College trip update

It's Tuesday morning and I am sitting in a hotel in Edmund, OK. We are in the midst of a tour of Christian colleges. Here is a recap of our trip so far:

Saturday afternoon we headed out from Rochester. We ended up in Chicago and celebrated Easter at Willow Creek's main campus. It was an uplifting and encouraging morning. The lesson was challenging. It was a pretty amazing experience.

Most of Sunday consisted of driving. I found out why they call it The Great Plains. I have never seen so many fields in my life. The best thing is that the speed limit in some places was 75 mph. After about ten hours of traveling, we arrived in York, Nebraska.

I was pleasantly surprised by York College. I had never been there before. I didn't know what to expect from a small Christian college in a small town in the middle of Nebraska. The people were very friendly. The campus was nice. It was a good experience.  I would recommend that you check out York if you are looking at Christian colleges.

Yesterday afternoon we jumped back in the van and headed south. Last night around 9:00pm we arrived in Edmund, OK. The cool thing is that we had homemade pizzas waiting for us. Kurk Ziegler, one of the students from ministry in Amherst, Ohio, is now a senior at Oklahoma Christian and made food for us! It was good to see Kurk. He looks so grown up! Anyway, we hung out with him for a bit and our two teen boys spent the night there.

I am about to shut this down and head over to campus for our Oklahoma Christian experience. Tonight we travel to Harding. We might want to stop and have pontoons installed on the church van before traveling to Searcy. We will get to experience the floods first hand. More to come...

shine!
Jason

When I make a wrong turn

Thank you to everyone who was a part of Illuminate weekend!! I felt like it was a great weekend and so many people were a part of it. To the adults who helped plan and coordinate, thanks! To the teenagers who were a part of worship, Ignite sessions, and the rest of the weekend, thanks! Most of all, thanks be to God who made this a truly great weekend!!

As I reflect back on Illuminate weekend, I am reminded that God continues to be faithful, regardless of what we do or have done. He is always seeking to find us, even when we feel lost.

We have a God who always wants what is best for us, even when we don’t realize it. He wants to protect our hearts, our minds, our bodies, and our soul. He wants us to have life abundant.

Unfortunately, we often get lost along the way. We take wrong turns, we go down dead ends, we take the wrong exit ramp. We find ourselves in places we never thought we would be. But that is often when God does His best work.

The apostle Paul wrote, "So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I am reminded every day of how true that is in my life. God is much more concerned with finding me than condemning me for how lost I am. God would rather wrap His arms around me than point a finger at me. My God never puts why I am lost above why He wants to find me. That is the God of grace and mercy that I know and love.

shine!
Jason

Illuminate 2008...what a weekend!

Last weekend was our second annual Illuminate conference. This is a conference for teenagers, parents, and youth workers that we host at the Rochester Church. Here is a recap...

Friday during the day was filled with last minute preparations. Take 2 performed at assembly at Rochester College. David Fraze and Salient arrived. The final adjustments were made to the stage. We finished setting up rooms. And a whole lot more I probably wasn't even aware of.

As evening arrived, students and adults started showing up. By 7:00pm, students were entering the auditorium for the evenings activities. After months of preparation, it was time to go!

This year's theme was "LOST." Our focus was on helping those who felt lost find their way out and helping all of us minister to those who feel lost. Throughout the weekend, I was amazed at the people God brought together to carry out what we hoped to accomplish. As usual, God took our few loaves and fish and turned it into a feast!

The lights went down and the kickoff video played. Then Salient led us in some incredible worship and Ambassadors from Ohio Valley University performed a drama to set up the weekend. David Fraze and Take 2 weaved speaking and drama together to bring a powerful message. The evening ended with a great performance by Riley Armstrong.

Saturday was action-packed! In the morning, Chris Lindsey and his praise team led us in worship, David Fraze delivered another powerful lesson, and Ambassadors performed another drama. Following our morning session, adults and teenagers went to Ignite sessions. The teenagers were separated into three groups (teen boys, high school girls, and middle school girls) to address issues for their specific groups. This was a very moving morning where we addressed issues such as pornography, purity, cutting, eating disorders, body image, and more. All three sessions were led by great people. Patrick Mead and Gary Turner talked with the teen boys. Take 2 led a powerful session with the high school girls. Dana Spivy and a number of other young adult women spoke with the middle school girls.

We had a lunch break where students enjoyed a quick bite to eat, visiting college tables, and hanging out in the Underground Cafe. It was a good break before jumping into the afternoon activities.

