Tag: Discernment

Asbury is not OUR revival

What’s happening at Asbury is not MY revival. It’s not OUR revival. My participation in it is tertiary at best. And even though I thought about making a trip, I’ve decided against it.

Honoring God and Asbury University

As I have been reflecting on the Asbury Awakening1, I have found myself conflicted by the “conversation” happening among those not in Wilmore.

As an outsider and spectator, I want to make sure my heart is in a posture of humility. I don’t want to be dismissive or in denial regarding what is taking place.

I also don’t want to assume “ownership” or “rights” to something I have not prayed for specifically and have not been laboring for intentionally.

Let me say it bluntly. What’s happening at Asbury is not MY revival. It’s not OUR revival. My participation in it is tertiary at best. And even though I thought about making a trip, I’ve decided against it.

Whatever benefits I may glean from what God is doing in Kentucky, it will be to praise him for visiting a people who have called for a special impartation of his presence. Other than that, it would be improper and disingenuous of me to go there and try to reap where others have sown.

I don’t need a spiritual fix. The students, faculty, and staff of Asbury don’t have to prove anything to me. And God doesn’t need to verify his purposes with me so I can put my stamp of approval on it. Please just sit down with that foolishness!

Discernment is a Process, not a Weapon

My temperament is generally “wait and see.” Not out of disinterest in what is happening. I have been filled with so much joy seeing what God has been doing. Reading and hearing the testimonies have encouraged me profoundly.

I am the type of person who trusts that if what is taking place is of God it will last and if it’s not, it will pass. Over the years I have learned that discernment is a process we grow into. We must never use it as a weapon to manipulate others to our way of seeing or doing things.

Either way, God is neither flustered nor bothered by my response or lack thereof. There do appear to be some who have been. And I think it’s right to offer some clarifying counsel on the tone of this conversation.

When we do not make assessing our presuppositions and bias a part of the discernment process, we invariably make avoidable errors. We will become the very people we are warning against. And, what’s worse, we may do it with a self-righteous spirit.

So, with that in mind, I would like to offer some thoughts.

Maturity takes Time

As I’ve grown older, I hope I have also grown wiser. But, only the trust of others can confirm that. Maturity takes time. And the reason it does is that some things have to be seen, felt, and even tasted in order to properly understand them.

Here are some of the thoughts I have been processing as I have been reading, watching, praying, and sharing with some friends and colleagues.

As with anything in life, we are almost always dealing with tension created by opposing forces. So what are those forces at play here? I will provide some examples to help us move the discussion along.

There is honest questioning.

There is dishonest questioning.

Honest skepticism.

Dishonest skepticism.

Honest caution.

Dishonest caution.

Honest concern.

Dishonest concern.

How do we tell the difference?

I’ve been asking myself this for the last few days.

As a pastor, I have to navigate between my role as a shepherd of souls and my life as a disciple. And it’s at the intersection of those two realities in my life that I find clarity.

If my motivation is wisdom, truth, genuineness, and the advancement of the kingdom, then I am leaning toward honesty.

But if what is happening needs to prove to me that it’s real, then I’m leaning toward the dishonesty side.

Being concerned for the well-being of another’s soul is honest. Being concerned about a “Simon the magician” (Acts 8:9-24) getting some air time is dishonest.

Desiring that more people experience a renewal of faith or the start of it is honest. Being concerned that people are going to miss out on the “real thing” is dishonest.

Voicing caution because of the temptation to sensationalize and even force a move of God is honest. Hyperventilating about how this move of God is not like or not as good as others is dishonest.

Beware the Sin of Pride

Once again, I sense there are some of us who are looking at the right things in the wrong ways. Fighting for something while undermining it in an attempt to “protect” it.

We should take care of how we speak. For we may be speaking out of turn!

The following clip always reminds me of this. God knows what He’s doing.

Do not cite the Deep Magic to me witch!

We esteem our wisdom too highly; our maturity too quickly; our discernment too prescriptive; and our longing more passionate than it truly burns.

When God shows up, the mouths of fools are shut, the strength of muscles melts like wax, and the thirst of parched souls is satiated.

I’ve seen that in my own life and journey with God. And I’m seeing glimpses of that now at Asbury. Even from a distance.

That doesn’t mean it’s “perfect.” Nothing handled by human beings ever is. But just because it’s not how I would do it doesn’t make it wrong or “less than” what God can use.

We must be careful not to become the appraisers of the quality of God’s plans. That is a very dangerous position to assume.

If there are those trying to take center stage for selfish reasons, they will be revealed. And no one will pay them any mind.

So let not your hearts be troubled. The king is still reigning. And he is more than capable of sorting out the wheat from the chaff than we are. Or ever will be.

  1. I would like to give credit to Dr. Timothy Tennent for using this framing of what is happening at Asbury [↩]

Gamaliel’s Wager: When you Risk Making God your Enemy

A Startling Realization

Several years ago, I read the passage below and was startled by what it said. I had not considered the implications of it because I had not seen them before. I’ll explain more as we go. But first let me set the stage for what is going on.

The story begins with the arrest of the apostles for teaching and preaching the Gospel in the public square and in the Temple. There is the added wrinkle of the jealousy of the Pharisees because the disciples were performing signs and wonders, and many people were being healed (Acts 5:17). The Pharisees were no longer the cool kids. Their influence was shrinking. And they did not like that at all.

