-Bigger Than The Bible-

Last week as I prepared a message for our Sunday night young adults group, “Consume,” a funny thing happened. As I was finishing up my notes and reviewing them, I noticed something that took me by surprise. It occurred to me that, in this particular message, I had not used or otherwise incorporated a single verse from the Bible. This was a first for me.

I love the Bible. I know that as a Christian and a minister that I am supposed to say that but I seriously do. Why does this collection of letters, and poems, and laws, and songs, and proverbs and histories, and prophecies affect me so much? Why does this group of writings, that is thousands of years old, continue to challenge me and speak to me on a level that transcends the mere transfer of data? I love how pastor and author Rob Bell puts it when talking about the words of the Bible, “We started out reading them, but they end up reading us.” So why would I prepare a “Christian” message totally void of any words directly from the Bible? What’s more odd is that I was convinced that God wanted me to speak this message.

I think this has to do with the mind set most of today’s Christians, (especially Christian teachers), have about the Bible. Many of us were brought up in the school of thought that the Bible is the absolute final word. To one degree this is true but I think we have taken it to a level that God did not intend it to go. I believe whole-heartedly that God inspired every word the Bible. But men wrote it in those men’s different writing styles and those men’s thought process. It was the Holy Spirit at work in their styles and thought process that make the Bible so unique and special. But often times, we act as if God stopped speaking when John penned the final words to the book of Revelation. We act as if the Bible is as big as God is and that, outside of scripture, He is silent. I reject this notion.

I reject it for many reasons really. First off, the Bible didn’t exist until 250 to 300 years after Revelation was written. Second, the Bible as we know it was voted on by a group of men who decided what was inspired and what was not. Third, with the exception for the Torah, the Bible’s writers had absolutely no idea that they were writing God’s Word. Fourth, in the New Testament we are told that there are still prophets, which wouldn’t be needed if God were done speaking. I could go on and on. So what is the Bible for?

I think the Bible is definitely for study and learning and teaching and growth and examination. But ultimately I think it is for testing. When I am speaking a “Christian message” or teaching a “Christian concept” my ultimate goal is to always speak the truth. To discuss a worldview that is in line with the realities of both the natural world and the supernatural world. And there does exist truth, outside of the Bible.

Did I just say that? Yes, I absolutely did. Truth is not unique to only the 66 books that make up the Protestant Christian Bible. “Blasphemy!” you may say but before you pick up that rock or simply write me off as a heretic let me explain. Every writer of the bible would have held a view of the solar system that said the earth is the center of the universe and things like the sun and other planets rotate around us. Today, we know that this is not true. So how do we resolve this? In the story we know as “Jonah and the Whale” found in the Old Testament, the word whale is not used. The Bible refers to it as a “great fish,” (Jonah 1:17), not a whale. But Jonah did not realize that a whale is a mammal not a fish. He simple saw an animal that looked generally like a fish and swam in the water so therefore must be a fish. But the idea of it being a fish is highly unlikely. So how do we resolve this?

Please understand… God is bigger than the Bible. I know this because he has used other things to speak to me. One time he answered me with a Billboard I used to drive by everyday. So is that Billboard scripture? Of course not! I taught that message Sunday night and it had no scripture in it. But I believe that the same Holy Spirit that inspired Paul and Moses and Jonah and John and the rest can use me too. Not to write more Bible to express more truth. Use the Bible to test what you are being taught. My message Sunday should not go untested. Examine the points I made with scripture to make sure I was in line with what we know God has said. That is the function of the Bible and I reject the notion that God is wrapped up in those pages only. God is bigger and deeper and more complex than the Bible just as you are bigger and deeper and more complex then that email you sent out.

I know this post was long. I hope you made it this far without falling asleep. Because I think this is an important thing to understand about the Bible. God did not stop speaking with Revelation. God continues to speak to us today through all sorts of different avenues. The Bible is a transcript of things God said and did in specific times and places but it is not as if He isn’t saying anything here and now. Let us use the Bible to test what is being taught to us as truth. But let us not pigeonhole God in what we can find in 66 books. Because God is bigger than the Bible.

