I’ve been challenging myself to read things outside of my sermon prep this last year. Sometimes I need to shut my brain off from sermon mode. I have really enjoyed some great books over this last year that have rejuvenated some of my creative flow inside my heart. Every once in a while you come across a book that just blows you away. I wanted to pass this along to you all in case you are looking for a great read.

It’s called ‘The Lost Letters of Pergamum’ Stories from the New Testament World. Here is a brief description to wet your appetite:

Transported two thousand years into the past, readers are introduced to Antipas, a Roman civic leader who has encountered the writings of the biblical author Luke. Luke’s history sparks Antipas’s interest, and they begin corresponding. As Antipas tells Luke of his reactions to the writing and of his meetings with local Christians, it becomes evident that he is changing his mind about them and Jesus. Finally, a gladiatorial contest in Pergamum forces difficult decisions on the local Christians and on Antipas.

The book gives you a glimpse into what life would have been like in the Roman Empire. So much of the New Testament was written during the time of Roman power and influence. A story like this brings the scripture alive. It is not meant to replace the scripture (no book could ever do that) but it does help you to look at things from another angle. The more I read scripture the more I realize just how amazing God’s word really is. Sometimes I feel like I am holding a diamond as I read God’s word; just when you think you have it figured out you turn the diamond only to find another dimension into the heart of God. The pursuit is endless and a total blast. God is so amazing.

Here is the link from Amazon.com. If you happen to read it I would love to hear your thoughts on this book.

I came across this blog post several months ago and just revisited it this morning as I was preparing to work through Hebrews 11 and 12 for some sermon prep. I just wanted to share it with our community here in LA.

TO EACH IS GIVEN: THE GIFT OF A NEW CITY

Revelation 21: 1-6; Isaiah 65: 17-25

Steve Lindsley

March 14, 2010

Nearly three years ago, it was a blustery spring morning at Virginia Tech University. What started out as any normal weekday morning on the college campus soon took a horrible turn, as the first shots were fired in what would become the worst shooting incident ever to take place on American soil. Thirty-three people dead, a dozen or so injured, and millions around the world crying out in mourning. The press, who descended on the campus like a hornet’s nest, would be camped out all day and night, covering the story 24-7 to satisfy a never-ending news cycle and human consumption of tragedy. They talked with a student whose younger sister died, an English professor who tried to steer the future killer to counseling, a staff person holed up in a dorm room.

And then they interviewed a campus minister during the wee hours of the following morning. He led a Christian fellowship group at the school. He was bald and looked to be in his mid-30’s. The reporter asked the standard entry questions: where were you when it happened, did you know any of the murdered. And then she asked the question that had been on everyone’s mind since the news first broke; the real question everyone wanted answered: what do you do with this as a person of faith? How do you put this horrific event in a spiritual context?

Man. Talk about being put on the spot! I don’t know anything about this campus minister. I can only assume he makes a meager salary, as most campus ministers do, and that he probably ranks pretty low in the university hierarchy. I can only assume that two days before his life was consumed by fairly mundane things like planning out a Thursday night Bible study, or making reservations for the end-of-year lake trip, or counseling a senior on life after graduation. And yet now he has suddenly been thrust onto the national and international stage, in effect speaking for the entire Christian faith, on a dilemma that even the most seasoned theologians have wrestled with for centuries; the greatest Biblical scholars unable to arrive at a definitive conclusion – because there isn’t one.

What do you do with this as a person of faith, Mr. Campus Minister? How do you put this in a spiritual context?

That is the question that keeps us up at night, that leaves us grasping for answers, that troubles us to the day we die. That’s the question that disrupts the even flow of our carefully crafted belief systems. We have no problem putting good things in a spiritual context – it fits like a glove, it feels right. But what do we do with earthquakes and tsunamis and mass shootings? How do we explain it when someone dies before their time, leaving behind a wife and three young kids? What do we do with these things as people of faith? How do we put them in a spiritual context?

