We so desperately wanted more time to hang out with Jesus and study the Bible…time that never seemed to be found…so we would joke and laugh [...]]]> Sometimes after a particularly rough day juggling ministry and work, my good friend (and former pastor) and I used to joke about bagging church leadership and becoming monks.

We so desperately wanted more time to hang out with Jesus and study the Bible…time that never seemed to be found…so we would joke and laugh about leaving everything behind and becoming hermits or joining a monastery – then slap each other on the back and go about our daily lives.

The thing was that that we really didn’t know much about monks or hermits beyond the standard cultural stereotype. You know the one – older man dressed in a robe walking the old stone halls of an ancient monastery canting a pray as he walked….totally separated from the world and material desires.

Because of this background, I found myself excited to read Herman Middleton’s book “Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece.”

Published by Protecting Veil Press (don’t you just love that name?), this book introduces the reader to eight different Eastern Orthodox monks who lived in Greece over the last hundred years. After each biographical section, Middleton includes selected quotes or counsels from that elder – allowing the reader to get a ‘feel’ for these ‘precious vessels.’

The crazy thing was no matter how much these monks wanted to retreat in the vast quietness of the Holy Mountain (Mt. Athos), God would not left them along. He continued to send people to them so that they could teach His people and help them along the journey towards Jesus.

Yes, there would be periods of time when some of these elders would be alone on the mountain or within a monastery – but without fail, sooner or later, God would send His people to them to draw them out and to teach them.

“Ah! My fathers, know how much I have ground own my will! I have loved two things in my life: reading and writing, both of which I have been deprived of, and the deprivation of which is as great for me as for him who loses the greatest joy in this world. When I study the Holy Scriptures and patristic books, I leave the earth and go to Heaven. As for my own writing, forgive me for what I’m about to say…I get drunk. I see how others desire to write some text, and they erase, write, erase again, write again…I don’t managed to write my thoughts in time, for I am flooded as with flacks of snow. I feel as though my pen has wings.

However, in spirit of my writing ability and my desire to study, I deprive myself and sit and pick up the telephone, which rings constantly, so as to find a solution to some problem or other. Or else I see people for confession for hours without end, and not only scholars, but also simple and unlettered people. In saying this I don’t undervalued the Mystery of Confession as opposed to the world of writing. But the will of God was that I confess people and not that I study and write, though they much enchant me.” -Elder Epiphanios of Athens

Yet as much as I could resonate with their heart for Jesus, I must admit that some of their counsels as well as their life choices left me confused. They come from such a different world that it was hard to see past my American egocentric glasses and see the beauty in their decisions…

Then again, I guess that is why I picked up the book in the first place – to be challenged and to allow God to speak into the blind spots of my life.

The Councils of the Elders

“Never be jealous of wealth. Always live modestly and humbly, without egotism. Egotism is a terrible sin. When you hear someone being accused, even though it may be true, never add more accusations, but always say something positive and be sorry for the person. Take care to always love the poor, the elderly, the orphans, the sick. Spend time with poor people and with those whom others humble. Earn your living with the honest sweat of your brow. Don’t forget to give alms. This is the path you mush tread. Always think of what good thing you will do. These are the things that make up the life of a Chrisitan.” –Elder George of Drama

“Love all your fellow men, even your enemies. This is the most basic thing. Always love not only those who love us, but also those who hate us. Let us forgive them and love them all even if they have done us the greatest evil; then we are truly children of God. Then our own sin are also forgiven…Always preach love. This is the most basic law of God: love and love alone.” –Elder George of Drama

“No prayer, my children, gets lost. Prayer has sustained me for many years.” – Elder Iakovos of Evia

“Whoever is at peace in the material world and is not concerned about the salvation of his soul is like the senseless birds who don’t make a noise from within the egg, so as to break the shell and come out to enjoy the sun – the heavenly flight in the life of Paradise – but instead remain unmoving and die inside the egg shell”. –Elder Paisios the Athonite

The person who doesn’t have Christ sees all things as difficult and dark. –Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

“The goal of reading is the application, in our lives, of what we read. Not to learn it by heart, but to take it to heart. Not to practice using our tongues, but to be able to receive the tongues of fie and to live the mysteries of God.

If one studies a great deal in order to acquire knowledge and to teach others, without living the things he teaches, he does no more than fill his head with hot air. At most he will manage to ascent to the moon using machines.

The goal of the Christian is to rise to God without machines.”

-Elder Paisios the Athonite

As quoted by Hermon Middleton in “Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece”

“So my proposal is to learn from non-modern christian traditions to find back what we’ve lost with the blind spots of our modern [...]]]> FYI – Brambonius, a fellow believer and Vineyardite (is that a word?) in Belgium,  just posted a great article about finding treasures within the theology and practice of the Eastern Orthodox.

“So my proposal is to learn from non-modern christian traditions to find back what we’ve lost with the blind spots of our modern eyes….

So what’s the ‘new’ one I’m finding more and more interesting? It’s actually a very old one, and unlike anabaptism undeniably totally outside of protestantism, and it was even left out of Brian McLarens ‘generous orthodoxy’, but I don’t think it can really be considered ‘unorthodox’ in any way at all, since I’m talking about the so-called eastern orthodox church here. They own the word!”

