Wesleyan Perspective on Justification

My twitter friend Jay Miklovic (@jmiklovic) is doing a 4-part series on justification from 4 different perspectives: Confessional Lutheran, Reformed, Wesleyan, and "Outlaw Preacher" on his blog. He asked me to write the Wesleyan perspective, which I invite you to check out and the 3 other perspectives and share your thoughts, either here or there. Let us know what you think.

Messy Spirituality || The Messiness of Life

This is part 1 of my sermon series from the month of January inspired by the book of the same name, "Messy Spirituality" by Mike Yaconelli. As always, I enjoy your feedback.


Regardless of what anyone says, life is messy and we all have messes in our lives. Anyone that tells you otherwise is in denial and/or a liar. Sometimes the mess is one of our own making through something we did or didn't do, said or didn't say. Other times we are thrust into the mess by the actions or inaction of someone else. Either way we find ourselves faced with the messiness of life and how to deal with it.

More often than not we try to manage the mess ourselves and at times fail miserably, making it even worse. We attempt to pickup pieces that have been scattered on the floor and put them back together but can't seem to make them fit. Many of us struggle with being too busy. We lose our focus on the things that matter by allowing ourselves to be distracted by things that matter less and the next thing we know, we find ourselves with a mess. Broken relationships, failures at work, a spiritual life that seems non-existent...just a few of the messes we might be experiencing.

The good news is the messiness of life does not disqualify you from being spiritual. It's not as much about perfection as it is about connection. Jesus gives us the example of perfection knowing that we fall short of it on a daily basis and still invites us into relationship with Him. Think for a second about the people Jesus hung out with, it seems as though the implications of Jesus' ministry is that anyone can be spiritual, regardless of their mess.

Is it possible the first step to an authentic spiritual life is admitting the mess? What if the messiness of life is the place where this authentic spirituality is shaped and practiced? Could it be that following Jesus is messy?

Your Year for Social Media?

Have you started "tweeting" yet? What are you waiting for? Perhaps 2011 will be the year you look to engage the wonderful world of social media. A couple thoughts on that...

Social Media (aka "SM", might include sites like: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, YouTube, Digg, blogs, etc.) is everywhere and used in lots of different ways. Whether you're a grandparent or a '20 something', use it for business or personal, these are 3 tips I suggest keeping in mind when engaging social media.

1. Be Yourself
a. Don't try to be someone or something you're not.
b. Strive for authenticity & genuineness.
c. If you're not an expert, don't feel like you have to be one (or worse yet, claim to be one).

2. Be Social
a. The point of social media is connection so don't be afraid to engage the content of others, you get out of it when you put into it (my dad use to tell me that when I would whine about church growing up).
b. Try to avoid being a "lurker" (one who follows or reads other people's tweets, blogs, facebooks, etc but never interacts).
c. Remember, quality over quantity. Don't sweat it if you only have a few Twitter followers or a handful of LinkedIn connections. Having quality people interact with your content is key and in turn can create quality social networks.
d. Provide content that others will find interesting or want to engage with...but don't force it!
e. Depending on what you are looking to get out of social media, try to be disciplined in providing content on a regular basis...but remember, (c.) quality over quantity.

3. Be Smart
a. This should be a "no-brainer" but NEVER post things like social security numbers, passwords, etc etc.
b. Avoid engaging the content of others that you in turn do not wish to engage your content.
c. Social media can, at times, be somewhat addictive. Establish boundaries to keep it from replacing face-to-face relationships.
d. Some people are very open and vulnerable in their interaction with social media, which in itself is fine. However, don't ever post anything, whether personal or business, that you do not want to be read by your boss, parents, friends, co-workers, church, etc. Social media can be personal but it is not private. For example: 1 time I had a post from my twitter account (@mattlipan) that was published in the magazine "Family Circle" (8/09 issue) that I was not aware of until one of my co-workers pointed it out after reading it. Post and engage content with the mindset that it will be read by the world, because it's better to be safe than sorry.

