:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

Continuing my series of posts on the Gospel of Mark…

In Mark 6 Jesus continued to draw crowds by the thousands to the point that he and his disciples hardly had time to eat or to catch up on what had happened with their recent ministry trip. Jesus wanted to give them a time of rest to recover from their work, but as they pulled further away the crowds followed.

By moving into the wilderness Jesus placed himself and his disciples outside the bounds of human resources. The longer the crowds lingered, the more serious the situation became and the disciples knew they didn’t have the resources on hand.

To their surprise, Jesus once again asked his disciples to feed the people. Besides asking them to trust and to depend on him, Jesus is also teaching his disciples to have compassion on the crowds. Rather than seeing them as a nuisance that needed to be sent away, they were sheep in need of a shepherd and a good shepherd didn’t just teach and run. A good shepherd cares for the physical and spiritual well-being of the crowds.

Just to be certain that no one followed him, Jesus had to stay and dismiss the crowds while his disciples started on the journey across the lake. I’m not sure how Jesus intended to join them eventually or what he told them. Did he plan on walking around the lake? Did he plan on walking across the lake all along? Whatever he had in mind, just to find privacy at this busy time of ministry he had to stay awake late into the evening in order to pray.

As the disciples struggled to cross the lake, Jesus walked on the water out to them. It seems that he may not have even been walking directly to them, but once they spotted him, he walked over to them. After yet another spectacular miracle his disciples continued to wonder who Jesus was. They still didn’t know if he was a prophet or the Messiah. Walking on water didn’t line up with any of the deeds of the prophets recorded in the Old Testament.

The chapter closes with Jesus continuing to show compassion on the crowds who came to him and specifically asked him to heal them through his robe. The people continue to approach Jesus on the basis of the law, not wanting to make him unclean. Though Jesus makes them clean rather than making himself unclean when they touch him, he is patient and compassionate to still heal them within the bounds of their expectations since they have approached him by faith.

Whether teaching the crowds, providing bread, ministering to his disciples, or healing the many sick brought to him, we see Jesus in this passage overwhelmed with so much to do and yet taking the time to personally address the needs of those around him. Regardless of his circumstances he showed unlimited compassion to those around him.

Jesus reminds us that he isn’t concerned about creating comfortable situations for his followers, but he won’t abandon them in the midst of these times. In addition, when we come to Jesus by faith, even our misconceptions and errors can be overlooked. He’s not looking for perfect form, just solid faith.

A year or two ago I received an e-mail from my agent. A new author needed my help with answering a survey for 20-somethings. I filled it out, hit send, and didn’t think about it again until I noticed that lots and lots of bloggers and friends I knew were filling out the same survey for the same author.

That author was Renee Johnson, whose devotional book is due out in March 2010 with the title Faithbook Jesus: Connecting with Jesus Daily. Since then I’ve had a chance to chat with Renee a little bit about her passion for twenty-somethings, and I’m excited for her as she launches this book. I trust that many will benefit from Renee’s ministry.

Renee’s use of her survey is a very unique and interesting aspect of this book. While she does offer some thoughts on small passages of scripture, you can tell that Renee has worked hard to consider the concerns spelled out in the many surveys she received.

The best way to find out if this book is for you is to check out a sample of it at the NavPress web site and then drop by her web site to read some of her most recent devotions. There’s some additional info at Renee’s Faithbook of Jesus web site.

As part of her blog tour, I figured that there are enough A-List book reviewers taking a crack at this book, so I thought it would be better to interview Renee. You can tell that she has a lot of wisdom, especially when you consider her response to my last question!

EC: I think we know what a diva is, but could you explain what exactly a "devotion" is? A lot of us grew up with "devotions," but I’m not sure I’ve ever read a definition.

RJ: Let me start first with the definition of quiet time. QT :: verb :: A spiritual discipline that consist of time spent in the word, praying, or outdoors in nature. I believe the def’n of "Devotion" is reading and meditation on the Word of God through prayer, reading, and reflection.

EC: What drew you to writing devotions?

RJ: After years of intense suffering in my health I began reading through the One Year Bible when I was 15 and never looked back. Since then I’ve read through numerous devotional books including Streams in the Desert and My Utmost For His Highest. Once I began having a difficult time finding fresh, new devotionals to encourage me in my walk with God I decided to blog them (back in 2004). At first it was purely to encourage me in my walk with God and my love for others and encouraging them in what they’re going through grew out of that.

