Jonathan Herston

Bell’s Hells - The thing beneath the controversy

2011-03-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding Rob Bell’s new book I playfully like to call “I’m a Universalist and there is no Hell” (I like to call it that because evidently that should have been the title based off the reaction by a particular group that made all kinds of judgments about it prior to it’s actual release). However, the actual title is Love Wins. I thought about doing a post on the book itself once I had it read, but I’m not sure that we really need any more voices adding to the clatter. And boy has there been a LOT of clatter. So, first, I assume if you want to know what the book really says you will probably actually read it and think for yourself. Second, I don’t presume to think that anyone cares what I personally think about it, although if you would like to hear my thoughts I’d be happy to share. What I find interesting is not the book itself, it’s almost exactly what I expected. Rather what I find interesting is everything that has happened in regard to it’s release. But first, some caveats. I’m trying hard not to defend nor condemn anyone, yet I don’t want to pretend as if I’m a completely neutral spectator, so let me tell you a bit about myself.

I first heard Bell at a youth worker’s convention almost a decade ago, and he was unbelievably good. It was a bit as if he had been able to see into some of the questions I was wrestling with and articulate and explore them in a way that was extremely helpful in putting my finger on various tensions, yet he did not give me answers that closed the door on the conversations. He left room for me to explore and take what he had said and go further with it. In seminary I found the podcast from his church and have been listening each week for the last eight or so years. I have a deep exposure and appreciation for him. His work has challenged my faith and helped me grow in many, many ways, and for that I am deeply thankful. So, yes I am a fan.

So, when I heard about his new book I wanted to find out what it was about. My first exposure was actually all the blogs calling Bell a Universalist and saying that he doesn’t believe in Hell. However there was a slight problem in that the book had not been released and none of the people making these comments had actually read the book. Yet they had already decided what it must say (because evidently there’s no such thing as paradox or nuance).

Now, Bell has been known to be controversial. However, I’ve personally never felt like he was trying to create controversy. To be honest, some of the most controversial stuff I’ve seen from him has flown under the radar without anyone really knowing, realizing, or saying anything. And, when controversy has indeed sprung up, I’ve never really understood it. I honestly still don’t get the whole Velvet Elvis controversy regarding the virgin birth, he actually affirms it on the page following the line everyone uses to say that he denies it (for those who haven’t read it, he asks if it would destroy your faith if scientists were to find a way to absolutely invalidate the doctrine of the immaculate conception, he creates a hypothetical scenario to make a point). However, when I saw what this book was about, my first reaction was that he had actually gone out and sought the controversy this time (however, having now read the book I honestly don’t believe that to be the case). But, all kinds of questions and observations began to be raised for me. First and foremost, my personal reactions.

My initial reaction was judgment, Rob’s gone off seeking controversy this time. Second was a sense of betrayal, if he says anything too controversial in this book then people who have supported and/or defended him are going to feel betrayed (a bit like those who loved the Harry Potter series and defended it against a certain group then had Rowlings out Dumbledore as homosexual after the series was over). I’m not one to hop into the comments and defend people. For the most part it just makes all of us look bad. I’m not interested in that. He can defend himself if he wants, and if he asks then I’ll join in the conversation, but I’m going to try to do it with as much openness and humility as possible. Then third was a bit of rationality, (ok, what do I actually expect Bell to say?). Now having read the book, I got pretty much exactly what I expected. I haven’t quite figured out what to do with my reactions, but it does give me a bit of insight into myself.

Second, everyone else’s reactions. There were all these people making all these comments, hateful, angry, venomous comments about something they had not read. To which I have to ask the questions “What is really going on here?” and “Who Cares?”

I understand that Rob Bell has a large following, and a lot of influence. And I’m sure this is why when he posts a video to promote a book and the video is ambiguous enough to say that Gandhi might not be in Hell there are people who are going to feel threatened. I’ve said long before ever hearing of Rob Bell that I think we will all be surprised at who may be where after death and it isn’t my place to judge and try to figure out who is where (I do this mainly because that seems to be the position Jesus promotes). However, if I were to write the book no one would care, John Piper would not tweet, and life would go on without skipping a beat. So, there seems to be to be a real fear on the part of the critics, and understandably so. Imagine for a moment that you really believe that the only way someone can get to heaven is by praying a prayer at 11:55 on a Sunday morning at a kneeling rail (or in front of a stage at a big youth concert type thing on a Friday/Saturday night). Here is someone with a large following saying that it might not be that simple. Well, that will mean that those people he has influence with might not try to convert people, which will mean that tons of people will not be saved and will burn in conscious physical torment forever. If this is your perspective, than this is a big, scary, dangerous thing Bell is doing. Anger in some ways is justified, trying to get the message out that he’s wrong is necessary. However, what is done with that anger, and the means by which the message is refuted is REALLY important.