What tips do you have or use for engaging social media?

2011

Happy New Year!!

What things are you looking forward to in 2011?

What do you plan on doing differently than 2010?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

~2 Corinthians 5:17

The Xmas Story Through a Social Media Lens

Thoughts? Love it? Hate it?

The Example of the Magi

"They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route."

~Matthew 2:11-12 (CEB)

The quest of the magi had finally brought them to the place where the newborn king lay with his mother Mary. They had come all this way and talked with handfuls of people to find him so they might honor him with gifts fit for a king. These men were different from the Jews in the area; they were Gentiles who possessed a completely different heritage and worldview…and yet, when they saw Jesus, they fell to their knees in worship.

|| Could it be that the birth of Christ might be a way to break through the barriers of class, race and religion and bring the outsider in? ||

Having seen the light from the star the magi had no choice but to respond to the divine initiative. Compelled to act, they gathered supplies for a potentially lengthy journey bringing with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their response was one of generosity, humility and honor.

|| Does the birth of Christ compel you to respond? How? ||

|| What might become of Advent if we were to give ourselves as gifts of worship to the newborn king? ||

*I am humbled to have been asked to write this post as part of the 2010 Advent Blog Tour featuring the Common English Bible (read here to win a free copy). 25 bloggers over 25 days highlighting 25 passages from the CEB. This post is day 22.

Jesus: the man

I had put together an Advent sermon series that was going to talk about 5 different aspects of the person of Jesus...and then our son Theo decided to begin his arrival on the 1st weekend of Advent which forced me to rework by series a little as I missed the first 2 weeks of Advent. Over the next week or so you will see a condensed version highlighting 3 aspects of Jesus: his humanity, his divinity and him as a baby. Right now we'll focus on the humanity of Jesus.

You might recall a story from back in the day about a group of people called the Israelites who spent about 40yrs camping in the wilderness? It was during this time that God really wanted them to know that they were His people, He was their God and that His presence would be with them. So He told this guy named Moses to get the people to build a place where He could dwell among them and so they built Him a tabernacle. Fast forward hundreds of years later...

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us (John 1:14)

In "church" language we call this the Incarnation, the union of humanity with divinity in the person of Jesus. About this Carlo Carretto (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors) writes

The Incarnation brings the world his presence. It is a presence so complete that it overshadows every presence before it.
God is made human in Christ. God makes himself present to us with such a special presence, such an obvious presence, as to overthrow all the complicated calculations made about him in the past.
“The invisible, intangible God has made himself visible and tangible in Christ."

~From The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto

As we continue on this Advent journey toward the manger I think it is important we keep in mind the significance of the humanity of Jesus. The idea that God came in real flesh and blood in the form of Jesus changed everything and we cannot afford to miss weight of this event in human history.

I find it meaningful that Jesus as a human...

...faced temptation. (40 days of fasting in the wilderness being tempted by the devil himself and still not giving in, as a human being)

...suffered. (The events surrounding His crucifixion are enough to turn anyone's stomach, all of which He endured and experienced as a human being. Can you even begin to imagine that pain?)

...experienced death. (He died as a human in order to conquer death as a human so that all of humanity might live. Hebrews 2:5-18)

...has empathy. (This is the Christmas story of hope, joy, peace, love because we know we serve a God who can empathize with us, who has been there and done that. Hebrews 4:14-16)

...understands. (I am reminded of how upset Jesus was at the death of His friend Lazarus. He understands what it is like to feel pain and hurt, to suffer loss as a human being. John 11:17-36)

...connects humanity with the Divine. (If Jesus was not truly human than this whole thing is pointless but as a human He gives humanity a chance. Romans 8:3)

CEB Giveaway

Right now, as you read this, there is an Advent Blog Tour taking place for the Common English Bible, which I have been asked to be a part of. Not only do I have the opportunity to write one of the 25 blog posts during Advent but the great people at Abingdon Press have given me 3 brand new copies of the Common English translation of the New Testament to give away FREE.

