A Christian Minister's Library.

To that portion of the Christian ministry who can read the Sacred Scriptures, in their original tongues, and who, from their education, must frequently stand on the walls of Zion, to defend the Ark of the Covenant from the assaults of Infidels and Heresiarchs, we recommend the following library, as a portion of their armor and munitions of war, offensive and defensive:
1. The Hebrew Bible--Simonis Biblia Hebraica
2. Analysis Critica Practica, Psalmorum. This valuable work gives a critical analysis of every word in the Psalms of David. 3. Gesenius' Hebrew and English Lexicon, or Baxter's Analytic Dictionary. 4. Leigh's Critica Sacra. 5. Septuagint, Leipsic edition. 6. The London Polyglott, containing eight languages--Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and common English version. This is a great luxury. It may be purchased for $70, neatly bound. 7. Campbell's Four Gospels. 8. McKnight's Epistles. 9. Stuart's Translation of the Romans, with critical notes. 10. Stuart's translation of the Hebrews, with critical notes. 11. Robinson's Harmony of the Four Gospels, in Greek. 12. The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament. 13. Robertson's Greek Lexicon, Canterbury edition, 1676, if it can be found; if not, Scapula. 14. Bretschneider's lexicon. 15. The English Hexapla, London, 1841. This valuable work contains the Greek text, after Scholz, with the various readings of the received text, and the principal Constantinopolitan and Alexandrine manuscripts, and a complete collection of Scholz text, with Griesbach's edition of A.D. 1805. The six versions are Wickliffe's, Tyndal's, Cranmer's, Genevan, Anglo-Rhemish, Authorized, 1611. There is in it a valuable historical account of the English translations.
16. For everyday use, Greenfield's Greek New Testament, with a Greek and English Lexicon annexed. 17. Bloomfield's do. 18. The Critical Greek and English New Testament, with the Greek text of Scholz; readings textual and marginal, of Griesbach, with the variations of Stevens, Beza, and Elzivir, London edition. These last constitute the itinerating Christian preacher's vade mecum.
For the evangelists and elders of churches, who read only the English tongues, we commend the following. [Such of those in our first class who have not the following works, had better, if convenient, add them to their library.]
1. The Common English Version of the Polyglott Bible, London edition. 2. The Holy Bible, containing the authorized version, with some 20,000 emendations or alterations, plates and maps. It is, indeed, in itself, a condensed and valuable commentary on the Common Version. 3. Cruden's English Concordance. 4. Townsend's Bible. 5. Coit's Bible. 6. Horne's Introduction, 4 volumes. 7. Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, 2 vols., London. 8. Prideaux Connections. 9. Shuckford's Connections. 10. Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible. 11. Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Ed. by J. Newton Brown. 12. Giesler's Text Book of Ecc. History, 3 vols. 13. Jones' Church History. 14. Neander's Church History. 15. Waddington's Church History. 16. Neal's History of the Puritans. 17. Josephus. 18. Lord King's Primitive Church. 19. Cave's Primitive Christianity. 20. Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical History. 21. Campbell's Pulpit Eloquence. 22. Taylor's Ancient (not Primitive) Christianity. 23. Paley's works, in 1 vol. 24. Sherlock on Providence. 25. Ernesti on Interpretation. 26. Greenleaf on Evidence. 27. Taylor's Manual of Ancient History. 28. Barrow on the Supremacy of the Pope. 29. Campbell and Purcell's Debate on Popery. 30. D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 31. Guizot's Modern Civilization. 32. Campbell and Owen's Debate on the Evidences of Christianity. 33. Campbell and Rice's Debate on Baptism. 34. Gaussen on Interpretation. 35. The Christian Baptist, Burnet's edition, stereotype. 36. Christian Baptism, with its Antecedents and Consequents, now in press. 37. Infidelity Refuted by Infidels. 38. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 39. All the Bridgewater Treatises on the Being and Perfections of God in Nature. 40. Whewell's Elements of Morality. [His Bridgewater Treatise on the cosmical arrangements of the Universe, with Bell's on the Human Hand, are enough on these subjects.] 41. Comprehensive Commentary on the Bible. 42. As a work of literature, Clark's Commentary.
To these I might add, out of my library, many miscellaneous works and treatises, but these are the best works I have found in many hundred volumes. As Virgil said of farms, I say of libraries: Praise large libraries, but study, or cultivate, small ones. And as a regular hearer of the debate between Luther's party and their opponents, on seeing a reformer, who read no book but the Bible, always routing his opponents, said, so say I, Cave homini unius libri--Take care of the man of the one book. A.C.

