Whole Foods, Cracker Barrel, and The United Methodist Church

David Burns on May 5, 2017

Back in 2011 Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report described the political divide in our country in terms of Whole Foods Market and Cracker Barrel.  Whole Foods Markets are small grocery stores offering organic, natural and fresh foods and high-end groceries.  Their stores tend to be located in larger cities.  Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is a restaurant chain serving up hearty portions of home cooked foods (dumplings, meatloaf, and fried chicken)—with gift shops selling “Americana,” including a brisk business in rocking chairs.  Cracker Barrels are often located in less densely populated areas along interstate highways.  The chain was ranked the number one family restaurant in America in 2016. In 2012, Wasserman noted, President Obama won the presidency by winning 77% of the counties in America where there is at least one Whole Foods Market.  In 2016 President Trump was elected by winning 76% of counties with at least one Cracker Barrel.  Many have picked up on Wasserman’s shorthand for describing the divide in America.  There are many criticisms that could be leveled against this way of characterizing, sifting and dividing America, not the least of which could be—depending upon who is doing the analyzing—a kind of snobbery or value judgment implicit in its use.  Further, one would have to survey Cracker Barrel and Whole Foods customers to see whom they voted for.  The presence of a store in a county does not tell us how that store’s customers vote.  Many Cracker Barrel customers are travelers.  But more to the point, Americans can’t be so easily divided.  My county has both Whole Foods and Cracker Barrel stores, and I enjoy them both. The United Methodist Church is a great example of this wide diversity.  A microcosm of the United States, we’ve got Whole Foods Market shoppers and Cracker Barrel fans.  If the consumers at these two chains tend towards particular demographics, The United Methodist Church has a significant number of each demographic and most of our churches have both Cracker Barrel Christians and Whole Foods Christians.  United Methodists differ on how they think about some social issues, and about how they interpret Scripture regarding same-gender relationships, but they tend to share far more in common when it comes to their faith, than what divides them. They trust that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  They are passionate followers of Jesus Christ whom they claim as both Savior and Lord.  They believe in, and seek to have, hearts that are strangely warmed by the Spirit’s fire.  They love the Bible, but eschew a blind adherence to biblical literalism. They love to dig into the scriptures and to wrestle at times with the text seeking to hear God speak through it, while embracing the insights of scholars. Grace is a big deal to United Methodists.  They know they are not saved by good works.  Yet they also believe they are saved for good works.  And while they understand that Calvin had some important insights, they are not fond of the idea that God predestines some to heaven and others to hell, nor the idea that the evil and suffering we see in the world is the will of God. Methodists believe that science and Christianity are compatible.  They are evangelical, borne out of the 18th century evangelical revival that John Wesley led, and they long to share their faith with others, but they tend to be more comfortable showing their faith by their compassion and kindness rather than by passing out gospel tracts.  They are people of a “both/and” rather than “either/or” faith.  They’ve found ways to love one another and to accept that people of faith might read and interpret Scripture differently and still be in the same Sunday school class.  They are people with a “catholic spirit,” people who, even if they’ve never heard the term, tend towards the via media—the middle way.  Every United Methodist knows Christian friends who are more conservative than they are, and some who are more “liberal” than they are.  They tend to be liberal conservatives or conservative liberals. Don’t confuse their ability to listen to, appreciate, and learn from those with whom they disagree as believing that “it doesn’t matter what you believe.”  Methodists share a common set of convictions around the essentials of the faith—they sing of them in their hymns, recite them using the Creeds, and preach and teach them from the pulpit and in their small groups and Sunday school classes. We’ve got conservatives and liberals who share the convictions and practices I’ve just described.   Like America itself, Methodism has a lot of folks who love Cracker Barrel, savoring its home cooking and slice of Americana. And at the same time, we have plenty of folks who love roaming the aisles of a Whole Foods market shopping for natural, organic, and fresh foods that are healthy and sourced in socially conscious ways.  In other words, a large number of United Methodists love both country fried steak and kale, cherry cobbler and Camembert cheese.  As our nation is increasingly polarized, it needs models of leadership and communities where Cracker-Barrel-ists and Whole Food Market-ites live together focusing more on what they share in common than what divides them.  That’s what the average United Methodist Church demonstrates, and what we as a denomination might model for our nation and the world.  