Here's how you can enter to win a copy:

1. Follow me on Twitter (@mattlipan) and link to this post. Be sure to mention me so I can keep track of your entry. This counts as 1 entry.

2. Comment on this post by talking about what the Christmas story means to you. This counts as 1 entry.

*the max # of entries is 2 if you do both of these.
**the winners will be selected at random.

A New Look at Advent

ad·vent: a coming into being

Advent is a season of anticipation, excitement and wonder. A time of year when patience is truly a virtue and waiting is something to be expected. I enjoy the season of Advent because it reminds us of our need to slow down as we hope for things to come. I believe hope is one of the key aspects of this season, all of which stems from the birth of a baby a long time ago named Jesus, who changed everything.

I gained a new perspective on this season we call Advent with the birth of my son just 2 days ago. Never have I waited for so long with so much anticipation, excitement and anxiety. After 2 years of trying, 9 months of growing and 21 hours of labor, it is hard to believe he has finally arrived. Now having a better understanding of how Mary & Joseph must have felt at the coming of Jesus has provided me with a new way of looking at Advent, not only as a parent but as a world that waits for hope to come into being. Much like a little baby.

24hrs of Fatherhood

Some of you might be aware that my son, Theodore James Lipan, was born yesterday (11/30) at exactly 5:56pm. He weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19 3/4" long. He has been "out and about" for over 24hrs now and here's a couple things I've learned so far...

-A clean, dry diaper can make all the difference

-Eating, sleeping, and getting cleaned is not a bad way to spend 24hrs

-Sleep is a hot commodity

-The birthing process is truly a miracle

-The level of sensitivity to sounds increases 100 fold

-Breasts are well designed and quite utilitarian

-Swaddling a newborn is truly an art

-Despite their size, newborns can EAT A LOT

I'm looking forward to much more that Theo is going to teach me in the many days to come. What things have you learned from parenthood?

Thanks A Lot!

This time of year we hear a lot about all of the things we have to be thankful for but sometimes life has us saying, "Thanks for NOTHING!" We find ourselves in situations we never asked for or dealing with circumstances (sometimes through our own choices and sometimes not) that leave us feeling scared, anxious and doubtful. Is it possible to be thankful even when life doesn't make sense? I think it just might be.

Let's take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and see if we can break it down into manageable parts.

Rejoice always…
-The idea of being joyful always sounds like a fantasy world
-It's important to recognize there is a difference between joy and happiness
-Happiness is fleeting; joy is deep
-True joy comes from a consistent relationship with Christ which helps us maintain consistency despite life's crushing lows or deceptive highs
-Psalm 31:7
-These ups and downs are meant to be shared within a community (1 Corinthians 12:25-27), if you don't have one, find one

Pray without ceasing…
-For some of us, we think of praying as the thing that happens when our heads are bowed, eyes are closed and hands are folded and only then
-Prayer is attitude over posture
-What if prayer is simply keeping God in mind?
-The early disciples were devoted to prayer
-Do not underestimate the power of prayer (James 5:14-16)
-We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. When a man is at his wits' end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with Reality. ~Oswald Chambers
-I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. ~Abraham Lincoln

Give thanks in all circumstances…
-You're kidding right Paul?? This seems absolutely impossible
-Everyone knows hard times will come
-We have the hope that God can create something out of nothing; turn dead ends into open doors
-In my opinion this is easily one of the most difficult aspects of discipleship, giving thanks when it doesn’t make sense or even when it hurts
-I think this is part of the reason Jesus said the gate is small and the road narrow
-The ability to give thanks despite the circumstances comes down to a trust issue, believing that God is truly in control

...this is God's will for you through Christ.
-This is God's desire for you and you don't have to do it alone...because you can't.

