Tuesday, June 06, 2023
Book Review: Being God's Image by Carmen Joy Imes
Carmen once again brings meaning and mission together in new light from texts and concepts that we thought we all had figured out. Turns out, there is still a lot to learn about who we are as humans. And that's a good thing, because as we learn more about who we are and whose we are, we are ushered forward in practical, kingdom glorifying ways. And that is one of the things I loved most about this book, in that while it packs an incredible scholarly-biblical-theology-punch, it also doesn't just leave you at the end thinking "oh that was really nice, I learned something" but rather helps you have meaningful conversations and engage with people in a more godly way and provides vision and hope for the purpose of it all. Scholars should read this, pastors should read this, but so should everyone. I loved this closing line "the Bible invites us into a dramatically different quality of life, a beloved community in which we can know God and one another as we are truly known."
<https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/117414563-blake-widmer
Monday, May 15, 2023
Book Review: "Why the Gospel?" by Matthew Bates
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5552652530
For a number of years our community has been searching for and utilizing Biblical theology frameworks for knowing who we are as humans, what God wants of us and to what purpose it all points. Bates' previous work has been helpful material sewn into our community's tapestry of understanding and now with his latest work, "Why the Gospel?" another thread has been woven in that brings additional clarity and telos. You know when you're making up the bed sheets (ok, I'm not the best husband so I admit I do this rarely) or folding the sheets, its always super helpful for the top sheet to find the little embroidered end that says "hey, put me at the head of the bed". It helps you orient the sheet so you aren't putting it on the bed with the head at the foot, or upside down, etc. "Why the Gospel" helps us orient everything. We might still have a few wrinkles to work out as his and others' scholarship trickles through the academy and the pews, but I truly believe this "why" angle on the Gospel will have lasting positive orientation for the church. It was a new way of asking gospel questions, and a helpful guide to get us around typical snags. Some of Bates' earlier books might be seen as more contentious and piercing of long-held paradigms, which in my opinion was necessary and good. This book however has a different feel to it and might just be more comfortable for a wider audience to snuggle up with, read, re-think and appreciate. My analogy is breaking down, it might be time for a nap. I couldn't put this book down until I'd finished it!
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Book Review: Deep Peace by Todd Hunter
While being an accessible, easy-reading book and often feeling like a journal, Deep Peace still managed to hit on some solid theological underpinnings for finding, receiving and walking the gift of Peace. Overall, it was worth reading and although I'd recommend it for a new believer, a teenager and college small groups, it has some nuggets for all readers. I especially appreciated chapter 7 "an apprentice to Jesus in Peace" -- because it truly is discipleship. Jesus was always walking in peace and He taught us to pick up our cross and follow him. It's counter-cultural and it takes a lot of work. Yes it is as simple as receiving the gift of Peace and so it is not by our own might or works, but that process of us receiving His peace is via the road to calvary, it is cruciform. I would buy this book just for chapter 7 and you should too! My second favorite chapter was 15, "loving the other", which shows us that the way to peace is the way of inclusion.
Monday, August 16, 2021
Book Review: The Gospel Precisely by Matthew Bates (perfect for small group)
Gospel Precisely met and exceeded my hopes and I am confident it will be a very relevant and practical tool for getting more people thinking biblically about a royal and cosmic gospel. Being able to read it in an hour is important for engaging those who might not get through a longer book, it is small and think and will not intimidate. It is very readable as well. I really appreciated the structure utilizing "5 key questions and answers", this provides an excellent framework for breaking the down into pre-organized teaching segments. The "response to the Gospel" section was very concise and clear, because everlasting resurrection life really comes down to response and this keeps it simple and focused!! Also I resonated a lot with the closing section entitled "tips for testifying to the Gospel today" and sensed tremendous wisdom in what "to say" and what "not to say or at least be more careful if you say it"....this advice is timely for me as I think about these conversations in my own circles. Reclaiming a first century apostolic proclamation of the full gospel good-news is paramount for the church today, and this simple, concise and easy to follow book will be an effective tool for all of us to synthesize, embed and share.
Get your copy for less than $10 here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Book Review: 7 Things I wish Christians Knew about their Bible by Michael Bird.
Book Description:
Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible is a short and readable introduction to the Bible--its origins, interpretation, truthfulness, and authority.
Bible scholar, prolific author, and Anglican minister Michael Bird helps Christians understand seven important "things" about this unique book:
- how the Bible was put together;
- what "inspiration" means;
- how the Bible is true;
- why the Bible needs to be rooted in history;
- why literal interpretation is not always the best interpretation;
- how the Bible gives us knowledge, faith, love, and hope; and
- how Jesus Christ is the center of the Bible.
Seven Things presents clear and understandable evangelical account of the Bible's inspiration, canonization, significance, and relevance in a way that is irenic and compelling. It is a must read for any serious Bible reader who desires an informed and mature view of the Bible that will enrich their faith.
