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The 225^th session of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference concluded today as it usually does – with a sense of discord. We continue to struggle over the issue of how to include gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered people in the life of the church (which is ultimately an argument over the authority of scripture, but that’s a topic for another day). As I struggled for perspective on yet another episode in the ongoing debate, I was reminded of the wishbone.

My wife and I are notorious for our wishbone battles. We’ll leave a wishbone in the kitchen windowsill to dry for weeks. When it’s just right, we take up our positions on opposing ends of the wishbone and the battle commences. At first, we tug gently hoping to gain the initial advantage, but eventually our desire to win kicks in and we begin to pull harder and harder until the wishbone breaks. At the end of the game, we stand there disconnected, each holding a broken piece of the bone, neither one better for the battle.

So it goes with our church. Like opposing wishbone warriors we come together every year at Annual Conference, and every four at General Conference, hands fully clinched around our end of the wishbone, convinced we cling to the stronger half. Every year we pull harder and harder. I sense we have grown frighteningly close to the end of the game, and soon we will find ourselves standing disconnected, each clinging to a broken piece of the bone, neither side better for the battle.

Pray we might learn to love one another more than we love our church, our doctrine, our opinions, or any other part of the wishbone we cling to, lest we all wind up standing before God one day shamefully trying to hide our little piece of the broken wishbone behind our backs.

Carey Mallow recently shared a story with me from the May 2009 edition of Pro Bull Rider Magazine related to our recent “Bullish Faith” series. It’s the story of professional bull rider Lee Akin. In 2007, Akin suffered one “bear” of a brain injury when the bull he was riding, “Dick Dastardly,” bucked him and crushed the left side of his skull with a hoof. Akin spent 7 ½ weeks in a coma, and another six weeks regaining enough brain function to understand what had happened to him. He was a young man with a wife, Mary, and a 5 ½ month old baby girl. Immediately following the injury, most people thought it was simply a matter of time before he died, but not his wife, Mary. “We started right then praying and believing he was going to be fully restored. We believed the truth and not what the doctors had to tell us.”

Two years later Akin is very much alive and continuing his recovery from the horrific injury. Instead of spending time traveling around the country riding bulls in the PBR, he spends his time looking after his two year old daughter and continuing in speech therapy. He and his wife Mary are living examples that a “Bullish Faith” can see you through any “bear” of a circumstance, even one “bear” of a dastardly bull!

(Thank you Carey for sharing this inspiring story!)

2/4 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Allow me to geez (as in, show my age) for a second.  When I was a kid, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore had twin beds because it was indecent to infer on TV that even a married couple (like the Petries) might share the same bed.  How far have we come?  Today’s kids are entertained on TV by “The Girls Next Door” and “Flavor’ of Love” (assuming their parents haven’t sprung for the “no holds barred” stuff).  When I was a kid, if the boy down the street had an old tattered Playboy under his mattress it was a big deal for every boy on the block.  Today we put computers in our kids’ rooms with high speed access to a a glut of debasing imagery the likes of which could never have been imagined 30 years ago.  We even put cameras on their computers & cell phones so the kids can play along.   There’s no doubt about it, we have experienced significant “moral creep.”  Our moral sensibilities have drifted way downhill, slowly enough that we wouldn’t recoil from the shift, but far enough to be shockingly offensive when we stand back and take notice.

Why do I bring this up? Today’s reading from the One Year Bible Online included the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.   I’m struck by the lack of moral “wiggle room” in those commandments.  “Thou shalt not…” is the constant refrain.  There is no, “Thou should not, but if the neighbors are doing it…  then I guess it’s OK.”  It’s that sort of thinking that leads to the type of “moral creep” I’ve experienced in my lifetime – and that we see negatively impacting the lives of everyone from our kids  working out their sexuality on the Internet to our presidential appointees who can’t seem to figure out how to pay their taxes.

