Call Me a Heretic

There has been a lot of talk about Heaven and Hell lately
That's no a bad thing
However, how we got there is rather disappointing
It started when some Christian leadership accused Pastor Rob Bell
of Mars Hill Church in Michigan
of being a Universalist
and a heretic
Because they "heard" that in his new book
Love Wins
Rob Bell says there is no Hell.

Now, mind you, few,
if any
of these leaders actually read the book.
But they let the accusations and judgements fly anyway
Score another one for the church looking really stupid in the media

I had a brief conversation in Facebook with someone
I don't even know
about Rob Bell and this controversy
This other pastor was adamant that we root out heresy
in whatever form it presents itself:
If it looks like heresy
if it smells like heresy
it must be heresy.
I am pretty sure he worked as a temp
for the Spanish Inquisition

So, to spite this other pastor
I am putting my neck out on the chopping block
Call me a heretic
I believe that there is the possibility of post-mortem salvation
That is to say that I believe that people can be saved after death

Now keep in mind that when we talk about this stuff
we are firmly in the realm of speculation
and I admit that I have no specific Bible verses to back me up
I do, however, have some pretty solid contemporary and historical theologians
in my corner

Among them, Jerry Walls
who is a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame
formerly of Asbury Theological Seminary.
And even CS Lewis gave imagination to a similar concept
in his book
The Great Divorce

Here's the deal
If a person's salvation depended on her hearing the gospel
in it's truest form
that is to say not garbled up by the biases and misunderstanding of the messenger
Then, Houston, we have a problem

Because the church of Jesus Christ
not just the United Methodist Church
is not doing a very good job getting the message out
and it would be totally our fault if a person did not hear the gospel
or did not hear the gospel in it's truest form
In addition, what if that person who heard the gospel
didn't respond favorably because in their life they have seen
and heard Christians doing some really horrible things
or maybe they were one of the victims of Christians
doing really horrible things?

Could you blame a person for not accepting salvation because
they heard, saw or were victim to Christian abuse?
Or maybe, like Gandhi, they liked Jesus just not Christians
So why become one?

If God's only choice is the church
Then the world is in trouble
and we only have ourselves to blame.

Instead, I believe in something Jerry Walls calls
Optimal Grace
The idea is that there are people who won't choose Christ in this world
because of the above
or who never, ever heard the gospel
period
and God, who is infinite in love and mercy, gives them an opportunity
post death
to accept salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let me quote Professor Walls

"It seems clear that God would be willing to offer his grace equally to all persons. That is, he would desire to distribute his grace fairly so that all persons receive a full opportunity to respond to it. That is, God would not give some persons many opportunities to repent and receive his grace while giving others only minimal opportunities or even none at all. It seems a God of perfect love would do everything he could, short of overriding freedom, to elicit a positive response from all persons. A God of perfect love would not easily take no for an answer. Indeed, the very idea of optimal grace entails that each person must make a fully decisive response to it. Half-hearted, or uninformed responses would not be decisive." (Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy, p. 67)

Walls goes on to write, "Surely a perfectly wise, powerful, and loving God would not allow the opportunity for salvation to be limited to the inconsistent and sometimes haphazard, albeit loving, effort of his human servants to spread the gospel." (p. 74)

Does that save us from the responsibility to share the gospel?
NO!
But it does give us hope for those who did not accept salvation by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ
while they walked this earth.
And, it does make a lot of theological sense
that a perfectly loving God would make provision
for his stumbling church.

So call me a heretic
but call me hopeful
and if you must chop off my head,
that's okay.
I'll be fine.

From Spectators to Participants

Lots of folks
from Christ-followers
to seekers
to skeptics
ask me from time to time
"How can I encounter God?"
or
"How can I see God?"
or
"How can I experience God?"
and
I have a simple answer for that:
become a participant not a spectator.

It seems to me we
including myself
spend a lot of time
being spectators:
watching TV
checking Facebook
checking Twitter
watching
viewing
spectating
consuming.

Many folks who go to church
go expecting to be spectators
rather than participants.
"Hope the choir is on key today."
"Hope the preacher is interesting."
"Hope the sermon is short."

And we go home wondering
where is God?

No wonder.
Faith is not a spectator sport.
It demands participation
if we are going to encounter God.
That means
getting out there
feeding the hungry
visiting the prisoner
holding the hand of the lonely and forgotten
weeping with those in grief
speaking to the powers that perpetuate injustice
making room in our lives for someone else.

My colleague, Jeanne Wisenbaugh
preached on Mary, the mother of Jesus, yesterday
and something she said got my mind going.
And what came out was something like this
Mary wasn't going to be a spectator
in God's divine drama
if God was going to invite her to be a participant.
She said, "Yes."
"If that's what you want, God, I'm all in."

I believe that God invites everyone to be a participant
in the divine drama
of human history.
And the one's who see God
are the one's
who say
"Yes."

The Language of the Spirit, Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about some of the different languages
that we encounter
and interpret
everyday
The language of music
or of art
or of good food.
And I wondered out loud
about the language of the Spirit:
What is the language of the Spirit?

How does the Spirit communicate to us,
and how do we,
in turn,
communicate with the Spirit?
Is it only through prayer?
That seems a bit too simple and
a bit narrow.
Aren't there other languages through which
The Spirit communicates to us
and we communicate to the Spirit?
Love, maybe
or mercy
or tears
or sighs
or acts of compassion for someone else?

And how do we interpret the Spirit
to someone else?
How do we speak
the language of the Spirit
to another person?

I am still seeking the answers
but I do know this

Language
any language
is powerful.

Words have the power to
create or destroy
wound or heal
inspire or defeat

Love has the power to create
Mercy has the power to heal
Grace has the power to transform
Confession has the power to reconcile
Truth has the power to right wrongs

There is power in language.

God give us the wisdom
to use the power of language
and to use it wisely
not for our own purposes
but for the purposes of
of One much greater
than ourselves.

The Language of the Spirit

I have been aware of languages lately
but probably not the languages you are thinking of.

I have become aware that there is a language to things like
Music,
and food,
and art.

