New Blog Started

Dear Friends,

You have probably noticed this blog is hardly ever updated. It was my intention to use this blog regularly for a variety of ministry purposes. My schedule has made that difficult.

However, I am not giving up, I am simply re-tooling. A regular blog is a good way to help a pastor both in his ministry and in personal growth. Kind of an open journal of thoughts to share, and whether anyone reads it or not, it is a tool that sharpens skills and can benefit others if there are any nuggets that God uses.

So, my attempt will be to make this communication device more of a priority. The new blog will simply be a blog about whatever comes to mind. It is not specifically related to church ministry, although it will be relevant to it. The subjects will vary and so will the length of posts. Its simply an outlet for creativity and thoughts, both serious and just for fun.

What about "Cultivating Ethos?" Well, that's still what I am doing. It's an idea that has more to do with the inner workings of ministry rather than something to blog about. If it were a book, it would be a book for pastors and not many others. The new blog is meant for everyone and just an expression of thought.

If you are subscribed to this blog, please visit the new blog at http://www.scottfurrow.com/ and resubscribe by feed or email on that site.

Blessings,

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Church: Is it an Obligation or a Celebration?

Why do you go to church? Is it an obligation or is it a celebration?

We've begun a series on the topic of "Worship" and this is a key question for us. What motivates you to come to church on Sunday mornings? Habit? Tradition? Maybe you come to please someone you love? Maybe some come to church to find someone to date, to marry? Maybe you just need a friend?

Worship. What is that anyway? What does it mean to those who drive by and see that word on our sign?

What does "Worship" signify to those who see the sign? Obligation or Celebration?

One of the greatest questions I've heard came from an 18 year old woman who visited our church a few months ago. Before going into the worship service, she said she had a few questions. Her first question was about our upcoming worship service. She asked, "What goes on in there anyway?" She had never been to any kind of church service in her life. Never. Sadly, her lack of church experience is more common than regular church-goers would even like to imagine.

So, what does go on "in there" anyway? Is it a gathering of a bunch of people who are coming out of a motivation of obligation or are they coming to celebrate something?

The answer to that question is vital for us to know and it's not simply an answer to gather theologically or doctrinally - it's something personal. The answer for each of us matters because it is core to our entire church ethos. I'll write more about that in the days to come. However, our goal is to make sure that for each one of us, we know we are coming together to celebrate.

So, what do we celebrate? On Sunday, I gave you 11 reasons to celebrate in our worship time together. In case you missed them, here they are:

1 Peter 1:3-6: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice...

We celebrate and Worship God because:

1. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 3)
2. He has shown us great mercy (vv. 3)
3. He has given us new birth [Jesus called it being "born again" in John 3] (vv. 3)
4. The result is a living hope (vv. 3)
5. Our security of this living hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (vv. 3)
6. The object of this living hope is an inheritance (vv. 4)
7. This inheritance cannot be destroyed or reduced in any way - it is eternal and permanent (vv. 4)
8. It is kept in heaven for us (vv. 4)
9. We are being shielded for it by the very power of God (vv. 5)
10. God gives us faith that is the means for this shield and by which we hold on to the promises of God (vv. 5)
11. And the hope rests in a salvation which God will reveal in the last days (vv. 5)

That is quite a lot to celebrate - but there is so much more!

Blessings,

Pastor Scott

Superman and Jesus: Do We Need a Savior?

For many years, I've been looking forward the new Superman movie which has finally been released. I loved Superman: The Movie as a kid. These movies became a significant part of pop-culture and thus, renewing them today is a tricky business.

The personal life story of Superman actor Christopher Reeve also makes tampering with his old movies a somewhat precarious endeavor. Because of the foreseeable public outrage that a new poorly done Superman could bring, the new movie was delayed and recast and rewritten many times over the past decade. Much to my personal approval, the new movie maintains the integrity of the past movies (including the original theme music) and it brings Superman into a new era.

It’s that new era that is quite interesting as the movie displays some cultural changes we’ve experienced over the past decades since the original. I pointed out in my Independence Day sermon that the writers of Superman Returns changed a famous Superman tagline from "truth, justice and the American Way" to "truth, justice and all that stuff." The original line seemed appropriate to the writers in the 1978 version but for today's global audience, the new writers felt it could be misinterpreted in 2006 in some parts of the world where box office matters most.

But most interesting, is the spiritual overtones, specifically, the blatant comparisons of Superman to Jesus Christ in Superman Returns. There were some inferences to this comparison in 1978's original and these were replayed and highlighted all through this film. In addition, the excellent new soundtrack includes a choir in the background with a Heavenly tone, if you will, when our hero is on the screen. The plot of the movie in fact is centered on the question the culture is asking, "Do we need a savior?"

I was about to write much about this, but I found a very good article on Movie Ministry that does a good job. I have posted it below and I have saved a copy here if you'd like to print it or if the original link expires.

Blessings, Pastor Scott

Superman Returns and So Should the Church: Recovering Our Commission - by Marc T. Newman, Ph.D.

He is the son sent to save humankind. He is beaten, ridiculed, denied by those closest to him, and nearly gives his life in an attempt to save billions from death. Okay, I'll admit, the parallels are there if you are looking for them. One critic hailed the new hero of Superman Returns as Jesus Christ Superman – a play on the rock opera from the 70s. But the mundane side of Superman's life seems to make identifying him with Jesus a stretch. Unless you are a disciple of Dan Brown's, that Superman was married (albeit briefly) to Lois Lane in Superman II presents a problem, and that he requires an alter-ego (Jesus did not hide who He was) suggests a bad fit.

But the single, most important non-starter in trying to apply the moniker of Savior of the World to Superman is that he strayed from his mission – at least temporarily. There is no doubt that Superman is emblematic. But I would like to argue that, at least in Superman Returns, he has more to teach about the mission of the Church than the nature of the Christ. Superman Returns serves as a microcosm of what can occur when the Church abandons its mission to the world: it leads to bitterness and emboldens evil. However, the movie also suggests fruitful ways for the Church to re-engage.

Abandoning the Mission

When critics compare Superman to Jesus, one piece of evidence they provide is that his father, Jor-el, has sent his only son, Superman (Kal-el) to Earth to be "the light" that shows people "the way." Yet when astronomers discover remnants of Superman's home planet, Krypton, his curiosity is piqued and, without a word, Superman leaves the Earth he was sent to save. Jesus never abandoned His mission to satisfy His curiosity. But this lesson in Superman Returns could easily serve as a cautionary tale to the Church. God has commissioned the Church to use its time, talent, and resources for evangelism and good works – to cooperate with God in saving the world. Unfortunately, the Church, like Superman, often becomes distracted.

For example, as researcher George Barna has pointed out, only a sliver of Christians tithe, and many churches have refocused much more of their spending on themselves by way of facilities and church programs than they do on evangelism, outreach, and missions. Gene Edward Veith, reporting in World Magazine in 2005, notes that the church designates only 2% of its income to missions. We would be embarrassed to know what percentage goes to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and aid the sick – activities which, along with the Great Commission to spread the Gospel – were explicitly commanded by Christ of His followers. The Church cannot abandon the mission with impunity. We ought to expect a backlash.

The Embittered Abandoned

The only reason given by Superman for leaving his job so abruptly, without preparing anyone for his departure from the field, was that giving notice would have been personally uncomfortable. Deserting hurting people is a sure way to embitter them. In response to Superman abdicating his responsibilities, Lois Lane (reporter for Metropolis' Daily Planet) writes a Pulitzer Prize-winning column about how the world doesn't need Superman. Upon his return, she says to his face, "The world doesn’t need a savior, and neither do I." The lesson? Abandon the battle long enough and people might conclude they are better off without you.

It is not true, of course. In a world wracked by overwhelming evil only the foolish would deny the need of a savior. But when the world sees those commissioned to reach out to them looking inward instead, they cannot help questioning the sincerity of those who claim to save. Terry Mattingly reports on a story in John and Sylvia Ronnsvalle's book, Behind the Stained Glass Windows: Money Dynamics in the Church, which reveals much about the attitude that has soured some on the Church and salvation. People's discomfort with change, the authors note, often trumps the mission of the Church. A couple of men, in one case study, accosted their evangelistic pastor, one saying, "We want you to stop talking about inviting other people into this church. There are too many new people now. We don't know half the people who come here and there are new people in leadership positions."

Some of the most comfortable places in the world are museums. Everything is climate-controlled to ensure that the artifacts inside don't change. Personal comfort is a great model if you are trying to preserve the past, but a lousy one if you want to advance the Kingdom. Jesus taught His disciples to leave their own comfort behind and to seek out those that others had rejected.

Emboldened Evil

In addition to embittering Lois, Superman's departure emboldened evil. While Superman was on Earth doing his job, his nemesis, Lex Luthor, was safely behind bars. But when Superman leaves to satisfy his curiosity about his dead world, Luthor schemes in the land of the living to escape his bonds. Luthor is not merely a criminal, he has pretensions toward godhood. But his parole is granted because Superman is
not available at the hearing to speak against Luthor's release. Taking advantage of Superman's absence, Luthor has plenty of time to ferret out the Man of Steel's secrets and become a potent adversary.

Edmund Burke once argued that "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." When the Church becomes obsessed with her own desires, plans, and programs and forgets her commission to combat evil by evangelizing sinners and doing the good works that God has set before her, then evil triumphs. If the Church will not share the Gospel, demonic alternatives will rise to give the lost false hope. If the Church abandons the arts, the arts come to reflect an
evil purpose. If the Church abandons medicine we get abortion on demand and euthanasia. When the Church abandons the poor we get eugenics programs and one-child-only national policies. When the Church is disengaged, the world does not stand still. And when we return, we cannot expect evil to give way without a fight.

Strategy for Re-Engagement

Superman Returns is as good at suggesting recovery as it is about diagnosing the problem. Once Superman gets a grip on what he has done, he apologizes and re-engages. Good re-enters the fray against titanic evil. The idea that good overcomes evil is not merely a sop to wishful thinkers. It is a truth deeply ingrained in humanity. Superman Returns relies on the universality of that feeling to work. The film also recognizes the need for sacrifice to attain the good end. This movie is not about cheap forgiveness and easy victories.

Christians, particularly those in the affluent West, might well begin re-engagement by apologizing for the fields we have abandoned in pursuing our own personal peace. We are not each responsible for every fight – none of us are "faster than a speeding bullet" – however, we all ought to be fighting somewhere. Breast-beating should be short in duration – there are still battles before us. Sacrifices must be made as we re-prioritize our time, talents, and treasure to reflect those of the Great Commissioner. By leaving the dead to bury the dead, by not looking back once we have put our hand to the plow, by engaging our culture with God's Good News we can further God's Kingdom and beat back the usurping forces of the evil one – A super analogy from one of the first big films of the summer.

http://www.movieministry.com/articles.php
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The Ursprache of Discipleship

This morning, I got a freshly brewed cup of Ethiopian coffee and sat down to watch the morning news and consider my day. There was a lot of discouraging news about the state of many things, but in the midst of sour news about our culture, was a great piece of hope. The excitement over the new Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, Katharine "Kerry" Close, is very encouraging.

The Bee was televised live Thursday night, which is a good sign, because national TV networks typically will only schedule prime-time shows that advertisers believe will actually be watched by a considerable audience. Kerry's story was important to celebrate.

The winning word: "ursprache." Unlike last year's winning word, "appoggiatura," this year's word starts with the letter "u." That's about all I could have told you about those two words. So I looked up "ursprache":

ursprache - (Ur·spra·che):

See protolanguage.
"Oooo," I said to myself, "I know that word!"

protolanguage - (pro·to·lan·guage):

A language that is the recorded or hypothetical ancestor of another language or group of languages. Also called Ursprache.
It got me thinking about how important knowing ursprache is to understanding our Bible, and our faith, and more specifically, the words of Christ. We live in a great time, where geological , archeological and other sciences are allowing us to understand and use ursprache to make Bible translation and interpretation even more precise.

As you probably know, the New Testament is written in Greek; but, its not written in modern Greek. It was written in an ancient, ursprache of modern Greek called "Koine Greek". This version of Greek was the "common language" at the time, a second language for many. If you spoke aramaic conversationally, you probably also knew Koine Greek which would have been necessary for you to know in order to do business in a multi-cultural society. The New Testament was written in this language (the Old Testament was also translated into it) so that the broad society could read it.

It's important to remember the the Bible was written for us, but it wasn't actually written to us. Therefore, Bible scholars must attempt to understand what the people who heard it the first time thought of it in order to give us an accurate translation and interpretation today. Thanks to our ability to research and understand ursprache, this work can be done quite effectively.

For example, the Koine Greek word that is often translated as "power" is "dunamis" such as in Acts 1:8 "For you will receive power [dunamis] when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." (NIV) This same word, dunamis, is also the root word English english word "dynamite." Because of this connection, someone trying to interpret this passage and the "power of the Holy Spirit" may describe the power as "explosive, like dynamite" since both power and dynamite have the same Greek root.

However, a correct understanding of ursprache would indicate that the Biblical writer (Luke) would not have intended to describe God's power as "explosive" at all. While it's true that the root to dynamite would describe an explosive power today, the Biblical writer had never heard of dynamite as it wasn't invented yet. There are no known uses of dunamis from his day that mean "explosive" as we would understand that today. Dunamis did not take on that connotation for centuries. Thus, Luke cannot be telling us that the power of the Holy Spirit is explosive.

"Discipleship" is one of those words we use in church a lot, and sometimes its meaning is different from place to place. But what did Jesus' Great Commission mean to those who heard it? What does it mean to "make disciples?" The ursprache of Jesus' command is clear. A disciple was not merely a student of someone, although our modern word could be limted to that meaning. Also, a disciple was not just someone who merely studied and got to know some important person, as you could say a disciple might be today.

The meaning of the specific word used in Koine Greek for "disciple," as Christ used it in Matthew 28, was describing someone who is a follower, someone who is committed to more than just knowing and understanding the teacher, but one who would live his or her life maintaining a lifestyle according to thier mentor's precepts and instruction.

This would have been the understanding of those who audibly heard those words on that day. Today, it is also the meaning for those of us who read them. We know this because ursprache is well understood. The command of Christ for believers is to follow Him, obeying his commands and living out His teachings. This is what a disciple did then, and what one must do now.

Blessings,

Pastor Scott

PS: appoggiatura - (ap·pog·gia·tu·ra): (Music) An embellishing note, usually one step above or below the note it precedes and indicated by a small note or special sign.

Cultivating Ethos - The Beginning

Ethos is one of my favorite words these days. It sounds modern, even though it is one of the oldest words we know. It sounds mysterious and more interesting than its simple definition.

Ethos: the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution. Merriam-Webster, I. 1996, c1993. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (10th ed.). Merriam-Webster: Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.

But ethos has a certain je ne sais quoi about it (I took 8 years of French; I must use it whenever possible). It implies more that just a meaning. It implies something that seems more spiritual, something important.

As I write this, I'm sitting here in what is known to my friends and colleagues as my Mission Valley Office, I have purchased a bottle of water called "Ethos Water." Instantly, I know there is something more to this brand name. Ethos. Why do they call it "Ethos?"

I go to the Internet to investigate. I figure it's one of two things. It could be some kind of selfish marketing ploy, one that suggests something like you will become a better, more centered person if you drink our brand. In this case, they would likely have some sort of spiritual references loosely related to some kind of eastern thought or religion. But I hoped for something else, something tangible, something true.

As it turns out, it's called "Ethos Water" for the reasons I had hoped. The company behind Ethos Water is investing money from each bottle purchased in order to raise $10 million to help the poorest communities in the world have clean drinking water. Now that is something true, something tangible, something important, and something I'm glad this company is doing. Obviously, this company intends to make a profit; but they also intend to add value to the world through their business.

Currently, I am meeting every Wednesday morning with several other pastors in the San Diego area for prayer and support and for ministry building. It's my Small Group and a very meaningful time for me. Being that we are all pastors, and recognizing the incredible shifts in world wide Christendom, and what it means for people in our calling and for those we shepherd, we are revisiting what should be an already answered question: What is the Church?

This question is not as easy as it sounds, or perhaps, not as easy as it ought to be. I do not pretend to have the perfect answer; but I am working to develop a worthy response to it.

I believe the Church is to have a particular ethos that is distinctive, tangible, and true. This ethos doesn't just happen, it must be cultivated.

Cultivate: (from the word "culture") to grow in a prepared medium. Merriam-Webster, I. 1996, c1993. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (10th ed.). Merriam-Webster: Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.

Jesus, when describing His followers, said that they are the salt and light of the earth. He is saying that His followers have a practical and positive influence, not just on the members of the Church, but on the entire culture. Practically speaking, followers of Jesus Christ cultivate the community. They are not irrelevant or disconnected. What is the "prepared medium" that we grow a culture in? The teachings of Jesus Christ, our mentor, Rabbi, and teacher.

Therefore, we must consider Christ's direction to all of his followers in light of the mission statement he made for us.

Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20 (NetBible)

I believe the Church's purpose is to Cultivate Ethos. "Go therefore and disciple (cultivate) - all nations... teaching them to obey all that I have commanded them (ethos)." It is an active, intentional, revolutionary activity. It adds value to people because it shows them the living Christ, the meaning and purpose of life, and the joy that surpasses all circumstance.

This blog will be about the intentional practice of Cultivating Ethos and its practical effect on the twenty-first century world and the Church and First Baptist Church of San Diego. I would love to hear your feedback and comments as we develop and act on this idea together.

Scott Furrow
Pastor

Creating a First Post

You have to start somewhere. Everything in life is a process. Every achievement has a starting point.

I am living in a process of what I call "Cultivating Ethos." At this point of the process, creating this blog, I must post something. I have set my settings and chosen my template. While I'd like a huge blog with thousands of readers, I cannot get there without this step: the first post.

So, here it is...

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