Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The Liberating Ignorance of Knowledge

Two things I have come to believe over the years:  First, when we know little, we think (and act!) like we know a lot.  Secondly, when we know a lot, we recognize how little we know and learn to live without all the answers.  In short, true knowledge leads to ignorance.

To put it another way, too many people don't know enough to know what they don't know.  It is a tragic place to be.  

You often find this trait among leaders.  They assume they have answers; when in reality they don't even know the lay of the land, or the people they're trying to command (cue the rap music).   Too many leaders have foolishly acted like saviors, assuming they can fix things, even though they haven't lived with the problems long enough to know the complexity of the situation.

Or, you find this dilemma among coaches.  The coaches who are truly knowledgeable recognize how little they know, which makes them hungry for more.  Other coaches who know little assume what they know is right and never change.

It is not unlike what I often say about parenting.  Before I had children, I was the best parent in the world.  I had answers.  I knew exactly what other parents were doing wrong.  Then, something funny happened:  I had children.  Suddenly, I recognized that everything I thought I knew did not apply. I learned quickly that context matters.  After all, each child is different; every situation is complex; all personalities require a unique approach.  One could argue, I know more than ever before; and yet, I recognize how little I know.

So if there is a point to this rambling it is this:  Be humble and hungry.  Have the humility to learn, listen and wait.  Trust me, it will save you a lot of embarrassment.  Second, stay hungry, my friends.  The more we know, the less we know, and yet the more gracious and helpful we become.  

Thursday, June 22, 2017

The Work of Liturgy

It's interesting to think about the allergic reaction many have to rituals in the church.  Many Christians are annoyed with repetition in worship.  They judge it as dead or worse, legalistic.  (The irony is every church engages in ritual, some just make it feel more informal than others.)

Of course much of this criticism comes from the fact that we have embraced expressive individualism as a virtue, the belief that what really matters is how I feel and how I express myself.  Therefore, all worship is judged by whether or not it is sincere, sincerely felt or experienced, which creates an endless search for novelty; hence our avoidance of ritual.  (James Smith, Imagining the Kingdom:  How Worship Works).

However, we need to recognize the power that repetitive rituals play in our life.  We use them constantly.  Athletic teams use expressions to shape culture and increase motivation.  Corporate culture embrace slogans to be memorized and repeated.  In America we sing the National Anthem before sporting events.  All of these activities do things to us.  They work as filters, by creating focus, telling us what is not important; and at the same time, they inculcate values.

In fact recently, I found myself dreaming of coaching.  I began to put together a series of values that I would instill in my players.  I envisioned each month highlighting a value, celebrating it, and holding my players accountable to it.   Example:  I would want my high school team to learn to be thankful--to be thankful that they are on a team, to be thankful for one another, and to play with gratitude and joy.  I would instill this virtue through ritual and slogans:  "Together on me, gratitude on three, 1-2-3--GRATITUDE!"  

As I travel down this reverie, I realize that the same idea applies to the church.  If we are doing worship well, we will embrace rituals that shape our desires.  Our worship should include repetitive rituals that are beautiful, deep and theologically sound.  Communion is an example.  When we participate in communion, it should celebrate God's work on the cross in Christ; it should be accompanied by good prayers, song and historical creeds.  Week after week, this ritual begins to shape us.  The same could be said for how we gather and what happens when we are dismissed.  The "flow" of worship should connect us to God's movement in history of calling, saving, setting apart and sending a people.

Week after week, these rituals will create disciples for the kingdom.  So dear church, let us worship with intentionality, boldness and humility.

Peace.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Jesus, Not the Church?

There is a statement that has almost become a cliche.  You hear it mostly in settings where people want to talk about church growth.  Or when pastors want to argue the church needs to change.  It's statement I've probably used myself, unfortunately.  What many church leaders claim is that we live in a culture that likes Jesus but doesn't like the church.

Is it that simple?  Does our culture really like Jesus but can't stand the church?  The conclusion is Jesus is not the problem, but the church is.  If only the church can change, then all will be well. Granted, there is some truth to the fact that churches often misrepresent the reign of peace in Jesus.   That being stated, I doubt we can conclude that the church is always the problem because everyone likes Jesus.
 
