Thursday, March 15, 2007

Possible reasons you're not hearing

Why aren't you hearing the voice of the Shepherd, or why isn't your radio tuned into KSHP – Radio Jesus? Maybe He's being quiet right now.

Go to Exodus 2 and 3 (TM) and do the math. Moses was in Pharaoh's court for 40 years, then he killed that dude and had to run off to Midian for 40 years, where he married and had two sons. At the end of that time, he's leading a flock of sheep on the backside of the desert. . . and that's where he saw the burning bush. The last 40 years of his life were spent leading the Israelites. (Acts 7:23-36) (TM)

The backside of the desert! We hear preachers talk about the backside of the desert. It's a powerful image, far removed from civilization, completely deprived of so many creature comforts. And there's nobody to talk to, and no one talking to you.

But God had put Moses there for a reason. We don't know exactly what reason, but a couple come to mind. 1) He needed time off to recover from killing someone. 2) He needed time to mature by being a shepherd, a husband, a father, even a stranger in a strange land.

In the New Testament, we see Jesus driven (TM) out into the desert by the Holy Spirit, no less, for 40 days of fasting and preparation at the front end of his ministry. So, if you feel like you're not hearing God's voice, it might be that he's got you in a time of preparation, that he's getting you ready for your greatest service yet. Three more possible reasons later.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Jesus, the Shepherd King - John 10

Look at John 10 (TM).

  • Anatomy of a shepherd as observed by sheep
    • you know his voice
    • he comes in through the gate, not over the wall or through the fence
    • he lays down his life for you
    • his purpose is for your benefit
  • Anatomy of a thief
    • steal
    • kill
    • destroy


Just a thought or so to chew on for Sunday. What is one way the Shepherd looks like to your average sheep? Assuming the sheep's observational powers are undamaged, of course.

Well, he recognizes the voice of the shepherd. Is this because of long association with the shepherd? Not really. Jesus has just, in chap 9 (TM), healed the man born blind. The pharisees then overhear this comment by Jesus: "For judgement I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."

So they say, "Are we blind, too?" To which Jesus basically says, "Yes, because you claimed to be able to see when you couldn't. So your sin remains."

Then we go directly into chap 10, and this parable about the Good Shepherd, so I would say that it's not long association with the shepherd's voice, but something fundamentally shepherdish about the voice, that willing sheep are able to recognize. What's that mean? It means that any regular sheep can and will recognize the Shepherd's voice when finally he hears it, if he can hear it.

Should we be encouraged or discouraged by this idea? I think we should be encouraged, because no special ability or talent is required. It's an ability common to sheep, to recognize the voice of the Shepherd.

Think his voice has been in short supply for you lately? There's more than one thing that could account for that. More later.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Cultural distance

Alan Hirsch has a fine post in which he posits the exact thing Robby and I have been talking about lately.

We're at New Century, slurping away at our Egg Drop soup, talking about small groups and problematic Sunday mornings and the possibility of doing something on, say, Thursday evenings.

"We could meet at Andy's or something," I say, crunching on some bell pepper, wishing I could have a spring roll (too many carbs).

"Dude," says Robby, "what if some of the couples were willing to have it in their house maybe once a month or so? You'd have the added possibility of reaching unchurched people in each of their neighborhoods." He punctuated the remark by biting into his spring roll.

This is exactly what Hirschy is talking about, when he's going on about cultural distance and the like. In our little corner of the world, just going into a church building is a cultural barrier for a lot of unchurched folk, and then, getting into the vehicle to go somewhere unfamiliar is another. So the idea of bringing the small group right into people's neighborhood is an attractive one, if any of you guys feel like that might be a possibility for you. We'll talk about it more, later.