OK, if you follow the link, be prepared for some heavy reading. I stumbled across an article by N.T. Wright titled, “How Can the Bible Be Authoritative?” (I’ve stumbled across it before, but now that I’m blogging, I can share it here with all of you!)  He’s trying to figure out what we mean when we talk about the authority of the Bible.  It’s not as simple as saying, “Well, if you have a question, look it up in the Bible and find the answer,” because the Bible isn’t a list of questions and answers.  It’s also not a list of rules to follow or commands to obey or statements to believe (though it contains all these things, here and there).  For the most part, the Bible is a story.  So what do we do with that?  How can a book, especially a book that tells a story, have authority in our lives?

One model he uses, which I find interesting, is that of a play whose fifth act has been lost.  I’ll go ahead and quote a couple of paragraphs here (which will give you a taste of what you’ll be in for if you decide to read the whole thing):

Suppose there exists a Shakespeare play whose fifth act had been lost. The first four acts provide, let us suppose, such a wealth of characterization, such a crescendo of excitement within the plot, that it is generally agreed that the play ought to be staged. Nevertheless, it is felt inappropriate actually to write a fifth act once and for all: it would freeze the play into one form, and commit Shakespeare as it were to being prospectively responsible for work not in fact his own. Better, it might be felt, to give the key parts to highly trained, sensitive and experienced Shakespearian actors, who would immerse themselves in the first four acts, and in the language and culture of Shakespeare and his time, and who would then be told to work out a fifth act for themselves.

Consider the result. The first four acts, existing as they did, would be the undoubted ‘authority’ for the task in hand. That is, anyone could properly object to the new improvisation on the grounds that this or that character was now behaving inconsistently, or that this or that sub-plot or theme, adumbrated earlier, had not reached its proper resolution. This ‘authority’ of the first four acts would not consist in an implicit command that the actors should repeat the earlier parts of the play over and over again. It would consist in the fact of an as yet unfinished drama, which contained its own impetus, its own forward movement, which demanded to be concluded in the proper manner but which required of the actors a responsible entering in to the story as it stood, in order first to understand how the threads could appropriately be drawn together, and then to put that understanding into effect by speaking and acting with both innovation and consistency.

In this model, Scripture is the first four acts, and we are now given the responsibility of living out the fifth one.

Of course, like all models, it has its shortcomings, but I find it to be a helpful way to think about the role that Scripture plays in our lives.  If we are to be these actors, living out the fifth act, then we must immerse ourselves in the first four acts and get to know the story intimately.  Otherwise, we won’t be faithful to the play, nor to the author who has entrusted it to us.

This is a big responsibility.  Fortunately for us, God is not just sitting on the sidelines waiting to judge us.  This isn’t American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.  Instead, he has entered into the story himself.  He is one of the actors alongside us, and as we follow his lead (now I have the dancing imagery in my head), we find that he is helping us each step of the way.

So… what do you think?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, whether you wade into the full article or not.

I got a kick out of this Sprint commercial when I saw it on TV yesterday…. even though I’m pretty sure they’re just making it all up.  Still, they’re probably close. 

I think it makes me laugh because I just started using Facebook last year, Twitter in the past month, and started blogging again last weekend. I guess I send text messages, too… but not often.  I just don’t know have that many friends who like to text. 

I recently read this week’s Newsweek cover story, The End of Christian America, by Jon Meacham.  (That’s the title online, anyway.  The cover of the printed copy reads: The Decline and Fall of Christian America.)  He notes that recent surveys of Americans have shown that today fewer people are identifying themselves as Christians (from 86% in 1990 to 76% in 2008) while more are identifying themselves as atheists or agnostics (from 1 million in 1990 to 3.6 million in 2009).  Coinciding with this is the apparent decline of the political and cultural influence of what is usually called “the religious right.”  Some evangelicals are saying we are entering a post-Christian era in the United States.  It’s an interesting article, and I have to say I don’t find any of it too surprising, nor do I find any of it frightening or cause for alarm.