Click here to finish reading the article.

And no, I didn’t just link to this post because he linked to Requisite Danger – I actually agree with him wholeheartedly (imagine that!) 

Well, I’m glad you asked.

The reason is that for a few hundred – no, make that a thousand or so – years a lot of believes [...]]]> Have you ever wondered why some churches included the phrase “we believe in the one, holy, invisible universal church” in their statement of faith or confession?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

The reason is that for a few hundred – no, make that a thousand or so – years a lot of believes believed that there was one, universal visible “church.” Like a lot of things, this visible church started out united, but became fragmented over the years leading to the development of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Coptic Church, the Nestorian Church and, eventually, the Protestant Church (or, should I say, churches).

Unfortunately, this fragmentation did little to change the view that there was one ‘visible church’. Instead, folks simply assumed that THEIR church was the ONE, and everyone else was not. (sigh)

Sometime during the 1500’s this view (thankfully) began to change – as noted in the Westminster Confession of 1646 which states:

The catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all. (Ch. XXV)

However, this was not to be the end of the debate (double sigh).

Remember our small church from yesterday that required all new members to be baptized by them?

Well, they are most likely part of a ‘visible church’ undercurrent that swept through the USA Baptist churches in the mid-1800’s.

To this group, the “church is not in any meaningful sense universal but is rather local and visible” (quoted from Mark Noll’s “A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada”). In other words, it did not matter if you were “baptized” in another church – whether that church be five miles or 500 miles away. The only thing that mattered was what happened at their local church (i.e. the visible church).

Now you know why some churches talk about the one, holy, invisible universal church.

Some folks say, “Cheese is cheese; they are all the same.”

Others disagree claiming that the [...]]]> String cheese. Brie. Cheddar. Sharp or Mild. Aged or Not. Mozzarella. Colby-Jack. Provel. Swiss. Cream. Monterey Jack. Pepperjack. Brick. Shredded. Wheel or Pie Wedge. Sliced or Sandwich. Goat cheese. Cow cheese. Not head cheese.

Some folks say, “Cheese is cheese; they are all the same.”

Others disagree claiming that the flavor of a two year-old aged sharp white Cheddar is all the rage.

Those holding wine glasses yell, “Don’t forget the Brie and Triscuits!”

Don’t forget the people holding their nose and running from the sight of cured milk.

Very few people enjoy the breadth of them all.

Yet, each cheese is made with for certain purpose. A fine Brie is not struggling to be a Peperjack; Nor is the sliced Monterey Jack trying to be a Mozzaralla cheese stick.

Why then do we try to paint all Christian movements as the same?

In doing this, we remove the eloquent aromas and flavors crafted into each movement by the Master Craftsman.

Instead, I feel that we must celebrate the beauty of difference. We must recognizing that there are differences between the Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Vineyard, Independent Charismatic, Assembly of God, Church of God (Tenn and Indiana), etc.

By recognizing and celebrating the differences, we can then learn from each other while being the best Colby-Jack/Swiss/Cheddar/Whatever we can be. If we deny the differences or belittle them, then we will fail to see the breadth and scope of God Almighty.

St. Paul says it this way,

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

This questioning lead to a two part blog series in which I talked about Augustine and Pelagius view on [...]]]> Four years ago during a systematic theology class through Vineyard Leadership Institute, I started to question the doctrine of original sin. Specifically, I started asking the question, “Is original sin was genetic or social?”

This questioning lead to a two part blog series in which I talked about Augustine and Pelagius view on original sin (Augustine – genetic; Pelagius – social). The end result of the series was to grudgingly follow Wayne Grudem’s conclusions, which was the best view I had heard at the time.

Fast forward a few years.

Yesterday I was reading about the Creator God in the book The Orthodox Way by Bishop Ware. This is an Eastern Orthodox theology book which has really watered my soul over the last few weeks.

In this selection, Bishop Ware talks a bit about original sin and the Eastern Orthodox view on it. As I read it, my heart jumped because it was very close to the view that I had to hold over the last four years. This, however, was the first time I have ever seen it written down – hence the excitement of my heart.

Therefore, with out further ado, here are the paragraphs from The Orthodox Way about original sin that hit me:

The divine image in man was obscured but not obliterated. His free choice has been restricted in its exercise but not destroyed. Even in a fallen world man is still capable of generous self-sacrifice and loving compassion. Even in a fallen world man still retains some knowledge of god and can enter by grace into communion with him….Yet it remains true that human sin – the original sin of Adam, compounded by the personal sins of each succeeding generation – has set a gulf between God and man such that man by his own efforts could not bridge.

Original sin is not to be interpreted in juridical or quasi-biological terms, as if it were some physical ‘taint’ of guilt, transmitted through sexual intercourse. This picture, which normally passes for the Augustinian view, is unacceptable to Orthodoxy. The doctrine of original sin means rather that we are born into an environment where it is easy to do evil and hard to do good; easy to hurt others, and hard to heal their wounds; easy to arouse men’s suspicions, and hard to win their trust. It means that we are each of us conditioned by the solidarity of the human race in its accumulated wrong-doing and wrong-thing, and hence wrong-being. And to this accumulation of wrong we have ourselves added by our own deliberated acts of sin. The gulf grows wider and wider.