Moses: In the Footsteps of the Reluctant Prophet

David Burns on May 3, 2017

Moses. He is the single most important figure in the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament). His presence is felt throughout the Christian New Testament. The epic account of his life, together with the deliverance of the Israelite slaves from bondage in Egypt, is the defining story of the Jewish people. For Christians, Moses’ life serves as the backdrop for much that is found in the Gospels, including the story of Jesus’ flight to Egypt, the Sermon on the Mount, many of Jesus’ sayings in the Gospel of John, the activities of Jesus around Jerusalem, the Last Supper, and the Crucifixion. In the Gospel account of Christ’s transfiguration, Moses actually appears to Jesus and speaks to him. He is mentioned by name more than seventy times in the New Testament, and his life, story, and commands are alluded to in nearly every New Testament book. Throughout history, his story has continued to speak to each successive generation. American slaves composed songs about Moses as they yearned for freedom. Moses is enshrined in the architecture of the U.S. Supreme Court—inside on the south frieze as one of the great lawgivers of history and outside on the eastern pediment. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his final sermon delivered the night before his death, drew upon the story of Moses ascending Mount Nebo. King proclaimed that he had “been to the mountaintop,” where, like Moses, he claimed to have seen the Promised Land. Moses’ story has been captured in art, music, literature, and film.  Among the many things I appreciate about Moses’ story is what an unlikely hero he was. He was a Hebrew adopted into Pharaoh’s family. He was a murderer and fugitive from the law. He was an elderly sheepherder from the desert whom God called to deliver the Israelites. He appears to have had some kind of speech impediment, yet became Israel’s greatest prophet. He was imperfect, afraid, reluctant, and often frustrated, all of which makes him so very human. Yet, despite all of this, the Book of Deuteronomy closes with these words: “No prophet like Moses has yet emerged in Israel; Moses knew the Lord face-to-face!” (Deuteronomy 34:10). During the next few weeks on the blog, I’ll be sharing excerpts from my latest book, Moses: In the Footsteps of the Reluctant Prophet. As I prepared to write this book, I traveled to Egypt with a film crew to see the places associated with Moses and the Exodus.  We filmed the small group videos there – the footage is amazing.  In the small group DVD  I’ll take your group to the pyramids and into the Luxor and Karnak temples.  We’ll sail down the Nile, and travel up to the Land of Goshen.  We’ll pass by the Red Sea, through the desert, and up Mount Sinai before completing our journey on Mt. Nebo in Jordan where Moses died. The book includes maps, charts, photos and historical material that will help illuminate Moses’ life.  Then in each chapter I hope to help the reader see how Moses’ life, and the story of the Exodus, still speaks to our lives today. I have included a promo video that you might find a helpful introduction to the book. Just click on the triangle on the image at the top of the blog post.  Click here to find more information about all Moses products, including the primary book, a Leader Guide, a Children's Leader Guide, and a Youth Study book.  