I’m not wanting to be a prude or a legalist, but “moral creep” is a real problem.  Left unchecked, moral creep transforms us into amoral creeps.  Here’s how it happens:  We gauge our morality by comparing ourselves to other amoral creeps.  When we do, we find we don’t look that bad and respond by allowing our own morals to creep a little more.  When our neighbors compare themselves to us, they do the same thing with the same result.  Eventually the blind lead the blind downhill to a place where we all become “amoral creeps!”  That’s why it’s so important that we have an unchanging – unwavering standard to gauge ourselves against:  the unchanging – unwavering expectations of God as outlined in passages like the Ten Commandments.  The bad news is, when we use such strict standards as our gauge, we always come up short.  The good news is, when we use such strict standards as our gauge, we never creep too far away, and when we do there’s grace enough to make up the difference.

1/23 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

I confess.  I make a bigger deal out of praying before eating when I’m with church folk than I do when I’m alone or with my family.  I could justify it by saying, “As a pastor, I’m trying to set a good example,” but that would only be marginally true.  The heart of the matter is I’m afraid being seen as “unholy.”  Perhaps you too act differently around church folk than you do when you’re alone?

Today’s reading from Matthew really shoots a hole in that sort of behavior.  The “holy” crowd of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees, pin Jesus down asking, “Why don’t your disciples wash their hands like us before they eat?”  That was their equivalent to “saying grace.”  Jesus was quick to point out how the Pharisees, though great at doing the things that made them look holy to others, freely did other things that were contrary to God’s expectations.  He didn’t mince his words:

Matthew 15:7-9
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

Are you a Pharisee?  I am.  Truth be known, we all have a little Pharisee in us.  What’s important is that we grow to recognize it for what it is – false piety – a religious facade – and embrace our need to go deeper and work on what really matters: doing all we do out of love for God and one another; not for the sake of looking holy.

p.s. Just in case you were concerned; it is a good thing to say grace before you eat.  God wants us to be thankful in all things – including a good meal.  The key:  do it with a purity of intention – for the right reasons – to truly thank God, to train your children to be thankful, for reasons such as these, but for God’s sake (and yours) don’t do it because someone might be looking!

1/21 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Check out today’s OYB reading from the Proverbs…

Proverbs 4:7-10
Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.
Embrace her, and she will honor you.
She will place a lovely wreath on your head;
she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

That begs the question, “What is wisdom?” After all, there’s all sorts of wisdom out there.  The answer to that comes a little later in the Proverbs; chapter nine to be exact…

Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

By nature of the fact that you stumble across timdowell.com and the One Year Bible readings, you’ve demonstrated at least a curiosity about scripture, which indicates a desire to learn about God who is the source of all wisdom.  Based on what we read above, if you keep it up you will develop good judgment and become a great and honored/honorable person.  I pray you do!   The world needs God’s wisdom – and God needs people like you to deliver it!

1/15 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Perhaps you remember the 1990 movie “Home Alone” starring Macaulay Culkin as 8 year old Kevin McCallister?  Lost in the insane world of a family too big, too distracted, and too out of control, 8 year old Kevin is left “Home Alone” as the family jets off to a Christmas Vacation in France, never noticing his absence until it’s too late.

Perhaps one reason the movie resonated with so many is that we can relate with Kevin.  In a world that seems too big, too fast, and too out of control, it’s easy to feel left behind, insignificant, unimportant, like a drop of water lost in an endless sea of humanity.  It’s easy to find ourselves wondering, “Does anyone care about me?  Do I matter?”  And where is God’s concern for me?  Surely God is too far off and too overwhelmed by it all to pay attention to little ol’ me and my problems.”

Into our sense of unimportance Jesus speaks these words in today’s passage from Matthew:

“But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

Jesus is saying that we are not lost or alone, but being watched by a God whose concern for us has such ultra high resolution as to be able to see right down the the finest details of our life; including every problem, every worry, and ever concern.  We are never alone in this life.  The God who promised “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is there to embrace us in the midst of all life’s trials and tribulations.