-Social Gravity-

Late last week I picked up a newsletter that is sent to hundreds of ministers and turned to the page that had an article written by a friend of mine. You have to understand, the guy who wrote it is probably one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. But not because he tries to be; because it’s just who he is. This is very frustrating for someone like me who has to work hard to be cool which, if you know me you can confirm this, is really just an exercise in futility. With this guy it’s different. He has some bizarre social gravity that makes people want to be in close proximity to him. If fact, now that I think of, I hate that guy!

But in all seriousness the guy I’m talking about; we’ll just call him Chris, (oddly that also happens to be his actual name), is a terrific guy. Recently I introduced a new song at the church I lead worship at that Chris wrote. It’s an awesome song about how realizing the God’s love and affection for us causes us to fall in love with Him. (That’s what it means to me anyway.) But one time I told Chris that I really love the song and he replied, “Well, I stole every line of it from somewhere else, but thanks.” On one hand he deflected credit and on the other was pleased for a compliment. It really was a great balance of humility and appreciation.

Chris is also the “twenty-somethings” Pastor at a mega-church in Southern California. A position that he created for himself because the young adults group was doing so well that the church had to hire him before someone else did. I am very familiar with the powers that be at his church and I can assure, they only go after the “A players.” So what does Chris do when he’s not leading his young adults group or writing songs and articles? What does he do with his social gravity that draws people to him?

Well, not long ago I was moving out of my home and had to be out by a certain date. I had a few guys lined up to help me but the day before, they all cancelled. All of them. So I was on my own to move couches and appliances and beds and dressers and everything else. Not good. I sent a text out to about 8 or 9 friends letting them know I was in a serious bind. Only two actually got back to me. One to tell me he was out of town and wouldn’t be back for a few days. The other was Chris who proceeded to let me know he was off the next day and could help out. He even called other people to try to find more help. When all was said and done, it was just he and I and I would have been screwed if it weren’t for his help.

I tell you this story about Chris for a few reasons. First, I want to honor him as a true minister. Ministry is about serving others. It’s about getting on our hands and knees and washing people’s feet. Chris is a popular guy. He could have filled his morning that day with meetings, or planning events, or studying, or just hanging out with some of the people drawn to him by his social gravity. But instead he chose to help me. In a sense, he got down on his hands and knees and washed my feet that day.

I also tell you this story to remind us to open our eyes and see when we can learn from other people. As much as I’ve talked Chris up here I understand that he is human. He has his flaws and quirks and foibles too. For instance, sometimes his laugh is really obnoxious. But I wouldn’t gain anything socially, intellectually, spiritually or otherwise if I focused on people’s flaws. By concentrating on the good things people add to our lives, we can see their true value and it helps us love them and others more. Also, Chris is younger than me. Not just by one year or so but by 5 or 6 years. Sometimes we think that because we are older than someone, they have nothing to teach us. We think we can’t learn from them because they don’t have the same life experience we do. This is a ridiculous and unfortunate line of reasoning that robs us of so much critical learning. I’ve said it several times, my daughter is 5 and I have learned more about God from her than anyone else.

I know this post is kinda all over the place and I’m sorry about that. But I hope you can catch my drift, (an 80’s expression meaning “understand what I am trying to say”), about Chris. I’m definitely not suggesting we worship and adore him. That would just be awkward for everyone. What I’m saying is that we have a lot to learn in life and people like Chris can help us learn some of it. His natural social gravity puts him in a position to be arrogant but he chooses not to take advantage of it. He uses it to demonstrate servant-hood like Jesus did. Not 100% percent of the time I’m sure. In fact if he gets wind of this post he’ll probably be embarrassed and hate that I wrote about him because he doesn’t feel like he’s this great Christian example. But he is. And he’s teaching me to try my hardest to be one too.

We all have a certain degree of social gravity. Some people, like Chris, have tons of and others, like me, well…don’t. What are you doing with yours?

-First Day of School-

OK, so I was going to write about something different today but changed my mind just a few moments ago. Today was a strange day. Today was a fantastic day and at the same time a sad day. Bittersweet may be an appropriate word. Today was my daughter’s first day of Kindergarten.

If you don’t have kids you won’t be able to fully understand the gravity of moments like this in your children’s lives but I think you can still appreciate the significance of them. Their first birthday, their steps, their first words, their first time peeing on you; these are all moments in life that are fixed in time and space and memory. I know, as my kids get older, there will be many more “firsts” to experience. First report cards, first school dances, first dates, first sleepovers, and a billion others. But why are these so significant to us?

