Random Thoughts About the Church

I've recently finished a book that confirmed so many of my own thoughts on the church.  It's entitled, Shrink: Faithful Ministry in a Church-Growth Culture by Tim Suttle.   I'll list some of the main ideas the book has reestablished in my heart.  

The church is not called to grow nor to shrink but to be the church.  I heard this line from a professor nearly 20 years ago, and it has stayed with me.  Granted, I always haven't embraced this approach.  I'll admit it: I've been driven by fear to embrace a plan promising church growth.  Nonetheless, I've frequently come back to this central thought.  It has kept me grounded.  

Making growth your goal can be toxic.  Churches committed to nickels and noses can easily fail to be the church.  Sometimes, churches need to slow down and be thoughtful.  Focussing on nickels and noses might make this impossible.  Also, what we are called to embrace as Christians might not result in numerical growth; it might even be detrimental to numerical growth (John 6:66).  I outlined a book several years ago for the fun of it.  The title is an attempt to be funny:  "Your Church isn't Growing?  Blame Jesus."  The point is, Jesus is the hope of the world, but he is also a crucified savior, rejected by those who prefer business as usual.  The Kingdom of God creates both friends and enemies.  Growth should be a concern, yes.  However, I'm not convinced it's a good goal in and of itself.   Being faithful to Jesus' mission is a healthier goal.  

Success-driven churches can easily lose a relational focus.  In the church we have too many agendas that knock us off course.  Jesus says in John 15:8, "In this my father is glorified, that you bear fruit and become my disciples."  The fruit to which Jesus calls us in John 15 is living a life of love.  What if the church stayed committed to this one simple agenda--living in God's love and sharing God's love.  Perhaps fewer people would leave churches; and churches would be much stronger.  You see, the church first and foremost is not about getting my needs met, nor is church about money, carpet or chairs.  Fundamentally, church is about relationships and loving each other the way Jesus loved us.  What if everyone simply wanted to grow in the sacrificial love of Jesus. Nothing else.  What would the church look like?

Pragmatism is an idol in the church.  I resent any seminar or conversation that begins with some story or guarantee on how this new plan will work.  Don't get me wrong, I am interested in whether or not things work.  However, I first want to know is this plan good.  Does it reflect God and his dream for the world?  Is it right and true to Jesus?  Once I've heard the theological rationale, then I'm interested in how one might move forward with this new idea.  We should never embrace something just because it works.  Think about how far that logic will take you.  There are lots of things that will work, but they might not reflect the God we worship.  

Simply put, the church is called to witness to the liberating light and love of Jesus that has come and is coming in his kingdom.  The results are in God's hands.  Some churches will grow, others won't.  Much of it depends upon your soil.  Bottomline, let's learn to be faithful to Christ.  We don't have to win, we just have to be witnesses to the great story that Israel's crucified messiah is the Lord of history.   

Peace.   

The Cross: How to Be Human

I believe the cross reveals, among many other things, what it means to be human.  The cross is not merely some sort of bridge that enables us to have life after death.  It also reveals a distinct way of life affirmed by God.

Remember, the resurrection of Jesus does not cancel the cross but confirms it.  The resurrected Jesus is the crucified savior.  What remains visible on the resurrected Jesus are the scars from ignoble death (Luke 24).  Even at the end of time, we worship the lamb, "looking as if it had been slain" (Rev. 5, NIV).  This slaughtered lamb is the one who controls history; he is the one who can open the scrolls.  The cross is central to who God is, and how he wants us to live as humans.

For example, the cross teaches us that to be human is to repent of sins.  Jesus not only suffered and died for our sins, he resisted sin his entire life, faithfully loving to the very end.  He waged a war against all that is evil while being perfectly faithful to God.  His life serves as a powerful example of our need for forgiveness.  When we look to the cross, we are confronted with the ugliness of our sins--look at what we are capable of.  At the same time, when we look at the cross, we see our need for forgiveness.  Very few things are more dangerous than the belief that we are blameless.  The cross helps us see our need and gives us the freedom, because we are loved and forgiven, to repent.

But there's more:  The cross also reveals that to be human is to pour out our lives for others.  Jesus is the human one, the leader of a new race (Rom. 5).  He shows how to live. The cross is the climax of his sacrificial way of life.  And of course, we too are called to take up our cross in sacrificial ways of living.  To be human then is not to live in constant competition with others, trying to outmaneuver or dominate, but to serve and give.  The human maturity we celebrate is not about autonomy nor about achieving great things at the expense of others.  Rather we celebrate a human maturity characterized by interdependence, agape love, service and compassion.

