This article disputes the idea that it is ok for Christians to be rude. Bad manners are not trivial. Rudeness is hurtful to believers and a poor witness to the world. I am not talking about ordinary believers who are having a bad day. I am talking about emotionally abusive churchgoers who enjoy operating that way. I am addressing the careless, cruel, deliberate rudeness of many Christians, including some members of the clergy, who are humiliating and offending other believers as a form of self-amusement, bullying or self-glorification. Deliberately causing emotional distress to others is wrong.

There is absolutely no place for rudeness in the life of the Christian disciple. We are not Old Testament prophets or Jesus rebuking the Pharisees. We have no absolute spiritual authority. We have no right to take a whip to the Temple courts. We need to move in gentleness and meekness.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (ESV) Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (6) it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

The word “rude” in 1 Corinthians 13:5 is asxemoneo (ἀσχημονέω)– or “lacking good form, inappropriate, unseemly, to act unbecomingly, to be rude”. The rude person expresses themselves with utter disregard for others, for the culture, or for good manners.

Jesus described Himself as “meek and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29), and the most frequently mentioned emotion of Jesus is considerate compassion (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32).

A truly spiritual Christian will display the nine fruit of the Spirit which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). And the heavenly wisdom of God is pure, gentle and peaceable:

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (18) And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James condemns the way rich church members and the clergy were rudely treating the less fortunate:

James 2:1-4 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. (2) For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, (3) and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” (4) have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Many rich, glamorous and famous people are rude to the poor and needy, and even to each other. But, is it “cool” to imitate that which is evil? It is “cool” to imitate bullies, to be sarcastic, to shun others and to put people down? Do not imitate evil, but rather imitate that which is good!

3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Since rudeness is the precise opposite of agape love, then deliberately rude and unloving pastors, deacons or elders are outside of God’s will! Christian leaders should be holy, considerate servants of God’s people.

1 Peter 5:3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Being loving kind and considerate is a hallmark of the true Christian: 1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (see also 1 John 3:16-18).

If someone is inconsiderate, if they don’t care about how other people feel, if they only care about their own self-expression, then they are completely outside of Christianity with its central commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself”.

Romans 13:9-10 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (10) Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

And we all know the Golden Rule from the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:12 “So whatever (in all things) you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. If we want others to be kind and polite to us, then, in all things, we should be kind and polite to them!

None of these rude “Christians” want other people to be rude back to them. They want to be rude to others for the fun of it, but if someone was deliberately rude to them they would burst out in rage!

Putting off the Old Nature

The old nature and its lifestyle need to be put off!

Ephesians 4:20-24 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— (21) assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, (22) to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, (23) and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, (24) and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are to put away rudeness, uncouthness, cussing, coarse jesting, humiliating others, dominating others, and being emotionally cruel. We are to put on kindness, gentleness, meekness, graciousness, fitting speech, tactfulness, love and wisdom.

Ephesians 4:29-32 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (32) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

We don’t just put off the old self we must put off its practices as well, its culture, it habits, and its entire mode of being!

Colossians 3:8-10 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. (9) Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (10) and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

The Christian is a new person who is continually being renewed into the image of God, and our lifestyle and manners should demonstrate this! There needs to be repentance for rudeness. A “metanoia”, a complete change of mind and manners! New Christians should be discipled into the new graciousness of the Holy Spirit.

Being Like Jesus

Our mode of being should imitate that of Christ. In the Bible this is referred to as “walking”, it is the habitual tone of one’s existence.

1 John 2:4-6 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (6) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The only way we can get out of the snare of our ego and into a Christ-like lifestyle is by the power of the Holy Spirit! Prayer, worship, reading the Bible, getting into some good, faithful Bible teaching, fellowship with good Christians, and daily asking to be filled with the Spirit will assist you in your spiritual growth. My brief book The Spiritual Continuum outlines the Spirit-Filled life.

Learning Graciousness

The best way to learn graciousness is by observing very well-mannered Christians in your culture and age group. Admire those who are admirable, watch how they handle social situations, observe how they manage stress and conflict, note how they make everyone feel comfortable and at ease. Then do as they do!

Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (9) What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Even if you grew up in a rude and abusive family, it is up to you to break the cycle! I am not referring to crystal bowls and fish forks and fine etiquette. I am talking about your attitude toward other people.

Some tips:

1. Don’t just blurt things out, pause your response, then filter your words
2. Pray before you speak, pray for a long time before important meetings
3. Let Scripture guide your words
4. Most of the time there is absolutely no need to win the argument
5. Assertively interrupting other people in order to assert dominance is wrong
6. Try not to be dismissive of those you vehemently disagree with, see them as persons
7. Put some time and effort into figuring out the nicest way to say things
8. You are not God’s Sheriff, don’t go around unnecessarily correcting people!
9. Be considerate, put yourself in their shoes
10. Be courteous, do the small things that make people feel noticed
11. Be kind and don’t be mean
12. Don’t attack the self-worth of someone else
13. Correct the problem without destroying the person
14. Rage solves nothing
15. Don’t go on power trips, don’t deliberately ignore people, don’t belittle people
16. Don’t put people down for the sheer fun of it
17. Don’t make people squirm, don’t victimize them, don’t be cruel
18. Choose to make people comfortable, not uncomfortable, meet their small needs
19. Don’t needle others or provoke them, or deliberately get under their skin
20. Be hospitable, relaxed and easy-going, “hail fellow, well met”. Greet people cheerfully.
21. Give people second, third and fourth chances
22. Uproot all resentments and bitterness from you heart, forgive and forget, be Christlike

Conclusion

We are to be polite, not rude. We are to love our enemies, be kind to the ungrateful, be patient with the weak, and to associate with the humble and lowly. We are to put the character of Jesus on display!

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Image: Jason Leung

Christians are a new people, a new creation of God, with a new spiritual nature. We are called to a higher calling of agape love and love is not rude! Let us put on love, not haughtiness!

Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (14) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

PR 

We need to make three commitments. One to Christ. You can’t get in without that commitment. But it’s “Christ, Savior” as well as “Christ, Lord.’ So many people don’t understand the issue of lordship. But if you do, there’s still yet another commitment.

I constantly meet people who are committed to Christ, but not committed to his church. They don’t understand the necessity of being in a corporate body. For them Christianity is a solo flight. But it’s not something you do on your own. Its something you do in connection with other brethren.

“Love one another” is easy when you’re watching television. But when you have to go do things with people—some you don’t even like, much less love—that’s where the rubber meets the road.

Love is best worked out in shoe leather. You see it’s not just platitude. It’s not just something you mouth. It’s something that you live.

We must also commit ourselves to his church, his people, and his vehicle for our growth and development.

Likewise, I’ve met many people who are committed to Christ, and to his church, but not committed to his cause. Oh, they like the idea “Preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.” They love the Great Commission texts, and they’ll spout them sometimes. But when you ask them, “Are you involved in giving cups of cold water, are you taking food to the hungry, are you sharing clothing. Are you witnessing? Are you leading people to Christ?” “Well I ought to, but I’m not.” Then you’re not committed.

Committed people do this. This is what they do. They don’t do it every day, all day. Some do. But they do it. It’s part of their life.

If you want to know what kind of Christian you are, get your checkbook out, and look at your calendar. Where in the week are you giving food? Are you praying for the sick, or witnessing to the lost? When are you doing the deeds of Jesus?

Look at your checkbook. Where is the money flowing to? For pleasure? For things? Or for God? It’s that simple.

Remember Romans 12:1,2 and the living sacrifices we are to present to him? That’s us. Do you own the next breath you breath? No, it belongs to him, and he has set you on a course of action in which you are to commit yourself to him, to his church, and to his cause.

I can still remember a lady named Gladys. She was only about five-foot-two. She used to come up to me when I was a young Christian, and tap me on the chest and exhort me in a staccato rhythm: “Go home and raise those kids! Go home and pray for those kids! Go home and teach those kids the word of God!” Then she’d turn around and walk away. I’d go home and try. I wasn’t too good at it. I didn’t know very much of it myself. Then I’d see her a week or two later, and she’d come up to me and give me another round of exhortation. That went on for about a year and a half.

One day I said to her, “how come you’re always doing this to me?”

