by Ryan Smith | Oct 26, 2015
Friday, in the quiet of the morning, I sat down at our kitchen table and spent some time with the 23rd Psalm. It is a familiar psalm, and as I prayed against the over-familiarity, I was struck by the promises of a faithful God and his urging through paths of righteousness for us under his care.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.”
Saturday morning, as my phone began to light up with tweets, texts and phone calls, I discovered how chaotic our still waters had become.
Nothing prepares you for this. It was a simple parade – the innocence of high school marching bands, school pride, community commitment, smiling police officers and local heroes waving at smiling children waving American flags.
It was amazing how quickly those band members were sent running to their busses, the community scattered by screams and sirens, police officers and local heroes thrust into action in a scene they never could have imagined as a car came streaking through a barricade, into a police motorcycle and into the unsuspecting public.
Where was God? Couldn’t He have stopped the vehicle? Sent her on a different route? Why them, why not me, why us, why then?
You can’t answer the question of why? You can merely live in what now? Our community has held candlelight vigils, started online campaigns to help victims, and will continue to memorialize those who were tragically killed and pray for all involved.
We know Oklahoma heals. We have done it before, and we will do it again. We bear the scars of tragedies before, that point to the healing to come. That healing comes in different ways for different people and will continue to do so over the coming season.
For me, I return to the 23rd Psalm and the reflections I wrote down just 24 hours before the unthinkable tragedy.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (ESV)
What I noted that morning were the words used to describe God’s active and steadfast faithfulness. He makes. He leads. He restores. You prepare. You anoint.
As His faithful deeds create a canopy over us, the phrases come to mind that describe how we live under the guidance of such a faithful God. I walk. I will fear no evil. I shall dwell.
What the 23rd Psalm reminds us is while God leads, restores, and watches over us on paths of righteousness, those paths often lead through the valley of the shadow of death.
But it is there we see His promises still firm. It is there he is still with us. It is there he still is in control – guiding – his rod and staff still comforting us.
Stillwater is a strong community and a place I am proud to call home. God is just as sovereign and present today as he was Saturday morning. He still leads, restores and comforts. God is faithful.
And in that time, we will still walk. We will still fear no evil. And by his grace, through Christ, we will still dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Pray for the victims and their families. Pray for the young woman and her family. Pray for our local churches as we minister to our community.
God is good. Lord, come soon. Heal Stillwater.
by Ryan Smith | Oct 1, 2015
A bombshell was dropped on the music industry last week, though you may not have heard it. After months of instagram clips and provocative tweets, alt-country singer/songwriter Ryan Adams released his track-by-track cover of Taylor Swift’s blockbuster album, 1989. The album and feat was released to acclaim and utter astonishment amongst fans and critics alike.
The surprise is not in the cross-genre transferability of Taylor Swift’s songs. The girl can write a catchy tune. She has multiple Grammy awards, gold records, and packed out stadium shows to prove the fact that as a songwriter, she can stand on her own two feet.
Ryan Adams is perhaps best known for being mistaken for singer/songwriter Bryan Adams. He does, however, have a strong cult following and has accumulated indie and industry cred throughout his long career. The fact that Adams would cover a Taylor Swift song is not surprising. He has been a prolific studio professional, often bringing other artists’ songs into his repertoire.
What has made this interesting is not only the cast of characters and gutsy musicianship, nor even the final product itself. The bombshell and ongoing discussion from this album has been what the final product reveals.
Swift’s power-pop beats and carefree vocal stylings have always framed her songs about life and relationships in a positive light. Even in her deepest and saddest of songs, you know everything is going to be okay and she will move on.
Adams’ low-key and melancholy treatment frames the very same songs (and lyrics) in a very different light. The songs are intimate. The words are weighty. Even in the happiest and most carefree songs, you come away feeling that there is a deep wound in the writer. There is a history and a sadness of a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other daily struggle to find hope.
But remember, these are the same songs. Same words. Same author. Same story.
The dual recordings of 1989 convey the truth that you can tell the same story in different ways and still be telling the same story.
So what on earth does this have to do with Jesus and the Gospel?
