tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294667062024-03-14T02:16:03.988-05:00Wandering Journey of FaithWalking with God through the journey of life.Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-11033451814515076282013-12-06T08:38:00.003-06:002013-12-06T08:38:29.458-06:00Why Does God Allow Evil to Persist?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eCPyx8BLDHU/TxmV74TiMEI/AAAAAAAAAN4/hZc-LmAoYOY/s1024/Photo%252520Jan%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignleft" height="225" id="blogsy-1386339661783.6873" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eCPyx8BLDHU/TxmV74TiMEI/AAAAAAAAAN4/hZc-LmAoYOY/s300/Photo%252520Jan%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
This may be one of the hardest questions that we all face at some point in our lives. It is true for both Christians and non-Christians as well. We look around at the world and wonder why things are so bad at times. It seems pretty obvious that things are not as good as we would like them or as we think they should be. And that can lead to one of the all time hardest and most pointed question that Christians will face from non-Christians. <br />
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The question can be sincere and come at a time of struggling to make sense of personal or even global tragedy. We can look at the senseless killing and violence in the world; the untimely death of a loved one; the injustice perpetrated on one group of people by another; the high death count found in a natural disaster and earnestly seek to understand why these things happen.<br />
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Sometimes the question can be very pointed–even accusatory–and come out of great bitterness when looking at the personal consequences of these events.<br />
And still other times the question can be very judgmental and meant to put those that believe in a God like the Christian God in their place.<br />
<blockquote>
<em><strong>"If your God is so good, all knowing and all powerful then why doesn't he do something about all these bad things that keep happening?"</strong></em></blockquote>
And that is a fair question.<br />
<br />
I have touched on this <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2011/08/attributes-of-god-and-problem-of-evil_30.html" target="_blank" title="">question before</a> and that post has a number of good links to help make sense of the problem. But I came across an answer this morning as I was reading Romans 2 that I had not noticed before. Let me be clear that this answer is not meant to be a complete answer. It doesn't really address the natural disaster or illness aspect of the question. Rather it gets at why God allows evil people to commit evil seemingly without immediate consequences.<br />
Paul starts off chapter 2 of Romans by saying in verse 1:<br />
<blockquote>
<em>"Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you the judge, practice the very same things."</em></blockquote>
Paul ended chapter 1 by making the point that when we give up worshiping God we end up doing a whole bunch of evil things which he lists:<br />
<ul>
<li>Unrighteousness</li>
<li>Evil</li>
<li>Covetousness</li>
<li>Malice</li>
<li>Envy</li>
<li>Murder</li>
<li>Strife</li>
<li>Deceit</li>
<li>Maliciousness</li>
<li>Gossips</li>
<li>Slanderers</li>
<li>Haters of God</li>
<li>Insolent</li>
<li>Haughty</li>
<li>Boastful</li>
<li>Inventors of evil</li>
<li>Disobedient to parents</li>
<li>Foolish</li>
<li>Faithless</li>
<li>Heartless</li>
<li>Ruthless</li>
</ul>
That is quite a list and Paul's point is that we cannot condemn those actions in others without also condemning ourselves. We have to be honest about our own shortcomings which is one of the major points of Christianity. Here is where Paul offers us a brief glimpse at why God allows evil to persist. In Romans 2:3-4 Paul says:<br />
<blockquote>
<div>
<em>"Do you suppose, O man–you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself–that you will escape the judgement of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing<strong> that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?</strong></em><strong>"</strong></div>
</blockquote>
Paul is telling us that God doesn't immediately punish evil because he wants us to repent. He is giving us a second...third...fourth...fifth...sixth...hundredth...thousandth...(you get the point) chance. God is giving us the opportunity of our whole lives to repent and unfortunately that means allowing some fairly serious evil to happen in this world. <br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">But that isn't the end of the story.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Paul tells us in Romans 2:5 that God is keeping track of what is happening:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><em>"But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteousness will be revealed."</em></span></blockquote>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">There is coming a day when all those evil acts will have to be accounted for. There is coming a day when all those that thought they were getting away with doing these things are going to find out that they didn't really get away with it. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><i><strong>This means that none of us are getting away with anything</strong>. </i></span></blockquote>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The only thing we can do is understand that God's kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. We have to honestly admit to God that we have all done things that we know are wrong and that we understand that we deserve to be punished for those things. And this is where Christ comes in. He took on that punishment for us and all we have to do accept his offer of forgiveness. I explain this in more detail </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-XybIr9DAo" style="line-height: 1.3em;" target="_blank" title="">here</a><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">.</span><br />
<br />
So in Romans 2:4 Paul is offering us a glimpse at the answer of the question of why God allows evil to persist. He does so in order to offer us a chance at repentance and forgiveness.<br />
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Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.<br />
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Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-30006702049172968422013-03-08T12:06:00.001-06:002013-03-08T12:06:17.154-06:00Dealing with Unemployment: Feeling Worthless<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Industrious Young Man Looking For Work"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the most insidious aspects of prolonged unemployment, in my experience, is not the anxiety and stress that come with experiencing a lot of rejection or having a lack of patience. The hardest and most dangerous thing to deal with is the feeling of being worthless.<br />
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I want to be clear right up front. I am not saying that those who are unemployed are worthless but that we (I am one of those unemployed right now) can very easily struggle with an overwhelming and invasive sense of worthlessness. This feeling of worthlessness can very easily lead down the dangerous path depression.<br />
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In preparation for writing this post I came across an article written by Ed Welch called <i><a href="http://www.ccef.org/blog/being-burden" target="_blank">Being a Burden</a></i> that dealt with this same topic. He starts off his article by saying:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"If you hear yourself say, "I am such a burden to _________ [my family, friends, loved ones, the world]," you are in danger. <b>Your mind will go to very dark places, and you are developing immunity to the encouragement of both other people and Scripture.</b> For example, you will hear others say that they are happy to serve you, yet you do not believe it. Instead, you believe their lives would be much easier and, therefore, better if you were gone."</i></blockquote>
If you ever start thinking about hurting yourself or others please seek immediate professional help. Depression is a very serious thing and can lead to other serious complications. The only help that I can offer to those already suffering depression is to encourage you to not go it alone. Please seek help.<br />
<br />
Even without suffering from depression it is very easy to start thinking of yourself as worthless or as a burden. I have struggled with this as my wife has been the main source of financial support for us during this time. It hits me hard whenever her job is particularly stressful. I have a tendency to start thinking that if I had a job then it would help mitigate some of the stress of her job. Which is partly true. If she was not the sole source of income then her job would not be nearly as important to us in terms of our income and it would relieve some stress from that standpoint. But at the same time if I was working it wouldn't do anything to change the actual stresses of her job. What ever project she is working on would still have the same deadlines and problems. It is important for me to remember that having a job would not be the magical cure that I want to think it is.<br />
<br />
But short of getting a job what have I done to combat this worthless feeling? What have I done to help out and not be a burden?<br />
<br />
As funny as it might sound I have become a "house husband."<br />
<br />
I aware of situations where the husband has been unemployed and did almost nothing around the house. The wife had to come home from work and do all of the cooking, cleaning and house work. How those men are still married baffles me.<br />
<br />
I have undertaken most of the household chores. I cook dinners, I clean and I do the laundry. Let me go on record and say that any guy that claims to not be able to do laundry is simply lying. Most guys can do far more complex things than laundry and are being lazy when they claim that they cannot keep things straight. Men get this straight. Helping your wife around the house is not beneath you. I have a new found respect for house wives. It isn't an easy task and is a lot of work; especially if there are kids involved.<br />
<br />
So while trying to do as much as I can around the house might not be the best long term solution for either myself or my wife, it can go a long way to helping you to see the value that you do have. My wife is very grateful for not having to do all of these things on top of working.<br />
<br />
One of the other things that has been important for me is to remember that God does not value me for the things that I do. Rather he sees worth in me based upon who I am as an individual. Matthew 6:25-33 says:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."</i></blockquote>
I know that it can be easy to read this passage when it doesn't seem that God is providing everything that you need...or want. But the point of this passage is to speak of the immeasurable worth that we have in God's eyes. God is far more concerned with our eternal well being. It can be really hard for me to understand why God doesn't give everyone a good and comfortable life. Sometimes it just doesn't make any sense. What cannot be lost here is that our worth to God isn't based on what we can do or provide.<br />
<br />
As one dealing with long term unemployment it is important for me to not look at myself as a burden but to try and find ways to be a blessing to others. It is very necessary for those of us going through this to not allow ourselves to go to the dark place that Ed Welch wrote about in the article that I mentioned above. I highly recommend reading it. For the spouses, family members and friends of someone dealing with a long term unemployment, I would highlight the importance of continual encouragement and affirmation for the unemployed. It has been very helpful for me when my wife has taken the time to recognize all that I am doing to try and help out. She has been very important in keeping me from heading to that dark place.<br />
<br />
It is very important to recognize this potential issue and to work proactively at preventing any deep and long term problems from fully developing.<br />
Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-5707037172797527532013-03-01T12:00:00.000-06:002013-03-01T12:00:00.797-06:00Have you ever noticed: Men and WomenI'm just sayin...<br />
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Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-5467675532648388872013-03-01T11:00:00.000-06:002013-03-01T11:00:00.121-06:00A Bad Way To ArgueOne of the things that I find particularly annoying is when people approach a debate in a poor way. One of the worst things you can do, at least from my perspective, is to misrepresent the opposing view point. Just as a matter of being transparent I have to admit that I have not and sometimes still not always careful in how I represent an opposing view point. It isn't just dishonest to do so but it actually undermines your argument. Let me explain:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/78TFfJlSCQk" width="480"></iframe></div>
Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-3202882543003034232013-03-01T09:45:00.002-06:002013-03-01T09:45:57.829-06:00There is snow falling in ChicagoJust wanted to let you know. Here is something else that I wanted to let you know as well:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pusVVx6vCxc" width="480"></iframe></div>
