how wrong can you be?

An old, often repeated joke, though the names tend to change according to setting:
A new arrival to heaven is being escorted down a long hallway with doors on each side bearing the names of various denominations. He passes the Lutheran door, the Methodist door, and the Presbyterian door but upon reaching the (exclusive denomination of your choice) door, his escort says, “Be quiet near this door, they think they’re the only ones here.”
I have heard the joke told about various Christian denominations and systems.

Christians pass judgment on other’s qualifications for heaven. It might be based upon the amount of water used in baptism or the ability to speak an unknown tongue or ones voting preference.

Last year an acquaintance was condemned near and far because of his convictions as a universalist; he believes everyone will be in heaven. As I read the various denouncements of him, I wondered, if his critics expected to see him in heaven? Most Christians, be they evangelical, fundamental, liberal, or some other brand, basically believe that salvation is a free gift of God based upon acceptance of Jesus. A few put some additional pieces to this acceptance like baptism or speaking in tongues or voting republican. (Joking, I haven’t actually met anyone who will admit to placing adherence to the Republican party as a prerequisite for salvation, regardless of their practice.)
So the question is:
How wrong can you be?
How wrong can you be and still get in?
Will the universalist be there?
What about a homosexual friend who’s not living a celibate life?
What about a grad school T.A. who described himself as a “dyed in the wool evolutionist?” (He was a research scientist, volunteered as a T.A. in Hebrew for the fun of it because he loved languages.)

The universalist, the homosexual and the evolutionist are all Christians. Do their convictions disqualify them for heaven?

My conviction: everyone has something wrong. We are human, we are broken and “we see in a mirror, dimly.” In heaven we will see clearly.

Salvation is a free gift and the level of understanding necessary to experience and possess salvation is very small. Little Fish accepted Jesus at age three. She was not as stubborn as her father who was not able to accomplish that simple task until eighteen.

Do I believe there will be universalists in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be homosexuals in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be evolutionists in heaven? Yes.
Why?
Because I think God is up to the task.

Do I believe that there will be people who do not make it into heaven? Yes. I think the Bible is very clear on this. I’m very glad, though, that the task of condemning people to hell is not in my job description. That responsibility resides with one who has far greater qualifications for the job.

futility of the red bird

a red bird, aka cardinal lives on our property.
every day, all day long it flies into our windows.
the house has three floors.
it is no respecter of floors.
if i'm on the bottom floor it flies into the glass door for the deck.
if i'm on the second floor, the living room, it flies into the large windows.
if i'm on the third floor, it flies into the bedroom windows.
in my wife's office, third floor, it flies into her window.
as i write this it is flying into the window in front of me.
if we go on the deck it flies away.
the previous owners warned us about the bird.
they believed it was a deceased father reincarnated.
since i do not believe in reincarnation, i believe it is a bird with nothing better to do than fly into the windows.
we researched, how long do these birds live?
sometimes 15 years.
that's a long time to fly into windows.
one day the bird was sitting on a tree branch in front of the house chirping at me.
it's the most i've heard the bird say.
the bird's activities are a waste of time.
are human beings any better?
at times is the church any better?
i was at a church that had the same easter service every year to "bring people to christ."
good intentions. in five years, two people became christians on easter.
i'm glad they did.
but all the other years . . . no one.
were we flying into windows?

new stuff

people have asked, "what are you doing next?"
the current, correct answer is, "not sure."
we, meaning the family, have talked and brainstormed and are open to many possibilities.
i've been in touch with some churches.
I've looked into doctorate programs.
i have a couple of start up ideas.
mostly i'm not sure.
many of the ideas are good.
right now i'm trying to give myself a little time to adjust.
it's different to sit here, look out at the trees, birds, and deer in our backyard and know that i have no appointments, no pressing issues to resolve, no phone calls to return, (except to one friend who has called twice, sorry about that mike), and very few emails.
it's refreshing, except for those moments when i wonder , , ,
"what are you doing next?"
and i have to answer, "not sure."

friends

experiences of recent months have included reconnecting with old friends.
some i've not seen, spoken to, etc in many, many years. didn't know so many years could pass with no loss of friendship. friends are good. friends are important. friends are eternal.
never know when a new person becomes a friend.
one i met while sitting in the library in undergraduate school.
we sang together, traveled together, lived together, experienced anger, joy, disappointment, disagreements, unity and bonds of love. we were in each others weddings and each others lives. and all these years later we are still friends.
next week little fish shows up in florida with a group of friends. it will be her last spring break at our florida house because we are selling. one of her friends is her room mate since freshman year. she has become a second daughter to us and is an important friend to little fish. i hope they are in each others weddings (not too soon) and rejoice with each other thru the years with the arrival of children, job changes, and the movement and changes of life.

