The Spiritual Conversation (Central PA)

Six Critical Questions

2008-09-06T15:38:00.004-04:00

I'm a Jerry's Kid - A Tribute

2007-05-20T00:41:00.001-04:00

I'm a Jerry's Kid. No, not the kind you see on the Labor Day Telethon. I'm a graduate of Liberty University, and thus an educational offspring of Jerry Falwell and his vision. I often refer to Jerry simply as "Jerry," or "my old buddy Jerry." Lots of LU alumni speak of him that way. It seems we all had those powerful personal encounters with him that made him seem like our old friend.

I will never forget one night in college when I was out for a walk with my girlfriend. We were holding hands and leaning in quite close to one another. Suddenly a vehicle came out of nowhere heading straight for us with the high beams on. A voice boomed from the vehicle, "Hey boy! You let go of her hand!" I was terrified. I eased around the side of the car to see who it was, and low and behold, it was Jerry. By now, he was belting out his big Santa Clause belly laugh. "Did I scare you?" he said. Darn right he did.

Or the time I saw him coming out of the beer aisle at the grocery store late one night. I was shocked! He was holding a six pack of... Coca Cola. He held it high to show me. He must have known I was an LU student and could imagine my first thought.

Or the time he nearly had a head on collision with me coming out of a parking lot (his fault... speeding). He gave an apologetic shrug and a squeemish smile.

Perhaps that's why I usually speak kindly of Jerry. Jerry was real.

Certainly, I have found much wrong with many a Christian televangelist in the past. The exploitation of the church for TV fame and fortune is deeply disturbing. And while I strongly disagreed with Jerry's fundamental premise that politics will save the world, I have a hard time criticizing him. Why? Because Jerry didn't do what he did so he could be rich or famous or important. He really did believe that a Moral Majority could save the world, that Christians needed to speak out against immoral behavior, and that the country should legislate Christian values back into the culture. He really believed it... down to his core.

The Rosies of the world call him a hatemonger, but he didn't hate anyone. I often heard him say that he "hated the sin but loved the sinner." I cringed every time he used this phrase, not because I didn't think he meant it. Oh, he did! But because I knew that so many would never believe him.

The fact is, he received a lot more hate than he was accused of giving. One man in a church I attended sued Jerry Falwell in an effort to strip the university of its federal student loan program. The suit claimed that Jerry's political activity made receiving the federal money a violation of church and state separation. But I heard the way this gentleman spoke of Jerry, and it was quite vicious. Somehow, I doubt Jerry ever said a cross word about this man, either publically or privately.

I once wrote a letter to the editor of the college newspaper saying Jerry's chapel messages were too political. I questioned why every verse in the Bible seemed to talk about the war in Iraq one year, and the next year, every verse identified Bill Clinton as the anti-Christ. I questioned why he quoted more from Time and Newsweek than he did from the Bible. I wrote with biting seriousness, because, after all, I was right!

But it was different when I actually read my words in print. I never thought it would be published. Didn't Jerry edit these things? I remember walking around campus that day getting cold looks from a few Jerry loyalists and a secret high five from one of my professors. I had sparred with the Big Guy! I was feeling pretty good about myself until next week's chapel. Jerry began by addressed my letter. Okay. Not directly. But it sure felt like he was talking straight to me. He spent five minutes on the importance of chapel. He quoted letters from alumni about how chapel changed their lives and made them true Champions for Christ. I slumped in my seat, my heart pounding. I still believed I was right and that chapel was more a political rally than a Bible study, but I made Jerry mad, and that made me sad inside. He was really trying to make a difference in the world for the good while people like me stood by and threw rocks.

My respect for Jerry started much earlier, however. I grew up in the center of flaming fundamentalism. Fundamentalism in my childhood was a separatist movement. C ontact with the outside world was forbidden. Fundamentalists could only associate with other fundamentalists. We called this "separation. " But furthermore, neither could fundamentalists associate with fundamentalists who had associations outside of fundamentalism. This we called "double separation."

I remember when Jerry got kicked out of the fundamentalist group we were a part of. His crime: he allowed the Presbyterian preacher D. James Kennedy to speak at Thomas Road. It wasn't so bad. Kennedy, after all, was a fundamentalist too, and having Kennedy speak wasn't going to change Falwell's spots, but the fundamentalists cried foul and declared the beginnings of a slippery slope that would erode the core values of fundamentalism.

Jerry didn't give in. He turned fundamentalism outward and embraced the growing evangelical movement, arguing that fundamentalists need not withdraw from the world; instead they should engage the world alongside those who shared their values. When my church leaders started calling Jerry Falwell and Liberty University "liberal," I decided, "I'm going there!"

My only regret about Jerry was that he didn't take this inclusiveness a bit further. He called fundamentalists to have a softer side - to unite with others for a greater cause. He was a liberal among fundamentalists. But, tragically, he never allowed the world to see the "uniter" in him. They only saw the "divider." I only wish that he had gone on to be another Billy Graham. Someone who not only could stand for what he believed, while gaining the admiration and respect of those who disagreed with him.

That's important because so much of Jerry Falwell's message will never reach the ears of the people who could benefit from it. They only see hate and anger. It's too bad, becuase I saw the Billy Graham side of Jerry Falwell. I only wish the world had seen it too.

Political Extortion by "Rev" Sharpton

2007-04-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

As sick as Imus' racial slur was (see Link), it's nowhere near as disgusting as the sad and shameful extortion that is being had at the hands of "Rev." Al Sharpton. I imagine he leaped for joy when he heard of yet another person he could beat senselessly. He must have celebrated with exuberant dance at the thought of the political mileage he'd get out of this. Just think of the millions of truly disenfranchised African Americans who will once again come to believe that Al Sharpton is their only hope. He makes his money off racism. No racism, no Al Sharpton. More racism, more and more Al Sharpton.

This reality can be no clearer than with the Imus situation. Anyone who knows Imus knows that he has a long and often dreaded history of saying some pretty disgusting things. It's locker room talk for all to hear. And this time, his locker room banter went too far. So he takes a huge beating from the press. He issues an apology. Then another. Then MSNBC apologizes. Then he goes on Al Sharpton's radio show to bow to the (pretend to be Martin Luther) King. Then NBC suspends his show for two weeks. But, that's not enough for Sharpton (and, woops, forgot to mention "Rev." Jesse Jackson). Oh no. There's too much political mileage left in this episode!

But not only is this sad for what it will do to race relations (can anyone really think that Sharpton makes it better?), it's sad for what it does to those three little initials that Sharpton so proudly hoists in front his name. For he's the R-E-V. Al Sharpton. Meaning that he not only spends his time defending African Americans from the near slave conditions that he says white Americans thrust upon them, but he represents the name of Jesus Christ in the process. How does it represent the name of Jesus to hear a man publically and in humiliated fashion apologize to the country for his terrible words, but to say over and over and over back to him that it's not enough.

If I remember correctly, MLK defeated goverment sanctioned segregation by abdicating the use of force. Sharpton and Jackson who claim to have picked up MLK's mantle have picked up that force and used the terrible, dehumanizing realities of racism to gather greater force. I'm quite certain that neither Jesus nor MLK want Sharpton speaking for them.

Off Course

2007-04-06T20:29:00.000-04:00

When James Dobson questions the Christianity of potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson while wholeheartedly embracing Newt Gingrich after his confession of marital infidelity during the Clinton scandal, it is unquestionably clear that the drive of popular Christianity is political, not spiritual. It's sad that the rest of us must carry around the baggage that Dobson and others leave behind.

