The Bobosphere - Bob's Blog

Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:37:00 +0000

The week of February 27-March 1 is Justice Week at Auburn University. A time to learn. A time to see. A time to act. A time to make a difference.

On the Auburn IJM Facebook page this week, you can read this...

This Minute, 27 million innocent people are being beaten, abused, raped and enslaved. They are waiting.

Waiting For Freedom.
Waiting For Rescue.
Waiting For You.

Join us for a week dedicated to learning all we can, to stop slavery across the globe.

**Schedule-
Monday Feb. 27- @ 6 p.m. Sex + Money documentary showing and discussion (Student Center Ballroom)

Tuesday Feb. 28- @ 8 p.m. Prayer Night (Student Center Room 2326)

Wednesday Feb. 29- @ 8 p.m. Dessert Night (Girls only, please!) Come hear about your part in the fight; Libby from IJM will speak.
(Student Center Ballroom)

Thursday March 1- @ 8 p.m. Praise and worship led by the First Baptist Opelika band, followed by Libby (who works for IJM and campus crusade) speaking to Auburn students about empowering us to take action and practical ways to do so. (Langdon Hall)

Follow us on twitter @ijmau and #AU4FREEDOM

Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

standing for Freedom with @IJMAU for Justice Week #AU4Freedom

On IJM's main web site, we learn a little about the organization:

IJM seeks to make public justice systems work for victims of abuse and oppression who urgently need the protection of the law.

IJM investigators, lawyers and social workers intervene in individual cases of abuse in partnership with state and local authorities.

By pushing individual cases of abuse through the justice system from the investigative stage to the prosecutorial stage, IJM determines the specific source of corruption, lack of resources, or lack of good will in the system denying victims the protection of their legal systems. In collaboration with local authorities, IJM addresses these specific points of brokenness to meet the urgent needs of victims of injustice.

IJM seeks 4 outcomes on behalf of those we serve:

1. Victim Relief

IJM's first priority in its casework is immediate relief for the victim of the abuse being committed.

2. Perpetrator Accountability

IJM seeks to hold perpetrators accountable for their abuse in their local justice systems. Accountability changes the fear equation: When would-be perpetrators are rightly afraid of the consequences of their abuse, the vulnerable do not need to fear them.

3. Survivor Aftercare

IJM aftercare staff and trusted local aftercare partners work to ensure that victims of oppression are equipped to rebuild their lives and respond to the complex emotional and physical needs that are often the result of abuse.

4. Structural Transformation

IJM seeks to prevent abuse from being committed against others at risk by strengthening the community factors and local judicial systems that will deter potential oppressors.

Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

standing for Freedom with @IJMAU for Justice Week #AU4Freedom

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 4

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

What can be done? At the very least we can lift up our voices to others and we can lift up our voices to God. We MUST begin to pray for solutions.

We may not know what to do, but our eyes can be upon the LORD. We are called to pray for governors and those in authority, that
they do right. We are called to pray for rain like Elijah prayed. We are called to act to help people in famine like Joseph did. We are called to bless our enemies and pray for them. We are called to pray for the Church, that she rise up and become a blessing to the nations.

In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah is in a tight spot. The enemies of Judah are aligning against her. The king is afraid, so he calls the people to seek the LORD in prayer. In 2 Chronicles 20:6-12 we read one of the most beautiful and effective prayers in Scripture. Jehoshaphat ends his prayer with these words: “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

It’s time to celebrate Thanksgiving in a new way: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

What will YOU appear before the LORD with this Thanksgiving?

This season, let’s mobilize.

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 3

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

In Isaiah 59:14-16, we are told of a day when justice was turned back, when righteousness stood far away, when truth stumbled in the public squares, when uprightness couldn’t enter a town, and God was amazed that there was no one to intercede...so His Own Arm worked deliverance! Is today that day! God is sovereign... we are responsible. We need God’s Own Arm to work deliverance...but WE must do all in our power to usher in justice and righteousness and truth and uprightness!

Jesus, obviously, had the oppressed, distressed and downcast on His heart as well.

In Matthew 25:31-40 we read: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit
on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’

A season of Harvest Preparation gives us the opportunity to practice these words. We MUST find a way!
In John 17:21 Jesus prayed that we might be one. We are called to love one another. We are called to pray for one another. We are called to suffer with one another...

1n 1 Corinthians 12:26 the apostle Paul writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together.”

There is a rare condition called anhidrosis, or CIPA, a genetic disorder that makes people unable to feel pain. It is a very dangerous condition. Pain serves an important function to preserve health...and life. If we don’t feel pain, we could die of internal injuries and not even know we are hurt.

I wonder, does the contemporary church have spiritual anhidrosis? Are we able to feel the pain of the Body? If I hit my thumb with a hammer, my whole body knows it...and it springs into action to DO something about it. My other hand reaches for anti-bacterial ointment, or a band-aid...or my legs take me to a car where I drive to the Emergency Room.

Part of the Body is suffering in the Horn of Africa.

Do we feel the pain?

Are we doing something about it?

If we don’t feel the pain, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Is it out of sight, out of mind? Are we so self-absorbed, we are unaware unless it impacts us?

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:17:00 +0000

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher and politician

As I continue to process the recent events at my Alma Mater, I have been struck by the many comments related to the belief that more should have been done. If THAT isn't the master understatement! The Penn State Graduate Assistant who witnessed the sexual abuse of a child should have stepped in. And Penn State coach Joe Paterno should have done more as well...even according to his own words, in hindsight. Everyone is stepping up saying that if it was them, they would have said/done more. Good.

However, it sure is easy to SAY we would have acted differently...after all, we weren't in the situation. Again, as I've said in another blog: it's easy to SAY I wouldn't have denied I knew Christ (like Peter did) as He was being abused; it's easy to SAY I would have spoken up if I was in Adam's shoes in the Garden and told the serpent to "beat it" and encouraged my wife to not eat the fruit. And...it's easy to SAY I would have entered the shower and rescued that child from his alleged abuser. Talk is cheap. How do we forge a character that does the right thing at the right time? We need to be prepared in advance!

