out of my mind: Discipleship

Showing posts with label Discipleship. Show all posts

07 March 2007

Lent Reflections & Questions

O Son of God,
Do a miracle for me
and change my heart.
Thy having taken flesh
to redeem me
was more difficult
than to transform
my wickedness.

Irish Prayer, 15th century

Lent refers to 40 days of devotion and discipline leading up to the celebration of Easter. The purpose of this period of time is to examine yourself and seek a greater conformity to the mind and heart of Christ, as well as giving yourself over to more effective service to the world on His behalf. Typically, people will enter into some kind of fast, giving something up in recognition of this time of sober self-assessment. The point is to take Jesus’ Good Friday death and Easter Sunday resurrection seriously enough that we make it the central defining point of our year and character. We actively seek to alleviate the blockages in our lives that prevent God from acting freely in and through us. Toward that end I share these questions for reflection:

What progress am I making in sharing gladly what I have with others, particularly with the stranger and the poor?

What attitudes do I convey to those who irritate me? How can awareness of my own ned of God’s grace enable me to be more gracious to them?

How has my sense of interconnectedness in corporate worship grown of late, and how can I move ahead in appreciating the contributions and needs of other members in the congregation to which I belong?

Am I as charitable and thoughtful to family members as to others? Or do I “take it out” on my family when life at school or work gets hectic or difficult?

Can I redistribute my long-range personal budget in order to have more money to give away?

When I hear someone being unjustly maligned, do I speak up to correct the record, or am I a silent accomplice?

How can I more effectively and consistently support legislation and social programs that help the disadvantaged rather than hurt them?

In devotional acts of prayer and reading, am I increasing my attention span and discovering new ways of listening rather than of talking, of giving thanks rather than of complaining?

As I uncover and attempt to deal with one level of prejudice in my life, what other levels do I find lurking underneath, and how can I confront them?

In addition to intercessory prayer, what habits can I develop that allow me to be more responsive to the sick, the distressed, and the bereaved, particularly when their needs emerge suddenly and require immediate attention? Can I plan spaces into my life to allow for such unanticipated opportunities to minister to others?

Am I, by consistent attendance at worship, a witness to others of the worthiness of the God I follow? Or am I, but my sporadic attendance, suggesting that God is worth serving some time, but not others?

Taken from Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church by Laurence Hull Stookey (Abingdon Press, 1996)

01 March 2007

What is a mature Christian or a successful church?

Lately, as a result of some conversations and reading, I’ve been giving a lot of thought and prayer to these two questions that I think really point to one reality:

First, how do you know when a church is successfully being a church?
Second, what do we really mean, or how do we know, when a Christian should be called mature?

Willow Creek Community Church recently did an exhaustive survey of their church that mirrors what I’ve heard from other churches (not seeker sensitive) and experienced myself. The finding of this survey? “What they found was the most satisfied church members were those who were new believers or early in their faith--and the least satisfied were those who were more "mature" in their faith.” Bill Hybel’s assessment was that Willow had really missed the goal which is to slowly (ultimately?) make believers independent. Not independent of a relationship with a church or other believers altogether. Not independent in the sense of going off and doing your own thing. But independent in the sense that they are self-feeding and self-regulating in their spiritual growth and life, allowing them to transition from being a “consumer” of the church’s resources to become one of the church’s resources that introduce unbelievers to Christ and help them grow into mature independence. Independent in the same sense that a grown child is still part of an extended family, but no longer relies on mom and dad, but can lead and support a family of their own.

I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. And, I think we’d find similar results in our own church. Part of what I think this means is that we have to be clearer about the goal. We need to help “right-size” people’s expectations for what they should expect from the church--about where this is all going. The reason that “mature,” seasoned believers are often more dissatisfied with the church is that they are still expecting it to feed them, rather than having accepted the responsibility and grown to a sufficient degree that they have the ability to do it for themselves and others (cf. Heb. 5:12-6:3 and Rom. 14).

There are a lot of different opinions on this out there. There are a number of different ways that you can approach this.

Here’s the framework I’m wrestling with so far that I think addresses both (I’ll be writing about this more in the future):

We gather people together as new Christians into a church around our DEPENDENT need. People become Christians when they recognize their dependence on God for forgiveness and life. They become a part of a church when they realize that their sustenance and growth is dependent on a community that God has created. Worship is an acknowledgment of this dependence.

As individual Christians and together as a church, we grow through our INTERDEPENDENT interactions with each other. Growth through discipleship, encouragement from our fellowship, service expressed through our ministry to each other is necessary because we need each other and God working through each other. There is an interdependence that is at the heart of our interaction together.

The measure of a mature Christian and a successful church is INDEPENDENT believers who are able to feed themselves, others, and self-regulate their spiritual lives as they evidence the fruit of the Spirit. We exist to bring others into a relationship with Jesus (evangelism/outreach, missions) that is like the relationship we have. That implies that we can personally, directly, engage in that relationship without the help we needed at first when we were young, immature believers.

