The Sermon on the Mount 18

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Jason

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. — Matthew 5.33-37

In Jesus’ day, as in our own, God’s name was invoked in a variety of circumstances, many of which were anything but “hallowed” (as Jesus will pray in the Lord’s Prayer in chapter 6). In particular, it was culturally acceptable to entreat YHWH’s name as validation of truth in the course of an argument, legal or otherwise. We might think today of someone swearing “to God” in an effort to affirm the “truthiness” (as Stephen Colbert would say) of their speech. In the course of His sermon, Jesus confronts this milieu of nonchalance with regard to the name of God and yet again calls His audience to a redemptive standard of living.

Truth-telling emerges here as a hallmark of the in-breaking Kingdom reign of God. Citizens of God’s Kingdom embrace the principles of eternity in the present, speaking truth, the language of heaven. Jesus seems to be saying that His followers should make every effort to not only speak truthfully but to live truthfully as well. It’s fair enough to say that Jesus wanted His followers to hallow the name of the Father more than they did; but that’s not saying enough. Jesus stresses the manner of life that clearly demonstrates integrity and trust. “Be the type of people for whom ‘yes’ and ‘no’ really mean something.” As the living embodiment of truth (John 14.6), Christ is calling His disciples to partake of the Kingdom life in the present. With no room for deception and falsification in the coming Kingdom reign of YHWH, how much more should the citizens of that Kingdom commit themselves to the practice of the eternal principles of that Kingdom in the present?

Letting your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no” is more than a sermonic polemic against fibbing; it is a way of life that reflects the glory of the coming Kingdom, a Kingdom inaugurated in us by Jesus Messiah.

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2010 in Books (So Far)

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Jason

For the past couple of years, I’ve had this goal of reading 52 books in a single year. I know that reading a book a week is pretty ambitious given the frenetic pace of life around the Bybee house, but I keep aiming for this number just the same. When I finish my current read (N.T. Wright’s After You Believe), I’ll be up to 30 books for the year. That’s significant for a couple of reasons: a) it means I might finally have a shot at the 52 mark, and b) that’s the same number of books I read in 2009. I always wish I had more time to read, but it’s at least satisfying to blow past last year’s number so early in 2010.

One of the things that’s helped has been my relationship with a few distribution outlets that send me free copies of books to review. But I’m also enjoying my final summer of “leisure reading” before I hit the books again next summer for my next (and final!) leg of schooling.

Just for kicks, here are some of the best books I’ve read so far in 2010. (For a look at my Year End book lists from 2006-09, click here.)

  • Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. I reviewed this book a few weeks ago, but it’s stayed with me. Mikalatos writes with humor and depth that I find uncommon in this genre. Imaginary Jesus cuts through the veneer of our projections and assumptions and brings the Nazarene Rabbi back to us in a fresh and living way. Good stuff.
  • The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers. Another review, this one back in March. But this text caught me at just the right time; a good friend and I were in the midst of teaching a class at church exploring God’s mysterious command for Israel and later the Christian church to “be holy as I am holy.” Sayers makes the conversation accessible, relevant, and — best of all — hopeful.
  • The Yankee Years, Tom Verducci & Joe Torre. I always mix in a baseball read or two each summer; this year, I immersed myself in Torre’s autobiographical account of the Yankee dynasty of the late 90’s / early 00’s. I’ve never been a Yankee fan, but Torre’s class and character won me over a long time ago. Even Sox fans can appreciate Torre’s recollection of the bitter postseason showdowns between these rival organizations. A great summer read.
  • Weezer Changes the World, David McPhail. I read this one to my kids at the library the other day. I know, I know…it’s a kid book that took all of five minutes to read, so it’s pretty much a cheap way to pad my numbers. But it’s another one that has stayed with me, which is saying something, especially for a kiddie book. I think there’s much gospel to this little story.
  • Jesus Feast, Joshua Graves. Graves has written a powerful and clear-eyed meditation on the realities of discipleship in an emerging, post-modern culture. Writing with a prophetic yet authentic voice, Graves articulates the challenges of Jesus’ radical call to follow Him into the world and participate in His mission of reconciliation and healing.
  • The Intimate Mystery, Dan Allender & Tremper Longman III. Maybe the best book on marriage I’ve ever read. Outstanding.

Although these books have been really good, I feel as if I’m still waiting for that ONE book that blows me away and speaks to me like Mere Discipleship or The Sunflower or The Road or The Hole in Our Gospel. Here are a few of the books I have queued up; maybe one of these will claim the top spot?

