It has been interesting to see all the batting around over the Mark Driscoll blog and Rose Swetman’s open letter response. Here are two concerns.

First, in an attempt to understand Rose’s letter, some bloggers exegete it while at the same time breaking the basic rules of exegesis in doing so and by doing so draw conclusions that are not correct. Exegesis is not bad, mind you, we all do it when we read or listen becasue we are trying to discover what the writer or speaker is saying. The question is not: shall we exegete? The question is: are we good or poor exegetes? In my opinion, the following two blogs serve as an illustration and are more of a rough form of eisegesis trying to wear the skirt/pants of exegesis.

Rhoblogy and
pursuing_truth

Second, in the rush to exegete they have, in my opinion, missed what Rose was saying. The Reader’s Digest version is: Mark has a right to think and teach what he wishes, but his choice of demeaning words in doing so offends me. These folks seem to want Rose to enter into some kind of an “exegetical duel” with Mark. Her point is that “she was offended.” It’s really pretty simple, the feeling of being offended is neither right or wrong, it just is.

I have a bigger concern about what Mark did and has seemingly done in the past. It is true that he fancies himself as a mentor to young pastors, either just beginning their ministry or church planting. That’s great. Where I find myself in conflict is not only what he teaches in the area of women in ministry and their place in the church, but in “what” he is teaching these young ministers about how to teach. (BTW: I would describe myself with the label: Complementarity without Hierarchy). So when Mark is teaching live or via his blog and he uses demeaning language to speak of the opposite sex, he is teaching those who are reading and hearing that it is okay to speak in public about women in such a fashion.

What if Rose was teaching a group of young women pastors and church planters and said something like the following about men? “Why would anyone want a castrated, hen-pecked, #$@%&-whipped, tugged along by a ring in his nose, gravy suckin’ pig to be in leadership?” BTW: she has not said this. (Before I go any further here, let me say in advance that I apologize for using such coarse language in this illustration. I did so with the intent of producing a somewhat equally degrading set of prose as is sometimes used from others when teaching about women.) She would have crossed the line and in that saying or writing would have herself become vitriolic. And, maybe even worse, what she would be teaching those young women with such coarse language is not only what she may think, but in essence as their mentor, she would be teaching that it is okay to rail on men in such a fashion.

In my opinion, Driscoll seems to think that coarse language is hip. And he gets reinforced on its hipness by the comments on his blog by “only those” who have been to one of his conferences, a kind of “yes” man approach to garnering support.

For good presentations on both sides of the “women in ministry” argument, see the following.

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism

Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy

Finally, you can read one man’s journey to an egalitarian point of view on Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog.

Well, that’s just my two cents worth…

It’s Thanksgiving Week here in good old USA. A time sometimes spent with families and lots of food to consume to make one’s cholesterol go up, but who’s counting? It is also the day that signals the beginning of the Christmas season with sales galore. The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. The following Monday after is called Cyber Monday which is the name given by online retailers and e-commerce experts to the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday. With its Black Friday counterpart in actual store-based traffic, analysts have pointed to significant spikes in online shopping on Cyber Monday. Coined in 2005, Cyber Monday was fueled by promotions such as free gifts and free shipping as well as by the faster Internet connections many people had at home.

So besides shopping what is Thanksgiving to me personally. It reminds me of my family roots in the South where the extended family would gather and celebrate how faithful God had been to us during the previous year. There was always plenty of good vitals, lots of family stories, and for me pecan pie. My mom could cook a mean pecan pie. It is still my favorite to this day. As a matter of fact, Donna, my wife, is out at Costco right now as I write purchasing three pies of which one of them is pecan. Not that she can’t bake one, but with so many different taste buds in the family it is easier to buy than bake.

I am thankful that this year I was able to graduate from George Fox with my second Doctor of Ministry degree. I am thankful for renewing friendships which had waned over the last few years. What would life be without family and friends. I am thankful for my wonderful wife, Donna. She is truly a God sent for me. I am thankful for my two kids Jason and Jeramie Joy. They are really delightful kids. I am thankful for my community of faith family.

You can take the boy out of the South but it’s difficult to take the South out of the boy. I am still thankful for Southern Gospel Quartet music. I love the rich harmony that is produced by the vocals. The words are often to listen to theologically, but they remind me of my parents singing on Sundays in the small Pentecostal church that I grew up in and it reminds me of my sister who played just like a quartet piano player for sixty plus years of her life. They are gone to the other side now, but listening puts me in touch with so many good memories.

Take a moment this year, if it is not your usual thing to do, and think about all that you have to be thankful for at this point in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In our area (Seattle, WA), there has been a theological donnybrook of sorts around some ongoing remarks made by Mark Driscoll pastor of Mars Hill Church and commented on ad nauseam on the Convresation at the Edge blog. My pastor Rose Swetman has written an open letter to Mark. You may read Rose’s article here.

About once a year our community of Faith, Vineyard Community Church, Shoreline, WA has a specific three day prayer and fast. Today is the beginning of this period. So this morning Rose Swetman, the co-Pastor with her husband Rich, spoke on fasting. During her presentation she mentioned other things beside food that one might fast. I was struck with the thought that what she was talking about was exchanging one story for another story.

