A scrap of road
Flung upon a prairie
Ending
Starting.
After-man stops
And looks, wondering
Where from?
Where to?
Someone made it
Wanted it to last
Why?
How?
Someone used it
Followed it to finish
Something
Somehow.
Somewhere needed it
Gave it purpose, ending
Gone.
Lost.
“You know why I wanted to talk to you today?” said Jim. His intonation indicated a question, but Emily Wall, Rev. Emily Wall, knew she was expected to know.
“Yes, sir,” she said.
Jim Evans, district superintendent looked across at the young lady on the other side of his desk. She had no right to look so calm and poised, even comfortable, under the circumstances. Truth be told, he felt a little intimidated by her. That PhD in New Testament from a prestigious university along with her intelligence and self-possession just seemed out of place in someone so young.
“You can call me Jim,” he said. He’d said that many times before, but she was always a little formal with her superiors in the church organization.
“Yes, Jim, I do understand.”
Jim wondered why he felt that there was hostility in the atmosphere of the room. Emily seemed calm and was not challenging his authority in any way, yet he felt challenged. “Your church is going to ask that you not be reappointed, but they’ve asked me to talk to you first, before they make this official. This is entirely informal.”
Jim waited for Emily to say something, but she simply sat there. Why couldn’t she take her cue? It was time for her to ask what she needed to do, how she could be reverse the decision of the SPR committee.
“Well,” he said after a few moments, “your evaluation by the members of your congregation is not good. The members say that you’re arrogant, pushy, and, worst of all, lazy.” Jim thought he sensed a little bit of a reaction on the last word, but he wasn’t sure. She still looked peaceful. Again, she didn’t react.
“Do you have any response to those comments?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t believe I’ve been any of those things. I’ve been given a number of complaints, but I’d rather hear more specifics. Why do they think I’m arrogant?”
This is a work of fiction. All persons, places, churches, and events are products of my imagination.
Copyright © 2011, Henry E. Neufeld
“Well, they mention here your emphasis on your doctoral degree. ‘Throwing it in our faces,’ is one comment.”
“But I haven’t made anything of my doctorate. Other than my resume, where it’s kind of required, I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it at all.”
“But it’s on the church sign.”
“Yes, but it was put there without my permission, and I’ve asked to have it removed. In fact, I was promised it would be, but it just has never happened. It’s possible that I got a bit pushy about getting it removed.”
Jim grinned at her reference to the second complaint. He wasn’t surprised. He’d never heard her say anything about her degree either. It was there. She’d done it. She was, in fact, brilliant. But you’d never know about it unless you read the actual record. “OK, I see that.”
“Actually,” Emily continued, volunteering something for the first time, “I asked that they remove my name from the sign entirely. I don’t see any need for my name on the sign. What does that accomplish? And the way it is now just looks pretentious: ‘Rev. Dr. Emily Wall, PhD, Senior Pastor?’ That’s … I don’t have a word for it. It makes me shudder every time I see it. I’m the only pastor, so I suppose I’m ‘senior’ but Reverend Doctor?” She’d showed an emotion other than calm for the first time in the conversation.
“They’re proud of their pastor,” said Jim.
“Yet they want to get rid of her.”
“Well, not precisely. They want to make an arrangement to work with you. But before we look at that, let’s look a bit more at why they say you’re pushy. It’s not just about the sign. They say you have asked every mission committee meeting what they’re going to do to be missionaries before the next meeting.”
“Yes, I ask that.”
“Every meeting?”
“Yes.”
“But why approach it that way?”
“Because they aren’t doing anything to be missionaries between meetings. The mission committee meets to distribute the mission budget money to various causes. Then they talk about how they can raise more money. Sometimes they come up with ideas, but they never implement them. But more importantly, they don’t actually do anything. They want to give away a little money, but they don’t want to get involved.”
“Well, perhaps that’s their role. Not everyone can go.”
“I think everyone can do something. I think everyone should do something. There are dozens of projects that could be undertaken within a couple of miles of the church.”
“But couldn’t you come up with a more gentle and tactful way of bringing it up?”
“I tried tact. My predecessor tried tact. So did his. I wanted to get their attention.”
“You did, but not in a good way.”
“Why do you say it’s not a good way?”
“Because they’re going to ask not to have you appointed again. You can’t do any good at all if you’re gone.”
“Perhaps I’ll do some good somewhere else.”
“I don’t think I like that dismissive attitude.”
“I didn’t mean to be dismissive. It’s important to me to try to get the members of the church to be disciples, and I believe that means being missionaries, whether it’s down the block or around the world. If doing so offends them, I’ll have to live with that. I don’t want to come up on judgment day and have Jesus ask me whether I ever told them they were called to be missionaries.”
“I see. I do think you could find a better way to do it. But let’s go on to the next issue. They think you’re lazy. Do you know why they think that?”
“Yes, that one I do know. I only preached at two services in the last two months.”
“That’s what the lay leader told me, but I wasn’t sure whether I should believe it. Why didn’t you preach those Sundays? Were you sick?”
“No, I wasn’t sick, and I was right there in the congregation. I had lay speakers preach on those Sunday mornings.”
“Lay speakers.” Jim paused. “I know you’ve really pushed lay speaking in your church, but if I had known that was happening earlier, I would have put a stop to it. You’re expected to be in the pulpit regularly on Sunday morning.”
“I think that’s wrong.”
“Wrong? It’s our standard practice.”