Because how we go about doing things is just as important as the things we do.

I’m not sure that the angry, venomous, malicious, slanderous ways that have been employed are helpful. Actually I think it’s working against them. I honestly think all it’s done is help to get more copies of the book selling off the shelves, make them look bad, and make more people go, yep that’s why I want nothing to do with christianity.

And honestly, I don’t blame them one bit. If I were not so compelled by the Jesus portrayed in the scriptures I probably wouldn’t have anything to do with Christianity either.

But, it has been really interesting to watch the arguments that have been leveled against him start to leak. With all the media coverage there are several people who have interviewed him based off of the comments made by people who had not read the book. They ask him a question, he answers, then the reporter seems confused because he doesn’t seem to be saying the things of which he’s being criticized.

The other reaction I have to this whole thing is, “Who Cares?” I think the only people who care about this whole thing is the big christian subculture. I mean yes, he’s done these interviews on these big shows like Good Morning America, but don’t most of us work? And even if we didn’t would we be watching Good Morning America? I mean unless he’s on Conan I’m not going to catch it. If he’s not on The Daily Show, Letterman, or Oprah is anyone outside the popular church subculture really going to notice? I mean many christians don’t know who he is, is one book suddenly going to propel him to the point that all the non-christians are going to suddenly know who he is and begin believing as he believes? I suppose that could change the trajectory of what the global church believes, but I find it highly unlikely (and I think the latter is happening anyway and he’s just one small part of it). And if all these non christians were to figure out who he is, would they even care? I hope so, but I kind of doubt it. And, if you take a good church history class, you’ll find that he’s not saying or exploring anything that you won’t find has been part of the 2000 year christian conversation. So, while I can understand why people could be upset, I’m just not sure it’s as big of a deal as people are making it out to be.

There just seems to be a lot of fear, and I think I remember reading somewhere that perfect love casts out fear.

Which brings me to another things about my own personal reactions. I grew up in a fairly conservative theological framework. And when you see the sorts of things that are going on in the world (earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns, rebellion after rebellion after rebellion in the middle east) it really reminds you of some of the apocalyptic saying of Jesus, along with that being the rise of false prophets that would be able to deceive even the elect if that were possible (my paraphrase). Which could really begin to make one question if the dogwatch type critics could be right. Is Bell arising as a false prophet in the end days? However, Jesus also says that we know trees by their fruit, and we’ll know his true followers by the fruit their lives produce. I’m not trying to make a judgment against anyone, but it does force me to wonder who really is the false prophets? Although, maybe at this point no one is.

Because, while this whole controversy disturbs me in a million ways (which is why I write about it) what I do like about this whole thing is watching how Bell handles it. Two of the more controversial figures are Brian McLaren and Rob Bell. They get attacked from all kinds of directions with all kinds of slander, and repeatedly they handle it with humility and grace. I haven’t seem them get angry, fight fire with fire, and start slandering back. They seem to know something, understand something that is far beyond me. They seem to have found ways to take it and turn it into opportunities for grace. Opportunities for them to become better as opposed to bitter. On top of this, helping put an end to the most extreme suffering in the world seems to part of their primary focus. And this is what compels me to continue to explore their works as I explore my faith. I hope to become a fraction of the type of person these two people seem to be. Now I don’t know either of them personally, however, if who they seem to be in any way reflects who they truly are, I along with a lot of others have much to learn from them.

Now, if for some reason you have been masochistic enough to read these narcissistic ramblings of mine and would like to comment I definitely welcome and appreciate that. However, I do ask that they be open, honest, and respectful otherwise you’ll simply be making us all look bad and wasting your time.

Ash Wednesday Reflections

2011-03-09T11:20:00.002-05:00

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, from the earth you came, to the earth you shall return.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of lent, a 40 day preparation towards the cross and ultimately resurrection. It is a time of preparation, it is a time of in some ways dying.

