Tag: Theology

The Life of Theological Debate

663092_26111643I have a confession: I love theology. My wife has a confession probably as well, she would say I have an obsession with theology. I read way too many books, listen to podcasts, and half of my suitcase on our vacations is filled with books and highlighters to read while on a beach.

So that is the context for the next thought I have. While I love theology, I’m not a huge fan of theological debate in church. It is not that I’m intimidated by conflict, by discussion, or by contrasting viewpoints. The reason I’m not a big fan of debate is that debate often devolves into something so un-Jesusy (I know, not a theological word for someone who reads so many books).

The point is that when people start talking about Jesus, they for some reason, stop looking and sounding like Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with discussion around theology. I love it, need it, and actually search it out. What I’m not a fan of is people using theology as a springboard to prove their own intellectual prowess, certainty, or general “rightness”. What this means is that when people enter into a theological debate they are generally not interested in learning or growing, but being right and proving the other person wrong. The point becomes about winning rather than growing. And this is where, for me, I tend to exit the conversation. I love discussing, being challenged, and growing; I just don’t find that debates help with that. Jesus tends to ask questions, debates give up only clear cut answers. Debates are about shutting off the conversation by being right, rather than opening up a conversation by admitting our humility. So while I’m not scared of theological debate, I’m much more interested in growing in theological depth. I just haven’t found the two often connected.

Perhaps you’ve had a different experience than me, and that’d be great. But either way I have a challenge for you. The next time you find yourself in a theological debate, ask yourself this question: am I trying to be right, or help people grow?

Because the answer to that one question can change the whole thing…

by Andrew Mills

Pocket Jesus

Untitled-1For a long time people thought of “evangelism” as bringing Jesus with them to people who needed Jesus. It was almost as if we have Jesus in our back pocket and our goal was to bring him out in conversation with people. The goal was to bring Jesus into conversations, relationships, or places where he currently wasn’t. We were “storming the gates the hell”, “bringing salvation to the heathens”, or “taking the world for Jesus”. Perhaps you’ve heard or even used a phrase like that.

If you notice something though, the focus of every one of those statements is on our activity and not Jesus’. We bring Jesus, we make converts, and we storm the gates of hell all in the name of “evangelism”. I call this type of evangelism “pocket Jesus evangelism”  because it’s based on us carrying Jesus with us and sharing him however and wherever we can.

And while the idea of sharing Jesus with others is beautiful and absolutely necessary, the idea that we bring Jesus to places he isn’t leads to ugly evangelism. Perhaps you have seen or even experienced this yourself where well-meaning people seem more intent on forcing Jesus than sharing Jesus. Where conversations seem forced, unnatural, aggressive, and somehow off repel people from Jesus rather than draw them in. The reason this type of evangelism can so easily become ugly is because it’s built on a shaky foundation and faulty theology.

The faulty bit of theology is pretty clear when you think about it: you don’t bring Jesus anywhere, because he’s already everywhere.

Here is the point, as Christians Jesus absolutely does reside within us, but Jesus is not limited to us. To limit the world changing, life transforming, and Kingdom expanding work of the Father, Son, and Spirit to the work of Christians and the church is not only bad theology but just plain wrong. God is the primary actor in changing the world, we simply get to partner with him in what he is already doing. The world is being changed by the Father’s initiative, the Son’s sacrifice, and the power of the Spirit and we get to join in what God is doing.

The point is this, we, as Christians, do not take Jesus to a God-absent world. God is already active in the world and we get to join him in what he is doing. The very first act of Jesus Christ was to move into the neighborhood, and he’s been doing it ever since (John 1). If Jesus moved into an obscure, poverty riddled, Jewish family in the first century I’m pretty sure he’s already active on your street.

So then does evangelism still matter? Absolutely! The only difference is the focus shifts. Rather than forcing Jesus into conversations I watch for how he is active in conversations and follow his lead. Rather than trying to push Jesus into a relationship I see how he is guiding that relationship and listen to his direction.

The point is that no longer am I trying to “convert” anyone. What I am doing is joining in the work of Jesus who is already active in seeking and saving the whole world. I’m trusting that the Father, Son, and Spirit are the ones who save and “convert” people, I just want to do my part.

So my question is where do you see Jesus active in your friendships? Is someone open to forgiveness more than usual? Is Jesus directing you to spend more time with someone who seems to be growing? Who can you show love to, that is receptive or needing of grace?

The point is simple: I’m no longer taking Jesus with me asking him to join me in what I’m doing; I’m looking for what he is already doing and seeking to partner with him there.

by Andrew Mills

How Do You Become Like Jesus?

