When Words Don't Work Right

I accidently started a fight on Facebook today.  You can only imagine what it was about (unless you are my friend on Facebook, then you can stalk me and find out what it was all about).  I can truly see that I meant no harm, and I am sure that the person that I was talking to meant no harm.  We were, however, on the verge of escalating into a fight.

And we are friends

And we are Christians

And for all I know we even agree on more than we disagree (I didn't even take the time to find out!)

Perhaps you will relate, but I find myself trying to say things that are uplifting and helpful only to find them tear down and hurt.  I have good intentions, the intentions of a minister of the gospel--the good news!  I intend to bring healing and hope and help but so often I speak in such a way that I either leave out the truth or the love.  I just haven't figured out how to do that like Peter or Paul and no where near like Jesus.

So what am I to do?

Perhaps the best answer is to shut up?  I think that I try to use words too often when action is necessary.  Love and truth are more genuine incarnated; they are more real with roots and leaves and fruit.

And perhaps Facebook just isn't formatted for incarnational truth and love.  Perhaps I should get offline and live it around my neighbors.

The Day I Ask You For Prayer

Sometimes I feel like my faith is at war with itself.

God calls us to evangelize, to love, to share, but he also calls us to a standard of morality.  He calls us to treat others certain ways, to flee from certain activities, and to avoid from talking in certain ways.

And I know that the two are not mutually exclusive.

In practice it sure does feel like they are at war.

There are those I want to bring to church.  There are those I want to allow freedom to feel welcome at church long enough for them to see the beauty of the grace of Christ.  I want to give them time.

Yet I fear allowing them to be themselves until they see the truth.  What will the church say?  How will they react when they found out I brought them?  How can I allow someone to worship that is blatantly living in sin?

And I know the answer is messy.


And I know the answer is full of grace and love.

So today I ask for prayer, and advice if you have it, because what I know is right to do is not always easy.  And today it is difficult.  Will you pray that I share Christ's grace by allowing someone to come and see Christ, and allow Christ to change their heart.  Pray that I personify love while awaiting life transformation.

Thank you.

A Letter to THE Church: Let's Stop The Bullying

Dear Church,

You are dearly loved.  You are precious.  You hold a special place in the plan of God.  For two thousand years you have faithfully shared the faith, passing it down from father to son and mother to daughter.

You are truly awesome.

Yet I write today because I am concerned with where you are headed.  I am concerned with what you are doing to yourself.  The self-inflicting wounds are hurting you; the lifeblood of the church is draining, and you did this to yourself.

And so I write with a simple message to the church:  It is time to stop the bullying.

When did the church decide it was our job to belittle those who differ in opinion?  When did Jesus grant us the authority to degrade others, question their intelligence, and dehumanize all who are opposed to us?

It is time you realize, that I realize, that the enemy is not the progressives (who show us that the gospel matters in this generation) or the fundamentalists (who remind us that there are fundamental convictions of our faith).

Our enemy is not the liberal, who reminds us that it is for freedom we have been set free from the law.

Our enemy is not the conservative, who reminds us that not everything old or traditional is bad.

No, our enemy is not church's political opinion--we need each other.

Our enemy isn't the non-Christians--they remind us that we still have a mission from Jesus to make disciples in his name and authority.

Our enemy isn't the homosexual--they provide an avenue for us to demonstrate grace.

Our enemy isn't the Westboro Baptists--they provide an avenue for us to demonstrate grace.

Our enemy isn't the black church, the white church, the rich church or the poor church.

Our enemy is not any part of the church.

Our enemy isn't even any person.

Our enemy is the dominion of darkness, sin, death, and condemnation that rules in this world.

And we need every group of Christians, with all of our oddities, to unite against it.

So please, dear Church, stop.

Stop trying to take out the Calvinists.

Stop beating up the Baptists.

Stop pitting us against one another.

Let us be the Church.  One Church.