The Resurrection of the Body

David Burns on March 3, 2017

Today concludes our series of blog posts featuring excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. As we have now entered into the Lenten season, it seems appropriate that we consider the resurrection and the promise of life everlasting. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter Six, “The Resurrection of the Body.” Click here to read last week’s post, which featured an excerpt from Chapter Five. Christians believe that in Jesus’ death and resurrection, God gave a definitive answer to the existential questions of death and life beyond death. Clearly Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. His friends grieved and mourned his death. But those same friends claimed that on Sunday morning, after his death on Friday, Jesus stepped out of the tomb. These men and women claimed that they had seen him, eaten with him, touched him, and been taught by him for forty days after his death. The tomb in which he had been buried was empty; people could go and see it. Jesus’ disciples, who, fearing for their lives, had gone into hiding after his death, boldly stepped into the streets to proclaim that he had risen. In the years following, people such as Paul, who had initially rejected Christianity and had even persecuted Christians, claimed to have had encounters, visions, and profound experiences of the risen Christ. Once again, in the late 50s, Paul wrote of Jesus that “he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once—most of them are still alive to this day” (1 Corinthians 15:6). With this confidence, Paul could affirm that for him there was no question that we survive death, and he could write, quoting Isaiah 25:8, “Death has been swallowed up by a victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Later Paul wrote, “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV). It’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). We believe in life beyond death because Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples bore witness to it, and those who came later had profound experiences with the risen Christ. Jesus’ death and resurrection were, in part, God’s way of speaking to the deepest and most fundamental human crisis: death. I love that phrase in Scripture, included in the Creed: “On the third day he rose again.” As important as Jesus’ death is for Christians, it was his resurrection that demonstrated his triumph over evil, hate, sin, and death. As Jesus said in John, “Because I live, you will live too” (John 14:19). Once again, the existentialist theologian Paul Tillich offered an important word when he wrote, “The face of every man shows the trace of the presence of death in his life, of his fear of death, of his courage toward death, and of his resignation to death. This frightful presence of death subjects man to bondage and servitude all his life.”The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is God’s answer to the “frightful presence of death,” and in one great act on Easter morning Christ liberated believers from death’s “bondage and servitude.” That first Easter, the disciples remained in hiding. They had not yet seen Jesus. They did not expect his resurrection from the grave. When the women came announcing that Jesus had been raised, the disciples thought the women were out of their minds. Then suddenly he appeared among them, saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:21). In this simple statement Jesus was expressing, in part, what his resurrection and the promise of eternal life mean to us. By conquering death, Jesus addressed our fear and uncertainty and offered his first disciples, and us, a peace that sustains us even in the face of great tragedy and pain. I’m reminded of Thomas Dorsey, one of the greats of African American gospel music. Just days after losing his first wife, Nettie, and their son during childbirth, Dorsey wrote the beloved hymn “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. It was Dorsey’s faith that Christ lives, that he walks with us, that there is a resurrection of the body and a life everlasting, that made it possible for him to write those words just days after laying his wife and infant son to rest. This is just a brief excerpt from Chapter Six of my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why.  In the rest of the chapter I consider the many aspects and implications of Christ’s resurrection, his promise that we will be raised, and what heaven is like. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab).    

Who Needs Forgiveness?

David Burns on February 24, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter Five, “The Forgivenss of Sins.” Click here to read last week’s post, which featured an excerpt from Chapter Four.   Belief in the forgiveness of sins is only good news if we first understand that we need forgiveness, and to make sense of that understanding we must talk about sin. The primary word for sin in the New Testament is hamartia, a term used by archers that meant “to miss the mark.” This was a great word to use in illustrating what sin is, particularly in a day when people hunted with bows and arrows. Just as an archer’s arrow might miss the intended target, we as human beings miss the target in our thoughts, words, and deeds. The word points to a fundamental existential truth: there is an ideal we’re meant to live up to as human beings—holiness, or sanctification—but we all fall short of this ideal, mark, or target. The theological word for missing the mark is sin, and because we daily miss the mark—saying, thinking, or doing things we should not have done, or failing to say, think, or do things we should have done—we find ourselves in need of forgiveness. What does “missing the mark” look like? The fourth-century desert father Evagrius Ponticus is credited with outlining a list of foundational or cardinal sins from which all other sins arise. The list became known  in Christianity as the “seven deadly sins.” I find the list helpful in examining my own life to see where I miss the mark. There are variations in the lists of these deadly sins, depending upon how certain Latin words are understood and translated, but here is one standard list: ·      lust ·      gluttony ·      greed ·      sloth ·      anger ·      envy ·      pride Most of these seven deadly sins are pretty self-explanatory, though a word about sloth might be helpful. I understand sloth to be not only avoidance of doing what we’re meant to do, but indifference to evil or the suffering of others. Going back to the list, which of us hasn’t struggled with these sins? Some are a daily struggle for me. Another way to look at “missing the mark” is to think of the virtues our lives are meant to be defined by. There are a variety of lists describing such virtues. As noted earlier, one such list is Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit,” in which he paints a picture of the marks which God intends to define our lives, including “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). With the Spirit’s help, we hope to be defined by these virtues, but looking over the list, it is easy for most of us to see that we miss the mark. A traditional prayer of confession used in Anglican and Methodist settings captures the variety of ways we sin and helps us understand our need for forgiveness: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. To be clear, we sin by things we’ve thought, said, and done (sins of commission), but we can also sin by failing to think, say, or do things we should have done (sins of omission). Either way, sin is a failure to be or do what God intends for us as human beings. It is a missing of the mark. Sin can enslave us. It can rob us of joy. The lure of sin over-promises and under-delivers. I’ve seen up close the impact of surrendering to lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, and pride. We see the impact of sin every day on the evening news. In the last century, hundreds of millions of people died needlessly due to war, greed, ethnic violence, terrorism, unclean water, lack of food and health care, and more—and the underlying causes of all of these things can be summarized by one word: sin. It’s easy to look at the categories of sin I’ve just mentioned and think they apply to the sins of others, while not seeing our own struggle with sin. That’s where Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s words offer an important truth: If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. The Apostle Paul offers this realistic assessment of the human condition when he writes, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). We’ve all treated others poorly, been self-absorbed, and failed to do justice and practice loving-kindness. We’ve all missed the mark.  We all need forgiveness. This is just a brief excerpt from Chapter Five of my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why.  In the rest of the chapter I consider other meanings of the word, sin, in the New Testament and then focus on the radical nature of God’s forgiveness. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab).   

