy. And you’re also encouragingyour children to do the same.

But here’s the problem with grace: Gracedoesn’t play by the rules of the meritocracy. Grace doesn’t treat you accordingto your effort. Grace is a whole different currency in the kingdom of God. It’ssort of like Monopoly—I love that game. In Monopoly, you work hard, negotiate,buy homes and hotels, and collect a whole lot of money along the way. Now whenthe game is over, I tell you what you don’t do—you don’t take the cash youearned in Monopoly and go to Bank of America trying to make a deposit. Whynot?  Because the currency of Monopolycarries no value in the kingdoms of this world. Likewise, God is saying thecurrency of the meritocracy is fine for this world, but it carries no value inthe kingdom of God. Your Ph.D. ain’t gonna get you in the kingdom. Only gracewill. Your Ivy League education doesn’t earn you points with God. Only gracedoes. Your virginity doesn’t make you special in the eyes of God, only gracedoes. Jonah is upset and insulted because in his eyes, Nineveh doesn’t deserveto get in, and God is saying that’s exactly the point. Grace is insulting.

Grace isfor the Oppressed and the Oppressor (10–11)

God’s grace has triggered Jonah’s anger, andhere’s the main reason: Nineveh is a part of the Assyrian empire, and theAssyrians would be the people who would oppress and enslave the people ofGod.  Nineveh is a part of thisoppressive regime. So the very thought of God being gracious to the people whoenslaved Jonah’s people angers Jonah! I mean, to put this in perspective, thisis the social equivalent of God showing grace to the KKK, the Nazi Party, orISIS. What? “No God,” so we and Jonah reason, “these people are not deservingof Your grace!”

So how does God respond? He asks Jonah aquestion, “Do you do well to be angry?” Now when God asks questions, He’s notlooking for information He doesn’t have. He’s making a statement. It’s sort oflike the questions mama’s ask of their kids. I used to slouch on the sofa andmama would look at me and ask, “How are you sitting?” I’d want to say, “You’relooking at me aren’t you?” But I didn’t. Mama wasn’t trying to get information,she was just pointing something out. Same here with God. God is just pointingout Jonah’s sin. 

God now says to this angry, self-righteousprophet, “I’m going to bless you.” The text says, “He appoints a plant to growover Jonah giving him shade.” Watch this now: while he’s still in his sin, anddoesn’t deserve it, God gives Jonah grace. Then God makes this point in verses10–11…God says, “I love everyone, the oppressed and the oppressor.”

It was Dr. James Cone, the father of modern dayblack liberation theology, who said that God is only the God of the oppressed. Itmakes you wonder, what Bible are you reading? Jesus healed a Roman centurion’sservant to the disgust of the Jewish religious. He’s nailed to the cross by theoppressive Romans, and yet says of them, “Father forgive them for they know notwhat they do.” Grace is for the oppressed and the oppressor. Grace is for thelynched and the lynch mob. Grace is for the raped and the rapists. Grace is forthe betrayed and the betrayer. Grace is for the faithful spouse and thecheating spouse.

Let me press into this ever so gently, if Imay. This church has gone through a horrific church split. I wasn’t here forthis traumatic moment in the life of this church, so I can’t speakintelligently about it. But let’s say for argument sake that they werecompletely wrong, and this church was completely right. We were wronged bythem. Now let me ask you a question: let’s say God’s grace is on that church tothe point where they explode in membership, they’re the talk of the Bay, and themain catalyst for revival. Are you good with that? How does that make you feel?Does God’s grace on that church insult you? Does it make you angry like Jonah?

Grace isRevealing

See this leads me to the final point: grace isrevealing. If you ever want to see your heart, look at how you respond when Godshows grace to people you have a hard time with. Grace is like a colonoscopy. I’venever had one, but everything I’ve heard is, these things are not a day at thebeach. I’ve never met someone excited to have one. They’re uncomfortable, andyet necessary to get in and see what’s going on inside of us. That’s what graceis. Grace is like a colonoscopy. When God shows grace to that boss you don’tlike, that ex you’re still grieving or those people who’ve wronged you, it getsinto our hearts and shows us some things.

