Taking Down The High Places

A friend recently asked me to engage in their problem. They felt that they were hitting a glass ceiling in their journey with God . This is someone that is way further down the line than me so I took time to hang out with God and ask him what he thought about the problem. 2 Kings 12 & 14 I felt I heard clearly. The thing is I have never been a big reader of Kings, so I dived into 12 leapt over 13 and on into 14. It is the story of Joash and Amaziah, father and son kings of Judah. Their stories are reasonably unremarkable, the get involved in wars and squabbles, do some politicking and then get assassinated after either giving away or losing the Temple gold and silver. OK so maybe not such quiet lives but within 2 chapters both have come and gone.
Their ancestor David dominates a huge section of the bible and even in their story he is referred to, and I think it is in these references that we see why.
2 Kings 12:2-3
Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
2 Kings 14:1-4
In the second year of Jehoash[a] son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
Niether of these Kings removed the high places, the high places being the traditional worship sites of the Canaanites to Asherah. It is thought that sometimes Israelites would go and worship God there too but the inference is that them being left up was bad. David however pulled down all the high places and destroyed the altars and had his chief priest teach the people the law. He did also have a man killed, commit adultery and eat the sacred bread from the Temple….so not flawless but few of the Bible’s heroes are.
So what does tearing down the high places look like in a modern setting. Some might say we worship the cult of celebrity or sport and whilst in part I guess that is true I am not sure that is what God was saying to me. It played out in my head more like this……
I was a reasaonable rugby player, I got county caps, played at a premiership club, coached a national students side but generally underachieved. My rugby career was a picture of talent squandered on mediocrity. There were things to me that were more important or rather things that had their hooks in me to drag me away…..girlfriends….fear of missing out on what was going on with my buddies…… the search for adventure…..the occasional beer fuelled evening. These were my high places these were the things that kept me from fulfilling my potential.

In a faith journey I don’t think it is so different, there is plenty to drag you back from a relationship with God and you can live a good life and do good things and be pleasing in God’s sight but never tear down those high places and live in mediocrity for the rest of your time. Yet it is the tearing down of those high places that made David a name recognised down the ages and Joash and Amazaiah a couple of chapters in Kings. Our high places are different, perhaps judgement, perhaps immorality perhaps overworking but until we get to grips with them and throw them down we are perhaps likely to remain just below that glass ceiling.

NB some details in this story have been changed to protect the innocent, I do not claim to be right I am just thinking about potentially being right and I may even be wrong about that but if it makes you think, then I am alright with that……right?

The others....

I am not talking about the Nicole Kidman film but rather the concept of the others. This is related to my last post about Rob Bell and Love Wins. When discussing anything of a contentious nature within the Christian faith "The others" crop up; rarely are they referred to as the others and none of us are quite sure who they are we quite often give them vague titles as "the unchurched" "the under 18's" "the new to the faith". Our worry for "the others" would at first seem commendable but actually I think it might be disingenuous.

How big is our God? Pretty Big? Very Big? Awesomely Big? Unfathomably Big? Yet it is our concern for the others that is going to save them, if we can only discredit The Shack or Rob Bell or that Bill Johnson character then the others will be safe? Sounds kind of silly when you say it that way doesn't it? Or maybe a little arrogant, that we are so Godly that we have the absolute inside track on what is right and wrong and "the other" idiots may get fooled. I am pretty sure somewhere it says that only the Holy Spirit can keep us from deception. Perhaps if we are so worried for the others we should be teaching the beauty of a communicative relationship with the Holy Spirit.

I believe that "the others" is a tool we use to allow us to disagree with a theological stand point yet remain in relationship with someone - now that is a worthwhile aim. It says I think you are OK and I think you are probably a spirit inspired man but I am fearful of this gap you have opened between us but to keep us close I will transfer this gap to "the others". The problem with this strategy is that it doesn't build up the person the gap has occurred with; it breaks them down, it discredits them. It is time to find a positive way of staying in relationship with people we disagree with, not sidelining them or excluding them or feeling that their text, existence or whatever negates us as people. Let's concentrate on our walk with God in community and relationship and leave "the others" to retire and live in peace and be guided guarded and protected by God.

Monday's with Lloyd and the guys

Rob Bell. Love Wins. This is a book that has caused some hub bub because he may point to universalism; the idea that there are many ways to salvation rather than the one way through Christ which is a central teaching of Jesus (no man comes to the father but by me). I haven’t read the book but I probably will but I have read Sex God his other book and it’s pretty good. I am not sure I agree with everything that is written but on the whole I learned stuff. What interests me is why we focus on that which divides us? Surely there is something in Rob Bell’s writing that is good, why don’t we focus on that tell the world about that rather than our differences? I don’t have the answer, but I have the sneaky suspicion we need to stop doing it. We need to focus on our unity and community and in these places live out our beliefs guided by the spirit.

Gay Bishops & Cowboys

Yeah, all very random but stuff that I have thought about at one point or another today. Gay bishops was a chat with J over Chai Latte at Starbucks not far from Borough Market. Borough Market like many of the great markets of London is going the way of a tourist attraction and twenty five minute queue's for coffee just weren't our thing so it was Starbucks not Monmouth's. J is just back from Africa so we chewed the fat abit - I miss Africa alot so it was cool to talk. Somehow we got on to gay clergy, we are both Bible believeing christians and there are plenty of views about; after some bishops from Africa boycotted the Arch Bishop of Canterbury's summer conference. No one seems quite sure if there should be gay clergy or not. This is something the church can tie itself in a knot over...one of several things... to me it is simple Leviticus 18:22 (don't sleep with a man as you do a woman - look it up to check I ain't lying)...does this mean I am anti gay clergy....well er no...not entirely. I mean to say I don't think God is thrilled about gay clergy, in the same way he isn't happy a bout clergy who lie, cheat steal. covet, are prideful. I can't work out why we have singled out this one thing that clergy should not be, I am totally on the train that being gay does not glorify God but nor does putting your congregation before your wife.

.......where is he going with this......

Every clergyman is human, they will sin, that is the nature of it, they are forgiven and that is not mine to take away - so how does it work......well I guess it is like teaching dance classes if you don't know the steps how can you teach the dance. Now you may know the Tango but not the Foxtrot and that would mean you could teach one and not the other but you can't be the principal of a dance school and look to teach the foxtrot with the wrong steps, you have to find someone who can teach the steps right and acknowledge that you can't. I guess that is how I see it with the clergy, as long as you are up there acknowledging that you're not dancing the steps in the book and you keep trying to learn the right steps and you have someone competent to teach the right steps then it may just perhaps all work out. My wise wife makes the point that this is something we haven't seen, but that doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't happen let's not be polarized about this let's be honest we are all work in progress and let's apply this to every sin in the book not just the one's we don't find socially acceptable.




Oh and the cowboy thing......er well I was just thinking how much I love the scene in movies where the cowboy just slips his rifle back into the sleeve behind his saddle and rides of into the sunset, it's just the coolest..........doesn't it just make you want to jump on a horse and hit the road?...... No .....oh .....er well it's just me then. Well I can't be serious about everything.