The Church and the Communion of Saints

David Burns on February 16, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter Four, “The Church and the Communion of Saints.” Click here to read last week’s post, which featured an excerpt from Chapter Three.  Exploring our belief in the holy catholic church and the communion of saints is, in a very real sense, to unpack and clarify the work of the Holy Spirit. Before thinking about what we mean by the church, I’d like to explore what is meant when the Creed affirms that the church that Christians believe in is “holy” and “catholic.” When many people view the church, it looks neither holy nor catholic. It seems filled with hypocrites and judgmental people; in fact, this is one reason why many have turned away from “organized religion” and why so many young adults today say that they are “spiritual but not religious.” Interestingly, these same young people have great admiration for Jesus but far less admiration for his people, the church. They see neither holiness nor catholicity when they look at the most vocal Christians and the most outspoken churches today. It helps to understand that when we say we believe in the holy catholic church, we’re not saying the church is filled with really righteous people who are nearly perfect. The word holy in the biblical context means belonging to God, or “sacred to” God or “set apart for” God. You’ve likely heard it said that the church is not a country club for perfect people, but instead a hospital for broken and sinful people who are slowly being made well. The church, then, is holy when those who are a part of her recognize that she belongs to God and not to her members. She is holy when those who consider the church home don’t ask “What do we want our church to do for us?” but rather “What does God want his church to do for him?” One metaphor for the church suggested by several passages in the New Testament is that of a bride, and specifically Christ’s bride. Paul says a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Using this metaphor, the church is holy when she loves Christ and seeks to be faithful to him. But what about the word catholic? As used here, catholic is an adjective. It does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church, at least not exclusively. Catholic comes from a compound Greek word that means, in essence, everywhere. (The Greek term kata holos, found in Acts 9:31, describes the church “throughout” Judea, the Galilee, and Samaria.) The word came to be a reminder of the church’s unity: every community of believers across the Roman Empire and beyond was bound together in the gospel. Despite differences in language or ethnic makeup, these communities were a part of one church, the church everywhere, the catholic church. Tragically, today there are many divisions within the Christian family—more, it seems, every day. Jesus predicted this when he prayed in John 17 that God would make his followers one, as he and the Father are one. He tried to forestall the divisions among his followers by telling his disciples not to judge one another, and to love one another and forgive one another. Nevertheless, the church divided and continues to divide. Despite this, our belief in the holy, catholic church is an ecumenical belief that all who call upon the name of Christ and seek to follow him as Savior and Lord are, despite their denominational or nondenominational names, part of one universal church. The Roman Catholic Church is a part of that one universal church, and so is the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, nondenominational churches, and all the rest. The above is just a short excerpt.  In the rest of the chapter I unpack the meaning of the “communion of the saints” and offer a case for why the church matters today, in a time when many have come to believe the church is irrelevant, or worse.  I believe in the church, and after reading the chapter, I hope my readers will join the creed in affirming, “I believe in the holy, catholic church." Today's excerpt is from Chapter Four of Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab).   