A Thankful Perspective

When I present you with a spiritual gift, remember that it still belongs to Me. When I take something away from you, I take nothing that really belongs to you, because I own every good and perfect gift. If I send you suffering, if I send you any kind of a cross at all, refuse to complain, refuse to lose courage. I can come quickly to your rescue; I can translate your heavy heart to a light heart. Remember this when I deal with you like this.

~Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Something Different

The holidays are right around the corner and if we’re not careful we’ll find ourselves buried beneath all of the hustle and bustle before too long. If you’re anything like me, whenever this time of year rolls around you begin to wonder if this year could be something different. Between the lists, parties, traffic, bills, exchanges…we end up spending so much of our time doing things we’d really rather not do. Then our holidays become nothing more than a frenzied attempt of managing an already stressful and busy work, family and social schedule.

What happened to the whole peace, love, and joy thing? Since when did the Christmas season become a season of stress, debt and exhaustion? As I think about the Christmas story as told in the Gospels, I realize that for many of us, the holiday season needs to become something different. I’m not suggesting we throw out our family traditions or stop buy gifts altogether but perhaps one less gift or maybe think about how and where we spend our time.

So the following are just a few suggestions I’m throwing out there, take what you want and send the others right back…

1. Consider how others (and yourself) deal with change.
-Some people thrive on change, while others avoid it like the plague. Be sensitive to each when suggesting a change in your or your family’s holiday routine.
-When it comes to traditions, change can be a tricky thing so be careful.

2. Start small.
-Don’t stop buying gifts altogether but instead maybe buy/spend less.
-Take some time to think about which gifts you are going to ask for and why. Could you do with 1 (…or 2, 3, 8, 12…) less gift?
-Come up with creative ways to stay small because remember it’s not about the amount of money the gifts cost.

3. Think about the way you spend.
-This is more than just about spending $, but asking ourselves how we spend our time. Time is such a precious thing isn’t it? And it seems like we have less and less of it during the Christmas season. Is that how it should be?
-What if you spent more time with loved ones and less time in traffic? What if you spent more time with family and less $ on gifts for them?

Christmas gives us a beautiful story to tell, one that talks about things like peace, joy and hope…NOT stress, credit card bills or being exhausted. Perhaps this Christmas season could be something different. The way we “celebrate” the holidays tells a story, we just have to decide which one we’ll choose to tell.

False Alarms

The past couple nights have been perfect weather for sleeping with the windows open. In with the cool breeze comes the sounds of the neighborhood, which is typically quite quiet. Shortly after 6am this morning I was awakened by the sound of a car alarm going off a few blocks away. Like most of us, I'm guessing, I rolled over and ignored it waiting for my "real" alarm to start the day.

This got me thinking on my drive into the office...

How many times a day do we hear a car alarm going off somewhere? How many times have we gone to check on that alarm? I'll be honest, I have never gone to investigate the reason for a car alarm going off. I have always made the assumption that someone accidentally set it off or simply couldn't remember where he or she parked. This is somewhat odd isn't it? It seems as though the point of an alarm is to draw attention to itself, hence the reason we are told to hit the 'panic' button when we find ourselves in a scary situation so we might receive help.

I wonder how often we miss (or maybe just ignore) the "alarms" going off in people's lives around us. Do we see or hear the warning signs but choose to look the other way or assume it's nothing more than a false alarm? I pray that you and I might become more aware of the cries for help all around us.

Up To Speed

Obviously you have noticed by now that I have been a little slow in updating my blog on a regular basis, sorry about that. I wanted to catch you up to speed on what's been happening in my life recently...

-This Thursday will be the beginning of week 33 of our pregnancy. We have been fortunate (and I understand we both have been) that my wife has been feeling quite well throughout. As we get closer to the Dec. 2nd due date, her back and feet are starting to get sore but we hear that comes with the territory. We are currently working on names for our son, feel free to offer suggestions but don't be hurt if we think they're lame...j/k...no, but seriously.

