Category: Christian Living

Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.

Grumbling About Church Shows That We Care

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 15, 2017

People Complain About Things That Matter to Them; Silence Reveals Apathy

When a customer complains about a business, the astute businessperson knows to embrace it as an opportunity. The fact that the customer is complaining means they’re still a customer, and they’re simply providing a chance for improvement.

After all, if they no longer view themselves as a customer, why would they bother to share their concerns? They gripe, because at some level, they still care.

They may post a rant on social media, grouse to all their friends, or contact customer service to demand a resolution. But regardless of their approach they yearn for a better outcome than what they experienced.

This is because deep down they want a business relationship and hope for it to improve.

I’m a lot like that when it comes to the universal church, the church of Jesus. I complain about his church because I care. In fact, I complain a lot because I care a lot. The church that Jesus’s followers started could be so much more than what it is. It should be so much more than what it is.

Not everyone agrees with me, though. In fact most people don’t. They’re basically happy with the church status quo and how she operates. They essentially like the way things function and the traditions they have.

They still embrace the basic tenets of today’s church meetings: a Sunday service with music, a lecture, and a collection. Maybe the church will even tack on a social time: call it a Christian happy hour with coffee.

And if they get mad or hurt or disillusioned, they’ll act like consumers and take their business to another church, one that behaves in a manner more aligned with their preferences, expectations, and experiences. But most will still attend church.

A few, however, will drop out. Though they leave the church, they usually don’t leave God. Contrary to what some people think, church attendance doesn’t equate to having faith in God.

These church dropouts still love Jesus; it’s his people and their unexamined practices that drive them crazy.

Just as people can go to church and not have faith, they can just as easily not go to church and retain their faith. It’s not that they don’t like church; it’s that they sense she is broken.

Though I go to a typical, modern church, I agree with these folks who have a sense that today’s church isn’t working as it should, that we’re missing the point of what it means to truly follow Jesus.

Though I don’t have a solution, I do have ideas. That’s what this blog is about. Stay tuned for more in the Sunday posts to come, because I have much more to say. After all, I write about the church because I care about her.

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 church, follower of Jesus

Christian Living

What Did Jesus Do?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 8, 2017

Move from asking “What Would Jesus Do?” to asking “What Did Jesus Do?”

The phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” was popularized in the 1990s. Often epitomized by colorful bracelets that bore the acronym WWJD, the concept was intended to serve as a constant reminder for followers of Jesus to act as he would act.

Therefore, in any given circumstance the goal of WWJD is for us to ask ourselves, what would Jesus do in this particular situation? Then we should act accordingly.

I like WWJD as an ongoing nudge to always strive to behave in a manner consistent with Jesus. However, this requires that we presume to know how Jesus would act today.

This necessitates interpreting his actions from two thousand years ago and projecting them into our modern culture, which we invariably do through the lens of our personal experience.

Some call this contextualizing. The problem in doing so is that we make assumptions and might be in error.

Instead of presuming to know what Jesus would do, it might be better to look at the Bible to see what he actually did.

In reading the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the biographies of Jesus—here are some of the things that Jesus consistently does:

Jesus Loves Everyone

The Bible shows Jesus loving everyone, especially those on the fringes of society, the people who “good” folks avoid. Jesus does the opposite, going out of his way to love those who few people love.

Jesus Questions Spiritual Conventions

A paraphrase of a reoccurring teaching of Jesus is “You have heard it said ____, but I say ____.” It seems Jesus consistently challenges the beliefs people have and the way they act.

His teaching delights the common people and frustrates the people who think they have everything figured out about God and what he expects.

Jesus Heals People

Jesus goes around healing people of their physical infirmities, from removing fevers to raising people from the dead. In this spectrum of need are people with odd afflictions that the Bible calls evil spirits.

It matters not if these people are really possessed by demons or if their struggle is actually mental illness. The reality is that Jesus heals them. He solves their problems and makes their lives better.

And for those who claim that miraculous healing doesn’t apply today, check out Jesus’s future-focused statement in the book of John: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12 NIV).

Jesus Feeds People

On two occasions Jesus feeds hungry people, miraculously multiplying a measly amount of food to feed a multitude. Before you assume you can’t do that, go back to read the above verse in John.

Of course we don’t always need a miracle to feed people. We can just do it the normal way and feed hungry people from the resources we have.

Jesus Opposes Religiosity

Jesus opposes the religious status quo. Though Jesus clearly loves everyone, one group consistently earns his criticism: the spiritual leaders who follow regimented religious rules. They adhere to a spirit of religiosity.

