Vocation

I asked a friend of mine to write a guest-article on the subject of vocation for this blog. His thoughts follow. Good stuff.

I recently saw a Jeep ad with the tag line “the things we make, make us.” I liken it to the phrase “you are what you eat” and although taglines are gimmicks to nudge us towards consumptive action, there is truth to both statements. When I heard the ad I couldn’t help but think of vocation, but why? What does what we make, or even what we eat, have anything to do with the topic?

This past summer I watched the documentary King Corn which is a story about two friends who, after graduating from an east coast college, decide they want to learn about where their food comes from. The film starts in a scientific laboratory where the guys discover that they are literally made of corn. This triggers several interesting questions that lead them to farm an acre of corn in Iowa. Ian and Curt discover historic, family connections to farming as they learn about yields, bumper crops, and herbicides. Along the way they also learn about the food system, government subsidies and what we are putting into our bodies.

Being a part of two community supported agriculture farms (I have to feed a lot of kids) I was particularly drawn to this film. In my family it is common to talk about where food comes from and how it got to our table. We talk at length about what is in and out of season and have intentionally made choices to reflect what we have learned in the field. Essentially, we are cultivating a craving for healthier, in season, local, food.

That word cultivate has deep meaning and carries divine associations. As we think about the tasks assigned to our first parents God gives the mandate to “cultivate the garden” (Gen 2:15). This mandate gives purpose because God reveals to us what we are to do with ourselves and his creation. God has given us his good creation in seed form and we are to co-create and make things of the creation. This cultivation (to name, subdue, fill, keep, tend, create) is a physical representation of being created in God’s image.

Ultimately, when we fulfill our mandate we create culture. God designed us to imagine, be curious, discover, explore in a communal context that gives evidence to his splendor. Cultivating the garden is our pre-fall office, it is our vocation.

God’s design is for humanity to create culture in a direction; movement towards a holy city. God’s design is for us to have a worldview that “keeps the creation” and cares for its resources and inhabitants; however, because of depravity, through the fall, we now have distorted visions of what it means to cultivate. We have cultivated profane and incoherent cultures. We have elevated self interests above all.

Within this context of vocation and the fall we are offered two callings. The first is from Christ himself in his statement, “follow me.” This is a sort of general calling in which God invites us to turn away from sin and enter into his forgiveness. By answering this “call” we receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit. This general call becomes more specific by the power of the Holy Spirit as the manifestations of the “call” become directed reality in each individual life.

We understand that we are endowed with unique talents and giftedness to fulfill a unique aspect of creating a culture that glorifies the creator, God. Our vocation is to cultivate; our jobs, stations in life, relationships, and resources shape the ways, to what degree, and how we contribute to a particular culture. Sadly we often times create cultures that are profane and incoherent because woven into these callings is the human capacity to resist or simply reject God’s call. Sometimes we resist and reject because we are stubborn and lack trust. Other times we are impatient. Many times it is because we have a hard time with the mystery of vocation.

Author Quentin Schultze says that the “mystery of vocation is more like an unfolding relationship than a carefully planned trip. As we come to know God better and to know ourselves in relationship to God, we also discern where and how to serve—but rarely with absolute certainty.” It is the lack of certainty which is the frustration that does us in.

We can, however, have certainty in our direction and in how the story ends. In our study of Revelation we are being exposed to the culmination of God’s desire for a culture as revealed in chapter 7 verse 9, “I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne.” Our vocation is to actively participate in creating a culture that maintains a worldview that sees our destination as a holy city of vast diversity and beauty worshiping God forever.

If we are what we eat and the things we make, make us then I want to know where my world view comes from and how it impacts and creates the culture I am a part of. My vocation is to first be aware of my vocation (to actively contribute to the construction of a culture that reflects Revelation 7:9) then utilize all of my redemptive resources including my job, my marriage, my resources, my influence-everything to promote this culture that seeks to restore all things whether in my home, office, neighborhood, church, and even garden.

In the World but not of the World?