1209121_19492254On Sunday we are wrapping up our series on the Prodigal Son. We’ve looked at the older brother, and the younger son. On Sunday we are looking at the Father, and asking the most crucial question:

How do we become like the Father?

Because this is honestly one of the central parts of following Jesus. Jesus perfectly represents the Father in this parable. And we are called as followers of Jesus to become like Jesus. We are called to follow in his footsteps to become like the Father in this parable. We are called to learn to show reckless love, abundant forgiveness, and never-ending grace.

So on Sunday we are going to be exploring the hard question of how do you actually do this? How do you actually live, love, and look like Jesus? Of course it will take the Holy Spirit’s work, the Father’s direction, and the power of Jesus. But what practical steps can we take to start to live like the Father in this parable?

Because I believe this truly matters. Imagine with me if each Christian loved, lived, and looked like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son? If this was true our homes, meeting places, and churches would be filled with people drawn to this depth of love. They would be drawn into our lives, just as people were drawn to Jesus.

So this question of “how” matters immensely. And on Sunday we hope to answer it. But before we get there, why not spend sometime thinking about it yourself. If you are to become like Jesus, what next steps help you get there? What is he calling you to do? How might you go so deeply into his love, that it transforms you into a person of deep love? These are questions worth thinking about, and even more importantly worth living out.

by Andrew Mills

Why Being Lost isn’t about Location but Closeness

murilloOn Sunday we jumped into the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. Last week we looked at the lostness of the younger son. This week we looked at the lostness of the older son. Which is odd because often in casual readings of the story the older son doesn’t seem lost – but he definitely is.

Jesus here is teaching to two specific groups mentioned in the text. The first are the crowds, the broken, the tax-collectors, and the sinners. In the story the parable of the younger son reaches out to them. To the ones who have broken the rules and are far from the Father’s embrace.

There was a second audience though as well: the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. To this group Jesus tells the second half of the story of the older son. A son who was lost because he kept all the rules and like the younger son was also far from the Father.

The Older Son is clearly lost because being lost isn’t about location but intimacy with the Father. When the Father welcomes the younger son home, the older son stands outside and refuses to join in the celebration. He refuses to join in with the Father. He creates distance between the two of them. And the reason why he is standing outside is actually stated by the older son. He says that he is outside and refusing to go in because he has never disobeyed the Father.

And it is precisely at this moment that we see how keeping the rules can keep us from the Father and God. Because the older Son reveals that he has been following the Father not because he loved the Father, but because of what he could get out of the Father.

Timothy Keller puts it this way:

“The hearts of the two brothers were the same. Both sons resented their Father’s authority and sought ways of getting out from under it. They each wanted to get into a position in which they could tell the father what to do. Each one, in other words, rebelled – but one did so by being very bad and the other by being extremely good. Both were alienated from the father’s heart; both were lost sons…Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centred ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently”

The point is that it is possible to distance ourselves from the Father by breaking the rules and by trying to keep them out of the wrong motives. If we follow the commandments of God so that God owes us, so that we guarantee blessing, or that our lifestyle and desire are assured, we are missing the point. To follow God for any other reason than God is worth following is to miss the point and miss God.

So on Sunday we gave three ways to discern our motives in following God. The first was do you expect to get what you want. If your life is built on the expectation that God will create the life you want, rather than the life he is calling you to lead, that might indicate an older brother’s heart.

Secondly, an older brother’s heart can be seen when there is grudging duty in following God. If we follow God out of a sense of obligation rather than anticipation for the kingdom we may be missing the point. We are called to give our hearts freely to God, not out of a twisted sense of resentful compliance.

And lastly, when our lives demonstrate a lack of joy we may have an older brother’s heart. The reality is that joy cannot live in a heart that is filled with resentment. So if our walk with Jesus has a discernable lack of joy, there may be resentment and an older brother’s heart.

So on Sunday we concluded our talk by asking each person to examine why they follow God. And if there is, we gave this simple next step: join the party. The Father comes out to the older brother and invites him back into the party. So if for any reason, like resentment, bitterness, self-righteous, or pride – you’ve missed out on the party, make a choice to accept the invitation, put aside everything and join the party. Because the truth is the party with the Father is where we want to be.

If, like the elder brother, you seek to control God through your obedience, then all your morality is just a way to use God to make him give you the things in life you really want” Timothy Keller

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea Why are your following God?

