TRUTH AND GRACE VENTURES

Thanks to Andy for pointing us toward this reflection on fasting and feasting.

Over the centuries, Christians have fasted for many reasons. Sometimes the reasons have been good. The apostles and their churches fasted and prayed before selecting elders or ordaining missionaries. Christians have fasted in mourning for their sins. They have fasted and prayed to combat demons and to plead with God for relief from disaster.

Often, of course, they have fasted for bad reasons. They fasted because they believed flesh was evil, because they felt desperately guilty and forgot God’s love in sending his Son to cleanse their sins, because they wanted God to notice how wonderfully pious they were.

In spite of errors and abuses, Christians in the past had sound intuitions about the centrality of fasting in the Christian life. In the early Church, fasting was not an isolated practice reserved for a day or a season. It was a clue to all Christian living, a perspective on the whole of discipleship. To be a Christian meant to participate in a great feast. It meant also to observe a great fast.

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Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 01:26 PM | Permalink

While theologians debate whether or not the practice of tithing - donating ten percent (or more) of one's income to churches and charitable groups - is a biblical responsibility of Christians, Americans have pretty much made up their minds on the subject. Their views are discernible through their behavior.

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Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 03:01 PM | Permalink

Please allow us the pleasure of introducing the 2008 Class of Truth and Grace Ventures’ Servants Quarters program.  We hope that these very brief introductions help lead to the creation of many more meaningful and mutually edifying relationships down the road.   

Nar, a graduate of Amherst College and the fourth of five children from Cambodian-Chinese immigrant parents, presently serves with energy and passion as the Local Outreach Coordinator of The Falls Church.   

A native of Falls Church, Nefret just graduated in May ‘07 from William and Mary and then faithfully followed a call to serve the children of Southeast DC as a AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer. 

Pursuing her lifelong dream to be a teacher, Kim moved from Michigan to Northern Virginia this year, only to learn that God had a different plan.  She now joyfully serves as the Middle School Youth Director at Vienna Presbyterian Church. 

After two years of teaching third grade in Herndon, Virginia, Emily made the move to live in intentional Christian community with two friends in a Spanish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Arlandria.  By day, Emily is the program assistant at an after-school learning center in South Arlington.

Jamilia joins us as she nears the end of her second year serving, tirelessly and ably, as the Executive Director of Southeast DC Partners, a suburban and urban partnership aimed at bringing reconciliation and renewal to the children and families of Southeast DC.

Carlous, teaming with the Coalition for Christian Outreach, Tom Skinner Campus Ministries and the Skinner Leadership Institute, uniquely offers the Howard University student community a range of opportunities for serious discipleship, leadership development, community service, racial reconciliation and evangelism. 

Nick, the son of two former pastors in the United Church of Christ and a philosophy graduate of Grove City College, joins us in our first attempt to extend the Servants Quarters program beyond its traditional boundaries.  In particular, while he is a dedicated servant in his church and among his neighbors, Nick works for a for-profit firm rather than a non-profit Christian ministry, and thus is ineligible for Servants Quarters monetary assistance.   

Photo caption:  Back row:  Nar, Nefret, Kim, Emily and Jamilia.  Seated:  Christine and Ramsey, with Carlous on the left and Nick on the right

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 12:21 PM | Permalink

Do you ever find that you're trusting in yourself or what you have – your talent, youth, diligence, discipline, wit, bank account?  Learning to trust in the Giver, not His good gifts, is a lesson on which I’ve been forced to focus this past year.  And it was this lesson that came to mind as I read an article in today’s Washington Post about local preachers’ struggle “to make the centuries-old story of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ relevant to today’s worshipers.”

Hundreds of ministers in the Washington region will face packed churches tonight when they preach one of their most important, and challenging, sermons of the year as Christians gather to celebrate Christmas.

With high-flown rhetoric or plain-spoken bluntness, brevity or long-winded oratory, ministers will try to make the centuries-old story of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ relevant to today’s worshipers.

It’s not easy, ministers say.

I wonder whether some of these ministers, perhaps caught up in the pressure of the moment, are trusting too much in their God-given intelligence, humor, cleverness or oratorical skills?  I wonder whether they might find preaching on Christmas Eve less of a struggle if they looked to Saint Paul as an example? 

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). 

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 01:17 PM | Permalink

"I don't know what you feel about the prosperity gospel . . . but I'll tell you what I feel about it:  hatred." - John Piper

Click here to see a three-minute clip from a sermon by John Piper, in which he shares the truth about the prosperity gospel.

HT: Desiring God

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 09:52 AM | Permalink

As we near the three-month mark of the 2007 Servants Quarters program, we all are taking time and care to reflect on what God has been doing in our lives lately.  More specifically, we have been meditating on, and journaling in response to, the following questions:

What have you learned about God and yourself during the last three months?  Have you set a course to put that revelation into action (in your personal life, in your ministry)?  What does that involve?