“The standard practice is wrong.” He was amazed that it didn’t sound arrogant. The conviction behind the sentence seemed to be beyond arrogance–absolute conviction. Then she continued. “When I arrived at that church there was only one lay speaker, and he had never spoken at anything. I arranged to have him preach for the first time. His training was not really that good, and I spent hours helping him with his sermon. He did very well. Now we have half a dozen lay speakers. That first lay speaker is now working full time at another church.”
“Where? I didn’t know that!”
“It’s a small non-denominational church, but it has doubled in membership since he started preaching there. I think they’re going to ordain him.”
“So it’s not a Methodist church then. You know we didn’t lay hands on you so you could send members to other churches. Your job is to build the church to which you’re assigned.”
“My job? Perhaps. But my call is to make disciples. My call is to equip the church for ministry. That man was ready to go out and serve. He just needed the confidence and a push. He needed someone to recognize what God had gifted him and called him to do.”
“But what about those other lay speakers. Do you have to have them preaching all that often? Perhaps you could have a lay revival every year and give them the chance to learn.”
“I don’t think that would be enough. To learn to preach the gospel you need to preach the gospel. Where better to learn than in your home church?”
“But what about the ministry to your own members. I got a separate letter from one of your church members. He brought a business associate to visit the church, and a lay speaker preached. He had hoped to have the man hear one of your sermons. Don’t you think the impression you make on visitors is important?”
“Yes, I think it’s important. But the impression I want to give is not of my intelligence or my speaking ability, but of my commitment to Christ.”
“Of course we want them to see your commitment to Christ. We want you and the church to be committed to Christ. But people don’t necessarily look at the things we want them to see. The church member who wrote the letter hoped his friend, a prominent businessman, would join the church. But he wasn’t interested in hearing lay speakers.”
“Again, I believe my job is to equip the church, the whole church for ministry. To do that I need ministry for them to do. For those called to preach, I need to give them the opportunity.”
“But you’re talking about working yourself out of a job. If the pastor isn’t in the pulpit, the people won’t think she is needed.”
“I’d love not to be needed in that sense, but I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon. I’ve spent more time with each of those lay speakers before they preached than I would spend preparing my own sermon.”
“But the one thing the people really like about you is your preaching. Yet that’s precisely what you won’t give them. What do you expect them to do?”
“I expect them to get into ministry themselves. In evaluating myself, I would not rate my preaching as all that effective. I entertain people. I’m good at fashioning a speech that they like, but I’m not that good at getting people moving.”
“Well, you do have your fans. I know the district coordinator for lay speakers thinks you’re one of the greatest. He wants to make sure you’re reappointed somewhere in the district so he can use you at training events.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t have many fans at the church.”
“So why didn’t they just recommend I not be reappointed?”
“I think they’re rather proud to have a 26 year old pastor who has a PhD from a prestigious university. That’s probably why they put so much emphasis on the sign.”
“But it’s the wrong reason for them to want to keep a pastor.”
“You may have to work with whatever reason they have.”
Again, there was an awkward pause as Emily didn’t offer any further thoughts.
“What they’ve proposed is a covenant for next year.”
“I believe I’ve seen this.”
“Well, there are several major points. First, they want you to preach 48 out of the 52 Sundays during the coming year. I believe this is quite reasonable. I’ve known pastors to commit to 50.”
Again Emily added nothing.
“They want you to commit to personally doing all the hospital visitation. They want additional church office hours.”
“But they don’t make use of the hours I am present.”
“Nonetheless they want more hours. What are you doing with your time anyhow? You’re not preaching, you’re not doing visitation, you’re apparently not in your office. What do you do?”
“Well, it’s not true that I don’t do visitation. What I have been doing is taking gifted church members with me and then letting them do visitation on their own. I’m often not in the office because I’m doing some of those mission projects that I want the members to get involved in.”
“But I thought you couldn’t get the church involved in those missions.”
“No, I couldn’t get the mission committee involved. I have church members out serving in the community every day, and I work with them.”
“So you do it without the approval of the mission committee.”
“I don’t think I need the committee to approve my going to a soup kitchen with a few members and serving people.”
“But the mission committee probably thinks you need their approval.”
“Did they complain?”
“No.”
“They wouldn’t.”
“Yes,” said Jim after a moment. “That wouldn’t fit with the pattern.”
“Why haven’t I heard from any of these other members, you know, the ones who are out doing service projects with you?”
“I think it might be because they’re busy doing things. And they’re not really all that knowledgeable about church politics. Some of them may not even know one can complain to the district superintendent.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter a great deal. The people who have the power are the ones who are complaining and they’re demanding that you sign this covenant they’ve proposed or they’re going to ask that you not be reappointed.”
“I see.”
“I think it’s your best option. We need you where you are. That church needs you. The only way you can continue in the ministry God has called you to is to accept these conditions.”
“So in order to be permitted to do ministry I have to agree not to do it?”
“I wouldn’t put it like that. I’d suggest that you take a little more time. Work more slowly and carefully.”
“Pastors have been doing that for years. It hasn’t worked.”
“It’s the only option.”
“But that’s not true, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“The bishop can appoint me where he wants me. He can go against the church’s recommendation.”
“Is that what you’re expecting?”
“I’m not really expecting anything. I’m just pointing out that the SPR committee of that one church doesn’t have the final say.”
“I’ll tell you not to expect it. Your choice is clear. Sign the covenant, or plan to be reappointed elsewhere, probably to a smaller church.”
He pushed the document across the desk toward her …
“Hey guys, I have this quote from Albert Mohler about evolution,” said Bob.
“So let’s hear it,” said Mac.
