Chaplain Mike posts today’s Open Mic question on behalf of the iMonk, Michael Spencer.

When I received this from Michael and was asked to post it, it reminded me that, often in my work as a hospice chaplain, I read the Psalms for my patients. However, I usually edit my readings. Why? The psalm Michael asks us to consider is a prime example.

Psalm 139 is a perennial favorite for Christians. Who doesn’t love the poetic picture it paints of God’s intimate knowledge and care of his people? Who doesn’t rejoice in its reassurance that we will never be without God’s presence? that he is constantly thinking of us and active in providing for us and protecting us?

But…but…

I guarantee you that I don’t read verses 19-22:

O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Why don’t we feel comfortable reading these verses?

Why do we feel compelled to “pick and choose” when we read the psalms?

Why do our minds try to justify or filter out such phrases as “I hate them with perfect hatred”? And what does a statement like that mean anyway?

How do we understand these imprecations in the light of other Scriptures, like the Sermon on the Mount, that say plainly, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”?

The mic is yours. Use it thoughtfully and let’s have a discussion about this.

Today’s post is from IM First Officer Michael Bell.

This past year has been a difficult one for me medically. In March I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, which for the uninformed means that I stop breathing while sleeping, for up to 90 seconds at a time, up to 60 times an hour. So now I have to sleep with a mask, which I absolutely hate. Then just before Christmas I got a flu bug. While things are not confirmed yet, it appears as if the virus attacked my pancreas. As a result I have become diabetic, and as of this writing the medicines have not been working, I am off work, and I may have to be started on insulin injections. One of the earlier symptoms that I was experiencing was a foggy brain, and making uncharacteristic mistakes at work.

So you might be wondering how I am feeling about this. Well, to be honest, not too bad. I think that recent events in Haiti, along with Michael Spencer’s current health difficulties help me to realize that I don’t really have much to complain about. I have a lovely, loving wife, three great kids, a house, a job, and a church I love.

The diabetes will eventually get under control. I have been losing weight and that should start to help with the sleep apnea. My life continues not that much different from the way it was a year ago.

Michael Spencer faces a much more difficult future. His income has ended, his health insurance is ending, and he faces some very trying times ahead with his cancer. Michael has given so much of himself to this blog over the last number of years.

As a community of Internet Monk readers, I would urge each of us to be a blessing to Michael Spencer. Please consider using the Pay Pal button to make a gift to Michael. Let us see what we can do to meet the needs of one of our own.

Today’s post is by Chaplain Mike.

Last year, here in Indianapolis, a four-year-old was taken by emergency personnel to the hospital with a gunshot wound. At first, it was not clear what had happened. The family told police the child had shot himself. The police weren’t sure that the preschooler was strong enough to have pulled the trigger of the suspected weapon by himself, and so they wondered if someone else had done it, perhaps a family member.

It turned out the family was correct. The little boy lived in a home with other relatives, at least one of whom had several guns. This uncle left one of his pistols on a bedside table and the child discovered it there. The preschooler picked up, played with it, and shot himself in the hand. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening, though he did nearly sever one of his fingers. All in all, the whole family was lucky, including the little boy’s two siblings, neither of whom were hurt.

In evangelicalism, pastors too often play the part of the preschooler with the pistol.

The Bible is a powerful, explosive tool. When its power is used with wisdom and love, it brings healing, comfort, direction, and salvation. It forms people and congregations into the image of Christ. When its power is used recklessly and without discernment, the Bible can hurt, divide, and destroy. You can blow your own hand off, or someone else’s head.
[Continue reading]

Since we’re on the subject of confession, here is a look at the subject from the personal side. Today, Chaplain Mike presents this classic iMonk post that Michael wrote in October, 2008.

Some Christians love to talk about the sins of Obama or gays or the mainstream media, but get really animated when I suggest we need to talk about our own, even if they are listed in the Bible dozens of times.

If the Gospel isn’t grabbing you by the real sins in your real life, just exactly what is the Gospel doing for you? Or you with it?

I don’t like the fact that I can give a really good talk on prayer when I rarely pray.

I don’t like it that I can read Matthew 5:23-24 and, as far as I can recall, never take a single step toward obeying it.

I don’t like that I can sin and then condemn someone else’s sin in almost the same breath.

[Continue reading]

Today’s post is by Pat Kyle of New Reformation Press

Back in March of 2009 I put up Part 1 of this post and talked a bit about corporate confession and absolution and how its regular practice helped anchor me in the church. There is a second part to this story and it deals with private confession and absolution.

This will probably come as a shock to many of our readers, but the Lutherans retained the use of private confession, (as in “going to confession” in front of a priest or Pastor) and many faithful pastors still regularly hear the confessions of their flock and pronounce Christ’s forgiveness in absolution. Article XI of the Augsburg Confession says: [Continue reading]

Chaplain Mike presents this original story, based on real events.