Millennial Harbinger, May 1851, 259-260.

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I promised this little gem a couple weeks ago. A few observations: First of all, notice the assumption that the Christian ministry is educated in the classical languages. Campbell's primary recommednations are Hebrew and Greek texts with the best critical apparati then available. Supporting these, besides several lexica, are the best and most recent contintental, British and American translations then available. For those who do not have capacity with the languages (notice also how he assumes elders will be as well read as any minister) Campbell lists an array of helps to Bible study: heavy on critical translations, with strong doses of Christian history and evidences, as well as a plug for a few of his own works (which are themselves works on Christian history and evidences). An outright commentary set, Adam Clark[e]'s, is noted with what appears to be a vague (backhanded?) compliment. Does Campbell value Clarke's insight, couched as it is in rich literary form, or is commedning Clarke for his literary accomplishment and not his Biblical scholarship? Good question. Also somewhat vague is that last line: Take care of the man of the one book. Is that to say that you should beware of the man who, in the 'defense' of the faith shuns all learning or education (read: books); or is this Campbell's way of stating how all of these helps are helps to the study of the one book that in the end matters? Considering that Campbell had an exquisite library (have you been to Bethany? It is in the middle of nowhere) at a time when most folks didn't have glass in their windows, and given that he has just recommended some of the higher quality Biblical scholarship of his day to his readers, indicates to me that it is the former and not the latter. In other words, beware of these folks who disdain an educated ministry.

"Doctrinal preaching is again a great need.

The one denomination that has been almost wholly swept into the current of the modern skeptical attitude toward the Scriptures is that denomination that for years has laid no stress on doctrinal preaching. it is not controversial, combative, debative preaching of the fighting order that is needed; nor yet a fragmentary message--"first principles" alone: there is a place for that; but 'doctrinal preaching' after Paul's kind; the verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter, book-by-book unfolding of the whole doctrine. Let us tie the churches fast to the Book!"

--Word and Work, September 1925, 277.

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I suspect that this little unsigned paragraph is from R.H. Boll (WW Editor) or maybe Stanford Chambers, H.L. Olmstead, or E.L. Jorgenson (Co-Editors). Regardless, I like the point: doctrinal preaching is preaching that emcompasses the full Biblical text and arises from the full Biblical text. Good doctrinal preaching does not assault the hearer with the text. It does not use the Bible as a club with which to beat you or a cannon with which to shoot you. Doctrinal preaching unfolds the text's teaching and mediates the text's message to the church. The church sends the preacher to the text and rightly expects the preacher to return with a word from God that will shape the church into God's intent. Woe to that preacher when the message brought back is something less, or more, than good doctrine. Woe to the preacher who brings back a fight, or another serving of milk. And woe to that church whose expectation is so low as to settle for something less than good doctrine.

recommended reading

http://www.disciples.org/ccu/programs/stonecampbell/

 

There are a number of well-done papers here.  Perhaps you will find something useful.

Statement of Greetings

Statement of Greetings

McGarvey Ice

Director of Public Services

“The great festival--God's great festival; the best of all the seven. What a delight is the Lord's day! Crowded with the grand deeds of Christ--his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven--it awakens in the soul all the resplendent recollections of the kingdom of God. What themes does it afford for meditation and eloquence!”*

For 175 years this place has been a place of worship on the Lord’s Day. It has been a place safe for souls to seek the Kingdom of God. It has been a place sacred for meditation. It has been a place which has honored the eloquent declaration of the gospel.

It is my pleasure and privilege to bring greetings this afternoon on behalf of Disciples of Christ Historical Society. We remember the fine heritage of faith, of grace and truth in this place and we salute those who even now carry forward the gospel from this place for this community.