  • The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch. Several people I respect have recommended this book to me, but they’ve warned me it’ll eat my lunch. But in a good way! Looking forward to it.
  • American Lion, Jon Meachem. Andrew Jackson has always fascinated me. He’s not my favorite President (not by a long shot), but this promises to be a highly readable account of a rather colorful and iconic figure in American history.
  • The Prophets, Abraham Joshua Heschel. Heschel is a stud. And so is this behemoth work (900+ pages). But it looks awesome.
  • Radical, David Platt. Another one that I’ve heard a lot about. I doubt it’ll plow any new ground, but I’ll give it a shot.
  • Who Made God? by Edgar Andrews and Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias. These two texts (I hope) will help equip me for some conversations I’ve been having recently in my ministry with some more “science minded” individuals who are wrestling with various levels of doubt.
  • The Associate, John Grisham. I’m kinda cheating on this one — I have the CDs, so I can listen while I drive to work. But it counts. Right?

What about you? What are you reading right now?

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MLB Thoughts: August 13, 2010

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Jason

I have to begin with this: Johnny Cueto is my new least favorite player. Brandon Phillips would be #2. I don’t think the Reds have won the Central Division since I was a freshman in college, so it’s really hard to get all worked up about this “rivalry” between Cincinnati and St. Louis. In fact, Phillips’ ridiculous comments seemed to do the trick — the Cards’ three game sweep beatdown of the hapless Reds was likely fueled by Phillips’ bush league comments. I’m sure the Reds will stay in the hunt for a few more weeks; Reds GM Walt Jocketty has assembled a core of veterans, many of whom are ex-Cardinals (Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Miguel Cairo, Russ Springer, Jason Isringhausen). Too bad most of them are past their prime. Personally, I can’t wait until Cueto has to step in the box next time Carpenter is on the mound. Retribution time, baby.

Anyway, on to other matters. Braves 3B / franchise player Chipper Jones tore his ACL this week, effectively ending his 2010 season and quite possibly his career. Jones has been mum on his future plans, but industry sources all seem to think he’ll hang up his spikes as soon as the season is over. If that’s true, it’s unfortunate that a great player has to go out like this. Few can exit the stage as Teddy Ballgame did (HR in his final at-bat), but you’d like to see a player of Jones’ caliber at least be able to play out the string. [Sidebar: George Brett was once asked how he’d like to go out. He said, short of homering in his final at-bat a la Williams, he’d like to come to the plate with a runner on second and nobody out, work the count by fouling off several pitches, and then hit a ground ball to second to advance the runner, bust it down the line and get thrown out by half a step. I think that’s beautiful. Sidebar finished.]

I had a friend ask me yesterday if I thought Chipper was a Hall of Famer and, if so, whether he was a first ballot HoFer. Without question, Chipper is one of the best 3B to ever play the game. The only players I’d rank ahead of him at the position are Mike Schmidt, George Brett, and Eddie Matthews. Throw in Jones and Wade Boggs and most people my age have been privileged to see 4 of the top 5 3B of all time during their primes. Chipper was a dominant offensive force, an MVP, and the catalyst for one of the most successful divisional dynasties in modern sports. It’ll be a travesty if he’s not inducted on the first ballot.

Ideally, Chipper and Bobby Cox would be inducted into Cooperstown on the same date. It’s unfortunate that many casual fans consider Cox a less-than-great manager because he managed the Braves to ONLY one championship (1995). I don’t care what you say: it takes a real gift to manage a team to 14 straight division titles. Each baseball season consists of 162 games of chess and to win more than you lose over that period of time is impressive. Again, it’s unfortunate that Cox’s farewell tour will have to continue without Chipper’s presence in the middle of that lineup. I wonder just how many times Cox has scribbled his name into the #3 hole on his lineup card over the years. Farewell, Bobby and Chipper. I’ll be rooting for you, at least till playoff time. It’d only be fitting for y’all to grab one more division title on your way out the door.

Posted in Baseball, Sports, St. Louis Cardinals | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Bama Drops Mississippi State From Schedule

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Jason

97 First Team All-Americans...but don't ask them to spell "Mississipi"With football season right around the corner, I thought I’d pass this along to all my friends who root for a certain crimson-clad SEC school. It seems that the defending national champs have inexplicably dropped longtime division foe Mississippi State from the schedule, replaced by the consonantly-challenged “Mississipi State” Bulldogs. Season ticket holders, take note. National Spelling Bee Champs, they ain’t. This is the kind of coverage you’re not going to get from Paul Finebaum.

