The Strait Gate

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14

"I have seen these strait gates and narrow ways, with here and there a traveler. They are in retired corners, and must be sought for, and are opened only to those who knock; and when the sun goes down and the night comes on, they are shut and locked. It is then too late."

Dr. Thomson

The Land and the Book

volume i

page 32

Blue Like Jazz - Take Three

Okay, here is the best point that Donald Miller makes in this book. You will find it on page 238. "...I realized, after reading those gospels, that Jesus didn't just love me out of principle." The rest of this paragraph is what makes me like Donald Miller without ever meeting him. While he and I are probably poles apart on most issues, I appreciate the way he paints this scene.

If we love only out of principle, because God says we have to, is it no wonder that our churches are often empty? If God is love, shouldn't love be part of our nature and not something we do out of obligation?

I read once where pastor D.G. Hargrove committed to giving something away every day. An idea like that is not born out of principle, but springs from a heart that wants to love - not one that feels like it has to. Can people tell the difference? I think so.

If love is only an obligation to a principle, then it lasts only until the conscience is soothed. But love that flows from the nature of its source continues past the point of obligation. That love suffers long and is kind, does not envy, seeks not its own, is not puffed up, does not promote itself, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; but it beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Loving out of principle won't last that long. True Christians will love because they have been born again and it is part of their nature. Not because the Bible says they must.

Blue Like Jazz - Again

Okay, back to Blue Like Jazz, a bestseller by Donald Miller.

Miller hides his theology inside clever vignettes which he creates from his own life experiences. Once the story has you hooked, he pulls his hands from behind his back and shows you another piece of his religious puzzle. When each piece is finally in place, you find a nice liberal Democrat who has little use for Republican policies or conservative Christianity. He has little respect for the way evangelical Christians live out their faith, preferring the love demonstrated by the free-loving hippies he once lived in the woods with for a few weeks. But he is really nice about it - at least in the book. He is both entertaining and provocative.

As I read, I was reminded of a statement Mike Williams made at a men's conference. He said that many people try to take the Father to the pigstye instead of bringing the Prodigal to the Father. While Miller makes a sincere person examine his own intentions and values, it seems to me that he almost glories in living close to the pig pen.

But Miller does point out a few things that no honest Christian can deny. For many, their relationship with God has been reduced to a church membership and they no longer have an individual responsibility to love or serve. The 'church' does all that. They are comfortable with their traditions and get real nervous if they think their comfort zone is being threatened.

I like Blue Like Jazz because it makes you take a hard look at your own relationship with Christ and your personal responsibility to minister to the world. Some won't like reading it because Miller writes about drinking beer and enjoying his pipe and hippie friends. (If that's you, why don't you surf over to my website and buy one of my books.)

I still haven't gotten to the point that Miller makes best. I'll get that next. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Thanks for coming back to find out.

Unresolved Resolution

Donald Miller, in the introduction to his book Blue Like Jazz, says he never liked jazz music because it doesn't 'resolve'.

I guess UPCI ministers and television advertising doesn't resolve either. The Ohio-sponsored Resolution Six was referred to a committee which is supposed to discover whether or not our churches really want to advertise on television. The issue is supposed to be back for a vote at the 2007 General Conference in Tampa, Florida.

Our time and money would be better spent studying how we can effectively use the internet and emerging media instead of asking each other what we think about television and if we plan to use it. Any UPCI minister who doesn't already know how his colleagues feel about those questions has probably spent the last three months picking blueberries on the Alaskan tundra.

So, what are your plans for the next 12 months? Rally the troops to support your position on the resolution? Divert your SFC offering so you can charter a bus filled with voters to Tampa? I think a good idea would be to form a huge picket line at WEC during the next General Board meeting. We could march up and down the frontage road carrying signs and yelling at cars while the Board deliberates. That way everybody would know that we are really serious about this.

Or, in the meantime, we could invite a friend to lunch, or mow our neighbor's lawn, or have a night of prayer for all the public school teachers, or deliver coffee and donuts to the police station at 1:00 a.m. Or, we could cancel our cable and send that amount to a metro missionary every month. Or, we could host a Moms' Night Out for everybody on our block and watch all the kids at our house for a couple of hours while the moms take a break.

I realize this isn't pretty and sophisticated and I am certainly not suggesting that we make things like this a habit. God knows we are far too busy for a lifestyle like this! No, no. This is just until we can get this little resolution resolved and then we can get back to taking the whole gospel to the whole world.

Oh, never mind. This is too distracting. Besides, it's almost time for that big conference in Indianapolis and then there's Fresno in November and, before you know it, it will be time to reserve our seats for BOTT. Let's just go back to Denny's and talk about television some more.

Isn't it your turn to buy?


©2006 Doug Ellingsworth