I enjoyed Sean Michael Lucas' post today "Watching Joel Osteen." It was a great non-snarky examination of why so many people are drawn to Osteen's message. (Lucas' answer, by the way, is that Osteen provides hope.)

You need to read the whole thing, but here is Sean's final paragraph:

And that is the great hope: not that our material position would be better or our relationships grow stronger. Rather, our great hope is that the steadfast, committed love of our God is transforming us into worshippers who find their hearts satisfied in God himself.

Obviously his main point is the final sentence. But I was struck by the penultimate sentence: "And that is the great hope: not that our material position would be better or our relationships grow stronger." It's easy to take potshots at a guy like Osteen, but what about me? I wonder: are there times when our biblical peacemaking is used as a means to an end? When I want my relationship fixed more than I want to find my every joy and satisfaction in all that God is for me in Christ?

Lord, may my heart's joy and satisfaction, first and foremost, be found in you and nothing else.

Wow, we had a great trip, and now it's great to be back!  I had the chance to share about our trip (which Ken wrote about earlier) at staff devotions last week, and I wanted to pass on what I shared while it's still (relatively) fresh!

 10. Christians everywhere have more in common than we have differences.

Pictured below is Ken teaching the Slippery Slope, which we've found connects almost everywhere!  In tropical places, we just have to change the metaphor of standing on a hill of ice to, say, a hill of mud or sand.

9. People everywhere have more in common than we have differences. 

Christians in this region are a definite minority, and yet we were amazed to see the ways that they partner with and serve people from all sorts of backgrounds and religions.  Pictured here are orphans from a variety of backgrounds welcoming us to the conference.

8. Humor is universal ... and God has a great sense of humor.

Pictured here are Karl and Ferdy -- notice the rope in Karl's hand!  This is right after the rope demonstration that Ken described in his post.  One of the things that made this demonstration so effective was that, in the gravity of the situation, people still made humorous comments that would give us a little breath of fresh air.

7. A little bit of pressure on the church can be a good thing.

We in the United States live such comfortable lives; it's amazing to see and even experience the sacrifices and risks that people take because of their belief in God's power and his worthiness.

6.  Loving your enemies is an incredibly powerful "weapon."

This is true whether you're talking about macro-issues, like ethnic or religious conflict, or micro-issues, like your ongoing frustrations with an elder in your church.

5. God is more powerful than we often give him credit for being.

I noticed that in the worship songs and the prayers of our hosts, there was a strong emphasis on God's power.  I think that our churches in the United States have lost our awe of God's power because we emphasize God's love to the point of seeing him as our "buddy."  It was refreshing and challenging to realize that these two perspectives can come together to give us a more robust understanding of God's character.

4. Conflict is universal, and the answer (or Answer) is universal.

This is the cover of the conference guide -- and the front of the auditorium was filled with a HUGE banner that looked like this!

3. Inconveniences are not the same as suffering.

As you can tell from the scenery, we weren't suffering much at all!

2. Things are almost never as they first appear.

Whether we are considering a brother or sister in our church or a movement on the other side of the world, I'm reminded that there is a lot going on under the surface that we are often not aware of.  We don't see their true struggles, but we also don't always see the amazing things that God is doing in drawing individuals or entire groups of people to himself with his reconciling power and love.

1. Just being with people sends a powerful message.

God doesn't always call us to be active and "doing" things, which our American pragmatism tells us we need to be doing in order to feel productive and useful.  We enjoyed rich fellowship, worship and teaching which was just as important "ministry" as the teaching and coaching that God allowed us to do.  Oh, and we also enjoyed some fantastic food

Last weekend, my daughter decided it was time to take off the training wheels and really learn to ride a bike. A friend of hers recently did the same, and so it seems a bit of positive peer pressure had been exerted.

It was an exciting moment as I pulled out the wrench and took them off. My daughter was excited, too.

Until she got on the bike.

Then the fears took over. "I'm going to fall!" she kept saying. And as much as I reassured her that I was right there with her and I wouldn't let her fall, she just couldn't get past the fear. I knew she was perfectly safe, but in that moment, my certainty wasn't enough for her. 

We persevered and practiced several laps up and down the driveway, but we ended up eventually putting the training wheels back on. We'll try again soon, I'm sure. All in good time.

As I reflect on that experience, it's easy to draw the analogy of how we relate to God in the midst our fears. Despite reassurance from the promises of his Word and the very presence of his Spirit, we can so often give in to our fears. Why is that? Like the disciples caught in the storm, we forget the power of the one who is with us. "Oh you of little faith, why are you so afraid?" he asks (Matt 8:26).

