Who are the Pharisees in Your Neighborhood?

It's occasionally been said that comparing someone to Hitler is one of the most cliche forms of ad hominem attack in politics. All you need to do is say your opponent is like Hitler - the really bad guy in history - and hope that it sticks.

Sometimes, in Christian circles, we have similar favorite bad guys...since Jesus pointed out how evil the Pharisees were in his day, Christians can often throw around the "pharisee" line quite a bit. I've seen it used to describe Christians who would be perceived as theologically, socially or culturally conservative - regardless to any actual observed character traits. For example, some Christians could use the "pharisee" label to describe a local "KJV Only" congregation or one that observes odd dietary or social rules. This could be nothing more than slander, though - as one's theological idiosyncrasies do not necessarily indicate that one is like a pharisee.

I think one of the best passages to narrow down what Pharisaical behavior looks like, is the end of Luke 11.

When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But give what is inside the dish ^j]">[j] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."

One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. (NIV)

This passage indicates that personal hypocrisy, largely for personal gain, along with a lack of justice and love were indicators of the Pharisees' sin. Similarly, I think the last verse contains a key point - the experts in the law, load people down with the law and give them no grace to remove it. Or, the heap on the condemnation, without gospel grace.

The Pharisees were obsessed with the details of the law of Moses and ensuring that people followed it. However, no one can see the heart, so their following of the law was primarily in keeping the outward details of it that would win favor with people, while not pursuing justice and love - those parts of the law that might not be as popular or outwardly visible.

For example, for more socially liberal Christians, this could play out as trying to always be on public front of what issues are currently popular to deal with. For example, a popular Christian author or musician might protest genocide or hold an AIDS benefit concert - because those are "cool" ways to care. The same person might not really talk about "controversial" issues like abortion or homosexuality; where a Christian worldview would be viewed as narrow-minded or less "progressive" than acceptable in some cultural circles. It would be concerning when Christians become so ecumenical that they cease to be "Christian" and drift into essentially a Universalism where all religion and spirituality are all just fine.

Similarly, more conservative Christians might be in a position where they are heaping on condemnation with little grace, putting burdens on people's backs without helping them. In recent days, a pastor has been encouraging people to burn Korans....I haven't heard this man mention the gospel once in all of his televised interviews. Similarly, most readers are likely aware of the church which frequently pickets with anti-gay propaganda, especially at soldier's funerals and gay pride celebrations. Similarly, I've yet to hear this preacher proclaim the hope of the gospel. It's all condemnation, all the time.

I think most of us tend towards one side of the fence or the other, or we bump back and forth. I've found myself serving for self-glorification at times and I've found myself proclaiming the law with little grace or hope. We were all damned under the law, if not for the grace of God.

In both of the cases where Christians can be tempted to Pharisaical behavior, it's interesting to see that self-righteousness is right there. In one case, it's behaving in a publicly acceptable way to get popular accolades. In Jesus' day it might have been acting pious to get the seat of public honor...today it might be to get on Oprah. In the other case, it's pointing out a sin and making the sinner aware of it, condemned by it; then cruelly withholding the hope of Christ. It makes the "Pharisee" feel good about their level of holiness, because they aren't dealing with that sin (or may be, but out of the public eye).

It's important to note, in closing, that these were just two examples where we might see this type of behavior. We certainly will see culturally conservative Christians doing things that will get them approval of their peers (such as disapproving of certain styles of music, out of hand) and culturally liberal Christians heaping on the condemnation (such as making blanket statements about how people don't care about the poor, without indicating the hope of the Gospel to those sinning with their selfishness).

Regardless of one's particular bent and opinions, it is essential that we are aware of the sinful tendency for self-glorification and depreciation of others. We are always looking for ways to make ourselves look good, give our opinions as the most important ones and see our views as somehow straight from the throne of God himself; consequently, we thrive on tearing others down, snottily dealing those we disagree with and acting as if we alone deserve the Gospel

The Silent Planet Reboot...

Well, it started back in the day...

Sunday, November 26, 2006....man, that was almost four years ago.

I began "The Silent Planet" my experiment in blogging. It was fun, as I enjoyed the writing outlet quite a bit. But, then I started grad school...where I was writing for credit. Then, I moved to Philadelphia. Then, I started dating Anna, who is now my fiance. So, frankly, I got a life.