EC: How did you end up with the title "Devotional Diva"?

RJ: My mentor, Marcia Ramsland, branded me as the Devotional Diva once she realized I had over 400 devotionals saved! I fought it at first, but once I gave in I realized how much I love the title.

EC:  How does this book fit in with your mission/ministry?

RJ: This book is pivotal to my mission and ministry. My mission is to spur people forward in their walk with God into love and good deeds. The best way, I feel to encourage someone or spur them forward is to continually point them to the Word. "Faithbook of Jesus" does just that. It helps the reader connect with Jesus daily.

EC: How do you see groups at colleges or churches using this book? Any suggestions for how to organize a small group around it?

RJ: There are very little to no books that are centered around young adults both male and female. I look forward to watching small groups take off and run with this book. The college & 20-something years are vital decision making years and if you’re grounded in the Word of God and directly applying it to your life can be a very powerful thing. I think the best way a church or small group can begin using this book is to have everyone read the devotional each day (except for Sundays) and keep a journal for discussion once a week. Here are a few questions that I might suggest for studying each day:
1. What is the devotional about?
2. What stood out to you in this devotional?
3. What can we learn about God/Christ/the Holy Spirit from this devotional?
4. What are some instructions and warnings you see in this devotional?
5. What encourages you in this devotional?
6. How does this devotional challenge you in your daily life?

EC: I’m sure you have something else in the works. Care to give us a sneak preview?

It’s top secret! But I can tell you that I am working on a devotional series relating to the top needs that young adults face and how they can use Scripture and the comfort of community to face their fears and move forward in faith.

EC: When I receive a copy of your book, choose what you’d like me to film our rabbits doing with it:

   a. Sitting next to it.

   b. Sitting on it.

   c. Chewing on it.

   d. Whatever the bunny wants to do, of course!

RJ: D for duh!

If you’re curious where else Renee’s blog tour will be heading, here’s the official list…

Read the rest of this entry »

My review disclaimer: I received this book as part of a blog review program. And by the way, I’m doing very, very few book reviews in the future after I wrap up the five or six books I have lined up for the next few months since I’m focusing on doing more series based on books of the Bible. I’m just saying.

I’m on a book review roll of late, so why not keep up the magic with the award-winning book by Jim Belcher, Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional. Look, I’m going to level with you right from the start: most of us know that this book won two awards, Scot McKnight gave it the thumbs up, and Tim Keller endorsed it on the front cover. The bottom line is that this book is a winner. No one can take that away from this book, and I certainly won’t.

However, a great book such as Deep Church can be read for the wrong reasons and applied in the wrong ways, and that’s where I’d like to start my review. Don’t worry, I’ll end with the gushing you probably expected.

What Makes This Book Great

I get a little uneasy when people start talking about a book becoming a blueprint for church, theology, or whatever, and I think that’s something that could happen with Deep Church. It’s all to easy to look for books that tell us how to do things or what to believe, but if we read Belcher as a guide to “how we should do church, theology, or evangelism,” we miss the real value of this book.

I’m sure some folks may pick up Deep Church because they believe Belcher has cracked some kind of code with his third way between emerging and traditional churches. However, if you read it looking for the third way so you can do the exact same thing, then I think you’ve missed the real jewel hidden in this book.

We shouldn’t read this book in order to imitate Belcher or Tim Keller. We should read this book to learn HOW Belcher figured out the third way. In fact, I often lost interest in the sections where he described his own church. I was most impressed by the way he sought out personal conversations, read one of Brian McLaren’s books THREE TIMES, and sought out the best representative thinkers for each camp in his quest to understand them.

We finally have someone presenting a critique of emerging/missional theology with a functional understanding of Leslie Newbigin. That is huge.

Where I Take Issue

As far as disagreements go, I’d probably say the most important issue had to do with the deep ecclesiology chapter, as Belcher shares how the growth of his church resulted in a terrible power struggle with some founding members. Though Belcher once again did a fantastic job in presenting the house church movement in this chapter, he failed to step back and look at how a multiplying group of house churches could have averted such a situation as his power struggle, even if he planted house churches within the PCA—though I’m not sure that would fly with the PCA.

