Chip Shots

Happy Ascension Day! What? You didn’t know today was Ascension Day? Well, you’re in good company, for the vast majority of people in churches like ours missed it, too. Ascension Day is the annual Christian holiday (“holy-day”) commemorating the time when, forty days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended into the heavens. For many Christians this merely suggests that Jesus went back to heaven, and that someday he will return to take us there. Ho-hum. What's on TV tonight? Boy, are we mistaken! In the first place, Jesus didn’t just “go back to heaven.” He “ascended” to the throne at the right hand of his Father, having completed his task of re-uniting heaven and earth via his Incarnation (Christmas), his Crucifixion (Good Friday), and his Resurrection (Easter). Jesus didn’t just “go away.” He didn’t say, in a voice eerily similar to the Terminator, “I’ll be back.” He ascended to his throne. He took his rightful place as ruler of heaven and earth. As Stephen, the firs...

I often introduce myself this way: "Hi. I'm Steve, the Preacher at the Buffalo Chip Saloon in Cave Creek." People smile, but it's true. A few years ago, some friends and I decided it was time to have a church that fit right into our western community. So we began to meet at the Buffalo Chip Saloon. We meet outdoors. Some of us dress western-style. A few of us bring dogs. It's as casual and comfortable as sitting on your back porch. We like it that way. Our music is a mix of old and new, often with a bluegrass flavor, always with guitars and harmonica. We pitch it low enough for a guy to sing along without hitching up his pants, and simple enough to join in the first time you visit. We teach from the Bible. We believe that it tells the true story of God's loving rescue plan for the beautiful world he made. (It centers on Jesus, of course.) Oh, and because we meet at the Buffalo Chip Saloon, most people just call us "Church at the Chip." We...

We just returned home from a week with our daughter and her husband as they awaited the birth of their third child. Because of the baby’s due date, Donna and I had the rare privilege of worshiping with our children on Mother’s Day. (Aside: Thanks to all those who manned the ship here in Cave Creek so we could spend this time with our kids!) Walking to church, I noticed that Momma, Daddy, and Maddie were all toting Bibles, with little brother Lincoln in Daddy’s arms. Maddie’s is a storybook Bible we gave to her on her first Christmas. The cover is long gone by now, but she carried it to church proudly. As I watched her, I thought of C.S. Spurgeon’s famous line: “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” When we entered our daughter’s church, she was greeted with a lot of, “I thought for sure you’d have that baby by now!” But she didn’t, and we were grateful, for as a result, we were able to spend this Mother’s Day with her. As often happens when I ...

We tend to glamorize the early church. Back then, we muse, they got it right. They loved one another, they welcomed the stranger, they spread the Good News, they studied the scripture, they gave freely of their time and treasure, they worshiped in spirit and truth. The church was a living, growing, world-transforming community of faith, love and hope. In large part, of course, that is true. But it does not tell the whole truth. A quick look at Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians will convince us otherwise. Consider the litany of problems they had: They didn’t get along with one another like they should. They were overly impressed by status and position. They were suspicious of their leaders. Their sexual standards and habits were out of control. They needlessly took one another to court. They disrespected marriage. They were insensitive to one another’s conscience. They were proud of their spiritual giftedness. They doubted the resurrection. They were prideful and selfish, chi...