Tod Bolsinger

The Puritans and Prayer

On Friday mornings in Lent we at SCPC offer a service of contemplative prayer and Lectio Divina from 7-8 AM in our Stephen's Chapel. It is meant to be a nice quiet, but "social" place for prayer as the Puritans would say.  I am SO using this on Friday. As someone with a great love for the Puritans (I received a minor in historical theology writing on the Puritans when I got my Ph.D.) I was thrilled to come across this poem at the "Rebecca Writes" blog .  Rebecca uses the Puritans in a number of posts, so now I will be linking to her site from my.  Thanks for reminding me, Rebecca. Go by and say thanks to her for giving us such good stuff, ok?

On Opening a Place for Social Prayer

Jesus, where'er thy people meet,
There they behold thy mercy-seat;
Where'er they seek thee thou art found,
And ev'ry place is hallow'd ground.

For thou, within no walls confin'd,
Inhabitest the humble mind;
Such ever bring thee, where they come,
And going, take thee to their home.

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!
Thy former mercies here renew;
Here, to our waiting hearts, proclaim
The sweetness of thy saving name.

Here may we prove the pow'r of pray'r,
To strengthen faith, and sweeten care;
To teach our faint desires to rise,
And bring all heav'n before our eyes.

Behold! At thy commanding word,
We stretch the curtain and the cord;
Come thou, and fill this wider space,
And help us with a large increase.

Lord, we are few, but thou art near;
Nor short thine arm, nor deaf thine ear;
Oh rend the heav'ns, come quickly down,
And make a thousand hearts thine own!

---William Cowper.

Real Religion Part 1

In my sermon on the Spiritual Discipline of Showing Up, I said, “If you are going to be sticking your neck out and taking on Jesus’ yoke, for his sake, don’t fake it.  Bring your real self to God.”

For the next couple of days, I want us to consider what it means to bring our “real selves” to God by offering some excerpts from my book Show Time: Living Down Hypocrisy by Living Out the Faith.  You see, I found when I was researching and writing the book that the biggest concern of both Christians and non-Christians when it comes to our faith is the amount of hypocrisy that is evident in Christianity.  So how do we “make it real” and “live it out”?  What does it mean to “Show up ‘really’” for Christ?

2 Peter 1:3-10 lays out for us a path of steps for Christians to cultivate the kind of character that is respected even by unbelievers, to live a life that is commendable by any reasonable standard. 

And faith that produces a life commendable to unbelievers includes—no, requires—a religious life.  Faith alone is not enough, individual character is not enough.  Faith that works, produces religion that works.  And religion that works reflects well the very character of God to a searching world.

The word “godliness” in 2 Peter 1:3-10 is also translated in other verses like 1 Timothy 3:6 as “religion.”  It refers to the personal and corporate commitments that we make as a sign of our devotion to God.  Godliness is both our piety and practice, both our inner spiritual life and our corporate worship life.

In this text, we learn that our faith—if we truly want it to be respected by those in the world—must not only produce character, but also consistent acts of devotion.  Now this may seem strange to us.  Why would anyone in the world, care about my church life?  Why would secular people give a hoot about the way I practice my religion?

Reconsidering Religion

Since the word religion comes from the Latin word that means “to bind, or to commit” we could say that godliness means demonstrating our inner devotion to God in acts of binding commitment.  It is our worship life, our church life, our ethical life.  It is our faith at work in church. 

What is interesting here is to remember is that this is a list of what we would call “secular” virtues from Greek culture.  What the popular culture of the day found commendable.  And one of the character qualities that was considered most commendable was sincere, devout godliness or religion.   And I believe that this is still the case today. 

In Gallup’s annual poll of the most respected people in the world, Billy Graham has been named more than any other person in the last 50 years.  Pope John Paul the II is always mentioned, and until her death, the reigning most admired woman in the world was Mother Theresa.  Even in such potentially anti-religious institutions as professional sports, Hakeem Olajauwon, a devout Moslem was called by Sports Illustrated as the “most widely respected player amongst his peers” in part because of his well-known devotion to his religion even undertaking the month-long fast of Ramadan during the basketball season. 

