Chris Howlett

Epiphany-inspired New Year's Resolution

Epiphany celebrates the visitation of the Magi to Jesus in Bethlehem. January 6 has been set aside for this commemoration for over 1,600 years. The significance of Epiphany is in the name, which means manifestation or appearance. Classically it was used for the appearance of the sun at dawn. In the Church it indicates the manifestation of the Messiah to the Gentiles, inaugurating the Mission of God to offer salvation to the whole of humanity.

The Magi, wise men from the East, were drawn to Bethlehem to worship the King of Israel. The Heavenly Father led them to worship the Son. This is the inspiration for a good New Year’s Resolution. Jesus Christ humbled himself and appeared to us in a way we can understand and experience. He took on human flesh in order to redeem fallen human beings and offer salvation. What’s our response? Like the Magi, we worship. We worship Jesus because he is God, because he deserves worship, because he is worthy of our praise. We don’t worship in order to receive something from God, we worship because we have received something from God, in response to his generous outpouring of grace.

Because God is so good, because he revealed his love to us through Jesus his Son, because he has drawn us to Christ by the Spirit, let’s resolve to worship him regularly, throughout the week in prayer and thanksgiving, and on the Lord’s Day, as we gather to worship the One who is truly worthy of glory and praise.

Hate is No Match for Love

“Being a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis

Chris Singleton’s mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, died during the shooting rampage at Emmanual AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in the summer of 2015. Shortly following the horrible events that took the lives of nine people who were attending a Bible Study, Singleton held a press conference to issue a public statement. At the time, Chris played on the baseball team at Charleston Southern University, a private Christian school, and at the press conference he was surrounded by his coaches and teammates. During his statement he said, “We will get through it. Our church will get through it. It’s tough times. Honestly, my knees are a little weak right now, but I’m trying to stay as strong as I can while I press on. We are mourning right now, but I know we’ll get through it.” Then he added, “No matter how much hate there is in the world, it’s no match for love.” He went on to offer the perpetrator his family’s love and forgiveness in an emotional and heartfelt display of grace.

It’s true. There’s no match for love, and love is exactly what Holy Week is about. For God so loved the world… Jesus made that journey to the cross with love for sinners of all stripes, including you and me. He has revealed his love in redeeming us and transforming us so we are capable, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to offer that same love to others, even to those who don’t deserve it, especially to those who don’t deserve it.

Hey Ya'll, It's Ash Wednesday

“I hope your Ash Wednesday isn’t ruined by being reminded you’re going to die.” - Unknown

I can’t help laughing when I read this. I have no idea who said it. Sounds like something a comedian might say. Humor often derives from irony and there is some serious irony at work here. First, as if it would ruin your Ash Wednesday to be reminded you’re going to die. That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? We go to church, someone rubs ashes on our forehead and says, “From dust you came, to dust you shall return.” Yup! That’s it! I’m going to die someday. I might want to start living like that is a distinct possibility. I will stand before my Maker and give an account of my life. Sorry if that ruins your day!

None of us really likes to think about that or be reminded of our sin. We’re content thinking about someone else’s sin. But self-reflection, self-awareness, honesty about our own fallenness? Not so much.

On the other hand, this realization is freeing. I’m not caught in a never-ending loop. I get one shot at this deal. I should probably make the most of it. And I might not want to take myself, or life, itself, too seriously. I mean, we’re talking dust here. The good news is that Lent is going somewhere. There is the really painful journey to the cross, to suffering, to the realization that sin is costly and life is too short. But that’s not the end of the story. The real destination is resurrection.

This is why, in the Western Church, Sunday’s aren’t included in the forty days of Lent. Every Sunday is a little Easter. A time to recognize that the mess we’ve made of the world and life is being cleaned up, rectified, renewed because Jesus died and rose again.

Yes, it’s true: if Jesus tarries, we’re all going to die. But death doesn’t get the last word!

Jesus Wants to be Your Personal King

In some circles it’s not popular to talk about Jesus as your personal Savior, or having a personal relationship with Jesus. Detractors claim that the words “personal Savior” or “personal relationship with Jesus” don’t occur in the Bible. True. However, Jesus is a person and he invites us into relationship with himself, that’s what the new covenant in his blood is all about(Lk. 22:20). So, what he’s offering is a personal relationship because it is a relationship between persons. I don’t have a problem using this language that’s been part of the evangelical world for a long time.

