Chris Howlett

Focusing My Life

What’s really most important? What are my top five priorities? In answering these questions you may be tempted to say things you know will sound good to someone else… your friend, your spouse, your parent, your pastor, your small group leader… Avoid the temptation. Be honest with yourself and with God.

We basically have two sets of values: 1. Espoused Values; 2. Enacted Values. Espoused Values are values I believe in. If asked to explain my values, I would list my espoused values. Enacted Values are values I have actually put into action in my life. There is overlap between my espoused and enacted values, but there are also areas of discontinuity. These areas of discontinuity are the areas that my actual, real, lived values do not match up with what I believe to be true and what I believe to be important.

Example. I value health. I believe it is a good thing to be healthy, to exercise regularly, to eat highly nutritious and low calorie food. I believe my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and that I am called to honor the body God gave me. Health is an espoused value. Unfortunately, I have struggled since late adolescence for this value to be an enacted value. I am significantly overweight and my lack of bodily health is beginning to interfere with my happiness and fulfillment in life because it is becoming a limiting factor in what I can do safely and injury-free, physically. As I grow older, my lack of enacting my espoused health value is leading to a diminished sense of joy in life.

Another example. I value lifelong learning. God has given us minds that are meant to be used. Learning is an activity we are intended to participate in even after we graduate from school. I believe part of the renewal of the mind God plans for us as a path to wholeness. This is an espoused value and an enacted value. Even before I was accepted into the Beeson Pastor Program, I was a relatively heavy reader. I read in a wide range of topics. I do read fiction from time to time, but most of my reading focuses on leadership, science, philosophy, history, psychology and spirituality. I seek out opportunities for trainings and continuing education events that will enrich me as a person, family member, and pastor.

What are your values? How can you bridge the gap between your espoused and enacted values? Pray for me as I work to more fully live out the value of being a beloved child of God who lives a healthy life, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and physically.

Christ Church Vacation Bible School 2009

Check out this video of our Soccer/Drama Camp VBS!

We had a blast!

Paraclete Revisited

There's no way one message can exhaust the different ways in which the Holy Spirit works in our lives. One of the ways that I didn't really cover in the message is found in the Gospel Lesson for today, John 15:26-27:

But when the Helper [the Paraclete] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the  Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning (ESV).

The work of the Holy Spirit is to "bear witness" about Jesus. He also notes that this is the work of the disciples, as well.

Think about it. If no one bore witness about Jesus, the Church would have died out in the first generation. The New Testament would not have been written, and most probably we would have never heard of a man named Jesus of Nazareth. I guess most of us would be pagans, and there might be a few Jews.

It is the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, through Christ's followers, to bear witness to people in the world about Jesus Christ. The Spirit bears witness through us about the life, the teaching, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus, about how God, through Jesus, is reconciling all things in the world to himself, about how God's new age of redemption is changing everything and about how when Jesus returns, God will make all things right and enforce his ultimate rule and reign throughout the cosmos.

Witness entails both the personal and the universal. How God blesses me, and How God is blessing the world. We bear witness to the totality of God's work, but the most intimate knowledge of God's work is God's work in us. So, how has God been blessing you lately? Whom have you told? How can you share your faith through words and actions?

How does the Church, today, bear witness to the universal presence and influence of God? We must remember that God sent Jesus to save, not condemn the world. In our approach to bearing witness does the world feel condemned? Does the world feel loved? Hopefully the latter and not the former.

May the Paraclete, the Helper, the Advocate, the Comforter, the Counselor bless you with his presence and his power. May he enable you to bear witness to the love of God in the world.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today, the message at church was: "How to Make Mom Happy." 

One of the guaranteed ways to make your mom happy is to say "Thank You!" So, I thought I would say "thanks" to my mom here.

Mom... thanks!

Thanks for loving me, even when I was unloveable.

Thanks for raising me in the way I should go.

Thanks for taking me to church.

Thanks for showing me the meaning of grace.

Thanks for being a stay-at-home mom when we could have probably used the money from you working outside of the home. Having you home was worth it to me!

Thanks for teaching me what hard work means.

Thanks for encouraging me to be me.

Thanks for buying my artwork when I was about 10. I didn't become an artist, but it made me feel good, anyway.

Thanks for having a sense of humor.

Thanks for teaching me the value of an education.

Thanks for showing me what service to others is.

Thanks for loving my Dad and being committed to your marriage. That's made my marriage better!
Thanks for having my siblings. They're great! Even if Kenny and I used to fight like cats and dogs.
Thanks for attending all my soccer games when I was a kid. I mean... all of them! I know you probably weren't in love with soccer, but you showed your love for me.
Thanks for making Swiss Steak.
Thanks for reading to me.
Thanks for giving me the gift of life.
But most of all, thanks for giving me the gift of you!

I love you! Have a great Mother's Day!

Suffering Considered

This morning in my quiet time I read Colossians 1:24, a verse that has always seemed a bit confusing to me:

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (ESV).

The most straight forward and simple reading of this verse implies there is something lacking in the suffering of Christ. That Christ's suffering on the cross was in some way, shape, or form, insufficient for the gathering of his people called the church. Feel free to check the context, when reading this verse, this is the initial impression. Christians, for centuries, have struggled because of this common sense reading.

