#207 About Thirty Years

Last week I turned 30. I wasn't originally planning on commenting on that, but then I started thinking about my age in connection with Jesus. Luke 3:23 says, "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry." (You might notice that this is a rough description; I'm pretty sure our best estimates of the dates of Christmas and Easter as well as our understanding of the length of Jesus' ministry would place Him at 31 or 32 when His ministry starts.) Obviously, to me thirty years is a long time. It's my whole life, after all! But I think that even if I was 60 or 90, thirty years would still seem pretty long to me. Jesus waited thirty years to begin His public ministry. Think about that. With the exception of an early childhood escape to Egypt, Jesus lived an ordinary human life for a long time. Certainly this wasn't a whole life, but Jesus was a decent ways into adulthood before He really began to reveal His special identity as God's Son. For thirty years Jesus committed to identifying with us, experiencing life in this fallen world, going through our ordinary experiences of learning and growing and holding a job. For thirty years Jesus looked to all the world around Him like He was just a regular guy. I think this long period of preparation helps us trust Jesus. He didn't just show up one day as an outsider and start telling us what we needed to change. He truly became one of us. He spent years sharing our perspective and facing our struggles as well as our joys. He showed us love not only by coming to save us but also by walking alongside us. I think that makes Jesus even more wonderful.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#206 Tib 16

When I picture college life, I picture myself living in Tib 16. I lived there, just off the main stairwell of Tibstra Hall at Trinity Christian College, during my sophomore year. I had good experiences my other three years of college. I even lived with good friends those other years. But there was something magical about Tib 16. This week seems like a good time to go back ten years and revisit the glory days.

There were six of us in Tib 16: Brian Clark, Caleb Huizinga, Bryan Kunz, Ryan Lindemulder, Kyle Van Eerden, and myself. Clark, Kunz, Lindy, Kyle and I were cross country and track teammates. We'd bonded over hours and hours of shared runs, plus loads of other adventures and free time spent hanging out freshman year. We asked Caleb to complete our suite, and he was a great fit, maybe in part because he wasn't yet another runner. We got along really well that year. I think we were just a good mix. For the most part we all like to play cards and shared similar taste in movies. Different smaller groups of us had common interests in sports and music. But we all had unique things too. We studied different things, worked different jobs, had a few common friends but a fair number of different friends. And I think that made things work. We weren't all in Tib 16 super often, but very rarely was any of us there alone. We paired and grouped up in new ways and made new memories again and again. And we were close, too. I know it's a cliche, but I viewed those guys as my brothers. I still do.

A large part of our fun was doing stupid stuff. We had a shared pet hedgehog that we all very quickly grew to despise. A couple of us rescued a GIANT mirror and put it next to the door to make our suite seem bigger. We hung random artwork on the wall with "classy" frames made from duct tape and electrical tape. We found strange photos of people we didn't know and put them on display. We chipped away at privacy and personal space until we had only the barest minimum we needed left (and sometimes less than that). On top of the stupid stuff we piled on a generous helping of card games, jam sessions, pointless debates, video game marathons, plus a few heart-to-hearts. For the few friends that we shared, Tib 16 became a pretty natural gathering place, which made things even better.

Now that I'm on the brink of 30, those days just before and after my 20th birthday feel like a while ago. I'm more than happy being married to Tess, being a father to Lanie and Mia, and being a pastor. But there was something special, something I do miss about those college days. I know a lot of other people look back fondly on their college experience. Lately I've been thinking that's because of the sense of community. Now that I'm family man, my life is more isolated. We stay home more. We think a lot about getting the kids to bed on time. There's something beautiful about doing life together with other people the way we did in Tib 16. I can't go back to college, but I know I should think more about what I can do to build community. Who's up for just hanging around and maybe doing some stupid stuff now and again?

Grace and peace,

BMH

#205 Ballin'

Tess and I bought Lanie one of those plastic, adjustable basketball hoops for her 4th birthday. It seems to be a pretty great gift. I've learned a couple lessons about basketball and my family so far.

First, Mia, who just celebrated her 1st birthday, has an absolute blast rolling the ball back and forth. I get her to sit up with her legs in a "V" and then roll the ball right up to her tummy. She giggles like the best thing in the world has just happened before eventually pushing the ball back to me so I can do it again. It's a simple game, but it's highly effective.

Second, Lanie thinks basketball is a contact sport. I told her it's her job to stop me from scoring. Her interpretation of that involves jumping on my back and trying to pin me to the ground. She doesn't hesitate to run right into me. And if she gets her hands the ball, she doesn't let go. Our games are pretty low-scoring affairs. It's hard to even get a decent shot off when we spend most of time wrestling over the ball. But Lanie apparently lives by one simple rule: No blood, no foul. It's good thing she only weighs about forty pounds. Otherwise I'd be in big trouble.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#204 It's Like Wow!

I love nature documentaries, such as Planet Earth. I find great joy in learning about the colorful and crazy creatures that populate our planet. I marvel at the incredibly detailed images and action-packed sequences that these camerapeople are able to capture. I've received a new miniseries each year at Christmas for almost a decade now, but I'm still captivated every time I watch, even if I've seen it all before.