Lee was a writer and photographer, the kind of person who drew strength and energy from being alone and working on her arts. She and Frank had been married twenty-four years; it was a second marriage for both of them, each having divorced from unhappy first unions. Neither had brought children to the marriage and, after a few tearful arguments early in their life together, the subject of having kids never came up again.

Frank worked hard, long hours, and provided well for them, freeing Lee to pursue her artistic interests. Then, unexpectedly, a few years before retirement, he was diagnosed with cancer and almost before you knew it, Frank was bedbound and his free-spirited wife lost her liberty. She attended to his needs night and day, feeding him, helping him to the toilet, passing his medicines, and getting him up in the recliner where he watched TV, increasingly distant and dependent. At first she got out for an hour or two here and there, but Lee could see that those opportunities were diminishing; she became more and more afraid to leave Frank alone for fear he would awaken confused and fall out of bed.

And so Lee became despondent. Frank’s constant demands kept her from pursuing the solitude and creative work she needed to refuel her spirit. They had no family to help them, and couldn’t really afford paid caregivers. Lee discovered she had few human supports on which to lean, and she felt alone, helpless and hopeless.

But a new sense of spiritual hunger also grew in Lee. She began reading the Bible and thinking about church. She got some counsel from a friend, who answered some of her questions about what kind of church to look for, and who also encouraged her with the thought that being part of a church family might provide some help with Frank.

[Continue reading]

Since we have been discussing the Gospel and how it shapes our Christian lives, let’s continue the conversation by taking a look at this classic IM post from April, 2007.

It amazes me that the apostles immediately know- they KNOW- that Christianity has to be applied in ways they had never thought before. Perhaps the story in Acts 10 is a window to how the Holy Spirit stirs us up to get off of the roof and down into a Roman’s house.

The Apostles apply the Gospel broadly. There must be a different kind of economics. There must be a different kind of inclusion around the table and in relationships. There must be prayer, breaking bread, teaching doctrine, but there is more. You cannot leave out the issues of hunger, inclusion, assistance, mercy ministries, economics or even political theology. While you can point out the kinds of issues that weren’t addressed, it’s remarkable what kind of issues are addressed…and how they are addressed.

“Christian culture” is always a counter-culture, not a consumer culture, an entertainment culture or a political lobby. “The Church” is a gathering of people loyal to Jesus who believe certain things, but it is a movement of people who apply the gospel to those issues in their midst that demonstrate the meaning of the Kingdom of God. [Continue reading]

Chaplain Mike posts today’s Open Mic topic.

From an excellent article posted today at Leadership Journal called, “The Everyday Gospel,” by Tullian Tchividjian comes this quote:

I once assumed the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that the gospel isn’t the first step in a stairway of truths, but more like the hub in a wheel of truth. As Tim Keller explains it, the gospel isn’t simply the ABCs of Christianity, but the A-through-Z. In other words, once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it.

…After meditating on Paul’s words, a friend told me that all our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel. This means I can’t really move forward unless I learn more thoroughly the gospel’s content and how to apply it to all of life. Real change does not and cannot come independently of the gospel. God intends his Good News in Christ to mold and shape us at every point and in every way. It increasingly defines the way we think, feel, and live.

I too have held and heard this incomplete understanding of the Gospel as I have lived and served among believers over the years. Today, I think differently. Now my aim is to continually grow in my grasp of how the Gospel is for me and applies to me, a Christian.

How about you? What does it mean for you, as a Christian, to believe and live in the Gospel?

Today’s post is from IM First Officer Michael Bell.

I have a great appreciation for my Pastor. I appreciate his perspectives on most issues, and I appreciate his leadership within the church. However, for the last two years we have disagreed quite strongly on one particular significant issue. What that issue is, is not important to the topic at hand, but suffice to say, it is an issue that has divided many churches in the past, and had the potential to cause much dissension or division in our church as well.

But it didn’t. [Continue reading]

Since our posts and comments have referred a lot to liturgy lately, I thought it might be good to revisit a nice little tool to help people understand various aspects of liturgical worship. Our first look at this book can be found here. Today, we have a another look and review from Patrick Kyle of New Reformation Press. Thanks, Kyle!

Over the holidays we threw a party for our friends on New Year’s Day, kind of a post party party. One of my friends walked in with a book that immediately caught my eye.  It is titled the ‘Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship’ authored by Brett Scott Provance and put out by IVP Academic. This volume is one in a series of fourteen Pocket Dictionaries published by IVP.  This series looks to be really promising. You can check it out here.

Being only slightly obsessed with liturgy I quickly prevailed upon my friend to lend it to me. [Continue reading]

Today, Chaplain Mike posts this note that was sent to iMonk. How would you try to help this inquirer?

