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Bob my brother entered into marriage with Amanda Saturday afternoon in Barberton, Ohio.

I had the privilege of serving as Best Man. I gave this toast in their honor at the Wedding Reception. I post it here as a way of celebrating this good day and for those who wanted a copy of it.

Brian's toast for bob

Good friends and family. May I have your attention. I’m Brian Russell, Bob’s older brother.

Let me begin by thanking Ray and Sue Leach for hosting such a great celebration for Bob and Amanda. I’ve just had the privilege of meeting you and your family. I am grateful that our families are now joined through the marriage of Bob and Amanda.

Bob and Amanda:

St. Paul in his letter to the Romans wrote: Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring one another (12:10)

When asked for marital advice, Mother Teresa wrote:
“I always answer: pray and forgive.”

She also offered these words:

“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” And “We must make our homes centers of compassion and forgive endlessly.”

Let me add a few of my own reflections on marriage: Happy marriages begin when we marry the one whom we love, but they blossom only when we keep on loving the one whom we married. So live in the moment. When you are together, be fully present and engaged with one another. Savor each day. Serve one another.

Amanda – I really have only met you face to face a couple of times. But I am grateful for how you’ve put a smile on my brother’s face and brought joy into his life. I knew that you were the one during Bob’s visit to our home in Florida last May. Bob kept disappearing to make phone calls to some girl named Amanda. When I watched him talking to you on his cell phone , I could see it in his eyes and in the tone of voice how much he loved you.

And to Bob, my “little brother”. I love you. I am truly happy for you. I am proud of the man that you are. You are kind and selfless. I’ve admired your sense of justice and compassion. You’ve been a good brother to me and a generous friend to many as is testified by all those present tonight. Moreover, you’ve been a terrific uncle to my daughters. I am rejoicing and giving thanks that you now have a family of your own.

Bob and Amanda as you begin your new life together…
My prayer for you will be a simple one: that you will build and nurture a relationship that will grow stronger and be more abundant with each passing year. Live by faith, be known by love, and serve as voices of hope to one another and to the world.

For final words of blessing let me quote from some singer named Bob Dylan (my brother is a well known fanatical Dylan fan):
May God bless and keep you always,
May all your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others,
And let others do for you,
May you build a ladder to the stars and climb up every rung,
May your love always stay forever young. (last line changed slightly by me)

Here’s to Bob and Amanda. May this day truly mark the beginning of a joyous journey together. Cheers.

I’ll be teaching on the book of Philippians at First United Methodist Church - Winter Park for the next four Monday evenings (6/15, 6/22, 6/29, and 7/6). The study begins at 7:00 PM each night. An optional dinner is available at 6 PM with reservation. The study is free and open to all interested.

Here are notes on the initial eight verses of Philippians:

1:1 Paul refers to himself as “servant of Christ Jesus” without further qualification only in the salutation of Philippians. Cf Rom 1:1 and Titus 1:1 where Paul is “servant of God” or “servant of Jesus” but also “apostle”. Paul’s use of “servant” (Greek doulos) elsewhere is thus balanced by the title/function “apostle.” In Philippians, Paul and Timothy are simply “servants of Messiah Jesus.” This is important. The only other use of doulos in Philippians occurs at 2:7 “but emptied himself taking the form of a slave, being born in in human likeness.” 2:7 records Jesus’ action/demonstration of not considering equality with God something to be clung to or exploited. As we will see, the service of others over self is one of the fundamental issues of ethos to which Paul will return multiple times in this letter.

The genitive of possession “of Christ Jesus” modifies “slaves.” Paul/Timothy are slaves belonging to Christ Jesus. The status that they possess comes only in their relationship with Messiah Jesus.

Perhaps this choice of language is chosen intentionally to contrast with “citizenship” in 1:27 (verb) “Live as citizens worthy of the Gospel” and 3:20 (noun) “For our citizenship resides in heaven.” A block of the Philippian Christ followers were likely Roman citizens. This gave them important status and privilege in the 1st century Greco-Roman context. Slaves stood at the opposite end of the social ladder. They were considered property. Any status that they possessed came only as a result of the identity of their master/owner. Unlike a citizen, a slave did not have any special rights and privileges.

Notice the presence of two titles for some of the recipients: overseers/bishops and deacons. These are sometimes linked with Paul’s co-workers mentioned in 4:2. It appears that there are conflicts within the church of Philippi among leaders (3:15-16, 4:2-3). Thus, Paul’s choice of words for his own ministry is important. He considers himself to be a “slave of Christ.” Jesus Christ himself willingly took on “the form of a slave” (2:7). This points to a road for the resolution of conflict.

What would a community look like whose members embodied the title “slaves of Christ Jesus”? How would our community of faith be different than it is today? What would it mean for leadership to willingly embrace this mantle and model it for the community as a whole?