Take music for instance:
Blues has its own musical language
that any musician and most Western listeners
can recognize.
So does jazz
or heavy Metal
Or classical
And so does the music of other cultures
like African
or Japanese
Each has its own langauge
phrasing
and vernacular
and the songwriter uses this language to
tell us something
about herself
or
ourselves.

Or take food:
Food has a language of
textures
and flavors
and places from where the ingredients come
the Sea, for instance
and cooking methods
roasting or smoking or boiling
and all of this ends up the language of
this dish and the culture in which it was born

Or art
art uses the langues of colors and imagery
and how much paint is on the canvas
and where the light is focused
or who much of the sculpture is finished
and how much left undone
or what space is used and not used
and all of this becomes the language the artist uses
to try and tell us something
about himself
or about
us.

All this got me thinking
what is the languge of the Spirit?

Is it Scripture?
It is the sermon?
Or prayer?
Or music
Or art
Or food
Or creation
Or less tangible things like:
Love?
Or compassion
Or passion
Or conscience
Or courage
Or
Maybe
All of the above?

All I want
are the ears
and room in my heart
to
listen.

Out of Touch

I have had a cup of ice water poured directly in my lap recently.

It came in the form of an article distributed by The Office of Research of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.

The article claims that nearly half of the population of the United States is “out of touch with church” –

Meaning –“These folks are unreceptive and closed to attending church and churchgoing is simply not on their agenda.”

Unreceptive
And
Closed

For the last several decades the church has (rightly or wrongly) targeted “seekers:” people who were interested or curious about God and a relationship with Christ and His church, but not “in” yet.

Now even the population of seekers is dwindling
And the fastest growing demographic is
Unreceptive
And
Closed

Not people who have been hurt by a church
and have vowed never to return
Not people who have never had a church connection
Not people who are “spiritual just not religious”

Unreceptive
And
Closed

That is pretty sobering

One question that was not addressed in the article
Is why?
Why are more and more people becoming unreceptive and closed?
I have some guesses
But I think the whole truth is that the answers to the why questions
Are as varied and different as the people who can truthfully and thoughtfully answer them.

The good news is that
Some,
Who have either seen this coming
Or experienced it themselves,
Have created expressions of the church like
“Missional church”
Or “emerging church”
Or “Fresh Expressions”

The bad news
For some
Is that we must wake up to the reality
That we
The church
Especially mainline
Sometimes called
Oldline
Denominations
CANNOT
Continue to do the same things we have done for the last
Few years
The last few decades
The last fifty years
The last century
And expect to effectively reach people
And make disciples of Jesus Christ
For the transformation of the world

The question is now
Are we willing to do be different for the sake of the kingdom?

Are we willing to take risks we have never taken
Are we willing to go to places we don’t usually go
Are we willing to meet people we don’t know
Are we willing to do things we have never done
If it means that we will reach someone with the love of God
Who is
Unreceptive
And
Closed?

Or maybe the question ought to be
Who is really out of touch?

Spiritual but not Religious

I remember the first time I heard these words:
"I don't like organized religion."
What did he mean?
He doesn't like organization?
He doesn't like the church?
He doesn't like religion?
He doesn't like institutions?
Is he just excusing his lack of participation in a community of faith?
I'll admit,
it was jarring
and I was unprepared to dialogue about it,
though I am sure I asked a few questions for clarification

If I had a dime for every time I heard these words
(or one of their many variations)
"I am not religious but I am spiritual."
What does THAT mean?

More often than not, I think these statements boil down to two things:
First, the modern perception of the church and
Second, a modern preoccupation with the self and the immediate

To be sure, the church has had some less-than-stellar moments in our history
Moments for which we cannot be proud
Moments about which we should, even now, weep in shame
Moments which clearly do not reflect our best practices and the values of God's Kingdom
Many folks seem to relish in pointing out the church's historical and contemporary flaws
and it seems to give them sufficient reason to not only reject the church
but ridicule any and all who practice the Christian faith.

Irrelevant?
I am not so sure.
Irrelevant has come to mean more like "What have you done for me lately?"
Clearly the church is relevant in the lives of countless of people both within and outside of the church.

For instance, my congregation was relevant in the lives of about 900 people a few weeks ago as we handed out free food to the hungry
Unfortunately, it's the seedy, not the positive, story that gets told in the press.

(I will have to admit if we are talking about a relevant message, I will agree that I have sat in worship services listening to a completely irrelevant message given by a less-than-passionate preacher praying that a brick would fall on my head and stop the pain.")

That said, I find it hard to believe that one can reject a whole organization and mock millions of followers because of a small minority of events and people.

Today "being spiritual" has become, not only trendy, but an escape.
Today what passes for spirituality is a home brew of pragmatic practices and beliefs borrowed from a vast array of religions including both Western and Eastern religions
as well as aboriginal religions.
These spiritualities are all about what works for me now
Practices are about making me a better person
They do not hold me to an authority beyond my own conscience or pleasure
They do not demand that my "beliefs" be cogent
They are not about how I can make the world a better place
They do necessarily hold me accountable to how I treat others
Or how I steward the earth and all that dwell on it
Ethics are about what works for me and can be abandoned
the minute they cease working for my pleasure

Don't get me wrong
I don't think the church is perfect
And I applaud any attempt to transcend self
and find a transforming relationship with God
But what I have found
is that community - like the church
or the synagogue
or the mosque
however imperfect
is the right and best place to sustain
a wise and healthy spirituality

I am not sure what people mean by
Religious
or
Spiritual
But I AM sure that
Jesus
Mohammad
Moses
Thomas Merton
John Wesley
Gandhi
Mother Theresa
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Joshua Heschel
the Dalai Lama
and those like them

were
Both.

My Personal Stalker

There was this guy that always followed me around wherever I went.

I mean WHEREVER!

The guy was an extreme stalker!
He followed me to work.
He followed me at home.
He followed me on vacation.
I couldn't get away from him.

Sometimes he would tell me how good I am
What a great preacher I am
What a great pastor I am
What a great dad I am
And stuff like that.

