Every so often I hear someone say, "Christianity isn't a religion" or something along those lines. Statements like that drive me nuts. I get what we're trying to say there. Christianity isn't like other religions. Our beliefs center around God coming to earth and becoming human in order to save us. We Christians don't believe we can earn our salvation by doing enough good works; we believe salvation is freely given to us. We believe God is relational. The three persons of the Trinity are in relationship with one another, and God desires to be in relationship with His people, loving us and receiving our love. If you picture religion as a quest for humanity to reach up to God or a bunch of people worshiping a distant, vengeful deity, then Christianity is different from that.
But while Christianity doesn't fit some people's conceptions of what a religion is, by any common definition, Christianity is a relgion. We believe in and worship a supernatural being. While we don't believe we need to earn God's favor, we do orient our lives around trying to live for God and do things that please Him. Christians meet together for worship services and have spiritual practices we share. We have a sacred text, the Bible. Saying "Christianity isn't a religion" requires a lot of explanation to make sense. Even if we're talking to someone with a very negative perception of religion, we still would have to go into detail about how Christianity doesn't fit that negative perception.
What's more, saying "Christianity isn't a religion" can easily come across as arrogant if we're talking with someone else who follows a different religion. I don't believe all religions are the same. I don't believe any set of beliefs will lead you to God or the truth about God. I believe different religions have contradictory beliefs, and I believe salvation is found only in Christ Jesus. However, while I don't believe other religions are true, I don't believe there is no truth in other religions. For example, Muslims believe God is merciful, and Christians believe God is merciful. Buddhists believe that overattachment to earthly things hurts a person's spiritual life, and Christians believe that overattachment to earthly things hurts a person's spiritual life. If we Christians are going to have conversations with people with different religious beliefs, I think a good place to start is finding places where our beliefs line up. Certainly we eventually need to talk about how and why our beliefs are different, but just coming out bashing everything a person believes generally just puts them on the defensive and doesn't make them open to hearing what you have to say. Plus, I think these overlaps in our beliefs can help strengthen our argument as Christians that there is only one God, and He reveals Himself to humanity.
So let's be clear that we Christians aren't exactly the same as everyone else. But let's not give anyone the false impression that Christians are completely different. Let's have thoughtful and careful dialogue when it comes to explaining what we believe.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, April 15, 2019
Monday, April 8, 2019
#125 Time to Pray
My daughter Lanie sometimes comes with me when I visit church members. She's picked up my habit of praying at the end of these visits. If I ask her what we need to do before we leave she says, "Pray! Pray!" and folds her hands. Lanie also seems to be gathering that we often pray together when we sit down to eat.
So last week I decided that now might be a good time to start praying with her before bed. After we do our nightly reading I ask Lanie what she'd like to pray for. It's adorable. She pauses and thinks really hard and then gleefully responds with the name of somebody she knows. (One night she said, "Baby!" so we thanked God for her baby doll.) I wish I could see inside of her mind when she's thinking to see if she has some reason for naming the people she names or if it's just a random drawing from the names she can say. Lanie is always excited to start praying, though her attention span is pretty short. But that's okay. My prayer attention span isn't always very long, and I've had quite a bit more practice. I don't know that Lanie gets a lot out of prayers yet, but I figure she's forming some understanding. And habits can go a long way in helping us with our spiritual practices. I remember my parents doing nightly devotions with me when I was a couple years older than Lanie is now. Hopefully Tess and I can make that same kind of influence on Lanie. And I could always use more prayer practice myself.
Grace and peace,
BMH
So last week I decided that now might be a good time to start praying with her before bed. After we do our nightly reading I ask Lanie what she'd like to pray for. It's adorable. She pauses and thinks really hard and then gleefully responds with the name of somebody she knows. (One night she said, "Baby!" so we thanked God for her baby doll.) I wish I could see inside of her mind when she's thinking to see if she has some reason for naming the people she names or if it's just a random drawing from the names she can say. Lanie is always excited to start praying, though her attention span is pretty short. But that's okay. My prayer attention span isn't always very long, and I've had quite a bit more practice. I don't know that Lanie gets a lot out of prayers yet, but I figure she's forming some understanding. And habits can go a long way in helping us with our spiritual practices. I remember my parents doing nightly devotions with me when I was a couple years older than Lanie is now. Hopefully Tess and I can make that same kind of influence on Lanie. And I could always use more prayer practice myself.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Thursday, April 4, 2019
#124 Party Mix
It started simply enough. Tess and I had invited most—if not all—of our seminary friends over to celebrate my 25th birthday. Our apartment wasn't huge. We were mostly going to sit around and talk and snack. Maybe an hour before party time I had a thought. The party needed some background music to add even more life to the atmosphere. So I opened Spotify to make my ultimate playlist. I looked up albums I loved from artists I loved and added only my favorite song from each of those albums. Soon I had 100 songs, more than enough to cover our entire party. Party Mix was born.