Though they are devoted in their righteousness and adherence to their traditions and interpretations of the Bible, Jesus consistently has to correct their errant thinking.

These are the things that Jesus does. May we go out and do the same, to do what Jesus did.

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Tags follower of Jesus, heal, Jesus, love, miracle, religious

Christian Living

Put Jesus First This Christmas

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 25, 2016

If We Say “Jesus is #1,” Our Actions Should Confirm That, Not Prove Us Wrong

The person’s social media profile was very telling. In fact, I almost missed what should have been her main point. Her key claim was tacked at the end of her 160-character bio, buried in the last eleven characters. Almost as an afterthought she added: “Jesus is #1.”

Am I the only one who finds this ironic?

If Jesus is truly number one, shouldn’t he be listed first and not tucked at the very end?

Most Christians would say that they put Jesus first. It’s a great concept, but what does it really mean? How do we go about putting Jesus first in actual practicality?

Here are some ideas to consider:

Do What He Would Do

As a starting point we put Jesus first by following his example, by doing what he would do. That’s what it means to follow Jesus. I’ll talk about this in greater detail in two weeks, so be sure to come back for that.

Spend Time With Him

In theory we spend time with the people who are important to us. (Though that’s another thought deserving serious contemplation.) If Jesus is truly number one, truly important to us, we need to spend time with him. But how?

Prayer is one way. Reading the Bible is another. How about engaging in other spiritual disciplines such as fasting, observing the Sabbath, service, community, solitude, stewardship, worship…? You get it.

Have Him Walk With Us Through Life

Yes, Jesus is always with us, and therefore goes wherever we go. But let’s move this from spiritual abstraction to effective experience. What if we imagined a physical Jesus at our side as we walked through life?

He would actually go with us where we go, literally watch what we do, and really hear what we say—in everything and everyway. What aspects of where we go, what we do, and the things we say would glare as an embarrassment?

If Jesus is truly first, the answer should be nothing. But I suspect we all have some work to do in this area.

Be His Ambassador

As Jesus’s followers, we represent him to the world. We serve the role of ambassadors. Therefore our actions do not reflect us, but ultimately him.

We need to carry ourselves in a manner worthy of this high calling that he has given us. The world is watching. They’re watching us, but they’re judging him.

Make a Difference

The four biographies of Jesus—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—show us a Jesus who made a difference everywhere he went. No effort was wasted. Every action had purpose. He left a wake of changed lives. We should do the same.

If Jesus is to be number one in our lives, we have some work to do. We must move this from sentimentality to actuality. Let’s start today: Make Jesus number one in tangible ways.

As we celebrate Jesus this Christmas, let our first gift be to him: a gift of making him number one.

Merry Christmas!

Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.

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Tags follow Jesus, follower of Jesus, Jesus

Christian Living

The Bible Reminds Us of Our Heritage

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 18, 2016

Reading the Bible Helps Inform Us of Who We Are

I love reading the Bible. While the entire Bible is useful to teach us about God and inform our faith journey (2 Timothy 3:16), I particularly enjoy the stories about the people, our spiritual ancestors.

I like reading about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Job, Joseph and his brothers, Moses, Joshua, those crazy judges and faithful prophets, Ruth and Boaz, David, Solomon, Hosea, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah in the Old Testament.

The New Testament tells about Jesus, the star of the Bible. I also like my namesake, Peter, along with Luke (especially Luke), Paul, Timothy, John, and Mary.

I enjoy lessor known characters, too—those obscure people who only show up in a verse or two, like Rhoda, Lydia, John Mark, Philemon, Onesimus, Jabez, and so on.

And let’s not forget about the angels. They’re in the Bible, too. All of these characters point us to Father God and reveal who he is.

Reading about these folks fills me with awe over their faith and dismay over their failures.

I shake my head in bewilderment over their bone-headed mistakes and fist pump enthusiasm over their triumphs. I work to avoid their errors and strive to emulate their successes.

These people give me a spiritual heritage, my anchor. Collectively they have formed me into who I am today as a person and as a follower of Jesus.

These biblical ancestors have become my ancestors, perhaps even more so than those in my biological family tree.

Spiritually they are my inheritance. I don’t have an affinity with a certain branch of Jesus’s church, connect with a denomination, or adhere to a particular theological bent.

My affinity resides in these amazing, flawed folks of the Bible, their faith, and the God they worship and serve.

As such, the Bible reminds me of my heritage, of who I am.