He's also the guy who tells me
What a terrible guitar player I am
And how ugly I am
And so on.

And, when I made a mistake
No matter how large or small
He would take a whack at me
Or beat me up real good.

The thing is
That even though he has followed me for years
I didn't know his name.
Until last week.

A couple of weeks ago I made a mistake
And he beat me up
Real good
For days.

Then I learned two things
His name,
And that he doesn't exist.

His name is "perfect jeff."
And "perfect jeff" doesn't exist,
Really.
He only existed in my psyche.
And though I always knew
I am not perfect
"perfect jeff" would tell me otherwise
And smack me when I wasn't.

People would tell me to let go of the mistake
And the event in which the mistake occurred
And they were right.

But, what I also needed to do
Was to let go of the guy who kept beating me up over it.

So, I did.

And my life is different.
And I have a new-found freedom
And I am healing
Thanks to the liberating grace
Of God
And of the church.

So, to all of the recovering perfectionists out there
And to those perfectionists who long to recover
It's time to let go of your personal
Perfectionist
Stalker
And be liberated into the grace of God
Who loves us
With and despite
Our many
Many
Faults and flaws.

Who needs to be perfect anyway?
I am pretty sure it is over-rated.

Transformation

Transformation.

Christians talk about it - especially at Easter
But do we really think it can happen
To someone else?

I have a close friend who went to a lunch where Michelle Obama was the speaker.

(I am pretty sure Michelle Obama had a crush on me in high school.)
(Okay, we didn't go to the same high school,
but I am pretty sure that if we did she would have.)

My friend was a bit apprehensive because
she leans Republican
and had read some of Michelle Obama's writings from like
college
and she didn't like what she read.
And I
(who love the Obamas even though I don't like everything our President has said or done or stands for)
I thought to myself
So what.
Who
over 40
is the same person they were in college?
or the same person they were at 30?

I know I am not

Thanks be to God!

When me friend called me after the luncheon
She told me how great the luncheon was and
How she had changed her mind about Michelle Obama
And how impressed she was with her
And the work Michelle Obama is doing
I think she felt a genuine kindred spirit with Mrs. Obama

Transformation

It happens to everyone who is breathing.
We are not who we were then
Or at least mostly not
Or shouldn't be

A few months ago I caught up with a friend from high school
high school was like 30 years ago
We discovered we live only twenty minutes from each other
So we had lunch and we have kept in touch since
And, while we were very close in high school
It really feels like starting all over again
We've both changed
We inhabit different worlds

I say all this because I think that church has forgotten
that God transforms people
every day.
We are not who we were then
Neither are they
whoever they may be
And so when
they
come to our worship
or our programs
or our dinners
or our fellowship
let's welcome them
as new creations

I mean
if they are coming to us
haven't they chosen Christ at some level?
in some way?
and isn't that the beginning of being a new creation in Christ?
And don't we want to see them
not as they were
nor maybe even so much as they are
but what they
through God's grace
are becoming?

I think that's they way God see me.
And man
Am I grateful!
Because I would hate to think that God still sees me
as that awkward
frumpy
totally messed up
nerd
I was in high school
and thinks to Himself
No way am I coming within twenty miles of
THAT guy!

Who have you been with?

There is an old adage for pastors I learned when I was in seminary

"People don't care how much you know
Until they know how much you care."

I get it
"Pastor,
Caring comes before preaching."

But, that's not how I see many of my colleagues interpreting that statement.

It looks more like this:
"Care for your congregation just enough so that they won't get too upset when you talk over their heads with a vocabulary you learned while getting your masters or doctorate degrees."

I know one pastor who told her congregation from the pulpit that she was smarter than they were because she went to _______ University and _______ Seminary.

Usually it is more subtle than that.

I recently came to the epiphany that
Mostly
The congregations I have served and led have not cared how much I know.
Not one person in any of my congregations has ever asked to see my report cards.
Not one.
Ever.

They don't care how much I know.
I think what they mostly care about when I step to the pulpit
is
Have I been with the risen Christ this week
And will I share it?

I believe that there is a tremendous hunger in our congregations
and in the world at large
to be with people
and to hear from people
who have been with the risen Christ
and who will share that experience
not just with words
but through attitude
and outlook
and living in general.

So, I might reword that old adage to say
"People don't care how much you know
until they see who you have been with."

My plan from now on
when I approach the pulpit
is to say
if only to myself
"I have been with the risen Christ this week
and it has made an impact on my life
and I want to share it with you."

For all believers
I want to encourage you to try that same thing
when you go to work
when you go to school
when you work out at the club
when you hang out with friends.

I am absolutely
100% convinced
with all that I am
that there is a tremendous thirst
in our congregations
and in the world
to be with
and to hear from
people who have been with and
whose lives have been changed by
the risen Christ.

But, don't take my word for it.

Take a good look around your school
your office
your church.

Any hope there?
Any joy there?
Any passion there?

If you have been with the risen Christ
then you have living water
and the world
my friends
is parched.

Stephen Hawking and the Faith Imperative: or Christians and the brightest physicist may have more in common than you thought

I was in college when I read Stephen Hawkings book, "A Brief History of Time."
I thought Hawkings was brilliant and his book very accessible
I still do.

I was watching a documentary yesterday (made in 2008) that was updating Hawkings' work twenty-five or so years later. It was talking about the "M Theory" and "The String Theory" and other theories that are trying to get at a "theory of everything."

In other words: one theory to explain all that happens in the universe.

It was about ten years ago that I was introduced to Quantum Physics and The String Theory by a wonderful friend of mine who was on a journey to find God and that maybe God was more than our finite human constructs.

Now, I don't pretend to get everything about Quantum Physics or The String Theory. But, I do have a small general knowledge of those subjects.
Enough to be intrigued and curious.

So, I watched the show.

What you have to know is that physicists believe that prior to the Big Bang, the universe was a tight, little, dense, symmetrical dot of matter; and that in the nano-seconds following the explosion the forces that shape and work in the universe came into being.

Including gravity.