I was sent an editorial that ran several years ago, written by a dear sister in Christ in our church family. We would all do well to read it with the Penn State scandal in mind.

"My heart aches for the young generation who watches the suicide of a teen without considering responsibility to rescue. Upon reading the Nov 22, 2008 article by Rasha Madkour, AP “Teen Commits Suicide before Web Audience,” I immediately gathered my teenage sons and spoke to them, urging courage into their lives to step forward when something seems wrong. I committed to be there to help them seek the help that is needed. I assured them that if they see something happening, they ARE involved. Aren’t we all? I took a good hard look at the Levite, the priest and the Samaritan in “The Good Samaritan” of the Bible. I revisited the behavior of on-lookers in New Bedford, MA at Big Dan’s Tavern that birthed the “Duty-To-Rescue” laws. Do I wait for someone else to act? Did Oskar Schindler or Mother Teresa wait for “someone else?” Was it easy for Dr. Martin Luther King to be the “someone else?”

As humans, there is an innate ownership of one another that we carry in our hearts. We all felt it after 9/11. Involvement is messy and inconvenient, sometimes sacrificial. Have we done the same thing these viewers did to the Miami college student who committed suicide… signed off from fellow humans, assuring ourselves that someone else - authority, government, agencies –will rescue...? Possibly the young man, Abraham Biggs, would be alive today receiving the help he so desperately needed if more web-viewers had stepped forward and chosen to become their brother’s keeper."

Well said!

We need to meet with each other, eyeball to eyeball, and commit to each other and to abuse victims and say now, before the situation arises: "No matter what the cost; no matter who is involved; no matter the awkwardness or tension that may arise; I WILL speak up! I WILL act!"

The Apostle Paul Attends Penn State

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:55:00 +0000

When the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christ-followers in Rome, he made a point of telling them: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Paul would say the same thing today if he visited Penn State...or your home!

What has allegedly transpired at Penn State can be faced in one of two ways: we can be overcome by evil; OR, we can work toward overcoming evil with good! How do we overcome the evil of child sexual abuse?

On a website called Darkness2Light.org I found a section called “7 Steps to Protecting Our Children from Sexual Abuse.”

Step 1: Learn the Facts and Understand the Risks
It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before they turn 18! In almost 90% of the cases, the child AND the child’s family know and trust the abuser! “People who abuse children LOOK and ACT just like everyone else.”

Step 2: Minimize the Opportunity
“If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for children.” It is estimated that more than 80% of abuse takes place in situations where one child is left alone with one person. Think about THAT!!

Step 3: Talk about it.
Most abused children do NOT talk about their abuse. Learn WHY children are afraid to talk. Learn HOW children communicate. Know WHAT can break down the barriers of talking openly. “One survey showed that fewer than 30% of parents ever discussed sexual abuse with their children.”

Step 4: Stay Alert.
Do NOT expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused. LEARN the signs! Emotional or behavioral signs are often more common than the physical signs.

Step 5: Make a Plan
“Learn WHERE to go, WHOM to call and HOW to react.”
As hard as this sounds…try not to PANIC or OVER-react. Offer support. Seek professional counsel and guidance. REPORT or take action in ALL cases of suspected abuse (see www.childwelfare.gov).

Step 6: Act on Suspicions
“Very few reported incidents are false.” Err on the side of caution. “By acting on suspicions of child abuse, you will save not only one child, but perhaps countless others.” Make use of Child Abuse Helplines: Darkness to Light—1-866-FOR-LIGHT; Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD; National Children’s Alliance at www.nca-online.org or 1-800-239-9950.

Step 7: GET INVOLVED
“Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.”

As we read on the Darkness2Light.org website: “A child’s safety is an ADULT’s job…we make children wear seat belts. We walk them across busy streets. We store toxic household cleaners out of reach. Why then, would we leave the job of preventing child sexual abuse solely to children?”

YOU are the man!

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:58:00 +0000

After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up, the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story about a rich shepherd who stole a poor shepherd's one sole lamb. David was irate over the actions of the rich shepherd and immediately called for swift and firm justice. And then Nathan revealed to David that he himself was that very man. We can all become so angry and self-righteous over another's sin and be guilty ourselves of the same sin yet fail to see it.

I am appalled at what is unfolding at my alma mater, Penn State, in the very town where I was raised. I am so angry and disgusted by the alleged actions of a past assistant coach. And if Joe Paterno knew what had happened and didn't do enough, I am disappointed in him as well AND I actually believe, as much as I respect the man, that the Board of Trustees was right in firing him.

I am ALSO appalled at the moral and spiritual blindness of many, of those weighing in on the issue. I am not at all appalled that people are irate and disgusted over what has allegedly transpired...I am shocked at the spiritual and moral blindness I sense as people point fingers WITHOUT considering how they are guilty of similar transgressions. What has happened at Penn State ought to humble every single one of us...we are free to voice our anger and disgust, but we MUST look within our own hearts as well.Hear me: I am not in any way throwing a rescue rope to Paterno...I am simply asking all of us to look within our own hearts.

I think about Peter. He stood silently by and watched the Son of God be abused by the Romans. Actually, he was worse than silent. He positively denied he even knew the Man. I think about Adam. He stood silently by and watched the serpent tempt his wife and then positively rebelled against the command of God...and that's why we face the kind of world we face today. Outside of Scripture, I think about a nation, Germany, which had citizens, many of whom were silent and did nothing in the face of one of the greatest atrocities performed upon human beings (I say "one of the greatest atrocities" because what Stalin did in Russia was numerically even worse.)

I think about my own heart...how often have I been guilty of the sin of silence...or of doing nothing...or at least of not doing enough. I think about the fact that every day of my life I have been entrusted with the Good News of the Gospel...the ONLY message of hope for a broken world, the ONLY message of LIGHT for people lost in a dark world, the ONLY message of eternal life for all doomed for eternal torment and abuse apart from Christ...And. I. Am. Often. Silent.