Now my personal take on this book is that it was excellent, very easy to read and should be read by all "regular" folk. If someone has extensively studied scripture, then this book is likely just a bunch of head nodding and not needed, but it is packaged so concisely that it would also serve as an excellent resource book. My one critique of the book is that I think it used a text from Luke 22 in an unhelpful way, but it wasn't a glaring issue and it's also probably a point that many people would disagree with me. Right before the last supper and Jesus going to the garden and Peter defending him against the temple guards with his sword (cutting off the guard's ear), there is an interesting exchange where Jesus tells his disciples to "sell their cloaks and buy a sword" -- This gets used by people to justify war and violence, which is the antithesis of the Kingdom of Peace and it's Prince and King. The statement by Jesus is playing on the "2 sword tradition" of second temple Jewish culture which idealized the Genesis account of Simeon and Levi avenging their sister Dinah's abusers. This later got played up in the Maccabean revolt and their zealotry in defending the covenant. Anyways my point is that Bird uses this text as an example in his section about how to properly understand some difficult passages. It's not really that I disagree with his point, but how he frames it an unknowing reader will actually presume that Jesus is condoning violence and we just need to not worry about that being relevant to today. No. That is not what Jesus is doing. I appreciate Bird's effort to defend the Bible, but in this situation the words of Jesus do not need defended. They are true and they are NOT violent. He strips Peter of all violence of the sword just a few paragraphs later. Anyways, other than that though, I thought the book was excellent and highly recommend.
Find it here at booksellers everywhere:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Things-Christians-about-Bible/dp/0310538858
Barnes & Noble*: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seven-things-i-wish-christians-knew-about-the-bible-michael-f-bird/1138507536
ChristianBook.com: https://www.christianbook.com/seven-things-christians-knew-about-bible/michael-bird/9780310538851/pd/538851
Books·A·Million*: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Seven-Things-Wish-Christians-Knew/Michael-F-Bird/9780310538851
Wednesday, May 05, 2021
Book Review: Liberty For All by Andrew T. Walker
In this thought-provoking and circumspect thesis, Andrew ties together many strands of theological, historical and philosophical thought to making a compelling case that Religious Liberty must truly be for all, because it is the design in which God has created this world and the freedom He has given to humanity to seek His face and know Him, even as we are known. I really appreciated the eschatological basis, the already and not yet, as it tied in both our assurance and our future hope into the importance of religious liberty. We lament at the brokenness around us, yes, but for the joy set before us we utilize every moment to share the good news that there is a King reigning from on high, and He is reconciling all things to Himself.
Perhaps due to book length and the main thesis, this topic was not able to be addressed in fulness, however the main issue I had was the glancing affirmation and approval of Christ-followers pursuing public office and seats of political power. Personally I think there is strong biblical and theological grounds for abstaining from taking office or "running" for office. The author seems to endorse and support Christians taking office, but in my opinion does not seriously ask the questions of "should this even be so, and if not, why not?" However, the overall theme of the book did not detract from but even gave further ground to a claim of not being involved in politics, so perhaps it was simply wisdom (whether Andrew's or the publisher) to not open the can of worms too much.
Overall a great read and I highly recommend to any one who is concerned about the so-called "erosion" of religious liberty in the west. As my previous post mentioned, we often think of America as "the land of the free and defenders of religious liberty" and while that claim certainly has grounds to stand on, the government of Iowa just 100 years ago made it illegal for our brethren to worship God in their own churches, and during covid19 we have all seen how God works even in the midst of the government closing access to buildings. So....let's not be so quick to arbitrarily think America has always had it all together, or to think it is all bad and sinister. Don't throw the baby out with the bathe water, but don't think the tub is the essential thing either. You can get clean a lot of ways.
Sunday, April 25, 2021
The Gift of Language is the Bridge to Reconciliation
Recently we had some conversations amongst our HarvestCall team that really made me think deeply about language and our own Apostolic history of having German language suppressed in the US during WWI, particularly events in our Iowa churches in 1918. I’ll share below and also attach a couple files (if I can't attach them, message me and I can email you if you're interested). Certainly don’t feel obligated to read through it all. I’m kinda fired up about this topic right now, so my apologies (disclaimer might be the better word, I’m really not sorry) in advance if this goes long. It has been good for me to put my thoughts down on paper even if no one reads them. (thanks to my wife and Amakeda for reading them!) 🙂
First, we have to have our responses to brokenness in society and to our fellow man grounded in the truth that all mankind is made in the image of God. We must then recognize that we, as image bearers, are made and designed for relationship, namely with God, self, others and creation. From Gen 3-6 we see a continual increase in the fracturing of all those relationships. God sends worldwide judgement through the form of water, lifting up and saving Noah’s family and judging the rest of creation, leading to new birth. Noah is given the same edict as Adam and Eve, to be fruitful and multiple and carry God’s stewardship of all 4 relationships outward. Instead, he ends up naked and ashamed (a la Gen 3) and then his descendants gathered in the east in the plain of Shinar and built a tower, trying to make their own name great and actively resisting God’s desire for them to spread out. So God disinherited and divided mankind from there, placing them under the authority of sons of God (Deut 4/8/32, Psalm 82), forming the basis of what we call “table of 70 nations” scattered throughout the ancient world. From out of all nations God then chose one new man, Abraham, and promised Abraham that through his seed (that is, Christ, as Paul explains in Gal 3:16) all nations would be regathered and blessed. This message of separation and reconciliation is woven throughout all the scriptures. Adam was not good to be alone. Out of the one become two so that the two could become one and produce more of God’s blessings. Abraham’s election was not so that others would be excluded but that all could be blessed and reconciled to inclusion in the family of God. Joseph was excluded by his brothers, but this led to his family's salvation, blessing and making God’s name known to others (see Gen 50:19-21).