I confess that I’m also betraying my own preference for home meetings. I understand that house churches may not be his thing, but his example struck me as prime fodder for the next house church conference as an example as why a network of small house churches have some strong advantages over larger churches.

Throughout the book I also had a sense that mission was often mentioned but rarely discussed at length. While it does tie into many of the chapters here and there, such as how we do evangelism or what we think about Christianity and culture, I wonder if there should have been a chapter on the concept of mission.

There is so much more to the emerging/missional practice that revolves around this concept of mission—where you meet, how you spend your tithe, how you interact with and serve among the poor, how the Spirit of God leads, and how the Kingdom of God advances. I caught some glimpses of what Belcher believed about mission, but I came away wondering how robust his sense of mission is. I think it may be very robust, but I felt like that was lost in talking about how to do worship, theology, and evangelism. I’m guessing he hoped to integrate it into each chapter, but that didn’t work for me.

Why I Loved This Book

Despite some of my reservations at a few points, overall, Belcher has given pastors and church planters an excellent book that asks a lot of really good questions, shows how Christians can work toward a common understanding, and even reach middle ground. I don’t believe that this book will necessarily create doctrinal unity. Rather, this book has tremendous potential to create greater respect and understanding among groups of believers who really shouldn’t be so suspicious of one another in the first place. The third way of Belcher is a great tool, but I think we have even more to learn from his methodology.

Throughout the book I had a sense that Belcher had a solid command of his material, presented it with clarity, and never took on more than he could handle. Without reviewing an unseemly number of books, he effectively picked out the best representative works for all parties involved, displayed a clear grasp of their material, and then interacted with the material in a manner that showed genuine concern to accurately represent all perspectives involved.

I usually skip past explanations of the emerging church, and I weary of the debate over postmodernism, but Belcher infused both of these topics with a sense of relevance and a greater degree of clarity than I would have thought possible. This is a book that says so much in a fairly small amount of space—no doubt a tribute to his effective research, careful study, and polished prose.

Read sample chapters and more at the IVP web site.

The debate about the Tim Tebow commercial set to air during the Super Bowl has been completely off base if you ask me. Boo hoo, the Super Bowl has an advertisement for something that may be vaguely political instead of beer bottles with helmets, women being sexually harassed by men, and retro hippie commercials with new soda cans.

I think I’ll get over that.

The Tebow story is a very inspiring and good story. It’s a story that should be shared. I’m glad that Tebow and his mother are sharing it. However, the way it’s been done reveals something very troubling about the priorities of Christians, how we deal with problems in our society, and how Christians today think of allocating resources.

I’m not going to argue against abortion being a serious issue for us to deal with today. There are poor pregnant women who can’t afford to support a child and then there are wealthy women who don’t want to have a child, and we need to talk about real solutions that will help women who may feel like they don’t have many options at this time in their lives while saving the unborn. Yes, we should stop abortion.

Sadly, the Tim Tebow commercial reveals that Christians are making several key oversights when it comes to saving lives today.

Our Priorities

The Super Bowl commercial is generally aimed at affluent Americans, though perhaps some poor folks may be watching as well. However, by and large, if you figure out the demographics that most advertisers are aiming for, you can guess that the Tebow commercial aims to convince middle to upper middle class voters (those relatively well off) that they should not have abortions or support legislation that permits abortion.

Whether this is an intended oversight or not, the message is particularly striking at a time when charities such as World Vision are in an all-out struggle to save lives down in Haiti. In addition, by tossing so much money at a particular demographic, the poor are not made into the kind of priority spoken of in passages such as Luke 4:18-21 or Matthew 11:2-6. Success in the Kingdom of God is synonymous with declaring the Good News to and ministering among the poor.

Ministry in Society

This ad also shows that overall Christians have chosen to speak to our culture on a large platform in an impersonal and hands off manner. Rather than taking the personally costly road of directly helping the women considering an abortion, it’s much easier to write a check, let someone preach the message, and then throw our hands up in despair when no one listens.

The ministry of Jesus was incarnational and costly. In Philippians 2 Paul speaks of Jesus who emptied himself and took on the form of a servant. A Super Bowl commercial is a big platform that does not require us to empty anything other than a bank account.