I do, however, understand that the objection to the idea of a “personal Savior” is the hyper-individualism that exists in the Church today, the “me and Jesus” mentality that excludes loving our neighbor as ourselves as long. As we have our ticket to heaven we’re good to go. This is a pervasive problem resulting from our primary identity as consumers rather than children of God.

It's certainly a legitimate objection, but dropping personal relationship language is not the answer. Instead, we need to add something to our language: Jesus as Personal King.

In Advent we talk about Jesus returning as the Messiah who will be King of the World, fulfilling the hope of Israel as outlined in Psalm 2. But that’s in the future and that’s Jesus’ world-wide reign. It needs to be more personal. Jesus not only wants to be my personal Savior, he also wants to be my personal King. He wants me to voluntarily submit to his loving leadership so I can serve the purposes of his already/not-yet Kingdom. The Kingdom that is already inaugurated in his life, death, and resurrection and will be completely fulfilled at his Second Coming.

Jesus desires a personal relationship so he can be Savior and Lord, Forgiver and Leader, Redeemer and King. He wants to guide my steps and empower me to join him in his mission to rescue my friends, neighbors, coworkers, family members, and the whole world. He’s my personal Savior and my personal King. He saved me and he is sanctifying me. He’s calling me to follow him in his lifestyle which is spelled out in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (ESV).

When Jesus is my King, then my life is no longer about me, it’s about him and his Kingdom purpose. My focus turns outward to see how I can serve others and help them experience the love of the one true God and see their lives changed for eternity. My relationship with Jesus is personal, but it’s not private because he is my leader and my leader is all about rescuing the whole world.

So, how about you? Is Jesus your Personal Savior AND Personal King. Or, are you still trying to be king?

Which Side Are You On?

We’re all in a formation process all of the time. Some of us are formed by Christ, to be more like him. Some of us are being formed by the world, to be more like the ruler of the air.

In my last post I used the Star Wars universe as an analogy for spiritual formation. Each person needs to be in an intentional apprentice relationship, much like Luke Skywalker experienced first with Obi Wan Kenobi, then with Yoda. The Jedi Order had formalized a process of leadership development in which a Master was partnered with a Padawan, or young disciple, in order for the Padawan to learn and grow and become a master him or herself some day. 

The Jedi fought on the Light Side of the Force, for everything that is pure and just and right. But there was a Dark Side which tempted young Anakin Skywalker, who eventually became the arch nemesis Darth Vader. Anakin is particularly gifted and is placed as a Padawan under Obi Wan Kenobi’s leadership. Eventually, however, Anakin’s ambitions get the best of him and he finds himself under the influence of Chancellor Palpatine, who is actually a Sith Lord, one who works for and with the Dark Side of the Force. Palpatine manipulates Anakin’s ambitions to serve the Dark Side, eventually turning him into Darth Vader, the murderous anti-hero of the original trilogy.

So, not only is there a discipleship process which leads to spiritual maturity and reproduction, but there also is an anti-discipleship process that forms people in a worldly set of values and principles, preying on the inherent fallenness of humanity and leads to selfishness, sin, and self-destruction. The enemy is real and he wants nothing more than to destroy life.

Who is forming you?

Paul wrote to the Romans, warning them, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV). I happen to believe that if you’re not in an intentional spiritual formation process whereby you are being formed in the image of Christ, you most likely have succumbed to the opposite project of being pressed into the world’s mold. The end game of which is destruction.

We’re all in a formation process. Which one do you choose?

On Maundy Thursday

Maundy is a funny word. We use this word to describe today, the day Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. We use it is because on this night Jesus told his disciples:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" John 13:34 (ESV) 

The word "commandment" in the Latin version of the New Testament is Mandatum. This word progressed through Old French and Middle English and ended up today as "Maundy." Funny how the conservative nature of the church keeps these vestiges of the past alive.

Let’s think about the actual command Jesus gives on this most holy of nights: “love one another the same way I have loved you.” What a challenge! Jesus expects us to love people with the same sacrificial love with which he loves us.

What would the world look like if we obeyed? There would be far fewer church splits, a lot less divorce, a lot more compassion, a lot more people who would have committed their lives to Christ because we modeled our lives after Jesus.

This is the heart of discipleship: to do what we see Jesus doing. Period. You can go to Bible Studies, and listen to sermons, and read Christian books... you can even go all in and go to seminary and become a pastor or a missionary... you can do all of that and still not get it. One of the reasons this is true is because we have substituted information for formation. We need learning and we need to dig deep into the Scripture, but even more than that, we need to apply what we already know and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and form us into the image of Christ. Jesus has everything we need, including the love we need to both find our identity in him and share love freely with others. Love is the only thing in the world that grows when we give it away.