In an attempt to silence the apostles, the high priest had them all arrested and put in prison. But, during the night, an angel of God came and freed them, and instructed them to go back to the Temple and continue teaching and preaching.

Imagine the surprise of the high priest and the council when they could not find the apostles in the prison!

As they were trying to figure out what was going on, word got back to the council. The apostles were back at the Temple doing what got them arrested in the first place.

So, the guards went to go get them, but with great care. These simple soldiers knew something was different about these men. No need to stir things up with the people either.

Gamaliel’s Wager

It is into this context we find the speech given by one of the members of the council. A Pharisee name Gamaliel. Who, not uninterestingly, may have very well been the Apostle Paul’s teacher in the rabbinic tradition.

Luke records what was said for us in Acts 5.

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Acts 5:33-40

The sentence that caught my attention was at the end of verse 39: You might even be found opposing God!

I was floored by the both the wisdom and challenge of what Gamaliel said. As human beings, we are limited in our abilities to see beyond the moment. We have to be careful not to suppose we know more than we do.

Gamaliel was calling for a deeper wisdom. A wisdom grounded in humility rather than pride. We could all benefit from listening to his words.

But there is also a challenge. It is what I have called Gamaliel’s Wager.

A wager is a gambling term. It describes the risk a person takes in the hopes of gaining more than what is at stake.

If you have watched any casino movie in your life, you have probably heard some version of these statements. “Don’t bet against the house.” Or, “the house always wins.” Why? Because in the long run, the casino has also made a wager, that you, in all your cunning, will not be able to outlast the house’s patience in winning their money back.

The reason the house has this confidence is because they understand one thing about people. People, given enough time, will get greedy. They will think they are invincible and try to continue maximizing their returns.

The problem is the game is rigged. This is how you get reeled in. You are enticed by small gains so you are tempted to bet everything you have. Not realizing that by this time it’s too late. You have become the victim of your own hubris.

Refrain from Speaking for God

What does this have to do with making God our enemy? It’s this. The wager the high priest and the Pharisees made put them on the opposite side of God!

What’s worse is they thought they WERE on God’s side. They are not unique in making this mistake. We are capable of doing the exact same thing.

Let me give you a little secret: The one thing we should avoid more than anything in this world is to bet against God!

We don’t always know what God is up to, so we should be extremely careful when we start saying where God is working or is not working. Who God is using and who he is not using. That is a bet we should never take.

To make the kind of declaration the Pharisees were making is to assume access to information not available to any of us. To many of us think ourselves counselors to God and capable of predicting his actions. But we are mistaken to ever take that position.

This is the wager the Pharisees were making by how they were treating the apostles. They were the religious leaders. They were the ones trained and educated. They were the ones who were responsible for knowing what God was doing.

It just did not make sense to them that those silly apostles of Jesus could ever be a part of God’s plan.

And that is the wrong bet. That is the wrong wager. And that is exactly what Gamaliel was warning against.

Because, what if God, in his sovereign wisdom, WAS using people we would not normally consider “worthy” of the honor? Or doing something we had never seen God do before? What then?

Well, at that moment, we will be found “opposing God!”

We will have put ourselves on the wrong side of the battle line.

And like in any good casino movie, we will lose because the house always wins!

4 Ways The Walking Dead Prepared me for the 2016 Election

I was not a fan of The Walking Dead when it started. I am not a horror, scary movie kind of person. As a matter of fact, I hate being startled. Just not my thing. But, I was looking for something to watch on Netflix and I thought, “Let me give this show a chance.” I didn’t know what to expect, but I started to really enjoy the characters and the story. Story is a such an important thing for me. If there is a good story I (usually) will watch or listen. Continue reading “4 Ways The Walking Dead Prepared me for the 2016 Election”

The Anchor of Truth amidst the Storms of Tragedy

As I was perusing my Facebook feed one of the ministers I know asked, what I believe, is an important question. He was wondering if any of his pastor friends would be saying/addressing the tragedy in Charleston in some way, if at all this coming up Sunday. This is an ongoing conversation so, there is not consensus yet, but it is worth noting that there is no right answer here. At least in my mind.

Each pastor and, by extension, each person who hears about and considers the events at the Emanuel AME Church will respond according to how the news affected them. The range of human emotions is as varied as the faces upon each persons head. The reality is that how we respond is the cumulative product of our experiences and our beliefs. If there is anything I have learned in life is how true this is.

The key to navigating the waters of life is having a means of charting your course. For sailors it was the stars. They learned to identify the formations above them and then correct their direction. The same is also true for us. When we are adrift and in search of our bearings we have to look up and set our minds on things above. We have to take our eyes off what is front of us and around us to catch our breath and regain our composure.

Tragedy has a way of throwing our lives off-kilter. The only way to regain our balance is to put our hands on something solid, something sure. For me that is the Word of God. The word of God is the anchor of truth I rely on when the storms begin to rage. Turning to the truth of who God is and what he has done in and through Jesus is what provides the ballast and stability required to weather the storm.

Tragedy has a way of bringing issues and problems into greater relief. We all have an opportunity to grow wiser, become more loving, and extend greater grace when we turn to God rather than our own wisdom. My prayer is that I do not miss the chance to increase my sensitivity to what God is saying about himself and his word. The promise we have is that every storm will pass. The question is this: Will we learn from the present one to better prepare and handle the next?

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