In other words, even non-religious people respect and admire those who are devout, sincere and dedicated to their religions.  And this is exactly what this passage refers to.  It is telling us that if faith works, then it must not only produce personal character, but that character must be expressed in committed devotion and consistent practice of our faith.  The world wants to see if we can “walk our talk.”  Unbelievers want to see if it is possible to live bound to other believers in shared commitment.  And I believe this is exactly why very often the single biggest stumbling block to unbelievers seeking God, is not Jesus but Christians; not faith but church.

In his book titled Exit Interviews, William Hendricks revealed the results of interviews with people who have left Christian churches.  Now, their reasons for leaving were varied, but a common theme was evident. When people leave the church, they are not trying to leave God.  When people leave the church, they are usually deeply disappointed in the people of the church. They came looking for genuine community of people committed to their convictions and they left saying that the church was little different than any other group in the world.

Even people who are exploring the faith are looking to see if what we believe really makes a difference in the way practice our faith.  Is our faith demonstrated in godliness, do our beliefs produce genuine religion.  Or is this really all just some kind of perfunctory social game?  The people interviewed told story after story of the disappointment between what people said they believed and how they acted—even at church. 

So here is the next step on following Jesus into the real world of Monday to Friday: pause and consider how well you are doing on Sundays.  A genuine and vibrant faith results in an authentic and real church.  And “godliness” is both. So, how do we produce this godliness? 

Tune in tomorrow…. (In the spirit of my conviction that spiritual disciplines are best practiced communally, I included a series of questions for a group discussion at the end of each chapter of Show Time.  A number of small groups are using this short biblical exposition of one passage for their small groups.  A good price for buying the book in bunches is found here.)

Lent is not New Years: Re-thinking Goal Setting

Mark Daniels is starting a new series on Christians and goal setting.  As a pretty goal-oriented person (I competed in two triathlons, a marathon and a century bike ride last year), I need to be reminded not to treat Lent as another task to accomplish or goal to make.  ("One week down and I am still not eating chocolate, only three weeks to go.") 

One of the ways we avoid such thinking is to consider some of Mark's ideas.  Another way is to remember that while Lent is considered a 40 day "fast", that does not traditionally include Sundays.  Sundays have always been "feast days" where the fast is broken.  Again, the "goal" is not getting to Easter, but the changes along the way. (So read Mark's posts and have some chocolate after church!)

I Read with Dead People…

For this series, I am offering a different kind of list of spiritual disciplines, a communal way of “training, not trying” that will encourage a shared spiritual life, a yoking to Christ through the body of Christ. In my sermon last Sunday, I launched this new series calling it, The Gentle Yoke: Spirituality for Stubborn Souls.  Drawing from the imagery in Jesus invitation to take his “yoke” upon us and “learn” from him, for the remainder of this Lenten series, I will be exploring what it means to be yoked to Jesus. I am suggesting that to be yoked to Jesus today is to learn from the Spirit of Christ through the Body of Christ.  It is to learn from the Spirit through the Word in communion. 

Today, one more take on Showing up by "reading in communion." 

“Daddy, do you understand everything about what we read in the Bible?” my eight-year-old daughter asked me.  “Because I sure don’t.”  I laughed aloud.   “Oh no, Ali, I just know where to read so I can learn from those who do.” 

Since New Year’s my family has been attempting to have a little Bible Study every time we sit down for dinner.  One person reads a SHORT passage from the Bible (we are reading the book of James currently), another prays.  Then we answer two questions:  What does this mean?  And What should we do about this? It’s simple enough.  And often profound. 

It has been a gratifying thing to have a Bible study as a family.  But when we are sitting down for dinner and talking about a passage of the Bible, I sometimes envision us being surrounded by literally hundreds of Bible teachers, scholars and commentators. I think of us having this conversation about “loving our neighbors” and about treating the poor well with Henri Nouwen, John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Theresa, St. Augustine, or the Desert Fathers. 

Of course, I don’t name drop in front of the kids.  But really it’s all the dead people that I read that make me seem so smart.  And of course, there are a lot of smart, godly, still living people who are also “there” through their writings.  NT Wright, Richard Hays, John Stott, Dale Bruner….and the list goes on.

One of the reasons why I love to teach and preach the Bible is that it gives me an excuse to read the Bible with faithful saints of every time and place.  I have been well-trained to do so with relative ease and that responsibility and calling is also one of my great joys.  (It is also the reason why the “teaching office” of the church remains an integral part of “priesthood of all believers.”)

