A Great New Book

I just finished Ulrich Boser’s The Gardner Heist. I could not put it down.

The Gardner Heist was everything you would want in a work of non-fiction: it was engrossing, entertaining, and informative. It is the true story of the 1990 St. Patrick’s Day robbery of the Gardner Museum in Boston. The thieves made off with $500 million worth of art. To this day, no one knows what happened to the art.

If you are looking for a fun new book for that upcoming trip to the beach, check it out. Click here for a short video introducing the book and its author.

Studying the Gospel of Matthew with the Jack’s Creek Church

During the academic year 2009-2010, I lead the Jack’s Creek Church (in Jack’s Creek, TN) in a study of the Gospel of Matthew. It was absolutely fascinating. We had some incredible discussions. Below is a general introduction to our thought-provoking class.

Our class slogan: Christ is the Question.

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We used these four focal points to limit the scope of our discussions:

1. Our reading must deal with the reality of our experiences (or lack thereof) with Christ.

2. Our reading must pay especially close attention to the role of prayer in our faith.

3. Our reading must develop a rich sense of community among the church.

4. Our reading must engender a faithful response that will permeate the life of the church.

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We centered the majority of the class around the five speeches in the Gospel of Matthew. Here is a recap of the various theological “high points” we took from each one:

1. The Sermon (chs. 5-7) presents Matthew’s theology in a nutshell. The main call: love your enemies.

2. The Mission (ch. 10) discourse presents kingdom work—embracing the reign of God.

3. The discourse in chapter 13 uses narrative. How might we use the narratives all around us?

4. Chapter 18 asks us how we might become “like children.” But it also calls for accountability for life in the community.

5. The final discourse (chs. 23-25) speaks of judgment, but it also speaks of readiness and use of “talents.”

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We used the idea of praying through Matthew as a guide for most of the study. We had a written prayer every night of the study. Sometimes I wrote the prayer; sometimes the Jack’s Creek members wrote the prayer; and sometimes I tool the prayer from a published book of prayers. I found Walter Brueggemann’s (Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: The Prayers of Walter Brueggemann and Prayers for a Privileged People) and Michel Quoist’s (Prayers) work especially helpful.

Click here for a Word doc (.docx) of the prayers prayed during this study.

Praying the Great Commission at Jack’s Creek

This is the prayer with which the Jack’s Creek Church concluded its study of Matthew. It was written and prayed in community on April 21, 2010.

Father,

Your Holy Spirit prompts us to do hard things—nothing, it seems, is easy.

And all we can do is listen.

But our listening is an anxious one, an excited one.

For we see your work being done all around us, but often don’t know all that it means.

And we thank you, our Father, for our part in the work being done.

May we endure, Father, as we go.

May we endure, Father, as we send.

May we endure, Father, as we remember your promises.

You have placed relationships in our lives—and they look differently in everyone’s life. But we love those with whom we are in relationship.

May our lives be those defined by compassion to those people.

You have provided missionaries among us—in our midst, even—and we pray for them also.

We pray for Jennalyn and Jeremy.

We pray for the people they know, the encouragement they need, and wisdom.

St. Matthew has been teaching us of your son. May we now act in a real and tangible way in response to our study.

In the name of the one who is with us, even until the end of the age. Amen.