Posted in Football, Humor, Sports | 6 Comments

LOST Season Six: The New Man in Charge

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Jason

In case you haven’t heard, the final season of LOST is available on Blu-Ray and DVD at the end of the month. (And, I don’t know…say, your spouse is a super huge fan of the show and you’re 11th wedding anniversary is just around the corner and you’re hard pressed to find the perfect gift for him said spouse…I’m just sayin’.) And the set promises to be chock full of bonus footage that the producers just couldn’t cram into the elongated series finale. I’m stoked.

To whet your appetite, click here to watch a 60 second clip entitled “The New Man in Charge”. I always wondered about those Dharma palettes.

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MiPod: Arcade Fire, “The Suburbs”

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Jason

"The Suburbs", Arcade Fire's third album

The Suburbs is the third full-length record from Canadian indie-rockers Arcade Fire, a self-described amalgam of “Depeche Mode and Neil Young.” It’s already received a favorable reception by critics, invoking the inevitable Radiohead OK Computer comparisons. The album brims with realism, but there is also an underbelly of hope to be found here, too. All in all, I think this is a great record, perhaps my favorite one of the year so far.

The album begins with the title track, a perky little meditation on all that brims just below the surface in the superficial utopia of modern American suburbia: violence, apathy, easily discarded yearnings for meaning. You know, real light stuff. But Arcade Fire has always toed this fine line, unafraid to tackle the thematic territory of giants. It comes off nicely here, as the album opener seamlessly segues into “Ready To Start” whose Strokes-esque guitar riff briefly conjures memories of “Someday”. Lyrically, it’s easy to see that this is a band that’s hit the big time while trying to remain true to her indie band roots. (“Businessmen drink my blood / Like the kids in art school said they would.”) “Modern Man” narrates the discontent of an entire generation of young adults searching for meaning while they “wait in line for a number they don’t understand”. One of the standout tracks is “City With No Children”, which is pretty unique among Arcade Fire tracks for its particularities; Arcade Fire are known more for the grandness and sweep of their themes, not for everyday lyrics like “Dreamed I drove home to Houston”. But the song’s message — the agonizingly enduring period of recovery from love lost or rejected — is universal and quite at home on this large record. And that’s the beauty of this album and part of what makes it work: these transcendent themes are juxtaposed in suburban settings that give this thesis resonance. “City With No Children” also contains what is probably one of my favorite lyrics all year: “You never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount.”

Among the other stellar cuts are “Wasted Hours”, “We Used to Wait” (great video, by the way), and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”. At 60+ minutes, my initial reaction was that The Suburbs would benefit from some editing, but after listening through a couple of times, the whole album is really strong. With the exception of “Empty Room” and “Month of May”, there’s not a bad track to be found here. As with all Arcade Fire albums, the finished product is a cohesive whole. Plus, it rocks.

If you’re in the market for some late summer indie rock to spruce up your listening options, give The Suburbs a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (But even if you are, you’ll appreciate the fact that this album articulates that feeling for you. The irony!)

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Sermon on the Mount 17

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Jason

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.– Matthew 5:27-32

In his insightful little book on the Sermon on the Mount, Clarence Jordan makes the following observation:

Life in the Christian fellowship calls for a much higher standard of righteousness than an external code of “dos” and “don’ts.” With Jesus, the way a person did a thing and why were as important as what that person did. The motive and the deed were inseparable. He knew that human beings would never solve the problem of moral behavior by changing outward rules; the human heart would have to change.

As with the previous teaching on anger, Jesus hones in here on the insidious nature of lust in the human heart. Jesus speaks a word that cuts deeper than surface level barometers of cultural spirituality. Simply keeping oneself from adulterous physical activity, although commendable, is simply not the point; one may never engage in a sexual act with another person’s spouse and yet  harbor strong feelings of lust and passion for that individual for years. Jesus refuses to be content with this standard. Instead, he delves deeper into our interior life, our thought world, and begins to tidy things up.

Jesus also speaks a word about divorce, a seemingly hard word in our culture, yet it was probably every bit as counter-cultural in his own day. Jesus acknowledges the Mosaic teaching on divorce, yet he restores to the forefront of our minds the original intention for marriage, a recognition that we were created for one other.

At the heart of Jesus’ teaching is a strong word about faithfulness in relationship. It has been well documented that our society — at least 21st century Western culture — seems too preoccupied with other things to honor our commitments. In fact, we’re often guilty of co-opting God and hiding behind His “will” as a mask to act out our own carnal desires. (I’m thinking of the individual who leaves spouse and family for the arms of another lover, all under the pretense that “God wants me to be happy” or “God brought us together”.) Unfaithfulness takes many forms, both in the first century and today, and Jesus implores us back to an understanding of faithfulness to each other as an extension of faithfulness to God. The interior life is every bit as important as the exterior for disciples of Jesus.

