Notes:

Reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. Do good things, good things happen; do bad things; bad things happen. Just desserts. Have you ever heard any of these sayings? Its Karma. Its not the gospel, but it is something commonly believed even among Christians.

The recent earthquake in Haiti , and just last week in Chile, is still quite fresh in our minds. And our hearts, prayers, and support have gone out to those so have been so profoundly affected. Yet, even in the wake of inexplicable tragedy people look for others to blame. Perhaps to find meaning in suffering to answer the question why does a good God let things like earthquakes happen? The answer, provided by leaders in the Christian church, has been to point to sin and to go as far as to call these natural disasters divine retribution. The most prominent of these quotes comes from Pat Robertson who said on his television program on Jan 13, the day after the earthquake struck.

something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, “We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.” True story. And so, the devil said, “OK, it’s a deal.”

And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other. Desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti; on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, et cetera. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now, we’re helping the suffering people, and the suffering is unimaginable.

This is the same mistake that was made in our Gospel reading today. As Jesus was preaching, some people came up to him and shared news of certain acts of divine retribution. In the first bit of news we hear about Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Meaning that there was a group of Jewish worshipers in the middle of offering their sacrifice – remembering that they still practiced animal blood sacrifices in that day. And Pilate had them killed where they worshiped so that their blood flowed along with the blood of the sacrificed animals. The other event is presumably an engineering disaster in which a tower collapsed and killed 18. The first exhibits seemingly righteous people exactly where they ought to be – in the temple worshiping God; and yet they are slaughtered. The second is an incident which could only be explained as an act of God. The only explanation, in the eyes of those who witnessed these things, is that they deserved it. And as we hear from Pat Robertson, its an explanation that we might expect today.

But Jesus flat out tells them that they are wrong! Do you think that they were any worse sinners than you are? Of course not! But unless you repent, you will face the same fate. Jesus seems to be telling us two contradictory things here: death is not the result of sin; but if you don’t repent you will also die.

The idea that punishment is the result of sin is constantly refuted in scripture. We might think of Job whom we are told “was a righteous man.” Jesus elsewhere tells us that the sun rises on the just and the unjust, the rain falls on the sinner and the righteous alike. Or the blind man in John 9. The disciples ask “whose sin caused his blindness; the man or his parents?” Jesus says neither! Then heals the man by sending him to the pool of Siloam….the same name as the tower which fell.
And yet Jesus tells us, watch out! Because you have a similar fate, if you choose not to repent. I’m saying that punishment is the result of sin, but still – you better watch out! I wonder if what Jesus is telling us here is that sin does in fact have consequences, consequences that are near and personal. When we focus on the sin of others, or impersonal divine retribution (you better come to Jesus cause you might get hit by a bus on your way home today) then our repentance remains external. It is something far off, distant, and perhaps unreal. If you continue to be unrepentant, you will perish and in worse ways that what you have reported.

Jesus closes with a lesson from the fig tree – will that fig tree be chopped down, or will it bear good fruit?

The following is not a transcript, but here are my notes I used to prepare for this message.

We know all about The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, but have you ever thought of Jesus as a mother figure? That is the image Jesus chooses for himself for the relationship between himself and his people: Just like a mother hen loves, cares, and protects her chicks, so I am there for you. In many ways this analogy fits Jesus so very well. We read in scripture about how we have been made new in Christ, the Gospel of John says “we have been born again.” Jesus provides for our nourishment – he fed the 5000, and continues to fed us at his table – some folks might suggest that providing the food is a very motherly quality. But here, Jesus’ strength and tenacity are highlighted and compared to how a mother instinctively rushes to action when she senses that her children are in danger. Christ’s identification as a mother is by no means a sign of weakness.

Herod is that fox which threatens the hen and the chicks, which Jesus longs to protect. Jesus is warned by the pharisees that Herod is out to get him, and this is no empty threat. Remember this is the Herod which beheaded John the Baptist. Rumors are flying around that this Jesus character is John’s re-incarnation – giving Herod every reason to kill Jesus. Yet Jesus replies to the threat “Ha! Herod? Tell that fox that he has no power over me; he couldn’t hurt me if he tried.”

But, Herod is not the threat in this passage – it is the chicks themselves, Christ’s children, Jerusalem…Us. I can’t help but think of this passage as quite the guilt trip (I have a mother too you know). “Herod’s a fox, but you should see my kids. I treat them so well, like a mother hen, given of myself to protect them. And how do they repay me? The run off, reject their own mother! They don’t know how to do anything else – their killing their own mother and don’t even know it!” You, know some guilt trips aren’t just made up.

We are Christ’s children. And Christ laments when his children have rejected him. Just like a mother who watches her children stray – correcting the children when they are not polite to strangers, making them share with siblings, or has the grow older, getting into sex, drugs, drinking; it hurts not only them but their parents as they watch their children stray.

So it is in our relationship with Christ. Our sin does not hurt us alone, our sin is not a private matter, our sin hurts. It hurst us individually, us as a church, our relationship with God, and hurts God himself – much as a mother is pained at seeing her children stray. But like a good mother, Christ’s love endures. He is well aware the Jerusalem is the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it, it is the city that rejects him. And yet, where does Jesus go? On the third day he will complete his work – when he rises from the dead; Today, tomorrow, and the next day he will be on his way; on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to the cross.

