Jeff Ling

Seriously. I don’t know what’s in the water in English Anglican churches but it’s scary. The priests over there come up with some odd behavior and weird ideas.

A couple of days ago, The Telegraph in Great Britain, published a story regarding a Miss Mann, the priest-in-charge of St Nicholas’s, in Burnage.

Miss Mann wants us to know that while we may have some concerns about its lyrical content, there is “…especially at this agonized time, has a serious gospel lesson to learn from this darkest and heaviest music.”

The Cleric sees this genre as a forthright way of dealing with difficult issues:

“The music’s willingness to deal with nihilistic and, on occasion, extremely unpleasant subjects seems to offer its fans a space to accept others in a way that shames many Christians… Metal’s refusal to repress the bleak and violent truths of human nature liberates its fans to be more relaxed and fun people”.

Well.. sure. I’ve always considered songs about death, dismemberment, demons, and debauchery rather fun!

As an example of Miss Mann’s “fun” approach, she quotes from the thrash metal band Slayer:

“I’ll take the devil any day, hail Satan.”

Hey that sounds like fun!

She states: “Much of metal’s fascination with Satan or evil is play-acting, driven by a desire to shock… Metal invites Christianity to be less afraid of wildness and the ridiculous.”

I’ve just been invited to throw up. But hey, I’m sure someone could combine this with the Twilight movies for a great sermon series…

“The way to open our hearts to others is by receiving afresh the grace of God and appreciating what it means: seeing our own need of Christ; coming to receive His mercy; sensing how undeserved His love for us is; remembering how He has also opened His heart to those whose hearts are closed against us. Then we will see that the heart which is too narrow to receive a fellow Christian is too narrow to enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ. But the heart that is opened to receive the grace of Christ will learn to welcome all those whom Christ Himself has welcomed.”

- Sinclair B. Ferguson

These are actual conditions…
Fear of Chickens : Alektorophobia
Fear of Bald People: Peladophobia
Fear of the Pope: Papaphobia
Fear of walking: Ambulophobia
Fear of Heaven: Ouranophobia

These are irrational fears. Rational fears make more sense – keeps me from jumping off of tall buildings or trying out snake handling. Holy fear makes the most sense of all for it liberates rather than enslaves. Proverbs 1:7 – “Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Sadly, I find myself playing the fool way to often. What a waste of time and energy. In His love I’m free. In His true path I am liberated. The fear of the Lord is the fear I need.

Scripture

“And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them…”
(Mark 6:48 ESV)

Observation

“It’s hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to make us disciples, citizens of God’s new age, a kingdom of surprise.”—Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

The compassion of Jesus is on magnificent display here in Mark 6. There’s the powerful statement that Jesus saw the multitudes, noted their lost condition and felt deep compassion for them. There is the amazing demonstration of power in the feeding of the five thousand. Then there is the statement “…and he intended to pass by them.”

Compassion? Jesus sees the struggle his disciples are experiencing, the fear as strong as the waves, the weariness of their arms giving way under the strain of rowing against the storm. The passage even states that he could see they were in “serious trouble!”

And he intended to pass by them.

That statement can get lost amidst the walk on the water, the invitation for Peter to step onto the waves (Matt.14) and the stilling of the storm. It’s a statement that, if you think about it, makes you wonder where in the world his compassion went.

Application

Could it be that there are times when the compassionate thing for Jesus to do is to keep an eye on us while we struggle?

“All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” – 1 Cor. 10:13 (The Message)

The inescapable inference is that 1) he will allow you to be pushed or tested and 2) there is a limit he will let you be pushed to. Why? As Stanley Hauerwas said above, God is outfitting us for something greater than our safety, something more profound than simply having a personal “storm sitter.” God is about the business of making us like his Son and turning us loose to partner with him in his activity in the world. Part of that preparation is the furnace of affliction, temptation, suffering and struggle. There is a facet of Christ-like strength that comes not from munching on manna but wrestling with the waves.

Compassion can be letting you struggle but know this, he never takes his eye off you, he knows the limits, and he is the Master of the waves.

Prayer

Lord, sometimes I wonder about Your compassion. I feel lost and forgotten. I think the waves might take me down. Remind me that in these times to You are not far from me and You even use these moments to chisel at that hardness of my heart and reveal Jesus in me. Thank you Lord. I will trust you. In Jesus name, Amen.

There is a story of a Hasidic rabbi, renowned for his piety. He was unexpectedly confronted one day by one of his devoted youthful disciples. In a burst of feeling, theyound disciple exlaimed, “My master, I love you!”
The ancient teacher looked up from his books and asked his fervent disciple, “Do you know what hurts me?”

The young man was puzzled. Composing himself, he stuttered, “I don’t understand your question Rabbi. I am trying to tell you how much you mean to me, and you confuse me with questions?”

Replied the Rabbi, “My son, if you do not know what hurts me, how can you truly love me?”

Two guys, one I know personally and one I don’t, have blogged a bit on the issues facing how the church reaches, engages and ministers to young adults.

Ben Lemery I know from the ordaining body I’m part of, Messenger Fellowship. Ben lives in Santa Cruz, California and blogs at Bl:Ben Lemery .  Tyler Braun blogs at Man of Depravity – I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him but I do recommend his blog along with Ben’s. Both of these guys blogged a response to the article that appeared recently in the New York Times called: What Is It About 20-Somethings? by Robin Marantz Henig. Links to both their posts follow:

Ben Lemery: Rethinking How We Reach 20-Somethings

“If the article is true and young adults seem to take longer maturing, then I have to wonder what that means for organizations that are actively reaching out to this age group, such as churches and campus ministries. If young adults change jobs on an average of seven times, it certainly clarifies why so many do not feel an obligation to stay in their current churches on a long term basis.

This may be a problem for the current members but it could be an excellent opportunity to help steer these aspiring visionaries onto potential paths of adventure to help them “find their identity.” That may sound a little psychobabblish but hear me out.”

Read more…

Tyler Braun: 20-Somethings and Emerging Adulthood

“People debate whether this funk 20-somethings in today’s culture find themselves in is really a new life stage that has developed or whether they just need to have some more motivation for life. But the reality is that this is where people like me and my friends find ourselves: searching for the marrow of life.

The implications for the church are many, but the biggest is that the traditional church approach to have a college ministry that leads into a marriage ministry no longer applies. In fact, I don’t think we have fully realized how to effectively minister to people in their 20s who find themselves going through this struggle.”

Read more…