Hearing the Music

Staying Human

Many of you have played around with, or are perhaps actively using some of the AI (artificial intelligence) applications that are becoming more and more prevalent.  Personally, I have not used any of the platforms such as ChatGPT or any of the helper buttons on Google or otherwise. However, one of our fellow congregants recently played around with ChatGPT and asked it to write a Friday Letter with the theme of Christian freedom in light of Independence Day. He also fed ChatGPT a few of my previous Friday Letters and asked it to write in the same style. Honestly, I was a little shocked and more than a little weirded out by the quality that was produced.

I have been thinking a fair bit about AI and have read and listened to a variety of folks wrestling with the ethics of AI, what we gain with AI, what we lose with it, etc... In this case, I was struck by how much the letter sounded like me, but yet wasn't me. Honestly, I had a moment of thinking how much easier my life could be if I utilized such tools. But at the same time I knew that it would come at a cost. Believe it or not, writing these Friday Letters is a labor of love. While some are more in depth, coherent, logical or interesting, they all are done with you in mind. They flow from our life together, hallway conversations, interactions over books or basketball. Why this letter on AI?  Because we have been talking about it.

I don't have all the answers, maybe not even many of the answers. But let's keep asking the questions. Let us not make the mistake of many who assume that just because we can do a thing, we should. But most of all let's stay human together!

The Bible keeps it real when it comes to the humans in its story. This week, we see David at a high point, showing compassion and his own covenant keeping love to his good friend Jonathan's son in 2 Samuel 9. David's was a costly love, reminiscent of the love of Christ. I look forward to Michael's exposition of this text, just as I -- the person -- look forward to seeing you!

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Sharing the Overflow

 This past Sunday as we studied 2 Samuel 6 we noted the generosity that exuded from David when he experienced the grace of the Lord. Here are the verses that highlight this generosity:

And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.”  (2 Samuel 6 17:19)

This account is similar to an account in Nehemiah in which the people are reintroduced to the Word of God.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.   (Nehemiah 8:9–12)

What would this gratitude-fueled, sharing out of the overflow of grace, look like for us? Each week the offering plate passes us by. How generous are we in supporting the church and the work of the Gospel around the world? Other than directly giving money, sharing the overflow could look like bringing a meal to a neighbor or a family in need. It could look like inviting the new people, the people who look a little lost relationally, over for ice cream. It could look like delivering a Care Portal call. Here are Don and Sherry Levy recounting a recent CarePortal experience:

We delivered a child’s bed tonight for a family in need from Afghanistan. Don was able to go into the home and help assemble the bed with the child’s father. The family was very kind and invited him to stay for tea but he had another commitment. It was a pleasant experience. Several days later Don and I were able to return to their home and enjoy a special meal with their family. It was an amazing experience and quite an honor to share this wonderful meal with them. Three of the 12 adults spoke some heavily accented English. It was loud, jovial and long. We left at 9:45 and they said the evening would go on until after midnight. (haha).

Care Portal, for those unfamiliar with this ministry, is a diaconate supported ministry that brings vetted needs from the community to our attention, giving us the opportunity to personally bless those in need, out of the overflow of how we have been blessed. Joy Jurries, Henry & Rachel Morales, Andrew Vanderput, Micah & Heather Maupin , and Lisa Vander Maas are team leaders for Christ Church, helping to mobilize other volunteers to meet these needs. If you are interested in learning more or sharing your blessing in this way, talk to one of these folks. But no matter what it looks like, may the Spirit enable us to share the overflow of grace!

Photo by Johnny Martínez on Unsplash

Our Denominational Story

I hope this finds you well and enduring this MI hot spell! It is good to be back in Michigan after a week away at our denomination's General Assembly and a weekend away with Lisa. I had thought to do a recap on the week, but rather than recreate the wheel let me refer you here where you can check in on any of the action yourself, or if you prefer a written summary you can find one here.

One thing I did come away with was a reminder of why I appreciate the PCA. Our motto from the beginning has been "Faithful to the Scriptures. True to the Reformed Faith. Obedient to the Great Commission." All three of these statements are critical. The scriptures give us an accurate view of both God and ourselves that enables us to see the majesty of God, the beauty of His creation, and the tremendous gap that exists between Creator and creature. The Reformed faith helps us interpret the scriptures and to see the tremendous grace that God has granted to all who acknowledge the heinousness of their own sin and turn to Christ for grace through his finished work on the cross. And the Great Commission reminds us of the tremendous joy that we experience as we respond to the grace of the Lord with overflowing hearts, readily sharing the good news with all that we come into contact with as we go faithfully throughout his world.

To illustrate this mindset let me share a few words from Michael Graham, who is the biographer of Jack Miller*, one of our PCA "fathers in the faith", that I believe illustrate this "PCA" movement:
"I've pondered for some time what Jack would say about ... how Christians often bite and devour one another, regardless of the rationale or justification.
Jack felt he had never been more criticized than by the Cross of Christ. The cross said the worst thing about us anyone could ever say. So whatever criticism he received from others paled in comparison.
When Jack didn't know how to respond graciously or felt discouraged, he would say, "I need to go out and share the gospel," so he could benefit from the faith-building character of the gospel himself (Romans 10:17).
For Jack, sharing the gospel was his way of returning to sanity in a world full of sin, rage, and apathy. He observed that we are all like people without skin, raw to the touch."

I love this movement of scriptural illumination, leading to Gospel (re)immersion, culminating in getting outside of oneself and sharing the good news. As Miller observes, "we are all like people without skin, raw to the touch", it is only our immersion in the grace of Christ that covers us and grants us relief from the stinging effects of this world, while simultaneously giving us what we need to share with others.

This pattern has been on display for us throughout this past week as we have soaked in the teaching of Romans 15:5-7 at Arts and Rec camp. Perhaps not surprisingly it is again on display for us this week as we come back to 2 Samuel. In chapter 6, David rightly looks to see the Ark of the Covenant brought into Jerusalem, however goes about it wrongly, ending in tragedy. But God continues to pursue David in the midst of his fear and anger, meeting him in his rawness with fresh assurances of his grace, resulting in unmitigated joy for David that is witnessed by and overflows to all the people! It is truly great to be a part of that continuing story.