Freedom In Christ
I updated my MacBook Air this week with the new Mavericks operating system. I love the iBooks app that comes pre-loaded. Reading on my computer? Are you kidding me? Yes, please. As I opened my library, one of the stored books I found was The Radical Reformission, by Mark Driscoll. I remember reading and enjoying this book several years ago when I was trying to read books on my iPad.
I enjoy finding old books that I connected with at a different time in my life. This was one of those books. At the time, I was in the midst of recovering from Gospel Amnesia, this was one of the books that spoke to me from nearly every page.
This section below was one of the few I had highlighted. I even wrote a blog post about it once. It's worthy of a second mention.
“Reformission is ultimately about being like Jesus, through his empowering grace. One of the underlying keys to reformission is knowing that neither the freedom of Christ nor our freedom in Christ is intended to permit us to dance as close to sin as possible without crossing the line. But both are intended to permit us to dance as close to sinners as possible by crossing the lines that unnecessarily separate the people God has found from those he is still seeking. To be a Christian, literally, is to be a “little Christ.” It is imperative that Christians be like Jesus, by living freely within the culture as missionaries who are as faithful to the Father and his gospel as Jesus was in his own time and place.
I am advocating not sin but freedom. That freedom is denied by many traditions and theological systems because they fear that some people will use their freedom to sin against Christ. But rules, regulations, and the pursuit of outward morality are ultimately incapable of preventing sin. They can only, at best, rearrange the flesh and get people to stop drinking, smoking, and having sex, only to start being proud of their morality. Jesus’ love for us and our love for him are, frankly, the only tethers that will keep us from abusing our freedom, yet they will enable us to venture as far into the culture and into relationships with lost people as Jesus did, because we go with him.”
Excerpt From: Mark Driscoll. “The Radical Reformission.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=362055909
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
What Others Are Saying About Noah
We are very excited for the release of Noah and this new featurette gives a little more information to the film and what the director was intending to do with the story.
Check it out and let me know what you think:
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Noah - The Building Of The Ark
Our family is very excited about the new film, Noah, that will be released at the end of March. Loaded with great talent like Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, and Sir Anthony Hopkins, it promises to be a fun movie of an often told story.
Much like Exodus (starring Christian Bale) which is in production, I really enjoy when Hollywood takes a stab at visually portraying stories from the Bible. There is ALWAYS a question of accuracy, but I will admit that even what I create in my minds eye when I read through scripture lacks in accuracy, therefore I can appreciate what a production team puts together and the team for Noah seems to have done just that.
In the following featurette, the designers talk specifically about the Ark and how it was created for use in the film.
Critics have already begun to voice their concerns regarding accuracy and the script. I wonder though, as Christians, if we can be prepared to have grace saturated discussions about the movie itself, the topic of sin/judgment and how God responds with a covenant of grace not only with Noah, but with us as well.
I am looking forward to sharing a few more featurettes in the next week prior to the release of the film. In the meantime, what about you? Are you looking forward to seeing this movie? Let me know in the comments.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
The Gospel, Andrew, Tattoos
"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
Upon encountering Jesus for the first time, Andrew immediately recognized Him as the messiah. He dropped his nets, his profession, and his livelihood and grabbed his brother Peter to go and follow Jesus.
For three years Andrew listened and learned and travelled with Jesus. He assisted personally with the ministry of Jesus. He was there during private moments of personal instruction. Andrew was involved and committed to the work and mission of the Messiah.
Fast forward to the end of the gospels and the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. We get a peek into a few of the other disciple's thoughts and actions, but I wonder what Andrew thought when he saw that Christ was arrested, tried and then killed? According to the accounts of Matthew and Mark, we know that when Jesus was arrested, all the disciples fled. We know that his brother Peter hung around in the distance, but I wonder if Andrew hid in fear?
I'm not speculating from scripture, but considering what I would have done in the same situation. If I had followed someone and identified myself with them and their ministry, what would my reaction be to a swift arrest, trial and execution. What was Andrew's response? Did he (and the others) feared they would be next in line for the cross?