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Tags biblical Christianity, read the Bible

Christian Living

Embracing the Rhythm of Daily Prayers

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 11, 2016

Talking to God on a Regular Basis Is Key to Life and Faith; Don’t Live Without It

The Bible talks about praying in the morning, at noon, and in the evening (Psalm 55:17 and Daniel 6:10).

Though never a biblical requirement, the idea of praying each day at 9:00 a.m., noon, and 3:00 p.m. became a regular practice for devout followers of God in both the Old and New Testaments.

In the centuries that followed, Christians upped the number to seven, praying at seven prescribed times throughout each day. I never liked the practice of the “Seven Hours of Prayer.”

The idea that I needed to pray at specific times felt too rigid. And when I have seen monks follow this, I perceived their prayers as rote recitations and ritualistic, far removed from the personal relationship that I crave with the godhead.

Yet over time I have formed my own practice of daily prayers:

Before I Rise

I see no point in getting out of bed if I haven’t invited God to spend the day with me. I share with him my plans and schedule, giving him permission to alter them. I confess my weaknesses and share my concerns.

I ask for his blessing on what I will do and for favor with people I will interact with.

Then I rise and embrace the day.

Morning Prayers

As I exercise each day (at least Sunday through Friday—I take Saturdays off), I pray for God’s blessing on family and friends. I also pray for his blessing on future generations. I follow a couple guides that itemizes godly traits and practices.

I focus on one item per day for each person on my list. After a couple months I’ve covered everything and start again with the first item.

Of course I also interject specific prayers based on what that person has told me and as the Holy Spirit prompts me.

At the Start of Work

Before my wife heads off to work, I say a prayer of blessing for her, her work, and her day. Then she does the same for me. What a difference that makes on our perspective and our work for the day.

Meals

A common Christian practice is to pray before each meal, following the example of Jesus. I like this in concept but have trouble implementing it with sincerity.

I don’t want to mumble a prayer from rote memory or speed through an obligatory invocation as I salivate for food.

I’m so vexed by my inability to give God a fresh, meaningful mealtime prayer, that I skip the attempt when I eat alone. (I wonder if I should revisit this decision.) Only when in groups do I embrace this practice.

Bedtime

Some people lay down each night, fall asleep, and wake up in the morning refreshed. I do not. I need God at night just as much as I do during the day. I ask him to bless my slumber and to corral my dreams.

I think the command to hold every thought captive applies to our nighttime dreams as much as to our daytime thoughts. I need God’s help with both. See 2 Corinthians 10:5.

During the Night

When I wake up in the middle of the night, my intent is to pray until I fall back to sleep. It usually doesn’t take much.

Note that I don’t pray that I’ll fall back asleep; I pray for other people and situations. Also prayer seems more imperative in the middle of the night, around 2:30 to 3:00.

Always

Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). While Brother Lawrence could approach this, I cannot. But I do look for opportunities to pray throughout the day. Read about my efforts to pray without ceasing.

These are my seven daily times of prayer. I’m sure my practice will continue to change over time. While I don’t expect anyone to follow my daily prayer practice, I do encourage everyone to develop their own.

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Tags prayer

Christian Living

Should We Embrace a Social Gospel?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 4, 2016
2 Comments on Should We Embrace a Social Gospel?

Though Many are Quick to Criticize the Social Gospel, We Would be Mistaken to Do So

The primary way we learn words is through divining their meaning from context and everyday usage. That’s how children learn to talk and how most adults expand their vocabulary.

We presume their meaning, deduce their function, and discern how to use them. Basically we make educated guesses. And sometimes we make a wrong conclusion. Or at least I do.

Such is the case with the term social gospel.

Whenever I heard the phrase it was with negative connotations, so I assumed it was a bad thing. That was my first error.

Next, I assumed the negativity must arise from the social half of the term, certainly not the gospel half, the good news part. I then shifted social to socialize and envisioned a church that so majored in socializing that they forgot the gospel.

As a result I assumed the social gospel was a social church that had forgotten its original purpose, morphing into a purely social organization, like a country club.

I wanted nothing to do with a country club church, so I dismissed the social gospel as meaningless. That was my second error.

As an aside, we need the social part of church. We call it community. Community is critical. Consider the directive in Hebrews to not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25).

This is a call to live in community more so than an order to go to church on Sunday morning. Also consider all the “one another” commands as a charge to pursue community.

Now back to the social gospel. I wouldn’t have shared my misunderstanding of the phrase except for the fact that I’ve met others who similarly reached the same wrong conclusion.

