I’ve wrestled with the idea of hope for about a year now. Hope is a word we use with little meaning. It seems little more than wishful thinking; perhaps not even worth genuine effort. Hope is looking to the future with a slight optimism, that perhaps, one day, things might, kind of, workout, maybe.

But I think this is unChristian. I believe it is unChristian to have this view of hope.

Let us first consider the nature of our world. The meta-narrative of scripture is a story of redemption. Redemption from all that is wrong and fallen. The Hebrew idea of death is less about physical death and more about brokenness. The man and woman did die after eating the fruit because their lives became broken. Life itself was contingent on the whole, unbroken relationships between God and humans, humans and one another, humans and the rest of creation, and humans among their inner selves. These relationships were severed at the fall. So the world is on a downward spiral.

Then enters the redemption process. God enacts a plan to bring order back to creation, to restore these broken relationships. God gives us Torah. (To the scholars reading this, I know the compilation date of Torah can be assessed rather late; however such an point seems rather futile since we are considering the theological meta-narrative of the Judeo-Christian tradition). Parts of Exodus and much of Deuteronomy are in the construct of a Suzerainty treaty (i.e., a treaty formed between a King and his vassals). Such a document was written to govern the relationships, to add order back to chaos. This is the overall aim of Torah; that is: revelation of God and God’s redemptive plan. Even creation was considered. Torah called for a Sabbatical Year, or Shmita. This was not only a chance for redemption among people, but also redemption of the earth. Even the earth was to have a rest from producing, a time of restoration (Cf. Exodus 23:10-11, Leviticus 25:4). Leaders enter the fold to guide Israel in this redemption process.

However, this does not accomplish full redemption for the earth. We still drift off course; we miss the mark.

Sometimes completely.

Prophets and judges enter. Kings enter. Sometimes bringing us back on course; other times failing. God is humanity choice. Consistently we chose to cause pain and suffering to one another. We are without hope in this. In the New Testament, Paul echos this, “As it is written, no one is righteous, not even one,” (Romans 3:10). We are broken, and we continually choose to remain broken.

So God sends Jesus, who speaks God’s voice to people once again (Cf. Matthew 21;37). And he is murdered. Redemption comes from the most vile crime our brokenness could bring about.

God’s redemption has been a process.

Plan A – perfect creation.
Plan B – Torah.
Plan C – Prophetic Word.
Plan D – Crucifixion of the Son of God.

Is is heretical to look at Jesus as “Plan D”? The fourth gospel and the Revelation seem to indicate that Christ death was predestined (Cf. John 1, Revelation 13:8). Perhaps, but then we run into the problem justifying the giving of the Torah and even the prophetic voices of the First Testament. This is another issue to be raised later.

For now, suffice it to say that God’s mission of redemption of humanity is extensive and exhaustive. God has gone to such great expense to ensure redemption of humanity at seemingly any and all costs. Why? Was it so allow us into a heaven in the afterlife? Was it so we could experience eternal bliss upon out deaths here? We it to give us an reprieve from the hell many have experienced while on earth?

No.

The problem with such a thinking is that is makes salvation too small. And it doesn’t remedy the problem of death (= brokenness) that our sinful condition has created. It only provides an escape. God’s redemptive act in Jesus’s death and resurrection is about so much more than afterlife. It is about redeeming what was lost at Eden. It’s about bringing us life and life in abundance. In other words, it’s about restoring the relationships of God and people and all of creation. We can’t minimalize the nature of what really happened at Golgotha.

This is why I say that is it unChristian to live with idle hope. We are to be agents of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Our world is supposed to be getting better because we are in it. Because we live reconciled to God, to one another, to ourselves, and to creation. And we spread this message.

We are to make this world a better place; we are to see redemption take hold and change lives, healing brokenness.

I have to believe that the hope Christ offers is bigger than the problems of this world. If this is not the case, the cross really has no meaning and was a waste.

I will not deny that we live in a fallen world, but rescue is coming, and has already come. Our situation would be hopeless without the redemption of all things Christ offers. But we do have hope, and we are hope.

Not idle, wishful thinking. But strong knowledge that things will get better… that brokenness can and will be healed. We are called to make the world a better place; we bring heaven here. We bring the Kingdom of God.

It is not a lost cause. We have sure, certain knowledge that Christ’s redemptive work on the cross was about redeeming all of creation. It was about true life, back-to-Eden kind of life. Abundance life starts now.

Hope is a noun we embrace.

Our world can’t afford for us to do anything less.

Grace and peace.

Freedom.

Freedom is wonderful. Freedom from certain obligations. You start a blog to vent ideas and thoughts, but then it becomes required. Perhaps it’s better this way; perhaps not.

Anyways too many ideas to think of here.

Perhaps I’ll write all night.

