Hearing the Music

Am I Welcome?

I recently ran across a story of a man who wore his swimsuit to church several weeks in a row to see if he would be welcomed the same as if he showed up dressed more conventionally. As it turns out he was welcomed, and as the story plays out, this church becomes crucial in helping to save his marriage which was teetering on the brink. 

I share this with you not to extol the values of swimsuit wearing in church, which frankly seems quite uncomfortable, but rather to remind us that every week people with deep hurts are worshipping with us wondering if they are welcome. In their mind are the questions, "If I don't fit the norm, will I be welcome?" "Can I be a little awkward?" "How will people handle the mess that is my life?" While these questions may occupy their minds, we all know the reality that each of our lives registers more than a little on the "I am a mess" scale. Being open with our messes is a large part of what it means to live in a Gospel community. We double down in the truth that we are not loved because we have it all together, but rather we are loved despite the mess, only for the sake of Christ's finished work on our behalf. (Which is what messy people truly need, even more than being welcomed into a community!) When we have this truth firmly embedded in our core, it allows us to respond to the swimsuit wearers, the socially awkward, the parent's whose kids run amok, the marriages that are teetering, the physically fragile, the politically angry and all else who find their way in our doors. We know mess!

As we continue on in Ephesians 4:17-24 this week we will be remind that we have been given a new self only by the sheer generosity of a gracious God. How can we be anything less than thankful to God and gracious with those we encounter!

I look forward to applying this Gospel against our messes. Let's keep our eyes open for those in their metaphorical swimsuits!



For those interested in How to  Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told, it is not a "how to" book but rather a beautifully brutal story of loss, sadness, and brokenness that ultimately leads to betrayal and infidelity in the marriage. In the end however, it is a story of staying married through Gospel powered forgiveness and change. Interestingly, in a world where churches and church leadership are often the "bad guys", Christ the King in Savannah and its pastor (a Covenant Seminary Grad btw) shine brightly. Devastatingly honest and hilariously funny, it tells the story in such a way as to make us look not only at Harrison and Lauren but also at ourselves.  Harrison's style, manner of theological expression and sometimes coarse language won't be for everyone and at times made me a wee bit uncomfortable, but ultimately it is a powerful portrait of the Gospel at work.

Photo by Leo on Unsplash

Maintaining Unity

Have you ever stopped to think about the things you protect or guard? We protect our homes. We protect our skin. We guard our time. One of the biggest industries these days is the effort to protect our cyber presence. We guard our reputations. We put insurance on our cars and security cameras in our doorbells. The list goes on. While none of these things are wrong in and of themselves, they do paint a picture of what we value. It would be interesting to stack what Americans usually protect against cultures around the world or from different eras.  

Biblically we are encouraged to keep watch over our tongues (Psalm 39:1, James 3), keep the commands of our Lord (John 14:21), guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23), and as we will see Sunday, to maintain (preserve) the unity of the church (Ephesians 4:3). Protecting, preserving, guarding (all words that could be substituted for what we have translated "maintaining") this unity is a big part of responding to the calling that we have received from the Lord. As we will note on Sunday, we are called to maintain this unity, not create it. In other words, when we surrender to Christ we objectively have this unity with others who also are following the Savior. I'd encourage you to stop and think about that a moment; you are unified with Christians all over the world (and throughout time!). On the one hand this includes people who think and talk like you, but it also includes folks who are vastly different from you, culturally, socio-economically, theologically, etc...  

The Greco-Roman world Paul lived in, like our modern times, was more about divisions than unity. There were citizens and there were slaves. There were men and there were women. There were aristocrats and there were the poor. There were Jews and there were Gentiles. And the lists go on and on. It is into this world, as well as into ours, that the words of Ephesians come. You are different. You are one. You have a unity that goes beyond all of the things that might otherwise separate you culturally. Keep watch over that unity. Maintain it. Preserve it. It is valuable!

_{Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash}

Church in Exile

I recently heard someone use the categories of empire and exile to describe where we have been as the church in the U.S., and where the church in the U.S. may be headed, joining much of the church around the world. In short, the church in empire leads from the top, from positions of power. The church in empire has obvious influence and often little resistance. The church in exile is in many ways just the opposite. Cultural positions of power are few and far between, resistance is more noticeable and more persistent. The church in exile does influence, but its influence does not come from the top, but rather emanates from the bottom. It infiltrates between the cracks as opposed to coming in through the front door.

The first century church was a church in exile. Rome was the empire, the cultural influencers. It is against this backdrop that Paul does his work: takes his missionary journeys, preaches his sermons, writes his letters. It is against the backdrop of the Roman empire that Paul teaches the church how to be subversive in a Gospel sort of way.

Over the next several weeks we are going to dig into the blueprints that Paul unrolls for the church in exile to do their subversive work. Paul is going to take the truths that he wrote about in the opening 3 chapters of Ephesians and use them as a catapult to launch a lifestyle, that we know historically, will subvert the empire from below. The subversive work Paul outlines in chapters 4-6 in Ephesians does not come with "swords loud clashing or the roll of stirring drums", but rather it comes with lives that are pursuing holiness. It is a plan that cares about sexual purity in a a sex crazed world. It cares about telling the truth, seeking unity in diversity, curbing our anger, serving and submitting to one another, learning to be good friends, spouses, children, employees and bosses. In short, when God makes you his child and fills you with his Spirit (chapters 1-3) everything matters. Nothing is left unchanged.

This week we are going to be reorienting ourselves to Ephesians by looking at chapter 4:1 and following the "therefore" back through chapters 1-3. In preparation, I would encourage you to read through the entire book (a well spent 15-30 minutes). I might also commend last year's opening message on Ephesians as good way to reorient yourself to who these Ephesians are, who Paul is, and what is the central point that he wants to communicate while he languishes in a Roman prison (grace and peace).