Just the right words.

Personal Growth Myth 1: Wisdom is automatic

We used to think wisdom was a longevity thing. You know, live long enough and you'll be wise. Now, of course, we know that is a myth, an old wives tale, perhaps the wisdom of the world. We all know plenty of people who have traveled the prerequisite miles but are stuck in spiritual and emotional infancy. Not to trivialize a disease that affected many Americans a generation or two ago, but there are ranks of individuals who suffer from a modern strain of infantile paralysis, the condition of being trapped in an immature state, the life without wisdom.

OK, there are two kinds of wisdom, that which is of the world, that which is of God. Neither are really linear outcomes, the longevity thing, what many people believe is the product of learnings you gather throughout your life. Many are the children who have developed street smarts at an early age, people who know how to use the system, learn from their successes and mistakes, and therefore make it in life on the basis of accumulating worldly wisdom. Of course, Godly wisdom comes from God. You can ask God for it, or her, that is wisdom, if Proverbs is to be your guide (See James 1:5).

The point is, wisdom is not automatic. She does not naturally occur to those who live a long time. That would be knowledge, the chronological storing of information that is learned along the way. From the time we are born to the time we die, this knowledge confronts us. It is a learning process. All through life we should learn and file away knowledge. It is an element of growth, one aspect of personal development, one segment of becoming a fully functioning human being.

How sad to encounter people with great knowledge and no wisdom. Born with enormous talent, equipped with tremendous educational possibilities, strengthened by the learnings and outcomes of personal experience, some of these people miss the path to wisdom and are just plain mired in the games and high-chair antics of infancy. You know it, that is a fun place to be, romping around the pack-and-play with the many toys of childhood, splashing through the baby pool of life, fearful of the deep water. It is an inertia that holds us in a grip of comfort, the paralysis of babyhood. This is real life Big, the Tom Hanks movie where he got got be a kid all the time. What fun!    

But, wisdom is the other element of genuine growth.

As 2K9 looms, I am praying for deep. The Psalmist indicates that "...deep calls to deep..." (Ps. 42:7).  Breaking free from the lurid control of childishness and moving to the joys of walking in faith requires wisdom. Paul wrote, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:2-3).

Wow! Punch me in the stomach. Here it is, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in Christ. Bye, bye high chair. Here's the way to a place at the table.

Hey, gang, it's 2K9 Eve. Happy New Year. Let's get everyone out of the high chair this year.

When I thought I knew everything

There have been times in life when I actually thought I knew everything. OK, maybe these occasions were simply predictable stages in personal development, the expected outcomes of achievement or advancement, or some other goal oriented movement. But, looking back, they were really phases when the engines of progress had stalled and personal growth had come to a stand still. You see, when you think you know everything, learning ceases. And, that my friend, is truly regrettable.

Shift gears for a minute. You know, there has been a lot of talk lately about the exodus of younger leaders from the ranks of organized religion, the institutional church, and especially within our own denomination. Every meeting confronts us with smaller attendance numbers and a graying population. Of a truth, many of the entrenched power brokers just don't want to relinquish their grip on convention politics or theological positioning. Whether they covet control or simply fear the assault of the new minds on cherished traditions or historical precedents is arguable. Still, many just want to hang on and will not permit others to step up. Really, it's hard to walk away from your fifteen minutes. Who knows?

It is more than that, however. In their effort to establish legitimacy, many of our gifted younger minds have formulated positions and answers that leave little wiggle room for themselves and, as a result have shut down their learning processes. Without doubt these young entrepreneurial pastors are gifted, educated, and talented on a scale greater than any generation before them. Painting with a broad brush, as a cohort they are techno savvy, innovative in a way that even people strong in ideation cannot imagine, and possess enviable communication skills. As a group, they are bold and fearless, willing to speak to any topic, and, contrary to many myths, are usually Biblically sound.

Trouble is, a great number of them already know everything and are no longer learning. As a group they have mostly rejected many of the ancient landmarks and in the impulsive way of youth are seeking to re-state the maxims of faith. Anxious about getting the new wine into an appropriate receptacle, they are throwing all the old skins away, relics of a time that has passed. With an attitude that approaches arrogance, they have answers for everything, usually already written in concrete. I've noticed a few of them right here in the blogosphere, students who have it all down pat, everything in place, slotted, annotated, footnoted, settled, dogmatic, fixed.   