A Little Publicity

2007-03-18T14:19:00.000-04:00

It seems a bit premature to me, but it looks like our new ministry effort has already gotten some press. A few weeks ago, a group of ministry leaders from Georgia were in town to hear about the church planting endeavors in Central Pennsylvania. I enjoyed sharing the vision for what a downtown coffee shop can mean to meeting people and tapping into the spiritual conversation that is certainly alive in our culture. They snapped a few photos and hinted at the possibility of an article. So here it is... article

The 612 SBC Rules about Women in Ministry

2007-01-25T00:43:00.000-05:00

It's unbelievable how the Pharisees have gripped control of the SBC. The Pharisees of the first century had taken 10 God-given commandments and created 612 man-made ones. The Pharisees of the 21st century have taken culturally connected and difficult to interpret scriptural teachings about women to reduce women to roles only imagined by Muslim extremists.

The case: Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Seminary, recently terminated a proven Hebrew scholar for being a woman. His justification: The only people qualified to teach future pastors are people who are qualified to be pastors. And pastors must, of course, be men.

Once again, the biblical material isn't taken seriously at all here by Paige Patterson. Paul prohibited women from teaching men ONLY because were not educationally qualified to teach men. Paul cares deeply that the teachings of Jesus be purely preserved and not corrupted by false teachings. And since women had not been allowed to participate in the educational system of the Jewish faith and had only recently been invited to participate with men in the Christian church, they were most likely to introduce error into the mix.

The issue for Paul is not gender. It's education.

That's why the women were interrupting the worship services in I Corinthians. They didn't undrestand what was going on and were questioning their husbands about everything that was happening. That's why women were divorcing their husbands and not having sexual relations with them. They thought that with their growing knowledge, they had become like angels, needing neither marriage nor sex. (I believe the second part of this belief is still rampant among many married women!) That's why Paul did elevate Phoebe to deacon and Junias to apostle (how inconvenient for Patterson). These were educated women who had proven that they could pass along the faith without error.

I'm amazed at how far off Patterson is in his application of Paul's teaching. First, Patterson interprets Paul's prohibition about women to mean simply that women cannot serve as senior pastors. According to Patterson, Paul's teacing is evidently clear enough to allow women to serve as youth pastors and music pastors and discipleship pastors (well, only if we call them "directors"). Interestingly, Patterson doesn't believe women can serve as deacons, but not enough to add that to the Baptist Faith and Message.

Basically, women can't preach. As simple as that sounds, though, there is a little technicality here, one that I'm sure is clearly evident in the scriptures... a woman can preach if she stands behind a lecturn (not a pulpit) and we call it "teaching" and not "preaching." But just in case that teaching starts sounding like preaching, it's prefered that these women "teach" only to women-only audiences. We have to make this biblical exception because... let's face it... women preachers sell. Just ask Patterson about Beth Moore. There's hardly a better preacher out there. But of course, I wouldn't know because Beth Moore's audience is clearly a women-only audience. But what happens when a man get's ahold of one of her DVD's? I suggest that Patterson put a disclaimer on Lifeway's Beth Moore products releasing him from responsibility should a man happen to get ahold of those resources.

I predict that within the year, Patterson will reach rule 612 on how to interpret this one commandment.

But here's my favorite irony in all of this. If it's true that Paul was concerned about education and not gender, then there's a big laugh to be had here. If my interpretation is right, then Patterson is a grieviously ignorant male passing along scriptural error while refusing to allow a proven female scholar to pass along the truths of the gospel. How sad.

For a related article... http://www.abpnews.com/www/1642.article

A Christmas Letter from Jesus

2006-12-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

About once every three years, I get a forwarded email that I actually am glad I received. And about once every 10 years, I get one worthy of passing along to others. Here is such a letter. What do you expect though? It is from Jesus.

A Christmas Letter From Jesus

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of you're predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival, although I do appreciate being remembered anytime. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that, let me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and erect a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all my followers did that, there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that there are peoplecalling the tree a "holiday tree" instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees, so you may remember me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgot that one, look up John 15: 1-8.

If you want to give me a present in remembrance of my birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George [Bush] complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile. It could make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local Hot-Line. They talk with people like that every day.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day, they would close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary, especially one who takes My love & Good News to those who have never heard My name. You may already know someone like that.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them (and I suspect you don't) buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Marines, Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me. They will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

P.S Don't forget; I am God and can take care of myself. Just love Me & do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work ecause time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love. And remember, whenever we get tangled up in our problems; be still, so God can untangle them.

Some Good News about Christmas

2006-11-12T11:21:00.000-05:00

In light of my rant on Halloween, I am excited to bring you some good news about Christmas. After the fallout of the "Merry Christmas" / "Happy Holidays" debate last year, many corporations have come around. Wal-Mart, Kohls, and Macys have announced that they will be loudly and proudly greeting their customers with "Merry Christmas" rather than the politically correct and impotent "Happy Holidays." These large retailers discovered from a year-long study that they lost business from angry Christians who were turned away by the "Happy Holidays" greeting. By heralding "Merry Christmas" to the crowds, they will see sales increase back to pre-"Happy Holidays" levels.

What a victory for Christians! Because of our pressure and voiced displeasure, we have been successful at putting the commercialism back into Christmas. I now feel more emboldened to embrace materialism again as I celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.

The True Meaning of Halloween

2006-10-28T10:28:00.000-04:00

I'm upset. The city of Harrisburg chose to observe the infamous pastime of "trick-or-treat" this past Thursday, some 5 days before Halloween. This, we did not know. We were on our way back from a nice night out with the family when we noticed the little ghosts and gobblins infiltrating our neighborhood. So, with haste, we sped wrecklessly through our neighborhood, past the haunting little ones, and into the house. The kids quicly donned their ghoulish attire and spent the next thirty minutes sucking up candy from all available sources.

Commercialization is ruining the true spirit of the holiday (or evilday?). It's supposed to be the night of endless pagan rituals, allowing the spirit world to make contact with the physical world through witchcraft and sorcery. Now, little children wander through neighborhoods scrambling for candy in a mad rush. It's all about the candy. I bet that next year, we'll see Halloween candy and decorations on the shelves the day after July 4th! It gets earlier and earlier each year! I'm thinking of picketing Hershey Foods - I believe their lust for candy bar sales are a big reason that we've lost the spirit of the season.

And the costumes! How many children realize that the costume is designed to scare away evil spirits or to hide your true identity from them? Instead, we pay big time money for the latest superhero costume. What does Batman have to do with Halloween?

I think the ACLU is behind this, trying to ruin the true meaning of Halloween. What do you think?

Uniform Agreement

2006-10-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

A friend said to me recently that sports fans were quite foolish. Players come and go, come and go, and yet we still cheer for the same team. Are we really cheering for the "team," since they change so often? Or are we just cheering for the uniform? It's been said that our fascination with sports speaks of our collective mental illness. Could this finally be the proof?

A Killer Profile

2006-10-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I'm working for a food distribution company until we get the coffee shop open. This week, I was making a delivery to a school in Lancaster County, PA. As I was making the delivery, a woman continued to lock me out of the school. She told me they weren't allowed to keep a door unlocked or open in light of the Amish school killing. I can't blame her. After all, I do fit the profile.

The Amish school shooter was a father of three in his mid-thirties who made deliveries in central PA. Right now, at least, that's me. In fact, I was in Lancaster County the Friday before the shooting. It so happened I delivered some basic staples to an Amish store (with no electricity, of course) on the same road that the school was on. And since it was a difficult store to find (no sign out front), needless to say, this rookie driver spent a lot of time on that road.

It was a beautiful day. Weather was perfect. And the Amish were amazing. One girl was running through a cornfield with her hands outstretched, like something out of the Sound of Music. Two little boys in the back of a carriage pumped their fists up and down hoping I'd sound the air horn. But the memory that haunts me is the group of Amish girls I saw walking home from school that afternoon. There were about ten of them, and they were laughing and playing together as they walked. I've since wondered how many of those girls were in that school house that following Monday. I can't imagine they were walking home from any other school.

That day, the little stretch of road was the "middle of nowhere." In a few days, it would be the center of the nation's attention. That day, I was just a delivery driver. Now, I fit the profile of a terrible killer.

