What Do You Sound Like? (Friday Devotional)

 

Do everything without grumbling or arguing…So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

- Philippians 2:14, 18

Buzz. Click. Clang. Fizz. Groan. Hiccup. Hiss. Rattle. Rip. Sputter.

All these words have something in common: they are onomatopoeias, words whose names sound like the noises they describe. English has more than 100 such words—from argh to ugh, boom to zoom. Some make us smile just to see them in print—think achoo or belch—while others have a more unpleasant feel in our mouths, like blurt or snarl.

To this latter category you can add the word ‘grumble.’ One of its definitions, “to make a low rumbling sound,” the way thunder does when a storm is gathering, fits the word’s sound perfectly. But so too does its primary definition, “to complain about something in a bad-tempered way.” While complaining can sometimes be louder and higher-pitched—think of that other onomatopoeia, ‘whine’—often it’s more like an undercurrent, something soft and in the background, inescapable and unpleasant.

There should always be a place for constructive criticism in our lives—if we don’t want to stagnate, then we need to be seeking ways to do better. But while we ought to welcome helpful suggestions offered in the pursuit of sanctification, the Bible tells us we need not tolerate and should not engage in the kind of complaining that tears down without building back up, that finds nothing but problems and doesn’t bother to seek solutions. That’s just grumbling—and far from helping, it’s just downright unpleasant.

One of the characteristics that set the early Christians apart from the world was the joy they constantly exhibited, even in the face of tremendous difficulty. Their hope was not found in worldly figures—not in financial statements or attendance figures or election results—but in the good news that Christ is risen, the knowledge that by grace and through faith their eternal future was assured. Whatever this world threw at them, their attitude was always the same: Jesus is Lord, so what do I have to complain about?

The world isn’t any simpler today than it was then—some aspects of life are easier, others far harder. So if you’re looking to the world for your hope, you’ll find plenty to worry and stress and complain about. But if Jesus is your Lord, you can rejoice and be glad, for you have a hope that will endure far longer than any of life’s cares and concerns. With every word you speak, whether an expression of joy or a grumble, you are bearing witness to what you believe—so what do you sound like?

All-Around Players (Friday Devotional)

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

- 1 Corinthians 12:7-10

In 1974, Oakland Athletics owner Charles O. Finley signed Herb Washington to his first major league contract. The signing raised eyebrows around the league for a simple reason: Washington hadn’t played baseball since his junior year of high school.

You see, Finley had a hunch that it might be worth a roster spot to invent a new position, a “designated runner.” Such a player would rarely take at-bats or play defense, but would replace slower runners on the basepaths in key spots. Washington, a world-class sprinter who’d narrowly missed the 1972 Olympic track and field team, was the perfect fit—even if he wasn’t, strictly speaking, a baseball player.

Upon signing his designated runner, Finley predicted he would be “personally responsible for winning ten games this year.” But while Washington—whose Topps baseball card simply listed his position as “pinch runner,” the only player in the company’s history with that distinction—stole 31 bases and scored 33 times, the experiment was widely considered a dud by 1975. “Finley’s Folly,” as it was labelled, came down to one central issue: to be successful, you have to do more than one thing well.

Churches operate under the same principle—while every congregation is going to be better at some things than others, they can’t give 100% of their energy and focus to one area of ministry to the exclusion of all others. A healthy church can’t exist solely to worship but willfully neglect service to the community, any more than it can have a vibrant teaching ministry for adults but ignore children’s discipleship.

That’s because God gifts his children differently, empowering each of us for different works of the Spirit. The idea is not for all of us to be uniform in our giftings, but instead united in our diversity. Put us all together and you have a whole mess of strengths and weaknesses, bound together not by shared methodology but by shared love for the Lord.

Ask yourself, what gifts has the Spirit given you? How are you using them to glorify God and serve others? Don’t let your spiritual gifts go to waste—the church needs to do more than one thing at a time, and it needs you to make that happen! 

September Reading Log

 

This was a month spent with books that required some extra time and concentration, which meant fewer pages read and more days where laziness had me drifting away from books and toward the siren song of TikTok and YouTube. Nevertheless, there's a sense of accomplishment that comes with this month's log...two classics checked off the list, 40+ comics read, a favorite kids' book, and a new pastoral favorite. Take a look! 

DIARY OF A PASTOR'S SOUL by M. Craig Barnes

I picked this up on a whim from the clearance section at Half Price Books, enticed by the title and vaguely aware that I'd heard of it from somewhere (thanks Jeff Gravens!) What I didn't know then would become clear within the first 20 pages: that this would become one of my favorite books I've ever read.

