by Aarron Pina | Dec 12, 2011 | Uncategorized
We have this really great, point-and-shoot camera that I got for Christmas a few years ago. Some of you may have already tuned out, because you believe “great, point-and-shoot camera” is an oxymoron. I understand. Work with me here. It’s taken hundreds of photos of our four kids, especially Presleigh (3) and the twins (20 mos). But, lately, the oxymorons are right. It’s not that great. It’s taken its share of hard knocks and now 9 out of 10 shots it takes come out just sliiiiightly… blurry. It leans toward blurry.
Question: which way do you lean?
I have this problem – an idolatry problem, really – that the Holy Spirit (often as channeled through my “thank-God-for-your-prophetic-discernment” wife) is working on abolishing from my life. The idol I’ve often come to worship is progress. If you’ve seen our one man show “That Day”, you can relate to a guy who looks back on his life and realizes if time were a bucket of paint, his wife and kids would be really pale and his job, wellllll painted.
I lean toward progress. Today, I’m grateful for that leaning, as I read the opening line of Proverbs, chapter 12. “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Some translate the word “ba’ar” as “stupid”, others as “brutish”. Hey, I’m not sure which one is worse, but I don’t want to be either. How about you?
“reproof: rebuke, correction,
punishment, chastisement”
I’m grateful that I lean toward progress, because there’s something about me that doesn’t want to be stupid. Really, there’s something about me that wants to lean toward improvement and constant innovation. Can you relate? The hard part about this is here: “reproof” is defined as “rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement” – none of which is a very comfortable, fluffy, cuddly word, either. I’d rather lean out and away from punishment or chastisement, if I had my way in the natural. But, I’m more comfortable with those prickly words than I am with “stupid/brutish”.
A few months ago, we went through some of the greatest trials we’ve ever experienced as believers in Christ, as a ministry, as a family. As we walked through it, Cristine remarked how grateful she was for the presence of one particular guy in my life who prayed with us through it. He reminded me of the first lines of the book of James and summarized the “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” part as follows:
“Trials are necessary.”
Often, leaning in to one thing means leaning out of another, by necessity or even default. However, when it comes to trials, leaning into trial seems the most honest way of leaning into Christ. The questions that remains are – are we willing to pay the price to “be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”? Are we willing to love discipline in order to obtain the knowledge wrapped in its precious core? Are we willing to love reproof in order to grow beyond stupid? What are some of the possible future benefits of this trial (if not at a minimum, heavenly rewards for perseverance), that make the current discomfort of the trial worthwhile?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3.5)”
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And, let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may become perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas. 1.2-4 NASB)”
PRAY: “Lord, grow my appetite for discipline and reproof so that I may become perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Help me to lean into You and appreciate You in the midst of pain, discomfort, and/or disease.”
by Aarron Pina | Dec 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m Not Here to be an “I Told You So”
Perhaps one of the most difficult lessons in this life is learning that people are going to do what they want to do despite godly counsel. Then again, I’m a father of four, so it’s bound to happen sooner or later, right? This month, I want to focus in on the importance of discipleship before it’s required and the implications it has on the turn of season from single to married. Bottom line(s), like my pilot friends will tell you “it’s better to be on the ground (single) wishing you were in the air (married) than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground”; and discipleship matters, especially when obedience is the result.
Watch Out for the Brick!!!
My wife has such an interesting mix of spiritual gifts – a heart for pastoring, but a gift for exhorting. Not only is she street smart, but she’d got a direct line to the Father, who sometimes gives her inside information. Some might call it “word of knowledge”. Some would call it “prophetic”. I sometimes have to call it “spooky”. It’s especially spooky when she’s dead right about it.
This week, I got to catch up with a guy that asked us for wisdom and counsel in a relationship he was pursuing. I was kind yet firm. I offered very little opinion and much scripture. Cristine… When she spoke, I thought I saw a brick come out of her mouth and hit the guy in the head. It wasn’t entirely gentle. Blunt, clear, and true, but ouch. I could see the guy squirm in his seat. I could also see, by the look on his face that my wife was right about what she told him.
Fast Forward
Months went by and here I am sitting down with him again – heartbroken. What Cristine had shared with him was utterly accurate and painfully real. He and his wife were now struggling through deal-breaker after deal-breaker in their marriage and it looked like this could have been prevented if he’d taken the advice my brick-throwing bride had given him months earlier. This isn’t an article about how we’re so great and others need to bow down to our massive Hans & Franz sized biblical biceps. It’s about how great this week’s conversation went.