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As I mentioned in the video I do have a couple of more videos to post today. Each one is going to be a separate blog entry and will come out one at a time.<br />
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Here is a link to the next post: <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-bad-way-to-argue.html" target="_blank">A Bad Way To Argue</a> (Will be live after 11:00 a.m. Central Time)<br />
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And finally: <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/03/have-you-ever-noticed-men-and-women.html" target="_blank">Have you ever noticed: Men and Women</a> (Will be live after 12:00 p.m. Central Time)<br />
<br />Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-12879472678477066122013-02-22T13:45:00.001-06:002013-02-22T13:45:55.041-06:00Dealing with Unemployment: A Lack of Patience<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left;" target="_blank"><img alt="Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R79053 / CC-BY-SA" class="alignleft" height="360" id="blogsy-1360679979156.2517" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg/403px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Industrious Young Man Looking For Work"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."<br />-Galatians 5:16-24</i></blockquote>
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<br />
Last week I dove into the topic of how to deal with an <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/02/dealing-with-unemployment-abundance-of.html" target="_blank">abundance of rejection</a> while going through an <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/02/weathering-storm-of-unemployment.html" target="_blank">extended time of unemployment</a>. If you are sending out resumes and applying for jobs you are going to end up dealing with some level of rejection. In my experience most people don't like to be rejected. Dealing with rejection is a part of life but that doesn't mean that it is fun. And repeatedly getting rejected over a long period of time will start to wear down even the strongest and most resolute person.<br />
<br />
It was easier to deal with the rejection early on but after a while I started to become less and less patient. As we can see in the passage that I quoted above, patience is one of the Fruits of the Spirit. But even beyond this and other Scripture passages we can see the virtue of patience. So for me to say that going through an extended period of unemployment is going to test your patience should be fairly obvious. I also don't want to spend a lot of time going over how to be patient. A quick <a href="https://www.google.com/search?btnG=1&pws=0&q=how+to+be+more+patient" target="_blank">Google search</a> will give you more resources than you can shake a stick at. (What an odd saying.)<br />
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What I would like to cover is that a lack of patience can be a pretty good indicator of being under chronic stress. Consider some of the <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-symptoms/SR00008_D" target="_blank">symptoms of chronic stress</a> that are also manifestations of impatience:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Anxiety</li>
<li>Restlessness</li>
<li>Irritability or anger</li>
<li>Angry outbursts</li>
<li>Muscle Tension</li>
</ul>
<br />
And while we should be patient being under the chronic stress of unemployment is going to affect even the most patient person. Chronic stress is a very serious problem and can lead to a number of very serious health problems. The <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-management/MY00435/TAB=indepth" target="_blank">Mayo Clinic</a> has great resources for identifying stress sources and how to deal with chronic stress. I highly recommend that if you are dealing with unemployment that you look over their resources in order to become aware of the potential problems and possible solutions.<br />
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From a theological stand point, my lack of patience is often due to a lack of trust in God. I start to get anxious and lose patience during this time because I start to doubt that God is in control of the situation. My guess is that anyone going through a prolonged difficult situation has those same doubts. Just look at what happened to Peter when he got out of the boat to walk on water in Matthew 14:22-32. He started to focus on the waves and wind and started to doubt that Jesus would keep him safe. The same is true for those of us facing the waves and wind of life can very easily start to doubt that God will keep us safe.<br />
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Don't hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that trusting in God means that everything in life will be roses and puppy dogs. There are those who have immense faith and end up losing their homes, going hungry, face persecution or are even killed for their faith. But if we have faith that God will be faithful to us in an eternal sense then it becomes easier to patiently endure the hardships of this life.<br />
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Of course it is very easy to say, “Have more faith.”<br />
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Sometimes it isn't so easy to do.<br />
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One of the things that I shared in my last post is that it is essential that I continually remind myself that I have a wife that loves me and that I have a <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-back.html" target="_blank">Savior in Jesus Christ that loves me</a>. I have found that the more that I remind myself of God's eternal love and care for me the easier it is for me to be patient. I have also found it equally important to remain in God's Word. In my life there is a direct correlation between my reading the Bible and my ability to trust in God. So my encouragement for those that are going through a prolonged and chronically stressful situation is to read God's word and to dwell on God's love. You may not be able to remove yourself from the stressful situation or to shorten the time frame. The solution to a lack of patience isn't a shortened wait. Rather what we can do is change how we react in the situation and to keep our eyes on the eternal promises of God. When we do that we help improve our patience and our ability to endure what ever hardships that we may face in this world.<br />
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Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-76083250274557913782013-02-12T11:40:00.001-06:002013-02-12T11:40:49.079-06:00Dealing with Unemployment: An Abundance of Rejection <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg/403px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" id="blogsy-1360690775859.2473" class="alignleft" alt="Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R79053 / CC-BY-SA" width="241" height="360"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Industrious Young Man Looking For Work"</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>As I shared in my <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/02/weathering-storm-of-unemployment.html">last post</a> I have been out of school and without a paying job since July 1, 2011. That is a long time and I have discovered that being unemployed over an extended period of time has some serious challenges. My wife had the idea that it would be good for me to share some of those struggles and how we–as a couple–have navigated those issues. Today I want to deal with one of the first big issues that became clear. </p>
<p>Overall my wife and I expected this search process to be relatively short. But there were some early signs that this process would be a long one. One of the first few churches that I applied to was a small church in New England. Most of my church experience–both as staff and as an attendee–has been with small churches so I felt that I would be right at home. The average attendance for the church was about 80 people. Turns out they had between 300-400 people apply for the position. One of the next few churches I applied to had 200 people apply in a very short time. That is a lot of people. I know of churches that I have been involved with that would only get a few applicants. Part of the difference has to do with technology changes that allow churches and applicants to connect easier. And part of it has to do with the economic times. Regardless of the factors it became clear that I am just another fish swimming in a big pool of candidates. It's what we could call a buyer's (or employer's) market. There are less positions available than people wanting to fill those positions.</p>
<p>I need to pause and give a caveat here. I have been applying to more than just churches. I have been applying to para-church organizations, Christian businesses and organizations, and even secular businesses and organizations. I am going to share a few of my rejection stories that have come while dealing with this wide variety of organizations. <em><strong>Please</strong></em> do not take this as a commentary on individual churches, the overall church or any other organization. The only reason that I share any of these stories is to make a point of how dealing with rejection can be challenging.</p>
<p>Over the course of the last two years I have found myself at various points of the application and interview process. The most frequent response has been no response. Other times the response has been good with regular updates. Then there are those that have tried to keep people updated but I would have appreciated no response rather than the response that they gave. The best example of this is when I was essentially told, "We received 100 applicants and we narrowed it down to the top 25. Unfortunately you were not one of the finalists."</p>
<p>Why? Why would you put those numbers in? Did you even consider how that would sound? Being rejected is tough enough to deal with. Were you trying to crush me even further than just a simple no?</p>
<p>We're sorry but you could not <strong><em>even</em></strong> crack the top 25. Better luck next time. </p>
<p>Why not just say, "We have narrowed down the applicants and you were not one of the finalists."</p>
<p>Another good example is when I put together all of the information that the organization was requesting and sent it in. It took me a couple of days and amounted to 20 or 30 pages of writing. They had questionnaires they wanted filled out and essays that they wanted written. I sent them the information at 4 pm on a Wednesday afternoon and I received their rejection by 8pm that same night. The quick turn around made me really suspicious of whether or not they read all of what I sent them. A few weeks later I came across a posting for the same position that had an experience requirement that was not in the original posting.</p>
<p>Let me share one final example. The <strong><em>very first</em></strong> response that I received from an organization spoke about how good it was to speak to me and to get to know me better but that I just didn't fit what they were looking for. I am not sure who they spoke to but I am sure that it wasn't me.</p>
<p>I don't know that I have ever dealt with this much rejection before. And it can be tough to deal with. It messes with your confidence and it can be very frustrating. It is like being afloat in the midst of a storm. The waves keep crashing and pounding your ship. While it might hold together for a while, eventually something is going to give. First the things that are just setting on the deck start to get swept out to sea. Then things that are only loosely attached break off. Eventually serious damage can start to happen. Engines can get flooded and leave you without any drive. Structural pieces can get damaged and leave you bailing water. It can become a very difficult situation and lead to further issues. (I will cover some of the further issues that I dealt with in future posts.)</p>
<p>The two things that I struggle with as a direct result of this abundance of rejection is an overwhelming need for some sort of acceptance and the desire to start to give into the frustration of being rejected.</p>
<p>One of the great things that my wife has done for me is to keep encouraging me to continue on the current path. She has not wavered on the notion that we are heading in the right direction. And she has not demanded that I just find a job so that I have a job. We are sure that God has put us on this journey for a reason. The end point might not be exactly what we picture but there is a reason that I went to seminary and it wasn't just to end up doing what I was doing before I went to seminary. My wife through her encouragement really offset my frustration. It is because of her encouragement and positive attitude that I keep applying. She really expects that the next resume that I send out will be the one.</p>
<p>Her encouragement also served as a way to help me feel accepted. It is essential that I continually remind myself that I have a wife that loves me and that I have a <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-back.html">Savior in Jesus Christ that loves me</a>. I also have friends and family that continue to encourage me. This support system is essential in dealing with rejection. It can be easy to neglect your support system and is one of the pitfalls that I will cover in a later post.</p>
