Posted by: Jim Thornber | September 2, 2010

Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes

My book, Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship, is finally available. I’ve been blogging excerpts of it for a year now, but the wait is over.

The book chronicles the time I joined the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion community in Eureka Springs, AR, where for four years I was the world’s only Assemblies of God minister who was also a monk. It was there I found it necessary to remove the comfortable, religious misconceptions of who I thought I was (and who he thought God wanted me to be) and put on the clothes of Christ to find true relationship.

I believe this book will be an encouragement to those who think and live outside the “normal” box of contemporary Christianity. It will help you see God cannot be categorized and above all else, His agenda is not to make us like our denomination, but to make us like Christ.

If you would like to purchase a copy, you can click here. You can see some of my archived blogs if you desire to get a peek into the book.

Blessings,

Jim

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 31, 2010

Tale of the Towel

BEFORE the Passover Feast began, Jesus  . . . .took off His garments, and taking a [servant’s] towel, He fastened it around His waist (John 13:1,4, Amplified).

Perhaps the best-known passage that shows us the servant heart of Jesus is John 13, where we see our Lord and Savior, the creator through whom God made the universe, washing feet.

Jesus was fully aware of who He was in God, where He was from, and where He was going. As such, He was not serving His disciples while He waited for God to bring Him into His “real” ministry. He didn’t wash feet as a way of passing the time before He got on with His studies at Seminary or waited for His first call to pastor a church (those are the things I would do). Service was at the heart of the life Jesus laid down for His friends.

What challenges me most about this episode is the fact that Jesus gave credibility and integrity to what He did because of who He was, while most of us are inclined to get that backwards. We have the tendency to define who we are by what we do. Read More…

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 23, 2010

Scriptures That Bother Me — James 5:1-2

Look here, you rich people, weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. –   James 5:1-2

A few weeks ago, I took two suits I took two suits to the cleaners. Even though I haven’t bought a new suit in a few years, I bought good suits that were fashionable without being faddish. They may never be totally “in” style, but they are never really out of style. Like the navy blue blazer I bought. It isn’t the newest thing you’d see in GQ magazine, but it is an acceptable jacket for most occasions.

When I got home with the clean suits, I noticed that one of the jackets had moth holes in the back, and that really disappointed me. You know the feeling when you’ve lost something of value and there is nobody to blame but yourself? That was the feeling I had. It is (or was) a nice suit, and because I neglected to take proper care of it, I feel I’ve wasted a couple of hundred dollars on a jacket I cannot wear. And, because I believe the money I spend is actually God’s money (1 Chronicles 29:14), then I felt I wasted His money, too.

Fast-forward to last Wednesday night. I’m humming along teaching out of James and we get to chapter five. As I read this passage it occurs to me – I’m so rich I have fine clothes that are now moth-eaten rags rotting in my closet! Yeah, that hurt.

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 15, 2010

Without A Single Fault

“Now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22

“Me? I’m standing before God without a single fault?” I’m thinking to myself after reading this passage. “Who’s Paul kidding?”

Yes, I believe in the Bible. It is one of the job requirements of being a pastor. But I must confess I have trouble wrapping my mind around this idea: I stand before God without a single fault.

After consider it for a while, I thought to myself, “Not me, baby.” I have so many faults I sometimes wonder why my wife doesn’t change the locks on the door while I’m at work. Besides, if I have no faults, then why am I still opening my mouth and saying inappropriate things? Why do I still struggle with selfishness, pride, impatience, joy, love and self-control? How on earth or in heaven can Paul tell me I stand before God without a single fault?

After wrestling with this idea for a few days, I finally began to understand that we must all know the difference between our position in Christ and our experience with Christ.

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 12, 2010

The Look of Joy

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

The Look of Joy

Always be full of joy in the. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do (Philippians 4:4-5 NLT).

A while back, my wife and I were co-teaching the book of James to a small group. After spending an hour talking about the book, we barely finished James 1:2, which tells us to consider it an opportunity for great joy when troubles come our way. Doesn’t that sound easy and fun?

While Barbara led the group discussion around the question, “What does joy look like?”  I meandered over to Philippians 4. I knew it had some good stuff to say about joy, so I found the above passage I wanted and read it to the group. And as soon as I did, I knew it was going to bother me.

Although Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, he still finds a way to be joyful. I didn’t say he was enjoying his stay in prison, but that he chose joy as his attitude. So far, so good. Paul is a better man than I am, but that is not what struck me. What struck me is what I call “The Look of Joy.” We’ll often ask what love looks like, and there is even a song called, “The Look of Love.” But what about joy? Barbara asked, “What does joy look like?” According to Philippians 4:5, joy looks like “consideration.”

That is when I got bothered. I knew from experience that when I’m in a good mood and everything is right in the world, I show copious amounts of consideration. I tip the waitress more than she deserves, give more money to the needy and smile for no sane reason. However, when I am not joyful – when I am hurt, angry, disappointed or preoccupied with my own problems, I am not very considerate to others. In other words, I’m joyful and considerate when I feel like it and not joyful when I don’t want to be. If there is a trial, I’m not joyful and considerate and if the trials are minimal, I’m a nice guy.

What an awful way to live like a Christian.

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 9, 2010

Clothesline Theology

The following is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes, which will be released on August 20!  The book recounts my thoughts during the four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. 

This is me teaching in Brooklyn, NY

A few years ago, my wife and I visited a church to determine if I wanted to become their new pastor. We drove to the church early on that warm, October morning, full of hope and expectation. When we walked into the small fellowship hall, it was obvious we were the visiting pastors, for new, younger faces are easy to spot in this small, elderly congregation. As we passed through the fellowship hall on our way to the sanctuary, one lady gave us a short glance, quickly scanned Barbara up and down, and walked by us without saying a word. Little did we know we had just committed a cardinal sin in this small church: we were not appropriately attired.