Do we have a right to be angry over what has happened to these children? You bet! We better be angry at sin and our hearts better break for those children and their families. Do we have a right to be angry if it is indeed true that Paterno should have done more? You bet we do! But I sure hope we don't express our anger before we express our prayers for the children. And I sure hope we actually DO something about sexual abuse in our world and not just express anger about what has happened at Penn State.

But we better be just as angry and heart-broken and humbled over our own sins of omission and sins of silence and sins of not doing enough in our daily lives.

After all, as Nathan would say: YOU. Are. The. Man...or Woman.

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

I think we should add a preparation time called Harvest before Thanksgiving, just like we have preparation times called Advent and Lent before Christmas and Easter, respectively. I think we should prepare our hearts to celebrate Thanksgiving by considering “going before the Lord” with an offering of praise and faith. We, too, can add to our Thanksgiving festival by making sure we don’t “appear before the Lord empty-handed.” Everyone in the Old Testament could participate in this Festival. If you were able, you could bring a lamb; if you were too poor, you could bring a bird. People were to bring what they were able; it wasn’t the size of the gift but the condition of the heart before the Lord. So...if you’ve stuck with me so far, how can we begin this new holiday/Holy Day tradition of preparing for Thanksgiving through a season of Harvest?

Well, since Thanksgiving involves expressing gratitude for God’s gracious provision in our lives, especially the provision of crops and food in general, why not celebrate Harvest each year by focusing on a spot in the world where crops, food and other provision is not as plentiful as it is for us? I would suggest that this year’s Harvest Season be engaged in by considering Somalia and the Horn of Africa. One of the greatest droughts in decades has destroyed crops and prevented harvest. In addition, the drought has turned into a full-fledge famine because of religious and political turmoil in the area.

Tens of thousands have died in recent months. Experts believe the drought could continue through first quarter of 2012, and possibly until August of ’12! It is estimated that up to 750,000 could die in coming months. During the summer months of 2011 it is estimated that over 29,000 children under the age of 5 have perished due to starvation. We are told that another 640,000 children are malnourished suggesting the death toll could dramatically increase. I’ll never forget watching the movie, “Hotel Rwanda.” When I saw the film I was outraged. I was shocked. I was embarrassed...I had noticed just a little of what was going on from watching the news, but I was embarrassed that I had no clue as to what was really happening. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi’s by the Hutu population.

Well, my own face is red...again. It is only through some dear friends at ONE that I was made more fully aware of
all that is happening in Somalia. It is, admittedly, a VERY complicated situation. There are certainly issues of governance, transparency and accountability regarding local leadership, but also centuries of back story we are only beginning to comprehend. There are also long-term problems that are agricultural: developing drought-resistant seed, proper fertilizers and early warning systems for coming droughts. There are short-term problems like increasing awareness and providing safe passage and delivery of aid to where it’s most desperately needed. There is also a need to ensure that aid is not “hijacked” and then sold at prices the desperately needy and impoverished can’t afford.

Recently, on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Bono spoke to this horribly complex situation: “It’s hard to believe that
this is the 21st century and you know, we mustn’t let the complexity of the situation absolve us from responsibility to act. That’s really the message...when you hear stories...of women leaving the dead children on the road to come beg for food; [women having] to choose between children...’Inward’ I have to leave this one (he looks the weakest or she looks the weakest), I’ll take this one.’

This is outrageous!...And it’s not our intentions, it’s our actions...it’s our priorities that define us. This is a defining moment.”
What would it be like for YOU to have to choose which child you will feed and therefore which one you chose to let die?!
If we begin to put into practice the Harvest Season preparation for Thanksgiving, there are a couple extremes we must seek to avoid: the one extreme is sticking our heads in the sand and remaining ignorant; the other extreme is seeing so much evil and complication that we get overwhelmed and paralyzed; so discouraged and depressed that we are immobilized; so cynical that we consider any option as meaningless.

Hundreds of thousands with no voice in places of power need our voice. They need our voices to tell others who remain in ignorance about what is happening. They need our voices to keep telling our governing officials that something must be done. They need our voices to be lifted up to God that He Himself might intervene by His great mercy and grace. Imagine a child falling into a pit, crying out, but no one comes. Imagine a girl being abused sexually, wondering where help is, where daddy is, where God is. Imagine 640,000 Somali children facing starvation. How are these children any different?

Not-So Happy Valley

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:56:00 +0000

As a State College native, a Penn State grad and a pastor, I've been asked by many, many people over the past couple days about recent events in Happy Valley. Here's what I've said:

First: the safety and protection of children is more important than an institution or even an icon.

Second: we don't know all the facts...yet.

Third: If people knew more, even if it was JoePa, and they didn't do EVERYTHING possible to protect the children and warn their families, no matter how much good he's done, he was wrong. VERY wrong.

Fourth: as if we need reminding...there is only ONE Hero, His Name is Jesus; and there is only ONE Team, His Church. EVERYTHING else is just a small part of a Much Larger Story.

Fifth: we live in a broken world.

Sixth: pray for the victims and their families.

Seventh: fight against all forms of oppression and sexual abuse.

Eighth...and I'm sure I'll get flack for this...pray for the abusers and those who would engage in cover-up. We are all really big sinners and are ALL in need of a REALLY BIG SAVIOR! As offensive as it may seem to us, Christ came for even the chief among all sinners (among whom the Apostle Paul considered himself the worst).

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:10:00 +0000

Many Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. It may be debated whether it was started by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts with the help of Native Americans, or whether it started in Virginia or in Florida, but there is no question it began somewhere at sometime in North America because we celebrate it! Other important holidays, like Christmas and Easter for instance, are anticipated by the more traditional (or more serious) by times of preparation.