I wonder if Andrew ever felt like he had been duped. He gave up everything to follow Jesus and become a "fisher of men" only to end up with his leader being tried and executed as a criminal and blasphemer. Did it (even for a moment) cause him to second guess the previous few years of discipleship?
If so, his questions and doubts were quickly addressed within days as Christ began to make his appearances to the disciples and confirm that He was in fact alive! Then Pentecost and the filling with the Holy Spirit. All the disciples, Andrew included, received supernatural power and spilled out into the streets speaking in the dialects of all the pilgrims who were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost.
Church history tells us that Andrew fulfilled his calling. He continued to fish for men throughout the near East and as far north as Russia. His eventual martyrdom took place in Patras, Greece. Legend states that when Andrew was crucified, he was bound on a cross and requested the shape of an X, so as not to find equality with Christ in death.
Some of the relics of Andrew can be found in Patras, including his cross, but several of his relics are located in a cathedral in Amalfi, Italy. We had the opportunity to travel through Italy last month and although I do not subscribe to saint worship, I loved the opportunity to visit Amalfi and visit the tributes to my favorite apostle.
I was not named after the apostle. My parents did not have hidden plans for me to become an evangelist. At my birth I was named after my Italian grandfather: Andrew Carlino. However, my new life with Christ began with a simple invitation to follow Jesus and along the way I have found many people willing to listen to the GREAT NEWS that Jesus offers to us here, now and in the future. Like Andrew's brother Peter, some of those people continue to follow Jesus with me today!
Was it worth getting the tattoo? You bet. I have more discussions about the calling of Andrew and the good news of Jesus because of that tattoo. Here's the bigger question: Will it be worth an X-shaped cross? Pray for me that the answer will always be yes.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Social Media Feeding Frenzy
I love when someone really gets the Gospel and begins to live under a banner that reads "It is Finished!" I love when they declare that publicly in the arena of social media. I love to watch how this juicy morsel tempts others to swoop in and warn everyone of the danger of taking the Gospel too far. It's like watching a bucket of bloody chum on shark week.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Good News vs. Good Advice
"All other religions give advice, and they drive everything you’re doing on fear."
Tim Keller
I am reposting and linking because the Resurgence blog post is good. I am reposting and linking because Keller's original talk is good. In truth, I'm reposting and linking because I needed to hear it again. That's the funny thing about "gospel amnesia," I'm never really cured of that pesky illness.
This post and Keller's original words at the GC event caused a bunch of thoughts to begin swirling around my brain. I know it is a common theme around here, but a good one to keep in front of us regularly. I've started my own list below. Feel free to join me.
Good advice is offering up fancy theology.
Good news is telling others the simple story about Jesus.
Good advice will teach security in traditions, vestments and liturgy.
Good news will teach security in Christ alone.
Good advice takes people to a perfect church.
Good news takes people to an empty cross.
Good advice leads others to memorize a catechism or confession.
Good news leads people to memorize three words: "It is finished"
Good advice says "this is how we do it right."
Good news says "This is what Jesus did. It's done!"
Good advice nails a list of "do's and don'ts" to the wall.
Good news points people to three bloody nails.
Good advice talks about dressing your best for church.
Good news talks about being dressed in the garments of Jesus.
Good advice gives a pair of gold-plated/diamond-studded handcuffs.
Good news gives a pardon.
Good advice says, Jesus plus something.
Good news says, Jesus plus nothing.
That will get the ball rolling, feel free to leave your own in the comments below.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Mountain Climbing
A few years ago, I remember hearing an explanation of our Christian walk that went something like this:
We are all climbing a mountain and sometimes we struggle where we are with our climb. When we see people who are farther up the mountain, we can get jealous of them and their climbing accomplishments. At the same time, when we look down the mountain and see others that are not as far as us, it is easy to talk about how far we've climbed above them.