To me, this is why they don't find a place at the table today: they are already deadwood, at least in their capacity to learn. I used to dread being called deadwood, reaching a stage in life out there when I would stop growing, and start getting in the way. That always seemed a function of old age, getting set in your ways---sorry, closed. One lesson I've learned is that deadwood is ageless. Many of the most retired people I know are young of age, young bucks who know everything and are on a mental holiday. That is sad. How blessed we would be if we had those young minds at the table---fresh, vibrant, growing, learning, preparing---getting ready to stand in the gap. What a blessing to hang with those guys, that is, till they open their mouths and start popping off about matters that they just cannot know---not yet. Sad.

Paul advised Timothy about being young. His letters to Timothy also included a good bit of personal encouragement about spiritual growth, being prepared, patience, sound doctrine, being faithful in ministry responsibilities, wisdom, endurance, and instruction. One notable conclusion says, "...so that everyone may see your progress" (1 Timothy 4:15). Sadly, many of our brightest minds have stopped making progress.They think they know everything.

Personal growth is a lifetime pursuit. Each day we are being transformed into His image from glory to glory, that is, for a lifetime. Being a lifetime learner is a goal worth chasing. Don't shut down early. Fan those gifts into flame, and grow.

Loving the scenery too much

 Maybe it's one of those season of life things that our elders always talked to us about, but something about life keeps calling forth the mystic in me, a newly discovered pietism that has me thinking more and more about Jesus. OK, Francis, I'm not ready to take vows and enter the cloister for a life of quiet contemplation. Still, lately I've been more aware of the lurid  attraction of things out there on the edges and the way they distract us from the things we ought to value most. 

Peeking around the corner at the first gimpses of 2009 envisions a land-scape of challenge and opportuniity, whose characters in Chinese spell "crisis", that rare moment when the enormity of the task and the open door line up for a great possibiliity. The crisis exists because we are so often pulled to one side by the peripheral things and, as a reult, miss the window. Like the kid sent on an errand to purchase a loaf of bread, we often become so involved with the scenery along the way we forget our mission, squander the money, and have to explain our attention deficit to the one who dispatched us in the first place.

The New Year comes with some keen distractions. The economy is stretched, and will no doubt suffer further setbacks before recovery occurs.  At our place, we are completing a significant building project and will be expected in 2009 to start repaying a substantial debt. Of course, there will be pressure to fill the new worship center Sunday after Sunday and devise discipleship tools to nurture the many new saints that God will bring to the flock. Superimpose a zillion personal needs over the picture and the scenario quickens, the usual dynamics of corporate life. Distractions indeed!

Several months ago God led me to the majestic hymn of Christ in Colossians 1. Reflectiing on these magnificent verses drew me closer and closer to the person that is the center of our faith and rightly should be the center of our lives, personally and corporately. It seems that when He is the focus of life, the other things fade, or at least assume their proper place in the scheme of things. What a declaration---by him, for him, in him. and through him!

So, my personal theme for the year, and the overall direction for our church, will be HIM. Prayerfully,  keeping HIM in focus will help us not to be side-tracked by the subsidiary issues---new buildings, financial pressures, the dynamicsof life, or any of the rest.

At the end of the Colossians verses Paul wrote, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone wih all wisdom, so that we may present everyhone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerrfully works in me (Colossians 1:28). Knock me down.

The scenery is great. But the destination is greater. Let's just not love the scenery so much that we forget the destination.

Don't touch that dial

Many of us want to touch the fast-forward button right now and project into the New Year a little, turn the page, so to speak, and rev up emotionally for what is ahead. Yes, the pages of 2009 are essentially blank right now, except for a number of reoccurring items that will automatically carry over on our calendar programs. Anticipating the next chapter is one way we psych ourselves for new things, wrap our minds around challenges and opportunities, move beyond the inertia of the moment.

As a person with strong future tendencies, this is usually my personal outlook, to peek over the horizon as far as possible and begin preparation for what I see there. Today, however, I am resisting that natural bent so that I can relish a few more hours of now---the final days of of our 2008 Christmas decorations, and today, my final message in the series "It's a Boy". I don't know when I've been so blessed by Christmas preparation and preaching. The Gospel accounts of Christ's birth have been more fresh and exciting this year than ever before. Today I just want to spend one more day right here.