But hopefully there are times when we persevere through the fear, and by his grace, do what he is calling us to do. In small moments of obedience, we are more and more conformed to the likeness of Christ. Like riding a bike, it doesn't happen all at once. Not at all.  But he who begins a good work in us is faithful to complete it. All in good time.

NOTE: I probably wouldn't have blogged about any of this were it not for my daughter's attire in the picture--a relic of the backyard bible club on peacemaking that my church's youth put on every summer. How could I pass that up? (But in case you ever wondered if wearing a peacemaking t-shirt is in any way advantageous when you are learning to ride a bicycle, the answer is no.)

Greg Gilbert at the Church Matters blog is doing a series on "Church Reform When You're not the Pastor".  It's a great series to read if you're passionate about working with your leaders in a biblical, God-honoring way. I especially liked post #3 about setting yourself up in public oppostion to your church's leaders. Here's an excerpt:

"One way to become a force, a center of gravity, in a church is to set yourself up as the loyal opposition to the leadership, the guy who questions every recommendation, pokes holes in every idea, probes for weaknesses in every new ministry, and generally becomes known as the guy who doesn't like or trust the leaders and would take the church in a wholly different direction if he had half a chance. Do that, and you'll probably gather around yourself a small and devoted group of followers, and you'll certainly become a focus of attention at every business meeting. But good luck persuading the church's leaders---much less the church as a whole---to give your ideas any credence. The loyal opposition is seldom invited into leadership by those he loyally opposes."

I am just now returning from a trip to Southeast Asia, and God has taught me a great deal. I've been inspired and challenged by the example of our brothers and sisters there, who sometimes endure great suffering as they live out their faith as a religious minority. I've also been impressed by way that our host organization has helped to educate and care for thousands of people in other faith communities, and thereby built trust and close relationships across the political and religious spectrum.

I've also learned a great deal from my travel companions, Molly Routson and Karl Dortzbach. Molly did a brilliant job drawing out practical implications on peacemaking as she and I "tag-teamed" during a session on Monday. She is incredibly insightful on cross cultural dynamics as we interact with people here, and has helped to guide numerous conversations with church leaders in realistic and constructive directions.

Karl's interactions with the people here have been similarly instructive, and his keynote address had to be the high point of the conference.

After introducing the concept of Shalom through the story of Jesus' meeting with Samaritan woman in John 4, he used his marvelous "rope exercise" to show how unconfessed sin can strangle relationships. He and three volunteers acted out a conflict scenario caused by church leaders who were talking critically about one another instead of going to each other directly with their concerns. As each man spoke a word of criticism about others, Karl put loops of the rope around their necks and wrists to symbolize how such sin tangles us together in choking spiritual bondage. In the middle of the skit, all four men were tied and tangled together in such a way that the movements of one man forced the others to move. What a picture of the bondage and slavery of sin!

But then Karl reminded us of the good news of the gospel and the liberating affect of repentance. As each man began to confess his sin and forgive others, Karl removed the ropes that bound them, symbolizing the freedom we have when we turn from our sins. When a man confessed only part of his sin or made excuses for it, some of the nooses stayed around his neck or wrist. Only when they made specific, sincere confessions without blaming others did all the ropes come off. After the men were finally all untangled, they joined their hands together and tied the rope around them to symbolize their choice to forgive one another as Christ had forgiven them, to build new friendships, and to work together to heal the damage their criticism, gossip, and judgments had done to their church.

The audience applauded and laughed throughout the skit as the destructive power of sin and the redeeming power of the gospel were illustrated in ways every person could understand. At the end, Karl laid the rope down the aisle and invited anyone who had been or was still entangled in such sin to come and stand by the rope. This is asking a lot in a shame-based culture, where people are conditioned to avoid losing face. Several women (thank God for their humility!) got up right away and walked to the aisle. Then the Lord gave some men grace to follow their example. Pretty soon the aisle was full.

Then the Lord moved a tall, white-skinned man to overcome his pride and walk to the rope as well. All through Karl's skit, God was convicting me of the many times I have talked about people instead of going to them directly to express concerns about their behavior or to resolve differences that were standing between us. Even though I know and teach that such behavior offends God and harms relationships, I still fall into this type of sin far too easily. As I stood by the rope, God brought a couple of people to mind who I need to confess this to when I get home. I'm now praying that every time I'm tempted to talk about someone instead of talking to them in the future, God will bring to mind the scene of that rope choking and binding Karl and his three brothers, and move me to go directly to a friend to deal with concerns and differences in an honest and loving way.

Please pray for the hundreds of brothers and sisters who heard and saw Karl's superb teaching. They now have the opportunity not only to disentangle themselves from this kind of sin but also to return to their churches throughout this huge nation and show their families and churches how to experience freedom and peace through confession and the forgiveness secured to us through our Lord Jesus.