Ultimately, the good news of Jesus Christ is just that – it’s news. The Bible is not a discordant collection of writings, but a meta-narrative of stories, circumstances, and people all held together with the scarlet thread of Jesus Christ and the story of a great God who displays his glory as he seeks and saves those who are lost.
And we are told to share this story.
Our temptation as Christians is to want to only share the Taylor Swift gospel. We want the lights, packed stadiums, shiny production, and positive feelings expressed in the truth of God’s Word. We get nervous when someone brings up Leviticus or controversial issues that may cause friction. We get nervous about digging deeper into a conversation about God because it might reveal the scars and imperfections we try so hard to hide. We want the Gospel news clean, attractive and celebrated.
While there’s nothing wrong with wanting the Gospel to be attractive per se, we must remember the Gospel as a story contains a lot of grit. There is a lot of pain exposed in a sinful world and depth encountered as a holy God takes on human flesh and dies on a cross to reconcile his harlot bride. There are a lot of stubbed toes and skinned knees as God walks his people through his salvation story.
Sometimes the Gospel is celebration, dance, and the center of a thousand spotlights.
Sometimes the Gospel is stark, stripped down and sounds more like a warbly-voiced traveler with nothing but six strings and a few guys to share the journey with.
The beauty of the Gospel is that regardless of the voice God has given you, you can tell the story. Your background with God, the church, and Jesus may be smooth. It may be marked with potholes. But it all comes down to sinners saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
This should be freeing for churches, pastors, and every Christian who wants to communicate the greatest news in the world but feels vastly inadequate.
Leave it to the professionals – we think.
I don’t have the credentials, the resources, or the charisma – we assume.
No one wants to hear this from me. Who am I to talk about Jesus?
What we have been reminded of recently through the simple songs of a mid-20’s pop princess and an early-40’s rock-country hipster is that when we tell the story in our own voice, it is the story that is highlighted, not our voice. Sometimes the greatest depth is even communicated through the less glamorous of means.
Should we always strive for excellence as we share the Gospel with those God brings into our paths? Certainly. But never assume the best way to communicate the Gospel is through someone else’s voice.
If the story is true, tell it. Share your story. Share the story of Jesus and watch how God orchestrates the most beautiful of symphonies.
by Ryan Smith | Sep 21, 2015
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently spoke at Liberty University, a professed evangelical Christian school. The New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti chronicled the event in his article titled, “Bernie Sanders Makes Rare Appeal to Evangelicals at Liberty University.”
What was Mr. Sanders’ rare appeal?
Mr. Sanders, who has described himself as “unabashedly irreligious,” surmised, “I am far, far from a perfect human being, but I am motivated by a vision which exists in all of the great religions – in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam, Buddhism and other religions.”
This vision he explains is the expression of the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12, which states, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” It is this vision, states Sanders, that is the rallying point for himself, the common thread of all religions, and the connection point for those he desires to lead.
I am also far, far from a perfect human being. But I do know it is unwise to use the words of the only perfect being in order to push the notion that you can divorce the vision of Christianity from Christ Himself.
Corasaniti explains that Sanders made a true effort to find “common ground” with Christian students, beginning with “the foundations of Christianity itself: the Bible.”
While I know we could wade into the weeds of semantics, with all due respect to Mr. Sanders and Mr. Corasiniti, the foundation of Christianity itself is not just the Scripture, it is Jesus Christ Himself.
The Gospel is not that we have been given a set of moral codes to abide by and a vision we can pick from the tree while leaving the rest of the garden. Gospel reconciliation doesn’t come by good motives, and the Kingdom is not ushered in when we all put our religious differences aside.
The unity of the Spirit is not a “vision which exists in all of the great religions.” The point of the Law and the Prophets is in fact not a vision at all, but a person. Indeed, this person and His claim to be God in the flesh is the vision that divides religions.
Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 10).
By invoking Matt. 7:12, Sanders (and many others like him) is not calling us towards the true summary of the Law and Prophets because the true point of the Law and Prophets is Jesus. This is dangerous terrain.
Jesus did say the “Golden Rule” sums up the sacred writings, but we must see them in context of what Jesus was actually talking about.
