“Passing through the Valley of Weeping [Beceh] they make it a spring…” 84th Psalm, Verse 6

+

we can not deny it, the season of lent is all around us. it is the profound and mysterious place only a breath away from easter; the sorrow which leads to celebration – both of which are simultaneously, joy.

we need not fear lent. we ought to welcome those unnamed, fearful, dark valleys through which we journey from time to time. they should be to us a place of opportunity: for what is a valley, except the foot of a mountain? what is an empty cup, except an opportune vessel to be filled?

often times, we, by the common direction of our local churches, pursue only the peak of a single mountain: ah, but we forget, life more often reflects a whole range of mountains, comprised of peaks and valleys alike.

lent is a season for us to name those areas in our life which need light. they may be darkened by any number of things: futile thinking, deception, fear and worry, envy, greed, lust, impatience, and on and on. this is the season from which all other seasons flow. in fact, it is the age old law of the harvest: that for a seed to give birth to life, first it must die.

even as believers, for those ALREADY raised to new life: it is a season to descend into the much needed valley of weeping. alan jones recognized this as “the gift of tears.”

what i am finding to be true this season, is that weeping leads to more weeping. it is contagious. that is to say, i typically begin to contemplate those shadowy places in my life, build up the courage to name them out loud, and then the weeping comes, accompanied by brokenness and then freedom and then peace. but then. there is this incredible, inexplicable turning. a turning from me to some other. be it my family, my friends, my neighborhood, my local church, etc. and the weeping comes for others too. it is all-consuming. and the weeping continues for those who have hurt me and for those who i have hurt,

and the tears become a pool in my heart,

and the pools become a well in my soul,

and the wells become springs in my life.

and this is the gift of tears: they carry GOD through our veins: they cleanse us: they renew us: they fill us even as we are emptying ourselves of them.

[selah]

may this season of lent cause us all to remember the long-proclaimed and gentle command of YHWH: al-tirah/μη φοβου/fear not. may we give ourselves over to courage and boldness and simply cry out to the GOD who hears the cry of the afflicted. may we be mindful to praise him for placing the glorious mountain always beside some deep valley. may we thank him for both. so that we will find our rest in him no matter our place on the journey, for this is joy: immovable, unshakable, undeniable, always independent of our circumstances/mountains/valleys.

and may we, in light of this dark season, weep until our hearts and souls and lives are flowing with compassion, forgiveness, and mercy.

–

despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

+

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Apostle Paul to Timothy

+

after many years of trying to follow and love yeshua, study and experience the scriptures, listen and feel for the wind, and learn to be still enough to know my father’s voice, i have come to this profound, small statement: the bible is full of errors.

oh. don’t get me wrong; i don’t believe GOD’s words are fallible. i have not arrived at some brand new heresy. i don’t think the bible (the scriptures) mean something entirely different from what they say. but i do believe it is full of errors.

we recognize that an error is a deviation from accuracy, correctness; a belief in something untrue; even the condition of believing as truth, something that is untrue; and it can also be said that it is a moral offense and wrongdoing: a breaking of the law.

and any amateur associated with these pages will agree, there are stories at every turn which follow the development of a person’s devious journey from their eden to zion and everything in between.

eve was deceived and, perhaps more consequentially, began to deceive herself and others. oh to err.

the israelites know all too well what it looks like to believe in something untrue as they forsook YHWH for the lifeless idols of their neighbors. oh the error!

from samson to peter and king david to the pharisees. paul makes it clear that if one were to break a single law, then s/he is a lawbreaker. again, the error.

i very much enjoy etymology. it is the study of the derivation of a word and/or historical linguistic change. for example, we know that the original meaning of error was to “wander or go astray.”

i like to let that sink in. to think about my own journey, beautiful and devious and humbling and terrible and wonderful and good and bad, but mine nonetheless. full of wanderings, no doubt, but also full of times of returning to GOD: everyone we meet and every moment that washes over us is changing us, leading us, moving us, making us to become as we are. i like to let that sink in.

none of these errors ever stopped GOD from being who he said he was. he is the redeemer. he is the rescuer. he is the remedy.

where there is deviation, he can bring correction. where there is transgression, he forgives.