We all have moments and experiences that seem more significant than others. I think that nine times out of ten these moments are “firsts.” If you’ve never had sex before you are called a virgin. Why do we have a name for this? Because there is something special about first time experiences. In our culture, the word virgin is now applied to all sorts of scenarios. You can be a sky diving virgin, or a bungee-virgin, or a million other types of virgins. So these, “firsts,” have a special weight and significance. But, once again, why?

For me, I think it’s because it reminds me that I’m trapped in forward moving, linear time. I can’t rewind my life and re-edit the moments in my life I’d like to change. I am stuck dealing with my choices, and even the choices of others, in the here and now. I became much more aware of this as I kissed my daughter good-bye when dropping her off for school for the first time. Did I do enough to prepare her for this? Could I have done more? What if they teach her things that our values as a family don’t agree with? These questions, and several others, jumped in my mind as I walked away from her classroom.

The idea that we are trapped in forward moving, linear time is important for us to remember so I think that is way God gives us these reminders. Why is it important? Well, if we have to deal with out choices in the here and now then it is that much more important to make the right ones. All the questions I asked myself after having dropped Felicia off were about what I had and hadn’t done. Did I make sure she was ready for this? Because we only get one shot at it. Life doesn’t have an eraser to get rid of our mistakes nor does it have whiteout to cover them up. No, we must deal, here and now with the choices we make and so, when moments like I had today come, we are forced to examine those choices more closely.

These moments remind me that whatever it is I am doing I had better do to the best of my ability. If I am a father I better be the best father I know how to be and even try to improve as time goes by. If I’m going to be a friend, brother, Christian, employee, husband, blogger, singer, writer, son, co-worker, or speaker then I had better do it the best I know how and even try to improve as time goes by. If I am going to be a human being, (which I am by default as are you), then I had better be the best human being I can be…and even try to improve as time goes by. Because I only get one shot at it.

-"Birth-Cheese"-

Monday night I was thinking about when my kids were born. There are moments in life so surreal, so overwhelming that it just cannot be put into words. If you don’t have kids you’re thinking, “Yeah, yeah I know. The birth of your kids is amazing and miraculous and bla bla bla.” But if you are a parent who was there when you’re children were born you know what I mean. The rush of emotion is hyper-intense and for me it was almost too much to bear…both times.

You see, I grew up knowing my parents and brother. They were always there so I just always loved them. With Krissy, it took time to get know her and fall in love with her. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with her overnight and vise-versa. In fact, she probably still has her doubts. But over a period of time I fell in love with my wife and now I can’t imagine a life apart from her. But with my kids it was different.

Falling in love is intense, especially if it is a life-long type of love. But for all the commitment and love Krissy and I share there are still things we can do to one another to make the other not be in love with us anymore. An extreme example would be adultery. If either Krissy or myself decided to look outside of our marriage relationship for physical or even emotional gratification, chances are, the one other of us may fall out of love because of the offense. With kids, it doesn’t work like that. There is NOTHING either of my kids could do to make me love them any less…nothing.

So try to imagine that much emotion and feeling pouring over you over a period of a fraction of a second. In the first 0.000001 seconds I saw my kids I was overwhelmed with emotion and love and joy and hope and fear and awe all at once. It’s pretty scary.

Now here’s the thing. When kids are born it’s nothing like you’ve seen on TV or in movies. It’s gross. They are wet and nasty and they have all this stuff on them that I can only describe at “birth-cheese.” They smell funny and, often times, their head is all funky looking and misshapen from going through the birth canal. Seriously, it’s putrid and gross. But I didn’t care. These were my children and they were the most amazing, beautiful, innocent things I have even seen, read about, heard of, or saw in a movie and there was nothing in all of creation that would make me not want to hold them. When it’s your children, you see past all the grossness and nastiness of the “birth-cheese.”

I think that God sees us this way. We are covered with imperfection and rebellion. In the Christian sub-culture we call it sin. So we are covered with “sin-cheese.” Our lives are misshapen and we reek of a fallen existence. But God doesn’t care. God looks at us and sees his children. The most amazing, beautiful, innocent things He has seen, read about, heard of or saw in a movie and there is nothing in all creation that would make Him not want to hold us. There is NOTHING we could say or do that would make Him love us any less…nothing.