#244 The Bible Isn't Really Tweetable

I encountered a sign like this as I was going around my community last week:

(That's just a picture I found online—I'm not even sure the sign I saw had those exact words in that order.) I reflected on that sign for a while. I thought about trying to engage with each of those statements from the perspective of my Christian faith. But the more I thought about that, the less I thought that was a good idea. While a sign like the one pictured above is easily readible due to its few words, it also can raise a lot of questions because there aren't very many words. For example, what does the homeowner mean by "Science is real?" What does the signmaker mean by that? What do I think when I read it? Is it a statement about climate change, vaccination, subatomic theory, all of the above, none of the above? It can be hard to know what people mean when we condense our opinions down to something that fits in a tweet. I'm pretty confident each of the statements in the picture above could be explained in ways that I would agree with, and each could be explained in ways I would disagree with.

So I next started thinking about what I would put on a sign if I was going to post some sort of creed or statement of belief in my front yard. But that got tricky quickly. By my count, that sign up above has only 26 words. The shortest Christian creed I've learned—the Apostles' Creed—has 115 words in the translation I'm most familiar with. Even taking just the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism (What is your only comfort in life and in death?) gives me 120 words. I'm going to need a big sign or some small font.

Alright, so what if I pivoted away from helpful but humanmade summaries of faith and went straight to the Bible, God's Word? Well, what verse or two summarizes the message of the Bible? John 3:16 is a popular choice; it has 26 verses in my preferred translation (the NIV): "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." That sounds pretty good at first, but that verse doesn't stand on it's own as much as we think it does. For example, who is God's Son? What does it mean to believe in God's Son? How can believing in God's Son be enough for someone to receive eternal life? If we really want to understand John 3:16, we need to have a sense of at least the entire book of John—or at least learn from someone who does.

The thing is, the Bible isn't really tweetable. We're not supposed to engage it one verse at a time. I believe the Bible is different from every other book because I believe it is inspired by God. But like any other book, the parts of the Bible have to be understood in context. Taking a statement from the Bible like "God is love" (1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16) sounds wonderful—and often is. But we can't understand God's love apart from the stories of His faithfulness to His chosen people, His just anger against human sin, and His incredible grace in Christ Jesus. The Bible is a unit; the different parts help explain each other.

So often I think we Christians read and use the Bible in ways that are at least a little dangerous. We find a verse by opening the Bible or searching a corcordance or typing in some keywords online but don't stop to think about the context in which that verse occurs. We read short little sections of Scripture without considering how they relate to the bigger picture of their individual book, much less the whole Bible. I know I've done it. Certainly we can memorize specific verses to comfort and help us, and we can reference short sections of the Bible, particularly as a helpful shorthand in talking with other believers. But when we seek to understand God through His Word or to teach our faith to others, we owe to ourselves and to God to cover the whole story. The Bible doesn't read like a dictionary where each verse or paragraph is independent. It all hangs together. So before we put a verse on a sign or tweet a sentence out, let's seek to understand and be ready to explain what it really means.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#243 Identity Issues

[Warning: There are spoilers for the TV series Supergirl ahead.]

There's been a big shift in the world of Superman over the past couple years. First, in the comics, Superman ditched his secret identity, publicly revealing to the world that he is Clark Kent. Then, in the last episode of TV’s Supergirl, our heroine announced that she was Kara Danvers. After years and years of dancing around double identities, the secrets were out for Superman and his Kryptonian cousin.

While revealing these secret identities can make our heroes seem more honest and authentic, I think this decision is a very poor one. First of all, superheroes have long maintained secret identities to protect their loved ones from the threat of villains. Sure, an argument can be made that Lois Lane is in danger because people think she’s close to Superman whether or not they know he’s also Clark Kent. But what about Clark Kent’s adoptive parents, his childhood friends, his neighbors? If the world knows Clark Kent is Superman, everyone who knows him is in more danger, and even Superman can’t save everyone.

Second, and I think even more importantly, I think revealing the secret identity makes Superman and Supergirl less relatable. One of the things that I love most about Superman is that he’s also Clark Kent, an everyday guy with everyday problems. Superman’s time as Clark Kent is time spent identifying with ordinary people. But if the whole world knows that Clark Kent is Superman, then Clark Kent can never be a truly regular person again. He’s an instant celebrity. His every movement will be followed—no matter what clothes he’s wearing. I can’t relate to that. I find that character much less interesting.