Look at what God’s grace to people Jonahdoesn’t like, does to Jonah. It reveals his racism. Jonah has a hard timebecause these people who get saved aren’t like him, they’re Gentiles. It alsoreveals his self-righteous pride. Just two chapters before, Jonah was rejoicingthat God’s grace rescued him out of the fish, and now he’s acting like he’snever needed God’s grace by pitching a fit! All of us have been there, haven’twe! Oh we’ve all battled short-term memory loss when it comes to God’s grace. Thosepeople over there ain’t the only ones who need God’s grace. We all need it. Whenwe want grace for ourselves, yet pitch a fit when others get it, we call thatpride!

Conclusion

Look at how our text, and therefore the wholebook ends in verses 10–11. There’s no resolution. It just ends abruptly like abad reality show. You’re like, “are you kidding me? What happens? How doesJonah respond? Why this abrupt ending?” Sinclair Ferguson helps us: “It carries no conclusion, because itsummons us to write the final paragraph. It remains unfinished, in order thatwe may provide our own conclusion to its message. For you are Jonah; Iam Jonah.”—Sinclair Ferguson. 

God’s been gracious to you. Youdon’t even deserve to live. How will you respond?

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The One Reason You Should Get To Church On Time

If there’s one thing my years leadingmultiethnic churches have taught me is there’s no such thing as CPT when itcomes to getting to church on time (Yeah, if you don’t know what that is, askyour chocolate friend). Whites struggle with it. So do blacks. Asians.Hispanics. Everybody. No ethnicity has a monopoly on tardiness and the House ofGod.  Recently, one agitated, seasonedsaint in my church begged me to rebuke the people for their lateness rightbefore I got up to preach. Being the new guy, I passed…for now. I want to beginmy ministry on a note of exhortation and not rebuke, but the day will come(Whom am I kidding—the days willcome), when I will need to lovingly remind God’s people to do thecounter-cultural thing, and get to church in a timely manner.

Sure, you’re thinking, “Pretty self serving ofa pastor to plead with people to show up on time to ‘his thing’,” but actually,it’s not my thing, it’s God’s. Andwhile I could provide a list as to why you should—rambling on about how itshows respect to the worship participants who have spent significant time inrehearsals and preparation, along with how we’ll show up to work and our kids’activities on time—let me provide just one reason you should.  

As a preacher, it’s momentarily flattering whenpeople tell me they’re there for the Word.While I take this as a vote of confidence in the gifts God has given me,the longer I reflect on this statement, the more I see the selfishnessinvolved. Just about every church has two major elements: worship andpreaching. Worship is what we give to God—through our singing and giving (amongother elements)—the Word is what God gives to us. Show me anyone who skips outon a major part of the worship experience to just get the Word, I’ll show you aperson who has incarnated a consumer spirit that is wreaking havoc on theAmerican church. What in essence a person is saying when they miss a major partof the worship, just to receive, is that church, and therefore God, is allabout them, and what they can get out of it. Let’s call it what it is—nauseatingnarcissism (to be frank). Conversely, when we get there on time, and trulyworship God by singing to Him, we go to war with the gravitational pull ofconsumerism, and tell God we’re not in it just for us.

Why should you get to church on time? Becauseyou view church as not just a venue to receive, but to give as well. Spirituallymature believers don’t view God in utilitarian terms, but see Him as someoneworthy to give their all to.

Let’s get to church on time.

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Jonah: When God Loves You Enough to Interrupt You

If youknow anything about the NFL, you know there’s a provision made that severaltimes a game one of the head coaches can throw a red flag onto the field andquestion a certain call. When the coach does this, he’s pretty much saying the judgmenton the field was not right, and they need to re-evaluate the decision. Manytimes these challenges will altar the game, changing an interception into anincompletion, or a set back into a first down.

Challengesare interruptions. When that red flag is thrown, everything stops and thingsare re-evaluated and often times re-routed. I read recently there’s an actualproposal on the table to give coaches the right to challenge every play. There’sno chance that’s going to happen. People don’t like interruptions.

Neitherdo I. I hate getting interrupted. Ask my kids. It’s not a good thing if theytry to cut in while their mother and I are having a conversation or on thephone. Interruptions like canceled flights and flat tires drive me up a wall. Butthe older I get, the more I’m warming up to the idea that interruptions arejust part and parcel of what it means to be human.

Interruptionsare also how God works. He cuts in on Abram (Later to be called Abraham),calling an audible and telling him to leave his home. God shows up abruptly toMoses through a burning bush, re-routing him back to Egypt. And on a Damascusroad, Jesus blinds Saul, transforming him from a persecutor to a preacher. Godhas an uncanny habit of interrupting us. 

Thisweek we start a new series at ALCF on the life of Jonah. There’s no way we canunderstand him without getting our arms around a God who interrupts. Thedictionary defines the term interrupt as tocause to make a break in continuity. To interrupt is to break away from thenorm. We see this immediately with Jonah. God tells him to go one way, Jonahgoes another, and God interrupts him by sending a storm and a whale to get himback on course. No, God didn’t interrupt Jonah to be mean or vindictive. Infact, God’s interruption of Jonah was actually the most loving, kind andgracious thing he could do. Think about it. If Jonah doesn’t get interrupted byGod, he has no real legacy outside of the one other verse in which he’smentioned in the Bible (When Jesus mentions him in other places it’s inconnection with the book of Jonah). We’re talking about Jonah today onlybecause of God’s gracious interruption in his life.

WhatJonah teaches us is that there is a direct relationship between the legacy ofour faith, and our willingness to embrace God’s interruptions in our lives. Thepeople I mentioned before—Abraham, Moses and Saul—are all men we continue tolook to for guidance. Why? Well, let me say it this way: I don’t think we’retalking about any of them, if they had not yielded to God’s gracious interruptions.If we want a life that really counts trans-generationally, we must be willing tobend to God’s interruptions. This is the lesson of Jonah.  

Why doesGod interrupt us? How do I know He’s interrupting me? What are some practicalways that I can respond to God’s interruptions? We’ll begin to answer thesequestions this week at Abundant Life. If you’re not a part of our church, youcan track with us via podcast.  

I’m soexcited to share this word with you, beginning this week.

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On The Bike

Afew times a week I, along with several dozen other classmates, mount astationary bike for 45 minutes of pure hell. “Spin class,” the very mention of that phrase causes me to recoil. But thanks to Adam and his sin in the garden,it’s the price I now have to pay. So off I go at some God-forsaken, early-morninghour, going up and down from my seat, as I fiddle with the knob and adjust thetension on my bike creating more resistance and hopefully burning morecalories.

Nowspin class is hard enough, but what makes it downright deflating is when, likethe other day, my instructor is playing the role of drill sergeant as she pacesback and forth, begging and pleading with us to give it our all. I wanted to gopostal when she castigated one of my panting participants for not pushing itharder. Excuse me? How are you even talkingin sentences right now? Oh, that’s right, you’re not on your bike.

Nothing’smore deflating than a so-called leader who’s not on the bike with you.

Leadershipreally is about getting on the bike with your people. The leaders who mostinspire me aren’t necessarily the most educated, or even the most winsome. Butthe leaders who move me are the ones who are buying what they’re selling, whoare personally invested as much, if not more, than their followers. Leaderslike Cortes who needed his men to be so sold out to the mission in front ofthem, that he commanded their boats to be sunk, eliminating any possibility ofever going back. Leaders like Michael Jordan who was so determined to not letthe 1993 NBA Finals go to a seventh and deciding game, that he took only enoughclothes with him to Arizona for one night, instead of potentially two (they wonthat game—game six). And who could forget Jesus, who paid the ultimatesacrifice by mounting a cross, and doing for us what we could never do forourselves. This is real leadership, the kind that inspires.

Leadershipis not do what I say, but do what I do. There’s just no getting around this. Inour postmodern culture where we value normalcy—and this kind of flatlineegalitarian (I’m not using that in reference to men and women) sense in whichwe want to project we’re all the same—it’s easy to downplay the importance ofleadership. But the older I get, the more I’m convinced that nothing happens ofeternal redemptive value outside of loving, caring and proactive leadership, inwhich the leader is on his bike with the people.

Paulshowed this kind of “on the bike” leadership when he wrote his second letter tothe Thessalonians. He had gotten wind that some in the church were falling intolaziness and he needed them to work hard. So he writes, “For you yourselvesknow how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were withyou, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil andlabor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. Itwas not because we do not have that right, butto give yourselves an example to imitate” (3: 7–9, emphasis mine). This isleadership. Paul wanted his followers to step it up. He doesn’t point them to abook or blog to read. He doesn’t ask them to attend a class. He just simplypulls them close and says, “look at me.”He worked hard. He wasn’t idle. He intentionally modeled before them thedesired outcome. He was “on his bike.”

Thankfully,there’re numerous spin classes at my gym, with other instructors. Nikki, myMonday morning spin class instructor, is my favorite. Sure she gets on us,trying to extract every ounce of effort she can, but she’s earned that rightbecause she’s on the bike with us. Sometimes she’s so invested she can’t eventalk, just motioning with her hands to keep pushing. And we do. She’s earned itbecause she’s in it with us. That’s leadership.

Parents,our kids want to know if we’re buying what we’re selling them, if we’re “on thebike.” Pastor, your congregation wants to know if you’re “on the bike.” Christfollower, who takes the great commission seriously as you are pouring intoothers, your disciples want to know if you’re “on the bike.”

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Six

I loveto read, and so far I’ve read some great books this year. I thought I’d share six of the books I’ve read so far in 2016 that have inspired me:

The Imperfect Pastor, Zack Eswine
Okay, Iendorsed this one, but still, I had already read it once before I was asked togive an endorsement to the second edition! I rarely re-read books…rarely, butthis one is so good I made an exception, plus I was anxious to see what newmaterial Zack added. Not only a gifted writer, but Zack places his finger onthe pulse of most pastors’ hearts as we battle envy, wrong motives, insecurityand people pleasing (among a host of other issues). I would recommend this booknot only to those of us in pastoral ministry, but also Christians in general,as it will show you (by implication) how to better relate to and support yourpastor.

The Power of the Cross, Tony Evans
Dr.Evans has been a significant inspiration to me, even before I started preachingat age 17. I remember listening to his radio ministry and hearing him in personand being beyond inspired. Charles Ryrie defines brilliance as the ability tomake the complex simple, and if this is true, Dr. Evans is brilliant. He hasthe gift to take deep, complex theological truths, and use the perfectillustration or analogy so that we can grasp it. This book is quintessentialTony Evans, as he brings the cross and the events of first-century Jerusalem toour homes and hearts in 2016.

Mea Culpa, Kyle McClellan
Wordslike self-effacing, vulnerable and transparent best describe this short volume. Kyle, a pastor who hasserved several churches, writes, as the title suggests, of his failures. I foundmyself nodding and even wincing in agreement as he shares his many ministrymiscues and fumbles. In this celebrity culture where so many pastors writebooks on success, using themselves as an example, and in our social media agewhen we tend to only show our best side, MeaCulpa is a breath of fresh air.

Prophetic Lament, Soong Chan Rah
No doubtmy favorite book I’ve read so far in 2016. Dr. Rah argues that because ourworship songs overwhelmingly have a triumphal edge, and with the deficit oflament songs, we have shaped a generation and culture who do not know how togrieve with those who grieve. Therefore, when historically oppressed minoritygroups grieve yet another instance of injustice, the church is ill equipped tosit and lament with those who are hurting. We need to return to the book ofLamentations, Rah suggests, while he walks us through it in a way that is deep,yet pastoral and practical. This truly is a must read.

Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, Terry Teachout
I love jazzmusic…old-school jazz, and, of course, that means Duke Ellington. Teachout haswritten a rich biography on the legendary Ellington. My only critique is, inhis effort to focus on the music, the humanity of Ellington plays more of asecondary. Nonetheless, I found myself unable to put this book down as I wenton this musical journey of Duke Ellington’s life and career—a man calledAmerica’s greatest composer.

Good Faith, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
It’sbeen said that to be an effective Christian we need to keep a newspaper in onehand and a Bible in the other. To follow Christ means we need to have anunderstanding of culture, and Kinnaman and Lyons, authors of UnChristian, have done it again withtheir insightful book on culture, GoodFaith.

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From a Grateful Heart

Thispast Sunday, I preached my first sermon as lead pastor of Abundant Life.  Afterwards, the church graciously threw me areception where I stood for close to two hours shaking hands and receivinggenerous well wishes from our church. Ican’t even begin to put into words the love I felt and received from you. When I was done—or thought I was done—thewell wishes continued, as a stack of cards was presented to me in which many ofyou wrote words of life to me and our family.Korie and I feasted on your words when I returned home this pastMonday. Thank you!