As I browsed through the back pages of the Planet, it did remind me of God's faithfulness. It recorded some really great experiences, such as my Bolivia missions trip, the decision to move back up north - but also some really dark times where I was holding onto my sanity and faith by a thread.

There were other reasons why my blogging became more of a rarity. One of the primary reasons was increased conviction from God about how people relate in the blogosphere. Proverbs 18:2 ("A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.") began to resonate with me. Similarly, there was an op-ed piece by Dick Polman in the Philadelphia Inquirer, called, "The Incivility Death Spiral." It talked about the behavior in the internet media world, particularly in relation to the deaths of Senator Ted Kennedy and journalist Tony Snow. Polman talked about how political opponents of these men gleefully gloated about their sickness and expressed joy about their deaths. Polman observed how the anonymity of the internet (or I could argue, the distance and impersonal nature of it), makes public discourse particularly nasty.

To compound this, a long held trick in the blogging world is to be as controversial as possible in order to get readership up. I discovered this trick while editing my college paper, which frankly was a journalistic equivalent of a Victorian Penny Dreadful. If people weren't reading, be a jerk - then watch the fire burn as you see people tear each other up. Not very edifying, particularly when addressing theological issues. Christians often seem to enjoy vilifying each other more than they like doing what they are supposed to. I enjoy theology, but good theology is supposed to result in a Godly life. The more time I spent in the blogsphere, the more I got annoyed by watching Christians engage in trolling. Trolling, would be defined as posting inflammatory articles or making snotty or insulting comments just start an argument. Frankly, I'm rather over that stuff....I'm a bit tired of the broad stereotypes and blatant misinformation: "Evangelicals don't care about the poor," "Obama is a secret Muslim," "9/11 was an inside job"....and other utter nonsense. It's not that people don't have a right to express themselves, but I'm really tired of people doing so in an arrogant and condescending manner. It gets really, really old and doesn't do anything to solve problems or edify anyone.

To repeat myself, this is especially awful when Christians do this to each other. Seriously, there are heretics out there, real heretics. If you want to turn your guns and fire, point at Spong, McClaren, Tillich and others who have a Christian label but have completely turned from orthodoxy and gospel - they are pied pipers on the road to hellfire. Posting rude and insulting comments about fellow believers who you might disagree with is sinful. Making snide comments about denominations or traditions you may disagree with on finer points of doctrine is uncharitable. Gloating in the downfall of church leaders that you might disagree with is perverse.

Unfortunately, I did most, if not all, of these during the early years of The Silent Planet. I was convicted about how I was stirring up dissension and engaging in all sorts of sinful, proud behavior. There is much to be said in scripture about such things:

• Proverbs 6 describes one who stirs up dissent as a villain, it continues to say that God hates it when people stir up dissension between brothers.
• Proverbs 10 states how hatred is the root of stirring up dissension.
• Proverbs 16 says that stirring up dissension is perverse.
• Lastly, Proverbs 29 says that stirring up dissension is a display of anger.

I hope that as The Silent Planet makes a comeback, this will be true of me:

" ⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12, NIV)

I have archived all the old entries in case I need to resurrect something. I've also left a few of my favorite entries up, although some of them might be not as charitable as I'd like.

Godly Ambition

My church just finished a short sermon series on godly ambition, which was quite helpful. You can visit the website to download it (the series is "Wired For Glory.")

The title and content of the series reminded me of C.S. Lewis' essay "Weight of Glory," where Lewis discusses that motivation and the desire for approval is from God but that must be centered on pleasing God and striving for heavenly reward. Many of us are familiar with this quote from that essay:

"Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I'm not going to recap the sermons, as I'd just recommend any readers download them and listen. However, a few points that came to mind:

1. Ambition is a good thing, but can quickly turn ugly.

Like all people, I tend to be a contradictory chimera. I am ambitious, but prone to laziness. My motivation often tends to follow how much natural ability I have in a given area. Or, I follow the path of least resistance and do what I like and avoid what I don't.