What do you think? Does this framework make sense? Is this the goal of personal maturity and corporate ministry that you share? That you’ve been taught? That you’re working towards?

07 February 2007

NEWSFLASH: christian is not an adjective

One of the new musical artists that I discovered last year was Derek Webb. I’d long listened to him as the lead male vocalist of a group I’ve liked for years –Caedmon’s Call—but had never followed him as a solo artist. Now he’s left the band permanently, as I understand it. So I tried listening to his new album Mockingbird which has stirred-up a lot of conversation because of it’s lyrics that prophetically challenge the church and Christian culture in North America. The point of the whole album is that we are not supposed to be singing our own life-song, but rather imitating Jesus’s life.

One of the songs that really made me stop and think was a song entitled A New Law. The song has stuck with me throughout the year, so I wanted to mention it to you. Whether you like the music or not, his point is worth considering. Do Christians tend to shirk the complex critical thinking demanded by freedom in Christ for something easier—a label, a slogan, someone else’s opinion? In doing so, aren’t we just trading in an old law for a new one, rather than living life with the Spirit?

A New Law
[Click here to listen to the song. Use the control bar at the top.]

don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music

don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

(vs. 2)
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about loving my enemies
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus/chorus)

(bridge)
what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid

31 January 2007

What defines your day?

What defines your day? Everyone has some framework that forms that basic structure of how they think about the passage of the day. For many people, it is the time-clock as their day is defined by what time they get to work and what time they get to leave. For others it is some pleasure—the enjoyable pursuit they can’t wait to engage in—like a hobby, a movie, or exercise. Family can also define your day as the goal of how you structure your day is to get home as early as possible to spend time with family. Appetite can even be a framework of the day as you move from one meal to the next.

I was thinking about what defines my day as 2007 was drawing near and I was considering what targets I was going to set for the year (I personally prefer “target” over “resolution” as it is something out there that I keep shooting at—hit or miss. Resolution sounds like something internal that, once broken, has to be resolved all over again. Tom Harmon’s comments the other day definitely echoed this thought). I decided that I wanted to figure-out a way to frame my days more consciously, regularly, and meaningfully around my connection with God.

Like most Christians (a recent Barna study notes that “9% of Christians identified prayer as the most fulfilling spiritual activity they undertake” and only 4% listed “having a better prayer life” as “their top priority for spiritual change.”), I long for more quality and quantity in my prayer life. I’m not altogether sure what either of those terms, quality and quantity, means in this case. Jesus taught His followers a prayer that was awfully short (doesn’t meet my expectations for quantity), but a prayer whose essential request that we would show God as holy by doing His will and establishing His kingdom as it happens in heaven (a quality far surpassing the laundry list of things I typically want God to do when I pray). As I understand it, prayer at its most fundamental is coming into intimate union with God. And, as Christians pray together, they are also brought into communion with each other.

I’ve tried all kinds of things to improve my prayer. In groups, I’ve tried Wednesday night prayer gatherings, all-night prayer vigils, and small group prayer. Individually, I’ve tried scheduling prayer and praying for a certain amount of time. Online prayer sites have helped me to pray prayers that are bigger than my own thinking and practice. I’ve tried engaging in ongoing conversation with God throughout the day, letting this serve as seamless ongoing prayer in the midst of everything else. I’ve written my prayers in journals. Special places and postures that lead me to a greater sense of God’s presence (e.g. praying by a lake at sunrise while kneeling) are another avenue that I’ve tried. Praying Psalms and other scripture is also something that I’ve done. Each has been helpful in some regard for a time.

One of the things that I have not tried is something that the majority of Christians over the last two thousand years have done. It is something that was part of the spiritual life of the ancient Jews, appears to have been followed by Jesus Himself, and according to the Didache’s record of early Christian practice was adopted by His followers as well. I might as well give it a try.

It’s know by a lot of different term—the daily offices, the divine hours, the sacred rhythm. It can be three times a day or seven times a day. You can use the Book of Common Prayer (Anglican), the Liturgy of the Hours (Roman Catholic), A Manual of Easter Orthodox Prayer (Eastern Orthodox), something more recent like the Divine Hours (Non-Denominational), other prayer books, or pray your own spontaneous prayers. Regardless of the choices you make in these, each seeks to order one’s days around a framework of prayer embodied in the regular rhythm and priority of communion with God. Each serves to bring Christians together in common prayer simultaneously though physically apart. And, all guide Christians to hold fast to the essentials of our faith while helping us escape the limited confines of our own prayer patterns.

All of this is by way of introduction to my target. I’ve set about trying to pray at 9:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 9:00 pm each day. I’m struggling with this—particularly the 9:00 pm time which normally finds me distracted and tired in the middle of family stuff. But, the mere existence of that struggle three times a day is something that I’m pleased to have present as a reminder. I’m using the Celtic Daily Prayer Book which is the product of the Northumbria Community in northern England near Lindisfarne and is based on sixth- and seventh-century Celtic Christian writings. Each has their emphases and limitations, but also strengths and virtues--much like my own prayers.

