Is God Just?

Today was a difficult day! The sermon today came from Joshua 6-7 & dealt with the stories of Jericho's fall and Achan's sin. Though these stories (more so Jericho than Achan's stoning) have been ever present in my upbringing, today the Spirit (I think it was the holy one) put before me once again the issue of justice. But today was different because the question lay not with instances of human violence &indifference but rather acts of violence ordered directly by God!

They devoted the city [Jericho] to the LORD & destroyed with the sword every living thing in it - men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys. (Joshua 6:21)

Then Joshua...took Achan, son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons & daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today!" Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. (Joshua 7:24-26)

I am not sure how many sermons I've heard give the "point" of these stories in phrases like... "God takes sin very seriously and therefore we need to take sin more seriously too" or "If you listen to God things will go well for you, but if you don't, remember Achan." I know that there is some truth embedded in those statements but the fundamental issue of my struggle is much deeper.

How do you reconcile this God (YHWH) with the message and person of Jesus Christ? I understand taking sin seriously and maintaining the covenant with his people, but ordering the massacre of women and kids, grandmas and grandpas, babies and little boys (probably some of them around my sons' ages)? And then Jesus comes along as the full embodiment of God in the flesh with "Love your enemies" and "Blessed are the peacemakers" and "Let the sinless one throw the first stone." How do these go together? I understand the communal identity inherent within the ancient time period (totally foreign to an individualistic, consumer-driven society of the USA) but.... is that really just? When Jesus calls us to "Seek first God's kingdom & God's justice" with peace and love instead of hate and sword, what are we to do with these stories?

A fundamental assumption of the scriptural narrative is that God is the same and that Jesus is the embodiment of that deity in its fullness! And yet God remains free - free from my preconceived notions of what he should be doing with his time and his universe and his creation! (He has yet to ask my opinion on any of that!), free from our doctrinal boxes that seek to describe him, free from the limitations of our understanding and intellect, free to be the "I AM." I don't have any answers; just alot of questions - hard but honest! Today was a tough day!

It's a Boy!!

Today we had our ultrasound and our little bundle of joy went spread eagle for the camera and showed off his turtle for the world to see! It is quite the incriminating picture and one that could possible show up in a graduation video somewhere down the line. I would post it but our scanner doesn't work. Oh well! Everything looks good and we are thrilled not to have to buy girl stuff...yet. I get to avoid the pink stuff for a little while longer!! :) Though I do keep wondering...maybe God keeps giving me boys because he knows that I don't want a girl that looks like me!! Hmmm....

My youngest son - Luke Richard Stephens. This was at my graduation from medical school a few weeks ago.

He Looks better in it than I do!

Not-So-Deep Service & Deep Justice

Let me share with you something I ran across recently. The book is Deep Justice in a Broken World: Helping Your Kids Serve Others & Right the Wrongs Around Them by Chap Clark & Kara Powell (Zondervan 2007). The authors juxtapose (compare & contrast) service and justice with intent of pointing Christians to pursue "deep justice." (pp. 15-16)

Service makes us feel like a "great white savior" (or black or brown or other skin color) who rescues the broken. Justice means God does the rescuing, but often he works through the united power of his great and diverse community to do it.

Service often dehumanizes (even if only subtly) those who are labeled the "receivers." Justice restores human dignity by creating an environment in which all involved "give" & "receive" in a spirit of reciprocal learning & mutual ministry.

Service is something we do for others. Justice is something we do with others.

Service is an event. Justice is a lifestyle.

Service expects results immediately. Justice hopes for results some time soon but recognizes that systemic change takes time.

The goal of service is to help others.The goal of justice is is to remove obstacles so others can help themselves.

Service focuses on what our own ministry can accomplish. Justice focuses on how we can work with other ministries to accomplish even more.

Service is serving food at the local homeless shelter. Justice means asking why people are hungry and homeless in the first place - and then doing something about it.

Kingdom Justice

Jesus came to bring good news...to the poor. He called that good news the kingdom of God & said it was at hand. He invited everyone to enter it & experience life to the fullest! He lived complete love, perfect holiness, and radical justice. He demands the same of his followers. So, as his apprentices, we seek kingdom life & kingdom justice...now!!