To challenge the simplicity of this idea, we can ask, What Jesus does our culture like?  Is it the Jesus who stands against greed in all of its forms?  I'm not sure American culture would naturally embrace the Jesus of Luke who speaks several times about the dangers of money and possessions.

Is our culture enamored with the Jesus who calls us to love our enemies?  I doubt it.  Learning to love enemies is not natural and therefore not easily embraced.

Does American culture like the Jesus who calls for repentance--the Jesus who is not offering a spirituality but new way of life shaped by a cruciform discipleship?  Does our culture like the idea of the cross?  Suffering?   Again, I doubt it.

You see, the assumption most church growth experts make is that Jesus meets our deepest needs.  He solves our problems.  He makes our lives easier.   Everyone will love him.  All we need to do is get rid of all the noise of religious activity, offer Jesus and the world will come to church again.  Lost in this naive narrative is the reality of sin and evil from which Jesus longs to deliver us.

Another way to state the matter is to recognize that our culture is probably not any less idolatrous than the one that nailed Jesus to a tree.  We live in a time when greed, violence and the narrative success above all else dominate our lives.  These idols do not go down without a fight.

So Jesus very well might be the problem.  Jesus very well might be a hinderance to our church growth.  In some settings, Jesus will be embraced and the church will be loved; in other settings, he will be rejected and the church will be hated.

Regardless, we are called to witness to the Son who has rescued us from this present evil age and has called us to into the light of God's new creation in Christ. This work is not easy.  We might grow numerically.  We might shrink.  We might be loved.  We might be hated.  The results are beyond us and out of our control.  So we are called to a full faithfulness to Jesus and his way.  Nothing more, nothing less.



Thursday, May 25, 2017

Peacemaking

I'm angry and anxious.  This is the current state of my soul.  It's not that I live there every waking moment, but it is the gravitational pull in my life.  Without deliberate effort I land in this this dark realm.
 
I am growing weary of the ways sin distorts our lives:  The lack of wisdom that leads people down paths of abuse; adults who are blind to the ways they hurt others by seeking their own agenda and crushing others under the cogs of their desires. 

Deeper still, I have buried my frustrations believing there is nothing I can do.  All these buried wounds are being struck again.  I am hurt and bleeding.   

I'm beginning to realize that I have not practiced the hard work of reconciliation.  I've walked away from conflict, seething, thinking the worst about people and their intentions.  Rather than confront and seek the path of reconciliation, I've embraced the path of bitterness.  It has not worked.  

David Fitch's book Faithful Presence challenged me this afternoon.  He argues that Christians are called to the hard work of reconciliation in the church, in our community, and in our world.   He argues that where there is no reconciliation, there is no gospel.  As Paul says, "God in Christ has reconciled the world unto himself . . . And he has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5).  

I need to do better.  God help me.  


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The Long Longing

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.  Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12-13, NRSV)

As I prepare for this Sunday I've been thinking about these words.  They capture the great longing I have.

Paul recognized that we don't see clearly right now.  We don't have the answers to all our searching questions.  Nor do we have solutions for every problem.  Truth be told, all answers create more questions; and all solutions create more problems.  We live in world tainted by sin, distorted by evil.  Life lacks clarity.

But one day we will see face to face; and we see/experience God fully.  Interesting, the longing we have is relieved in a full experience of God.

Paul continues with this thought but now in a different key.  He recognized that we know only in part.  We don't understand everything about life and faith.  But one day will know fully as we have been fully known.

The last line arrests my attention.  We are held in love right now--as we have been fully known.  We are fully known right now because God is love.  One day we will know fully.  The longing we have is relieved in knowing God in love.




Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Post Easter Relfections

I made it through another Holy Week.  It all started with Palm Sunday, continued with Maundy Thursday which included a darkening of the church, then our outdoor Sunrise Service at 6:30 am and finally our Easter Celebration.