I hope this post was a good introduction for those of you unfamiliar with the practice. It’s good accountability for me. Feel free to ask me how it’s going. I’ll update you as the year goes on. If this is all new to you, here's a brief history of fixed-hour prayer.

02 November 2006

Listening to "Preacher" Bono Preach (Part II)

Bill Hybels interviewing a rock star for forty minutes in lieu of a sermon might seem like blasphemy to some. All I can say is that Bono sounded a lot more like a certain 1st century "prophet" named Jesus than a lot of Pastors do on many Sundays. I really mean that. Bono got his nickname from a high school friend who stole it from a hearing aide shop and labelled the singer "Bono Vox"--a latin approximate for "good voice." He did give a good voice to Jesus and the gospel as Cami and I sat and listened.

He does not purport to be perfect and openly acknowledges without excuse that there are parts of his life that have not been and still are not consistent with his faith in Jesus (is that any different than any of us?). His theology is imperfect, particularly regarding the church (does anyone want to claim their's isn't?) But, he takes the scriptures seriously (I was surprised by how many times he quoted and cited texts as he talked). And, he takes seriously allowing the story of the scriptures to mold the story of his life. This is not a tribute to Bono. It is recognizing a "good voice" when you hear one . . . a good example when you see one . . . It is a tribute (i.e. glory-giving) to the God who has spoken good news into our lives as a reality to be lived.

What folllows are my recollections of some of the things that he said that stood-out in my mind and left me thinking.

Being a Christian is not about a pie-in-the-sky escapist fantasy of reaching heaven after we die, but about bringing the reality of heaven to earth through the actions of our lives (Phil 1:27-28). "How in a world of plenty can people be left to starve? We think, 'it's just the way of the world'. And if it is the 'way of the world' we must overthrow the 'way of the world.' 'Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven' is a phrase that grabs me...in every detail of our lives we need to seek that. The world is more malleable than you think." I start with this one because this has been the defining realization of my faith in the last decade. And, it seems to be a realization that the Spirit of God is behind as I hear it emanating from people within all kinds of Christian traditions and denominations. The emphasis of being a Christian that I grew-up with, and I'm pretty sure you did too, is the one that Bono decries. It is a view that renders the lives we're living as physical beings little more than an asterisk to the main point--a waiting room for what really matters. This always bothered me since the beginning of the story reveals God's desire for us as beings reflecting His image to represent Him to the rest of the created order. It doesn't make sense that the Savior's primary goal would be to help us escape that created order. Rather, He takes away our sins and grants us a new nature through the power of the Holy Spirit that allows us to start living under the reign of God right here, right now. The Kingdom of God begins to reclaim creation's territory as our lives are devoted to living in a way completely counter to the fallen kingdom into which we are born. It is not a big enough project to work on our own personal character as our primary mission. Our personal character is important because it is the currency by which we validate the mission we have to be God's representatives.

Bono goes to the White House

Christians act on the basis of grace, not obligation or duty, and not with any thought that what they do changes how God has chosen to view them (Eph. 2:4-10). "The world works on the principle of Karma; what you put out comes back to you...but then enters the story of grace in the person of Christ and it turned the world on it's head. We can be the instrument of God's grace." Don't let the reference to "Karma" throw you off --Paul describes something very similar (Gal. 6:7-10). His point is grace. As my prior post described in detail, God's gracious treatment is something that we don't deserve. There is no way to really understand it--only to receive it. And, if we live according to grace, our lives must be different. Stacy gave me a quote that says it well: "The thing about grace is it makes life not fair." We all think we want life to be fair with us, but do you really want God to treat you like you deserve to be treated? The corollary to this is that we're called to extend grace to others, treating them far better than they actually deserve. "I'm much more interested in grace because "I'm depending on it."

With wife Ali in an African Orphanage

Bono, like me and many others has struggled with the gap between Christ and "little Christs" (or "Christians...of course, I've never been the source of such struggle for others you understand. 1 Cor. 5:1-13). "I never had a problem with Christ...it was Christians that gave me problems...they seemed completely disinterested culturally and politically...they seemed very strange to me.They can be very judgmental. They tend to judge people by surface problems. I grew very suspicious of Christians, but I was determined to learn more about the life of Christ." His sentiment's echo what Gandhi had to say in his day about Christians. We Christians can keep protesting these characterizations, denying that they are accurate, and wishing that people knew the real us. But, until we begin to honestly and humbly hold ourselves up for scrutiny before God and consider the truth in their response to us, it will never change. Increasingly, the same thing is being said by people who are believers in Jesus, but find the church unhelpful at best, and a hinderance at worst, to their relationship with God and spiritual growth (whether they're right or not, the point is that's their perspective).

