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