people always get hung up on the consequences: yes, there are consequences, sometimes exceedingly great consequences! but they are like the shadow that proves the sunshine (switchfoot reference). the consequences remind us of the law of the harvest. we reap what we sow. GOD said that, and you know what? it’s true! because, he is truth. but we are not to get stuck here: we are to get stuck on being still, and knowing that he is GOD.

paul was in this line of thinking when he commented that “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more!” where there is wandering, his presence abounds all the more! (and should we go on sinning so that grace may abound? of course not!)

i am so thankful the scriptures are full of the truth. which is to say, it is full of errors. which is to say, it is full of salvation experiences. which is really to say, it is full of the hopes and dreams of YHWH – to create one new humanity. we are to “make the most of every opportunity” paul tells us, and that everything in these scriptures is GOD-breathed, and is actually to be used to equip us!

are we allowing ourselves and our journey to be offered up to GOD? our journey full of errors and wanderings – are we allowing him to correct us? to teach us? to lead us? that we may be equipped – not to become better people – but to become one new humanity!

may we forgive as he forgives. may we love as he loves. may his kingdom come and his will be done.

“With God all things are possible”—
that’s the beginning and the end
of theology. If all things are possible,
nothing is impossible.
Why do the godly then
keep slinging out their nooses?

–

here’s a call to the church: a call through the streets of the kingdom: to return again to a small theology of our great god, YHWH.

if more of us within the church and this great kingdom would put down the stones and quit slinging out our nooses, what a kingdom we would be! if we could find the courage to trust this small theology, perhaps more people could trust us…and come to trust yeshua himself.

and i recognize, it’s not because i am perfect that i proclaim this message: it’s precisely because i am not. in the words of aaron gillespie,

i’ve been / dirtier / than you / want to know

my only hope in this life rests on the one who comes to me in my brokenness, kneels to meet me in the dirt, looks into my eyes, and promises that all things are possible: restoration, redemption, and resurrection: forgiveness, fellowship, and freedom: grace, mercy, and love.

[selah]

few poets can move so quickly and with such grace as wendell berry.

i was first introduced to berry as a sophomore at cornerstone university – my philosophy prof was a big fan; even taking a week off from school to drive to kentucky, meet with the farmer-poet-teacher, turn back to grand rapids and learn us in the ways of ole wendell!

anyways. if you have a pulse and at least a sliver of a piece of a tiny shred of a desire to learn from those who have and are still going before us, then you need to invest some time in becoming acquainted with wendell berry.

i leave you now with berry’s thoughts on church leadership given by way of a brilliant analogy: that of a farm and a farmer.

When one buys the farm and moves there to live, something different begins. Thoughts begin to be translated into acts…. It invariably turns out, I think, that one’s first vision of one’s place was to some extent an imposition on it. But if one’s sight is clear and one stays on and works well, one’s love gradually responds to the place as it really is, and one’s visions gradually image possibilities that are really in it…. Two human possibilities of the highest order thus come within reach: what one wants can become the same as what one has, and one’s knowledge can cause respect for what one knows. … The good worker will not suppose that good work can be made properly answerable to haste, urgency, or even emergency…. Seen in this way, questions about farming become inseparable from questions about propriety of scale. A farm can be too big for a farmer to husband properly or pay proper attention to. Distraction is inimical to correct discipline, and enough time is beyond reach of anyone who has too much to do. But we must go farther and see that propriety of scale is invariably associated with propriety of another kind: an understanding and acceptance of the human place in the order of Creation–a proper humility…. It is the properly humbled mind in its proper place that sees truly, because–to give only one reason–it sees details.

is anyone else familiar with wendell berry? and what are some practical ways that we, as the body of the son of man, can “quit slinging out our nooses?” as we declare with a cry of victory: “all things are possible.”? how do we get to that place of “proper humility” that we may see truly and see the details?

–

despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

+

Statistics show that the best means of evangelism within an American context is starting a church. 13

/

…We considered a number of reasons that seemed to indicate that we, too, should multiply small churches rather than seeking to get larger. 13

/

–

if any of you have read this book, please feel free to share your thoughts! also, are there any of you who are a part of an “organic” or “simple” local church community? and what has your experience been?

so. i just thought i would share some of the new things in my life: things of sustenance and spiritually tangible grit: things that matter when you get “over the sun” – because after all, there is nothing new under the sun.