Gravity gives physicists all kinds of headaches
Because it seems weaker than all of the other forces.

How do you explain that?

Physicists, like Hawking, have spent their whole careers trying.

Let's digress for a moment.

We have been taught that science is about verifiable fact and religion is about faith in Someone who cannot be verified or observed scientifically and so the twain shall not, indeed cannot, meet.

In fact, I have been put off more than once by arrogant people who claim that my faith is silly, naive, ignorant and irresponsible blather because it cannot be scientifically proven or verified.

So, imagine my surprise when I hear Stephen Hawking say that they "hope to one day find the symmetry in the universe that they believe is there but have never observed."

Believe

but
never
observed.

Believe.

The host of the documentary went on to say that physicists have a lot of great theories
which exist
only
on paper.

So,
Physicists have spent a lifetime
constructing a truth that exists only on paper
to try to explain something they believe is there
but they have never observed.

Does that not sound an awful lot like religion?

I have faith in a God I have never seen with my eyes but have experienced in many ways.

Stephen Hawking has faith in mathematics.

I am not knocking his faith.
And, I kind of like having something in common with Stephen Hawking.

Belief
in something
we have never observed.

Tour Guides for Jesus

I am trying to take the advice of my niece who is a prolific blogger - and blog pundit - about setting aside time every month to write my blog. Now I just have to find the time to schedule the time to write my blog.

I'm hopeless.

As you may already know, I am a big fan of Rob Bell, pastor at Mars Hill Church near Grand Rapids. He wrote a book called Velvet Elvis in which he articulated faithful Christian-following in words I could not find in nearly two decades of ministry.

One portion that captured my imagination was his description of being a missionary. He writes, "Missions is less about the transportation of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there."

In the past, most Christians have thought of missions and being a missionary is to take God where God is not. I agree with Rob Bell when he writes, "Some people actually believe that God is absent from a place until they get there."

But, that would be a really flawed understanding of missions.

The essential flaw in that thinking is to think that we need to take God anywhere, and that there is a place in this universe - let alone on this earth - where God is not present.

Missions is more about starting where people are an pointing out where God is present and working in their lives. Missionaries are, then, kind of tour guides for Jesus.

Again I quote from Rob Bell: "Tour guides are people who see depth and texture an connection where others don't. That is why the best teachers are masters of the obvious. They see the same things we do, but they are aware of so much more. And when they point it out, it changes the way we see everything."

The best tour guides tell us how a color or brush stroke can tell us more about the artist, or how the style of architecture can tell us more about the architect.

I like the "Tour Guide" image for missions and missionaries. It makes more sense to me and is better theology.

I am leading my congregation to think of themselves as missioners
As tour guides for Jesus
Who go to the people they know are living without a relationship with God
Without hope
And pointing out to their friends where God is present and working in their lives.

But, missioners do more then just point out God.
They live as a Christ-follower would live in that culture.
Missioners aren't interested in changing the culture, or even necessarily changing the person
I am pretty sure that's God's job, not ours.

Missioners don't need to take on the false beliefs of the culture, or the practices of the culture that run counter to a Christ-centered life.

Instead, the missioner lives as a living example of how a Christ-followers looks in that culture.

So, a missioner in the culture of sports
Would live as a faithful Christ-follower in the sports culture.
A missioner to the medical community
Would live as a faithful Christ-follower in the medical culture.
The same is true of missioners in the office
Or missioners in the youth culture,
Or missioners in the local community.

We are not talking about changing culture
Or confronting culture
Or even transforming culture.
We are talking about being a living example
To people
Who have adopted a set of beliefs,
Behaviors
And assumptions about Who God is and is not
And connecting some of the dots
And, maybe, change the way they see
God
Themselves
Their present
Their past and
Their future.

My New Year's resolution - I will try harder at updating my blog more often. In fact, my goal is to update it monthly. That will probably mean more stuff about what's going on at Flushing United Methodist Church than my thoughts on particular subjects and issues.

I have a lot of respect for the bloggers that can write daily blogs that are well-thought out, interesting and make me think.

This month, my thing is untransformed Christians and missonal disciples.

First, untransformed Christians.

Last summer I preached a sermon series called, More Like Jesus. The idea was that people don't need Christians to be perfect, they just need us to be more like Jesus. The way we got at that was by looking at some of the criticisms for the church and Christians and Christianity by non-believers. (i.e. Christian are judgemental, ignorant, etc...)

As I have reflected more on those criticisms I have come to decide that the majority of the criticisms come from encounters with untransformed Christians.

Untransformed Christians are people who have either stopped growing in spiritual maturity, or never grew in spiritual maturity; or they are folks who have chosen not to allow a certain part of their lives to be transformed by the grace of God.

Please understand, I am not judging as to whether these folks have faith in Jesus Christ or have had a salvation/conversion/new birth experience. I am saying that there are folks who have a relationship at some level with Jesus Christ so that they call themselves Christian, and yet they have either not allowed God's grace and power to transform them or they have stopped allowing God's grace to transform them.

I know tat there are still bit of my life that I have have not completely surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. And, I know that there are times when I mess up - BIG time and small time. But, I hope that when I do mess up, I have the grace and courage not to try and excuse my mess up, but admit it, make amends and move on.

I am REALLY glad that mistakes don't have to be the final word and that God does not disown us when we mess up.

So, what do we do about untransformed Christians? Nothing. Let God deal with that. God is more than big enough. Rather, I want to make sure I am growing in my relationship with Jesus Christ and that I allow God to transform every aspect of my life so that I can be the man, husband, father, pastor, brother, etc...that God redeemed me to be.

Maybe, then, my life can be a better and more attractive testimony to God's love and power than the untransformed Christian.

Now, about missional disciples.

Personally, I think the church needs a new paradigm for Christ-followers.

In fact, I rarely us the word disciple much to describe followers of Jesus Christ.

"Disciple" carries too much negative (and sometimes ambiguous) baggage.

Many churches call the members of their congregation, "ministers." And, that is Biblically true. But, culturally the term "minister" has been gone through so many changes that it has lost teeth.