Bob quoted:
As I have stated repeatedly, I accept without hesitation the fact that the world indeed looks old. Armed with naturalistic assumptions, I would almost assuredly come to the same conclusions as BioLogos and the evolutionary establishment, or I would at least find evolutionary arguments credible. But the most basic issue is, and has always been, that of worldview and basic presuppositions. The entire intellectual enterprise of evolution is based on naturalistic assumptions, and I do not share those presuppositions. Indeed, the entire enterprise of Christianity is based on supernaturalistic, rather than merely naturalistic, assumptions. There is absolutely no reason that a Christian theologian should accept the uniformitarian assumptions of evolution. In fact, given a plain reading of Scripture, there is every reason that Christians should reject a uniformitarian presupposition. The Bible itself offers a very different understanding of natural phenomena, with explanations that should be compelling to believers. In sum, there is every reason for Christians to view the appearance of the cosmos as graphic evidence of the ravages of sin and the catastrophic nature of God’s judgment upon sin. (Quote of the Day on Jesus Needs New PR – while this story is fiction, the quote is real, as is, of course, Dr. Albert Mohler!)
“It seems pretty unremarkable to me,” said Jerry.
“It sounds to me like he’s saying God lied and we can’t really do science,” said Mark.
“How is that?” asked Jerry.
“If God makes the universe appear old, but it isn’t, what’s the purpose? It seems deceptive.”
“Maybe he’s testing our faith,” said Justine.
“Testing your faith?” asked Bob, puzzled.
“Yes. He’s trying to see if we’ll believe him or not.”
“But Justine,” said Mark, “it seems that he’s asking us whether we believe him or our senses.”
“I’d say it’s more like a test as to whether you believe an ancient book written by primitive people, or the best evidence of your own senses,” put in Mac.
“It seems to me,” said Jerry slowly, “that we’re making an assumption here. Why would God need to make the physical universe at any particular time in its history? Why is the default position that it should look its actual age?”
“Why not make the universe look just the age it is?” asked Mark.
This is a work of fiction. All persons and events, with the exception of the reference to and quote from Dr. Albert Mohler, are products of my imagination.
The story is part of the God-Talk Club Series.
Copyright © 2011, Henry E. Neufeld
“Well, lets say God created more people than just humans here on earth. Let’s say he also creates an intelligent race on a planet that orbits a sun a couple of billion light years from here. If he made the universe look like it was just 6,000 years old, the distance would have to be very small. So I would think the universe needs to have the appearance of age in order to accommodate the space for all of God’s creation.”
“But how would that work with oil and coal? Those imply that there was death, whereas in your scenario, God wouldn’t have created life that early. Yet he plants the remains of life under the soil so we’ll see evidence that there was life way back then.”
“Well, he had to provide oil somehow,” said Jerry. “Why do you choose one method over another?”
“I don’t suppose we could be wrong about what formed the oil, could we?” said Justine, cutting Jerry off.
“I was about to say,” Jerry continued, “that an alternative explanation there was that geological formations were created by the flood, so, as Justine says, oil might have been produced in a different way than modern scientists believe.”
Bob was shaking his head. “This is just amazing. All of science is swept aside because your book must be true! Unbelievable!”
“I bet Mandy doesn’t have any problems with it at all. Do you, Mandy?” said Mac.
“No, I don’t. I have no problem with God using evolution to create and diversity life.”
“Well, technically, evolution isn’t the process that creates life. That’s abiogenesis,” said Mac.
“On the contrary,” said Bob, “while the processes may be somewhat different, some of the same principles of variation plus selection may well apply. We just don’t know precisely–or even generally–how it works.”
“Yet you believe it happened,” said Jerry, looking puzzled. “Why is that?”
“It seems pretty clear to me,” said Bob. “There’s life. It must have gotten here somehow. We have a number of excellent leads, so it’s not unreasonable to suppose one or another will work out.”
“That seems to me to be a rather incredible statement of faith.”
“I suppose you drive a car,” Bob responded.
“Yes, I do. But don’t try comparing the way a car works to theories of abiogenesis.”
“No, that isn’t my point. Is it faith that makes you believe your car will run?”
“No, I know how the car works, and it has worked before.”
“Precisely! I know how science works. In one area after another ignorance has been displaced by leads and ideas, and then finally to explanations. I believe it will work this way too. You call that faith. I call it learning from experience.”
“But you still trust science. Scientists have been wrong so many times. Why do you think you have it right now?” This came from Justine.
“Oh, I have no doubt that,” said Bob. “I’m wrong about many things. What I do know is that science has successfully solved problems and come up with new information. And many of those ‘wrong’ answers were quite workable in their context. Newtonian physics handles quite a lot of problems even if we do know its limitations now.”
“I want to get back to an earlier point,” said Jerry. “I still maintain that Bob’s statement is a statement of faith. He believes in science. He believes it can solve everything. I can solve many problems on my calculator, but no matter how many I solve, it doesn’t mean I can solve everything. Science can solve many puzzles, but that doesn’t mean it can solve everything.”
“But the problems you can’t solve with your calculator are of a different nature than the ones you can,” said Bob. “I think the origin of life is a similar problem to the ones we have already solved. I see no reason why it cannot be solved as well.”
“To me the creation of life is a very different problem from birth even of new species,” said Jerry. “But I also want to go back to an earlier point that Mark made. Mark, why would you say that Dr. Mohler’s statement makes science impossible. Certainly many people who believe as he does do carry out scientific research.”
“One consistent thing about people is that they are inconsistent,” said Mandy.
“Let Mark answer,” said Jerry.
“If God lied in one area–the appearance of age–then how can we trust anything else. He could have set up the evidence to mislead us intentionally.” Mark looked thoughtful and troubled.