It kind of reminds me of why Jesus was so hated by the Pharisees. Before Jesus, they were the most righteous and moral people on the planet. After the sermon on the mount, they were adulterers and murderers. "You have heard it said, 'Do not murder...'; I tell you if that anyone who is angry with his brother is a murderer."

I guess there are two kinds of people whose sin gets exposed and revealed to all, and sinners whose sin stays hidden in the heart. It's truly amazing that God would love sinners like us.

The Meaning of the Atonement

2006-10-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

Throughout the modern period, numerous theories have been advanced to explain the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ. God must have had a "reasonable" and "systematic" purpose for sending Jesus. Thus came the example theory (Jesus died to inspire us to obedience), the satisfaction theory (His death satisfies God's demand for justice), and the ransom theory (His death "pays off" Satan who holds us captive), to name a few.

By far, the most popular theory is the substitutionary atonement theory. We should have died on the cross for the sins we committed. Someone had to pay the penalty, so Jesus died in our place.

My struggle with these theories is that they each impose forces upon God that are outside of Him, and thus, by definition, bigger than Him. As if God is forced to answer to some higher law or rule about justice or atonement or sin. Jesus' death has to be more than the answer to a cosmic math problem or a means of plugging a hole in the cosmic plan or a weight to level a cosmic imbalance. The modern approach leaves us with the problem solved, but with a less-than God who is subject to a higher force or rule.

Here is where a postmodern approach might help us. Postmoderns embrace the mysteries that go beyond logic and reason and embrace the mystical relationship that exists between God and humankind. With this in mind, we can read with great interest verses like Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Or I John 3:16 - "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us."

Could it be that Jesus' death is first and foremost his way of simply saying to us, "I love you." Our sin problem is that we've turned away from God and turned to ourselves for find meaning in our living. Out of this narcissistism has come a fundamental distrust of others - how can we trust others to do what is best for us if they are really like us - out for themselves? The Lie Adam and Eve chose to believe is that God's design for us could not be trusted. You have to look out for yourself. Trust no one.

So how does God show us that he cares far more for our well-being than we can care for ourselves even in our most narcissistic moments? He comes to the world and gives up for us the one thing we could never give up - self. He dies on the cross as if to say, "I care so much for you that I care nothing for my own life in comparison. Your life comes first for me. You can trust me. Please trust me." God chooses instead to lavish love upon us to draw us to him.

As I think about a world that is lost and love-hungry, I wonder how it is that we expect people to turn to God after hearing a rational, formulaic explanation of Jesus' transaction on the cross. How much more would this hurting world, full of deep mistrust and narcissism, respond to an undeniable display of selfless love. Let's lay aside our theological finepoints and point the world to a God who loves so much that he simply is willing to die for us to prove his love is true.

Rethinking the term "Conservative"

2006-10-12T22:18:00.000-04:00

I've always thought myself to be, and still do, a conservative Christian. I believe the Bible from cover to cover (including the maps!) and have no problem at all saying it's without error and perfect in it's original form. But I can't tell you how many times I've given an opinion and someone gives me that "you liberal!" look. Even though you might expect that I'd run from the conservative label given all my frustrations with the conservative church, I find no desire to give up the "conservative" tag.

But something about that word "conservative" has never set right with me, and I think I've finally figured out what it is. Most conservative evangelical Christians aren't conservative at all. They are conservative on a scale marked and measured by secular and denominational politics for sure, but the real nature of conservativism is not there.

Conservative, of course, has its base in the word "conserve," but conserve what? I find that for most evangelical Christians, it is either about conserving denominational interpretive traditions, or Republican values, or simply a literal reading of the Bible.

But for me, what I seek to "conserve" is the authorial intention of the biblical text. That is, the ultimate path to biblical truth, for me, comes in the question, "What did the biblical author, inspired by God, intend to say and how did he choose to say it?" Sounds simple enough, I know, but take Jonah for instance. Most of us say that a conservative believes Jonah was swallowed by a whale, and liberals do not. But that's an effort to conserve literalism. But is it conservative to conserve literalism if, perhaps, the author intented symbolism? No. That's just bad interpretation.

Now for me, the jury is still out on whether or not Jonah is a literal or symbolic story. But I do know this. The author intentionally uses hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point) throughout the story. It took three days for Jonah to march around the city where a king ruled. Then Jonah preaches a one minute sermon and the most evil nation that ever walked the face of the earth suddenly repents all at once.

Here's what we know. It only takes a few hours to walk around the city. There was no king of Ninevah. No historical records exist showing that the Assyrians ever had any Jewish conversion of any size. And we know beyond a shadow of any doubt that no preacher has ever preached a one minute sermon!

So, is it "liberal" to point these things out? Is it "conservative" to insist that Jonah is literal and do whatever it takes to explain away these issues? Or is it better for us to ponder these issues and ask a simple question, "What is the author trying to do with this story?" Then we can explore some options. Maybe it's a parable. Parables often use exaggerated details to make a point. Jesus used these fictional stories to explain undeniable truths all the time! So can't an Old Testament writer do the same? Or it could be an alleghory, or an edited composition of several sources or stories woven together. Or maybe it is historical. Perhaps it is a fictional type of story based on an historical figure (Jesus did this too - i.e. The Rich Man and Lazarus).

What I'm saying is this. If the author intented this to be literal and we take it figuratively because we can't find it in ourselves to believe in divine miracles, then we are liberals. But if the author intended to write a parable, and we turn it into a literal story that must be accepted as literal before it can be true, then haven't we become liberals there too, making the text what we want it to be and not what God wants it to be?

Most of our hyper-literalism comes from our reaction to those who have turned any story they feel uncomfortable with into a symbolic story. When I speak to someone about symbolism, I invariably hear, How long before you say the resurrection didn't happen?" But the fact is the literary form known as "gospel" is a form that uses historical and literal language to make the point. So I'm assuming that if a writer chose a literal form, we must interpret it literally to receive the truth. Likewise, if the writer chooses a symbolic form (like "apocalypse" in Revelation, poetry in Psalms, etc.), then we interpret it symbolically. True conservatives let the text and style speak about what's literal and what's not literal. We must avoide the "all symbolic" or "all literal" extremes.

I would just love to find a few "conservative" Christian friends who are willing to open the text with me and ask, "What is the author trying to say and how is he trying to say it" and then be willing to go wherever that discussion leads. How refreshing that would be rather than someone pulling out their denominational charts and comparing our stated answers with the latest version of the Baptist Faith and Message and judging your "correctness" by it.

Well, enough of that. Just don't forget these two important things. 1) The message of Jonah is simply that God will forgive anyone of anything if they repent. You get that truth whether it's historical or a parable. And 2) every single author of the Bible is dead. So approach the text with great humility!

What's Right about the Traditional Church?

2006-10-10T23:16:00.000-04:00

So I've been asked the question, what is right about the traditional church? To respond adequately to that question, I must first dispel the idea that this is a discussion about traditional church vs. contemporary church. Let me clearly say, I see the two as the same. To reduce the issues of the church down to guitar vs organ is to rearrange the proverbial deck chairs on the Titanic. I agree with Reggie McNeal's assessment of the contemporary church, it's really nothing more than the traditional church on steroids. The music is different, the dress is casual, and the sermon is more conversational, but that's just packaging. Underneath the wrapping, one still finds the same structures in the church of the 1950s, just with different names. They are still institutions. They still need "members." They still have their creeds. They still have a "gathered" mentality. They still have the same "three step" program to fixing every spiritual problem. They still have hierarchy. They still have a classroom view of discipleship. They still need lots of money to support bloated staffs and even bigger buildings.

The structure of the contemporary church is no different than the traditional church, only the wrappings are a little shinier.