AsI continue to think about this past Sunday, my mind drifts beyond the kindnessof our church to the elders who have (and continue to) lead you over theyears. Leading a church is tough. Leading a church in pastoral transition istougher. Leading a church through twopastoral transitions is just crazy, and yet these men have done it well andwith excellence. They have been faithfulin their leadership, prayers for the body and in the teaching of theScriptures.  These men have made toughdecisions, taken plenty of heat and have stood the test of time. Jesus’ commendation of the church at Ephesusand how they had “endured patiently,” is a fit description for our elders aswell. So these men deserve a biggerthank you than I do.

Ifyou are a part of the Abundant Life family, let me make my first big ask of youas your pastor. Can you, this week, sitdown and send a text, compose an email, write the letter, take out to lunch orpick up the phone and call one or several of our elders and just tell themthank you? Pick out something specific andencourage them. It’ll put valuable windin their sails, and give them an added boost of energy for what lies ahead.

P.S.: Theydidn’t ask me to say this at all, so let’s keep it “between us.”

PastorBryan

See photos from Sunday on Facebook.com/ALCF

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First Things First

Thelegendary coach for the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, once found himselffrustrated with his football team. They weren’t playing up to their abilities,and had taken some things for granted. At his wits end, Lombardi huddled histeam together, and pointed to an object they all knew, and proclaimed,“Gentlemen, this is a football.” His message that day was clear—they haddrifted away from the fundamentals, and needed to return to the most basic ofthings. They needed to keep first things first.

Thisweek, we begin a series at Abundant Life called, First Things First. We’ll be hanging out in Revelation 2, whereJesus says to the church at Ephesus that they had, “abandoned the love you hadat first.” In His own way, Jesus is holding up the proverbial pigskin andsaying, “Church, this is a football.” They needed to return to the basics…andso do we.

Someoneonce said the problem with life is it’s oh so daily. Now if ever there was atrue statement, that’s it. There are kids to get off to school, errands to run,work attended to, headaches to deal with, people to love, lead and care for,homework to be helped out with, ball games to attend, money to be managed. Onand on we can go and, if we’re not careful, we can wake up one day and realizethat we, like the church at Ephesus, have drifted away from our first love,Jesus.  We never made a consciencedecision to put Jesus on the back burner, it just kind of happened.

What’sinteresting, is Jesus doesn’t accuse the Ephesian church of outright neglectingHim, He just says He was no longer first. To the church at Ephesus, Jesus wassomewhere in the picture, He just wasn’t front and center. That hits me rightbetween the eyes.

Weall were born with what I call natural wirings. By no means am I a perfectperson, but when I put my mind to something, I can be pretty disciplined, evenwhen I don’t feel like it, and this sometimes gets me in trouble. I grew up inthe church, and a phrase I heard a lot in my formative years was “quiet time.”Between the pastor, the youth director and my parents, I heard the message loudand clear of how important it was to spend a few moments reading the Bible andpraying every day (preferably in the mornings). This was sage wisdom. The Biblespeaks repetitively of the importance of immersing ourselves in the Word of God(i.e., Psalm 19; Psalm 119), and prayer (i.e., Matthew 6:5–15; I Thessalonians5:17). But the problem I ran into withthe quiet-time culture, is that I was tuning into Jesus for 30 or so minutesa day, while doing my own thing the other 23 and a half hours. Stringenough of these days together and you can see how easy it is for Christ not tobe first.  

IfJesus is going to be first He must be constant. Jesus recognized this. That’swhy He said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit byitself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me”(John 15:4). The word “abide,” simply means to remain, or to hang out. What’sin view here is a lot more than a “quiet time,” it’s a constant lingering inthe presence of Jesus. No, Jesus isn’t asking us to quit our jobs and spend allday everyday in meditation and prayer. He expects us to go to school, studyhard, work, love our families well and serve, but to do so with the backgroundmusic of our activities being Jesus. This is how Jesus becomes first, bybecoming constant.

Ifyou’ve ever been in love, you know this idea of constancy. When you fell inlove, you weren’t content with a 15- to 30-minute conversation in themorning. No. You called several times a day, talking for as much as you could. Whenyou hung up the phone, your mind marinated on your beloved. You wrote notes,went out, thought about and talked. This is what it means to abide. And ifJesus is going to be first, the same principles must apply—He must be constant. 

Ilook forward to sharing more with you this Sunday as we begin our series, First Things First. Hope you can join usat 10 o’clock!