“I don’t see how God is lying,” said Jerry. “We’re misinterpreting the data.”
“But it seems to me that God is intentionally making us misinterpret the data. God could quite easily create the universe 12 or 13 million years ago and then create life now. Then it would be what it appeared to be. I just don’t like the idea that God is making it impossible for us to use our senses.”
“But Dr. Mohler argues that some of this is the result of sin,” said Justine. “The universe is messed up because of sin. That’s why we can’t interpret it correctly.”
“Or even more,” Bob added, “because we’re sinful we can’t interpret the data correctly.”
“But what does sin have to do with the appearance of age?” asked Mandy.
“The flood is certainly a result of sin according to the Bible,” said Jerry. “If it produced the appearance of age in the rocks, that appearance would be a result of sin.”
“Well, scientifically, the idea that a worldwide flood created the oilfields and coal deposits is quite ludicrous,” said Bob.
“You’re sure that’s not something that will be revised,” said Justine.
“In general, revisions of scientific theories don’t involve completely invalidating well established laws,” said Bob. “They usually result in adjusting or refining. No, I don’t find it likely that science will be revised sufficiently to allow a worldwide flood to explain geological features such as oil fields.”
There was a pause. “What I don’t understand, Mandy,” Bob continued, “is how you can stomach being associated with someone like Dr. Mohler, when you know what he’s said is nonsense.”
“I have the same problem,” said Mark.
“I don’t think what he said is nonsense. I disagree. I’m not embarrassed to call him a brother in Christ. That may not mean that much to you, Bob, but I think Jerry and Justine can understand what I’m saying. I don’t agree with his comment about naturalistic assumptions, because I believe in God, I think as much as he does. But I can disagree, even vehemently disagree, without despising.”
“I guess we’ll have to discuss ‘naturalistic assumptions’ some other time,” said Jerry. “I don’t see how you get away from them.”
“I have no problem with science sticking with naturalistic assumptions. If they didn’t, what would theologians have to do?” Mandy was grinning.
But it was time for the group to part for the evening.
Welcome to the January 12, 2011 edition of the Christian Carnival. Submissions are light, so I’m including a couple that are slightly out of the date range. Don’t count on that in the future.
Jim Edwards presents Improving Organisms posted at EverydayChristianFamily.com, in which his plan is to debunk evolution. It’s the most controversial post in the carnival and I think I may take a pass at it from one of my other blogs. OK folks, it’s nice to get all these devotional posts, but a few more posts to argue with might help build the carnival!
Robert Cornwall is writing a series of posts reviewing and responding to the book American grace. I love this type of series, because it does more than tell us what the book is about and whether the reviewer liked it. It gives us a taste and engages with the contents. The post is Faith without Fanticism — America’s Creed posted at Ponderings on a Faith Journey. You’ll find out some interesting things about religion in America by reading this series.
For the new year, W2W has a new challenge that will require a significant commitment over the next 365 days. Starting on January 10, 2011, they are inviting their readers to read the Bible, cover to cover, in one year. There are many plans for reading the Bible in one year, and I’m glad! These various ideas are good for people who have already read the Bible through because they give you some new options. For those who haven’t read the Bible through, each new approach or new challenge gives them an opportunity to start. Kaleb provides the details in Bible in One Year Challenge posted at W2W Soul: Windows to The Woman’s Soul.
Continuing the theme of reading the Bible in a year, with multiple plans, some unique, Barry Wallace presents A vast array of Bible reading plans for 2011 posted at who am i?.
Annette is also following a Bible reading plan, and she gives us some thoughts from her reading for January 10 in God acts, God promises posted at Fish and Cans.
My own contribution is in the same area of Bible reading, Approaches to Bible Reading from my Participatory Bible Study Blog. This goes through some of the different approaches to and attitudes about reading the Bible. I think it goes well with all the discussion of Bible year plans.
Weekend Fisher wonders if it’s possible for a person to be an epistle from God. In Mary of Bethany, Doctor of the Lilies of the Field posted at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength, she concludes that the Bible says yes. But where does that leave us?
From the financial blogs, we have a great deal about being rich. And no, it’s not about how wonderful it is!
Joe Plemon presents a post enticingly titled Can Rich People Get to Heaven? posted at Personal Finance By The Book. Before you think you know the answer, I should tell you he’s going to mess with your concept of “rich” and maybe even of getting into heaven!
Most people think they would be happier if they just had a bit more money. FMF suggests otherwise in Prosperity, The Sneaky Side of Discontent, Part 2 posted at Free Money Finance. In fact, prosperity could be dangerous. Just what would really make you happy?
He doesn’t connect it to being rich, but since we’ve already had discussion of whether a rich person can get into heaven, we’ll include this in this category. Khaleef @ KNS Financial says that Hell is a place that is described in detail throughout the Bible. His challenge is that we find out what Hell is, and who will be there! He does this in Hell posted at Faithful With A Few. The text is taken from James Smith and was written in 1858.
Next we turn to missions….
What are you afraid of? Nikoya Johnson presents If You Jump, You Might Live! posted at Developmental
Increase, looking at how to develop destiny driven faith based techniques.
Prince of Thrift has created a new blog, Missionary Notes, which has the purpose of bringing missionary newsletters to a wider audience. The most recent post (at the moment) is Guatemala Newsletter. He tells us that email updates from various missionaries from around the globe will be posted there. The latest is an update from the Potters who are missionaries in Guatemala. The blog currently has 3 missionaries sending us updates and they are looking for a total of 15 to 20.
Michelle is whether we’re going to be safe and avoid the world’s problems or brave and go out and deal with them. Her post is Safe or Brave? posted at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus….