12 April 2008

*Excerpted from the diary of Walter Scott, Dec. 3, 1848 in William Baxter, Life of Elder Walter Scott. Cincinnati: Bosworth, Chase and Hall, 1874, page 405.

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I brought this brief greeting to the Carthage Christian Church upon the unveiling of an Ohio Historical Society marker commemorating the establishment and history of the congregation.

Krister Stendahl on Leadership and Dialogue

Krister Stendahl, longtime ecumenist, prof. and dean at Harvard Divinity School, died this week. In the notice on the HDS website (http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/article_archive/stendahl.html) this stands out to me:

In an interview published in the Winter 2007 issue of Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Stendahl reflected on what qualities had served him well over the course of such a variegated career. "I would," he said, "apply the same rules for good leadership that I often do for effective interfaith dialogue: let the other define herself ('Don't think you know the other without listening'); compare equal to equal (not my positive qualities to the negative ones of the other); and find beauty in the other so as to develop 'holy envy.' "

There is some excellent wisdom here. 1) listen, 2) be fair, and 3) find beauty. Would that we would be known for these qualities in our churches, in our leadership and in our dialogues. I don’t much of this in partisan politics. I don’t see much of this in our church journalism. I often hear war stories about how churches pursue the very opposite tack. We can do better, and Krister Stendahl has shared a way forward.

Serving the Academy and the Church

Over the weekend I traveled to Cincinnati. I went for two reasons: one, I presented a paper on the Churches of Christ in Nashville at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference at Cincinnati Christian University; and two, I brought greetings on behalf of DCHS at the dedication of an Ohio Historical Society Marker at Carthage Christian Church.

My paper traced the development of the Churches of Christ from 1866-1906, from reconstruction to the famed 1906 Census which reported separate listings for Disciples and Churches of Christ. A native of Nashville, this is an area of personal interest to me. At the same time, not very much has been written in this area, so I want to contribute to the existing scholarship. The atmosphere was congenial. I met lots of great folks.

The marker commemorates the ministry of Walter Scott, who established the congregation in Carthage in 1832. Through on-going ministries of preaching, teaching, compassion and service they have been present to the community in the same location for 176 years. Their historian told me that in 176 years they haven’t missed a communion service. On display was the original minutes book from 1832, a photograph of the original building, and other items which preserve and tell the congregation’ story. The atmosphere was celebratory. I met lots of great folks.

I share my weekend experiences because it underscores the ministry of the Society: we are dedicated to the ministry of preserving our history. Flowing naturally from this mission are our contributions to the on-going scholarship in the history and theology of the movement as well as our commitment to the on-going history and ministry of our congregations.

Books, Books

“By some strange casuality, a small lot of books, bound volumes of the “Millennial Harbinger,” have been lost. They were in the possession of brother S. W. Leonard of Jeffersonville, and by him sent, by some one not known to me, by way of Salem, Indiana, but never came to hand! I am extremely anxious to obtain the books, and the object of this notice is, to enquire if any one knows where they are. Any one who can inform me where they are, will be entitled to my warmest thanks, and a liberal reward for his trouble. Ed.”

--“Books, Books,” Christian Record March 1854, p. 284.

---------------------------

I’m working from a bound volume and the covers of the individuals issues have been removed, so I don’t immediately know who the editor is. My money is on either Elijah Goodwin or James M. Mathes, but since I don’t have time to check, he will for now remain simply Ed.

Alexander Campbell in the MH for 1851 issued some recommendations for a minister’s library that will take a moment to transcribe. Perhaps by the weekend.

The Messenger's Policy

It shall be our earnest endeavors to make this paper clean, cultured and Christian. We hope to keep from our columns all uncalled-for thrusts at other people, all slang phrases and every manner of production that is untrue to the spirit of Christ and to the standards of pure speech.

The MESSENGER shall essay to represent, not a partial, but the whole truth. It shall ride no hobbies. Its columns shall be free from personal attacks. The day for constant, nagging and personal pugilism in the religious paper, did it ever properly exist, has happily passed away. Papers that keep up this style of journalism are a stench in the land, a source of strife and bitterness and promoters of far more evil than of good.