It is hard sometimes to find the “location” of our faith – meaning that “center,” that place from which everything else springs forth. It has been said – and rightly so – that the story of the Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city. Genesis brings us to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and everything perfect until the first bite of that tempting apple. Revelation leads us to a different place – a city; a renewed Jerusalem that descends down from the heavens to the earth below.

It’s an interesting location for the Bible to conclude, isn’t it? Because cities in general come with a lot of problems. The more people you cram in them, the more issues you’re going to have. Resources can only go so far. Local governments and municipalities can only do so much. What makes the location of the Bible’s climactic conclusion even more curious is that, at the time Revelation was written, the Roman armies had descended on Jerusalem and reduced it to flames – eerily similar to Babylon’s devastation of the same city a mere 500 years before. Why would the Bible’s story finish here? Wouldn’t it make more sense to end where it began – in the garden before the fall? Why a city?

I bring this question up because I’m wondering if this question and the earlier question about finding faith in unimaginable tragedies are intertwined in a very intimate way. There’s a reason for where the culmination of God’s work in the world happens – and how it happens. Thousands of years earlier, the prophet Isaiah painted a scandalous picture in the latter chapters of his book: a wolf and a lamb feeding together; a lion eating straw like an ox. The writer of Revelation dares to announce a time when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, death and mourning and crying and pain will be no more. All of this sounds strange to our city ears.

There is something deeply evocative in the images from these two books; something that takes on a life of its own and moves beyond just being “inspiring reading.” They tell us unequivocally: something has changed. Things aren’t the way they used to be. This is a radical shift from the way our world operates, because it’s a commonly accepted fact that wolves and lambs don’t hang out together. Likewise, death and mourning are frequent companions in life. So something has changed! Something is new in this old world of ours, and we have an expression for a changed world. We call it the kingdom of God.

Except it’s different than the kingdom of God we typically think of. Most people hear that phrase and automatically think “heaven” – in fact, we like to use the two interchangeably. We hear someone say “kingdom of God” and we think of the afterlife, the place we go when we leave this earth. We hear someone say “kingdom of God” and we think of a white stone palace in the sky glistening with gold, angels with wings bearing the souls of those who have long left this earth, fluttering about.

But that’s not the kind of “kingdom of God” that Revelation talks about. This is a city that has come down from the heavens. This kingdom of God is earthbound, anchored in good ol’ terra firma. And in Isaiah’s vision, it’s not some mythical creatures living in peaceful harmony, but beasts of the earth on the earth. And every bit of this marks the culmination of God’s great work: an earth ruled not by the oppressive powers of the world but by the outlandish hope of God. When Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God, he was speaking about the possibilities that exist when we as God’s people follow Christ and live lives that reflect that following – even and especially when it is the hardest thing to do; even when we just don’t know whether our faith is going to give us any answers or not.

Like when we come face-to-face with those troubling questions the campus minister had to answer at 6am in the morning. On CNN live, nonetheless; the whole country watching. This is not what he expected to be doing just a few days before. This is not a burden he chose to bear. The burden came to him; it came to all of us as the morning sun began to rise over the city of Blacksburg, VA. The reporter asked, ‘What do you do with this as a person of faith? How do you put this horrific event in a spiritual context?’

This is what he said:

This tragedy has brought home to all of us the fact that evil is real and is not some concept. Evil came yesterday to Virginia Tech and sat down with us for a while. But our understanding of faith, and what the Bible tells us, is that evil won’t sit here forever. And that’s what will get us through times like this. That’s what gives us the hope we so desperately need right now.

Evil won’t sit here forever – I love that! It’s the voice of hope when all hope seems lost. It’s the voice of the one on the throne in Revelation as he looks out over the renewed city he had just created, straight from the heavens. It’s the voice of the prophet in the aftermath of Israel’s most turbulent time, as he describes how even the animals will be at peace. This is the hope we have as people of faith: that while the hardships we encounter, the unexplainable things, will certainly take place, they will not rule over us. They won’t sit with us forever.