Paul in Athens - Confronting the Lego culture

Now that Reformation Day celebrations are over we can re-engage the topic from my last post. As a reminder, it dealt with Christ-followers engaging culture and how false stories can unknowingly shape us into Christ defeating lives. I used the annual occurrence of Halloween to enlighten the subject and received much feedback both on and off the blog.

One comment from the blog begged the question as to whether or not Christians have inadvertently downgraded the Sabbath with competing stories. They went on to ask for a discussion on how to engage culture.  This question seems representative of a number of others I received, so I will give an answer and invite you to join in the dialogue.

I have three main thoughts on Christians engaging culture.

First, I think one of the big things Christ-followers must guard against is confusing cultural engagement with cultural capitulation. Often we embrace and participate in activities and claim we are engaging the culture when in reality we just want to be part of the world's story. We say we fear legalism. We appeal to neighbors and co-workers we don't want to offend because we are coaxing them into the Kingdom bit by bit. But are we engaging or capitulating? How do we know the difference?

One important distinction between engagement and capitulation is that the latter does not have an endpoint or direction. When a Christ-follower engages culture he/she must have a redemptive direction and hoped for endpoint and our actions must bear that out.  Often we enter things with no direction or desired change. It's as if we think our mere presence will radiate redemption because we don't swear or drink.....very much. In the meantime we don't have to make any changes that will deprive us of "fun" or make us look different than our neighbor.

This is not cultural engagement.

This is cultural impotence.

We often participate in our schools, jobs, sports, friendships, etc.... with such a non-distinctive presence that we are not culturally engaged. We are just there going with the flow of the prevailing story.  We are called to something higher and better.

A second thought Christ-followers must keep in mind on this matter is pronouncement. We are to make Christ known to the world. Our mouths are to share a story, and our lives are to make it believable. Sometimes we think just living good does the trick. It doesn't. The story of our "good" lives must be contextualized in the story of Christ dying for our sin. Seldom is a person going to make a faith commitment to whichever religion behaves the best. It has to answer deep truths about the world and our sin. Being good is helpful, but it doesn't always tell the story.

For a couple of years I worked in a department at a large bank. One of the people I worked with was one of the nicer co-workers I've ever had. He was a Mormon. I tried to raise my niceness quotient to  match his, but there is only so much one can do in this life. Let's pretend for a moment that I did match his niceness. Would a co-worker interacting with our "good" lives  move toward Christianity over Mormonism if I don't tell my story?

I am to be good. My life is a story that should put flesh on the biblical story.

We must tell the story. We can use our unique styles, but we must tell why we live the way we do to those who are lost. Pronouncement is essential for cultural engagement.

A final thought for cultural engagement is understanding what Christ meant in the book of Revelation when He said, "I am making all things new". He did not mean that everything we have today will be kept, but in a scrubbed-up version.

Casinos will not be made into new and better casinos. The community and people eroded by them will be made new. Being redemptive does not mean participating in everything that comes down the pike. Some things need to be abandoned, so higher things can be sought and lower things can die.

Sometimes, more often than we care to admit, the redemption of all things means abandoning some things.

Imagine if everyone who claims to be a Christian abandoned casinos. They would disappear and the communities would benefit.

Imagine if all Christians took back Sundays by abandoning competing Sunday commitments. Would we and our communities be better? Yes! We cannot just wave the banner of  "all things new" to justify involvements that keep us from better involvements and the raising up of Jesus Christ to the world.

How we treat Sundays is just one example out of millions of situations where we must think seriously and act purposefully about our place in culture. However, it is indicative of how much ground has been lost and should make us examine where else are we capitulating.

Maybe we are good on the Sabbath. That does not mean we are engaging culture biblically in other areas. We are always examining ourselves and allowing others to help us with the process.

We are here to assist in making all things new rather than having all things make us.

Art and Worship

A question to my last post was of a nature that I decided to make this separate post to answer it.