Untangled and free only through Him,

Ken

Last week, we were privileged to have Tim Lane (Executive Director of CCEF and author of How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making) visit our offices while he was on vacation with his family. As a ministry, we are grateful for the incredible contributions to the Kingdom made by all the folks at CCEF, and so it was great to have Tim here.

Tim led our staff in our weekly devotions, sharing some thoughts from Ephesians 4:1-6:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

This is a familiar passage on peacemaking and unity, but Tim particularly focused on the four character traits listed in verse 2. He gave his own paraphrase/definition for each:

Humility - The habit of looking at your own sin before looking at another's

Gentleness - Having your strengths bridled by the gospel, so that you empower others rather than seek to get power. One of the greatest expressions of humilty is the liberating act of giving encouragement to others.

(One side little nugget on the topic of encouragement... Do you know the difference between flattery and gossip? Flattery is where you say something to someone's face that you wouldn't say behind their back, while gossip is where you say something behind someone's back that you wouldn't say to their face.)

Patience - How we respond to sins that are committed (often against us). The practice of forgiveness is a true mark of patience.

Forbearing love - Less about overlooking sin, but more about bearing with those annoyances and personality quirks that tend to bug us -- loving those people who are different and who live differently from us.

Some pretty interesting insights, don't you think? How would our churches look if they were marked by these four characteristics? I can't help but think greater unity would be a natural byproduct. 

So are you wondering what it means to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace? Well, at least according to the Apostle Paul, it seems that one concrete way is to exhibit humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearing love in our relationships.

Just wanted to remind everyone (in case you didn't already know) that today is the deadline to receive a discount on registrations for the 2008 Peacemaker Conference. So if you are thinking of coming to Orlando this fall, get your registration in today in order to save some money. We'd sure love to have you there!

Here's a short clip that explains how central the gospel is at the conference:

The Conference and The Gospel - Tim Pollard from Peacemaker Ministries on Vimeo.

Tony over at Sets-n-Service posted a great quote from Francis Schaeffer on what Schaeffer calls "the final apologetic."

“Yet, without true Christians loving one another, Christ says the world cannot be expected to listen, even when we give proper answers. Let us be careful, indeed, to spend a lifetime studying to give honest answers. For years the orthodox, evangelical church has done this very poorly. So it is well to spend time learning to answer the questions of men who are about us. But after we have done our best to communicate to a lost world, still we must never forget that the final apologetic which Jesus gives is the observable love of true Christians for true Christians.” Francis Schaffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, pgs. 164-165

And then in the conclusion of his reflections on this quote, Tony posed an insightful and challenging question:

I believe that this final apologetic is often times an absent apologetic. People typically describe apologetics as something the church does outwardly for the sake of truth and polemics as something the church does inwardly for the sake of truth but I think Schaffer ingeniously explores their overlap here. Our defense before the world is dependent and part & parcel with how we function on a communal level inwardly. So my question for you, as well as for myself, is are there enough observable expressions of love between true Christians in your church for it to be considered a viable witness in today’s world? And how are you seeking to defend the faith by loving those who share it in practical terms daily?

Thanks, Tony, for the challenge!

I led the staff devotions here at the PM the other day with a look at suffering in 1 Peter. It's a theme that runs through the whole book, but I became intrigued with chapter 5. I would summarize the first part of Chap 5 this way:

1. Elders, be good leaders (vv. 1-4)
2. Followers, follow your leaders (v. 5a)
3. All of you, be humble (v. 5b)
4. Humble yourselves, all of you, before God as you leave all of your worries (about your trials and sufferings) with God (vv. 6-7)
5. Be on the lookout for temptations of Satan (as you suffer/undergo trial). Resist the temptations of the devil (the temptation not to be humble??), because lots of other Christians are suffering the same way. (vv. 8-9)
6. The God all grace will bring you through this trial through Christ. He's in charge and he'll get you though it. (vv. 10-11)

I was wondering: is this passage teaching (at least in part) that one of the temptations the devil places before us when we're going through trials is to not be humble? So often when we suffer we think it's unfair, that we're in the right, that all the blame belongs on the other person...or even on God.

Maybe Peter is saying to us,

Watch out...people who are suffering can easily succumb to the sin of pride. They think they know the end from the beginning and can even pridefully doubt (i.e. fail to trust) God. But Christians who are suffering (even in conflicts) need to trust (2:23 & 4:19) the good character of the God of all grace who will soon "restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish" them.

I don't know...maybe I'm seeing things in the text that aren't there. But I found it intriguing. It certainly is true of me.

Ben Reaoch posted this great list on Desiring God's blog today:

 12 Sins We Blame on Others

I'm sure you never see, or use, this kind of blame shifting...right?