I believe the Bible was written so an educated person (if you can read, you are educated), should be able to understand the basic meaning of a translated text without the aid of persons with Ph.D.s in Biblical languages, aside from the translation (which is truly a form of interpretation, but if the translator is honest, his or her interpretation, over the long haul, will be sufficient). It's the Bible. It is not a manual for rocket science.

This is not to say that learning Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic aren't good. To the contrary, the more educated a person is in Biblical languages, the richer the experience can be in grasping the original hearers' perspective and the original author's meaning. It is a richer experience, not necessarily a more accurate experience. One can never discount the operation of the Holy Spirit in the reading and understanding of the Scripture. No level of education has a corner on the Holy Spirit market.

Back to Colossians. This verse is simply confusing. It seems to suggest that when Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the world, he didn't do a thorough enough job. Paul's suffering, which is great - he's writing this letter from prison - is "filling up what is lacking."

Is Paul's suffering atoining for sins? It's as if Paul is equating his suffering for the spread of the Gospel with Christ's suffering on the cross. Certainly, Jesus did instruct us to take up our cross and follow him. This command implies suffering. To follow Jesus is to suffer. Crosses are instruments of suffering. There's really no way around it. Paul is suffering. He is suffering because of his obedience to the call of God on his life. His suffering is great. He seems to bear it willingly, though, because of the glory of his ultimate end: the Kingdom of God. However, is Paul's suffering salvific? for Paul? for the church? for anyone?

It seems to me that, even in light of Jesus' call for us to take up our crosses... ready now, get in line, your cross is coming... it seems even in light of this reality, the suffering of Paul, or anyone for that matter, in service of seeing the Kingdom of God come upon the earth is not the same category of suffering.

Paul suffered physically, emotionally, and perhaps spiritually, but his suffering cannot be understood to be of the same quality of Jesus' suffering. [By this I mean that Jesus' suffering was much more intense and of a different character or category]. Not only being crucified, which is humanity's greatest torture technique, but the reality that on the cross Jesus was bearing the sins of the world... Paul's sins, your sins, my sins, all sins. Certainly, Paul couldn't have meant that his suffering was in some way moving the ball forward with respect to atonement. The work of the cross is finished. So much of what is taught in the Scripture is completely clear. The curtain of the Temple is torn, our access is sure, because of the blood of Jesus we are granted entrance, boldly, to the Throne of Grace. Paul's suffering, though real, cannot be understood as being salvific.

If not, then what is he talking about? My commitment to a belief in the truth of the written text of the Scripture will not allow me to follow Thomas Jefferson's example and simply excise portions with which I don't agree or understand. I must deal with the whole counsel of God. Even this odd little verse.

I believe what Paul was getting at is that Christ's suffering is not over. He is still suffering. The pain of the cross is complete, but suffering still exists as the church lives in a world that continues to reject the message of love Jesus teaches. The world continues to live according to values and goals of self-centerdness and violence. If I am going to be a Christ-follower in this world... this world... I will suffer. I will be forced to make decisions that will cost me temporally, but will be rewarded eternally. The eternal reward does not remove the temporal suffering, but it does make it bearable.

The kind of suffering I am talking about is not the suffering of physical illness or relational pain. There's plenty of that suffering to go around, though. Right now my back hurts... not because I've been shouldering my cross, but because I awkwardly picked up my backpack out of the back seat of my car last week and tweeked it. My sore back has nothing to do with the sufferings of Christ lacking anything.

Paul suffered as a result of his commitment to Christ and Christ's ministry to seek and save the lost. I have suffered because of a similar commitment, although not to the degree of Paul. Not even close. Never been stoned. Never been imprisoned. Held up to Paul's my suffering has been a walk in the park. Suffering is suffering, though. Whether it means someone in your office despises you because you read The Upper Room at lunch time or you invited them to an early morning Bible Study, or simply because you refused to join in an inappropriate, hurtful joke at the expense of another. Living as a follower of Jesus does get us into trouble from time to time.

When his followers suffer, Jesus suffers. His suffering is not finished. People all over the world continue to be imprisoned, their personal property confiscated or destroyed, their standing in the community diminished, their lives and the lives of their families threatened and sometimes martyred because of Christ. Jesus isn't done, yet.

The Christian hope is that he will be some day. He will return and make all things right. He has already been vindicated by the power of his Resurrection. When he returns the martyrs of the church will be vindicated and righteousness, peace, and love will reign forever.

Earth Day 2009

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” Psalm 24:1a (ESV)

Notice, the above verse says the earth is the Lord’s… NOT “the earth is the Lord.”  A vital distinction.  Acknowledging the goodness of the creation and being good stewards of the creation are essential.  If we believe the creation accounts in Genesis, that God created the heavens and the earth and called his creation good, then we would naturally want to take care of this earth that he created.  To nurture it to it’s fullest creative potential, to cultivate its beauty and its life-giving capacity.