Take Aways…

  • Being lost isn’t about a location, but a state of your heart.
  • Jesus is writing to two specific groups: rule breakers, and rule keepers.
  • As Christians the Older Brother relates to us
  • Being lost to the Father isn’t about geography but intimacy
  • “The lostness of the elder son, however, is much harder to identify. After all, he did all the right things. He was obedient, dutiful, law-abiding, and hardworking” Henri Nouwen
  • The Older Son is standing outside the party because as he says, “I have never disobeyed you”
  • “Pride in his good deeds, rather than remorse over his bad deeds was keeping the older son out of feast of salvation” Timothy Keller
  • The older Son has been obeying the Father not because he values the relationship but because of what he wants out of the relationship.
  • To seek God for eternal life is to seek eternal life, while to seek God for a meaningful existence is to seek a meaningful existence. A true seeking after God results from an experience of God which one falls in love with for no reason other than finding God irresistibly loveable” Peter Rollins
  • Indicators of An Older Brother Heart
    • Expectation for God to Give us What We Want
    • A heart of grudging duty
    • A Lack of Joy

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What surprised you? What made you think? What did you take away? What was new? In your life have you ever been like the Older Brother? What is your natural response when people receive deep grace – celebration or resentment? Is there anyway in your life that you are like the Older Brother now? What steps can you take to make sure that you don’t become like the Older Brother?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Take a moment and talk to your kids about why its important that they follow your guidance and direction. Then take a moment and talk to them about how its even more important about the motives behind their actions. Tell them how happy it makes you when they clean the dishes because they love you. Tell them how much joy it brings you when their heart is in the right place.

Challenge for this Week Put aside any resentment and join the party

by Andrew Mills

I Don’t Believe in that God Either

1364043_24141534I have had a recurring conversation with my friends, family, and neighbors over the past few years. Often what happens is this type of a scenario. They either know or find out I’m a pastor and eventually ask this question:

“So you believe in…[insert any idea / caricature / or type of god here]”

Essentially they are asking about who I have given my life to following. They wonder if I am following a god who lives in the clouds. If I believe in a god who is prejudiced, hates, and unloving or a god so uninvolved in the world that he becomes non-existant, etc, etc. In essence, they often ask if I believe in a caricature of God that they have either been taught, or have experienced through society.

The point is that these friends and neighbors cannot reconciled this caricature with reality. And so they wonder, “how do you follow a god like this…” And so my standard response is this: “Oh I don’t believe in that god either” To which they are often surprised. You don’t believe in a god who hates, who is distant, unloving, uninvolved, or prejudiced? I respond with no. I believe, follow, and absolutely trust in the God who looks, lives, and loves like Jesus Christ.

I share that the perfect representation of God is Jesus Christ (Colosians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Which in “un-theological language” means that not only does Jesus look like God, but God looks like Jesus. Which means that God is “Jesusy”. So when we see the supreme act of Jesus Christ, dying sacrificially on the cross for all people and being raised again, this is who God is. Someone who cares so much about injustice, sin, and evil that he enters into it, experiences the full brunt of it, so that we might be freed from it. This is the God I follow. Not some silly caricature of an old man sitting in a rocking chair in heaven. But a God who brings heaven to earth with the way he loves, and lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

So when my family, friends, and neighbors ask about what type of a god I follow – I love that question. Because I get to tell them that God looks like Jesus Christ. And that is a great place to start because people may be frustrated or turned off by church, nominal Christians, or caricatures of God but people are drawn to Jesus. So I always just start there and say, “If you want to know who I have given my life to following, and who I believe God is, look no further than Jesus Christ”

I think it’s the best and only place to start…with Jesus.

by Andrew Mills

Lent, Suffering, and Bonhoeffer

“Only the suffering God can help.”  Dietrich Bonheoffer.

1208573_69660271This is brilliant, true and full of hope for us during Lent. During Lent the disturbing reality is that we focus on a God, who in the person of Jesus Christ, was beaten, broken, and buried. This is the God we follow, one who died. Is it any wonder Paul said preaching the cross was foolishness…The world follows power, display, and strength; our God demonstrates sacrifice, weakness, and a willingness to enter even into death.

This though is why only the suffering God can help. We do not follow a God who is above suffering, empathy, and distantly removed because of his power. Instead, we follow a God who knows what it is to be beaten. We follow a God who knows what it is to be broken. We follow a God who knows what it is to be buried.

So if you have ever felt beaten down by life…have hope. If you feel broken in body or soul…have hope. If you have lost someone, or feel like you yourself are being buried under darkness…have hope. Because our God felt all those things, but broke through them to show us the way. Our God didn’t stay in heaven removed from the muck and mire of humanity and our struggle. Our God chose to enter into our struggle, to empty himself of all power and privilege to join us. This is why only the suffering God can help, because only the suffering God can understand what we go through. So you are not alone. God knows what it is to feel betrayal. He knows what it is to look forward and see darkness. He knows what it is to die. But the message of Easter is he also knows about resurrection. He is the resurrection and the life. It is through him that all of the world is changed, in a blinding moment of new creation, new life, and a new future. He enters into suffering to lead us out…so may we reflect and remember that this Lenten season. Let us not rush past the suffering to the resurrection of Easter. Let us remember that only the suffering God can help…

by Andrew Mills

Thomas the Train Meet Jurgen Moltmann

Hudson is a gift. Yet in life it is easy to miss the gifts all around us isn’t it.

