Barnabas File

Given that lay people often fail to understand what the clergy do during the week—“Preacher, it must be nice to work just one day a week”-- we can understand why clergy do not have an appreciation for what their parishioners face during the days when they are not at the church building.   Most clergy have held only temporary or part-time non-church jobs (although this is changing as median age adults are responding to the call to ministry).   Few clergy today visit their members at their place of employment; in fact, often the laity don’t even work in the same community where they reside and attend church.   Even if the pastor was employed in business before responding to the call to ministry, he or she may not be familiar with the stresses that are peculiar to the settings where their members work in 2013. This can be addressed in many ways in the church, but the process of making the connection can begin in the seminaries, schools of theology, and divinity schoo...

Leslie Newbigin, Christian missiologist, was ahead of the curve when he wrote in 1986 about the need for “a theology that has been wrought out at the coal face, at the place where faith wrestles at personal cost with the hard issues of public life.”  In this section of Foolishness to the Greeks , Newbigin calls for the church to encourage and equip the laity who are on mission in the world seven days a week—in the office, the coal mine, the classroom, the shop. In a recent article entitled “The Other 100,000 Hours,” Chris R. Armstrong argues that the church has not only failed to tackle this opportunity but has often “marginalized itself from the world of work.”  Armstrong believes that pastors rarely address the world that parishioners encounter when they go to work and often either misunderstand or are ignorant of the workplace.  Clergy leaders are much more concerned about what happens within the walls of the church than in the workplaces outside the church. ...

As we nurture our children, we gradually give them new opportunities for responsibility and independence.  We encourage them to dress themselves and pick out their own clothes.  We provide food options (all healthy, of course) that they can choose.  We provide books and games that will stretch them mentally.  We start acting “as if” they were older and encourage them to move to the next level. A church that desires to grow must start acting in the same way.  I often say to pastors, “If your church wants to move to the next level, you must start acting as if you were already at that level.”  This means providing adequate staffing, sufficient worship opportunities, differentiated educational groupings, and challenging ministries.  For example, if your church wants to have a quality children’s program that will attract and retain children, you need to develop one.  Perhaps you only have two or three children attending now, but you can start st...

I first saw an episode of Star Trek:  The Original Series in reruns of the first season.  The program launched while I was in Vietnam, so I was surprised when I returned to the States and discovered it.  My family and I watched that series in reruns for years.   I have also followed the four subsequent TV series and the ten movies that featured the original cast and the cast of Star Trek:  The Next Generation .  Not all of these incarnations of the franchise have been satisfying experiences, but I have tried to follow the various twists and turns of the Star Trek universe. This brings me to the current version of Star Trek which was introduced with by J. J. Abrams with Star Trek (2009) and continues with the current movie Star Trek: Into Darkness.   (Spoilers ahead.) Abrams has reenvisioned Star Trek by taking us into an alternate time line from all of the other movies and television shows.  This is Star Trek for the big screen (a...

Telling the emperor he has no clothes can be tricky.  You remember the fairy tale about this. As I remember, the naïve young boy came out of the encounter unscathed, but the emperor was totally embarrassed.  When I was in Vietnam, I was an inexperienced, freshly minted second lieutenant in a logistics company. On one of my early assignments, I was detached to work with a unit on the coast.  Landing craft would come up from Cam Ranh Bay loaded with 5000 gallon tank trailers full of gasoline.  When they arrived on the beach, the contents of the tankers would be pumped into other tankers that then took the product to the troops.  Pumping the gasoline from one trailer to another was time consuming.  I was observing the operation (that’s what officers do) with the lieutenant colonel in charge and made the comment, “Sir, wouldn’t it be easier just to exchange tankers?  We pull the loaded tankers off with the tractors, put the empty ones on the LST, an...

I have lost count of the number of ordination services in which I have participated. Although the ordination of men and women to the Gospel ministry (perhaps I am dating myself in using that term) is meaningful to me, just as important is the opportunity to set aside men and women to the diaconate of the church.   These are people who have shown that they have gifts to both lead and serve. When I place my hands on the head of a new deacon, I whisper these words from 2 Peter 3:18:  “G row in the grace   and knowledge   of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  My desire for that person is that she or he will continue on the journey that they have begun so well and will continue to discover what it means to be a fully equipped follower of Christ. In talking to church leaders, however, I have discovered that many have no roadmap for the journey of Christian growth.  Whether they are deacons, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, or committee cha...

In The Legend of the Merchant and the Monk , writer Terry Felber suggests twelve keys to successful living that can guide a Christian in his or her personal, business and family life.  Setting his parable in 15 th century Italy, Felber uses Antonio, a successful Venetian merchant, as the spokesperson who communicates these principles to his grandson. The historical approach is interesting and provides a good setting to discuss the complementary roles of the secular and the sacred in society.  Antonio is a man of faith but he struggles to know the best way to use the resources that God has placed in his hands. He is helped along the way by Allesio, a merchant who becomes his mentor. The principles themselves deal with all areas of a person’s life.  They encourage one to make the most of one’s gifts and to be a good steward of the blessings that result.  Although they are common sense principles, Felber presents them in such a way that they seem fresh and c...

Iron Man Three , the latest film offering from Marvel Comics, gives us an anxiety-ridden superhero.  Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, has come away from the epic battle alongside the other Avengers in New York (see The Avengers from last year) as a changed man. The bravado and sarcasm is still there on the surface, but underneath is a person who has difficulty sleeping, fears for the safety of loved ones, and often succumbs to anxiety attacks. Marvel led the way in giving us superheroes with problems—the Hulk and Spiderman come immediately to mind.  In recent years, graphic novel and movie adaptations have provided DC Comics heroes like Batman with angst-ridden back stories.  This approach was central to the just-complete Batman movie trilogy.  The television series Smallville attempted to do this with the Superman story, and usually succeeded.  It will be interesting to see how the upcoming Man of Steel movie will approach this legendary superhero. Althou...

In recent years, I have developed great admiration for megachurch pastor Andy Stanley as I have heard him speak and read some of his writing.  He is an effective preacher, a practical leader, a transparent believer and a lifelong learner.  We might disagree on some fine points of theology, but I have learned a lot from him. Stanley is much more open to women in leadership than most people realize.   It will come as a surprise to many that women serve in practically every role at North Point Church.  He also acknowledges that women serve as pastors (although not at North Point), and he includes them in his comments in this book. Therefore, I have found myself recommending his new book Deep and Wide to a number of people.  The subtitle of this new book is “creating churches unchurched people love to attend.”  It is that and more—personal testimony, preaching insights, practical guidelines about discipleship, and a kick in the pants to do somethi...

Having children is not a matter to be taken lightly.  In fact, I have friends who have decided for one reason or another not to bring children into the world.   I am thankful that Rita and I chose to have children.  Of course, this has resulted in grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and each one is an additional gift.  For me, having children is an affirmation of life, a belief that the world can be a better place and that the parent is willing to put that faith into action by bringing new life into the world.  Having children carries the implication of raising them and that carries with it both challenge and growth.  As we raise children, we learn a lot not just about them but about ourselves as well.  We are forced to evaluate our priorities, our goals, and our investment of time and energy.  There are many estimates of the financial investment involved in raising a child to maturity, but how does one count the investment of nurtu...