1:3 - 8 Paul’s thanksgiving

In vv. 3-4a, Paul overflows with genuine thankfulness for the Philippians. Every memory of Philippi leads to a prayer of thanksgiving for the Christ followers there.

How much of our prayers are rooted in thanksgiving? For what are we thankful? For whom in our lives are we constantly giving thanks?

Paul expands on his expression of gratitude in two ways:

First, he offers his prayer of thanksgiving with joy. Joy is a key theme in Philippians (1:4, 25; 2:2, 29; 4:1). It is rooted in knowing Jesus and serving faithfully in mission.

What is the basis for Paul’s joyful prayer? V. 5 gives us the answer. The Philippians have been partners with him (a fellowship or sharing) for or in the Gospel. The partnership has existed from the beginning of Paul’s relationship with the Philippians and it continues into the present. Note the significance of this statement: Paul and the Philippians are bound together for the Gospel. They have a common cause. Their bond is God’s mission. It is the Philippians steadfast commitment to the Gospel that brings Paul joy. Philippi served as a gateway city to Europe for Paul. The Philippians supported Paul’s mission and helped him to take the Gospel to the next city.

Am I joyful? What is the basis for the joy that I have in my life? Do I have a joy rooted in something bigger than myself that can transcend the circumstances of life? Have I been part of a mission whose work brings me joy beyond my circumstances? How much of my life is rooted in participation in God’s mission?

v. 6 offers a second modification of “I give thanks (continually) to my God in every memory of you always in every prayer of mine on behalf of you…” If the first phrase celebrated the joy that Paul feels because of their partnership for the gospel, the second roots Paul’s thanksgiving in an affirmation of his steadfast confidence that God will continue to work in the lives of the Philippians Christians and bring to full consummation the work begun in the Philippians. Paul knows that his labor has not been in vain because God is at work in their lives.

Vv. 7-8 describe Paul’s own internal attitude toward the Philippians. Paul’s prayers of joy and confidence of the Philippians full perfection is rooted in the reality that the Philippians are in Paul’s heart. They have been sharers/partakers of grace.

© 2009 Brian D. Russell

Here are some more prayers that may help shape a missional ethos in our communities:

“Lord, help me to see others as if they were my own children.” Robert Tuttle

“Lord, send us the people nobody wants or sees.” Jorge Acevedo

“Lord, when we ask ‘Who is my mission?’, help us to see the faces of people whom we encounter daily.”

How do you pray missional themes? Any advice?

Praying Missionally

A friend recently sent me this note:

I’ve been thinking for the last couple of weeks about something. I
hate that I don’t feel an ounce of being comfortable when it comes to
the pastoral prayer time in worship. In our community I still see the
value of praying for people, for the Spirit to lead us, and for us to
be Christ’s body in our community, but something doesn’t seem quite right about it. Some of it may be that I try to do too much
extemporaneously and that gets me to thinking about this question: if I at least sit down to pray and outline my pastoral prayer during the
week, how might I lead our church in praying missionally? I’m
constricted by time to do anything out of the ordinary but at the same
time I want to think thoroughly about pastoral praying in this way:
not just the “how” that connects with our folks but the “what” that
might get them to pray at home differently.

What does it mean to pray missionally?

I think that we can begin to wrap our minds around this by starting with the biblical prayer that often ends the pastoral prayer in many communities of faith-The LORD’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13):

Here is my translation of Matt 6:9-13 -
Our Father, the one who is in heaven;
Let your name be holy.
Let your kingdom come.
Let your will become [reality] on earth as it is in heaven [already].

Give to us today our food for the day.
Forgive us our debts just as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
Don’t lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

If we want to break open this prayer, we need to ask some key questions:
What does this text assume to be true? What does this prayer suggest about God? What does this prayer believe to be true about us?

Our Father:
Assumes that prayer is a community activity. This does not mean that one always has to pray in the company of others (Jesus’ instructions in 6:5-8 suggest both individual and corporate prayers), but it does force the pray-er to reflect on the meaning of “our.” God is never simply “my father” or “his father” or “her father” or “their father”; God is our father.

Assumes a relational framework. Many of us are turned away from addressing God as “father” because of our own experiences within our families. But Jesus’ model is supposed to be read as an invitation to participate in God’s family. We embody this ethos when we value community and experience authentic relationship with God.

The One who is in heaven
God doesn’t merely relate as “our father”. God relates as “Our father who is in heaven.” In other words, this clause distinguishes God as unique among fathers.

This address is then followed by three petitions addressed directly to God. All of these are requests for God to usher in fully the promised new reality of an age of salvation. Yet implicit in each request is a bold and daring shift in the pray-er’s own allegiance. To pray each petition is to invite God to work in our lives so that each pray-er begins to embody the values of God’s reign that adumbrate the new age that is coming through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

1) Let your name be holy.
God’s name is holy. This is a request for the day in which God’s holiness and majesty will be fully and rightfully acknowledged by all creation. It is a commitment to show God’s name holy in the present through the sort of life that we live.