Glen Stassen puts it succinctly:

In the Bible, adultery is not only sexual behavior; the emphasis is on rupture of covenant relationship – for example, violation of a marriage relationship.

Jesus, faithful to the Father and to us, is uniquely qualified to give us this teaching. He who has ears, let him hear.

Posted in Discipleship, Jesus, Love God, Love Others, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount, Social Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Eight Years

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Jason

A little over eight years ago, Sunny and I made the move from Kingsport, Tennessee to Huntsville, Alabama. I had spent the previous three years as the Youth Minister for the Northeast Church of Christ in Kingsport, a wonderful, loving church family that took us in as newlyweds and nurtured us as we began our ministry and, more importantly, our life together as a family. Sunny and I were married in August of 1999 and two weeks later, we loaded up our cars and made the drive to the northeast corner of our home state in response to God’s call. We couldn’t have been in a better place for those first few years of our marriage.

After three years, an opportunity came our way to associate ourselves with Madison Academy, a pre-K through 12th grade Christian school in Madison, Alabama just west of Huntsville. The school agreed to hire us both, Sunny as a third grade teacher and me as campus minister / Bible teacher. Sunny was qualified and prepared for her position, but the school took something of a chance on me; although I originally enrolled as an education major my freshman year at Lipscomb, my degree was in Bible — with an emphasis in youth and family ministry — and I’d only previously been employed in congregational ministry. But for whatever reason, school administration decided to roll the dice and put a youth minister in the classroom with 11th and 12th grade students eight hours a day, five days a week. It was wonderful. I don’t know how much the students learned, but I can still remember some of the spiritually meaningful conversations I had with several of them: conversations about God and faith and doubt and fear and struggles and how Jesus makes sense of our lives. I was also in charge of our daily chapel service for all 7th-12th grade students and teachers, 450 people in all. Little did I know how this daily activity of worship coordinating would help to prepare me for what was going to come next in our lives.

Shortly after moving here, Sunny and I began helping out in the Mayfair Youth Ministry with our good friends Corey and Alisha. I like to tell people that I’ve never really had a formal job interview at Mayfair; I just showed up and started blowing up balloons and ordering pizza and doing whatever I could to help out my buddy in his ministry. Over time, our volunteer roles grew into part-time work — I’d teach class all week and do the weekend warrior thing with the youth group. By 2004, with twins on the way and Sunny leaving the school to be a stay-at-home Mom, the opportunity arose for me to join the Mayfair youth ministry staff in a full-time capacity. A few years later, in 2006, I transitioned again, this time into my current role as associate minister. For the past four years, I’ve worked with Gary Bradley in the areas of preaching and pastoral care. Gary has been many things to me: a professional mentor, a father figure, a personal friend, and a wonderful example. I’m thankful to count him as one of my primary influences in ministry and in life.

The past eight years have been a tremendous blessing for us. Sunny and I have grown in our marriage; I’m still learning, but thankfully I’ve learned to love her better in the past eight years. Our family has also grown: Joshua and Abby Kate came along in 2004; Jackson completed our family when he arrived in 2007. We’ve made some wonderful friends here, too, friends who have been there when the kids were born, when one of us was hospitalized, when we needed shoulders to cry on and loved ones to share in our joy.

All in all, the past eight years have been a tremendous blessing for us. Tonight, I’m quietly thankful for God’s leading in our lives. As always, it’s so much easier to see his leading in hindsight.

Posted in General, Huntsville | Leave a comment

Controlling Stories

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Jason

I had a seminary professor who was fond of saying things like this: “Everyone has a story that controls their life.” What he meant by that is everyone has a narrative that significantly shapes their worldview by giving meaning to their life. Our lives are understood through the lens of this controlling story.

Growing up in Nashville, one of the controlling stories for me and the people I grew up with was country music. Sounds goofy, I know, but it’s true. In the last 20 years or so, country music has significantly contributed to the creation of a paradoxical sacred / secular subculture for at least a particular subset of the United States population. (For more of my thoughts on how this sacred / secular divide works in our lives, click here.)

This can be illustrated in a variety of ways; the songs of Kenny Chesney are just one example. Chesney is one of the country music industry’s hottest stars, with boatloads of industry accolades and record-setting tours that would make artists of any musical genre proud. Chesney’s song I Go Back actually acknowledges the presence of controlling story, albeit in the form of another song in the narrator’s life:

Jack and Diane painted a picture of my life and my dreams
Suddenly this crazy world made more sense to me.