2009 portends a lot for the Northwood family, and for us personally. I woke up this morning with the reminder that next Thursday begins my sixtieth year. Get that, sixty. When my mind moves over the calender entries already posted out there, the possibility of distractions grows ever more clear. So, today, I want to savor one more moment of manger blessings, one last foray into Luke's gospel, and a final day comprehending the announcement "Its a Boy" to a waiting world.

It's good news of great joy. A Savior is born. And, us humans need a Savior.

Don't touch that dial. Stay right here for one more day.

The sights and sounds of Christmas

There is a unique quality to Christmas that always softens my heart and registers private personal learnings in the sights and sounds of this choice season. With sweet grandson John Lewis as our traveling companion, we took in the mall, several shopping venues Wednesday afternoon, and the trip to Columbia after the Christmas Eve Communion Service as the final classrooms of our lessons this year. Several things caught my eye and captured my heart as distinct impressions. Was God speaking to me through them? What was he saying?

At one of the larger retail centers close to the house, we noticed aisles full of people making their final Christmas purchases. It  was a festive, busy atmosphere, and people seemed to be in that patient, mellow mood that makes the shopping experience livable, especially for the check-out clerks dealing with the long lines. We were really just people watching, weren't purchasing anything, mostly observing John Lewis as he took in the sights and sounds of Christmas commerce and busy crowds. 

Then a man caught my attention. He was older and obviously poor, wearing the soiled clothing of a tired, hard working man.  He was counting out his money bill by bill as he stood in line, trying to balance the beautiful twenty inch pink and white bicycle at his side. He saw me looking at him and he smiled as he counted. I said, "someone is going to be very happy tomorrow morning."  "You don't know how much," he replied, then made the final calculations, paid with his precious bills, and left. Now, I don't know his name, anything about him, or thte plots of his personal story. In my own heart I imagined him just getting off work, just getting paid for the week, and carefully buying his daughter or grand daughter this exquisite bicycle on Christmas Eve. He touched a spot deep within. I wept. 

After church, the trip to Columbia was uneventful. We listened to Christmas music, sang with John Lewis, and enjoyed the relatively scant traffic on I-26 as we traveled. We noticed that life was gearing down on Christmas Eve, though several of the larger gasoline stations and convenience stores were open and doing a brisk business. When we exited the Interstate in Columbia somewhere around 9:00 p.m. every-thing around Dutch Square Mall and Bush River Road was shut down---convenience stores, fast-foot restaurants---everything. That is, except one of those pay-day loan companies. Four of five cars were outside and people formed a line at the counter inside, patientlly waiting their turn. Here, on Christmas Eve, people were lined up to borrow a few dollars against their next pay check, at exorbitant interest rates, so they could do what they needed to do on Christmas Eve---provide a meal,  pay rent, perhaps purchase gifts, maybe make a connection. This also touched my heart. So much for early shopping, I thought.  More Christmas Eve tears as I imagined the scenarios behind their visits to the pay day loan sharks.

One last sob story. On the way to Liz and Scott's house, only one other business was open on Broad River Road. It was a gentlemen's club, you know, a bar and strip joint. Several cars were in the parking lot, and I could visualize a few lonely men sitting around the tables nursing a drink while the floor show entertained them on Christmas Eve . How sad that possibility seemed to me, lonely people with no one to share Christmas Eve except some other lonely people, in a desolate dive.

When we saw our children Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I wanted to hold them closer and love them more. And, all day long this sentimental fool just kept thanking God for my faith and my family, and the special joys of celebrating Jesus. They asked me to pray as we gathered for a wonderful brunch prepared by our daughter-in-law Katie. Tears overwhelmed me. All I could say was "thank you".

So, it's Saturday after Christmas, and once again God has spoken through the sights and sounds of Christmas, and the people and events that God places before us as we celebrate. Did He speak to me? Yes, assuredly. What did He say?

Be grateful. Amen.

Wow! I can't wait---

Living in the present is hard when there is so much to look forward to. Us futurists lean forward more than a little and I'm almost perpendicular today, leaning toward Sunday. Yes, I will enjoy today---Barnes and Noble, Sticky Fingers, then Marley and Me at the movies with Harriet. What a great day off.

But, I am jazzed about Sunday. I cannot wait to show our church family what God has given to me from the Word, the final installment of the "It's a Boy" series. God blew me away this morning in final preps. He is so awesome. Why don't I listen more?