So to ask the question "what's good about the traditional church," one must ask that question in context of the realities of a specific day and age. 50 years ago, near everything was right about the "traditional" church. The church connected with the language people were speaking. We spoke in terms of members. So did the culture. We spoke in terms of denominations and institutions. The culture was fine with that. It trusted government and religious institutions. After all, America was a "Christian Nation." The church could act as a club. People thought in club terms. The church spoke against every taboo in the culture. The culture was agreed with those rules. The church had complex financial structures for affecting change. So did the VFW, the Lion's Club, and every other organization like it. The church was "step by step" oriented, introducing the cut and paste versions of the Roman's Road and the Four Spiritual Laws and the Sinner's Prayer. That was okay. The culture thought in modern, methodological terms.

But ALL that has changed. Every single bit. America is no longer a "Christian Nation." The moral culture is radically different. Institutions are viewed with extreme distrust. Most hierarchies are seen as bloated and self-serving. The culture rejects extreme bureaucratic processes for filtering change and spiritual care. Thinking is much more relative and open. And we have rejected soundly the step by step easy solutions to life. Life is complicated. Spirituality is an ongoing journey. And God cannot be reduced to a simple set of statements. The culture realizes that these things have failed us, yet the church continues to dress up those old failed ways with new wrapping paper.

You might be thinking, who cares what the culture thinks? The church should drive culture, not the other way around. Agreed. But the reality is that these things we defend in the traditional church are NOT IN THE BIBLE. They are add-ons that we've incorporated in the institutional life of the church. Not one place in the New Testament do you find membership, or a step by step process to union with Christ, or buildings, or budgets, or religious nationalism. What we as revolutionaries are talking about is not tearing away at essentials of the faith, but embracing the true essentials. Tearing down all that is not Scriptural. It happened once (i.e. Martin Luther) and it needs to happen again.

Our culture is way ahead of us in areas in which the church should be leading. The culture is talking about spirituality. The church is talking rules and creeds. The culture is talking about eliminating world hunger and AIDS. The church is talking about how to get more members. The culture is examining through science, philosophy and spirituality the deep complexities of the universe. The church reduces the beauty of life to simple unnatural literalism. The culture is embracing volunteerism in transforming numbers. The church needs more committee members. The culture is hungry for community. The church emphasizes big gatherings while giving cheap talk about true intimacy. The culture is taking the important conversations about life into the streets, restaurants and coffee shops. The church is building their own streets, restaurants and coffee shops. Fad diets and plastic surgeons promise only a superficial transformation, and people are buying it! Why? They are hungry to be transformed. And how do we respond? We offer more classes.

Does the traditional church do right things? Yes. But the margin is incredibly slim. If we were forced to pinpoint a percentage on how much the church is doing truly biblical things, it would be less than 20 percent. And that's being generous. What takes the majority of our time? Athletic programs. Building campaigns. Finding more "members." Increased giving. More choirs. More flashy drama. More discipleship classes. More activities. More meetings. More rules. More isolation. More grandstanding. More rock throwing. At least 80 percent of our efforts are on things that aren't essentially biblical.

So, if you want me to say the traditional church is doing right things, I will say so. But if we really want to be applauded for the incredibly minimal impact we're having on the world, then maybe we are simply clinging to a state of denial. Here's reality: less than 4 percent of teenagers are projected to be a part of the institutional church in the future. Well. At least we're 4 percent on target.

I realize how negative I sound. Trust me. It gets old for me too! But I hunger to see a real move of God where Christians aren't held up in a Christian subculture, where Christians are a part of the essential conversations of society, where people don't refer to Christians as the butt of a bad joke, where our artificial categories of "good" people" and "bad" people are torn down and the conversation about who we are and who God made us to be can really take place, and where Jesus (the real Jesus, not the political Jesus) gets a real hearing.

If this seems too much, just read Acts 2. No pastors, no property, no creeds, no political action committees, no by-laws, no tracts, no new members classes, no invitations, no small group charts, no bookstores, and no guitars. Just a spiritual passion for living out the teachings of Jesus Christ - nothing more. And 3,000 plus people joined the fellowship that day. Now that deserves a standing ovation.

Tom Delay as Jesus Christ?

2006-10-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

I spent several hours listening to a Bill Moyers special on the dealings of lobbyist and lawbreaker, Jack Abramoff. What I heard should send all true believers into a holy rage, if there is such a thing. Abramoff, an opportunist who used political position to gain financially, has left behind a trail of horrifying manipulation and misdeeds. Noted in the report, he milked millions from a Louisiana Indian tribe to help them maintain their gambling monopoly by using his political muscle to defeat a gambling bill in Texas. What the tribe didn't know is that gambling in Texas was never going to happen anyway. The Texas Attorney General had already defeated it.

At the same time, Abramoff went to a tribe in Texas who wanted desperately to reopen their casinos and promised them he'd help get their operation up and running again. While he was making millions, he worked behind the scenes to do exactly the opposite.

I guess that's what you'd expect from a crook.

But what about the two famous "Christians" involved in this. Two names: Tom Delay and Ralph Reed. Reed motivated Christians to campaign against Texas gambling in order to help Abramoff protect Louisiana tribe's monopoly on gambling. Reed manipulated Christians to campaign against gambling in order to protect the gambling that would make him a small fortune.

Then there's Delay. Delay helped Abramoff deceive the congress into believing that working conditions in the American Territory of Saipan were helping immigrants achieve the American Dream. It was a lie he told to protect Chinese textile tycoons (who were paying Abramoff handsomely) from having to submit to U.S. labor laws. The reality was, thousands of Chinese workers had been lured to the island in hopes of achieving the American dream. After turning over their life's savings, signing lengthy labor contracts, and living in slums, they were paid half of the American minimum wage. Delay killed the bill in congress while Abramoff was funneling cash into Delay's campaign groups.

When Delay was finally arrested for his illegal actions, he lined up for his famous mug shot. As he lined up for the photo, he reports that he prayed that people "would see Jesus in the mug shot. " It's sad when people who have told lies, committed fraud, and manipulated against others do so under the guise of holiness and a Jesus-like sacrifice. They take a public stage, cry the tears, put on a persona, and carry a cross simply to deceive those who would give them what they want.

Delay has since spent many hours speaking to religious groups across the country. I wonder how many well-meaning believers have bought into the lie that politicians are our next Messiah, that if we just rally around these wholesome causes in the name of religion, we'll turn this country back to God. Meanwhile, the only praying the movement leaders do is to prey on fears of well meaning Christians.

Some Easy Steps

2006-09-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

I was listening to Christian radio today - something I rarely do, by the way - and at one point the announcer began to give instructions about how the Christian listener could witness to a boss who isn't a believer. Tips were given about how to confront. Ideas about how to dispute atheistic or evolutionary theories were shared. Persistence was promoted and boldness encouraged. But in the end, he said, when the hard heart does not get penetrated by this straightforward approach, one just may have to pray for God to "change his heart."

Hmm. Why throw the work of changing a heart on God's shoulders? I know that's the popular Christian thing to say, but are we missing something? Why not strive to be the one who changes the person's heart. What we do is beat up the "unbelievers" with the fact that they are "unbelievers," we impart to them all the errors of their ways, and when we have their hearts as hard as they can possibly be, we turn them over to God. I think a hard heart is much like an atrophied organ - once it's that hard, there's no bringing it back to life. So instead of making God's job so much more difficult, why not let the work of "heart softening" begin with us?