The controlling story for the song’s narrator is Jack and Diane, John Mellancamp’s nostalgia-drenched 1982 smash hit. Chesney hints that the song functions in his own life as a repository of truth, articulating something meaningful about his own experience.

Chesney’s songs also demonstrate a “country” culture wherein beer drinkin’, church goin’, and girl chasin’ are held in concert with seemingly little tension whatsoever. From his song Back Where I Come From:

We learned in Sunday school who made the sun shine through
I know who made the moon shine too, back where I come from

The point is made even more explicitly in Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven:

Preacher told me last Sunday morning, “Son, you better start livin’ right,
You need to quit the women and whiskey and carrying on all night.
Don’t you wanna hear him call your name when you’re standin’ at the pearly gates?”
I told the preacher, “Yes I do, but I hope they don’t call today.”

I’m not just trying to pick on Kenny Chesney; I actually like some of his music. It’s just that Chesney’s songs illustrate so well the prevailing subtext of “country music culture” wherein the worshipful activity of the gathered church has zero bearing in the “real life” of Monday through (especially) Saturday world of work, drink, sex, and friendship. I’m also not trying to pick on country music; it’s just that this is the type of subculture in which I was raised.

I’m interested in setting all of this alongside what Jesus says about the Kingdom of God. He teaches that the Kingdom of God is like buried treasure (Matthew 13.44); you’d give all you have just to acquire it. Similarly, it is a rare jewel that is of inestimable value (Matthew 13.45). Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God should be our highest ideal, our ultimate pursuit. To use the language I’ve already set forth here, it becomes our controlling story. As such, we adopt the principles of the Kingdom in our own life: love for God — love that comes from every fiber of our being; heart and soul and mind — and love for neighbor (Matthew 22.37-40). Disciples of Christ adopt a mission perspective with regard to their engagement with the world (Matthew 28.18-20), seeking to participate in God’s transformative act of reconciling the world (Ephesians 1.10; 2 Corinthians 5.19) rather than acquiescing to the whimsical values of the prevailing culture of the moment.Perhaps most chillingly, Jesus warns his disciples that following Him will put them at odds with the world, even to the point of persecution (Matthew 5.10-12; John 15.18-21). This is certainly different than the cultural amalgam Jesus seems to have a pretty realistic (some would say depressing) expectation of the outcome regarding our engagement with the prevailing culture.

All of this is to ask: what is your controlling story? What narrative shapes your perspective, your worldview, and your life? It’s a hard question, but I believe it is the only question truly worth asking.

Posted in Discipleship, Jesus, Love God, Love Others, Missiology, Music, Scripture, Theology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Imaginary Jesus

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Jason

"Imaginary Jesus" -- a not-quite-true story from the pen of Matt Mikalatos

Disclosure: This book was provided to me free of charge by The Ooze Viral Bloggers.

Imaginary Jesus is a hilarious, slightly irreverent, wholly challenging work from the pen of Matt Mikalatos. I’ll be the first to admit I’m usually not a big fan of “Christian fiction”, but Mikalatos pretty much had me engrossed by the end of the first chapter. His thesis? All too often, we settle for the constructions of Jesus bequeathed us through culture, religious tradition, or our own selfish projections of him, rather than searching to understand Jesus on his own terms. Before we can come to know the real Jesus, we must deal with our imaginary “Jesuses” and their grip on our lives.

What does Mikalatos mean by “Imaginary Jesuses”? A few examples:

  • Televangelist Jesus – Jesus as faith healer / showman (“All you need is greater faith!”)
  • Peacenik Jesus – Jesus as “give peace a chance” flower guy, who is always locked in opposition to…
  • Political Jesus – Jesus as imperialist, advocating the coming of His Kingdom through the power of the empire, specifically the United States of America.
  • Testosterone Jesus – the Jesus we usually encounter at Men’s Retreats who implores us to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and be better husbands and fathers.

Some of these projections of Jesus are pretty comical; others are more nuanced and require greater reflection and self-honesty. But in the end, Mikalatos is willing to take his readers on a journey of serious contemplation about what it means to follow Jesus in today’s world.

I appreciated Mikalatos’ deft use of scripture throughout his writing. While he rarely cites book, chapter, and verse, his narrative is brimming with Christ’s teachings from the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of John. These references help ground this wild and unpredictable tale.

I would recommend Imaginary Jesus to anyone who is serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

(To learn more about Matt, follow him at imaginaryjesus.com)

Posted in Books, Discipleship, Jesus | Tagged | 2 Comments