<p>The circumstances of why you (or someone you know) are unemployed may differ from mine. In this economy there are many who did not choose to change jobs or careers like I did. But the difficulty of dealing with the rejection that is guaranteed to come with an extended job search is going to be the same. The two bits of advice that I can give to those seeking a job is to keep pushing forward and to make sure that you have a good support system around you. </p>
<p>For those of you that are married to someone looking for a job be sure to remain encouraging and to show forms of acceptance toward your spouse. You are going to have the biggest and most important impact on your spouse.</p>
<p>For those of you that are friends with a job seeker make sure you reach out to that person. Simply being a friend during the storm can be a big help. </p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. <strong><em>For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!</em></strong><em> Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken."</em></em></p></blockquote>
<p>When we are down we really need others to help pick us up. That is true both when we physically fall and when we fall spiritually or emotionally. Do no underestimate the power of picking someone up when they are down. It is especially important when they are dealing with an abundance of rejection.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em></em> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-19605933064836509582013-02-05T09:52:00.001-06:002013-02-12T08:40:03.240-06:00Weathering the Storm of Unemployment<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg/403px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R79053%2C_Arbeitsloser_auf_Arbeitssuche.jpg" id="blogsy-1360679979156.2517" class="alignleft" width="241" height="360" alt="Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R79053 / CC-BY-SA"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Industrious Young Man Looking For Work"</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>I have been out of school and without a paying job since July 1, 2011. For those slow at math that is 1 year (with a leap day) and 220 days or 586 days or 14,048 hours and 25 minutes...26 minutes.</p>
<p>That is a long time. </p>
<p>Now I realize that there are those that have been out of work longer than I have. There are those that are in more dire financial straits than my wife and I have been in. But it has been a significantly difficult time in my life. It would be my guess that it has been the second most difficult thing that I have endured. This time has tested my faith, patience, resolve and confidence just to name a few things. However, this <strong><em>is not in any way</em></strong> meant to be a "woe is me" post.</p>
<p>Rather this series of posts come from an idea that my wife had. We have been fortunate enough that God has provided her with a good job to support us. And while we count ourselves to be truly blessed that she is working we both really want our roles to be reversed. She is eagerly anticipating the day that she can retire from full-time work and I am eagerly anticipating the day that I am working full-time.</p>
<p>She has also been a great support in other ways as well during this time. Without her this would have been by far the worst two years of my life. Her idea was for me to share my struggles and how she has supported me so that other wives might get some insight in how to support their out of work husbands. My hope is to also share some insight for how those same husbands can support their working wives. I also hope that sharing my struggles and some of my pitfalls will also help people endure their struggles easier and to avoid those same pit falls. </p>
<p>Near the end of 2005 it had become clear to both me and my wife that I was extremely dissatisfied with working in the business world. After much discussion and prayer we decided that I should quit my job and return to seminary. So in the fall of 2006 I enrolled at Western Theological Seminary in their Distance Learning program in order to earn my Masters of Divinity with a graduation date of July 2011. Of course what we didn't know then was that 2006 would prove to be the peak of the housing market and the bubble was about to burst. Then economy started it's downward spiral. Even with these events I don't know that our decision for me to enter seminary would have changed. To add to the struggles my wife lost her job in 2009. Fortunately she received an excellent severance package and was later able to find another job. We can only thank God for his provision during this time.</p>
<p>In January of 2011 I started to do some preliminary job searching as my school schedule would allow. At this point, even with the condition of the economy, we both figured that I would find something by the fall of 2011. The fall of 2011 came and went. There were a few cues that probably should have indicated that this might be an extended search process but we were still pretty confident that something would come along in the early parts of 2012. The early parts of 2012 came and went. Then the late parts of 2012 came and went. Now it is February of 2013. And we figure something will come in the early parts of 2013. </p>
<p>Yes we are still confident that God will provide the right position for me when the right time comes. But I have to admit that keeping this confidence and weathering the storm has not always been that easy. Over the next few weeks I plan to share some of that storm. This storm has been a large part of why I needed to take a break from blogging. Right now I have a few topics that I am going to address and I may add more. </p>
<p>The initial topics that I am going to address are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Dealing with an abundance of rejection;</li>
<li>A lack of patience;</li>
<li>The feeling of a lack of personal value;</li>
<li>The feeling of a lack of direction;</li>
<li>The pitfall of an abundance of seclusion. </li>
</ul>
<p>Also I plan to be as transparent about my journey as I can. To that end, if any of my readers have questions or issues that they would like me to address please feel free to pass those on to me and I will address them as best as I can. My sincere hope is to help others (both those that are unemployed and those around the unemployed) through what can be a very difficult time. I also hope that there will be something of value in these posts for those struggling with similar issues even if it is not due to unemployment.</p>
<p>14,049 hours and 47 minutes...</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-68785231103263269302013-02-01T08:42:00.001-06:002013-02-01T08:42:40.055-06:00A home going worth remembering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Gq9WU-yUxZw/UQvUXKpOWzI/AAAAAAAAAUk/j2U6ciuDegw/s1024/Photo%252520Feb%2525201%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525207%25253A13%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Gq9WU-yUxZw/UQvUXKpOWzI/AAAAAAAAAUk/j2U6ciuDegw/s500/Photo%252520Feb%2525201%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525207%25253A13%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1359729758591.241" class="alignleft" width="300" height="400" alt=""></a></div>
<p> A friend of ours, Mr. Simon Lane, passed away in January. It was really sad to hear especially because we had not seen him or his family for a number of years. My wife used to work with Mr. Lane's wife a number of years ago but both ended up getting laid off. The first time that I met the Lane family was when they came to our church to sing. </p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>The Lane Singers were impressive. I had seen good singers before. I had been to professional concerts before. But there was something special about this family. There was Mrs. Lane and what seemed like 20 daughters singing (they only had 6 daughters and I can't quite remember how many were singing with them at the time) with Mr. Lane on guitar and their son on bass. I could have sat there and listened to them for hours. </p>
<p>I had just started to play the guitar and get involved in helping out with worship at church so I was particularly drawn to Mr. Lane and his guitar playing. As I got to know Mr. Lane over the years I heard rumors and stories about how he made his way up to Chicago from Mississippi. One story that I particularly liked was how he had come up to Chicago to audition to play with Muddy Waters but instead ended up becoming a Christian and meeting his wife. Mr. Lane gave me the best piece of musical advice I have received. At one point I was telling him how I was struggling to learn to play a song the same way that the original artist was playing it. Mr. Lane told me that I needed to make the song my own instead of trying to playing it exactly the way someone else did. That forever changed the way that I approached playing music and leading worship. </p>
<p>The other stories about Mr. Lane that I really appreciated were the ones that his children told at Mr. Lane's "Home Going" service. They didn't have a funeral service rather they had a home going service. One of Mr. Lane's favorite sayings was that his citizenship is in Heaven. He was a devoted follower of Christ and knew that his sins were forgiven. He knew that when he died that he would be going to meet his maker in a very positive way. He knew that because of his faith in Christ that he would spend eternity in Heaven. And his family was also strongly aware of this and they celebrated his going home to Heaven. That celebration was filled with great singing, powerful spoken and written words as well as many tears.</p>
<p>Sardis Lane, Mr. Lane's son, gave the eulogy. It was equal parts remembering the impact that a strong Christian father had on his son and telling the Gospel message which gave the family the hope of seeing their father again one day. Sardis spoke with great passion about the need to share the Gospel message. In that moment Sardis was a living example of <a href="http://esv.to/1pet3.15" target="_blank" title="">1 Peter 3:15</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><em><strong>"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."</strong></em></p></blockquote>
<p>And Sardis credited the reason that he needed to give the Gospel message to the impact that his father had on him. I don't know any greater legacy that a parent can leave for their children. I hope that whoever gives my eulogy feels that same great hope and need to share the Gospel message.</p>
<p>I count myself blessed for having known Mr. Simon Lane and his family. I count myself blessed for the opportunity to hear the Lane Singers singing of their great faith. I also count myself blessed for the opportunities that I had to be involved as a musician in their concert events. Although I wish that I had taken greater advantage of those opportunities. But then I do have the great hope to once again be able to sit and play guitar with Mr. Lane. The next time we do so will be in Heaven in the presence of God. That will be a glorious time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em></p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-37273396080213917932013-01-30T06:55:00.001-06:002013-01-30T06:55:50.374-06:00Why repeatedly hearing the Gospel is important<div style="text-align: center;">
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Last week I posted a video on the <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-back.html" target="_blank">core message of Christianity</a>. This week I am following up on that video with a little more on why as Christians we need to hear this gospel message over and over. The scripture passage that I am using is <a href="http://esv.to/Ep2.1-10" target="_blank">Ephesians 2:1-10</a>.<br />
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Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-73954185067904321292013-01-23T10:20:00.001-06:002013-01-23T10:21:00.481-06:00The Absurdity of a First World Problem<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Alt_Telefon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Alt_Telefon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Olivetti rotary dial telephone, c.1940s</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is a person (let's call him Mr. Smith) that has always had problems with cell phones. Mr. Smith is in his 90s and just doesn't quite grasp the full concept of how to use a cell phone. He forgets to turn it on. If he remembers to turn it on he forgets to recharge it. And most often he forgets to bring it with him. Mr. Smith has had a number of relatives try to show him how to use his cell phone which has usually been an older style flip phone. But those instructions usually are forgotten within a matter of days or weeks simply because he doesn't use his cell phone with any regularity. Mr. Smith decided that he needed a new phone because it must be that his cheap phone just doesn't work. It also doesn't help that Mr. Smith loves gadgets and always wants the best possible one; or at least what he images to be the best possible one. And Mr. Smith has seen his family using their smartphones with ease.<br />