Here is the question:   Great thoughts on a taken-for-granted subject. I was helped in this area by Francis Shaeffer’s, “How Should We Then Live?” In this post you said, “We have abandoned the entire field to personal preference. We give ourselves over to whatever tickles our emotions and immediate passions.” I agree. But here’s a loaded question. Don’t know if you’ll take the bait. Do you think the same could be said for the use and practice of the arts in the church? How do we evaluate our worship to keep it out of the shallows?

Answer:

Thanks for the Question. I feel like the hound dog in the old Buggs Bunny cartoons being handed an old fashioned phone by Foghorn Leghorn not realizing the part I put up to my ear is a stick of dynamite. Let me rush in where angels fear to tread.

Musical worship is to be God centered and not man centered. Man centering occurs in a number of different ways. When quality, emotion, sentiment, style, and several other human  desires rise to a place of too high of importance we are off course. Even though it is God centered, it is meant to engage humanity in worshiping Him. Consequently, quality, sentiment, style, etc..... have a necessary place. Where are the lines?  Who makes the call? Is God's desire for worship unknowable?

God's desire for musical worship specifics is unknowable to the extent we would like. If only Jesus would have walked around the Sea of Galilee humming the tunes that were His favorites. Scripture's silence on the subject is noteworthy. We are left to fearfully and creatively extract methods and specifics of worship within the context of a Spirit led community that works to discern the ethos of Scripture. This flies in the face of our desire to autonomously critique and decide on worship methods in the privacy of our own minds. We want to bypass communities and authorities God has placed in the church and become self made dictators of preferences based on our supposed mastery of absolutes.

Primarily we need to keep in mind that leadership is responsible and accountable for worship styles and offerings. The rest of us are responsible only for how we approach worship. This should relieve us of being perpetual critics. Unfortunately, we are too demanding and continue to step in the same puddle of making our preferences into absolutes. It is leadership's responsibility to wrestle appropriately with sentiment, emotion, stardom, quality, style, etc..... If we are invited into that process, we go with humility and deference. If we are not invited and it frustrates us, there is probably something beyond worship that we need to learn about our own hearts.

Leadership, on the other hand, is responsible for what is put forth artistically to lead the community in worship. They too must be humble and open, yet they must ultimately make decisions. They must work hard to guard against empty sentiment, man-centered emotionalism, and shoddy offerings that are passed off as "earthy". Things like timing, quality and and how to feature people in the process is also important. They will miss the mark at times, but so will I in my teaching and writing.

Some  church's boast of their "superior" quality  musicians.  Others prefer using as many  volunteers as possible. Some churches believe in quiet, reverent traditional hymns, while others say "holy" can be witnessed only where freedom reigns. Which is right? I am not sure. I would be very cautious to raise one above the other. Our leadership is responsible for our choices, and their leadership is responsible for their choices. For my part, I am responsible for neither.

I believe a big part of our problem is the amount of choice we expect from the marketplace. It is so much a part of our worldview that church becomes just another consumer interaction where I go to get what I want. Unfortunately, indulging my wants often precludes me from getting what I need.

Often we pontificate about "pure" and "authentic" worship while at the same time we treat our spouses/kids poorly, don't joyfully give our money to our church, don't pray, don't study Scripture, and on and on.  It is as if 30 minutes of music is the sole expression of our spirituality. No wonder we're so demanding. That 30 minutes must undo the hypocrisy of the remainder of our week.

Additionally, we immerse ourselves in crappy TV/crappy movies/crappy romance novels/video games/facebook and more. We literally dumb down our thinking and then show up Sunday thinking the way we think is the way God thinks.

For the participant in musical worship - be still and know He is God and He has put leadership and community in place to bring praise to Himself.

For leaders - understand emotionalism, sentimentality, and shallowness so you may guard against them. Above all else, know the Biblical story intimately and live it, so your music will reflect it.