-I am continuing to chip away at my 96 credit hour Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. This semester is particularly brutal as I am taking a Greek class and an inductive Bible study class through the Minor Prophets. Perhaps needless to say, the workload is decent.

-I continue to be involved with the launching of our Saturday Evening Contemporary service called Renovate. You can read about some of the history of this service here. If you have come by to check it out, we would love to hear your feedback. You can visit Renovate's Facebook page and click the feedback tab to share your thoughts. If you haven't stopped by on Saturday nights @6pm in the Castleton UMC sanctuary, maybe you should?

-Over the past month and a half I have been serving as the lead pastor for our Sunrise Campus located at 75th & Oaklandon. This congregation truly has the feel of family and is excited to continue to look for ways to reach into its surrounding community. With a few changes we have in the works and the support of the Sunrise congregation I am excited with them to see how God might use us in the Geist and Oaklandon areas of Indianapolis. We currently run 2 services on Sunday mornings on this campus, a 9am traditional and 10:30 contemporary. We have a combined service at 10am planned for Nov. 7th to celebrate Communion with a pitch-in meal to follow the service. No doubt it will be a good time with some good food.

Of course, there are other things going on but these will bring you up to speed. My goal is to get back to blogging fairly regularly but to be honest, that has been my goal all along so we'll see how that goes. I would enjoy the chance to connect with you if we haven't already, Facebook or Twitter will probably be the best bet to start. Thanks for being here, for reading and for supporting this blog. Look for more to come.

On Pascha

O mystifying murder! O mystifying injustice!
The master is obscured by his body exposed,
and is not held worthy of a veil to shield him from view.
For this reason the great lights turned away,
And the day was turned to darkness;
To hide the one denuded on the tree,
Obscuring not the body of the Lord but human eyes.
For when the people did not tremble, the earth shook.
When the people did not fear, the heavens were afraid.
When the people did not rend their garments, the angel rent his own.
When the people did not lament, the Lord thundered from heaven,
And the most high gave voice ...
The Lord clothed himself with humanity,
And with suffering on behalf of the suffering one,
And bound on behalf of the one constrained,
And judged on behalf of the one convicted,
And buried on behalf of the one entombed,
Rose from the dead and cried out aloud:
"Who takes issue with me? Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned.
I gave life to the dead.
I raise up the entombed.
Who will contradict me?"
"It is I," says the Christ,
"I am he who destroys death,
and triumphs over the enemy,
and crushed Hades,
and binds the strong man,
and bears humanity off of the heavenly lights."
"It is I," says the Christ.
"So come all families of people,
adulterated with sin,
and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of Salvation,
I am the lamb slaughtered for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
There shall I show you the everlasting Father."

~St. Melito of Sardis, On Pascha

#ChurchWORDS - Worship

We started a new sermon series at Renovate (our Saturday Evening Contemporary Service you can read about here) entitled #ChurchWORDS (which you can read about here) a couple weeks ago. Here is my sermon outline from the fourth sermon in this series from 9/11.

***********************************************************
#ChurchWORDS - Worship
Psalm 95:5-7

The Hebrew word for worship describes it in these ways...

(fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully

serve by carrying out religious duties

religious service, worship (of God)

"When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without
heart." ~Lamar Boschman

God must be the object of our worship
-God alone is worthy of worship
-Deuteronomy 6:13 says to “serve him only”
-The 1st of 10 commandments is to have no other gods
-"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." ~C.S. Lewis
-Worship is humbly recognizing it is not about me, which allows us to worship on a day like 9/11 or when life doesn’t make sense
-Keeping God as the focus of our worship keeps us from worshiping our traditions

Worship begins in our hearts
-Worship must be sincere
-Isaiah 29:13
-2 Kings 17:40-41

Our life is the action of our worship
-Romans 12:1
-This means worship can happen anywhere at anytime
-Worship is serving, and as Jesus said, “whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me”
-"As worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. Holy obedience saves worship from becoming an opiate, an escape from the pressing needs of modern life." ~Richard Foster

#ChurchWORDS - Sin

We started a new sermon series at Renovate (our Saturday Evening Contemporary Service you can read about here) entitled #ChurchWORDS (which you can read about here) a couple weeks ago. Here is my sermon outline from the third sermon in this series from 9/4.