Advent is a time for preparing hearts to celebrate the Birth of Messiah, as well as a time of reflection preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. Lent is a time for preparing hearts to celebrate the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus. Lent often involves a time of fasting, a symbol of mourning over our own brokenness and sin that sent Jesus to the Cross. I wonder...what would we call a Preparation Season for Thanksgiving? Some have called it Harvest

I like that. Advent...Lent...Harvest. A time to prepare our hearts for... what? Thanksgiving

How much prep work does that take? Perhaps more than we may think. “Thanksgiving” was practiced by the Jews under the leadership of Moses long before the Europeans ever thought of the concept. The Jews celebrated the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks in May/June every year. It was one of only THREE annual festivals celebrated by the people of God in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 16:16, Moses records, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by, well, supposedly giving thanks...usually around a dinner table set with turkey, gravy, mashed-potatoes, sweet-potato casserole, corn, eggs, dressing (or stuffing if you’re a Yankee like me), cranberry sauce, cheese soufflé, green beans...and who knows what else! Family...friends...food...and let’s not forget... football. I know, it sounds so...trite. It is.

Notice that when the people of God in the Old Testament celebrated the Feast of Harvest (a time to thank God for the crops that were able to be planted by His grace, that grew by His tender mercies, that survived by His providence, that were harvested by His kindness), they didn’t just “return thanks” but would not dare “appear before the LORD empty- handed.” What does THAT mean?!
It means that when the people thanked God for the Harvest, when THEY celebrated Thanksgiving, things were different...more different than just celebrating at what we call Pentecost while we celebrate in November. Celebration involved participation. Gratitude involved engagement.

Thanksgiving involved mobilization.

The people of God were to go before the Lord at the Feast of Harvest/Weeks with a SACRIFICE. A SACRIFICE of Thanksgiving. A SACRIFICE of Praise. A SACRIFICE that was not only expressing gratitude for the Lord’s provision in the past; but also an offering of faith expressed by giving God hard-earned and desperately needed sustenance that revealed trust that God would provide in the future, so a gift could be given with all confidence and peace.
I think we should try that.

The Delightful, Advantageous, Full-Blown Will of God

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Intimacy with Christ is only possible as we surrender ourselves completely and totally to the purposes of God. But to do THAT, we must believe that God's heart toward us is good and that whatever He calls us to let go of or to embrace is good. I've been meditating on Romans 12:2 to help me get to that place of trust.

Here's how I would paraphrase it:

Don't be pressed into the mold of the world or the spirit of the age. Don't adopt their perspective of this life. Don't buy into the world's blueprint for fulfillment, security or significance. Rather, like a caterpillar in a cocoon, be metamorphisized, changed, transformed by the renewal of your mind, by a fresh approach to thinking patterns; get rid of all those old tapes and upgrade to a new sound system, and start listening to new songs with better lyrics; with this new approach to your thought life and the new melodies and lyrics coursing through your brain, prove to yourself both experientially and existentially that God's ways, methods, plans, purposes and all His sovereignly ordained circumstances for our lives (both His revealed will in Scripture with all its promises and commands; as well as His secret, mysterious will that just happens) are good, beneficial, advantageous, acceptable, well-pleasing, delightful and perfect and complete (nothing could be added or subtracted to make it better!). Embrace this perspective and world-view by faith in God's character!

How do we "see" God?

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Sun, 29 May 2011 13:57:00 +0000

At our Officer's Meeting the other night we reviewed our church's position paper on the roles of men and women in the church. It was a healthy reminder of our need for one another. We need each other to reveal and reflect God's image to one another in the church and through the church!

http://www.oakmountainchurch.org/Websites/ompc/Blog/855105/WRWeb.pdf

Sounds Like a Squirrel

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:47:00 +0000

You've heard the old Sunday School joke. The teacher comes in to a class of 4th graders and asks,"What is gray and furry, climbs in trees, has a bushy tail and likes to eat nuts?' The class was silent for a few moments when one brave little girl said, "Well, teacher, it sounds to me like a squirrel, but since this is Sunday School, I'm going to be safe and say the answer is Jesus!"

Why is it that the Church thinks that the answer to everything has to be reduced to the simplistic answer of "Jesus"? The evangelical community seems to believe that unless any book, movie, song and conversation mentions the actual Name Jesus, it's not really Christ-centered. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'll never forget that when sweet, little Amy Grant, just coming out of Vanderbilt University and have already released albums that were focused on praise, worship and love songs mentioning the Name of Jesus, decided to become a little more "subtle" and write songs about redemptive love or other redemptive themes that unbelievers could relate to or songs with a positive message without mentioning the Name jesus, received a very cool response from the evangelical community. It's like she was turning her back on her Christian faith and compromising in the minds of many.

I have a friend that I've known since college, a fraternity brother, who leads an organization that seeks to build bridges between thoughtful Christianity and culture. The name of the organization is The Clapham Group. On his web site, http://claphamgroup.com/, we read that the Clapham Group "is committed to promoting the good, true and beautiful in the public arenas of politics, policy and pop culture."

In a recent post, my friend Mark quoted CS Lewis when he said, "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects - with their Christianity latent." We have reduced conversations about squirrels to artificial conversations about Jesus. Believers are to seek to speak thoughtfully and in a relevant fashion about all areas of life and we're to bring a Biblical world and life view perspective into the conversation...or song, or film, or book, or essay...and we might not ever mention the name Jesus. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life...to speak true truth is to speak Jesus.

Now, are there times when we need to bring the truths of the Gospel to peoples' hearts so that they can see their need for the cross? Of course...but so much of what needs to happen in our day is really "pre-evangelism." In addition, Christ is in fact exalted when we speak about beauty, goodness and truth and never mention the name Jesus.

I was listening to XM radio 32, The Message, yesterday. There were two songs in a row...one by the popular singer and ex-American Idol star Daughtry...it didn't mention the name Jesus, but it was truth and it was redemtive in focus...I thought it was great. It was followed up by a song by JJ Heller entitled Who Will Love Me for Me...again, no mention of Jesus, but it was filled with the gospel. It seems that some people are starting to "get it."