How about this: "This is 94.9, your easy listening Christian music station for your praise and pop song pleasure... Have you ever wanted to see someone you work with come to faith. Try these easy steps. First, get to know them. Have coffee. Ask about their kids. Follow up with how his wife's job interview went or his son's baseball game. Second, don't flinch when he takes the Lord's name in vain. Third, when he talks about the earth being 4 billion years old, don't say a word. Fourth, mention gently how your faith makes a difference in your life. Fifth, don't defend the institutional church - just trust me on this; you'll score some big points. Sixth, be like the Jesus of the gospel, not the pretend Jesus of the confrontational, holier-than-thou, evangelical, Republican church. And on the seventh point I say, 'Rest.' It's not your job to push and prod this guy into heaven. Just be Jesus, be loving, and when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will open up an opportunity for you to invite him to give his life to the Jesus of the Bible. And if you do this, it will free God up to work on the atrophied hearts of millions who've been nearly destroyed by confrontational Christianity. God will appreciate the help. And now for a word from our sponsors - Join us for a 7 day/7 night Christian cruise to the sunny Bahamas! We promise - no heathens allowed..."

Hard Words to Hear

2006-08-20T10:56:00.000-04:00

A gracious responder to my last blog raised the question as to whether or not airing critical concerns about the state of the church does anything but "tear down the church and our Lord has asked us to build it up." But here's where my spirit is as we think about the "church" today. I'm not so certain that what we often think of as church is really church anymore... at least not the Church that Jesus called into existence in the early chapters of Acts.

Here's what I see in our churches that's not church as Jesus designed it.

1. Today, buildings are the church; in Acts, people were the church. The Church of Jesus Christ managed to go for three centuries without purchasing or building one single structure. The church was the people living life as Jesus called them to live it. We talk a good talk about the church not being buildings (I hear it all the time from good people), but our actions betray our words. "Let's go to church" really means, "Let's get in our car and drive to the church facility where all the member activities occur." Until there is a radical retraining of our thoughts related to what the church really is, buildings and budgets will always be more important than people, and we aren't the church.

2. Today, the church is gathered; in Acts, the church was scattered. We've hunkered into our institutions and inadvertently isolated ourselves from the world Christ called us to change. Just think about it. We have our own Christian schools, Christian music, Christian books, Christian movies, Christian coffee shops, Christian retreat centers, Christian retirement centers, Christian television stations, Christian concerts, Christian cruises, Christian weight lifting, Christian soap operas (I've seen it!), and (my favorite) Christian breath mints! It seems that whatever the world has, we have our own version of it. I'd love to see someone develop a Christian car that was fueled by the Spirit. It would sure save me some money on gas! Okay, that was mean. But my point is, it's possible to be a sterling Christian in the eyes of our peers and NEVER engage the world (except maybe with a protest sign in our hands). We can go day to day, moment to moment, hour to hour seeped in a Christian sub-culture, and never get our hands dirty in the world. Anything with "Christian" on the front of it becomes an invitation to withdraw from the world. Or worse, it's an attempt to be "of the world" by copying what the world has and sanitizing it, while NOT being "in the world" - isolating ourselves from the highways and byways of life. In the past 100 years that the Christian subculture has grown in America, the number of lost people in our society has grown incredibly. Imagine if for the past 100 years we had been pouring our talents into society at large rather than our own Christian clubs.

3. Today, Pharisees are cool; in Acts, Pharisees were out. It's hip to remind congregations that we can occassionaly find hints of Phariseeism in our midst, but it's far more blatant than we give credit for. The Pharisees of Jesus' day managed to take 10 commandments and turn them into over 600 rules. These rules were buffers to make sure that you didn't come close to violating God's law. Isn't it the same today? We're debating, judging and fighting one another about things that are hardly essentials of the faith. Here's a few extra rules that jump to mind... "Thou shalt vote Republican if you are a true believer." Or "Thou shalt be considered super spiritual if you use pious and spiritual words at the end of every sentence." Or "Thou shalt not go to Disney World." Or "Thou shalt allow a woman to sing in church, teach kids 18 or under, subtitute or coteach male adults only if working with another male, work as a youth minister, but not as elder, associate pastor, and you must never allow them to preach, only to lecture behind a potium." Or, "Thou shalt be authentic, so long as you don't say anything that offends me in the slightest." Or "Thou shalt not drink wine just because Jesus did." Or my favorite contrived commandment in modern day Phariseeism: "Thou shalt not say anything critical of the church in a blog!" Decorum, dress, musical volume, political positions, trite moralisms, obscure interpretations of the Scriptures... these have become points of division in our churches, or worse, they have become benchmarks for true spirituality. I thought it was rather clear that Jesus condemned adding anything to his gospel. "Love God and love others." Jesus reduced the 10 commandments down to two while we're multiplying them a hundred fold. Where's the condemnation in our churches of these added rules that push people to the margins who Jesus accepts and elevates spiritual holiness in a way that is completely artificial?

So let me ask, is it right for us to sit quietly by and allow the church to become even more and more like the Catholic church was when Martin Luther announced his protests? How can we "build up" the church unless we "tear down" what is not the church? Just wondering.

A View from the Back Row

2006-08-15T23:04:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged in, but it's time. I've got a lot to say. Consider this the brainstorming sessions that will prepare me for my eventual book!

So here goes...

One of my last Sundays as pastor of Temple Baptist Church, I spent some time on the back row. Why? Not sure really, except that I was told that our worship music was landing with a giant thud with most of the congregation. And I guess that it occurred to me that because I usually sat on the front row of the church Sunday after Sunday, perhaps I had failed to see things as they really were.

I had an idea of what I'd find, but unfortunately it was worse. "Thud" would be way too optimistic. Few lips parted. Most squinted at the flashy screen like they were searching for shooting stars in the night sky. Some had arms crossed, and some genuinely were making an effort to sing songs that they really could do without. What was silly about the whole thing is how the worship team on stage (important word for them) pretended they were on stage at a giant rock concert with thousands of cheering fans awaiting their every move. If they had opened their eyes from their "spiritual" squinting, they might have seen that few were getting it. Knowing that I was at the end of my ministry there at Temple, I was secretly relieved that I was getting out. But more importantly, I wondered if I should have visited the back row a little sooner.

Now I live on the back row, and the view is only getting worse. As we await the opening of our coffee shop, and as we live in limbo between Temple and the next congregation we call home, Tara and I have been spending Sunday after Sunday joining various congregations in worship. And it hasn't been easy. What I see startles me. Here are a few of my findings:

1. The church is nothing but a club for most people. Church services resemble a VFW meeting, most of the time.
2. Pastors make their living scaring the crap out of their members about the outside world so they'll spend more time (and money) supporting the club activities.
3. Visitors (I are one now) are seen as fresh meat - potential NEW club members to help boost the numbers and the balance sheet. Most greetings are deeply inauthentic. I'm tired of been greeted by someone with a "Greeter" tag and ignored by the rest.
4. Even the best churches we have visited are terribly uninvolved with the community. I'm surprised that it takes 1.5 million dollars a year, a staff of dozens, and a mass crowd of several thousands just to donate a few pints of blood and send 10 people on a mission trip. If it took the Red Cross thousands of dollars and tons of man hours to do little more than that, would we give at all? And we wonder why giving is down in churches.
5. God is so tiny in our churches. He's no bigger than our little theological labels, in most circles. We've created God in our image. I'm amazed at how "certain" we are that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is so clearly spelled out in the Bible that we can know EXACTLY what political position to take and who is right and who is wrong. Talk about confidence in Scriptural interpretation! The mystery of God and awe for the Scripture are just plain gone from our churches. The pews are way too full of people who know everything there is to know about God.
6. Most people are going through the motions. I'm afraid many Christians are going to church Sunday after Sunday and have forgotten why they are really there.
7. Community is little more than the greetings people give one another while entering and exiting the worship service. I wonder these days just how much biblical community is really happening outside the walls of the church?
8. "Spirituality" is gone from most churches. Preachers preach to the head (usually trying to get folks to think the right things about God and this terrible world of ours). Few preach to the heart and help renew the spirit. No wonder most people feel worse after they leave church.

