Cruciformity

This weekend I’ll be playing guitar at church for the first time. At least the first time with my dear family at CBTB.

For those who already do this kind of thing or are thinking of doing it down the track, my friend Cedric pointed me to this masterclass video that is definitely worth checking out. It’s by a guy in the UK called Dave Clifton - a guy with chops and a great vision for what church music is trying to achieve. I had no idea that the guitar was so versatile!

I came back down to Canberra on Monday after mission to catch up with my family and a few friends.

I always find it hard coming back because there just isn’t time to see all the people I want to see. This usually results in the type of paralysis that leaves me seeing no one at all, or at least very few people. It’s a real shame.

But today I found it extra hard. I spent some time wandering around the Uni campus and I bumped into a number of kids that I led in youth group years ago - not kids anymore, all grown up. Or at least pretending to be grown up.

I spoke to few, and heard about a few others and it seems that many of them aren’t going so well in their walks with Jesus and it’s breaking my heart.

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

(Mark 4:3-9 NIV)

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve been reflecting a bit on God’s love for a sermon this weekend. My almost complete lack of nous when it comes to romance leaves me feeling a little behind the eight ball but thankfully love is broadly relevant in life in general.

In my experience love is just about everything that is important to me. My security and significance (to borrow from Larry Crabb) come almost exclusively from my friends, family and colleagues; I love the love of my friends, the warm embrace of my family and the approval and endorsement of my colleagues.

Recognising this, then, it’s clear how God’s love can have such an impact on a person. If Almighty God whose whispers formed mountain ranges desires YOU, then this would blow the categories of security and significance - you’d be unstoppable.

Of course, this sounds good but how can we have any confidence that God does love us? The diversity of speculation that is rendered of God’s volition in various instances would suggest that we have a low degree of certainty. But thankfully God has rendered speculation itself unnecessary as he’s shown us what he’s like in his son Jesus:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8, NIV)

God’s love precedes our loveliness: we were powerless, ungodly, unrighteous, sinners and God’s enemies. It’s at this point that God demonstrates his love for us. In fact, ‘demonstrate’ is probably too weak a word- he ‘proves’ it through the death of Jesus. Here is the love of God: the emotion-ridden self-sacrificial, gracious self-giving of God for his enemies.

Moreover it’s not merely something that God does but rather something that God is. It’s not a job or a mood or an obligation that he takes up and sets down. No, God is love. He always loves in his own being (Father, Son and Spirit) and his love for us is the overflow of this just as with all of his works.

As Paul indicates in Eph. 3 the implications of this are fathomless. Assurance of God’s love, proven in the cross of Christ is hugely significant in my circumstances each day. What better words to express this that Paul’s in Romans?

… we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5 NIV)

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:3-8, NIV)

It’s almost embarrassing to read how open Paul is as he expresses his feelings to the Philippians in the opening of his letter to them. He really loves them, and it so joyful in the knowledge that they are partners with him in the gospel and share with him in God’s grace.

I’ve just spent some time on holidays back in Canberra and have been struck with how utterly refreshing it’s been to see my precious friends and family. Like Paul and the Philippians, I had great moments of expressing this kind of joy to others and others expressing it to me. Some of the people I haven’t seen or spoken to for a few months, but then others it’s been a number of years. It sounds all a little bit over-sentimental, doesn’t it? Well, bear with me while I describe some of what happened…

I was involved in a group called Boys Brigade in the mid-nineties and, although not large group of people, the men that lead this group are spectacular servants of Christ and are still leading this group! They’re like parents to me and it was wonderful to talk to Mike and Bela about their joy in growing young lads in the knowledge of Christ.

It was great as well, to get back to St Matts and see my many dear friends there. There were some going strongly, and others struggling. But in both cases, it was great to share our experiences and to reflect on our hope in Christ. I had to bear the brunt of way too much coffee, but I absolutely loved these conversations - they really meant a lot to me.

I also went to Focal Point, the mid-year conference for the FOCUS, the Christian group I was involved in at uni. Here, I saw some good friends and and (characteristically, at this conference) looked deeply into God’s word. It was a real joy to rejoice with others in the gift of God’s Spirit living in us.

Also, although we hang out almost every day at College, Dan and I hit the town in Canberra and shared a memorable night together. I also spent time in Melbourne with Steve, a mate from St Matt’s. The weather was dismal, but it meant that we spent a lot of reflecting on questions of faith, and encouraging each other in various aspects of life.

I’m disappointed because there were others that I didn’t have time to see and spend time with. Two weeks rest isn’t enough, I want more!!

Is it right for me to feel this way and to express this? I think so. Like Paul, I have these people in my heart. As Paul says, this feeling is only right as it is the same as that of Christ Jesus. These people have raised me and loved me, they have nurtured me in ministry and born the fruit of my service among them. In the times when I pressed, I know their love and support of me; their partnership in the gospel. One day we’ll be brought to be in his rest together with all of those in Christ. I look forward to seeing my precious friends and family all together with our Lord Jesus!