*********************************************************
#ChurchWORDS - Sin
Romans 7:14-20
Romans 5:12, 15, 20-21

“…every sin is the distortion of an energy breathed into us – an energy which, if not thus distorted, would have blossomed into one of those holy acts whereof “God did it” and “I did it” are both true descriptions. Killing a melody He would play with us as the instrument.” ~CS Lewis

“Any disposition contrary to the mind which was in Christ.” ~John Wesley

James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”

We ask that question all the time don’t we? We ask it in a different way these days. We talk about “right or wrong,” “good or bad,” but rarely use the word ‘sin’. Why is that? Is it dated? Has it become trivial or silly?

There are times when Paul views ‘sin’ as an invading power…so I thought I would say a little more about it.

Sin is anything that interferes with our relationship with God
-Relationships, jobs, church...these things aren’t bad.
-Loving my wife is a good thing but not if I love her more than God.

We need to stop thinking about sin in terms of bad vs good or right vs wrong.
-This leads us to think that anything that is good is not sin.
-Who decides what is good or not? Typically you and I do, right? So that means that anything that I think seems good or feels good is obviously not sin.

Have thoughts on SIN? Share away...

#ChurchWORDS - Church

We started a new sermon series at Renovate (our Saturday Evening Contemporary Service you can read about here) entitled #ChurchWORDS (which you can read about here) a couple weeks ago. Here is my sermon outline from the second sermon in this series from 8/28.

***********************************************************
#ChurchWORDS - Church

Let's start with a question: What comes to mind when you hear the word 'church'?

Building?
Denomination?
Worship?
A specific time on a specific day?
Obligation?

Ephesians 4:1-6
Here Paul speaks of the unity of the Church (notice the capital 'C' which signifies the universal Christian church) that is found in the Oneness of the Triune God...Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Sometimes, however, people mistake Jesus for the Church, which can lead to hurt and frustration because Jesus is perfect and well, since the Church is made up of you and me, it is not perfect. We saw this mistake most recently with author Anne Rice who declared that she had "quit Christianity" because of her struggles with the Church.

This leads me to point out a couple things the Church IS and IS NOT.
Acts 2:42-47

1. Church IS NOT a building
Church IS where the lives of individuals intersect
*In order to be the Church, we must be intentional about coming together to worship, study and pray
*I like to think of it as living the life of a disciple of Jesus together

2. Church IS NOT a place to consume
Church IS a place of shared passion and purpose
*This leads to a willingness and desire to serve others
*In a culture that reminds us on a daily basis we are the consumer, this mindset can slip into the way we live out the Church
*Church has to be more than a social club, something must made us different

3. Church IS NOT about the individual
Church IS a family
*“Where 2 or 3 are gathered” (Matthew 18:20)
*You cannot be the Church in isolation, or a Christian for that matter
*I believe Jesus intends his Church to be a place of support, encouragement and community; a place where one can share the highs and the lows of life knowing there is love to be found in this family

A Prayer of Doctor Johnson

Almighty and most merciful Father, whose clemency I now presume to implore, after a long life of carelessness and wickedness, have mercy upon me. I have committed many trespasses; I have neglected many duties. I have done what Thou hast forbidden, and left undone what Thou hast commanded. Forgive, merciful Lord, my sins, negligences, and ignorances, and enable me, by the Holy Spirit, to amend my life according to thy Holy Word, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

~From Doctor Johnson's Prayers edited by Elton Trueblood