Landscape Photography and City Driving

One of the abilities that Landscape Photographers often claim is a heightened sense of awareness of the world around them. When I started getting serious about landscape photography I found myself driving slower and slower through the countryside where I lived in eastern Idaho. I started learning the change in angle of lighting from summer to winter and the different colors of snow under different winter light.  I noticed that Conant Creek does not receive direct light at sunset in the winter but does in the summer.  I noticed that from Ashton the sun rises directly behind the Tetons in the middle of December. I noticed the best light at sunset in Squirrel was in the fall. I noticed that the moon rises further to the south in the summer and further to the north in the winter.

I paid close attention to the times of planting and harvest for the local farmers. I learned the names of the different crops and when the canola fields are in bloom. I noticed the ebb and flow of grain fields in the wind. I noticed when the elk are moving through the farmland back up into the mountains. I noticed when the Osprey migrate north along the river.

I found that the best light on Mesa Falls is in early December, soon after sunrise. The sun shines directly up the canyon and hits the spray of the falls which creates a beautiful rainbow that echoes the contours of the falls. I noticed that if there is an early freeze the aspen turn red.  I noticed the enjoyment of viewing an aspen grove after a summer rain. The sound of the last of the raindrops falling off the leaves, the fresh smell of the rain, and the feel of the crisp cool breeze against my face, all combining into one splendid moment.

I noticed that clouds in the western horizon make for poor sunsets while clouds in the east are perfect, and that high wispy clouds are the best opportunities for seeing sun dogs. I noticed that a bleak, cloudy day can for one brief moment open up and show you beauty beyond words. I noticed that beauty and surprise go hand in hand. I noticed…

When I arrived in Phoenix I was overwhelmed by the speed of city traffic.  I would find myself mentally exhausted after a half hour drive. My mind was so focused on noticing everything that I could not take it all in.  Everywhere I looked I was bombarded with scenes of man’s corruption. Nothing escapes being marred with the hieroglyphics of drug addiction, vandalism, alcoholism, consumerism, lies, pride, lust, greed, selfishness, and rudeness. I found that in the city you must train your mind to not notice, to not think. In the city, the less you see, the less you perceive, the happier you are. The only way to survive is to learn to not see; to not notice.

The world chooses blindness with its temporary easing of pain while we choose to see clearly which brings temporary despair. Our hope is in the eternal Kingdom of God which is filled with truth, beauty and goodness. If the beauty of God’s creation is the temporal revelation of His glory, how much more glorious will be the revealing of the sons of God for all eternity? This is faith unfeigned.

Ecclesiastes: Searching for Permanence

Many people search the scriptures looking for answers to their questions but few search the scriptures looking for the right questions to ask. The right approach to the book of Ecclesiastes is to look for the questions that Solomon was asking about the world around him. Most people who study the book of Ecclesiastes are looking for answers they are asking about life and world around them and not looking for the answers to Salomon’s questions. What were the questions Solomon asked?

A survey of the entire book leads to the conclusion that Solomon was looking for permanence in the work and labor of men. He finds none. While this leads Solomon to despair, he is still able to acknowledge the enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from work done well. He was also able to recognize that this enjoyment is a gift from God.

Ultimately, Solomon was unsuccessful in finding permanence in the works of men, but he does find permanence in the work of a sovereign God.  This leads Solomon to conclude his search with this statement…

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

The world around us is looking for permanence in the works of men. They pretend to find it in money, love, achievement and family.  Anyone who takes a hard look at life as Solomon did, will recognize that all is vanity; all is breath.  As a Christian, we should value permanence; not the world’s permanence, but the permanence of the creative and sovereign acts of God. God invites us to partake in permanent things when He asks us to fear Him and keep His commandments.

Dear Jeremiah: Business Models and the Church

Jeremiah,

Yes, you are correct. Using business and political models to build the church is now such a part of our church culture that we do not even give it a second thought. Let me give you an example of when this all hit home with me.

In pastoral and church growth classes, the importance of developing vision, mission, and value statements as a guide for our churches was hammered into my classmates and me. We were all encouraged to create our own vision, mission, and value statements with pithy acronyms and slogans. All this was seen as the best path to church growth.

