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.