It seemed like that would pretty much be the end. After all, I like to listen to albums when I work or when I drive. I enjoy listening to a single artist for a while, and I tend to think of albums almost like stories. I want to hear the whole story, even if some pieces of it are weaker than others. And yet, I understand the appeal of the playlist. You get the best of the best with no filler. Shuffling gets you the (theoretical, at least) randomness of listening to the radio without getting songs you don't like or certain songs too often. And so, without a radio station that I really liked, I found myself turning to Party Mix when I didn't know what album I wanted or when I only needed a few songs at a time.
It eventually grew into something bigger. After about fifteen months, I had a thought: What if I went further and pulled in the best songs off the rest of the albums I loved from the artists I loved? What if I made Party Mix bigger, better, and even more ready to party? I did a deep dive, scouring albums and artists I hadn't thought of the first time around and searching out albums that had come out since I created Party Mix. By the time I resurfaced, Party Mix had swelled to about 200 songs and become Party Mix 2.0.
It didn't stop there. Party Mix became a living, breathing playlist. I relistened to albums and decided there were a handful of songs I liked better than the ones I had originally put on the playlist. I kept on discovering new artists. Old beloved artists put out new albums. Party Mix 2.0 gave way to Party Mix 2.1. I still listen to albums quite a bit when I'm working or playing cards or driving long distances with Tess available to queue up new music from my phone after an album ends. But I find myself being drawn more and more to Party Mix. With well over 200 songs, every listening experience is different, and every song makes me think, "I love this song!" It doesn't get much better than that. Long live Party Mix.
Grace and peace,
BMH
It seemed like that would pretty much be the end. After all, I like to listen to albums when I work or when I drive. I enjoy listening to a single artist for a while, and I tend to think of albums almost like stories. I want to hear the whole story, even if some pieces of it are weaker than others. And yet, I understand the appeal of the playlist. You get the best of the best with no filler. Shuffling gets you the (theoretical, at least) randomness of listening to the radio without getting songs you don't like or certain songs too often. And so, without a radio station that I really liked, I found myself turning to Party Mix when I didn't know what album I wanted or when I only needed a few songs at a time.
It eventually grew into something bigger. After about fifteen months, I had a thought: What if I went further and pulled in the best songs off the rest of the albums I loved from the artists I loved? What if I made Party Mix bigger, better, and even more ready to party? I did a deep dive, scouring albums and artists I hadn't thought of the first time around and searching out albums that had come out since I created Party Mix. By the time I resurfaced, Party Mix had swelled to about 200 songs and become Party Mix 2.0.
It didn't stop there. Party Mix became a living, breathing playlist. I relistened to albums and decided there were a handful of songs I liked better than the ones I had originally put on the playlist. I kept on discovering new artists. Old beloved artists put out new albums. Party Mix 2.0 gave way to Party Mix 2.1. I still listen to albums quite a bit when I'm working or playing cards or driving long distances with Tess available to queue up new music from my phone after an album ends. But I find myself being drawn more and more to Party Mix. With well over 200 songs, every listening experience is different, and every song makes me think, "I love this song!" It doesn't get much better than that. Long live Party Mix.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, March 25, 2019
#123 Good and Maybe Not So Good
Over the weekend our youth group participated in World Renew's FASTForward program. Along with fasting for 30 hours, we went around town doing a food drive for our local food bank. After doing the food drive three years in a row, I've noticed a couple of things.
First, lots of people are willing to participate in the food drive. I would say most of the people who answer the door go back into their house and dig up some food to donate, even if they had no idea we were coming. That's the kind of thing that makes you feel pretty good about your neighbors.
Second, lots of people seem to use the food drive as a way to get rid of food that they're never going to eat. Some people will mention that they don't like some item of food that they're donating. Others hand over things that just give the impression they've been sitting on the shelf for a while. That's the kind of thing that makes you feel less good about your neighbors.