The teacher went on to explain that we need to reach down to those that are climbing below us and help them out. You know? Help them with their climb, so they can be up with us. We need to climb together, because climbing is hard work and it is easy to slip and fall down that mountain. He added a bunch of illustrations about sure footing, climbing up and not sideways, etc...
I'm not a mountain climber. Just going up and down the stairs in my house reminds me of that fact.
I've been wondering and thinking if this is even a good illustration for our walk. I'm beginning to think it's not.
What about an illustration, that we are not climbing AT ALL?
What about an illustration that says Jesus already climbed the mountain for us and there is NOTHING left to climb? That seems like a more appropriate illustration, but it begs the question...what do we do while Jesus climbs?
The simple answer is nothing. How can we add anything to the work Christ accomplished (or in this case the climb He finished).
Follow Christ? Hang onto Christ? I'm hopeless. I will let go and I will wander. It is in my nature to not follow and to let go.
So, what about this illustration: We are not climbing a mountain. Christ climbed the mountain for us. We don't hold on to him. We don't follow him. He holds onto us. He won't let go of us. He takes us up the mountain personally and delivers us to the peak. It's all Him. It's all His effort. We don't add anything to the climbing.
We live under a banner that says, "It is Finished!" Caput. Done. It is Jesus plus nothing.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
I Am Second
For the past two years, I have worn an "I Am Second" bracelet. I have had more opportunities to talk about Jesus because of this dumb rubber ring around my wrist.
If you haven't checked out the site, drop by and watch a few of the videos. They are filmed/edited well.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Awakened
Gospel Amnesia sucked!
I am reminded today of one of the many things God used to wake me up from my slumber. Some of his reminders were gentle. There were many I probably missed along the way. All the sermons, the books, the conversations that I was too busy to really listen to at the time. This wasn't one of those reminders. This one was hard, but it did the trick.
It wasn't an overnight awakening. It was really more of a gradual thaw. A little at a time, the gospel penetrated my hardened behavior-based faith. Slowly I remembered just what made the good-news good.
Like Narnia, the long cold winter gradually came to an end. I'm still not thawed. I live in the crisp days of spring and I am enjoying the freshness of gospel-centered living, but I'm still finding areas deep in my soul that have not been penetrated by the gospel. Although less often, I still find ways to shift my hope off of God and onto myself. I still look for my security and acceptance in things other than Jesus, but thankfully it is less and less.
So, I am thankful for a day like today, when I can pause and think back on God's quiet reminders with a heavy heart, but with a thankful heart. (RIP E.D.)
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Feeding the Hungry
One of my blogging friends (let's just call her "Cheryl") wrote a post last year that caught my attention and left a year long mark on my life. Cheryl is one of a few bloggers I look forward to reading. She tends to have good insight into life and ministers faithfully to women through her blog and on many occasions I have been the indirect recipient of her wise counsel to my wife.
Then, the more I thought about what she wrote, the more I was challenged by my own reactions to folks I had seen around town looking for help.
At the time I read her post, our family had recently made a change in churches. We had been attending a small church located in a secluded residential neighborhood. Strangers rarely showed up and when they did, they stood out among the clean-pressed families who attended. From there, we ended up at a very public church located on a busy downtown street. At this new church, we regularly have strangers showing up. From homeless individuals who are just walking the downtown streets to thirsty vagrants looking for a warm cup of coffee, this church is easy to find and often welcomes the less fortunate.
I realized that I had become numb to folks asking for help. I had become very good at saying no and moving on my merry way without batting an eye. I was neither moved with pity, nor was I bothered by them. I had become numb to vagrants, beggars with cardboard signs, and homeless families migrating through my city.
At the same time, I justified this response by supporting ministries that served the homeless and on occasion I even got my feet wet by serving food at our local homeless shelter. To make matters worse, like one of Chery's critics, I questioned the safety of interacting with vagrants.
It seems I was looking for a safe, controlled environment or an official ministry to support. Yet, when I read this post, I was struck by the fact that she and her daughter saw and met a need.
