And so it Ends?

Today I begin editing the final book in the Bible Reflection Series. This has been quite a week. Finishing the first draft of a novel that I have been working on and off for over 25 years and now finishing the edits on Bible Reflections. Both of these projects I knew would be possible and do-able but I have been seeing them as off in the distance to see them here and now nearly done is amazing. Especially when I consider Bible Reflections covers my thoughts on every chapter in the Bible (nearly 1200) or the word count for both Bible Reflections and my story add up to nearly 1/3 of a million words. 

What will happen now? Now? 

I will take the next step and create new goals. Which is what we do if we want to see something accomplished in our lives. So it ends, which means something new can begin. 

Do you think you could write your own blog/journal on every chapter in the Bible? This is what the Bible Reflections journal is designed to help you do. If you take on the challenge it might take some time and maybe even years (it's designed to take 4) but what a very do-able and exciting thing to accomplish. Others are, why not you? 

And one day you can say, And so it ends!    

Fear never goes away

Years ago I asked Stan Toler, a major writer in Nazarene circles, if he still felt fear when he wrote a book. I'm not sure if I wanted a yes (to make me feel better about my own fear) or a no (a hope that eventually it would go away). His answer was yes. He still felt some apprehension when he published a new book. He gave me some other advice and now I wish I had written it down. His advice has merged with so much over the years I can't say which is his and which isn't. This being said I believe the point he did try to make was if what you write matters to you then putting it out for others will bring apprehension. 

 I agree and I also know that putting what you are passionate about out there takes courage if you care about the work and about your relationship with people. 

So where am I going with this and what does it have to do with the picture of the claw holding a crystal? The picture is of a prop I have which comes from a story that I played with years ago. I'm talking over twenty-five years ago. The story has been heard in parts by my friends who have the other two claws and my family. It isn't the first story idea I came up with but it is the first original story I came up with as an adult. It has sat in the background of all my writing for years. My youngest daughter has challenged me to finish writing it and so I have. In my spare time and rewriting all of the early chapters from earlier times it is coming together. Eighty-five percent of the book is complete and now I find myself struggling with fear. 

Fear, in my estimation, shouldn't be a problem. I have already published several books. In a month the eight set Bible Reflections series will be complete. If I, a pastor of a small church without a doctorate, can write a reflection on every chapter in the Bible, some quarter of a million words and publish what some would find very controversial. why am I apprehensive about a fictional book?  

I think there are two reasons. First, the Bible Reflections is meant to spur others into writing not to give a definite answer to every question in the Bible. To say it another way, I expect and maybe even hope that people will disagree with what I write as long as it causes them to grow in their knowledge of the Bible. In other words, I have accepted that some people will not appreciate what I write and I have accepted that. Second, it's done. You aren't afraid of the surgery after the surgery is over. Yes, maybe any complication but the concern, fear, is now behind you. In other words, I can compare it. Third and maybe not finally, this work is very dear to me. It's like letting your daughter go on their first date. You have done all you can to prepare her for the world but now you are no longer in control.    

This blog is being written as a way to keep that date another day away. Yet, it is also here to force me to admit what I am doing by delaying my writing. I might be wrong but if nothing really crazy happens this week I could have The Staff Story (what an underwhelming working title) finished in a week. I write this to hold myself to that date. I will also talk to my writer friends to also keep me accountable. 

I see the enemy, it is fear.

Someone said this and at least for me this story isn't shooting or bombing me. 

 

 

 

Change yourself

Jesus told taught that it does no good if you gain the whole world but lose your soul. With all the call for change in the world, I am reminded of tow things: One: the only person you can really change is yourself and Two: what good is it if you get everything you want and lose your soul in the proccess. 

I want to make one thing clear. I'm not saying that we need to not work for change. However, if we work for it and even if we get it and we have lost our souls then we have ultimately lost. There is also the problem that change brought about by means which are not holy will ultimately corrupt the work. 

So what do we need to do? First is we have to make sure our hearts are right and actions are right. Second, we need to do a double check on our heart. You might say isn't that what you just said to do in the first point? The answer is yes, but often we justify our feelings and actions rather than see them in light of scripture. Finally, go out and try and help others change.

Musing on Church Reports

The day I am writing this was the day I began working on my annual year-end report for my denomination. The reports can be summed up in three words, buildings, budgets, and butts. Unless you're having a stellar year on all fronts there is always something to be depressed over. Even if you are having a great year on paper there is plenty to be depressed over. Pastors usually hate these reports because they either make you exaggerate or make you into a failure.

You can brag about new members but the truth is 60% of your current members never go to church thus you're a failure. You hold the standard high or focus on retention as well as evangelism and well you aren't getting new people and you're a failure. 

You have a 3 million dollar facility but you can't pay your denominational obligations because of the mortgage you inherited and so you fail. You make your denominational obligations but the roof needs to be fixed and/or members wonder if the university you support that charge kids an arm and a leg to go is really ripping you off and so you feel like a failure. 

Attendance has increased 10% as has the offering but what you know is the community you live in has had a 20% increase in both wealth and population so you're a failure. The church has barely or nearly heald its own as the culture around has become antithetical to organized religion and business and young people are leaving faster than Uhaul can bring in the trucks but you feel like a failure. 

You're told you aren't doing enough (you can clean the church, visit everyone, encourage the faithful, engage with the lost, start that new program that worked for First Church...) so you're a failure. You are told by experts you aren't taking care of your family by giving quantity as well as quality time and taking care of your body, mind, and spirit,  so you're a failure. 

Did I mention I hate these reports? This isn't a confession that is going to win me any favors with many denominational leaders. 

Yet-- without them or some instrument of measure, we can't see what might be happening. After all, we have all known people who have gone to the doctor and said I feel great, I don't need any test and then drop dead. 