The next part of the story takes a dramatic turn, as Exodus 1:7-9 tell us that the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel and Joseph) were “fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied”. However, there was a new Pharaoh in town and he did not know the story of Joseph and the good works of these people who spoke a different language, and feared them (this will be important later). Oppression carried on for generations until God raised up Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. What we often miss in the story is the explicit detail in Exodus 12:38 that it was a “mixed multitude” that went out from Egypt. The word for “mixed multitude” is ʿēreb which means “foreigner” (our English word arab). In the Lexham Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible this is defined as "a person who comes from a foreign country who does not owe allegiance to your country; frequently of someone who does not speak one’s native tongue." So we see that the oppression of God’s people led to the including of foreigners, and that God blesses communities that work together despite their different languages. When two become one God’s purposes are being fulfilled. One might say that our Creator God loves to reconcile, and that reconciliation is the very nature of love.
The picture the first two books of the Bible present to us is that God desires to dwell with His people in His good creation, and this will be accomplished by His image bearers bearing His image as He intends, in trust and obedience, by stewarding the good creation He has given to them. How do we do this? Micah 6:8 summarizes it well "He hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” All of this is done in light of who He is in nature, described to us in Exodus 34:6-7. It is important to note that this passage on the nature of God is the single most recited verse throughout the entire Old Testament (ergo, it "might" be important!).
At the end of Exodus 40 it seems like such a perfect end to the story, as at the completion of the long journey of exodus Moses builds the tabernacle and, in verse 33 it says “so Moses finished the work.” This is a direct quote from Genesis 2:2 when God finished his work of creation. What did God do (Gen 2:1-4) after he finished?
a) God rested in shalom (peace and blessing) of the 7th day; and
b) God rested in unity with His creation.
This is what we expect to see in the next line of Exodus 40:34 and we see part (a), as the glory of the Lord rests on and fills the tabernacle (the building fitly framed together for its purpose of being the dwelling place of God’s presence) but then we get to part (b) in verse 35 and there is a horrible problem….Moses was NOT ABLE TO ENTER the tent of the congregation, because of the fearful glory of the Lord filled the temple. This is not how the story is supposed to go, God is supposed to dwell with His people in partnership of caring for His good creation! (see Revelation 21-22)
Enter the reconciling story of Jesus. This is the work of Jesus; in his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, descent in the form of the Holy Spirit and His soon coming bodily return. Revelation 21:3 says “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” We live presently as citizens of a Kingdom not of this world, and while walking in light of His past resurrection and the giving of new life by the power of the Holy Spirit, we also await the fulness of His Kingdom in the future. Therefore we should
a) with steadfast hope look towards that day (just as Abraham did, Hebrews 11:10), while also
b) never forgetting to look back to the work of Jesus that made this hope attainable, all the while
c) orienting ourselves in the middle (of future hope and past purchase) seeing that there is purpose today in my actions by means of the (down-payment) Holy Spirit.
It is future, past and present. I think this is why Paul says in Phil 1:20 "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” And later in verse 23 "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”
I say all this to lay the groundwork for our HarvestCall team focusing on the "ministry of reconciliation". We truly believe that this is the work God has set before the body of Christ (because of the past work of Christ and in light of the future glory), to be participants and co-laborers with God NOW in reconciling relationships; God with man, man with man, man with self and creation with man. (2 Cor 5)
Now the next step is to understand the dynamics of those four relationships and what causes their brokenness. If you want to go more in-depth on this, attached (or email me) is a PDF excerpt from “When Helping Hurts” that goes through the condition of man and the broken society in which we live; in summary, it is the four relationships broken and at enmity because of these three things; 1) broken image bearers 2) broken systems and 3) there are also spiritual beings to whom God gave existence and they have also entered into broken relationship and rebellion against their Creator (Deut 32 / Psalm 82 / 89), and they in a mysterious way (see Ephesians 1-3 or 1 Cor 2:6-8) that is not all clear to us, are also opposed to God dwelling in rest and unity with His creation. (See HWH attachment)
We are called then, as ambassadors of Christ, to share the good news that there is a King, Jesus the Christ, reigning over the earth and above all heavenly powers, and He gives us new life in the Spirit (Eph 4) so that we can carry onward and outward the blessings of reconciliation that are available to all nations, tribes and tongues (Daniel 7:13-14).