What an awesome story and an awesome calling!!

"We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"We can do no great things. We can only do small things with great love." ~ Momma T

"We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside...but one day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that a system that produces beggars needs to be repaved. We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

When Gandhi was asked whether or not he was a Christian, he would often reply, "Ask the poor. They will tell you who the Christians are."

Journey of Justice

What is justice? A word? A concept? An ideal? A pursuit? Much easier to demand than define. Very complicated yet essential. Incredibly difficult yet important. A journey not taken alone but with people of all races, genders, socioeconomic classes, etc.

The word in the New Testament for righteousness & justice is the same word. The "rightness" and perfection of God flows directly from His very essence. God is defined by justice - a justice far beyond our comprehension yet with very clear parameters. God hates the oppression of the poor. Though he does not favor the poor, he is favorably disposed toward them because he knows that it is the poor who are often exploited, oppressed, and trampled on by those in places of power and prestige. The poor are not to be exploited. The orphans and widows are not the be ignored. God always hears the cry of the oppressed...always! 'Let there be justice' is the rallying cry of prophetic voices through the ages from Amos to Martin Luther King, Jr., Isaiah to Ghandi, & embodied perfectly in the life, death, & resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. God's story in Scripture explodes with God's concern for justice and his response when it is ignored.

I am relatively new to this journey. Justice has not been my passion. For whatever reason, a disconnect has existed between my faith and the impetus to engage in social issues such as poverty, oppression, international human rights causes, etc. For that I am truly sorry. Though i am certainly not where I need to be, I freely admit that I believe I am now cognizant of God's intentions for justice moreso than I have ever been before. My eyes and ears are continually being opened to the work that is before us. From this day forward, I commit to seeking justice and pray for the courage to go wherever God may take me.

Angels & Demons

To the chagrin of the conservative religious folks, I risked corruption of my mind today and took my beautiful wife on a date to see the new Tom Hanks movie Angels & Demons based on Dan Brown's book. It made for some very interesting conversation over dinner!

Faith & Science
One theme that was front and center throughout the movie was the tension between religion and science. Without giving away too much of the movie, the Catholic Church is forced to revisit its stance on scientific advancement and acknowledge its poor track record. One does not have to be a history buff to recognize the dismal stance of the church on anyone with a scientific belief that would in any way challenge their authority - Copernicus, Galileo, etc.

One statement in particular garnered my attention: "Science and religion are not contradictory but rather two different ways of telling the same story." As a physician and a minister, this particular debate is very close to my heart. And yet these questions of faith and science are not simply historical hobbies but are brought the forefront in our day of stem cell research, human genome mapping, research into a possible genetic basis of homosexuality, eugenics research, etc.

How does the catholic church - not just the Vatican - respond when our scientific prowess marches forward at incredible rates creating new ethical dilemmas almost daily? Theological issues such as how we view the Bible and its "inspired" status, how we view truth & who can possess it, and ultimately how we view God are all wrapped up in the conversation. Often we ask the Bible questions it was never designed to answer and God is reduced to a "God of the Gaps" (Belief in God is there for those parts of the universe we don't understand). And yet, the god revealed in Scripture is the creator of the universe and the source of all truth - scientific, theological, psychological, philosophical. All truth is God's truth! I love Rob Bell's statement that when Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life," he is essentially stating that he leads us into all truth. The world is created through him and faith in him allows us to pursue truth wherever it rests!

Church & Power
Much ink has been spilled in refuting the historicity of Dan Brown's claims but to me those arguments are simply nauseating. It's a novel, not a history book. Let it be a novel and take it for what it is. And though it is fiction, it does offer a very pointed critique of the religious world.In the same vein as the DaVinci Code, this movie offers a very poor picture of the Roman Catholic Church. Both of these movies beg the question: To what lengths will the church go to maintain its current position of power, wealth, and prestige?