See, this guy had married a wounded woman. I personally believe that when it comes to woundedness, “the tide goes out of the harbor as soon as you say ‘I do’.” Meaning that if you have junk in your harbor from past shipwrecks, it will become most visible after the altar, not before. Well, it’s low tide and their harbor is loaded with flotsam and jetsam: hurts, pains, fears, wrongs, unspoken expectations, minimized weaknesses… Since the wedding, wounds in her life had begun to consume her, him, and their marriage. Yet “Tom” was so steadfast. I absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, love the attitude of Christ this guy was wearing – he knew in the middle of fights, blow-ups, and tit-for-tat’s that he could not leave this woman even if she asked him to. This guy had studied the scripture and taken the time to think out loud with other guys in his life.
The Point?
The point of the story is to update you on some of the great things God is doing in the lives of men and women willing to “seek [Him] with all of [their] heart(s) (Jer. 29.13)”. It’s also to provoke you to action.
Action Items:
1. Will you pray for “Tom” and his marriage? You don’t need to know his real name, God will get who you’re praying for, because He’s… well… omniscient.
2. Pass this article on to a friend of yours who’s in a great unmarried relationship. Pass it on to another friend who’s in a terrible unmarried relationship. Then, purposely don’t tell each friend which one you think they are.
3. If you’re engaged or in a serious relationship, contact your local church about their ministry to the engaged – don’t walk through the engagement process on your own – we didn’t and we’re thoroughly grateful for it. Don’t consider meeting with other couples who have been married for many years – do it. We did that, and still meet with them from time to time. It has been a vital part of our marriage growth curve. “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. (Prov. 13.20)”
by Aarron Pina | Oct 31, 2011 | Uncategorized
It’s not a question. I’m not asking if Christians should celebrate it. I’m making a conditional charge: should you do x, y will happen. How often do we seriously consider the ramifications of our ways? I have often been very much like Peter – act first, think later. As time has gone by and God has begun shifting my focus from playing to an audience of men to playing to an audience of Him, I’ve also begun learning restraint, prudence, and consequence: I’m considering my ways and how they impact His bigger picture.
Should we celebrate Halloween, something will result. Bottom line, is that something “Glory to God” or “Not glory to God”?
I, being so very ADD, get off task often. On track or off track has everything to do with purpose: “What is your purpose on this earth?” If you believe that Christ is Lord and God sent Him to save sinners bound for hell, it’s not a big leap to assume you believe God’s purpose for man is to love God and to worship and enjoy Him forever. This is called a “doxological” statement, meaning – it’s about God’s glory. Are we here to glorify God or not? If so, then anything we do that doesn’t point toward the glory of God is a rabbit trail, resulting in either sin or error. By the grace and power of God, He can and will redeem it, regardless. (Another story for another time.)
I’m reading Justin Holcomb’s post, a guy that I like and genuinely believe to be a clear thinker, but I think he’s just wrong on this one. He quotes Nicholas Roger’s book, which charges that the Celtic Samhain was not a holiday based on human sacrifice. Holcomb seems to dismiss the argument against the pagan roots of Halloween in favor of the early church celebration of the martyrs of the Roman persecutions. But, he agrees with Rogers that about 500 years later it had become “a holiday that affirmed the collective claims that the dead had on the living.” So, let’s throw out the most common objection to celebrating Halloween “it’s rooted in pagan tradition”. No problem, we won’t cavel over that one.
With that point off the table, can I just play the village idiot and ask a question: “If a holiday started out as a Holy Day dedicated to honoring the saints persecuted by the Romans but took on an alternative meaning linked to “claims the dead had on the living”, has the holiday been hijacked? If so, how do we reclaim its original meaning without getting knocked off our own course? More to my opening point: “How does wearing a costume, indulging ourselves with more candy anyone can safely metabolize in a year, and decorating our homes with pagan symbolism (ghosts, which are not departed loved ones, rather demons impersonating loved ones, witches – which we’re clearly forbidden from emulating, bats, black cats, and other symbols which point only toward a culture of darkness), bring glory to God?”
I’m not being a smarty-pants. I’m sincerely trying to advance my own understanding of this issue. I agree with Holcomb and guys like Mark Driscoll who try to fit culture into the 3r’s receive, reject, and redeem. If we decide not to reject Halloween outright, my only practical question is this: “Does redeeming it mean participating in it? Is it possible to mock a pagan ritual without glorifying it in some way? Or, does ‘redeeming’ it mean a flat out return to the original intent for the Holy Day with a no-apologies approach, wherein the martyrs of the faith are celebrated and the name of Jesus Christ is lifted high, worshipped with no pretense, superfluous flow of chocolate, nor costume of any kind?”