The brokenness gets messy though, and it is often hard to navigate what is true reconciliation (narrow gate) and what is just a mirage of the real thing (wide gate). So, what I am about to share is not to say that all elements of current trends towards “wokeness or social justice or cancel culture” are the real thing. There are certainly many mirages out there. What is important is for us to recognize is that each situation has its own context, and what words are helpful for true reconciliation in one instance may not be the same in another context (see James 3), but what is helpful in every context is the Word of God rightly divided and applied, which is Wisdom that comes from above. Broadly categorizing any action or statement as "without merit because it is part of a social thing that we don't agree with" is not the way of reconciliation. That is the way of dismissal. This is why being grounded in the image of God and our need to be reconciled to Him such that we have the full blessing overflow into all other relationships is of utmost importance. It is why the Gospel is relevant in every context. It is the Word. It is Wisdom.
Here is the story that our Jamaica team shared with some of the brothers from HarvestCall this week that led to some of them sharing a fascinating piece of Apostolic history with us. There are lessons for all of us to learn in our pasts, both individually and corporately as the Apostolic church, as well as for broader society and the ministry of reconciliation in a broken and hurting and thirsty world.
HarvestCall Jamaica’s story shared with the US team:
Language is inherent in how we bear God’s image. Language is a gift from the Creator to the created. It is purposed towards giving life and meaning via relationships; both individual and communal, created with the Creator.
We have four pillars that we believe are necessary for the building up of these four relationships to become what they were made to be:
1) Sharing the gospel with the lost
2) Nurturing a new believer
3) Contending for the faith in truth
4) Humble deeds of service to fellow man for the glory of God
All four of these are necessary. You cannot have a firmly built building as a proper dwelling place unless all are present.
None can be less than the other. If one pillar is taller, the building is not as it should (and quite awkward looking!). Yet that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a pillar set from which the other three draw their reference. When laying out a building there is always a single point from which the others flow.
So for us, this is (1) the sharing of the Gospel with the lost. It doesn’t mean that the other 3 cannot be the angle of the building which a person sees first. Indeed, we as believers properly showing forth light and spreading salt might in myriad ways draw the lost to come and taste and see that the Lord is good. It very well could be that by observing (4) humble deeds of service, a person is curious to learn more about why and how this is happening (it is rare in today’s world, yes?). Or perhaps when we are (3) walking together in faith and true community demonstrate the love of Christ which casts vision for a person who feels isolated and lonely and lost to see a place where they could belong.
Sorry for the tangent, coming back to my point. We must (1) share the Gospel (not of priority or sequence but of ultimate purpose), and sharing the Gospel is the first pillar, because it is only when a relationship is reconciled with God that the building fulfills its purpose, to be the dwelling place of the glory of God.
How is the Gospel shared? Not diminishing the action/behavior in pillars 2-3-4, the gospel has 1) always been shared through the medium of language. The gospel was preached to Abraham (Gal 3:8)! The beauty of language is that it is not about "spoken nor written" although both can be beautiful, but about communication and communion, it connects two persons into a shared relationship of meaning and potential for transformation.
How does this relate to the Deaf community? We believe that sign language is a gift from God, just as all language is a gift and is part of our identities and woven into the fabric of our self-understanding, relationships with others and ability to commune with our Creator.
In 1880 there was an international congress gathered in Milan to decide how education should be structured for deaf children. It was decided, much because of Alexander Graham-Bell (read this for a perfect example of “when helping hurts”) and his life mission to “eradicate the plague of deafness” that this international congress voted to make sign language illegal and to ban it from use. This drove the signing Deaf community underground and caused serious repercussions still felt today, but it also gave rise to men and women of faith who affirmed the dignity of the Deaf as image bearers of God and were so impassioned by this truth that, against all opposition and in line with Luke 19:37-40 they could not help but cry out the truth claims of what it meant to know their Creator as King and one true authority. One example of positive fruit that came out of this oppression of (deaf) image bearers by means of suppression of their language (banning sign language) was that it led a Deaf man of God named George Veditz to advocate for a video recording to be made in 1913 in which he signs “It is my hope that we will all love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift that God has ever given to deaf people”.
When language (and cultural identity) is forcibly taken away, it changes people. Yes, it can be a refining process for those who survive the flames and God is faithful in preserving a remnant (and turning what others meant for evil into the good that God brings from it, as with Joseph), but we cannot diminish nor overlook the harmful effects of division it has on communities who share values, beliefs and practices in large part tied to their linguistic identity (e.g. Babel). We need look no further than the exile of the northern kingdom of Israel by Assyria and the forced intermixing of people groups for the express purpose of losing identity to see conflict arise (e.g. samaritans and jews despising each other), but most of all the southern kingdom of Judah being exiled to Babylon where the Persian language of Aramaic began replacing Hebrew. Both Hebrew and Aramaic languages continued in the time of return from exile (5th century BC) and nehemiah and Ezra rebuilding the walls and temple, but there was much oppression still happening. And then with the next empire spreading under Alexander the Great, the greek language eventually became dominant in this area of the world by the 3rd century BC. This climaxed in many ways in 190 BC with the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes IV who forcibly “hellenized” the jewish population. This led to the Maccabean revolt in which the jewish people reclaimed a level of independence from oppression and were again able to resume their practices. But an important element must be noted, that in the process of having their language and practices oppressed, and then in a measure being able to reclaim their autonomy, the jewish leaders found themselves split apart against each other for power as different groups stressed and emphasized various aspects of “practice and rule” over against each other. Practice of man’s concepts of truth took precedence over God’s declared and clear purpose; to be salt and light to the nations.