Allocating Our Resources

Lastly, the Tebow commercial brings up a matter of stewardship. The organizers of this commercial no doubt wanted to save lives, and for that I commend them. However, is this the best we can do with the resources at hand?

Three million dollars were tossed into an ad campaign that will most likely only harden support either for or against abortion without changing many minds or saving many lives. We can debate that, but hear me out: there are children in Haiti who need basic food and water to survive, tribes in Africa who needs wells, and malnourished children all over the world who could benefit greatly by a three million dollar investment.

If we only want to talk about ending abortion, then I’d ask whether this money would be better spent by creating medical clinics for financially struggling mothers. There are a lot of clinics I know of who would love a little bit of that money to purchase an ultrasound machine or to add a few doctors to their staff. Since health care in America isn’t quite as important as funding a war to drop bombs on terrorists hanging out in caves, I think that’s the least we could do.

A bunch of right-wing Christians opening medical clinics so that the poor can have health care may just shock enough “godless liberals” with our love and generosity that they’ll want to find out about Jesus for themselves.

Grace on Game Day

I want to make clear that I’m not necessarily mad at Tebow or Focus on the Family. I’m sad. This is a terrible opportunity to waste. It’s sad to think that three million dollars could be spent for the sake of thirty seconds of air time while there are so many pressing problems among the poor in America, Haiti, and around the world.

I’m also sad that there isn’t a more robust debate about the message of Jesus and it relates to the way we allocate our resources. Instead, we hear about whether we should be tolerant or intolerant of the political end of this message. To be frank, I don’t care about that in the least.

The Tebow commercial reveals that we have some priorities out of line, and I don’t give myself a free pass on this by any means. It’s a constant struggle to keep my priorities in line. As we watch the Tebow commercial I suggest we stop to think about how we use our resources, how we minister to others, and how we can strive to imitate the costly, personal ministry of Christ.

My review disclaimer: I received this book as part of a blog review program. And by the way, I’m doing very, very few book reviews in the future after I wrap up the five or six books I have lined up for the next few months since I’m focusing on doing more series based on books of the Bible. I’m just saying.

I was sent a copy of Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert’s book after a publicist at Moody Press noticed my review of Richard Stearn’s The Hole in Our Gospel. I have found that this book, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself, is a great next step after reading Stearn’s rallying cry.

The problem is that many Christians want to help the poor, but the ways we aim to help often end up creating situations where we devalue the poor and create dependence on outside resources. Oftentimes charity work takes the form of relief work without progressing into phases of rehabilitation and community-lead development.

Never lacking for stories and detailed explanations, this is a great book for Christian leaders, charity ministries, volunteers, and anyone who is interested in donating time or money toward poverty alleviation. The chapter on short-term mission trips should be mandatory reading for every youth pastor. In addition, this book gave me both a greater understanding of what it looks like to help eradicate poverty and the encouragement to realize, “Holy cow! This is possible!”

Though this book strays more toward the reference category with its systematic approach and explanations of each facet of helping the poor, to the person involved in charitable work in any form or planning to start such a ministry, this book will be a motivational life-saver, if not a page-turner.

The authors wear their Calvinism on their sleeves throughout the book, even in creating a definition for poverty alleviation that has a heavy dose of the Westminster Confession to it. I’m not quite sure I’d use their definition word for word because I’d want to emphasize more about joining in the Kingdom of God and the extension of the rule of Christ. However, that’s more of a theological quibble that I have since I’m not a Calvinist—though I deeply appreciate much about that theological system.

Though the theology of the authors pops up at some interesting places throughout the book, I can’t imagine most readers would take issue with it. It’s certainly not a deal breaker.

I’m glad there are so many great books out right now about poverty alleviation and serving among the poor. My favorite remains The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborn, though if you’re looking for a practical guide to serving among the poor, this is a tough book to top. I highly recommend it. In light of the situation in Haiti, I suggest that this book is a very good place for Christians who are new to relief work and alleviating poverty.

Read a sample chapter today.

I took a few days off from blogging this week in order to wrap up the first draft of my next book project. It’s not on theology or religion at all for that matter.

