tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136940012024-03-07T14:34:11.355-07:00Sightings, Sounds, and Sniffs of the KingdomTHE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE...Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.comBlogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-29384171281499946522014-12-31T14:55:00.000-07:002014-12-31T23:58:45.198-07:00Jolie's Unbroken vs. Hillenbrand's UnbrokenWe are the stories we tell ourselves. So choose your stories wisely.<br />
<br />
A year ago I received a copy of a book titled <i>Unbroken</i>. It was one of the best books I've ever read. Laura Hillenbrand brought the story of Louis Zamperini to life in a masterful way.<br />
<br />
On Christmas Day, <i>Unbroken </i>was released in theaters. After watching the movie, I walked away extremely disappointed in Angelina Jolie's version of Louis Zamperini's story.<br />
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It is not uncommon for books that are made into movies to disappoint those who read the book before seeing the movie. But my disappointment had nothing to do with that common frustration.<br />
<br />
Why was my response to the same story so different?<br />
<br />
Because storytelling is an art. It is not a science.<br />
<br />
Growing up, I assumed history was a science. Once I finished a history book on World War II, I considered myself an expert on the World War II.<br />
<br />
I was wrong. History isn't a list of every event that ever happened. History is an interpretation of events. Every historian tells a story. And that story includes certain events and excludes other events.<br />
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Every book or movie that sets out to tell a story goes through this process of editing.<br />
<br />
Every. Single. One.<br />
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Including the Bible. There are four gospels. Each one is trying to tell the story of the good news of Jesus Christ. But each author is writing at a different time, to a different church, from a different perspective. They tell the story differently.<br />
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The Apostle John explicitly admits this in his gospel.<br />
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<i>"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." -John 20:30-31</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written." -John 21:25</i><br />
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History is told slant, with an agenda, with an audience in mind.<br />
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Angelina Jolie, the director of <i>Unbroken</i>, told Zamperini's story in a certain way, as every storyteller does.</div>
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The movie was very well done. Jolie tells the story of Louis Zamperini as a story of courage, perseverance, and survival. All of these virtues are certainly appropriate descriptions for a man like Zamperini. Anyone who survived a plane crash, 46 days on a raft in the Pacific, and horrific abuse as a POW deserves to be honored for all that he or she endured.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And Jolie did all she could to focus on Zamperini's experience of torture at the hands of the Japanese. A special focus was placed on the relationship between Zamperini and a Japanese Corporal named Matsuhiro Watanabe, AKA "The Bird." In scene after scene, the movie depicts the increasing torture that "The Bird" inflicts on Louie. </div>
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<br /></div>
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And in the movie's climactic scene, Zamperini "defeats" Watanabe by enduring his abuse and continuing to stand up in the face of what seems like certain death. Zamperini finds victory in his unwillingness to be "broken" by his captors' torture.</div>
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It's a story that stokes the flames of patriotism. </div>
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It's a war story. </div>
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It's a survival story.</div>
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It's a true story. But it's not the whole story. </div>
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It's a story that's not uncommon in a world where torture and war are all too common. </div>
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<br /></div>
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And in light of recent investigations into the CIA's post-9/11 torture of prisoners, where at least 26 prisoners were wrongfully held and many of those 26 were tortured, it is ironic that Jolie's story of endurance, perseverance, and survival could be told by a film director in the Middle East with Americans playing the roles of the Japanese soldiers in <i>Unbroken</i>.</div>
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It is impossible not to be outraged at the treatment of Zamperini in the movie. The torture scenes raise feelings of hatred and a desire for revenge. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Jolie's story is missing something. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It's missing the last 66 pages of Hillenbrand's book.</div>
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Hillenbrand's book does not censor Zamperini's suffering. Her prose fully details the suffering and torture that Zamperini experienced on the continent of Asia.<br />
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In fact, she recounts Louie's suffering that continues as he leaves the battlefield and enters back into civilian life. It's one thing to survive as a POW. It's another thing to thrive with the ghosts of World War II that will not let you go.<br />
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When Zamperini returns to the States, he marries and has children. But over time, Zamperini is haunted by "The Bird." Night after night, he experiences nightmares that fuel him with hatred and a desire for revenge that can only be quieted with his addiction to alcohol.<br />
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The turning point in Hillenbrand's story isn't Louie's determination to be "unbroken" by his suffering as a prisoner of war. The turning point happens at a Billy Graham crusade that Louie's wife forced him to attend.<br />
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After his conversion at the Graham Crusade, Louie lost all desire to drink. And as he experienced the love and forgiveness of God, he began to turn loose of the hatred and revenge he held in his heart for his captors in Japan.<br />
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Jolie's story of endurance through suffering is a common story in our world. Many men and women have endured suffering and torture only to remain trapped and enslaved by the chains and prison camps their bodies have escaped.<br />
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But Zamperini wasn't freed from his ghosts until after forgave "The Bird" and the rest of his captors.<br />
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In the end, Louie gets the chance to greet and forgive many of his captors in Japan. But he never again came face-to-face with "The Bird."<br />
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However, he did write a letter that someone promised to hand to Watsuhiro Watanabe.<br />
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Hillenbrand includes the letter in the last pages of her book:<br />
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<i>To Matsuhiro [sic] Watanabe,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i> As a result of my prisoner of war experience under your unwarranted and unreasonable punishment, my post-war life became a nightmare. It was not so much due to the pain and suffering as it was the tension of stress and humiliation that caused me to hate with a vengeance.</i><br />
<i> Under your discipline, my rights, not only as a prisoner of war but also as a human being, were stripped from me. It was a struggle to maintain enough dignity and hope to live until the war's end.</i><br />
<i> The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love replaced the hate I had for you. Christ said, "Forgive your enemies and pray for them."</i><br />
<i> As you probably know, I returned to Japan in 1952 [sic] and was graciously allowed to address all the Japanese war criminals at Sugamo Prison...I asked them about you, and was told that you probably had committed Hara Kiri, which I was sad to hear. At that moment, like the others, I also forgave you and now would hope that you would also become a Christian.</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> Louis Zamperini</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Now, that's a story.<br />
<br />
We need stories that do more than share hope of survival.<br />
We need stories where "The Myth of Redemptive Violence" isn't the only answer to our need for revenge.<br />
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As Desmond Tutu once said, "There is no future without forgiveness."<br />
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We are the stories we tell ourselves. So choose your stories wisely.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-61200291743497848852014-12-23T08:09:00.000-07:002014-12-23T10:49:09.910-07:00Ethos Is EverythingAndre Agassi once said, "Image is everything."<br>
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But Andre (or the ad developers at Canon who put those words in his mouth) was wrong.<br>
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Because <i>ethos</i> is everything...especially when it comes to how we know what we know.<br>
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The Greek Philosopher Aristotle saw persuasion as the combination of three factors:<br>
1) <i>Ethos</i> (Credibility) - The character of the speaker/writer<br>
2) <i>Pathos</i> (Emotional) - The persuasion of a speaker/writer<br>
3) <i>Logos</i> (Logical) - The reason of a speaker/writer<br>
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We like to think we are persuaded by logic. We like to think we come to beliefs through the use of reason. But I'm coming to believe that pathos and ethos impact us at a deeper, more subconscious level than logic ever will.<br>
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If you're anything like me, you trust certain people way too much. And you distrust other people way too much.<br>
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One person I trust entirely too much is Randy Harris. I first met Randy as a student at Abilene Christian University. Randy was my professor and continues to be one of my closest mentors to this day. He is one of the best preachers I have ever heard.<br>
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Randy has tremendous <i>ethos</i> with me. I have never known a disciple of Jesus who is more serious about listening to God, developing a relationship with him through prayer, and living into a kingdom ethic than Randy.<br>
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So, when Randy steps into the pulpit, I have a tendency to take everything he says as truth without question. If I have a question I'm struggling with, I want to know what Randy thinks. Because if I know what Randy thinks, I know what I think. He has that much <i>ethos</i> with me.<br>
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On the other hand, there are others who have no <i>ethos</i> with me. John Piper would fit in that category. Now, I don't know him personally, but our understandings of God are worlds apart. I am not a Calvinist and cannot understand how anyone could be (though I have good friends who are Calvinists).<br>
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In my view, John Piper has made harmful statements about masculinity and femininity. John has made statements regarding the sovereignty of God that trivialize suffering and harm the cause of Christ.<br>
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If I have a question I'm struggling with, I want to know what John thinks. Because if I know what he thinks, I know what I don't think. He has that little <i>ethos</i> with me.<br>
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I say all of this not to set up Randy Harris as the only credible theological voice or John Piper as a heretical enemy of God. Both of these men sincerely believe in God. Both of these men seem to be men who are trying to follow Jesus as well as they possibly can. Both of these men are fallible, imperfect men who cannot fully know God on this side of eternity.<br>
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Simply stated: One has <i>ethos </i>with me and the other has no <i>ethos </i>with me.<br>
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I'm guessing you have political commentators you agree with 99% of the time. You want to know what they believe in order for you to form a better opinion. And I'm guessing there are political commentators you disagree with 100% of the time and their opinion is important to you for different reasons.<br>
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But as much as I want to believe Randy is right about everything and John is wrong about everything, that would be an incorrect statement. We love to think in extremes, but the truth is somewhere in between our radical wishes.<br>
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Randy's <i>ethos </i>with me<i> </i>blinds me and keeps me from objectively challenging his thoughts.<br>
John's <i>ethos</i> with me blinds me and keeps me from hearing the truths God speaks through him.<br>
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On the one hand, I listen to Randy Harris waiting and anticipating for a time to say "Amen." I listen to Randy's sermons ready to take copious notes. I come to Randy's sermons to hear from God.<br>
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On the other hand, I listen to John Piper waiting for a chance to disagree with him. I listen to John's soundbites ready to hear one more harmful statement I can add to my list so I can further judge him as the worst theological voice of his generation.<br>
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And those predetermined biases keep me from growing in wisdom.<br>
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Now, Randy Harris and John Piper might not be your opponents of choice. You may have never heard of Randy Harris and John Piper before reading this blog. That's not the point.<br>
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You have your own voices that you agree/disagree with. And they are keeping you from growth.<br>
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So, here's my suggestion.<br>
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Would it be beneficial to enter into every conversation (encounter, sermon, blog post, etc.) looking for what you can say "yes" to rather than looking for what you can say "no" to?<br>
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Now, I'm not suggesting that we ought to lack a critical discernment at some point. But I'm asking if starting from a position of saying "yes" first might lead us to hear things we couldn't otherwise hear when we dislike the person who is sharing.<br>
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Because that person you disagree with knows things you don't know. That person is created in the image of God and might just give you a new perspective if you were open to listen to him/her well.<br>
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I plan to try this.<br>
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I want to listen for common ground instead of justifying my labels.<br>
I want to say "amen" rather than being known as a naysayer.<br>
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I want to remain open to the fact that my enemy knows something.<br>
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Because if I believe I have something to offer my enemies, I have to remain open to the fact that they likely have something to offer me as well.<br>
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Thoughts?Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-82275332894020375422014-12-05T07:05:00.000-07:002014-12-05T07:27:52.945-07:00You Don't Know What It Feels Like To Be WrongSo far in this blog series entitled "How Do You Know What You Know?" I've tried to establish a few things.<br>
1) I can gain tremendous amounts of knowledge without gaining an ounce of wisdom.<br>
2) Rather than forming conclusions around facts, we tend to form conclusions and gather facts to support our previously held conclusions.<br>
3) Once you believe you know everything, you cut off the opportunity to learn more.<br>
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So, here's the claim I want to begin with in this post:<br>
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<b>You don't know what it feels like to be wrong.</b><br>
<b><br></b>
Now, that sounds ridiculous. Because clearly, we are imperfect creatures. We make mistakes. The vast majority of you didn't make a perfect score on the SAT test.<br>
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Most of us can admit we have been wrong at some point in our lives. And if we are unable to admit that, we have close friends or spouses who would be glad to admit it for us.<br>