Artprize Reprise

The Last Bastion

It was a cool Saturday morning. It had the smell of fall even though all was green. I don't know how to describe the fall smell or what causes it, but the whole feel of life changes. The clouds were pregnant with moisture and seemed to almost scrape on the tree tops. Umbrellas were toted in anticipation and pricey gortex coats were preparing for their once a year dampening.

Through the drizzle they came. Single file. Heads erect. Impassive stares covered steely resolve and probably not a few nerves. Their shoes clattered over the pavement, and the crowd parted to make way for them. They walked with purpose and finality. Indecision was nowhere to be seen. They were men, and they knew it, and they knew this is what men do.

These were not marines or firemen. They were not policemen or construction workers. These were football players. And they weren't grown men, they were 8 and 9 year old boys. They looked like men as they came. I'm sure the football equipment added to the illusion, but only somewhat. They were men in process. At their age the foundation of who they will be as men is already laid. The question that remains is - will good flourish or be stifled?

Check out number 60

That depends on the story you live in.

Many "progressive" thinkers see little problem with current trends of infidelity, infertility, and gender chaos. To them gender should not determine anything beyond which public restroom to use, and I am sure that will be up for grabs soon. They see a better, more "equal" society evolving.

Reality, I would argue, is that as your men go, so goes your society.  Incent men not to work, and they won't work. Give men sexual pleasure without relational confusion and risk, and they will take it. Give men's roles to women and they will abdicate. In summary, give men a short-cut, and they will take it. Unfortunately, this erodes the essence of who they are meant to be. As they grab for leisure, easy sex, and irresponsibility, they become less and less manly.  This in turn defines your communities.

To see what this does to a community one need only look at our inner cities. The ratio of  men who don't work, father children out of wedlock and live irresponsible and too often violent lives is greatest in highly populated urban areas. They perpetuate a story of fatherless homes and fleeting self serving relationships. In turn, whole communities are laid to waste. Most social program fixes only increase incentive to irresponsible lifestyle and victim mentality. The decay of the city is an outward manifestation of the decay of men. The suburbs and rural communities are not immune, but the extent of the decay is much less. Unfortunately, the decay is increasing in all regions.

As Christ-followers what are we to do? Back to the men in the rain.

In the midst of an emasculated culture marched this team of 20 men-in-process. It struck me that I was seeing something very unique in our culture. Young men were allowed to be with men only and engage in controlled aggression for the sake of refining their skill and developing character traits of hard work, teamwork, perseverance, and brotherhood. Virtually all traditional bastions of brotherhood have been disallowed. All boys schools, clubs, and organizations have been neutered. The military, police and fire departments are all co-ed. I am sure even Spanky's "He-man Woman Haters Club" was forced by the Supreme Court to admit not only women but also transgendered little rascals.

Even Christian churches have failed to hold sway. National studies show that almost 70 percent of church ministry efforts are led by women and the number of churches holding to male only pastoral staffs is shrinking rapidly.

Let me be clear on what I am not saying. I am not saying that women aren't as capable and talented as men. But who tracks what happens to men as they are bumped out of roles that give definition to their manhood? And who takes the household roles left unattended while men and women chase significance in the marketplace? Schools, daycares, t.v., gangs and other peer groups?

I am not saying women must be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. However, why is devoting oneself to building a healthy household always depicted as the short end of the deal. The myth that true significance only comes in the marketplace is a powerful lie that goes virtually unquestioned. The marketplace can be a liar who demands years from our livces while stealing our kids and wrecking our marriages.

I am also not saying every real man must play football, nor that football provides pure godly virtue. Real men can be artists, florists, doctors, professors, etc..... Additionally, too many communities see football success as an end and not a means to a deeper end. Consequently, something that can be deeply enriching is often destructive and unhealthy for player, family, and community.

What I am saying is there is something embodied in the sport that is sorely missing in many venues where it used to hold sway.  It is in its uniqueness that it offers a lesson for us to heed. Men must regain a sense of real manhood as shaped by the biblical narrative, and we must foster households and churches that breathe life into that story.

