John Mark Hicks

James A. Harding, the namesake of Harding University and co-founder of Lipscomb University, placed as much emphasis on giving, tithing and trusting in God’s provisioin as he did any other topic.  The sin of covetousness is idolatry and it “hurts the church more than any other,” he wrote.  We hate the extreme, but we tolerate the subtle when it is the “chief end and aim in life” to make money, where someone “comes to meeting with tolerable regularity, lives well, dresses well, and gives about two percent of his income publicly to the Lord’s cause” but thinks of making money ten times more than anything else.  Such a man “trusts in money” and “he heaps it up” because he does not trust God to take care of him or his family (“Two Dreadful Sins that are Very Prevalent,” Gospel Advocate 29 [1887], 658).

Not money, but the kingdom was Harding’s central concern. How one holds their wealth and how one treats the poor are as significant to discipleship as any other value. He was not opposed to making money, but he advised loaning it to the Lord. “If Christians are wise,” he wrote, “they will be diligent in business; and then, when they have money, they will use it with a free hand in ministering to widows and orphans, in caring for the poor, in having the gospel preached, or to sum it all up, in lending it to the Lord” (“Scraps. Wealth and How to Use It,” Gospel Advocate 26 [1886], 674). Indeed, Christians should think of their careers as not only participating in the kingdom of God but also that their income is for the sake of the kingdom of God.   “If every Christian in the world would run his business, whatever that may be, solely for the advancement of God’s kingdom; if he should consider himself as being in the world simply and solely for that purpose, what a wonderful change we would have in the world” (“Three Contradictory Theories,” The Way 3.1 [4 April 1901] 4).

Harding was a firm believer that every follower of Christ ought to give “at least” ten percent of their income to helping the poor and helping others proclaim the gospel (“The Churches and the Societies—A Contrast,” Gospel Advocate 25 [1883], 794). Harding practiced what he preached. In 1902 Harding testified that some thirty years previous he had decided to tithe and that over those years he had increased the percentage “eleven times” (“Scraps,” The Way 4 [10 April 1902] 10). L. C. Sears, Harding’s grandson, tells us that “in later years [the Hardings] were giving 65 percent of their income” to the kingdom of God (“J. A. Harding,” in Harding College Lectures 1967 [Austin: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1967], 74).

His “Bible Reading on Giving,” which is rooted in some specific testimonies from Scripture, has added power because it aries out of the life of family who embodied the principles taught therein. He published it several times, but for the first time in The Way 3 (January 26 1899) 10-12 which was one of his first articles in his newly founded periodical.  The lengthy article is provided below.

     The topic class of the Bible School recently had for the subject of the day: “The Bible Doctrine of Giving.” We will endeavor to reproduce the lesson here as an example of what we do in that class and what will appear from time to time in the The Way. As we read the rich promise of God to those who give, nothing but a lack of faith will prevent us from becoming more generous and whole-hearted in his service.

     1. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec.  “And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he [Abram] gave him a tenth of all.” (Gen. 14:19,20, R.V.; read the entire chapter; also Heb. 7:10.) From this we learn the custom of paying tithes was at least four hundred years older than the law of Moses. It was incorporated in that law, but was recognized as a righteous thing to do for hundreds of years before. The Arabs, the Greeks, the inhabitants of Sicily and those of the Roman province of Asia, the Carthaginians, Phenicians [sic], and many other ancient nations, especially those of the East, paid tithes. Among the Mohammedan States is I practiced to this day. Many Christians regularly give the full tenth of their incomes to the Lord; some of them, much more than this. The law of Moses required a tenth to be given to the Levites; and, as it appears, a second tenth was to be expended at Jerusalem at the annual feasts for feeding the poor. If every member of the church of God would give one-tenth of his entire income to the Lord, what an abundance we would have for attending to our poor and for spreading the gospel! Abraham’s giving did not impoverish him; he grew richer and richer; and no man of his day was so highly honored and blessed by the Lords.

     2. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” (Gen. 28:20-22). When Jacob made this vow, he was going from his father’s house, with no property but the staff in his hand; when he returned twenty or forty years later, he was rich in wives, children, herds, flocks, and servants—so rich that he considered it a little thing to make his brother a present of five hundred and eighty animals, including goats, sheep, camels, kine, and asses. He did not lose anything by giving a tenth.

     3. “Honor the Lord with they substance, and with the fist fruits of all thine increase; so shall they barns be filled with plenty, and they vats shall overflow with new wine.” (Prov. 3:9,10.) Here is a positive promise that if a man will honor the Lord in giving, as he ought to do, he shall be blessed with an abundance—a promise that all believers in the Bible are assured was most fully kept in Old Testament times; but many are not so fully assured that it holds good now, and hence they are afraid to give. Many  Christians, according to their own confessions, give but trifling sums for the support of the religion of Christ, not as much as they spend for coffee or tobacco or for some secret society or for a pleasure trip to Niagara. Some will spend more for a piano for their children than they will give in five years for the cause of Christ.  Surely they do not believe the promise holds good now; but we will see about that when we come to the quotations from the New Testament.