Unfortunately, it appears that enough people assumed that his article was an attack on Christianity that he had to write a follow up: Faith Isn’t Under Fire: The Difference Between Christianity and ‘Christian America.’ The fact that some people don’t seem to understand that these are two separate things is a bit frustrating to me.  I’ve bumped into plenty of Christians who don’t seem to get the idea that the church does best when it is not wed to political power.  We get hooked into thinking that all hell will break loose if we don’t rally behind this political party or vote for that ballot initiative.  But in fact, Jesus himself resisted political power and rejected the attempts of the people to make him king, opting instead to face death at the hands of the empire.  Yet the temptation is always there for Christians — especially here in America, with our strong religious heritage and representative democracy — to try to wield the sword of political power, to build our own empire in God’s name.

My hope, as we approach Easter Sunday in the midst of a changing religious, political, and economic landscape, is that we who call ourselves Christians will continue to trust and follow Jesus Christ.  I hope that we will remember that the way of Jesus is not that of wielding the sword of political influence against those who disagree with us but is that of loving service, even to those who consider themselves our enemies.  Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus Christ show us that the power of God’s love will always be greater than the power of the empire.  So let’s hold tight to the unstoppable love of God and trust that the way of loving service is the way of transformation. Love wins.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this.  Please feel free to share them in the comments below!

Also, of course, if you don’t have a church home and live in or near Valparaiso, Indiana, we’d love to have you join us at Living Hope this Sunday morning at 9:30 at the Aberdeen Manor banquet hall. Details are on the Living Hope website.

This morning I get to volunteer at the downtown Christian Food Pantry.  It’s housed in one of the First United Methodist Church buildings, on the block north of their main building.  (It’s the red brick building on the west side of Franklin St., about 2.5 blocks north of Lincolnway — the same building that houses “The Shop” thrift store.)

They serve folks from 10:00 am to noon Mondays and Wednesdays, and I’m there two Mondays each month. Just like at most food pantries, people have to meet certain requirements to be served — live in a certain area, provide proof of need, etc. — and can receive food once every two weeks.  They coordinate with the other food pantries in town to make sure people aren’t hopping from pantry to pantry.  It’s not intended to provide all the food a family will need for the entire month, but to provide supplemental help.  (And it seems to be working — scroll to the end for some stats on how many people are served.)

One thing that keeps it interesting for volunteers like me is the variety of tasks that need to be done.  One person works the sign-in table.  Another works in the back storage room, sorting food donations. Another fills paper grocery bags with the basic items.  Another works the window, handing people their food.  And usually there’s another person kind of floating — bringing food up from the back storage room, keeping the table and cart in the lobby area full, etc.  The table and cart are where the food items go that aren’t exactly staples — things like syrup, fruit juice, cake mix, candy, baby food, olives, whatever.  We’re not going to put them in every bag, but some people like them or need them, so we set them out and let people take what they need.

Oh, and somebody gets to drive around to the supporting churches to pick up the food donations.  For the past couple months, I’ve been that guy.  Most of the churches leave a basket or something out, and people drop off food when they come to worship on Sundays.  Then I go pick them up, bring them back, and sort them.  The only church that doesn’t do this, as far as I know, is St. Paul’s.  They do a monthly food drive and drop it off themselves — which is good, because it’s usually 2-3 minivan loads of food, and I’m not about to make that many trips to St. Paul’s in my Mazda 3.

When I first started volunteering there — oh, maybe 2 years ago now — I mainly filled the paper bags.  There’s a list of items that go into each bag, depending on the size of the family: 1 person, 2 people, or 4 people.  A family of 3 is given a “2″ plus some additional items.  A family of 5 or 6 gets a “4″ plus items, etc.  A family of 8 just gets two “4″s — and yes, we have at least two families of 8 that drop in on occasion.

I’ve served at the window a few times, too, and that keeps you hopping, because besides handing them the right pre-filled paper bag, you also ask if they want a whole list of additional items.  Most of these are items that have to be refrigerated — milk, eggs, butter, hamburger, hot dogs, etc — but the list also includes things like peanut butter, rice or noodles, and crackers.  Obviously, the refrigerated items can’t be put into the bags ahead of time, so grabbing them at the window is the only way to do it.  The other items… well, apparently enough people were handing them back that it was decided we’d just wait and ask first.  And enough people say “no thanks” that it seems like a good idea.