There was a barn fire some years ago. Burned the barn to the ground, nothing was saved. The next day the farmer was walking the ground where the barn once stood in order to asses the damage. As he was poking through the charred wood and burnt hay, he found a clump of burnt feathers on the ground. The farmer was somewhat startled at the sight and pushed it over with his foot. When he did, three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother’s wings. The mother hen, aware of the fire, carried her young to as safe a place she could find and held her chicks under her wing. She could have tried to get out and save her self, but she refused to abandon her babies. As the fire consumed the barn, it burned the mother hen’s body; but she remained. She had been willing to die so that those under her wing would live.

Christ closes by saying you will not [understand these things] until the time comes when you say Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” You will not understand this until you say these words. That time is coming and we remember it on Palm Sunday when Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem. He is welcomed as a king when people shout in the streets repeat psalm 118 “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” But they do not fully understand Christ until they see Jesus in Jerusalem on his cross. How will we greet Jesus when he comes again. Will we be able to say confidently “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord?” or will we say “be gone from me for I am a sinful person!” The good news of Jesus Christ is that whatever our answer – he loves us as a mother hen loves her chicks. Lamenting for our sins, saddened by our rejection, but willing to die for his love for us.

British bishops call for a fast from carbon this lent. (AP, Christianity Today) I bet it was difficult to celebrate Ash Wednesday without any carbon.

Man with guns rides horse to church. (Washington Post) Claims Yosemite Sam is his personal lord and savior.

Indian Text book illustration of Jesus with a beer and cigarette sparks protests. (Christian Post, Washington Post, AFP) Listed in a children’s textbook under “I” for “Idol.” Does that make Jesus the next Indian Idol? What is all the fuss, how else are we going to make Jesus relevant to all the smokers who like cheap Budweiser beer?

To start with, who are you and what is MMA?

First, MMA is mixed martial arts.  Multiple forms of fighting used in a combat sport. I  am  just an average guy. I am a husband, father, and pastor who happens to be a HUGE MMA fan. My bios explain some of this, here are the links: Canyon Creek Church and Fight Pastor

I have been an MMA fan for as long as I remember. First it was Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, then Lone Wolf Mcquade with Chuck Norris, then UFC 1 with Royce Gracie, now it is UFC 109 with Randy Couture.

I started Canyon Creek Church over 5 years ago. I wanted to be a part of a missional community that wanted to engage culture and reach people where they are at. Basically, I wanted to be a pastor who wasn’t trying to be something he wasn’t but was comfortable in his own skin. I wanted to lead the church as the man God uniquely made me to be. I have always been an MMA fan so an MMA ministry was a natural outflow of who I am.

How do you respond to those who say “MMA doesn’t sound very churchy”?

I realize MMA isn’t very “churchy.” My church isn’t very “churchy.” There are plenty of churches and ministries that are “churchy.” If people want to be involved in some that is “churchy” there are plenty of options for them. We created a church and various missional outreaches that are targeted towards those who don’t go to church.

What about “turn the other cheek?”

I agree with turning the other cheek. Jesus said that in relationship to normal interactions with people, to disagreements, or conflicts. It wasn’t referring to actual sporting events. If UFC fighters were picking fights outside of actual sanctioned, refereed events I might have a different attitude about it. Fortunately, they aren’t. MMA is a sport. It is a violent sport like boxing, hockey, or football. I realize it isn’t for everyone.

Probably the biggest misperception from the article is that Canyon Creek Church and Fight Pastor host actual live fights at our church. We do not nor will we ever. It is not our mission. We host pay-per-view showings of UFC fights.

If someone feels called to promote actual fights at their church, good for them. I am not opposed to that idea. It just isn’t part of our mission and wouldn’t fit the culture of my church.

So, how does your ministry “work”? What is your philosophy of evangelism?

There are several different parts to Fight Pastor. We host UFC events for fans in a safe, clean environment. It is strictly relational ministry. At the UFC Fight Nights we share about Fight Pastor and invite those interested to check out our church. We are just simply there to hang out with people.

We have an MMA Chaplaincy where we our the spiritual influence at various MMA gyms. We go to those places to serve the trainers and fighters in any way possible. That is our going out.
Our philosophy of evangelism is to go out to people and meet them where they are at. Now we aren’t involved in MMA strictly as a missional outreach. We ARE huge fans. It started with our love of the sport and evolved into a missional ministry. I have always said God took my hobby (MMA) and merged it with my passion (missional ministry) and something really unique emerged out of it.

I believe every person needs to know and have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I feel that way about my neighbors, friends, family, those in Hollywood, professional athletics….everyone.

There are many parallels between Scripture and MMA. I personally feel that Jesus was both lover and fighter. Those two do not need to be exclusive of each other. Jesus loved the world and demonstrated that by the Cross. He was a fighter and demonstrated that by never giving up, giving in, or quiting. He showed us that He was both lover and fighter on the Cross.