And you know something? This isn’t “pie-in-the-sky” theology. This isn’t some quick fix that denies the seriousness of a broken world. This empowers us to look beyond the current state of the city to see the kingdom that will soon arrive. This is what Isaiah and the writer of Revelation had in mind when, in the midst of their loss, their suffering, their hopelessness, they put pen to paper and painted pictures of God’s great kingdom. For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the prophet says, ‘the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. The old is gone – all things new.’

And we should never loose sight of the fact that all of this takes place in a city. Places where people gather together, live together, work together, and play together. A place where, by its very design, people depend on each other for fellowship and the necessities of life. If the Biblical story begins in a garden with just two people, it has now come full circle to a beautiful renewed city, bustling with activity.

And what a gift – what a gift this city is! It’s a gift because it reminds us that God is forever with us, even in those dark times when we don’t always feel him there. I can’t help but think back to another tragedy this country endured, when planes were flown into buildings and thousands of lives were lost on a September morning. I remember the questions that emulated from that; good questions, serious questions: Where was God? Where was God when those planes hit the Twin Towers, when thousands of people died? And I remember hearing someone answer very sincerely and compassionately that God was, in fact, in those planes; God was in those towers. It wasn’t a flippant answer; it was an answer of deep faith. It was a simple acknowledgment that God is with us wherever we go, even and especially in the unimaginable places. As a good friend of mine once expressed in a moment of spiritual clarity, “Thanks be to God that God’s presence with us does not depend on whether we always feel it or not.”

The new city is also a gift because it give us a real and living hope in the midst of hopelessness. It was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, almost forty years ago in the height of the civil rights struggle, who wrote this in his book The Trumpet of Conscience: If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. King recognized that it is a human need to grasp hold of something beyond us. Something outlandish and unordinary and real, no matter how out-of-reach it may seem. This is what drove God’s people to the city they loved; and this is what drove God to make that city new again.

Which leads us to the final gift of the city – an eternal reminder that God is always, always doing a new thing our midst. The God we worship every Sunday and follow every day is not a stagnant God; not a God that is into maintaining the status quo. Our God is a God who builds a world from nothing, frees a people from bondage, parts the water, fashions a new land. Our God defeats Goliaths, sets saturated alters aflame, speaks in still silence, travels with us to foreign lands. Our God is born in mangers, makes more wine for the wedding, turns over temple tables, rolls away gravestones. Our God never ceases to move in and among us in ways we cannot possibly imagine, including the gift of a new city that will be our home forever.

The city is where we belong – it is God’s gift to us. So let’s get busy bringing that city to fruition, shall we? Thanks be to God. AMEN.

I was recently reading an article by John Ortberg out of a leadership journal. The title of the article is ‘The “we” we want to be.’ He says in one of his main statements in the article; the most important growth is not a me thing but a we thing.

We place so much emphasis on our individual relationship with God and so much of the scripture is written to communities. We (the church) is a body. The church is not some fitness center where we as individuals get to work on our individual walk with God; it’s a we thing. It’s the body of Christ.

That raises a question;

What is God’s vision for his church? Us? This community that the bible calls; The Body of Christ?

I hear this question come up quite a bit. What is your vision? What is the vision of The Rock Church?

Dallas Willard was recently asked, why do so many churches and movements end badly?

This is his response; I found this to be very interesting and could not have said it better myself. Just wanted to pass it along.

“It all begins with a vision. A Francis of Assisi or a John Wesley is gripped by a vision that will not let them go. But it is not a vision of what they are going to do. It is not a vision of a preferred future. It is not a vision of human activity. It is a vision of what already is. It is a vision of God, and how good he is, and how wonderful it is to be alive and a friend of such a Being.