The MESSENGER shall be a staunch and uncompromising advocate of our co-operative work, by which our forces are united to preach the gospel to the state, the nation and the whole earth. We have no time to quarrel with a few who oppose a rational and systematic concert of action among disciples of Christ. Ours is to do and leave results with Him who alone is judge and who holds us responsible for the evangelization of all the world. “To the work, to the work, we are servants of God.” W.

--“The Messenger’s Policy”, The Gospel Messenger, December 3, 1897, p. 5.

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It seems ‘W.’ is J. M. Watson, the new editor. Harmon and Spiegel are now Associate Editors. The paper is still published in Nashville though the editorial control has shifted.

Lipscombian anti-ism

“Port Gibson church is now redeemed from the thralldom of Lipscombian anti-ism, and safely anchored again to the Rock of Ages.”

--Gospel Messenger July 16, 1987, p.2.

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Published in Nashville, the Gospel Messenger was affiliated with the Christian Standard orbit of preachers and evangelists and was edited by M. F. Harmon and O. P. Speigel. Its pages carried reports of meetings by T. B. Larimore, T. W. Caskey, B. F. Manire and T. W. Brents, and in the issue prior to this one, quite favorably reviewed D. Lipscomb’s Commentary on Acts.

I'll be blogging here

(though it may not seem like it) as well as here http://blogsdiscipleshistory.org/

While you're at it, check out our newly redesigned website at www.discipleshistory.org

Who says

kids aren’t interested in history?

http://www.disciplesworld.com/newsArticle.html?wsnID=13156

You should be listening

to this: http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/music2/streamingmusic.htm

with emphasis on occasional

So there went February, and it didn't even slow down to enjoy its extra day.

Here's the update:
--Research at DCHS keeps a perky pace, new requests of all sorts coming in all the time. Tremendous variety of inquiries; I'm learning a lot while trying to keep up with them all! Being away for a while didn't help!...
--Washington DC: I spent two weeks at the National Archives and Library of Congress for a crash course in all things archival (titled the Modern Archives Institute): from the general overview to appraisal to processing to arrangement and description to preservation and lots more in-between. I'm preparing a report for a staff meeting this next week; I'll post more when my report is polished, including the rare manuscripts and books we saw in the Archives II facility (in maryland) and at the Library of Congress.
--I resigned at Central Church last week. Laura and I feel that with a new baby on the way in the summer the time was coming. The new minister starts in March (I guess its March now, see how quickly February went!), so we went ahead and did it now rather than waiting a few more months. I deeply loved teaching, but a man can only do so much in a week. I honestly don't know how we managed two children, my two jobs, my coursework at Lipscomb, Laura's piano lessons every evening. I do know that we will never try to balance all of that, or as much as that, again.
--Yes, a new baby. Girl or boy remains a mystery, but we'll pass along the news when we find out. Speaking of, cheers to the Cotten's upon the birth of twin girls yesterday (a fine birthday if I do say so myself)!
--With the baby on the way, my study will relocate downstairs to what is now our dining room. The partitioned wall between the dining and living rooms will get a built in bookcase facing the living room while the dining room (sans table and chairs) will get floor to ceiling shelves. The dining room table will go in our bedroom sitting area as a desk for Laura and the chairs will be scattered to the four winds and who knows where in the house they will land.
--My study will lose about 1/3 of its books. Deep sigh and long, tearful pause... So when I say we are simplifying our lives, I'm putting some teeth in it by culling out some books.
--Still have all ten fingers in spite of the table saw, and we have (BIG thanks to my Dad for helping out a couple Saturdays) a new floor in the kitchen and sun room. Perhaps photos will be forthcoming.
--Next up are those shelves, daunting task, but I can do it.

and so to bed.

grace and peace.