It is no secret that the Roman Catholic Church commands an enormous amount of power and wealth in our world and especially in the religious world. The storyline of both movies has to do with a secret the church wants to keepunder wraps and the steps it takes to prevent those secrets going public. When the church of Jesus Christ jumps in bed with power and wealth, what happens? When the center of your faith is a man who willingly gives up his power and position in exchange for death as a criminal, how like Jesus can a church be when money and power are involved?

In the USA, the church has been moved to margins of society and no longer holds a place of widespread respect. We as the church have a very fundamental question to answer - What do we do now? Do we try to get that place in society back or do we embrace our new wilderness and explore what God has for us? It is the question of liminality.

If you are still reading thank you! I would love to know what you think. Blessings...

The Irresistible Revolution

A week ago my wife bought me a graduation present for $1.25. Now typically I am the cheap one of the family but this was a very well spent $1.25. She bought me the book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne (Zondervan 2006). WOW! It has been so long since a book has challenged and convicted me in the way that Shane is able to. He and a group of friends are the founders of the The Simple Way (www.thesimpleway.org) in Philly - an experiment in Christian community, justice, and solidarity with the poor. I can't remember ever reading about someone who took Jesus so seriously as does Shane. His divine calling and his call to the church are shaped by living amidst the people on the margins, those Jesus came to live with and join ranks with. He offers a clear alternative to the "American civil religion" siding in favor with the radical nature of the kingdom of God. It is unbelievably challenging! And yet I wonder how much more radical he is than Jesus. I must confess I do not so easily see the radical nature of Jesus' teachings as I do Shane's. The religion of comfort, safety, and complacency so permeates American churches (including my own) and American Christians (including me) that it is difficult to imagine taking the steps that Shane has taken to put Jesus into practice.

I am about 2/3 through the book and would highly recommend (with strong cautions for the faint of heart and mind) to engage his book with an open mind knowing ahead of time it will convict you and challenge you.

Blessings...

Losing Our Religion

I just watched a story by Dan Harris on abcnews.com that reports on a stunning trend among the youth in the United States. Since 1990, the number of young people - Generation X & Y - who claim to not be part of a religion has skyrocketed from 5-10% in 1990 to 30-40% according to some new research out of Harvard University. In the interview, the researcher states that American youth have grown increasingly opposed to the association between religion and the conservative political right. He states that they are not atheist but rather view faith and politics through a radically different lens than their parents' generations. A new generation refuses to accept the conservative social agenda - primarily abortion & homosexuality - as the stance a "good Christian" should take.

There is no doubt the landscape of American religion has changed drastically and by all indicators will continue to do so. Politics is an area of such varied positions and opinions, all of which seem to be lightning rods of intense debate. Religion and Politics is even more controversial! For many years the Republicans have had a monopoly on church-goers. It is common opinion that one who confesses Jesus as Lord cannot (at risk of the fires of hell) vote for someone who is pro-choice & pro-homosexuality. Issues such as poverty, war, environment, and others have taken a back seat to "The Big Two." As I continue to study and explore what it means to be part of the kingdom of God, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that God's people are called to see a larger picture from a very different perspective. God very much cares about the poor, victims of war, and the environment. He also cares about life from its earliest beginnings to its final breath. He cares about sexuality - both hetero and homo - and demands that both be submitted to him. Yes homosexuality is a sin but so is adultery. And I would be willing to wager that more harm has been done through heterosexual sin than has ever been done through homosexuality. It is interesting to read as the Republican party tries to reinvent themselves in the midst of such widespread religious turmoil.

What does this mean for the kingdom of God? Well, God is certainly not a Republican and personally I have no stake in insuring the future of either dominant political party. However, I do have a stake in the kingdom of God. I am passionate about navigating the intersection between the kingdom of God, the church, and American culture. As the role of church in our society changes, it is an incredible opportunity for the church to reevaluate its identity and mission amidst changing times. I am excited about the future and look forward to exploring what the kingdom of God looks like in the 21st century.