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So Mr. Smith went to the store in search of a better phone.</div>
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They sold a 90 year old senior citizen that has trouble with cell phones (and even cordless phones for that matter) a <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/galaxy-s-3-smartphone/" target="_blank">Samsung Galaxy S3</a>. </div>
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And they did so without showing him how to use it. </div>
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The salesperson told him that they do have classes on how to use the phone but that they don't have any scheduled anytime soon.</div>
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Now Mr. Smith has a far more complex phone with features that he will never understand let alone use and presumably a two year contract that includes data, messaging and a exorbitant number of minutes that won’t get use. </div>
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There is a part of me that sort of wants God to dole out a bit of extra judgment on salespeople that take advantage of people. There is also the part of me that wants those salespeople to find <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-back.html" target="_blank">forgiveness</a>. And I need to remind myself that I am only imagining a sales person and a transaction that I did not observe. It could be that Mr. Smith went in and demanded the "best phone." It could be that the sales person tried to talk him into something different but Mr. Smith wouldn't budge on what he was going to buy. I worked in retail for a long time and actually had these types of experiences. </div>
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Knowing Mr. Smith this isn't completely outside the realm of possibility or even the realm of probability.</div>
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In the end it doesn't really matter what events occurred that led to Mr. Smith sitting there trying to figure out how to use his new Samsung Galaxy S3. All I can really do is shake my head and try to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.</div>
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<br />Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-72748685876473002272013-01-21T15:36:00.001-06:002013-01-21T15:36:20.464-06:00Welcome back<br />
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Today I return to blogging with a video post sharing a little about what has been happening since the summer. I also take time to share the core message of Christianity.Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-88311971975872407162012-10-03T10:52:00.001-05:002012-10-03T10:52:26.705-05:0010,000 ReasonsI haven't been blogging with much regularity lately and I will share more on that later. I came across this Matt Redman song this morning and wanted to share it.<br />
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<br />Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-20808853934208915212012-09-25T13:45:00.001-05:002012-09-25T13:45:29.636-05:00The Deadliness of Undevotional TheologyYesterday I covered the first half of a quote that was attributed to Bishop Moule that engaged the problem with having an <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2012/09/untheological-devotion.html">untheological devotion</a> to God. There are a lot of problems with not knowing the reasons why you believe–or even what you believe–when it comes to God. We open ourselves up to being deceived into following false teachers when we are not willing to do the hard work of theology for ourselves. The second half of the quote–which was actually uttered by W. H. Griffith Thomas–warns us that "we must also beware of 'undevotional theology.'"<br/><br/>If I had to make a guess based upon my own experience–and I realize that I am about to make some potentially unfair generalizations–that each person will usually fall into only one of the two categories. It has been my experience that more often it is the average lay person that falls into having an untheological devotion to God and it is the scholars and pastors that end up falling into having an undevotional theology. I don't mean that these categories are hard and fast with no movement between the two. There are going to be lay people with an undevotional theology and there are going to be the scholars and pastors that have an untheological devotion. On top of that I would argue the each individual person will have certain areas of untheological devotion while having undevotional theology in other areas.<br/><br/>I would tend to fall into the latter category–the undevotional theology category. W.H. Griffith Thomas <a href="http://christianbookshelf.org/thomas/the_prayers_of_st_paul/v_knowledge_and_obedience.htm">defines</a> undevotional theology as such:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"A hard, dry, intellectual study of theology will yield no spiritual fruit. Accuracy in knowledge of Greek, careful balancing of aspects of truth, large knowledge of the doctrinal verities of the New Testament, are all essential and valuable; but unless they are permeated by a spirit of devotion they will fail at the crucial point...a theology which does not spring from spiritual experience is doomed to decay, to deadness, and therefore to disaster."</em></p></blockquote>
It is something that can happen to those that engage in deep scholarly study. One of my classmates asked about this very thing during a preliminary visit to my seminary. It is one of those things where you can get into your studies so much that you do not allow your studies to get into you. You get into the Word but the Word doesn't get into you. On one level theology is just like all those other -ology classes that we have taken. There is a need to take a step back and to start looking at theology in a scientific way. This can lead to a gain in <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knowledge">knowledge</a> without an equal gain of actionable <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wisdom?show=0&t=1348596341">wisdom</a>. What this means is that there is a great difference between knowing something about God and having that knowledge affect how we think or act. It is one thing to know that God is <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omniscient">omniscient</a> and <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omnipresent">omnipresent</a> but it is a whole different thing to live your life knowing that God knows everything AND that his being always present means that he has and will see every action of every person. How different would you act at times if you could see God standing next to you all the time?<br/><br/>That thought really drives home the idea that it doesn't make a bit of difference to know these things if they don't affect how I live my life.<br/><br/>James tells us this very thing in James 2:14-26:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.</em></p><p><em>"But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'–and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."</em></p></blockquote>
James starts off by pointing out that our faith needs to actively shape how we live our lives. And this is where the problem of having an undevotional theology hits us all. Whenever we know that we should be clothing and feeding the poor and we do not do so we have an undevotional theology. Whenever we act hypocritical–and we all act hypocritical on a daily basis–our works; our deeds; our actions are not matching our faith and means that our faith is a dead faith. <br/><br/>James is blunt when he says that "faith is apart from works is dead." When we have an untheological devotion we run the risk of believing false teaching. But when we have an undevotional theology we run the risk of being spiritually dead. <br/><br/>Let that sink in for a moment.<br/><br/><strong>An undevotional theology–according to the Bible and not just W. H. Griffith Thomas–is a spiritually dead theology.</strong><br/><br/>Fortunately James also gives us the remedy for an undevotional theology in this passage. He says "I will show you my faith by my works." It is such a simple idea that can be so hard to follow. Yesterday I said that we have to do the hard work of theology to avoid being spiritually deceived. We also have to do the equally hard (or maybe even harder) work of making sure that our actions follow what we believe so that we can avoid being spiritually dead.<br/><br/>Bishop Moule warns us to beware untheological devotion and W. H. Griffith Thomas warns us to beware undevotional theology. We need both of these warnings to avoid being spiritually deceived and spiritually dead. <br/><br/> <br/><br/><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em><br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-30012552470843705462012-09-24T10:09:00.001-05:002012-09-24T10:09:08.034-05:00Untheological DevotionPastor <a href="http://villagechurch.net/AboutUs/Staff/tabid/64/Default.aspx" target="_blank" title="">Steve Miller</a> of <a href="http://villagechurch.net" target="_blank" title="">Village Church</a> in Dyer, Indiana was the guest speaker at <a href="http://villagechurchoakpark.com" target="_blank" title="">my church</a> yesterday and he had an interesting quote in his message. He quoted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Moule">Bishop Handley Moule</a> as saying that it is important to "beware equally of an undevotional theology and of an untheological devotion." I thought that the quote was really good and fit well into Pastor Miller's message. I would like to share a few thoughts regarding the quote over the next couple of days.<br/><br/>I did a bit of digging because I wanted to properly attribute the quote and it turns out that the quote only partially belongs to Bishop Moule. He said "beware of untheological devotion" and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Griffith_Thomas" target="_self" title="">W. H. Griffith Thomas</a> added "We must also beware of 'undevotional theology'" when he <a href="http://christianbookshelf.org/thomas/the_prayers_of_st_paul/v_knowledge_and_obedience.htm">quoted</a> Bishop Moule. It's one of those things that can easily happen with quotes and I often <a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2008/04/25/stott-on-the-relationship-between-theology-and-worship/">found</a> the full quote attributed to Bishop Moule. Poor W. H., he didn't even get the proper attribution from someone like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stott" target="_self" title="">John Stott</a>. At least he had one of those cool names that makes him sound impressive. (I think I am going to start going by M. D. Ignazio Mannino.) The quote is still a very good warning to us even if it doesn't fully belong to Bishop Moule.<br/><br/>There are two distinct warnings in this quote and I would like to start with the first one today. Bishop Moule warns us to beware of untheological devotion. Theology is one of those words that can scare people. It's like any other "-ology" word. We can easily be transported back to our high school and college days when we hear words like biology, sociology, psychology and imgoingtofailthisclassology. For the most part the "-ology" classes were hard (there are even classes that dodn't have the "-ology" in the name but but are feared "-ology" classes like chemistry and physics) and we took them often because we needed to. Who in their right mind willingly engages in serious <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/otorhinolaryngology">otorhinolaryngology</a> in their spare time? But theology–or the study of God–is something that we all engage in whether we realize it or not. Everyone has some thoughts about what is true or is not true about God. And we as Christians should be actively engaging in theology every day. We should be reading our Bible and contemplating what it is telling us about God on a daily basis. This is theological study and we cannot fall back on the excuses that it is too hard or that we are not smart enough or that it is only for those that go to seminary. <br>
<br/><br/>I realize that there is going to be a difference between the depth of study for different people but this does not excuse us from trying to learn and understand as much as possible about God. I have heard people say things like "I just believe" or "you just have to have faith" in response to things that should not be taken on this type of blind faith. They really are just excuses for not wanting to do the hard work of theology. (It is important to take a moment to point out that there are times where we have to just have faith in God. We all have certain things that have happened in our lives that we do not understand why God has allowed them to happen. We do not see how God is working in these circumstances and there are times that we "just have to have faith" that God is still in control and things will work out in the end.) Having faith does not mean that we do not have reasons for what we believe. The author of Hebrews tells us in the first verse of chapter 11:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."</em></p></blockquote>
