Divergence

At the first chance possible we took Luke (10) and Zeke (7) to get vaccinated against COVID-19. There are four reasons we made this choice that I hope might encourage other parents to do the same.  First, we trust the science and data that has undeniably shown that vaccinations work. They reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 and even if you have a breakthrough case, the chance of hospitalization or even death are drastically reduced. You can see the overwhelming data from California here: https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/#postvax-status  Without question, we have trusted our doctors and the regular immunization schedule for school. We get a flu shot every year. We give our kids Tylenol or Ibuprofen when they're sick. They’ve taken antibiotics as prescribed. We aren’t going to stop trusting our doctors now.  Second, we’re doing it to protect their grandparents and other adults with risk factors. While the risk of serious complications for them is quite low, it is ...

I was ordained as a pastor on April 11, 2015. Here is a video of the service.

"Literalism is usually the lowest and least level of meaning."                       Richard Rohr, Falling Upward , 106 It seems that the popular thought in Adventism today is that we need to take Scripture at "face value" and accept the "literal" meaning of the text. Those who do this are lauded for their great faith and trust in God and his word. However, as Richard Rohr suggests, this literalistic approach provides "the lowest and least level of meaning." I'd suggest that those who wrestle with Scripture, who challenge it, question it, even disagree with it, are the ones with great faith. They are willing to leave behind a faith that has answers for all the questions and instead embrace the mystery of God. Instead of being a virtue, a rigid literalism is actually a vice.

This blog post was written for the Spectrum Blog and was posted on August 15, 2012 here . Last week I asked what Martin Luther King would say about the current ordination struggle. Today I am asking what Ellen White would say. In The Great Controversy, White writes about Martin Luther’s experience before the Diet of Worms. In this chapter, she hails Luther as a great model of faith who was willing to stand up for his convictions despite great opposition and risk of personal peril. During his trial at the Diet of Worms, Luther was told that he must either retract his writings or face severe consequences. White records Luther’s response: “The Reformer answered: ‘Since your most serene majesty and your high mightinesses require from me a clear, simple, and precise answer, I will give you one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the councils, because it is clear as the day that they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless...

This blog post was originally written for the Spectrum Blog and was posted on August 8, 2012 here .  I often find myself turning to the sermons and writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. when contemplating issues of justice. In light of the debate surrounding women’s ordination, I turned again to his writings, specifically his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” [i] for guidance. In reading this letter again, I was struck at how relevant it is for the discussion today. The “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was written in response to a letter he received while in jail from eight white ministers. This letter was titled, “A Call For Unity,” in which the pastors urged King and others fighting for justice to pursue the matters through the courts and to abide by their decisions. They suggest that progress was being made and that the demonstrations were “unwise and untimely.” [ii] In eerily similar fashion, on June 29, the General Conference also issued their own “Appeal For Unity...

This blog post was originally written for Spectrum Blog and posted on their site on July 16, 2010 here . Should the Seventh-day Adventist Church strive to remain unique and distinctive in its beliefs and practices? Is our uniqueness a virtue? My guess is that the majority of Adventists would answer those questions with a hearty, “yes.” In fact, many of our institutions and ministries use the importance of remaining unique to justify their existence, raise funds, and sell their products. In contrast to this, I would like to suggest that the desire to remain unique is, in fact, negatively affecting our faith and witness and should not be one of our goals. If you look up the definition of “unique,” you will find phrases such as “highly unusual or rare,” or “radically distinctive.” If this is what it means to be unique, the fact that we have so many unique doctrines simply means that we have not been effective enough in our witness. Instead of being a virtue, our uniquen...

It was shaping up to be a long, draining Sabbath an Adventist pastor experiences quite often. I got up around 7am and didn't finish the day until 10pm (I did get a chance to sneak a nap in so that helped). Although too long, it provided a lot of thought-provoking experiences that made it manageable. The week turned out to be filled with good news. On Monday, a member had a baby so that was exciting. Another member had back surgery on Tuesday that went well. Wednesday, one of our members' sons was had a very rare and serious surgery. It literally took all day but by late afternoon we got the great news that everything had gone well. So, we were coming to church in a celebrative mood. Then, before Sabbath School started, a mother and daughter-in-law were crying and hugging each other because another daughter-in-law was given bad news about her cancer. The doctors have told her she has two months to live. This actual is quite typical in church. You have people coming full of prais...