I have been known to beat the proverbial dead horse and not give up on a blocked ambition. A classic example was in my pursuit of flying as a career. It was pretty clear by my freshman year in college that I was not going to be an airline pilot....but I fought with God over that for two years. God resists the proud, and as my pride rose so did his resistance. I became angry, discontent and generally just miserable about where things were going.

In one sense, this idea of faithful dedication to a cause can be beneficial. Sometimes, persistent work can yield success and build character at the same time. I'm grateful for people in my life who haven't just bailed when times got tough or when they got a "no" or "get lost" the first time they asked me a question. Church history is filled with people that were ambitious and who saw the fruit of their labor only in their final years, or after their passing.

Faithfulness and standing steadfast are a good thing - but if we are doing it against counsel, God's revealed will or the conviction of the Holy Spirit; then it becomes an evidence of pride and is a symptom of having a hard heart. One of the most convicting things I ever encountered in preaching was when Mark Driscoll commented in his Ecclesiastes series that people who resist change are sometimes just resisting God. My friend and former pastor Daryn had once told me the same thing and Driscoll's sermon put that tendency of mine in perspective.

2. A lack of ambition is laziness.

However, I'm paradoxical. If something isn't high up on my "desire" list, I can be less than ambitious. This would be laziness. If I see something as unlikely, hard or requiring years of work with little chance of success - a clear lack of faith in God is evident in my life. I don't really trust God to change me or intervene in certain circumstances. I find it kind of odd that the same person who who is seen as goal-driven has many areas where I'd rather just do nothing.

As I've moved to Philadelphia, I've found myself at a large church where on the surface it seems like they got everything covered. Covenant Fellowship has a paid staff and a lot of members to serve. Many of them are more gifted then me. So, I've been finding myself prone to laziness; although I have a strong love for the local church and God's people, I've been putting off seriously looking for areas to serve. Even if it is a big church, there are areas where servants are needed and it's plain lazy for me to just sit back and rest.

3. Cynicism is an ungodly response to unfulfilled ambition.

I am a fairly established cynic, or realist, as I would put it. In the last sermon (August 3), Dave Harvey noted how one response to discontent can be an attempt at taking our ambition off the table with God. It's basically the adult version of throwing a fit, and taking our ball home because we didn't like the rules or outcome of the game.

Yes, in one sense, I tend to look at the darker side of life. I suppose some of that is my propensity to introspection, but it can be unhealthy if I don't see God's answer to the cold realities of life. However, I have been one to play the "take my ball home" game quite often. Why?

Much of this has to do with pride: I don't like to admit that I failed. Sometimes the failure was due to my own incompetence or weakness. Instead of chalking up the failure to learning the hard way and being grateful that God is growing my character, I decided to blame the failure on external circumstances or just shove it in the junk drawer of my life. I find it funny how even some of the neatest people I know have a few closets or drawers where the junk that they don't want to deal with gets tossed. Heck, there are people whose entire basements are monuments to forgotten projects and bad ideas! I guess I assume that if I don't have to see it or live with it, then I don't have to deal with it. Let's not talk about my failures, just my successes (and then you can remind me, as much as you'd like, how wonderful I am) - thank you!

In my pride, I want to set the direction for my life and have those plans come to fruition. Compared to where I was three or four years ago, God has shown me that he has precedent over my calendar and goals. But, when I set out on a given path that I've decided on, deviation can be hard and I can resist. (Again, the Mark Driscoll quote about resisting God comes to mind.) When I want to do something, I'll won't give up - the sinful side of steadfastness is stubbornness. So, when my plans are frustrated, I'll turn into a cynic and tell everyone else how stupid of an idea it is and how I'm just better than that. Pride again, my friends.

The odd thing about cynicism is that it finds company. I would find friends in similar circumstances and we'd just feed on our discontent and heap what essentially amounted to mutual discouragement on each other. Instead of serving one another by stressing what Christ has done for us and his amazing love demonstrated on the cross, cynical friends remind each other that life is just giant discouragement with more loss around the corner. The biblical view is that life is a mix of good and bad circumstances, but as the sermon series notes - contentment is not rooted in our circumstances and transcends them. A cynical philosophy encourages others to incorrectly measure their view of God by their immediate circumstances.

Thankfully, I have faithful friends that would step into my cynicism parties and yank the needle off the spinning record of despair. Those friends were faithful and true, because I usually didn't take to this all that well.

