The Salvation Army Spryfield Community Church and Family Resource Centre

Would John Wesley get an i-pad?

In resuming the series entitled, “Should I get an i-pad” where I explore the Christian’s relationship with the consumer culture, I’d remind you that I’m framing this discussion using John Wesley’s quadrilateral.  “What on earth is he talking about?” I can hear you saying. Allow me to explain.

John Wesley, the Founder of the Methodist Movement and the Father of our Salvation Army theology was a practical theologian. He did not formulate his theological views and opinions in a stuffy classroom, but on horseback as he rode throughout Britain preaching the Gospel and nurturing people in their new found faith through Bible studies he called “Class Meetings”.  Later theologians said that Wesley’s theology had four prongs: scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Meaning that Wesley would formulate his beliefs about God and subsequently, his beliefs on how he was to conduct himself as a Christian, by looking at life’s issues through these four prongs (or lenses).  If i-pads existed during Wesley’s day, he might well ask, “Should I get an i-pad?  What do the scriptures say about such things?  What does tradition say?” And so on…

We covered scripture in a recent post, so let’s examine reason. Reason, or “rational thinking and sensible interpretation” as it relates to buying an i-pad or anything else for that matter, is a most useful tool. Reason forces me to consider the question, “Do I need an i-pad?”  I do not have an i-pad now.   Is my life somehow incomplete because I don’t have one?  To answer that honestlty, I’d have to say no. My i-pad free life seems full and happy such as it is.

Reason also asks, “Well, what’s the harm in buying an i-pad?” As some of you my readers, pointed out, i-pads and similar technology can be used for ministry. The fact that you are reading this blog on the Internet is an example of how technologies can be co-opted for the purposes of ministry. If reason decides that at a bare minimum, purchasing an i-pad will do no harm to anyone else, it will then compel me to consider the impact buying an i-pad will have on my spirituality.  “Will you be a slave to materialism as a result of buying this i-pad?” reason asks. “Are you a slave already? If your use of money is an indicator of your Christian priorities, where does buying an i-pad figure into that?”

O reason! You are harsh indeed.

A believer's struggle to engage with the consumerist culture

May 28th, 2010. The I-pad is finally available for sale in Canada.  Apparently, they’re flying off the shelves.  Join me in the upcoming weeks, as I present a believer’s struggle in engaging with today’s consumerist culture. Specifically, whether or not I should buy an I-Pad.

At over $500 Cdn., the I-Pad is a pricey gadget.  But lots of things are pricey today.  One might not think twice about rushing out to get it.  But I want to ask myself the following question.  Is spending $500 on a device that exists purely for reasons of entertainment an ethical use of God’s resources? You’ll notice in that question, I’m making the inference that our personal finances are indeed, God’s resources.

  Where (if ever) is the line to be drawn?  Do the scriptures give us a framework on how to spend our money?  By no means is my mind made up about this yet.  I currently have an I-pod (given to me in my former career as a farewell present) and the desire to possess an I-Pad is strong.  So join with me on this online forum as I delve into the Scriptures, SA Doctrine and theology, and Church history (past and present) to decide whether God has anything to say about the way I spend my money.

Perhaps you have some initial thoughts?

*posts will appear every Friday

Acts 2

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’

Sleazy marketing campaigns and their salesmen are sadly not in short supply.

I was watching TV the other day (admittedly an infomercial) and I came across a salesman selling a series of audio tapes called “Your Wish is Your Command”.  The salesman made the astounding claim that a person could have anything they desired (wealth, prosperity, love, luck) if they tuned their brain on to another frequency. I didn’t know we could tune our brains into certain frequencies like a radio, but I listened on.  Apparently, if you bought his CDs and listened to his presentation you would be privy to knowledge possessed only by secret societies who’ve kept this information to themselves for thousands of years.

He cited numerous examples of ordinary people becoming multi-millionaires as a result of these newly rediscovered teachings.  Not surprisingly, he was rather vague on the actual “secret” contained within his teachings as he was vague on the identities of the people that his CDs proportedly helped.

Because of our society’s economic turmoil it is understandable that the lies advanced by these false “prophets” of industry would be seriously considered by some. The vast majority of people would not be so gullible to fall for such a dubious product.  What is disturbing however is how this line of thinking is creeping into the Christian church.

Call to mind the televangelists who are promoting a product called “the Green Prosperity Handkerchief” claiming that if put under one’s pillow the divine favour of God will fall upon the person possessing it.  Similar campaigns involving “holy oil” abound.  While I believe the vast majority of Christians would not fall for this ‘hokum’, the belief that God is a sort of genie figure that will give you every material desire of your heart is a belief that is becoming more mainstream within evangelical Christianity.

The truth is that the Christian faith is both an inspired walk and a daunting challenge.  To “pick up one’s cross” and follow Jesus speaks of the challenges of faith.  Faith is no guarantee that we’ll have life easy.  And if we’re to take seriously the discipleship challenge of Jesus Christ, then to subscribe to a faith that promotes the idea of riches and luxuries as a sign of God’s favour is nothing more than a modern day heresy.

