Tomorrow (Wed.) we leave for the National Lutheran Youth Gathering! Hurrah! It has been years in the making - as are each of the Gatherings. The Gathering is sponsored by the Youth Ministry of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and is the only national gathering sponsored by them. There are others but those are sponsored by RSOs (Recognized Service Organizations) and while they are worthwhile, they are nothing like the NLYG. Perhaps I betray my thoughts on this whole setting within our church body.
The NLYG is just that - it is National. It is for Youth. It is Lutheran. And it is a Gathering.
National - youth from all over the nation, even from around the world, attend these gatherings. It is a time to see that you are not alone in your walk of faith. Too often, the devil, the world and our own sinful nature lead us to begin to think that we alone walk in the faith. Much like Elijah, we run with terror at the things that are taking place around us and we feel that no one else is holding firm to the faith in Jesus Christ. We run and hide. We begin to withdraw. The NLYG changes that. When we sit with 20,000 (used to be 25,000 but some of the other youth events have pulled our youth from the NLYG and taken them elsewhere) and see that they love the Lord as much or more than you, it lifts you up. It encourages you. It says to you, "Go back to your hometown for I have reserved thousands who have not bent their knee to other gods or kissed other gods." Those who attend the NLYG realize that our Lord is still the Lord of all and learn to stand firm and tall before the onslaught of temptation and sin.
Youth - youth are the focus of this Gathering. All the Bible studies, workshops, concerts, etc. are geared for youth. Adults love to go the Gathering because of the energy they feel while they are there. But it is meant for youth - high school youth, youth that are in the midst of the battle for the faith, youth that face struggles daily as they try to walk as Christians through the halls of their highs schools. To see so many youth excited about Christ in one place (back to National) is an overwhelming event. I praise God for the power He brings through Word and Sacrament to these youth. I rejoice to see these young men and women on fire for the Lord. No one should look down upon them because of their age nor should anyone pooh-pooh this event as merely being fluff and worthless for the growth of the spiritual life. Those who do are stuck in themselves and their own desire that others be like them. Our youth are strong Christians who are strengthened even more at the NLYG. Go youth!
Lutheran - the NLYG is Lutheran. It is Lutheran in all it does. It might not be like the local congregation in how it goes about being Lutheran, but I thank God for that! I have heard it said that the NLYG leads our youth away from LC-MS Lutheranism, to which I say, "Baloney." It is LC-MS in all it does. It focuses the youth on their life as Lutherans. It teaches as Lutherans. It celebrates the Sacrament as Lutherans. If you prick it, does it not bleed Lutheran? If you attack it, are you not attacking Lutherans? The answer is yes! I am proud of what the planners, presenters and youth do at the NLYG. When we arrive, we are Lutheran. When we are there, we are Lutheran. When we return home, we are Lutheran. Can you find fault in the NLYG? Of course, when you look long enough and hard enough, you can find fault in anything and everything. That can be done in the local parish, no matter who the pastor might be. Why search so hard to find fault? Why not use that energy for the positive and find the good and right things that are done and build upon them? I will not give in to the anger or hatred of others that seek destruction of that which is different from them. I rejoice that the NLYG is decidedly and completely Lutheran.
Gathering - need I say more? It is a Gathering, a gathering of Lutherans in one place, a gathering of Christians around the cross of Christ, a gathering of people who are hurting, a gathering of those who are lost, a gathering of those who are in need, a gathering around Word, a gathering around Sacrament. We gather to grow. We gather to love. We gather to serve. We gather. It is overwhelming to be in the midst of the gathering. it is more than you get at home. In the local parish, life is wonderful. I love St. Paul's in Troy, IL. I rejoice to gather with them each and every week in worship and Bible study. I revel in the life we have together in this place. And yet, when you gather at the NLYG, there is something amazing. To gather with thousands of other Lutherans/Christians in one place is wonderful.
WE BELIEVE - in one God, triune, holy and just, loving and gracious, redeeming and sanctifying. WE BELIEVE, together as one body. Christ is the head of this body. Youth and adults from around the nation are the body of Christ in their place. We are drawn together for 5 short days to confess before the world, "WE BELIEVE!"
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Truth - what is it?
I was reading this morning - something I really enjoy doing. The author was talking about "Modernism" and "Postmodernism" as it applied to the life of faith. He pointed out that modernism did it's best to destroy Christianity by applying different "modern" ways of thinking to the Bible and to the Christian faith. I can see that. As I went through my undergraduate work at Millikin University in Decatur, IL, I learned that way of thinking. Much of what the Bible attributes to Jesus was said to have been written by His followers and not really what He Himself said. (Talk about bunk! That is just the devil's way to try to destroy the beauty of our Lord and the salvation He brings to us.) But at the time, I bought into it hook-line and sinker. In the end, though, modernism becomes bankrupt and having taken away all there is to hold onto by destroying the very Word of God, it leaves people empty, searching and wondering what life was really all about.
After Modernism destroyed the faith, postmodernism has stepped in and tried its hand at answering the really big questions of life - who am I? Why am I here? Is there something for me to hold onto in life? Or is it just hopelessness?