Anyway, I'm leaning in that direction, and pray to see our church family there too, eager for a fresh word from God.

And all of God's people said----wait and see!

Full

OK, everything is full today. The garbage can is overflowing---discarded wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbon, boxes, and all the other holiday refuse, evidence of another extravagant Christmas Day, even in this tight economy. Oh yes, Emeril, bellies are full today too, the aftermath of Christmas feasts, starting with M and M's, Hershey's Kisses, and other Christmas stocking delights sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, continuing with the traditional family dinner later in the day, and concluding with turkey sandwiches and more junk food in the evening. Not to worry, Dr. Phil, many hearts are full as well, the inner joys and security of sharing holiday blessings with family and loved ones, the warmth of being close to people we love in times of special blessing. The Christmas fullness is that rare personal satisfacion that just about prepares us for the rigors of life in the routine. Full after Christmas, in almost every way.

Can our spirits be full too? In his classic Celebration of Discipline, author and pastor Richard Foster identified superficiality as the curse of the age. Of course, that was a number of years ago, before the aura of Y2K, the millennium bug, and now, all of the networking systems that link people so easily. Still, these innovations notwithstanding, our world is sadly defined by shallowness. The hope for a deeper spiritual awareness at Christmas leaves us asking then, why most people are still so empty spiritually. It just reminds us that there is a place in the soul of man that cannot be filled by the peripheral blessings of life, as good and noble as they are, Christmas stuff included. Gifts, friends, family, warmth, and all the other rich advantages of the holiday cannot in themselves fill us spiritually. So, after all the festivities, today many are still empty.

On several occasions in the Gospel of Luke, people encountered Jesus and were filled with awe. "They were filled with awe, and said, 'we have seen remarkable things today'" (Luke 5:26). "They were all filled with awe and praised God" (Luke 7:16). Amazingly, seeing Jesus filled them. They were full.

As this holiday season continues and we are all filled in the many ways that such experiences bring to  our lives, let's not miss the wonderful joys of being filled spiritually, filled with Him, awed by Him, and therefore prepared for the challenges of 2009. Spend some time in personal worship and Bible study so that you can be full every day in this new year.

John the Baptist once said what I want to be my personal prayer for the New Year---"he must become  greater and I must become less" (John 3:30).

That's it. More of him, less of me. That's how to be genuinely full.

Christmas Day!

On the week after Christmas the children in a Sunday School class were asked to draw a picture of the flight to Egypt. This, of course, is the event covered by Matthew 2:13-18, when an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him to take his young wife and child to Egypt to escape the massacre of the innocents, the killing of the first born sons of that region under the age of two. The teacher noticed the precision and artfulness of their depictions---camels, Joseph and Mary, and baby Jesus in a caravan. Some pictured the Pyramids, the palm tree oases along the desert road, and the forbidding scenery of the Sinai wilderness. They were very creative and vivid drawings.

The teacher stopped over one little boys work. It was of a 747 aircraft, with four very distinct passengers. Sher noticed that it was done with great skill, intricate details of the jetliner, the passengers arrayed in middle eastern attire. She said, "I know this must be Joseph, and this must be Mary, and this is no doubt Jesus", as she pointed to the faces in the window seats. "But, who", she asked, "is this one, in the front seat?" Without missing a beat, he said, "That is Pontius, the pilot."

OK, Josephus, he got his stories a little mixed. But, it just confirms the Biblical accounts as seen through a child's lens, the magical thought processes that makes sense out of mystical and miraculous things. It is clean, straight-forward, unabashedly innocent, naive to the point of a smile. Though it is blatantly wrong, it made sense to him, and is touching in a sweet way. it is the stuff of round John virgin, the new international virgin, and olive the other reindeer.

Today, millions of children around the world commemorate the birth of Jesus. Some will be eloquent and elaborate worships services while others will be totally secular extravagances occurring in piles of wrapping paper, miles of ribbon, and mountains of stuff. Humble prayers will be offered in mud huts in Africa, bog houses in Siberia, and baked block homes in the Middle East. The children of the world---red and yellow, black and white---will visualize the birth of Jesus in a particular context. Many will pause of the Biblical accounts, prayers of worship offered to the Father for the birth of the Son.

My prayer is that all of us will step aside from all the festivities that define this holiday, and spend one very quiet, personal moment in adoration of the King. Glory to God in the highest.