There is more, but two is enough for now.  The cross calls us to repent from the ways of the world that  reject Jesus.  Part of what this means is that we are called to reject our desire to dominate and control others.  Instead we are called to serve.

The cross reveals what it means to be human.

Peace.    
 

The Cross and the Trinity

As I continue to think about the cross, I've been reminded again that the cross reveals the very nature of God's love.  The cross is not an aberration in the life of God.  Rather the cross reveals the heart of God.

In the cross we see God's self-emptying, vulnerable love.  As Paul states, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.  God comes in Jesus and gives his life as a ransom for many.  The world and it's selfish agenda rejects Jesus and puts him to death (1 Corinthians 1).  The Spirit raises Jesus from the dead (Romans 1.1-4).

Yet, there is even more depth.  God gives all things to Jesus.  Jesus in turn gives his life as a living sacrifice to God, praying not my will but yours be done.  He loves to the very end, serving others. (John 13)

A similar movement is found in 1 Corinthians 15.24-28.  Jesus is proclaimed as Lord, God has put all things under his authority.  Yet, Jesus gives all things back to God so that God might all in all.

What we see then is a mutuality in the very heart of God.  God and Jesus giving and receiving, and the Spirit holding all together as the bond of love (Heb. 9.14).

To me the cross makes all of this plain.  Christ is emptying himself, knowing that the Father has given him all things through the Spirit who rests on Jesus throughout the gospels and then raises him from the dead.

What this means is that our love, should be characterized by a similar mutuality.  Our virtue should entail a giving and receiving, a vulnerability and a self-donation.

In other words, we are not made to be autonomous moral heroes who stand above the crowd.  Rather we're called to be servants, who give without trying to control, win or profit.

Peace.  

Sacrificial Service

I'm still thinking about the last three sermons.  Each Sunday we looked at the three passion predictions in the Gospel of Mark (8:31-9:1; Mark 9:30-49; Mark 10:32-45.  Two brief thoughts:

First, I find it interesting that when the disciples remain clueless, Jesus calls them to embrace a practice.  Remember, there is a three-fold pattern in each passion prediction:  1) Jesus announces his impending suffering and death; 2) the disciples reveal their ignorance by rebuking Jesus or seeking status; 3) Jesus calls them to a practice (deny yourself/take up your cross, serve the weak, become a servant of all).  It's interesting.  Jesus doesn't offer another lesson.  Nor does he exegete more scripture.  Rather, he calls them to a practice that reflects the cross.  So perhaps the best way to understand the cross is put it into practice.  Try it on for size; then you'll understand God's love more fully and the way to true life.

Second, I can't get over the fact that Jesus calls us to live out the atonement.  As I tried to state last Sunday, the atonement is not merely a doctrine to be believed but a way of life.  In the last passion prediction, Jesus links his own explanation of atonement to the call for disciples to be servants.  Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom, so we must be a servant community--a community that reflects God's atoning love in Christ.  We are to be caught up into God's love.  The logic is simple:  The cross reveals God's love; therefore, we should be a community of the cross, participating in his love.

I hope all of this makes some sense.  It's okay if it doesn't.  It's hard to take in.  I'm finally starting to get it.

Peace.

Looking Toward Sunday

Over the years I've been intrigued by the idea that what we need as followers of Christ is a transformation of our desires.  The idea comes from some of the great thinkers of the church--Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine and Aquinas to name a few.

The thought works like this:  To be human is to crave.  What motivates us, what keeps moving is our desires.  The problem is those desire have become distorted.  We become attached to all the wrong things.  Or you might say we love the gifts of God more than we love God, turning his gifts into idols.  This distorts our life in countless ways often making us anxious and mean.

The only ultimate satisfaction our cravings will find is in God.  Our desires are unlimited; they're infinite.  Nothing can match our infinite desires except an infinite God.

Paul points us in this direction in Philippians.   "Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call in Christ Jesus." (Philippians, 3:12-14, NRSV)  The word for "straining forward" (Gk: epektasis) is an important one for Gregory of Nyssa.  He taught that this word captured the Christian's life well.  The Christian is one who is straining forward, reaching out, wanting more of the infinite God.  