Written as a fictional memoir, Diary of a Pastor's Soul contains first-person snippets from the final year of a pastor's congregational ministry. As this imaginary pastor chronicles that year, when he is simultaneously doing the daily work of church ministry while also tying up his career, the reader gets tremendous insight into the joys and trials of life for a minister.

An overused phrase these days is, "I feel seen," something you say when it seems like someone has peered right into your soul, when you've been truly noticed after a lengthy time toiling in obscurity. Reading Diary of a Pastor's Soul, I felt seen by the author, who truly speaks the language of pastors. He narrates not only the pragmatic realities of the profession—the committee meetings, the budgetary concerns, the ins and outs of event planning—but also the deep, spiritual toll it takes, the divine calling that draws people into ministry and keeps them awake at night.

I don't know whether laypeople will appreciate this book to the degree I did, but it is absolutely required reading for clergy, a book that supplants even Eugene Peterson's masterful The Pastor in my estimation. The 15 minutes I spent in my office every morning reading Diary of a Pastor's Soul were sometimes the best part of my day. It is a book I will return to again and again for as long as the Lord lets me remain in his service.

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by John Bunyan

The Pilgrim's Progress is often regarded as the most important work of theological literature ever written. It has been translated into more than 200 languages, has never fallen out of print since its initial publication in 1678, and shaped the thoughts and works of writers from Charles Dickens to Herman Melville to C.S. Lewis. So given its reputation and influence, I've always been a little surprised that it was never required reading for my undergraduate degree or in seminary.

I owe those professors a thank you letter.

Now, there can be no disputing the importance of The Pilgrim's Progress in sharing the gospel. Written as an allegorical tale of the path to salvation,  the novel brought Scripture to life by turning systematic theology into a quest narrative. It tells the story of an everyman named Christian and his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, followed by a similar journey undertaken by his wife and children. Accompanied by friends with names like Faithful and Hopfeul and assailed by everyone from Ignorance to Hypocrisy, Christian encounters all manner of temptations and difficulties before finally making it through the Narrow Gate and into the Land of Beulah.

As you might imagine, anyone who thought The Chronicles of Narnia were a little on the nose would find utterly Bunyan exhausting, and you can count me in that group. It doesn't take long before you stop reading this as a story and start immediately translating every line through a theological filter, which then naturally makes you lose track of the plot. And as for those who find this more readable than the New Testament...how??? I'll take Paul at his wordiest over Bunyan, whose style I found dry as a Phoenix afternoon.

I don't question the value of The Pilgrim's Progress to the kingdom, and maybe I'd have had more appreciation for it if I'd read it in the context of a class, where study and discussion would accompany the reading. But as it is, my experience was a lot like running a marathon: glad to cross it off my bucket list, but I have no intention of ever doing it again.

THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES: THE FINCA VIGIA EDITION by Ernest Hemingway

One of my quirks is that, for better and for worse, I am a completist. I don't want a band's greatest hits, I want their whole discography. I don't want to watch the most popular Marvel movies, I want to watch all the Marvel movies. And I don't want to read an author's selected works, I want to read their complete works. So when I decided to spend the month with arguably America's greatest short stories writer, I went whole hog: The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition.

This edition, first published in 1987, contains 70 stories in total—49 which were initially published in 1938's First Forty-Nine Stories, 14 more which were published subsequently, and 7 which were seeing the light of day for the first time with the Finca Vigia edition. Some run as little as 3 pages; the longest is more of a novella at 50 pages. And, as you might expect from a complete collection, it's a mixed bag in terms of quality.

In spots, this is Hemingway at its finest. Often associated with the "iceberg theory" of writing, Hemingway's sparse, unadorned style gives you little on the surface while containing a wealth of meaning and pathos beneath. My favorite story of his, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is a classic example of this—a simple story about a man in an empty bar that leaves the reader aching with melancholy. Similarly, "The Battler," "Snows of Kilimanjaro," and "Hills Like White Elephants" are masterful tales that highlight Hemingway's brilliance.

When you work your way through all 70 of these stories, the stories can start to feel repetitive, even ponderous—another war story? Another bullfighting story? And, not surprisingly, the best stuff is almost exclusively found in the the first 49 stories he and his editor has seen fit to publish in his lifetime, making the last third of the book a bit of a slog at times. But throughout the book, readers like me who aren't naturally drawn to short stories over novels will marvel at Hemingway's ability to create well-rounded characters, interesting scenarios, and resonant themes in just a few pages.

