A New Thing

Recently a friend of mine started reading books about psychology. One day she’d like to be a therapist or counselor and so she reads these books in her free time just to give her a sense of what she’s getting into. In one of the books she was reading the author discussed how as humans we are constantly taking in new information. The key to well-adjusted living is in our ability to make maps of the information we are processing, to sort through what information is important and how it might change our decision-making processes.

 I was going to give you an example of the time in our history when everyone knew the earth was flat and when new information as discovered, and that we literally had to re-draw our maps to reflect the new information we had. But my brother-in-law told me this week that that was a myth made up in the 1940s and that everyone knew the earth was round for a long time. 

Whatever the case is about people knowing the earth is round, the fact is that we are constantly gaining new information about the world we live in, about the geography of our world, and we do need to re-draw maps as we gain that information. Unfortunately, as individuals, this process of map-making is more and more difficult as we get older. My guess is that’s because the volume of information we make sense of only grows as we age and this is difficult work. We think we’ve got things figured out then everything changes and sometimes our whole paradigm shifts. Sometimes it’s easier to reject the new information as false and cling to our old maps.

When I think about examples of new map-making in Scripture, I think of Isaiah 43:18-19, when God says to the Israelites :

¹⁸ Do not remember the former things,   or consider the things of old.¹⁹ I am about to do a new thing,now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Or I think about the gospel of Mark, where for the first half of the book, everyone is trying to figure out who this guy Jesus is until chapter 8 when Jesus comes out and asks the disciples what they think. Peter says, "You are the Messiah." And that's great, but immediately Jesus begins to re-define the role of the Messiah. He teaches them that the Son of Man will suffer and die and after three days rise again. This isn't the Messiah they were expecting. Those who were able to integrate this new information about the Messiah were able to have a relationship with God and participate in building the first iteration of the Christian church. Those who weren't able to re-draw their maps lost those opportunities.

And to be clear, in many ways this wasn't new information. The Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah hadn't actually changed. But their understanding of those prophecies, their interpretation of them, had to change in light of the person of Jesus and the authority he demonstrated.

A few years ago a question began to ruminate in my mind: what does it mean for me (a woman) to be made in the image of God (who is only described with masculine pronouns in Scripture)? This question led me to areas that were uncharted on my map. You see, I grew up in a family and a church tradition that excluded women from church leadership. I was taught, and I believed, that women should probably not preach and definitely shouldn't be lead pastors. This question about the image of God on me led to new information that helped me see the scriptures which had seemed so clear in a new light. All of a sudden, my map was re-drawn, my theology shifted, and I now embrace the idea and the practice of women in church leadership roles. 

About a year ago I began to sense the Lord leading me back to school. I had planned to attend graduate school from the time I began my sophomore year in undergrad, but I was either not in a place where I could move forward or I was unsure what to pursue. As I asked the Lord for guidance, I realized that a new place on my map was now available. Looking back I reflected that if I had been a man I think I would have wanted to become a pastor. Might the Lord be leading me to seminary and full-time pastoral ministry? 

Through prayer and seeking counsel, the Lord confirmed the path. 

I am now one semester (three classes) into a Master's of Divinity degree (32 classes) and I will ring in the New Year preaching at a church in my husband's hometown.

Here's to new things.

P.S. A book I read that introduced me to this new perspective was Sarah Bessey's Jesus Feminist, which I highly recommend. In fact, I may have given it to my 17-year-old niece for Christmas :).

Book Review- Prayer by Timothy Keller

Every month I write a book review for my church's missions magazine, New Covenant. When possible, I try to relate the topic of the book I'm reading to the topic of that month's issue. I thought I would share some of them here. My goal is to post every week and to share things I've written in other places as well as new material.

At the beginning of each book review, I share a few "Fast Facts:" information about the book, its author, its length, the publisher, and where you can find it. I  try to touch on the structure of the book, the intent of the author, and the relevancy of the book to the church.

This one was originally published in the May 2016 issue of the New Covenant. You can read the full magazine for free here.