Remember the words of Paul: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3). Let’s be sure that the messages we take in are God-inspired.  God is not our personal genie; he is our Creator God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth who revealed himself fully in Jesus the Christ.  Now that is a message worth hearing!

General William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army

So often Sunday sermons exhort listeners to pray and read the Bible as a means to grow in the faith.  This is advice that sounds very easy yet in practice is very difficult to live out.  When we think of the giants of the faith, we often imagine them to have a very intense spiritual regimen.

“Spend 4 hours in prayer a day; then read two books of the Bible in both Hebrew and Greek. Then when this is done, stand on your head for three hours and reflect upon your sin.”  This is often the spiritual lives we imagine for our heroic saints.

The first instance of a daily spiritual regimen was written by Benedict of Nursia (480-547).  The Rule of St. Benedict outlined Benedict’s daily spiritual routine; this routine became the set of laws that would bind his monastic community together (the Benedictines).  Based on Benedict’s Rule, many spiritual leaders have adopted their own spiritual disciplines, exhorting their followers to copy their example.  Found in the various anthologies of Army writing is the Rule of William Booth (Booth’s Daily Spiritual Regimen), reprinted here:

Booth’s 6 Resolutions

1. That I will rise every morning sufficiently early to wash, dress and have a few minutes, not less than 5, in private prayer.

2. That I will, as much as possible, avoid all that babbling and idle talk, in which I have lately so sinfully indulged.

3. That I will endeavor in my conduct and deportment before the world and my fellow servants especially to conduct myself as a humble, meek, and zealous follower of Christ, and by serious conservation and waning endeavor to lead them to think of their immortal souls.

4. That I will read no less than 4 chapters in god’s word every day.

5. That I will strive to live closer to God, and to seek after holiness of heart and leave providential events with God.

6. That I will read over this everyday or at least twice a week.

Wow! It sounds really….reasonable, doesn’t it? I was surprised that a man as zealous, and (in many ways) extreme as Booth, lived by a Rule that was so ordinary and doable. This confirms the truth that God can accomplish great things in human beings who put forth even a modest effort to be in sync with God’s will.  I think we’d do well to adopt Booth’s spiritual regimen as our own (particularly if we’re not following one now).

What’s your spiritual regimen? Is it working for you? Are you walking in victory with the Lord?  Or are you limping through life? If so, might I suggest that you bolster your Christian walk with these spiritual disciplines?  It’s work – yes, but what have you got to lose?

The Honorable Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada at a recent Community Townhall meeting in Bedford.

They say that in polite company, one should never discuss politics or religion. I often bring up both in the same conversation, to the chagrin of the etiquette police.  The Salvation Army requires that its officers and soldiers be apolitical or neutral in their political dealings as it pretains to The Army. As an officer, I cannot endorse any one political faction over another.  The challenge in this system is on the one hand to remain politically neutral, while on the other, to engage fully in the political process.

The church’s rocky relationship with politics is nothing new.  Ever since the Edict of Milan in 313 (when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire), Christians have had the difficult task of living out the teachings of Christ, making him the Lord of their life, while submitting to the authority of an earthy king or emperor.  Essentially, Christians have to live in and engage both the spiritual and temporal worlds. Obviously, Christ lays claim to our soul and body, yet this does not exempt us from living in a society and all the responsibilities that come with that (i.e. paying taxes, jury duty, military service, to name only a few).  The potential for the realm of politics to exploit the Christian faith is a very real danger, and one that has happened time and time again.  Think of the Crusades.  Need I say more?

Because of this potential for conflict, Christians by and large take two approaches to politics. 1). They avoid getting involved in the political process, adopting the cynical viewpoint that nothing good can come out of human governance.  In this approach, believers live good lives, perform good works, but essentially disengage themselves from the society, waiting instead for Jesus to make things right in his own time.

2). In the second approach, Christians desparage the political system such as it is, and vow to change it from the inside out.  They invest heavilty in the political process, they create their own political factions.  “If only our guys and gals were the ones sitting in the legislature, then things would change.”  We often associate with this approach, Christians who identify themselves as the religious right or moral majority. This approach sounds appealing to Christians, but it assumes that any one political party has the right to speak for God. We see this played out in the U.S. don’t we, where Rupublicans denounce their Democratic opponents as atheists and secularists?

I propose instead an approach to politics that requires a full and lively engagement, yet is flexible enough to not be tied in with one political faction. On some issues, we walk hand in hand with the political left (promoting social justice, advocating the cause of the working man, liveable wages, etc), while on other issues we side with the right (building healthy families, economic development, creating just and moral laws). Is it playing both sides of the coin? Perhaps. But if our mission here on earth is to make earth more like heaven (“Thy will be done, on EARTH, as it is, in HEAVEN) then we need to work within the political process and not outside of it.

Abraham Lincoln once quipped that people shouldn’t be concerned with whether God is on their side (the often repeated claim of  many political parties, that God favours their cause over the cause of their political enemies).  Instead, he wisely reflected, “We should be concered with being on the side of God.”  So what’s your relationship with politics? Do you have one? If not, perhaps you should go out there and get a “political” life.