It makes sense. Once you taste the goodness of God, you want more.  Your infinite desires can only be matched by a God of infinite love and goodness.  I pray your heart will experience God's goodness and grace and so be transformed as you move from one degree of glory to the next.

A Modest Proposal--At Least Listen

Last week we talked a bit about the fifth commandment--"honor your father and mother."  The command establishes a hierarchy for ancient Israel.  It provides order; and it is the mechanism through the faith is passed on (working from the assumption that one generational is honorable, of course).

The command also invites us to consider others we are called to honor.  Hebrews 13 instructs us to obey and submit to our spiritual leaders.  1 Peter calls us to honor the emperor and our masters, even when we are treated poorly.

I believe that all of this is a little troubling to our modern ears.  We have been trained to believe that we should be free from all authority and tradition.  No doubt, this modern movement has created much good in our world.  There were beliefs that needed to be challenged, superstitions that needed to be set aside and corrupt leaders in need of correction.   Yet, I fear we've taken all of this a little too.

Now, we believe that we can be our own authority in matters of faith and life.  This is part of the struggle some have with church.  They state, I don't want anyone telling me that there might be a better way to live or a better way to believe.  I want to be free to forge my own path.  I want to interpret the Bible on my own.

Again, this stance has its place in some circumstances.  However, as a way of life, it is dangerous.  When we are left to ourselves we become less than our true selves.  As humans we are really good at self-deception.  We can easily paint ourselves with the best colors, glossing over some of our deepest faults.  Without the help of others guiding us, we can remain stuck in ways that hurt us and others.  Furthermore, wisdom is usually passed down from one generation to the next.

Therefore my modest proposal is that we at start by listening well.  Listen carefully to those who have gone before, to those who have lived the life well.  Listen carefully to loving friends and faithful leaders.

Jesus says beware of how you listen:  "Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away."  The point is, those who lean in hungry to learn are those have and receive more; those who fold their arms, roll their eyes and shut their ears--either out of boredom or arrogance--are those who lose what they thought they had.  One is blessed, the other is not.

Another way to put it is to say that if we truly want to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God's son, Jesus Christ, then we will be hungry--hungry to learn, hungry to listen and honor those who are truly honorable.

Let's listen well then, longing to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

As Smart As A Mule

“Let's start with that most offensive of mule stereotypes, namely that they are stubborn. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to mule expert John Hauer, author of The Natural Superiority of Mules (Skyhorse Publishing) just out in its second edition. As he explains, mules aren't stubborn. They're simply too intelligent to do stupid things. They also have a powerful self-protective streak. Load up a mule with too much weight and it'll refuse to budge. But when you lighten the load to a point the mule deems acceptable, it'll get moving sure enough. Another example: When a mule is exhausted after a long day on the trail, it'll stop. Stubbornness? No. Self-preservation.  By contrast, a horse can be ridden to death . . . “  "(The Misunderstood Mule,” Saturday Evening Post, May 1, 2014)

Perhaps this quotes speaks to us about the wisdom of the Sabbath.  Last Sunday we looked at the fourth command from Exodus 20--the invitation to take a Sabbath.  I suggested the Sabbath is a liberating practice that should shape the way we live in the world.   

One of the things I discovered is the richness of the Sabbath.  The word Sabbath means "to stop."  Accordingly, everyone and everything is supposed to rest in Israel--workers, resident aliens, animals, and even the land (Leviticus 23 & 25).  This resting should shape the way we live.  We cease from our restless anxiety and greed. Then, we honor God with others by holding a "holy convocation" (Leviticus 23:3).  

How else could Israel remember whose they are and who they are?  Put another way, to keep the first three commandments of being rightly related to God and to keep the last five commandments of loving our neighbors well, Israel needed a Sabbath to remind them of their unique call in life.  They needed a weekly break to focus on God.   

What's the bare minimum for us?  I would suggest you consider the following:  First, you should be in church every week, unless you're sick or out of town.  Make gathering with the people of God a priority and a joyous routine.  Where else can you go to hear such wonderful words like love, righteousness, justice, peace, hope and faith?  Secondly, find a way to cease from your everyday activities to be attentive to God and others in an extravagant manner-- i.e., a prayer walk, a dinner with friends, an afternoon of rest and reading. These two times might combine; they might not.  We're not called to rules but to practices that help us grow in Christ.    

Nonetheless, there is too much wisdom in the Sabbath to dismiss it.  The only question remains, are we as smart as a mule?