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But regardless of how many times you have been wrong, you have never known what it feels like to be wrong.<br>
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Why? Because there is no experience of being wrong.<br>
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If you don't believe me, tell me something you are currently wrong about. You can't possibly tell me that. Because the very moment you realize you are wrong, you are no longer wrong.<br>
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Kathryn Schultz says it this way*<br>
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<i> "By definition, there can't be any particular feeling associated with simply being wrong. Indeed, the whole reason it's possible to be wrong is that, while it is happening, you are oblivious to it. When you are simply going about your business in a state you will later decide was delusional, you have no idea of it whatsoever. You are like the coyote in the Road Runner cartoons, after he has gone off the cliff but before he has looked down. Literally in his case and figuratively in yours, you are already in trouble when you feel like you're still on solid ground. <u>So I should revise myself: it does feel like something to be wrong. It feels like being right.</u></i><br>
<i> This is the problem of error-blindness. Whatever falsehoods each of us currently believes are necessarily invisible to us. Think about the telling fact that error literally doesn't exist in the first person present tense: the sentence "I am wrong" describes a logical impossibility. As soon as we know that we are wrong, we aren't wrong anymore, since to recognize a belief as false is to stop believing it. Thus we can only say "I <u>was</u> wrong."...we can be wrong, or we can know it, but we can't do both at the same time."</i><br>
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Mind blown!<br>
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I currently think I am right about everything. And you do too. If we believed we were wrong, we would hold a different belief.<br>
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I meet people who vigorously defend their beliefs. And sometimes the emotion with which they hold those beliefs blinds them to new knowledge.<br>
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Most of the leaders we follow are people who reveal no uncertainty about their beliefs. We like to follow people who seem more certain than we are. In a Postmodern era where everything seems gray, these kinds leaders tend to draw a crowd.<br>
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But I want to follow the leader who is quick to admit she is wrong when she is wrong. Because the longer we go off course the longer it takes to return to course.<br>
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Donald Miller tells the story of a group of Christians at Reed College in Portland, Oregon who wanted to make an impact on the campus. Each year at Reed College, they have a Renaissance festival called Ren Fayre. They basically shut down the campus so that the students can party. Security keeps the authorities away and everybody gets drunk, high, and naked.<br>
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How does the good news get a hearing in that context? That was the question posed.<br>
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And the group of Christians decided to set up a confession booth for students to enter. But instead of receiving confessions, the Christians decided to confess their own sins to those who wandered into their booth.<br>
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Donald says, <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"We decided w<span style="line-height: 17.33333396911621px;">e are going to confess to them. We are going to confess that, as followers of Jesus, we have not been very loving; we have been bitter, and for that we are sorry. We will apologize for the Crusades, we will apologize for televangelists, we will apologize for neglecting the poor and the lonely, we will ask them to forgive us, and we will tell them that in our selfishness, we have misrepresented Jesus on this campus. We will tell people who come into the booth that Jesus loves them."</span></i></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.33333396911621px;">When students entered the booth, they came expecting judgment from these Christians. But the unexpected humility shown by these Christians made a difference among the partygoers.</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.33333396911621px;"><br></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.33333396911621px;">What would it look like for the church to maintain a stance of humility and confession rather than exalted knowledge and judgment?</span></span><br>
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One of the mottos of early Restoration Movement leaders was: "In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things charity."<br>
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There was a time when I would have defended every belief I had with vigorous debate to the point of losing friends for the sake of winning an argument.<br>
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Today, there are fewer things I'm willing to defend at all costs.<br>
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I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I have chosen to live with him as the Lord of my life. And I believe the way Jesus taught us to live is the best way of life possible. I'm staking my life on those beliefs.<br>
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But I am unwilling to let peripheral matters divide me from people who have chosen to make Jesus their Lord.<br>
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I'm not right about everything. And it's hard to know exactly what I'm right and wrong about.<br>
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Because I know what it feels like to be wrong, don't you?<br>
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It feels like being right.<br>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*If this topic interests you, I would encourage you to read <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Being-Wrong-Adventures-Margin-Error/dp/0061176052/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417730640&sr=1-1&keywords=being+wrong" target="_blank">Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error</a></u> by Kathryn Schulz. Most of these ideas originated in her book.</span>Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-60066661499363883372014-11-26T15:38:00.001-07:002014-11-26T15:38:26.761-07:00What Your Thanksgiving Dinner Has to do with FergusonOver the past couple of nights I have been glued to the television watching the events unfold in Ferguson, Missouri. <div>
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I have been paralyzed by the events that have unfolded. </div>
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I hurt for the family of Michael Brown.</div>
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I know Officer Wilson's life will never be the same again. </div>
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I sympathize with the business owners who must rebuild their destroyed businesses in Ferguson.</div>
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I mourn for the African-American community that feels let down by a system of law in a country that has repeatedly treated them as less than human for so many decades of our shared history.</div>
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But I am most upset at the ensuing conversations on social media from people I am close to. </div>
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I don't have answers to the questions. I am paralyzed to write constructive thoughts. I want to learn to speak constructive words rather than destructive emotional words that cause damage.</div>
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So, what can we do? What can I do? What can you do?</div>
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Here's my best suggestion of a 1st step...</div>
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On Thanksgiving, many of us will find ourselves around tables with family and friends. Those tables will include conversations about current events. Ferguson will be a topic of conversation at many of our tables.</div>
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<b>When someone at your Thanksgiving table makes a racist comment feeling as if they are safe in your presence to share what often goes unshared in diverse company, speak up and challenge the comment.</b></div>
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The comments will happen at more tables than not. It happens all too often. And too often I have been silent. And I have been wrong.</div>
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Because let's be honest. Some of the most ungodly things Christians say happen around tables where people feel safe to say the most ungodly things without fear of being challenged.</div>
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Challenge lovingly. Challenge in a way that doesn't shut down dialogue. Challenge in a way that forces your loved one to understand that you refuse to be an accomplice to racism. </div>
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Don't excuse it. Don't condone it through your silence. </div>
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That's it. </div>
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It won't change the world. But it's a 1st step worth considering.</div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-38511568093005460902014-11-17T10:10:00.000-07:002014-11-17T10:10:24.553-07:00The 5 Most Powerful Words in the English LanguageMy kids are learning at an incredible pace right now. There is no end to the questions they ask each day. They are curious. They want to learn. And they believe I know the answer to everything.<br />
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It gets old sometimes. But I'm trying to appreciate it because in the next 10-15 years, things will change. They won't be seeking me out to answer their questions. They'll want me nearby to hear all of the answers they have to offer.<br />
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Something happens between the curiosity of childhood and the naive arrogance of the late teenage years.<br />
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At least it did for me.<br />
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I knew everything from ages 16-24.<br />
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And that was a problem. Because if you think you know everything, your brain no longer retains the ability to learn new things. Your brain is shut off from answers because you are determined to share the answers you have that no one else seems to have.<br />
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This reality has become so much more challenging with the advent of Google. Today, the answer to every conceivable question is available with the mere entry of a question into your internet search engine.<br />
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But all of this "knowledge" is dangerous. Because <b>when you know everything, you lose the ability to know anything new</b>. Your brain is no longer a sponge. Instead, it is a funnel ready to dispense wisdom into any waiting receptacle.<br />
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And this era of "knowledge" is downright deadly when it comes to our faith in God.<br />
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<b>Most people would say the opposite of faith is doubt. </b><br />
<b>But the opposite of faith is not doubt.</b><br />
<b>The opposite of faith is certainty.</b><br />
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The Hebrews writer says it this way:<br />
<i>"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." </i><br />
-Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)<br />
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Some read that and would say, "See Collin, faith is assurance about what we do not see." Certainty is a part of faith.<br />
<br />
But my response is: "How in the world can you be sure about what you can't see?" You cannot be sure about what you cannot see. Christianity cannot be proven with empirical data. Every person listed in Hebrews 11 lived by faith when they died. That means they died hoping for something they never completely experienced on earth.<br />
<br />
I believe faith and doubt can go together. In fact, they must go together. If you don't have moments of doubt, you're not living in the real world.<br />
<br />
There are many reasons to doubt.<br />
I just happen to believe there are more reasons to believe in God.<br />
And my doubts are proof that my beliefs are grounded in a world yet to be perfected.<br />
<br />
So much of our discourse is merely two certain parties unwilling to consider another alternative. This certainty seems to especially plague religious and political conversations.<br />
<br />
Ian Cron says it well,<br />
<b>"The five most powerful words in the English language are: ...but I might be wrong."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
And why are those words so important?<br />
<br />
Because the only way you can possibly learn more is to doubt that you know everything. The only way to be open to new insights is to be open to the fact that the people you encounter might just know more than you do.<br />
<br />
My children don't struggle to believe they might be wrong. I'm the one who struggles to believe I might be wrong.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that's why Jesus said, <i>"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." </i>-Matthew 18:3 (NIV)<br />
<br />
May you be filled with the right questions rather than the right answers.<br />
May you be filled with just enough doubt to have faith.<br />
Amen.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-8988287666021247982014-11-10T08:12:00.000-07:002014-11-10T09:45:44.938-07:00The Danger of Seminary, Ethics Class & ChurchWhen you say you know something, what do you really mean?<br>
When you say you believe something, what do you really mean?<br>
<br>
Educational institutions are dangerous places.<br>
<br>
And I don't make that statement assuming the same fears of my fundamentalist religious tradition's suspicion of higher education.<br>
<br>
My warning about educational institutions has to do with my experience of accumulating knowledge.<br>
<br>
I learned a lot during my years at Abilene Christian University. I'm proud of the two degrees I earned from such a wonderful institution. I would encourage others to consider attending ACU if given the opportunity.<br>
<br>
But attending seminary isn't without its spiritual dangers.<br>
<br>
<b>Here's the danger...</b><br>
<br>
I left seminary with head knowledge that far outweighed my spiritual maturity.<br>
<br>
Because it's one thing to know about God and it's another thing to know God.<br>
It's possible to ace tests on Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology without looking more like Jesus.<br>
<br>
I spent 6 years studying brilliant ideas dreamed up by brilliant people.<br>
<br>
<b>And here's the danger...</b><br>
<br>
It took N. T. Wright decades to perfect his brilliant ideas for publication. But a college freshman can read his work and naively assume that memorizing one of Wright's quotes is the equivalent of spending decades doing the hard work that produces the quote to begin with.<br>
<br>
Just because I read <i>Mere Christianity</i> doesn't mean I'm as discipled as C. S. Lewis.<br>
<br>
There's a difference between knowledge and wisdom. But try telling a seminary student that.<br>
<br>
I left seminary ready to take on the world. At the age of 24-year old, I became the Preaching Minister called to share God's Word with a group of 700 believers, many of whom looked more like Jesus than I ever will.<br>
<br>
No one could have convinced me at the time, but I didn't have enough lived experience to be wise. I hadn't suffered enough to be wise. My skin wasn't tough enough to take criticism.<br>
<br>
I had two degrees, but I had no idea my third degree would be hard-earned through my first six years of ministry in the trenches.<br>
<br>
<b>It's dangerous to think you think something.</b><br>
<b><br></b>
Which is a natural transition to the topic of the danger of Ethics classes.<br>
<b><br></b>
One of my mentors, Randy Harris, is a professor in Abilene Christian University's Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry. But he also teaches an Ethics class at the university.<br>
<br>
According to Randy, there is a growing amount of evidence that shows Ethics classes have very little impact on a student's ethical behavior. Which should be a bit disconcerting to Ethics professors.<br>
<br>
Ethics classes don't form a person's beliefs from the ground up.<br>
Instead, ethics classes help people argue their original positions better.<br>
<br>
In other words, students enter an Ethics class with a point-of-view that they're not sure how to defend. And after an Ethics class, most don't change their point-of-view. The most common outcome is that students are now armed with arguments to defend the positions they already held.<br>
<br>
And if we're not careful, our churches can easily become the equivalent of an Ethics class.<br>
<br>