     4. “There is that scattereth, and in increaseth yet more; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” (Prov. 11:24,25, R.V.) It pays to please God. He who is generous and liberal in ministering to others, who does to others as he would have them do to him, pleases the Father, and the Father will not fail to bless him most abundantly here and hereafter.

     Jesus says: “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel’s sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29,30, R.V.). So Jesus spoke then, and he changes not. He is “the same yesterday and to-day, yea and forever;” and he who does not believe it is as much as an infidel, it seems to me, as he who does not believe “He that believeth [10] and is baptized shall be saved.” Every word of God is true, one as true as another; every promise of God is good, and any one of them is just as certain to be fulfilled as any other as any other one when the conditions have been complied with. When one takes God at his word and acts on his promise; when he is liberal and grows in liberality, the fulfillment of the promises greatly strengthens his faith till he can say in full assurance by faith: I know that God “is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.” Such faith becomes like knowledge, and is called knowledge in the Bible.

     5. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and his good deed will he pay him again.” (Prov. 19:17, R.V.) Sam. Jones, I believe it was, who, in commenting upon this passage, said: “If you like the security, come down with the cash.” If a man gives to the poor in the name of the Lord, he lends to the Lord; and who can believe that with such a loan in his possession the Lord would let that man suffer from want? Even a kind, just man would promptly pay a debt, if he could, if he were to see the lender pressed hard for the money. Especially would he be prompt in returning it, if it had been loaned to him in sympathy when he himself was in some straits. If men are thoughtful and generous in such things, is not God infinitely more so? Many a man has refrained from giving to the poor when they needed help badly, or from contributing to the Lord’s cause when a fine opportunity for doing good thereby presented itself, because he was afraid he would come to want if he should spend his money in that way. What a mistake! That is the very way to lay up money so as to be sure to have it at hand ready for use when you really need it. It is right to be wise and discreet in giving, but be sure to give.

     6. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone; or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:7-12, R.V.) It is sometimes said that Jesus does not argue; the he simply states his case on his own authority without giving reasons to convince the understanding of his hearer. But notice how fine and strong the argument is here, and how logical the conclusion. Men who are weak, sinful, and selfish give good things to their children, when they ask for them; how much more, then, will the infinitely good, strong, wise, and unselfish Heavenly Father give good things to his children? It is only necessary that they should ask him in faith, with a confidence and affection similar to that which they feel to their earthly fathers. A kind, earthly father will withhold no good thing from his affectionate, obedient child that he can in righteousness give to him; so the Heavenly Father withholds no good thing from them that walk uprightly. Notice also how clearly the conclusion follows from this argument. Inasmuch as God’s child can get what he needs, when he needs it, by asking for it, he can afford to give freely to other that need; so Jesus says, in conclusion of this paragraph: “All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.” And this is what it is to love your neighbor as yourself. Do you believe what Jesus says here, my brother? If you do, you will act upon it; if you do not act upon it, you do not believe it.

     7. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38, R.V.) Here the Savior teaches not only that we should give, but that we should give abundantly; for even as we give to others, so also will men give to us; God will see to it that it shall be so; he gives to us through men. Man a man is poor and has a hard time, and devotes nearly all of his time and thought to making a living, and makes a poor one at that, simply because he is close and niggardly and fearful. If he would take God at his word and begin at once, with a cheerful heart, to give a liberal pr cent of his income to the Lord’s cause, his affairs would brighten up at once.  Do you doubt it? And what will become of you if you live and die doubting Christ? The beautiful story of the Shunammite woman (see 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6) illustrates how God deals with the generous-hearted who do good to his servants. This woman saw that Elisha was a man of God, and, at her suggestion, she and her husband built a room for [11] him “on the wall” and furnished it, that he might turn in at any time as he passed to and fro. As a result of her kindness, God gave her a son, and when her property had been lost to her and her son by their long absence on account of a famine, it was all returned to her again, with all the fruits of it from the time of her departure till she returned. This is not an exception; it is simply an illustration of the rule.

      8. “But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work: as it is written, He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness abideth forever. And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:6-11, R.V.) Let us notice carefully the lessons to be drawn from this passage.  Paul was exhorting the Corinthians, as he had before taught them, and the disciples of Macedonia and Galatia, to give to the poor saints in Judea. The land of Palestine was greatly troubled at this time. The troubles that culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem, and in the awful miseries that afflicted the Jewish people at that time, were already distressing the people; business was interrupted, agriculture interfered with, and the Hebrew Christians were poor and poorly prepared to stand the famine.

     (a) In exhorting the  Gentile Christians to contribute to their wants, Paul teaches the following lessons:

     (b) Giving in God’s service is not squandering the means for your own support in old age or sickness; it is rather a sowing from which you may expect to reap a big harvest, when the need comes, if you have sown liberally.

