Rant of the Exiles

Last Sunday, I talked about the pursuit of happiness as an one modern example of idolatry. After hearing my message, someone wrote me that he's looking for replacement words for happiness. That comment got me thinking. Do we need different words for happiness? Well, I think happiness is a perfectly good word albeit somewhat overused. But it might overlook the question of what idolatry is about. The question is not whether happiness as an idea is wrong. It is good to want to feel good, contented, joyful, etc. And I'm not trying to play with words here. When I mean happiness, I believe it overlaps with joy, peace, contentment, etc. and all those biblical words. So it is good to seek and desire happiness. The question is where does it fit in our pyramid? The pyramid is desires, ambitions, and values. As you progress from bottom to top, the least important things serve the more important ones until you get to the top, where we find who or what ultimately rules our live...

I reconnected with a friend from college this past Monday. He, his wife, and four children are now missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon. Their ministry is to lead Muslim Arabs into becoming followers of Jesus. They are sponsored by a missions organization but they are not part of any local church. They live in a predominantly Muslim area. And until this summer, their children didn't even know what a church building looked like. I asked him what he sees as the biggest challenge American Christians face. He replied that its amazing what believers can do without. Many of the programs churches offer aren't as necessary as one might think. Ultimately, a life of faith is not complex and doesn't require activities dedicated to extensive training, Bible study, men's groups, fellowship time, accountability, choir practice, outreach, prayer meetings, discipleship, etc. In his context, the gospel is seamlessly integrated into everything he does. Their family does "church" ...

I got back from our annual youth retreat yesterday. It was meaningful and fun though exhausting. I preached a message from John 7:53-8:11 (Jesus and the adulteress) that was received surprisingly well. I wrestled with how to communicate this text in our particular Asian American context. It seems like most affluent, high-functioning, church-going Asian kids don't struggle with overt sin issues like premarital sex, drugs, and alcohol, etc. I wondered how I would talk about someone being caught in the act of adultery. I could not think of a truly humiliating moment where I was caught doing something wrong. Most of my embarrassing moments are not shameful. And the truly shameful moments I could only share with my closet friends. Even so, those moments did not include any type of public shaming. That would be unbearable. I live in fear of public shame. Many things I do are meant to avoid humiliation. I condemn myself and imagine the condemnation of others so that I can be motivated ...

Over the past week, I've heard several people make extensive use of dating metaphor to describe their relationship with God. Jesus is like a boyfriend. I recognize when people talking about dating Jesus - they mean there is intimacy, affection, and attention. These are natural parts of what it means to relate to someone. But part of it makes me uncomfortable. I understand the biblical basis of the metaphor - Ephesians 5 and Revelation paint a picture of Jesus as the groom and the body of Christ, the church, his bride. I have often preached on that image and its certainly a central image of the gospel. But its a little bit of a jump to go from there and say Jesus is my boyfriend (or girlfriend). Dating is a temporary status, is nowhere near as encompassing as marriage, and has no biblical foundation of commitment. Additionally, our betrothal and marriage to Jesus is community to one not 1:1. It is the entire community - the people of God - who are Jesus' bride. Despite that, I...