I'm in my 7th year of full-time preaching in a local church. I'm not a veteran, but this isn't my first rodeo.<br>
<br>
And I believe the Holy Spirit can change hearts in the context of a sermon. I've seen it happen. I am not a doomsday prophet pronouncing the death of the sermon. Something happens when the Word of God is preached in a way that connects with people's lives in real ways.<br>
<br>
But I have overcome one radically naive belief of many young preachers. My scorecard for preaching used to be solely based on the feedback I received from people after the sermon. If I heard great feedback, it must have been a good sermon. If I heard bad feedback, I assumed it was a bad sermon.<br>
<br>
Wrong!<br>
<br>
What I'm beginning to realize is that sermon feedback often tells me more about the listener than me, as the preacher.<br>
<br>
What do I mean?<br>
<br>
On the one hand, when people like my sermons, it is often because I've said something that struck a chord with a belief the listener already has. In some way, I have confirmed their existing beliefs. And sometimes, they already have in mind how they can take something I said out of context to win an argument that had nothing to do with my point in the sermon.<br>
<br>
In other words, good preachers are like good Ethics professors. We are at our "best" when we confirm and support the preexisting biases of our listeners.<br>
<br>
On the other hand, when people hate my preaching, it is often because I've said something that challenges or contradicts a cherished belief that a listener already has. Sermon criticism often arises when you challenge the existing worldview of the congregation.<br>
<br>
<b>A word to preachers: Don't take too much credit for good or bad sermons that you preach. Often, you are a giant projection screen that people project their "junk" onto. </b><br>
<b><br></b>
And if we're not careful, preachers can become addicted to the positive feedback and massage their messages to defend the status quo.<br>
<br>
The danger is when a church decides to build an echo chamber and rally the base much like the strategy of cable news networks on either end of the ideological spectrum.<br>
<br>
And the danger is all around.<br>
<br>
But there are moments when young preachers acknowledge their lack of depth.<br>
There are moments when people truly change.<br>
There are moments when churches choose to seek truth over the party line.<br>
<br>
And in those moments, the kingdom breaks through.<br>
Those are moments where true wisdom wins.<br>
Those are moments the danger is overcome.<br>
<br>
And those moments are all worth it.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-37561263361185169802014-11-07T22:59:00.002-07:002014-11-08T13:38:41.672-07:00How Do You Know What You Know?Well, it's been more than 4 months since we moved to Texas and 3 months since I last wrote a blog post. The transition has gone well, but the transition has also consumed my writing time.<br />
<br />
During my blog hiatus, I've been doing some thinking...about thinking.<br />
<br />
And here's my question...<br />
<br />
<b>How do you know what you know?</b><br />
<br />
This question might sound inane, irrelevant, or unimportant. But I believe this question is the reason for my writing hiatus. It's the reason you spend so much time trying to perfect the 144 characters in your Tweets.<br />
<br />
Over the past 3 months, I've wanted to blog several different times. But each time I sat down to write, I was paralyzed and couldn't write. Perhaps it was my entrance into my 30s.<br />
<br />
I have to admit I am increasingly tired of internet drama. I'm tired of creating it. I'm tired of contributing to it. I'm tired of reading it. That doesn't mean I won't be interested in creating internet drama in the days to come. It just means the last 3 months of silence have been the outcome my maturity or my controversy fatigue.<br />
<br />
And I think it all boils down to this...I'm not sure how I know what I know.<br />
<br />
Do you know how you know what you know?<br />
<br />
My guess is you haven't given much thought to it. Am I right?<br />
<br />
Over the next few posts, I want to take you on a journey to discover some reasons why you might believe what you believe.<br />
<br />
You can call it a conversation about epistemology.<br />
You can call it a practice in questioning yourself.<br />
You can call it looking into your own brain.<br />
<br />
But whatever you call it, it's the reason I stopped blogging.<br />
<br />
And I'm back...I think.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-54310265197430945252014-08-01T14:20:00.001-06:002014-08-01T14:30:11.907-06:00Train Up A Child: Greg Pirtle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj71qALmvHJFuAGRUSQItANgCf4ZimrYE41euGnHiSvSzuSgXOSl6OsrBF0FmI17PTkvWxtxMq7_kU4_Md-4i60jZN2WocJFAmfiHfPw-DPRbyiXGoX31UXQmYThX-UWt9zpd0gA/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj71qALmvHJFuAGRUSQItANgCf4ZimrYE41euGnHiSvSzuSgXOSl6OsrBF0FmI17PTkvWxtxMq7_kU4_Md-4i60jZN2WocJFAmfiHfPw-DPRbyiXGoX31UXQmYThX-UWt9zpd0gA/s1600/photo.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Greg Pirtle is one of the Student Ministers at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Abilene Christian University. Greg has served youth and families for nearly 15 years. And he is one of the staff members I get to work with beginning next week.</div>
<div>
_____________</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Time at the Table<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will never forget the words I heard from a friend years
ago. I was 17 and it seemed to be
another typical phone conversation that high school guys have – sports, school,
girls – talking about things that seem so important at the time, but aren’t
life changing. At some point though, I
don’t remember how or why, the discussion took a turn and he said something
that has remained with me for over 20 years now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You don’t know how lucky you are, Greg.” “What do you mean?” I asked. His reply…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You get to sit and eat dinner with your family.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s it. That’s the
life-changing sentence I recall, from one high school guy to another. Eating together was a regular practice in my
home growing up, but I never considered the importance of it until that
moment. And I never questioned it again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand that when my friend was young, his family went
through some difficult times, but he lived with godly, loving grandparents who
took him to church and provided for him. It may have been a longing for his birthparents or wanting more
attention from his grandparents, but of all the things he desired, it was to
sit down at the table and eat dinner with his family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the secret ingredient that no one talks about, yet many
statistics include. There are numerous
studies showing that sharing meals as a family has a positive correlation in
the values and habits of children and adolescents. No real explanations exist for why this is
the case, but the evidence is pretty solid. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That alone should be enough to make eating together a
priority, but I think there is something deeper. I believe there is a reason we often see
Jesus eating with others and why the table is symbolic in our faith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The table is the one place where everyone is equal. It’s the place where everyone shares a need
to be fed. It’s the place where everyone
serves and is served. It’s the place
where we are reminded that God is the one who provides. It’s the place where we reconnect with God
and the people we love.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To show up at the table means you’re committed to being a
part of the family. The value and
affirmation of each individual is highlighted in the conversation and
experience. The bond of the collective
group is strengthened and confirmed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every meal is different. There are days where everyone is talking, sharing, laughing and enjoying
the time together, and days where it seems way too loud and chaotic to be
productive. Occasionally, the presence
of a guest blesses our table and it gives us a chance to offer hospitality and
enjoy time with friends. Some days no
one wants to talk or some of us, maybe none of us really want to be there. Other days, one of us can’t be there, but
those present still remember that person and anxiously await their return. Sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. Then, there are those days where someone becomes
vulnerable and shares their heart – their joy, pain, disappointment, or hope –
and we celebrate, cry, listen, encourage or do whatever seems natural to do in
that moment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Internet is filled with ideas for making family dinner
easy and fun, but our family has a few things we try to do. We always pray. We always share something about our day. We always eat. We always clean up together. That’s about it. Occasionally we’ll do different things like
come up with fun questions to ask each other or eat out in the back yard (you
can tell our family likes to live on the wild side), but it’s simple and it
works for us. Regardless of what we do,
just being together feels…sacred. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand this practice is easier to begin when children
are younger. I also understand that
people are extremely busy and finding time to be together as a family in any
location can be difficult. But let me
encourage you to remember the words of my friend and his longing to sit at the
table and share a meal with his family…and may your time at the table be full.</div>
</div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-47939793083982367032014-07-29T20:35:00.000-06:002014-08-01T14:30:04.280-06:00Train Up A Child: Hillary Hoover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQQHp8hqwlTTS0AcwuhUE9YsXJtbYf96UyzFgvpXu5rBXX5NUT3Yphh6HHvp7euPtKTGH0BmRhwkyRUSFAc5mhCxMRZ89Qh8jyicB1l0-xfdyAP-a_-2kwI4bvxsCuwcrwz6FuQ/s1600/Hillary_300-200b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQQHp8hqwlTTS0AcwuhUE9YsXJtbYf96UyzFgvpXu5rBXX5NUT3Yphh6HHvp7euPtKTGH0BmRhwkyRUSFAc5mhCxMRZ89Qh8jyicB1l0-xfdyAP-a_-2kwI4bvxsCuwcrwz6FuQ/s1600/Hillary_300-200b.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hillary Hoover is one of the Student Ministers at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. She attended Abilene Christian University and has served teens for several years. Hillary is one of the wonderful staff members that I will get to serve beside very soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">__________________</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b><u>4 Things I’ve Learned
From Observing Parents<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you
don't want insight into parenting from someone who isn't a parent then consider
this a fair warning. I do have a cat that I’ve kept alive for 4
years. I also have a lot of kids in my
life, including four awesome younger siblings, a niece, and two nephews who I
let slide down my stairs in a cardboard box yesterday, and regularly talk me
into getting them ice cream. I can't
give perspective from one parent to another. What I can give you is the
perspective of someone who spends time with teenagers and hears sometimes
subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle clues about their relationship with you. I can give you the perspective of someone who
has observed a lot of parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In order to
learn from them, I pay special attention to the parents who have good
relationships with their teen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would
describe a good relationship between parent and teenager as mutual respect,
positive regard for one another, and a healthy process for handling
conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure good relationships
include a multitude of other factors, and I’m aware that what I witness and
interpret as a good relationship might look differently at church settings than
in the home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I’m sharing here are
things I’ve seen consistently in a handful of families over time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is what
I’ve observed, and some potential, hopefully practical, next steps to consider:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1.
They don’t do it alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">They ask for help, prayer, wisdom and insight. They give and receive support from others. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You are playing a divinely-appointed role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one can be your child’s parent the way you
can; you are irreplaceable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, you’re
not super-parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean that in a
“you’re bad at this” kind of way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I
mean is that you probably don’t have all the answers, and you’ll probably never
be able to execute flawless parenting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hope that you ever could is rooted in a lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truth is that you were meant to do this
in community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a parent, what is it you need?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you need to be taught skills to control
your anger?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you need prayer for God
to give you strength?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you just need
to talk to someone who understands?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your
needs are valid, but those around you can’t read your thoughts or see into your
family life to know what you need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
your responsibility to ask for help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Who can help meet this need?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it another parent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possibly
someone who could benefit from a friend on their parenting journey?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it a youth minister or another adult who
interacts with your teen regularly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
it a caring grandparent, young-at-heart type?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it a counselor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it’s
some combination of these.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Recognize your need, and persevere in searching for people
who will walk alongside you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2.
They show themselves grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A lot of parents are really hard on themselves, but that rarely
leads to productive change. Every parent has missteps, and your teen
might point those out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, if your
value and security are in Jesus, then your shortcomings as a parent are
opportunities for growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Failure isn't
doom, failure is learning. So give yourself grace, learn from it, and move
forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t loosen up on yourself and use grace as an excuse to
keep dropping the ball in an area of your parenting that you know needs
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, don’t be bullied by guilt
into taking hard steps forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask God and
a few trusted others to help you take the next step. He will see you through making that decision,
setting that boundary, or having that difficult conversation. Speaking of difficult conversations…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3.
They have the difficult conversations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a teenager, the conversations I tried to strategically
avoid, and resisted with heavy sighs, eye rolling, and sassiness were, in
hindsight, some of the most meaningful and helpful long-term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to talk about what’s for dinner,
but it’s hard to talk about pornography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to talk about college plans, but it’s hard to talk about
doubting God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you aren’t giving your teenager guidance and coaching, I
guarantee they are getting it somewhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere else may be google, it may be friends (the blind leading the
blind), or best case scenario it may be their small group leader at church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can play those odds, or you can take
intentional steps to prepare for the subject matter, and then trust that God
will use that difficult conversation to shape your teenager to become more
Christ-like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Spend time in prayer asking God to prepare you with wisdom
for the conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do your part to
gain wisdom by reading up on the subject matter, and ask someone who is a few steps
ahead of you for insight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">4.