A biblical man sees those around him that he is to lead and breathes life into their gifts to help them grow and flourish. He does not abdicate. He makes and keeps promises. Fidelity is his mantle. He knows the boredom of life is a ruse meant to catch him asleep at his post. He fights it. He sees life in the mundane, light in the dark, and possibility in the improbable. He moves and Christ is the beacon by which he gauges his movement.

A godly man is resolved to knowing God's story and teaching it to family and people he mentors.

A godly man lives a life that makes the story believable.

He sees his household as the most vital sphere of his influence. His time, energy and investment reflect it.

He is sexually pure, fiscally responsible, and understands the power of community and covenant community.

He moves beyond his comfort and competence to connect relationally and extend care and mercy.

If he falls he gets back up. Failure saddens him, but does not keep him from trying anew.

Forgiveness is his calling card - because he knows he needs it more than you.

You don't need to play football to do any of this, but you must remember you're God's man.

Spain Reigns or Dutch Not Clutch

I returned from my vacation expecting the world to have moved on to new things only to find the FISA World Cup  not yet completed. (I refuse to use FIFA because the second F stands for football but this game is clearly soccer.)

It is now complete. Spain has won. My secret dream is to see the following press release:

Johannesburg, South Africa - Just twenty four hours after Spain's triumph over the Netherlands in the World Cup finals, Joseph Blatter, FISA's president issued a heart felt apology to the world. "I would like to formally and sincerely apologize to the world for the World Cup finals performance," Blatter said as he visibly fought back tears. "For the two best teams in the world to go 115 minutes without scoring is a travesty of wasted time the world will never recoup. If we took the 2 hours of scoreless time and multiplied it by the estimated 800 million viewers, we end up with 1.6 billion man hours spent watching nothing happening. The thought of this has caused me  to contemplate resignation and changing my identity in shame."  Blatter went on, "If this time were spent in the laboratory, we could have cured seven infectious diseases and had enough research left over to come up with five new menu items for McDonalds. The world has lost these things, and it is my fault. I am sorry and ashamed." At this admission Blatter rent the lapel of his jacket and spit on his tie after throwing it to the ground. Collecting himself he continued, "I am sorry we have kept these fine young men from using perfectly good arms. I am sorry the field is half the size of the Sahara Desert. I am sorry our players roll in agony on the field when their jersey is grazed. I am sorry for "off-sides" being a ridiculous penalty. I am sorry that everything that could lead to point production has been eliminated from our sport."

Blatter fielded questions after his statemet. He was asked if there was a silver lining to his gloom. Blatter quickly retorted, "At least the USA was eliminated early. Serves them right with that intimidating 'Ghana is a Goner' slogan." As to what the next step is Blatter said, "We have some soul searching to do. We have engaged Lebron James in talks about becoming a soccer player. We are thinking of giving teams catchy or politically correct nicknames like, the France Carbon Offsets, the Germany We Never Should Have Taken Back East Germany's, The Paraquay Chalkboards, The Denmark Secular Humanists, and The Switzerland Polanskis to name a few. We think these will stimulate fan interest." A reporter pointed out that the new names would not fix their scoring phobia. Blatter added that they were contemplating making each goal worth 100 points. He felt this would go a long way in pleasing the masses. As an act of good faith toward changes, FISA has officially entered the final game results as the Spain Population Shrinkers - 100 and the Netherelands Hey Aren't We Holland - 0. I guess it was a blow-out after all.

Lebron, we're waiting.

My brother chastises me when I have a blog entry without thoughtful spiritual content. I hate to disappoint him.....well I don't really hate it, in fact, at times I savor it. Consequently, my deeper thoughts on Spain and their win and our love affair with sports will come in a day or two.

God Bless America?

Independence day is here and that means two things for our family, celebrating the freedom we enjoy and gathering in Northport with my aunt.

Going to Northport is always a packing adventure for us. Because of packing, the 48 hours before my stress relieving vacation is my most stressful time of the year. This year was no exception.