+

a couple of new books that are finding a home within my heart are the magician’s elephant, katie dicamillo and the rabbit and the elephant, tony and felicity dale. katie dicamillo is a phenomenal author who happens to write for the children’s genre – but her stories embrace everything a good story should and the magician’s elephant is no exception. there is so much being born within me through the questions tony and felicity dale have raised that i can’t even get into them yet: but their thoughts on the megapower of the microchurch, new testament organic/simple local churches, and a return to early church history leadership theology – these thoughts and more are keeping me up at night getting excited for what the future holds for me, my family, and the church across america as well as the world.

+

it seems there is always something new coming out of the worship music arena: the problem is, a lot of it is only remicrowaved leftovers. and i say this with a gentleness, because i have a lot of passion for this branch of the tree of worship life. but suffice it to say, here’s a new song with a spirit about it written by an acquaintance – we just sang it again this morning as a body – and it is the reason for this post, really. what’s crazy is, when she and her friend wrote this song, i too wrote a song around the same theme – maybe i will share this song at a later date. anyways. here’s the lyrics to sent together to heal by abbie cox:

Sent Together to Heal
Abbie Cox, Wes Pickering ©2009

With all authority
The captives were set free
And by your sacrifice we have been redeemed
Compassion in your hand
You healed every disease
And now you call us to greater works than these

You save us
You heal us
You deliver us from every kind of fear
So we’ll go
Wherever you lead
Sent together to heal
Sent together to heal

As you heal our hearts
Your mission becomes ours
And we’re compelled by love stronger than we are
Perfect us in your love
Send us in your power
So we can shine your light in the darkest hour

You save us
You heal us
You deliver us from every kind of fear
So we’ll go
Wherever you lead
Sent together to heal
Sent together to heal

Send us out in your great power
Send us out in your great power
Send us out in your great power
Send us out, send us out

You save us
You heal us
You deliver us from every kind of fear
So we’ll go
Wherever you lead
Sent together to heal
Sent together to heal

–

so my question is: what new things is GOD bringing to you? what are you experiencing these days like never before?

“And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me…” – Yeshua to the Twelve

“Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” – Yeshua to Peter in regards to the Temple Tax

+

yesterday, i was chillin at the local bux. and i overheard a lady ask the barista an interesting question:

“So if you rescue us, who rescues you?”

and i was like. wha!? that’s kingdom language right thur! and then the lady made some remark about how she wishes more young people were like this barista. and i continued thinking: what a kingdom…here, take a look at what i mean.

picture the temple and the religious leaders of the day. they come asking yeshua’s disciples if they paid temple tax. they say, yes of course. anyways, word gets back to yeshua and the taxes were paid. notice. only four drachma were paid.

under mosaic law, every male over twenty years of age was required to give unto the LORD, by way of the temple, his due share.

again. only four drachma were paid. yeshua and peter were over twenty. and apparently, that’s it.

[selah]

yes. yeshua conferred this kingdom on an ecclectic, risk-taking group of teenagers. (though, to be fair, a jewish boy or girl became a religious adult at thirteen. but you get the point.)

these were the original heroes of the early local churches. these were the ones who brought rescue.

why does this matter? a couple of really cool reasons, actually.

1) it continues to show how jesus fulfilled the torah: while still breaking the mold. there is no reason under heaven why any rabbi would select a talmidim (group of disciples/apprentices) that young. but, as we may recall from the writings found in ecclesiastes, we need to get over the sun – for there is nothing new under the sun: and it is clear that yeshua may have lived under the sun, but he was calling people to a new life…over the sun!

b) this should stand as a swift kick-in-the-pants to all of us who stand attached to our “stuff.” as ed stetzer recently commented,

you shouldn’t have to say missional disciples – disciples should be missional!

and

GOD is not getting his due glory in most [local] churches because his people are not joining together in his mission.