Some people see prayer not as spirituality, but as a sort of thing that you do, perhaps from habit. Terry Denson suggests it should be a spiritual activity in The Truth About Spirituality and Prayer posted at Theology Degrees.
While a career as a clergy member may be the first thing most people think of when determining how to use a bible college degree, this isn’t the only path you could follow. Kelly Davis presents Most Popular Careers for Bible College Graduates posted at A Blog of Biblical Proportions.
Jeremy Pierce presents some observations on Supreme Court Religion Cases posted at Parableman. He’s been listening to some old recordings, and a good bit of this is of linguistic as well as legal interest. Can Bible reading bring about a riot? Read and find out!
My wife wrote Broken for a Time, not forever at Jody Along the Path. It was already in another carnival, but I think it’s worth a link here as well. Our brokenness is indeed not forever.
That concludes this edition of the Christian Carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
“Arise! Shine! Your light has come! [Isaiah 60:1] Bah!” said the man with the white hair and long beard.1
“So you didn’t really like what the prophet said,” answered the other, somewhat younger man.
“Oh, the words were pretty. He’s a good talker, no doubt. But what do you think?” He looked down the road. It led to Jerusalem, where the temple was rebuilt–sort of–but where there were no walls. But there were enough ruins. Yes, plenty of those, telling the story of better days.
The younger man watched the other’s eyes and saw his thoughts reflected there. “But you know, the prophet stood amongst those ruins and made his proclamation. ‘Your light has come!’ Did your spirit not stir within you?”
“Oh, I think my spirit is past stirring. My spirit stirred when Sheshbazzar [Ezra 1] called for people to leave Babylon and return and rebuild Jerusalem. Oh, those were the days! We had pictures in our heads, beautiful pictures of what Jerusalem would look like, what the new temple would look like.”
This is a work of fiction, based on the texts cited in square brackets []. The characters and dialog are my own invention. Copyright © 2011, Henry E. Neufeld.
“I think the temple is beautiful now! It’s a sign of what can be.”
“Oh, but you should have heard the older people wail when they saw the new temple. ‘Nothing like Solomon’s temple,’ they said [Haggai 2:3]. And they were probably right. What do I know? But I thought like you do now. I thought we’d make it work. I thought we’d soon have the city rebuilt.”
“But we’ve come a long way! We can rebuild!”
“Bah! You young’uns. Wait till you’ve lived as long as I have and see how little things have changed.”
“So what should we do?”
“We stay and we work. What else can we do? Do you have the money to move back to Babylon?”
“I’ve never seen Babylon. I wonder if it’s as good a place as some of you older folks say.”
“It’s better.”
“Better? Than what?”
“Look around you.” His eyes wandered, pausing on the tumbled down stones of the gate that hadn’t been rebuilt, then moving to the scattered piles of rock that had once been part of the town wall. He looked at the dusty road, where trees should have been growing. He looked back toward the town where a few houses had been restored, and where he knew very little grain had been stored. ‘Caravans cover our roads? Wealth of the nations coming to us [Isaiah 60:6]?’ Trading for what? Buying what? ‘Nations come to our light?’ What light? We don’t have enough oil for our lamps. You tell me, what light?”
“But shouldn’t we believe God’s prophets?”
“Oh, we had prophets in the old days too. ‘You’re going home,’ they said. ‘God has decided this is enough [Isaiah 40:2],’ they said. And now look at us! Believe me, none of us who heard those words thought we’d be spending our old age starving in the ruins.”
“So what do we do?”
“What can we do?” He paused and looked into the distance. “Yes, what can we do?”
What do you think? Is the old man right or wrong based on what you know of history?
When you’ve considered that, ask yourself whether you see prophecies of the second coming of Jesus in the same way. Do you use the same arguments? Do you see any parallels?
1 This story is based on the idea of deutero- and trito-Isaiah, which would have a prophet preaching late in the Babylonian exile and another preaching to the exiles at some point during rebuilding. If you prefer, think instead of a reading from an existing scroll of Isaiah.
… at Keyboard Theologians. There’s quite a crop of posts to look at.
Next week’s carnival, CCCLXII, will be right here at the Jevlir Caravansary. I’m going to borrow some announcement text and instructions from Parableman:
The Christian Carnival is a weekly collection of some of the best posts of the Christian blogosphere. It’s open to Christians of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic convictions. One of the goals of this carnival is to offer our readers to a broad range of Christian thought. This is a great way to make your writing more well known and perhaps pick up some regular readers. For examples of past carnivals, see the Christian Carnival archive.