I hope my friend Mark doesn't mind me quoting him some more, but he shares about a conversation he had some time back with Bono from U2 and his frustration with the expectations of the super-spirituality of Jesus songs by Christian artists instead of just allowing them to "preach truth."

Mark writes: "In preparation of a meeting with contemporary Christian music (CCM) artists to talk about global AIDS, he wrote me a note: "If the truth sets us free and it does ... Why aren't Christian singers allowed to ring true?" What Bono meant, of course, is that the Church often stifles the creativity and voice of an artist to conform to its own sense of propriety and (in our American context) "family friendly" fare.

The questions is a good one. Do we let the truth shape us and our culture, or do we let our culture shape us and the truth?

Later at the meeting, Bono remarked to the group that they probably couldn't put Song of Solomon (one of only two books of the Bible which does not reference God) to song and sell it in a Christian bookstore. Why? Not enough Jesus' per minute. Too sensual. Not "on message."

So, next time someone asks you, "What is gray and furry, climbs in trees, has a bushy tail and likes to eat nuts?' Tell the truth! It's a squirrel! After all, Jesus would look funny with a tail!

Christian Meets Oscar

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:42:00 +0000

The Academy Awards show is Sunday night, February 27. The Oscars will be given out to actors, actresses, directors, producers, photographers, fashion designers, etc. The biggest night in Hollywood. What should a Christian's response to the Oscars be? I'm a firm believer that the Gospel calls us to find ways to BUILD bridges with our culture rather than constantly looking for excuses to BURN them! That's why I'm really excited about one of the small groups in our church. One of our small groups has come up with a beautiful plan for their meeting that week.

Their discussion that night is going to be about why movies matter for those in our culture who are seeking, sharing and showing grace (our church Mission Statement). What would your brief response be if someone asked you, as a Christian, "Why do movies matter?" Here's my very brief response...

First, it connects us with what is going on in culture. Usually art and film are WAAAAY ahead of the curve of the general population...the film industry tends to SET philosophy, not react to it. The "person on the street" can think they are coming up with their own opinions all they want...the fact is that the educators, the philosophers, the "intelligentsia" are constantly influencing the world-views of others. The next group to process the world-views of the intellectuals, also the group that begins to "popularize" such world-views...are the artists...those leading the way in music, film and literature. The people on Hollywood Boulevard are constantly influencing the people on Main Street.

I am always surprised to discover that most people really don't understand that few artists aren't absolutely intentional about what they are doing. Almost all art, film and literature is presented precisely to make a point...to influence world-view. Christians who thoughtfully watch and process films can learn a lot...and then think through a Christian response.

Second, most POPULAR films are record-breakers precisely because they touch a nerve of the human soul...popular films are usually popular because they are simply an echo of the Larger Story of God's plan of redemption. So, movies matter to thoughtful Christians because we are reminded of the Plan of Redemption...not just our redemption in Christ but our role in being agents of redemption in all of life and culture. Heroes in the great films usually bring redemption to those in need. Villains in the stories remind us of the great battles we face in life and that evil is real, not imaginary. Those who go about doing great good call out that which is in us by God's grace.

Third, knowledge and awareness of popular films enable us to engage our neighbors, friends, work associates in conversation. There are many themes of "Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation" that can lead to Christ-centered discussions.

Few things get me processing the gospel like a good movie. I love Oscar time. My bets are on The King's Speech. A GREAT story with many echoes of the Larger Story. I'm excited about the great time that small group in our church is going to have that Sunday night...may their tribe increase!

The Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:16:00 +0000

The Gospel Pipeline is a tool we've developed that helps us flow, as CS Lewis wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia, "Further Up and Further In" to Christ and His amazing grace! It's sort of a spiritual GPS that helps us discern our location in the Gospel by presenting the typical flow to Growth in Grace. What I want to present you with is the Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge. Before I issue the challenge, however, we need to understand more of the Pipeline itself...

Here is an Executive Summary of the Gospel Pipeline using verses from our key passage: Titus 2:11-3:8 (one of the most balanced, integrated passages on grace in all of Scripture!):

1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!

2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on efforts of man

3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We look to Christ for heaven but look to self for daily status/standing

4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life--Identity in Christ

5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth

6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm

7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable

8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power

9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Pipelines/Disciplines

10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost

11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ

12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world

OK, here's the Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge: I have a dear friend who took each of the phases of the Pipeline (God's 12 Step Program to recovery!!) and picked a song that reminded her of what each phase represents. I would like to enlist the universal creativity of The Church to help us all understand and remember the Gospel Pipeline better.

What I would like us to do is find our OWN songs that come to mind when we think upon each phase of the Pipeline, and share the results with one another. IN ADDITION, why not consider movie clips that would fit each phase, or paintings, or literary works or Broadway plays, etc...anything in the creative arts that would further give us a picture of what each phase of the Pipeline is and help us better remember it.

Here's my friends list to get you started in your thinking:

Gospel Conversion--Beautiful Things by Gungor (emphasizing the power of regeneration)
Gospel Diversion--Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (emphasizing how we turn to determination to grow instead of to Christ)
Gospel Perversion--Get On Your Boots by U2 (emphasizing how we develop a performance paradigm and try to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps!)
Gospel Reversion--In Christ Alone by the Oak Mountain Worship Team (emphasizing Christ from first to last)
Gospel Aversion--It's My Life by Bon Jovi (emphasizing our lust for independence and doing things My Way--another option for a song!)
Gospel Insertion--Grace upon Grace by Sandra McCracken (emphasizing internalizing our need for continual grace)
Gospel Immersion--Be Okay by Ingrid Michaelson (emphasizing we often just want to feel ok and sit and soak in the Hot Tub of Grace)
Gospel Incursion--Hip-Hop Waltz in G Flat Minor by Young Mozart (emphasizing attacking sin by the 3-step Dance with Christ consisting of Repent! Believe! Fight!)
Gospel Emersion--The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News (emphasizing that the power of grace transforms us, enabling us to live in godliness)
Gospel Dispersion--Arise by Third Day (emphasizing that Grace leads us to die to self, get out and serve in mission)
Gospel Assertion--Glorious by Paul Baloche (emphasizing that grace is ultimately about the glory of God, not about my own personal growth or even mission, but the honor of Christ)
Gospel Recursion--Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson (emphasizing we never arrive but will always be battling the world, the flesh and the devil until we go home or Christ returns)

Maybe the best way to go about this is by creating a Note and posting it on Facebook, tagging me...then we'll all have access to your "creation!"