Last night Tess and I tried something new. We put in the first disc of Blue Planet II and sat down to watch with Lanie. Lanie, too, was mesmerized by all the different animals and their amazing skills. She also had lots of questions about the name of each new creature—dolphin, shark, whale, fish (too many different kinds for me to remember their species), walrus, polar bear—and what they were trying to do. Sometimes we were able to answer Lanie's questions after listening to another minute of narration; sometimes we still weren't sure what we were watching. Experiencing the documentary through Lanie's eyes was a great experience. Too often I feel like I need to have all the answers or understand everything. This is a beautiful world God has made, and it's far more complex and fantastic than I would ever imagine. Sometimes all that's needed is to sit back in awe and wonder.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#203 Comparing the Creeds

In my congregation, like in many other churches, we sometimes read/recite a brief summary of our faith called the Apostles' Creed. We most often use it during baptism services and funerals. I love the Apostles' Creed. I learned it as part of my faith formation. But I think that we have an even better creed that we should learn and use more often: the Nicene Creed. Before I explain why I think the Nicene Creed is clearly superior, let's look at both creeds side by side. The words of the Apostles' Creed are in italics below. The words of the Nicene Creed are in bold.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made.

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried.

The third day he rose again from the dead.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.

He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets.

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints,
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

the forgiveness of sins,
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.

In my opinion, here are the advantages of the Nicene Creed:

• The Nicene Creed is written in corporate or plural language. This isn't just what I believe (though it is important that I personally believe); this is what we believe together. We're partt of a body, the church.
• While the Apostles' Creed has a Trinitarian structure (I believe in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit), the Nicene Creed actually helps us understand the doctrine of the Trinity and the relationships between the three Persons. The Son is begotten of the Father. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. We worship one God who exists as three Persons. The Nicene Creed makes it clearer that the Son of God not less than the Father, nor is the Spirit less than the Father and/or the Son. All three are of the same essence. Their equality is seen in the statements that the Father made all things, that all things were made through the Son, and that the Spirit is the giver of life.
• The Nicene Creed clearly describes the purpose behind the life and ministry Jesus. Jesus's work is done for us and for our salvation.
• Along with its clearer explanation of the Trinity, the Nicene Creed is also clearer about the two natures of Jesus. Jesus is true God, and He became incarnate; He was made human. Jesus is both fully divine and fully human.
• The Nicene Creed points us to the Bible: Jesus was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets, the human authors of the Bible.
• The Nicene Creed mentions the kingdom of a God, an incredibly important theme in the preaching of Jesus and the Bible as a whole.
• Echoing some of what I said above, the Nicene Creed gives more details about the work of the Holy Spirit.
• The Nicene Creed is actually the more global creed, used by both the Western and Eastern church (though in slightly different forms). The Apostles' Creed is really only used by the Western church.
• The Nicene Creed has, in my opinion, a richer history. It was developed in response to false teaching that Jesus is less than God the Father. It was written as a statement of proper Christian faith. The Apostles' Creed has its own wonderful history of being a statement of faith used at baptisms, but the development of the Nicene Creed was a huge moment in the history of the church.

While I think the Apostles' Creed is great, and I certainly will continue to use its statement about the resurrection of the body at graveside services, I think the Nicene Creed is greater yet. What do you think?

Grace and peace,

BMH

#202 Music to My Ears

Lanie, my older daughter, is on the verge of turning 4. In the past couple of months she's started to really be able to sing. I absolutely love it. I've always enjoyed music, and little Lanie is just so adorable when she sings. In December she wanted Tess and me to sing "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" every night as we put Mia to bed, and before long she was singing along. Lately she's been singing songs about Mommy and Daddy that she picked up from a TV show she watches while she eats her bedtime snack. She's also been chiming in a little bit when we sing lullabies to Mia before bed. I smile whenever hear Lanie singing to herself while she colors or builds with her magnetic tiles, just like I often do as I go about my day. Hopefully she'll continue to love to sing as she grows up. And hopefully she inherits her singing ability from her mother and not her father.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#201 Pick a Speed!

We're going to keep things short this week. Tess and I are in the midst of unpacking and figuring out our lives again after Christmas celebrations, so my mind is trying to be in a few places at once right now.

If I was king of the world (probably a terrible idea overall), I would make cruise control mandatory on the highway. As long as road conditions aren't dangerous due to snow or fog or whatnot, you have to use cruise control. No more of this passing me, then getting passed by me, then blowing by me again. Pick a speed and stick with it. I honestly don't really care what you pick as long as you drive a steady speed. If you're going slower than I am, I'm happy to go around you. If you're going faster than I am, I'll gladly move out of your way. It's not that complicated.

But if this still to much to ask, I'll settle for using my kingly powers to equip my vehicle with a button I can press to release a giant sign that reads "PICK A SPEED!" Either way will work.

Happy 2021!

Grace and peace,

BMH