To enter is simple. First, your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are about home life, politics, or current events from a Christian point of view. Select only one post dated since the last Christian Carnival (i.e. from the last Wednesday through the coming Tuesday). Then do the following:You can use the Blog Carnival submission form, or you can send your submission to christiancarnivalsubmissions shift-2 gmail dotte com.Please submit only one post (per blog, per author) dated since the last Christian Carnival deadline, i.e. something posted since midnight EST Tuesday night, October 12 (5am GMT Wednesday, October 13) [If you are emailing your submission: if you are able to do so, please submit your information in Times New Roman 12pt font, preferably in plain text. The uniformity will save time for the host.]1. The name of your blog and a link to your main site. (Adding the name with a hyperlink would be a nice courtesy to the host.)2. The title of your post and the URL of the post. (Again, adding the title with a hyperlink would be helpful.)3. If you want a trackback, include a trackback link. (Tracking back is optional. Some hosts may oblige you; others may not have the time or ability.)4. Include a short (one- or two-sentence) description of the post. Your description may be edited by the host, but many hosts often use just what you give them. (So don’t say anything you wouldn’t want published.)The deadline for submissions is midnight EST Tuesday night, October 5 (4am GMT Wednesday, October 6). Be aware that hosts have the option of limiting the Christian Carnival to the first 40 (or 50) acceptable entries. (Most hosts do not do this, and most weeks do not have that many posts, but this is a good reason to enter early just in case. Hosts that limit the number of entries may not simply select their favorites but may just cut it off at a certain number, so you can’t rely on your post being good.)You can see the more extended instructions on post submissions here, and you can join the weekly reminder list for the Christian Carnival here. (Note: there was a previous announcement list for the Christian Carnival. That list is no longer usable. This one came into existence around the beginning of May 2007. If you have not joined such a list since then, you are not on the current announcement list.)Disclaimer: As the goal of this Carnival is to highlight Christian thought in the blogosphere, entries will be limited to blogs that share that goal. Posts strictly focused on matters unrelated to Christianity or from blogs with potentially offensive material that Christians may not want to link to may end up being rejected, but there are other carnivals that would be a more appropriate for such posts. Though this will be a judgment call on the part of the week’s host or the carnival’s organizers, and being human they may make mistakes, this is necessary given that the Christian Carnival is sometimes quite large, and it is sometimes questionable whether the entrants are seeking to promote Christian thought.
“So what’s your New Year’s resolution,” asked Ellen, looking at Mac.
“I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. Come to think of it, I don’t do resolutions at all. I figure I am who I am.”
“Let your yea be yea and your nay, nay,” intoned Jerry.
“Trying to make me into a Christian, Jerry?” asked Mac.
“No. Well, yes, but this wasn’t an example of it. It sounds to me like you’re living like that text.”
“Making a resolution just makes me tense. If I really decide to do it, I do it. Making it a resolution just makes it harder.”
“Well, I like to make resolutions,” said Ellen.
“I bet you keep them, too,” said Mandy.
“I do!” exclaimed Ellen, smiling. “How would you guess that?”
“You just seem like the sort of straightforward person who wouldn’t like resolutions if she didn’t keep them. You’re just too happy with the idea. It has to work for you.”
This is a work of fiction. All persons and events are products of my imagination. It’s part of the God-Talk Club series, where you can find a list of characters. Copyright © 2010, Henry E. Neufeld.
“Well, it does,” said Ellen. “But it sounds like not doing resolutions works for Mac as well.”
Mandy was always impressed by how easily Ellen dealt with differences. The group had ignored her as their waitress until she had kind of pushed her way into the discussion.
“I always try to get my church members to make resolutions and do so publicly, so that other members can hold them accountable,” said Justine.
“Whoa,” said Bob. “That sounds spooky!”
“What’s spooky about it?” asked Justine.
“Well, all that trying to control people’s lives. ‘Holding people accountable’ sounds a little authoritarian to me.”
“But nobody makes them do it,” said Justine, truly puzzled.
“I bet there’s a lot of social pressure. Emotional manipulation.”
“I don’t see that at all,” said Justine.
“What happens to a member who doesn’t make a public resolution?” asked Bob.
“Well, nothing. We don’t have some sort of punishments or anything.”
“Will the rest of your group look down on them if they don’t make a resolution?”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“So how to you encourage them. Do you call it a good thing to do?”
“Of course I do.”
“So if they don’t do it, then it’s a bad thing.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Well, at least not as good.”
“Well, true. I do think it’s better if they do.”
“So there’s social pressure to do it. They’ll be thinking that others will think less of them if they don’t make a resolution, make it public, and be ‘accountable’ as you say, to the church.”
“OK, yes, but I don’t see how that gets us to social pressure and manipulation.”
“But it seems obvious to me.”
“I think your problem, Bob, is that you’re making voluntary participation equivalent to manipulation.” Jerry joined the conversation for the first time.
“But there’s a thin line between social pressure and unfair force or manipulation, or even just plain controlling behavior.”
“But you don’t know that the people in Justine’s church behave that way.”
“No, but I do know that some churches are overly controlling. I think we should go out of our way to avoid that.”
“I’m sure it can go too far,” said Jerry. “But on the other hand, we could give up all forms of social control and accountability. Wouldn’t that also be bad?”
“Well, I think churches having less control would be a good thing.”
“But you don’t think all private associations are a bad thing, do you?” asked Mandy.
“Well, I really don’t think much of most organizations that try to control their members and ‘hold them accountable.’”
“You don’t like private organizations at all?” asked Mandy.
“Oh, I like private organizations. Groups of people who are like-minded on some issue or another. They work together because they like to.”
“But you assume my church members aren’t there because they like to be?” asked Justine.
“Oh I don’t assume that. But church membership is very important in American life. I think many people are there just because there is social pressure to be there.”
“In this part of the country I doubt that,” said Jerry.
“What about fraternities and sororities?” asked Ellen.
“I really don’t like them all that much. They pressure young men and women to follow a social norm rather than be themselves.”
“You’re no fun,” said Ellen. But she said it sweetly.
“How do you do that?” asked Bob.
“Do what?” said Ellen.
“You can put somebody down so very gently.”
“I didn’t know I was putting anyone down,” said Ellen.
“That’s probably it. You actually say it like you like me.”
“But I do like you,” said Ellen with a slightly puzzled frown.
“The thing about Ellen,” said Mac, “is that she’s easily the most genuine person in the room. She is just who she is.”
“But I think all of you are!” exclaimed Ellen.
Everybody laughed. Mac shrugged and lifted her hands, gesturing her surrender.