In our last post we looked at the idea of evangelism being an invitation to join a shared faith journey. It’s not about presenting a completed theological package but a process of shared discovery as the Spirit unfolds truth. I ended that post with the idea that this is a better way not just because it “works” but more true to our Christian experience and calling. One of the guiding principles of the Adventist church that I connect most deeply with is the idea of progressive truth. The early church founders were dead set against any kind of creed because they felt it would stop the church from growing in its understanding of God and his Word. I believe the church has gradually lost this sight of this guiding principle but it must be regained. Our greatest fear cannot be what new things God might reveal to us that would cause discomfort but instead remaining mired in our present understanding of the amazing God we all want to know. Jesus serves as the model of someone who constantly c...

Evangelism is typically viewed as something done by full-time ministers who preach a message that the evangelized person accepts and starts a process leading to baptism. It’s usually presenting a completed theological package and is a one-way street from evangelizer to the evangelized. While that approach has its place, I’d like to suggest that a different model is needed today. What if we viewed evangelism as an invitation? Not an invitation to hear a proclamation but an invitation to a shared faith journey. The woman at the well in John 4 gives us the model for this approach. She has a life-transforming experience with God and then has no choice but to share it with the community. She doesn’t have it all figured out but actually asks the question, “Can this be the Messiah?” In this way she invites people to engage in discussion and discovery together. It’s not based on a neat theological package she has developed with all the answers but a reliance on the Holy Spirit to unfold tru...

If only there was an easy answer to that question. I've found that each "success" in minstry brings with it the realization that there is much more work to be done. For each baptism, knowing there are millions more unreached people in the city. For each life-changing sermon for one person, 10 others who were sleeping the whole time. For each conflict resolved, 1,000 more on the way. Success and the idea of a job well done and completed seems like an impossible dream. With this in mind, I've found myself relying on one thing to make myself feel successful. In talking with other pastors and seeing them twittering and updating their facebook statuses they seem to have the same definition of success as well. What makes a pastor successful? BUSYNESS. That's all we can end up relying on in the end. We see all the things that can and should be done. Our church members constantly come to us reminding us of all that is wrong with the church. So, we just take satisfacti...

“What does it mean to represent the Kingdom of God in a culture devoted to the Kingdom of Self?” -- Eugene Peterson Doesn't that question lay at the heart of what it means to be a Christian today? The question challenges us to examine how much of our spirituality and religiosity is rooted in self-interest as opposed to following the self-sacrificial way of Jesus and his Kingdom. This quote doesn't call for the church to go on a rampage against a godless nation and fight culture wars in an attempt to demonize and garner self-righteous approval. Instead, it calls individual Christians and churches to examine ourselves and see how we have fallen into the ideology of the kingdom of self and seek to replace it with true, kingdom of God values and practices. This self-sacrificial love is what can help redeem the larger culture and help the kingdom of God advance and make a dent in the pervasive kingdom of self.

In John 1:29-34, John the Baptist exclaims that Jesus is the "lamb of God." The next day he was with a couple of his disciples when he sees Jesus pass by and tells them to look at the lamb of God. They start following Jesus who eventually turns around asks them what they want. They ask, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus could have responded with, "At the corner of Wilson Lane and Jefferson St," and be done with it. Instead, he says, "Come, and you will see." The disciples end up spending the entire day with Jesus and when they leave, Andrew goes immediately to tell his brother Simon (who Jesus would re-name Peter) about Jesus and bring him to spend time with him as well. The rest is history. This story is indicative of the way Jesus started his revolution of faith: through inviting people to follow him and experience first-hand what the kingdom was all about. Jesus could have had a discussion with the disciples in which he told them where h...

Thought I'd share a few things that I've learned over the last several months about dealing with the loss of a loved one. As I mentioned in a previous post, my grandfather died in August and a few months ago we lost two church members in a two week period so it's been something on my heart and mind a lot. 1. Everyone mourns differently and needs to be given space and time to mourn in the way that is appropriate to them. All three experiences had some similarities but were also quite different. Our personalities play a key role in determining how we mourn and there really is no correct way to go about it. The key thing is that within the family, each person is given freedom to express their grief, without being attacked by someone else for not mourning the "right" way. 2. It is emotionally draining. First, you're confronted by the reality that you will no longer be with this person you love dearly. Then, you have to make all the phone calls to family and fr...