    (c) If a man gives little, he will receive little; if he gives much, he will receive much.

    (d) Each one should give cheerfully as he chooses to give, and not at the dictation of another; for God loves a cheerful giver.

    (e) God is not only able to supply you abundantly with all that you need, but, when you do liberally and cheerfully give in his service, he will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and he will increase the fruits of your righteousness, so that you shall be enriched in everything, and your liberality shall cause many thanksgivings to go up to God.

     My brother, do you believe this doctrine? Then you will give liberally, and, as your faith grows, you will give more and more. You will not long be content with giving a tenth; soon you will give fifteen cents on the dollar—then twenty, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-three and one-third, thirty-five, and so on; for you will find that the more you give, the more you will have to give, and the more good you can do, and the more the name of God will be glorified in you. As Solomon says: “The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered himself.”

     9. “Be ye free from the love of money; content with such tings as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in nowise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: what shall man do unto me? Remember them that had rule over you, which spake unto you the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, yea and forever.” (Heb. 13:5-8, R.V.)  This is a good passage and one that we need to meditate much upon. “Be ye free from the love of money.” As an illustration of what it is to love money to the very greatest degree, consider the following incident:  While waiting at a railway station, a few nights ago, I overheard a man say to another: “My greatest pleasure is in making money; and my next greatest pleasure is in keeping it.” What a worshiper of Mammon! With him money was far above every other God. Never before had I heard a man so openly and boldly announce himself a money worshiper, an idolater, an utterly selfish man. Perhaps there are not many as bas as he proclaimed himself to be; but there are many people who love money, who hoard it, who are misers without knowing it. Many others are selfish and spend money rather for their own pleasures than for the cause of Christ. The miser takes pleasure in making money and in keeping it; even self-denial and pain become pleasures to him when they enable him to make and keep money. The Christian should take pleasure in making money by honorable diligence that he may spend it for Christ; self-denial and pain should give him pleasure when he realizes that thereby he is advancing the cause of Christ. As the chief pleasure of [12] the ardent Mammon worshiper is to make and keep money, so the chief pleasure of the child of God should be to advance the cause of his Master in every way that he can. With him the all-important thing should be the service of Christ, the glorification of his name, the extension of his kingdom, the salvation of his people; this devotion should be so far first in his heart that all other interests are as nothing in comparison with it. God help us to be real Christians.

      This passage teaches that the Christian need not concern himself about how he will come out, if he is thus free from the love of money, and content with such things as he has, for the apostle reminds us that  God has said: “I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.” And Jesus, long before this letter to the Hebrews was written, had said: “Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you;” and the Master was talking about our temporal needs—food, raiment, and such things—when he said it. Then the apostle exhorts these Hebrew Christians to remember the ancient worthies who had the rule over them, and who spoke unto them the word of God; and he tells them to consider their lives, to observe how they terminated, and to imitate their faith. He wants us to consider Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the great host of heroes of the former days, and to live lives of faith and self-denial like they did.  Are you afraid to do it? Do you fear that such a life would not turn out so well for you? Then he reminds you that Christ has not changed; he is the same being they served—just as strong, just as wise and good and loving, just as considerate of his servants as he ever was, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and forever.” He just as positively tells us under the new covenant the he will give us temporal blessings as he spoke it to them under the old covenant; his assurances that he will hear and answer prayer now are just as full and complete as they were then. All that is lacking is that we should believe now as those grand servants of God believed then, and the blessings will be poured out upon us in abundance.

      I have quoted, in this article, as I do generally, from the Revised Version. If you will compare the quotations with the same passages in the Common Version, you will see how much stronger and clearer some of them are in the Revision.   J.A. H.

John T. Lewis (1876-1967), a 1906 graduate of the Nashville Bible School and largely responsible for church planting in Birmingham, Alabama, in the first half of the 20th century, penned an interesting tract in 1952 entitled “The Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Day.” It reflects on the correlation of the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Day (Sunday).

His tract offers a specific insight into the beginnings of Sunday night offerings of the Lord’s Supper. The tradition throughout the 19th century within Stone-Campbell churches was to gather around the table and share the Supper in the mornings (sometimes in the mid-afternoon).  It was not–with any frequency–an evening event.  But this changed in the early 20th century.  Here is Lewis’ perspective on the change (p. 11).

That practice began in Nashville, Tennessee, during World War I. One of the congregationas there, I do not recall now which one it was, began carrying the Lord’s supper over till the night services for the benefit of those who had to work on Lord’s day. Lots of brethren objected to it.  Brother C. M. Pullias was living in Birmingham at that time and I know he was opposed to it then. However, the practice has become almost a universal custom among the churches of Christ today, and many think that the congregations that do not have the Lord’s supper on Sunday night are made up of cranks. We have never tried to have the Lord’s supper at night where I preach. If a member cannot meet with the brethren on ‘the Lord’s day,’ I do not think he needs to worry about ‘the Lord’s supper,’ because I do not believe you can have one without the other.