Living a Spirit Empowered Life

David Burns on February 9, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter Three, “The Holy Spirit.” Click here to read last week’s post, which featured an excerpt from Chapter Two.  Just before Jesus left this earth, he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem and he would send the Spirit: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Note Luke’s words in describing what happened on the Jewish feast of Pentecost shortly after Jesus’ resurrection. As you read this passage, remember that the word for spirit also means “wind” or “breath.”  When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.  (Acts 2:1-4 NRSV) I love this imagery for the Spirit—a rushing, violent wind. But notice too the connection to the creation story in Genesis. There God breathed into and filled the man and woman, animating them and giving them life. Here God breathes upon Jesus’ followers and fills them and makes them new. This is the re-creation of humanity by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Voices We Listen to, the Powers that Shape Us Jack Levison, professor of Old Testament at Perkins School of Theology, described the biblical picture of the Holy Spirit in his book Fresh Air: “The spirit was a force to be reckoned with, an impulse to which mere humans capitulated, a source of daily breath and an uncontrollable outside power.” The Spirit not only was a force to be reckoned with; to this day the Spirit continues to be that kind of force. I love this idea of the Spirit as a rushing mighty wind. The church I serve has been building its permanent sanctuary. One day while the building was under construction, I was standing in the midst of the sanctuary. The contractors had left for the day. The windows were not yet in and tarps hung across the openings. Suddenly a gale-force wind began to blow; some of the tarps came loose and were blowing and flapping in the wind making a tremendous amount of noise. I stood there, eyes closed, listening and praying that the Spirit would do in our sanctuary what the wind was doing that day: blowing with such force that worshipers would be moved, comforted, and filled with power. I think many Christians live Spirit-deficient lives, a bit like someone who is sleep-deprived, nutrient-deprived, or oxygen-deprived. Many Christians haven’t been taught about the Spirit, nor encouraged to seek the Spirit’s work in their lives. As a result, our spiritual lives are a bit anemic as we try living the Christian life by our own power and wisdom. What are the voices you listen to, and what are the powers that shape your life? You’ve no doubt seen images of people who have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, with each seeking to influence them. Personally, whether it’s the devil or just my own shadow-self, I find there are voices in my own life that would lead me to give in to hate, indifference, desire, pride, infidelity, selfishness, or greed. But when we listen to the voice of the Spirit and open ourselves to the Spirit’s active work in our lives, we find that we are led to a very different place and to become very different people. The Spirit convicts us and quickens our conscience when we’re doing wrong. The Spirit, through persistent nudges, urges us to act selflessly in our care for others. The Spirit makes us long to be more than we are at the present and to become more like the people God intended us to be. Paul describes the Spirit’s work and its impact on our lives as the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” How different is this fruit than the fruit my own heart, and the culture around me, tends to produce in my life.  This is just a brief excerpt from Chapter Three of Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab).   