From here develops the sadducees against the pharisees, and the essenes against both of them, and the zealots still wanting to fight like Judah Maccabees against their neighbors. We cannot help but see that the calling of God’s people to be set apart, for the purpose of being salt and light and blessing to the nations, was dramatically diminished into ensuing political and cultural debates about “who has the true truth”. In modern terms, it was a "left vs right" fight for power in each of these relationships. The sadducees went “liberal” and made concessions to the ruling kingdoms (i.e. Rome) in exchange for judicial and economic power and in the process gave up any belief in a resurrection because their greco-roman peers and influence of platonic thought (its very nuanced). The pharisees went “conservative” and inwardly became focused on the law and considered themselves morally superior and with a better understanding of God and the law, most notably through the “oral tradition” where once again practice became more important than purpose. Then we have the essenes, who saw the hypocrisy in both groups and because of a lack of societal power, withdrew from the population and believed that by their righteousness and personal piety they could usher in the times of the messiah. Then we have the community of Qumran, where scrolls such as “the war scroll” shows the sons of light against the sons of darkness. There are many overlaps between the Qumran community and aspects of the essenes, but there are stark differences, i.e. the Qumran community had families and leaders were not required to be celibate (which as a rule for all leaders to be celibate is a social construction of man that is opposed to God’s created design, as celibacy is a unique gift to some but not most) and there is no evidence in the scrolls of Qumran that they identified with the essene group, rather these sectarians saw themselves as (sons of light, sons of Zadok) called to be the temple of God because the physical temple in Jerusalem was led by corrupt politicians (sadducees) and religious leaders (pharisees). The community at Qumran also felt the call to preserve sound teaching through the medium of language, treasuring and storing safely the Hebrew texts of the Tanakh (Old Testament) which God in His providence preserved for 2,000 years in the caves around the Dead Sea. (For a rabbit hole, which you all know I love, there is strong evidence paralleling the words of John the Baptist and especially the Acts of the Apostles that seem to indicate the remnant from which the Jesus movement sprang had close association and influence with this community of Qumran and not the essenes). Anyways, according to Bertil Gartner (author of “The Temple and the community in Qumran and the New Testament”) “One of the fundamental elements in the temple symbolism of the Qumran community was a conviction that the ‘presence’ of God, the Spirit of God, was no longer bound to the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10:18) but to the true and pure Israel (Ezekiel 11:19-20) represented by the community.”
Sorry, back to my point again. The true community of God will be marked by His presence (Holy Spirit) and that presence will manifest itself by guarding and loving the truth of God, that He has made mankind in His image and has given them the gift of language such that they can 1) know Him, 2) understand self, 3) relate to their fellow image bearers and 4) steward creation in partnership with God.
The Jamaican Deaf community is a beautiful group of people who are endowed with the image of God and have been given great gifts for the purposes of building up into fulness the body of Christ. The noblest gift they have been given (it must be stated that Christ is the pre-eminent gift and yet in our human terms we choose to give rank of nobility) is the gift of sign language. However, much like other Deaf communities around the world, there is persecution, exclusion, marginalization and suppression which leads to broken relationship in all four areas.
It bears repeating, we have four pillars that we believe are necessary for the building up of these four relationships to become what they were made to be.
1) Sharing the gospel with the lost
2) Nurturing a new believer
3) Contending for the faith in truth
4) Humble deeds of service to fellow man for the glory of God
What this looks like in practice then aligns with our belief that 1) the Gospel must be shared, and it must be shared in Jamaican Sign Language, the true language of this community. We believe that 2) to nurture a new believer, they must experience affirmation in their identity as an image bearer of God, that there is nothing wrong with being deaf, and that they are able to learn and do any work that God sets before them. This can only 3) be truly fruitful and multiply in the context of community (the church) where the body together contends for true faith such that we enter our purpose, which is 4) to have and act on the knowledge of who we are (imago Dei) and for what we were created (missio Dei), to be humble servants in partnership with God as He seeks to reconcile all things to himself (by transforming us into imago Christi).
In our HarvestCall Jamaica mission this is our framework, that each of us (Deaf or hearing) have the same shared human problem of sin which cracks our vessels and keeps us in a leaking state of a LACK of bearing the full image of God as we were created to have. When an image bearer has all four of these components (Language + Affirmation + Community + Knowledge), their relationships can be restored and they can experience the fulness of dwelling in and being transformed into the pattern and image of Christ as our cracked vessel is remade or made whole by the power of the Holy Spirit.
