A Divine Contrast

On Wednesday morning of this past week, I called to check on a woman who is a member of the church I serve. Her mother had been sick for some time and was taken to the hospital the previous evening with some pretty serious problems. The woman, Anna, told me that her mother would not live much longer. A couple of hours later I was at the bedside of this woman who was struggling to live, and together we prayed with her for about an hour. From there I drove across town to another hospital to check on another mother, only this one was preparing to give birth and I couldn’t help but be struck by the contrasting situations I was witnessing in the span of just a few minutes.

Later that same evening I was back at the hospital consoling Anna, who’s mother had passed away within the hour. Life on this earth had come to an end for her. New life in heaven had begun. Not 15 minutes later I was celebrating the birth of the other mother’s child, wondering what the world would hold for this little baby who’s life, set against the backdrop of eternity, would be a mere flash in time. The contrasts of the day left an indelible mark on this young pastor. One family watched the final sunset of their mother’s many years; another celebrated the dawn of new life. One life entered certain eternity; another, the uncertainty of an earthly existence. Two births, two very different bodies. One of dust, fit for life in the confines of time and space; one of glory, perfected for life that transcends the time-space continuum. It was a day of mysteries.

As I drove home that evening, I began thinking of the greatest of all contrasts: Jesus. Some of the difficulties that skeptics and unbelievers face in the person of Jesus lie in the contrasts he presents. At first glance, they appear as inconsistencies or contradictions and a glance is often all they are given. However, the contrasts that we observe in the life of Jesus reveal volumes about His nature as one who is both human and divine. I immediately thought of a book I had read some years before entitled, “The Strong Name,” by James Stewart and I made it a point to look it up the next morning. Stewart was a brilliant 20th century theologian and preacher from Scotland and in this compilation of sermons he wrote these famous words that so eloquently capture the divine contrast that is Jesus:

“He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming yet He was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with Him and the little ones nestled in His arms. No one was half so kind or compassionate to sinners yet no one ever spoke such red-hot scorching words about sin… His whole life was love. Yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell… He saved others but at the last, Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confront us in the Gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.”

To comprehend this mystery of divine personality is impossible. Great thinkers throughout history have often shown themselves as fools in their attempts to explain away this merging of natures in Christ. Only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit can one even begin to apprehend the God-Man, our Savior Jesus Christ. That He has condescended to reveal Himself to us at all further displays the love that He has for us. I marvel at creation and am completely perplexed by all the contrasts I observe in it and I find myself incredibly attracted to the mysteries of it all. What an incredible God we serve! I thank Him for the opportunity He gave me to share His love with others that day and through those moments of contrast and mystery, showing Himself to me yet again. And my prayer for each of you is that you never miss the opportunities you are given to be amazed and awed by the incredible mysteries of our God.

Yours Truly, Duke Maynard

 

Sabbath Revelations, Part One

I celebrated my one-year anniversary on staff with Meadow Heights Church on July 5th and have just completed my first two-week vacation. It has been the greatest vacation I have ever had and I’ve been reminded of just how important God’s commandment for sabbath rest really is. The past year was physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting for my entire family. We have navigated through more challenges and more changes than I could have ever imagined and it really took a toll on us. These past two weeks have been filled, not with endless travel plans and activities, but with a true balance of fun, relaxation and peacefulness. We have enjoyed an actual period of sabbath rest and it has made a tremendous impact on us, both as individuals and as a family. Thank you Bryan and all the staff at MH for giving this time back to us! We needed it!

One of the greatest gifts that a sabbath bestows on a person is perspective. When you’re down in the trenches day in and day out, your perspective is limited by the stressful intensity and pressures of the fight that you’re waging. Only when you withdraw and view the battle from the hilltop, removed from the fatigue of combat, can you get an accurate picture of the entire engagement. For me, this perspective has given way to a number of revelations about myself and my role in the Kingdom of Jesus. Let me share first of all the three big things that God has re-revealed to me about, well… me.