Our MMA ministry is not intended to bring people into our church. It is meant for us to be “salt and light” in a culture that is absent of it. We are going out into that culture. Non-MMA pastors should ALL be willing to go out into the world and be “salt and light.” Too often we hide in our churches, only associate with other Christians and forget that Jesus command was to GO, not gather and collect.We consider ourselves missionaries to the MMA Community.

Sorry to hear you got beat up in 6th grade. If you don’t want to train MMA to restore your manhood you could join with all the biker, Harley riding pastors. Just get some tattoos, buy some leathers, and grow a goatee. That might be less painful.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Matthew Paul Turner is the author of Churched and blogs over at Jesus Needs New P.R.

Hear No Evil is Matthew Paul Turner’s musical autobiography. It begins with his upbringing in a fundamentalist Baptist Church which calls rock music the “devil’s excrement.” He takes the reader up through and beyond his college years when Matthew bursts his musical bubble. Matthew’s first hand accounts are always told with a healthy dose of humor.

The stories are told in chronological order and in the present tense. In the narration, however, it is clear that Turner is providing valuable critique on those past events of his life. He is able to both explain his thoughts, feelings, and actions in the moment while at the same alluding to his present opinions and perhaps disappointments on what was.

Matthew’s childhood church only blessed music which explicitly referred to Jesus and was free of syncopated beats. Music not measuring up was black-listed. Having a Christian label did not mean it was safe in his church, especially not for the “sinister” Amy Grant.

As Matthew begins to discover an entire world of music (beyond simply the Christian variety), his dream of being God’s Michael Jackson also begins to fade. Hear No Evil challenges Christian musicians to be authentic and not to simply baptize modern culture in Christian language. Music, for Turner, is not something that can be prescribed by religious ideals. It is something that speaks to each individual in deep, soul-stirring ways.

The first half of the book focuses primarily on Matthew’s own journey through music, while the later half recounts times when he witnessed how music profoundly affected others. The turning point appears to be when Matthew accepts his “wannabeness” and finally lands his first post-college job.

In the later half, an enlightened adult Turner introduces some rather controversial issues (almost as a side point) including divorce, masturbation, and homosexuality. I presume Matthew’s point in including these issues was to point out how music supersedes such issues in the church. While I found these asides distracting, I do appreciate his honest approach to the reality and sometimes contradiction of Christian living. The book concludes somewhat abruptly (presumably because Matthew Paul Turner still has a lot of living left to do) with an adult Matthew reflecting on music at an Easter Sunday service.

I found the book to be a quite enjoyable glimpse into (what is for me) the foreign world of a Fundamentalist Baptist upbringing. Turner’s sarcastic and descriptive humor is right up my alley. His critique of mainstream Christian music is pointed and challenging. I would certainly recommend this book to any Christian artist, those who love Christian music, and anyone who wants to rediscover the meaning of music.

You can purchase Hear No Evil from Random House here.

“Pope can fly with us” says easyJet. Silly easyJet, Pope’s don’t fly; nuns do!

Baptist in Texas spread the Gospel using CDs. (Washington Post) The Gospel on CD, how futuristic! What will they think of next?

Churches start Mixed Martial Arts Ministry in order to attract more members. (NY Times – A version of this article appeared in print on February 2, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition) The bouts are extremely short because of the “turn-the-other-check” tactic. But it does give young Christians the opportunity to bash the devil out of each others hearts. Bringing the coliseums back to Christianity will mean only one thing – new martyrs.

Check out FightPastor.com which hosts the blog of Brandon Beals, a pastor who practices mma as a ministry.

I don’t recall it happening for me before. The church I grew up in was on a major road that was treated rather quickly in a snow emergency. Attendance may have dwindled on snow days, but I don’t recall cancellations. In college, a snow day actually helped church attendance – it was a minuscule town and the two churches were about the only places you could get to on a snowy Sunday. And then my seminary years were spent in sunny southern California – no breaks for the preacher between December and April out there.

Don’t hear me wrong – there was certainly good reason to cancel yesterday. This is a rural area and those mountain roads were horrible.

But, what does it mean to cancel church? Church cancellations were displayed on the local news channel and I couldn’t help but notice a few of them were worded “so-and-so church: morning worship canceled.” Worship is canceled? Could you imagine a town, state, or entire region in which God is not worshiped on a given Sunday morning? Or what about on a given day? Good thing it didn’t snow when Jesus died for our sins.

Let’s not mistakenly say that worship is canceled. It is at the very least a work-from-home situation. God must be worshiped – and not only on Sundays, but every day of our lives. It is our job as Christians, and God deserves it! I wonder how many Christians from yesterday’s canceled churches worshiped God at home versus how many thought they had the day off.

The physical gathering of the people of God may be impossible due to the weather; but our union as the Body of Christ is never hindered. The next time it snows on a Sunday remember that the gathering called “church” may not happen, but worship is never canceled.

I am still settling into a routine and hope to get back to some regular posts soon. Until then, one of the great benefits of serving a church is that I get to preach every Sunday. So, until I establish a more regular blogging schedule, I plan on posting the sermons on here.

Hope this first month of the new year has treated you well.