That incredible night in Jerusalem, Jesus washed his disciples feet, broke the bread, poured out the wine and invited them to the greatest adventure anyone could ever experience, the adventure of being like Jesus and loving like Jesus.

Who Needs Crucifixion?

This post is my Ash Wednesday meditation based on Mark 15:1-15. It is the first message in a series titled "Cross-Purposes." This is our series for Lent.

“And they cried out again, ‘Crucify him!’” Mark 15:13 (ESV)

Lent is a season of forty days (not including Sundays) leading to the celebration of the Resurrection. Originally it was a time for candidates for baptism to reflect on their lives and prepare their hearts for baptism by repenting of their sins and developing spiritual disciplines to sustain their life in the community of faith. Fairly quickly it became evident to church leaders that the benefits of this concentrated spiritual discipline would be helpful to all, thus, the Season of Lent. 

So, here we are, on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Lent is counter-cultural. While it might be broadly popular to “give something up,” like chocolate or some other minor luxury, the idea of actually examining yourself to see what sinful attitudes and actions are keeping you from becoming the person God created you to be, is, indeed, not popular. We must take sin seriously so we can take grace seriously. Repentance is serious business and it is seriously neglected in this world whose mantra is “I’m okay, you’re okay!”

Don’t be judgmental. Don’t talk about sin. Everyone has to find their own path (that, in and of itself is sinful, considering at the heart of sin is self-centeredness). Don’t talk about brokenness. Don’t mention evil. Those are old-fashioned ideas. I’m okay, you’re okay. 

Well, if I’m okay and you’re okay, somebody needs to tell Jesus because he is of the opinion that we’re not okay at all, and that’s what explains the cross.

The cross is counter-cultural. An orientation toward the cross, which is what Lent is all about, is an invitation to re-examine our most dearly held beliefs our most fundamental commitments. What are my beliefs and what are my commitments? What are my priorities?

What is most important to me? In the light of Jesus of Nazareth, the one to whom I owe allegiance, the Crucified and Resurrected King of Kings, who consistently points me toward the cross and calls me to take up my own cross, what are my values? What determines my decisions? What is the character of my choices? What principles decide my priorities?

This is what I would like us to do as we reflect on this scripture:

“And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” Mark 15:12-15 (ESV) 

It’s not so strange that the crowd was sympathetic to Barabbas. He was a rebel, accused of “murder” during the “insurrection.” While many would not have been willing to go along with his methods, they were sympathetic to his politics. They shared his disdain for their Roman overlords. Barabbas was not a common criminal or simply a murderer. Many of this crowd gathered in an overcrowded Jerusalem during the Passover Festival would have seen him as a freedom fighter.

Still, there is a certain irony in this choice, especially from Pilate’s perspective. They chose Barabbas, who was guilty of insurrection and murder and rejected Jesus, whose guilt was wrapped up in the radical claims he made about himself and that others had made of him.

Crucify him? Jesus? What evil has he done?

Crucify Him? Who needs crucifixion? I need crucifixion!

During Lent, we look to the crucified Messiah and turn our gaze back onto ourselves and ask, What evil have I done? What evil am I capable of doing? What in me needs to be crucified?”

Paul believed there was something in him that needed to be crucified: 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

It’s so easy for us to look at the other and discern their faults and sins. During Lent we’re invited to focus on the self, to see what about “me” needs to be crucified so that I can truly live.

The Psalm reading for today’s service invites this kind of introspection:

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:3-5, 10-12 (NRSV)

So, let’s look inwardly. Let’s examine ourselves to see what in us needs to be crucified. What needs to die so that we can live the lives God created us to live, in righteousness and holiness?

Attitudes

Do I have attitudes that are drawing me away from the attitude or mindset of Christ? Have I even paused long enough lately to examine my attitude? 

Different attitudes can draw us away from God’s best: pride, rebelliousness, defeatism.

Let God crucify your bad attitudes to you can enter resurrection life with Christ. It is no longer I who lives but Christ in me.

Actions 

What about actual actions? Bad attitudes always lead to bad actions. What actions have I done that are clearly outside of God’s will for me? What actions have I taken that have hurt others, God, and even myself?

What actions do I need to take to the cross? 

Values

Where do my I get my values? What determines my values? my priorities?

Do I value the things that God values?