Why Faith in Jesus Matters

David Burns on February 3, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter Two, “Jesus Christ.” Click here to read last week’s post, which featured an excerpt from Chapter One.  Some years ago, a rabbi friend invited me to observe the Passover Seder with her family. She said the story that is retold and reenacted in the Passover Seder is the Jewish people’s defining story. She noted, “We once were slaves. God heard our cry, had compassion upon us, delivered us, and made us his people. If you are a Jew, you’ve got to get this story. It is our defining story.” This is how Christians see the story of Jesus. It’s our defining story. Jesus demonstrates who God is, what God is like, and what God’s will is for our lives. His life and ministry, his death and resurrection shape how we see ourselves and how we see the world. Ingmar Bergman once said, “You were born without purpose, you live without meaning, living is its own meaning. When you die, you are extinguished. From being you will be transformed to non-being.” But faith in Jesus offers a very different perspective. We were born with purpose, our lives have meaning, and when this mortal body is finished, we’ve only just begun to live. Richard Dawkins once famously wrote, “We are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules know as genes.” But faith in Jesus says that we were made for more than this. In fact, the pain and brokenness in our world are largely the result of our living as “robot vehicles” blindly focused on serving the self. Jesus calls us to be authentically human, to love, give, serve, and rise above our selfish genes. As we do so, we not only make the world a more just and compassionate place; we find joy in the process. Yale historian Jaroslav Pelikan captured well the impact Jesus has had on the world. He wrote, “Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of the history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?” For Father’s Day last year, my then twenty-five-year-old daughter Rebecca, who is living in New York, sent me a gift. I was getting ready for church and the doorbell rang. And there was a delivery person with a balloon, a card, and a container with beautiful plants. I opened the card and read it: “Dad, Happy Father’s Day. You are my hero and I am so proud to call you my Dad. Rebecca.” I put this miniature garden of succulents on my desk, and every time I look at them I am reminded that I’m loved by my daughter. When God sought to communicate his love for us, he sent Jesus. It was in his Son that God’s message, God’s Word, came to us and became our defining story. Through Jesus, God was saying: I Am. You matter to me. I love you. In Jesus, God showed that he cares about those who are lost and those who are made to feel small. He showed us compassion for the sick. He showed us how to love, to forgive, to give, to serve. In Jesus’ death on the cross, God showed us the depth of his love and the costliness of grace. And in Jesus’ resurrection, God defeated evil, hate, sin, and death! In writing these words, I’m reminded of Karl Barth, the great twentieth-century theologian, who devoted fourteen volumes to expressing the truths I’m trying to cover in this one short book. Yet despite those fourteen volumes, when Barth was asked by a student if he could summarize in one sentence his theological work, Barth responded by reciting the words of a song his mother had taught him as a child: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” (See Roger Olson’s post about these now famous words of Barth’s: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2013/01/did-karl-barth-really-say-jesus-loves-me-this-i-know/.) Yes, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you, too. And that makes all the difference. This is just a brief excerpt form Chapter Two of Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab). 

The God Christians Believe In

David Burns on January 26, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including a portion from Chapter One, “God.” Click here to read last week’s post, which was the book’s Introduction. The Apostles’ Creed begins, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” Christians believe there is a God, a Supreme Being, and Ultimate Reality that created the universe. Many would be willing to use the term “God” when referring to the creative and powerful forces that gave rise to, and hold together, the universe as we know it—forces such as the mysterious “dark energy” of astrophysics. When Einstein referred to God, it seems to me that he was willing to use the word in such a way—not a personal being, but an impersonal power or force, or perhaps a mystery of science yet unsolved. Yet Christians perceive God not simply as a force of nature, but as an entity, a Being, that is both intelligent and powerful. Max Planck, the brilliant theoretical physicist and father of quantum theory, captured part of this idea in a 1944 speech in which he said, “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” Planck, a Nobel Laureate, did not see his work in the field of quantum mechanics as incompatible with his Christian faith. Sustaining and holding the universe together was an almighty force that was both “conscious” and “intelligent.” George Lemaître, a Catholic priest and cosmological physicist, was perhaps best known as the father of the Big Bang theory. He championed the idea that the universe had a beginning, a day on which it was born. His theory of cosmic expansion pointed backward to “a day when there was no yesterday.” Lemaître did not see this idea as proof of God’s existence, but he did seem to recognize that his theory, now widely accepted, made it intellectually possible to reconcile faith and science. There are many scientists who believe that science and faith are incompatible, but many others throughout history have believed, and continue to believe, that the two are not mutually exclusive. During the “scientific revolution” of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, for example, some of the leading luminaries were Christian believers—people such as Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, and Galileo, who, despite the church’s blunder in criticizing his conclusions, continued to maintain his faith in God. My point is that, despite frequent statements by some scientists that science and Christian faith are incompatible, there are numerous other scientists who have played significant roles in the advancement of knowledge and who believed in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Christians believe that God is the creative force, the power, the source from which everything that exists derives its existence and upon which all that exists is contingent. This is just a brief excerpt form Chapter One of Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. If you would like to know more about the book or the children, youth or adult small group study resources based upon it, click here; or click here to view the promo videos (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Videos" tab). 