the stereotypical group of adolescents have long been known for their inability to remain stable, safe, and secure. they tend to be risk-taking, off-the-wall, spontaneous doers. now, granted, yeshua had some honing to do :] but maybe he chose just this age group for this purpose! he knew the cost he was calling them to: to carry their own crosses in front of those with nails and hammers: to join together in his mission and bring remedy and rescue to the one who is drowning and will more than likely try to drown you as well.

who rescues us? YHWH. but remember, his thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways; therefore, it is inherently implied that his rescue will probably not look like what we think it should look like or come on a timetable that we can trace. but make no mistake, he will rescue. he always redeems. and his dreams are for the reconciliation of all things, the restoration of everything under heaven.

the question is. are we committed to being the remedy? despite our own past and current afflictions, can we trust that by his blood we have been made righteous and whole, and this all the more reason to be who he has already made us to be: missional wounded healers living in and for eternity!

–

despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

one advertisement reads,

“Win-Build-Send Matt.28:18-20″

yet the text reads,

“ThenJesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

how do we go from such organic, radical, mysterious language to dry, disconnected, and vapid words not even found in the text?

win, build, send. okay – we got 1 out of the, not three, but four verbs. what gives?

not to mention this alarming context: out of the four verbs included, only one is an imperative command: to make disciples (of all nations).

it is not to go and be evangelists. it is not to baptize and become a public fast-food-lookalike. it is not even to teach people to obey everything yeshua has commanded.

it is to make-disciples. that’s our command from yeshua in this context.

we go as the wounded healers, the ones with a sordid past, yet we go with honesty and humility before us: to bring the good news, that YHWH rescues, redeems, and restores; that there is one true living god, and he will be for you whatever you are needing in your most desperate moments – he is “I AM.”

i think this somehow lets in more light than the narrow openings found in the “win-build-send” hole.

“for everything exposed by the light becomes a light” and “we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony” because “he makes all things new” and his purpose is to “make one new humanity.”

so what are your thoughts? where do you see this played out?

–

lately. my mind has been inundated with “conversation” themes and illustrations and parables and what-to-the-not – probably because i have been taking some interviews and talking vocational ministry left and right.

the latest to come to mind: NOT HOW IT HAPPENED.

a conversation centered around the myths, or more common, the lies we’ve come back to believing, about certain experiences yeshua had here on earth. take for example the woman caught in adultery. we all know the story – which really isn’t true – you ask ten people about that story and you learn all kinds of things, haha! – but we think we know the story. and many of us do kind of know the gist of the story. but as time goes on, and as we meet various “kinds” of people, we begin to isolate and justify that story. soon, the story becomes fictitious and unreal.

though we know the story. we tend to live (and respond to people) as if this happened,

(paraphrase) so there was this woman. she was caught in the act of fornication and adultery. clearly, that’s wrong. who cares where the man is! she’s obviously a filthy, unholy, inglorious daughter of an adulteress herself. anyways, she’s laying in the dirt, accused by the religious and political symbols of the day – rightly so – and then jesus comes along. after he graciously sends them away, he leans down and whispers in her ear, “you lay condemned, brace yourself for the stoning.”

or as if this happened,

(paraphrase) when it came time for the last supper, yeshua, the most powerful man in the room, got up from the meal, deceived his followers and conquered the world by sword and force!

and on we could go. but this is not how it happened. yet we tend to live with stones in one hand and swords in the other: our local assemblies (ekklesia) seem to bind freedom and free religion.

may we return to the stories of yeshua with new eyes. may we examine ourselves. may we examine our local communities. may we have ears to hear. may we come to know the truth and be set free, so that we can live as yeshua lived, bringing glory to YHWH in all we do.

alas, my thoughts from the napkins transferred to the moleskine,

the church, by definition, is a people; not a person – and certainly not a structure.

sure, there is a time and a place for “the individual” and segregated prayers of “yours” and “mine.” but perhaps sunday morning (or whenever your local church decides to corporately gather) is not the place to proclaim the cause of “you” or “me.”

perhaps, when we come together we ought to be together. our songs should join our hearts and declare that which is and that which we hope will be.

[selah]

we are always moving from the language, and indeed the reality, of i am to we are because I AM.

and yes, i do need yeshua – but never more than we need him together. yes, he did die for me and you, but his purpose was to make one new humanity, blessed be his name!