Service is ‘an act whose freedom is limited and determined by the other’s freedom, an act whose glory becomes increasingly greater to the extent that the doer is not concerned about his own glory but about the glory of the other.” This is particularly true for the theologian in his/her service of the ‘divine Word’.

The theologian must wait upon the high majesty of the divine Word, which is God himself as he speaks in his action.:

It starts to become clear that Barth has a relatively narrow view of what a theologian is, as he observes that ‘theologians’ have often been given a special place in a church’s heirarchy. Whether or not he has intended this understanding throughout the book, he here portrays a person of great influence in a Christian community.

He has two main points: Firstly, despite the theologian’s high position, theology is not self-serving. Although fascinating and exciting, it is not in the manner of ‘art for art’s sake’. Rather, “it must always keep sight of the fact that its object, the Word of God, demands more than simply being perceived, contemplated, and meditated in this or that particular aspect. What is demanded of theologial work is the service of this word and attendance upon it.”

In this point Barth makes an interesting claim that students of theology should avoid the danger of entering into questions of theological application too quickly. Time spent at a theological institution should be spent contemplating the theology and not yet applying it. Otherwise, he asserts, half-baked theological thinking leads to half-baked application. What do you think? This stands in contrast to the view that I have adopted (reading Thielicke) which was that theology is to be studied in the context of doing ministry so that the danger of ‘mere contemplation’ (which he alludes to) is avoided. I think I’ll disagree with him on this one, but take on board his warning.

Secondly, since the theological work involves service, it must serve but not rule. Theology requires modesty. There is simply no room for competitiveness, or ladder-climbing, attempting to outshine others or pretend that they know more than they do. However, such humility does not exclude a healthy confidence.

Importantly, the theologian cannot rule its object: the Word of God. Barth maintains a very high but elusive view of the Word of God and here he attempts to paint the picture in a little more detail. He asserts that the work of the Word of God is achieved by God himself.

Let us keep one thing clearly before our eyes just as God’s work is his free work of grace, so is his Word spoken in this work his free Word of grace. It is free as his own Word, resounding by its own power and making itself be heard. No man, not even God’s commuity or theology itself, can appropriate, imitate, or repeat this Word… the preaching of the word of God is the word of God.

The role of the theologian is to serve the work of the word of God by posing questions and clarifying the truth that the community needs to hear, to free it from its entanglements. There is a lot to think through here, but I’ll just say that there is something immensley satisfying in knowing God’s power in this process.

In turn the nature of the theologian’s service is to guide the Christian community in it’s collective theological responsibility: proclamation of the word of God to people throughout the world.
Finally, Barth questions the influence that the church has in the world, and points to the huge influence that the Christian community historically, particularly over the arts, politics and economics. A Christian world-view necessarily integrates each of these areas. From this point of influence, I think that Barth’s correct in saying that there’s value for secular universities in having a faculty of Theology. But, and this disagreement relates back to my previous one, this doesn’t seem to me as valuable for students of Theology, for it is surely most beneficial for them to learn theology in the context of Christian Community. That’s another big dscussion.

Sorry for the length of the post. Hopefully this is giving some idea of the range of issues that Barth addresses and also some of the profound insights he delivers.

I’m sorry that it’s taken so long to produce this second episode. Coincidentally, the subject of theological ’study’ has been a topic on my mind a lot recently. Not just because I’m a student but more specifically because of a subject I’m taking at College covering this very topic.

Barth outlines four overlapping areas of theological study: Exegetical Theology, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, and Practical Theology. He then helpfully relates these to each other, pointing out among other things that Exegetical Theology is foundational (primary) to Historical Theology (secondary) and that Dogmatic or Systemic Theology necessarily derives from Exegetical Theology and not from other independant thought. He notes also that Practical Theology derives from Systematic theology and that while it can be treated as peripheral study, it’s object is central to theology.

‘Biblical Theology’ (BT) is a fifth category that Moore College understands to have been neglected in theological study. Technically, for Barth, it would fall under the category of Exegetical Theology (ET). The problem is that ET has commonly focussed on the text of the Bible at a low-level, considering the nuances of the words in the original languages, and, unfortunately, ‘losing the forest for the trees’. BT therefore aims to remedy this by first building upon the exegesis of many passages to form the broader biblical story. BT is therefore built upon ET and is then used to re-inform ET in an upward spiral of biblical truth.

In fact, BT only exists because of good exegesis on passages that have spoken about the nature of Scripture.  For example, after being raised from the dead,  walked along the Emmaus road with his disciples and “He told them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:44-45 HCSB). Firstly, Jesus himself understood the Scriptures to more broadly speak a unified message; and secondly, the message concerned himself.

BT doesn’t presuppose ‘a broader story of the bible’. Rather, it demonstrates this by taking the bible on its own terms, showing that the scriptures consistantly understand themselves collectively as the word of God (1 Thess 2:13). The bible can therefore be understood as a single voice amidst the diversity of genres, authors, cultures and nations that it represents. And from this starting point, we can understand various threads of biblical narrative which span across books and a diverse range of cultures and genres.

