Aging Biblically

Watch this.

The voice on the video is one Francis Chan who is pretty widely well known these days.  I've had the privilege of hearing Chan speak on one occasion, and look forward to the next in just a few short days.  I apologize for the somewhat cornball editing of the video, and I'm not sure how using the title theme from "Braveheart" makes the video a "sermon jam," but be that as it may, I think Chan has some good stuff to think about here.

When I first watched the video, I wondered why it was titled "Aging Biblically."  I didn't hear too much in there about how to grow older in a biblical fashion.  Rather, it seems to me that what Chan was driving at is that we tend to live our lives, either in the early or later years, without a sense of eternality in view.  Chan's sentiment about living our lives in such a way that shows that we do not know when we are going to meet God, and therefore arranging our values and purposes in light of that reality, is not just for the aged, but is in fact for all believers of any age.

I do think, however, that Chan hits a nerve that is very sensitive for us Christians in the West, and particularly here in the United States.  We tend to view life as a process of gaining security as we age.  That is, we save for retirement, we plan financially, we minimize risk, we work really hard to get those things we want (whether possessions, family members, whatever), as though we have an agenda to "make it" - at least to the extent that we've achieved and obtained those things we wanted to achieve and obtain.  The question he raises, and I think it's a good one, is where do we see this pattern in scripture?  The answer is we don't.  As Chan says, what we see in scripture is a radical rejection of security for the sake and cause of Christ.  This we do, not because we have to or because it is the cultural expectation of Christianity, but because it's worth it.  Moreover, those things that can and do captivate our time and attention, especially as we get older, need to be regarded as what they are: a dung hill.  Why a dung hill?  Because that's what everything is when compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  

What I think it really boils down to is one thing: idolatry.  Loving something or someone more than we love God.  For us Christians in the U.S., I think the main idol that we worship is security: the hope that my life will be OK and that it will go essentially the way I want it to.  Then we take steps to bolster our hope in security by working over time, achieving more, saving more, and buying more.  We also might say that our main idol here in America is the idol of our present and/or future happiness.  That's why we see people hoarding and buying, and planning and saving. (see this brief article for a poignant treatment of some of the effects of idolatry)

The irony of a life committed to the idol of security is that such a life is anything but secure.  As Chan says, there are no days that are guaranteed to us; we could all be gone in an instant.  What then has our planning, saving, and time and energy put into worshiping the false gods of happiness and security gained us?  Absolutely nothing.  

Does this mean we can't or shouldn't plan for the future?  Nope.  Scripture likewise teaches that it is wise and prudent to plan for the future, and that working hard is right and good.  I think Chan's point is that, instead of putting time and energy into things that aren't guaranteed (security and happiness), let's put that same amount of time and energy into abandoning everything for Jesus.

Wretched Radio, and Learning to Think Theologically

Back in the early 2000's (2001 maybe?), I discovered a Christian talk radio show called "Talk the Walk" with Todd Friel on AM980 KKMS in the Twin Cities.  I can remember the very first episode I ever heard - it was a man debating with and witnessing to people he was meeting at the State Fair (it was in the summer).  Needless to say I was intrigued, as he easily handled any questions and objections that came his way.  I made sure to tune in the next day, and heard similar content on the show.

As the State Fair wound down, the guy doing the debating and witnessing was back in the studio and talked through the issues of the day as they related to evangelical Christianity.  He talked about all sorts of things: current events, issues in the church, worship, witnessing, politics, entertainment, and just about everything you can imagine.  I remember being exposed to something I had not previously been able (willing?) to do: think theologically.  In other words, I had never been exposed to someone thinking through every day issues from scripture.  Sure, I had been to church my whole life, and by this time I was actually and genuinely a Christian.  But there was a significant disconnect between my thinking and scripture.  I had never been taught to examine all of my life in light of what I knew to be true about God and man, as revealed in scripture.  This all began to change when I started listening to Todd Friel on Talk the Walk.

As time went on, I made sure to never miss an episode of "Talk the Walk."  I listened to it every day, and recommended it to all my friends and family members.  I grew immensely as I listened to Todd think through issues using scripture and theology.  It was a huge part of my growth at that time.

After a couple years, Todd left "Talk the Walk," which was locally broadcast, and KKMS in order to do "Way of the Master Radio" with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, a nationally syndicated show.  The show's content remained essentially the same, except it now included live witnessing encounters between Todd and people on the street over the phone.

And then, after a couple of years with Way of the Master, Todd Friel left (amicably) to do his own TV show in addition to the radio show.  The TV show is called "Wretched," and the radio show is aptly titled "Wretched Radio."  The radio show isn't broadcast in the Twin Cities anymore, so I download the podcasts each day for the meager price of $5.00 a month.  It's the best money I spend in my entire budget.  For this amount I get full access to the daily TV shows and podcasts (which are essentially the same, although the podcast is two hours a day, whereas the TV show is only a half hour a day - needless to say, I prefer the podcast).

One other thing that needs to be mentioned in a post like this, and especially in light of what I've already said, is that the primary way a person learns to think theologically is through familiarity with and dedication to the Bible.  In this sense, the best thing a person can do to learn to think theologically is to learn to read the Bible.  Learn to read the Bible?  Isn't it just reading?  No, it's not just reading.  It's connecting what has been read to real life.  This is not as easy as it sounds, and it is definitely a skill that comes with time, practice, prayer, and humility.  The Spirit is a part of this process just as much as we are.