Many of us struggle with reading the Bible because we have never taken the time to read it with the great teachers of past and present.  (And frankly many of our current inductive Bible studies and small groups become little more than collective pools of ignorance when we ignore the great teachers of the church.) 

This Lenten season, consider taking some time to read the Bible with some dead (and living) people.   Pick up an easy to read commentary and read for yourself.  I wholeheartedly recommend NT (Tom) Wright’s “Bible for Everyone…” series  (and the good bishop seems to be very much alive).  Wright draws from and writes the very best in historical and scholarly commentaries and yet has the uncanny ability to bring that scholarship down to our “everyday” level.  (When I grow up as a scholar, I want to be like him.)   

Then bring what you’ve learned into a Bible discussion with your friends.  Challenge your pastor with good questions, think and talk and post something on a blog.  Enter the great on-going conversation about the Word of God and the world.

People will think you’re really smart.

Give up Reading the Bible for Lent…

Alone, that is.

For this series, I am offering a different kind of list of spiritual disciplines, a communal way of “training, not trying” that will encourage a shared spiritual life, a yoking to Christ through the body of Christ.

I have offered two others before: Staying Put and Hanging Out. To these I add the first discipline of this Lenten Series, Showing Up.  Specifically, “showing up regularly and “showing up really.”  Bringing yourself before the one true Lord, as often and authentically as possible. 

In my sermon last Sunday, I launched this new series calling it, The Gentle Yoke: Spirituality for Stubborn Souls.  Drawing from the imagery in Jesus invitation to take his “yoke” upon us and “learn” from him, for the remainder of this Lenten series, I will be exploring what it means to be yoked to Jesus. 

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus’ invitation comes with an assurance that Jesus is “gentle and humble of heart”.  That comforting description is also, most scholars would say, a not-so-thinly veiled criticism of the Pharisees.  (For a description of the Pharisees’ use of the idea of “yoking” see an excerpt of my sermon here .)

Jesus’ way of discipleship is to learn from his gentle and humble spirit.  To learn from him.  But how do we do so?  Let me suggest that to be yoked to Jesus today is to learn from the Spirit of Christ through the Body of Christ.  It is to learn from the Spirit through the Word in communion. 

This yoked learning is demanding indeed.  It requires that we cast off both the yoke of our own individualism that assumes that we can figure out the way of Jesus on our own all alone, and the yoke of our “inner” Pharisee who remind us with debilitating shame that we are never going to measure up. 

So for the next couple of days, I will offer a couple more ways to practice the Spiritual Discipline of Showing up.  So here goes: Show up wherever the Word is being read in by other Christians in communion.  Consider reading the Bible more this Lenten series, but not just reading it alone.  Instead, develop a rhythm of reading the Bible by youself, then reading the same texts with others in communion.  This rhythm of both solo and shared time in a Scripture passage takes us to much greater depth than we would ever meet on our own.  And it is the central spiritual discipline of my life--especially during Lent. 

As a pastor whose primary responsibility is teaching and preaching the Scriptures, I have found that the best way for me to hear the word is by studying a single passage for an entire week with as many people as possible.  So, every Tuesday morning I read the passage for the following Sunday, then I lead a Bible Study on the passage for my staff.  Then on Wednesdays, I study it for most of the day and then lead a Sermon Study and Discussion with about 80 people on Wednesday night.  Then Friday mornings during Lent, I use the same passage for a time of Lectio Divina (contemplative reading of Scripture) in an early morning prayer session.  Then I write the sermon, deliver it on Sundays and on Sunday nights our small groups discuss the sermon and how to apply it to our lives.  Now that my kids are both old enough to read, we have also started doing a brief (5-10 minute) time of scripture reading and discussion at the end of dinner each time we eat together as a family.   

As you can see, I read a lot of the Bible, but I don’t read it alone.  This communal reading of a passage keeps it before me and all of us in a much deeper, on-going way.  So many of us read the Bible like either a fortune cookie (“Let’s see what the word says about my day today”) or a school assignment (“Give me fifteen minutes and I can knock off a whole chapter”).  We read the Bible for advice or as a book of maxims for living miss that it is a larger inspired narrative for a people to learn to live faithfully together heeding the voice of God.  When we read, pray and listen to the Scriptures in communion, we hear it with greater resonance.  It is both more demanding and more empowering at the same time.  It is the Word of God that comes to me, because it speaks to and through us.

