Truth, Knowledge, and the Arrogance with Which We Hold Them

21 02 2012

Tuesday Re-mix - 

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. I Corinthians 13:12

I have no idea what mirrors looked like back when Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth. But I’m certain they weren’t as good then as they are now. I rather suspect that the image in the reflection was pretty poor, maybe like looking at your reflection on the back of a silver spoon. However their mirrors worked then, one thing is clear: Paul is telling us that our state of “knowing” spiritual things is pretty poor on this side of Heaven.

For me, this is a truth which keeps me humble, especially when I am discussing theology or scriptural interpretations or even more general matters of God. Whatever it is I think I know, however certain I think I am, I must hold even that certainty with a healthy dose of humility. And when I lose that humility, I lose my ability to influence those who might disagree with me.

I sometimes think that we in the evangelical church have convinced ourselves that our job is to persuade. We act as though the gospel, despite its inherent power, somehow needs our polished communication skills and persuasive abilities in order to carry the day. We act as though it is our responsibility to appear so certain in our beliefs that even the strongest atheist will fall to his knees and surrender to God as a result of our argumentative prowess.

In that instance, then, humility is seen as weakness. Humility does not win arguments, and it does not crush your opponent with unassailable logic. Humility in my understanding of God will never sweep anyone off their feet as a result of my presentation. So, as long as it is up to me to persuade people to follow Christ, I really cannot afford to sound anything other than absolutely certain in my position. There is no room for humility, or even gentleness, for that matter.

But the irony is, the very source of all the truth tells me that, for now, I see only as through a poor reflection in a very old mirror. So when I “preach” at people with all that certainty and unswerving pride, not only do I come across to them as arrogant, but I betray my own “truth” by acting as though I see perfectly clearly, thank you very much.

Please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not saying that nothing is knowable, that we cannot be truly certain of anything at all. I am just saying that, even in our certainty, there must be humility…there must be a level of lowliness as opposed to a haughtiness and a need to persuade.

Believe me when I say this…the gospel does not need my persuasive abilities or your polished presentation. It never has. But what WILL make a difference is a people so filled with God’s Spirit that their humility is astounding to everyone around them. That humility, coupled with the truth of the gospel, will change this world.

© Blake Coffee
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

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Categories : Church Unity, conflict, leadership, missional, The Church's Influence

Matthew 23 Does Not Apply to Me

16 02 2012

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long…”  Matthew 23:5

When I was in High School, my Dad gave me a Ryrie Study Bible.  I wore it out.  I was proud of that Bible.  It wasn’t just the huge size of it (it was a larger Bible than the hard-back “Living Bible” so many of my friends carried)…it was all the commentary in it that made me proud.  It was a little unusual for my circle of High School friends, so it drew some attention.  And when friends opened it up to look at it, it just screamed “THE OWNER OF THIS BIBLE IS A BIBLE SCHOLAR AND A TRULY SPIRITUAL PERSON!”  Seriously.  You could hear it. The advantage, of course, of having that Bible was that I didn’t have to tell anyone anything about me in order to manage their perception of me.  They need only have seen my Bible.  I liked that.

In 1984, on my 24th birthday, my Dad gave me a “preaching bible”.  It was black, with a very thin profile.  By then, I had grown mature enough in my Christian walk to be a little embarrassed by my huge Study Bible(s).  (I actually had several of them by then.)  This “Thin Line” Bible was understated.  When friends saw it, it said (in a very low key, nonchalant voice), “the owner of this Bible has so much scripture crammed into his brain, he doesn’t really need a big study Bible.”  My attitude toward Study Bibles had changed.  Actually, I think I heard a Christian comedian make a joke about huge Study Bibles and how pretentious they were and it changed how I saw them.  I certainly did not want to be perceived as being pretentious.  So, my managing of others’ perception of me was a little more refined…now, it was actually “reverse snobbery”.  It was like driving a Honda instead of a Lexus.  ”I don’t need that big Bible to be Spiritual.”  You know what I mean.  Admit it.