--> This results in the fulfilling of the Gen 2:4 and Exodus 40 hope, that God may a) rest in shalom b) in unity with His creation <--
Sidebar: Perhaps this is why “glory” in its semitic root has the meaning of “fulness and heavy weight, without LACK” (see The Bible Project podcast series on “glory”). It is also perhaps why “holy” in its semitic root has a meaning based in “directional purpose, towards a desired end” (see Andrew Case translation podcast, Working for the Word).
The holiness of God propels His loving actions towards His glory. In other words, the purposes of God to dwell in fulness of His glory with His creation is the “why” He loves us as He does. And this then is why John writes about the manifestation and declaration of the Word in 1 John 1 “if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
God desires to dwell with His creation. But He is awesome and beyond us, and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). C.S. Lewis said it well in the Chronicles of Narnia: “Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
In this paradigm we find an appreciation for how Moses and all Israel would have felt in Exodus 40:34 – the liberation from captivity was over it seemed, the work of building the tabernacle was finished, they were ready to enter into God’s presence, the only problem was…..mankind had sin and therefore it was quite dangerous, yay deadly, to enter the tabernacle and Moses could NOT enter! Sacred and holy space can only be truly occupied by the cleansed. Thankfully there is cleansing power in His blood!
Again, back to my point. We partner with God in His work of reconciling all things to Himself, in filling up the LACK that we all have apart from reconciliation and harmony with Him, self, others and creation.
So, what happens when we see someone being oppressed? What happens when we see someone’s language and cultural identity being suppressed? In Matthew 25:34-40 Jesus says “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
It seems quite clear that Jesus desires to see His body functionally moving towards His purposes of reconciliation, especially to the "least of these".
This also bears repeating from earlier: The true community of God will be marked by His presence and that presence will manifest itself by guarding and loving the truth of God, that He has made mankind in His image and has given them the gift of language such that they can know Him, understand self, relate to their fellow image bearers and steward creation in partnership with God.
In our Jamaican Deaf community context, this starts with Language.
So what happens when the language of the Deaf community, Jamaican Sign Language, and their cultural identity is publicly being mocked and ridiculed? We stand up for the imago Dei and the gift of language and affirm the beauty of the gift of God. We say “this is not right to mock the gift of God nor devalue the image of God.”
Today when a person or group faces a public backlash because their words or actions are deemed to be coming from a place of the powerful oppressing those without power, it is often broad-brushed as being “woke” or part of “cancel culture” or “social justice” or “critical theory”. However, there are also moments where the powerful use the medium of media to quiet or shame the voice of the voiceless, often called gas lighting. Both actions and occurrences happen within society today and both can be confused for the other. Not every public outcry is the result of true reconciliation. Again, reconciliation is messy because we are broken people in broken systems influenced by unseen powers. We are taught to judge a tree by its fruit, and to leave ultimate judgement up to the King. So, be careful before dismissing or accepting any claim on social media (or TV or your newspaper, for that matter).
Remember: When language (and cultural identity) is forcibly taken away, it changes people and communities. We don’t want to see JSL taken away from the Deaf community, nor do we want to see its value mocked in society. This perpetuates a societal system which, from birth, tells a child that they are defined as less valuable because they cannot hear with their ears like the majority. This lie from the pit of hell distorts and shatters the image of God, and children grow up truly believing that they are inferior and unable. They are a slave in a hearing world, the message seems to convey. This lie, or mirage, which causes perpetual emptiness and inescapable selfishness, is dealt with by speaking the truth in love. The truth is that all of us LACK fulness, we all LACK the ability to properly bear God’s image, we are all broken. That’s why Christ came to cleanse us and create in us a new man, conformed into His image and bound up inseparably in His own body! He identified with us fully so that we could be incorporated into him eternally.
Here is a video (screenshot only) posted last week by a famous Jamaican social media comedian. It mocks the Deaf community, calling them dumb, doing ridiculous things to make fun of JSL sign language while making monkey sounds as if the Deaf have less of the image of God in them, they are “sub-human.”
This video is horrendous. It had hundreds of thousands of views before it led to public backlash. The comedian was forced to take down the video. He later went on a livestream rant about how he took it down because of too many complaints filed on Instagram and Facebook, but he said he wasn’t sorry and people need to be less sensitive, it was just a joke he said. He changed his post, but he didn’t change his heart or his mind. This is what Paul was talking about in 2 Cor 7:8-12 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.
Godly sorrow is lament. Lament takes us to a place where we grieve at the brokenness of all four relationships. It might be the lament that Adam and Eve felt as they were removed from Eden and the way back was guarded by cherubim and a flaming sword. It is perhaps the lament that Able felt as he returned to that place to offer his humble deed of sacrifice. It seems that Cain did not share that lament, but instead held a sense of pride and entitlement. “I am worthy” he might have thought. Perhaps he even felt that he was more worthy than his brother. The story doesn’t give us all the details.
Lament today is a helpful tool in the ministry of reconciliation. Lament tells us it is ok to cry and grieve at the brokenness of all our relationships, all our systems and the evil that corrupts this world.
It is lament that clings to the promise of “joy comes in the morning” (read all of Psalm 30 and pay attention for the hope of resurrection). This lament that leads to hope beyond today propels us forward into partnership in the mission of God, to reconcile all things to Himself.