To the right is a US military C-5 transport plane which is the largest cargo plane in

the world. It has maximum payload for shorter distances of 500,000 pounds.

Nothing could possibly carry more…..until this week. The C-5 transport has been surpassed by my mini-van. The attachment of a car top carrier and a trailer hitch bike carrier coupled with my wife’s masterful ability to pack every cubic inch of space inside has given our mini-van a new transport record. Once we packed our kids in and gave them air tubes to get them oxygen, our total carrying weight was 505,000 pounds.

It is now considered a miracle in reverse format from the feeding of the 5000. Experts are calling it the packing of the 505,000.

Every year I ask myself, why go through all this?

We do all this in part to celebrate our country’s founding on July 4, 1776. Not everyone finds this worth celebrating.

As a pastor I am often confronted directly and indirectly with the question whether the USA is a Christian nation or not.  That question will get you many different responses ranging from angry rejection to angry patriotism. In a sea of strong emotions and undeveloped dogmatisms how should a Christian think about the USA and patriotism? Here are a handful of thoughts to help navigate the subject.

Reasons not to consider the USA a Christian nation:

1. We are part of God’s country first and foremost. This governs all earthly attachments including patriotism. We are much more connected with a Christians around the world than we are with non-Christians in our back yard.
2. Though many of the people who came to America did so with the hope of establishing a Christian society, many did not. Many of our most prominent founders were not godly men. Ben Franklin would not get an invite onto Focus on the Family today, and Thomas Jefferson surely would not be on the Back to the Bible Hour.
3. Slavery is a tragic reality of our founding and its effects are still felt today. Though some were against slavery, the country as a whole lacked the political will to do away with it.
4. The USA has committed many atrocities over the years to advance its interests.

Reasons to consider the USA a Christian nation:

1. Devout Christians played a significant role in establishing the footings of our nation. Their influence is even seen in the writings and actions of most of our fairly irreligious founders like Thomas Paine, Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin. Almost to a man they acknowledged God and the need for free religion in a healthy republic.
2. Christian principles were a vital part of our nation founding ideas though many of these ideas were divorced from the person of Jesus Christ and attached to a non-personal God the father. The principles are none the less biblical.
3. Despite many evil and destructive moves by our government over the past two centuries, the USA is far and away the most benevolent and helpful nation the world has ever seen.
4. At the time of our founding no other place in the world offered the ability to worship Jesus Christ freely.

I could go on with this list with things both for and against viewing our nation as Christian. There is clearly a tension that exists that pulls us in both directions.

I think the question of Christian patriotism is answered mostly in what we mean by patriotism and by identifying the object of our patriotism.

If our patriotism is a pride that we are better than other people because our geographic region has more jets, tanks, ships, cars, malls, clothes, t.v.’s, skateboards, t-shirts, athletes, Disney theme parks, decadent music and movie stars, droids, ipads, bandwidth, etc….. , then a Christ-follower should have nothing to do with it.

If, however, patriotism is defined as gratitude that many obscure people made great sacrifices to give us religious freedom, safety, and opportunity to flourish that few others in the history of the world have had, then we should lead it. Patriotism of gratitude is very different than patriotism of “we can kick your butt”. It is this type of patriotism that wants to extend the liberty we have to those around the world that are under oppression. It is a patriotism of giving not hoarding. It is a patriotism of shalom.

Ultimately, Christians must keep in mind what we are patriotic toward. We are patriotic toward specific ideas more than a specific place and specific government (though we are called by God to obey the authorities He puts over us). The ideas of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the acknowledgment that all people are created equal are founding principles of our nation. These are also biblical principles that all Christ-followers should long for in their country as well as all countries around the world.

The USA has not always followed it's core principles at times as evidenced by slavery, abortion, and many other oppressive and destructive acts here and abroad. However, the ideas still remain, though imperfectly, and they are worth advancing and being patriotic toward. I love this country not because it does everything right, but because in its ideal form it strives to advance liberty to all people everywhere. This makes the USA a unique place.