However, in today’s atmosphere, one must make the very crucial distinction that is oftentimes not very clear in the media, in our educational institutions, and in big business.  (Yes, big business has finally discovered that it is popular and profitable to market “green”).  That crucial distinction is that God created the earth so the earth is not God.  He stands over and against that which he spoke into being.

As Christ-followers, let us take the lead in intelligent, informed environmentalism, and help people see the true motive for any environmentalist agenda must be the love of the God who creates.  Too many people are, unknowingly in many instances, confusing creation with the Creator and making an idol out of the earth.  Terms like Mother Earth and Gaia simply point us to a pagan past that ultimately, ironically, perpetuates the pain and destruction of that which we suppose we love and want to protect.

So, as Earth Day is celebrated, we Christians should probably help remind people from where the earth came and the One who desires we take care of it.

Doing the Criticism Thing

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” – Abraham Lincoln

There are two sides to this coin. The first is that of the person offering the criticism. The second is the one on the receiving end.

Criticism should be a minimal part of our conversation with others and only offered when we have a true desire and the resources of time, energy, and the appropriate knowledge to actually help. Criticism simply to point out something we don’t like is pretty much useless and relationship-damaging. Criticism given discretely and with a sincere effort of coming alongside with the tools and ability to make a difference for the good of the team is incredibly desirable and relationship-building.

The flip side is the person receiving criticism. Some people are utterly incapable of receiving any kind of criticism. Any criticism is seen as a personal attack and is responded to with either the fight or flight reaction. We fight to protect our egos, we flee to maintain control and autonomy. Perhaps these people have been inundated with destructive, relationship-damaging criticism. If so, it will be difficult for them to trust.

Others receive constructive criticism with grace and thanks because they see that the one offering desires to help and build the relationship. They are open to change and considering things from a different perspective. They live in a world of high trust relationships and are comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism.

Of course, trust is the key. Are you building trust in relationships or are you a pragmatic relator? Are relationships simply a means to an end for you or do you value people? If you build trust, criticism is possible and helpful. If you value yourself and your preferences above people, trust will not be a part of your interactions and criticism will be difficult.

Criticism can be a wonderful tool in the hands of caring people in high trust relationships. How are you doing in the trust department?

Watch and Weep

I can't embed this video for some reason, so, follow the link and enjoy!

47 year old Susan Boyle on Britian's Got Talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Low In the Grave He Lay

There's an old hymn that we sing on Easter Sundays, "Up From the Grave He Arose," actually I believe we're singing it at our 8:30 a.m. service this Sunday! Anyway, the opening verse starts in a very slow cadence, almost like a funeral dirge:

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Then it breaks into the upbeat, happy chorus announcing that Jesus has risen from the grave, victorious over death. That's Easter!

Today is Good Friday. On Good Friday they laid him in the grave. It was a funeral dirge. It was depressing. Imagine, this man in whom you put all your hopes and dreams is dead and those hopes and dreams are dashed against the stone of cold hard reality. None of the disciples thought there was any hope left. They scattered, scared that their appointment with death was coming soon.

But, they were wrong. They were all wrong. Jesus is exactly who he says he is. He is the Son of the Living God. He is the Savior who takes away the sin of the world. He is the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. He did get up on Sunday morning!

It's good, though, that we celebrate... (is that the right word?), that we celebrate Good Friday. For, while it wasn't very good for Jesus, and it wasn't particularly exciting for the disciples, it is tremendously good for us! Yes, Jesus suffered and died, voluntarily laying down his life so that we could experience a life-changing relationship with God, so that our sins are forgiven, and we are able to walk in the newness of life. Victory from defeat. Glory from tragedy. Life from death.

A Choice to Make

“Jesus went to Jerusalem to announce the good news to the people of that city. And Jesus knew that he was going to put a choice before them: Will you be my disciple, or will you be my executioner? There is no middle ground here. Jesus went to Jerusalem to put people in a situation where they had to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ That is the great drama of Jesus' Passion: he had to wait upon how people were going to respond. How would they come? To betray him or to follow him? In a way, his agony is not simply the agony of approaching death. It is also the agony of having to wait.” – Henri Nouwen

I’m not sure I can add much to Nouwen’s quote. He is certainly challenging. Of course, the events of Jesus’ last week prior to his resurrection were challenging. For that matter, the weeks that followed Jesus’ resurrection were challenging. Jesus is challenging.

Betray or follow. The choice really is ours. It’s the beauty of being created in the image of God: freedom of choice. It’s also the bane. And we make the choice every day. Will I follow Jesus today or will I follow my perceived self-interests? I say perceived because my true self-interests are served by following Jesus. That is the way of joy, hope, fulfillment, and happiness. The way of love is the way of life.

Yet, we, like the crowds, can be a fickle bunch. When following Jesus looks fun and popular and acceptable, well we jump on the bandwagon. When following Jesus means giving up long held prejudices and false beliefs, then things get dicey. When following Jesus means giving up comforting religion and taking up paradigm-altering revolution, well, I think I might just hold on to religion, thank you very much. Everyone else is.

Jesus forces a choice. Betray or follow. Self-preservation or crucifixion. Limited life or resurrection life.

How will you respond? Jesus is patiently waiting.