Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

Are You a Minister?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 10, 2013

“Are you a minister?”

The first time someone asked me that question, I was shocked, appalled even. I shook my head and laughed, “Heck, no.”

This confused my inquirer. “Humph, I thought you were.”

Later someone else asked me the same thing, then another, and eventually a fourth. Now I’m no longer disturbed when someone wonders aloud if I’m a minister. Even so, the query still perplexes me.

I’ve pondered this with trusted friends; they’re not surprised. They offer possible explanations, which I don’t fully agree with:

You have a godly confidence.
You’re a man of peace.
When you pray, they feel God’s presence.
You’re kind and compassionate.
You possess a calm assurance about spiritual matters.

My friends think too highly of me.

What I do hope, though, is that when people see me, they see a bit of Jesus.

I’m not a minister, at least not in the traditional gone-to-seminary, lead-a-church, preach-a-sermon manner. I’m simply a follower of Jesus, the Christ.

May my actions always point people to Jesus.

Nothing would please me more.

What about you, are you a “minister?”

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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Tags follower of Jesus, minister

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 8, 2013

A Manifesto for the Church in Exile

By Rob Bell and Don Golden (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell’s third book, is consistent with his unique style, first unveiled in Velvet Elvis and later fine-tuned in Sex God. This installment is equally insightful and no less thought-provoking.

The subtitle, A Manifesto for the Church in Exile, provides a hint at the theme of this book, which is not readily apparent from the seemingly contradictory title. Fans of Bell’s prior work will not be disappointed—nor, most likely, will be his detractors.

Pulling four significant geographies from the Old Testament story of God’s chosen people, Bell uses them metaphorically to instruct us today: Egypt, Sinai, Jerusalem, and Babylon. In which one are you living?

The journey begins in the first introduction and gathers momentum in the second, so don’t race ahead to start at chapter one.

Those who do will miss out on evocative truth, such as Bell’s recognition “that many Christians support some of the very things that Jesus came to set people free from.”

Now we have a hint at where Bell is headed with Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

Christianity isn’t just a future-focused bliss, but also a here and now reality to which we are called. “Sometimes,” notes Bell, “it takes a little pain to get us to do the right thing.”

Soon thereafter, he points out that worship is service, and we are to do both: worship and serve.

After a six-chapter narrative provocation, Bell’s epilogue serves as a fitting call to action, noting that, “Jesus wants to save our church from the exile of irrelevance.”

Answering this call will involve risk, discomfort, criticism, and possibly rejection.

Nevertheless, it is imperative to do so in “remembrance of him”—so that the world (and we in the process) will be changed; it is a Church manifesto.

[Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto For The Christian Exile, by Rob Bell and Don Golden. Published by Zondervan, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-310-37502-2, 218 pages, $19.95]

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Tags Christianity, spiritual growth

Personal Posts

Smile…You’re Being Scanned

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 5, 2013
2 Comments on Smile…You’re Being Scanned

I recently renewed my passport, which required an updated photo. I went to my local Walgreens to take care of this and complete my renewal application as quickly as possible.

I placed my toes on the line, looked into the camera, and put on my best smile. The technician scowled. “You’re not supposed to smile for passport photos.”

I scowled back. “Why?” Ten years ago I smiled; the picture wasn’t too bad.

“Facial recognition software doesn’t work as well when you smile.”

At this point I discovered that when someone is about to take your picture and says, “Don’t smile,” it’s almost impossible to keep a straight face.

There was more scowling as she waited for me to rid my face of any hint of levity. Once I looked sufficiently dour, she snapped my picture.

When I picked up the photo a few minutes later, the results horrified me. Even though I never had one, it looked like a mug shot.

However, since I don’t like to travel, that’s probably a reasonable representation of how I look when I’m at the airport. So the facial recognition software should have no problem matching me.

And for those who want to avoid having airport security recognize them, just smile.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags personal

Christian Living

Do You Feel in Love With God?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 3, 2013
2 Comments on Do You Feel in Love With God?

A year or so ago I made a bold statement to some close friends. As a group, we enjoy the freedom to ask pointed questions and the expectation to give honest answers; being transparent is our norm.

Yet, I surprised myself by proclaiming, “I’m more in love with God today than ever before.”

Yeah, it was brash—but I meant it: I’m having a spiritual love affair with God.

What caused me to declare my passion for the Almighty?