Bono & NBC TV News Anchor Brian Williams in Africa

Jesus says a lot of very tangible, real-world, right-now, stuff about what saving faith is supposed to look like in our life--more than we like to acknowledge (Mat. 25:31-46). "Redemption is an economic term (literally "to buy back"). There are 2003 verses in scripture about the poor, second only to personal salvation. Love your neighbor is not advice...it's a command. Should an accident of longitude and latitude really decide whether you live or whether you die? Jesus speaks of judgment only once and that is the passage in Matthew where we are asked: 'who clothed the naked?' and 'who fed the poor?' and 'who visited those in prison?' That defines whether you are a part of the Kingdom or not. The reason the church has been slow to respond is that the church has historically always been behind the curve: civil rights, apartheid…the church is afraid of politics. The second reason the church has been so slow is less palatable..the church has been very judgmental about the AIDS virus…it believes that it is about people living irresponsibly. Only 6% of evangelicals felt like they were to act in response to the AIDS epidemic. But the Christ will not let the church walk away from the AIDS emergency…it is like a car crash, we have to act. AIDS is the leprosy of our age. But then something tragic happened…the church woke up and began to act…and they ruined it for me…I couldn’t hate the church anymore. We're not talking about politics in a partisan way here, we're working with the left and the right." G.K. Chesterton, one of my favorite old authors, once wrote: "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." (Chapter 5, What's Wrong With The World, 1910). Bono's challenge strikes me as a Christian recognizing the difficulty of the Christian (i.e. Christ's) ideal, but with a fatalism only possible by having already died to oneself, willing to try it. For many of today's Christians, homosexuals are our Samaritans; AIDS patients are our lepers. Why do we hold back from going to them, reaching-out to touch them, and offering healing as Jesus did? The reason is simple: unlike Him, we're just not willing. Instead, we go about shouting "Unclean! Unclean!" on their behalf.

God gives us all that we have (spiritual gifts, heart's temperament, abilities, passions, experiences) to use to the maximum degree that we can for His sake (Mat. 25:14-30). "What else are you going to do with thing called 'celebrity'...it's absolutely ridiculous that it is valued more than being a teacher or more than being a mother...but it is currency and I decided that I was going to spend mine. God has made me an opportunist. Great ideas are like great melodies...they are memorable and a moral force whose time has come...and there is movement behind them.I am not Mother Teresa, but I have a head for the world's poor. I am strategic. I can be a voice for the voiceless." Bono's gift, beyond his voice and songwriting ability, is the status that allows him to take-on this cause. He seems to have fully invested himself in it. What would happen if every Christian--if you and I--invested all that we are and have as completely in God's cause? Ghandi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." He did not speak it as a Christian truth, but the truth of what he said is of Christ. We're not supposed to just study it, talk about it, and pray for it. We're supposed to dream it and live it and work for it. It starts with a revolution of each individual's heart, but it should continue to be our burden until it rennovates whole societies.

If you've been moved or challenged by this, good. If you want to find-out more about Bono's work, go to The One Campaign. For more information on churches involved in a related campaign go here.

I'll leave you with the lyrics of a U2 song entitled Yahweh (the name God gave to Israel as His personal name. It means "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be" in Hebrew) that appeared on their last album How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. I think it captures the heartbeat of our God and a poetic cry prayed for Him to humble us enough to embody it.

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes and make them fit

Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt and make it clean, clean

Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul and make it sing, sing

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn

Take these hands
Teach them how to carry
Take these hands, don’t make a fist, no
Take this mouth
So quick to criticize
Take this mouth,
give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
Still waiting for the dawn
The sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Why the dark before the dawn

Take this city
A city should be shining on the hill
Take this city if it be your will
What no man can own,
no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

Listening to "Preacher" Bono Preach (Part I)

As I mentioned in my last post, Sunday started with worship at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville (Grand Rapids suburb). The Teaching Pastor that we really like (Rob Bell) was not speaking (of course!). Instead, they showed a 40 minute interview between Bill Hybels (Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church) and Bono (lead singer of U2; a.k.a. Paul Hewson). Willow Creek Community Church did this interview about a month ago on another weekend I was on vacation and Cami and I had been tempted to go to listen, but opted to stay home and finish a painting project. I guess God wanted us to see it after all.

I was predisposed to be enthusiastic since I've been a U2 fan ever since 1983's "War" album. More than that, Bono's charitable social work on AIDS, debt relief, and fair trade during the last couple of years has really captured my attention as it has the world's (Bono shared Time Magazine's Persons of the Year Award last year with Bill and Melinda Gates under the heading "Good Samaritans." This link to the cover story is worth visiting and reading.). You might be one of those people quick to label all three as "liberals" or "naively idealistic." Don't. You run the risk of being labeled "reactionary" or even "ignorant." While you may not agree with all of their methods, their mission is laudable from all points on the policital spectrum. As the Time article puts it, "The challenge of 'stupid poverty'--the people who die for want of a $2 pill because they live on $1 a day" speaks of "lives...being treated as if they weren't valuable." Yes, we may always have the poor with us. But that doesn't absolve us from being sensitive and responsive to their plight, nor does it free us from the obligation to try to reduce the breadth and depth of their poverty While the work itself is noteworthy, what's more significant is the motivation behind it. I became aware of this reading a book entitled Bono In Conversation with Michka Assayas--a long-time friend of the band. The conversations took place between 2001 and 2005 as Bono's nonmusical work was gaining steam. Christian Music Today has an extended series of excerpts here that I'd encourage you to read if you're curious. What was obvious was his deep Christian faith in exchanges like this:

Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started
acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?
Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.
Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.
Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.
Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.
Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.
Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.
Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was
going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my
mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.
Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.
Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled… . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.
Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?
Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched …
Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:
Bono: … [I]f only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be
transformed. …When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have
asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a
religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.