When sin is pointed out in my life, the response often isn't, "Thank you bro, for bringing that sin to light. I am so gracious for the means of grace you are to me." I tended to be harsh, argumentative and would try to sell them on joining the Traveling Despair and Cynicism Road Show. It is a great calling to spend your time extinguishing hope and joy in others, I tell you. I'd say that I was just bringing people to see the futility of chasing their silly dreams and to be "content" where God has called them to be. Really, what I meant was to give up and stew in anger over God's sovereignty and kind intervention in our lives.

I think this series has provided some clarification for ambition. It is a good thing, but involves a big picture view of what God is doing. A large part of this involves exhibiting humility and understanding that God does give us desires and plans, but that they are not to be our idols. Chasing those idols, as C.S. Lewis points out in his quote from "Weight of Glory," is a poor excuse for the real thing.

May we make our ambition to have a holiday at the sea and not to merely find contentment with the mud in our backyard.

A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven…

Life has been busy as I look for a place to live, but things are going very well here in Philly. Well, I haven’t been robbed or shot at yet, nor has my car been broken into. So, I’m feeling rather fortunate.

Right before I left for Philly, a family from church invited me over for fellowship and in the course of conversation, provided me with a copy of Mark Driscoll’s series on Ecclesiastes. I’ve been reading a book on postmodernism and Ecclesiastes, and have always enjoyed studying that book of the Bible.

However, this series has challenged me in many ways. I’m generally familiar with the book, but Mark’s teaching has been really used to illuminate some areas in my life where God is at work. I’m grateful that God has provided this teaching for me at this time, as it’s just another example of his faithfulness. In particular, I’ve been considering the following:

1. What am I pursuing to make me happy? Driscoll preaches straight-up old school John Piper in this series, but with my sense of humor. (I think that is what makes people either like or hate Mark J….who can’t love a line like, “I’m glad God made cows out of steak.”) The messages have emphasized that our goals will never make us happy. I’ve learned this in some sense as I’ve lived my life this far, where the things that once seemed really exciting or the next big thing, ended up being fairly dull once they were attained or became common. We get bored with new toys, it happens as children and it will happen to us as adults. I’m frequently pursuing the next big thing and often have so much of my joy tied up my expectations. This series has reminded me to seek my satisfaction in God and for him to give me the ability to enjoy life.

2. Where am I? One of the best messages so far was the one on seasons of life. Although Mark did crack on The Byrd’s song “Turn, Turn, Turn,” of which I’m a fan – I’ll forgive him. This sermon reminded me that there is a time and a season for everything and that we can seek to enjoy what God has given us now. Particularly of interest was when he talked about those who fight change and want to keep things the same, just because they like it that way. Mark noted that often people like that are fighting what God is doing. As most of you know, I don’t like change a whole lot. I’ve put a lot of effort into changing that over the years and have seen some fruit and situations like this relocation to Philadelphia will certainly encourage growth. However, it was an encouragement for me to relax and stop trying to control the minutia of my life. One thing that was particularly interesting was where he talked about “giving up” for a time when God is not working in a given area. He used the examples of someone trying to find a spouse or a promotion, if I recall. The tendency noted was becoming more and more agitated as things weren’t happening – who does that sound like? Mark made the observation that if God isn’t working somewhere in your life, it is okay to step back, take a breath and work on other things. I wish that I’d figured that one out a few years ago, but it is a good reminder that I need to remember that God is sovereign and that if doors aren’t opening in a given area, that’s okay.

3. Friendship. If Ecclesiastes is a book about philosophy, where does it talk about friends? Mark gave a great message from chapter 4 on fellowship. He made the point that there are obstacles to fellowship, particularly greed, envy, laziness and apathy. People that live in these various forms of selfishness are prone to have very messed up relationships, if they have many at all. In moving to a new city, I found this to be quite insightful, as I tend to have difficulty with making friends – often for a few of those reasons. I don’t really see myself as greedy and working too much. But, envy, laziness and apathy are things that I can relate to quite well. I find it a heck of lot easier to come home and do my own thing, rather than to deal with the “headaches” of other people. I know that is sad, but it’s often a true indicator of how my heart can be. The sermon encouraged people to repent of those sins and to pursue community through participation in their local church. I have begun the long process of building those friendships here in Philadelphia, and I will have to purpose to look out for the interests of others over my own shallow happiness, which would prefer to find a book and a beer at the end of long day work. I find it quite difficult to break into existing social networks, but then again, as I noted earlier, there is a time for everything.