Ultimately, as Luke 24 shows, unity is found in the person of Jesus. Barth, who bears a very demands a very high Christology would, I’m sure, greatly appreciate this.

There are a few other important reminders that I’ve taken away from this chapter. Helpfully, Barth points out that study requires prayer (building on the previous chapter), for otherwise theological study is blind. It demands also diligence and not laziness. It also requires God given ability to hear (John 10:15-16) through his spirit (1 Cor 2:6-14). Barth admits that this last point leads to a difficult hermeneutical cycle, which he speaks about elsewhere. This isn’t a good time to start speaking about this… but just quickly, his view is that Scripture is not the word of God but rather a testimony to the Word of God (Jesus cf. John 1). This is attractive (and it raises lots of questions) but I think that Barth’s biblical theology isn’t placed on good exegetical theology at this point. Maybe I’ll expand on the discussion in a later post…

Though being a theological giant, Barth finishes with the warm words of a pastor:

“All those on the right or on the left, whose spirits are all too cheerful and naive, may and should repeatedly discover anew in the study of theology that everything theological is somewhat more complicated than they would like it to be. But those spirits who are all too melancholic and hypercritical should discover and rediscover that everything here is also much more simple than they, with deeply furrowed brow, thought necessary to suppose.”

It’s a rainy night here in Newtown and I was wondering what to do after a long week. I couldn’t bare to do Hebrew or spend another lonely night in my cell. I couldn’t do people either. After chit-chatting with Des across the corrodor for a little while about nothing that I can remember, I decided grab a coffee and reflect a little on some of the things that have been happening… I’ve recently been overwhelmed with thoughts and I just need to ’shake off some mental lint’ (thanks for the phrase ans!).

There have been a number of deaths that my church and college friends have experienced, and there are some other genuinely difficult times being felt by friends at the moment. This has produced in me increasing sorrow. It hasn’t affected me accutely, but a dull soreness is accumulating.

I’ve been thinking about the nature of relationships, systems (Friedman), differentiation and identity, and the problems of reconciliation (Volf), the nature of theology and centrality of Christ (Barth). This has been exciting but again overwhelming as I realise how much I don’t know and just how complicated things are.

In doctrine we’ve been contemplating the character of God; the trinity and the nature of his goodness, wisdom and power. Would we be obliged to obey Satan if he was the one who created us?

I’ve been humbled with the complications of preparing a short talk on John 3:16…

… and I’ve been slowed chewed and then swallowed up by Hebrew.

I don’t mean to sound depressed, though, I’ve also been greatly overwhelmed with the maturity and the godliness of some of my new-found brothers and sisters here in Sydney. I’ve been greatly encouraged and challenged and am most thankful to God for them.

I don’t know if writing about it has really helped me to bring things together at all. I guess I’m understanding some of the extent of my weakness. It’s greatly comforting to know that while I don’t understand, that God does.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…” 2 Cor 4:7-8

I was given a good reminder today, as I train for some form of Christian Ministry.

I met up with a friend for breakfast and we started asking about what it is that would prevent us from going off the rails. What should I do to safe-guard myself against shrugging off the responsibilities of being a Pastor? What checks can I put in place to ensure that I don’t abuse the signficant position of power that I would be given? From what I know about myself, and from the stories that we’ve all heard , it’s scary to think that I am capable causing others such serious hurt and pain, and to so-regrettably drag down Jesus’ reputation.

Should I create boundaries around myself, Pharisee style, to make sure that I would never do anything like that? To some extent it’s clear that I should steer clear of things that could be temptations; remove distractions like TVs, X-boxes and magazines from the office, minimise time alone with attractive women, steer clear of alcohol. I should ensure that I don’t intellectualise ministry too much by over-studying, and that I shouldn’t neglect serious contemplation by under-studying. Maybe I could set up a water-tight timetable with achievable goals. I could force myself to read through the shocking stories of church tragedies as a deterrence. I could ensure that I have a balanced life, with an exercise program, the right friends asking me the right questions, go to bed before eleven, and ensure that I get rest in my holidays and on my days off.

But how do you set up a boundary against something like apathy? There are temptations that it seems that I can’t keep away from. It seems that there is something deep inside me that I cannot fence off.

Now, I do think that some of the things listed above are helpful, but I was reminded this morning that there’s something that is most-effective: A genuine, passionate love for Jesus. In the end, getting married to the loveliest person, and living the most balanced lifestyle will do nothing to protect you against stuffing up in ministry if you don’t love Jesus.

““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46 HCSB)

Here’s the challenge: Give up EVERYTHING and develop a full dependence and love for Jesus.

I need to pray for this like crazy. I need to do whatever I can to remind myself of his wonderful person. It’s worth doing this because of the the damage that can be done to his people and his reputation. But most importantly, it’s worth developing a genuine love for Jesus because he is worthy of it.