We all live in some story. Most followers of Jesus think the story they live in is God’s Story. Often, however, they discover that it really is another story which is often a pervasive cultural story. We need small respites of time to exchange the story we live in with a different story. Food is often thought of as a way of fasting, but is often a struggle because we think we are being asked to “give up” something.

What if we thought of fasting as an exchange of one thing for another? The story in John 4 is about Jesus chatting with the woman at the well. His disciples had gone off to the city to get some food and left him alone at the well. When they returned, they found Jesus chatting with a woman and when she leaves to share the good news with her neighbors, his disciples suggest that he should eat something. “But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about’” (John 4.32). The disciples thought someone may have given him food in their absence. Jesus tells them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4.34). Fascinating! He had not given up food for some unknown reason. He had simply exchanged eating for ministry and the result was he was nourished in a way far greater than the physical food may have provided for him.

Two areas that Rose mentioned were worry for non-worry and negative for positive. Again this is a story change. Jesus has something to say about worry.

25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 5.25-34).

Notice, the exchange is from worry to seeking the kingdom of God. If one comprehends the rule of God, the Creator of the universe, in one’s life, what’s to worry about? One story says worry. The other story says seek God’s rule.

Paul has something to say about the story of negative thinking and postivie thinking. In Philippians 4 he says:

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Phil 4.8-9).

What if we exchanged food for ministry on occasion to discover what the nourishment of God is? What if we exchanged worry for the rule of God? What if we exchanged our persistent negative with thoughts about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, or praiseworthy?

How would exchanging one story for another for a short period of time entice us to change stories for longer periods of time until living in God’s story became a natural part of our life, not something that we just practiced once in a while, but as God’s new creation, it was the way in which we intentionally chose to live?

Here is some of the activity of a group of churches a community in the Sacramento, CA area.

In the local Assembly of God church following the morning service the boys club known as Royal Rangers will set up a race course for their homemade race cars. I wonder which car Jesus will be pulling for.

At the community church Pastor Phil continues his study “Beauty from Ashes, Lessons from the Life of Ruth,” with Part 6, “From Empty to Full” I wonder which his congregation will be after lending them their ear.

The Presbyterians will hear a message entitled: “In the Stands, or In the Game?” using Mark 1:16-20 and John 10:1-16 as the text. I wonder if Mark and John would like it if they knew that we keep mixing our own story ingredients.

The Seventh-day Adventist’s will be listening to “When Laying Down Isn’t Being Lazy” from the series “Finding Balance in an Imbalanced World.” I wonder if pillows will be handed out.

At a community fellowship the menu for the day is: Uplifting, contemporary praise and worship, practical Bible-based messages and the opportunity to meet warm, friendly people is offered. A free worship tape is our gift to all first time visitors (one per family). I love it, you get to hear more than one message if you attend here. My butt says, “no thanks!”

Faith Lutheran’s “Labor of Love” group will hold its annual holiday bazaar in the church basement fellowship hall. That’s just bazaar!
The First Baptist pastor is preaching a preaching a series from the book of Colossians. That’s it, that’s where I want to go. Why tell me what you are preaching on, I know, maybe the pastor didn’t know when the newspaper needed his copy.

The Church of Christ, Scientist, the subject is going to be “Mortal and Immortals.” Yawn!

First Congregational Church the pastor’s sermon will be “The Widow’s Mite” based on Mark 12:38-44. When something is based on something, I wonder if that means that it caries more authority.

The Community Church of Religious Science lesson is titled: “All Emotions are Not Equal.” What more needs to be said. That should be a short presentation unless the presenter gets really emotional during the presentation.

At the Bible church, yep you guessed it, the pastor is preaching from the Bible. His sermon title is: “Praying and Watching” from Ephesians 6:14-20. Come to hear God’s word clearly explained and applied. Wow! A two for one, “explained clearly and applied.”
Lighthouse Baptist Church offers sacred music and old-fashioned useable Bible teaching. I wonder who really wants to hear “old-fashioned” stuff.

The United Methodist will hear a talk entitled: “The First and The Last.” The first and the last what?

The Nazarenes are looking for money with speakers for their annual “Faith Promise” Weekend.

Here’s a funny one to me, the second United Methodist church in the community will be considering how much good and how much ill can come from our words with a sermon called: “Curb Thy Tongue, Knave!” How “united” can the Methodist be in this community when there are two separate churches.

Woops! Yet another United Methodist church, where the sermon this Sunday is “I’m In With the In Crowd.” The theme of the sermon continues in Chapter 2 of the Book of Ruth. Well there you go, two different churches talking about Ruth in the same community. But, of special note, the United Methodist are threefold in this community. Maybe they are Trinitarian at heart, one United Methodist church for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit.

Nope that’s not true, the United Methodist have five congregation in this town. Hint! Change your name.

Well there you have it. A quick review of the menu for one town in America. Literally thousands of towns will have similar menus. Could this be one of the reasons the Church in America is starving and those outside of the church are famished.