Faith is not a blind hope; rather faith means that we have an assurance that the things we are hoping for will come to pass. In other words we have been made promises by God and we can know that they will come true because of his character. But if we don't do theology how do we know what promises have or have not been made by God? If we don't do theology then how do we know that God is trustworthy? We have to do some studying about God if we want answers to these questions. Think about it for a moment. Would you want to be devoted to a God that you know nothing about? Could you really be devoted to a God that you know nothing about?<br/><br/>Being untheological in our devotion means that we are going to have a hard time separating the truth about God from the lies. When this happens it is all to easy to be deceived and to start following a different god. When we start following a different god we are following a false god and that is a problem. Paul gives us this warning in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."</em></p></blockquote>
There are false teachings about God that are disguised as truth. The only way that we can be assured that we are not devoting ourselves to these false teachings is to engage in the hard work of theology. When we don't we are walking down the dangerous path of untheological devotion. <br/><br/> <br/><br/><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em><br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-52513667559888944802012-08-27T14:04:00.001-05:002012-08-27T14:04:10.934-05:00Succeeding at Failing<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvh33/739372021/" title="Pete Rose by jvh33, on Flickr" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_self"><img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1396/739372021_f64a72122a_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1346094164274.104" class="alignleft" alt="Pete Rose" width="320" height="211"></a> I saw a very interesting statistic while watching the Cubs game on Sunday. One of the allures to baseball is how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_statistics">statistics</a> are used to define everything. The advanced statistics that they use to try and quantify the game of baseball are incredibly complex. I still like the basic or "old school" stats like Hits, Runs,RBI and so on. I am sure that things like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wins_above_replacement">WAR</a> (wins above replacement) can tell you something interesting and important about the game. But the fact that there is no clear or standardized way to figure the stat makes it less valuable to me. Although it may also have something to do with the fact that I am somewhat of a baseball purist. The Designated Hitter needs to go and at least 6 teams need to be eliminated from the league. (Pick any six out of the perennial attendance laggards Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami, Oakland, Pittsburg, Tampa Bay, and Washington.) But I digress.<br/><br/> The interesting stat that I saw was the top ten all-time leaders in <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/outs_made_career.shtml">making outs</a>. For those that are not real familiar with baseball making an out is when the batter fails to do what they were trying to do. This list showed the ten guys that experienced the most failure–in terms of hitting–as baseball players. Let me share that list with you:<br/><br/><ol> <li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rosepe01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Pete Rose</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Hank Aaron</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yastrca01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Carl Yastrzemski</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ripkeca01.shtml">Cal Ripken</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/murraed02.shtml" target="_self" title="">Eddie Murray</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/henderi01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Rickey Henderson</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/winfida01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Dave Winfield</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yountro01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Robin Yount</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vizquom01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Omar Vizquel</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinbr01.shtml" target="_self" title="">Brooks Robinson</a></li></ol>I don't know if there is a single player on that list that I would not have wanted playing for the Cubs in their prime. All but Vizquel and Robinson ended up in the top twenty in other significant career statistics like <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/H_career.shtml">Hits</a>, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/R_career.shtml">Runs Scored</a>, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/RBI_career.shtml">Runs Batted In</a>, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_career.shtml">Home Runs</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SB_career.shtml">Stolen Bases</a>. The career leader for each of those statistics (discounting Barry Bonds' home run record) is on this list. Eight of these guys are all in the Hall of Fame. And each of these guys played Major League Baseball for at least 20 years. So what this list means is that these guys failed a lot in order to also succeed a lot. In fact they were far more successful at failing than they were at succeeding.<br/><br/>How often are we willing to experience a lot of failure in order to succeed? How often do we allow our fear of failure to control our success?<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-58390625551438156882012-08-22T12:37:00.001-05:002012-08-22T12:38:53.528-05:00Making Heroes out of Criminals<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/6.7.11WC3.9OnTheFenceBomerDeKayByLuigiNovi.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/6.7.11WC3.9OnTheFenceBomerDeKayByLuigiNovi.jpg/800px-6.7.11WC3.9OnTheFenceBomerDeKayByLuigiNovi.jpg" id="blogsy-1345657128204.8267" class="alignleft" alt="" width="368" height="276"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim DeKay (on the left) and Matt Bomer (right)</td></tr></tbody></table> One of the TV shows that my wife and I watch is called <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/whitecollar/">White Collar</a>. Since we don't have cable we watch it via <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/White_Collar/70166091?locale=en-US">Netflix</a>. We don't watch the normal "cops and robbers" shows like CSI; CSI: Vegas; CSI: Springfield; CSI: Antartica; CSI: Moonbase Alpha; CSI: Outback (it was the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/12/dingo-took-baby-azaria-chamberlain">dingo</a>); or CSI: Old Guy Pretending To Still Be Cool. We will watch the quirky ones–<a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/">Psych</a> being a good example–or even the ones that don't pretent to be reality based (CSI: Using Equipment And Techniques That Don't Really Exist Which Makes Real Law Enforcement Jobs Harder) which is where White Collar comes in.<br/><br/>The <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/whitecollar/theshow/overview/index.html">premise</a> behind White Collar is "the unlikely crime-solving partnership between Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), a charming con man turned consultant for the FBI, and Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), the Federal Agent charged with keeping him on the right side of the law." The idea is that Caffrey's extensive background as an art thief, forger and general con man gives Agent Burke the advantage in capturing other criminals. Caffrey is released from prison and put on home arrest. He has to wear a tracking anklet except when he is working a case undercover. Then alternate means of monitoring (wearing a wire or a gps enabled watch) is used. This doesn't prevent Caffrey from getting himself into illegal situations. He has a trusty sidekick–a fellow con man that has not been convicted–named Mozzy that helps Caffrey out on the cases but also helps keep Caffrey involved in illegal activities. For the most part Agent Burke works to keep Caffrey out of trouble and even tries to catch Caffrey when he suspects Caffrey in stealing a large amount of Nazi stolen treasure.<br/><br/>The stolen treasure ends up playing a pivotal role when it turns out to be the ransom demand for Agent Burke's kidnapped wife. The treasure (or at least half of it) is used to draw out the kidnapper (who is an "archenemy" of Caffrey) and everything seemingly works out. The kidnapper takes credit for stealing the treasure in the first place which gets Caffrey off the hook. Burke knows that Caffrey had the treasure (which was technically stolen by Mozzy) and it becomes a point of contention between the two. It all leads up to the Season 3 finale where Caffrey has a hearing to determine whether or not his sentence is commuted. It turns out that Burke–knowing that Caffrey was involved in the stealing of the treasure and other art work–testifies that Caffrey has become a valuable asset to the FBI and good citizen who should have his commuted. Of course this testimony comes just as Caffrey is cutting his tracking anklet and making another escape.<br/><br/>Up to this point I thought the struggle that Caffrey was having between being a reformed criminal and reverting back to his old ways was an interesting insight into what grounds a person. The more Caffrey became rooted through friendships and his work with the FBI the less Caffrey wanted to give that up and live a life on the run. That part I understood. But the turning of Agent Burke from being honest and straight forward to someone that was willing to cover up for Caffrey because the situation was working really bothered me.<br/><br/>What bothered me wasn't the fact that Burke was making a pragmatic choice. We make pragmatic choices every day. When we find something that works we usually stick with it and hold to the truth of the situation. It is where we get the saying, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." What bothered me is that the elevation of someone that we would consider a criminal to the position of hero. But it was more than that. If we look at the heroes of the Bible (particularly those of the Old Testament) they were not always good guys. They lied, cheated, murdered, committed adultery and more. Yet they were still considered heroes. They all had to face the consequences of their sins. What really bothered me about the direction of White Collar is that it was designed for the viewer to root for Caffrey to get away with it. We don't want to see Caffrey arrested and put back in jail. We want to see things somehow work out without the consequences.<br/><br/>Unfortunately the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross tells us that the things we do wrong has consequences. Even when we receive forgiveness for our sins there was still a price that needed to be paid. There might not be an eternal consequence that we have to pay (there may be earthy ones) but someone still had to suffer the consequences. I think that it sets a bad tone when we start rooting for criminals (even fictional ones) to get away with their crimes. While they may escape the consequences for their crimes there is still a victim somewhere that has had their life negatively affected by the crime. <br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-68297089594460131372012-08-14T14:04:00.000-05:002012-08-14T14:04:23.861-05:00What about the Willow Creek Association?Over the past couple of days I shared some reflections (<a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-global-leadership-summit-thursday.html" target="_blank">Day 1</a> and <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-global-leadership-summit-friday.html" target="_blank">Day 2</a>) on the <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/about/" target="_blank">Willow Creek Association's</a> <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/" target="_blank">Global Leadership Summit</a>. Today I wanted to share some of my conflicted thoughts about Willow Creek. I think that it is important to differentiate between the Willow Creek Association and <a href="http://www.willowcreek.org/" target="_blank">Willow Creek Community Church</a>. I realize that this is like splitting a hair and then claiming that the two halves are different. But bear with me for a moment.<br />
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There really is an important difference between the two. One is a church and the other is an association of churches. While they are lead by the same people and one is an offshoot of the other, they have different functions. Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) <a href="http://www.willowcreek.org/aboutwillow/what-willow-believes" target="_blank">states</a> that their mission is:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"...to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ."</i></blockquote>
Where as the Willow Creek Association (WCA) <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/about/" target="_blank">states</a> their mission is:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"To inspire and equip Christian leaders to lead transformation-minded churches."</i></blockquote>