I have actually used that Bible for the last 27 years or so.  I particularly use it often when I speak.  I use it for studying as well.  It is my favorite.  But I once saw Len Sweet speak without any Bible at all, and when he needed one, he just used the one from the back of the pew in the church where he was speaking.  It was very cool.  Len is very cool.  He didn’t wear socks when he spoke, and I liked that.  And I loved his use of someone else’s Bible.  I thought to myself, “I can do that.”  It is endearing to my audience, saying, “I respect YOUR Bible.”  It also says, “I am so intimately familiar with God’s Word, that I can use this unfamiliar Bible to make my point.”  That is a good thing to say, don’t you think?  I like that perception, though I do choose to wear socks when I speak.

I also have YouVersion on my iPhone.  I know that many of you do as well.  There are multiple advantages to it.  I now have about a hundred or so translations and paraphrases at my fingertips…on my phone.  Very, very cool.  And it has audible versions as well, so I can listen to it in my car.  People driving by me can see me listening to scripture.  Also, I actually copied and pasted the scripture at the top of this blog post using my iPhone.  Hard to beat that.  Now, when I am with friends or audiences who might appreciate it, I can read scripture from my phone.  I like that message.  It says, “I am hip, I am progressive, I have the Word of God embedded in the most important single piece of technology I have ever owned.”  As long as I use a little judgment with regard to when and where I use it, I can manage people’s perception of my spirituality like never before.  Awesome little tool, don’t you agree?

As for the scripture at the top of this post…it’s not really there for my benefit.  It is for you.

I, after all, have memorized it.

Blessings.

© Blake Coffee
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

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Categories : leadership, Spiritual Formation

Becoming the Haters

14 02 2012

Tuesday Re-mix - 

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  1 John 4:20

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott

I’m not sure I have anything truly creative to say about this…nothing new or fresh or amazingly profound.  I am just growing weary (that is diplomatic talk for “sick & tired”) of “churches” who take pride in talking about all the people they hate.  They hate Muslims, they hate homosexuals, they hate abortionists, they hate democrats, etc.  Then, when you dare to step in a little closer, it turns out they hate Methodists, and they hate Episcopalians and they hate Catholics and they hate Presbyterians, and they hate this flavor of Baptists or that flavor of Baptists, etc.  Then, if you dare to come in a little closer, it turns out they hate pretty much anyone who dares to disagree with them as well.  And that would include me, because I am truly fed up with them.

I would like to round them all up and stick them all on a deserted island somewhere and just rejoice as they inevitably turn their hatred toward each other and begin killing each other off.  Good riddance, I say.  I just do not like them at all.  In fact, sometimes I am sure that I hate them.  And I’m pretty sure God does too.

Do you see what just happened?  I see it often in conflict situations.  I sit down to talk with a party who is obviously a “player” in the conflict and is clearly one of the ones whose behavior is contributing to the firestorm.  With fire in every breath and venom dripping off the tongue, this person begins telling me about all the horrible behavior on the part of someone else–”the real culprit”.  He/she speaks of that other person’s rage and selfishness and lack of anything spiritual and hopes that I will join in the hating of that person.  But seeing it all from an objective place, it is obvious to me that this person has actually become the very person he/she is describing, displaying most of the exact same behavior of which he/she now complains.  It is sad.  It would be humorous, if not so sad.

It becomes even more preposterous when this person begins using God’s Word to condemn the behavior of the other person (much like I would use it to condemn the behavior of the “hate” churches).  It is a trap we all have fallen into from time to time…holding up scripture to justify our hating of someone else.  We use scripture to magnify the wrongness of their conduct.  The problem, of course, with that concept is that God’s Word is never as effective as a magnifying glass as it is when used as a mirror.  When we allow scripture to reflect back on us and our own heart and behavior, its real power is made manifest.  That is when the transforming nature of God’s Word really shows.  That is when conviction takes place.  That is when we get back to Jesus’ purpose and His vehicle for reaching this lost and broken world.

Hating people will never change them.  Using scripture to hate on others will never change the world.  Using scripture to reflect on myself, my heart, my actions and my relationships…that is the stuff of which revolutions are made.  That will change me.  And it will change the world.

© Blake Coffee
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

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Categories : Christian Accountability, Church Unity, conflict, the revolution

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