They seek to listen, understand, and know their kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">They know things about them, like who their best friends are
and what they’ve been watching on Netflix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, they also seek to really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like, what drives them, what makes
them belly laugh, their spiritual health, and what kind of character they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your teen probably won’t know how to answer if
you ask them how they’re growing spiritually, but if you’re looking and
listening, they will show you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Grow in awareness; provide opportunities for your teen to
share their thoughts, ask clarifying questions if there’s something you want to
know more about (i.e. “What do you mean when you say that?”), and listen well
when your teen talks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What would you add to the list?</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-44858231946882390002014-07-26T17:55:00.003-06:002014-08-01T14:29:40.699-06:00Train Up A Child: Marti O'Rear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc6hyphenhyphenjIFUNxTlA3UlZGKQaDSdh9asjeWtb75LcAdg-HeYehitlaLmJOS8KR80bKcHx7-1D8n1nf6bsf0bBC3OZeK3T4pAlh9FCs2NgjstpbbKourOY3rgfQtaZuRhWGsuh2gYeQ/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc6hyphenhyphenjIFUNxTlA3UlZGKQaDSdh9asjeWtb75LcAdg-HeYehitlaLmJOS8KR80bKcHx7-1D8n1nf6bsf0bBC3OZeK3T4pAlh9FCs2NgjstpbbKourOY3rgfQtaZuRhWGsuh2gYeQ/s1600/photo.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Marti O'Rear is the Children's Minister at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. Marti graduated from Pepperdine University and has been a significant leader in the field of Children's Ministry for several years. I first learned about Marti's ministry to children and families when I attended the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, TX. I can't wait to partner with Marti as we seek to lead families and children to follow Jesus at Greenville Oaks.</span><br />
____________________<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I remember when I was a young parent and people would say, "Back in my day, it was just easier to raise my kids." Now that my daughters are grown and I am observing the lives of so many young parents, I think I can honestly say, "Back in my day, it was a whole lot easier to raise my kids." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Please understand I am not assuming we did it better, but I believe we were not faced with as many challenges that families face today and I commend the families who are keeping a balance in their lives on behalf of their children and their family structure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Obviously over the years since my children have grown, technology has expanded in a way that can be completely wonderful and tremendously challenging at the same time. Parents are having to make decisions as to when to introduce electronics or digital devices to be used for entertainment, communication, and education. They are having to monitor what and how it is used. The greater difficulty of it is that as adults, we also are having to learn to monitor ourselves for it indeed can get in the way of time and quality conversation taking place with our spouses and our children. It is not an easy task because we are faced daily if not hourly with the challenges of it in our work and in our homes. But from what I observe about many of our parents through actions and conversation, they are tackling the challenges. They are not allowing this to invade their desire to raise and help their children to know who God is in their lives. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Recently in our children’s Bible classes, we talked about young king Josiah and the impact he had through reminding his people of following God one more time. He rid the country of the idols and when they discovered the Book of Law as they were attempting to rebuild the temple, he made sure it was read to the people to draw them back to God’s ways. I love what is said about Josiah: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” <br /><br />May we continue to guide our children in God’s plan for them. For indeed, He does have a plan for each of them. May we not allow the challenges of life to cause us to veer to the left or to the right, but walk the path that keeps our family close to God.</span>Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-11570490082595346022014-07-24T08:05:00.000-06:002014-07-24T22:47:17.257-06:00I. Had. No. Idea.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrQcT1cf3k9snZsKrBrw87hbPVky10-db2qkHQWKV3f_KBOv0QSZb1OO-r99icOiOba5agfSC9M1UT5kbUvCZkdFEabw3omLZ4HQ1LcW4C7vIeSFSZaspmnHvFgCViixLctarkA/s1600/Img_0167_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn3ldUDi0nJSnfR9z6vKlTSJXMz6wfX_C4mDEF9coZrFkN26aBIqeIuNjqj2Kd_d3_Qa0lz2rj-K6P18RuB6vNA28g03NyNghTlccrEE5UNjP6Vj5eJzNJ_vTsfz8C7IMAybKVQ/s1600/DSC_0127-mf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn3ldUDi0nJSnfR9z6vKlTSJXMz6wfX_C4mDEF9coZrFkN26aBIqeIuNjqj2Kd_d3_Qa0lz2rj-K6P18RuB6vNA28g03NyNghTlccrEE5UNjP6Vj5eJzNJ_vTsfz8C7IMAybKVQ/s1600/DSC_0127-mf.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrQcT1cf3k9snZsKrBrw87hbPVky10-db2qkHQWKV3f_KBOv0QSZb1OO-r99icOiOba5agfSC9M1UT5kbUvCZkdFEabw3omLZ4HQ1LcW4C7vIeSFSZaspmnHvFgCViixLctarkA/s1600/Img_0167_1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></div>
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10 years ago I married Holly Nicole Packer. </div>
<br />
I had no idea what I was doing.<br />
I had no idea what love was.<br />
I had no idea how loyal she would be.<br />
I had no idea how much grace and forgiveness she would have to offer me.<br />
I had no idea how how patient she would be.<br />
I had no idea that she would be the reason I would stay in ministry in difficult times.<br />
I had no idea that she would be the perfect personality to balance mine.<br />
I had no idea what a wonderful mother she would be to our kids.<br />
<br />
I. Had. No. Idea.<br />
<br />
I just thought she was beautiful.<br />
<br />
I was a 20-year old who made impulsive decisions like...a 20-year old. Like many 20-year olds in love, I'm sure people could have made good arguments against our decision to get married. But like many 20-year olds, those arguments would have only driven Holly and me to marry each other anyway just to prove them wrong.<br />
<br />
I married her because I believed she was the most beautiful woman in the world.<br />
<br />
And God protected us, despite our immature reasons for choosing to commit our lives to one another.<br />
<br />
We couldn't see it at the time, but beauty will not last forever. At least, not the beauty I looked for 10 years ago.<br />
<br />
But Holly's outward beauty (all my eyes could see at the time) paled in comparison to her inner beauty.<br />
<br />
I. Had. No. Idea.<br />
<br />
But perhaps that is how God keeps marriage interesting. With every passing decade, another level of beauty is unveiled. I can't wait to see what our second decade of marriage will reveal. I know there is so much more I have to appreciate that I haven't discovered yet.<br />
<br />
Happy Anniversary Holly! I'm so grateful for your committed love that you show me on an daily basis. You have shown me the grace of God more concretely than anyone else ever has. You are a blessing to me.<br />
<br />
You have given me three of the greatest gifts I have ever received: Maddox, Addison & Brooklyn.<br />
<br />
May God bless the next 10 years!<br />
<br />
And over the next decade, I can't wait to discover the things about you that will make me say again...<br />
<br />
I. Had. No. Idea.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-3343691100403302142014-07-13T10:06:00.000-06:002014-07-13T10:06:07.931-06:00Train Up A Child: Life VersesOne of the special things Holly and I have done for each of our children is to select a Bible verse as a life verse for them.<br />
<br />
It is a Bible verse we wanted to pray over them for their entire lives. Maddox has memorized his verse. Addison is in the process of learning hers. And Brooklyn has heard her verse a few times.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure where we got the idea to do this, but we would encourage you to consider this practice for your kids.<br />
<br />
We don't know how these verses will impact their lives, but our prayer is that God will use these Bible verses to shape them in unexpected ways.<br />
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Here are the verses we selected for each child.<br />
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Maddox Austin Packer<br />
"<i>He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ - with all boldness and without hindrance!</i>" -Acts 28:31<br />
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Addison Grace Packer<br />
"<i>But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forevermore! Amen.</i>" -2 Peter 3:18<br />
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Brooklyn Kate Packer<br />
"<i>And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.</i>" -Micah 6:8Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-23802642403908112142014-07-11T14:37:00.000-06:002014-07-11T14:43:23.035-06:00LeBron James' "Decision" to Return Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm a LeBron James fan.<br />
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And today's "Decision," is the real reason I'm a LeBron fan. Today, LeBron James announced his return to Northeast Ohio. He's leaving South Beach to return to the gritty, blue-collar city of Cleveland, a city that hasn't won a professional sports championship in 50 years.<br />
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The Cleveland Browns won the 1964 AFL Championship (before the Super Bowl existed).<br />
The Cleveland Indians won the 1948 World Series.<br />
The Cleveland Cavaliers have not won a basketball championship...yet.<br />
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Cleveland has the second largest championship drought for any city that has at least two major sports franchises. The only team with a longer drought is San Diego. (Which makes Tony Gwynn's legacy even more significant. You can read my article on Gwynn <a href="http://collinpacker.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-real-sports-hero-tony-gwynn.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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Legends are judged by individual accomplishments and the ability to lead their teams to championships. One without the other isn't enough.<br />
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It's what makes Lionel Messi's World Cup Final game on Sunday so important. His individual statistics will guarantee him a spot in the conversation. But if he never wins a World Cup, he can't be considered the greatest of all time.<br />
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James went to Miami to win championships. In his 4 years in Miami, LeBron won 4 Eastern Conference Championships, 2 NBA Championships, and 2 Most Valuable Player Awards.<br />
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But James' return to Cleveland doesn't merely signal a change in location. It signals a change in him as a man. And it's why James is becoming the kind of man I want my kids to emulate.<br />
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Before our eyes, we're watching the evolution of LeBron James.<br />
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His announcement was far different this time. Rather than hosting an hour-long television event to announce his move to Cleveland like he did 4 years ago, LeBron's decision was without fanfare (if it's possible to ignore the 24-hour "Breaking News" ticker on ESPN).<br />
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You can read his well-thought-out essay on his return to Cleveland <a href="http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers" target="_blank">here</a>. It's well worth the read!<br />
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In the essay, LeBron is confessional. He admits if he had it to do over again, he would have left Cleveland differently. And this time around, he seems to have learned his lesson.<br />
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I don't expect to hear LeBron guaranteeing 8 rings like last time. He now knows how to win a championship and how naive it is to guarantee multiple championships. He sees the folly of his ways.<br />
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This decision to return to Cleveland isn't about cementing his legacy as the greatest of all-time. His calling is bigger than that.<br />
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And that's the exact language he used: "calling." In his essay, he said,<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f343b; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get."</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f343b; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">LeBron is a man growing up before our eyes. This time around he's married with a third child on the way. He's choosing to forgive Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavaliers, for his <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704" target="_blank">spiteful letter</a> after LeBron's departure to Miami. His return home to Ohio is about more than basketball. It's about giving hope to a region of Ohio that raised him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f343b; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">This time around, it's not about winning <u>multiple</u> championships for LeBron and his legacy. It's about winning <u>a</u> championship LeBron and his city.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f343b; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">LeBron has always had his haters. The "Greats" always do. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f343b; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">But it's hard to hate on this "Decision."</span></span>Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-74549790332271477942014-07-05T15:04:00.001-06:002014-07-05T16:13:45.048-06:00Train Up A Child: Go To ChurchWe want to raise our kids to see the importance of church...which just happens to be one of the most countercultural parenting decision these days.<br />
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After all, these are the days of the "spiritual but not religious." These are the days when its popular to criticize the church. Everyone loves Jesus. Very few seem to care much for his bride.<br />
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And I get the pushback. The church has hurt a lot of people. The church has failed to lead the way in areas of justice in the world. I work for the church, but I'm sometimes tempted to lie about my occupation when asked.<br />
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Yet, even in the midst of the frustrations I have with the church, I can't seem to give her up. I can't get away from her. I can't seem to shake her.<br />
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I grew up as a preacher's kid. I loved every minute I spent at the church. I knew every corner of the La Mesa Church of Christ. I knew the best hiding places for hide and seek. Because we were hundreds of miles away from grandparents, church was my family. We spent holidays with our church family. They became our "cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents."<br />
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I held a stained-glass picture of the church. The church was God's gift to earth. The church was God's kingdom come. The church always seemed to meet my needs and taught me how to see and care for the needs of others.<br />
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But anyone who grows up with those fulfilled expectations will eventually walk away unfulfilled. Because church is also a mess. It's filled with people who have problems. Every one of us. And if you spend enough time with enough people who have enough problems, there are sure to be unfulfilled expectations.<br />
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But part of growing up is acknowledging that all institutions creak and groan from time to time. The church is no different.<br />
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And that realization led me to start having conversations with new people who want to know more about my church. It was the conversation I had at Littleton. And it will be the conversation I'll have as long as I'm a leader in a church.<br />
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The conversation goes something like this...the guest asks: So, tell me about your church.<br />
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And I say: "I can only promise you one thing about this church. All I can promise you is that this community will disappoint you at some point. It's a matter of when, not if. We'll do our best to form your kids in the way of Jesus. I'll do my best to preach the Word of God faithfully. We'll do our best to shepherd and equip you as a disciple of Jesus Christ. But rest assured that we will fail you and disappoint you."<br />
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You can tell I went to school to be a salesman.<br />
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Then I continue: "What it means to be a church member is that when we disappoint you, will you choose on this side of that inevitable disappointment to work through your disappointment? Will you choose to reconcile instead of leaving? Because if you leave, you're going to miss an opportunity to see how the grace of God can fill the holes left by our community's failure."<br />
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It's easy to to be "spiritual but not religious." But that's not Christianity.<br />
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It's easy to love God by yourself. It's easy to love God without the church. But Jesus called us to love God and our neighbor. And without a church you're committed to, you'll never get a chance to live out the second part of the Great Commandment.<br />
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Because church isn't a perfect place for us to have our spiritual needs met.<br />
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No, no, no...church is the place where broken people come in close enough contact with one another that they experience friction and are forced to develop the Fruit of the Spirit as they work through those problems.<br />