Because death is the engine of life.

Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it can never be anything more than a seed. Lent is a somber time in which we make an inward journey, dying to self so that come easter we might find new life in some form.

But we hate when death comes around. You get a phone call that a loved one has died, or you get a diagnosis from the doctor and suddenly everything changes. What you thought you knew about life and faith all come into question. You now find realities that you never imagined could even be possibilities. Your world is shattered into a billion pieces and you don’t even know if the pieces can be picked up, much less where to begin. They are gone. You are going.

Everything has changed.

Death in this moment seems so big. In an instant it is able to change your entire world. And the life you lived, the faith you believed, the dreams you had held dear are gone. You can never be that person, you can never believe quite the same as before, and those dreams are now no longer a possibility. In this instant, you suddenly realize how precious and fragile life is and how quickly and easily it can be taken away and everything change.

And in this moment we have to decide how to react. For many of us we become worriers. We have come face to face with death, it has destroyed our life, and we know it will be coming again, it’s only a matter of time. Each time a loved one doesn’t answer their phone your heart sinks and you think, ok, I knew it was coming. We begin to take every precaution we can to keep death at bay. We become fearful and serious. Constantly afraid, constantly worried, constantly trying to control every aspect of life because we’ve lost control of it before and we are determined to do everything we can to keep from losing it again.

To keep from feeling that pain, that loss again.

When death comes near it bleeds onto us. The loved one dies, but so do you. You receive the diagnosis and you’ve got a certain amount of time left, but in that moment in many ways you died already.

The question isn’t whether you die in those moments, you do. The question is what kind of death do you experience?

Oddly enough when we are faced with death and we become aware of the frailty of life and the fact that we might not make it through today we actually begin to enjoy life less. We let the fear and anxiety and worry overtake us, we try to control everything and in the process we lose the joy that makes life worth living. It is in these moments that we should become determined to make each moment more enjoyable and meaningful precisely because it could all end tomorrow.

Lent is a somber time where we die in many ways, but the point of facing our mortality is that we will appreciate the life we’ve been given. That instead of becoming bitter by our encounters with death we actually become better. Instead of giving up when everything comes crashing down we realize that it is an opportunity to re-evaluate our lives, to figure out what’s truly important to us, and re-imagine what life could be like if we were to realign our lives around those most important things. It is an opportunity to live a new life, discover a new faith, and dream new dreams.

This doesn’t meant that we become glad tragedy has happened. I’ve yet to meet a person who is glad that tragedy struck because of the new opportunities it gave. Even if their life overall has become better because of it, most of us would still rather have that person back, or the additional time they thought they had.

Yet, with time we also begin to realize the truth of something that my father used to say regularly,

“Death is a part of life.”

Death comes. It comes to our loved ones and it will come to us. We can try to fight it, but no one cheats it. Hopefully, our worst nightmares won’t come true. However, if it does we want to make sure that the time we’ve had has been well spent. And hopefully, if we truly learn to live life well, by the time it truly comes for us we can be ready and embrace it as an old friend,

knowing that resurrection lies ahead.

Conan Announces Name Of New TBS Show!

2010-09-01T12:02:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited about this, check it out.

Is Bigger Better?

2010-08-31T09:04:00.000-04:00

“get ready, God is preparing you for something really, really small” – shane claiborne

In a moment of indiscretion I did something horrible in college. I applied to a large university. Now I really say that as a joke, because in actuality I don't have anything against this particular institution. As a matter of fact I rather like it a lot as well as it's cross state rival. However, I applied and was accepted to this institution and I thus I began the gauntlet of requirements being part of the school necessitated. Park in this are, then walk/run all the way across campus to get the TB test, then head over to a different corner of campus to file the change of address form, after that make sure to go see a counselor over at a different part of campus, then you can go back to your first area to actually register, etc. etc. And there was this sense that if I were to make one misstep in this horrible process filled with red tape that I was unworthy to be part of the institution. And of course no one was going to help in any way. Often times employees would refuse to give any clearer directions than go to the such and such building, which is great if you know which building that is and/or where it's at, no help at all otherwise. So I did everything. I did it all right, I filled out my change of address forms and moved just down the road from the school.