No man is an island. We are ‘members one of another’ (Eph. 4:24), and so any action, performed by any member of the human race, inevitably affects all the other members of the human race, inevitably affects all the other members. Even though we are not, in the strict sense, guilty of the sins of others, yet we are somehow always involved.

Certainly we need to be given directions before we [...]]]> There is only one means of discovering the true nature of Christianity. We must step out upon this path, commit ourselves to this way of life, and then we shall begin to see for ourselves. So long as we remain outside, we cannot properly understand.

Certainly we need to be given directions before we start; we need to be told what signposts to look out for; and we need to have companions. Indeed, without guidance from others it is scarcely possible to begin the journey.

But directions given by others can never convey to us what the way is actually like; they cannot be a substitute for direct, personal experience. Each is called to verify the Tradition he has received. “The Creed”, said Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “does not belong to you unless you have lived it.”

No one can be an armchair traveler on this all-important journey. No one can be a Christian at second hand. God has children, but he has no grandchildren.

-Bishop Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Way

Come, my Light, and illumine my darkness.

Come, my Life, and revive me from death.

Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds.

Come, Flame of divine love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of thy love.

Come, my King, [...]]]>

Icon of St. Dimitri of Rostov

Come, my Light, and illumine my darkness.

Come, my Life, and revive me from death.

Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds.

Come, Flame of divine love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of thy love.

Come, my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there.

For thou along art my King and my Lord.

-St. Dimitrii of Rostov (1651-1709)

Countless hours was spend over the last year or so reading and studying about the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was now time to visit a church and see how they do things – time to move from theology to practical application.

God also provided us with the perfect opportunity to visit [...]]]> It was time.

Countless hours was spend over the last year or so reading and studying about the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was now time to visit a church and see how they do things – time to move from theology to practical application.

God also provided us with the perfect opportunity to visit such a church. Namely, we didn’t have any church responsibilities due to our son’s birth – yet, at the same time, he was taking his sweet time coming our of the womb.

So we had a “free” day in the Valley to visit the local Greek Orthodox Church.

First Impressions

We arrived at 10:30 am to the Divine Liturgy – a little timid and unsure about what to expect. Walking into the chapel, we slipped into the back pew and looked around. The first thing I noticed was the lack of people (only about 7 or 10 people – all in the back of the chapel).

The second thing was the chapel itself. In a word, it was beautiful! Full of wonderful icons and candles with a glorious wooden wall separating the congregation from the ‘holy’ stage – my words for the part of the chapel housing all the religious items used during the service (i.e. crosses, candles, bells, bread, wine, Bible, etc).

The third thing to hit my senses was the singing of a small choir in the back of the church (I love this!! In fact, I wish we could move our worship band to the back of the church!). The really cool part about this choir was that they were singing in Greek. A truly international feel. =)

Second Impressions

As the service continued, I began to notice that the priest was singing or chanting his prayers – both the English and Greek ones (both languages were spoken throughout the service along with several others). In fact, the choir/congregation and the priest were engaging in a type of dance in which they took turns singing/praying to Jesus.

Another cool thing was the fact that they priest stood with his back towards the congregation facing the Holy Icon of Christ. It really felt like the whole service was directed towards Christ, rather then towards the congregation like it is in most Evangelical/Protestant churches. (The priest even had some prayers dictated in the Liturgy that was suppose to be inaudible to the congregation.)

The church also slowing begin to fill up as the service went on – so much so that by the time the priest came to Communion, the church was pretty full (about 50 to 60 folks). Afterwards, Em and I were discussing this phenomenon and came to the conclusion since the main “congregational” aspect of the service was Communion, it made sense that folks for come to that part while missing the first part.

Speaking of the first part, when we first walked into the chapel, we could really feel the presence of God. It was very strong. As the service went on, the feeling of God begin to fade – mostly because of the newest of the service. In discussing it later on, we think that part of it comes from the fact that those there at the beginning really were pushing in and seeking God. Their prayers blended in with the prayers of the priest and the singing of the choir.

Those people who came later seem to come mostly for the sacraments and not for praising the Lord. Granted, I don’t know that for real – but that is the way it SEEMED to us.

Third Thoughts

I loved it.

Yes, it was different and hard to follow (I spend most of the service trying to figure out what was going on and when to stand/sit). But looking beyond the obvious, you can see the beauty of God and the dedication of the people.

It was a service to the King. The priest wasn’t there to entertain the congregation – he was there to offer prayers and praises to the King of King.

Ministry to the congregation came afterwards during their weekly “coffee hour” – or during the week. It was less of a ‘church’ and more of a community. A group of people whose lives are intertwined with each other and who happen to gather on Sunday to glorify God. (we hung out there after the service for an hour or so chatting and drinking coffee).

All in all, it was a very good visit. We learned a lot, experienced a ton and made some more friends in the Kingdom.