Paul Prins

St. Peters Basilica the Night before Christmas Mass 2005

Yesterday morning I found myself thinking about greatness and faith. I have come across individuals who hold that something done with Christ is automatically great. It isn’t that I would discount the importance of living a life with the Spirit, and honoring God with our times and talents. It is that I have issue with the assumption some make about the greatness of their achievements.

In thinking through this I came across what might be the a part of the source of this misplaced understanding of the greatness of the works of our hands. It starts with the belief that we hold before we meet Christ:

My Personal Value/Worth = The value of what I do/create
Also know as: I am what I do

One of the many transformative realities of faith is that our value is now infinite because of the value that Christ sees in us. We ought to work towards accepting this reality and allowing it to transform how we view ourselves. After all Jesus didn’t die on a cross for the scum of the earth, he died on the cross for those he loves and cherishes. At this point that belief now becomes:

I am Infinitely Valuable = the value of what I do/create is Infinite
Also known as: Everything I do with Christ is Great

On the surface this change makes sense, kind of. Instead of letting what we do define who we are, we are defined externally by God. Yet it is absurd that just because something is done by a Christian or with Christian intentions that it is, therefore, great. Rather I believe that there as people of faith there is a call further for us.

I am Infinitely Valuable = God loves me with an infinite love
AND
What I do has value = Because I enjoy its creation AND others attribute it value

When we allow ourselves to separate from our value from the work of our hands we are free to be critical of the work. If it is inferior it does not mean that I am worth anything less. It just means that the work I did was not excellent. I believe that we ought to do things excellently.

My Intentions are not to say that the Church hasn’t done great things.
My desire to temper our lavish praise to that which actually deserves it.
For self disclosure, I’ve not done many great things in my life. Yet I try.

I just finished up 9 straight days of class, 8+ hours a day. While it was very intense and time consuming it was a great experience, though one i don’t think I will need to repeat. I took my first Old Testament course (OT501) on Genesis – Ruth, and then immediately rolled into my Preaching Practicum.

There is still work to be done for each course: papers and exams for OT501 and a sermon to write and deliver for preaching. But I thought it was worth celebrating regardless. Below is the sermon I gave at Woodridge Church on Sunday evening to part of their exchange service (thanks to those of you that made it out!).

http://vimeo.com/5710979

There had been some very sizable changes from the way the sermon was delivered the day before in class. Even so, I don’t believe the audiance was any wiser for it, or that it really hurt my illustrations/approach. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Found a talk given by Erwin McManus through iTunes. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Erwin leads Mosaic church out in LA.

‘The reason I can take you through this time is not because I’ve studied this theoretically, not because I’ve read a thousand books, or not because I’ve written one. But because I spend my life immersed with people I love. And that the journey we’ve taught people to go on doesn’t work for them.”

“I’ve been noticing that across universities that whenever you have God verses Atheism, or Creation verse Evolution debate people move further from God, not closer. Christians feel more affirmed and more confident they are right and they loose their effect and impact on their university. But we don’t care about that, we just want to win. I’ve also noticed that we fill the room with all the wrong people. We fill the room with everyone who wants to win too. And what’s funny is that the Christians in the room and the atheists in the room are the same. The both just want to win.”

“‘I heard the voice of God for the first time and the only way I can describe it is like falling in love for the first time.’ I was driving down the 210 to a meeting when I was reading this email and I began to weep, it was overwhelming to me. How many of you would describe hearing the voice of God like that? If you want to reach post-moderns you need to be a deeply spiritual person. It has to be a natural and organic part of your being.”

There was more but stopped feeling like transcribing it out. I am so encouraged by him.

I mentioned a quote from a book by Henri Nouwen in November (here) and since finishing that book have really connected and identified with Nouwen as an author and a man of God. In much the same way as I have connected with Andrew Murray (19th Century author) who I have read a number of his books.

A few weeks ago a friend gave me another book by Nouwen (‘The Wounded Healer”) which I finally have had some time to read through parts of and am really enjoying it again. ‘The Wounded Healer’ was written in 1972 and during the middle section of the book discusses the current youth (of over 35 years ago) and the leaders that will be needed to reach them for God.

In describing the youth he raised three points: Read the rest of this entry »

I just posted about an hour ago about the passing of the second founder of the Moral Majority (which later evolved into the Evangelical Right).

Now i was catching up on feeds for the day and came across this.

Rebecca Hancock told FOXNews.com that Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Jacksonville, Fla., was against her relationship with boyfriend Frank Young because the two were sexually active but not married.

When she wasn’t willing to obey the church’s orders to leave him, she decided to leave the church instead, allowing her two children to remain active members.

Now, she says, church elders have given her the worst ultimatum yet: In a Dec. 8 letter, they told her she either has to meet with them and end her “immoral” relationship or she will face public humiliation.

FoxNews Article

What?……

That is actually a part of my favorite story about Christ. that one where he doesn’t love, but instead slanders those who are trying to love him. As opposed to how he treated the woman at the well, and the woman caught in the act of adultery. Well I can only hope/pray that someone can reach out to Rebecca and her boyfriend Frank in love and humility.

This is another example of the church thinking that they are the moral authority in our culture instead of the bringers of love and hope to those who fall short of the expectations God has set (moral and practical).

What is the most startling about htis is how easy it is for each one of us to repond as this church did and not how Christ did. Gives me a greater humility and understanding of the weight we carry as we minister on behalf of Christ.