“Because I love you.” She started crying. And I started crying. I’ve never forgotten that woman. She’s had as much influence in my Christian life as any other person. Because she loved me.

I would to God that every one of you had a Gladys. If not, become one, and exhort and encourage the brethren along the way to godliness. That people might come to know him, and serve him for their entire lives in a way that would glorify him, and exalt him in the world.

PR

From Worship Update (3rd Quarter 1995).
©1995 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing, P.O. Box 68025, Anaheim, CA 92817-0825. USA.
Used by Permission.

Published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website, later included in the Winter 2024 issue.

With nine out of every 10 pastors in America under “financial pressure,” and six out of 10 churches facing giving declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) today launched its second annual Bless Your Pastor campaign (BlessYourPastor.org).

In 2019, thousands of churches received free grant-funded materials to help them participate in the first national Bless Your Pastor campaign. The goal this year is to “create an even bigger wave of sharing and caring for pastors, church staff, and their families,” according to campaign spokesperson Brian Kluth.

Now It’s Time to Bless Them
Research from the National Association of Evangelicals shows half of America’s pastors earn less than $50,000 per year and work 50-70 hours per week. Bless Your Pastor (BlessYourPastor.org) is a national campaign to show love to America’s church leaders.
Image: Ben White

Funded by a multi-million dollar grant from a well-known endowment, Bless Your Pastor aims to ignite generosity and equip congregations to “show and share God’s love” for their pastors in creative and practical ways.

Churches participating in this year’s Bless Your Pastor campaign will share a list of “50 Creative Ways to Bless Your Pastor” with their congregation, take up an appreciation offering for their pastor, and receive a free $250 Amazon gift card from the NAE for their senior pastor.

‘Now It’s Time to Bless Them’

“Often under great stress, our pastors and churches have quickly changed course this year, learning how to live-stream services and develop creative opportunities to minister virtually,” Kluth said. “Pastors and church staff have been working tirelessly to bless others during this difficult time. Now it’s time to bless them.”

“Even before this crisis, the majority of pastors and their families were walking a financial tightrope — teetering on the edge of serious debt and wondering how they could pay essential bills,” Kluth added. According to NAE’s research, half of America’s pastors earn less than $50,000 per year and work 50-70 hours per week — with 90 percent admitting they feel financial stress.

The “50 Creative Ways to Bless Your Pastor” list inspires people to bless their pastor and church staff with their time, talents, and treasures. Examples include doing car repairs, sharing a vacation home, giving gift cards, or even providing free professional services, such as dental care.

Last year, after distributing a list of “50 Creative Ways to Bless Your Pastor,” one church in New Jersey collected an appreciation offering of more than $18,000 to help their pastor pay off his student loans. A church in Georgia took up an appreciation offering and hosted a special lunch for their pastor, including favorite baked goods. Among participating churches, the average pastor appreciation offering was just over $850.

In this excerpt from Leaving Buddha, Tenzin Lahkpa, formerly a Buddhist monk, recalls his first introduction to Jesus the Messiah.

Tenzin Lahkpa and Eugene Bach, Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk’s Encounter with the Living God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2019), 206 pages, ISBN 9781641231022.
Read the review by John Lathrop.
Read the introduction from Eugene Bach, “The Tenzin Lahkpa Story.”

A Christian Family Member

“Tenzin!”

“Yes?” I responded to the unknown voice yelling down the corridor after me.

“There is someone outside looking for you.”

I ended my meditation, stood up, and walked to the door. As I stepped outside, I saw a kind-looking young man, a little older than I, pacing around.

“Tenzin?” he said as soon as he saw me. I nodded.

“I’m Peema. Your uncle told me that you have been looking for us.”

“Ahh…so good to see you. My uncle told me that I had family living here, but I didn’t even know where to start. I was told that your family was living in Dharamsala. I asked around about you, but no one knew where you were.”

“Yes, we used to live in Dharamsala, but we moved to America a year ago.”

“I heard that you are a monk.”

“I used to be, but not anymore.”

I pulled my head back in surprise. “Not anymore? What happened? Did you decide you needed a wife?” I asked jokingly. Marriage was the number-one killer of monastic living.

“Not exactly,” he said a bit sheepishly. “Do you care to take a walk?”

“Sure.”