That motivated me. I happened to have a hundred dollar bill sitting in my wallet, so I jumped in the car and drove to our local McDonalds and bought ten $10 gift cards and split them between my car and my wallet.
It was my goal to be prepared for the next person that asked for help/food/money. Like Cheryl and her daughter, I wanted to be ready to meet the need in the moment.
It was actually humorous at first, I found myself looking for opportunities to get rid of the cards. I quickly realized that the harder I looked for someone in need, the harder it seemed they were to find.
This adventure began as I was getting into my car after church. A young man yelled at me from across the street, asking if I could spare a few bucks for food. To be truthful, in the moment, my initial response was fear followed by a desire to just ignore him and drive away. But as I reached for the door, I rememberd the cards and decided to do more than ignore him. I also decided to do more than just hand out a card. I took the opportunity to do what I thought God was calling me to do.
His name was Chris and he was 22 years old. I would describe him as a ModRocker, dressed in dark black clothing and a dark black trench coat. I think he was just as shocked as I was when I jogged toward him across the street. I asked what he needed. He just wanted money and when I asked why, he told me he was hungry. I decided to press him a little more. At first his answers were short, but as I leaned against the wall and showed no intention on leaving soon, he began to answer the questions with more depth. By the end, I found out his mom had committed suicide when he was 14. He didn't know his father, so his life quickly spiraled into alcohol and drugs. He had been homeless for six years, moving from place to place.
As the conversation continued, I was able to talk with him briefly about the gospel. It was at least eight blocks to the closest McDonalds, but he was very happy to know that there was a meal waiting for him when he got there.
And that started it.
For the whole year, I began looking for opportunities to not just hand out cards, but meet the people in need. Most of the time I was alone, but often I had one or two kids with me and they sat in the car while I spent the time talking to someone new. It wasn't easy. It wasn't comfortable. I worked through the whole stack and found I needed to replenish it.
It wasn't without incident. I met a few crazy people that didn't want anything to do with me (or a conversation), they just wanted the free food. But for the most part, it was a bunch of real people, with real needs and real stories. The food card was good, but most of them (like me) seemed to enjoy the conversation just as much.
I met Ed (and his dog Joshua) on the front steps of the church. I gave him some coffee and invited him in to worship. He had been homesless for more than 5 years and was just plain hungry. He didn't know what to do with Joshua, so we ended up sitting together and drinking coffee and sharing our stories.
I also met Carl and his wife in front of the grocery store. Somehow God provided twenty minutes in the middle of my day for me to sit and talk with the two of them as they continued to pan handle from cars driving by. (I'd like to think that I helped their situation, but most cars passed by as we sat together). Carl had a normal job in construction until the economy soured. Their living situation disappeared and eventually so did their transportation. Now they just survive. They walk around town, trying to get enough money to eat.
My favorite experience was in the garage of my VW mechanic. This dishevled looking guy stumbed in asking if there were any simple jobs that needed to be done. My mechanic, who is approached regularly, quickly said no, but I quickly launched into a few questions. Why? What do you need? In a few quick moments, I discovered a guy that was lonely, hungry and in need of some help. I ran out to the car and grabbed a gift card. When I returned, I asked him for his name. Russell. I asked him if I could pray for him, and he agreed. I would like to think my desire to serve this guy helped to meet his need and helped to be an example for my friend that watched our interaction.
What began as a blog post, became an exercise in obedience and eventually an opportunity to engage my neighbors with intention and purpose. Thanks Cheryl!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Dear Mr. Antinomian
Last month on the Gospel Coalition blog, Tullian Tchividjian posted a great letter written by Elyse Fitzpatrick. In her faux letter, she humorously addresses the serious discussion of focusing too much on grace and too much on the gospel. The Resurgence re-posted a link to the blog today as well.
As one who often talks about the freedom that Christ brings in a gospel-centered life, I feel like I'm constantly in the middle of a conversation about the balance between living in grace and living in response to that grace. This letter sheds light on this very conversaiton.