Worship him this morning. Merry Christmas!

Why Christmas is owned by secularists

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life re-surfaced again Sunday in the Faith and Values Section of the Charleston Post and Courier. Under the by-line of Adam Parker, the Faith and Values Editor of the P and C, the article is headlined Path to heaven explored, with a sub-title Most Americans believe in many paths to salvation despite theology. You can read the entire article here.

Parker's summary of the Pew research concluded that most Christians, he suggests 52% of those surveyed, hold personal beliefs about salvation that differ significantly from the doctrinal stances of their denominational affiliation. What is more, 80% of that group "cited at least one non-Christian religion that can lead to salvation, and 61% cited two or more."

While we evangelicals lament the secularism of one of our most sacred observances, that is, the celebration of the birth of Christ, and all the doctrinal positions that frame the event Biblically, we often overlook the root cause of this digression. The Pew report, if even somewhat reflective of the national spiritual ethos, italicizes the the tipping point of this slippery slope. In short, the Pew report confirms that American's no longer need a Savior. With so many fictionalized paths to glory---from strongly held belief systems to theology lite, from actions compelled by the depths of faith to the do-gooding works of a bunch of really nice folks---the redeemer thing is out. Ergo, Christmas is about us. The manger, the re-arranged stars, the supernatural elements, the prophetic announcements, well, they have become as much fable as "Twas the night before Christmas" or "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

At heart is the lostness of man, you know, that old sin nature thing that preachers used to talk about all the time. Yesterday, in my third message in the series "It's a Boy", I said, "Jesus came to a no nothing little village, in a no nothing region of a no-nothing part of the world, to save a no nothing like me." The way a couple of people responded you'd think I called them a communist or something worse, maybe a Democrat (just kidding!). One visitor couple were highly offended by such negative language. How could I suggest, even in a reference to myself, that mankind is depraved. I wondered where they learned their theology. From Oprah?

So, Christmas is just a generic commercial holiday, without spiritual significance. We wail and moan about keeping Christ in the whole thing while at the same time offering the sweet tasting powdered sugar coated soft chocolate covered melt in your mouth morsels of teaching that excludes without one bit of substance, Biblical teaching about why he came, namely, our need for a Savior.

"And you will give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"
(Matthew 1:21).

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

Uh oh, it's that worm stuff again.

Merry Christmas anyway. Rejoice and be glad!

Some children see him

The Friday morning, December 19, 2009, edition of the Charleston Post and Courier included a front-page news story about the two Santas who were invited to the St.Stephen Elementary School over in Berkeley County. One was black and the other was white and they were invited to the school so that the children, mostly poor andblack could sit on Santas knee and talk to him about their Christmas lists. It was obviously a well-intended gesture on the part of the local principal to give the children a Christmas boost, albeit a little on the PC side. Most of the parents approved of her thoughtfulness and viewed the decision in a positive light. Only one parent actually complained, but local civil rights groups and school administration officials questioned the move. You can read the article here.

Yes, Virginia, racial tension is real and still exists in America. As we prepare to inaugurate and prayerfully support our first black President, you'd think that much of bias that has sub-divided our culture since the Revolution would have dissipated somewhat. However, between the bigots and the race-baiters, the chasm that separates our citizens just gets deeper and wider, with a several new demographic shifts, like the growing Hispanic population, to make things even more complicated. Having two Santas is just one very small indication of the sensitivity of the times and the delicate nature of public service when the ice is so very thin.

Call me an idealist, but I pray for the day when, at least among the Christian population, there is oneness. In Christ "...there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ' (Galatians 3:28). More so, Jesus prayed, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name---the name you gave me---so that they may be one as we are one (John 17:11). Of a truth, Scripture teaches a oneness in Christ that overrides our prejudices and joins us as the unified Body of Christ.

There's a song on the James Taylor Christmas CD that expresses this thought in a Christmasy kind of way. It's not new and many secular and spiritual artists have recorded it over the years. I like James Taylor's rendition and you can catch the words here. Please take a minute today to read them and reflect on how they should reflect our heart during this most blessed season. Listen to the song if you have the chance. It concludes---

O lay aside each earthly thing
and with thy heart as offering
Come worship new the infant King
'tis love that's born tonight!

"There is one body and one Spirit---just as you were called to one hope when you were called---one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4). Amen.

Merry Christmas!