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Fast Facts:

Title: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

Author: Timothy Keller

Publisher: Dutton

Length: 266 pages

Find it: wherever books are sold and the Pitt Co Library

Since this month’s New Covenant focuses on the topic of prayer I looked for a book on the topic that would be both instructional and firmly grounded in good theology. I found a book by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and prolific author, at our local library and decided to check it out.

His book is broken into five sections with a total of fifteen chapters. The first three sections (nine chapters) focus on the theology and doctrine of prayer, exploring subjects such as why we desire prayer, how we converse with and encounter God, and what other “masters” have to say about prayer. The last two sections (six chapters) delve into teaching on how to pray, with chapters on three different kinds of prayer and suggestions on daily prayer routines.

Keller rejects most contemporary sources on prayer in favor of older, more historical works by authors such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, and St. Augustine. Anyone who has listened to Keller preach knows that he has a deep affinity for C.S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards and this book proved that to be true once again.

Keller endeavors to teach a methodology of prayer that is typified by both conversation and encounter with God, a kind of prayer that is both verbal and emotional. He specifically mentions a phrase from Scottish theologian John Murray, who describes an “intelligent mysticism” and he explains that this means “an encounter with God that involves not only the affections of the heart but also the convictions of the mind. We are not called to choose between a Christian life based on truth and doctrine or a life filled with spiritual power and experience. They go together.”

This idea of intelligent mysticism sets the tone for much of his book.  Keller indicates that God’s communication to us comes primarily through his Word and the Spirit’s work in us as we read and meditate on the Word. I believe that Keller would reject listening prayer—that is, prayer that focuses on impressions from the Lord rather than on the Word—and styles of meditation that lead participants to empty their minds rather than filling them with Scripture. Even with his strong suspicion of a mysticism that loses its grounding in rationality, Keller still cautions strongly against a purely intellectual pursuit that does nothing to move the heart.

The first nine chapters are a thorough exploration of how this kind of balanced prayer is accomplished. Drawing on works that had formed his understanding of God as a young Christian, he sites historical texts of Christian theology from people he trusts. The last six chapters focus heavily on types of prayer and suggestions for daily routines.

These last six chapters were where I found what I considered the most helpful information. Although the final sections could only come following Keller’s exhaustive instruction on the theology prayer, I personally had some difficulty retaining information from the initial chapters as they seemed to bounce from quote to quote and were filled with caveats and clarifications. I began to feel in those chapters as if there were one right way to pray and that I needed to manipulate my heart to be in a certain way before my prayers could be effective.

Thankfully it all seemed to come together at the end with a pattern of prayer that he suggests each person use in their daily prayer time. This suggestion (listed below) along with his descriptions of different types of prayer are the things that will affect my daily life moving forward.

1.)  Evocation—reminding yourself of who it is that you are praying to and how it is that you are able to come before him (Jesus’ work as our intercessor).

2.)  Meditation—dwelling on a passage of the Bible that you are already familiar with to hear what God is saying to you through it.

3.)  Word prayer—praying through the text of Scripture, paraphrasing each request and filling it out with the concerns on your heart.

4.)  Free prayer—pouring your heart out in prayer, while taking care to develop a habit of moving through adoration and thanksgiving, confession and repentance, and petition and intercession.

5.)  Contemplation—a time of reflection in which you dwell on who God is and invite the Lord to let you experience his presence.

The Glory of God on Earth

Recently my shoulder got out of whack. I had bad posture and on top of that abused my arm and shoulder by carrying things that were too heavy, lifting in ways that I shouldn’t, and day in and day out for years using repetitive motion as a baker at work. Instead of modifying my movement and seeking help I carried on as if nothing was wrong until I could not work anymore. At that point I began going to physical therapy, I’ve had to learn how to adjust my shoulder position, and I will likely never be able to work in a kitchen again.

When my shoulder began to send signals to my brain that things weren’t right I should have acted immediately to care for it. But I didn't and things got worse. It wasn’t until I listened to my shoulder, sought help, and adjusted my behavior that my shoulder got better. Even now I need to be mindful of my posture and my movement in order to give special care to that part of my body.