this and that

My days have been full preparing our 2008 program of public services. My colleague Sharman Hartson and I have been working hard to get some things on paper as a first step. We've got lots going on, and lots more planned.
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Our evenings have been full of homework and books and stories and evening meals and the rhythms of life lived by the school calendar. I'm enjoying experiencing kindergarten as a parent. Laura and I had lunch with Darby and her class last week. Great fun. Ella is gaining daily in personality (no shortage of that), verbal skills and vocabulary. It is at once hilarious and precious.
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I'm nearly finished with Romans (on Sunday mornings) and Galatians (on Sunday evenings). I've got more bulletins articles coming when I can cut-and-paste them into blogger. I've not done full manuscript sermons, only handwritten notes, so you won't be seeing the sermons. On the horizon: parables from Luke in the AM and miracle-stories in the PM.
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And I've rolled up my sleeves for a winter project consisting of new flooring in our sunroom, kitchen and living room-dining room, basically the entire downstairs. DIY laminate flooring. So far so good. Our sunroom is 98% finished and the rest will go more quickly since A) I know now what I'm doing, and B) there's no more heavy furniture to contend with. Maybe I can post some pictures. Power saw notwithstanding, my finger count stands at a robust and articulate 10. Let's hope it stays that way.
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I'm returning to some earlier research on Nashville Churches of Christ; I've got some more data to collect as I revise the paper for a conference in April.
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Stay tuned for Washington DC.

grace and peace.

worth reading

Obviously hurt and disillusioned, and probably bitter, Roger Ray nonetheless says some things we need to hear.

If you can give him a sympathetic reading, I think you will find his piece a fairly typical representation of the feelings of many.

Folks in my corner of the woods will react strongly to his jettisoning traditional doctrinal formulations. At the same time, we have been (Churches of Christ) a strongly anti-creedal bunch from the very get-go, so his rejection of such formulations may be closer to our heritage than we would like to admit. That said, I think his response to doctrinaire and abusive preaching, though understandable, is an overreaction. The corrective to bad doctrine isn’t no doctrine, its better doctrine. I suspect he’s heard a lot of sermons which parse doctrine and touch not the hem of the garment of where we all lives our lives. It is ironic that he rejects the claims of deity for Jesus (which Jesus makes for himself, seems to me, and which would subsequently make Jesus and the writers of the New testament documents something less than a good prophet or faithful witnesses, it would make them all liars). Anyhow, though he would reject Jesus as divine, the program he envisions for the church of his dreams is certainly in line with the mission of God, which Jesus so clearly and repeatedly embodies. I don’t think it necessary to jettison faith in Jesus as God in order to embrace a ministry of compassion, peace, mercy or sacrifice. Seems to me that is exactly what claiming to be a Christian, a subject of the Risen Lord, is all about. It is unfortunate that he has reduced it to an either-or scenario when that is unnecessary at best, and at worst misleading concerning the New Testament witness about Jesus and his mission.

As for his Kierkegaard quote, well, that’s wonderful. What a fine commentary on the nonsense that’s unfortunately everywhere present in churches. May God have mercy when we turn church into something trite or crass or self-serving. His criticism of such is worth reading and ought be required reading for every Bible major in every ministry course in our schools.

Now, I understand that his article doesn't represent how everyone feels about church, and there is a lot of good done by a lot of churches (which Mr. Ray doesn’t acknowledge, for whatever reason). But this is how he feels, and I bet a cup of coffee that his column represents many. Probably most of my generation in my demographic (30's, college-educated, city-dwellers and suburbanites) would agree with a lot of what Ray says. So, read his provocative column, especially the final paragraph and ask yourself what reason for faith and ministry would your church offer to a Roger Ray?

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/LIFE07/712290332

God's Invitation to Kingdom Living

“Out of his wonderful love, God invites us to live in his kingdom, to surrender willingly to his reign, to live in that place where his will is done. That surrender to God is no defeat for us, since God’s kingdom is the only place where we can live to the fullest. God created us to enjoy abundant life. This is not self-actualization or a “name it, claim it” gospel. It is not living successfully according to the fallen standards of our world. Instead, this is living a purposeful life in relationship with God and others. This is the good news that Jesus announced: we can live under the reign of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). But if we do not understand the nature of God’s loving invitation into his kingdom, we will miss the abundant life found there. Learning to live life in its fullest expression in relationship with our Creator is the purpose of genuine spiritual formation.