Then one day I received a notice that my classes had been dropped. I go to investigate and find that despite me doing everything right, they had sent my bill to the wrong address, and since it had not been paid my classes had been dropped. Now the classes were full and I could not get any of the classes I needed. This was all due to their mistake, they were even able to find the change of address form I had filled out and submitted.

At this point I decided I did not like being treated like a number rather than a person, so I transferred to another smaller school where people were helpful and you felt like a person.

Now I don't think institution number one is evil or anything like that, I simply believe it's large. And when things get too large people become smaller and smaller, worth less and less. There are great advantages to being large, but there are also drawbacks.

I think by and large in the U.S. we tend to think that bigger is better, and we fail to see the impact that small things can have. But over and again in the scriptures Jesus seems to refer to the Kingdom of God in terms of small or hidden things, bursting forth and changing everything else (mustard seed, etc). When we look at Jesus we see that he did draw large crowds, but it also seems like whenever the crowds really start to grow he begins to teach things that will thin them out (John 6).

I don't deny that God wants to do big things in our world. The mustard seed does grow and spread, the disciples were told they would preach in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. However, I think that God might be even more concerned with the small things, that's where the big things begin. At the same time, a mustard tree only grows so large, then it reproduces. While the disciples were told that they would do big things, those big things were to happen through the making of other disciples.

Again, don't think I'm demonizing big. There are advantages that come with being big, I'm well aware of it. However, often the good that comes with being big comes at the cost of our humanity, so it's important that we find ways to grow smaller while/if we grow larger. Very often we forget that often times the big things that happen take place because of a few very dedicated people. Jesus' core was 12, um . . . make that 11 disciples and a few women. And yet they completely changed the world as we know it. I think Mother Theresa said it best, that we can do no great things, only small things with great love. But that small things with great love can change the world.

Update

2010-08-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

About a month ago I started a new blog series that I hope to continue in the not too distant future. It's full of really good stuff. However, shortly after I started it a lot of things happened and life has become quite hectic. So, for all our friends out there I just wanted to give a quick update.

Over the last month Katie has truly started her new job as well as another semester of evening classes in pursuit of her Master's Degree. Cari started Kindergarten, so we are working diligently on learning our letters and simple words. I turned 30 and collected money to help provide clean water for people in Africa who could likely die without it. Also, I've been independently ordained thanks to some great friends, Don Brock and the great folks at Synergy Ministries, thank you so much, it means more to me than you know. My Parent Project® classes have started and are going well which takes up another evening, and I got called from a local community college to teach an Ethics class which I am absolutely loving. It may not pay much, but I can't remember the last time I've actually earned money for having so much fun. On top of all of this, I plan to start a small business doing full service web hosting and site design. I have to wait until September to get a business license, but getting everything done on that has been taking some time as well. The plan is to offer web hosting for $5/month. However, what I'm really excited about is that I want to offer to churches a full service package where I do a custom site build to what they're looking for and I do updates each week for $30/month. With a one year agreement I will build the site for free. My hope is that I will be able to help small churches that don't have the money or technical resources to have a quality site that is regularly updated get exactly what they want and need that the large churches pay thousands of dollars for.

So, life is hectic but really great. Once we get more into the rhythm of all these new schedules and adjustments I'll try and continue the series.

Luke 15 Critiquing the Pharisees Part 1

2010-07-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

As I previously mentioned I am starting a series of blogs about some of the parables of Jesus. Several of these stories have really captured my attention in unique ways for some time, and I wanted to share some of the dynamics and insights I've found within them. Some of the posts will be long, others will be extremely short. And of course I'd love to hear your thoughts along the way, get to share in the things that you've found that I've missed. So with that said, let's get started. The first parable (or set of parables) I want to talk about is found in Luke 15, the familiar parable of the "Prodigal Son."

The parable of the man with two sons commonly called the Prodigal Son doesn’t actually begin at verse 11. In actuality it starts no later than verse 1. This chapter begins with a scene in which Jesus is teaching and “tax collectors and sinners” were gathering to listen to him. The Pharisees and teachers of the law are grumbling about the kind of company Jesus welcomes and eats with. It is in response to this grumbling that Jesus tells three parables. The first is a parable concerning a lost sheep, the second is a parable about a lost coin, and the third is a parable concerning lost sons. These stories are interesting in that they serve in very subtle ways to both justify Jesus’ activity while simultaneously condemning the activity of the religious leaders of the day.