We might surmise from this suggestion that, as far as Lewis knew, offering the Lord’s Supper on Sunday evening was an early 20th century innovation situated in the context of World War I.  It might have started as a way of accomodating those who worked in shifts as factories and plants worked around the clock for the sake of war production.  Since shift work prevented some from attending on Sunday morning, it was also offered on Sunday evening. This may be the origin of the near universal practice–in my experience–of Sunday evening offering of the Supper that was unknown in the 19th century. It became part of the culture and liturgical practice of the Churches of Christ and it was an innovation to accomodate workers.

Lewis believed the Sunday morning assembly–the Lord’s Day assembly–was for the purpose breaking bread. In Acts 20:7, the preaching was “incidental or a secondary matter–that is the way it should always be when we ‘come to gether to break’ bread” (p. 11). “But,” he writes, “our ‘gathering together’ on Sunday night is to hear preaching and the Lord’s supper becomes a secondary matter, and in many places it is taken in a bakc or side room, after the meeing has been dismissed” (p. 12).

Lewis thought this inappropriate at two levels.  First, it severed the link between Lord’s Day and Lord’s Supper since the morning assembly is the gathering designed for the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  He also held a conviction, just as James A. Harding did, that the Lord’s Day is from sunset Saturday to sunset Sunday.  Thus, an evening Supper on Sunday night is not the Lord’s Day.  Second, he thought the practice of a “side room” partaking of the Supper lowered the significance of the Supper and people now viewed the Supper “like the Cathoics” in the sense “they have attended mass and it [didn’t] make any difference what they [did] the rest of the day” (preface ).

Lord’s  Supper controversies have been with us for a long time…and will continue to be.  Alas.

One of David Lipscomb’s incessant emphases was that the poor were God’s special concern.  The Cholera Epidemic of 1873 provided an opportunity for the church to serve the sick, dying, and needy, especially among the poor which included the African-American community.

In 1873 the population of Nashville was 25,865. Cholera first appeared in 1873 in the city prison on May 6. Some prisoners had just returned from western Tennesee where they had been working on the railroad. A significant number of prisoners fell ill and the first death outside the prison walls occurred on May 25.  Between June 7 and July 1, Nashville recorded 244 “white deaths” and 403 “colored deaths” (The Cholera Epidemic in the United States, 143-157) and close to a 1,000 died in the epidemic. This means that something like 1 out of every 25 people died in Nashville that summer.

David Lipscomb, though he lived ten miles outside the city limits, remained in Nashville to assist the sick.  His buggy carried the women of the Roman Catholic “Sisters of Mercy” as well as the Dominican order to their destinations and he himself cared for the sick and dying, including African-Americans.

Lipscomb was disturbed that so many people fled the city rather than staying to minister to the sick and needy.  Below are two articles that apperaed in the Gospel Advocate that summer.  The first (July 17, pp. 649-653) rebukes those who fled on the ground a strong theological argument and describes some the efforts in the city to care for the sick.  The second article (August 21, pp. 774-776) responds to an anonymous critical response to Lipscomb’s article.

The first letter is lengthy but well worth the read. It was a memorable moment in the history of Nashville as well as in the life of David Lipscomb. In this moment ecclesiological differences were transcended by acts of mercy across economic and racial barriers.

First Article

The story of the division of “The Christian Church of McGregor” in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, is of particular significance for several reasons. Organized on August 25, 1883, it divided on September 23, 1897. The division resulted in two groups: “The First Christian Church of McGregor” and “the Church of Christ” (the capital letters are conservatives own self-designation). The conservatives changed the locks on the building and prevented progressives from meeting in it. The progressives filed suit which was ultimately decided in favor of the progressives by the Supreme Court of Texas. This is a division initiated by the conservatives. The story is told in W. K. Homan’s The Church on Trial or the Old Faith Vindicated (1900) which contains court transcripts.  You can read the court decision here.

But, historically and theologically, the most interesting aspect of the division was the prominence of the rebaptism issue. G. A. Trott (1855-1930), who would later become one of the editors of the Firm Foundation in the first decade of the 20th century and then one of the founders of the The Apostolic Way (1913) which promoted the non-class viewpoint, played a prominent role in the division and the court case. Trott was one of three who secured the building with new locks. Trott, who was the preacher for the church, had only come to the city eighteen months prior and had been appointed an elder of the “The Christian Church of McGregor” without a congregational vote (Homan, pp. 51, 93-94).

The rebaptism question, whether one must believe that baptism is for salvation (“for the remission of sins”) in order to be scripturally baptized, was one of the significant issues in the division and in the court trial. Some were refusing to admit into membership those who had been previously immersed on faith in Christ. Elder R. M. Peace stated at the trial that “if one should present himself for membership in the church of which I am an elder, stating that he believed baptism to be because of the remission of sins, and not for an in order to the remission of sins, I would not regard him as a Christian” (Homan, p. 52). Peace explained that they “would receive persons baptized by preachers of other religious bodies, if they had been immersed for the remission of sins—that is, if they believed at the time of their baptism that baptism was for the remission of sins.” And though his lawyers were Baptists, Peace further remarked that “We do not recognize Baptists as Christians” (Homan, p. 50).