There is a fundamental difference between the two. One exists to teach theology and doctrine while the other exists to teach Christian leaders how to lead. I might disagree with some of the theology and decision of WCCC but it is a whole different thing to recognize that there are things that I can learn from both WCCC and the WCA. It is also worth noting that there is a big difference between having former President Bill Clinton being interviewed about leadership during a WCA event (which happened) and having him address the congregation during a WCCC worship service (which did not happen). I wasn't at that interview and I have not seen a video or read a transcript. So I don't think that it would be completely fair for me to judge that particular event. It could be that it was a very bad move on the part of the WCA and <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/about/bill_hybels.asp" target="_blank">Senior Pastor Bill Hybels</a>. Although, in general, I don't have a problem with hearing from non-Christians speaking at Christian leadership development events.<br />
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At the risk of sounding heretical let me say that Christ is THE TRUTH and all truth comes from God but that does not mean that the church can claim to be the sole possessor of all truth. In order for that to be so we would have to claim that EVERY bit of discovery and knowledge uncovered outside of the church to be false. This doesn't mean that everything that the world holds to be true is in fact true. What this means is that there are always going to be things that the church can learn from the world. (I realize that saying this might put me at risk of waking up in the middle of the night to loud angry mobs with pitchforks and torches demanding my excommunication.) We can learn from those outside the church however we must carefully sift through and discern what is worth keeping and what needs to be discarded.<br />
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In the past I have learned solid leadership principles from non-Christian sources. When we look at examples of good leadership in the world we need to realize that they work because someone is following the truth of God whether or not they realize or acknowledge that he is the source of that truth. These leadership principles are not true because they work. They work because they are based upon the truth that God infused into the foundation of the world. Whether or not a physicist recognizes God as the author of the law of gravity does not change whether or not the law exists and works.<br />
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The Apostle Paul also recognized that there are things that we can learn from the world. His imagery of the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 was using the Roman soldier as an example of how we should equip ourselves. Paul is saying that we should not engage in spiritual battles without the proper equipment in the same way that the Roman soldiers would not think of going to war without their equipment. Paul also used the imagery of Olympic athletes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Paul is telling us that we need to have the same self-discipline as those athletes that win. I am sure that there are plenty of things about Roman soldiers and Olympic athletes that Paul wouldn't want us to emulate but that doesn't mean we can't learn from the good aspects.<br />
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And that is my approach to Willow Creek and the Global Leadership Summit. There is plenty good to learn and there is plenty bad to leave behind. And one of the side benefits to having non-Christian speakers come and speak at a Christian event is that we rub off on them. This past week we heard from a tearful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Fiorina" target="_blank">Carly Fiorina</a> of how she has come back to her faith in Jesus Christ as a result of her involvement with Willow Creek and Bill Hybels. We also heard how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Collins" target="_blank">Jim Collins</a>, who has been speaking at the Global Leadership Summit since 1997, is starting to very seriously explore Christianity. It sounds like he could make a commitment to becoming a Christian in the near future. I may have issues with Willow Creek on a theological and even an ideological level but I do not think that all that they do is reprobate or irredeemable.Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-30179283518643238912012-08-13T10:35:00.001-05:002012-08-13T10:35:47.132-05:00The Global Leadership Summit - Friday Today I would like to continue sharing some of my thoughts on what I heard and learned at Willow Creek's Global Leadership Summit. Tomorrow I will share some overall thoughts on the Willow Creek Association (which can be somewhat differentiated from the Willow Creek Community Church) and on the Global Leadership Summit.<br/><br/>I was especially looking forward to Friday as it included one of my favorite preachers, <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_john_ortberg.asp" target="_self" title="">John Ortberg</a>. I have always appreciated his teaching ability and style. Although I have noted that my preaching professor would have found fault with his presentation–he reads too much leading to poor eye contact and he finishes his statements weakly by looking down–but other than that he is fine.<br/><br/>The day started with <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_patrick_lencioni.asp">Patrick Lencioni</a> who may have been tied with Craig Groeschel for the title of highest energy speaker. Interestingly Lencioni is an unabashed Christian in the business consulting world. While his work is primarily focused on the business world–most if not all of his positive examples were about Southwest Airlines–he easily adapts his work to the church because he is a Christian first and a business man second. The main focus of Lencioni's talk was about the importance of organizational health. In Lencioni's view there are two main factors for an organization or business. There is Organizational Smarts and Organizational Health. <br/><br/>Organizational Smarts includes things like strategy, marketing, finance and other "business school" stuff. In Lencioni's view it is only half of the business equation and yet receives 98% of the focus because it is easier and more quantifiable. Organizational Health is hard work yet can make the difference between a highly successful organization and one that crashes and burns. A healthy organization is one that has minimal internal politics and confusion; had high moral and productivity; and has a low turnover of key leadership personnel. Ironically while Organizational Smarts receives so much focus it takes good Organizational Health to fully tap into all of an organizations smarts.<br/><br/>The next two speakers–<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_william_ury.asp">William Ury</a> and <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_pranitha_timothy.asp">Pranitha Timothy</a>–were very interesting but I didn't take too much away in terms of applicable leadership skills. They had great stories to tell but were a bit weak on practical application. I did find Pranitha Timothy's stories of having the courage to lead in very difficult situations to be moving. It is one thing to claim to lead an organization through a difficult time. But it is a whole different thing to lead an organization that rescues slaves from forced labor in India. Every time she goes out on a rescue mission she may not come back. She has faced irate and armed business owners that will stop at almost nothing to keep their slaves. The next time I have to face a difficult situation in leadership I need to remember that I could be facing much worse.<br/><br/>Pastor <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_mario_vega.asp">Mario Vega</a> then spoke about the need for integrity in leadership and the difficulty that we can face when we are trying to navigate through the tough consequences of leaders that lack integrity. There were three points that he made that stuck with me. The first is that when we allow a little moral failure into our lives we are opening the door for further moral failure. Once we start justifying small things it becomes easier to justify big things. The second is that, as leaders, we are not just responsible for our own actions but we are also responsible for the actions of those leaders below us. And the third is that there are defining moments in leadership that reveal our inner character. There is an absolute need for us to model and demand integrity.<br/><br/>The next session started with John Ortberg. What was interesting about Ortberg's talk was that it was not meant to be a talk giving leadership principles. Rather it was one of the greatest apologetics for Christ and the goodness that has resulted in the world due to his teaching and his followers. I cannot wait to read his new book: <em>Who Is This Man</em>.<br/><br/>The session concluded with an interview with <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_geoffrey_canada.asp">Geoffrey Canada</a>. He was so interesting that I ended up fixated on the discussion and didn't take any notes. One of his key leadership principles that he shared was the importance of replacing poor workers as soon as possible. He noted that they can be very hard working and very likable but just may not be a good fit for the position. These are tough but necessary decisions to make.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_bill_hybels.asp">Bill Hybels</a> closed out the Summit talking about integrity which he has done in almost every Summit that I have been to. Integrity on all fronts may be the most important attribute of a leader especially leaders in the church.<br/><br/>It was a good learning experience and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. We were blessed by the music of <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/guests_gungor_and_kevin_olusola.asp">Gungor and Kevin Olusola</a> throughout the Summit which just added to the overall experience. <br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-71073066747493551472012-08-10T07:29:00.001-05:002012-08-10T07:29:06.961-05:00The Global Leadership Summit - ThursdayI have the good fortune of being able to take advantage of an extra pass to this year's <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/" target="_blank">Global Leadership Summit</a> that is put on by the <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/index.asp" target="_blank">Willow Creek Association</a>. I will share some thoughts on the nature of the conference and the Willow Creek Association next week when I have more time to write but today I wanted to share some thoughts about what I heard and learned yesterday. My goal was to post this yesterday but I decided to spend time with my wife rather than blog before we went to bed. I apologize in advance for the quick and shallow nature of what I am writing today. I have a very short time-frame to write this morning.<div>
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<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_bill_hybels.asp" target="_blank">Bill Hybels</a> is the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and the Willow Creek Association Chairman of the Board. He has been the opening speaker of every Global Leadership Summit that I have been to and this year was no different. His talk was really four different talks all rolled into one where he hit on different topics that were loosely related and centered around leadership. He started out with the Parable of the Sower as found in Luke 8:4-8. He didn't go into a great exegetical explanation of the passage but that wasn't the intent. What he did was pick out that the parable has a 75% failure rate. The sower threw seeds and some landed on the path, some on the rocky soil, some on the weedy soil and some on the good soil. Only the seed that landed on the good soil (1 out of 4 types of soil) actually grew into flourishing crop. The point is that if we want to see more good crop grow in our churches or organizations then we need to sow more seed. He went on to share how we as the leaders need to set the tone for sowing more seed in our organizations. </div>
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The second session started off with former U.S. Secretary of State <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_condoleezza_rice.asp" target="_blank">Condoleezza Rice</a>. I had heard her in sound bites from the news but I had not heard her speak in length. Now I understand why people keep calling for her to be Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential candidate. She would have my vote no matter what office she ran for. One of her main points was that as a leader you cannot just lead others but rather you need to help others realize their own leadership qualities. We can't just create a nation of followers but we need to build up other leaders.</div>
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<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_jim_collins.asp" target="_blank">Jim Collins</a> finished off the second session and it is easy to see why he was one of the most popular teachers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He covered his research into what made leaders ultra successful. The three qualities that they found to be common among all of those leaders is Fanatical Discipline, Empirical Creativity and Productive Paranoia. For me the idea of Fanatical Discipline was the key to the whole talk. Fanatical Discipline is the discipline to have the discipline to keep to a consistency of action regardless of the circumstances. You push through on the tough days and you don't over do it on the easy days. That way you always are moving forward and you have enough reserve for when you hit great difficulty.</div>