2) Let your kingdom come.
Jesus came to announce the age of salvation-the kingdom of heaven (4:17). This is a plea from a pray-er fully aware of the frailty of the present age. Jesus has ushered in the first fruits of the future, but there is more to come. It is a prayer for God to consummate his kingdom in its totality. As this petition is prayer, the pray-er is also committing himself or herself to the values and ethos of the kingdom as taught and lived by Jesus. Jesus’ followers are to live as people from the future who leave clues for those longing for a better life.

3) Let your will become [reality] on earth as it is in heaven [already].
This request fill outs the previous two. What does it look like for God’s name to be recognized as holy and for God’s kingdom to come? God’s will and intentions will be manifest in the totality of his creation. The ethos of the Kingdom of heaven will be the ethos on earth. Of course, to pray this line is to commit oneself to living out God’s will in the present in anticipation of God’s decisive action.

The prayer ends with three requests on behalf of the pray-er. These serve as prayers for persons whose lives involve the mission of God. Implicit in each request is profound trust in and recognition of God as the source of life, protection, and salvation. Also each request is also a commitment to embody the very thing that it requested.

Give to us today our food for the day.
This is a simply request for food for the day. Life starts and stops here. We begin to embody this value however through becoming generous people. To receive from God is to give to others.

Forgive us our debts just as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
Forgiveness is the key to community and maintaining genuine and life-changing relationships. It is vital to read this request for forgiveness from God as a commitment to practice and model forgiveness within the community of faith as well as toward those outside of the community.

Don’t lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
To follow Jesus is to participate actively and fully in God’s mission. Jesus did not come to create a static or stationary institution. He came to unleash a movement that would embody the ethos of God’s kingdom and carry its message to the ends of the earth. To live this way is to live dangerously. Thus, one must pray a prayer of protection for deliverance from the evil one (the Devil) and from temptation.

Why do we need to pray this prayer with audacity and faithfulness? Because God desires to imprint his character on us so that we can leave his fingerprints and handprints in the world to serve as clues for others?

I think that this begins to give us a starting point for praying missional prayers. Perhaps a message or teaching on the LORD’s Prayer can serve as the ground work for a shift in the emphasis in the pastoral prayer.

What do you think?

© 2009 Brian D. Russell

Central Florida Intervarsity held its Spring Conference this past weekend at the Vero Beach Inn on the east coast of Florida.

The theme of the weekend was (re)Align. The core was drawn from Jesus’ initial proclamation: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” I gave two messages: (re)Aligning our Selves and (re)Aligning our Lives.

In the first talk based on Gen 3:1-9 I focused on a key question that is fundamental for living the life of God’s dreams: Do I trust that God has my best interests at heart? Until I can answer yes, I will never be able to live as the person whom God created me to be because I will live out of my own powers and talents to the exclusion of trusting God fully.

On Saturday night, I preached from Matt 4:17-22 and connected a call to (re)align our lives with Jesus to a call to engaging the world with the Gospel. The key question is this: Who is my mission?

The students responded well. It was a powerful retreat. The students were enthusiastic about prayer and prayed throughout the weekend. This created a atmosphere where God’s Spirit could work and move. We had an extended time of prayer, recommitment, repentance, and spiritual healing Saturday. Some students prayed well into Sunday morning.

I met a young man (almost 20) who prayed for me and gave a strong testimony. He told me that God is raising up a generation of young people who desire to be a voice and not a name. I love this last piece. A voice and not a name.

Intervarsity is a topnotch organization. I was impressed with its passion for Scripture study, its commitment to prayer, and its intentional multi-ethnic makeup. It was a privilege to be part of the whole this past weekend.

Psalms 86-90

How do you move forward when everything falls apart? The final psalms of Book III (Pss 86-89) end in darkness. Ps 88 is one of the most depressing texts in the Scriptures; the psalmist ends his prayer alone and in the dark. Ps 89 praises God but also laments poignantly the loss and fall of the Davidic monarchy. In other words, the very foundation of God’s people in the Old Testament has been shaken.

There will likely be times in our lives when our foundations are rocked. Where do we turn? You may have noticed that many of the initial 89 psalms have superscriptions referring to David and to Levitcal singers such as Asaph and Korah. Look at Ps 90. Here we find the only psalm attributed to Moses. It is no accident that we encounter Moses at the beginning of Book IV. Moses represents the foundation for faith in the First Testament. Moses was the mediator of the Scriptures and great leader during the seminal days of the Exodus generation. The way forward during times of deep trial is to (re)engage the foundations. On the night of Jesus’ betrayal and death, he granted his followers a means to remember: the Lord’s Supper. Take eat. Do this in remembrance of me. Drink the cup. Do this in remembrance of me. Paul offers this commentary on the power and missional potential of this act of remembrance: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor 11:26).

What do you do when you hit the bottom? Remember your baptism. Remember your calling. There is a way forward. His name is Jesus.