In fact, it’s a book that outlines the basics of how to publish a book based on what I’ve learned over the past few years. I have titled it A Path to Publishing. Now that I’m done with the first draft, I have an offer for published authors and publishing hopefuls.

Here’s the Offer:

I have a draft of the book that I’ll e-mail to anyone who is willing to read it and give me feedback by February 22nd. You can pick one chapter or the whole book. If possible, use the comment feature in Word and send the file back with a modified name such as “Chuck’s Edits – A Path to Publishing.”

What You Get

• You can keep the first draft and read it whenever you like.
• You’ll be thanked in the final version of the book. If you send your web site address, I’ll list it with your name.
• You’ll receive a free ebook (PDF) of the book’s final version in May.

What You Can’t Do

• You can’t upload the file anywhere.
• You can’t cut and paste any text from the draft into another file or web site save for hyperlinks.
• You can’t e-mail the draft to anyone. As a draft, it has to stay on your computer.

Interested?

Just send an e-mail to edcyzewski (at) gmail (dot) com if you want to participate.

Continuing my series of meditations on the Gospel of Mark…

By the time we reach Mark chapter six we have a pretty good idea of who Jesus is and what he’s capable of doing. He has calmed a storm, raised a dead girl, healed on the Sabbath, healed a woman with a bleeding problem, and allowed his disciples to “work” on the Sabbath.

In addition, we know that Jesus has a committed but uncertain inner circle, a wide range of popular (but uncommitted) support, and a hardening group of resisters. People generally aren’t sure what to make of him because he hasn’t fit their expectations for the Messiah and stands at odds with the religion scholars of his day, but his good deeds are undeniable.

Jesus has been teaching them through parables, stories, and his works rather than telling them outright that he is the Messiah. Based on the measure of their faith people are able to receive from Jesus, and that is played out when Jesus meets a very disappointing time of ministry in Nazareth where very few believe in his teaching or power.

It’s easy to forget that Jesus had bad days. While the disciples of Jesus today should certainly take responsibility for their own walks with God and live by faith, it is possible that our ministry may be limited sometimes by the faith of others. We can be faithful to pass along what God has given us and still meet limited results because of how people respond.

However, Jesus didn’t remain in Nazareth trying to win them over. He sought out those willing to accept his message, which is something we should do under the leading of God. Keep in mind that Jesus once said that he came for the sick, not those who presumed to be healthy.

In a chapter where Jesus met rejection and then sent out his disciples to preach and to cast out demons, it’s interesting to note that we also find out about the fall of John at the hands of Herod. In one sense, we have a foreshadowing of what is coming for Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities, and therefore he continued to train his disciples to continue his work.

In addition to that, Mark doesn’t give us too many clues here, but I wonder if John has gotten into a situation that is over his head by challenging Herod. Jesus was no fan of Herod for sure, but we don’t read about Jesus openly confronting any government officials. He operated on the margins among those willing to listen and to repent. Is it possible that John reached too far by openly challenging his king? I could be completely wrong here, but the contrast between John and Jesus is striking enough to make me speculate.

While the contrast between John and Jesus is debatable, we shouldn’t miss the differences between Jesus and Herod. Jesus heals, raises, and restores. Herod fears, commits adultery, and murders. Jesus is about to raise a girl from the dead later in this chapter, while Herod takes away lives.

Jesus also meets resistance and rejection with calm confidence in his calling and position with God even though he has little physical evidence of his true power and glory. Herod on the other hand needs validation and legitimacy and fears any threat to that. By taking his brother’s wife for himself, a princess from the Jewish royal line of Hasmoneans, he has sought to win greater support for his kingship.

By killing John he revealed how pathetic and weak he truly was. That Herod could not suffer the embarrassment of reversing a drunken oath at a dinner party shows us his true weakness.

One king lives in fear and breaks lives, while another king lives in love and compassion, bringing restoration and wholeness. Today we may think of the two as co-existing after hundreds of years in Christendom, but Mark shows us that the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world are not only opposite but opposed to each other.

An editorial note: Over the years one of my blog’s most popular posts is “Why Pastors Fall Into Affairs.” Search engines send folks my way every day because of that post, which tells me that a lot of people are asking questions about pastors and affairs. I’m not an expert on this subject, but I think I’ve seen a few trends that should shed some light on this subject.