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The third session had <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_marc_kielburger.asp" target="_blank">Marc Kielburger</a> and <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_sheryl_wudunn.asp" target="_blank">Sheryl WuDunn</a>. They were interesting but spoke more about their social justice work than leadership.</div>
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Finally the fourth session featured <a href="http://lifechurch.tv/">lifechurch.tv</a> pastor <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_craig_groeschel.asp" target="_blank">Craig Groeschel</a>. He spoke very well about the need to reconcile the older generation of leadership with the younger generation. He didn't put the blame for the disconnect on one of the generations but on both. He gave three keys to bridging the gap. The first is that we need to create intentional feedback loops that include a wide range of people. The second is to create specific mentoring moments. And the third is to create opportunities for significant leadership development.</div>
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So far the event has been very good and this is all I have time to share right now. I will share more and in depth in upcoming blog posts.</div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-90909273616014162942012-08-08T14:45:00.003-05:002012-08-08T14:45:36.581-05:00Silver isn't good enoughDespite NBC's best efforts to ruin the experience, my wife and I have been enjoying the London Olympics over the past week. I know that some people have been upset with the tape delay of major events. But that has not bothered me much simply because those stubborn Brits refuse to play the games in the middle of the night to accommodate our prime time. What has bothered me is that NBC covers only certain events on the main network. So for those of us that don't have cable we get to watch a lot of beach volleyball but no team handball, soccer or field hockey. The other thing that really got me going was NBC showing an add for the Today show that gave away the Missy Franklin's win in the 100m backstroke that they were just about to show. Nothing takes away the excitement of watching a sporting event when you already know the outcome.<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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Sunday we were watching the Women's Vault finals. We had not followed much of the women's gymnastics (which is quite a misnomer when you consider the age of the gymnasts) but knew that the U.S. had a good team. We missed the team winning the team all-around gold medal and <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=gabrielle-douglas/index.html" target="_blank">Gabby Douglas</a> winning the individual all-around gold medal. We were however looking forward to <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=mckayla-maroney/index.html" target="_blank">McKayla Maroney's</a> vault final after seeing the replays of her near <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/gymnastics/highlight-slo-mo-of-maroney-s-near-perfect-vault.html" target="_blank">perfect vault</a> in the team final. For those that are following the Olympics you know that Maroney almost nailed her first and signature vault in the Finals. There was a little hop in the landing but not enough to drastically hurt her score. As she lined up for her second vault one of the NBC commentators said, "She just needs to put it to her feet." Maroney promptly <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/gymnastics/highlights-mckayla-maroney-falls-in-vault-final-wins-silver.html" target="_blank">landed</a> on her bum. The commentators said that she was the closest thing to a sure gold medal both before and after her stumble to which my wife turned to me and said, "There is no such thing as a sure thing."<br />
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And in human terms she's right.<br />
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My friend Brad did a good job covering how <a href="http://brad-kautz.blogspot.com/2012/07/certainty-in-uncertain-world.html" target="_blank">God is a sure thing</a> just last week. But when it comes to us as human beings we are fatally flawed. We are imperfect. That is why the sure thing of McKayla Maroney's gold medal win was not a sure thing.<br />
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The Apostle Paul draws on the Olympic Games as an illustration to how we should live our lives in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:<br />
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<i>"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."</i></blockquote>
There is a serious amount of training that an Olympic athlete must undergo in order to compete at the highest level. Paul knew that and it is interesting that he compared that amount of training to living a life dedicated to following Christ. I've played enough sports over the years to know that it can be easy to confuse (or even fool yourself) the difference between putting in a high level effort and giving it your all when it comes to practice and training. The question is whether or not we are actually putting that type of effort into our walk with God. Am I really dedicating my life to God the way that I should or am I coasting and thinking the effort is good enough? Paul gives us a great list of the attributes of living a Godly life in Galatians 5:22-23:<br />
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<i>"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."</i></blockquote>
Everything on that list is something that can be worked on. Some people might naturally be more adept at some of those things than others. But even those things that come fairly easy to us can be improved. Does anyone love perfectly, have perfect joy or perfect patience? These are things that we should be actively working on developing and we should be doing so with the same dedication and effort that we see in our Olympic athletes. There will be times when we try to exercise gentleness and we fall flat on our bum. But that doesn't mean that we should give up. McKayla Maroney was obviously not pleased with her result. For her winning the silver was not good enough. Hopefully it spurs her on to do even better the next time around. Whenever we fall short we should not simply say, "Well I tried and did my best. That is good enough." We should be resolute to work harder and to do better next time around.<br />
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<em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-39249021819131367662012-08-01T13:58:00.000-05:002012-08-01T21:06:26.690-05:00Reacting to trouble"How are you?" may be one of the most common and most disingenuous questions that we ask. Sometimes we ask without really wanting an answer; it has become a replacement phrase for "hello." I have often participated in conversations that go something like this:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Hey, how are you?"</em><em><br></em><em>"Good. You?"</em><em><br></em><em>"Oh, you know. Same old, same old."</em></p></blockquote>Or like this:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Hey, how are you?"</em><em><br></em><em>"Hey."</em></p></blockquote>"Hey?" That's really an answer? At least the first conversation pretends to engage the question. Full disclosure: I have not just heard the answer "hey" but have used it myself. I don't recall having someone answer "hey" and being offended by it. In my experience we get (and give) the level of answer that is expected. But of course there are also plenty of times that the question is meant to elicit a deeper response. But how often do we really want to share how we are doing? I guilty of having a canned response no matter how things are going. If things are going good the response is usually, "good." If things are going rough the response might be, "not bad." If things are crashing down around me the response might be, "not too bad."<br/><br/>I think that my response is due to a couple of reasons. The first is our individualistic culture and private nature. There are certain things that we all hold as private. The topics and amount of information may change from person to person but we all have things that we will not share. The second reason is our pride. We generally want people to think well of us and usually don't want people's pity. (On a side note, there can be times when we share our troubles for the sake of pride as well. We can get a sense of pride when we share just how difficult we have it.) Both reasons come down to our desire to control how others see us. In the day of social media we have even more control over how we are perceived by others. (I've written on this before <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2012/02/way-back-in-day.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://wandering-journey.blogspot.com/2011/10/twitter-age-and-relationships.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br/><br/>I think that another reason that I respond this way is because of the perception that I am supposed to react this way. It is very easy to read Matthew 8:23-27 and scoff at the disciples reaction:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing.' And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'"</em></p></blockquote>Some of the guys on this boat were fishermen. They made their living by being on the sea and I am sure that this is not the first time that they faced a storm. I am sure that they would know when a storm was just a storm and when to be afraid of sinking. Yet Jesus rebuked them for having little faith and being afraid of the waves. So one of the lessons that we take away from this story is that we should never be afraid of a storm–no matter how bad it seems–when we have Jesus on our side. Buck up. Put on your happy face because no matter how terrible things are going we are "not too bad."<br/><br/>Yet most of us face things in life that look like real crises. They may in face be real crises and near impossible to put on a happy face. There are times when it takes all of our strength just to say that things are "not too bad." So why do we try?<br/><br/>Notice that the storm that the disciples faced was very real. Their fear was also very real. It was so real that they cried out to Jesus to save them. There are times in life that crying out to God is the only thing that we can do. But this doesn't guarantee that the storm will be calmed. Jesus tells us as much in John 16:33:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."</em></p></blockquote>There are times when we are going to face trouble; real trouble. And when we fear the worst we can take heart in the fact that no matter what we face in this world that we have a Savior that has faced just as much as we will ever face. He might not get rid of all of our trouble but in the end–in the life after this one–he will more than get rid of our troubles. We do not need to be afraid of calling out to him for help. It is the first thing that we should do. What we shouldn't do is put on a false front and simply answer "not too bad" when we are asked how things are going. <br/><br/> <br/><br/><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em> <br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-2326197178440715082012-07-26T12:36:00.001-05:002012-08-01T21:04:41.183-05:00The End of a Chapter in LifeA number of weeks ago my wife and I had to make a very difficult decision. As you may know I graduated from seminary last year and I am in the process of looking for a pastoral position in a church. When I started this process I was a member of the Reformed Church in America. I attended a Reformed Church, was a youth pastor in a Reformed Church and was attending a Reformed Church Seminary. As I went through this process it became clearer and clearer that I did not fit into the Reformed Church theological system. We knew that we would not be looking to serve in the RCA and that I would not be seeking ordination in the RCA. The problem was that we had been in our church for quite some time and we have very good friends in the church. We knew that we would eventually need to change our church affiliation but hoped that it would come after I found a church to serve in. However it became clear earlier this summer that it was probably best for us and the search process to make that change sooner rather than later.<br/><br/>For the past 7 weeks we have been attending and are now starting to volunteer at Village Church of Oak Park. It is a new church plant and part of the Evangelical Free Church of America. We don't know if we will end up in the EFCA but the theological beliefs of the EFCA align with our beliefs. While we are excited about being a part of a church plant and the new learning experience that it provides, it means that we have to say some very difficult good-byes. Our friends at Faith Community Reformed Church will always be our friends and we hope to stay in contact with them for the rest of our lives. But the reality of the situation is that we will no longer see them multiple times a week and the nature of our relationships will necessarily change. Even considering our belief differences with the RCA we would still recommend Faith Community Reformed Church to anyone living in the Stickney/Lyons/Berwyn area that is looking for a good church home and has a Reformed theological bent.