Peema and I strolled down the side of the mountain from the mon­astery. There wasn’t really anywhere to walk to, but taking a walk in the shadow of the mountains and away from the listening ears of other monks seemed to be what my relative wanted to do.

“My family is living in America and they really like it a lot. America is nothing like Tibet or India. Everything there is so much better. Everyone has a car, a house, and a mobile phone.”

“How did you get to go to America?” I asked.

“We were invited by a Christian man. Their church sponsored our visa and have helped us.”

“Christian?” I had heard the word before. I knew that it was the reli­gion of Westerners but didn’t know anything about it.

“Yes. There was an American who came to Dharamsala and told us about Jesus. We listened to him, and what he had to say changed our lives forever. We have never been happier, and we are doing better than any generation before us.”

I was shocked at what he was saying. Although I didn’t know much about the religion of the Christians, I did know that Tibetans hated their religion. Even Hindus, who recognize almost every god under the sun, hate Christians.

Tolkien: A Life of Love, Courage, and Fellowship

I was skeptical. I fully expected the film to about the inspiration behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and these were represented, but not the focus. If you are familiar with his works, then you will easily find glimpses here and there, but if you have never picked up a Tolkien title, the experience is still powerful.

I am no longer skeptical. The film is about the man, which includes his imagination, but centers on who J. R. R. Tolkien was, the friends that influenced his early years before WWI, his abiding love for Edith Bratt, and his passion for words: wonderful, meaningful, inspiring words. The sound of them, the depth of them, their story.

And there’s the rub. If you are fond of the English language, of literature, Tolkien the film will move you. And I am pleased to say, there are no verbal vulgarities (though some brief nude art appears).

Some that love his writings have written concerns about how Tolkien’s Catholic faith is not on display in the film. Colm Meaney plays Father Frances in the film, he was a man of considerable influence on Tolkien’s life and was his legal guardian after the death of his parents. There is no question that Tolkien’s faith was well established and vocalized in his latter years, he was even instrumental in helping C. S. Lewis come to faith. However, it may not have been as important when he was of college age and younger—the predominant period covered in the film.

If the film had any fault, the soundtrack was highly synthesized and ignorable.

The characters are believable with some fine teen actors as well as established thespians like Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, the previously mentioned Colm Meaney, and Sir Derek Jacobi. This is Disney’s first release of a Fox film since the merger, which is a tad ironic, as Tolkien allegedly despised Walt Disney’s butchery of classic literature.

To what degree the film is historically accurate, I do not know nor care. If you have considered going—go soon. It has limited cinematic release and won’t be in theaters for long.

Reviewed by Kevin Williams

Editor’s update: The DVD was released on August 6, 2019.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, MEV).

Part of the Fruit of the Spirit series by Jim Linzey

Love is the first and greatest of the fruit of the Spirit. It is quite unscriptural to say, “I am seeking love, the greatest gift of all.” Instead of expecting the character of I Cor. 13 to be dropped suddenly and completely into the heart as a finished gift from God, we should see that it is the fruit or result of the working out of a divine principle within us. It is perfected by a life of close communion with the Lord, and in no other way.

Paul uses the Greek word agape to express love as the fruit of the Spirit. This agape is basic to all the other fruit. This word in the New Testament usually expresses divine love in distinction to human love. This agape is the love that expresses the heart of Jesus’ great commandment: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27, MEV). In fact, Jesus made the exercise of this love a condition for eternal life (Luke 10:28). Someone has said the fruit of the Spirit is like an orange—it is singular but has various manifestations just as the one orange has several sections. If that is an accurate comparison, the whole fruit would be love and the sections would be joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Paul defines love with exact detail in I Cor. 13—the love of God Himself. This love is not an increase of natural love. It comes only as a result of spiritual life from above. Natural or human love flourishes in an atmosphere of friendship. It loves only when it is loved in return. But divine love produces love for enemies. Christ prayed, “Father forgive them.” Stephen prayed, “Lord do not lay this sin to their charge.” If we have love, the fruit of the Spirit, we will love one another even when we are treated unkindly and misunderstood. We will pray for one another instead of finding fault. If the divine life of the living God is in our spirits, we will love. However, we have the love of God only to the extent that we have God Himself. God does not dispense the fruit of the Spirit apart from Himself. We have the love of God only to the degree that God lives His life in and through us.