What are you going to do? We humans tend to be a mixed bag. Giving away something you don't really like seems better to me than not giving anything away, even if giving away something you really enjoy seems much nobler yet. In the end, we do also collect a lot of food that is broadly appealing. And who knows, maybe those "reject" items will find their way into the hands of someone who genuinely would enjoy eating them. I hope so at least.
Grace and peace,
BMH
First, lots of people are willing to participate in the food drive. I would say most of the people who answer the door go back into their house and dig up some food to donate, even if they had no idea we were coming. That's the kind of thing that makes you feel pretty good about your neighbors.
Second, lots of people seem to use the food drive as a way to get rid of food that they're never going to eat. Some people will mention that they don't like some item of food that they're donating. Others hand over things that just give the impression they've been sitting on the shelf for a while. That's the kind of thing that makes you feel less good about your neighbors.
What are you going to do? We humans tend to be a mixed bag. Giving away something you don't really like seems better to me than not giving anything away, even if giving away something you really enjoy seems much nobler yet. In the end, we do also collect a lot of food that is broadly appealing. And who knows, maybe those "reject" items will find their way into the hands of someone who genuinely would enjoy eating them. I hope so at least.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, March 18, 2019
#122 Affirmation
A couple weeks ago I spent two days meeting with a group of pastors. We met to talk about how we can better function in our regional groups of churches, and those discussions were good. However, for me, the best part was the informal pastor-to-pastor conversations we had outside of our meetings.
Sometimes as I go about my job I feel like a very strange person. There aren't any other full-time employees at our church. Most of the people I talk to aren't pastors, so their work experiences are often very different than mine. Not a lot of other people make visits at nursing homes and hospitals for their jobs. Not too many others have Bible study and prayer as key parts of their employment. I spend quite a lot of time thinking about how Kanawha Christian Reformed Church can be a better church. I wouldn't say the other members of the church are unconcerned with that, but they have more additional concerns than I do.
So sometimes it's great to talk to other pastors. Talking to others who do similar work and think about similar things makes me feel like I'm not totally out of my mind. At this gathering I was the youngest and least experienced pastor in the room. The other pastors were very encouraging. They were quick to let me know when they thought I was asking the right questions or forming the right habits. They offered helpful tips from their own experiences. I came away feeling very affirmed and refreshed. Even if the rest of the meeting hadn't gone well, that would've made the whole trip worth it.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Sometimes as I go about my job I feel like a very strange person. There aren't any other full-time employees at our church. Most of the people I talk to aren't pastors, so their work experiences are often very different than mine. Not a lot of other people make visits at nursing homes and hospitals for their jobs. Not too many others have Bible study and prayer as key parts of their employment. I spend quite a lot of time thinking about how Kanawha Christian Reformed Church can be a better church. I wouldn't say the other members of the church are unconcerned with that, but they have more additional concerns than I do.
So sometimes it's great to talk to other pastors. Talking to others who do similar work and think about similar things makes me feel like I'm not totally out of my mind. At this gathering I was the youngest and least experienced pastor in the room. The other pastors were very encouraging. They were quick to let me know when they thought I was asking the right questions or forming the right habits. They offered helpful tips from their own experiences. I came away feeling very affirmed and refreshed. Even if the rest of the meeting hadn't gone well, that would've made the whole trip worth it.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, March 4, 2019
#121 The World According to Lanie
Lanie and I have had some interesting conversations lately.
Last week Monday I was watching Lanie while Tess was at work at the library.
Lanie: Mama?
Me: Mom's at work, Lanie. Remember? Does Mama work?
Lanie: No no.
Me: Do you think Daddy works?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Me: What do you think Mom's doing if she's not working? Do you think she's shopping?
Lanie: Oh yep!
Lanie and I often go down to the basement. When we do, she likes to pull all the cards out of my wallet. One day last week she decided to set all my cards on a ledge at the top of the basement stairs.
Lanie: [Looks at me. Points downstairs.]
Me: Do you want Daddy to go downstairs?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Me: But you're upstairs. I want to stay by you. I don't want to go downstairs by myself.
Lanie: [Returns to playing.]
Lanie: [Walks downstairs and waits for me to follow.]
Lanie: [Motions for me to sit on the couch downstairs.]
