Jonah

Last Sunday Morning at church my youngest son was given a Jonah story book as a Christmas present.  Just before nap time he asked me to read it to him.  As 3 year olds are want to do, he asked me to read the book over and over and over.

It was only 4 pages long, so I felt compelled to oblige.

Since the book was short on pages, it left out a good bit of information.  It was fun to see what my boy of 3 years knew as I asked him questions and he filled in the blanks.  (He and his brother are both big on the idea that it was a 'big fish' not a 'whale' that swallowed Jonah. Where they learned the distinction I'm not sure, but it is important to them.)

Always looking for a moral to apply to familiar stories, we talked about the idea that Jonah's disobedience put other people in danger.

This is one of those stories where it is tempting to argue that God was somehow being unfair to the poor innocent sailors.  Why put everyone on the boat in danger when Jonah was the problem? Why not have a swarm of bugs come bother just Jonah, or cover him with leprosy until he straightened out his act? Why did God choose to put dozens of lives in danger over Jonah's sin?

God is a teacher and always looking to get His point across, and I believe his choice to put the entire ship in danger because of one man's sin was made to teach us.  Here are a few thoughts on what that might be.

1. Our sin affects others. Like it or not, none of us sin in a vacuum. We like to believe that our sins only hurt us, but it isn't true, and this is just one of several places we see the theme repeated in scripture.

Think of Abraham. He decided that waiting for God to fulfill his promise of giving him a son needed some human intervention, so he sired a child with his hand maid. Her descendants are still at war with the children of the promise, and we cannot turn on the news without hearing about it. One guy a few thousand years ago stepped outside his marriage in a culturally acceptable way with his wife's blessing, and millennia of bloodshed ensued.

If only I could keep that perspective when tempted.

2. Sometimes you have to throw someone overboard for the good of the ship.  The sailors didn't want to throw Jonah overboard.  They did everything they could to solve the problem in their own strength before they threw him over, but it wasn't until they tossed him in that the storm stopped.

Jonah knew it had to happen.  He is the one who told them to do it.

I'm trying to imagine being one of these sailors. Hearing this runaway prophet tell me that the only way to survive the storm is to throw him in the ocean, would have perplexed me. On one hand I'd doubt his credibility. Here he is claiming divine knowledge about how to solve the problem, when clearly his deity is not pleased with him. But after I threw him in and it worked, I'd probably wish that I had listened to him sooner, because I would still have some of the cargo that I had thrown in before him.

There may come a time, when you and I have to decide to let someone go, for the good of the ship. Maybe that will be in our personal life, or in a business or ministry setting.  We may not be able to continue in the direction we need to go with them on board. We may feel horrible about it (and we should), but God will take care of them, we have a responsibility to the rest of the crew, to the mission, to the people that entrusted us with their cargo. Usually this just means making decisions that will cause them to jump over board (quit the job, storm out vowing never to speak to you, find a new church etc.)   But sometimes more extreme circumstances call for more extreme measures.  For all of his insight into the problem, Jonah wasn't jumping overboard, he waited to be thrown, knowing he was putting lives, and the mission of the ship, in danger.  Proverbs says "drive out the scoffer and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease.  We see similar ideas as we read 1st Corinthians 5 or Joshua 7.

What do you think?  Am I reading too much into this? 

I have a post on the importance of unity going up tomorrow. That will probably make it look like I disagree with myself (again).  So tune back in tomorrow then let's talk. I would love to discuss this further.

DISCLAIMER:  This thought is not complete, and it is important to note, before letting todays thought simmer, that there is a well outlined plan for how to deal with someone who may need to be thrown overboard in Matthew 18 as well as serious restrictions on when to do it found throughout scripture.  Just like the sailors did not take tossing Jonah overboard lightly, this should only be done with extreme caution under extreme circumstances.

Sometimes I Get It Wrong

This is a retraction. In my post on Forgiveness I said, "He didn't forgive me until I repented". That was wrong. The truth is that it is by grace we are saved through faith. Not of ourselves, so that no one can boast. We don't clean up our act then come to Jesus. We come to Jesus and he cleans us up. He does the justifying. There is no excuse for what I wrote.

My erroneous blog was a failed attempt to discuss what James talks about. "Faith without actions is dead." Whether or not we are forgiven by God is a matter of His grace, but we are challenged to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. To examine ourselves. If we are not repentant, we can see that our "faith" is "without deeds" and must ask ourselves, "can such faith save us?" We can also apply this standard to those around us. It is what keeps us from throwing our pearls to pigs.

Dan, the friend who brought my error to my attention, said that what I was trying to address is a matter of stewardship not forgiveness. It is poor Stewardship to give someone you wallet when they have a history of stealing, until, through their actions, they have shown evidence of faith changing their hearts. We offer forgiveness over and over, and love them through the circumstances.

But stewardship is not forgiveness.

So my post was wrong. Very wrong.

Forgiveness is freely given. God's love compels me to repent, because I've been forgiven.

