question #1

- CCC youth group ministers & ministees: welcome.
- everyone else: i guess you can be welcome as well.

i need to recap the meaning of this blog's title in order for you to understand its purpose. the phrase "lex orandi, lex credendi" translates loosely to "the law of prayer is the law of belief." lex = law, orans = prayer, credendi = belief or worship. for a detailed wiki entry, click the title of this post. for my summary, read on.



lex orandi, lex credendi means that if you want to know what a church or a person believes, you should examine that church's or person's prayers, worship songs, creeds, et cetera. it also means that if you want to believe something, you should teach it to yourself by praying it, singing worship songs about it, or reciting it in some official form. this is one way churches pass on their doctrines from one generation to the next. (in case any of you read the wikipedia entry: i'm straying from its traditional definition because you guys don't have a liturgy. i don't have one either... not in that sense.)

the reason this blog is called that, has to do with the problem (or is it a problem?) of doubt. everyone experiences it at some point, to some degree (i hope), and sometimes doubt can overwhelm or undermine a person in an unhealthy way. doubt overwhelmed and undermined me for many years, and it is only due to a combination of Christ's claim on my life and the church's good work in my life that i was able to turn that doubt into something helpful.

perhaps you aren't struggling with doubt. i think this blog will be useful for you anyway. i don't expect you to believe everything or even anything you read, but i do expect that it will give you reason to pause and examine what you do believe. i think my primary responsibility as a volunteer amateur youth minister is to equip each of you with the tools you need to build a strong Christian faith throughout your life, even when (or especially when) you are confused, doubting, hurting, apathetic, discouraged, lost, alone, or hungry for more. (i don't know that that's every minister's primary responsibility; just mine, as far as i know, though i'm sure there are others out there whom i don't know.)

one more note before i give you this week's thoughts: i have just finished describing my responsibility. i want to point out that although i do have a strong sense of responsibility to other Christians (and pre-Christians), i also have motivations. i enjoy hanging out / spending casual funtimes with you guys as much as i enjoy fulfilling my responsibilities to you. it's a different kind of enjoyment, but it's there. in other words, i'm not some stuffy old fart whose only job is to talk at you as often as possible. i've said it before, and i'll say it many times over again: i believe natural relationships are the context in which positive change occurs, the fertile soil for metanoia and kairos and all kinds of other goodies.

*whew* okay. not like you don't have enough reading already, with homework and everything. moving on!

~ ~ ~

what kind of person would you be, if you never submitted to Christ's authority?

this question is meant to accomplish two things: 1) to help you understand or discover or decide what you as a Christian want to become, and 2) to evoke in you a sense of responsibility to become that.

you do have a choice; you realize that, right? you can choose what you believe, and how you should then live.

"but isaiah, why would any of us choose not to be forgiven of our sins and go to heaven?"

because you may decide you don't believe in either sins or heaven.

"that's insane!"

really? why?

"...i dunno."

i will tell you why it seems insane. it seems insane because you have never truly, deeply considered what it might be like to believe in someone or something other than the Word of God.

and to those of you who have actually considered it, i say this: i cannot wait to have long conversations with you about it. i'd be honored and privileged to listen and perhaps speak in reply about such things.

this week's bottom line: it is my firm belief that if you have never seriously considered believing in someone or something else, then you may have never actually chosen to be a Christian. so, what is the point? why come to church? why sing these songs, pray these prayers, believe these beliefs, read these red letters, listen to these older folks?

furthermore: if there is no difference between who you are now and who you would be if you did not submit to Christ's authority, perhaps you are either 1) perfect anyway, or 2) not a Christian.

(the former is highly unlikely.)

i look forward to seeing all of you next week. until then... think about it. (doesn't that sound like some cheesy finishing line from a PBS show, like LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow? "i'll see you next time!" wow.)