“But I’m still not comfortable with what Justine is doing,” said Mark. “I don’t think whatever we say should apply to churches more than any other group of people. But Justine’s ‘accountability’ thing still makes my skin crawl.”
“What about it is so bad?” asked Justine.
“Getting up in front of the church and making your resolution? Asking other church members to hold you accountable? These people might not be your friends. They might just be looking for gossip. Why would I want to make a real resolution in front of them?”
“Well, they’re supposed to be your family,” said Justine.
“That’s biblical,” added Jerry.
“But how does it work in practice?” asked Mark. “I suspect that many people do spread gossip about things they find out while they’re holding people accountable.”
“People do gossip. It’s a sin, but they do it anyhow.” Justine shrugged.
“So perhaps we should be careful how we do things in that case,” said Mandy.
“So you don’t like the idea either,” said Justine.
“No, I don’t really. I’d encourage people to make resolutions. I’d encourage them to find friends who can hold them accountable. But I’d suggest they do it with a few friends.”
“Well, I take seriously the idea that we’re the body of Christ. We’re even told to confess our faults one to another.”
“I just see that as potentially very dangerous considering we can’t be sure everyone in a particular church is following the same spirit.”
“Don’t you think the churches in New Testament times had similar problems?” asked Jerry.
Mandy paused a moment. “I suspect they did, but we don’t know precisely how they applied ideas like confessing faults one to another. Was it in a group setting with the whole church? Was it with a few trusted people? I don’t think we know.”
Jerry was intent. The New Testament church subject got his attention. “I’d suggest we do know. That’s why gossip is so high on the various lists of sins. They confessed to one another, and one of the things they held one another accountable about was gossip!”
“I’d suggest instead,” said Mandy, “that we don’t really know the details of how they dealt with these problems, and perhaps we should use some contemporary wisdom.”
“I’m with Mandy,” said Mark.
“Wow,” said Ellen. “I just ask whether people have made resolutions, and it becomes a philosophical debate! I thought it would be fun to compare notes.”
“OK, I’ll go with that,” said Bob. “Just because I don’t like the whole church thing doesn’t mean I don’t like resolutions. I have made a resolution to complete three scientific papers I’ve been working on and get them published this year.”
“Oh, thinking of moving up to the college or graduate school scene?” asked Jerry.
“And just how would it be ‘moving up’?” asked Bob.
“Isn’t that the normal career path?”
“Perhaps, but I think the place for science education in this country right now is at the high school level. I’m going to stay where I am, teaching kids about science.”
“So why do you want to publish those papers?” asked Jerry, genuinely puzzled.
“Professional development, contribution to science, and yes, a good bit of ego.”
“I can understand that,” said Ellen.
“So what’s your resolution?” asked Bob. “You started this!”
“My resolution is to read one serious book every week next year.”
“That’s a good one,” said Mandy.
“So what’s yours?” asked Ellen, looking at Mandy.
“I have resolved to start my doctoral studies online. I’m interested in technology education. I’ve been intending to start for a long time and just haven’t gotten around to it. Next year is the year.”
“What about you, Jerry?” asked Mandy after a short pause.
“I’ve determined to share my faith with at least one identifiable person each week next year.”
“Make me feel like a target,” muttered Bob.
“I didn’t mean convert you. Just share my faith. But you’d only count as one person, even if I do share with you every week during the year.” It was the closest Jerry came to joking.
“So what is yours, Justine?” asked Bob. “You’re making all your church members do resolutions. Surely you have!”
“Yes, I have, but I wonder if I should share it with you.” Justine was grinning.
“OK. I deserved that.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. My resolution is to include our young people more in church leadership. By the end of the year, I plan to see young people active and in leadership in every area of the church. I’ve made a chart so I can track it.”
“Yay!” Ellen clapped her hands. “What about you, Mark?”
“Oh, I haven’t made any resolutions. I’m more like Mac. I do what I do, and don’t make a special issue of days.”
“Well, at least it’s not a Christian vs. Atheist issue this time,” said Bob.
“Be thankful for small blessings,” said Mandy.
And that was the end of the evening.
*“You know what I think is wrong here?”
The question startled Ward. He was sitting on the porch of his house looking out at a beautiful view from the top of a hill. He and his visitor both had glasses of iced tea. They had just finished a wonderful meal. He had enjoyed showing his guest, a “retired” missionary, around his station. He didn’t see anything wrong.
“Wrong?” he asked. “I think things are going rather well.”
“Yes, I suppose they are, in a sense.”
Ward had a great deal of respect for his visitor, and wasn’t going to miss out if there was another sense in which things weren’t so good. He smiled. “I’m guessing there’s another sense,” he said.
“Yes, there is. I think, perhaps, you should try to look at this situation through Jesus’s eyes.”
“I thought I had. I’m here far from home, serving people in need, and doing a rather good job of it. I don’t want to boast, but we’re caring for more people, seeing more of the local children in our school, and we have more people in church than we ever did under any of my predecessors at this station.”
“Yes, I saw all that. I read the reports. The mission board likes reports. Actually I don’t have anything against reports myself. It’s just that something about this whole scene seems wrong. I think we need to look at it through Jesus’s eyes.”
“OK, you keep saying that, and I know you wouldn’t say it idly or without having something specific in mind. But you’re going to have to say a few more words. I don’t get it.”
“I’m thinking of John 20:21. ‘Just as the father sent me, I’m sending you.’”
“Yes, but are you forgetting you’re talking to someone who already answered the call to mission service?” Ward couldn’t quite keep the impatience out of his voice.
“Yes, you’re a missionary. But are you going out in the way that Jesus went out?”