What Jesus tells us before and after Matthew 7:12 in the Sermon on the Mount is that any path – even broad and well trodden – that does not lead to the greatest good is in fact evil. There is only one path that leads to true good and because God is a good Father, he will give it to us.
It is the narrow path with the narrow gate. In fact, it is so exclusive we never would have found it unless God himself created the way for us. Jesus himself says He is the Way, the Truth, the Life and no one comes to this good Father except through Him (John 14:6).
He also says in John 10 that He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by any other way is a thief and a robber. It is only God who knows the door and way through which we must enter and as Jesus explains, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep… If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7-9).
While I admire Mr. Sanders’ call to social justice and to do the work of the church as agents of reconciliation in the world, we must remember our first call of reconciliation is to be reconciled to God. I would call upon Mr. Sanders and many others like him to seek not to first be reconciled to people of different faiths for political gain, but to be reconciled to God through Jesus for eternal life.
That is what we need and by God’s grace have received. If we had not, what greater evil could be done to us than for that truth about Jesus to be withheld? So we should do to others what we would want them to do to us. We should show them the way to the Father. But as Jesus notes, there is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ.
I believe Bernie Sanders has good intentions, but we know where that paved road leads. My intent in this blog is not to belittle him, but to call out against the notion that we can have a vision or use of Christianity without Christ himself.
I believe the greatest hope for the poor and rich alike is Jesus Christ first and foremost. As long as Mr. Sanders or others are leading people away from faith alone in Jesus Christ, they will be inflicting the utmost danger on every social outcast they claim to want to help. That is no vision at all.
Photo credit: Julie Hansen/Shutterstock.com
by Ryan Smith | Aug 24, 2015
“God loves you and is with you no matter what you decide. You can find strength, understanding, and comfort in that love.”
I agree with this statement. The Bible agrees with this statement. God loves us. He is constantly with us – even the prodigal. His love gives us the solid rock to stand on, the understanding that surpasses our own limited knowledge, and comfort in the sovereign and almighty hand of God.
Here’s the problem.
The above quote is taken from the “Pastoral Letter to Patients” from the Clergy Advocacy Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in “celebration” and “affirmation” of the decision to choose abortion as a means to deal with an unwanted child. Hopefully you have multiple forms of issues with that last sentence. Unfortunately I do not have time to go into all of them. But I want to highlight one.
First, let me be clear. If you are a woman or man who has dealt with an abortion in your past, I wholeheartedly believe God does love you and is still with you. God is a God of restoration and redemption. You likely carry a burden God never intended you to carry. Carry it to the cross and lay it down.
What I am struggling with is the invoking of God’s name and attributes in order to affirm and encourage the killing of unborn children.
Tom Davis, a United Church of Christ minister and past chair of Planned Parenthood’s Clergy Advocacy Board wrote, “Ultimately the conflict between the opponents of Planned Parenthood and its clergy defenders is a theological one.”
I agree with Mr. Davis that there is a theological rift between those who see today’s holocaust against the unborn as a blessing and those who stand for life.
The difference is great and indeed it is theological. It is a gap so wide it makes the Grand Canyon look like a paper cut.
But something bothers me here. How can our conflict be so great in theology, yet our words be in such accord? If the chasm between us is so wide, then why do our terms overlap? I believe it is because Christians and the church have often been fuzzy in our definitions of words for the sake of not wanting to be kicked against. We want to share our faith, but in a way that can be easily absorbed – regardless of the receiver’s actual understanding.
We value our fear of confrontation over our urgency for truth.
God is love, but that means different things to different people. To simply say, “God loves you” as an evangelism strategy is unfortunately anemic in a society with melting definitions. We must be a people who uplift God’s amazing grace, but we must also be a people who know what God’s love and grace entail.
In today’s society, many equate love with enabling and grace with affirming. However the Bible provides us with a much clearer understanding of what God’s love looks like and how grace is to be received. It shows us that, ultimately, they both meet at a bloody and horrific executioner’s tree.
I’m not against telling people that God loves them. It can be a great thing. But we shouldn’t say it just because it is agreeable. We need to define our terms.