Question: Why is the sheep and the coin lost? Now certainly sheep can wander off, but by and large sheep tend to flock together, they’re followers. That’s why you wouldn’t want to mix sheep and goats. Goats wander, sheep follow. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a critique against the shepherd, but certainly could be especially in light of the second parable about the lost coin. Unlike animals, coins don’t simply wander off. The coin is obviously lost due to mismanagement (unless of course she has a two year old, in which case this would be completely understandable). How does someone lose a day’s wages?

Jesus is obviously defending himself, he is the one going off after those who are “lost.” But, could this also be a critique against the religious leaders of his day?
As we move toward the parable of the two sons we will see that lostness can occur for multiple reasons. But, looking at these two parables together we find that one reason for lostness can be mismanagement. Could it be that Jesus is saying to the religious leaders of his day that he wouldn’t have to be the one finding the sheep or coin if they had done their job correctly to begin with?

Herston 30 for 30

2010-07-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

A bit of an update. I know it's been a bit since I've blogged. For anyone who might have been looking for a post, sorry. I've got something in the works that is going to be some good stuff, so don't give up on me. I've had several specific parables of Jesus that have just been returning to me over and over again over the last few years, and I want to spend some time dwelling on them, learning what you get out of them, and sharing some of the things I've gotten as they have been brought back to me over and over again. So, besides working on this series of posts what have I been up to? Glad you asked.

I've posted about this a couple of times, but I've been quite busy with some different things one of which being my 30 for 30 campaign. My hope is that other people's lives will be better because I existed. That there will be people who live because I lived. In short, in some small way I want the world to be a better place because I'm a part of it. So, with my 30th birthday coming up what better than to ask friends and family to give toward building a well in Africa. $1 = clean water for 1 person for 1 year. $5000 = a well providing clean water for a village for generations. That means I need 150-175 people to give $30 each for my 30th birthday (not including my personal contributions). If you feel generous feel free to give more. To learn more visit www.30for30.jonathanherston.com

Controlling Life

2010-06-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

I've been reading this book, and it's full of wonderful information. At the same time it comes from a "christian" perspective and the scripture work in it is pretty horrible a lot of the time. It spot quotes verses, takes them out of context and tries to make them mean things different than how they were really intended (and I don't mean in a that scripture is kind of but not really related to that kind of way, but in a that has nothing to do with what you're talking about kind of way). Normally I would put the book down and walk away, but this one was written by psychologists, and as I said the information (beyond the scripture work) is really good. I'm finding it helpful to me and I would imagine it would be to plenty of others that I know. So, I've continued reading, but it has gotten me pondering all kinds of questions about "Christian" perspectives.

On top of reading this book I've had a couple other experiences recently. I came across a blog post where both "Christians" and "Atheists" were posting comments. And, I came across a couple of presentations done by skeptics and scientists. And I've begun to notice something. I'm noticing that a lot of times our perspective on the world isn't about truth as much as faith, and it isn't as much about faith as control. Let me unpack this a bit.

We long to understand life. We want to know the best way to live, how to live and move in the world. We want success, ease, joy, comfort, excitement, and all the other good life has to offer. There's this sense that if I can figure out life, the key to it, the secret, then I can make the most of it and be happy. And we're bombarded by a million perspectives and according to each it is offering the fundamental rubric through which we are told we should ground our being. We can pursue money or power, fame or success, excitement, experiences, adventure or any number of perspectives that can serve as our lens for trying to understand how to conquer life.

And that's what it's really about, control. Some of us are afraid, so we pursue safety. We think if we can just keep things from going wrong everything will be ok. We buy insurance thinking that things will be ok no matter what, because I've got insurance and supplemental insurance. Others pursue fame. We think that if enough people know us, then we will have significance and fulfillment. Others pursue success. We think that if I do something of worth then I'll be of worth. Or, money will allow me to do what I want, then I'll be happy. Or, excitement and adventure will bring me a rush and I'll feel like I'm truly alive.

And to be honest, I'm not ever sure what exactly it is we're seeking. But, we have this sense that there is some kind of void in our lives and we need to do something to get rid of it.