For me, the first three months of 2007 have proven to be a time of intense learning about God and His ways.  Two lessons stand out.  First, God is in control, not me.  My role is limited (1 Corinthians 3:5-7;  Ecclesiastes 7:13).  My duty is loving obedience.  As Solomon summarized the life lived from an eternal perspective, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  He will take care of the consequences.  He will reveal the next step on the path.  Only He knows the divine, sovereign, eternal plan.  We “cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  I must trust in the presence and work of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16).  I must trust in the Word, that it will bear fruit (Isaiah 55:6-11).  I must trust in His providential care (Matthew 6:25-33), divine mercy (Daniel 2:1-30) and justice (Job 38-42).  I have heard these reminders many times, from many sources, including friends, a lecturer and my devotional studies. 

But I wouldn’t have realized the importance of this lesson – in other words, I wouldn’t have realized my failure to live consistently with this conviction – without the Lord putting uncomfortable and inconvenient opportunities for application right in front of my face.  Most notably, I have great difficulty appreciating the spiritual wisdom of my church’s decision to litigate property claims against The Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia.  In obedience to Him, I have expressed those concerns, surrendering the consequences to Him.  (Of course, the consequences never were in my hands, but nonetheless, there is freedom in the surrender.) 

The second prominent lesson of the last three months is that I am woefully inattentive to the unseen realm.  I can go hours without considering the eternal significance of my temporal labor.  I can go hours, even days, without tuning into the supernatural realm, the widespread but unseen battle that rages between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12).  Hence, foolishly, I too often forget to avail myself of the protections of the “full armor of God” (vv.11-18).  I am too easily sucked into the emotion of the moment, forgetting the peace available when fixing my eyes on the unseen eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  In sum, my practice of the presence of King Jesus is wanting.  I need to cultivate a more intimate understanding and richer application of the unseen reality that I am with Jesus – where He is (Ephesians 2:6), exalted at the right hand of the Father (Colossians 3:1).

The course I have set to acquire such wisdom from God involves the regular practice of various spiritual disciplines.  I must commit to planting the Word deeply on a daily basis, reading and meditating on an appropriate devotional study guide.  I will commit to sit at the feet of two men who are more spiritually mature than I am.  I need to use more of my available time to wait on the Lord, to pray and to reflect quietly, to practice solitude.  I need to practice (i) giving, “contributing to the needs of others” (Romans 12:8);  (ii) living in community, denying the radical individualism peddled by the popular culture;  and (iii) sacrificial living, outwardly denying the prevailing wisdom of the self-indulgent world.

Most importantly, throughout all of this, I must remain sensitively aware that the point is to know God and enjoy Him forever.  As J.I. Packer so aptly said with respect to theological pursuits:

To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception.  We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude . . . .  (Knowing God, p.23)

What has God been teaching you?

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 07:25 PM | Permalink

Last Thursday, the Servants Quarters community gathered to discuss 40 Days of Nothing, our walk together through this season of Lent.  In undertaking 40 Days of Nothing, we have entered a season of intense, deliberate reflection, self-denial and, hopefully, transformation.  We are striving to limit our consumption to the basic necessities, resisting the empty promises of the world that we can find well-being through indulging our endless wants and instead focusing on God’s promise that His grace is sufficient. 

The spirit of our discussion and the character of my new friends impressed me greatly.  Our discussion topic, revolving as it did around radical self-denial, is not particularly attractive on its face.  On the contrary, it seems to possess significant potential to generate feelings of depression and self-pity.  In my opinion, though, our time together could be best characterized as joyful.  Despite the nature of the material and its serious implications, the room was filled with laughter and joking and a sense of hope.  Perhaps some would suggest that it was nervous laughter, but I believe the atmosphere was born of a common sense of peace not unease.  These young leaders shared thoughts and stories evidencing not only a commitment to allow God to transform them, but a willingness to share that blessing with others.  I believe that was the immediate reason for the hope permeating our time together. 

What did we discuss?  Here’s a taste: 

We shared details of what we are denying ourselves and which disciplines we plan to undertake.  Each person’s commitment is unique.  I have my own habits and weaknesses.  You have yours.  Some in our group, for example, are inclined not so much to acquisitiveness as busyness.  For them, 40 Days of Nothing will involve not a decrease in consumption but a decrease in activity, a slowing of the pace, leaving stillness in which the soft voice of God may be heard.

We debated whether to share with others what we have undertaken during the season.  After all, Jesus taught that we are to care for our appearance when fasting “so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting” (Matthew 6:18).  He warned against praying like “the hypocrites [who] love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men” (v.5), and against letting our left hand know what our right hand is doing when giving to the needy (v.3).  Does this mean that we ought not share with others concerning our journey through Nothing?  Or does it mean only that we ought to check our motives for doing so?