1/14 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

We read today of  Jesus gathering and sending his newly minted disciples out into the world for their first attempt at being “disciples” to others.  He does so with this warning:

16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

That advice is valuable for us today as we try to live out our faith in the world.  As Christians we live in a tension of being called to love as Christ loved (unconditionally) in a world that is broken and never responds in kind.  We are called to be vulnerable in a world that is inclined to take advantage.   This begs the question:  Was it Jesus’ intention that disciples be willingly victimized in their daily living as he was willingly victimized on the cross?  After all, Jesus did say, “If any want to follow me, they must deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow me.” Perhaps so – at least to an extent.  After all, love isn’t fair.  It’s self giving.  To quote 1 Cor 13, “It keeps no record of wrongs.”  So, to an extent, we are called to be victims of love (to quote the Eagles).

This call to victimization is held in tension however with the call we hear in the passage quoted above to be shrewd as snakes and to be wary of worldly wolves.  How do we negotiate that tension?  Where do we draw the lines?  Where are the appropriate boundaries between loving unconditionally and being inappropriately victimized?  If you’re looking for a simple answer I’m sorry to let you down.  I’m not sure there is one.  What are your thoughts?

1/7/2009 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

I’m so glad you are taking the time to read this comment, and hopefully took the time to read at least part (say, the New Testament reading) if not all of today’s readings from the One Year Bible.  I want to encourage you to do so as often as possible.  Pondering God’s word is the key to our growth in faith.

Today’s readings are chocked full of great things to ponder, but one verse jumps out at me as particularly timely given our current economic situation…

Matt 6:19-21
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Those of us who’ve stored up a little earthly treasure know all too well these days that it’s a risky business.  I just opened a statement for a college trust fund that has been growing towards these days when my girls are off to college.  As you might expect, what used to look like a university sized fund is now bordering on community college. There’s a lot of that going around these days!

Our current economic dilemma is a reminder of just how true Jesus words are.  We can easily rephrase Matt 6:19-21 based on the daily news…

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where the Bernie Madoffs, greedy mortgage brokers, and ravenous corporate CEO’s can consume and destroy them.  Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where governments overlook instead of oversee.  Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where retirement funds are raided and promises are broken. Don’t store up treasures here on earth, in property and investments that depreciate so fast you can’t get out from under them before they crush you.  Store your treasure – your true treasure – your eternal security- in heaven, where there is no depreciation, where there is no greed or deceit, where there is no need for oversight, where your Father in Heaven is there to manage your investment, because at the end of the day – when the last margin call comes – only one thing will matter: a positive investment of faith in Jesus recorded in heaven.”

Invest wisely.

1/6/2009 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Matthew 5:48

“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

These come as the closing words in today’s gospel reading.  The reading is Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” the opening act of his public ministry according to Matthew.  Today’s reading has a very obvious rhythm that goes like this…

“You have heard it said [some quotation from the Old Testament Law or interpretations thereof], but I say to you [Jesus' own, more strict interpretation].”

In each of these rhythmic reinterpretations Jesus seems to ratchet up the expectations.  As we read the natural question we raise is, “Why is Jesus so uptight?  Why is he making laws that are already hard enough to keep that much harder?  What’s his point?”  The answer comes in that final verse, “…be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Jesus understood human nature is not to be perfect, but to be just good enough.  We want to do just enough to get by and nothing more.  That was certainly true of the Old Testament law of Jesus’ day.  It had originally been given to God’s people as a means to guide them toward being perfect as their Father in heaven is perfect, but over the centuries it had been reinterpreted and misinterpreted by those who had transformed it into a bar set as low as possible.  And Jesus knew his audience  wasn’t interested in perfection, but only wanted to clear the bar.

What Jesus is saying is that we should never be satisfied with simply meeting religious expectations.  That’s worthless.  Instead we should strive to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect – or as we can say today, as Jesus was perfect.  Jesus is resetting the bar as high as it can go.  There is no “passing grade” in the life of faith.  It’s about striving to live and love as perfectly as we can, and trusting in God’s grace when we fall a little short.

I must confess:  I prefer to play basketball when the rim is lowered from ten feet to eight.  Of course, doing so doesn’t help me become much of a basketball player.  Likewise, living a life of faith aimed at barely meeting lowered expectations doesn’t help us become very good disciples, either.  Shoot for perfection when it comes to living out your faith!