I know my government does not advance Christ, but in the name of liberty it allows me to. That is something worth appreciating, celebrating, and at times defending. It is worth praying for, persuading others toward, and participating in government to maintain.

In the name of God given liberty and out of appreciation and care for the oppressed enjoy this holiday and pray the world will embrace liberty so everyone may make an informed and free decision about Jesus Christ.

Contract or Covenant?

I guess Ghana is not a goner. The US is out of the World Cup. I should have gotten my slogan out quicker and broader. Maybe it's for the better. Uruguay won, so I couldn't use my "We've got more Soul than Korea" slogan. And we were a long way from being able to introduce my Brazil slogan, "Brazilch". Can you imagine the Brazilian players being called Brazilch by the US team? They would've been demoralized. The game would have been a mere formality. I guess I will have to wait four more years. Hopefully, that will give me some time to come up with a cool slogan for Uruguay.

On to other things.

I once again direct our gaze to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. This man also won an academy award, was Vice President of the United States for eight years, and served as Dan Rather's President of the United States for about ten minutes. It is none other than the master of the dangling chad, Al Gore.

He is in the news for separating from his wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage. The picture to the right was taken at the Democratic National Convention that nominated Mr. Gore as their presidential candidate. Al chose the moment to plant one on Tipper supposedly to show the dynamic and deep love they have for each other.

The Gores' public statements on the matter included,  "After a great deal of thought and discussion we have decided to separate," and "This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision we have made together." Wow! What a thoughtful, caring divorce. I only have one question. How can a separation of a marriage be mutually supportive?  Only a marriage can be mutually supportive. A divorce is choosing to no longer support each other the way your marriage vows said you would.

I don't want to dance on the grave of another failed marriage that parted before death. I also don't want to pick on another fallen, frail politician. I use celebrities to illustrate issues that are a part of all our lives. Celebrities are merely caricatures of ourselves. They do in public what we do in private. Because we've chosen them to be celebrities, they are representatives of who we want to be and so say something important about the lives we all live.

The Gores' split is very sad. I use them only to illustrate three errors true of most of us at different times: language of deceit, incoherent worldviews, and mistaking covenants for contracts.

Language of Deceit: The Gores' statements about their separation are deceiving and meaningless. They make it sound as if they are so caring of one another that they must split up. My experience reveals a similar deceit in many areas of our lives, but particularly around our marriages. We lie, equivocate, gloss over and deceive when we are unhappy. The talk coming from unhappy couples is either angry victimization or a deceitful gloss-over like the Gores. We often make the dissolving of our marriages sound virtuous, loving or like it is the only sensible thing to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our language is powerful. The lie precedes the act.

Incoherent Worldview: Al wants us to save the earth, but he can't save his marriage. Many would think that these things aren't related. The biblical worldview understands that they are. Our bodies and marriages not only connect with our creator but also with the creation. I am not insinuating a pantheistic or existential worldview where there is no transcendence and all is god or the entire universe connects in some unidentifiable "spirit". A biblical worldview is quite different.

The biblical worldview understands that the universe was created by the one, true, living God as a place for Him to live in relationship with the prize of His creation....us. Our role is to build His Kingdom through marriages of fidelity and truth that produce ongoing generations who do likewise. To do this God made us for marriage. Our marriages aren't our own. They are not primarily for our pleasure, they are for God's and for being part of His plan. In a way, marriage is an office. To be married is to hold an office of responsibility.

We also hold an office of responsibility as stewards of creation. We are to care for, protect, and wisely cultivate and utilize the created order. Once we understand God's purpose for this world and for us, we see how our marriages and interactions with the environment connect with each other. They are part of the same ultimate plan.

Unfortunately, most of us are like Al. He doesn't see the incoherence of loving the environment but not loving the wife he vowed before God to cherish until death parted them. The biblical narrative tells a story of how these offices weave together in God's story. We are to make that story our story. To do otherwise is to abandon the offices we are made for.