Doesn’t that return us to our purpose and turn the water cooler conversation abruptly back to the gospel?
“Hey, Jim, you coming to the Halloween party on Monday?”
“No, I’m heading over to XYZ Church for a big celebration.”
“Really? What do they have going on, a Halloween party or a ‘Fall Festival‘?”
“Neither. It’s actually a celebration for a bunch of people who lived and died for a guy named Jesus who lived, died, and was resurrected so you and I could spend eternity with our Father in heaven. Ever heard of Him?”
Albert Mohler stated regarding this matter about four years ago:
“The complications of Halloween go far beyond its pagan roots, however. In modern culture, Halloween has become not only a commercial holiday, but a season of cultural fascination with evil and the demonic…
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God’s Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ’s church on earth. Let’s put the dark side on the defensive.”
If living for a Man who is both fully man and fully God and died for me is my express purpose in life, when I do something, I want it to reflect Him. Shouldn’t we all? So, why do we invest so much money, time, energy, excitement, and anticipation in partaking in traditions that fail outright to reflect how great He is and what He has done for us? Should you do one, you cannot do the other. Or, am I completely “narrow minded”?
As my friend Dan Diaddigo said to me yesterday:
“At it’s best, Halloween is a secular expression of community… But, community is about something; it circles a center. And the center of Halloween is darkness.” Well spoke, Dan.
This is a discipleship issue. How we live is an overflow of how we believe. If the church is to be a community that circles a center, how we circle will show the world our center. Should we celebrate Halloween, there is a spot of darkness emulated somewhere at the center to be seen by those looking in. Should we celebrate Jesus, there isn’t a spot of darkness that will not be lit up by the light that shines from within. How, then, should we shine?
Happy Reformation Day.
to God be the glory.
AP
by Aarron Pina | Oct 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
Tullian Tchividjian (just call him “Tull”) is one of my favorite writers over at The Gospel Coalition and an excellent thought leader and communicator. He’s Billy Graham’s grandson, so no wonder, right?
One of the things that remains front and center in disciplship conversations every week, month, and quarter is “saving the saved”. Often, as followers of Christ, we forget the gospel is what both saves and sanctifies us, falling into the trap of performance. The good news is… the Good News. It’s also good news that getting back on the log of grace is just as easy as falling off. Abiding in Christ – “you’re never more than one prayer away from grace. You’re never more than one prayer away from access to the full resources of Heaven.”
Take a click over to Tullian’s article: http://theresurgence.com/2011/09/29/did-you-forget-youre-saved. Clear thinking, simple application, a lifetime to practice. Abide, gang.
by Aarron Pina | Jul 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
What Does Ministry Look Like?
“Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3.5)
I’m a planner. You know that, right? That’s why God married me to an executor (a doer). Perfect match. I’ve always been able to look at the finished/future product and reverse engineer it into a set of steps – a “blueprint” if you will. For example, while running a friend’s company and working for him as a home theater installer, I also planned my own wedding, all the way down to an automated seating chart in Microsoft Excel. It’s part of my DNA.
Wouldn’t it be just like God to spot me leaning on my own understanding and kick my crutch out from under me? What I mean is, is this: when we formally “launched” the ministry, I had a plan. In fact, I had lots of plans. I even had plans to make more plans. I had plans to find and publish statistics, show returns on donor investments, deliverables for our board, prayer and praise reports, and so on, and so on. I went to seminars on best practices, scheduled planning time, and got my wife’s accountability on executing those plans. Then, with white knuckles wrapped around the plans, we set out to execute them.
That’s when God kicked my crutch. “Lean on me, not your understanding…”
When God gives a vague calling to a specific person, it can be confounding. Yet, it can also be quite liberating. In our situation, God called us to teach, exhort, and encourage people to become fully dependent on Him. Praise God that He wanted us to do it by example, as well, even if we wanted to fight Him on it. Today, we stand grateful that our only choice for obedient living is to “commit our plans to the Lord” as long as we understand “commit” to mean “tell God your plans and when He’s done laughing, be prepared to watch Him unfold something inordinately more awesome in front of your eyes.
“Aarron, the title of the article is ‘Update’, can we have an update, already?”
With ruthless reliance and dependence on God as the backdrop, take a look at a few recent updates on all things Seasons of Life.
Updates:
The Way Forward – Recap and Upcoming
Speak Life: She Got the Car, Her Mom Got a Future
Where Does it Hurt?