I Believe

David Burns on January 19, 2017

I’m sharing excerpts from my new book, Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, on the blog in these next few weeks as we approach the Lenten season. Today, I’m including the Introduction in its entirety from the book. Click here to read last week’s post, which included my introduction for the blog series.     Credo is the first word of the Apostles’ Creed in Latin. It means “I believe.” Before we explore what Christians believe, why they believe it, and why it matters, let’s pause to think about belief itself. What do we mean when we say we believe? How does belief affect the believer? What are the sources of belief—the reasons for belief? The word believe can have multiple layers of meaning and can be applied to everything from the silly to the profound. For example, I believe my favorite baseball team might make it to the World Series again this year. In this sense belief expresses my hopes, which may be at least partially rooted in my assessment of the skills of my home team. Often we use believe to express our preferences or opinions or predictions about things that are not of ultimate importance. I believe a particular car brand is a better value than another. I would not die for my convictions about a car brand, and these might be easily changed if the right new product from another carmaker came along. There are deeper and more important beliefs we all carry. You might believe that small government is important, or you might believe that government must do more to ensure the welfare of the people. You might believe that every citizen should have the right to carry guns, or you might believe that we need more restrictive gun laws. You might believe that one of the greatest threats to our future is global warming and that humans are having a significant impact upon the environment, or you might believe that global warming is a hoax or that it may be a real phenomenon but that humans have very little impact upon it. Many deeply held beliefs have the power to motivate us to action, sacrifice, and service. I think of the convictions held by the Founding Fathers in the United States, who spelled out some of their fundamental beliefs with these words that nearly every American has memorized: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Leaving aside the question of God for the moment, what are some of your most deeply held beliefs or convictions? How did you come to hold those convictions? For many of us, our parents played a key role in shaping our fundamental beliefs. It may have been a particular writer who shaped our convictions. Many of our beliefs have been shaped by personal experiences, particularly those experiences that most deeply touched our hearts—the most painful, but also the most loving, beautiful, or gratifying. These deeply held beliefs can shape us for good or for bad. Some fundamental convictions lead people to do great harm, and other beliefs lead people to live sacrificially in service to others. One set of convictions shapes the Ku Klux Klan, and another shapes the Sisters of Charity. What we believe matters. From the earliest times Christians made attempts to summarize their essential beliefs. Beginning in the late second or early third centuries these summaries of the faith are found in the creeds of the Church. The most enduring of these, still studied and recited today, is the Apostles’ Creed. I have used it as the basis of the book because it provides a concise and very early outline of Christian theology. While the Apostles’ Creed likely took its current form during the 400s, an earlier version, usually called the Old Roman Symbol or Old Roman Creed, dates back to the second or early third century. I’ve included a copy of its text in the appendix, along with some other creeds of the church. I wrote Creed thinking that many might wish to read it during Lent. Lent is the forty-day period of fasting, penitence, study, and spiritual growth that prepares Christians to commemorate Christ’s death faithfully and meaningfully and to celebrate his resurrection. In times past, and still in some churches today, this was also the season in which converts were prepared for their baptism the evening before or early on the morning of Easter. Since the Apostles’ Creed was likely written, and certainly popularized, for use at baptism, Lent was a central part of that preparation. Our most important beliefs, whether expressed in the Apostles’ Creed or in other ways, affect our understanding of what it means to be human and our convictions about values, morality, and relationships. Ultimately our most deeply held beliefs or convictions shape our goals, ambitions, hopes, and dreams. These kinds of convictions are seldom scientifically verifiable; nevertheless, we should carefully consider and question them and should be able to make a compelling case for them. Since these convictions cannot be completely verified scientifically, there will always be some measure of doubt associated with them, some question as to whether they really are true. Regardless of what we believe about God, or humanity, or our world, we will lack certainty, and that lack of certainty should rightly lead us to humility in our convictions and in our interactions with those who disagree with us. I appreciate Albert Einstein’s words: “I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.” There were some things about the universe that Einstein believed with a high degree of certainty, while many others represented reasonable convictions based upon what he could observe. In the end, belief is a decision of the will. I choose to believe certain things. Thirty-five years ago I decided that I believed the tenets expressed in the Apostles’ Creed. That decision has had a significant impact on my life every day since—on the person I married, the career I chose, the way I see right and wrong, how I parent my children, what I do with my time and money, and how I face adversity. Those beliefs have led me to say no to many things I may have said yes to, and to say yes to things I might otherwise have said no to. For Christians, the beliefs expressed in the Apostles’ Creed are foundational. In the book we’ll consider those beliefs and begin a conversation about what Christians believe, why they believe it, and why it matters. Click here to find more information and links to purchase all Creed products, including the primary book, a Leader Guide, a Children's Leader Guide, and a Youth Study book. To see the two-minute promo video for Creed, click here, and to view my one-minute video overview of the book, click here. 