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That's what is wrong with marriage today. We have come to believe marriage is the place where we get our needs met. That's not marriage. Marriage is the chance to live close enough to someone that we can't hide our flaws from them and they sharpen us to become the people God wants us to be.<br />
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It's the same way with church. If you're trying to find a church that will fit you perfectly and fill you up every Sunday, you misunderstand what the church is about. It's not a perfect place with perfect people. Instead, it's an imperfect people who come in close enough contact that God can shape us through the relational struggles we will inevitably face.<br />
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And that's why we want our kids to grow up in church.<br />
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Not because they need perfect attendance to make God happy.<br />
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We want our kids to grow up in church because we want them to experience a community that will inevitably wound them and heal them at the same time. We want them to live in close enough contact with people they would never choose to be in relationship with outside of the commitment of diverse people who love Jesus more than their own agendas.<br />
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We live in an age of echo chambers. We listen to our iPods with our choices of music on demand. We listen to our cable news channels that spin the facts in just the way we want them. We don't have to live in community with people who believe differently than us in many parts of our society.<br />
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But in church, we don't have a choice.<br />
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If you've been baptized, water is thicker than blood. The family of God is closer to me than my own family of origin. My tribal loyalties are less important than my kingdom loyalties.<br />
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We want our kids to value church not in order to fulfill some legalistic obligation.<br />
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We want them to value church because they live in a world where it's so easy to mold their world in a way that assures them they are right about everything.<br />
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That's not possible in church. Because it's not our church. It's not my church. It's God's church.<br />
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Is church attendance an important value to pass on to your kids? Why or why not?Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-28088819514074367492014-06-28T18:54:00.002-06:002014-06-28T18:54:12.269-06:00Train Up A Child: SabbathThe most important status symbol in America has nothing to do with the number in one's bank account, the size of one's home, the cost of one's car, or the location of one's vacation.<br />
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The most important status symbol in America is the busyness of one's calendar.<br />
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We love to talk about our hectic schedules with a grimace on our face and pride in our hearts. </div>
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Holly and I want to do what we can so that our kids won't worship at the "Altar of the Full Calendar."</div>
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And one of the ways we are waging war against the god of busyness is through the spiritual practice of Sabbath. Now, on first hearing, you might think we are a Jewish family. What kind of Christian, legalistic family would bind themselves to Sabbath?</div>
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But for us, Sabbath isn't an oppressive commandment. It is a countercultural, subversive practice that reminds us we are not the most important people in the world. It forces us to face the fact that the world goes on fine without us. Sabbath reminds me that God ran the world just fine before I entered the world and he can still make it work without me each Friday.</div>
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Sabbath first emerged as the Israelites were leaving Egypt after over 400 years of slavery. It was one of the original Ten Commandments God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. </div>
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It wasn't meant as an oppressive command. It was one of God's ten ways to rehumanize Israelites. They had become like animals in Egypt. They worked all the time. They made bricks. They did their best to keep up with quotas. There was no rest. </div>
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But as God sought to prepare the Israelites for the Promised Land, it was vital that he give them a rhythm of life that was sustainable. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Who are we to think we are better than his 6 to 1 ratio? </div>
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Fridays are my day off. And in this season of life prior to having kids in elementary school, we have found a rhythm of rest once a week that works well for us. It is not an oppressive day that we dread. </div>
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Each Friday, we ask the question "What is that we can do day that will bring us life and connect with God and one another?" And our answer determines our schedule. </div>
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It differs from week to week. </div>
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Some Fridays we rest at home. </div>
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Some Fridays we play games. </div>
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Some Fridays we fly kites and teach our kids about the Holy Spirit through the wind.</div>
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Some Fridays we swim with friends.</div>
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Some Fridays we go to the zoo. </div>
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Some Fridays we experience God in obvious ways.</div>
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Some Fridays we the name of God is rarely spoken.</div>
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Some Fridays our family gets along.</div>
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Some Fridays our family fights.</div>
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It's not always miraculous, but it is always needed. </div>
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This schedule works in this season of life for our family. In the years to come, our commitment to Sabbath will likely change. It is not a legalistic burden. It is a life-giving rhythm that is as much a part of our life as the air that we breathe. </div>
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We practice Sabbath because we believe rest is one of the most countercultural habits we can develop. </div>
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We practice Sabbath because we are not animals or machines.</div>
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We practice Sabbath because we want our kids to know we are different from the rest of the world.</div>
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And we would encourage your family to consider this practice for your family as well.</div>
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What spiritual practices are you intentionally developing in your family?</div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-38561395179666451082014-06-23T16:55:00.001-06:002014-07-11T13:06:51.782-06:00A Real Sports Hero: Tony GwynnThis past Monday, the world lost a real sports hero.<br />
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His name was Tony Gwynn.<br />
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But to be honest, I didn't realize how big of a sports hero Tony Gwynn was until it was too late.<br />
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When I was 4years old, my family moved from Abilene, Texas to San Diego, California. And soon after our move, we started becoming San Diego Padres fans. We had partial season tickets right behind home plate on the second deck of Jack Murphy Stadium for the impossible price of $7.50 a ticket. Try finding that deal today.<br />
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Tony Gwynn started out as a 2-sport athlete. On the same day in 1981, Tony was drafted by the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Clippers, the basketball franchise that would soon leave for Los Angeles.<br />
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Gwynn's physique looked a bit different in the brown and gold than it looked near the end of his career, but his physical appearance late in his career defied his athleticism. He knew how to hit the baseball.<br />
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Yet, I have to confess I never owned a Tony Gwynn jersey. I was more excited about the 2 or 3 year signees that "did their time" in San Diego before hitting the jackpot in a larger market. I wanted the autographs of guys like Roberto Alomar, Benito Santiago, Fred McGriff, and Gary Sheffield.<br />
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But Tony was the guy who stayed in San Diego all of his career. He spent 20 seasons on the Padres, a team that went to the playoffs three times in the two decades Gwynn was with the team. He was "Mr. Padre" and he earned that nickname by being loyal to a fault.<br />
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It's embarrassing to admit he was not my sports hero growing up. In an era that featured big contracts, big markets, big home run totals, and big steroid bills, Tony Gwynn was never appreciated.<br />
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There was nothing marketable about Tony Gwynn. He was never sponsored by Gatorade or Reebok. Michael Jordan wasn't concerned about Tony taking his coveted hero status at Nike.<br />
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But, man, could he hit a baseball.<br />
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Here are some stats that stand out in his 20 seasons:<br />
-Batting Titles: 8 (More than anyone other than Ty Cobb & Honus Wagner)<br />
-All-Star Teams: 15<br />
-Gold Gloves: 5<br />
-Silver Sluggers: 7<br />
-Career Batting Average: .338<br />
-Career Hits: 3,141<br />
-Lowest Batting Avg. in the 19 complete seasons he played: .309<br />
-Most strikeouts in a season: 40<br />
-Struck out 434 times in his career. That's once in every 21 at-bats!<br />
-Stats against Greg Maddux: 107 Plate Appearances, .415 Batting Avg., 0 Strikeouts<br />
-Only player since 1928 to have 300 career steals and a career batting average of at least .338<br />
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My two greatest heroes over the past 2 decades have been Tiger Woods and LeBron James. They have everything Tony Gwynn didn't. They've won major championships. They look the part. They're marketable. They're cocky. One wears red every Sunday and the other wears Red every game he's played after "The Decision."<br />
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But nothing made me wonder about my choice of sports heroes until I heard about Tony's death on Monday.<br />
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Because Tony's greatest statistic isn't any of those mentioned above.<br />
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What was his greatest statistic?<br />
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World Series Championships: 0<br />
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He was loyal. He was unassuming. He played in a lousy baseball stadium where ESPN's cameras rarely visited. He could hit the baseball, but he never threw a fist pump. It wasn't about him. It was about the Padres.<br />
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But even the Padres he didn't take that seriously.<br />
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I don't remember the year, but I remember the scene vividly. My family was at Spring Training watching the Padres over Spring Break. My brother, Clark, and I couldn't have been 10 years old yet. We were looking for autographs from the usual suspects: McGriff and Sheffield. I think Rickey Henderson was in camp that year.<br />
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But as we were looking for the stars, Tony Gwynn walked right in front of us. I missed my opportunity, but Clark ran up to Tony unprepared, without a ball or baseball card to sign. All Clark had was an Atlanta Braves baseball hat.<br />
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With a sheepish look, Clark offered his hat and his pen to Tony for a signature. And I can still remember the high-pitched question Tony threw back at my brother..."Atlanta Braves????"<br />
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But he signed the hat anyway.<br />
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That was Tony Gwynn. Quiet...unassuming...without fanfare...humble.<br />
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We don't know how to pick out the real sports heroes anymore. We root for whoever Nike tells us to.<br />
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But if there was any game I would go back to if I had the chance, it would be the night of Tony Gwynn's 2,000th hit. We were there that night. But somehow I don't remember the moment. I remember Gary Sheffield's home run in the second deck. I remember Fred McGriff's 450+ ft. blast to right. I don't remember Tony's 2,000th.<br />
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And if I had it to do over again, I'd have bought that #19 jersey and worn it to every Padre game I could.<br />
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Rest in peace "Mr. Padre." RIP Tony Gwynn.<br />
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Great Tribute to Tony Gwynn by Keith Olberman: <a href="http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11095435&ex_cid=null">http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11095435&ex_cid=null</a>Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-80687374513870938182014-06-20T14:20:00.000-06:002014-06-20T22:19:05.028-06:00Train Up A Child: Actions Speak Louder Than Words<i>"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." </i><br />
<i>-Proverbs 22:6</i><br />
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I've entitled the blog series "Train Up A Child." It comes from one of the most abused passages in all of Scripture. But I think the passage deserves reclaiming.<br />
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Many Bible teachers have used this passage to promise parents..."If you parent your kids in the correct way, you have a foolproof way of ensuring your kids grow up as followers of Jesus." And because of that interpretation, countless parents have been engulfed in decades unneeded guilt. They believe they are to blame for their kids' troubles.<br />
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<b>But Proverbs 22:6 isn't always true.</b><br />
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Proverbs is made up of hundreds of generally true statements. They are proverbial statements that are true much of the time, but they are far from foolproof statements without exceptions.<br />
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Proverbs should be used as positive teachings to be used in our lives.<br />
Proverbs should not be used as negative teachings to be used to abuse people.<br />
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For example...<br />
<i>"Do not answer a fool according to his folly,</i><br />
<i>or you yourself will be just like him." -Proverbs 26:4</i><br />
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That seems straightforward.<br />
Until...you read the next verse.<br />
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<i>"Answer a fool according to his folly, </i><br />
<i>or he will be wise in his own eyes." -Proverbs 26:5</i><br />
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So, which is it? Should we answer a fool according to his folly or not?<br />
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Well, it depends on the situation.<br />
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These are not foolproof promises. They are wise statements that fit some situations and don't fit other situations.<br />
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But back to Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child..." Just because there are circumstances where Proverbs 22:6 isn't true, doesn't mean we should disregard the verse in our parenting.<br />
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One of the ways we are trying to raise our kids to follow Jesus is by "smoking what we sell." Or another way to say it is, "Actions speak louder than words."<br />
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Preachers' kids (PKs) have a certain kind of reputation. We get the questions a lot. "So, your kids are PKs, huh? Better watch out for those kids."<br />
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One of the reasons PKs have gotten that reputation is because PKs often see two different pictures of the preacher. There's "Stage Preacher" and there's "Dad." "Stage preacher" has a smile on his face, knows how to make small talk, and talks a good game when it comes to following Jesus. But sometimes "Dad" doesn't live as radical a life as he preaches. And that cognitive dissonance is difficult for children to sort through.<br />
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The most important thing a parent can do to give one's kids a head-start on their spiritual journey is to live an authentic life of faith in front of them every day. It's not enough to have a devotional and prayer time each night and attend church weekly. Our kids will only see how important faith is if it makes a difference in our lives. Actions speak so much louder than words.<br />
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We love to think our words are the most powerful way we express our beliefs. Wrong!<br />
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The surest way to know what we believe is by looking at our actions.<br />
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We act out of our deepest beliefs about the world.<br />