Sincerely,

A concerned member of the Body

Changing the Church's Sex Talk

A couple weeks ago I started to share my thoughts about the sex-obsessed nature of the American church.  I had planned on posting more thoughts over the following days, but my life changed dramatically when my first son was born!  Things have been busy and exciting, and I thank you for your patience, but now I want to return to this topic.

Out and In: the Faithful Promise

Abraham is more talked about in the New Testament than Adam.  Abraham is more talked about than David, Solomon, or any of the prophets.

Abraham, we could say, is important.

This wanderer, this nomad, is crucial to the faith we inherit.

And I noticed something amazing as I read the story of this man's calling:

"Come out of your land, out of your people, our of your father's household, and come into a land I will show you."

Out of and into...

Out of and into...

Out of and into...

Our English translations rarely do justice to this simple comparison.  This was more than just a simple call to leave a geographical position.  This was more than a statement of relocation.

This was a call to leave an identity and come into another.

Abraham's identity was changing.  He was no longer a person among his genetic heritage.  He was no longer constrained by his past geopolitical environment.  He was new.  He was in a new land.  God was creating a people and a nation that didn't exist yet.

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And in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.  For out of many nations and peoples and identities we are now brought into one person:  Christ.

Why All The Talk About Sex?

A respected Christian friend posed a great question yesterday.  If you would allow me to paraphrase, he asked:  What is the church's hangup with sex?  Why in the past 100 or so years has the church become increasingly focused on issues of sexual sin, sexual identity, and sexuality in general.

Anyone who spends a great deal of time in the modern Evangelical movement will know that my friend is not wrong in his assessment of our teaching.  Christians, particularly Protestant Christians, seem to be obsessed with talking about sex.  We have books for by the hundreds for keeping our youth remain sexually pure, books for sexual addiction, books for what is permissible sexual activity within a marriage, books that prepare engaged couples for marital sexuality, books on sexuality and politics...I am exhausted just sharing the categories!

So the question today is simple:  Why is the church so focused on sexuality?  This should lead naturally to other questions (is this focus bad?  How can we better address this issue?  What other issues are we ignoring?), but for today we will leave those questions unanswered.

I would like to suggest three reasons the Protestant church finds itself so focused on sex in its teaching:

1. We are still recovering from the Reformation.  You know, when Martin Luther looked the Pope in the eyes and said "Let my people go!"  OK, so that may be a little bit dramatic, but the Reformation changed things.  In responding to the forced celibacy of the Roman Catholic, the Reformation made celibacy out to be a bad thing altogether!  We have made marriage a necessary part of life and spirituality (just ask any single 20 something in your local church), and in so doing have placed a great importance on sexual relationships.  This shift also led to the view that sex is about more than just procreation. This shift from celibacy naturally led to many questions:  what is allowed sexually?  When is it sex?  What is permissible for me?


2. Sexuality is one area where we are genuinely "at odds" with our culture.  It's easy to ignore the areas of sin and philosophy where we agree with our neighboring non-Christians.  Yes, Jesus does say a lot about poverty, judgmental attitudes, and religious hypocrisy, but I agree with my non-Christian friends on many of these issues.  We must be right, so why talk about them?  In reality, this is what I would call our ability to "shift" emphasis in Scripture to what we consider gross sin.  If we look honestly at ourselves, most of us have sin that is tolerable, but others that are gross, unacceptable among God's people.  Sexual sin has become the gross, while sins of gluttony, power, and status are acceptable.

3. Whether intentional or not, we practice a system of "occasional theology."  Personally, I am a big proponent of occasional theology as an alternative to systematic theology.  Most however, practice this without even thinking about it.  What is occasional theology?  Occasional Theology is the practice of addressing theological issues based upon the situation (or occasion) confronting the local congregation.  I would argue that Paul's letter's are great examples of occasional theology.  Bringing this back to the issue, you will  notice that sexuality is flaunted and discussed now more than ever in our culture.  Pornography is bigger business than Hollywood.  Sexual agendas are being tackled by our politicians, trumpeted by our celebrities, and promoted by our athletes.  The church is simply addressing the pressing issues of our day.