We didn’t mean to be under dressed; it just happened. Yes, we were fully covered, but not in their eyes. You see, my wife made the horrible mistake of wearing a pretty black dress that did not fully cover her knees. That didn’t bother me — I kinda like her knees. But it obviously bothered this woman. A lot. Furthermore, I chose to wear a suit and a silk pullover shirt but no tie. Strike two. The odds were stacked against us and we hadn’t even introduced ourselves. It was going to be a long day.

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | August 2, 2010

The Box

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” – John 7:24

I was driving home from church the other morning when I noticed something in the road. The car in front of me swerved to miss the item, and when I got closer, I could see it was a large cardboard box. For some weird reason, I got this noble idea to pull into a nearby parking lot, go out onto the busy street, dodge some early morning traffic and get the box out of the road. If people continued to swerve to avoid the box, sooner than later it was going to cause an accident.

As I headed into the street, I noticed a car slowing down to let me get the box. At first I thought, What a nice man. Then this thought quickly entered my head: I bet this driver thinks I’m the one who lost the box. Little does he know I’m actually the one doing the good deed.

Here I was just trying to do the right thing and STILL my ego wants somebody to see me and say, “Hey! What a nice, gray-haired man to get that box out of the street. Hope he lives.” Or some such thing. I wanted to be known for the good I was doing, not be judged for being the one who littered the highway.

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | July 29, 2010

It’s Not My Job

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from the August release of my book, Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

A religious community has much in common with any group of people, be they a family or a local church group. Foremost among these commonalities is a myopic view of the terrain, often showing itself under the title of “It’s not my job.” While I lived at the Little Portion, one of my jobs was to sort the recyclables. We had two receptacles in the kitchen—one for trash and the other for cans. I would try to tend to both as frequently as possible, but sometimes I didn’t get around to it in a timely manner, and it was then I began to formulate my understanding about people’s attitudes regarding things they didn’t own.

I remember watching an individual approach the recycling bin in the kitchen with a can in his hand. Since I had been remiss in dealing with the receptacle, this person found it overflowing. I then watched him as he placed his can high upon the pile, balancing it in such a way that defied gravity, only to walk away satisfied that he did his job. I guess it never occurred to him to pick up the can and carry it fifteen feet out to the recycling area. Oh, that’s right, IT WASN’T HIS JOB!

Let me share with you a nice little motto to live by: “See a need and fill it.” Yes, even if it isn’t your job. Yes, even if nobody but you and God sees it. Read More…

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | July 23, 2010

Alternate Lifestyles and the Attraction of Jesus

I had an interesting conversation last summer with a man at a church picnic. Because I had never met him, at first glance I thought he was going through chemotherapy. He wore a knit cap in ninety-degree weather, had no hair on his arms, legs or face, and had penciled in his eyebrows. Only after I sat across from him at lunch did I understand the situation.

After his grandmother introduced me to him, he said, “If you were the pastor of a church, how would you deal with people involved in alternate lifestyles?”

Not wanting to seem presumptuous about where he was heading, I said, “What do you mean?”

He said, “You know, people involved in same sex relationships. You’re from California, so you know what I’m talking about.” A few people at the picnic started to lean in to hear my answer.

I smiled at that and said, “Well, I cannot support a lifestyle that I believe the Bible condemns. However, people involved in alternate lifestyles are always welcome in ‘my’ church. But, by choosing to live in a way that disobeys Scripture, I cannot allow them to be involved in a leadership position. The same would be true for a man who chooses to gamble away his paycheck and then borrows money from his friends for food. My concern is always for the ultimate good of the individual, regardless of their actions.”

Then I said something that seemed to please him. “But I must tell you, I do have one major requirement for a person to come to my church, and if they don’t have this they can’t come. He looked at me as if to say, Here it comes. The other shoe is about to drop.

“In order to come to ‘my’ church,” I said, “a person must be a sinner. Therefore, everyone is welcome.”

The man smiled and said, “Thanks. That’s a good answer. I like that.”

As we were getting in the car to leave, another man came up to me and shook my hand. Read More…

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Posted by: Jim Thornber | July 19, 2010

Caught In The Good ‘Ol Days

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. . . .because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” Hebrews 10:32-34

When I was in high school I played soccer, which was a strange sport for a guy who didn’t like to run long distances. Being vertically challenged (I’m 5’3″ in two pair of thick socks), I was constantly falling behind the taller guys in the long runs. Because my legs were (well, still are) short, I was quick and usually the first one to the ten-yard line but most always last in the mile. My coach would yell at me for not running fast enough, and I would yell back, “I’m running twice as far as anybody else ’cause I’m taking twice as many steps!” For some reason, he never bought that excuse.

We had to be in excellent shape because in the average soccer game, a player could run up to six miles, and soccer continues to be among the world’s most physically enduring sports. I’m sad to report that I have not maintained that level of conditioning since I left high school. But it was great while it lasted.

Christians also need to be in shape to stay in the “contest” (vs. 32). The Greek word for contest in this verse is athlesis. It refers to an athletic competition and is the source of our English word “athlete.” As Christians, we must not just remember when we were at our best, but we must keep at it and stay that way. We are not to be like the athlete I turned out to be – one who keeps in shape and maintains a peak performance for only a few years, only to grow old and spend time reminiscing about the good ‘ol days when we were on top of our game and the best in the league. Read More…

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