Be creative! Have fun! Serve the Body!

Advent and World AIDS Day

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Advent, from the Latin meaning “coming,” is the season of the church year leading up to Christmas. Throughout church history Advent has given the people of God an opportunity to engage in prayer, meditation and sometimes even fasting in order to seek God for a spirit of repentance in preparation for the celebration of the Incarnation.

Advent isn’t entirely somber, however, and also calls the church to joyfully celebrate the most world-changing event in history: The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, God Himself, being born as a Man. Advent, historically has also involved anticipating and preparing for the Second Advent, the Return of Christ to set up the New Heavens and the New Earth when all of salvation will be revealed in the consummation.

The Incarnation inaugurated the Coming of the Kingdom of God as the God-Man, Jesus Christ, was inserted into our fallen world to accomplish the work, as C.S. Lewis put it, of causing death to work backwards. This turning back of death not only involves spiritual death which is turned back by the obedient life of Christ through which He succeeded where the First Adam failed. Nor does this turning back of death only involve the death of the Incarnate God hanging on the cross as a substitute for His people, offering propitiation for their sins.

The Incarnation also inaugurated a Kingdom where the rule and reign of Christ and His grace and love is unleashed upon planet earth in every conceivable arena of life. There are many passages that speak to this redemptive power released upon the earth through the Incarnation.

One of the more well-known and most encouraging passages along these lines are found in Luke 4:18, which quotes Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

Isaiah 61:2 goes on to read: “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the Day of Vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”

Advent is a time for God’s people to not only meditate upon the realities and ramifications of the Incarnation…it is also a time for us as the Church to recommit to live incarnational lives wherever we find opportunity.

Along these lines, it is significant the World AIDS Day falls during the first week of Advent. World AIDS Day is all about “increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education” related to AIDS. Statistics reveal that there are close to 33 million people living with HIV, “incuding 2.1 million children.”

Part of approaching the AIDS problem with a redemptive mindset involves recognizing that Jesus calls us to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that our neighbor is anyone in need, friend or foe. Whether or not the people in trouble love Jesus or mock Him, living redemptively requires us to pursue the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, those in prison (of any kind) and all who mourn.

There are many reasons AIDS spreads among the population: some reasons are in fact due to what Scripture would call a sinful lifestyle; but there are many other AIDS cases where no personal moral lapse was involved at all. However, even where sin is involved, Christians are called to live incarnationally and bring hope and healing to the world. After all, Jesus came to offer redemption to all of His people who are prisoners to sin because of personal choice. The Christian, more than anyone else, knows the reality of being an undeserving object of Divine Grace. As a matter of fact, grace has no real substance or definition unless it is love shown toward the undeserving!

Advent is a time when we recall the Gospel teaches: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).”

Advent is a time when we remember that love has been made manifest among us. It is also a time when God calls us to continue to manifest His love in the world by serving the Least and the Lost.

In one sense, World AIDS Day couldn’t occur during a more appropriate time. May we as those who have been shown grace, both celebrate grace and show grace this Advent Season. Let’s find ways to manifest the love of God by leading our churches and all of God’s people to show kindness and compassion to the distressed, downcast, rejected and reviled. For we, too, were once, and often still are, such people ourselves.

As We Consider Stewardship

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:31:00 +0000

I came across this quote by Thomas Manton, an English Pastor of the 1600's...seems the more things change, the more they stay the same! "There is not a vice which more effectually contracts and deadens the feelings, which more completely makes a man's affections centre in himself, and excludes all others from partaking in them, than the desire of accumulating possessions. When the desire has once gotten hold of the heart, it shuts out all other considerations but such as may promote its views. In its zeal for the attainment of its end, it is not delicate in the choice of means. As it closes the heart, so it clouds the understanding. It cannot discern between right and wrong. It takes evil for good and it calls darkness light and light, darkness. Beware, then, of the beginnings of covetousness, for you know not where it will end."

2010 Favorite Reads...so far

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:30:00 +0000

My three favorite reads so far this year: Run with the Horses by Eugene Peterson; The Prayer of Jehoshaphat by Stanley Gale; A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Run with the Horses is a running, devotional commentary on the Book of Jeremiah. It's a book that calls us, by grace, to "go for broke" in every arena of life...to take risks, to take Christ at His word that He came that we might have life and might have it ABUNDANTLY! Peterson challenges us to consider why many of us live dull, boring lives without adventure and with so little fulfillment. He calls us to fresh surrender, fresh faith and to leave our comfort zones and live a dangerous life.

The Prayer of Jehoshaphat is finally a book on prayer that truly SPOKE to me. I'm not saying there aren't other good books on prayer...but this one reached deep down into my soul. I feel better prepared on why to pray, how to pray, what to pray. I was so encouraged TO pray because of how the author presents God's heart of grace toward us in Christ. I was encouraged to not be distracted by what seems to be an "experience" that contradicts the promises of God and to keep focusing on those promises and God's character. I was encouraged to pray expectantly and to pray big prayers again.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is all about the reality that God is writing our stories. He is at work in us, through us and around us. God is calling us to look for where He is at work...and He is at work around us all the time. God is calling us to participate in the Great Story...our part has been written, yet at the same time we participate truly and really in the story...the Great Story is no place for fatalists! We have a responsible part to play in the working out of God's narrative for our lives. And Miller reminds us that no matter how many times we fail...each day is a new opportunity to make a fresh start...to begin a new chapter.