This still leaves the question of whether our focus on sex is good or bad, and perhaps we can discuss that tomorrow.

Perhaps there is something that I've missed.  What other factors are contributing to our focus on sex?  Why do church's feel the need to spend so much time and money addressing issues of sexuality?

I hope to hear from you!

I Was Nothing But An Outsider

It was my sin that held him there, until it was accomplished...

...but it was my adoration that placed him there.

It was two days before Passover, two days before the feast and festival of Unleavened Bread, Jesus was in Bethany--right outside of Jerusalem.  His death was certainly coming.  He knew it.  Those who wanted him dead knew it.  Jesus was a dead man walking.

Mark shares with us that the chief priests were set on arresting him, but not until after that Passover; he never made it that long.  The plan fell together quickly from this time two days before, actions were set in motion.  Judas would betray...

...but why?

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Lent is a season traditionally used to prepare the Christian for Holy Week (Good Friday and especially Easter).  It is typically a time of self-reflection, a time to remember who you were before you were in Christ.  It is time for repentance and self-denial.

All good things.

Whether you and your church participate in Lent or not, I would like to propose something to you.  Lent, like the rest of Christianity is more about discovering Jesus than examining yourself.

When you examine yourself...you know what you are going to find.

You know the sins, the shortcomings, and the inconsistencies in your life.

When you look at Jesus, however, you discover something much more important:

Identity.  Who I was without, and who I am with, the Son of God.

Lent reveals us as who we really were:  Outsiders.  We were no better or worse than the religious leaders, but we were not part of the "in crowd."  In fact, most of you reading this were Gentiles.  We were the sick, the sinful, the ceremonially unclean.

Our sin may have been removed on the cross, but it wasn't only our sin that put Christ on the cross.  It was our adoration.  It was his acceptance of outsiders like us that led to his betrayal and arrest.  It was his willingness to include us that led to the nails and death.

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In Bethany, Jesus went to eat at the house of Simon the Leper.

The Leper

Outsider.

While there a woman (outsider by gender) and poured an expensive jar of perfume upon Jesus head.  THis woman, the other gospels will tell us was a prostitute, an adulterer, a sinner.

An outsider.

They complained that the perfume was not sold for the benefit of the poor.  Jesus rebukes them, favoring her  desperate plea for love.  Jesus rebukes them telling them "you can help them (the poor) any time you want."  They rebuked her for something they did not do themselves.

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus.

Judas went when he could stand it no longer.  Jesus love of the outsiders, his inclusion of those that should be excluded, was too much for him to bear.

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Jesus includes.  It was his inclusion of sinners and unclean and ungood that sent him to the cross.  Looking at Jesus, as we walk closer toward the cross and Easter once more, we realize that we are not the in, but the outsiders.

Jesus brought us in.

Who are we leaving out?

Anticipation

Dear God,

As I gather with your church, within your sacred walls of flesh community.

I do not see you.

I am too busy.  I have to look for you afterword.  I am too busy doing, thinking, looking, sharing, caring, shaking, smiling, hugging, hand raising, singing, teaching....


And I forget that you are in it all.

The old ones, Paul and Peter and countless others, they anticipated

You.

They looked for you, sought you, worshiped you, praised your grace, waited for you.

And you were there.

And you sent them.

And they saw, they noticed.




...So let it be with me.

Church: Home of the Homeless

I am blessed to be a part of a church that cares.  It really does.  Lowell Church of Christ has several missions and local outreach.

However, even when looking at my church, I am left wondering:  Is this all God desires for us?

Today I start discussing the issue of church and poverty, and the first thing we need to ask is simply:  What does God expect of us as Christians and as his Church?  Today I want to make three observations:

1. God desires his church to do more than give.  Luke 4 makes quite clear that we are to proclaim good news to the poor.  Proclamation of good news goes far beyond handing a check out to someone.  It means providing the means to lift someone into a better life (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).