Saturday was one of such days. I was lined up to lead worship at Encounter on Saturday night. Friday night was spent in Dallas for my sister’s college graduation. We had a great time at the ceremony and a big (really big) meal at the Olive Garden. Our festivities ran a bit late, and I didn’t want to drive back to Waco too late at night, so I checked into a hotel and got some sleep.

And here it starts…

9:30am I was awakened by my phone. It was Brenda, one of our singers at Encounter; she was sick and couldn’t sing that evening. I quickly jumped online and checked some lead sheets for ranges, etc. because she was supposed to sing lead on several songs for the service. I had to find a replacement for her.

10:30am Chick-fil-a chicken biscuits, sweet tea!!!!! One of the highlights of the day.

11:15am Leave Dallas, TX.

12:30pm My car breaks on Interstate-35. I’m following behind a car and hit my brakes. When my put my foot back on the accelerator, my car does nothing. My brake pedal won’t go all the way in either. Uh-oh. I keep gently tapping the brakes and move to the emergency lane. I finally stop. I wasn’t able to make the next exit, so I’m on the side of the Interstate.

12:45pm I call tow truck and realize I’ve been standing in a fire ant bed on the side of the Interstate. I take this nifty pic:

1:30pm Back in Waco, TX, thanks to the invention of the cell phone, my sister, and the tow-truck guy. I go to the mechanic and pick up some things inside my car.

2:15pm Back at home in China Spring to shower and grab guitars.

2:45pm Finish writing arrangement of Feliz Navidad for Meet and Greet for the church service, I’ve been trying to work on it for days.

3:15pm Meet lady to open building at the church; they haven’t given me keys yet. I’m 15 minutes late.

3:30pm Band arrives.

3:45pm We have no bass guitar – it’s an oversight that’s quickly corrected. We rent one from the music store down the road.

4:00pm We begin our run-through. Some of our regular band members are out; some of their fill-ins don’t have their parts down.

5:25pm Band ascends the stage to begin worship service. Our stage is in 3 levels; I miss my footing and fall to the ground. Ouch. That hurt. I lift my pant leg and see two big scratches. It’s hurts, but looks superficial. Anyways, we need to start the service.

5:30pm “Welcome to Encounter… it is our prayer that you encounter the living God on this last Saturday before Christmas…”

5:35pm In the middle of the opening medley of O Come All Ye Faithful and Forever, I say to myself, “Wow, I am in a lot of pain, I have to be bleeding…”

5:55pm We finish the 2 song sets and Wayne begins the sermon. Band goes off stage. I step out the back and check my leg. I’m bleeding rather heavily from two deep gashes in my left leg. I’ve been bleeding for the past 30 minutes.

6:05pm Pastor Sue gets a first-aid kit. I have one in my car, but it’s in the shop. Jeniffer, Leah, and I dress my leg wound. Yes, it takes 3 people.

6:30pm We go back on stage and play our last set list.

6:39pm Service ends. I find out my car has some serious problems. We all go to dinner then Mike takes me home.

Rough day.

I bought the book last week and will write on the theology of it when I finish it. Most of the issues people raise seem to be the its eschatology (“The Last Things”). This is where our focus will mainly be. I’ve people a semester reading on different views of salvation and eschatology. So, we’ll wrestle with some of that here, as well as in other upcoming posts.

So, pick the book up if you haven’t. I’m not recommending it just yet, but if everyone around you is reading something that will inform their theology, you should probably have an informed opinion about that book. That’s what we’ll seek to develop, so read it and then we can discuss.

don’t think I’ve seen one like it before…

And then there’s this pic I took at Sonic awhile back:

must have spent all the money on the ride…

I voted.

I used to not care that much, just keep going, but now that I’m doing this more seriously (besides the fact that I get paid for it). Obviously this is a snag many worship leaders deal with, but how… the only solution I could thing of it a backup guitar… but that’s even more money to spend on instruments, which I don’t always feel comfortable doing.

I play a custom guitar Breedlove made for me – amazing tone, just gorgeous. I have a telecaster as well that I got recently, which also sounds great, for an electric guitar. But I primarily play acoustic, and tonally, one cannot substitute for the other.

I was playing a gig a few weeks ago and just before our last song, I busted a string. So I switched to electric and it sounded great with all the guitars in the band being electric, but the song was Charlie Hall’s Marvelous Light. So it worked fine, but what about say… Made Me Glad, where you need acoustic guitar.

I just wondering if there’s any other alternatives for busting a sting in the middle of a service, without having to have another guitar? I have two old ones, but neither is in a condition to take on stage right now – one needs a complete fret job and neck overhaul – about a thousand dollars total, might as well buy yet another guitar…

I figured once I had a good sounding guitar that would be enough, but what about when it stops working in the middle of a service?

I have finally found a place where everyone is equal. Men, women. Black, white. Rich, poor. Gay, straight. Everyone is equal at… the Drivers’ License renewal office!

See, they don’t care who you are, they treat everyone like crap. Equality finally reigns!

It’s quite refreshing.

And it’s the size of the entire Gulf of Mexico.