Saturday afternoon included one more large session and three Ignite sessions. We had a variety of afternoon Ingite sessions for teenagers to select. Patrick Mead led a few sessions about "getting out of the woods." Pat Pugh and Jason Read asked "why do we go there?" Katy Dzwigalski lead a session about alcohol and drug issues. Josh Graves offered two different sessions, one on "finding your voice" with Shaun Hover and another on "finding hope" with Darren Chilton. Ambassadors led an interactive session called "acting out" where students acted out life situations. Sara Barton talked about "listening to the voice of Jesus. I can't being to tell you how good of a job all of these people did!

Dinner break sent everyone around the Rochester area for a bite to eat and a chance to decompress before the evening session.

We came back to the building and kicked off the evening with a short performance by Minor Measure, a band consisting of members from the 180 youth group. Then the colleges came up for drawings. The grand prize winner was a student who won an iPod shuffle. After that, Salient came up on stage and performed an exciting, energy filled concert. (I even got called up on stage to dance. That was interesting!)

After the concert we took a short break and it was time for the final session.

Chris led us in worship and Ambassadors performed another drama. Then David and Take 2 presented a powerful message that called us all to let God find us. It was an incredible evening as a number of students responded for prayers. There were over 20 students who had requests for prayers and encouragement. And there were three students who were baptized at the end of the evening! Two of them were from the 180 youth group!! :-)  (I also found out the next morning that a student who attended Illuminate was baptized Sunday morning at his home church.)

It was an incredible weekend where God was present in a very tangible way. Thank you to the dozens of volunteers who made it happen! Thank you to the hundreds who attended! Thank you above all to the God who never gives up on finding us, no matter how lost we may feel!!!

shine!
Jason

Soul-making Theodicy

Here is another paper from my grad class. This one addresses John Hick's article on his "Soul-making Theodicy."

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John Hick's theodicy emerges from his inability to realize the compatibility of the concept of God as both limitlessly powerful and limitlessly good and loving and the problem of evil. In his proposal, Hick provides an approach to this apparent conflict by revisiting and revising the Irenaean approach to theodicy.

The Irenaean approach to theodicy looks at the world as a "person-making world" which utilizes an evolutionary approach to the development of human beings. This is contrasted against the more historically popular Augustinian approach which begins with the fall and is known in modern times as "the free will defense."

It appears to me that Hick begins with an evolutionary presupposition when he writes, "For more educated inhabitants of the modern world regard the biblical story of Adam and Eve, and their temptation by the devil, as myth rather than story." He goes on to discuss how most "educated" people today believe that humans have evolved from lower forms of life.

Irenaean theodicy is built upon a two-stage approach to the creation of human beings. First, the "image of God" was a gradual process which brought forth human beings. In contrast to Augustinian theodicy, which supports the fall, Hick’s approach rejects the Creation story we find in Genesis and existence "in the image of God" as potential at the outset, rather than something to be realized progressively over time.

This approach then moves on to the divine "likeness," which is where modern human beings find themselves after experiencing one’s own free responses. Rather than the "paradise lost" we find in the Creation account in Genesis, Hick’s theodicy looks at the ideal state solely as a future and unrealized goal, not as something lost in the Garden.

Hick’s theodicy is extremely evolutionary. One of his arguments hinges on his belief that God could create beings that would, in essence, not sin. Hick states it this way: "It appears to me that a perfectly good being, although formally free to sin, would in fact never do so." One of his examples to support this position is Newton’s first law of motion. While this is an interesting consideration, laws of science do not function in the same manner as behaviors of living creatures. I believe that Hick chose a weak illustration to support an argument that does not make sense.

Hick goes on to argue that his theodicy makes moral goodness even more valuable because it is earned, not given. In other words, Hick argues that since God created imperfect beings who had to attain to a higher good, their morality is more valuable than one that God created in the first place. In one sense, this appears to be aligned with free will. However, the significant difference is that Hick argues that morality was never a part of the original design for man. This understanding of the source of morality disregards the Genesis story and removes much of God’s role in the creation story.

He also writes about the evolutionary idea of "survival of the fittest" and argues that natural evil helps develop our character. Since humans are forced to learn in an environment that includes natural evil, pain and death contribute to the growth of one’s moral nature. According to Hick, this world we live in – with its challenges and dangers – exists to help in the person-making process. Removing this pain and suffering would impair moral growth.