Above ALL else, GUARD your heart!

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:05:00 +0000

Proverbs 4:23--"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

I've been meditating on Proverbs 4:23 lately because of a discipleship process I've become involved with.

Meditation...ruminating on a verse...letting your soul marinade in the words of a verse...making observations on each and every word and upon their connections with each other...thinking through relevant applications to your daily life...Meditation...a lost art in our day.

As I meditate on Proverbs 4:23, here are some things that come to mind:

"above all else"--there is NOTHING more important than this: that I guard my heart. It is my number one priority as I get out of bed each and every morning. It is my number one task as I live through each and every minute of each and every day!

"guard your heart"--I have to ask: what is my heart? My heart is the totality of my being, the very core of who I am. My heart is my intellect, my emotions, my will, my motivations, my joys, my priorities, the openness of my life to God and His truth and much, much more! I have a lot to guard...

"guard your heart"--hmmm, that must mean my heart is under attack! Constantly! I need to guard my heart from the lies of the enemy. I need to guard my heart from the mentality of the world. I need to guard my heart from the fallen pull of my own flesh. I need to guard my heart from living out of the pain of past woundedness. I need to guard my heart against living out of self-protection, self-preservation or self-indulgence.

"above all else, guard your heart"--sounds like a command, to me. It is a Gospel Responsibility given to ME! It is my highest responsibility to guard my heart; to watch over it; to protect it; to keep it from harm. I must think through ways I am to guard my heart (that's a BLOG for another day!).

"guard your heart for IT is the wellspring of life"--everything in my life, all my words, actions, attitudes...they all flow from my heart. My mission, my love for others, my roles and responsibilities in life...they all flow from what it going on in my heart. My heart is a fountain...if my heart is attacked, unprotected and assaulted, then what flows forth from my life will likely be polluted...and others will be impacted.

"it is the wellspring of life"--I have been created by God and re-created in Christ to be a source, a wellspring, a fountain of life, to all those I come into contact with throughout the day. The life I am able to offer is directly proportional to the life in my own heart...life received from Christ, and His Word and His community. My heart is to be a wellspring of life for others and I need others to refresh my own heart as well.

Meditation...it's hard work...like mining for gold...but well worth the time and effort.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

A Fresh Look at Faithfulness

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:50:00 +0000

I was reading Matthew 25:14-30 this morning...the Parable of the Talents as it is often called. It's ultimately a parable about "faithfulness," right? Just like the Parable of the Prodigal Son is all about a young man who squandered his life in loose living, right?

Well, actually, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is more about a Father's love for younger and older prodigal sons. But I digress...sort of...

The Parable of the Talents...is it REALLY about "faithfulness?" Or, perhaps, is it ultimately about the FOUNDATION or SPRINGBOARD of all faithfulness?...A gracious Father!

The only steward in the story who is "unfaithful" or, more accurately perhaps, "unfruitful," is the one who expressly reveals that he saw his master as a "hard man" (ESV) or, as we read in The Message, a master who makes "no allowances for error." What is revealed in the parable, then, is that people who have a view of God as stern or harsh are often paralyzed by fear. Again, The Message: "I was afraid I might disappoint you."

If we have a view of God as stern or harsh, we will opt for safe, cautious living. Such a view of God leads to risk-averse lives. Such a view of the Father leads people to "play to not lose, rather than aggressively playing to win."

I saw one of the gutsiest coaching calls in years the other night during the Michigan State/Notre Dame football game. It was in OT and Michigan State needed a field goal to tie the game and go into a second overtime period. Amazingly, the coach called a fake field goal and the holder, an ex-quarterback, threw the ball down the field. It was a relatively high-risk pass..it had to be a strike, right on the money. It was. And the Michigan State player caught it for a touchdown...and a win! Wow! What a way to live!

I have no clue about the spiritual state of Coach Dantonio, but he certainly isn't risk-averse! But for believers in Christ, it is those who know God as the Father of love, mercy, goodness, patience, kindness and grace that are most free to "roll the dice," to "go out on a limb," to live lives of "holy recklessness."

Those are sad words for me to write...because I'm so often a man who tends to play it safe...who is fairly risk-averse...a guy who is often quite afraid of making mistakes and of failure. Wonder what that tells me about my view of God?

Hmmm, and I used to think the point of the Parable of the Talents was: "You'd better be faithful!"

Guess I need a fresh look at faithfulness. How about you?

The Grammar of Classical Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:15:00 +0000

People have asked for some memory verses to keep them focused on the "Grammar of Gospel Christianity" or the TRUE "Basics" of the Christian life. Here's a start:

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Goodness
Ex 33:19
Numbers 10:29
Joshua 23:14
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 34:8-10/1 Pet 2:3
Psalm 107:1-9
Psalm 145:9, 14-20
Nahum 1:7
Romans 2:4
Ro 8:28

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Love
Deut 7:6-8
Jeremiah 31:3
Lam 3:22-23
Zeph 3:17
Rom 5:5
Eph 3:14-20
Jude 20-21
1 Jn 4:8, 16-18

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Justification
Gen 15:6
Is 53:4-6
Is 61:10
Rom 3:28
Rom 4:5
Romans 5:1, 15-21
Romans 8:1, 33
Gal 2:16
Phil 3:7-9

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Adoption
Matt 3:17
John 1:12
John 17:23-24
John 20:17
Ro 8:15
Gal 4:4-7
1 Jn 3:1-2

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Sanctification
Ps 46:10
Isaiah 30:15-21
Ezek 20:12
John 6:28-29
Acts 20:32
Rom 6:1-14
1 Cor 1:30
2 Cor 3:17-18
Gal 3:5
Eph 2:10
1 Thess 5:23-24
2 Thess 2:13
Titus 2:11-12
Heb 13:9
Jude 24-25
1 Pet 1:3-5
2 Pet 1:3-11
1 Jn 1:9

I Know I'll Go Crazy if...