I suppose it was a convergence of things: an intellectual knowledge of my standing with him, the movement of his spirit in my life, a burst of clarity over what I read in the Bible, a sense of his presence in my being, and…euphoric emotion.

Yes, I felt in love with God. Now, I know it’s unwise to move by emotion or make decisions based on feeling, but I couldn’t deny what I felt that day.

Yet a few weeks later, the feeling was gone. Sure, I was still in love with God: my mind knew it, my spirit knew it, and my soul knew it, but I just didn’t feel it.

Then last week, while praying for God’s work in the lives of family and friends, that in-love feeling came back. Oh, glorious day!

When it comes to love—be it for God or for people—we can’t rely on our feelings, but when we do feel in love, it’s a wonderful thing.

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Tags God, love

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 1, 2013

Identify and Understand Your Unique God-Given Spiritual Gifts

By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Having read many books on spiritual gifts, Discover Your Spiritual Gifts is clearly one of the best. In a simple and easy-to-understand manner, Wagner succinctly explains what spiritual gifts are.

He teaches on their proper use and exposes ways in which they are sometimes misused. He also discloses danger signs and addresses common areas of confusion.

He wraps up Discover Your Spiritual Gifts with practical and helpful steps to discover, test, and verify one’s own spiritual gifts—which are provided to all who follow Jesus.

As an added bonus a spiritual gifts assessment is included. A helpful glossary lists and explains each of the spiritual gifts.

Aside from Wagner’s straightforward presentation on the topic of spiritual gifts is that his list of gifts is extensive, covering all that are mentioned in the Bible, plus a few additional ones that have been added as a result of his observations.

This list of gifts is not expected to be complete or absolute, a fact Wagner confirms using scriptural support.

The list of gifts he advances is largely reflected in the spiritual gifts assessment he provides in the book.

Unfortunately, when using the assessment, the results were not what I expected and did not fully align with other assessments I’ve taken or my experience in using various gifts.

Even so, this book is highly recommended as an ideal primer on spiritual gifts.

(Discover Your Spiritual Gifts is a condensed version of his prior work, which he recommends for additional detail: Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow.)

[Discover Your Spiritual Gifts, by C. Peter Wagner. Published by Regal Books, 2002, ISBN: 0-8307-2955-0, 95 pages.]

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Tags spiritual gifts

Christian Living

Who Do We Compare Ourselves To?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 17, 2013
2 Comments on Who Do We Compare Ourselves To?

Yesterday I posted in my Byline blog, “The Risk of Comparing Ourselves to Others.” Although my words focused on writers, the unwise practice of comparison is universal, applying to all people in all professions or pursuits.

Succinctly, when we compare ourselves to other people, we either elevate ourselves by degrading them or lessen ourselves by elevating them.

Neither pleases God. Even so, the temptation to compare is enticing.

Some days I feed my ego, looking down on those I deem to have less faith, bare little fruit, struggle more, possess less knowledge, pray or read their Bible less often, or aren’t as close with God. I become proud.

Other days I devalue myself, envying those who seem to have greater faith, produce more fruit, possess greater knowledge, struggle less, pray and read their Bible more, or enjoy greater intimacy with God. I become abased.

Pride and abasement are both sins. Neither honors our creator, who made each of us.

Instead, consider that the Bible provides a standard for us to pursue and Jesus gives an example to follow—and the Holy Spirit offers guidance as we do both.

In this world we’ll never achieve God’s standard, but we need to try—and to do so without comparing ourselves with others.

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Tags God, spiritual growth

Christian Living

The Value of Spiritual Training

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 10, 2013

I had friends in high school who dreamed of excelling in sports, of being the star and even receiving a college scholarship. The problem with their aspirations was that they seldom practiced; a few never even bothered to try out.

More recently I’ve listened to aspiring writers who dream of having the next great novel, memoir, or nonfiction release. The problem with their ambition is that they’re not writing.

In both cases, they dream of glory but don’t want to put in the preliminary effort. Folks who don’t practice never become sports stars; people who don’t write never become the next best-selling author.

So it is with our spiritual journey.

We may desire to say bold prayers and see amazing results, to heal others with a word or a touch, to proclaim insights that move masses to faith or action, and to enjoy a direct line of two-way communication with God.

But results, such as these, often require years of struggle. Practice precedes performance. True, God could immediately bring someone to this point, but those things don’t generally happen without us doing our part first.

Moses

Moses spent forty years in the desert preparing. Then he led a nation.