So, I've decided I must go and design my own church. This time it's going to be perfect! I'll create the perfect community with perfect patience with a perfect love for the community and a perfect infrastructure and design. Hehe... I know. Someday, some brat kid with some new fangled ideas will visit my church and then write a blog about how wrong it all went. It will all come back on me someday, I know. But for now, I can't shake these sinking feelings I'm getting from the "institutional" church. God wants me to do something positive about it. I can't go on being a typical "pessimistic" Gen-Xer. God is planning something good from it. And the rumblings are coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of other Christ-followers throughout this country. A revolution is brewing. I now get a chance to join the front lines.

Pray for me. Pray that God will fill me with a spiritual energy that will enable me to create the kind of community that will be a fresh spirit for those this community will touch.

Prayer praise of the day: God led some wonderful people to open the Casa Sanchez Mexican Restaurant nearby. It's almost better than Plaza Azteca! We've eaten there three times in four days. There is a God!

A Convenient Communion?

2006-04-18T11:15:00.000-04:00

I got the most interesting sample pack in the mail this week. It’s an “all-in-one disposable communion packet.” It looks like one of those little plastic creamer containers that you get in restaurants when you ask for cream for your coffee. Yet, nestled away in the peel-back top is a little waifer. The nice dark grape juice is visible through the transparent cup. Sort of a portable, on-the-go communion set for the busy, over-stressed Christian.

I’m not knocking the product (though it seems that Jesus makes a lot of money for people nowadays). There’s just something about it that didn’t sit well with me. I guess it’s because you can’t help but look at the bread and the cup without thinking of Jesus and his broken body and his torn flesh. And to take the bread and the wine and wrap it in a disposable, easy-to-use convenience pack just seemed to go against the very thing it represents.

There was nothing convenient or quick about the work Jesus did on the cross. And there’s nothing quick or convenient about gathering in His presence to worship the risen Christ. There’s nothing quick or convenient about centering your heart on the beautiful sacrifice of our amazing Lord. There’s certainly nothing quick or convenient about the life of faith that rises out of our response to His sacrifice.

Just give me the torn loaf of bread and the big cup. I like it the old fashioned way. And I love the fact that the resurrection of our Lord turns simple bread and wine (no matter how it’s packaged) into true spiritual sustinance for a hungry heart.

Treasures in Heaven

2006-03-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

"Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…" (Matt. 6:20). Lately, I’ve been considering just how it is we lay up treasures in heaven. My conclusion: we store up treasures in heaven by investing the wealth of money, time and ability in a way that changes the makeup of eternity.

This week, heaven received a great treasure in Bill Hess. Bill, who has struggled with an aggressive cancer for the past six months, received a more perfect healing this week when he passed away in his bed at Riverside Hospital.

Having been around death a lot in my brief ministry, I’ve come to see that once the struggle against disease is let go, death for a believer becomes quite a beautiful thing. This was certainly the case with Bill. Last Sunday, members of our choir gathered around his bed to sing. This came on the heels of a day when Bill, fully alert, was able to spend some deeply meaningful time with his wife Lynnette. Though after that he regressed quickly, the day before Bill passed, he was off his pain medications long enough to mouth “I love you” to the people around him and to turn the corner of his mouth just enough to indicate a smile.

He was a man prepared to see God face to face.

I can’t help but be proud of how Bill’s Bible study class and a host of others have surrounded Bill and Lynnette over the past year. I can’t help but think of how differently these last months would have been had his Christian friends, Jim and Diane Wood, not extended an invitation for Bill and Lynnette to attend our church's Christmas concert. I can’t help but wonder how different eternity would be had faithful Christians long ago not invested time, money, and ability in the life of a young man and led him to a relationship with God.

Bill was certainly a treasure on earth. Thank God we could all be a part of making Bill a treasure in heaven.

A Beautiful Evening

2006-03-12T20:55:00.000-05:00

As I write, I'm out on my back porch. It's screened in, and the little lamp behind me illuminates the area in front of me just enough so I can see what's there while also taking in the trees and the neighborhood.

The weather is absolutely perfect. My weather toolbar on my Firefox Browser tells me it's 74 degrees and partly cloudy. It feels like being inside in a climate controled environment. No wind at all.

So what about this experience compelled me to set aside a perfectly good book to take on a new post? I'm sitting here thinking of just how many places in this infinite universe of ours could a human being go and experience this perfect tranquility. We can travel the universe entire, and not find too many places as perfect as ours. The air out here isn't bottled by NASA and forced into a space suit. It's God air. And all I have to do is let my lungs do their thing. I don't need specialized protective clothing to experience the elements, I just sit back and relax and take in a perfect breeze.

One theory about the size of the universe is that it takes a universe as large as ours to create just the right environment for human life to take place at this particular spot in the universe. Cool.

Thank you God for putting us in just the right place in the heavens, just the right distance from the sun, with just the right tilt of the axis, with just the right gravitational pull coming from the moon. All may not be right with the world, or right with my life, or right in my spirit, but God's sure doing his job. I'm glad someone's got it together!

Olympic Milennials

2006-02-13T10:43:00.000-05:00

Did you notice that during the snowboarding competitions this week, most of the athletes were pulling iPod ear buds from their ears at the end of their run? It's a digital generation, and they are used to multiple inputs all at once. TV, computer, IM, mp3's... all going at once. Interesting.

Eliminating the Middle Man

2006-02-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

You can pick up Garth Brooks' latest CD at Wal-Mart for a mere $11.88. But only at Wal-Mart. Why? Because Garth has done what so many in the digital era have done: they've cut out the middle man. Instead of Garth giving up a share of proceeds to a distributor and production company, he produces the album himself and works a distribution deal directly with Wal-Mart. Don't feel like going to Wal-Mart? Then just log in, download the album, and load it to your iPod.

Man! Isn't technology fun! Well, it's also scary.

You see, the church has functioned as a middleman for a long time now. Beginning with the rise of the institutional Catholic church in the 4th century, the church became the middle man between people and God. Want to know the Bible? Go see the priest. Want absolution from sin? Go to confession. Want to serve? The church will guide you. Want spiritual guidance? Listen to the preacher. Want fellowship? Attend the church picnic.

But our digitally wired children are likely to cut the middle man. Already, I'm a few clicks away from some of the best preaching in the world. Everything in my seminary professor's head is a few clicks away on the internet. Spiritual guidance? Just drop by Barnes and Nobles, watch Oprah, or attend yoga. Want to make a difference? Call the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity.

Community is our only hope. The internet, online sermons, and Oprah cannot substitute for face to face, loving relationships. Worship cd's cannot replace the incredible God-sense that arises out of worshipping together. And the church can serve as a vital link to the needs of the community.

We can no more afford to think we can survive as middle men. We have to become serious experts at creating deep and abiding community. Unfortunately, we're more aware of the problem than we are polished with solutions. It looks like the church has some reinventing to do.

Deconversion

2006-02-09T15:44:00.000-05:00

Deconvert: to disavow a previous conversion experience so that a new way of thinking/believing/living can take shape.

Well, that's my attempt at a definition. I first heard the word at a Reggie McNeal conference this week, and it's a word that - the more I ponder it - creates in me an entire new way of thinking (I'm being deconverted, I guess).

Deconversion is what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. Before Paul could be converted to Christianity, he had to be "deconverted" from Pharisaical Judaism. Before Jesus could plant a new life in him - a grace-filled life of free communion with Jesus - he had to be untethered from a religion of artificial morality and outward regulations. Once deconverted from the Pharisaical code of 600 plus steps to a perfect religious life, the way could then be open to enter freely into a liberating and dynamic dance with Jesus. His new life was so full of transforming joy that he could rejoice in his imprisonment, relish in claim to be the world's worst sinner, and accept a painful thorn as a sign of God's loving presence.

Deconversion is what we need. It's what the church needs. Christianity is often "churchianity." Christianity has become "religion" again. Attending services, serving committees, counting members, voting Republican, dressing correctly, acknowledging creeds... all of these things have been added to the faith. We've taking the fundamentals of Christ-following and added our own set of rules to ensure we are really pleasing God. As McNeal said, "We aren't like the Pharisees; we is'em."