Jack and Anna Marie Sheffield

Jack Sheffield: In 1973, I was converted to Christianity out from a pagan background, and I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in the same moment I was saved. I spoke in a heavenly language not even knowing what was happening to me. It was quite overwhelming! My rage, fear, trauma and rebellion was turned to radiant joy and peaceful love with an extreme desire to please my Jesus in every way. One night, not too long after my conversion, I broke past remnants of fear into a powerful anointing to preach and minister to people in a Methodist Church. It’s like I became “another man.” My fiancé asked a friend, “Who is that guy?” Shortly thereafter, because of this baptism in the Spirit, I had an encounter where Jesus drove me from a nap into a cotton field behind my house. I tried to hide away because I was weeping profusely with groaning and travailing! After a while, I crawled out into the grass, and I heard these words out loud, “You are going to carry my gospel to the nations.” My baptism in the Holy Spirit was a complete immersion in love for Jesus, and eventually led my wife and I to many nations on six continents.

PneumaReview.com: Did you receive a specific call to the healing ministry?

Jack Sheffield: Healing was a very real experience for me from the beginning of my walk with Jesus. It began with me. I was healed in spirit, soul, and physically on numerous occasions. Fear, guilt, shame and anger were washed away in wave after wave of His mercy. My spirit soared in ecstatic encounters of weeping only to be followed by bouts of laughing in glorious joy! My scared little spirit was married to the Holy Spirit and was learning all about freedom in Christ. Heart disease ran rampant in my family, and through a very stressful business attempt, I developed a bad heart. God used this to bring me to utter surrender to that cotton patch call. Jesus completely baffled my doctor when she examined me for my physical and discovered my heart was totally normal. I still have the two disparate EKG readouts.

It was then I realized I had a very distinct call to the healing ministry in the United Methodist Church.

This happened in the Summer of 1978. Healing began to manifest immediately in my ministry.

PneumaReview.com: In your book, God’s Healing River, you mention that “presence” is very important in healing. Please tell our readers what you are referring to.

Jack Sheffield: In the Fall of Adam and Eve, what was lost to humanity was the “presence” of the Lord. Adam hid from His presence in fear and, I believe shame. Jesus could not wait to get it back for us. Moses basically told God he was not going anywhere unless God’s presence went with Him. He said it was the only thing that distinguished his people from all the other peoples of the world. Presence is everything when it comes to healing. Without it, very little happens. My criteria for discerning the true presence of God is this when He “shows up”: 1) There is clarity in the atmosphere – Words preached or taught become very clear. People perk up attentively. 2) Brightness irradiates everyone present. There is a glow in the room and on people’s faces 3) There is a cleanness that is felt and experienced as real and tangible, and 4) Great joy breaks out which is “unspeakable and full of glory.” How do we get into that atmosphere? Ruth Ward Heflin used to say in the 1990’s, “You praise your way into worship, and you worship your way into the glory.” When the glory shows up in worship, healing and miracles can abound. We have seen it over and over again. Therefore, we worship Jesus all the time, even in our cars. The greater the worship, the greater the operations of healing gifts.

The missionary ministry of Heidi and Rolland Baker is widely known and their stories of miracles throughout Mozambique are legendary. In this book, the Bakers take the readers on a journey into the heart of the mission as they narrate their own story with their own words. The book is divided into four parts: passion, suffering, challenges, and the supernatural sustenance of the Holy Spirit. Overall, it is a delightful read that is amply illustrated by photos and testimonies.

Heidi Baker’s voice narrates most of the book as she tells her story to the reader, as if sitting in the comfort of a warm home. There is a repetitive (and convicting) theme that appears throughout the book: “if I don’t … then who will” (page 10 and many others). If I don’t go, if I don’t do, if I don’t speak, if I don’t help… then who will? Her point being, she is being compelled to go by the Holy Spirit because the need is so very great. This urgent calling is similar to the calling of Mother Teresa, who’s life calling reflects on the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

While the book is a testimony of the goodness and grace of God, it is also a report to current supporters and an appeal to potential supporters. Nevertheless, it is pleasing and heartwarming to read about the way God is moving in Mozambique.

