The Collar

“Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ.”
– The First Epistle to the Corinthians 7:22 (ESV)

I ran across an interesting article by a pastor who advocated the return to wearing a minister’s uniform (e.g., a collar) for those in ministry. It was well-written and thought through; his argument was essentially that wearing the collar helped him better perform ministry in the community as people who wouldn’t initially recognize him as a pastor would now do so. I didn’t agree with everything he said but it got me thinking, “Would I consider wearing a collared shirt…at the bookstore I frequent, the same with the coffee shop and all the other places in between?”

My resulting feelings brought me a little consternation. I shied away from the thought of wearing a minister’s collar. It made me uneasy and that troubled me. It’s not that I think every minister should wear a uniform (I don’t wear one), it’s just that the why behind my decline didn’t smell the fragrance of Christ. I think I would be hesitant to wear a collar because it might infringe on the freedoms I enjoy in public. The movies I see, the books I read, the places I visit and all others things I do in front of others now comes with the “please look at me and know that I’m a Christian minister” tag once I don the white tab.

I don’t like my answer. It has the foul odor of independence and autonomy. Two things that speak more of my being an American than a follower of Jesus, two things that keep me far from the life Jesus offers, and two things I (supposedly) gave up when I decided to become a “slave to Christ”. But being a “slave” doesn’t get much mileage in this culture, and I’m afraid with the state of the Western church it doesn’t go much further within her walls as well where a growing number of pastors fancy themselves more celebrity than shepherd. It seems ironic to me how the white tab ministers wear is to symbolize the iron collar of a slave, for he is a bondslave to Jesus. And yet it may be for that very reason that I think twice.

This really is for a larger discussion because I believe all who name the Name of Christ are ministers. In other words, all wear the collar in one sense. All are servants to Jesus. So how do you feel about walking around with a tab around your neck? The why behind your answer may tell you more than you thought it would.

Words to a Dead Father

There are a few pastors outside the four walls of my church who’ve had a great impact on me. Among names on that short list is John Piper, who is a pastor in Minneapolis. I’ve never met him, only heard him and read his books, and I recommend anything/everything he’s ever written.

I found out this week that his father William died on Tuesday and ran across John's blog where he recollected his thoughts and feelings as he attended his father in his final moments at the hospital. It was one most precious and heartfelt things I’ve read in a long time. In it you see the great love for a father who did it right and a son who has most assuredly followed in his steps as a man who God has used to touch hundreds of thousands of people…if not more. All of it was incredible, but one piece stood out to me as far as being a parent.

John looked down at now lifeless body of his father and said:

Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for sixty-one years of faithfulness to me. I am simply looking into his face now. Thank you. You were a good father. You never put me down. Discipline, yes. Spankings, yes. But you never scorned me. You never treated me with contempt. You never spoke of my future with hopelessness in your voice. You believed God’s hand was on me. You approved of my ministry. You prayed for me. Everyday.…I kissed him on his cold cheek and on his forehead. I love you, Daddy. Thank you.

Oh, to have my kids say to me what John said to his father! That when I'm on my deathbed they gather round and say, “Thanks Dad for loving me like God called you to love me! Thanks for leaving a legacy of grace and godliness that I’m going to pass on to your grandkids. I love you, Daddy. Thank you.”

Jesus, please grant me the grace to lead my children in such a way that they would know you, love you and make you known to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Needless to say, I highly recommend reading Piper's blog on his father's death. You can catch it here: Hello, my dad just died

Growlings and Roarings

This week I’ve had a few interactions with people outside the faith that have asked me to explain some things in the Bible that for one reason or another they can’t really get past. It’s a legitimate issue most of the time. People are genuinely “kicking the tires” concerning Jesus & Christianity and want to know why the Bible (i.e., the voice of the God of the Christians) holds to the views it does.

However, every once in a while I encounter those who come to the Bible with an axe to grind. It’s not that they’re trying to discover the truth of who God is, what he is doing in history and what their part is in it, they’re just mad at what the text says and want to battle a person who believes it. What’s usually funny about this kind of track is that when one textual “issue” is solved, for example by simply understanding the historical context of the scripture, the offended party simply moves to the next biblical position that sticks in their craw. So when it comes to the Bible and receiving what it says I tend to run into two types of people: those who don’t understand the Bible but are sincerely trying and those who don’t care what it really says because they know what’s truth and are simply angry that the Bible “reads” how it reads.

What’s the deal? Let me turn first to author Clive Staples Lewis.

In the famous “Chronicles of Narnia” book The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the sinister character Uncle Andrew is frightened to a deathly silence by the presence of the Christ-figure Aslan the Lion and his surroundings. When his young nephew Digory asks Aslan to help by speaking words that will bring peace to his devastated uncle, Aslan replies, “But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings. Oh Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!”

The problem with Uncle Andrew is the same dilemma with those who can’t bring themselves to embracing what the Bible says. When the pages pour forth the voice of God all that is heard is “growlings” and “roarings”. I wonder if many times the reasons they don’t hear the voice of their salvation is because, like Uncle Andrew, they’ve defended themselves against God by redefining him with their feelings, opinions and observations. They don’t want to really hear God because they can’t get past what they already believe is true. Maybe that’s why Jesus was so big on faith.

I wonder if Jesus’ words in The Gospel of John would be fitting in a Cliff Notes reading of the Lewis story: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, ESV) Faith gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. While skeptics would say it causes us to be blind to reality, the truth is faith in Jesus is what actually enables us to receive in our hearts and minds the truth about God. In other words, to follow him is to believe him...and vice versa.

I Corinthians 2:14-16 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (ESV)

While these two groups of people who don’t embrace the Bible are on opposite sides of the spectrum in a real way, there is a common thread they share. They don’t get it because they don’t have him. Sure, they may proclaim to accept God but you can bet it’s not the God revealed in the Bible – it’s a god much safer to their belief system, more sympathetic to their views and much more accessible than the God revealed in the Bible. If any claim it is the God of the Bible usually it's the cut-and-paste version where they embrace some of what the Bible teaches about him but it rejects other scriptures that don't fit their silhouette of deity. However, all that does is defend the seeker “against all that might do [him] good”. What he needs is faith and that can only come from God (cf., Eph. 2:8-9). God must give us eyes to see and ears to hear (that is receive) his word.

This should be humble us and help us as we dialogue with those who are disappointed if not outright angry at what the Bible says. We should be humbled by the fact that to truly receive God’s Word one must be renewed by Jesus. To hear him is to know him. Even our initial coming to Christ in conversion has Jesus’ fingerprints all over it. We don’t “get it” because we’re smarter, wiser or better with logic than those who don’t follow Jesus. We believe it because Jesus enables us to believe it.

This should also temper any ill feelings we have with those who bring dull axes to their conversations with you about what the Bible says, and it should give us compassion for those who come with more sincere hearts. In a real way both have the same problem. It should encourage us to pray on their behalf that God would allow them to hear not “roarings” and “growlings” but the loving, caring and sure voice of the Almighty.