<br/><br/>We have just sent a letter to the people of Faith to officially let them know of our decision. (The pastor and elders had previously been informed.) I want to take a moment and recognize the important role that the people of Faith have played in our lives. They made us a part of their families and invited us into their homes. They have also supported us throughout our seminary experience. We feel that the church is heading in a good direction and is really making a positive impact in the surrounding neighborhood. I especially want to highlight the impact of Pastor Chris and those that served as elders and deacons during our time at Faith. We are deeply indebted to their generosity and the opportunities that you provided for us. They didn't provide the minimums that I needed. Rather they were always willing to give more. <br/><br/>The chapter of our life that is entitled "Faith Community Reformed Church" is being closed. But it will never be forgotten and we will always look back on it with great fondness. We cannot thank the people of Faith enough and we will always have a special place in our hearts for you. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>Updated 8/1/2012: Changed "Reformed Church of America" to "Reformed Church in America."<br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-13561518243162497382012-07-24T10:04:00.001-05:002012-07-24T10:04:25.890-05:00Just what are we teaching our young girls?It is amazing how quickly one week away turned into three. Let me start with just a brief catch-up note. Initially I was only going to have one week away from blogging during the Fourth of July week. My wife and I usually join my family for a long weekend at the lake. So I figured that I wouldn't get much writing in. But then the week we came back I officiated over my very first wedding. It was pretty exciting because it was for one of my former youth group kids. Then I spent most of last week answering doctrinal questions on an application for a Senior Pastor position. Some of you might cringe at answering questions on Baptism, The Lord's Supper, church governance/discipline and Spiritual Gifts but once I start I sometimes have a hard time quitting. But now I am back to my regularly scheduled blog post.<br/><br/>Last week I came across an interesting but disturbing article entitled: <em><a href="http://www.livescience.com/21609-self-sexualization-young-girls.html">Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want to Be Sexy</a></em>. The article starts off with a fairly ominous statement:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Most girls as young as 6 are already beginning to think of themselves as sex objects, according to a new study of elementary school-age kids in the Midwest."</em></p></blockquote>Researchers from Knox College in Galesburg, IL showed a couple of paper dolls to girls that were between 6 and 9 years old. Both dolls were dressed in clothes that would be considered fashionable. One was dressed in a modest way and the other was dressed like a sexy <a href="http://www.bratz.com/">Bratz</a> doll. The results are quite disturbing:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Across-the-board, girls chose the "sexy" doll most often. The results were significant in two categories: 68 percent of the girls said the doll looked how she wanted to look, and 72 percent said she was more popular than the non-sexy doll."</em></p></blockquote>I don't know that it really is all that stunning that almost three quarters of 6 to 9-year-olds identify dressing sexy with being popular. For those that do find it surprising might I suggest a quick perusal of pop culture that includes a look at MTV. But what is interesting (and again not all that stunning when you really think about the issue) is that media consumption and desire to dress sexy is not the primary correlation that we might suppose.<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Media consumption alone didn't influence girls to prefer the sexy doll. But girls who watched a lot of TV and movies and who had mothers who reported self-objectifying tendencies, such as worrying about their clothes and appearance many times a day, in the study were more likely to say the sexy doll was popular.</em></p><p><em>"The authors suggest that the media or moms who sexualize women may predispose girls toward objectifying themselves; then, the other factor (mom or media) reinforces the messages, amplifying the effect. On the other hand, mothers who reported often using TV and movies as teaching moments about bad behaviors and unrealistic scenarios were much less likely to have daughters who said they looked like the sexy doll. The power of maternal instruction during media viewing may explain why every additional hour of TV- or movie-watching actually decreased the odds by 7 percent that a girl would choose the sexy doll as popular, Starr said. "As maternal TV instruction served as a protective factor for sexualization, it’s possible that higher media usage simply allowed for more instruction.""</em></p></blockquote>The influence of a mother–for good or bad–may be one of the most important aspects of the development of young girls. The article also found that a mother's religious beliefs also positively influenced the girls but that it wasn't due to a "media blackout."<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"However, girls who didn’t consume a lot of media but who had religious mothers were much more likely to say they wanted to look like the sexy doll. "This pattern of results may reflect a case of 'forbidden fruit' or reactance, whereby young girls who are overprotected from the perceived ills of media by highly religious parents … begin to idealize the forbidden due to their underexposure," the authors wrote. Another possibility is that mothers of girls who displayed sexualized attitudes and behaviors had responded by restricting the amount of TV and movies their daughters could watch. Regardless, the authors underlined, "low media consumption is not a silver bullet" against early self-sexualization in girls."</em></p></blockquote>What seems to be the most important aspect is when a mother takes the time to teach their daughters about what they encounter in both media and popular culture. It is important for parents to understand and explain the problems that come with the sexual objectification of women with their daughters even at a young age. This isn't a new idea and is how God designed the parent/child relationship to work. Proverbs 22:6 says:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."</em></p></blockquote>For good or bad what parents teach their children will be even more powerful than anything that pop culture, the media or anyone else tries to teach your children. The only time that those other voices will have a bigger impact is when parents–through both their actions and inaction–"teach" their children need to learn from someone else.<br/><br/> <br/><br/><em>Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.</em><br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29466706.post-29573814562250869752012-06-29T10:38:00.001-05:002012-06-29T10:52:09.816-05:00Coriolanus and King James<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.twcpublicity.com/movie.php?id=142#production" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iYsLNawnfKA/T-3MoVf1VuI/AAAAAAAAATk/AaTBcPnzKZ8/s299/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A40%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340985120691.9343" class="alignleft" alt="" width="299" height="442"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©2012 THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY INC.</td></tr></tbody></table>Last night my wife and I decided to rent a movie. So we watched a few trailers and decided on a movie named <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1372686/" target="_blank"><em>Coriolanus</em></a>. It looked like a fascinating story of a man that was rejected by the country he fought for, banished and ends up having to join forces with his mortal enemy. It had <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000146/" target="_blank">Ralph Fiennes</a> (playing the main character Caius Martius Coriolanus) and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124930/" target="_blank">Gerard Butler</a> (playing his arch enemy Tullus Aufidius) starring as two of main characters with a great supporting cast. At the very end of the trailer a headline flashed that made it known that the movie was based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. So now I am really stoked. It looks like a good action movie with a great cast and the underpinnings of a solid story. So we rented it.<br/><br/>What could go wrong?<br/><br/>The movie was set in a modern version of Rome and the opening scenes were flashes of news reports that looked eerily similar to the recent riots in Greece. The parallels of the movie to modern day happenings make the movie look even more interesting. The first real scene has an angry mob marching on a government controlled food depot. So were are getting right into it. <br/><br/>What could go wrong?<br/><br/>Then we hit the first lines of dialogue:<br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>Second Citizen: Before we proceed any further, hear me speak. You are all resolved rather to die than to famish? </em><br><em>Gathered Citizens: Resolved.</em><br><em>Second Citizen: First, you know Caius Martius is chief enemy to the people. </em><br><em>Gathered Citizens: We know it. </em><br><em>First Citizen: Let us kill him. And we'll have corn at our own price. </em><br><em>Second Citizen: We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians of good. The leanness that afflicts us, the object of our misery, our suffering, is a gain to them. </em><br><em>Gathered Citizens: Aye. </em><br><em>Second Citizen: Let us revenge this with our sticks, ere we become rakes. </em><br><em>First Citizen: No more talking on it. Come! </em></p></blockquote>Uh oh. I'm starting to get an idea of what could go wrong. Who speaks like that? It became very difficult to follow what was going on. Further into the movie we were treated to this gem: <br/><br/><blockquote><p><em>Tullus Aufidius: What's thy name? <br>Caius Martius Coriolanus: A name unmusical to the Volscians' ears, and harsh in sound to thine. <br>Tullus Aufidius: Say... what's thy name? Thou has a grim appearance. What's thy name? <br>Caius Martius Coriolanus: Know'st thou me yet? <br>Tullus Aufidius: I know thee not. Thy name? <br>Caius Martius Coriolanus: My name is Caius Martius, who hath done to thee particularly, and to all the Volsces, great hurt and mischief. Thereto witness my surname... Coriolanus. Only that name remains. The cruelty and envy of the people who have all forsook me, hath devoured the rest and suffered me by the voice of slaves, be whooped out of Rome. Now this extremity hath brought me to thy hearth. Not out of hope, mistake me not to save my life. For if I had feared death, of all men in the world I would have avoided thee. But, in mere spite, to be full quit of those my banishers, stand I before thee here. I will fight against my cankered country with the spleen of all the under fiends. But if thou dares not this, then I present my throat to thee and to thy ancient malice. Which not to cut would show thee but a fool, since I have ever followed thee with hate, and cannot live but to thy shame, unless it be to do thee service. </em></p></blockquote> Don't get me wrong. Reading dialogue like this is nothing like trying to decipher it on the fly in the context of a movie. When I read it I can understand it but it isn't quite a clear as it could be. In a movie it was near impossible to understand what was actually being said. It seems silly to me to update every aspect of the movie but the dialogue. In this movie the dialogue is what really tells us what is going on. Isn't the point of a modern telling of a Shakespeare play to help modern viewers understand better?<br/><br/>It is the very same reason that most churches and Christians no longer use the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_King_James_Version">1611 King James</a> version of the Bible. The whole point of modern versions is so that modern readers can better understand what the Bible is saying. But then as a church we can still get caught up using "insider" language that ends up confusing those outside of the church. That doesn't mean that we should stop using terms like <em><a href="http://www.theopedia.com/Justification">justification</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.theopedia.com/Sanctification">sanctification</a></em>. What it means is that we need to be very intentional about clarifying and defining the terms that we use so that even those outside the church can easily follow our dialogue. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>Movie quotes are from <a href="http://imdb.com">imdb.com</a><br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07024414455577446467noreply@blogger.com0