Once upon a time I was prepared to enter pastoral ministry. However, while working at a church I not only decided that pastoral ministry wasn’t for me, I also realized that the traditional church is not a good place for me to be. In addition,I learned that I had all of the gifts for just that work! At least, that’s what a couple of tests showed me.

Being on the outside of church culture with all of the gifts such a culture desired sent me into a tailspin for about five years. I’m sure my friends didn’t know what to make of me. It was rough. I envied my friends who were pastors, praying earnestly that God would send me to a ministry. The answer was always no. When some friends prayed with me about it, they assured me that God had something for me one day and that he was preparing me for it. Just the thought of it made me double over sobbing.

So this is where I’m coming from. I have a pastoral heart, but God has called me to a very unconventional place with those gifts. I won’t get into all of that right now because I want to talk about the heart of a pastor and what that has to do with affairs.

Pastors are the kind of people who care for others. I can really relate to the words of Paul when he says,

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 2Cor 11:28-29 (RSV)

Such is the cry of a pastor’s heart. When they see someone falling from the faith they want to answer questions. When they see someone in need they want to supply help. When they find conflict, they want to resolve it.

While praying about what God may have for me in pastoral ministry, God revealed something very clearly to me: Since pastors care for people, the dark side of this very noble calling is sexual lust, unhealthy emotional attachment to others,  impurity, and even affairs. Ever since that prayer I have paid prayerful attention to how I relate to others, ensured that I have a number of friends I can e-mail immediately if I need them, and kept honest and open lines of communication with my wife.

The trouble is that pastors are given a lot of lee way in their high-emotion, high-stakes work. When we combine caring gifts with long hours at work, a lack of oversight, and steep expectations there converges a mix of pressure, emotions, and secrecy that can become deadly. Toss an attractive person in the mix who needs pastoral care and you’ve got a one-way ticket to an affair.

I’m not saying that affairs can’t happen in other ways or that pastors have to be gifted in a certain way. However, given what we know of pastors and expect of them, I am saying that we shouldn’t be surprised that we’ve created the perfect environment for these kinds of people to have affairs. Such ministry environments that isolate leaders in high-stakes, high emotion roles are part of my reason for never entering into pastoral ministry. It’s a rough place to be, and when a pastor loses his connection with God’s power, temptation can creep in gradually and begin its destructive work.

A pastor who isn’t living in the power of the risen Christ and a strong accountability structure is at high risk for an affair. The more we expect of them relationally, the more secrecy we provide, and the longer hours they work apart from their families could all exacerbate such problems.

While every church needs to address this issue in its own way, I think a few obvious things could go across the board. For starters, elders need to talk openly about ways they can keep their leaders from falling. They need to end all talk along the lines of “Oh, our pastor would never fall into that kind of sin.” Let’s resolve to have these conversations, and then decide how we need to structure pastoral hours, counseling, and accountability.

This also brings up the need for mutual accountability. As much as a church may feel a need for its pastor, pastors also need the support of their fellow believers and even other pastors. I think titles such as “lead” or “head” pastor are a bit silly to begin with, but in light of affairs and the need for accountability, a little bit of leadership structure flattening may be in order.

Even if there is an equality among a few leaders without one standing out, we may be in a much better position to prevent affairs by keeping lines of prayer and communication open. Once we realize that many of the people called to pastoral ministry could be the very same people susceptible to an affair, I think we can move toward more constructive conversations and take preventative measures.

Continuing my series of meditations on the Gospel of Mark…

After an incredible display of power on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus arrived in the region of the Gerasenes. He taught his disciples to trust in him: both in his power and his care for them. Jesus also taught them that he cared about spreading his message, even to unlikely places such as the Gentile region of the Gerasenes. The contrast to previous ministry is stark in the results since only one person received the message and the rest of the town asked Jesus to leave.

However, God’s Kingdom is not stopped even when the masses reject it. One man received God’s powerful touch and was willing to follow Jesus. Jesus denied himself another follower to his group and saw the importance of releasing that man to tell others in his area about what God had done for him. The man was willing to obey the command of Jesus, even if it wasn’t what he wanted.