“Well, I left my home and gave up a lucrative career. I came over here and gave it all up. I think I’ve been sent.”
“And here you are, suffering for Jesus.” The words had a sharp edge, but the tone was very, very gentle.
“Is it that you think I’m not suffering enough? Do I need more trials and tribulations? What?” Ward again sounded a bit impatient. He felt pretty good about the things he had given up.
“I don’t know about suffering. Willing to suffer, yes. Actual suffering? That’s up to God. But let me give you a few phrases to consider. ‘It was fitting that God … should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings’, ‘all have one Father’, ‘Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,’ ‘like his brothers and sisters in every respect.’ All of those come from Hebrews 2:10-18.”
“I’m familiar with the passage,” said Ward.
“But are you willing to apply it?”
“Again, I think I’m not getting your point.”
“We’re sitting up here on a hill, looking down on the village where the people you serve are living from a nice house. How many of them have the food you have? How many of them can enjoy a relaxing evening like this?”
“I would guess none of them.”
“Your children go to the American school. Your wife drives them 20 miles one way, twice a day. I don’t think I’ve seen them in contact with the local children since I’ve been here.”
“I don’t think it’s wrong to want the best education for my children.”
“No, it’s not wrong. I’m not judging you for any particular thing here. I’m asking you to consider a pattern. How close are you to being ‘just like the brothers and sisters’ you’ve come here to serve?”
“I think I’m pretty close. I don’t think protecting my children from local diseases and bad influences is a bad thing.”
“I suppose there are no bad influences or diseases at the American school in the city. But I’m not certain what your choice should be in each case. It’s the pattern. For another example, I’ve never seen you eat with any of the local people.”
“I do, though not often. My wife would prefer not to.”
“I wonder why that is. But it’s just a piece of the pattern. I wonder what it is that the people here see in your mission. Is it the spirit of Jesus? Is it the call to service? Or is it the benefits of being connected with the American missionary with the nice house?”
“You surely don’t think I should fail to provide what I can manage to provide for the people?”
“I think you’re still missing my point. It’s the pattern. I can’t say precisely what you should or shouldn’t do. What I do see is a pattern that separates you from the people you serve. Rather than helping them also become servants of Jesus, they’re becoming your servants, earning the benefits you can provide.”
“That’s harsh!”
“Ward, I’m talking to you this way because I respect you. Don’t worry, I’m not going to report to the mission board that you’re a failure or that you aren’t doing your job. This isn’t about mission boards. It’s between you and me. You’re sent as Jesus was sent. Do you think you have done everything to go out into the field in the way that Jesus went out?”
Ward looked down from the hill toward the village that had gathered around his clinic. Was it possible that he was making disciples for himself, and serving himself, in spite of what he had given up?
“I appreciate your willingness to be honest,” said Ward, and as he said it, he found it was true. “I’ll think and pray about what you’ve said. It bothers me. It seems extreme. But in another sense it rings true.”
“Thinking and praying is all I can ask.”
*This is a work of fiction. All persons, places, and events are products of my imagination. Copyright © 2010, Henry E. Neufeld
*“You’re pregnant, and you’re going to have a baby boy.”
Dee Anne looked up from her burger, fries, and coke and saw a woman of ordinary size with long, black hair, and piercing dark eyes. Her hair was braided, and her clothes looked just a bit out of date. She didn’t look entirely crazy, though her gaze was intent and a bit unnerving.
Dee Anne just got her mouth open to respond when the woman continued. “Do you mind if I sit down?” Without waiting for an answer, she sat.
Dee Anne again had her mouth open to speak, but the woman just kept talking. “Oh, no, not a virgin birth.” She waved her hand in front of her face as though brushing away the very idea like a fly. “I know you’re not married.” Both of their eyes moved to the wedding band on Dee Anne’s left hand. “Oh, I know you wear that wedding band to keep people in this conservative town from asking questions, but you’re not married.”
She paused to take a breath, but again Dee Anne only got her mouth open. Before she could speak, the woman continued. “That virgin birth thing was kind of a one time thing. It’s not going to happen that way again. But special births, yes, there are more of those. Like Sampson. He was announced by God’s messenger. And John the Baptist. Yes, that would be a good example. John the Baptist. A child to prepare the way. Children are such a wonderful thing, aren’t they?”
“But I’m on the pill.” Dee Anne hadn’t intended to say anything of the sort. Part of her wanted to tell the crazy woman to get lost. What business was all this of hers anyhow? But instead she said, “I’m on the pill.”
“Well, what are a few little pills to God? Sarah was too old to have a baby. Rebecca was barren. So was Rachel. In any case, I just wanted you to know you’re going to have a son, and that he will be a very special child. God has called him to important work. You should be very careful how you raise him. Make sure he’s healthy in mind and body. Make sure he learns about God and Jesus early.”
“But I don’t even go to church! I’m not sure what I believe.” Again Dee Anne had planned to say something like, “Please leave me alone. I don’t even know you and I think you’re not right.” But she didn’t.
“But you will go to church. In fact, you are especially anointed by God. You have been chosen to bear a new messenger from God, a new servant of Jesus.”
She paused. “Well, that’s it. Now you know.” She got up and walked out of the cafe. Before Dee Anne figured out how to react, she was gone.
Dee Anne couldn’t have explained why she bought the pregnancy test kit. But that night she found herself in her bathroom with the kit in hand, waiting for the strip to change color …
What do you think happened next? If Dee Anne is pregnant, is it significant, or just a coincidence? Why? (Read Judges 13 and Luke 1:5-25.)
*This is a work of fiction. All characters and events are products of my imagination. Copyright © 2010, Henry E. Neufeld.