Several times in history, when Judaism and Christianity became to outwardly religious with little heart, people have risen up to change the church's direction. What only a few revolutionaries could see ten years ago, many young leaders are seeing now. It's becoming clear that the church of tomorrow will make some major shifts. Future believers will simply live out the gospel with other believers, embracing accountability over a cup of coffee, sharing life together beyond small groups, and engaging in mission activity without filtering through the organized church. If this seems confusing, then the confusion merely show much "deconversion" we need. What we're describing is Acts 2 stuff! It's the early church being reborn!

I've been deconverting for a while now, working out [literally working to the outside] the "joy" of my salvation. And the great part is, I'm rediscovering just how thrilling the walk with Jesus can be.

Relationships are Fundamental

2006-01-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

I've recently picked up Leonard Sweet's book, "Out of the Question"... Into the Mystery." The premise of the book is that true meaning comes not from answering questions about God, but in living in the mystery of our relationship with Him. I'm captured by the following sentence: "What's important is not things themselves, but relationships between things. In fact, nothing is ever one thing or another, but rather a relationship between things."

This means that nothing in life has meaning in and of itself. The meaning of a thing is defined by its relationship to others. It's long been known that our self worth or value is formed and defined as we interact with others. How many are in counseling today because a parent or teacher or spouse ill-defined who we are! A baby without human interaction starves an emotional death. This computer I am typing on is of no value until I turn it on and interact with it, and give it the name "computer." Or the classic question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?" Well, who cares? Until a human being interacts with that fallen tree (grinds it up it for fertilizer, builds a home, etc.), it is meaningless whether or not it makes a sound.

This leads me to what seems like a heretical statement at first. Even God has no value wihtout relationship. What value is God if he's out there with no universe to rule, no human beings to shape, no creation to nurture? So he's out there all alone with no influence. What does that matter? If you don't believe that God's value is found in His relationships, we have only to think about the Trinity. In the infinite existence of God, He has been always in relationship with Himself (Father, Son, and Spirit). And He deepened the meaning of His own existence when he created us and entered into relationship with us.

This explains why God says the greatest commandment is to love God and love others. Or why Micah says that our fundamental purpose is to "do justice [live fairly and with dignity in relationships with other], love mercy [extend grace when injustice occurs], and walk humbly with your God [allow your value to be defined by your interconnectedness with God]." These are all relational activities.

This is why coming to church or experiencing a worship service or attending a class are meaningless rituals in and of themselves. They are just "things" until they become tools for connecting us in deep communion with our Creator. No wonder God "hates" our sacrifices when there is no heart in them.

"God, help me to connect with you deeply today. Not just to write about my relationship with You, but to enter deeply into it. Amen."

Martin Luther King

2006-01-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

I've gotta admit. I'm a little miffed that the church office is open on MLK day. I know... the bylaws don't give us this day off, and the bylaws take years to catch up with the times. One day, we'll take this day off with the rest of society, but for today, the office is up and running. But that's a good thing - for me. It reminds me of how far I've come in this issue of race.

When I went to college, my roommates confronted me one day about my apparent "racism." Racism? What were they talking about? They pointed to a few racial remarks and jokes I had told. I explained that in Texas, we talked like this, but meant nothing by it. After all, the three of them were from New Jersey and New York! They were too uptight, I said. But I thought about what they said and began an inward journey to understand what I truly felt deep down about people of other races.

My lifechanging moment came in 1998 when Imani came into my life. As a "temporary" foster child in our home, Imani was as black as one gets, and 18 months old. I remember holding her the first time. She tried to kiss me. I wondered deep down inside if that was ok! Maybe I wasn't where I should be after all.

Little did we know God would keep her in our home for nearly two years, and it changed me significantly. Imani stopped being black shortly after we got her. I remember walking through restaurants wondering why people were staring. Then I'd remember how it must have looked for a white couple to be loving on a little black girl. Imani came to me as a stereotypical little African-American and left our home a beautiful angel. Every time I see a little black girl, I pray she has a daddy who feels for her what I felt for Imani.

So, I look back and I think about what my roommates said. I have to concede that while I may not have been a racist in the classic sense of the word, I had stereotypes in me that were wrong.

I can't say I've ever preached a sermon directly about racism. Not sure exactly how to preach it. But I think God has given me a chance to preach on it in a very different way. I'm happy that taking in a black girl and making her my child, and recently, forging ahead to hire an African-American music minister... these have challenged the people around me, and that's far more valuable than a sermon.

I listened recently to a speech from MLK just 24 hours before he was assassinated. King spoke of how God had carried him, like Moses, to the mountaintop. That he has seen the Promised Land. That the future of black America was strong. Ten years ago, his speech would have done little for me. Yesterday, it moved me deeply. And I was sad that our small office staff couldn't take the time to join their families to remember the strength of this man's character and vision.

I'm glad that I'm miffed. It reminds me of just how far God has brought me.

What Kind of Revolution?

2006-01-03T00:35:00.000-05:00

Someone commented to me recently that "George Barna [Christian pollster] has left the institutional church." Wow... be frustrated with the institutional church... I can understand. But leave the institutional church. So I bought his newest book, Revolution. Here's a summary of what I've read so far...

Currently 70 percent of Christians depend on a local church for their spiritual intake and outflow. About five percent use alternative forms of Christian communities, and the rest... well, they don't do much at all.

Barna predicts that in 20 years, only 30 percent will channel their spiritual activity through a local church, and 30-35 percent of Christiansl will look to these alternative communities. In other words, people will give up on the institutional church in droves. The best churches will survive, but many will die.

The most shocking part of the Barna's book is that he seems to endorse this direction. Critical of the programmed and inch-deep spirituality of local churches, and hungry for a deeper, first centry kind of community experience, Barna seems to believe that many will leave the small "c" church and live out a big "C" church experience. So, instead of depending on a few hours a week for spiritual community, these future revolutionaries will begin living it out in 24/7 kinds of ways.

Part of me hopes desparately that Barna is wrong. And another part of me hopes deparately that he's right. Oh how I pray that this will spark the local church to see that we cannot continue to depend on a weekly worship experience alone to bring spiritual transformation to people's lives. The coming generations are hungry for more. They'll get their spiritual "charge" through the internet, music, iPods and who knows what else. They won't need the church for that. But they won't find true, authentic community through digital media. But will they find it through the church?

I personally hunger for a deeper kind of community than I'm experiencing now; hungry for an experience that flows not only through group worship services, but through coffee shop conversations, IM discussions about a daily devotional, a drop in from a friend, and relationships that naturally bring accountability, encouragement, and community to my life.

I realize, most will set Barna aside and think he's lost his sanity. I pray we who believe in the work of the local church will work to prove Barna wrong (or at least change the direction of the coming trend). In my ministry leadership, I will work with much greater vigor to help Christ-followers know a first century house church experience to complement the present corporate church experiences.

Makes you think

2005-11-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

Kyle Lake, pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, died suddenly during an accidental electrocution while conducting a baptism last Sunday (Oct. 30). Besides the tragic and freak nature of such an accident, there are several things continue to stay with me...

First, Kyle was 33 years of age, as am I. How strange to write "was." Just a reminder that someday, someone will be writing "was" after our name.

Second, Kyle had three children - one girl and two boys - as do I. I should hug my kids just a little more often.

Third, Kyle was a leader in the emerging church movement. He's one who gave his talents to reaching a generation many in the church are writing off. My prayer is that his death will be used by God to call attention to the "second reformation" and will inspire many pastors to take bold steps toward reaching the "missing generation" (missing from our churches, that is).

Just makes me wonder why I worry about the things I do when there is not one single day of this life that I either deserve or can be guaranteed. It just makes you think.

If it makes you happy...it can't be that bad???