God values righteousness, holiness, justice, love. Sometimes we value selfishness, what’s good for me and my family (but then we don’t have a clue as to what actually is good for me and my family).

Are my values lined up with God’s values?

Heart

How’s my heart? The heart is the seat of the human will. It’s where my “want to” resides. Is my will led by the will of God or am I a “willful” rebellious child on the inside? How can the Spirit of God mold my will, bend it, so that I want what God wants for me?

Attitudes, Actions, Values, Heart. The things that make up my self. During Lent we want to examine these things and see what in me needs crucified so I can be the person God wants me to be.

This notion of crucifixion of self is really about sanctification, it’s about finding my true self, the self who is created in the image of God. Lent is like peeling back the layers of the onion to go deep inside oneself and take that inward journey with Jesus as he applies his healing salve and resurrects the person he created me to be.

Let’s go to the cross. In the cross we find redemption, forgiveness, and healing. In the cross we go through death to discover true life. That, my friends, is taking sin seriously so we can take grace seriously. Let’s live in the power of grace.

Happy Epiphany!

Today is Epiphany. Christians celebrate the manifestation of the Incarnate God, the Son, to the Wise Men, thus the physical manifestation of Jesus to Gentiles.

Why is this day important? Well, I think it does two things for us. First, it reminds us that Jesus was Jewish. The very idea of a manifestation to Gentiles points to the fact that Jesus was incarnate into the Jewish people, that the Messiah, himself, is the representative of God’s People, coming to vindicate them, and through whom it was prophesied that the nations would turn to the one true Creator God and worship him. The second thing Epiphany does is reminds us that Jesus, as Messiah, is King. The Wise Men sought the King of the Jews. They most likely were not fully aware of the gravity of this occasion, but they did recognize that the King of the Jews, Jesus the Messiah, was worthy of their worship.

The tendency for many Christians today is to believe the story of salvation began with Jesus (it did, but not where we generally think). Epiphany ties together the two strands of God’s big picture story, it marries the Old and New Testaments. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the hopes and dreams of Israel, he took on himself the sins of the world and all the nations of the world are blessed through him. In essence, he fulfilled Israel’s vocation. Psalm 2 points to the fact that the nations are to pay homage to the Messiah, as their true King and Ruler. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, he has been vindicated as the Messiah, the the King of the World. He not only came to die for our sins so we could spend eternity with God, he died and rose so that the whole world could be reconciled to God and the creation itself could be healed.

So Epiphany, the oft-forgotten feast day, is a day to celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promises to and through Israel for the sake of the whole world, including you and me. Glory to God!

Making Disciples

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” — C.S. Lewis

The temptation of a pastor coming to a new church is to jump into “fix-it” mode too quickly. Certainly, a new set of leadership eyes is helpful in finding some low-hanging fruit and making some adjustments to improve worship or outreach or some particular ministry of the church. These changes are important. But, more important is to inquire how are we making disciples who make disciples?

This is what the church is about, making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Too often, church leaders jump into institutional survival or even institutional growth mode and we fail to be missional leaders who engage in Kingdom-building ways of being in the communities in which we live.

We are to reach people with the Good News about Jesus Christ and then grow them into disciples of Jesus Christ who can do what Jesus does, make more disciples. That’s it. That’s what we do. If we grow disciples, we will grow the church. We can, however, focus on growing the church and never make a single disciple. Help us, Lord, think about, reflect on, pray about, then act on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The Impact of Relationships

“True personhood arises not from one’s individualistic isolation from others but from love and relationship with others, from communion.” — John Zizioulas

To be a person is to be in relationship with others. This is how our very existence is experienced, in relationship. René Descartes famously wrote, “I think, therefore I am.” However, this reflects a Western and Enlightenment bias that gave priority to the individual rather than community. A Biblical worldview is different. From the perspective of a creational way of thinking, we have to look to our Creator in order to understand our nature. When we do this we discover that at the base of our being, the most fundamental reality of our nature is found in relational personhood.

God, himself, is relational. Relationship is one of his defining attributes. God eternally exists as a communion of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To be created in his image means that we, too, are relational and we find our meaning and our very existence in relationship. Primary among our relationships is our relationship with God.

This is one of the main factors that contributes to why psychologists have discovered that a key to a happy and satisfying life is healthy relationships. How are your relationships? How is your relationship with God? You know, God loves you and wants the very best for you. The Father sent the Son to reveal his love to you and enable you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to enter into a life-changing relationship with him. This is where happiness and wholeness is found.