Reconciliation is past, future and present.
We must learn from the past and be compelled by the future hope. When we do, we have the Bible’s lens to deal with the present. Empowered by the Holy Spirit we seek to partner with God in His work of reconciliation. It can be viewed as "atonement in action" or as Scot McKnight says "atonement as praxis" (highly recommend a "community called atonement").
Learning from the Past
The history of the Apostolic Christian church is important for us to know. It has its roots in the work of the Holy Spirit convicting men of their need for reconciliation, of the desperate LACK in a life empty of fulfilling its divine purpose if participating in the fulness of God. In the 1820’s Samuel Froehlich saw that the Gospel he was being taught and told to teach to others could not lead to new creation. It was not true reconciliation. It was a mirage. It was dead. After realizing this, and by the work of the Holy Spirit to bring others into his life that could explain in his own language what was missing, he experienced something similar to what I mentioned earlier about George Veditz and Luke 19:37-40….he was compelled and constrained by the good news of Jesus cleansing power to bring him into unity with God, self, others and creation, that he couldn’t help but tell others! It didn’t matter to him if the state church kicked him out of their pharisaic club. It didn’t matter if the Sadducees said his theology was wrong. And he wasn’t interested in being a zealot and fighting back, nor did he withdraw like an essene. He found that, in some ways like the community of Qumran, that there was a true Israel, a body of Christ that was being built up into the fulness of God. And so in the next 35 years as he discipled others and then they discipled more, that over 100 congregations (ecclesia, the gathering of believers) had been planted and were growing throughout Europe. In 1847 missionaries came to America and working primarily within German speaking immigrant groups from Germany and Switzerland, dozens more churches were established. There was much freedom in America for hard-working immigrants to work and save until they could buy some land and start their own farm. Life flourished and the communities in which they lived flourished. But similar to the Israelites after Joseph and a friendly Pharaoh passed away, things changed in the early 1900’s and fear over language caused division in these communities. I don’t know the history well enough to get all the details, but challenges arose. How do the people retain their cultural and linguistic identity, much based on swiss-german heritage and anchored in the language, even as they live in a land where the language is English, and not German? I’m not making a case here for what and how to do that, or even to what level it should be retained. All I’m saying is that there had to have been tough questions and very nuanced situations facing the people in these communities and churches.
However, something fascinating, and heart-breaking, began to occur. In 1914 World War 1 broke out in Europe as British and German troops clashed. American interests sided with the Brits and while the US was hesitant to join (not until 1917), they were not hesitant to unleash torrents of anti-german language, especially from pulpits of American churches! Philip Jenkins in his book “The Great and Holy War” wrote about one shocking voice, Newell Dwight Hillis, a Congregationalist minister. “[Hillis] took holy war doctrines to their ultimate conclusion, advocating the annihilation of Satan’s earthly servants and the extermination of the German race. In 1918, he urged the international community “to consider the sterilization of the ten million German soldiers, and the segregation of their women, that when this generation of German goes, civilized cities, states and races may be rid of this awful cancer that must be cut clean out of the body of society.” American’s Liberty Loan Committee distributed a million and a half extracts from Hillis’ book!”
Now put yourself in the shoes of a German American family who is seeking the good of their community in peace and striving to live as taught in their churches. Even more so consider those who fled religious persecution specifically because of the freedom to worship in America. Think of the core beliefs of an Apostolic community that believed with all their heart that Jesus was the Prince of Peace and those who follow him are to put down their swords, beating them into plowshares. What happens when you and your family become mocked at, ridiculed and slandered in your community because of something that is happening 4,000 miles away? How do you feel to have people looking at you suspiciously now when you are at the town store picking up supplies? You hear someone whisper “dirty german” or say “I bet he’s a spy” or when the store stops selling sauer kraut because its said to be a german made food? What about your child who gets punished in school and shamed in front of their classmates, with the teacher saying they have to sit in the front row so that they can keep a better eye on them?
This is a bit grainy, sorry for that, the full article is available at this link
It's a 1917 Cartoon in an Iowa newspaper shaming a student with "German American" written on their shirt. These things really happened only 100 years ago!
And it happened to real people. Apostolic people. And it got worse.
In 1918 the governor of Iowa, William Harding, issued an executive proclamation banning the use of German language in public and in private. They burned books, closed German businesses, sent students home and levied fines against anyone speaking German. It was made illegal for a church to assemble and share God’s word in their German language. The only provision in the law for the free exercise of religion in German was to stay in your home. Your home as the ONLY place you were allowed to speak German. Once you left your home, you could not. Apostolic brethren gathered together privately at a home on Saturday evening, would preach the Word in German and then write it down and translate it into English. The next day at worship services, the church would freely gather in the church and the sermon would be read in English. German could not be spoken.
How effective do you suppose those sermons were? How did members of the church sort through their feelings of shame, isolation, fear, anger, confusion and heartache?
The powerful majority had decided that an innocent minority was to be blamed for the issues of their worldview.
