Nathan E. Lewis

This past week, I joined the Order of the Stout Monks, meeting with five other men outside of Kelowna BC, near the Gray Monk Winery, to pray for each other, to hold one another accountable in personal behavior, to coach on strategic ministry ideas and plans, and to encourage each other with the word of God. Men, even those working as ministers of the gospel, need life-long friendship, encouraging support, and accountability in holiness and grace. The Stout Monks are committed to meet once annually for at least the next decade toward these ends. The name of the order, “The Stout Monks,” is taken from the legendary addition to the Rule of St. Benedict: “If any pilgrim shall come from distant parts with wish to dwell in the monastery, and will be content with the customs of the place, and does not by his lavishness disturb the monastery but is simply content, he shall be received for as long as he wishes. If, indeed, he shall find fault with anything, and shall expose the matter reasonably and with the humility of charity, the Abbott shall discuss it with him prudently lest perchance God hath sent him for this very thing. But, if he shall have been found contumacious during his sojourn in the monastery, then it shall be said to him, firmly, that he must depart. If he will not go, let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him.” Continue reading »

(Nathan Lewis is preaching this sermon series at Chehalem Valley Presbyterian Church in Newberg and at Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, Oregon, October - November 2008.) Continue reading »

The night prior to his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. preached, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” (Listen to and watch this clip of this historic moment.) Undeniably, he was one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century in regard to rhetoric and in regard to speaking prophetically into the present moment/context. Little in this world is more beautiful or moving than a person who confidently fulfills his calling, knowing his place in history and his contribution to society. King was such a person. You can see it in his eyes as he preaches. You can hear it in his voice. The rhetoric is connected to a passionate calling and a timely message. Technically, King delivered a speech the night before his death. (Read the entire script.) Only the final paragraph is sermonic in form revealing King’s original and abiding vocation as an ordained minister of the gospel. Most of us know the words of his speeches rather than the sermons he preached at his home congregation, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Nevertheless, when King delivered a speech, everyone discovered in a few minutes that he was indeed a preacher, not a lecturer, a politician or an entertainer. Continue reading »

NPR has reminded us of the deep influence of Hawthorne’s story on American sociology in the article, “Hester Prynne: Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner.” For any of us who are members of the Church we must go beyond sociology to ask the question, “Would Hester be welcome in our community of faith? Have we learned from Hawthorne’s scathing presentation of hypocrisy?” Several months ago a single woman confided in me, “The Church is not a safe place for me and for many others who are broken and complicated.” Continue reading »

Mayor Rob Drake of Beaverton, joined Pastor Nathan Lewis and St. Stephen’s Academy Chairman of the Directors, Michael Kane, in the cutting of the ribbon at the building dedication ceremony this past January 18, 2008. Principal Raelene Meeker and teacher, Susan Stopoulos also appear helping the children in attendance. Eight members of the Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce attended the event along with many parents of the 85+ students. The new building, on the premises of Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, provides adequate space for 140 students. St. Stephen’s Academy is a ministry of Evergreen Presbyterian Church. It is a Classical and Christian school.

Read this BBC article about the Goth who was kicked off the bus for leading his girlfriend around by a dog leash. Tell me, what kind of a community, society, and world view produced such oppressive treatment of a woman (if even symbolic oppression)? Is it the same view and practice that has given to us S&M? Now S&M is going public, out of the dungeon and onto public transit. Do you think these two learned their antics in a fundamentalist, Christian home? Do you think that this oppression is bred by anyone who thinks that we should submit to authority? By the way, I am not in favor of throwing such people off public transit. Where are my feminist friends? Are they fighting sex trafficking, the new slave trade in developing nations? I join them. But not at the expense of abandoning our own children. Our sons are growing up, calling young women their pets (not tolerated by women of the 70’s and 80’s), and leading them around like first century slaves. (Bob Herbert of the NY Times writes of the sex trafficking, the hidden slave trade of our day, “This human merchandise — whether imported or domestic — is still paraded, inspected and treated like animals.” Hey, Dani Graves - stop treating your partner like an animal!)

(sermon preached by Nathan E. Lewis at Chehalem Valley Presbyterian Church in Newberg and Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, January 6, 2008.) Listen to the sermon.

Paul commands us twice to rid our lives of idolatry. Elsewhere in our studies of the Bible we have learned that idolatry is the worship of anything but God. We can devote ourselves to a good gift of God, worshipping it instead of God. Money is good, but when it is elevated above God as the greatest pursuit of my life, then it becomes Mammon, perhaps the greatest of all idols in our world. In our modern world, potential idols are innumerable and thus we are often tempted to privately worship human achievements along with all of its amazing results. In our postmodern world we have returned to the ancient world dominated by paganism, the outright establishment of idolatrous worship. Continue reading »

join me in prayer for the people of Pakistan and for democracy through out the world. this is a sad, sad day. a beautiful leader has fallen. postscript: Mindy Belz of World Magazine has written a beautiful tribute to Benazir Bhutto in the recent, January 12 issue, titled “Assassination of a Dream.”

Were you traumatized as a child by Larry Norman’s The Rapture Song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready,” the soundtrack for the ‘under-rated’ “Thief in the Night” film? Go to You Tube right now and listen to a new song that will heal you of your fears. The song is written and performed by Randy Bonifield at Christ Community Church, and is titled, “Left Behind (The Rapture Song).” Continue reading »

2005 Advent Series: The Virgin Birth - Four Sermons by Nathan E. Lewis

Sermon One: (Luke 1:5-25 ) “Unbelief: Our Problem with the Virgin Birth”
The virgin birth is like the creation of the world and the resurrection of Jesus. Do you find the virgin birth of Jesus difficult to believe? As Donald Macleod of the Free Church of Scotland College observes, Jesus is presented in the opening words of John’s Gospel as the divine Person who invades our world from above. John writes, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God come down from the Father, full of grace and truth.” But the historian Luke mixes the divine and human aspects showing us how this descent involved an actual family, an actual birth of a baby. He writes about the virgin birth. Continue reading »