“How does “church” relate to kingdom? The church is to be a colony of God’s kingdom in our world. But not everything done by churches or every group that calls itself a church truly participates or lives in the kingdom. The kingdom of God is anywhere God’s will is done (see Matthew 6:10). A church comprised of authentic believers who have submitted their lives to God is a true manifestation of the kingdom. Those in that church are living according to God’s will and enjoying his gracious guidance. Once again, God’s kingdom is where his will is being done, where God lives his love through us.

“Living under God’s direction answers the age-old question, “Why are we here?” God created us in his image and his likeness (Genesis 1:26). He made us to be like him, made us for relationship. In creation, God gave humans the most exalted role, to represent and even share in the character and person of God himself. Those who choose this life under God’s direction embody God’s kingdom. They serve as God’s ambassadors, calling others to the joys of relationship with God.”

--Gary Holloway and Earl Lavender, Living God’s Love, An Invitation to Christian Spirituality, 28-29.

Teachers and authors Gary Holloway and Earl Lavender have done us a service by writing this book on Christian spirituality. It is my top recommendation for anyone desiring a deeper spirituality. Too often we mischaracterize and misunderstand spirituality as something flaky (so we avoid it), elusive (we fear we can never achieve it), or worse, irrelevant (so we ignore it). But true spirituality is something beautiful and godly and transforming. They contend that true spirituality is living out the love of God. Over the course of the next several weeks in this space I will share some insights from their book. In my morning sermon Sunday I called upon us, from Romans 12, to authentic spirituality: that is, to integrate into our lives what we hold to be true in our heads. Romans is one of Paul’s attempts to shape a community of believers around the life-changing truth of the gospel. The gospel declares the love of God for sinners, and that good news has implications for how life ought to be lived. As we conclude Romans, I think it helpful to have additional instruction in integrating into our lives the grace of the gospel message. Gary and Earl will give us instruction by reflecting on Scripture. We will begin there next week.

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This is the first installment in a series I’m running in our bulletin.

Merry Christmas from the Ice's

Much More Brightly Than Before

O Lord, our God, when we are afraid do not let us despair. When we are disappointed do not let us become bitter. When we fall do not let us remain prostrate. When we are at the end of our understanding and our powers, do not let us then perish. No, let us feel then Thy nearness and Thy love, which Thou hast promised especially to those whose hearts are humble and broken and who stand in fear before Thy word. To all men Thy Son has come as to those who are so beset. Indeed, because we are all so beset he was born in a stable and died on a cross. Lord, awaken us all and keep us all awake t this knowledge and to this confession.

And now we think of all the darkness and suffering of this our time; of the many errors and misunderstandings with which we men torment ourselves; of all the burdens that so many must bear uncomforted; of all the great dangers by which our world is threatened without our knwoing how we should meet them. We think of the sick and the sick in spirit, the poor, the displaced, the oppressed, those who suffer injustice, the children who have no parents or no proper parents. And we think of all who are called to help as far as men can help; the rulers of our land and of all other lands, the judges and officials, the teachers and leaders of youth, the men and women who are responsible for writing books and newspapers, the doctors and nurses in the hospitals, those who proclaim Thy word in the various churches and congregations near at hand and far away. We think of them all with the petition that the light of Christmas may shine brightly for them and for us, much more birghtly than before, that thereby they and we may be helped. We ask all this in the name of the Savior in whom Thou hast already heard us and wilt hear us again and again. Amen.

--Karl Barth, Selected Prayers, trans. Keith R. Crim. Richmond: John Knox Press, 1965, pp. 22-23.

Our Bodies a Sacrifice

Our Bodies a Sacrifice
Central Church
Sunday Morning, December 16, 2007
McGarvey Ice