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:05:00 +0000

I've been challenged recently to consider the "Voice" of the Father in affirming, encouraging and validating me as a man created in His image and being restored in Christ to all He means for me to become. Deep stuff, I know. But we ALL need encouragement and affirmation.

Think about it: Jesus was the Son of God...God in the flesh; as regards His human nature, sinless. Yet the Father validated, affirmed and encouraged Jesus constantly...

In Matthew 3:17, at His baptism, the Father's Voice spoke over Jesus: "This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased." Think of the encouragement that filled the soul of Jesus as He heard these words of affirmation. By the way, the greek tense of the verb signals that the delight of God in the Son is timeless: The NIV Study Bible notes: "God has always been and always will be "well pleased" with His Son."

Then, later, in Matthew 17:5, while Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father's Voice spoke again: "This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased."

What is amazing is that through faith in Christ, by the power of the Spirit, a believer in Christ is baptized into union with Christ, so that all that is true of Christ becomes true of the believer...so...the Father's validation, affirmation and encouragement spoken over the Son is now spoken over all those whose lives are hidden IN the Son!

We may be terrible at hearing the Father's Voice, but He is constantly speaking over us: "You are My son/daughter! Whom I love! With you I am well pleased!" I know, it seems too good to be true...and all the contrary "voices" seek to drown out the Father's voice...there's so much noise from the crowd, we have a hard time hearing...but listen...listen closely....

"The Lord your God is with you...a Might One to save...He will rejoice over you with gladness...He will quiet you by His love...He will exalt over you with LOUD singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

We need encouragement...life is hard! The Christian life is hard. As Bono of U2 sings in the song, "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"..."It's not a hill, it's a mountain as you start out the climb. Do you believe me or are you doubting? We're gonna make it all the way to the Light."

It is God's Voice that encourages us that we are going to make it...but like Bono, we must also learn to speak the "echo" of the Father's encouragement and affirmation TO one another as well.

Listen for the Father's affirming voice...listen for it through the Word, through His Spirit, through His Body, the Community of Faith...and then remember to SPEAK words of affirmation and encouragement to those around you today!

Fifteen Influential Albums

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:05:00 +0000

A friend inspired me by his own list...so here's mine...probably not a typical list according to many peoples' view of pastors...but then again, those who know me know I'm not the typical pastor! So...here goes...

1. U2--How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (U2 could take up my entire list!)
2. The Beatles--Abbey Road
3. Bob Dylan--Slow Train Coming
4. Switchfoot--The Beautiful Letdown
5. Les Miserables--The Complete Symphonic Recording
6. Steely Dan--Can't Buy a Thrill
7. Jackson Browne--The Pretender
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Cosmo's Factory
9. Electric Light Orchestra--Out of the Blue
10. Chicago--Chicago Transit Authority
11. Boston--Boston
12. Cold Play--X&Y
13. Kansas--Leftoverture
14. Barenaked Ladies--Disc One
15. Pink Floyd--Dark Side of the Moon (I know, hard to believe, huh?)

Highs, Lows...and Glory!

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:55:00 +0000

For my devotional this morning, I was in Matthew 16:13-17:5. An up and down passage for Peter...highs and lows...and highs.

First, Jesus pointed out Peter's "glory and honor" as a man blessed by God and as an image-bearer. Jesus greatly honored Peter for his confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God. Calling out or pointing out others' glory and honor gives people great encouragement and strength in life. Such encouragement reminds us who God longs for us to be and also reminds us that by grace we are being restored to the image of Christ.

But, Jesus also let Peter know when he was living as less of a man than he was meant to be. When Peter had a wrong view of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus rebukes him, even saying "Get behind Me, Satan!" Ouch! BUT, what Jesus was really wanting Peter to see, was that he was a better man than he was living and acting out at that moment! Jesus was saying, in effect, "Peter, you're a better man than this! Keep being and becoming the man you were meant to be in grace! Don't fall into the "smaller story" of living a lie! Trust Me and honor Me and expect more from My grace in you!" Jesus was calling forth even more "glory" from Peter.

Now, this is tricky, because, on the one hand, we need to encourage one another. We need to offer each other strength, and the opportunity for life and growth. We need to point out where we see the image of Christ in one another and how we see each other living as we were meant to live. On the other hand, we also need to let people face the possibility of DIScouragement from time to time, when they must realize they are thinking LESS of themselves than God means them to. When we are not living out of the "glory" God has given us in Christ, we need to encourage each other that we are "better men" or better people than how we are acting.

However, when it was all said and done, Jesus again "lifts Peter up" and encourages him once more by honoring Peter through inviting him to join Him on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Of course, the process of repentance and faith continues as Peter acts as less than his glory in Christ again, by saying something stupid about building tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah! So now, God the Father speaks and says to Peter, in effect, "Shooosh! Be silent! Listen!"

God is ALWAYS calling us to a higher place...to live more and more out of the glory He has shared with us in Christ.

Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith.
Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith....etc

That IS the process of growth in grace.

Live out of your glory...and call others to do the same!

The Gospel Pipeline Graphic Takes Shape

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:41:00 +0000

I know that for many looking at this graphic, you're thinking, "What????" Please be patient...it will become clear over the next several Sundays of messages...or, over the next several MONTHS of Sundays!

What exactly IS the Gospel Pipeline?

noreply@blogger.com (The Bobosphere) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:45:00 +0000

In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter concludes his letter by encouraging us to keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, Aslan, the Great Lion, the King (the Christ figure of the stories) encourages His people to go "Further Up and Further In" to Narnia...the "Promised Land" of His love, grace and salvation. The Gospel Pipeline gives us a picture of how the "flow" Further Up and Further In often occurs in a Christian's life.

What follows is the Gospel Pipeline Overview:

Gospel Pipeline Overview

1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!

2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on the efforts of man

3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We live as if God's delight in us is merited or maintained by our performance rather than through Christ

4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life-Identity in Christ

5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth

6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm

7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable

8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power

9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Means of Grace

10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost

11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ

12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world