My main objection is that the term minister does not carry with it a sense of faith sharing or evangelism (talk about a scary word today). I strongly believe that ALL Christ-followers should share their faith verbally in some way. (yes, I wrote verbally! We at Flushing UMC do a great job sharing our collective faith through missions and ministry, but no so much at verbally. That, I am certain, is due more to my leadership than anything else. I intend to change that.)

So, I think we need to embrace a new paradigm for Christ-followers.

The one that makes the most sense to me is being a missionary or a missioner. To me a missionary is one who goes to another (different) culture to bring the message of hope in Jesus Christ and to incarnate or embody the love of God in Jesus Christ. A missioner is one who does the same thing only with people of the same or similar culture.

So a missioner not only does ministry, but also intentionally looks for ways to share the good news that God has given us in Jesus.

This month we at Flushing UMC are looking at the foundations for being missioners through a series of messages called, The Missionary God. You can check out our website for those sermons.

I like what Rob Bell says about being missionaries.

I'll share that next time.

The Particular Trap

I was almost caught in it today -

The Particular Trap.

I took the bait and heard the snap. But, then I saw it for what it was and chose to let myself out.

The Particular Trap; it is when I make universals out of particulars. It's generalizing. I find when I get caught in this trap I get really ugly or really down.

Let me tell you what happened.

I was surfing YouTube, looking for something else and I came across a video by Rob Bell. Since I like Rob Bell I thought I'd see what else was on YouTube related to Rob Bell.

[Full disclosure #1: I like Rob Bell. I have never met him. I resonate with much of his theology. I loved his books Velvet Elvis and Sex God. I didn't think his latest book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, was as good as the other two. Just last Sunday I used one of his Nooma videos in worship, and I have quoted from him in a few sermons. I have worshipped at Bell's church. But, if I lived in Grand Rapids, I probably wouldn't worship regularly at Mars Hill for personal reasons.]

So, I look up Rob Bell on YouTube and got dozens of videos about his work. One was a nearly three hour vitriolic diatribe by a radio talk-show guy blasting Rob Bell in a segment called "Rob Bell Isn't a Christian." In another video a pastor showed one of Bell's Nooma videos and then spent the rest of his sermon taking apart Bell's theology in that video. There were more along the same lines - pastors and speakers trashing Bell's theology and his work. Another radio host (I didn't know you could put radio clips on YouTube) predicted that "very soon you will hear that 'it is okay to be a Christian and a homosexual' coming out of Mars Hill."

[Full Disclosure #2: I really have a strong response when people talk as if they believe that entrance to heaven depends on a perfect score on both the oral and written components of a theological exam. Don't even get me started.]

It's not that I take the blasting of Rob Bell personally. I just feel bad for Bell - who, if he is healthy, isn't even paying attention to these criticisms.

Then I got to thinking about the critics - see full disclosure #2. And I got to thinking that if this is how the church is, then it is on a fast and troubling spiral downward. Then I got to thinking about how I am losing faith in the church - and that's when I heard the snap of the trap shutting down.

I was making a generalization about the church from a relatively small number of people. These folks are part of the church of Jesus Christ, but they are NOT the church of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ does not waste time criticizing people who don't theologically agree with them because there are waaay too many people in the world who are hungry and afraid and wounded and neglected and oppressed to argue theology. Besides, the church gets enough criticism from non-Christians (some of it legitimate); we don't need to sling mud inside the family.

The Particular Trap. It perpetuates things like racism and sexism and ageism and all of the other isms that ensnare humanity and keep us from being the people that God created and redeemed us to be. Sometimes I can see the Particular Trap a mile away, and then, like today, I only see it when I hear the snap shut.

Thank God I heard the snap.

I share this with you because I want to remain alert and I want you to remain alert as well. I suspect that I am not the only one who gets caught by The Particular Trap. I am pretty sure that a lot of people get caught in that trap.

But, maybe I am generalizing again.

There is Not Always a Good Reason

Okay, I am going to write something that may shock you.

I no longer believe that everything happens for a reason - at least not in the way that most Christians think.

Certainly everything happens for a reason - someone made a decision. But, to often we attribute events and circumstances to God that I don't believe belong in God's lap.

For instance, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast all kinds of people were trying to make sense of that event - including some prominent Christian leaders. Some Christians claimed it was God's punishment on New Orleans for the sin of the French Quarter or gambling.

Really?

Then why was the French Quarter still standing and the first district to open up after Katrina? Did God miss the target? Did God not whip up a strong enough hurricane? Why were the casinos the second to open up and had their best year ever because people had nothing to do in New Orleans except gamble?

After terrorist rammed airplanes and their passengers into the World Trade Center in 2001, some Christian leaders claimed it was God's punishment on America for our tolerance of homosexuality. Where did they get that one??? I was unaware that everyone who died were either homosexual or pro-homosexual or that the World Trade Center was in any way connected with homosexuality - except, perhaps in some freaky Freudian way.

Last year Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter was killed in an accident when her older brother ran her over. It was tremendously tragic. People told the Chapman family that this event "happened for a reason."

What reason???

What they meant, of course, is that God created the circumstances by which the daughter ran out behind the vehicle at the same time her brother was backing up. An SUV is much heavier than a five-year-old and thus killed her - for some reason that only God knows.

Is that how God works??? Is that in the nature of God to kill a little girl with a car, or to displace thousands of people by a hurricane or to kill thousands of people through terrorists to teach us a lesson or prove a point???

Does cancer happen for a reason? Does most of the things that happen to people that they didn't choose into happen for a reason???

In one way they do. Someone made a choice. The reason some people get lung cancer is because they smoke four packs a day. The reason thousands of people died on September 11th is because some angry, radical, fringe zealots made a decision. The reason that hurricanes happen is because of atmospheric conditions.

Sometimes, a variety of unrelated circumstances converge with very tragic outcomes. It's called chaos theory.

Back to God.

When people look into the eyes of someone who just lost their daughter, or father; or just found out they have breast cancer or they lost their job, and they say "This happened for a reason;" let's not be quick to blame it on God.