2005-09-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

Someone said to me today (rather innocently, I’ll concede), “My granddaughter likes her church. She’s very happy there.” Isn’t that the mark of a good church nowadays? A good church makes people happy. A church is a provider of certain goods and services that, if done well and with enough excitement, it will make the folks within the church happy.

One friend of mine received a great deal of heat when he said to his congregation that his calling wasn’t to make people happy. This comment elicited a called meeting of church leaders to reprimand my friend.

If Jesus’ ministry had been graded by how many people he made “happy,” Jesus would never have made it past the first pastor evaluation meeting. Jesus made a lot of “good” religious folks very unhappy. His teachings upset the system. He called his followers to bear a cross. He called them to a lifestyle where there would be no place to lay one’s head. He asked his disciples to lay down their lives for others as he would for them. He called them to spend their lives for the benefit of others. What’s happy about that?

I contend that happy churches may continue to have more people, but they aren’t growing. Growing in physical numbers, yes. But growing spiritually, no. It’s pretty clear throughout the teachings of Jesus and Paul that it is through crosses and thorns that people are made to be like Christ. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Jesus’ road to “happiness” or fulfillment demanded a hunger and thirst for righteousness that can only be born out of selflessness and self-reproach – two things not on my happy list.

Ok, pastors, what are we doing? Do we exist to make people happy, or do we exist to call people to greater commitment to Christ? Ok, church people. How do we judge our pastors? By how “happy” they make us, or by how much they challenge us to trade our human happiness for a greater cause?

Getting out of the cheap seats

2005-09-03T23:34:00.000-04:00

My sons and I enjoyed a Washingon Nationals game tonight. Being the cheap guy that I am, I got us the cheapest tickets in the upper atmosphere. We climbed to the top of RFK and we were so high up, there wasn't a person behind us. My first thought was how dead the game felt. Crowd was hardly into it. I could see so many empty seats up there where we were. I wondered how it was that anyone could really be a Nationals fan with this kind of setting.

A few innings later, the boys needed to go to the bathroom, and I dreaded the long climb back into the upper atmosphere. So we hunted for seats down low. We ended up sitting very close right where all the action was. All of a sudden, the crowd was so into it. The noise was deafening. Every swing of the bat seemed like the biggest event in DC history.

Then I realized what my problem had been. I was too far from the action. And from the cheap seats, the experience seemed dead. But down where the crowd was, all that changed. The place was alive and electric with enthusiasm.

Maybe this explains the vastly different attitudes I see in the church. Some think it's dead, only see the negative, and complain that nothing's getting done. Then there are those who live and breath the church, live and breath Christ, live and breath his presence. What's the difference? Some look in on Christ's goings-on a few hours a month. Others saturate themselves in all that Christ is.

Once again, I'm compelled by the difference between observing religion and experiencing Christ.

How (refreshingly) fragile we are

2005-08-31T23:50:00.000-04:00

Once again, we’ve discovered how fragile we are. A levee that was deemed “impenetrable” collapsed. The “superdome” is stripped of it’s glory.” The world class communication systems of cell phones and internet are quickly rendered impotent. In one quick moment, a city (the crown jewel of human creativity and ingenuity) becomes a primitive cesspool of desperation. Water, food, shelter… we suddenly remember how life-essential these things are. The dialysis machine that we’ve come to take for granted, the clinical emergency room we’ve assumed to be our safety net, the rescue squads we thought were omnipotent – all are now luxuries that fistfuls of money cannot buy.

Watching the coverage in these last few days, I’ve been overwhelmed at the total powerlessness of governments, media, armies, and engineers. No evacuation plan, no army, no presidential declaration has been able to reach the thousands of people stranded on their rooftops. The fanciest communication systems in the world can’t give people the ability to inform their families that they are alive. The best police and military forces in the world can’t stop basic thievery and civil unrest. The fact is, the blunt force of reality, a reality we’ve kept hidden with our fancy systems and structures, is coming to harsh light of day. WE AREN’T BULLETPROOF. The best of our human endeavors have reached a limit we never imagined. We’ve finally encountered a problem that we cannot solve with the wave of our modernistic wand.

Isn’t this want we “post-moderns” have been saying all along? That our “modern”systems and logical structures and “experts” aren’t really the saviors we believed them to be. September 11, the muddy war in Iraq with no end in sight, and now this… who can now stand and declare any real faith in human intelligence. Who can now stand and believe that science and technology will guarantee “progress.” The best of what we can do ultimately fails. Our confidence in our own abilities has been proven unfounded.

As Brian McLaren, the guru of the Christian post-modernism, says it this way. “We have lost our modern sense of control, power, and certainty in this transition. But since the fruits of control, power, and certainty (from paving over wetlands -- because we were sure that parking lots were better than swamps, to ethnic cleansings -- since we were sure that our people were better than theirs) haven't been entirely salutary, maybe there's something better than control, power, and certainty out there. Maybe that something is love, stewardship, faith.”

Listen up church! Our programs, our buildings, our strategic plans, our creeds, our policies and by-laws, our hierarchies, our denominational systems, our orderly services… these are human creations! And we have placed an inordinate amount of faith in them. Why do we think that these will NOT fail when human failure parades itself across our TV screens daily? It’s time to be the church where Jesus Christ rules. A church born not out of a democratic strategy meeting, but out of an unexplainable, barely describable visitation of the Holy Spirit (i.e. Acts 2).

It’s time to move our “logical” systems out of the way make space for spirituality, something that we can’t pin down but can only be amazed in its presence. It’s time to lay aside our orderly world of “cause and effect” and embrace mystery, a God who cannot be explained with creeds and three step sermons. It’s time to get real, to drink deeply again, and to embrace a second reformation of the church.

One more McLaren quote: “If we people of faith in Christ would arouse ourselves at this critical moment, and engage ourselves for the next hundred years with rare passion and purpose during this time of transition, the world of 3,000 AD could be a vastly different and better place than it will be otherwise. But if we people of faith sleep on, calling this transition a minor phase, failing to rouse ourselves at this hingepoint in history ... I fear for our descendants, and I know we will have to apologize to the Lord for our ostrich- like indolence.”

Well said.

My first blog (too tired to get creative!)

2005-08-31T01:56:00.000-04:00

If you had told me a year ago that one day I'd be posting a blog, I'd have been at a loss for words in one of the first times in my life. A blog? I must have heard that word 20 times before I figured out what it was. Even in context, the word "blog" makes no sense. Google (I don't need to explain that word do I?) tells me that "blog" is a shortened form of "weblog." Melt down all the fluff, and you basically have a public diary for one's random or not-so-random thoughts.

So far, this is what I'm thinking....

First... my blogs will be much less organized and structured than my normal "articles" I write. I pour over my articles, stress over the words I use, and make sure they are absolutely relevant to what's going on in the church or the culture. I will use this blog to just throw out my thoughts. They won't be on a schedule. Just when a thought strikes.

Second... I don't really expect anyone to read them, and I DON'T really want anyone critiquing them for "propriety." I realize that as a minister, people want their ministers to be "larger than life" and to live "above the people." I've worked hard to do that in my public roll. But the fact is, I do have feelings, I do have thoughts rambling around in my brain, and I do like expressing them... as they are. So... as I continue to do my best to maintian propriety in my public work, I will reserve my more candid side for this blog. So, if you don't want to see the "real" side of me, don't read any further.

Third... I'll be using this blog to help me personally "connect" with the emerging culture. What does that mean? Well, there are several things that describe the culture emerging around us. Authenticity... Purpose... Deep reflection... Community... I want to spend more time being immersed in this world. I'm attracted to this world. Unlike many of my colleagues, I don't fear or lament the emerging culture. I think it's ripe for all things spiritual, especially Christ centered spirituality. I long not just to know more about it, but to be a part of it. So, will a blog really make me "emerge?" Not entirely. But it's a good start!