By displaying his power to cast out demons, to restore broken people, and to send a herd of swine to its death, Jesus made his audience quite uncomfortable. He had cost the local economy quite a lot of income, and they had no idea what he could do next. The fear of the unknown and unpredictable nature of Jesus prevented them from receiving his message and recognizing who he is.

A different kind of fear waited on the other side of the lake with Jairus whose daughter lay dying. He begged Jesus to help him and specified that Jesus should come touch her so that she can be healed. It is possible that Jairus could have been part of the opposition to Jesus as one point, which may explain his public pleading. Jairus also assumed that Jesus could heal like any other prophet, but as the Son of God he could heal from anywhere—something the Centurion realized.

Despite Jairus’ fears, Jesus agreed to come with a huge crowd following. As Jairus wrestled with his fear of losing his daughter and his fear that Jesus would not or could not heal her, a woman in the crowd struggled with her own fear that Jesus would not touch her since she was unclean according to Jewish law with her condition. She figured out a clever compromise by touching Jesus’ robe in the crowd when he could have never known. How unclean could she make him by touching the end of his garment.

To her surprise, it worked, but Jesus knew what happened. He stopped to find out, and surely Jairus was losing it by now. Jesus healed in very relational ways. He wanted the people to know that he cared, and he met people right where they were. If Jairus needed him to touch his daughter, he could do that. If the woman needed to grasp his garment, then he could do that as well. There wasn’t a “correct” way to be healed by Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus wanted this woman to know that her faith made her well and that he cared for her. In addition, everyone in the crowd knew that the Messiah had power to make all things clean, rather than becoming defiled by anything.

By the time Jairus learned that his daughter was dead, Jesus assured him to have faith, much like this woman who had been healed. Jairus had to trust that since Jesus healed this woman his daughter could be raised from the dead. I’m certain that Jairus could have cooked up any number of reasons why Jesus couldn’t raise his daughter from the dead.

Jairus continued to believe as Jesus prevented the crowds from following, even limiting his disciples to three. In a sense Jesus seemed to be protecting Jairus and his family from a crowd in his moment of need. He didn’t want a crowd of gawkers looking on in his crisis of faith.

At the same time Jesus seemed to be protecting his own ministry from too much popularity or unrealistic expectations. A revolt against Rome, which certainly was brewing at the time, could make good use of a Messiah who could raise the dead. If they were willing to make him king after feeding them with bread, then who knows what would have happened if the word spread about Jairus’ daughter.

While anyone of us who performed such a miracle would want the credit and accolades that followed such an act, Jesus raised the girl, swore everyone to secrecy, and then left that part of the country. Both Jairus and the woman had defeated fear by trusting in both the compassion and power of Jesus. Though Jesus met them where they were and had mercy on them, Mark makes it clear that faith was absolutely necessary. When Jesus returned to Nazareth, where the story picks up in chapter six, the astounding lack of faith was the only thing preventing him from performing miracles.

After this time of preaching among crowds who supported him, Jesus pulled back as usual. His organization stopped with his band of twelve followers and various disciples who also joined in. Rather than establishing a following with the larger crowds, he continued to seek out new audiences for his message and works.

I’m not sure why the storm arose or even why Jesus was sleeping through the whole thing, but it is readily apparent in this story that simply having Jesus in your boat doesn’t necessarily guarantee smooth sailing—both literally and figuratively. Though Jesus did eventually stop the storm, a feat that amazed his disciples, he didn’t act until the boat was filled with water and his disciples called to him in terror.

While Jesus seemed shocked at their fear and unbelief, from their point of view the boat was about to sink. They called out to him when all seemed lost. What were they supposed to do?

Jesus challenged them to trust him even more, to believe in him past the point of hopelessness. Could they trust that having Jesus with them was enough?

An interesting parallel story to this is Paul’s shipwreck in the book of Acts. God told Paul that the ship would be lost but every person on board would be spared. Even while Paul’s ship foundered on the coast and then everyone struggled to get ashore, Paul believed that God was able to save them. Suddenly a shipwreck on the Sea of Galilee doesn’t seem quite as daunting in comparison, though storms on this small Lake can be fierce.

Though Jesus revealed that his power extended to nature beyond demons and diseases, it is also interesting to see that as opposition to Jesus hardened in chapter three many difficult times were about to crash down on Jesus and his disciples. Could they trust him even when all hope seemed lost?