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For example, many people would say that they value saving for retirement. But statistics show that far fewer people are putting money away for retirement. So, what does one truly believe? Our actions reveal our beliefs.<br />
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Many people can talk about their belief in the importance they place on physical health. Yet, very few people make a habit of eating well and exercising regularly. Our actions are a better indicator of our beliefs than our words.<br />
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I love how Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount. He tells a story about two men. One is wise the other is foolish. How can you tell the difference between the wise and foolish man?<br />
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Jesus says, "<i>Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man...But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man...</i>" (Matthew 7:24a, 26a)<br />
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The difference between wisdom and foolishness isn't one's IQ or level of education. The difference isn't what one claims to believe. The difference has to do with action. Are you practicing the way of Jesus or just giving lip service to it?<br />
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Our kids need to see how our faith makes a difference in our lives. Our kids need to know how important God is to us. They see us in our most difficult moments. Our reactions let them know our level of sincerity in our relationship with God.<br />
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From the beginning, Holly and I wanted to train up our kids to follow Jesus.<br />
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What we didn't know was that the most important training didn't happen in our discipline plan, mealtime prayers, or bedtime devotional time. The most important training of our kids occurs when we decide whether or not we will train as apprentices of Jesus every day when the sun comes up.<br />
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How are you training (your kids)?</div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-68579278719995135452014-06-13T15:23:00.001-06:002014-06-19T10:23:01.721-06:00Train Up A Child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As Holly and I started having kids, we realized the huge spiritual task that was ahead of us.<br />
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Holly and I started our family almost 5 years ago. I can still remember the feeling I had when I held Maddox in my arms for the first time. I felt a huge weight on my shoulders. I was also holding a bundle of potential in my hands.<br />
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We would be the first people to paint on our kids' blank slates a picture of who God is. Any dysfunctional views of God they might hold one day would likely originate in the early years of parenting we would provide for our kids.<br />
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We were excited. Holly was a natural mother. I was an awkward, unnatural father. But we have three of them and fortunately all three are still living.<br />
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As Maddox grew older, we began to realize the importance of intentionally forming our kids to be faithful followers of Jesus. And we continue to experiment and learn ways to do just that.<br />
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Today, we have three kids.<br />
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Maddox is 4.<br />
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Addison is 3.<br />
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Brooklyn is almost 6 weeks old.<br />
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If you're anything like us, you long for the day when your children will proclaim Jesus as Lord and commit to live their lives for God and his kingdom. We want them to see faith as a daring journey rather than a boring list of rules to follow. We want them to do extreme things for Jesus that will make us uncomfortable.<br />
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How do you raise kids in this world to live for Jesus?<br />
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I've heard it said that nobody with kids in the house should ever give advice to other parents.<br />
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And I agree. But with that warning in place, I hope to provide some space on this tiny corner of the internet for a conversation about raising children who follow Jesus in this culture.<br />
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Over the next few weeks, I will write a series of posts describing a few things Holly and I are doing to raise our kids to love and follow Jesus. It's not a comprehensive list. It's a list that grows and changes day-by-day. Perhaps a few things will be worth adding to your repertoire. And I hope you'll engage the conversation and add to our list as well.<br />
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Let's start the conversation with a question: <b>If you have a mission statement as parents for raising your kids, what is it? If not, decide on one and post it in the comments section. </b>Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-23331433813131501652014-06-08T12:40:00.000-06:002014-06-08T12:40:33.088-06:00Closing One Chapter, Opening a New Chapter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In 2008, Holly and I packed our bags and left Abilene, Texas with our sights set on a call from God to Denver, Colorado. I was 24-years old and the Littleton Church of Christ offered me a job to come and preach for them.<br />
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But today, that chapter of our story has come to an end. </div>
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I have accepted a job as the preacher at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ in Allen, Texas. </div>
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And today, I understand better than ever before the adjective "bittersweet." </div>
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It was very difficult to announce our resignation at Littleton this morning. After all, these are people we have come to know and love deeply. They have seen me grow from an extremely young preacher to a young preacher. The people of Littleton have become our family away from family. Our relationships are battle-tested. We have laughed and bled together for the sake of God's mission.</div>
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At the same time, we are very excited about what God is doing among his people in Allen, Texas at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. While our relationships are not yet fully-developed there, we anticipate building life-long friendships with a church situated to do audacious things for the sake of God's kingdom in Collin County.</div>
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Bitter...sweet</div>
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But if becoming a father of three has taught me anything over the past few years, it is that our capacity to love expands as a family grows larger. </div>
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When Holly and I had our second child, Addison, I wondered how I could love her as much as my first-born son, Maddox. But as our family expanded, my newfound love for Addison did not necessitate loving Maddox any less. No! Our hearts expanded and our capacity to love grew again when Brooklyn entered the world a few weeks ago.</div>
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We know God called us to Colorado. These have been special years. We will always look back fondly on our time at Littleton. Just look at the changes to our family over the past six years. </div>
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Few young preachers can claim the support of a first congregation like I can. Far too many of my friends who entered ministry after leaving Abilene Christian University have already left full-time ministry. Churches have a way of recommissioning ministers as insurance agents (no offense to the insurance agents of the world). Ministry is hard. And many churches don't make it any easier. </div>
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These past six years have been full of challenges (as in every church). And those challenges have grown me in ways all of the successes in the world never could have. But those challenges would have destroyed me had it not been for an incredible group of elders who encouraged me on Mondays when they should have critiqued me. Our growing family would have faced challenges alone had it not been for the many "family members" who loved on our kids, blessed my wife, and took us in on holidays. And I would have ditched preaching and gone to "law school" had it not been for mentors, preachers, and staff members who helped "extremely young Collin" become "young Collin."</div>
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A chapter has closed and tears flowed today. I wish the Littleton Church of Christ nothing but the best in the days ahead because a new chapter is about to begin for you!</div>
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And for the Packers, a new era is about to begin.</div>
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There's a new chapter about to be written. And we couldn't be more excited to begin our journey with the congregation, elders, and staff at the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ in Allen. </div>
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Greenville Oaks, get your pens out. God has a script that is larger than our imaginations can dream. </div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-86508366092404001512014-05-30T10:45:00.000-06:002014-05-30T10:45:05.574-06:00Meet Luke Norsworthy: A Church Planter's Take on the E Word<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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Luke Norsworthy is the founding pastor of the <a href="http://venturecommunity.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Venture Community</a>, an inter-denominational church in the Dallas suburb of Corinth, TX. Luke hosts the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/newsworthy-with-norsworthy/id730506800" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Newsworthy with Norsworthy</a> Podcast, a weekly podcast discussing spirituality, Christianity, and anything else that seems Newsworthy. I am a weekly listener of the show and would highly recommend that you subscribe to his podcast on iTunes.<br />
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<i>If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not the ideals we were fighting for but the methods we used to accomplish them. These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan who ruthlessly killed every last inhabitant of Persia. </i><i>-</i><span style="color: black;">Hans Bethe (</span>the nuclear physicist who during World War II was head of the Theoretical Division at the secret Los Alamos laboratory which developed the first atomic bombs)</div>
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A few months ago I was struggling to finish my work out at my gym when a guy in his forties walks over to me to strike up a conversation. He doesn’t seem to notice or care that I’m in the middle of my workout. I’m fine with his interruption because I try to make people more important than workouts. Or at least I do on a good day. And this was one of those good days.</div>
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The conversation quickly devolves into a monologue and the preacher isn’t the one giving the speech. The guy starts telling me a story about how he’s gotten in the best shape of his life. I am hearing the story because of my ears, but I am having trouble believing the story because of my eyes. Then he tells me the magic shortcut to how he’s gotten to this current level of fitness, some new health product.</div>
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And guess what? It’s my lucky day because he just so happens to sell that very product. And double guess what? He’s got samples in his bag right here. He will even give a sample to me, and all he wants in return is my phone number.</div>
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With all due respect to <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/247292" target="_blank">Dickinson</a>, I don’t like a sales pitch on slant.</div>
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A few weeks later, my workout partner, also named Luke, had just informed me that the older gentleman walking over to talk coached him in junior high. And he wasn’t just any coach, but his favorite coach. He hadn’t seen him for years and Luke was noticeably excited to reconnect with him.</div>
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Luke took a few steps towards him, so I wasn’t in the whole conversation, but I did hear his coach say,</div>
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“I’ve got something I really want to tell you about Luke. It’s an easy way to make some money. Easy money my man.”</div>
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From a few feet away I could see the feelings of excitement of reconnecting sour.</div>
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<b>I’m a church planter and I don’t like evangelism.</b> That’s like a beach town police chief being scared of the water. </div>
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But I’m really not afraid of evangelism, as in the Biblical version of it. You know, telling the Good News. What I’m really afraid of is the commodification of relationships caused by “friendship evangelism.” I love the desire to tell your friends about Jesus, but what concerns me is the dark side of using your friendships for evangelism. <b>When your friendships become used as a place to sell people, no matter how good the product is, there is a problem.</b> </div>
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When you steer conversations so blatantly to make a pitch for your church or your religion that you make people feel like you only care for them if they come to your church, there is a problem. And the problem is with you.</div>
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In his book <i>Money, Possessions, and Eternity</i> Randy Alcorn tells the story of a couple having dinner with some longstanding Christian friends when the host “accidentally” spills some gravy on the table clothe. While cleaning the stain he began a pitch describing the cleaning product along with the company that sells the cleaning solution. That sales pitch ended and so did the longstanding relationship, not because they tried to sell them on a product, but how they did.</div>
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Ruth Carter, in <i>Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors,</i> argues that of the 45 million who have been involved in multi-level marketing, only 1% have made a profit with only 1/10 of that 1% making the large profit. The few who succeed, which included Ruth Carter, often pay a terrible personal and relational price. If we are going to use similar methods of selling Christianity, should we expect any different results?</div>
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So am I saying you shouldn’t evangelize with your friends? No.</div>
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Our church has half a dozen families that have at some point or another gotten connected from that same gym. So on first glance it might appear that I’m a hypocrite, but I think what I do is different.</div>
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And I think there is a way to tell if it is different: How you treat people. <b>If you treat people better if they come to your church or cut off the relationship because they don’t come to your church, there’s a problem.</b></div>
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I’m obviously assuming people have a spirituality that’s deep enough to be discussed naturally in conversation and I’m assuming people are committed to creating a community worth inviting people to join. If neither of those are the case, then you probably need to go back to Evangelism 101 because you have to be smoking what you are selling.</div>
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Jesus once said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If our evangelistic approach doesn’t pass that rule, then as my more rural friends would say, “That dog just don’t hunt.” We communicate our message in the way that we communicate it. If we befriend people just to build a relationship to convert them, then our message is that you aren’t worth being a friend without converting. When we treat people with dignity, respect ,and compassion, then we have a message worth proclaiming that doesn’t require sales pitches and guided conversations. </div>
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And that’s some good news. </div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-48156231693242517002014-05-20T17:10:00.001-06:002014-05-20T17:10:20.686-06:00Meet Justin Thompson: A Missionary's Take on the E Word
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvIMZ_6uwOzzgjc0dF6b8Hx4B9iRENUt2iiYFPRJ9KRQ1T0-morJCX_flmL5Tj2jwiTruvLJ1es1QCmPovTNT-35Xhy8YuxiFiYqdeeZISTgFCka-mjhtdYwk3SAZjAVmQoMINA/s1600/IMG_0478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvIMZ_6uwOzzgjc0dF6b8Hx4B9iRENUt2iiYFPRJ9KRQ1T0-morJCX_flmL5Tj2jwiTruvLJ1es1QCmPovTNT-35Xhy8YuxiFiYqdeeZISTgFCka-mjhtdYwk3SAZjAVmQoMINA/s1600/IMG_0478.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Justin Thompson is a missionary in Lima, Peru. I asked Justin to write because I know him to be a humble disciple of Jesus and the Littleton Church of Christ happens to partner with the Thompsons. Justin is blessed to walk this life with his wife Alison. They have three children - Cailyn, Corban and Carter - and are set to welcome Chloe to the family in July. As Christ followers and missionaries, the Thompsons are committed to sharing the gospel with the Peruvian people, desiring to make disciples of Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">___________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a foreign missionary in Lima, Peru, most
people would probably assume that I'm a gifted evangelist. Most would probably
figure my abilities in this area are sharp and refined. If only that were true.