David

David had years on the lam as a fugitive from King Saul. Then he became king, noted as a man after God’s own heart.

Joseph

Joseph spent time as a slave and years in the pokey. Then he experienced what God foretold him in his visions.

Abraham

Abraham lived as a nomad for decades, honing his faith and patience while awaiting God’s promise. Then he became the father of nations.

We may dream of possessing great spiritual power or producing amazing supernatural outcomes, but if we skip the preparatory time of praying, listening, waiting, seeking, and practicing, we’ll never become the people God wants us to be.

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Tags glory, pray, spiritual journey, supernatural

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: From Eternity to Here

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 8, 2013

Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God

By Frank Viola (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

The dedication page in Frank Viola’s book, From Eternity to Here provides a gripping preview of what to expect; it reads, “to every follower of Jesus who knows with their deepest parts that there must be more to the Christian faith.”

His goal, both ambitious and poignant, is to reveal to readers the ageless purpose of God; that is, God’s eternal plan.

Towards that end, Frank shares a trio of stories, one in each of the book’s three parts. The first shows God as “an ageless romantic,” the second is of God searching for a home, and the last is about establishing himself on earth.

Although three in number, these views of God are not isolated, but rather unified, collectively presenting his desire for a bride, for a place to live, and for community.

These are revealed in four familiar, yet grossly underappreciated phrases: the bride of Christ, the house of God, the body of Christ, and the family of God.

To explain this, expand this, and elucidate this, Viola holistically taps into the Bible story, seeing the New Testament through the Old—and vice versa, connecting Genesis 1 and 2 with Revelations 21 and 22, and weaving in the whole Biblical narrative along the way.

The result is that readers begin to see God differently and are granted permission to relate to him in a fresh and deeper way.

If you yearn for more in your faith journey, this book will reveal it and guide you to it. It has the potential to forever change the way you view God and increase the intimacy of your relationship with him.

[From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God, by Frank Viola. Published by David C. Cook, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-4347-6870-4, 315 pages.]

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Tags God

Bible Insights

How Far Do We Go To Protect Tradition?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 7, 2013

Whether or not we realize it, all aspects of our lives include traditions: unexamined habits and mindless rituals. But perhaps traditions most often exist in our approach to God and our worship of him.

While some traditions had a positive origin, others were misguided from the start.

With little thought we pass our traditions from one person to the next, one generation to another.

Churches often protect their traditions with adamant, unyielding passion— sometimes at the expense of obeying God and doing what the Bible says. This is not a new problem. Jesus addressed this two thousand years ago.

The religious leaders of the day (the Pharisees) were quick to point out that Jesus’ followers (disciples) broke from tradition.

They didn’t bring this up to provide correction but to pronounce condemnation. They thought they could discredit Jesus and embarrass him in front of the people.

Their plan didn’t work. Jesus foiled them. He declared that what the Bible said took precedence over their traditions. Jesus put his detractors and their ideas of what was important in their place.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Matthew 14-16, and today’s post is on Matthew 15:1-6.]

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Tags habits, Pharisee, ritual, tradition

Christian Living

Welcome to a New Year!

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 5, 2013

It’s Time to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions—or Is It?

The new year is a time when many people make New Year’s resolutions.

Common ones include losing weight, saving money, going back to school, finding a better job, improving a relationship—or getting out of one, being kinder, giving more, drinking less, and so on.

All too often, these well-intentioned resolutions are short-lived. I think the problem is timing.

Let’s assume that in September I step on the scale and decide I’ll make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Since I don’t need to worry about it now, I can eat as much as I want.

In four months, I’ll get serious about weight loss, but for now, there are no worries.

This gives me sixteen weeks to further instill bad eating habits. Additionally, knowing that in the future I’ll lose weight, I become emboldened to eat poorly now—while I still have the chance.

This only serves to exacerbate the problem and means more weight to lose later.

A much better approach would be to start exercising more and eating less as soon as I sensed the need, in this case, September, not January one.

This is why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Rather, as soon as I determine a need for change, I set about to make it happen. That’s when I have the best chance for success, not later after things get worse.

Effectively, I tweak my life year round and skip making annual vows for self-improvement.

If you’ve made New Year’s resolutions, I wish you the best in keeping them. However, if you fall short, don’t give up and wait until next year to make another attempt.

Just forgive yourself and start over—and have a Happy New Year!

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Tags habits, holiday