Unfortunately, postmodernism has begun to tear apart what was left by modernism. The really big question is the one that Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" And postmodernism answers the question with a simple, "Whatever you want it to be." What? How is that possible? What postmodernism says is simply, "That might be true for you, but it isn't true for me." It leaves it up to the individual to decide what is truth and what isn't. That sounds really good, until you run smack dab into someone who is adamantly opposed to what you believe. You might be a strong advocate of being "green." (Which, by the way, is the way that God would have all people be - it's called being a good steward of creation.) But then you run into someone who really can't stand being "green" and thinks it is a waste of time, effort and money. Who is right? Who should be listened to? The answer - neither one. You need to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. You need to decide if being "green," great. If you decide to waste the resources of the world, great. There is neither a "right" or a "wrong" in the issue.
What is that? That is so bogus. Yet, this even carries over to the Christian life. How many times have you heard it said, "What does that text mean for you?" That is a good way to get discussion going in a Bible class but in the end, the question is not "What does it mean to you?" but the question is "What is God saying?" The bottom line is not what I want Scripture to say but what is God saying in Scripture. That really is the problem with the Emergent Church. (If you don't know much about it, don't spend too much time on it. I have and I find that it is just another way that the devil has come out to try to dilute or destroy the message of the Gospel.) When you read Rob Bell ("The Velvet Elvis" for example), he comes out sounding very Christian. Yet, when I was reading that book, there was something that just ate away at me. There was something wrong with his writing. I finally figured out what it was. He was recasting Christ, justification, sanctification, Scripture and a whole host of other doctrines to fit what he wanted. And in doing so, he truly was changing the face of Christianity. Is it for the better? No it isn't. In fact what he is doing (and what many in the emergent tradition are doing), is creating God and Christianity to fit their own thoughts and lives. They are leaving behind truth for their own brand of "truth." Which is just the Father of Lies leading people astray once again.
What is truth? It isn't what you make it. It is what God makes it. It is found in Scripture - and not in your interpretation of Scripture. The truth that God brings is pretty clear. What makes it muddy is the sinful self, the sinful thoughts, the sinful desires of each and every one of us. If truth is left up to us, there will be no truth. If the teachings of the faith are open to what we want them to be, there will be nothing left. Satan is laughing all the way to hell. And he is taking many souls with him, souls that are lost because some preacher or some well meaning Christian said to them, "What I think is..." It isn't what I think. It is was God says. Period.
Pilate wondered what truth was. Truth was standing right in front of him and he was too blind to see Him. Truth is right there in front of you. Truth is Jesus Christ. Truth is justification by grace through faith. Truth is God's Word. Truth is truth, plain and simple. Postmodernism is destroying truth. And many Christians are merrily strolling down the emergent path to their destruction. God, save us from ourselves!
After Modernism destroyed the faith, postmodernism has stepped in and tried its hand at answering the really big questions of life - who am I? Why am I here? Is there something for me to hold onto in life? Or is it just hopelessness?
Unfortunately, postmodernism has begun to tear apart what was left by modernism. The really big question is the one that Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" And postmodernism answers the question with a simple, "Whatever you want it to be." What? How is that possible? What postmodernism says is simply, "That might be true for you, but it isn't true for me." It leaves it up to the individual to decide what is truth and what isn't. That sounds really good, until you run smack dab into someone who is adamantly opposed to what you believe. You might be a strong advocate of being "green." (Which, by the way, is the way that God would have all people be - it's called being a good steward of creation.) But then you run into someone who really can't stand being "green" and thinks it is a waste of time, effort and money. Who is right? Who should be listened to? The answer - neither one. You need to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. You need to decide if being "green," great. If you decide to waste the resources of the world, great. There is neither a "right" or a "wrong" in the issue.
What is that? That is so bogus. Yet, this even carries over to the Christian life. How many times have you heard it said, "What does that text mean for you?" That is a good way to get discussion going in a Bible class but in the end, the question is not "What does it mean to you?" but the question is "What is God saying?" The bottom line is not what I want Scripture to say but what is God saying in Scripture. That really is the problem with the Emergent Church. (If you don't know much about it, don't spend too much time on it. I have and I find that it is just another way that the devil has come out to try to dilute or destroy the message of the Gospel.) When you read Rob Bell ("The Velvet Elvis" for example), he comes out sounding very Christian. Yet, when I was reading that book, there was something that just ate away at me. There was something wrong with his writing. I finally figured out what it was. He was recasting Christ, justification, sanctification, Scripture and a whole host of other doctrines to fit what he wanted. And in doing so, he truly was changing the face of Christianity. Is it for the better? No it isn't. In fact what he is doing (and what many in the emergent tradition are doing), is creating God and Christianity to fit their own thoughts and lives. They are leaving behind truth for their own brand of "truth." Which is just the Father of Lies leading people astray once again.
What is truth? It isn't what you make it. It is what God makes it. It is found in Scripture - and not in your interpretation of Scripture. The truth that God brings is pretty clear. What makes it muddy is the sinful self, the sinful thoughts, the sinful desires of each and every one of us. If truth is left up to us, there will be no truth. If the teachings of the faith are open to what we want them to be, there will be nothing left. Satan is laughing all the way to hell. And he is taking many souls with him, souls that are lost because some preacher or some well meaning Christian said to them, "What I think is..." It isn't what I think. It is was God says. Period.
Pilate wondered what truth was. Truth was standing right in front of him and he was too blind to see Him. Truth is right there in front of you. Truth is Jesus Christ. Truth is justification by grace through faith. Truth is God's Word. Truth is truth, plain and simple. Postmodernism is destroying truth. And many Christians are merrily strolling down the emergent path to their destruction. God, save us from ourselves!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)