Evangelism, believe it or not, is one of the biggest things that has caused me
to feel guilt in my calling as a missionary. I know that evangelism is
important, yet there are times when I attempt to justify my struggles with
evangelism as a means for leaving it to the folks who are clearly gifted to be
evangelists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now please don't misunderstand me. I've grown
as an evangelist in my five years on the field. Would I call myself a
"gifted" evangelist? Not yet. Hopefully someday. But I've certainly
learned a few things that have helped me become a better evangelist. Even more
so I think that I've learned to ask for the Lord to gift me more in this area.!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is it that I have learned about
evangelism as a foreign missionary?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I have to be a student of society and culture. </b>As
a stranger in a foreign land, I daily face a plethora of societal and cultural
differences that force me to consciously deal with issues and scenarios. When I
lived in the States, culture was more subconscious and was something that I
reflected on less. So why should I be a student of society and culture? Because
the good news we have in Jesus is something that we should aim at the heart.
Society and culture reveal the accepted norms surrounding us, whether good or
bad, and give us a better idea of how to share the gospel. Allow me to give two
examples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Example 1. Peru is a very familial culture.
It's not uncommon to see multigenerational homes. There is certainly a core to
their identity that revolves around family. In contrast, American culture is
more individualistic. While there is generally a familial core, there can be
great distance between members. In the States, my approach to evangelism has
been much more individualistic while my approach in Peru leans more towards a
familial type of evangelism. We (my teammates and I) have evangelized in both
ways during our time in Peru, and it is overwhelmingly obvious that our
evangelism among families has been vastly more potent compared to our
evangelism among individuals. Neither way is better except when we take into
account the societal and cultural forces that define our contexts. By studying
society and culture, we come to understand our surroundings better, and thus we
formulate methods of evangelism for our particular context.!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Example 2. Peruvian education lacks the breadth
and quality of an education from the States. By education I am specifically
speaking of public school education. Peruvian education teaches students the
answers without teaching the methods or invoking the creativity to arrive at
those answers. The education in many ways is a regurgitation of whatever
information is presented. The States, in a much more holistic way, teaches us
to question and experiment. There is a more of an experiential degree to
learning when compared to the Peruvian context. I have seen culturally shaped
evangelistic methods in Peru that reflect their educational system, which cause
people to speak about the Bible as something to be regurgitated as opposed to
God's redemption story. In most of these cases, however, I fail to see the
evangelist's concern for heart transformation. In my humble opinion, we cannot
fail in this same way. Jesus cares more about our heart's transformation than
he seems to care about our ability to blindly regurgitate the Law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus, in my humble opinion, being a good
evangelist requires that we be students of society and culture. We certainly
are creatures of our environment, and this environment can teach us many
things about speaking to the hearts of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In general, my methods of evangelism have been
far too complicated. </b>What I mean here is that I tend to overthink
how I should present the good news. Good news does not need build up. It does
not need me to make it better news because it is already good news. I don't
give the Good News it's power. It has that without me. Also, it's not just my
tendency to overthink, it's also my propensity to think that what I am teaching
needs to impress others. This, for me, is simply a lie. I have been struck time
and time again by Paul's words to the Corinthians, "When I came to you I did
not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony
about God... My message and my preaching we're not with wise and persuasive
words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might
not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." Paul understood the
Corinthian culture. Moreover, he didn't overdress the Good News to "give
it it's power," he was resolved to know nothing except for "Jesus
Christ and him crucified." We don't need to doctor up the Good News. We
simply need to share it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I think is clear about evangelism is that
it is proclamation. It is something that requires us to speak. It requires that
we share the Good News wherever and whenever. I, for one, am not great at doing
this. I tend to overanalyze and overthink situations before I share the Good
News. I don’t
think it should be this difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Evangelism needs relationship. </b>In
evangelism, I believe my desires in sharing the Good News should reflect what
Jesus desired. He desired repentance (turning away from an old lifestyle to
live a new one) and participation in the kingdom (the kingdom here and now).
This is where I think my own personal actions and lifestyles carry their
weight. My words should proclaim who Jesus is. And then my actions should
validate those words. Thus, as I proclaim the Good News to others and allow
these same people to experience life and relationship with me, the message I
share will be more potent and find more validity. (I am not saying that the
potency or validity of the Good News comes from me. I am only trying to speak
towards a practical understanding of doing evangelism, though I hope this goes
without saying.) We see the same type of evangelism taking place between Jesus
and the disciples. He proclaimed to them the Good News and allowed them watch
him as he proclaimed the Good News. This is the same Good News that he later
commissions them to carry into all the world. The disciples’ desire to
evangelize came from their experiences of proclamation and observation. Jesus
invited them to repent and participate in the kingdom. Relationship fused the
two, and this gives us practical insight into the nature of what I
consider to be good evangelism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have primarily spoken here in the first
person because I hesitate to make implications that others need to do
evangelism as I do evangelism. In actuality, I would rather people evangelize
better than I do. However, I do hope that we can sharpen each other to grow as
evangelists. Sharing the Good News with others can be intimidating. Yet, we
can’t overlook our need as a church to better do evangelism. We have good news
to share and a world that wants to hear it (whether they know it or not).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-49993253759736101062014-05-13T14:12:00.001-06:002014-05-13T14:12:54.136-06:00Do You Have Anything to Learn? - The E Word - Part 7Part of my problem with evangelism has always been the worry that I don't know enough to share the good news.<br />
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<b>What if they ask a question I don't know the answer to? What then?</b></div>
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Honestly, looking back, it's hard to imagine that this was a concern of mine. But I believe there are many people who don't share the gospel because they don't believe they know enough.</div>
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<b>But this concern reveals larger problems with our Christianity:</b></div>
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<b>First, we've lost our value for mystery. </b>The Western church, especially after the Enlightenment, has specialized on information. We've taught the Christian religion as a series of doctrines that we have to get exactly right or we are in danger of the fires of hell.</div>
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Much of our division has focused on what we believe. Just look at how many Christian denominations currently exist. All it takes is one point of doctrinal disagreement for a new 501c3 is to emerge. </div>
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And while we have focused on our doctrine, many of our lives look nothing like what we claim to believe. But that's not of any concern because at least we believe correctly, right?</div>
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We have lost our value for the mystery of God. </div>
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The minute we claim to know exactly who God is, we become heretics. It is impossible to know every little detail about God. It is the sin of pride to claim to have perfect revelation of him. Now, God has revealed much of himself through Scripture and our experience, but God is still a mystery. </div>
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If people ask a question you don't know the answer to in evangelism, feel free to tell them, "I don't know. But I'd love to study more with you on your question." That kind of honesty is much more refreshing than a "know-it-all" Christian who fools everyone about their knowledge of God except for God himself.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Second, we've forgotten that we need the Holy Spirit in our evangelism.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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There are methods of evangelism that completely dismiss the role of the Holy Spirit in leading people into a relationship with Jesus.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In these methods, we have our lessons to present. The evangelistic target has 6 lessons to respond. If they don't respond, we wipe the dust off of our feet and move on because the person is not "receptive."</div>
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Wrong!</div>
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<br /></div>
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We plant seeds. We water the seeds. But God brings the growth.</div>
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The Holy Spirit must be a vital part of our evangelism, our sharing of good news. </div>
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<br /></div>
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If we come to a point where we don't know the answer to a question, we shouldn't dismiss the question and go back to our study. The question might just be the very place we need to dwell and seek answers together. That point of resistance doesn't need to be ignored. It needs to be prayed over, talked about, and discerned together.</div>
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Which leads me to my third concern about the evangelistic concern about not knowing enough...</div>
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<b>Third, evangelism is an opportunity to learn more about the gospel.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Have you ever noticed that outsiders have eyes to see the gospel in ways insiders cannot? After you've underlined your Bible, you tend to notice the underlined portions and stop noticing the things the Spirit still wants to teach you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We love to master things. We want to know the five steps that will make us a better Christian. And after we master something, we put our degree on the wall and bask in the glory of our Master of Divinity degree. (I have a Master of Divinity degree and I don't think there's a more arrogant degree title than the one I own. Master of the Divine? Not quite!)</div>
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One of the biggest tests of evangelism is if we believe we have anything to learn when we share the good news with people who are seeking Jesus.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When you study with people who are trying to find Jesus, do you believe you have anything to learn? </div>
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<br /></div>
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Your answer to that question is so important.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Because evangelism is not an opportunity to put another notch in your belt. Evangelism is an opportunity to learn more about the gospel than you currently know.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
If you've ever taught a class, you know that the teacher always learns more than the student. It's one of the reasons I love my job so much. I believe one of the reasons God called me to preaching is because he knew I needed the structured study of Scripture as part of my job to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<b>One of the most humbling experiences I've ever had is reading Scripture with someone who is reading it for the first time and hearing the Holy Spirit reveal things to me through that person!</b></div>
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Do you have anything to learn? </div>
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<br /></div>
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If not, you might not be ready to share the good news.</div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-73897111532438201702014-05-05T14:16:00.000-06:002014-05-05T14:56:25.159-06:00The Human Gospel (Neither Animal Nor Angel) - The E Word - Part 6It was C. S. Lewis who made famous the Animal-Angel Impulse we all struggle with. Rob Bell popularized it in chapter 3 of <u>Sex God</u>.<br />
<br />
Here is their premise: When humans mess things up in the world, it's because we tend to drift on one of two directions. We either drift toward acting like animals or angels.<br />
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<u>The Animal Impulse</u>: Humans are bodies who should deny our spirits. We are destined to live into every instinct and urge our body gives us.<br />
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Popular music has specialized in this theory. We are our instincts.<br />
"I was born this way."<br />
"I can't change. Even if I tried. Even if I wanted to..."<br />
<br />
Perhaps you've taken a safari or watched a Discovery Channel documentary on the mating habits of animals. The animals mate the same time every year. It's in their DNA, in their blood, and in their environment. They aren't living out there in that field thinking, "I just don't feel you're as committed to this relationship as I am."<br />
<br />
Animals thrive on pure instinct. It's biology. Period.<br />
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Which sounds quite similar to some of the humans I know. If you were to visit Spring Break at Daytona, Cancun, or South Padre, you'd see thousands of students from all over the country gathering to consume large amounts of alcohol and share their bodies promiscuously.<br />
<br />
What's the point, you ask? Spring Break has become a week to let yourself go, to lose yourself, to give into whatever cravings, desires, or urges you have. Because whatever happens in Cancun stays in Cancun...Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.<br />
<br />
And what are the stories that are brought home? They usually begin...<br />