Over and over again in the Bible I read how people make really bad decisions that wind up with very tragic outcomes and God works with those choices and within those outcomes to bring about some kind of good for people. Over and over I read in the Bible how chaos happens in life and God is there among us trying to bring as much good as possible.

So, in the traditional sense, I don't believe that everything happens for a reason. But, I do believe that God works in ALL things (the stuff we chose into and the stuff we didn't) to bring about the most good possible. (see Romans 8:28)

So, instead of blaming God and asking those unanswerable "why" questions, I am encouraging people to turn to God and trust God is at work in all things to bring about good in our lives.

There's not always a good reason. But, there is ALWAYS a good God.

Among and With

Counter: against, to act in opposition, in an opposite or wrong direction.


Counter cultural: a culture with values and mores that run counter to those of established society.


I was reading the blog of Rev. Dan Dick, the new Director of Connectional Ministries of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church. In a June, 2009 blog, Rev. Dicks was writing three questions we really need to face in our pursuit of growing God's church,

They are:

• Do we prefer style over substance?


• Are we more concerned with image over identity?


• Is being popular more important than being prophetic?

I have to admit, as one who tried to keep up with and implement much of the Church Growth Movement's rules and principles and best practices - I was more concerned with style and image and popularity.

Man, was that a treadmill.

No matter what I tried, no matter how hard I worked at it, the "key principle" or "the practice that will put you over the top" was always just one more step away, always the next rung up the ladder, always just around the next corner. (Plus, I am pretty sure I am not handsome enough, sharp enough, or cool enough to be one of those rock star pastors.)

Then Rev. Dicks wrote about being counter cultural. Now, in the best sense of that word, the church is always counter cultural, meaning that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, have different values and priorities and pursuits than those of the cultures that surround us. But, when counter cultural is lifted up as running in opposition to culture, that's when the conversation needs to start.

Now, it is a no brainer to me, and I trust to you, that if the culture is into human trafficking, then the church needs to work in opposition to that. When the culture is into harming children or the vulnerable or the powerless, then the church needs to work in opposition.

But, if we are to be a missionary church, if we are to see ourselves as missionaries in a mission field, then we don't need to stand in opposition to nor even separate ourselves from the cultures that surround us. That would be counterproductive.

Missionaries live among and with another culture. Missionaries learn the language and customs of their host culture. In many ways, missionaries "adopt" their host culture. Missionaries then look for ways to make connections between the host culture and God and God's grace and power and love and mercy. All the while, the missionary lives as as a faithful Christian to show how an indigenous Christian would live. Missionaries don't adopt all of the values of their host culture, but live Christian values among and with that culture.

No trying to "fix" people. No trying to conform the host culture to some alien standards or political or economic systems.

Being a missionary is about substance and identity and being prophetic in the Biblical sense of that word.

I am starting to see myself more as a lead missionary than a pastor. I am starting to lead my congregation to see themselves more as missionaries in the cultures to which they belong.

So, when churches brag about being "culturally relevant" and "image is everything" or when they brag about being "counter cultural" and "revolutionary" -

I am suspicious.

Circumference and Center

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat? What shall we drink' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you as well."

Matthew 6:31-33

Circumference.

Perimeter.

The outer edges.

The margins.

The fringe.

How many times do we confuse the circumference with the center?

How many times do we run after the things on the margins and neglect the center?

What shall I eat? Where shall I eat?

What shall I wear? Who shall I wear?

How can I look younger? How can I feel younger?

What can I acquire? Who can I acquire?

How can I look successful?

Image.

Many folks are consumed with it - consumed by it.

Image is the circumference. Image is the periphery. Image is the margin.

The circumference is not the center. And, when we confuse the two our life tends to get complicated and messy and out of focus.

Among the many awesome things that Jesus did for us was to point us to the center and encourage us to go there rather than to the margins.

The center.

The place where we find our focus, our meaning, our strength, our equilibrium, our peace, and the source of love, faith, grace and hope. The place where we find the Spirit dwelling within us. The place where we meet God in prayer. The place where we can listen and be heard.

The place where the sacred in our life mixes with the secular in our life.

And, for some, that makes the center a scary place.

The center is also where our fears reside, and we come face to face with our limitations, and our poor choices, and our bigotry and bitterness and jealousies.

But, in the center the secular can be made sacred, and the profane made profound, sins forgiven and bitterness forgotten. In the center we deal with who we are and we are also reminded Whose we are.

I am writing this at the beginning of the observance of Lent - a time when Christians make an intentional effort to cease pursuing the things of the circumference and examine the center. We do the work of self-examination and confession in order to make the center more of a place that we will more often choose to live from rather than the margins.

Jesus said that unbelievers run after the things of the circumference. I must confess that I am guilty of often running after the things that sit on the margins rather than running to and living from my center. I am pretty sure I am not the only one.

Does that mean Jesus is wrong?

Or, do my actions make a stark and unpleasant statement about my faith?

Reasons or Excuses?

Mohandis Gandhi once told the great Methodist missionary E. Stanley Jones something to the effect that he really liked Jesus but he didn't see too many Christians that looked like Jesus. In other words, Gandhi may have become a Christian if it weren't for...

Christians.

Today a vast majority of people, especially young adults between 20 and 39 are saying the same thing: we like Jesus just not ___________. Fill in the blank: the church, organized religion, Christians, Christianity, all of the above. {answer: all of the above.}

Now, on one side of the coin, I have never met a person who has told me the above and has also made a serious or even half-hearted attempt to research the claims of Christ or connect with a church long enough to begin to understand that, like many organizations, the church has its good and bad. Have we forgotten that the church has led the way on most of the good social reforms that this country and many other countries have experienced? Yes, the church has its flaws and some shameful bits in its history. All I am saying is that, to be fair, if one is going to point out all of the admittedly terrible things that Christians have done throughout our long history, one should also point out all of the very good an helpful things that the church has done in our history.

But, fairness to Christianity is not what I am thinking about today.