1 – I am a push-the-envelope risk-taker. For whatever reason, this just hit me in the face as I was praying one morning. I love challenges, especially when it involves something that’s on the vanguard of innovation. It’s the very thing that drew me to Meadow Heights. I’m not claiming to be a great innovator, but I love to be on the pioneer bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong though; I don’t take blind leaps of faith. I always do my research and study a subject intensely, but I can’t deny the fact that I’m drawn to things that most people would take a pass on. As MH prepares to launch a second site this winter, and as I get a chance to really dig into our Life Group ministry, I think my appetite for challenge will be well fed!

2 – My perfectionism is limiting the growth of my faith. Not only do I push the envelope, I also make sure that it is addressed, stamped, sealed and delivered with exacting precision. I’ve developed a commitment to excellence over the years and I think it’s one of my greatest assets. Unfortunately, as I’ve observed over and over again in other people’s lives, our greatest assets often become our greatest enemies. I have trouble letting things go and turning things over, especially if it’s something that I “pioneered.” I often stress out and obsess over details. For all you biblically literate folks, you’ll recognize that as leaning on your own understanding. Not exactly a faith-promoting habit. I need to spend less time obsessing over the details and more time praying over the areas and people I am leading. This was a really important revelation and one that I am taking very seriously. You can pray for me in this regard if you are so inclined.

3 – God feeds my soul through my mind. God feeds each of us in different ways. For me, it’s primarily about loving God with all my mind. I had forgotten how spiritually invigorating a good theological book is. I’ve read two of them this week on creationism and intelligent design and have felt closer to God than I have in months. There were several intellectual pursuits that I left hanging in the balance when I took this position with Meadow Heights last year. I looked over them again this past week and my mind started racing with new ideas where I had gotten stuck before. I thought about why I had picked up these challenges in the first place: objections to faith from non-believers in my life. It brought tears to my eyes as I thought about those individuals. In the process I began thinking about the brilliance of God’s intelligence and how He has created us to ask the question, “Why?” And every time I ask and I seek and He shows me things that blows my mind, I find myself just a little closer to Him and loving Him just a little more. It excites me to think that I might be able to help someone who is struggling with barriers to faith in God. It deepens my faith exponentially to see new revelations in God’s word. Hmmm… I need to find more time for this stuff!

Well, that’s just some of the thoughts that came to me these past two weeks. I believe that God used this time of sabbath to bring these very things to my attention and give me a renewed perspective on myself. He also helped bring some perspective to my life as it relates to my responsibilities in ministry, but I will save that for “Sabbath Revelations, Part Two.” Until then…

Yours Truly, Duke Maynard

 

The Apocalypse Code

I finally finished reading “The Apocalypse Code” by Hank Hanegraaff and I thought I’d offer my take on his latest book. Hank’s radio broadcast, “The Bible Answer Man,” had a significant influence on me as a new Christian and I have always had a fondness for him. I have several of his books, all of which have been enlightening in some way. This book is a little different for me in that my views on eschatology, which is simply the study of end times, are fairly well developed. I was more interested in learning Hank’s views since he has always been closed-lipped about the subject, wanting to study more and formulate a solid position. That rings a familiar bell for me.

Hank’s “modus operandi” for the book is to give us a proper method for biblical interpretation, not simply a model of end times theology to embrace. As always, he drives home his point through the use of an acrostic; in this case, LIGHTS. The letters cover six principles of sound biblical interpretation (known as hermeneutics): Literal Principle, Illumination Principle, Grammatical Principle, Historical Principle, Typology Principle, and Scriptural Principle. Within the Historical Principle, he gives us yet another acrostic, LEGACY, which underscores important questions to ask a text when attempting to discover its historical value.  As a result, Hank not only gives us a primer on his view of the end times, he also gives us the tools for formulating our own. This is what I love most about the book. Good hermeneutics is imperative to understanding scripture. It is also severely lacking in the lion’s share of popular end times writings. If you have an interest in studying eschatology (or any other biblical subject), Hank’s LIGHTS acrostic is worth the price of the book.