I must admit, I have contracted yet again the post-Easter blues.  Part of the reason for the blues is everything leading up to Easter was intellectually and emotionally taxing:  final approval for our development project, construction drawings, start of the new church year, three days of interviews for ministerial candidates, pastoral reports, and last but not least, Holy Week preparation.  Then it all comes to an end with a sense of emptiness and fatigue.

But the deeper reason, I am find myself infected with the post-Easter blues is the knowledge that I can never give expression to the beauty of the gospel.  My words and our liturgy are ultimately lacking.  They fall short of God's glory and grace.

I'm not suggesting that we necessarily failed, though that might be partially true. We can always learn and do better, but that is not what I mean when I say our words and our liturgy fell short.  What I mean can be stated in two simple sentences:  First, I REALLY believe in the beauty of the gospel.  Second, I never adequately communicate it's beauty.  

Think about:  The Gospel is beautiful.  It is glorious.  God in Christ serving us (John 13), reconciling the world unto himself (2 Corinthians 5:18).  God in Christ assuming human form, suffering the full weight of sin, evil and death (2 Corinthians 5:21).  God in Christ going before us in suffering, death and resurrection (Romans 8:29).  God in Christ in hell to break the power of hell (1 Peter 3).  God in Christ submitting to his own judgement to make things right; after all, forgiveness is not enough, sin must be dealt with (Romans 3:21-26).

Then there is the resurrection which announces that God's kingdom of peace has truly begun (Acts 10).  You see, sin, evil and death could not keep Christ in the grave.  God's intention to heal are greater than the worst that can happen (Romans 8, Revelation 1:5).

Equally amazing is wonderful reality that the gospel makes emotional sense.  It matches our needs perfectly. We are broken, we need to be healed (1 Peter 2:24).  We break others; we need forgiveness and hope for healing for our loved ones.  We long for joy, and the gospel promises joy (Philippians 4).  We want to love, and Christ give us the means to love (1 John 3, John 15).  We believe our love is eternal, and the gospel announces that love is eternal (1 John 4).  We want peace, we need peace; the gospel promises us peace (Romans 5:1-5), even in suffering.

It's so beautiful.  So beautiful that words fail.  On Easter Sunday (and all other Sundays for that matter) we are trying to say the unsayable.  Our words can only point as God draws us to experience the truth firsthand.

The question remains, Did we hear and understand, with our hearts?  . . . Time will tell, time will tell.

Peace

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Standing For

“Why do we have to voice opinions on the hot-button issues of the day?  Instead of ‘Where do you stand?’ why aren’t we talking about ‘with whom are you standing?’  Isn’t it the nature of disciples of Jesus, less to be known for a certain opinion about an issue than to be known for whom we are in relationships with.  Show disciples of Jesus a lost cause or an underdog, the sidelined or the undermined, and they become suckers . . . If Jesus fanatics push a hot button, it’s not an issues button so much as it is a relations button.  There is no ducking the ugly duckling for Jesus followers.” (Len Sweet, So Beautiful, p. 118)

One of the more troubling aspects of our current cultural climate is the rampant polarization of nearly everything.  The question has really become, Where do you stand?  And unfortunately there are usually only two positions, diametrically opposed to one another.  The end results of this binary worldview are easy to discern:  lines drawn in the sand, alliances forged, and wars are waged.  Personally, I’m growing a little tired of it all.  It’s difficult to even have a meaningful discussion without getting into spitting matches.

So maybe Len Sweet is on to something here.  Perhaps our focus has been on principles and not people, rules not relationships, standing against and not standing for.  This particular failure is a very subtle trap, especially for Christians who believe in the importance of holiness.

Of course, the issue is not with holiness per se but our definitions of holiness.  Too often, holiness is reduced to personal purity at the expense of neighborly care and justice.  This type of holiness misses the mark.  It leads to pride, which forms Christians into people who are as pure as angels and as mean as demons.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, we must keep three virtues in front us—love, truth and humility.  No three words characterize the spirit of Jesus better than these.

He was love through and through. He was also truth; and he loved with truth to liberate us from sin.  Last but not least, he was humble, pouring out his life even for his enemies.

So if we are growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, our lives should begin to take on the form of a humble, loving and truthful disposition.  This is our call.

Peace.