Filmed in the lobby of a Dublin hotel not far from Bono's home, the video was primarily just the two guys sitting in chairs "Barbara Walter's style" talking to each other about their faith lived in the reality of today's world (there was also some great music and concert footage from the Elevation Tour). I should mention that yes, he was wearing the glasses (pink-tinted on this occasion). And, yes, I'd already shaved my head before seeing that he'd done nearly the same. For forty minutes, we all sat and listened to a very compelling personal testimony and a gut-wrenching challenge to love people in the way that Jesus commanded. I'll share some of what he said that hit me in my next post.

27 October 2006

My Favorite Poem

I came across this poem reading a book last year. The book was Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson. The title was identified as a phrase from the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins written in the 1800's. I liked it enough that I was curious about how it had been used in the poem. Since looking it up, this has stuck with me. I love what it has to say about the nature of who we are and what our lives are about when lived in the reality of what God created us to be--the reality of Christ. So, here's my deep dark secret: I actually have a favorite Victorian poem. How's it hit you?

As Kingfishers Catch Fire
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves -- goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is --
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

18 October 2006

What a Week!

Ever have one of those kinds of weeks where you look back and are struck by what happened during it? In the last week:

a friend was really hurting
a friend of a family member was tragically killed
a family member contemplated life-altering surgery
another family member had a stroke.
yet another family member celebrated sobriety
I buried someone and blessed the marrying of two others
a birthday was celebrated
a date night with Ayanna & Aryssa (& Poppa) happened
I had breakfast and talked honestly with two friends
I had a conflict with someone who didn't act like a friend
and, I had a cold

If you've been wondering why the lack of posts, this may give you a little bit of an idea about what I've been up to. Beyond that, sometimes you just have to look back on a period of time that you've just gone through and wonder at the breadth of what life brings your way. Good and bad, life and death, hard and easy, beautiful and ugly, wanted and unwanted--it's all part of life. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Solomon wrote (Ecc 3:1). "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (v.11). He, God, has made everything--each of these events including the bad, ugly, unwanted ones--beautiful. How?

One way to understand them as beautiful is to see the way that He redeems them to new meaning and purpose. A death can draw surviving family together. A conflict can develop character and deepen a relationship. Another way to understand them as beautiful (and I think the way that Solomon meant it) is to recognize them as part of God-given life lived to God-ends. Since I view all of life as ultimately flowing from a God is who is Good, I view all that life has to offer as ultimately Good. The mere experience of living these "times and seasons" is a gift of God's graciousness. Beyond what He may do through these moments, the fact that He has allowed me to experience these moments must be recognized as a gift.

There is much in the last week that I would have gladly chosen to avoid and not have happen. But, they did. So, I'm just going to look back and wonder. I'm going to count each as a good gift, no matter how much they confound my understanding. I will simply "enjoy my lot" (v.22) and be moved to "revere Him" (v.14) since there is "nothing better" (v.22).

28 September 2006

Towards a Better "Rememberory"

One of God’s consistent commands is for His people to REMEMBER. "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there" (Deut 24:18a).

I'm really aware of this given the phase of life I'm in. One of the things we’re working to develop in Ayanna is her “rememberory.” We work on identifying letters and numbers, knowing the names of places and things, or engraining habits like putting our shoes in the closet. A lot of effort goes into simply trying to help her REMEMBER.

Unfortunately, I find myself needing to make more of an effort to remember myself. Sometimes, it's hard to remember which decade it was that something happened! Worst of all, Cami brought-up a situation the other day that my "rememberory" had completely let go of. I couldn't believe that I had managed to forget that event! This goes far beyond nostalgic recall. It refers to embracing the whole range of human experiences to fully integrate faith and life with the goal of complete obedience to God.

So, why does God call us to REMEMBER?

We REMEMBER to interpret the present in-light of the past.

God is faithful—a concept that the Bible describes with the phrase “He remembers His promises” (Ps 74:20; 98:3; 105:42; 119:49 NLT). God recalls what He has said that He will do and makes good on His statements.

Human beings, on the other hand, seem to have the fatal flaw of forgetfulness. The challenges, needs, dissatisfactions and fears in the present often eclipse the memories of the past that remind us of His strength with us, His provision for us, our own misguided attempts to make ourselves happy or worry about tomorrow.