A year or two into our time in Ashton, I remember walking into a brand-new, chain taco restaurant in Idaho Falls. On the wall next to the entrance was a large plaque with the company’s Vision, Mission and Values statement written boldly for everyone to see.  I remember saying to myself “Wow! This vision, mission, and values idea has been so successful in American churches that businesses are starting to use it.”  Then reality sank in: it was not businesses adopting the practices of churches, but churches adopting the growth strategies of businesses. I had been taught how to build a successful taco restaurant when I should have been taught how to shepherd the flock of God. Then I remembered that I have years left on my school loans, and I finished my taco while I stared blankly at the wall, eyelid twitching sporadically.

If we search the scriptures, there is a better model to follow than big box retailers and taco stands. It is the model of the farmer. Paul refers to the church as God’s field and church leaders as ones who plant and water while God gives the growth. A different set of virtues are needed for the farmer.  Patience, endurance, faithfulness, and knowing times and seasons are all qualities of a good farmer. Farmers know that not all ground is the same and that a bountiful harvest depends on so much more than the craftiness of the farmer. The goal of the farmer is a good harvest while the goal of big box retailers and taco stands is satisfied customers.

Adopting business models comes with adopting business goals. Churches use them because they produce what successful businesses produce: customers. God does not want customers, He wants servants. Church leaders should not be building a clientele but the body of Christ. And that, Jeremiah, is the heart of the issue.

BTW, that Taco restaurant in Idaho Falls is now out of business.

Dear Jeremiah: My Journey to Conservatism

Jeremiah,

Hey! Thanks for the note, and thanks for reading the book I loaned you. Keep reading. To answer your question, yes, I would consider myself a conservative but I don’t think that I mean conservative in the same way others do.  What I mean by conservative is that I believe there are some things in history that are worth conserving.

I have enjoyed talking with you about the current array of problems in Christianity. I am also glad that you have not done what so many others have done and walked away from your faith. Christianity is not working as it has in the past; it is not building strong churches. Churches rise and fall, not on the strength of its Christ-like qualities, but on the charisma of its leadership and the overall vibe. Churches have long lost heart in the power of God and have, for centuries now, looked to political and business models for building Christ’s church. As you know only too well, Christianity is not developing durable marriages and families. The attacks of selfishness, greed, covetousness, and sexual immorality as exhibited in pornography and adultery, are destroying families at whim. “Worship” is a billion dollar industry ran by Sony BMG and other secular business executives, and comes with a charge for admission.  Those that reject the worship industry are so wrapped up in sentimentalism that they are unable to pass on even the most basic of their experiences to their children.  All their fond memories and nostalgia will die with them. Truth, beauty, and goodness pass from one generation to the next, but sentimentalism dies with the person who experienced it.

Christianity is not producing godliness. For many, their faith does not work; it’s broken.  It does not do what faith is supposed to do. Some try to return it for a refund while others try, through the power of their flesh, to pretend it works. Everyone goes home frustrated.

For some, the journey to conservatism flows from a desire to help the church. They see the gulf that is growing between the historic church and the modern church. They are primarily concerned about the direction of academic institutions, publishers, and mission agencies. For me, the journey to conservatism was personal. Two events opened my eyes to the idea that not all was right with the world and not right with me.

First, through a series of unrelated events, I began reading the writings of early church leaders. The love that Polycarp, Clement of Rome, and Ignatius all had for their Savior and each other, stood in stark contrast to the fickle weak sentiment of modern Christians. These early church leaders loved different things and had different definitions than the ones we use today for words such as faith, love, friendship, success, joy, and worship.  Their love for Christ and one another clearly shows the poverty and nakedness of modern Christianity. Their faith worked.

The second event in my journey to conservatism was when we moved up to Idaho. It is hard to explain all that took place, but I think I can sum it up with my Sunday morning drives. Early each Sunday I needed to get over to the church to turn on the heat. We lived only a few blocks from the church so I would usually drive out into the country to allow time for the car to warm up and clear the windshield.  Over the years, this drive turned into a habit that changed me at the core of my being. Each Sunday I watched the sun rise behind the Teton Mountains. On the first cold days of fall, I would drive through the mist that came off the river and reflected the red of the scrub oak and gold of the new morning sun. In the summer, I drove past fields of canola, wheat, and potatoes. I would regularly see bald eagles and osprey and occasionally see deer and elk.  The photograph above is from one of those Sunday mornings.