I’m glad I have a job that’s flexible enough for me to be able to volunteer here, because a lot of people are being helped.  (Here are those statistics I promised earlier.)  In January, the pantry served 225 families, which meant food for 686 people.  In February, it was 224 families, or 589 people.  (Smaller families, I guess.)  The March numbers aren’t in yet, but I can tell you that this week, on top of everything else, 100 people will receive Easter baskets ingredients to make a special Easter meal for their families, including dessert.  Somewhere I have the annual numbers for 2008, but I can’t put my finger on them just now.  If I find them, I’ll update the post.

And, for the grand finale, here are the churches I visit to pick up donations.  There may be other churches who bring in donations on their own (like St. Paul’s, but on a smaller scale), and I know that some other churches maintain their own food pantries.  We also receive food from individuals and groups (like the recent Banta Feeds projects).  These are just the churches I know about because I have to go pick up their food donations:

• First Christian Church
• First Presbyterian Church
• St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
• First United Methodist Church
• Trinity Lutheran Church
• Living Hope Community Church

If you ever want to make a donation to the pantry — of food, money, or time — let me know!

I love the first Wednesday of every month, because that’s the day we have A.M. Valpo, a Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce event in which 50-80 of us gather at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe from 7:00-8:15 am.  I like it because it’s structured.  Everybody gets 30 seconds to introduce themselves to the group and share pretty much whatever they want.  Most folks say something about their company, like the services they offer or a special deal that’s starting soon.  Sometimes there’s a big event coming up that they want to promote.  It’s fun.  There’s a good mix of people of all ages from all sorts of organizations, including some non-profits.  There are new people every month, but there’s a good group of regulars, too, so you get to know each other after a while.

For the past year or two, I’ve been the only pastor in the group.

This past Wednesday was April 1 — April Fool’s Day.  I kind of expected that more people would play pranks or do something goofy as part of their presentation, but very few did.  I showed up a couple minutes late, and it was a packed house!  The final count was 77 people, I think.  So I ended up standing by the door with about a dozen other late arrivals.

When it was my turn, I stepped up, took the mic, and said something like the following:

Hi, I’m Rich Schmidt from Living Hope Community Church.  In honor of April Fool’s Day, I want to encourage you all to stay away from Living Hope.

[a few polite chuckles]

Please don’t show up on Easter Sunday, April 12th, at 9:30 at the Aberdeen Manor banquet hall.  If for some reason you do stop by, please be sure you dress up!  People will look at you funny if you show up in blue jeans. And don’t bring your kids!  Elementary age kids absolutely hate the kids program at our church.  They beg their parents not to make them come back.

[a few genuine laughs at this one -- people remembering their own childhood experiences with being dragged to church?]

Let’s see, there was something else.

[I was genuinely forgetting part of it here, but John Freyek saved me by saying, "The pastor won't be talking about God or anything, right?"]

Oh, yeah, the pastor’s really boring. Be ready for the most boring hour of your life.

[a few more genuine laughs]

And, uh… Oh yeah, I hope you all die and rot in hell.

[BOOM! The room erupted in laughter!]

Like I said, I really look forward to A.M. Valpo.  It’s not everyday that I get to tell a room full of business leaders that I hope they’ll die and rot in hell!

Of course, my hope for every one of them (and for you, whoever you are) is exactly the opposite.  I hope they all find the peace and joy and life that God created them for, the kind of life that I’ve found in trusting and following Jesus Christ.  God’s love for us is more powerful than any sin, than any addictive behavior, than any heartache, than even death itself.  “Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” is how the apostle Paul put it in his letter to the Romans (chapter 8, verse 39).

This Easter season, I hope you get a taste of the powerful, unstoppable love that God has for you.

So this is my new blog.

Great.  Now what?  What should I write about?

Really.  I’m asking.  What do you think I should write about?  Let me know in the comments below.