I can't believe I...<br />
We totally lost our minds...<br />
It was so out of control...<br />
The next morning I couldn't remember...<br />
<br />
Maybe you've heard the phrase "Give into your animal instinct" or "Party animal." They are derived from the drift humans sometimes make toward living like animals.<br />
<br />
The other day I saw a guy with an FBI t-shirt on. But he didn't work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Instead, his shirt clued me in on the fact that he was a Female Body Inspector. As if there are women who wake up in the morning hoping to meet a man like that.<br />
<br />
In our highly sexualized culture, we have perfected the art of leering at people like objects. From pornography to pants with words blinged on pre-teen girls' backsides, we have objectified women in shameful ways.<br />
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The Animal Impulse says that humans are bodies who should deny our spirits.<br />
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<u>The Angel Impulse</u>: Humans are spirits who should deny our bodies.<br />
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The church has often rejected the Animal Impulse. Rather than letting our cravings rule us, the Angel Impulse is the opposite.<br />
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The Christian subculture has perfected and normalized the Angel Impulse. Often, the Christian religion has taught us to repress our desires. We're to pretend as if they don't exist.<br />
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The church hasn't been a place to engage in conversation about sex. The sum of our sex education curriculum in youth groups around the country has been to use tactics of fear to scare our kids away from sex.<br />
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I vividly remember the night our youth minister invited the "True Love Waits" group to come and talk to us about sex. The motivation abstinence sales pitch went like this: "Don't have sex before you get married. Because if you do, you might end up like young Jenny who got AIDS and 17 other STDs the first time she had sex. Oh, and she happened to have triplets too!"<br />
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We've used fear (a worldly narrative) to teach our kids not to have sex before marriage. We scare kids to death, have them sign a pledge, and three weeks later they're back to sleeping around.<br />
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I can't tell you how many young couples who grew up in church I have counseled who are still trying to work through the narrative they learned growing up that sex is bad. They grew up hearing it as the constant story about sex and somehow they were supposed to flip a switch on their wedding night to "Be fruitful and multiply."<br />
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The Angel Impulse says that humans are spirits who should deny our bodies.<br />
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But God didn't make us to be animals or angels. He made us to be humans. And humans have bodies and spirits. To be human is a high calling.<br />
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I'm so tired of people who make the excuse, "I'm only human!" Only human? What does that phrase even mean?<br />
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Jesus showed us what it means to be human. To be human is to experience and delight in all of God's good gifts within the boundaries he has given us. His commandments are not to keep us from pleasure. They are given to allow his good gifts to remain pleasurable.<br />
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Because there is nothing worse than an addict who overuses God's good gifts and wreaks destruction. Addictions are usually fun at first. But eventually, God's good substances are no longer good when abused.<br />
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So, what does all of this have to do with evangelism?<br />
<br />
In my <a href="http://collinpacker.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-bothand-gospel-e-word-part-5_23.html" target="_blank">last</a> post, I argued that true evangelism includes good news for people and society. Most of our churches have specialized in one or the other and been very suspicious of "other" gospels. But the gospel is good news for individuals and the world.<br />
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In a similar way, I'd argue that most of our evangelism has often been Animal or Angel evangelism. We have centered our good news in one of two areas.<br />
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Conservatives have focused their gospel reward system on the Angel Impulse. They have promised spiritual blessings to people who "put on Jesus as Lord." There is an eternal reward awaiting those who keep their bodies from wanton pleasure while on the earth. If you live a righteous life, eternal happiness is yours in the clouds with harps, pearly gates, and golden streets.<br />
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Liberals have focused their gospel reward system on the Animal Impulse. They have focused on physical blessings for those who live their lives on the earth. There is an earthly reward awaiting the society that finally chooses to keep just laws on the books. And evangelism is a dirty word. Instead, mission trips focus on building homes, ending child trafficking, and drilling water wells for the disadvantaged in our world.<br />
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In the gospels, I don't find Jesus satisfied with Angel or Animal Evangelism. He engaged in Human Evangelism. He helped people walk and he forgave their sins.<br />
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The good news is not good news if it denies either part of any human.<br />
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I am human. I have a body and spirit. And I need healing for my body and spirit.<br />
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The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for every part of us.<br />
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So, share the good news of Jesus Christ. And build houses and drill wells in his name.<br />
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It's all gift. And it's all gospel.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-80187311259952403722014-04-29T16:01:00.002-06:002014-04-29T16:01:35.493-06:00Packer Family of 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWrHc9mcb9udt2wn3GYSIRDZn347zFF2wF8zXJQltODQ-3cITCIuHH0NWLwYuNYRVyRVJKHbTOsbZIgMcEbpAHO0fZsCoWrzrPPTaXe7s-M3TMB4MtlhNmfHp6naLIqqX5UuI_Q/s1600/1554360_10100179373466477_7345350924236102590_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWrHc9mcb9udt2wn3GYSIRDZn347zFF2wF8zXJQltODQ-3cITCIuHH0NWLwYuNYRVyRVJKHbTOsbZIgMcEbpAHO0fZsCoWrzrPPTaXe7s-M3TMB4MtlhNmfHp6naLIqqX5UuI_Q/s1600/1554360_10100179373466477_7345350924236102590_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
On Thursday, April 24th, Holly and I welcomed our third child into the world. <div>
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This time, we decided to wait until the birth to find out the gender. </div>
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AND...</div>
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HER name is Brooklyn Kate Packer.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IHIXBrFsnTzEwoASJMQa3DpCNR_GzOQOg1BWx3Uv5PeyQrgMN2fG6f5qGSJLULgM4hch4hwJT2uiv-WVyuBtkxhUQJZobd-i6Q_94rwSdmX5BYoa_dNaXc8CBczikm-jzAWBfg/s1600/10313796_10100179373506397_163771965685572120_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IHIXBrFsnTzEwoASJMQa3DpCNR_GzOQOg1BWx3Uv5PeyQrgMN2fG6f5qGSJLULgM4hch4hwJT2uiv-WVyuBtkxhUQJZobd-i6Q_94rwSdmX5BYoa_dNaXc8CBczikm-jzAWBfg/s1600/10313796_10100179373506397_163771965685572120_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Everyone is doing great. It was a healthy pregnancy and smooth delivery. </div>
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I'm so proud of Holly. Her pain tolerance is about 1,000 times mine. She has handled everything without any complaint. </div>
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I find myself outnumbered. Holly and I are outnumbered. We've moved from man-to-man defense to zone defense. And Maddox and I are outnumbered by the girls. </div>
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As a minister, I've learned not to take these kinds of moments for granted. So many parents have been through so much heartache as they try to start a family. We have been so blessed and we thank God for his special gifts in our lives.</div>
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Brooklyn, our hearts have been torn open once again. God has miraculously opened our hearts to feel the same kind of love we have felt for Maddox and Addison.</div>
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I can't wait to discover your unique personality, hear the words "I love you daddy" for the first time, and work multiplication tables with you.</div>
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But more than anything, I prayerfully await the day when your sweet lips will exclaim, "Jesus is Lord" at your baptism. Your mother and I will do everything we can to see that day become a reality. </div>
Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13694001.post-67739597588365297622014-04-23T16:21:00.004-06:002014-04-23T16:21:40.193-06:00A Both/And Gospel - The E Word - Part 5We live in a world of either/or. Ours is a world that demands choices.<br />
<br />
Pepsi or Coke?<br />
Democrat or Republican?<br />
Catholic or Protestant?<br />
Baseball or Football?<br />
Apple or Microsoft?<br />
SEC or Any other Conference?<br />
Fox News or MSNBC?<br />
Colbert or Fallon?<br />
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It's no different when it comes to the gospel?<br />
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Social Gospel or Personal Gospel?<br />
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We like to think that our reading of Scripture determines our view of the gospel. But more often than not, our worldview determines our understanding of the gospel.<br />
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What do I mean? (Here's where I venture into dangerous territory and ask you for grace with my generationalizations.)<br />
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In the political realm, Democrats and Republicans have different perspectives on issues such as military spending, size of the government, rights of mothers and newborns, health care, etc.<br />
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But underneath these issues we tend to focus on during election season, liberals and conservatives hold underlying worldviews that silently inform their views. And we rarely talk about the deeper differences.<br />
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At the risk of oversimplification and generalization, Democrats and Republicans differ in their perspective on human ability. Democrats tend to have a pessimistic view of human ability. Republicans tend to have an optimistic view of human ability.<br />
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For example, why do Republicans tend to desire smaller government and Democrats desire a larger government? Well, if you have a positive view of human ability, you tend to think people have the ability to improve their lives without an institution calling the shots for them. If you have a more pessimistic view of human ability, then there's little hope that people will take care of one another without the aid of a government working to ensure care for the underesourced who cannot provide for their families.<br />
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Take whatever issue that divides liberals and conservatives and you can see how one's view of human ability impacts one's policies.<br />
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In the same way, liberal and conservative Christians hold very different views on what the gospel is.<br />
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Conservative churches have focused on a gospel of personal salvation and transformation. The good news is that Jesus came to pay the debt that individuals owe to God as a result of our sins. The good news is framed as the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life with God.<br />
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This is the gospel I've grown up with. I knew the gospel changed my life, but I wasn't sure what to do after salvation. Once I was saved, I knew I was supposed to share this good news with other people so that they could experience the same salvation I had known. But other than the calling of evangelism, I wasn't sure what else my salvation had to do with life on this earth. My eternity was sure, but as a 13 year old with a lifetime ahead of me, it seemed like earth was a holding cell until death called me home.<br />
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Liberal churches have focused on the social gospel. The social gospel emerged in the early 20th century as a response to the pietistic Fundamentalist gospel of conservative churches. Leaders like Walter Rauschenbusch believed that the gospel is not just good news for individuals. It should be good news for the world. This movement has sought to live out the prayer of Jesus in Matthew 6:10: "May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."<br />
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And so, liberal churches sought to make a difference by bringing social justice to the world. Liberal Christians focused their efforts on issues such as economic justice, poverty, child labor, and warfare.<br />
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It's easy to find what's wrong with the "other" church. But often our beliefs about wrong and right are defined by our worldview. What is the nature of human ability? Your answer to that will often undergird your gospel.<br />
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And so liberals and conservatives have divided into separate churches that support our worldview. And we share our gospel (personal or social) without any comprehension about why anyone else would hold onto a different gospel.<br />
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But I believe each of these gospels are incomplete.<br />
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A personal gospel is not the entire gospel.<br />
<b>Personal Gospel - Social Gospel = Religious Country Club</b><br />
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A social gospel is not the entire gospel.<br />
<b>Social Gospel - Personal Gospel = Politics</b><br />
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Our gospel is both good news for individuals and good news for the world.<br />
<b>Personal Gospel + Social Gospel = The Kingdom of God</b><br />
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It's time for us to stop holing up in conservative and liberal churches with "our" half of the gospel and start hearing the gospel again as Jesus shared it.<br />
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The gospel is good news for every person and all of creation.<br />
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Let us move from an either/or gospel to a both/and gospel. There's no need to choose because both personal salvation and societal transformation are included in what God has promised.Collin Packerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05426927070542873291noreply@blogger.com0