Are they perfect? No, but we can't really measure the things that truly matter like the person who has been a nominal Christian for year now faithful and growing. We may not be keeping up with the increase around us but we are getting some and they are important. We might not be meeting every obligation we want to but ministry is still taking place. 

These reports are tools to force us to see what we might not like to see. If we use them honestly without letting them beat us up or falsely embolden us, they will help us address issues that we may not see or we've been unconsciously (or many consciously) ignoring. 

I am reminded of the end of the song Johnny Cash sang called, "A Boy Named Sue"  At the end, he came away with a different point of view about his name. And he said, "If I Have a boy I'm going to name him Bill, or George, anything but Sue. I still hate that name." 

So, NO, I still don't like the reports, but with the right Point of View, I can appreciate them for what they are an imperfect tool to help us grow, or I should say help me grow. 

In case this post gets me sacked:

Send donations to 

Charles Areson

4 Lausanne Ct.

Tell City, IN 47586

(This last part is a joke, I couldn't find the sarcasm font)

Did I lay a post around here someplace?

No. To answer the question in the title (There is a personal application at the end).

Getting back into writing a post isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Yes, my posts of Bible Reflections are going out 6 days a week but those are all scheduled. This one isn't. This one has been languishing at the sidelines and now that the Bible Reflections is done getting back into writing here isn't on the front burner.

So what is the problem?

I asked myself that. It isn't like I don't have any thoughts, I have a lot, most I need not put in public but we all have those and many put them out there anyway. My problem is I didn't add this to my calendar.

In the past, with this blog and later with Bible Reflections I had a reminder "Do Blog" every Monday on my calendar. It isn't there and thus I get the idea I'm all caught up when there is something I want to do but not doing.

I stopped between the last paragraph and this one and put it there. Will it help? Yes. It will help me. What about you? What are you wanting to do and always seem to forget? Maybe you need to add it to your calendar, get an accountability partner, put a sticky note on the bathroom mirror, but find something.

We have good intentions but without a good plan, the best of us fail. So what do you need to do? Then do it, now. Putting it off will delay chasing what you want.

Side note: What does this blog do for me? It's not that I have hundreds of people signed up to read it. I keep it to keep me writing and to give me an outlet to express my thoughts. Who knows my kids or grandkids or generations to come might gain some insight or get a laugh. Even it helps no one, the discipline helps me and that is always good.

The person, the puppy, the crocodile, and the fleshly man.

I will say that this is a work in progress. My thoughts are being laid before you as I work through an issue. I recently finished listening to a webinar on the science of conflict. It was very good and I appreciated it. There was one concept that I had studied before but this time it caught my attention in a new way. It was the breakdown of the human brain.

Here is the summary:
Reptile Brain- crocodile - basic instinct safety, food, reproduction
Feeling Brain- Puppy- feeling of belonging emotions
Rational Brain- Person- reasoning person, purpose in life

The idea one participant threw out that this conflict sounded like Paul's war in himself as talked about in Romans 7. The logical end of this idea is the "flesh nature" is really just the puppy and the croc. A natural part of who we are. Leading us to the conclusion that living in the flesh is natural and thus could not be the result of sin. All of life therefor is just trying to be a better person.

I don't think the instructor was making that conclusion, but some were. There is a problem with this. First, these instincts are never referred to as sin in the Bible. Seeking safety, emotional security, and the like are all promises God wants to give to his people. So where is the struggle?

The struggle is there is a fourth aspect of the flesh nature which wants to live according to its own wishes. This person isn't in the croc or the feeling brain (though it is where they act out) it is in the rational brain. The reason this isn't seen in science or in brain scans is this nature/sin wasn't originally part of God's plan. God's plan was for us to have these levels in our life and have them work in harmony.

As I see it, God's greatest condemnation isn't for those who react out of the croc or the puppy, but those who live in disobedience because of rational choices. It is also for those who know they can or should do better but don't, again a rational decision.

The problem with sin is that it puts things out of harmony. Like the illustration of the brick. Give it to a criminal and they throw it through a window. Give it to a good person and they build a hospital. The problem isn't the brick. The problem is the person. The ultimate enemy we have to conquer is, as Paul calls it, the flesh, not our own nature.

Are there things we need to relearn so that we are in harmony with ourselves, Yes. Is there something to be said about the science of conflict and people responding as a croc? Yes. However, do we still have a problem and it isn't what God gave us? Yes.

We're living in a golden age!

My daughter wrote a great story called Raven*. As we were discussing it one day she came across a song by Zan Wolf called Golden Age. As we discussed her story, we thought that if ever Raven* would become a musical this song would make a great opener. 

What does this have to do with us today?

Plenty, we are living in a day where we are talking about a vaccine for Covid-19, not in decades like they had to in the past but by the end of the year. While in quarantine many received generous grants from the government and many were able to work from home. We had church in our living rooms. When you were bored you had smartphones, Facebook, online games, and lots of streaming options. And that is just a few of the great benefits we have. 

Is everything perfect? Of course not. But we are too quick many times to focus on the negative rather than rejoice in all we do have. 

We are living in a golden age and though we may not be able to run all over because of the stay at home orders, we can still run all over the world with our computers and phones. We have so many possibilities if we will just look around. 

Perhaps many of us need to shut off the news, block the negative posts, unsubscribe to downers, and see what great blessings we have even in the challenges.

*Raven is a short story in the book Darkly: A Collection of Legends. The book is currently in the editing stage which she is funding from her own funds and a little from a Go Fund Me campaign. If you are interested in helping her go to her page. Thanks.

I feel I would be remiss in not giving a link to Zan Wolf's Golden Age. (It's the words, not the video which fits the story, Raven. Unless you can picture knights in armor on skateboards?)