What becomes obvious in this trial is that the rebaptism issue was applied as a test of fellowship by Trott and others. Under cross-examination, Trott made this very clear as the extended quote below demonstrates (Homan, pp. 54-55).

I belong to the Church of Christ. I do not belong to the Christian Church…I would not hold membership in a church were such things are practiced music, missionary societies, conventions, etc. I regard all who engage in such things as in sin. I agree with what is called the Firm Foundation faction…..It is the view of those called the Firm Foundation faction that no one has been scripturally baptized unless he understood at the time of his baptism that baptism is for, that is in order to, the remission of sins. They do not regard as Christians those who did not so understand and believe at the time of their baptism…I do not regard Baptists, Methodists or Presbyterians as Christians, because they have not been immersed for the remission of sins—that is, with the understanding on their part that baptism is for the remission of sins. Should I find persons holding membership in the church who did not believe at the time of their baptism that baptism is for the remission of sins, I would insist upon withdrawing from them—that is, excluding them from the church. It is a fact that I found three such persons in the church at Rising Star, Texas, where I preached, and I advised the church to exclude them, and they were excluded on the sole ground that at the time of their baptism they did not believe that baptism is for the remission of sins.

Trott locked the doors of the building against the progressives partly because they would admit people to the church whom he did not believe were Christians and partly because they supported a visiting Christian Church evangelist, B. B. Sanders, in a recent revival. Up to that point, the church had not used the organ or participated as a corporate body in the conventions and societies, though some members did as individuals (for which they were rebuked but not excluded). The court case was largely argued in reference to the rebaptism question, though other issues were present and the practice of the “innovations” quickly emerged after the division of the church into two groups.

Historically, this points to the intense convictions held by some on the rebaptism question and their divisive—even sectarian—nature. Were David Lipscomb and Trott to serve the same congregation as elders, the church would divide because Lipscomb would admit those immersed upon faith in Jesus whereas Trott could not hold membership in a congregation that did such.

Rebaptism was a fellowship issue in the divisive discussions between what became the Churches of Christ and the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church in Texas. It was not a divisive issue between those two groups in Tennessee.

Created materiality is good; indeed, it is very good. It is not simply good in an ethical sense but delightful and wondrous. God created the world as a temple in which to dwell, a place where God and humanity would enjoy each other, delight in the wonder of the world, and rest within it.

Materiality, rather than something to be discarded in the end, was designed as a means by which finite, material humans would participate in the communion of God’s life. Creation was not an addendum or a secondary reality but the reality through which humans would experience God and become like God.

But, alas, creation is now broken. It is still good, but broken. It is enslaved, infected with chaos, and subjected to frustration. Nevertheless, creation still performs its role–it is a means by which we participate in the life of God. We still experience God through creation as, for example, when we experience the beauty of God’s creation. We experience God in the little things of creation as well as in its majestic views. Yet, creation is broken. It is filled with pain, hurt, tragedy and death. It is frustrating and we yearn for liberation as creation itself groans for renewal and redemption.

Despite its brokenness, God affirmed the goodness of creation through the incarnation. God became flesh–material. The Son became part of the creation itself, lived within the creation and experienced the Father through creation.

More than this, the Son became new creation. He inaugurated new creation as the new human who was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God. The Son is new creation, the new Adam, the new human.

This is where the sacraments become a meeting place between the old and new creations–an encounter moment where God offers humans living in the broken, old creation an experience of the new creation through the exalted Jesus.

The Eucharist is bread and wine, but it is more than bread and wine.  It is not “regular” meal. We may experience God through any meal–whether it is the nightly family meal, the church pot-luck or thanksgiving dinner! Old creation is still good and is still a medium of God’s presence in the world. But the Eucharist is more.

The Eucharist is the experience of new creation. The bread and wine of the old creation become means by which we experience the reality of the new cration. It is still bread and wine–created materiality is not annihilated–but it is also a participation in the reality of the new creation through the presence of Christ.  Whether we think of that presence in the bread, through the bread or at the table is inconsequential to my point here. The Eucharistic meal is a new creation meal that does not annihiliate materiality or creation. Rather, it transforms it, liberates it and brings it to its telos (goal).

Baptism is water but is more than water. It is not a “regular” dip in water. We may experience God in the shower or through a warm, long hot bath.  Old creation is still good and is still a medium of God’s presence in the world.  But Baptism is more.

Baptism is the experience of new creation. The water of the old creation becomes a means by which we experience the reality of the new creation. It is still water–created materiality is not annihilated–but it is also a participation in the reality of the new creation through our union with Christ. In or through Baptism we participate in the eschatological death and resurrection of Jesus. We rise from the watery grave to live as new creatures; participants in new creation. Baptism is a new creation bath in water that does not annihilate materiality or creation. Rather, it ushers us, by the Spirit, into the reality of the new creation where we are raised to sit with Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God.