So, these messages have provided a unique equipping for this season of life that I’m in. I almost have this dumb look on my face frequently, “Huh, how did I get back to Philadelphia?” At times in my life, there have been certain growing seasons where a lot of fruit was produced and the lessons taught from scripture were very beneficial. I think this may be one of those times on the horizon. It seems like God has put me in an uncomfortable spot, where I have to exhibit practical put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other faith in Him, and where I can live out a lot of the truths that I’ve been exposed to.

The Best Philly Song Ever....

As I fly up to Philadelphia today, I had to remember the best Philly song of all time. I'm sorry folks, I like The Boss, but this is way better than Springsteen's thoughts on the city:



See how many Philadelphia landmarks you can find in the video :).

Some things aren't meant to go together....

I am quite the fan of some of the various Celtic influenced music. I like some of the more traditional Celtic bands, such as Clannad. I also enjoy Iona's Celtic influenced Progressive Rock (sorta Clannad meets Pink Floyd). Then, who can't enjoy the the strains of some good old Celtic influenced punk, like the Pogues, Flogging Molly or Boston's own - the Dropkick Murphys.

However, I while egosurfing for my own last name, I made a horrific discovery. A chimera of shocking proportions. A freak of nature.

I discovered Irish Country Music. No, this isn't another name for traditional Irish music. This is Celtic influenced country - and was absolutely awful.

I'm not a huge country fan, but some of it I do like - I actually like Garth Brooks quite a bit and Johnny Cash as well. Although bluegrass brings out the northeastern prejudices of mine and I can only think of snake handlers and Deliverance, I actually do enjoy some bluegrass influenced folk rock, such as Indelible Grace and Caedmon's Call.

However, this genre sets a standard of just being terrible. What's odd and scary is that it seems to have been around for a while and actually has fans.

I include a few videos below and I apologize in advance if any of my readers are avid Irish Country fans.

Jon's Management Hall of Fame

As I come down to my final stretch for my "Leadership in Times of Change" class, I had to reflect on those whose management strategies and principles I strive to emulate.


1. C. Montgomery Burns -Mr. Burns effectively manages the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He also is a civic leader, who participates in the Republican Party of Springfield. He sees the fact that employees are mindless, hapless fools that must be managed ruthlessly. He seems to have paid attention in his mid-Industrial Revolution management classes. I tell you, the world has just gone to pot since they took the kids out of the mills. Now they just hang out at the mall when they could be making stuff cheaper than they do in China.




2. Dr. Evil - Cryogenically frozen in the 1960s, he returns to take over the world and kill people with his "frickin' laser." I want one of those. Plus torture devices made with "frickin' sharks" with "frickin' laser beams" on their "frickin' heads" should be a staple in many more offices. That would cut down on the number of "coaching sessions" needed for inane behavior. Although I loath cats, I'd like to have a companion like Mr. Bigglesworth as well. I learned in my class that building a coalition is a part of managing an organization, I need a team like Dr. Evil's. With FB, Mini-Me, et al - who could go wrong.



3. The Brain - A lab rat turned evil genius. Who'd figure. "What are we going to do tomorrow, Brain?" "The same thing we do everyday, Pinky. TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"




4. Dr. Strangelove - A megalomaniac with nuclear weapons. Oooooh. In my class we had to watch "12 O'Clock High," a WWII classic on a dysfunctional bomber unit and review the leadership styles and influence on the team. How about a real leader who knows where the big red button is and isn't afraid to push it :).





5. Darth Vader - If elected President, my first Executive Order will be to replace the wussy "Hail to the Chief" with the "Imperial March." How "frickin' " cool would be to have AF1 taxi in, the stairs roll up and the prez come down with his black cape and the band playing William's epic Imperial March. The State of the Union address usually even puts Ted Kennedy asleep (oh, sorry, that's a 1/5th of scotch...I forgot). But, imagine if Lord Vader was giving the speech.....oooooh yeah.