Kingdom Justice

Mt 6:33 ~ Seek first the kingdom of God & his justice... ~ Jesus

Over the past year or so, God has been doing something in my mind & heart that stirs up passion and intensity that I haven't experienced in a long while. My understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ and God's purpose and intentions for all of his creation has undergone a transformation that I could not have imagined. In short, viewing the kingdom of God inaugurated in Jesus of Nazareth as the good news of God has reinvigorated my faith and passion for the truth of God, wherever that may lead me! In revisiting the New Testament, I am amazed at the number of time Jesus references the kingdom (121 times according to the concordance) compared to the church (3 times). Whatever Christlikeness is to look like, it must engage and be shaped by the kingdom of God. Jesus taught people to pray - "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He told his followers to "seek first the kingdom of God and his justice." The more I read of Jesus the more I am enthralled with the man and his mission. When asked to pick sides on a debate, he chose to reframe the questions and issue(s) at hand offering an alternative from left field forcing everyone to revisit and rethink their perspectives from a kingdom viewpoint. What does this look like? I don't know for sure but I have never been so excited about being a Jesus-follower before!!

Jesus came to bring good news...to the poor. He called that good news the kingdom of God & said it was at hand. He invited everyone to enter it & experience life to the fullest! He lived complete love, perfect holiness, and radical justice. He demands the same of his followers. So, as his apprentices, we seek kingdom life & kingdom justice...now!!

• What does this look like for an orthopedic surgeon?

• How can I participate in and seek first the justice of God when interacting with my patients, our current healthcare situation, and fellow healthcare personnel?

• Justice is so much easier to demand than it is to define. How do I remain humble and continually submit my thoughts and desires to God's spirit?

Family Business Updates

Here are some of the new things going on in our world...

1. Jenn is pregnant...again! We're apparently having trouble with the whole birth control thing :) She is due on November 3. We find out boy or girl on May 29 at our first ultrasound.
   
2. I graduate from medical school on Saturday May 16, 2009...Now I have to get a stinking job! And Jenn refuses my request to now be called "Doctor" from now on! What's up with that!!
   
3. We are buying our first home! We will be living Shelby Township, MI in a great home near the Rochester Hills Church.
   
4. Garrett will turn 3 years old in July. Luke is almost 14 months old (on the 19th).
5. We are packing up our house in Elkhorn to prep for the big move. Ugh..

There is a great deal more but it would take too long! These are a few of the things that we are up to as of late! Enjoy...

Graduation Day!!

Four years have passed so suddenly it begs the question of what happened! Well - two children, a pregnant wife, six-figures worth of debt, thousands of miles traveled, four moves, and countless hours spent in hospitals later, it sure as heck seems like something happened! This Saturday I will join my classmates in Kansas City for our graduation from medical school where we will celebrate the achievement of surviving medical school. We all - men & women - will don our dresses of lofty achievements and receive our 60 seconds of glory as we strut across the stage smiling, shaking hands, hugging necks, receiving compliments and praying all the while we do not trip on our dresses! And after we have picked up our $205,000 piece of paper we will exit the stage as...doctors! Hmmm.... Four years later and all that work...it just seems anti-climactic.

I guess it's all in the perspective! We will be told how wonderful we are and how proud people are of us only to find out that the real work remains. For every compliment and hug that is shared, there are millions of people who frankly do not care. They don't care because priorities like obtaining food, water, shelter, & medicine in order to make it through the day obscure their need to celebrate the greatness of our achievement. They don't care because their struggle to survive make our whines about the struggle of long nights studying over the past four years. They don't care about our terminal degrees because they would be happy with an elementary level education but cannot afford it. They do not care about our enormous loan debts or our earning potential because they live on $2 per day. They don't care...

I have not intended with this writing to downplay the significant milestone that a medical school graduation represents. It is a wonderful accomplishment that very few will ever attain. I have intended, however, to put graduation day in perspective - a point of view that allows the cries of millions (if not billions) of people around the world who will be born, live, & die in the shadows of a world that more often than not will never acknowledge their existence. We too often allow pomp & circumstance to subdue the harsh realities of our world - starvation, disease, death.

Can we/I hear their cries for help? Will we stop long enough in the midst of the accolades and busyness to listen to the deafening cry of those who wonder if anyone will hear their cry and act on their behalf?

These are my thoughts. Do with them what you will....