2. God intends the church to be more than a support center.  The New Testament, including Luke 4, provides insight that the church will actually be filled with  the poor.  They will be part of us.  It should be our job to treat with equality those of lesser means, and hopefully bring them to equality.  We must stop looking at the impoverished around the world as "other" and start looking at them as "one of us."

3. God intends the church to be the standard-bearer for worldwide justice.  If you have not done it yet, read Luke 4.  God wants to make the world a place of justice.  He intends to use the Church, the hands and feet of Jesus, to be the leaders of this movement toward equality and hope.


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I have heard the many who worry about this so called "social gospel."  Somehow, by focusing our attention on the statements of Christ that challenge us to do, to act, to live with compassion, we challenge the grace alone gospel.  I do not agree.

Grace breeds grace. As we come into contact with the grace of God that forgives sins, it leads us to tangibly display this grace.  Grace begats worship that challenges the "who we are" with the "who we were created to be."  Grace begats love which leads to compassion.

Grace must be followed by more grace.  Grace leads us to care for the poor.

Why People Leave Church: A response to Steve McSwain

A couple days ago, Steve McSwain posted an article for the Huffington Post entitled, "The Decline of the Church:  Will 2012 Be More of the Same?"

The article is focused on why 34 million American's have abandoned the church.  His argument is simple:  the church is to blame.  He goes on to list five major reasons, listed below in shortened fashion:

1. Tired of being told how to live, what to believe, etc.
2. Church's trapped in dead traditions.
3. Incessant bickering within churches.
4. Church is "inventing enemies" do to self-centered, narrow-mindedness
5. Church is the most segregated place in America.

 While some of the issues contribute to church membership decline, I do not believe this is the whole answer.  In fact, I do not think McSwain does either.  Listen to his last paragraph, and

Yes, I hold out some hope for the church -- a hope that the church will move beyond its collective insanity -- where the interest is only in what separates it from others; where the obsession is, as I describe with The Enoch Factor, the madness of insisting, "We're right! You're wrong!" "We're the chosen ones; you're not!" or "We're in; you're out!" And, instead, affirm and defend all people, whoever they are, whatever spiritual path they've chosen to follow as they seek to discover themselves, connect with Transcendence, know and spread peace and happiness, and live an ethical life.

 Here, we find the true crux of McSwain's argument.  The church holds to an exclusive set of beliefs.  The church, as a whole, believes that some religions, lifestyles and opinions are not true.  The church believes, as it has for two thousand years that some issues lead us to stand against cultural and social norms.

I believe it is this belief in absolute truth that leads McSwain to be critical of the church.  First, allow me to say that I agree with McSwain to an extent.  Sometimes our convictions lead to people walking away.  Sometimes we take a stand on the wrong issues, and on the wrong side of some issues.

However, it is at the core of the Christian faith that absolute truth exists, and it is found in no other man or teaching but that of Jesus Christ.  If Jesus Christ, as found in Scripture, is both absolute truth and singular truth, we cannot blame our decline now on something that has been central to our faith for 2000 years.

Instead, I would like to suggest that the church has failed to passionately live out it's core convictions on a few major issues:

1. We have failed to passionately pursue the poor.  This is a topic that I am coming to grips with personally as I read The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Kearns.  The church has aimed its attention so fully on the middle class that we have failed to remember that the New Testament repeatedly calls us to the poor.

2. We have failed to equip our members for evangelism.  If we fail to reach out to new families, the church fails.  If we expect minister to accomplish this alone, we are fooling ourselves.


3. We have failed to maintain sexual purity.  Our voice has been much louder than our practice in areas of sexuality.  We are often rightly called hypocritical on issues such as sexual purity, pornography, divorce, and homosexuality.


McSwain's argument is squarely founded in modern relativism.  A relativism that we as the church must wholly reject, even if it means we lose some.  McSwain's view stands against rationalism, enlightened thinking, and most important Scriptural truth.


Note:  I will be writing several posts about our treatment of the poor this month.  Join me as we discuss how to better live out the faith we profess.