Text: Romans 12.1-21

One of the strategies for reading an occasional letter like Romans is mirror-reading. That is, since Romans is written out of an occasion in the life of its author and its recipients, then it naturally follows that the content of the letter addresses that particular situation. As a mirror reflects the image of what is before it, so the Biblical text reflects the situation of its author and recipients. For example, Romans chapters 9-11 are roughly 20% of the book and are all about Jew/Gentile issues in the larger plan of God. There must have been some sort of significant Jew/Gentile issue in those house churches in Rome for Paul to have spent the time and ink he did.
In Romans 12 we have a situation where there may be any number of people who would really appreciate church better if everyone else were a lot more like them. And we have a church struggling with how to embody the gospel in their daily lives. So, it seems a fair generalization to say that in Rome we have a church troubled within and a church troubled in the marketplace.
Illus. from Randy Harris[1] about the Thinkers. Servers. Worshippers. Justice/Mercy. Contemplatives. There is great diversity in personality, temperament, and tendency to various kinds and styles of ministry. Every church has these sorts of folks. Such is the great blessing for every church and a potential source of great conflict as well. We normalize for others what comes naturally for us. What is easy and natural and so very sensible to us can easily become much more than simply our disposition or preference. We are tempted to trace an outline of our personalities and preferences and manufacture a pattern out of our own image. We then mandate to others that to really live and serve as a faithful Christian, you must look like, think like and act like me.
Given what Paul says in 12.3-13, it appears that there is trouble in Rome. We’ve got church folks who live as church by the ways of the world. When we live life as church by the ways of the world we will have hypocrisy, preference, and selfishness, and jockeying for position, power plays and manipulation. We’ve got Christians in Rome who say my gift matters and yours doesn’t. My gift is special and yours isn’t, and if you were really spiritual you’d be a thinker/server/worshipper/activist/contemplative like me. And if that is the situation in church imagine how they live out in the marketplace. Imagine how powerful the pressure is to conform to the ways of the world, where life is lived by looking out for number one, by exploiting the other person’s weakness for your gain, by demanding your rights and paying back evil with evil.
That’s the situation in Rome, and all too often for us as well. But Paul writes to Rome, and we are reading it. It is scripture for them and it is scripture for us. Paul’s task in Romans is a pastoral task.[2] He writes to Christians in Rome to shape them more and more and more into the image of Christ. Paul’s task is a shepherd’s task: to lead and guide the church along the way of Christ. Paul’s task is a leader’s task: to cast a vision for the church and to lead the charge. Paul’s task is a teacher’s task: to show the better way of Christ and make it plain. By way of this letter, Paul is at once teacher, leader and pastor. He is shepherd, visionary and guide.
Often when preachers and teachers get to Romans 12 they see the gears shift in Paul’s rhetoric. Then they often say something like Romans 1-11 is ‘doctrinal’ and chs. 12-5/16 is ‘practical.’ And in a sense they are right. In 1-11 Paul gives emphasis to theology; in 12-16 he gives emphasis to practical teaching. Unfortunately the distinction between doctrine and practice is often overplayed. Paul doesn’t separate the two nearly as far as some preachers do. Paul doesn’t section off doctrine over here and practice over there. It is a false dichotomy, a false separation, to put doctrine over here as if it is all about thinking and reasoning and understanding and over there is daily life where we all live out the moments and events and ins and outs of our lives.
For Paul the two are integrated. Paul doesn’t write two letters to Rome: one a theological treatise and the other a how-to manual for Christian living. He writes one letter that integrates the teaching about what God has done and therefore what our lives should look like if we embrace the gospel. For Paul doctrine and practice are integrated and if they’re not integrated for us, they ought to be. If Paul doesn’t separate them like this, why should we? If we desire spirituality we will seek to integrate the two; and where they are not integrated, we need to be corrected and formed and shaped and taught.
Paul’s task as preacher, teacher, pastor, shepherd, leader, guide in Romans is to lead the Christian churches in Rome to bring their lives more and more in line with what they say they believe about the gospel. The good news of the gospel is that God has demonstrated his faithfulness to us in Christ. The implication for those who believe the gospel is to offer to him our life of faith.
If we believe the good news of Christ crucified then we will present ourselves to God a living sacrifice conformed not to the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. Thus Paul can begin to explain how there is a better way to live as the Body of Christ.