Did you know that in the New Testament, the church is referred to as the body of Christ? He is the head and we are the body, joined together as one to continue advancing his kingdom on earth. The beauty of a body in this image is the way each part is necessary in its own way. For instance, even though my left and right hands are very similar, my right hand can’t act like my left and my left hand can’t act like my right. My liver has a different form and function from my kidneys. Some parts of me require extra care and protection. Some parts are good for bearing more.

Listen to this from 1 Corinthians 12:

¹² The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 
¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

I hope that you really read that passage. I’m terrible for skimming over Scripture passages in blogs and books. This one really ties it all together though. If you only glanced, go back and read it again. We’ll wait.

You good? Good. Cause we’re about to get deep here. Stay with me.

In the Old Testament, the word for “glory” was the Hebrew word “kabod.” This word kabod has connotations of heaviness or worthiness. But the glory of Israel, the nation, was not her armies but Yahweh. There are many instances of the glory of God in the Old Testament being associated with physical phenomena; the most memorable is the cloud that led the Israelites through the desert.

In the Gospels, Jesus is the glory of God. He is the physical representation of God on earth. He took on a body and walked among men and women, showing them the “glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)

Then, and here’s the good part, in the rest of the New Testament there is another example of the glory of God, the presence of God in bodily form. Have you guessed what it is?

It’s us.

We, the followers of Jesus, who make up the body of Christ and have the Holy Spirit living inside us, are the physical representation of God on earth. So, it is when we live and move and act as a body, valuing each member (each body part) as vital in their own way, that we bring glory to God.

Just like I needed to listen to the messages my shoulder was sending me and adjust my behavior, we need to listen to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not white North American men. They are crying out to us. They are in pain. We cannot keep carrying on as if nothing is the matter.

We must, for the glory of God, the body of Christ on earth, care for the parts of our body that are hurting. We must listen, seek help (educate ourselves), and adjust our behavior for the body to become mature, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13)

This is what it means to be a body. If we believe that it is Jesus and his message that will save this hurting world, we must live into our calling as his body. We must begin to function as his body. We are not called to treat each person the same, adopting a colorblind ideology, which ignores the pain in our body and our responsibility to change, this is so much harder and deeper than that. This requires great humility and sacrifice. This also means that we make space for women, people of all ages, and people of all abilities to lead and speak in the ways that God has gifted them without expecting them to adopt “traditional leadership” methods which are often reflections of the white men who have held places of leadership (power) by virtue of their entitlement then defined what it means to lead based on their own personalities.

This is good news for all of us. The body will function better, will be a more credible witness (to reference Brenda Salter McNeil) when each part is free to express the ways God has made them. For some people this will mean moving out of leadership, laying down a yoke that is heavy and ill-fitting to them. For others this will mean moving into positions of leadership, honoring the Lord with the voice he has given them.

I'm claiming this today. I am living into the ways I have been made by proclaiming this news to you. And my prayer is that you would, too. Together, we have beautiful feet. When we partner with the Lord in restoring the dignity of the image of God in every believer, inviting them to become more fully who they've been made to be, we participate in advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. And we bring good news to the world.

“How beautiful on the mountains are those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.” Isaiah 52:7

Autism and the Church: What I Want You to Know

The church that our family attends publishes a monthly outreach magazine, New Covenant, and they invited me to write a piece for Autism Awareness Day on what I would like the church to know about autism. Below is the article that will be in the April edition.

If you'd like to show your support for Autism Awareness day, start by reading the article and consider one of the steps listed at the end. Additionally, you could wear blue tomorrow, April 2, take a picture of yourself and post it on social media with the hashtag #TheStoryofJamesandLiam.

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April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Recognized by the UN, this day has been officially designated to bring awareness to autism and was established less than ten years ago. According to the most recent statistic released by the CDC, 1 in 68 children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which is approximately 1% of the general population.

Autism is a neurological disorder that requires an individual to meet two main criteria: deficits in social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive interests or behaviors. There is an incredible amount of misunderstanding, misinformation, and miscommunication that surrounds autism. So let me start by addressing a few things I, as the mother of two children on the spectrum, frequently hear.