Out of this vision flows a desire to do good things for such a God. And sometimes these activities may lead to results that look quite remarkable or impressive. And then other people may gather, and some decide they’d like to be involved in such activities because it might give them a sense of significance. People begin to pay more attention to what they are doing than to the reality of God.

At this point the mission replaces the vision as the dominant feature in peoples consciousness. Once this happens, descent is inevitable. For now people are living under the tyranny of producing impressive results.

The number one ‘vision problem’ with churches today is not (as is widely held) leaders “who lack a vision.” The real problem is when our primary focus shifts from who God is (a vision that can alone lead to “the peace of Christ reigning in our hearts”) to what we are doing.

The vision of God is not a tool leaders can use to get the church to function better. It is freedom from the need to perform for the whole church.

I think it’s easy in the christian subculture to lock ourselves into reading things that simply re-affirm what we already believe. We love to hear sermons and read things that simply align with what we already know. I’m not suggesting that we start reading books and ideas that oppose our faith in Christ but maybe we need to challenge ourselves to hear different viewpoints and not shut down so quickly when someone doesn’t agree with our ideas and thoughts. Are we to insecure to handle something outside of our little belief systems that we have created for ourselves? I believe that God is bigger and greater than our little systems and worldviews.

Now, when I talk about other ways of thinking I’m not talking about Jesus just being another teacher or great leader; He is the Messiah! The Savior of the entire world. He died for everyone and he rose again. His resurrection is a declaration to the world; ‘Jesus is the King of all and his gift of eternal life is offered for the whole world!’ . I’m not questioning the core beliefs of Christianity. I’m talking about our interpretations of scripture. Sometimes I feel like we in the west feel that we have the Scriptures figured out. Or there are certain teachers who are infallible in their teaching of the scriptures. One of my heroes; NT Wright said in one of his speeches, ’80% of what I say is probably right and about %20 is probably off. The only problem is that I don’t know what that %20 is.’ He’s not intentionally deceiving people, he’s simply being honest as a human being. Not everything these great leaders say is dead on and accurate. We have to be careful not to elevate man’s interpretation above all else.

The biblical narrative is so beautiful and mysterious. Just when you think God is going to show up as a fire he shows up as a mighty rushing wind. And just when you think he makes the mountains shake he decides to show up as a gentle whisper. God is mysterious. Just because he showed up as a wind today doesn’t mean that he will always show up as a wind. Maybe we should be careful at trying to put God into a corner.

This reminds me of the story of Jesus, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Lazarus had died and Jesus heard the news. Instead of rushing to his grave Jesus took 3 days to get there. When he arrived Martha ran out to greet him. She said to him; ‘Lord if you would have been here our brother wouldn’t have died.’ Jesus response to her was; ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ Mary runs to Jesus and says the same exact thing and you would think that Jesus would respond the same way but this is what he did; ‘he wept’ He gave Martha a sermon; Mary got tears. Jesus knows what we need. Every heart is different and he comes to us in ways that we may not always understand but His discernment is like no one elses. He knows our hearts better than we do and he is doing everything that he can to change our hearts.

When you see Jesus you see God. All of the mysterious of God came and dwelled in his Son, Jesus. The fire, wind, earthquake, whisper; all the ways God manifested in the Old Testament came and dwelled in the person of Jesus Christ. When we see Jesus responding to people and speaking to the world, we get a perfect picture of what God is like.

Sometimes I feel like I am learning things for the first time when I come before God’s words of life. May we come to God today through Jesus with humility and bow before his great name. Jesus; challenge our hearts and our minds. Transform our thinking and help us to move deeper into your reality today. You lead and we will follow.

Here are some recent books that I have read that have stretched my brain and heart. I realize that just because they mean something to me doesn’t mean they will impact your heart and mind in the same way. I just wanted to throw these out there to share a piece of my heart in the blogging world. They encouraged me and maybe they will do the same for you.

If you do happen to read one of these book please feel free to drop me a line; I would love to read your thoughts.