First of all it is absurd to boast of a gift. Note the Greek of vs. 6: gift is from the same term as grace. In 12.3-13 Paul anchors life as church in the gracious gifts of God. We did not earn them, do not deserve them, and do not exercise them in our own power. Rather, each has a gift by God’s grace to exercise for the blessing of all, just as God’s grace is for all. God’s intent for the church is to be the people of a transformed mind whose life together reflects the rich variety and diversity of his grace. The church ought to be gracious because God is gracious. They embody his grace in their life together. So when life together as church looks more like the world and less like the grace of God, something is wrong. When we say that your gift is special, or prized, or more worthy, we reveal that what really matters are the values of the world. When we turn the gifts of God’s grace into instruments of pride and boasting we reveal that our lives are not nearly as attuned to the values of the gospel as we would think.
God intends for the life of the church to be a reflection of his grace not only to each other as Christians, but a declaration of his grace to the larger culture. So vss. 14-21 show how the grace of God ought to be made real in the ordinary moments of life.
Do we believe the gospel story: that love triumphs over hate, that grace triumphs over sin, and life overcomes death? If we do, then we will live what we say we believe. If we confess that true doctrine, then our lives must conform to that doctrine. If the gospel is the announcement of good news of the righteousness of God: that while we were still sinners Christ died for the ungodly, then we will seek sinners with a fervor and grace that mirrors God’s toward us. If we say that the gospel story is true, then we will seek peace and blessing for those who persecute us. If when we were enemies of God, Christ laid down his life for us, then we ought to embrace a life of grace and feed our hungry enemies and give drink to our thirsty enemies. If when we were hostile to God, the grace of Christ initiated reconciliation, then we ought to initiate reconciliation with our enemies by rejoicing with them when they rejoice and weeping with them when they weep. If the reign of God’s peace has been made real in our own hearts, then as followers in the way of Christ we must interrupt the escalation of violence by implementing a life of peace.
The way of the world is to kick your enemy in his teeth. It is to step on his neck in order to get ahead. It is to stab her in the back as you push your way to the front of the line. The way of the world is by all means and at any cost and in every way to look out for number one. But the way of Jesus is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, not to be conformed to this world. The way of Jesus is not to think of yourself more highly than you ought, but to let love be without hypocrisy. The way of Jesus is to hate what is evil, to cling to what is good and to overcome evil with good.
The way of the world is to curse your enemies, but the way of Jesus is to rejoice with your enemy when he rejoices. It is to weep with her when she weeps. The way of Jesus is to seek out the lowly and associate with them.
The way of Jesus is not something in addition to true doctrine; it is the embodiment of true doctrine. In the life of faith, theology and doctrine are not over here somewhere while daily life is over there. The life of faith is the embodiment of what we say we believe, and the living out of the story we say is true. As Christians, we have pledged our allegiance to the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have confessed that that is the true story by which we will live our lives. We have embraced the grace of God in the death of Jesus at our baptism. And at our baptism we have pledged ourselves to God in faith to pursue new life through the resurrection of Jesus. In our baptism we have pledged to carry out the way of Jesus on the stage of our lives. If the story is true then we will honor God not merely by striving for pure doctrine in some abstract sense, but we will integrate true doctrine into our lives and offer to God our bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Amen.
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[1] Randall J. Harris, Instructor of Bible, Abilene Christian University, used this illustration on numerous occasions.
[2] See James W. Thompson, Pastoral Ministry According to Paul. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006, 85ff.

Big weekend

This weekend looks to be a full one: Laura's big Christmas piano recital at McKendree United Methodist Church downtown, our one day of shopping per year (I haven't been in a mall since last Christmas), Laura's folks will also be in sometime later tonight. Top it all off with a full day of teaching and preaching on Sunday. And it might snow.

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Our girls are doing a fine job of getting us all in the Christmas mood. Last weekend was non-stop decorating and tree-trimming. I really like driving through the neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights and decorations with the girls. I try to take a different route home so we can see what folks have done. We did that when I was a kid and it is one my stand-out childhood Christmas memories.

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My favorite Christmas songs: O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, O Holy Night, Gloria..., probably in that order.

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Then there is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, that awful hippopotomus song, and Jingle Bell Rock. I loathe those. Elvis' Blue Christmas and the Porky Pig version of the same are ok once...only once.

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I've got another prayer by Karl Barth to post; if you liked the one below, you'll really appreciate the next one. Get that little book of prayers if you can find it.

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Back to sermon prep.

grace and peace.