That being said, I owe a lot of my spiritual growth and maturity to Todd Friel and the ways he's taught me to think through life and scripture (and he's a pretty funny guy, too; the shows aren't just interesting, they're pretty entertaining).  I would recommend that any Christian interested in getting down and dirty with connecting scripture to real life subscribe to Wretched and listen to these podcasts and grow in your ability to think theologically.  Your life will change.  Seriously.

What Do I Need to Know About Heaven?

There have been quite a few books released lately about people taking supposed trips to heaven and back.  Each of these authors have claimed have visited heaven as a result of a near-death experience and claim that the visit was for the purpose of God giving new revelation about what heaven is like.  I have several problems with these books, and I would warn Christians to stay away from them.  They are completely unnecessary, as you will see, and are, for the most part, untrue (and I can say this with certainty).

One thing that I've made a habit of over the past few months is daily reading Tim Challies' excellent blog site.  If you're not familiar with Tim, you should be.  He's an excellent writer and he runs a great blog.  In addition to his theologically deep and sound reflections, he has a daily "a la carte" post in which he shares interesting things he has found on the internet. I highly recommend his site.

Anywho, yesterday Challies wrote a piece on all of these "I've been to heaven" books and he explains from scripture why they are, for the most part, bunk.  He's got a lot of great points, and rather than summarize them here, I'll just refer you to Tim's post.

I would like to point out what I think is the biggest problem with these books, in addition to the problems that Challies points out, although Tim does touch on this issue in his treatment.  It seems to me that all of these accounts of visiting heaven necessarily implicate the Bible as being an insufficient source of revelation.  In other words, when it comes to the subject of heaven the supposed necessity of having people visit heaven for the purpose of describing it to those of us who have never been, seems to suggest that the Bible is incomplete, at least when it comes to this issue.  That is, hasn't God told us enough (or all we need to know) about heaven?  Isn't God's word complete?  Do I really need more information about heaven?  And if I do need to know more, doesn't that imply that the word of God is at least somehow insufficient?

Challies makes a great point that at the end of the book of Revelation, John asserts that the canon of scripture is closed - nothing more can be added to it.  In fact, if anyone does add to it, he is cursed.  What does that say about these folks telling us they have the "real scoop" on heaven?

I have the same problem with the couple of books that supposedly tell the tale of people who have been to hell and back for the purpose of warning the masses of the atrocities of eternal damnation.  Wait, doesn't the Bible already do that for us?  Do we really need someone to tell us that hell is bad?  I'm pretty sure that subject is already closed.

God has told us all we need to know about heaven.  And if our information is incomplete, it is so for a reason.  What reason?  I don't know.  But God knew what he was doing when he inspired scripture and gave Paul and John visions of heaven.  That's all we need.

The Next Chapter for Steve Saint

A couple years ago I shared this video on my blog.  It features Steve Saint (son of missionary martyr Nate Saint) and the Maverick, a flying car prototype (pictured at right) innovated and developed by his company iTec.  I really appreciate Steve Saint for a few reasons: 1) he's a really smart guy, and 2) he and his company are doing really cool things and innovating new technology for the purpose of using it on the mission field.  They're not doing it for money - they're doing it for the purpose of making missions work more effective and for the purpose of being able to reach those hard-to-reach places on the earth where the gospel has not been preached.

This was the motivation behind the Maverick.  Saint and his associates wanted to create an air vehicle that could take off from tight spaces and that didn't need a landing strip or runway in order to be airborne.  They saw several uses for such a vehicle in transporting goods and supplies into very remote locations, and how medical missionaries could use the car to transport patients from the jungle to a hospital.  Just really cool stuff.  And when you think that these guys are coming up with this stuff for the purpose of expanding the work of the gospel, it just becomes all the more cool.

I just read today, however that Steve Saint was badly injured last week in an accident, testing some new technology developed by his company.  Again, this was technology that would be used in the mission field.  The information about just what kind of technology he was testing is a little vague, but the result is that he has almost completely lost the use of his arms and legs, and that there is swelling on his spinal cord, which, at the time of this posting, he is undergoing surgery to relieve.

He just released this video (see below) yesterday about his accident and the treatment he's going through, and how this experience has changed enforced his worldview and his faith.  Here's a guy who is not wasting his life.  Take a look at this and be encouraged by a man who knows his God and knows his place in God's plan.

For the Kids

You often hear teachers say that they get into teaching for the kids.  That if they could know that they had impacted the life of just one child, all their hard work, time, and effort would have paid off.  Maybe you could say the same thing about ministers, although if that's why I got into ministry, it appears I'm going to be disappointed.

As I've mentioned before, I recently graduated from Bethel Seminary.  The people of Riverview, unbeknownst to me, planned a rather lavish reception for me to celebrate my graduation.  Also unbeknownst to me, several people gave me cards with congratulations and significant monetary gifts.  One family passed along a card with personalized messages from both of their two children.  The dad of the family told me that his son, while writing his message to me, asked his dad how to spell the word "believe."  The dad felt his heart warm, as he imagined his son writing a message to the effect of "Thanks for helping me believe in Jesus, Pastor Joel."  After the boy had finished his message the dad took a look at it and found this:

"Hi Joel.  I can't believe you're going to be a pastor."

Needless to say, the parents put a word of explanation with the card so I wouldn't be too depressed.  But when I think about it, I find myself agreeing: I can't believe I'm going to be a pastor either!