The issue at the heart of the post was that actions have consequences, regardless of what we want or what we say. If we have sinned and want to change how people react to us we must demonstrate our faith and the forgiveness we have freely received through repentance. I have observed, and was reacting too, people who say that they are sorry and expect it to restore the relationship that was damaged, without any repentance, who expect that I will treat them differently without having any intention if changing their behavior. To paraphrase James, "can such an apology reconcile you?"

I wish I could tell you that the terrible theology in my previous post was just a knee jerk reaction to circumstances, but I would be lying. Truth is, I posted it, then took it down, worked on it more, then reposted, without ever catching the serious error in my theology. This is why I am so grateful for the body of Christ, and for a friend willing to comment and to hold me accountable. This is the heart of Moving and Re-Thinking, sharing my thoughts and experiences publicly so that others can comment and help me refine my thinking, so that I can continue to move toward Christlikeness.

This was not the first time I've been wrong, and it won't be the last. I look forward to learning from more of you as we continue to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Forgiveness

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Please see the post "Sometimes I get it Wrong" where I address the bad theology that I used when writing this post.  I left this post up, not because I am proud of it, but because I want my blog to have a record that I need to be and can be corrected, and I appreciate the people who have taken the time to correct me and instruct me.

I've heard quite often that forgiveness should not depend on whether or not the other person is ‘sorry’.  I don't believe that.

Truth is I don't put much stock in 'sorry'...
To most folk, 'sorry' just means, 'I feel bad'.
That kind of sorry is selfish.

Forgiveness requires repentance.
To repent means to turn and walk in the opposite direction.

I say this knowing that the idea of 'forgiveness without repentance' has become deeply ingrained in Christian culture. Over 30+ years of church life, many a well meaning person has admonished me to forgive people who have not asked for my forgiveness, or demonstrated an iota of repentance. Many a Christian has asked me to forgive them, without accepting responsibility for their actions or changing their direction.  Multiple songs that are currently very popular in Christian music preach the idea that when it comes to forgiveness, "It doesn't matter if they're sorry or not".

I say this knowing that many will take umbrage with my point of view. I'm probably holding a minority view point. You might think that I am bitter, might even say that my opinion is divisive.

But my objective is to follow what Christ taught, not what most people think He taught.

Jesus loved His enemies. So do I.

He prayed for those who persecuted Him. So do I.

He was willing to go to any length to reconcile man and God, and He gave me a ministry of reconciliation. I take that ministry very seriously.

He died for me before I repented

But… He didn't forgive me until I repented.

His gift of love, His sacrifice on the cross, forgiveness of sins, is freely given.
Salvation is by grace through faith.
Receiving the benefits of that salvation requires repentance.

I want to follow the pattern that He set.
That doesn't mean that I don't love my enemies, it doesn't mean that I am bitter, and it doesn't mean that I am holding a record of wrongs.

It means that before I trust you with my wallet, you had better stop stealing from me.

Before I will treat you like I treated you before you sinned against me that you must repent.
Until then there are consequences to your actions.

This is how I forgive those who have trespassed against me.
This is the measure that I hope you will use when I sin against you.

I am willing to forgive. I'm not interested in holding grudges. I am not bitter or upset. But until you stop stealing from me, I'm not going to give you my wallet. No matter how badly it makes you feel that I don't trust you, I'm not going to treat you like everything is okay until you repent. Until you come to the place where you recognize that your behavior is responsible for the damage to our relationship, the relationship will not be repaired.

Until then, love covers over a multitude of sins.

Love is what compels me to feed my enemy when he is hungry, and to give him a drink when he is thirsty.

Forgiveness may be dependent on repentance, but love is a gift freely given.

Maybe We Need a Little Controversy

Once again Carey says what's on my mind in ways I can't. 

http://careynieuwhof.com/2012/12/why-you-should-create-discontent-in-your-organization/

I only wish I had learned his suggestions for how to do this in an edifying way 2 years ago.

For anyone who may have been hurt by the way I went about leading, I sincerly appologize.  This was my heart.

Why I Blog

So I've been blogging away for about a year and a half, and I thought it might be a good time to go back and take a look at why I blog.

It is good to go back and reevaluate yourself. That is after all one of the principles I advocate here.

My "tag line" says that this blog is, "A place to share my experiences (be they failures or successes) as I try to be a part of the Kingdom of God in tangible ways, and a place where I can get input from anyone who is interested in giving it!"

So as far as a place to share my experiences, I think Moving and Re-Thinking has been a success.  My blog posts are focused on my experiences.  As far as a place where I can get feedback... Well not so much...

I titled the Blog "Moving and Re-Thinking".  I named it this because want to from where I am toward something better, and I want to share that experience with anyone who cares to read about it.

I am not trying to say, "Your doing it wrong". 
I am trying to say, "I just learned this, it's pretty amazing to me, thought you might be interested".