Secret identities may seem outdated and old-fashioned to a lot of people writing for superheroes today, but they actually serve the characters well. I’m sad to see them go.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#242 Selection Problems

I'm here on the night of the College Football Playoff National Championship to complain about the selection committee and their process. Alabama and Georgia, after defeating Cincinnati and Michigan, respectively, are playing for this year's championship. Here's the problem: we've already seen this matchup. Alabama trounced Georgia for the SEC championship. But since both teams were selected to make the four-team playoff, Georgia gets another chance. Now it's very possible that these two teams are the best teams in the country this year. But I don't want to see a game that I've seen before. I think that if we're going to have four teams make the playoffs in a system with five major conferences plus a whole host of other potentially deserving schools, such as this year's Cincinnati squad, then each conference should get AT MOST one entrant. Unless you're an independent team (Sidebar: I've had enough of that nonsense, too. Notre Dame and whoever else, just join a conference already and make everyone's lives easier. It's 2022.), if you don't win your conference, you don't make the College Football Playoff. Period. End of discussion. What's the point of having conference championship games if you don't need to win them to represent your conference on college football's biggest stage?

But, but, you might protest, what if the best team in a conference or even the best team in the nation gets upset? Good. Upsets are a huge part of the reason we watch sports in the first place. Let's truly treat the conference championships like the beginning of the postseason. From here on, it's win or go home. Look, with all due respect to my pal Austin Warner, I'm sick of Alabama. I don't want to watch Alabama anymore. But they won their conference, fair and square. Georgia had their shot. Let's see somebody else play. A system that doesn't even require teams to win their own conference is not a good system. Be better, selection committee.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#241 Five Little Laments

Happy New Year, everyone! I've missed a couple weeks due to a council meeting and Christmas vacation, so let's dive back in. This past Advent (and on the first Sunday after Christmas day), I challenged myself to write prayers of lament for use in our church. I wanted to try to cover a specific topic with each prayer. With the extremely helpful feedback of my dear friend Ivan Santoso, I crafted the following five prayers.

I often learn and borrow from others as I lead congregational prayer, so I'm sharing these prayers in the hope that they will be helpful to others. Please feel free to copy, modify, or riff on these prayers for your own use (no need to credit me) or even be inspired to write and share your own.

LORD our God, our world is flooded with hatred, division, distrust. Arguments tear apart families; communities split along political lines; violence feels far from the last resort. We live in fear and suspicion of others who look or think or act differently. We are weary of conflict and hostility, but peace and harmony seem out of reach. Father, have mercy on your troubled world. Drive away false assumptions with your truth. Reconcile enemies through your transforming grace. Heal the hurts of slander and violence with your patient love. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of peace. Amen.

God of abundant riches, many in our world have plenty, and many have far from enough. Children go to bed with empty bellies, and drought makes food scarce. Yet at times the controlling and corrupt disrupt relief efforts, and in other places spoiling food is thrown away because there is too much to eat. Father, our world is broken; we need your love and justice. Why must crops fail? How long must people made in your image starve and wither away? Give us hope that this is not the way things have to be. Restrain greed, waste, and selfishness. Feed the hungry and provide for the needy. Produce abundant harvests of food in our lands and rich harvests of generous compassion in human hearts. Bless those who use their power and resources to bless others for your kingdom. We pray in the name of Jesus, who satisfied the hungry crowds. Amen.

God, we take refuge under the shelter of your wings. Why must any person you have created suffer through abuse? How long must those you love live in fear? Hear the cries of spouses beaten and bruised by those who have pledged to love them. Look upon children belittled and neglected by trusted caretakers. Come to the aid of those who are sexually abused and violated. Show your love to those who have been threatened into silence. We lament, too, that women and girls are especially targeted by such evils. Defender of the weak, break the power of abusers so they cannot harm anymore. Protect the survivors of abuse; bring them safety and healing. Don’t let anyone turn a blind eye or deaf ear to their pain. Restore their sense of dignity and worth through your unfailing love. We pray in the name of Jesus, who has compassion for the harassed and helpless. Amen.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. We cry out to you on behalf of all those who have had to flee their homes. How long must your people suffer the destruction and devastation of war and violence? Why must oppressive governments and brutal cartels deprive those you care for of safety? Look with mercy upon those who endure persecution, those who seek to escape the carnage of natural disasters, those who do not have a place or nation to call home. Be their rock of refuge, to which they can always go. Bring them to a place where they can settle. We pray in the name of Jesus, who fled the threats of Herod. Amen.

God who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs, why do you sometimes feel so far away? Where are you when people made in your image are told that we are worthless, a mistake, a waste of time? How long will you allow human beings to be forgotten, overlooked, and dismissed—even by those closest to them? We cry out to you on behalf of those who have been made to feel that their lives don’t matter, that their voices don’t count, that they have nothing to contribute. Let your face shine on us when we suffer rejection, when we’re told we can’t do anything right, when we think everyone would be better off without us. Show us your favor and love. We look to you because of Jesus, your Son, who was born in humility and weakness as one of us, who welcomed sinners and outcasts, and who calls us His friends. In His name we pray, Amen.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#240 Sermon Writing Reflections

As a pastor, I write a new sermon nearly every week. With my working habits, the majority of my writing gets done on Friday. Some weeks my writing goes really well. I have a clear idea of what the Bible passage means and how I'd like to explain it and what illustrations I'd like to use to apply the passage to our lives today. But many weeks have at least a stretch where writing is difficult. I wrestle with finding the right words to describe who God is and what God has done and what that means for who we are and what we should do. Sometimes I need to walk a tight theological line to keep from falling into errors on either side. Sometimes finding a balance of different and relatable examples when describing our sinful tendencies or imperfect human perspectives requires a lot of careful thought so that I don't come across like I'm unfairly singling out a specific group or ignoring a significant problem. Writing can be a very tiring process for me. By the time I finish my sermon—thankfully almost always still on Friday—I'm often worn out and can be a little unsure if it all makes sense and holds together.