Lanie: [Begins walking back upstairs.]
Me: Are you leaving me?
Lanie: Yep!
Me: Can I come with you?
Lanie: No no.
Me: Are you trying to get rid of Daddy?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Well, she may want to ditch me and may not think Tess works, but at least Lanie's honest.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Last week Monday I was watching Lanie while Tess was at work at the library.
Lanie: Mama?
Me: Mom's at work, Lanie. Remember? Does Mama work?
Lanie: No no.
Me: Do you think Daddy works?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Me: What do you think Mom's doing if she's not working? Do you think she's shopping?
Lanie: Oh yep!
Lanie and I often go down to the basement. When we do, she likes to pull all the cards out of my wallet. One day last week she decided to set all my cards on a ledge at the top of the basement stairs.
Lanie: [Looks at me. Points downstairs.]
Me: Do you want Daddy to go downstairs?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Me: But you're upstairs. I want to stay by you. I don't want to go downstairs by myself.
Lanie: [Returns to playing.]
Lanie: [Walks downstairs and waits for me to follow.]
Lanie: [Motions for me to sit on the couch downstairs.]
Lanie: [Begins walking back upstairs.]
Me: Are you leaving me?
Lanie: Yep!
Me: Can I come with you?
Lanie: No no.
Me: Are you trying to get rid of Daddy?
Lanie: Yep yep!
Well, she may want to ditch me and may not think Tess works, but at least Lanie's honest.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, February 25, 2019
#120 Snowpocalypse
Holing up at home through a blizzard here in Iowa has got me thinking about my college days. Here's the story of my all-time favorite run:
Back in February 2011 Snowpocalypse hit Chicagoland. I don't remember how much snow we got anymore, but it was enough to shut Trinity Christian College down the next day. Tuesday afternoon the snow was falling hard, so hard that my coach canceled track practice. (Pretty sure this storm was the only time practice was canceled in my career.) But that year I was living with my teammates, my best friends, my boys, and we couldn't pass up the adventure of running in this blizzard. So Clark, Kunz, Kyle, Lindy, and myself laced up our shoes and went out. As we hit the parking lot, Joey, our assistant coach and former captain pulled in, jumped out of his car, and joined us. The beginning of the run was not the kind of adventure we were hoping for. The wind was pelting us with snow and we were crawling alongside traffic on the side of some roads. But then we hit our target: a golf course tucked into the suburban neighborhoods. We dashed through the snow and circled around a flag. There was a lot of yelling, some sort of Braveheart-type speech was made, and then we fanned out to sprint across the golf course, screaming and celebrating. Suddenly Lindy disappeared, swallowed up by the snow after stumbling into a hidden sand trap. He popped up to the roar of our laughter. At the end of the golf course we entered a park and looped around Pleasure Lake before taking a back way home to Trinity. All told we put in 9 miles that day. It was slow. It was dangerous. We had quite a few running adventures in college, but running was never as fun as it was that day. Thanks, Snowpocalypse.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Back in February 2011 Snowpocalypse hit Chicagoland. I don't remember how much snow we got anymore, but it was enough to shut Trinity Christian College down the next day. Tuesday afternoon the snow was falling hard, so hard that my coach canceled track practice. (Pretty sure this storm was the only time practice was canceled in my career.) But that year I was living with my teammates, my best friends, my boys, and we couldn't pass up the adventure of running in this blizzard. So Clark, Kunz, Kyle, Lindy, and myself laced up our shoes and went out. As we hit the parking lot, Joey, our assistant coach and former captain pulled in, jumped out of his car, and joined us. The beginning of the run was not the kind of adventure we were hoping for. The wind was pelting us with snow and we were crawling alongside traffic on the side of some roads. But then we hit our target: a golf course tucked into the suburban neighborhoods. We dashed through the snow and circled around a flag. There was a lot of yelling, some sort of Braveheart-type speech was made, and then we fanned out to sprint across the golf course, screaming and celebrating. Suddenly Lindy disappeared, swallowed up by the snow after stumbling into a hidden sand trap. He popped up to the roar of our laughter. At the end of the golf course we entered a park and looped around Pleasure Lake before taking a back way home to Trinity. All told we put in 9 miles that day. It was slow. It was dangerous. We had quite a few running adventures in college, but running was never as fun as it was that day. Thanks, Snowpocalypse.
Grace and peace,
BMH
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