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me and Eric Liddell

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The movie “Chariots of Fire” tells the story of the great Scottish athlete Eric Liddell. He was not only an incredible runner–he won the men’s 400 meters at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris–but he was also a devoted follower of Christ who died on the mission field in China. One of Liddell’s most famous quotes is, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

Last night was the very first core group meeting for browns mill church. While I have been in local church ministry for over 13 years, I can truly say that God has shaped me for my current role and I can identify with Eric Liddell’s quote. For me, I feel God’s pleasure when I work alongside a leader in an environment of mutual respect and I am given the opportunity and the authority to put my skills and abilities toward seeing a shared vision fulfilled.

Tim Coleman, our lead pastor, and I are a team. We share the vision of browns mill church and feel it to the very core of our beings! I have an ownership of the vision because I have contributed to it from what God has laid on my heart. This drives me to throw my full weight behind it doing whatever is necessary to see it come to fruition. In past positions I have held this was not the case. In some of the churches I served, there was no vision to speak of (very frustrating!) and others had a vision that was hoarded by one person and no one else had an opportunity to contribute to it. This creates an environment where people feel like their hands are needed but not their brain. (Andy Stanley says, “For every pair of hands you hire, you get a free brain!”) Mutual respect is typically not a part of the equation, either, at least you don’t feel respected when you have no ownership or voice.

I am very thankful that God has called me to serve Him in this capacity. My desire is that I can now figure out how those who become a part of browns mill church can come to the point where they feel God’s pleasure because they are doing what they were shaped to do. I pray that I will be the type of leader who releases people to use their gifts and feel God’s pleasure!

the role of Judas

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In working my way through the Gospels, I came to Mark’s account of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. It is a story we’ve all heard hundreds of times. However, as I read it this time, an interesting question came to my mind. What exact role did Judas play in betraying Jesus? In Mark 14:43-44, we read the account of his betrayal of Jesus. Judas appears with a crowd, a mob, if you will, that was sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. He had arranged a signal that the one he kissed is the one they should arrest.

Here is my question. What exactly did they pay Judas to do? What did they get for their 30 piece of silver? The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders knew who Jesus was. In verse 48 of the same chapter, Jesus even alludes to this when he says, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.”

An issue that has become a hot topic among conservative evangelicals is Calvinism. At the risk of over simplifying this complex issue, it is essentially the tension between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. First, let me say that people who love God and have studied God’s word much more than me net out on both sides of this issue. Down through the years, many other people have had questions about the role of Judas (I found this out by reading Wikipedia!). There are some very interesting concepts about his role that people have come up with!

It seems to me that the role of Judas is perhaps one of the most poignant examples of how the sovereignty of God and the free will of man intersect. Judas was not merely some robot that was pre-programmed to take Jesus out. Yet, his role in the betrayal of Jesus and His consequent death was a part of God’s grand plan of redemption for all mankind!

So, when the subject of Calvinism comes up, here is my position. I believe in both the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. I don’t understand it, but somehow they coexist to accomplish God’s ultimate purpose which is to bring glory to Himself. If we could understand or explain it completely what fun would that be? That’s often our problem–creating a logical explanation for everything. The end result is that we think we’ve explained the unexplainable. God must find that rather humorous! My God is way bigger than I could ever fathom or explain.