If you are interested in probing this whole idea of "reading in communion" deeper, I would suggest the two chapters of my book It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian on "The Transforming Word". 

Tomorrow, another way of "showing up"...and you can't show up for that one alone either. 

The "B's" on the "Best" list

The Discerning Reader recently announced that my publisher Baker Publishing Group was named the 2004 Publisher of the Year.  In their list of the 50 Top Books of 2004, BPG's books took 20 slots. 

Even more surprising and gratifying for me is that BOTH of my books, (It Takes a Church to Raise A Christian and Showtime) were named in those top 50 Books of the year.  As a new author, I am very grateful to be part of the Baker Publishing Group team.  My editors, Rodney Clapp (whose own book Tortured Wonders also made the list) and Chad Allen were great "literary trainers" for me. Both of the books were much stronger after Rodney and Chad worked them through with me. I am honored to have my books recognized and even more so as part of BPG.

Here's a nice quote from Discerning Reader about the Baker folks:

The Discerning Reader noted that Baker Publishing Group "has grown into one of the largest and most influential evangelical publishers in the world. In its earlier days it was responsible for publishing some of the most important books to the growing evangelical movement in the USA and around the world. In more recent days, particularly through its Baker Academic and Brazos Press imprints, it is a leader in the cause of breathing new life into that movement."

Super Nanny, Showing up, and Stubborn Souls

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says “take my yoke upon you,” using a metaphor of training oxen by being yoked together to describe his spiritual teaching.  In the same way that a young ox would be yoked to stronger and more experienced ox to learn the ways of work, in the passage he is inviting those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens to enter his school of discipleship, to be yoked to him. 

Now none of us likes being called “stubborn” or being compared to an ox, but hopefully we can hear this scripture as an invitation from Jesus into a better spiritual life, a deeper spiritual practice, a more fulfilling way of discipleship.  Through this passage, we are going to learn what it means to be yoked to Jesus, the one who is gentle and humble of heart.  We are going to experience what it means to be yoked to the Spirit of Christ that is inside of us, and the body of Christ that is all around us; to take Jesus’ yoke upon us and learn from him and find rest for our souls.

But in order to help us get to that place let me begin in an admittedly odder place with a most unlikely example: A new reality show called, “Super Nanny”.  Now, I won’t make you admit if you’ve seen it, but I have only seen it twice (and that’s probably enough because it’s the same every time).

There is a young family in a quiet suburb.  Dad is an earnest young man who is working hard to provide for his family.  Mom is an earnest young woman who stays home with the kids.  Dad and Mom are both likeable people who are struggling as parents.

Jo-Jo the Super Nanny arrives and observes for a day full.  The kids are out of control.  Hitting each other, talking back to Mom, rolling eyes, sarcastic attitudes, power struggles over eating dinner, refusing to go to bed at night.  And the list goes on.  These kids frequently endanger themselves and frustrate their parents.

At the end of the long difficult, but oh-so-normal, day, Super-Nanny sits down with the parents and tells them basically the same thing every time:  You are good people.  It’s obvious, that you love your kids.  You are trying really hard as parents.  But what you are doing is not working.  Your home life is a mess and your kids are going to end up paying for it.  Will you let me change your household?  Will you let me teach you how to parent these kids in a better way?

Every time, Mom cries, Dad nods sullenly and then Super Nanny assures them that she can help.  And she does.  The parents balk at some of things she says.  At times they stubbornly cling to their old ways even though they are not working, but eventually they accept the Super Nanny’s instructions and in one hour of television time (or two weeks time according to the show), the house is calm, the kids are respectful, the parents are happy and less stressed and all is right with the world. 

Now let me be clear here:  These parents really are good people who love their kids.  They are good people who really want to be good parents.  They are good people who were indeed really failing at this most important task, but not for lack of trying.  They were trying really, really hard.  And when you look at their faces, they are exhausted, drained, weary and carrying heavy burdens.  It’s not that they are not trying, it’s that they lack training.

(With thanks to Dallas Willard and John Ortberg for helping us all to see this difference.)   