Making The Case for Christian Faith

David Burns on January 12, 2017

It was the spring of 1987. I was finishing the second year of my three-year Master of Divinity Degree at Southern Methodist University. The major requirement, not only for systematic theology class, but for graduating from seminary the next year, was a 35-page paper called simply, Credo – Latin for, “I believe.”  My professors, Schubert Ogden, John Deschner and Charles Wood, had set up an altar in the hallway outside their offices.  A basket atop the altar was where our papers were “offered” to God and to them.  A kneeler was before the altar – we students thought it was intended to mock the students as if the professors were saying, “You’d better pray hard before we get out our red pens and start grading this paper.”  It was only years later that I finally understood that the altar and kneeler were intended to remind the students that our credo was an offering to God, and the writing of it an act of worship and prayer. The credo was both a summary of the student’s own understanding of the Christian faith and a test of one’s ability to make an intelligent and compelling case for the Christian gospel. I believe I received an A- on the paper, but I recall thinking, as I completed it, that after two years of seminary and tens of thousands of dollars expended, I still found some elements of Christian faith confounding. Twenty-nine years later I was engaged in the same work, though this time not constricted by the 35-page limitation imposed by the professors.  I sought once again to make a compelling case for the Christian gospel as I wrote the book, Creed:  What Christians Believe and Why.  Unlike my first credo, which was based upon what I had learned in just two years of seminary, this book was written in the light of twenty-eight years of pastoral ministry.  It drew upon thousands of hours I’d spent over the years reading the Bible, commentaries and Christian theology in order to prepare over 1,300 sermons. The book was birthed out of my desire to make a case for Christian faith for a new generation of young adults who are increasingly identifying as non-religious or nominally religious – “nones.”  I hoped to make an intelligent case not only for what Christians believe, but why they believe it and how this faith enlivens and positively impacts every dimension of life. My hope was that Christians might read the book to grow deeper in their own faith; that they might share it with their friends and family members who are open to, but struggling with, Christianity and they might come to embrace Christianity and I hoped it might be a resource for local churches, Sunday school classes, confirmation classes, Bible studies and book clubs.  While the book can be read at any time, I thought it would be a particularly good read during the season of Lent.  It was during this season that the Church has traditionally prepared converts for their baptisms at Easter by using the Apostles’ Creed.  There are six weeks of Lent and six chapters in the book based upon the Creed. And just as Lent ends at Easter with the resurrection, the Apostles’ Creed ends with the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, which is the focus of the final chapter in the book. I did kneel at the altar as I turned in my credo all those years ago praying that I might pass Systematic Theology. Twenty-nine years later, as I wrote this book I also prayed as I wrote each chatper, asking God to use this book to help others make sense of, and embrace, the Christian faith that by embracing it they might find life in Christ’s name. I have included here two one-minute videos that you might find helpful introductions to the book. Just click on the triangles on the images at the top of the blog post.  Click here to find more information and links to purchase all Creed products, including the primary book, a Leader Guide, a Children's Leader Guide, and a Youth Study book.