Assembly is the gathering of people but it more than a mere gathering.  It is not simply a group of people “hanging out.” We may experience God through hanging out with friends, even going to ballgames and playing in God’s good creation. Old creation is still good and it is still a medium of God’s presence in the world.  But Assembly is more.

Assembly is the experience of new creation. The gathering of God’s people within the old creation becomes a means by which we experience the reality of the new creation. We are still living here in this broken, old creation but through that gathering of material creatures we participate in the reality of the new creation through union with the eschatological assembly of God around the throne of God. Through Assembly we enter the holy of holies as a community and join the community that is already and eschatologically gathered there. We participate in the Sanctus of the angels and join the heavenly chorus, singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Neither our materiality nor our creatureliness is annihilated. Rather, through creation we participate in new creation as the Spirit of God takes us into the throne room of  God just as John was lifted there “in the Spirit” in the Apocalypse.

The Eucharist, Baptism and Assembly are meeting places.  They are places, by the promise of God, where God meets us in this old, broken creation in order to experience–to taste, to get a glimpse of–the new creation. They are moments of both authentic participation in the new creation as well as anticipations (hope) of the fullness of new creation.

Through the sacraments, God authentically communes with us and promises that one day the brokenesses of creation will pass away and all creation will be liberated and renewed.

This is why I love the sacraments–they are gifts of God through which we experience new creation and anticipate the new heaven and new earth. They are injections of hope in a broken world, previews of coming attractions, and proleptic experiences of what is to come.

The “Examen Prayer” is a form of Ignatian spirituality derived from St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order.  The practice is older than Ignatius but he gave it the present form.

I have been using Ignatius’ practice for some time now.  I have found it extremely helpful.  I had used other forms of this, particularly from the Alcoholic’s Anonymous Big Book (quoted below) in my spiritual recovery from workaholism.

In spiritual recovery, I found Steps of Transformation: An Orthodox Priest Explores the Twelve Steps by Father Webber Meletios (trained in psychology and an Orthodox priest) wonderfully refreshing. Here is a book that combines the insights of 12 step programs with biblical text shaped by the spirituality of Orthodox theology. This is a rich combination filled with theological reflection on spiritual disciplines, spirituality and recovery.

The Examen Prayer, however, is something I have recently begun to use and I was motivated to do so by the example given in Elaine A. Heath’s The Mystic Way of Evangelism.  Below is how I practice it, and some further resources.

One more point: I think it is particularly important for men since it focuses on emotion and feeling which are the widows to our souls but which windows we males often keep closed or shut off from others. This examen opens those windows to God and thus enables us to reflect on them and share them with others (especially our wives!) or closest companions in the journey of life.

Preparation

Centering Silence: get into a relaxed position, settle your spirit and focus your mind/heart by prayerfully repeating a phrase or line from Scripture.

“Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8).

Prayer Path:

1. Recognize that you are in the presence of God and pray for illumination: “Lord, I believe that at this moment I am in your loving presence. Please help me understand myself today and see you in my life.”

2. Review the day with gratitude: “God, I thank you for your many gifts. Help me appreciate your blessings.”

Be concrete and specific. Where have you experienced the goodness of the Lord today? Review the day to see where God has been present throughout the day. Failings will emerge in your review as well.

3. Pay attention to the feelings that surfaced in your review of the day.

Reflect on the feelings, both positive and negative, you have experienced today. Acknowledge the range of feelings that emerge out of the various circumstances of the day. Feelings fill our day and illuminate our hearts.

4. Choose one of those feelings and pray from it: “God, having examined my day, I give thanks for your gifts and ask your forgiveness for my failings. I have felt ____ today and give me grace to see you in this feeling and what it means.”

Is there one emotion or feeling that stands out to you? Explore this emotion—what was its origin, meaning and effect? How did it affect your day? Express spontaneously the prayer that emerges as you attend to this feeling as it appeared during the day.

5. Offer a prayer of reconciliation and resolve: “Lord, as I look forward to tomorrow, I renew my commitment to follow you. Show me how to become the person you want me to be.”

As you review the day to come, what feeling emerges as you look at the coming tasks. Fear? Doubt? Joy? Regret? Whatever it is, turn it into a prayer for help, healing or thanksgiving.

6. Conclude: The Lord’s Prayer.

Resources:

Ignatian Spirituality – a Jesuit site that describes, models (with video and audio presentations) and explains the Examen spiritual practice. This site also has multiple links to other resources.

Examen.Me – a practical application site where you can process the examen through a guided journaling online and export your entries to your computer.

The AA Big Book (p. 86) suggests something similar meditative strategy for those recovering from addiction–we are all recovering from the addiction to sin:

When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life? But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. After making our review we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.

On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives.

This weekend I am conducting a retreat on the topic of my previous three blogs (When We Assemble…). It will involve three presentations, one on each blog topic. I am also providing resources for small group discussion of the presentations, though the first is a private meditation. These are simple and basic, but hopefully helpful.

