Category: Gospel and Culture

How to Suffer (and to Preach Suffering)

Posted on February 26, 2008

If you have suffered or struggle to minister, counsel, or preach on suffering, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul Tripp has a chapter you should read. Mind you, Tripp is not dealing with the philosophical problem of evil; he is addressing the practical issues of suffering. The chapter entitled “Building Relationships By Identifying with Suffering” holds out a deeply communal, redemptive vision of suffering. Accordingly, he frames his chapter with this insight:

You are a sufferer who has been called by God to minister to others in pain. Suffering is not only the common ground of human relationships, but one of God’s most useful workrooms. (145)

Tripp goes on to develop “the humble character of personal ministry” in suffering, noting that God sends suffering people into our lives, not only so that they will change, but so that we will change too. (146) He pushes back against the spiritual professional approach of many pastors, who are inclined to dole out advice and counsel in suffering without identifying with others in suffering. I was convicted of this tendency to identify with sufferers “from above,” not from their level. When recounting stories of suffering and how God sustained me through them, I have typically pointed to God’s sufficiency and the triumph of his grace, but without confessing my struggles towards embracing that sufficiency and victory.

As a result, on Saturday night I changed the way I told/shared/preached the story of losing my best friend to suicide. I did my best to follow Tripp’s advice: “Tell your story in a way that breaks down the misconception that you are essentially different form the person you are helping” (155). And I incorporated these elements: 1) the difficult situation 2) your struggle in the midst of it, and 3) how God helped you. Some of us need to do more of 1, just telling the stories. Others need more 2, to be more honest about our struggles in suffering. And others need more 3, to look beyond the pain to embrace and tell of God’s all-sufficient grace in suffering.

This chapter helped me immensely. I hope that this post helps you.

Starbucks to Offer free WiFi

Posted on February 23, 2008

Yes, Starbucks has finally shaken the shackles of T-Mobile to catch up with the rest of the coffeeshop world in offering free WiFi. This Spring 2 hours of free WiFi will be available for any Starbucks card holder (you know, those gift cards you can recharge?). I still say, support local business and bypass the corporate coffee when you can. But, unfortunately, that’s not always an option, certainly not always a palatable one.

Now, if Barnes & Noble and Borders would just get on board, we could all be jacked into the Matrix even more of the time!

Evangelical Scandals: morality, justice, and politics

Posted on February 21, 2008

In the past decade, Ron Sider has contributed two solid books that should jar every evangelical: Just Generosity and The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. If Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience took a chunk out of the corrupt evangelical pietistic soul, Just Generosity restores it with a holistic vision of the gospel of Jesus. Sider’s newest book, Scandal of Evangelical Politics, indicts the political extremes and calls for a biblically rooted, practically oriented, non-partisan approach to Christian political responsibility. Though I have my reservations about putting too much hope into political action, this book will no doubt prove useful in curbing unhealthy activism and promoting balanced political engagement. Taken together, these three books not only break the scandal of evangelical immorality, injustice and politicking, but chart a redemptive way forward in order to make the world a better place.

Read the first chapter here.

Read my sermon: Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience