I had a brother who was gay, contracted HIV in 1983 (he was tested later when it first became available) and died of AIDS in 1993.  I am an evangelical, bible-believing, born-again Christian.  To say there were conflicts is an understatement.  My actions, reactions, comments have caused pain, hurt and discomfort to him.  It’s not that I didn’t mean well, had the best of intentions or had pure motives.  I did.  I just didn’t know what to do or say.  If only this book, Love is an Orientation, had come out 20 years earlier I wouldn’t have so much regret hanging over my head.

I first heard of Andrew Marin of The Marin Foundation a few years ago when I watched a video he took on a Gay Pride parade in Chicago.  So when he came out with Love is an Orientation, I had to buy it.

Love is an Orientation covers the very issues that I was struggling with:

• Was my brother born that way
• Isn’t homosexuality a sin, it says so in the Bible
• Can he be gay and be a Christian
• Is he going to hell, it says so in the Bible
• When you say, “Hate the sin, but not the sinner”, why is that offensive

He explained those issues plainly and clearly.  He demonstrated how not to ask closed-minded questions and how to answer close-minded questions that are asked of you.

Today there is a huge chasm between the Republicans and the Democrats; two very distinct sides.  Who is going to build the bridge between them so constructive dialog can occur?  The same can be said between the GLBT community and the Christian community; there are two very distinct sides.  Andrew implores the Christian community to drop your prejudices and start building a bridge.  Ask those in the GLBT community what it is like to be them?  Listen to them.  Build relationships.  Don’t judge.  Just love.

I honestly and whole-heartily am asking you to read this book, especially those in the Christian community.  To have the greatest affect, you must clear all your preconceived notions; the Bible says this, the Bible says that.  The Bible also says we are just to love, simply love.  That is the Greatest Commandment.

Love is an Orientation is definitely a must read, must have book.

The Bible contains the life of Jesus and his public ministry.  The New Testament begins with the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem which is where Jesus is born.  There is a gap from his birth and escape to Egypt to when he was about 12 years old when he spoke with the Pharisees in the synagogue.  After that interaction with the Pharisees, there is another gap until about age 30. So this book is a fictional attempt to discuss what took place during those gaps, those “Silent Years”.

While reading this book it caused me to wonder, “At what point did Jesus know he was the Messiah?”  That is a question that I never asked myself, but still has me wondering.  Throughout this book it weaves in that question of his divinity.  Jesus questioning it.  His uncle wondering about it.  Yet his mother, Mary, always knew he was special.

At the start of this book I was really excited with what I was reading, I couldn’t put down.  However, a few portions of the book I had a hard time reading.  The author took his liberty to inject his fictional interpretations at certain key moments recorded in the Bible.  I don’t fault him with that, however it caused me to struggle with that material.  Some key moments he changed are:

1. Mary’s encounter with an angel telling her she is pregnant
2. Joseph being told to not be afraid to take Mary to be his wife
3. Jesus being left in the synagogue when he was 12
4. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist

To expound on one of those four examples was when Jesus was found in the synagogue speaking with the Pharisees when he was 12.  However, in the book, Jesus realized he was left behind and ran from Jerusalem to try to catch up to his parents on their way back to Nazareth.  That was very unrealistic, let alone dangerous no matter your age.

My view are those events that actually took place and recorded in the Bible, he should have kept it that way.  With him changing those events really bothered me.  I had a hard time shaking that.  If he kept it like what it is stated in the Bible and then he “filled in the gaps” that would have made me almost read the story like it was non-fiction.

I would rate this book as a good book, but with caution.  I just struggled with the changes he took of actual events that took place.  If he had not changed the events as they were recorded, I would have actually really loved the book.

The author is a Karaite Jew, a scriptualist, and an expert on reading the Dead Sea Scrolls.  He has numerous references on each page for you to verify his conclusions.

This book takes some time giving you a high-level crash course into the Pharisee way of thinking, which Gordon formerly was.  He also describes customs and traditions that some of those in the Jewish faith practice.

Gordon discusses the fact that the Pharisee’s believe in two torahs; the written Torah that Moses received from God (Yehovah) on Mt. Sinai and an “Oral Torah”, one that evolves over time based on Rabbinical interpretations.  In actuality, even though God wrote down the written Torah, the Rabbi’s authority and interpretation (the Oral Torah) supersedes what God has explicitly told us; their manners and customs.  If the Rabbi says that your left hand is actually your right hand, you must obey what he has to say even though Scripturally it may say the opposite. Jesus (Yeshua) had a bit of difficulty with Pharisee’s regarding this (Oral Torah) and in reality Jesus had to be killed for not obeying the Oral Torah.  It is a rabbinical law.

Gordon uses Matthew 23:2-3 as the basis of this book.  In this verse, Jesus said:

“²Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:  ³All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”

This verse sounds likes Jesus is saying that you must observe everything that the Pharisee’s are saying because they sit in Moses’ seat.  He goes step by step, explains Moses’ seat, brings in Hebrew translation, and you’ll see that as the original meaning unfolds, Jesus it is pretty much saying the opposite.  It really is amazing.

Overall, I think this is a good book and I enjoyed it.  I was a little confused with the title, but maybe it was with my expectations.  I had expected more comparisons between what the Hebrew translation describes Yeshua to what  the Greek translation describes Jesus.

One option that you can do, is to watch the video on the book (see below).  It is 2 hours long, but covers the same material as in the book.

Think about what questions you’ve been asked about your church. Questions come up like “What church do you go to? How big is your church? Where is your church? What kind of music do you have at your church? What denomination is your church? Who is the pastor at your church?” I find that we often ask about things that may seem important, but we usually aren’t getting at what matters most. These are things about churches. But what is a church?

I came to a point, after trying to plant churches for some time, where I asked the Lord one of the most dangerous questions I have ever asked: “Okay, Lord, so what is a church anyway?” I say it was a dangerous question because asking it forced me to admit that I had been trying to grow something without knowing what it was.

Our Vision of Church: Limited by Our Experience
To help find the best answer, I went to my peers and leaders, asking them in all sincerity, “What is church?” When I asked the question, however, it caused others to reflect and realize that they might not really know what church is either. Oh sure, we all know what our experience is. We all know what our traditions are. We speak as though we obviously know the answer to this question. But in reality, we found that many of us hadn’t taken a moment to ask the question. Rather than starting with the question of what church is, we had been asking how we can make churches get bigger or better, or how we can start more of them.

The temptation is to define “church” according to our own experience. We think we know something because of familiarity. By defining “church” this way, we are assured that we are always right, but this is a cheap solution that perpetuates all our current problems. It is much more vital to look at the Scripture with honesty and courage as we try to define “church.” Once we ask the question, however, we must be ready to expect the unexpected.

While as seminary student, I was given a definition of church that was really more of a description. Church was explained as embodying these five characteristics:

1. A group of believers gathered together regularly…

2. That considers itself a church…

3. That has qualified elders present…

4. That regularly practices the ordinances of baptism and communion as well as church discipline…

5. And that has an agreed-on set of doctrinal beliefs and evangelistic purpose.

These are all good qualities for any church to have. Most of our churches, in fact, would meet these standards. But my question was still with me, so I turned the question inside out by asking what is missing from this list of five things. Since that time I’ve put the same list and question before a lot of groups. “What is missing?” After a few minutes of responses, I generally tell them what I think is missing if they haven’t already found it.

Jesus is missing!

One of my respected mentors, a theologian and career missionary, told me that Jesus is assumed to be in the definition because it is believers who are gathered. My response was, “Why would you verify that qualified elders are present but assume that Jesus is present?”

This assumption betrays a problem in our churches, a serious one. The church is often more about the people and the institutions that gather in the name of Jesus than it is about the reality of the risen Jesus, alive and active with His people.

Seeing Jesus
As the world looks at our churches, particularly in the West, it sees only what people have done or what programs they are doing. The world is not impressed. In response, we scheme and plot and plan, “What can we do to make our church more appealing to the people in our community?” This is, once again, the wrong question. It’s as if we we’re trying to boost God’s approval ratings. It is God’s name that is at risk, not ours, and we are not responsible for protecting His reputation. He can handle that, by Himself, just fine.

A better question is, “Where is Jesus seen at work in our midst?” Where do we see lives changing, and communities transforming simply by the power of the Gospel? Where do we see fathers restored to a life of holiness and responsibility? Where do we see daughters reconciling with fathers? Where do we see addicts who no longer live under the bondage of chemical dependency? Where are wealthy businessmen making restitution for past crimes that went unnoticed? These are the questions that lead people to recognize the living presence of Jesus, loving and governing people’s lives as their King. When people encounter Jesus, alive and present as King, they get a taste of God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

If Jesus is missing in our understanding of church, He will likely be missing in our expression of church as well.

What a Church is: Jesus Followed
I have come to understand church as this: the presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.

Granted, this is quite broad, but I like a broad definition of church. The Scriptures don’t give a precise definition, so I’m not going to do what God has not done. I want something that captures what the Scriptures say about the Kingdom of God. In one of only two places where Jesus mentions church in the Gospels, He says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst” (Matt 18.20). His presence must be an important element of church.

To a church that has lost sight of its true love, Jesus says these harsh words: “The One who walks among the lampstands, says this…remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent” (Rev 2.1,5). To a disobedient and unhealthy church, Jesus threatens to remove the lampstand (representing the church) from the presence of Jesus. The presence of Jesus is crucial to what church is. His presence is life; His absence is death. He is the most essential portion of who and what we are. He should be the most important thing about us and the most recognizable aspect that the world sees.

In many of the churches in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus–and therein lies a big difference. If we evaluated our churches not by attendance or buildings but by how recognizable Jesus is in our midst, our influence would be more far-reaching and our strategies would be far more dynamic. Unfortunately, it’s possible to do all of the things that make up the five qualities of traditional churches but fail to demonstrate anything of the person or work of Christ in a neighborhood. But if we start our entire understanding of church with Christ’s presence among and working with us, then we will expect to see much more.

Organic Church
We’ve come to refer to some of the ideals of church planting movements as an “organic church.” By organic, I don’t mean that it is pesticide free. It’s a matter of churches being alive and vibrant as living organisms.

The core reality is not how the followers are organized, discipled or helped. The core reality is Jesus Christ being followed, loved and obeyed. Christ alive, forming spiritual families and working with them to fulfill His mission, is the living reality of the organic church. The church really is an embodiment of the risen Jesus. No wonder the Bible refers to the church as the body of Christ.

Christ First
Mike Frost and Alan Hirsch have challenged the way we order our thinking about Jesus and the church. Typically, we think of church as something to mobilize so that people will come to Jesus. Instead, Jesus leads people in mission, who in turn bring forth fruitful churches. Frost and Hirsch show the right sequence for our thinking by beginning with Christ. They say that clear Christology will inform our best missiology, which in turn leads to the most fruitful ecclesiology.[i]

Christ comes first. He then commands us into His mission. The byproduct of our mission is His kingdom spread on earth via the building of His church.

I have come to realize that we should focus on planting Jesus, and let Jesus build His church and work through His church. Our command is to connect people to Jesus as their King. We are to extend the reign of Christ on earth. The byproduct of this work is church. Organic Churches Reproduce I think we are confusing the fruit with the seed. We must plant the seed of the gospel of the Kingdom and the fruit that will grow will be changed lives living out their faith together, and that’s exactly what we mean by “church.” The true fruit of an apple tree is not an apple, but more apple trees.Within the fruit is found the seed of the next generation. Christ in us is the seed of the next generation. The difference this seed can leave in the soil of a people group is significant. We all carry within us the seed of future generations of the church. We are to take that seed and plant it in the soil of every people group under the authority of our King. The difference this seed can leave in the soil of a people group is significant. If we put Christ and His kingdom first, we leave behind agents under submission to the reign of their King.

Cultivating Fruit in its own Culture
Our mission is to find and develop Christ followers rather than church members. There is a big difference in these two outcomes. The difference is seen in transformed lives that bring change to neighborhoods and nations. Simply gathering a group of people who subscribe to a common set of beliefs is not worthy of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.

We have planted religious organizations rather than planting the powerful presence of Christ. Often, that organization has very Western structure, with values not found in the indigenous soil. If we would simply plant Jesus in these cultures and help His church emerge indigenously from the soil, then a self-sustaining and reproducing church movement would emerge, not dependent upon the West and not removed from the culture in which it grows. Churches don’t always bear the fruit that they should without being challenged, so it’s important to “cultivate” them by equipping them to see Christ’s life flourish in their society. Instead of ending up with groups that strive to be separate and removed from their culture, organic churches can be engaged and transformative of their culture.

This was written by two men with different perceptions; a Jew and a Christian.  The Lord’s Prayer (The Avinu Prayer) is one which both, those of the Jewish faith and the Christian faith, can apply to their life.

The authors laid the ground work of the biblical text that they were going to use; Hebrew Matthew and the Hebrew Bible.  The King James Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), and others are Greek translations.  There is a version of the Gospel of Matthew (Hebrew Matthew) that was written in Hebrew and text within Matthew is consistent with how Hebrew was written.

Six chapters describe the six possible locations of where Yeshua (Jesus) could have taught this prayer to his disciples.  They visited each site, described what they saw, and researched Scriptures and other Hebrew materials to draw their conclusion on each location.  As I was reading each chapter, it felt like I was in a treasure hunt.  In the end, with what they described, I too came to the same conclusion as to where the location was.

The authors then broke down each of the eight statements of the Lord’s Prayer by devoting a complete chapter to each statement.  Within each chapter they talked about Hebrew mannerisms and customs in a very understandable fashion.  It is truly amazing to see when a word is translated this way or that way (Hebrew vs. Greek), how different the statement means.

This book has caused me to thirst for more.  There are other books that the Jewish author has written that also intrigue me.   He is an expert in translating the Dead Sea Scrolls and as a researcher deciphering ancient Hebrew manuscripts.  In addition, I want to dig into the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament and  of the Hebrew Matthew Version.

Below I have included the KJV version and the Hebrew Matthew Version of the Lord’s Prayer.  I invite you to read both versions and think about the differences.

King James Version
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
for ever.

Amen.

Hebrew Matthew Version
Our Father in heaven,
May your name be sanctified.

May your kingdom be blessed.

Your will shall be done in heaven and on earth.

Give us our bread continually.

Forgive us the debt of our sins
as we forgive the debt of those who sin against us.

Do not bring us into the hands of a test,
and protect us from all evil.

Amen.

My Father, Maker of the Trees is the story not only of his physical survival, it is the story of his spiritual rebirth and the role he is playing in the healing and redemption of his land and people. His incredible account will show readers the reality of evil in the world as well as the power of hope. Eric’s message of God’s relentless love through our darkest circumstances will encourage and inspire.

For more information or to order the book, please visit their website.

My next post will not be here on Monday, September 14th.  But rather on, the blog of @BradGross (Twitter name).  Reason being, I will win a bet today.  The bet with @BradGross is, if the Packers win I post something on his blog , if the Bears win (LOL), then he posts something on mine.

My blog post will be on “A Rivalry of Sorts”.  Discussing a little bit on the Bears and Packers rivalry, then shifting to a different rivalry.  One that is relevant today.

I’ll be at the game, twittering (@PerryHansen) and uploading pics as it happens.  You can follow me on Twitter and on Facebook.

Have a great time watching the Packers beat the Bears!

A few days ago I had a post titled, “Who is Them?“.  At the bottom of that post was a video by Casting Crowns titled “Love Them Like Jesus”.  Below is another one of their songs titled, “Does Anybody Hear Her?”