When God had recently moved and the people could not forget what He had done, they were far more inclined to be obedient. But, when His intervention had faded into the past, they tended to rebel. Judges 3:7 records this observation: “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.”

So, the songwriter would write: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Ps 103:2 NIV). We have to make a conscious effort to REMEMBER God’s presence and activity in our life. We have to REMEMBER so that the past is a good guide for the present and future.

In the Hebrew, the word for “memorial” is drawn from the word for “remember.” Memorial stones (Josh 4:4-24), sounds (Num 10:9, 10), names (Gen. 32:22-32) or offerings (Josh 22:26-28) are all things created to provoke us to remember. The celebrations of Passover (Ex 12:14) and the Lord’s Supper (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24-26) are memorials that recall particular key events and their messages of deliverance (salvation).

It’s worth noting how many of these tools—particularly the big ones of Passover and the Lord’s Supper—are practiced with a rhythm—a regularity which is critical to helping refresh our rememberory. And, I think God reveals that it’s important that we REMEMBER by engaging all of the senses. The Passover feast would have its own sights, sounds, scents, feel and motions, as would the Lord’s Supper. This helps to make these moments that are supposed tie tangible life and intangible faith together be tied together in us first as we taste, listen, smell, touch.

When God’s people want to hold onto something important, they’ve always used tools to help them REMEMBER. The account of the exodus from Egypt notes that after God led the people miraculously out of Egypt and told them to “commemorate this day” (v.3), the people did so using phylacteries (as we know them) or what the Jews would refer to as tefellin—small square leather boxes worn on the arm and forehead into which four passages of the scriptures (Ex 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:4-9; 11:13-21) were written on parchment. The placement itself was significant—with a reminder for behavior (the hands), thought (the forehead), and the source of this guidance (lips). The prophet Malachi records the people writing a “scroll of rememberance” as they wrestle with whether or not serving God had been a futile effort (Mal. 3:14-18). The most common way of remembering was through stories. Most of the scriptures are precisely this, though some texts actually record their capture in-progress (Ex 17:8-16).

All of these ways of prompting, or even disciplining ourselves to remember show us how importance recalling the past is to living life well before God. It gives us a really deep insight into how we live life with a “timeless” quality that has us fully engaged in the present with deep roots in the past and a long reach into the future.

Of all the places in the Bible where REMEMBERING is front-and-center, perhaps no place is as clear as Psalm 77 where “the deeds of the Lord” are remembered (v.11). Though written out of distress (v.2), groaning (v.3), and questioning (v.11), the songwriter’s attitude shifts with his perspective to one of conviction (v.13), worship (v.14), and trust (v.19-20).

What we don’t choose to REMEMBER, we choose to forget. Peter wanted to keep his fellow believers growing in their knowledge and practice of God’s salvation in their lives so that they would enter into the Kingdom of Jesus (2 Pet 1:3-11), so he wrote,

“I plan to keep on reminding you of these things—even though you already
know them and are standing firm in the truth. Yes, I believe I should keep on
remind you of these things as long as I live….I want you to remember them long after I am gone” (2 Pet 1:12, 13,15b NLT).

“This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember and understand what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles” (2 Pet. 3:1,2 NLT).
What are you committing yourself to remember?

What are you choosing to forget?

How have you institutionalized them—what tools are you using to remember them with all of your senses?

In these things, are you remembering God’s interaction in your life to help you tie faith and life together to be more obedient?

26 September 2006

What the Church Can Learn From Google

Cami & I were off this weekend--doing some painting around the house. We missed hearing Jason Holm Sunday, but picked-up a tape and are having he and Sue over for dinner tonight. I hear he wore jeans . . . and the place is still standing!?

Monday Morning Insight is a website I visit on a weekly basis. It's a great spot to catch-up on what other churches are doing and new ideas in ministry. This week's collection included one that resonated with something that I've been thinking about: risk-taking. Churches have a revolutionary mission that should compel them to take great risks to be more successful in accomplishing it. Yet, most churches become very risk-adverse conservators of the status quo. As my Dad used to say when we were skiing, "If you're not falling than you're not pushing yourself." Todd Rhoades, the guy in Ohio behind MMI, offers this thought-provoking piece on that subject.