Session One: What We Do For God, or Loving God When We Assemble

Private Meditation

Text:  Reflecting on either Psalm 116 or Luke 7:36-50, walk through these questions.

What am I and what are my needs?
What has God done for me? Make a gratitude list.
How do I approach God in worship?
What do I offer (bring) God in worship?

Session Two: What We Do For Each Other, or Loving Each Other When We Assemble

Group Discussion

Text: 1 Corinthians 14:1-5,13-19, 22-26

What are some of the loving practices of the Corinthian assembly or what practices does Paul recommend for the sake of love?
What are some of the disruptive practices of the Corinthian assembly?
How do we love each other in practical ways when we assemble?
In what ways is love diminished by some assemblies?
What steps might we take to increase the love in our assemblies?

Session Three: What God Does For Us, or God Loving Us When We Assemble

Group Discussion

Text: Zephaniah 3:9-20

What does God do in this vision of the future?
What is the response of the redeemed remnant?
What does God feel—God’s emotional life—in response to the presence of the redeemed? What is God’s experience of our worship?
What do you envision God doing during our assemblies? How does this affect your experience and attitude toward assemblies?

When we assemble,  God loves us.

I sense an immediate danger in that statement. It could potentially mean that God loves us only when we assemble or that God loves us because we assemble. I mean neither. Rather, I mean that when we assemble, God is actively engaged with us during the assembly by loving on us.

Too often God is regarded as passive in our assemblies as if God merely sits on the throne to receive our praise. This can even degenerate into an egotistical conception of God who says something like, “I am God, give me praise, this is why I created you and if you don’t worship me, I’ll zap you.” It can reduce God to an Ego that needs stroking and approval.

Even if our sense of divine passivity does not degnerate into an egoism, it can reduce God to mere audience or, worse, a mere spectator. When we think that all that happens in our assemblies is that we love each other, then we put God in the place of a spectator. When we think that our assemblies are only about what we do for God, then God becomes a passive audience. God’s role in the assembly, however, is much more significant than spectator or audience.

The greatest commandments–to love God and love our neighbor–are rooted in the reality of God’s active love for us. When we love our neighbor, God loves our neighbor through us.  When we love God, it is only because he has first loved us.  That God loves us is the ground of all our response to God, especially the first two commandments.

Consequently, the first question we should ask about our assemblies is not what do we do for each other or what do we do for God but rather what does God do for us in the assembly?  Answer:  God loves us. God is an active participant in the assembly rather than a mere spectator or mere audience.

But what does it mean for God to love us, or to love on us, in the assembly? What does it mean for God to be active in the assembly of the gathered people of God?

• It means God delights in us and rejoices over us.  Zephaniah even describes this as singing over us (3:17). God celebrates our relationship with him.
• It means that God rests among his people as God draws near to us and dwells among us. The biblical-theological notion of “divine resting” is extremely signifcant.  Resting is not about recovering from fatigue, but about enjoying what God has created through communing with the creation. “God rests” means “God tastes the sweet fellowship of his people.”
• It means that God honors, blesses and glorifies his people. God praises his people, as Zepaniah 3:20 says. I love the image about which Max Lucado writes in one of his book’s titles that God applauds his people.  Psalm 118 imagines a moment when we hear the applause of heaven when we enter the gates:  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
• It means God’s presence is transformational and sanctifying.  Communal assembling is sanctifying event–God is at work among us to conform us to the image of Christ.  God forgives and renews through assembly.
• It means that God is graciously present and lifted us up into his heavenly city, Mt.  Zion, the city of the living God (Hebrews 12:22-24). There we join the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) of the angels and the saints gathered around the throne of God.

More could be said–let your mind race through the many ways and forms in which God loves on us during an assembly, even through other people.

It all ties together–all three dimensions of the assembly.  God loves us when we are loved by others, and we love God when we love others, and we love others when we love God in praise and prayer.

When we assemble, we love God, we love others and  God loves us.  Its actually fairly simple and why would we not want to be part of that? I love to assemble with others and there I love and am loved.

When we assemble, we love God.

Or, more to the point I want to make, when we assemble, we love on God. 

There are many ways to make this point. We could look at the Psalms where we have example after example of expressed love for God through prayer, praise and assembly. For example, Psalm 116 is the grateful praise of one who has been delivered from death and the Psalmist responds to God “in the presence of all his people.” In the midst of the assembly, the Psalmist declares, “I love the Lord!” Laurie Klein’s lyrics connect us in a contemporary way with the loving practices of the Psalmists:

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul rejoice!
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear

Or, we could note  how loving God is understood in Deuteronomy where the call to “love the Lord your God” is first announced in chapter 6. Israel is called to love God by embracing the path to life that God has outlined for them. As part of that, when Israel gathered to celebrate the festivals, they loved God through praise and thanksgiving.