I looked at the book I was reading at home and found this.

Yes that’s right its covered in Thomas the Train stickers. Life with a 2 year old.

But the odd juxtaposition got me to thinking. Here is a deep theolgoical work covered in stickers from my two year old. A book that is centered on deeply exploring the gift of life Jesus gives us, is covered with trains with names like Thomas and Percy. This odd combination though reminds me that while it is important to learn, it is better to live.

This little act by little boy reminds me that my faith is not lived out through reading theology, deep thinking, or even reading the Bible. My faith is lived out in my actions. Through putting stickers all over my house with my little boy I’m demonstrating love. Through meeting with friends laughing and enjoying life I’m living out the Kingdom. Through eating and enjoying a meal with my wife I’m practicing faith. Life is a gift. And while it is important to refelct on life, and to deeply think about God sometiems we can get so caught up reflecting that we forget to appreciate the gift of life.

So today put down the book. Put down the thoughts of work that cross your mind. Put down the worries about the future. Put down whatever you might be holding and enjoy life. Play with your kids, go out with friends, cook a brilliant meal. And maybe if your adventuresome put stickers all over the place…

by Andrew Mills

Lent and Death

Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting more and more on death. Often during Lent I try to reflect on sacrifice, Jesus’ death, and what it all means.

It’s not something we often talk about is it?

Death isn’t a dinner party topic. Sacrifice isn’t something you share at picnics. I think that’s because its heavy, real, and difficult. But just because something is difficult, doesn’t mean it should be avoided.

So for the next few weeks of Lent every now and then I’ll post some of my thoughts on death, sacrifice, and meaning found in the dark. It might be heavy, but by going through some heavy thinking and reflecting now, it can help later.

So to begin the process maybe take some time and reflect on these questions:

  • What makes death so hard?
  • What questions about death or sacrifice do you have?
  • Why did Jesus have to die anyway?

Then over the next few weeks I’ll post some of my thoughts. But to start, what are your thoughts?

by Andrew Mills

Finding Joy…Creating Joy…

What brings you joy?

Seriously. What are a few things that bring you joy? Is it being with friends, a good cup of coffee, a sunrise, a giraffe, dancing, cooking, hunting, creating?

What brings you joy?

My challenge today is this: to do something that brings you joy just for the sake of it.

As Christians we’re able to enjoy life, to experience it deeply and openly. So do that today. Go for a run, get out some paints, make a chair. Do whatever is in your  nature that brings you joy, and simply be in the presence of joy.

I’m going to cook. I’m going to get out the ingredients, a new recipe, some great music, and sit my son on the chair and we’ll cook together. And probably make a mess together, but we’ll find joy together.

So find joy today. And then this Sunday we’re going to journey together to hopefully discover how to find joy always. But why wait till Sunday?

Start finding joy today… and share with me what gives you joy?

by Andrew Mills

People Shaping People…

Yesterday I was given the honor of preaching at Hanover Missionary church for their anniversary celebration.  Afterwards I had a few people come up to me and say how much I reminded them of my dad. How I have the same preaching style, mannerisms, and passion. To be honest anytime I’m compared to my dad it’s a compliment.

But it got me thinking about relationships and influence. People who you have close relationships influence and shape you for better or worse. Maybe you’ve seen this with friends, married couples, or your kids. Those who you invite to walk closely with you, will impact and change you. But relationships are a two way street. So those who you are walking closely with, you are also influencing. Whether or not you see it – your life is having an impact.

This is worth thinking about. Who are you shaping? Who is shaping you? And more than that I think this is worth acting on.

For me that means being intentional in the relationships I’m in; seeking to be a person of grace and love. And it also means appreciating those people who have impacted you and shaped you.

So on a dreary Monday why not let someone who has left and impact in your life know about this. Call them, email them, or message them saying your friendship has influenced and shaped me and here’s how.

For me personally, obviously that’s been my parents. But less obvious it has been all the wonderful people at Plattsville Church. You may not know it but you’ve shaped me. The first thing I thought when I walked into work today was: “I missed being here yesterday”. You have shaped me by welcoming me into your family, caring for me, and giving me a home here. Your care and love is shaping me.

Why not share that with someone today? Let someone else know that their love and care matter. The beauty of relationships is that they change us.

So let someone know of how they changed you, and maybe through that they might be changed as well…

by Andrew Mills