The Barna Reasearch Group put out a book last year called, UnChristian. The basis of the book is what young adults are saying about the church. No surprises: they are saying the church and Christianity is irrelevant, judgemental, hypocritical, etc.. Barna's suggestions for the church? Don't be irrelevant, judgemental, hypocritical, etc...

DUH!

But, here is my (real or percieved) dilemma: It seems to me that most Christians will read that book, or want to address those issues by saying, "Yes! And if every church/Christian had my denomination's values/theology/tradition/rituals, etc...then we would make great strides toward addressing those criticisms." As a United Methodist, there are certain values and perpectives that I believe would indeed go a long way toward addressing those criticisms. But, I am sure that my friend Father Roy at St. Robert's Catholic Church would have different ideas of how we can live in ways that would address those criticisms. And, I am just as sure that my friend Rev. Dave Galbraith at Peace Presbytrian Church would disagree with us both.

You get the idea.

I think we need to take these criticisms seriously if they truly point to reasons why people are not becoming followers of Jesus Christ.

So, what to do?

I have my ideas, but I am really interested in yours.

What are your thoughts? Are these serious issues and legitimate criticisms? In what ways are modern Christians/the church/organized religion keeping people from becoming followers of Jesus Christ? What should we/could we do about it?

Please respond to these questions by posting your comments/thoughts/suggestions. Perhaps this can be a kind of e-conversation between us all?

I look forward to hearing from you!

And as always I am...
...with you on the journey.

Peace and much agape,
Jeff

Will The Real Grinch Please Stand Up?

This time I offer an Advent sermon I preached last year. While the content is mine, I am indebted to the person whose name escapes me who gave me the idea in the first place. The sermon is based on matthew's account of the magi's visit to the holy family in Matthew chapter 2. It may help to read the scripture before delving into the rest of this blog.

Merry Christmas!
Jeff

Will The Real Grinch Please Stand Up?

Not too long ago I admitted to my family that I think was turning into a kind of Scrooge. Not that I don’t like Christmas or giving presents or feasting and the obligatory post-feast nap. But, I am not really into decorating the house anymore, or throwing ornaments on our fake tree, or climbing up on the roof to string lights. That just doesn’t put me in the Christmas mood anymore.

When I was a kid, things were much different. From December first my excitement got ratcheted up in anticipation of how many presents under the tree would have my name on them. Each year we had one of those Advent calendars – the kind where each day you would open up a window to see a picture beneath and you were supposed to anticipate celebrating Christ’s birth. In truth, I was celebrating one more day closer to when I would get presents!

Along with that Advent calendar we had an Advent wreath that we would light every Sunday night as we marked the Sundays until – I got presents!

I also had to watch three shows on TV or it just wasn’t Christmas: The Charlie Brown Christmas special, A Christmas Carol (I like the George C Scott version the best), and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. All three, I think, contain an element of the gospel – but I didn’t care then, I just knew these were cool Christmas shows.

This morning I am going to ask us to look at our Scripture lesson through the lens of Doctor Seuss and see if we can’t spot the real Grinch who stole Christmas – the Grinch who keeps us away from the manger.

There are three sets of folks to whom we might point as the main suspects for the Grinch: Herod, The Magi and the Chief Priests and Scribes. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Herod was the Roman governor of Judea at the time Jesus was born. Herod was an interesting character. On one side of the coin Herod was a helpful leader. Though he imposed heavy taxes on the people, there were times when Herod repealed the taxes and once even sold some of his personal possessions to buy grain for the people during a famine. Herod is credited with some outstanding architectural feats in his time; including re-building the Temple at Jerusalem. For these and many other deeds Herod became known as Herod the Great. One the other side of the coin, Herod was a jealous and paranoid ruler. Herod was suspicious of anyone who might look like they had designs on his throne. And, it seemed as if anyone looked at him cross-eyed he would have them killed. On that list were not only political rivals but family as well including his wife, a few sons and several of his in-laws. Someone in Jerusalem once remarked that it you had a better life expectancy if you were Herod’s pig than his son. As he neared his death, Herod was so unpopular with the people that he ordered that on the day of his death all of the Jewish leaders would be rounded up and killed so that the people would mourn on the day of Herod’s death rather than celebrate.

There is no written historical evidence uncovered thus far to prove that Herod actually ordered the slaughter of the innocents as Matthew describes later in the text. But it is certainly not outside of Herod’s character to order children murdered.

When the magi come to Herod and ask where they can find the new born king of the Jews, Herod feigns interest and asks them to find the child and tell him where to go so that he may worship Jesus. Herod, of course, has no interest in going near the manger. Herod’s only interest is himself – he looks out for number one.

You know, sometimes looking out for number one keeps us from seeking Christ. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

The magi are another prime suspect for the Grinch in the story. The magi are astronomers from the area of Iraq – probably Baghdad. They see a star rise in the night sky and by pouring over scrolls and consulting symbols decide that this star means the birth of a new king of Israel. Now, tradition says there were three wise men because they brought three gifts. Someone once imagined what it would be like if they were wise women instead of wise men: they would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver he baby, clean the stable, make a casserole, brought practical gifts and there would be peace on earth.

The magi see a star rise in the western sky and wondered what it meant. They had a guess, but they really didn’t know for sure. So, they make a nearly two-year journey to check out their theory. Truly they were seekers of truth. But, they went to the wrong place to find it. They went to Jerusalem. Now, that made sense: if you think you are looking for a king, you go to the capitol of the kingdom. But, Jesus wasn’t that kind of king.

How many times do we think we know who Jesus is, or who Jesus ought to be and so we look in the wrong places to find him? But, I am getting ahead of myself.