[selah]

so. practically speaking – and trying to put my proverbial money where my mouth is (after all, being highly unemployed, proverbial money is almost all we have these days, haha! rimshot, please) – a couple ways this meditation is working itself out in my life is through a renewed commitment to corporate worship.

what does that mean? for starters, we are being intentional about not calling the place we wosrhip, “church” around our children: we go to a building on sunday mornings to worship with the church. this is the language i want owen and olivia to be hearing. my hope is that in years to come, we won’t have to have the “church is not a building but a people” conversation.

additionally, in a lifelong effort of trying to be present with YHWH in the midst of a gathering service, i am convinced that part of what this looks like is singing songs and praying prayers toward the community: replacing the singulars with plurals.

“a thousand times i’ve failed, still your mercy remains / and should i stumble again, i’m caught in your grace” – hillsong

we all know these lyrics – and they are SO powerful, beautiful, and true; this is not a question of truth, but of accuracy: in my car, these lyrics are accurate, but as i am standing in the midst of a thousand other souls literally joined together as the kingdom of heaven, they somehow don’t fit quite as well as they could…

“a thousand times we’ve failed, still your mercy remains / and should we stumble again, we’re caught in your grace”

automatically, this slight change, i believe, causes us to remember both the sins and redemption of our entire community! it brings to mind the immediacy of the situations around us: it reminds us that we are not alone – even in our failings, even in our rising with grace – we are a body together, not separate.

and the lyric examples go on and on. my point through all of this is that we are to be intentional (mindful, perhaps) worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth. the beautifully ironic thing is that this may look different for you, but no matter how it looks, it will affect those around you.

at any rate, take these thoughts and discern what you will and apply what you feel GOD says you should: that we all may become a clearer picture of the christ and a more tangible body of the risen king of kings of kings.

–

despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

which is another way of saying: we should continue to be wounded healers.

wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to think differently in order to find ways to respond to the people and communities of haiti. shouldn’t it be just like christ-followers to be the first to serve, give, and be love?

would it even need to make the news when people who said they wanted to be like their messiah just kept on living that way? as if it were an extension of who they were – it’s like they’re just waiting for another opportunity to feed the hungry and BOOM! haiti shows up on the map; waiting for an opportunity to care for the widows and BOOM! haiti is all of the sudden filled with widows and orphans; longing to give their money and resources to a cause and a face instead of a vault and interest rate and BOOM! haiti, haiti, haiti.

(which isn’t to say these opportunities haven’t existed less than five miles from where they are, but remember, they’re already doing these things (these followers of yeshua) and so it’s just second nature to reach out when mass devastation overtakes a people)

we are given images (by way of stories and teachings) of what the kingdom of heaven looks like and is to look like: we should be a kingdom that gives to the needy, loves their enemies, and prays for those who persecute them. sadly, we often look like and respond as a kingdom that prays for the needy, hates our enemies and loves those who bless us.

haiti right now is a hell of a place in need of heaven: that is, she is being overwhelmed by fear and death; she needs hands to deliver peace and hearts that revive. she is void of financial and basic resources; she needs our money and water. look at the photos, she is scattered and broken; she needs a community who is sent together to heal.

now i do confess, i don’t always know exactly how to do what i want to do – and i, alone, certainly can’t do everything. but those things i can do, i should do. we’re not all going to hop a flight to haiti and clean wounds or look into a child’s face: but some of us should, and i would argue that all of us should at least have the desire to want to be there – and that desire should fuel us to look for opportunities and creative ways to serve and give to those in need.

give to those in need. it’s like i always get hung up on what i can’t do. well so what. i can’t hop a flight and move to haiti for a year. but i can seek out someone who is able to do that and maybe support them, get the word out, and send them. i can donate my money to providing some basic resources. i can dontate my time to praying – which i belive to be a vital part of bringing the kingdom of heaven to the hells on earth and in our lives. i can give to those in need. and i should.

so. here’s a list to get you, and all of us, started in truly moving forward: actually doing something of consequence: bringing the kingdom: hopefully doing nothing different, just being exactly who we claim to be: followers of yeshua, children of YHWH, and people who live and breathe heaven.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582902,00.html?mep