I was just reading my new copy of Business 2.0 magazine; and found an interesting article on Google. There was the story of Sheryl Sandberg, one of the Vice Presidents at Google.com who committed an error that cost Google several million dollars...
"Bad decision, moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money,” is all she’ll say about it—and when she realized the magnitude of her mistake, she walked across the street to inform Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and unofficial thought leader. “I feel feally bad about this,” Sandberg told Page, who accepted her apology. But as she turned to leave, Page said something that surprised her. “I’m so glad you made this mistake,” he said. “Because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don’t have any of these mistakes, we’re just not taking enough risk.”
Hmmm… how does this apply to the church?
How much risk is your church taking?
Are you doing too much, or too little?
Larry Page seems to put things in this scenario:
Move quickly --> you do too much
Move slowly --> you’re too cautious and get too little done
No mistakes --> you’re not taking enough risk.
Google works hard to risk, try new things, and move forward, even if it means some eventual mistakes and mis-steps. Their mission is so important to them that they would rather risk doing it wrong sometimes than not doing it at all.
That got me thinking about our mission as the church.
Do we value our mission so much that we tackle it with as much vigor as Google does?
Do we give staff and lay leadership members the freedom to fail?
Do we support them in their mistakes?
Do we take risks that, more often than not, take us closer to reaching our goals and mission?
Or do we shrink back, moving slowly and cautiously, second-guessing every decision?
Let’s face it… the stakes are a lot higher in our line of work than that of Google’s. We’re in the fight for people’s souls. Which would you rather lead? A church that has the tendency of moving too quickly and doing too much; or one that is known for being to cautious and doing too little?
If you’re not making mistakes, you just might not be risking enough!
Clearly, mistakes are not to be desired or taken lightly. But, if you accept that they are inevitable in trying new things, they are a part of life that have to be accepted and weighed against the potential gains that they make possible. What do you think: Is WCC risking enough?

21 September 2006

Great Conversations

Christians should have great conversations. After all, we've got the most important, best stuff in life to talk about. Twice in the last week, I've had the opportunity to find myself in a great conversation about who we understand God to be and how He is involved daily in our lives. This came about because of a great conversation-starter in a video by a company called NOOMA. Nooma videos are

"short films with communicators that really speak to us. Compact, portable, and concise. Each NOOMA touches on issues that we care about, that we want to talk about, and it comes in a way that fits our world. It's a format that's there for us when we need it, as we need it, how we need it."

The video we watched was 011 Rhythm. Each video comes on a DVD lasts about 15 minutes, has a discussion guide included, and costs $10.00. They work great to get small group discussion going. The featured speaker is Rob Bell (Christianity Today article, Beliefnet article), the founding Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville (Grand Rapids). I'd also heartily recommend Rob's first book Velvet Elvis:Repainting the Christian Faith. It has deeply impacted everyone I know who has read it.

19 September 2006

Great Article on our "segmented lives"

The Pathetic Segmented Life: Why people stay away from Church by the droves by Steve Sjogren in the SERVE! Ezine.

Can a Brutha Get a Comment!?

Thanks to everyone who completed a survey on Sunday. The results should be helpful to the people who crafted it and are looking to use the data for some planning. A couple of surveys came in late and ended-up on my desk. One caught my eye. I had to blog about it.

The person who completed it had added a response to the responses about spiritual needs on the second side. Under the relationships section, they'd added "Relationship with CHRIST" noting parenthetically "(how could this be left off the survey?!)" I guess they didn't think that this was covered under the very next option: Spiritual Issues.

We are a church, for God's sake! Literally--we are a church so we exist for God's sake ("sake" means purpose, reason, motive, behalf, or benefit). We accomplish that by entering into an ongoing relationship with Jesus. This is the central, primary interest in everything that we do. I kinda think that that should be an obvious point that we're all clear about--not something that we would have been trying to find-out through a survey (if we had included that and people hadn't put it as #1, then we would have really had a problem!).

You could chalk this up to this person not seeing specific language that they expected to see. But, the additional comments spot made it clear that this was not the case, that there was more driving this addition. Continuing they wrote: "the survey seems to reflect the tenor of the church--more focus on human relationships and issues, on our behavior than our LORD."

It is true that recently we have been placing increased emphasis on how we live-out our relationship with God by (1) doing good deeds and (2) having healthy relationships with each other. The Bible speaks extensively and forcefully about both of these. Neither one is the primary thing--salvation through a relationship with God in Jesus is--but critical secondary concerns that reveal how the primary thing gets lived-out in our lives. This is one area where your ancient Jewish forerunners in faith were more on-target than we tend to be. Since the scriptures devote so much time and space to them, we are compelled to do the same (if you're not convinced, it's worth taking some time to study both concepts). In the past, I don't think we've given these their proper emphasis.

But, I hope this person and everyone else is clear about which thing is the priority. In fact, it was just last Sunday that I noted in both services that "if we'd put more focus on who we are, we wouldn't have to spend so much time trying to figure out what we're supposed to do." Behavior is not the critical issue. Understanding identity (through our relationship with God) and living the purpose that flows from it (expressed primarily in the doing of good works and building of restored relationships) is the work every Christ-follower is called to (sound like a recently discussed passage of Luke anyone?). Whether embodied in the Ten Commandments' directives for our relationships, or the Great Commandment's insistence that our right relationships with each other are part of loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, this is core stuff.