On Saturdays I come back to my sermon in order to go run through it a couple times. Week after week, almost without fail, something interesting happens. I find that I feel much better about my sermon after I've practiced it. Now I'm sure we could come up for some psychological explanations for this. After taking a break from my work and getting some sleep, I'm in a better mood and feel better about things in general. I know Sunday is coming quickly and don't want to do the work of a major rewrite, so I'm more accepting of what I've already got. There's probably something to thoughts like that. But I think there's also something more going on. Week in and week out I pray that God would help me understand His Word and communicate it well, that He would use me as He speaks to His people. I certainly wouldn't claim that my sermons are divinely inspired or that each and every message I give is phenomenal. But I do think God answers those prayers. When I come back to my sermons on Saturday, I think it's easier for me to see how God has guided my work and thinking to produce a sermon that's coherent and relevant in proclaiming His good news. Preaching is tough work, but I believe God has called me to do it, and others have affirmed that sense of calling over the years. So I believe that God will equip and use me to do this work that He's given me to do. It won't always be easy, and I'm certainly capable of making mistakes. But if I'm diligently seeking to follow God and responsibly putting in the work, I'm sure that He'll be with me to help me. And, for whatever God has called you to do, I think you can be sure of that, too.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#239 Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

A little while back Packers legend Aaron Rodgers landed in some hot water. Before the NFL season, Rodgers was asked if he had received a COVID-19 vaccine. Rodgers affirmed that he'd been immunized, which led everyone to assume that he had gotten a vaccine. But, as we came to find out, Rodgers had not gotten a vaccine; he'd tried some other preventative measure that did not meet the NFL's standards. Many were quick to rebuke Rodgers for lying. Rodgers later tried to defend himself by saying that he never said he was vaccinated.

While Rodgers' defense is factually correct, that really doesn't mean he wasn't lying. We often equate telling the truth with being factually accurate and lying with being factually inaccurate, and in the vast majority of cases, that's right. However, lying is a moral matter, not a factual matter. If I say something that is meant to mislead whomever I'm speaking to, then I'm lying, no matter how accurate my statement might be. For example, if someone asks me if I watched the Packers' last game against the Rams (I was not able to here in NW Iowa), and I say, "The Packers won 36-28" so that the other person believes I watched the game, then I am lying, even though my statement is correct. My intention was deceptive, which makes me a liar. Understanding lying this way helps us understand just how much of a problem lying is for all of us. It's so easy for us to twist or slant our words or keep back part of the story to mislead someone and then pat ourselves on the back for being accurate. I know I've done this, and I'm guessing you have, too.

And on the flip side, being wrong does not mean someone is lying. If I truly think it takes 2 hours to drive from my house to St. Paul, MN, and I tell someone else that, only for them to discover that it takes more like 4 hours, then it would not be right for them to call me I liar. I meant to tell the truth, but I had the wrong information. Now certainly there can be serious consequences to be wrong. And if I am willfully ignorant but still choose to spread (mis)information, I am morally responsible for my actions. However, that doesn't mean I'm lying.

So when it comes to lying, it's our intentions, not our factual accuracy, that ultimately make the moral difference. In order to avoid the mess of tangled words and half-truths and omitted information, it's best for us to follow Jesus' advice (given in the context of discussing oaths). Say "yes" when you mean yes and "no" when you mean no. Keep it simple, honest, and easy-to-follow. There's a lot less chance of getting in trouble down the road that way.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#238 The Top 7 Reasons Why I Give Blood

About a week and a half ago I was giving blood, something that has become a pretty regular occurence for me while I've lived in Iowa thanks to the folks at LifeServe and their reminders. Now that I've moved to Le Mars, I was giving in a different location than before, so things felt pretty fresh. That got me thinking about why I give blood. So, without further ado, here are my top seven reasons why I give blood:

7. I'm not afraid of needles.

6. My veins are always easy to find. (Seriously. Sometimes I wonder why the workers even draw over my veins. They're practically popping out of my arm.)

5. It gets me out of the study.

4. My job gives the flexibility to easily make an appointment.

3. It gives me an opportunity to talk with some people I might not otherwise meet.

2. It's a pretty effective way to help others.

1. I get Smartfood white cheddar popcorn when I've finished donating. (You might think that I'm joking, but there's some truth behind every joke, and let me assure you, I am very serious about this popcorn. Have you ever had it? It is scrumptious.)

Grace and peace,

BMH