1. Deep Memory Exuberant Hope by Walter Brueggemann.

Walter reflects on the meaning of scripture in the world today. Challenging and poetic.

2. Secrets in the Dark by Frederick Buechner.

Buechner is a master story teller, poet and preacher who simply shows us how it’s done. He reminds us of why the gospel matters everyday.

This book is a series of sermons that he gave over his lifetime. It gives us a glimpse into the heart of a great preacher and disciple of Jesus Christ.

3. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. One of my favorite authors.

Malcolm is a master of understanding how ideas, trends and social behaviors tip, influence and spread into culture. This is a fun read. If you want a greater understanding of how ideas spread in our culture this one is worth reading.

Here are some of the latest books that I have read that have challenged me and encouraged my heart and mind. 

Book #1: ’Surprised by Hope’ Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.
The first one is by one of my favorite authors; NT Wright
Probably one of my favorite books of all time.

Book #2: Overcoming Life’s Disappointments by Harold S. Kushner
Kushner takes the experiences of Moses and helps us find faith and strength from this remarkable man of faith. Dealing with disappointments is something that all of us have in common. Learning how to handle those disappointments is a great challenge. Kushner gives great insigthts and encouraging stories of how to respond to heartbreak and unfulfilled dreams, with understanding rather than with bitterness.

Book #3: Jesus The Jewish Theologian by Brad H. Young
This book reveals just how Jewish Jesus was. His insights into the parables of Jesus are worth the price of this book. Very insightful and challenging.

Are we a Christian nation or a nation that is full of Christians? Should we be striving to be a Christian Nation? 

I have spent a great deal of time in the last three years wrestling through the concept of ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’/ ‘The Kingdom of God’ as taught by Jesus in the gospels. He taught about it; preached about it; demonstrated it; and he explained it in his parables. Jesus was a Kingdom man. He spent 3 years teaching about the Kingdom. Even after he was resurrected from the dead he spent the next 40 days teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of God. It must have been extremely important if Jesus spent the majority of his time proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God.

What is the Kingdom of God? What is the Kingdom of Heaven? The Kingdom of God / Heaven; is the people of God doing the will of God on earth, making the world a better place to live. If I go into a room, my city, whole foods, I either bring with me the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Hell. God’s kingdom is brought with me when I obey the teachings of Christ whose words are literally God’s words. Hell’s kingdom is brought with me when I don’t obey Christ’s words to heal, help, serve, feed, etc….. (Matthew 5-7)

I believe that we are called as followers of Jesus to establish the Kingdom of God on earth just as Jesus taught, proclaimed and demonstrated. If we keep this as our central focus than to call ourselves a Christian nation is probably not accurate. I’ve seen a lot of people who call themselves Christians bring a lot of hell with them here on earth. I have seen and experienced Christians participating in racism and judgmental attitudes towards other human beings who are created in the very image of God.

If a Christian nation is a nation where the Kingdom of Christ is spread, than we cannot, with a clear conscience, call ourselves a Christian nation. A nation with Christians would be a more accurate statement.

I have a hard time believing that Jesus ever wanted us to create a Christian nation. Don’t we remember what happened after the death of Constantine? All other religions except for Christianity were declared illegal. A nation of Christians who were persecuted for their faith became a nation of persecutors.

I’ve witnessed a lot of people getting upset over the recent election. Fear arose among the Christian community over our new president. One person even said; ‘He’s going to take away our Christian rights. Our nation is going to pot; we won’t be a Christian nation anymore.’ I’m going to put myself out on a limb here and say; ‘I’m not interested in being a Christian nation as much as I am interested in being a nation that accepts Christians who are free to enter and invite others to enter the Kingdom of God.’ The Jewish people have understood this philosophy throughout the millennia, as they are a nation no matter how scattered they are and regardless of the country in which they live.

A Christian nation is a nation without borders. The Kingdom of God is the only Christian nation that I know of and want to be a part of.

Pastor Jon