It's a cliché among literary critics that Hemingway was a better short story writer than a novelist. You probably don't need to read all 70 of his stories to decide whether you agree—but I'm happy to give you my top 10!

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH by Roald Dahl

More bedtime magic, courtesy of legendary children's author Roald Dahl. This beloved story tells the story of James Henry Trotter, a mistreated orphan boy who, after being given some magical crystals by a mysterious stranger, accidentally spills them close to a nearby fruit tree and awakes to find a peach the size of a house. Upon entering the giant peach, he encounters a host of friendly, life-sized insects, and the peach rolls (and eventually is carried by seagulls) to a series of zany adventures.

If you didn't read this as a child and that summary didn't reel you in, I question your sense of wonder. This book is a pure delight, one that my kids loved even more than the Charlie Bucket books last month. And indeed, while Charlie and the Choclate Factory has thus far had the most and best adaptations to film, I think James and the Giant Peach may be a superior book, quicker to get moving and with a more vivid cast of characters. I loved every moment reading this story, and was as sad to finish it as my kids were. A classic, and for good reason.

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL. 3-4 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Paul Smith, John Romita, Jr., et al.

These were actually rereads for me—coming off of the excitement from Deadpool & Wolverine, I decided it was time to dive back into my <gulp> 11 volumes of Essential X-Men and I needed a refresher on where I left off with America's favorite mutants. So below is my review from September 2020, the first time I read these books:

In the 1980s, no comic was bigger than Uncanny X-Men. Propelled by soap operatic melodrama, cool costumes and powers, and Chris Claremont's world-building, mutants carved out their own corner of the Marvel Universe, one to which readers swarmed in droves. Essential X-Men Vol. 3-4 lays the foundation for that popularity, building upon stories like The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past even as it moves boldly into the future.

The highlight of this period is the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, printed in its entirety in vol. 4. The story tells of a televangelist who uses his platform to advocate for the elimination of all mutants .While X-Men titles had flirted with social commentary dating back to the 1960s, this is the story that most clearly establishes the mutants-as-oppressed-minorities metaphor that would come to define the book. And, while dated in some respects, the story holds up pretty well.

These books also see the introduction of Rogue, the power-stealing mutant who makes her debut as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants only to eventually switch sides and join the X-Men; the Morlocks, a society of mutant outcasts living underground; and Madelynn Pryor, a mysterious Jean Grey lookalike whom Cyclops impulsively marries (with consequences in future issues.) Other story developments include Storm's metamorphosis from innocent fish out of water to battle-hardened killer, Magneto's shift from villain to antihero, and the maturation of Kitty Pryde from novice to full-fledged X-Man.

These stories are not as crucial to X-Men lore as the ones told by Claremont and John Byrne in Essential X-Men Vol. 2, but they're still plenty of fun, and more imaginative than much of what was coming out in the same time period. For X-Men fans wanting to see the expansion of the mutant world before that mythology became convoluted and overwhelming, these are key issues.

A Bottle of Kindness (Friday Devotional)

 

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

- Matthew 10:42

A few days ago, I was out for an early morning run around the block. I had earbuds in and, with the sun not yet up, didn’t expect to see anybody else before I was finished. So I was a little startled when I faintly heard somebody calling out to me over the sound of the podcast I was listening to.

Taking my earbuds out and turning around, I saw a teenager sitting across the street by a stop sign waiting for the school bus. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a water bottle and held it out.

“’Scuse me,” he said. “Need some?”

At the time, I politely declined and carried on with my run. But I’ve got to tell you, that little gesture from a kid I’d never met before and haven’t seen since has stuck with me for a week now. He didn’t know me. I didn’t ask him for help. I didn’t even initially pay any attention to him. But he thought he had something to offer, and he didn’t hesitate to reach out with the little he had to give.

I wonder what the world would be like if more of us made our way through life that way. What kind of witness to the gospel could we offer if we operated out of a spirit of generosity instead of anxiety, if we saw every interaction as a chance to do some good? Imagine the impact believers could make if, instead of hesitantly keeping our distance, we dove headfirst into lives of kindness.

A bottle of water isn’t much. But offered in the right spirit, it can make all the difference.

Being Bitten and Bearing Burdens (Friday Devotional)

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 

- Galatians 6:2

 

At a church fellowship this past weekend, I took a bunch of the kids outside to run off some energy with a game of baseball. Before long, my son hit the ball into a line of bushes along the side of the building. So, dutifully, I got down on my hands and knees to retrieve the ball.

 

…and stuck my left hand directly in a fire ant pile.