·      Autism does not affect a person’s intelligence. In fact, the restricted interests that are a hallmark of autism sometimes allow a person with autism to develop an expertise in their area of interest.

·      People with autism look normal. There are no physical markers of autism.

·      Autism is a spectrum. Think of it like a sphere, for every axis of autistic-like behavior, a person could range from mild to severe with very little influence on the ways the other symptoms present.

·      Autism diagnoses are not flippant. Usually a team of specialists evaluates a child and uses a standardized and thorough diagnostic tool to arrive at their conclusions. The parents have most likely wrestled with a range of emotions that extends from grief and anger to relief and guilt. Please don’t take their disclosure lightly.

My husband and I have three children:  James is 6, Liam is 4, and Annia is 1. James was diagnosed with autism just before his fourth birthday and Liam was later diagnosed with autism just before his third birthday.

Autism for our family means big, squishing hugs. Wrestling in the living room. Star Wars trivia. So many school meetings. Endless paperwork. At least a dozen copies of the Handbook of Parental Rights from the public school. Worry. Release. So much joy. So much laughter. Public meltdowns. Avoiding birthday parties. Ultra-literal conversations. Teaching play skills to the boys. Teaching adult friends about autism. Rocking sobs and confusion. Walking the line of advocating for my children and giving teachers grace, recognizing that I am my children’s voice but that they are people, too, who are overworked and underpaid.

Above all, if there is one thing we want you to know about our kids it is this:

They bear the image of God and are loved fiercely by their heavenly Father.

This journey as the parents of kids with autism is amazing and exhausting. Sometimes it is lonely. Sometimes when we share about what our lives are like people respond by saying that they could never do what we do. I’ll be honest with you, lots of times this feels like people just don’t want anything to do with our brand of crazy. Hands up, walk away.

In Mark 1:40-42, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. Leprosy was a contagious skin disease that was considered religiously unclean. Touching a person with leprosy contaminated you according to religious law, which added social pressure to distance yourself from the problems of a person with this disease. Hands up, walk away.

In some circles a quirky person who doesn’t read social situations well, who blurts out with off-topic comments about their favorite subjects is considered socially unclean. Hands up, walk away.

But Jesus isn’t like the religious elite.  He didn’t recoil at the sight of this man who came to him to be healed. He didn’t walk away. For Jesus, the narrative was different. He moved toward this man with gut-wrenching compassion and he reached out to touch the leper. Hand out, pressing in.

Jesus could’ve healed this man and refrained from touching him in order to remain ceremonially clean. No one would’ve blamed him for that. In fact, people would probably still have been surprised if he had been willing to do that. But that’s not the example he left us with. It wasn’t enough to heal this man’s physical need; he also treated him like a person, restoring his dignity.

So if you’re wondering what to do, how to care for a family who is navigating autism, follow the example of Jesus:

1)   Pray about whether there are physical needs the family is facing that you can help with. Many children with autism struggle to toilet train and need diapers for well beyond a typical child. Many parents desperately need respite and have few people they trust to watch their children. Some families are overwhelmed by the practical and financial needs of multiple weekly therapies.

2)   Press in. Know that children with autism grow up to be adults with autism and that people with autism want to make friends they just are not sure how.  As these children age they will be in youth groups with your children and possibly adults in your small groups. Educate yourselves and your children on autism and make space in your groups and your hearts for people on the spectrum who may need a little more grace in social situations than you’re used to.

3)   Pray for peace. Pray that the parent and child will find some form of effective communication. Pray that the parents would have wisdom and the child will know and trust their parents’ love. Pray for unity between mom and dad.

4)   If you’re still unsure, ask the family, “How can I help support you? How can I pray for your family?”

When Jesus says, “Go into all the world to make disciples,” note that he said “all” the world; he didn’t offer exceptions for people with disabilities or the places you might be uncomfortable. Press in. Make disciples of those who have autism. Make disciples of their families. Most likely, these families are aching for your presence. Press in.