Jesus Christ, superstar?

Jesus was not a rockstar.

hello, postmoderns.
you can keep your abstract church.
your non-christmas pagents.
your technologically-difficult church.
your metaphoric church.
i do not appreciate going to church to be told that my life lacks imagination, lacks excitement, lacks inspiration.

Christmas is not about the manger, you're right. but Christmas is not about a rock concert either. It is not about cirque du soleil.

Christmas is about Jesus. a humble man, who never met expectations, only prophecies. He never followed trends. Christmas is a time for reflection, for anticipation of being saved, cleansed. Not saved from a vague conception of unimagination, but from our sins as people. How can it be that church has become so watered down that even the "Christmas special" at the local church doesn't talk about the saving power of its savoir? Christmas is no time to back away from Jesus, it is time to step up to the alter.

the holidays

long ago there was the "keep christ in christmas" campaign.
retailers were found guilty of placing signs in their store windows which read, "merry xmas." as is usually the case, someone with a dry sense of humor created a sign admonishing, "keep christ in xmas."
in recent years there has surfaced the "anti-happy holidays" campaign, again aimed at evil retailers who instructed their employees to bless shoppers with the words, "happy holidays" rather than "merry christmas."
does jesus need our help with this?
no.
but i think it is good for people to get upset. it is evidence they believe something and possess convictions.
i'm not an issues person.
i am not electrified by proclaiming, promoting, announcing, arguing about or otherwise calling attention to issues. but i admire people who are. they keep the rest of us honest. they keep us reflective. they cause us to evaluate and re-evaluate what, why and wherefore we are doing things.
was it bad to proclaim "merry xmas?" no. anyone with five minutes of greek experience will tell you that xmas is the same as christmas because "x" is the first letter of xristos, the greek work ofr christ and "x," for centuries, has been used as short hand for christ. much like elvis' close friends called him "e," some of jesus' theological buddys, a.k.a. theologians, shortened his name to "x." so exclaiming "merry xmas" is the same as "merry christmas."
what about "happy holidays?" in my opinion there is nothing wrong with blessing people with "happy holy days" because christmas is a holy day, a set apart day, a special day, plus i like including st. nicholas day, hanukkah, new years eve, new years day and epiphany in my celebrations so i don't mind the plural blessing.
but, it was the campaigners who stimulated my reflection and that is a good thing for me.
plus, i firmly believe, "the lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
read habakkuk lately? it's a good one.

the boutique church

the baby boomers, many from the early days of the jesus movement, helped found, establish, build, fund, etc the recent phenomenon known as the mega-church movement wherein churches in this country have grown numerically much larger than previously thought possible. the results are a variety of large, multi-thousand member churches which are doing great things in their respective communities. i've had the honor at serviing with several churches that fit this description and can and will testify to the effectiveness of these churches.
the question that arrises is, what is next?
for the baby boomers and the next generation down.
will they stay involved with these large churches or do those churches primarily minister best to single adutls (who can connect with other single adults) couples with children, (who can find great children and teen programs for their kids), single parents (who find incredible personal support as well as the aforementioned great programs for their children) and multi-generational families who live in close proximity and can attend church together, grandparents, parents, children, etc.
what of the empty nester couples who no longer need the exemplary children and teen programs? will they continue involvement with the mega-church or look for something different.
i think many will seek something different.
the mega-church is similar to the big box stores where a consumer is able to find everything desired under one roof, and at affordable prices. i think empty nester couples are going to begin looking for boutique churches; smaller fellowships with incredibly creative, diverse music, inspiring messages and worthwhile opportunities to support and serve others, but without the mad dash from theme park size parking lots.
for those of you ministering at small churches, your time is coming and perhaps has already arrived. but you will need to offer creative, high quality music and messages.
mega-churches will continue, because they offer something small churches cannot, and there are still huge numbers of people who need and want the mega-church experience.
one does not cancel the other. god is at work in churches large and small.
it is time, though for small churches to begin improving their quality and be ready for the rush of empty nesters who will begin walking through your doors. most of them are already christians, already tithers, and already willing to volunteer time, but you need to be ready because if you're not, they will move down the street until they find a boutique church that is ready.