Today, a three hour funeral was held for Sean Taylor. There were several emotional moments throughout the service as there were numerous tributes from family, friends, and teammates all bringing their unique perspecive to honor Sean. I had previously heard that Sean Taylor grew up Seventh-day Adventist and that was definitely the case. Two Adventist pastors took part in the service including the homily by Pastor David L. Peay, Sr. who is the pastor of the Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church (The church choir also sang two songs). Sean attended the church this summer and raised his hand during an appeal. Pastor Peay also spent several hours with him a month ago talking about a variety of issues. He avoided the temptation to give a study on the Adventist perspective on the state of the dead but he did reference a brief quote from the "servant of the Lord." I must admit that they were a few cringe-inducing moments during the homily, including the pastor wondering if Sean ...

Sean Taylor, a superstar on my favorite team, the Washington Redskins, was shot in his house early yesterday morning and succumbed to his injuries early this morning. He had some troubling incidents several years ago but after his daughter was born 18 months ago he started to turn his life around. He was becoming one of the best players in the NFL but it all came to an end at just 24 years of age. I've been confronted by death all too much in the last few months. It started at the end of August when my grandfather passed away. Several weeks ago, a stretch began where two of my church members died within a two weeks of each other. As crazy as it sounds, Taylor's death has been deeply emotional for me. Not as much as those I knew and loved, but it's not too far away. Let me explain why. I've been a huge Redskins fan for as long as I can remember. My dad wasn't a big fan so I don't know what made me obsessed with the Redskins, and sports in general, but I've ...

This is my reflection for the Bloggin the 28 Series on Belief #11: Growing in Christ. It states: By His death on the cross Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus' victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us. Continually committed to Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we are set free from the burden of our past deeds. No longer do we live in the darkness, fear of evil powers, ignorance, and meaninglessness of our former way of life. In this new freedom in Jesus, we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word, meditating on it and on His providence, singing His praises, gathering together for worship, and participating in the mission of the...

One of the things I love about the church plant is it's diversity. One of my passions in life is cultivating cultural diversity in organizations. I'm thinking seriously about doing a PhD in cross-cultural dynamics and helping facilitate greater understanding amongst different cultural groups. The church plant is going to provide some excellent experience. We have just started a Portuguese ministry in the church. There is a large Brazilian population in Richmond and we even have a Brazilian church. However, a group of Brazilians have been a part of FWESDA for years and decided to really reach out to the community. They started a ESL class on Tuesday nights, have Bible Studies on Friday Nights, and now have begun having a sermon in Portuguese. Basically, we are all together in the service until after the children's story, then they split for their own sermon. It's been working pretty well so far and we'll have to see what the future holds. After church this last week...

I've been on the job around 2 months now and there is still A LOT to learn. Nearly every day I learn another key lesson that will help me through pastoral life. So far major mistakes have been avoided but are sure to come. Despite all this, I really believe I've found the key to quality ministry. It's nothing profound or new but is very basic: visitation. There is nothing like going to someone's home and talking with them. I've found that people are much more willing to open up and share their personal lives because they are in a comfortable environment. It shows them that you care about their lives and lays the groundwork for a deeper relationship and partnership for the future. Every family I've visited has been profoundly thankful and appreciative of our time together and it's been one of the most rewarding aspects of my ministry so far. I know that visits are expected when you first arrive in a church but not as much as the years pass by. However, I hope...

There's been a lot of excellent discussion on the previous post. I've stayed out of it for the most part to let everyone else let their thoughts be known. I thought I would write another post explaining my thoughts in a little more detail. There has been some discussion over this issue of style versus theology (At least at the very beginning). I think I might have used that terminology and I want to clarify that I reject the false dichotomy of style VERSUS theology because our style and methodologies REVEAL our theology. The methods we use to present a message tends to reveal as much about the message as the message itself. In no way do I believe that all young adults want praise music, full band, nice lyric graphics projected, etc. However, I think that the 90% (no real data just a guesstimate) of Adventist churches who think of that worship style as being from the devil reveals one of the major issues at the heart of the crisis -- The Adventist response to culture. The tradit...

I've been trying to write this for literally a month but haven't been able to. Not sure why but it just hasn't flowed. So, here's the attempt: On a regular basis, I hear from or about friends who have stopped going to church. There are numerous reasons why they are leaving but one common thread seems to be a feeling that church has become meaningless. They've felt this for a long time but kept going because they hoped it would get better or just because they'd feel guilty if they didn't. But, they aren't going to play the game anymore. The young adult exodus out of the church isn't news to really anyone but there's something important that I think will make this crisis be more severe. When you examine recent Adventist history, there have been several crises of faith including EGW and Inspiration, Desmond Ford, and Creation/Science (to a small degree). What are the characteristics of all of them? 1. They are based on a doctrinal position and are v...