As a Christian, I saw these beautiful sights as examples of God’s glory and majesty. More importantly, they began to give me a context and definition to the words glory and majesty. I had something informing my imagination giving me a mental map to understand concepts like divine power. Seeing the works of God’s hands increased my love and fear of God. I began to understand that love and fear go very well together. God is bigger and infinitely more wonderful than I had imagined Him to be.

As I continued to grow in my love and thankfulness towards God, I also began to recognize a gulf between the God of creation and the God of modern Christianity.  I found myself frustrated that in my early morning drives I would be overcome with awe and wonder at the creative hand of God only to worship Him with expressions of sentimentality and just plain silliness.

Here is a quote I read recently by A.W. Tozer that clarifies the problem.

 The message of this book … is called forth by a condition which has existed in the Church for some years and is steadily growing worse. I refer to the loss of the concept of majesty from the popular religious mind. The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.

The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.

With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence. Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the Spirit.

As the Pastor and leader of our church worship, I began to look for direction in leading our church family in worship worthy of the Creator. It was this search that led me to conservatism. I found that many years ago, the historic church worshiped the God of creation. They had an intimate knowledge of God’s creation and valued His works. It was reflected in their poetry and hymns, more than just poetic cliché’s from the Psalms. I could elaborate more thoroughly on the musical choices that changed in our church services but there is something more important. I quickly realized that the best music mankind has ever produced, from Bach to the Getty’s, from Handel to John Rutter, all fall exceedingly short of the glory and majesty of God. As someone who now almost entirely listens to Bach and other classical composers, I do not say that to lessen their quality, but to demonstrate that the Creator of the universe deserves something infinitely grander.

Thankfully, our church family easily made the connection between the God of all creation and the God we worshiped each Sunday. This reality took away any sense of pride in our worship and gave us a profound sense of place and humility before God.  We sang out to Him in praise because we could not hold it back. Our worship flowed from our thankful hearts and from our minds consumed with awe and wonder. Our prayers were filled with thankfulness for blessing from God for which we never before gave a second thought.

I believe I have come to better understand the historic church’s definition of glory, majesty and divine power.  I believe that I arrived at these conclusions because I was being influenced by the same thing that influenced the historical church; primarily a distinctly Christian understanding of, and immersion in, God’s creation. These historical meanings and definitions are worth conserving. We have shared and demonstrated these definitions, understandings, and loves with our church families, both in Ashton and at Grace. As they connected the created world and the God they worship, it had a profound impact on their affections, values and conduct. So yes, I would consider myself a conservative, but I may have come about it in a different way than others.

Jeremiah, you are always in my prayers. God is not distant from you and His blessings are all around you.  Take the time to notice them and for all these blessings give thanks.

The Cruel Side of Nature

A dead cow in Nevada.

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.  -The Apostle Paul

 

Spiritual Leadership

Philemon 1:8-9  Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you…

1 Corinthians 1:10   Now I plead with you, brethren…

CEO’s and military leaders command their subordinates based on rank, title, and chain of command.  Christian leaders plead and appeal their brethren out of love.

The Many Gods of Evangelicalism

There is one looming question that no one is asking concerning the worship wars in evangelicalism. Is it possible that the central reason for our inability to worship together is because we worship different Gods? Our imaginations are being informed by drastically different influences, which are leading us to radically different conceptions of God. When we understand that it is through the organ of the imagination that we cultivate a concept of God, it is then that we begin to perceive a problem in Evangelicalism.

It has been said before that our whole concept of God is something that develops in our imagination. It is not that we create God in our imagination but that we conceive of God through the organ of our imagination. No man has ever seen God. We do not experience Him directly with our senses. The Bible uses anthropomorphisms and other literary devices to help us better apprehend a God we have never seen or have experienced directly.

What is influencing evangelicals’ imaginations? Many have their imagination primarily informed by popular culture. For these evangelicals, popular Christian music is not a reflection of their conception of God, it is what is shaping their conception of God. Their imaginations are being informed by a Christian entertainment industry that incorporates books, blockbuster movies, children’s television, music, standup comedy, and theme parks, all which have a profound effect on the imaginations of modern Christians. For these Christians, worship must incorporate popular culture in order for worship to engage their imagination and give their worship meaning.