At this point you may be wondering what Hank concludes about the end times from his application of these principles. Hank always eschews labels of any kind, not wanting to be pigeon-holed with one camp or another. I appreciate that desire as well, but the book clearly lays out what is understood as a preterist viewpoint which sees most end times prophecies fulfilled in the past, with particular attention on the events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. While laying out his principled reasoning for this interpretation, he makes no bones about his distaste for the fanciful interpretations of Tim LaHaye and other popular writers today who espouse a system known as premillenial dispensationalism, one system out of many in the futurist paradigm. Hank can be a little harsh on LaHaye at times. While there is a long list of popular writers and speakers who subscribe to dispensationalism, Hank focuses his criticism on LaHaye as the modern day torch-bearer for the system that originated with John Nelson Darby in the nineteenth century. As the LaHaye system is easily the most widely accepted view in western Christianity, Hank’s focus is understandable… and much needed.

My biggest complaint with the book is that while Hank does a good job of demonstrating the weakness of LaHaye’s views, he is ambiguous and even dismissive of where preteristic interpretation should stop and a futuristic one should begin. Hank sees most of the prophecies fulfilled in the past, but not all. After reading the book, I have no real sense of where that line is for Hank, let alone why. As a case in point, in discussing when John wrote the book of Revelation, Hank writes:

If Revelation was written before AD 70, it is reasonable to assume that the vision given to John was meant to reveal the apocalyptic events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem – events that were still in John’s future but are in our past. This, of course, does not presuppose that all the prophecies in Revelation have already been fulfilled. Just as thoughtful Christians should distance themselves from the fully futurist fallacy, they should disavow a predominantly preterist perspective.

This and similar statements throughout the book comprise his discussion on my point. What exactly constitutes a “predominantly preterist perspective?” We do not learn this from Hank. He has equipped us to be “thoughtful Christians” with regard to the “fully futurist fallacy,” but has dismissed further thoughtful discussion on where, why and most importantly how he draws the lines with regard to his own views. It appears to me that Hank should bring clarity to this side of his argument.

As one who also embraces a preterist view of end times, I believe Hank has written a winner. He has given us a great starting point for a study of eschatology by showing the importance of good interpretive method, something that most books today are lacking. It will not answer all of your questions, but it will definitely give you some to start asking. If your only exposure to end times is LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series, I would challenge you to read Hank’s book. It will get you to thinking about what you believe and why you believe it.

Yours Truly, Duke Maynard

 

Word Up… Not Down!

Have you ever shot off your mouth without fully considering the impact of your words? I think most of us have been guilty of this from time to time; I know I have. I can be somewhat impatient and if I’m not careful, it can get me into trouble. I was thinking about the power of words yesterday as I prayed for my Life Group and I’d like to share with you what God laid on my heart in that moment. I’ll approach this from the perspective of three sayings I heard growing up. You’ve probably heard them, too. And like me, I hope you’ve concluded how false they really are.

1. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me.” This is saying number one and it’s a bunch of hooey. I can remember getting hit by a playground bully’s rock when I was a kid and it definitely hurt; even left a bruise. But, the pain was basically gone in a few minutes. Even better, I recall the time when my sister accidentally hit me in the nose with a baseball and broke it. Man, that really hurt. But again, the pain didn’t last that long and I was out running around with one of my buddies later that evening. However, when I was in the sixth grade and a little girl I had a crush on called me a funny-looking four-eyed nerd… I was crushed for weeks. I became insecure about how I looked and I don’t think I spoke to another cute girl for a very long time. Not only that, I wanted to kick dirt all over her and beat her senseless with my Trapper Keeper. Words hurt, so let’s just own that right now. “So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.” – James 3:5 (NLT)
   