Reviewed by John Miller

Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/learning-to-love/343201

James K.A. Smith is a philosophy professor at Calvin College and author of many books and articles. He has designed this book to focus on two distinct aspects of Christian life, the things we love and the habits we have. The book is divided into seven chapters with the first half focusing on the reality of love and the second on habits of worship. He concludes the book with a helpful resource of suggestions for further reading.

Smith opens this book with a distinct re-orientation to view ones’ self as a loving being, rather than a thinking being. He peppers the book with a comic reference to viewing humanity as thinking beings as brains on a stick, rather than beings who are motivated and directed by the things they love. A pointed question drives this: “What if the center and seat of the human person is found not in the heady regions of the intellect but in the gut-level regions of the heart?” (7). He presses the point further: “The center of gravity of the human person is located not in the intellect but in the heart” (9). In this regard, he argues that we are beings that are ultimately oriented by the things we love, and not by the rationality of our thinking. The opening emphasis rests on the repeated phrase and title of the book: you are what you love. Love forms our everyday habits and it forms how we approach making disciples in the church (19). In addition, because of this, love undergirds the interaction of the church with culture. Liturgies, both formal and incidental, unconsciously communicate how we as Christian people view our relationship with God and our relationship with our community, particularly when we are not even aware of having a liturgy (37).

Smith begins to broaden the term and concept of liturgy into multiple aspects of life. There is a liturgy of consumerism (53). There is a liturgy of cultural practice (54-55). As he expands these definitions of liturgy, he will ultimately turn, in the second half of the book, to his concept of liturgy as a methodology for the “rehabituation” or the “re-habit-making” needed in the disciple making work of the Church (61). He argues that re-training the intellect of the disciple does not make new habits of right worship; re-training the heart makes them.

Somewhere in the mid-point of the book, Smith’s thesis seems to take on a different emphasis. It seemed to start out as a work focused on heart habits, but then the book seems to take on an apologetic tone for the liturgical format of worship. The latter chapters of the book seem to labor to demonstrate how “evangelical” or “charismatic” formats of worship miss the mark and how “liturgical” formats of worship hit the bull’s-eye. Wrongly directed, worship can become Pelagianism because the effort is on human effort (73). Later he supports worship as the “arena in which God recalibrates our hearts, reforms our desires, and rehabituates our loves” (77).

Furthermore, the Church must advocate for both justice and mercy. Biblical justice and mercy are relational terms that speak to what it means to care and advocate for others in need.

The sermon focused on three key points:

1. What it means to be in a place of the in-between. Between Jerusalem and Jericho is historically a dangerous place. In the story, this location represents uncertainty, frustration, as well as threats of danger and failure. In Jesus’ story, being on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho represents being in-between where you came from and where you are going.

We never know what will happen in the place of the in-between; but we know that there is a God of justice and mercy who is God not only of where we were and where we are going but also God of the in-between.

2. What it means to take risks. The priest and the Levite saw a man in need and failed to help him. To help the man was risky. What would people say if they knew the priest and the Levite were helping a cast-a-way who was half dead along the road? Would they lose their jobs at the Temple?

We must take a risk to help someone in need. Taking a risk is not a reckless move but rather relentless move to do what is right in spite of what might happen to us!

3. What it means to have mercy. Mercy is not merely acknowledging that there is a problem or showing pity on problems. Mercy is active. Mercy does something about the problem.

Jesus credits the Samaritan for his willingness to have mercy on a man in need. Yet, the Samaritan’s mercy was not mere pity. His mercy went beyond a hand out, a kind word, and good wishes. The Samaritan’s mercy extended to the man a hand up.

Being more concerned about the damaged human being, the Samaritan man offered relationship with a broken man, whom he did not know!

People need to know that God’s people are advocates of justice and mercy. We are people who love God as well as “other” people.

Let’s be a neighbor (as Jesus defines the neighbor) to “the other;” the “other” is the one who is not like you – whatever “not like you” means to you.

Share Christ’s love and may our neighbors see Jesus as a result of our merciful witness!

Because of Jesus,

Dr. Antipas

Monday, November 14, 2016