Contract vs. Covenant: Our marriages have suffered greatly because we no longer understand the concept of covenant. We have replaced the idea of covenant as the foundation of our marriages with the ideas of contract and convenience.

What's the difference? A marriage covenant is a promise not just made with each other, but also with God.  If our marriages are just contracts and convenience, then when our partner is no longer pleasing or hasn't lived up to their side of the contract we feel justified in ending the marriage or at least disengaging from them in many different ways.

With a covenant our partner's shortcomings are dwarfed by our own shortcomings in the face of the perfect life lived by Jesus Christ. The hardship we endure from the perceived injustice of our spouse is infinitely smaller than the injustice Jesus endured for us on the cross. Covenant binds us where convenience and contract do not. Acknowledging God as a third party in our relational covenants gives us a much deeper sense of gratitude and responsibility. We must reclaim this mentality in our lives and the lives around us if the church of Jesus Christ is to make a legitimate claim to truth.

Let us remember our covenants with our spouses and speak truthfully, so our lives tell a coherent story of life in Christ.

Ghana is a Goner

Sorry I’ve been gone a bit. What drew me back to my blog? World cup fever. In the past I have made some enemies because things I said were interpreted to be slams against soccer being an enjoyable spectator sport. I am not the same man.

So friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come not to bury soccer but to praise soccer. Are not the activities of the soccer players evidence that they are honorable men? Are they not only honorable but also exciting and enjoyable to witness?

I will not repeat the errors of my past.

I will not lament the absence of scoring.

I will not infer that soccer is like a cross-country meet in a box.

I will not infer that the game has parallels to socialism because the rules (ie. can’t use your arms which eliminates 50% of your major appendages and means of production, and offsides which penalizes a player for being smarter and faster than his/her opponent) and the sameness of the players sacrifice individual excellence and achievement for group mediocrity thereby limiting production and overall excitement. I won't go there. I refuse.

I won't infer that other countries love the World Cup because it makes the US look wimpy and unremarkable.

I won't assert that worldwide soccer viewing data was produced by the same group that gave us Climate-gate and all the bogus climate change data.

I won't infer that soccer seems like a sport that should have evolved into something more complete and complicated.

I won't go there at all. I am so glad that I am a new man. To prove my enlightenment I came up with the inspiring slogan in the title of this blog. Ghana is a Goner. Who but a real fan could come up with that? I was hoping to market it but the game is coming up too quickly to get t-shirts made.

To help inspire you to catch my enthusiasm I suggest you try some or all of the following five ideas to rev up your World Cup Fever.

1.  Find someone from Ghana and dance around them chanting "Ghana is a goner". Foreigners love this kind of American enthusiasm.

2.  If you are playing any other sports during the World Cup weeks (ie. pick up basketball, volleyball, etc.....) end all your games when the score is 1 - 1.

3.  Bring a vuvuzela (one of those plastic horns everyone blows at World Cup games) to work and blow it every time you complete a mundane task. Your boss and co-workers will love it.

4.  Find several tasks that you normally use your hands for and use your head and/or legs instead.  For example, at a concert instead of clapping pound your head on your knee. The awesomeness of soccer will become much clearer to you.....once your head stops ringing.

5.  Be the first to write an anthology of great American soccer teams and players. It will sell like hot-cakes.....once we get some great teams and players.

6. A bonus offering. Lobby for honorary citizenship for Pele' since he is the only famous soccer player anyone knows. Then we can claim him as our own. Better yet, rename your dog or cat Pele' and make them wear a pet-sized soccer jersey as a constant reminder that the World Cup is all that matters.

Those are a few ideas. As for me I am looking to the future. As an encore to "Ghana is a Goner". I am hoping we play South Korea in round two and I can bust out my second round slogan of "We've got more Soul than Korea".  If we play Paraguay, my research revealed that they are the third leading exporter of chalkboards. "Erase Paraguay" and "Chalk up a victory" are all I have in that scenario so far. I sure hope South Korea wins.

Gotta go. I have to go feed and walk Pele'.