 

As you might expect, it took all of 2 seconds for me to realize what I’d done. I frantically started swatting at the one hand with the other, trying to brush all the ants off as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, by the time I was all clear, I’d acquired 18 ant bites, most under my watch band and wedding ring. The damage is done—all that’s left to do now is periodically apply some hydrocortisone cream and wait for the itching to stop.

 

That experience got me thinking about the way problems typically crop up in life—problems far more severe than a few bug bites. When you are hit with a crisis, there is usually a moment of intensity—the appointment when the doctor tells you the cancer is spreading, the meeting when you find out you’ve been laid off, the day you are handed divorce papers. And when we think of hard times, we usually think of those intense moments, when your hand is wrist deep in the ant pile.

 

But in truth, life’s greatest trials last longer than those instances of peak intensity. As shocking as those singular moments are, they are inevitably followed by much longer periods of adjustment, treatment, and, hopefully, healing. After the funeral comes the grieving, after the break-up comes the loneliness, after the car accident comes the endless calls with insurance adjustors. Reminder after reminder of what you’ve experienced, a constant itching.

 

Pain in this world, sadly, is far from momentary—it ebbs and flows, but is never absent for long. So in the face of this sobering reality, it is incumbent upon God’s people to shoulder each other’s loads, to bear one another’s burdens. God called his children to come together as the church so that, as we await Christ’s return, we would not be overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world in the meantime. Your brothers and sisters in faith are here to lift you up when you struggle, even as you are called to do the same for them.

 

Trying to pursue faith as a solo endeavor is a fool’s errand, not to mention an act of disobedience. Your church family needs you, and you need them—not just when life is biting you, but to help you heal when you’ve been bitten. Life is too long and suffering too real to persevere alone—turn to those God has given you to help and to be helped.

The Spiritual Slide (Friday Devotional)

 

Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord.

- Romans 12:11

At my son’s weekly baseball practice, the coach always starts with the same drill, a “diamond run” around the bases. The drill ends, as you might imagine, with the players running back to home plate from third base—once you touch home, you’re done with the drill and you get to the back of the line.

Inevitably, Andrew always ends the drill the same way—while simply stepping on home plate would satisfy the coach, he insists on sliding every time. I always know 10 minutes into practice that his uniform will need to be washed, because he ends every diamond drill with a cloud of dust. His enthusiasm just can’t be contained.

Even as adults, there are times when we feel that same kind of excitement, such that we just can’t contain ourselves—go to a sports bar on a Sunday afternoon if you don’t believe me. Grown-ups can be enthusiastic too, and sometimes we set aside our polite restraint in the name of passion.

The Bible calls us to that same kind of enthusiasm about our faith. While culturally the church often aims for dignity and decorum, there ought to also be room for unfiltered joy. Jesus has given us salvation in him, the promise of eternal life, the hope of glory. You have reason to celebrate, reason to praise—so don’t muzzle yourself!

It’s fine to just step on home plate every now and then; the run still counts the same. But you should see the smiles all around when you slide.

Not My Job? (Friday Devotional)

 

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

Luke 10:29-32

On August 8, 1982, the Boston Red Sox were playing an afternoon game at Fenway Park. Suddenly a foul ball screamed past the first base dugout and left fielder Jim Rice heard a sickening crunch. Looking around the corner of the dugout into the stands, Rice saw 4-year-old Jonathan Keane bleeding profusely from his head. Realizing that it would take several minutes for park EMTs to get to the scene, the ballplayer sprang into action. Rice leaped over the railing into the stands, cradled the young fan into his arms, and carried the boy into the dugout, where he received immediate attention from the team's medical staff.

Within just a few minutes, Jonathan was rushed to the hospital, where doctors credited Rice with saving the boy’s life. Jim Rice played the rest of the game in a blood-stained uniform, a reminder of the turn the day had taken. His job may have been to play left field for the Red Sox, but his calling that day was far higher.

When you see someone who needs help, it’s far too easy to default to the priest and the Levite’s position in the story of the Good Samaritan—to ignore the need. Whether because you’re in a rush to do something else, because you’re concerned about your own well-being, or simply because your heart is hardened in that moment to your neighbor’s need, the easiest thing in the world is to pass by. After all, it’s not your job to help.

But what Jesus reminds us—what Jim Rice displayed that day in 1982—is that sometimes your calling is more important than your job. Sometimes God puts you right in the path of someone in need, not so you can pass but so you can step in. Because sometimes the person best suited to help is not the one with all the education and training—sometimes it’s the person who’s right there.

Helping your neighbor may not be your job at any given moment. But according to Jesus, it’s always your calling.