For the disciples who spoke out about the God of love and grace in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, their ultimate end was a martyr’s death. Why? Because they defined their terms. They married words like love, grace and faith to other words like sin, repentance, sacrifice, and death to our fleshly nature.
Jesus and the disciples had the strength to tell the truth about what was wrong, but also about what was right. They wanted to be clear in their message. They were steadfast, unwavering and uncompromising in their determined pursuit not of using agreeable platitudes, but that the person they were addressing understood the full Gospel regardless of what their response might mean for themselves as the speaker.
Christians, we must define our words. The era in which we could skate by in cultural approval under the same vernacular banners as those who disagree with us and the Bible has long past.
It is true, “God loves you and is with you no matter what you decide. You can find strength, understanding, and comfort in that love.”
However, that may look different than the world thinks. Share with them the love of the cross and grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for those who trust and believe in him in all of life for the rest of life. But in that, talk about repentance. Talk about holiness. Talk about the God who is, not just the god we want to exist for our own sake and convenience.
It may take more than “God loves you.” It may take a cup of coffee, some time invested and pushback against the Gospel message.
It may be difficult for us, but it will be right. It will be true. It will be love.
by Ryan Smith | Jul 30, 2015
I can’t get away from it. Every time I scroll through my Facebook feed, seeking a simple escape, there are pictures of friends, people enjoying vacation and then there it is. Another picture, another video, another headline using words like, murder, dismember, baby body parts.
It used to fill me with a righteous anger. Seeing these stories made me want to investigate and stand up for life in the name of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. But it seems every tweet has a #DefundPlannedParenthood hashtag and gruesome story follows gruesome story.
If it is not that, it is the opposition adding stench to the air. It’s the railing against those “radical” Christians and backwoods anti-women republicans who don’t understand the values of science and personal freedom.
This is a struggle within me. As pro-choice advocates are calling for the silencing of media coverage regarding horrific videos and a squelching of the conversation, I am tempted to lay down my voice as well. This is not because I agree with their worldview – far from it. I am more tempted to move on than fight. After all, who needs one more blog, one more tweet, one more Facebook share if it’s just going to add to the noise. I want to just let the professionals handle it and go back to my comfortable Christianity where the world is the world and we just sit back and wait for Heaven.
This is an evil desire. Christianity has long been painted as simply a positive and encouraging outlook on handling life’s gloomy circumstances. It is far from it. There is nothing positive or encouraging about contorted, murdered babies and the society that violently seeks to protect its modern god of sex at all costs. Yet this is the burning building into which we are to run with the Gospel.
This is where we as Christians have to make a decision. God has given us a voice, not merely ears. We should be slow to speak and quick to listen, but there is certainly a time to speak. I get it – it’s uncomfortable, it’s not pretty. But if we are not now taking advantage of such an opportunity, not to win a political battle, but to expose what is done in darkness with the light of the Gospel, then when will we?
The Gospel makes us uncomfortable because it tells us we are not God. As people made in His image, however, we have the responsibility and the call to stand for truth and to let our hearts be broken with the things that break the heart of God. Abortion breaks the heart of God.
So He has given you a voice. He has given you a voice not just to yell or be combative, but to speak truth to broken hearts. We must remember that apart from the Gospel and the saving work of Jesus Christ, we too would be lost in a selfish bent toward sin. We too would protect our own appetites even to the point of turning a blind eye on such a modern-day holocaust.
These are real people who really believe what they are saying is right. They believe it is best to kill babies (or that these victims aren’t babies at all). They believe they are standing for women’s rights. They believe it is best to move on to a new topic of conversation.
They believe the Gospel is foolishness, and they don’t know they are perishing. Let us not lay down our voices, but take them up to speak truth, to work and support our local pregnancy centers, to speak with the young women caught in the crossfire of this political and ideological battle and tell them the good news of Jesus Christ.
I am tempted to lay down my voice for my own comfort. But I will continue to use it for the sake of the least of these, even when it makes me uncomfortable. Share. Post. Volunteer. Fight the good fight in love. But remember our war is not against flesh and blood – not merely a spat over politics. This is a much greater battle for God’s kingdom to be seen in this world until He comes to make all things new.
The Light has shown into our darkness. It is our time as the church to do the same.