Finally, we have the chief priests and the scribes. These were guys who were well educated in the details and nuances of the Scriptures. It was their life-long passion and pursuit to know the Bible inside and out. I imagine that may have given them a sort of spiritual arrogance. When Herod asks them where the Messiah was to be born, the chief priests and scribes didn’t even bat an eye; “In Bethlehem.” They said. And, they even quoted Herod that obscure verse from Micah. Now, here were guys who knew the Scriptures, but didn’t care enough to go beyond them. They thought their intellect would get them through as if there was a written exam to get to heaven. I know people like that. They know the Bible backwards and forwards but they don’t know God; they don’t care to seek the one to whom the Scriptures point and they think that since they have all the Scriptural answers that they can keep the manger at arms length. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

So, we have Herod who killed the children around Bethlehem. Is he the Grinch? Does he steal Christmas? He would be my prime suspect, but no, Herod doesn’t steal Christmas. How about the magi? They thought they knew where to find truth, but they went to the wrong place. Did they steal Christmas? No. While thy may have been unwitting accomplices in the murder of the innocents, they did eventually make it to the manger and we’ll leave it up to them and God whether they found a king or a savior. So, how about the chief priests and scribes; are they the Grinch? Well, they may have been arrogant and apathetic, but they didn’t steal Christmas. They didn’t care enough to make the short journey to Bethlehem to take anything.

So who is the Grinch? May I suggest that the only person who can steal Christmas is us and the only people we can steal it from is ourselves? We can steal Christmas away from ourselves when we are focused only on ourselves and our wants and our desires and our agenda. We can steal Christmas away from ourselves when we want Jesus to be something that Jesus is not and so we look for Jesus in all the wrong places or through all the wrong practices. We can steal Christmas away from ourselves when we let our intellectual arrogance get in the way of caring enough to seek Jesus or when we allow our knowledge of the Bible to keep God at arm’s length.

There are lots of other things that we allow to keep us away from Christ: doubts, bitterness, hurt, resentment and ignorance. Is there something keeping you away Christ? I want to encourage you to set that aside, even if it is just for a day, and come to the manger and be embraced by the God who came to the world for you.

Please don’t spend this Christmas away from the manger.

The Line We Don't Want Crossed

There is an imaginary line we tend to draw around the calendar
encircling the time from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day.

There are certain things we think ought not to cross over that line into our lives during that time:
troubled marriage,
divorce,
cancer,
job loss,
death...

I thought about that the day before Thanksgiving. I was stopped along the side of Main Street watching a funeral procession go by. I thought how sad it was that this family will, for some years, remember Thanksgiving as the time when a loved on died.

It was also the day my friend and colleague, the Reverend Doctor Ken Christler was laid to rest.

Ken was not much older than I am. He was on a ladder and fell on his head on the pavement. He was in a coma for several days before he died and was buried the day before Thanksgiving.

For admittedly selfish reasons I couldn't bring myself to attend his funeral.

I am still trying to sort out Ken's death. The language that "God allowed this to happen" isn't palatable to me. (Neither, of course, is the language that God caused this to happen.)

I am not looking for a purpose in Ken's death.

I am really not sure right now what I am looking for.

I feel terrible for Ken's wife and kids and siblings. They will, for several years, remember Thanksgiving as the time when Ken died.

Collectively, I think we all feel bad when tragedy strikes "during the holidays."

Sad stuff shouldn't cross that line into what is supposed to be a joy-filled time.

But...

Sad stuff DOES happen...ALL the time.

Tragedy does not consult a calendar.

Cancer and depression, unemployment and economic crises, marital problems and even death do not keep their distance during the holidays.

But...

neither does God.

My favorite Biblical nickname for Jesus is "Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." To me, that is much more than a statement of the incarnation. It tells me that God is not afraid of the sad stuff that seems to cling to our lives. It tells me that God is with us during those sad and tragic times - even when they cross the imaginary line into the holidays.

In fact, Jesus was born into a world where tremendous tragedies were occurring on a regular basis. Could those tragedies be part of the "fullness of time" in which Jesus came? (see Galatians 4:4)

That Jesus is God with us doesn't change the fact that people lose their jobs, or get cancer, or divorce, or die - during the holidays or any other day.

It doesn't change the circumstances, but it can change my perspective and my response. And, it does give me hope and some sense of comfort and peace.

And that's what I will cling to while I am trying to sort out Ken's death.

That's what I will cling to even if I don't sort out Ken's death.

That's what I will cling to every time death and other sad stuff crosses the line into life

- mine or anyone else's

It's Not Just Fun

Something my wife said yesterday got me thinking.

She was making an announcement for our new Yada Yada Prayer Group; which is loosely based on the book series of the same name. We are really excited to offer this opportunity for the women of our church and we are sure that the women who participate will not only enjoy themselves but discover new relationships with each other and with God.

So, Keri was inviting people to come to our first Yada Yada group and she ended up with this: "It will be fun." (Now, I have already talked with her about this so don't think for a second that I am talking behind her back.)

"It will be fun." Not, "It will bring us closer to God."

"It will be fun." And, I am sure it was (our first meeting was last night and we had a great group of women) and will be fun. But, I am pretty sure that is not the primary reason for having a Yada Yada group.

Why do we feel like we have to emphasize the "fun" part of our ministries and programs???

Are people that desperate to have fun?

Is "fun" the best drawing card we've got?

Are people still thinking that doing Christian stuff is sucking the life out of fun and the fun out of life???

Now, I have to hasten to say that I am more guilty than anyone about inviting people to our programs and ministries because they will have fun. But, I have decided to make a change. Instead, I want us to emphasize that what we do brings us closer to God.

"Come and hand out food with us...it will bring us closer to God."

"Come with us to lead a worship service at the county jail...it will bring us closer to God."

"Come to our Yada Yada Prayer Group, our worship services, our Bible studies, our Spiritual Formation Hour, our Elementary Fellowship night...it will bring us closer to God."

"Oh, and you'll have fun, too!"

I suspect that the greatest need of the folks in our community is not to find opportunities to have fun (though I am sure that many would disagree with me) but to find opportunities to come closer to God with other people who are on that journey as well.

But, why can't the things that bring you closer to God also be fun? Just ask the women that attended the Yada Yada group. Just ask the folks who do our Forgotten Man Ministry. Just ask the 50 or so volunteers that helped pass out food last month. Just ask the folks that worship with us on Sunday morning. Or our Stephen Ministers.

I am guessing that most of those folks will say that doing something that brings you closer to God and having fun are not mutually exclusive.

It just depends on the emphasis.