The social gospel, however, is actually a call to move faith beyond a personal conversion experience to help others on a grand scale, specifically through social reform.

While some Christians want to segregate the two or dismiss making an impact on the world in which we live, the Bible has other ideas.

The first half of the above verse says we are to encourage one another to love others and to do good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

Furthermore Paul tells the church in Galicia to persist in doing good (Galatians 6:9). James talks about the importance of proving our faith by what we do. He even says that faith without action is dead (James 2:14-26).

Whether we wrongly assume the social gospel is about community or rightly understand the social gospel as helping others, we need to do both.

The Bible says so.

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Tags community, gospel

Christian Living

What Are You Thankful For?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 27, 2016

Take Time to Tell God What You’re Thankful For on Thanksgiving and Every Other Day Too

The church I attended several years ago had a Thanksgiving practice of having members stand to share what they were thankful for. From my perspective this never went well, with too much silence or too much forced sharing and sometimes both.

One year a man kicked things off by saying how thankful he was for his wife, spending too much time listing her many attributes, which I perceived as overly generous exaggerations.

Though I’m sure he earned points from his beloved, his gushing made me squirm.

With the precedence set, the second man to speak did the same thing for his wife. Now we a had a pattern.

Going forward, each person—both male and female—who spoke, opened with a spousal tribute. Anyone who did not do so would surely look like a clod and risk spending the night on the couch.

This all came to mind a few days ago when church asked us to write a note of what we were thankful for.

As a writer, you’d think I’d be all over this, but I write in solitude and can’t come up with a single cogent thought when trying to write in public.

Besides, my wife was sitting next to me eyeing my blank paper. I had to list her first, right? (By the way, I am thankful for her.)

After her, I’d need to follow with all members of my immediate family. (I’m thankful for them, too.) But how far should I go?

At whatever point I stopped, the implication would be that I wasn’t thankful for the next person in my family tree. It’s a slippery slope.

Next I thought about friends: best friends, close friends, valued associates, casual acquaintances, the neighbor I wave to but haven’t yet met, the clerk at the post office, my best friend from high school who I haven’t seen in years, and that one guy I met one time who God keeps reminding me to pray for.

Where do I draw the line?

Then I thought about things. Yes, I’m thankful for them, too, but to make a list of valued possessions would paint me as materialistic. Can’t have that.

What about less tangible things: good health, a job, the ability to work, the chance to help others, having family nearby and all living in the same state, a comfortable life, and so on?

Listing these things might seem like boasting of God’s blessings on my life, thereby causing pain for others who weren’t so fortunate. I would never want that.

I was running out of time to make my list. Some people had finished theirs, but my paper was still blank. Then I came up with a great idea. What if I wrote down the one thing I am most thankful for? That might be doable.

The answer came quickly: God. But he’s the answer to most everything. I needed to be more specific. Then I found clarity: I’m thankful for the love of God.

If we have God’s love, which we do, everything else is secondary. Yes, I’m thankful for family and friends and possessions and blessings, but mostly I’m thankful that God loves me—and that God loves you, too.

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Tags holiday, thank God, Thanksgiving

Christian Living

Is Spiritual Truth More Important Than Christian Unity?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 20, 2016

Arguing Over What is True Has Divided Jesus’s Church for Centuries

I’m a huge advocate of Christian unity, that as Jesus’s followers we should all get along and live in harmony. Denominations and theological perspectives don’t matter; Jesus does.

In the book of John Jesus prays that his future followers will play nice with each other, that we will be as one.

This is so others will get to know him. In praying this Jesus realizes that discord among his people will serve as the biggest deterrent to growing his church (John 17:20-26).

Paul likewise writes that we need to strive to live in unity. He commands it (Ephesians 4:3-6). He says there is only one body; there is only one church, not 42,000 variations that we call denominations.

This disunity is the downside of the Protestant Reformation.

When I tweeted about the importance of unity, one person messaged me with the stipulation that the basis for unity must be truth. The problem with using truth as a litmus test is agreeing on what is true.

In effect this person was justifying disunity.

Specifying a requirement of truth provides an excuse to avoid being one church. Christians have used this pretext for five centuries and divided the church of Jesus into religious factions as they argued about what is true.

The Age of Enlightenment, part of the modern era, brought with it the assumption that over time, through ongoing iterations, human thought would eventually converge on a singular comprehension of truth.

This didn’t happen. The opposite occurred. Truth became multifaceted, the product of each person’s individual logic and bias.