And that’s where some of us are in our spiritual lives... 

To read the rest of the sermon download it here. Download

Mark wins, we all win.

I know that I shouldn't be so smug.  I might even get smited.  But I have to link to my friend, Mark Roberts' blog and just say this...I told you so. 

Mark was voted best evangelical blog--pastors in the Evangelical Blog Awards put on by Evangelical Underground.

Of course, I have known and said on every occasion possible that Mark's blog is the best around.  Mostly because Mark continually reflects and writes the best, most thoughtful, biblically astute and helpful blog around. 

But why I am really glad that Mark was chosen is that he exemplifies the best in Christian maturity and sensitivity.  He writes about tough subjects with both clarity and compassion, his tone is always respectful and he even "listens well" (as seen in the way he responds to those on opposite sides of issues).  He doesn't ridicule anyone who disagrees with him, he doesn't call names or throw out jibes. 

Mark even pastors when he blogs.  I am his friend, yes.  But for years, he has been a model for me. I am really proud of him. 

Please go by his blog, sign the guestbook and congratulate him.

Seeking Quiet, Being Surprised

These thoughts came from a passage I read to begin our Friday morning Lenten contemplative services.  I will offer them to you as something to ponder this first weekend of Lent and will post again on Monday.

Inner quietude is not something that we can create.  We can be by ourselves.  Enjoy relaxing music. Be reflective. But our inner world may be more like an untamed beast than a deer that pants for streams of living water.

In the midst of our stillness, we can be very distracted. For we never quite know what may happen when we move to being still. The gift of peace may come our way.  Or a troubled roar from the abyss.  Or a pain from our wounded past. Or anxious fears regarding an uncertain future.  The list may be endless but the distractions are real.

Yet none of this should surprise or discourage us.  Inner quietude only comes as a gift after the storm.  A healing after the purging.  A grateful acceptance after relinquishment…

But struggles are not without blessings.  If grace is found for our struggles then we ware in fact called forward by the very things that we fear may pull us back.

So while we may wish that our inner beings would be temples of freedom and light, we should still enter even though they be stormy seas, whirlpools of pain, boardrooms of debate, confusing journeys and grottoes of uncertainty.  For in the midst of all of that, especially when the opposite was expected, we may well be surprised that God will cleanse the temple.  And peace comes as the undeserved gift from the God who enters our journeys and surprises us along the way.

—Charles Ringma, Seek the Silences with Thomas Merton, p. 32

Good Grief

Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. 

2 Corinthians 7:9-10

In the movie, A Christmas Story, Ralphie and his friends convince another boy named Flick to put his tongue on a frozen poll during a school recess.  They “triple-dog dare” him to do it, and Flick, unwilling to have his fledgling manhood question, complies.  And his tongue gets stuck to the poll.

When the bell rings, Ralphie and the rest of the classmates all run back to class, leaving the tongue-attached Flick shrieking in the cold wind. 

When their teacher finally figures out what happens, has the fire department rescue Flick and brings him, bandaged mouth, back to class, she solemnly declares, “I know the guilt that whoever did this must be feeling about poor Flick is punishment enough.”  Ralphie’s adult voice over declares something to the effect, “Grown-ups were always saying silly things like this.”  Every kid knows that punishment is worse than regret.  At least while you are a kid. 

I find that whenever we talk about repentance we assume that it is about one of two wrongheaded ideas.   We think that it is either about “punishment” (i.e. penance) or feeling guilty.  Whenever I teach on repentance, I inevitably come back to the couple of verses from 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.  So many people have been taught (even inadvertently) that to “repent” means “to feel really, really lousy for what you have done.”  In this way, they tend to judge their need for repentance on the amount of remorse, shame, or guilt they feel.  Lots’ of shame means lots of repentance, they think. 

But in this passage we see a clear distinction: there is “grief” (Greek, “metamelia”) that leads to “repentance” (Greek “metanoia”), and indeed, sometimes like a child who needs to be taught right and wrong through correction, or a person who will only find the gumption to change through remorse or grief, God uses both “penance” and “metamelia” to bring true repentance.  Because, in truth, repentance is about neither penance or remorse, but something much harder: change. 

And ultimately, changing our lives to become more and more a reflection of Jesus’ life is what Lent is all about.