Ruining Christmas

Does all the gift giving ruin Christmas? Are we missing the reason for the season?

My sons opened a few early presents this afternoon, a toy airplane and helicopter from my dad. I felt a slight amount of envy as I watched them get lost in the world of play. And to be honest, I enjoyed playing with the airplane as soon as Eli put it down. Toys are still cool at 31. And this whole Christmas gift thing is pretty awesome.

I have struggled with the idea of giving and receiving Christmas gifts over the years. I did not celebrate Christmas for the first 14 years of my life because I was a Jehovah's Witness. I guess my brain is still not over that washing entirely. I have often wondered if I've sold out for the materialistic and worldly pagan rituals I was taught to hate as a child. But I'm thankful for a friend who pointed me to a sermon this week on the theology of Christmas gifts.

The basic idea was that Christmas gifts are good and right because they are given in honor of Christ and they demonstrate love for Christ in as much as they demonstrate love for other people. If we give the gift to bring joy to someone else, then we have participated in something that God takes pleasure in doing - giving good gifts to men. He is the greatest gift giver. We are made in His image. That's the point of Christmas.

Can we become fixated on what we will receive and ruin it? I usually do! But I should not let my selfishness cast doubt on the institution as a whole. Christmas gifts are swell. Go all out! Give more than people expect and  share in the joy of Christ! I'm learning this a little bit more each year.

My Top Ten Reads of 2011

One of the better excuses for having a blog is that I can post book blurbs. This is a good way for me to process material I’m reading, but maybe it will be helpful to someone out there looking for something new to read! I’m going to steal an idea from another pastor I respect and post my top-ten reads of 2011.

10. Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God by Scott Thomas and Tom Wood – This is a great, practical book on shepherding men in the church. It was helpful in considering how to build a more effective system of discipleship, which has been a big concern of mine this year.

9. Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide by Mike Breen and Alex Absalom – I stumbled on this book while looking for a different book and decided to buy it. It was written by two pastors in the UK and focuses on the philosophy and methods for starting groups of 20-50 people who are united around a common service and witness to a specific neighborhood or people group. They operate like an extended family of missionaries and are meant to be the primary expression of “church” in their context. Very helpful material throughout.

8. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith – This book was recommended by Richard Rieves. I found it fascinating and eye-opening. It is a sociology book looking at the differing perceptions of the race problem within the evangelical world. It walked me through the historical roots of the problem and challenged me to consider my own biased perspective in detail. I am guilty of approaching racialization in far too individualistic terms! I was fortunate in this case to have received a used book I bought online that came with great notes from the previous reader.

7. Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just by Tim Keller – Keller presents a clear, Biblical picture of God’s heart for the poor and oppressed. The Church cannot remain neutral in the arena of social justice.

6. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor …And Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert – A few years ago I read Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. This book seems to echo many of Moyo’s conclusions and common grace insights, but does it grounded in a strong theological framework. Corbett and Fikkert provide a compassionate, clear, and compelling look at the problem of poverty and how we can best fight it.

5. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins – I guess I have a soft spot for popular teenage fiction. Having spent over 10 years as a youth pastor, I hear a lot of raving reviews for books like these. I have to admit, this one is very good. In fact, I think it is dark and serious enough to be considered adult fiction besides the fact that the main characters are mostly teenagers. There are redemptive themes throughout the series and you won’t want to put it down.

4. Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community by Ed Setzer and David Putnam – This book had a big impact on my concept of the mission of the church. The Lord seems to be shaping in me a greater vision for what the local church can be. This book helped me think through a lot of questions concerning the role of a missional church in reaching a particular context.

3. Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission by Darrin Patrick – I finished this book today! It was convicting throughout and the title is deceptive. I recommend this for any pastor, not just church planters. The book is divided into thirds. The first covers the qualifications for elder. The second covers the preaching of the Word. The third covers the mission of the church. All three were equally helpful to me.

2. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand – Any male who considers himself a man’s man should read this book and be humbled into feeling like a wimp. This is a true story, and one that pounds you relentlessly with physical and psychological toil. The writer is extremely gifted at telling stories and she draws you in to the point that my dreams were haunted by the images. But it was totally worth it! You are starving yourself if you don’t read this story.

1. Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support by Brad House – I bought copies of this book to distribute. That’s why it is #1 on my list. This book shaped me more than any other I read this year. If you read it, you may not feel the same way. But for me it is an issue of context. Our church has not had a vibrant small group ministry in years (or arguably ever), but there are signs that may be changing. If you are a church leader interested in small group ministry, do yourself a huge favor and read this one.

The Floss is Slipping

Someone I care about almost died. A few days after the event, I stood in the hospital bathroom washing my hands and at the other end of the mirror I saw a man staring at the dental floss in his hands. His hands were gripped tightly around the floss and his face looked defeated. He saw me in the mirror and asked how my loved one was doing. We were on the ICU floor, so he knew it was serious. I replied that my loved one was going to make it. He smiled as the tears began to flow down both cheeks. He told me his wife was going to die of cancer, leaving him and his two teenage boys behind. I didn't know the man, but I reached out to him and embraced him. I promised to pray and then said the only thing I knew to say. It was something I would not have known to say a few days earlier, but my own experience shaped the brief exchange of words:

You feel helpless.

Yes...

Since that moment, I have noticed the gentle leading of the Spirit directing me to witness many more events in my life that confirm my helplessness. I am helpless, powerless to control things much less profound than death. I cannot control my children. I cannot control my future. I cannot control anything. And yet, I find myself desperately clinging to the possibility like floss around my finger hoping it will not slip away. If only they would listen. If only this would work.

Jesus loves me enough to let me feel helpless, if that's what it takes for me to remember that He's got it covered.

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved.

Psalm 121

I Need to Write

I've resisted the urge to create a blog for a long time. I haven't felt like I needed to say anything that isn't already being said somewhere else. But lately I've realized that writing might be good for me. So here we go...

I've chosen to call this "The Lame Shall Enter First" in reference to a rather dark short story by Flannery O'Connor. The story reminds me that faith, hope, and love surpass understanding and I'm the sort of person that needs to be reminded of this often. I have a strange affinity for this story, as I do for many of her stories. I hope to have a long conversation one day with Ms. O'Connor in the new earth.