It reminds me of a conversation I remember having when I was corrected for saying, "It's all about Jesus." I was told, "...when people think that it's all about Jesus that will forget their responsiblity in sanctification." In other words: too much grace will lead to a life of licentiousness. Fitzpatrick finally unmasks this person and addresses what it must be like to live a life centerd on the gospel.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did. I hope you think more about grace and more about the gospel because of it.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Identity Theft
"The surprising reality, however, is that Christians are, by definition, people who have someone else’s identity. They’re called “Christians” because they’ve taken the identity of someone else: Christ. Not only have you been given an identity that you weren’t born with or that you didn’t earn the right to use, but you’re invited to empty the checking account and use all the benefits this identity brings!This is so much better than identity theft—it’s an identity gift!"
Fletch
Gospel Amnesia
***2014 UPDATE TO THIS BLOG POST - IF YOU WANT TO HEAR THE PODCAST OF GOSPEL AMNESIA. FOLLOW THIS LINK.
I wrapped up last year spending three days with thirty-five young men at a leadership conference. I was very thankful for the opportunity and the invitation to speak on the topic of leadership and with these young guys In considering my topic, I was immediately drawn to 1Timothy 4:11-12. I shared that Paul (the old guy) encouraged Timothy (the young guy) to lead by example in five areas: speech, conduct, faith, love and purity. For three days, that is exactly what I did with these young men.(photo courtesy Creative Studios Photography)
On the last day, I uncovered the topics of lust and purity. Often, these topics are not spoken about in the public arena with teenage men, yet I have always found it easy to find a connection and did not waste much time navigating through this discussion. My audience (which had largely been asleep) suddenly began to straighten up and engage in what I was saying. I think they realized I was going to punch through some of the tougher subjects and not hold back.
As I spoke to these guys there was a moment that I tripped on my words. As I was speaking, suddenly what I said caused me to speak and listen at the same time. It was funny, because I had prepared for weeks what I was going to say. I crafted the discussion and I had reviewed it before getting up to speak. It wasn't until I began to speak out loud that it suddenly applied to me.
I wonder if this happens to pastors who preach weekly. Probably.
Anyhow, I stumbled through my words while trying to listen to God speak to me at the same time. I'm not sure if I pulled it off or not, but I'm thankful most of the guys were drifting in and out of sleep and missed my distinct pause. I'm not talking about a monumental life-changing event. This was just a simple truth in life I discovered while I spoke. It began as I was sharing with them about helping fellow believers that are "stuck" in their faith. I suggested one of the ways we can help someone who is stuck in sin or in their relationship with God is to merely remind them of the gospel.
That's when it happened. I had what others describe as a lightbulb moment. Instantly I was able to describe much of what I had been thinking about in 2010 with a single phrase. As I spoke to these young men at the leadership conference, I realized that I had been one of those people that was stuck. It's not that I was stuck in sin. I was not having a crisis in my faith. I was not abandoning the church. I was just stuck. Somehow...somewhere...I had developed a case of "gospel amnesia."
You see, after years and years of ministry and church involvement, I found myself struggling in 2010. Much of the year felt like I was waking up out of a slumber and rediscovering old truths. As I looked back on previous years, I began to question what had taken place. As I looked at my life I realized that I had a form of faith. I also found that I had been tangled in a mess of religion. I had gospel amnesia. For years, I had been working hard at the outward lifestyle of Christianity, but the roots of that lifestyle were established in the fear of man. I was "doing Christianity" because of what I read and saw others "doing." I was saying/repeating what others were saying or sometimes what they thought was important to say. Again, I had gospel amnesia. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that my faith was a sham, but it wasn't authentic either.
Conversation after conversation had taken place all year and I kept trying to pinpoint what I was thinking and what I had learned. I kept searching for ways to communicate what exactly I meant. Then, in the last few moments of the year, it came into focus...and quite unexpectedly. 2010 was a year of curing the amnesia with heaping doses of the gospel. 2011 will be a year of rediscovering how to live out my faith with authenticity and Spirit-led humility.
What are your plans for 2011?
Quietly making noise,
Fletch