So, my hope is that this is clear. It's why our major studies the last two years have had Jesus as the obvious central emphasis (Hebrews' Jesus & ? & the According to Luke series). It's why our shorter studies have revolved around how we live life for or with God: Pilgrimage Songs (discipleship for life), Look In the Mirror (a church vision for God to expand His influence through us), Money/You/Your Heart (existing as God's stewards), Living a Resurrection Life (Sabbath-keeping, Lord's Supper, Baptism). It's why our reorganization of the Cell Groups is driven by Paul's word to Titus that our relationships with each other are a key expression of a response to salvation (Titus 3:3-11). And it's why our three newly forming ministries (Connections, Ordinary Attempts, and the Bridge Ministry) are being formed. It's also why I don't spend much time focusing on "issues" like "how to be a better parent" or "keys to a happy marriage" on Sundays--they aren't the first and most important concern.

That said, they do have a place in a church. I feel bad for this person already thinking we're doing too much on these matters, because I don't feel that we're doing enough yet. I don't think we give parents or couples enough guidance on those critical human relationships. We don't have any ministry that counsels single parents, people who are divorced, those struggling with addictions--all manner of human issues.

My hope and prayer is that in the future, we will all understand that these things are the critical ways by which our relationship with Christ grows and is revealed as deeper...more vital...more concrete, as surely as Bible study and prayer. As Jesus noted, how we treat each other is how He reckons we've treated Him (Mat. 25:44-46). Makes human relationships pretty important in my mind. I hope it does in yours too. In fact, I'd be reassured to know that it does by you leaving a comment to say so! Can a brutha get a comment!?

12 September 2006

September 12th--A New Reality

I resisted the temptation to post an entry yesterday on 09/11. This weekend, I read someone's suggestion that 09/11 should be made a national holiday. While I understand the movtivation, I hate the thought of 09/11 mattress sales, "What are you doing for the September 11th weekend?" questions, or any of the other things that we do on what should be somber holidays like Memorial Day. There's something appropriate about having 09/11 hang over the normality of our daily routine--much as it did on that day and the ones that followed.

09/12/01 was a day radically different than 09/10/01. 09/11 was like a giant blade that slashed a jagged tear through reality--creating two very different disconnected realities. Suddenly, in one morning, we knew we were vulnerable. Their problems were not their problems alone, but could be our problems as well. We realized that life is precarious and fleeting. We faced the fact that there are people who hate us around the world. We acknowledged fanaticism that drives a person to kill in the name of their cause or God. We looked at everyday situations and objects with a new sense of their awful potential (don't you always now look at low-flying loud planes with a new sense of "oh no, what if..."). We contemplated the horrific possibility that at any time, in any place, thousands of people could suddenly die in the flames and smoke and motion of mindless carnage.

I spent time yesterday listening, watching, talking to family about what happened on that day. Cami and I had just moved here from Dallas. I was in my second week of work as WCC's Associate Pastor. Once we heard about the unfolding events, I sat at Pastor Wilson's house with Paul Corp, the Youth Pastor, and tried to accept what I was seeing. It strikes me that I still haven't been able to do that. The more times I watch the video or hear the stories, the less real and harder to believe it becomes.

When I try to "bottom-line" that day for me, here's what I come up with: 09/11 cut a deep tear in me between what I think and what I feel--the two inner realities we all live with. I think that most Muslims are not radical jihadists, yet I feel rage at Islam for what it has yielded. I think that this kind of vulnerability was always with us, but feel that it's now a part of life in a bigger more awful way. I think that life goes on in the face of tragedies like this, but feel that my life will never quite get past that day. I think that more people have died in other terrible plagues, conflicts, and cataclysms, but feel that this was was terrible in a way that defies mere numerical comparison. Ultimately, I think that God is sovereign and that our trust in Him is warranted by the evidence of our living, yet I feel that 09/11 is "exhibit A" for a world out of His control and filled with evidence that trust in Him is not always based on rational calculation.

For me, 09/11 represents the dividing line between two realities--the old and the new; it is the crack between much of the divide between what I think and feel. There are scriptures I could quote that speak to this...

"On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: " 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" (Acts 4:23-25 NIV)

there are stories that offer guidance to those who live in similar plots...

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "
(Lk. 13:1-9 NIV)

and there are prayers that cry-out of a common place of grief and pleas for help..

"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah." (Ps. 61:2-4 NIV)

But, in the end, there is a choice. On 09/12--both the first one when no planes flew in the sky and the smoke still ascended into the sky from Ground Zero and this one when planes fill the skies and smoke still ascends from bombings and firefights in Afghanistan and Iraq--I choose to live by what I think rather than by what I feel. 09/11 reminds me with awful gravity that everyday boils down to a choice about what we live for, how we express that, what we hold dear. It is a perfect example of living caught in between two realities and choosing to live one of them even though trapped in the other (much like what it is to live as a follower of Jesus in this time). I live as a Christian trapped in a fallen world but seeking to live the reality of the world to come. I live on 09/12 as someone trapped in a world that is hate-filled, violent, and sadly deadly but seeking to live 09/10 normality as a son, husband, and father. For that awareness of the choice I make between these realities, I can give thanks on 09/12 and all the days that follow. I choose to do that, though it's not what I feel.