Or, we could think about how loving God is unpacked in the Johannine literature. Not only do we love God when we love our neighbor (as per 1 John 4:20-21), we also love God whenever we submit to God in obedience. We love God when we worship him, which includes assembly.

But, I think, one Lukan narrative is particularly illuminating (Luke 7:36-50). Burdened by a deep conviction of sin and moved by a love for the one who loved her, the “sinner” brought a gift to Jesus, fell at his feet and loved him by gently and tenderly kissing and anointing Jesus’ feet.  This is a narratival picture of worship where kneeling and kissing are the root actions which express the attitude of one of the Greek terms for “worship”  (proskuneo). Her act, in the words of Jesus, are acts of love. She loved Jesus.

Loving God–loving God as a community in assembly–is, in part, prostrating ourselves before the Triune God and kissing God.  This involves at least two ideas.  It is, on the one hand, a humble expression of love. We recognize God’s transcendence, holiness and glory. We praise, honor and fear God.  On the other hand, it is an act of intimacy, a kind of “kiss’ whereby we express our love for God. We adore, cherish and treasure God. We experience God’s presence among us,  participate in the love of the Father, Son and Spirit and delight in the relationship.

There is a danger, however, in approaching assembly from this direction. When loving God is reduced to obedience to a set of commandments, and obedience is reduced to a “check-list” mentality, then assembly becomes legal duty rather than an initmate, holy encounter.  While few, if any, would sanction such a reductionism, it seems to be where religious folk tend to land within their traditions. When assembly equals a prescribed set of liturgical actions for the sake of obedience, assembly is reduced to mere ritual or a mechanistic manipulation toward divine approval. This sucks the heart out of worship.

The asembled people of God, as a community, delight in God as they declare God’s praise and honor, bear witness to God’s mighty acts of salvation and set God on the highest place in our lives–both personally and communally.  This is loving on our God.

When we assemble, we love God.

In the words of Dennis Jernigan:

We will worship the Lamb of glory
We will worship the King of kings
We will worship the Lamb of glory
We will worship the King

And with our hands lifted high,
We come before You and sing
With our hands lifted high,
We come before You rejoicing.
With our hands lifted high
To the sky
And the world wonders why

We’ll just tell them we’re loving the King…Oh
We’ll just tell them we’re loving the King

I am increasingly convinced that all theological and ethical thought must be organically rooted–not simply tangentially connected–and illuminated by what Scot McKnight calls the “Jesus Creed,” that is, the first and second greatest commandments: Love God and love your neighbor.

As a step in that direction, I offer three blogs on the nature and purpose of assembly. When believers gather as disciples of Jesus to pray and commune, when they assemble as the people of God in community, they embody and practice the first and second greatest commandments. Assembly, of course, is not the only way to embody those commands, but it is certainly one way. And, I think, it is illuminating to reflect on the assembly through that lens.

When we assemble, we love each other.

Who could disagree with that? Assembly provides opportunity for mutual encouragement, mutual comfort, and mutual edification. It is a moment of shared life, shared song, shared prayer, shared teaching, and shared communion.

Paul takes us directly to this point when he addresses the problems in the Corinthian assembly in 1 Corinthians 11-14. “Love,” he wrote earlier in the letter, “builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1) and the assembly is a place where everything must have the intention of “building up” (1 Corinthians 14:26).

But in Corinth it had become an occasion of humiliating the poor (1 Corinthians 11:22) and egotistical self-promotion (1 Corinthians 12, 14). Their supper did not lovingly share with those who had little but rather assumed that each would fend for themselves. They used gifts to distinguish the superior from the inferior rather than for the common good of the body. Their prayers and praises did not prioritize the encouragement and comforting of others but rather promoted their own gifts as tokens of their approved status before God.

Contextually, it is no surprise that 1 Corinthians 13 comes between chapters 12 and 14. Love is the “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) and the “greatest” gift (1 Corinthians 13:13).

What kind of love should shape our assemblies? A kind patience that is neither easily irritated nor resentful of others; a hopeful, trustful and enduring love that is neither envious nor boastful. May God bless all our assemblies with such love!

In the assembly love is diminished in several ways. Love is diminished by boastful arrogance which pridefully exalts one gift above another; it is diminished when performers perform rather than encourage and edify. Love is also diminished when assemblies cater to and coddle consumers; it is diminished by attractional consumerism when assemblies should confront us with the reality of God’s presence (1 Corinthians 14:24-25) whereby the secrets of our hearts are disclosed and God is revealed. Love is also diminished when traditional preferences become immutable rules and also where innovative options are introduced in ways that ignore the sensitivities of others.

Love is never easy, and loving each other in community as assembly is not easy either. Miscommunication, inadvertent comments, unannounced changes, liturgical arrangements, seating changes, etc., etc., etc.–almost ad infinitum–are occasions of offense, misunderstanding and hurt feelings.

But love–truly loving our neighbor–love covers a multitude of sins and offenses…even when they happen in an assembly!

When we assemble, let us love one another.