Against The Flow

I heard about Steven Curtis Chapmans daughter death last week and it really struck a cord with me. I guess having small children creates an invisible bond. I just couldn’t imagine how they could go on. But, because of my own personal tragedy, I’m having to learn. Lean to ask God the hard questions? Lean to fight through doubt of “is this getting through to him.” Learn to be like Christ when I just want to be mad. Lean to have faith, that it is all in His hands. I guess that is why the following post from
Tim Stevens was a message for me this morning.

From www.leadingsmart.com ….
I don’t have a personal connection to any of them. I heard Steven first sing in a library in Arkansas in 1987 just after his first album was released. And his first wedding song, I Will Be Here, came out just before Faith and I got married, so it was the love song we featured at our wedding. But other than that, I really haven’t listened to his music or followed his story since then (although my wife and girls are avid followers).

Maybe it is because of the age of my kids and having a new teenage driver at home, but they have been in my prayers and on my mind non-stop. I can’t imagine the horror they have experienced since Wednesday when their 5-year old daughter was run over and killed in their own driveway. So many questions go through my mind…

Why would God allow this to happen? (I know that God didn’t cause it, but I also know He could have stopped it.)
How is the teenage son (who was driving the SUV) ever going to recover?
How do Steven Curtis and Mary Beth ever make sense of this tragedy? How do they lead their family with strength while going through their own pain?
What do they say to the well-intentioned but stupid Christians who will approach them and say, “Well, at least she’s in a better place now”?
A week ago they were planning their sons graduation party looking to a bright future. Now, the future is missing a little girl who was just having fun playing outside–how is that fair?
The final session at WhiteBoard last week was delivered by Ed Stetzer. I’ve never heard him speak before, but I was mesmerized by his talk. Because the death of Maria Chapman was on my mind, his words were especially important…

- Don’t be afraid to say to God, “I don’t get it…I don’t understand.”
- God is not scared of your questions. He doesn’t get mad at you for doubting Him.
- At the end of the day, I have to press through my doubt in order to get to faith. You can’t get to faith without doubt.

As New Journey has just finished a series on the history, reliability, and the study of the bible, I found the post from Jesus Creed as reaffirming to the need for not only the people of the church to make reading the bible a priority, but also its leaders.

Today I begin a series devoted to Pastor’s wisdom, and our question we asked of seasoned pastors was this: If you knew then what you know now, what would you have focused on? Or, in light of what you now know, what would you advise young pastors to focus on? Our first post is from Kent Anderson, pastor of a Covenant church in Naperville Illinois.
Hindsight is 20/20 but it often comes at less than productive moments but sometimes it does make a difference. I have served churches in Iowa, Michigan and Illinois; in rural, small town and suburban environs. I have dealt with everything from murder to suicide to sexual abuse to goofy boards to cranky members to bats in the church to you name it. Knowing this – the one thing I would make sure of if I was starting over again is this – read the Bible.

Oh I read the Bible regularly with some systematic method, but what I mean is to read through the Bible repeatedly every year. Make it a high priority practice. About 12 years ago I began to read the Bible from front to back three times a year. I read it in 20 chapter segments and this takes about an hour a day. I do this 4 – 5 time a week. I change version each time read through it, NIV, NRSV, KJV, NASB, Jerusalem, the Message, whatever. I mark the Bible up and have cheap notebook to jot down my thoughts and questions. There are times when I take a break for a month and do something else but this has been my foundational practice for years.

Why do this? In every other element of my position I know that there are people in the church who know more about leadership and vision casting, finances, building construction and maintenance, pedagogy and the care and feeding of copiers. But I need to know the Bible. I need to know it intimately, its themes (large and small) the people who populate it and its flow. I need to know it personally to be able to carefully use it professionally. The more I read it the more I am drawn to it. And I discover more about myself in reading the Bible. I love Leviticus and its lessons. Judges is the most contemporary book for our land. David is always in trouble in Psalms. The personalities of the gospels are amazing, and Revelation can be breathtaking.

My regret is that I started this practice after 15 years of ministry. But if I were starting over again among all the choices I would have to make, reading the Bible through would be #1.

Do you read it and apply it as you should?