Many other Christians correctly identify the great chasm that has developed between modern Christianity and historic Christianity. They understand that things are different, and they lament those differences.  Amongst this group, there are many ideas on how we can “get back” to the right sensibilities of past generations. One idea is to employ the forms and liturgy of historic Christianity. The idea is that if we change the forms, we will change the imagination. While this is true at some point, I am not sure it will produce the effect they desire.  There are many that love and use traditional Christian forms that do not love or even believe in God.

What should be informing the imagination of a Christian to help them conceive of God? I believe it is creation.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Paul uses a literary device in this verse that had direct importance to the subject at hand. He claims that the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen. They are apprehended through the organ of our imagination. Paul is saying that creation properly informs our imagination so that God’s eternal power and deity are clearly seen. Paul says that this revelation of God is so clear that all mankind will be held accountable for their reaction to it.

The problem in modern evangelicalism is that our imaginations are being informed by everything but what God originally intended. The glue that held a metaphysical understanding of God together throughout historic Christianity was not a shared liturgy or the authority of the church, it was God’s creation. It was the same glorious stars overhead in the time of Bach as it was for David.  It was the same sunrise and sunset. It was the same fields of grain and fruit of the vine that produced thankfulness for our Sustainer. It was the same creation that brought Jonathan Edwards to awe and wonder as it was for Augustine.

On the other hand, modern man has isolated himself from God’s creation and the invisible things of God that are clearly seen. We pay little attention to sunrises and sunsets. Generations of city people have only seen but a few stars at once. We have little notion of where our food comes from or how it is grown. We are not thankful for the rain that waters the grass that feeds the cattle. Our imaginations are not filled with scenes of glory and majesty, but K-Love and Ted Dekker.

Have we violated the second commandment and created God into our own image rather than worshiping God as He has revealed Himself in creation? Do these varying concepts of God result in the worship of different Gods? Are we no longer worshiping God in spirit and truth?

“A Just Idea of the Creator”

There are two reasons to appreciate the quote from Basil.  First, he recognizes the role of the natural world in informing our imagination so that we are able to think appropriately about God.   The Scriptures are full of the imagery of the visible to help us grasp the invisible. Part of the problem why modern Christians are not able to worship God with the same piousness and sentiment as David is that we are insulated from the beauty of nature God has given to us to show forth His glory and majesty.   Above us, the skies are chopped up by jet trails, power lines, and blocked by incongruous buildings.   The earth is covered in concrete; black landscapes of parking lots with painted lines spotted with oil.  The music of creation is obscured by the drone of traffic and the constant mind numbing growl of man’s machines.  The night sky, the most glorious natural sight mankind has ever witnessed, is obscured by city lights.  It is easy for us to forget our Benefactor.  It is easy to forget someone when we are unfamiliar with His work.  Our bellies are full and our houses are safe but our souls are empty and in danger.   May God give us thankful hearts so that we may see the work of His hands.

The second reason to appreciate these words is the understanding of the relationship between proper worship of God as the Creator and the avoidance of sin.   When we perceive the natural world as hieroglyphics of the glory and majesty of God and our daily food as instances of His goodness and compassion, our minds will be occupied with thoughts of thankfulness and worship of God and we will be growing in our ability to fulfill the exhortation of the Apostle Paul…

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things   Philippians 4:8

Informing the Imagination

May God who, after having made such great things, put such weak words in my mouth, grant you the intelligence of His truth, so that you may raise yourselves from visible things to the invisible Being, and that the grandeur and beauty of creatures may give you a just idea of the Creator.  For the visible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, and His power and divinity are eternal. (Romans 1:20) Thus earth, air, sky, water, day, night, all visible things, remind us of who is our Benefactor.  We shall not therefore give occasion to sin, we shall not give place to the enemy within us, if by unbroken recollection we keep God ever dwelling in our hearts, to Whom be all glory and all adoration, now and forever, world without end.  Amen.

Basil: Hexameron 3.10.

Merry Christmas

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!  Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands.

Isaiah 42:1-12