Hick does concede that this person-making process does not end in this world and continues in a future world, but his conclusions differ greatly from mine. He argues for universal salvation and states that, "the completeness of the justification must depend on the completeness, or universality, of the salvation achieved." In other words, according to Hick’s theology, everyone must be saved to complete God’s plan. This is basically an inevitable obligation on the part of a God whom one believes created every human being imperfect. If God made them incomplete creatures and life is the effort to be better, He would have to allow all of them to enter Heaven, regardless of their place on the journey.

I disagree with Hick’s theodicy for a variety of reasons. It contradicts the meta-narrative of God’s people in their struggle to regain what was lost in the fall. In my opinion, it negates – or at best diminishes – the significance of the cross. And it supports the idea that man was not initially created in the image and likeness of God. Rather we are evolving into what God intended us to be.

In his effort to justify his belief that God and evil cannot co-exist, Hick has created a theodicy that appears to be grounded more in humanism than in good theology. While some of his arguments may find a base in humanism, very few appear to take seriously God’s mission in the world to renew creation.

While I fundamentally disagree with many of Hick’s positions and opinions, I do not believe his theodicy is completely irrelevant. While I feel it is misapplied, there is a sense that life is about person-making. As individuals, communities, and the world as a whole wrestle with the implications and impact of sin, God is calling each of us to use life’s experiences as an opportunity to grow in our terms of our "God-likeness." In our individual journeys as well as the meta-narrative of human existence, God is calling us to learn from good times and bad to develop more fully into the people he intended us to be. This is where Hick and Irenaus do offer something of value in our understanding of evil, sin, and how God can coexist with these negative aspects of the world.

David is back!

After a "mess" last week, David Archuleta came back strong this week on American Idol. This kid can sing!

The Free Will Defense

This is a paper for my grad class examining an article about "The Free Will Defense" by Alvin Plantinga.

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In his article, Alvin Plantinga sets out to address those who would argue that an omnipotent God and evil cannot coexist. He especially addresses Mackie’s paper, "Evil and Omnipotence." I found the first part of Plantinga’s essay challenging and difficult to follow at times, but he discusses the importance of theodicy showing that an all-loving, all-powerful God is not logically inconsistent with the problem of evil. This becomes the foundation upon which the Free Will Defense is built.

Plantinga begins with the premise that an omnipotent God exists and has a good reason for creating a world in which evils exists. The purpose of the Defense is not to find the reason or purpose of any specific evils, but rather to say what might possibly be God’s reason for allowing evil of any type to exist.

One important belief of the Free Will Defense is that there may be a kind of good that God cannot bring about without permitting evil. In addition, a person must be free to make choices with regards to action. True freedom must give a person the ability to perform an action or refrain from it without direct interference. While one may be able to predict what someone will do, a person must have the power to choose their actions.

Plantinga outlines several other requirements as he defines free will. He states that an action is morally significant if it would be wrong to perform the action but right to refrain from it, or visa versa. In addition, someone would be considered significantly free if he is free with respect to a morally significant action. He also distinguishes between moral evil, evil that results from human activity, and natural evil, all other evils.

These thoughts come together in Plantinga’s initial statement of the Free Will Defense, which states, "A world containing creatures who are significantly free (and freely perform more good than evil actions) is more valuable, all else being equal, than a world containing no free creatures at all." One of the foundational beliefs is that in order for us to be capable of moral good we must have the freedom to choose moral evil. In other words, our goodness is only as meaningful as our opportunity for doing evil.

It is quite possible that God could not have created a universe that contained moral good without moral evil being present. While some would argue that God could have created a world where people only made good choices, this would contradict the idea of free will. In a sense, it would negate the value of moral good by eliminating the option of moral evil.

Others might argue that it is possible to do only what is right, even when presented the option to commit evil. However, God, with His wisdom and power, likely created the best possible world that still provided mankind with the opportunity to choose. So in order to create the best possible world, God created a world where there is the existential possibility for evil to exist.

While God could have created any world, the world God creates must be a world in which he exists. It must also be a world in which moral good exists while people have the opportunity to make choices, whether for good or evil.  God could not have created any world he wanted, but only worlds which contain moral good and moral evil. Otherwise, it would not be a world where true freedom exists.

In conclusion, Plantinga argues that God’s power does not allow him to create a world in which free will exists without moral evil. While God is all-powerful, his power cannot contradict what is logically true, that for moral good to exist, moral evil must be an option. Plantinga briefly addresses natural evil at the close of his essay when he discusses transworld depravity and that everyone suffers from that.