It didn’t matter that these immigrants didn’t support what was happening in their former home. It didn’t matter that they too were fleeing from persecution. It didn’t matter that they were seeking the good of their community, to raise their family in peace, to share the good news of the Gospel and to steward God’s creation through wise farming practices. None of it mattered.
The only thing that mattered was this: it’s US vs THEM. And by “us” it was clear that you couldn’t be german and still be American. If you looked german, smelled like german, walked like german and talked like german, well then that’s what you were: “them”
Does any of this seem fair? Does any of this seem possible?
Guess what the law in Iowa was called? You guessed it. The Babel Proclamation.
You see, there really is nothing new under the sun from Babel in Genesis 11 to Babel in 1918 Iowa. From the beginning of time mankind has had a problem. It’s called sin. This sin, which if we grow old enough, we all commit, prohibits us from the presence of God and like a crouching lion, it pounces on us before we know it and destroys us and the image we bear. Because of sin, we are bound for death. Instead of having reconciled relationships, we live in brokenness. But the good news of the Gospel is that King Jesus is on the throne, He has won the victory over death and broken the chains of slavery to sin. He ascended on high to the right hand of the Father, and He descended in the form of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and gave gifts unto men. These gifts are the power to have a transformed heart, to be converted into the image of Christ! It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us! And because of union with Christ, we are also made co-heirs along with Him, that we will be granted resurrected and eternal life, in perfect communion with Him when the "heavenly Jerusalem" descends and transforms this old earth into a new earth, where shalom and righteousness will reign for time without end!
This is good news!
Let's recall Exodus 40:33-35 where the great story suddenly hit a pot hole. Do we want our story to hit a pot hole like that? What happens when God grants freedom to oppressed people? What happens when he raises them up on an ark, and puts them safely onto land? Do they return that gift in humble obedience or turn it into naked shame? When He leads them through the divided walls of water on dry land, and then destroys their enemies with that water once they have safely passed over to the other side, how do they respond? Do they take that salvation and turn to humble deeds of service, to love mercy and do justice? Do they meditate on Exodus 34:6-7? “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
What happened when Moses ascended Mt Sinai to meet with God, received the gift of Torah (the 10 commandments), and descended to give this gift to the people of Israel? Exodus 32 gives us the horrifying story of Israel growing impatient for the return of Moses and the realization of their hopes, and so they make their own god, forming a golden calf. They said “this is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Let us learn from the past.
The Gospel is the wisdom of God, and, at times it seems like foolishness to us. But all we need to do is look back and realize that we are all foolish. How can we neglect so great a salvation? How can we not see the past purposes and actions of God are for the future realization of His eternal glory and that we are incredibly invited to participate with Him in holy holistic reconciliation!
When language is taken away from a people group, the community changes. Yes, God can and will still make all things work together for good to those who love Him, but part of that is participating with Him in this work, the ministry of reconciliation. And part of that work is understanding how the building is built. Before we start prepping the soil for the 4 pillars, let's pause and lament at the damage done by ourselves, our societies and evil powers.
What are some negative repercussions of immigration and language suppression? Well, communities change. A movement that saw over 100 new congregations in 35 years in multiple countries in Europe, known as "evangelical baptist", spread to the US and saw dozens of churches established. It was a very missional, outward facing and Gospel sharing movement. Though the factors were many, certainly experiencing discrimination from non-german American neighbors, as well as unjust laws and systems, combined with cultural shifts of youth growing up feeling "different" than their peers at school, all lead to a proverbial bucket of water being dumped on the evangelistic flame of the life-giving ministry of reconciliation. Once Language and Identity took a hit, the community turned inwards and insular. It's a common self-defense mechanism that sociologists and psychologists and economists can do a much better job explaining than me. But it matters. Communities change.
I'd love to (and maybe one day others can help with this) see stories from those generations get documented. Why? It would help our perspective. It would give us seeds of empathy. And I'm certain there are beautiful stories where good neighbors who were not German stood up for their German American friends and told people "this is not right to mock a language and devalue an image bearer"
What are we to do today when our world seems to be broken worse than it has ever been? Does it help to look back and see that the world has only been perfect in a place called Eden, the garden of delight? Does it help to look forward to the day when all things are made new? All those things can help, but only when they are all packaged together in such a way that the building, fitly framed together, can be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, the living water, nourishing the body such that it can grow now. Presently.
It is the ministry of reconciliation, and in order to get there, we have to guard and love the noblest gift that God has ever given to us: Language. Words. Relationships. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, FULL of grace and truth (Exod 34:6-7).
Let us remember that there is no US vs THEM. It is only FULL GLORY vs ETERNAL LACK.
2 BE's and 3 DO NOTs
Be an ambassador for Life, acting in Holy Love.
Do not oppress an immigrant (ʿēreb) or a broken image bearer. We were once excluded but are now included in a new exodus.
Do not restrict or mock someones language or access to the Gospel. We were once lost too, but now are found.
Do not participate in the world's building of Babel.
Be a part of the Father's house, the body of Christ, the dwelling place of the Spirit.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2)