2. “I’m rubber and you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” In the real world I’ve learned that the opposite is true. Words don’t bounce and I’m not made of rubber. They stick to just about everyone… and they stick pretty darn good at that. And all too often, unless he or she has a really good conscience, the other person moves on without a lot of difficulty. As in my previous story about the cute little girl, the wounds inflicted by our words can stick around for a long time, become infected with anger and in some cases leave scars for a lifetime. The Bible refers to these as “cutting” words. They leave marks on the lives of their victims and usually “cut” straight to the heart. Bouncing isn’t really in the picture.
3. “Words are only temporary. They don’t last forever.” I can remember my mom comforting me with those words and I’m glad she did… as wrong as she may have been. I know she wasn’t concerned about absolute philosophical accuracy, but nevertheless I still remember what she said and that was almost 30 years ago. I also remember the words of that cute little girl. And my junior high band teacher telling me what a wonderful player I was. And my uncle’s encouragement when I bombed leading songs in church. I remember words that I’ve spoken, too. Words that moved a friend to accept Christ. Words that destroyed a great friendship. Words that married me to my wife. That announced, “It’s a girl!” Words do last and don’t you forget it. I’ve built up and torn down with my words; others have done the same to me. And while we may be able to forgive, forgetting is often not in the cards. Even Jesus said, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” – Mark 13:31 (NAS) I rest my case.

In the end, I decided to lead my group through an exercise of encouraging words. Each person took a turn on the hot seat while everyone else offered a word of encouragement to them. It was the best evening of the year for our group and I think everyone went home a little happier than when they arrived. Proverbs 18 states explicitly that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Which will you choose today? Words that encourage and build people up or those that discourage and tear people down? Take my advice. Word up!

Yours Truly, Duke Maynard

 

KAOS Out of Control

Some of you may remember the 1960s show “Get Smart” with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon. It was a great comedic take on the spy genre from both the big and small screens, pitting the good guys at CONTROL against the evil organization KAOS. The simple-minded Adams and the more judicious Feldon made their mark as one of the funniest and most endearing comedy teams in TV history. Of course, the idea of CONTROL and KAOS pitted against each other has obvious parallels to the real world, but it was the chaos of the CONTROL organization that really drew oxymoronic chuckles from the audiences. There was quite a lot of creativity in the concept and the writers used it to full effect.

That show, and the entire chaos/control premise it was based upon, came rushing through my mind just a few minutes ago as I was navigating through my own series of chaotic events. Nothing has worked smoothly this week and it seems that the harder I have tried to get in control of my circumstances the more chaotic they have become. I have been frustrated at every turn and my temper has flared repeatedly to the point that some objects have nearly met their end for good. I would imagine that anyone who might be watching this little life-episode of mine has had more than a few of their own chuckles at my expense. So, to wax philosophical for a moment, is chaos the natural result of our attempts at controlling it? Can we successfully bring control to the chaos of our lives or is the very idea of “control” an illusory figment of fertile imaginations?

Frankly, the truth of the matter is that I have a hard enough time controlling myself. What delusion has convinced me that I’ve got myself under control, let alone anything beyond that? In writing to the Roman church, the apostle Paul said of himself, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Apparently, Paul understood this idea, too. Much like the TV show “Get Smart”, the real KAOS comes not from without, but from within. By trying to control circumstances that are truly beyond me, I wind up losing control of all the things that I actually could have controlled in the first place: my attitude, my tounge, my heartrate and so on. Now don’t misunderstand me. Trying to bring order to chaos is a wise and necessary endeavor. However, it is crucial to one’s sanity (and trust me, I’ve tested the concept) to remember that moving something from chaos to order is quite a different thing from being “in control” of it. That is the providence of sovereignty. Such attitudes actually seek the role of God by attempting to control anything external to that degree. Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” How wise.

When I seek to be in control, chaos inevitably ensues. So I will end my work day by asking God to take control. We used to sing a song that stated, “My heart, my mind, my body, my soul; I give to You, take control.” I will choose to step out of the control booth and let God take over. You might consider a similar move. Especially if you’ve been throwing stuff out the window.

Yours Truly, Duke Maynard