Christians have fallen victim to this thinking over the past few centuries, with otherwise well-meaning people assuming their comprehension of spiritual truth was correct. Ergo everyone else was wrong.

As a result we have separated ourselves into denominational schisms, subverting the intended unity of God’s church in the process. How this must grieve him. It certainly grieves me.

Spiritual truth is important, but we must hold it loosely. After all, our comprehension of what is true just might be wrong, mine included.

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Tags Christianity, follower of Jesus, Jesus, Protestant Reformation, unity

Christian Living

What is Your Spiritual Litmus Test?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 6, 2016

Most Christians Carry Unexamined Criteria that Others Must Agree with Before They’re Accepted

I was once interviewed for a volunteer position at my church. The pair of interviewers cranked through a series of pre-assigned theological questions to determine my supposed worthiness to lead.

For some queries the answers were straightforward; others, not so much.

On these tougher questions, instead of responding with simplistic answers, I shared a more complex perspective, one packed with more questions but backed by biblical support.

I answered with shades of gray, but my inquisitors wanted black and white responses. I knew what they wanted to hear, but instead I was honest.

I suppose that in a sense I should have responded with the religious equivalent of political correctness.

For my candor I earned a one-on-one meeting with the senior pastor. He had five areas where he sought clarification. We worked through the first four without issue; he accepted my grayscale answers.

Though I don’t remember what it was, the fifth area was problematic. As he drilled down I realized I was at a tipping point. If I gave the pat answer he wanted to hear I was in. If I vacillated, I was out.

I wanted to serve my church in this capacity and, more importantly, I felt God had called me to do so—more succinctly, he told me to.

With only a tinge of guilt I gave the easy answer that would assure my acceptance. Pastor smiled and shook my hand. I was in. I passed his spiritual litmus test.

We all have spiritual litmus tests. Though I try not to, I know I do. So do you. Of a larger concern, churches have their litmus tests, too. These litmus tests are why our world is saddled with 42,000 Protestant denominations.

After all, if we agreed on everything there would be no reason to take the unbiblical step of separating from one another, of dividing the church that Jesus prayed would experience unity.

While most everyone draws a spiritual line in the sands of theology that cannot be crossed, none of this should matter.

Whether it’s disagreeing about baptism, communion, which version of the Bible is best, the song selection, pews or chairs, the color of the lobby, or even if men need to wear ties to church, Jesus wants us to be one.

Unity is more important than theology (and personal preference). That’s what matters most.

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Tags church, denominations, theology, unity

Christian Living

When and Where is the Kingdom of God?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 30, 2016
2 Comments on When and Where is the Kingdom of God?

Should We Consider the Kingdom of God As Our Future in Heaven or As Our Present Reality on Earth?

The Bible often talks about the Kingdom of God, sixty-eight times in all (in the NIV). Five biblical authors—Mark, Luke, John, and Paul—cover this topic in ten of the New Testament’s books.

Luke writes the most about the kingdom of God, accounting for half of the mentions.

Of course most of the teaching about God’s coming kingdom comes from Jesus himself.

Most people equate the kingdom of God with heaven, our future reward, something to anticipate in a glorious afterlife.

In reading the Bible it’s easy to understand the kingdom of God as a forthcoming event that will change everything—for the better.

As such the kingdom of God looms as our future outcome in heaven; it is valuable, something for us to pursue with glorious expectation.

Many of the verses support this understanding of the kingdom of God as something in our future, but others don’t align so nicely with that interpretation and some even confound it.

Consider Jesus saying that the kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15), with some translations, such as the International Standard Version, saying the kingdom of God is now.

While we might postulate that Jesus’s birth or his public ministry ushers in this understanding of the kingdom of God, at the “last supper” Jesus says he will not eat with his followers again until after the kingdom of God comes.

Then he dies, rises from the dead, and later shares a meal with his people, confirming that the kingdom of God has come.

So the kingdom of God comes two thousand years ago and is still here for us today. We are living in it, or at least we have the potential to.

What Jesus says about the kingdom of God and what Paul writes about it in the Bible is more than a future possibility, it is a present reality for us to live in today—we are willing.

If the kingdom of God is closer to us than heaven, it becomes a present day proposition, something for us to consider, to pursue, and to embrace in our everyday lives.

Jesus is the kingdom of God, which emerges when he rises from the dead to prove his mastery over evil. The kingdom of God is here for us to embrace now, and it’s waiting for us to experience fully after we die.

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Tags kingdom of God