Moving: - According to Websters 'moving' can mean "of or relating to a change" or "stirring deeply in a way that evokes a strong emotional response".  Everything I post here is posted because it challenges me to think or behave differently.  As someone whose spiritual gift set is leadership, the things that challenge me are often related to the way that the Body of Christ works together.

Re-Thinking: - I picked this word after being challenged at the Orange conference.  Romans 12:2 tells us that we need to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds" to put in simply, our thinking needs to change.  The idea of "renewing" to me, implies a consistent long term process, not a single event.  Not a switch that gets flipped when we 'get saved', but a series of changes, as we become more like Christ.  Just think about how the Disciples thinking must have changed as they moved from the cultural faith and religion of the pharisees, to the teachings of Jesus, to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to the Missionary work of taking the Gospel to different cultures at the ends of the earth.

So as you read my blog keep these things in mind. 

1. I am sharing the things that influence or challenge me.
2. I want feed back.
3. I intend to post things that will "evoke a strong emotional response" - so my hope is that you will strongly agree or disagree. (and give me your feedback...)
4. My goal is to present not just my own ideas, but the thoughts of Spirit inspired people who are moving and re-thinking, and the scripture that challenges me to move and/or re-think.
5. I hope that sharing the things that have influenced me to change my thinking will inspire you to Re-Think your assumptions. 

As you read this blog, please understand that my intention is not to persuade or to criticize, but to spur you on toward personal re-evaluation, and ultimately love and good deeds.  You may re-evaluate, you may change, or you may come to the same conclusion. My hope is that you will have been inspired reflect on why you think what you think.

One final note.  I am not going to be posting this blog to facebook for a time (though you can still feel free to do so if you are so inclined). If you want to keep reading, you'll have to check it out on purpose, or you'll need to "Follow" the blog.  If you follow you'll get an e-mail when I post something.  So you'll be asked for some basic information by Blogger.

Timing is Everything

God's timing that is...

I have an agenda, a schedule, a calendar.  I used to have a 5 year plan, even a 10 year plan...

God has an agenda too.  I use to think that all I had to do was have Godly priorities and everything would work out fine, but the more I walk through life, and the better I get to know His heart, I am realizing that my desires aren't the problem, my agenda is.

I think I am trying to say that, "God and I have the same end in mind, we just have vastly different ideas about how to get there."

I've often wondered why I didn't get a "calling".  Honestly I grew up expecting that if I just got to know Him well enough, "it" would happen.  I'd mystically understand to the very core of my being what I was created to do.

But calling doesn't always come from a "God called Abram" moment, or from a "And the voice from heaven saying..." experience.  I thought the goal was to quietly go about my business, and wait for someone to say "Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men." 

The more I get to know God the more I understand calling in terms of Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is, that which is good perfect and pleasing to Him."

The more I get to know God the more I understand calling in terms of Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

I will find a job that meets my needs, so that I won't become a burden or a thief, but also one doesn't lead me to such abundance that forget my dependence on God. 

I will learn what I need to know to further God's kingdom, not to fatten my wallet. 

I will pursue work and education with excellence, but never so much so that I don't have time for the work of God's kingdom.

I won't borrow to get where I think God wants me to be now, because God said that the borrower is slave to the lender, and I don't want any master but Him. Instead I will find a way to accomplish God's goals according to God's methods, not according to my own.

That is the Re-Think moment.  Pursue God's goals according to God's methods.  His kingdom according to His righteousness. 

Trust that God doesn't just plan the ends, He also plans the means. 

Listen for the voice behind you that says "this is the way, walk in it".

Let His word be "a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path", even if there is only enough light to see one step at a time...

Because God's timing is perfect.

A checklist for leaders.

Below is part of a recent Blog Post by Carey Nieuwhof.  You can read more from him here:
http://careynieuwhof.com/2012/11/a-critical-question-that-could-transform-your-leadership-style/

Carey Writes: "Here’s the question I’ve begun asking over the last few years. It’s become almost an all consuming question.
 
Are people better as a result of working with me?
 
Here are some ways to gauge whether the people around you are better off as a result of working alongside you or ‘for’ you:

• Have they grown spiritually?
• Has their leadership ability increased?
• Has their character developed and deepened?
• Are they closer to God?
• Are they better people?
• Have they accomplished significant things in the course of serving?
• Do they have a keen sense that God is using them to make a difference?
• Are their families glad they signed up?
• Do they feel more fulfilled?

The question doesn’t drive nearly as much toward whether it’s easy, but it does drive toward whether it’s worth it. Is it worth it to have given as much as I’ve given? Is it worth it to have devoted my best talents, energies and resources toward this cause?
 
If you can create a leadership culture like that, you will have truly led a great organization. Not everyone will stay forever, but they will have been better for having said “yes” when you ask.
 
What are you learning in this area? What might you add to the list of ways to ensure people are better for working with you? Is there a better way to frame the question?"

Again all of the above was written by Carey Nieuwhof - Read the entire post here:
http://careynieuwhof.com/2012/11/a-critical-question-that-could-transform-your-leadership-style/