Mr. Spencer,

In the past few months of my life something has driven me towards Christianity. I can’t exactly say what, I believe it to be a combination of things but it has lead me to hours of research, mostly in the field of apologetics. I’ve never been a Christian and was not raised in a Christian family. If anything I would say that I’ve always been agnostic. Throughout my years, I’ve been a student of philosophy and religion. I’ve studied most modern philosophy, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and various other world religions but have never followed one and have never been drawn towards Christianity. Like many my age, I grew up in a place where Christianity was considered “un-cool”. None of my friends were Christian and even today I have few who are. Yet, recently something has peaked my interest in God and Jesus Christ.

To get to the point, my problem is not that I don’t want to believe, it’s that I’m caught in the middle.

[Continue reading]

By guest blogger Chaplain Mike

Spend any time at all around Internet Monk, and you will hear about the “post-evangelical wilderness.”

This is one of the phrases that first attracted me to Michael’s writings, and it is clear from reading those who have commented over the years that it has resonated with many.

What it means for me practically at this point is this: “church” is problematic for me right now.

Let me tell you why.

[Continue reading]

MOD: This discussion has degenerated into the usual “my side v. your side” dirt clod fight. Unfortunately, this shows some of us have missed or forgotten the spirit of the original post. Go back and read it again, folks. I can celebrate my tradition and the good, biblical aspects of it, without having to denigrate yours. Comments are closed.

Today we revisit a classic IM post Michael wrote in March 2008.

Because I’ve been wrestling with Protestant/Catholic issues throughout this past year, I receive a lot of email from those who have moved outside of their lifelong evangelicalism and somewhere within sight of the catholic tradition, if not the Roman Catholic church.

Some of that mail takes me to blogs and the writing of people who are in a tortured state of mind and heart. Some are ministers strongly drawn to Roman Catholicism. They have read Hahn and Howard. They are listening to The Coming Home Network on EWTN. They are tired of evangelicalism’s circus atmosphere, its deficits and its many problems.

The unity, antiquity and beauty of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy stand in stark contrast to the divisions, innovations and shallowness of evangelicalism. I have no problem understanding this attraction. It seems that Luther made a terrible mistake, and every person who “goes home” can take satisfaction in healing that historically disastrous and unnecessary rift. [Continue reading]

Today’s review is by Ryan Cordle, Michael Spencer’s son-in-law. Thanks, Ryan!

For two years I have worked at a ministry as a high school teacher. In these couple of years I have seen how God’s movement for reconciling people is real. At our school, we have students from everywhere, quite literally. Our kids come from all over North America, and from Africa, Asia and Europe. The historical significance of what I see on a daily basis is not lost on me. We have African American students who share rooms, meals, and time with their best friends who happen to be white. I have seen Korean students forget their racial prejudices with which they were raised, and act charitably toward their Japanese classmates. There is no explanation as to why this happens except that God is working.

In Welcoming Justice: God’s Movement Toward Beloved Community, Charles Marsh and John Perkins join an impressive list of authors, which includes Stanley Hauerwas, Jean Vanier, Emmanuel Katongole, and Chris Rice, who have written as part of Duke’s Center for Reconciliation book series published by IVP. The goal of the series is to theologically and practically explore reconciliation. Naturally with Marsh and Perkins as authors, Welcoming Justice gives insight into the necessary racial reconciliation that should sit at the top of any American church’s agenda.

Marsh and Perkins alternate chapters in the book, as is the case in the other two books in this series, which seek to give equal time to both an academic and a person doing reconciliation work on the field. Perkins comes across to the reader as nothing short of a sagacious prophet, who is graciously sharing his wisdom with the world. His anecdotes are at once enjoyable, and theologically dynamic.

Marsh summarizes Perkins’ powerful work, “…(Perkins) shows us to read the Bible faithfully is to read the Bible as the comprehensive divine plan of human liberation from the perspective of God’s Kingdom” (106). For Perkins, we must realize that God will move through broken communities in broken places in order to fulfill his divine plan. Therefore, reconciliation must start with brokenness, and it must find its source of power in community through the Holy Spirit.

I pray that the series of books IVP and Duke are producing will become standard reading for pastoral students, and for those with any heart for Christian community. I believe the upcoming generation of (Post-)Evangelicals will do a lot of great things in showing the world that the church can lead by example in the relationship between races. In a world where brokenness is real, the only power the church has is to offer the healing love of Jesus. Perkins and Marsh communicate this clearly, and I can think of no better voices for young Evangelicals to learn from in the field of reconciliation.

Back during Advent, I put up a post on one of my favorite Gospel words: visit.

I encourage you to go back and read it HERE.

In that post, I made this comment: “I think it is what pastors and Christian people used to do, what they were expected to do. But something changed in the church.”

Over at the Out of Ur blog today, Collin Hansen cites and comments on a recent report that shows just how far we’ve come from those days when visitation, and pastoral visitation in particular, was considered an essential part of ministerial work.

Go read his observations, and then return to comment.

[Continue reading]