We talked about what types of responses we might expect from others who learn about our radical (by contemporary American standards) commitment.  Some of our friends and loved ones have warmly welcomed the idea of trading needless consumption for spiritual transformation, and have decided to join the fun!  Praise God.  On the other hand, experience and the Scriptures indicate that, no matter how gently or innocently we share our story, some will react with anger and defensiveness.  People have called the Compactors “un-American” and “anti-capitalist”;  others have called them and the folks behind Buy Nothing Day a threat to the economy and the American way of life.  Add to that the reality that we are motivated by a desire to become more like Christ, and we can expect some people to hate us and our testimony without reason (John 15:18-25).  My hope and prayer is that we are able faithfully to follow the example of St. Paul, respectfully departing from those who sneer and turning instead to nurture those who are drawn to the truth (Acts 17:32-34).

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 05:12 PM | Permalink

T.M. Moore offers important advice for those who, like me, may have been drawn to biblical worldview studies by the prospect of acquiring information.

I get the impression sometimes that for many of those engaging in this [worldview] conversation, “Biblical worldview” refers to a raft of propositions to be developed, adumbrated, embraced, proclaimed, and defended against the unbelieving worldviews of our day—a category of knowledge, a system of beliefs or views about reality that we propose in contradistinction to the manifestly bankrupt worldviews of our modernist/postmodernist generation. Worldview equates to knowledge for many people. When you know the Biblical worldview, your job is to propound and defend it against all comers.

Certainly this apologetic dimension is part of what we intend by pursuing this conversation over Biblical worldview. We want the followers of Jesus Christ to understand the full ramifications of His Lordship, the profound implications of His all-embracing truth, and the utter beauty and goodness of the system of faith that we have received from the Apostles and the grand tradition of our forebears.

But the Scriptures never equate knowledge with knowing, and, in Biblical terms, the latter is by far the more important idea. Anyone can get knowledge; only those who make proper use of it can arrive at a place of knowing.

So how can we know when we know, as well as when we don’t know?

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Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 09:26 AM | Permalink

When Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 21, the Servants Quarters community will embark on 40 Days of Nothing.  As described in the Book of Common Prayer,

The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting.  [Likewise, we are invited] in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

The Litany of Penitence for Ash Wednesday calls on us to confess, among other things,

the pride, hypocrisy and impatience of our lives, [o]ur self-indulgent appetites and ways, . . . our exploitation of other people, . . . our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, [o]ur intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, . . . our blindness to human need and suffering, . . . our indifference to injustice and cruelty, . . . our waste and pollution of [God’s] creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us . . . . 

Having confessed, we turn to the Lord, praying that He would restore us and accomplish in us the work of His salvation so that we may reflect His glory in the world.  This is why we will undertake 40 Days of Nothing, so that we may honor our Lord by deliberately and systematically identifying and removing obstacles that impede our relationship with Him. 

What will 40 Days of Nothing look like from a practical perspective?  Because the culture’s materialistic onslaught ensnares each of us in different ways, 40 Days of Nothing will look different in each of our lives.  But we will share the same motivation (described above), as well as a commitment to (1) limiting our acquisition and consumption to what we need rather than what we want, and (2) seeking to use the resources we save to the benefit of God’s Kingdom.  To see how one family recently implemented this concept, see 30 Days of Nothing.

When we gather next, on February 22, we will discuss the contours and specifics of our individual plans, lending each other a hand in discerning between needs and wants, and discussing what we might do, individually or collectively, with the resources we conserve.  In preparation for this session, it might be useful for you to spend some time reflecting on similar movements against consumerism such as the “Compactors” (see here and here), Adbusters and people inspired by Judith Levine’s book Not Buying It:  My Year Without Shopping. 

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 03:37 PM | Permalink

The Orlando Sentinel had a story yesterday about Stevens Creek Community Church in Augusta, Georgia, where “God takes credit cards.  Debit cards, too.”

Two “giving kiosks” sit just outside the church’s chapel, next-generation collection plates that allow churchgoers to swipe their credit or debit cards and instantly send donations to the church.  . . .  Pastor Marty Baker has renamed the black terminals “automatic tithe machines.”  “We’re just trying to connect with the culture,” Baker says. “And that’s how the culture does business. It’s more than an ATM for Jesus. It’s about erasing barriers.”

The giving kiosks do seem to have erased some barriers to giving.  Since their installation in early 2005, Stevens Creek has experienced an 18% increase in donations.  And they are, in some sense, helping the church “connect with the culture.”  One woman “says she knew the church was the right fit for her the first time she saw the kiosks. ‘This church gets how I live,’ she says.” 

As a Christian committed to helping others understand the joy of giving, I’m intrigued by Pastor Baker’s success in leading his flock to a higher plane of generosity.  As a Christian trying to help the Church and the wider society understand each other, I’m encouraged that Stevens Creek is looking for ways to connect with the culture.  Yet, I wonder whether there is reason for the Christian mind to be concerned with Pastor Baker’s giving kiosks.

Continue reading "Praise the Lord, Punch in Your PIN" »

Posted by Ramsey Wilson at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)