God, in his wisdom, created a world where he, the ultimate source of moral good, can exist with his creation, which has the freedom to choose good or evil. This free will makes it possible for a perfect being to coexist with beings who can decide to do what is right or what is wrong. Our freedom neither negates nor reduces God’s power or goodness. It makes it all the more wonderful.

Illuminate...2 more days!

Well, in a little more than 48 hours, several hundred people will descend on the Rochester Church for Illuminate 2008 - "Lost." We have begun to transform the stage into an island for this weekend. The picture to the right was taken earlier today.

Please be in prayer for David Fraze, Take 2, Salient, Riley Armstrong, Chris Lindsey, Ambassadors, Patrick Mead, Pat Pugh, and everyone else who will be presenting this weekend. I would also ask that you pray for our planning team and our volunteers. Most importantly, pray for the hundreds of people who will be participating in Illuminate this weekend and that God will work mightily among us.

If you want to learn more about Illuminate, please visit www.illuminateconference.org.

shine!
Jason

Will it ever end?

This past weekend, my dad, much of Ohio, and several surrounding states were buried by snow, blown around by winds, and generally miserable due to the weather. The photo above is from Progressive Field (the ballpark formerly known as "The Jake") in Cleveland, Ohio. This serves as another reminder of the winter that seems like it will never end. It makes me wonder what happened to global warming.

On the other hand, our Illuminate conference for teenagers and their parents is only FOUR days away! In the next couple of days I will try to blog a little about what is going on as we prepare for an exciting weekend. Today I sent the programs to the printers and continued to make arrangements for the Gathering times and Ignite sessions.

If you don't know anything about Illuminate, it's not too late to find out. Visit www.illuminateconference.org for details.

shine!
Jason

Interview with a teenager

This past Wednesday many of our teens were able to be a part of a special Connections upstairs with the adults. I had the privilege of interviewing four different students about how they saw God at work in their lives.

I interviewed Kalie about how she saw God at work as she learned she had diabetes. Hearing about her faith and trust in God was encouraging.

I interviewed Steven about how he saw God at work as he served inner-city children in Cincinnati. It was touching to hear how he learned that serving someone else is actually a fun experience.

I interviewed Amber about playing Mary in Imagine Christmas. She shared how playing this role changed her thoughts about one of her favorite characters in the Bible.

I interviewed Cassie about her decision to be baptized at WinterSplash. It was uplifting to hear about how her parents shaped her and how God became real to her the weekend of WinterSplash.

There was a lot of positive feedback from those who were in the audience that night. They were touched by those who heard stories about how God is working in the lives of our teenagers. As much as teenagers get “bad press” nowadays for being disrespectful, lazy, and more, I really enjoyed hearing compliments about some of the students in our ministry. Thanks to those who shared! Your words were a blessing.

shine!
Jason

I'm still alive...I think

This week I had a close encounter of the worst kind. I got to "enjoy" an intestinal virus (not flu, as my wife reminded me) this week. It started on Tuesday night. I had been invited to go with a student to the Pistons game. (I need to write more about this experience soon.) But at the game I started to get sick. I spent most of Tuesday night floating in and out of sleep and much of Wednesday sleeping on the couch, trying to feel better. The rest of the week has consisted of trying to feel better and getting caught up...and getting ready for Illuminate!

Sickness has a way of reminding us that the world does not revolve around us. We can be lying in bed and the world contines on without us. We are important, but not central, to the happenings of the world. I hope I don't need to be reminded again in THAT way for a long time.

shine!
Jason

More than just a test...

Last week I had my mid-term exam for my Graduate School Class. (Students, I don’t tell you this so you can know that I understand your pain when it comes to studying for school. Although, I guess that is a great point.)

Anyway, the class I am taking is Philosophy of Religion. We are considering questions like the existence of God and problem of evil and suffering. It has been an interesting and challenging class.

While I have learned a lot, one of the most important things I have been reminded is that we can use our minds and be a Christian at the same time. So many times I have been told that Christians cannot have faith and be intelligent. I have heard it said that science and religion are not compatible.

One of the things I am learning this semester is that these things are far from the truth. The more we learn about our universe, the more obvious it becomes that there is a beginning that needs a “Beginner.” The more we learn about our bodies, cells, atoms, and other aspects of Creation, the more obvious it becomes that there must be a “Creator.”

People may argue about the specifics of who this “Beginner” and “Creator” are, but my faith, the revealed Word of God, and the complexity and design of nature all speak together loudly that there is a source of the universe; I know Him as God.

shine!
Jason