Now, the anchors beneath all of these perspectives tend to gravitate around either religion or science. Either what we see and can measure and test is all that there is or there's something more. One of these two tend to lie underneath whichever perspective(s) we choose. Something is going to be the thing through which all that we do will be grounded, thus both are a type of faith. What we're looking for we tend to find. How else could such brilliant people come to such different conclusions on almost everything (I'm thinking specifically about a debate I recently saw between two unbelievably intelligent men regarding whether moving toward nuclear energy is a good idea or not - and they directly contradicted each other in their basic statistical information. In the end it seems to comes down to an in faith value judgment on the part of each.)

Science is concerned with the "natural world". And because of it we've learned much and made great advances. We need reason, we need science because it pushes us toward truth. It doesn't accept doctrine or myth. Thanks to science the faith of the Church is more accurate. We know that the Earth isn't the center of the universe like we once thought, like our interpretation of scriptures once said it had to be. At the same time most of us have this nagging sense that something isn't completely right about science. We don't completely trust it because yesterday's miracle drug now has law advertisements telling us that if we took that drug and developed a certain condition we are entitled to a settlement. We're hesitant to completely trust science in a world where today's dream come true miracle medicine could be tomorrows nightmare. We have this depths of our bones understanding that love is more than chemicals in our brain, I, my conscious self, am more than simply mind meat, and in between those two realities, the tangible and the intangible, the scientific and the philosophical lies something real, something meaningful. So, we look to religion.

But, oftentimes popular "Christian" culture doesn't seem to help. Between the tangible and intangible lies an unspeakable mystery. Yet by and large we aren't invited to step into it. Rather we are given easy answers to questions for which there are no easy answers. Life is wild, it can't be controlled. The Divine is untamed, beyond us in such a way that we never know what to expect. Yet, instead of admitting this and inviting people to delve into the mystery, into the wonder, we offer a religious science of "timeless principles" that are "true" because "the bible says so" all the while forgetting that scripture is always interpreted, rarely does it ever just "say so." Or, we take something God once spoke to someone and we take that as a promise for us here and now, because if it's in the bible it must be for me specifically. But, because scripture is always interpreted, what's really being offered isn't the mysteries of God and the universe, but rather just another perspective filled with over-simplified answers to make us feel like we are in control of life. And that's really what lies underneath all of this, our fear and anxiety and attempts at controlling both life and God. We do everything we can to place life and God in our little box of timeless truths and eternal promises. But, God cannot be tamed and life is beyond our control. We can influence life, but we can't control it. There are truths, but we will be infinitely exploring them because they are mysteries too large for us to attain. Much of what we talk about as truths are more like guidelines, things that will work by and large, but not something that is a guarantee. Because we were never intended to be in control. We are to guide and direct and influence, but you can do everything right and things still go wrong.

But, what I think I'm beginning to learn might be that learning to control and conquer life isn't the point. It's fools gold that only disappoints. Some of the perspectives will work for some people, some will work for others, and some will only work for a little while. But, all they allow us to do is stay so busy that you run from the void. If controlling life isn't the point, what is? I don't know, I'm in my twenties and live in Alabama. I don't even really understand the theory of relativity. But, I'm pretty sure finding the point begins with embracing the mystery between the tangible and intangible. It involves going beyond the easy answers on both sides of the tangible/intangible coin to that place where something real and significant lies. There is something meaningful in searching and living, in joy and wonder. Good can be produced even out of bad. Living is really about being open to what's happening around you here and now, communing with the untamable God at this moment, and trusting that whatever chaos life throws your way this God is bigger than it. It's about learning in the midst of it all to trust this God and ground your life in your connection with this large, wild, untamable Being who often can be found in the most ordinary of places and moments. Even this one.

On Business Marketing

2010-06-15T08:48:00.003-04:00

I'm not much of a fan of advertising, by and large I'm against marketing. I struggle with the balance between making sure things are known about and much of the manipulation that goes on in marketing today. I want to know when a product I'm excited about is being released, and I always enjoy a funny commercial. But, ads are designed to capture (and steer) your emotions. I fear that having so many ads telling us that our lives are deficient (until of course we buy their product) has a negative psychological impact on us. And of course the products never deliver what the ad promises implicitly or explicitly (I've never enjoyed Herbal Essence shampoo as much as the people in the commercials). And I've been amazed that the message has gone from implicit to explicit. The, "buy our product and you will be happy" message used to be implicit, but with the recession all that has changed. Walmart - Save Money Live Better, Best Buy - Buy Happy, and the list goes on.

In a world where many businesses are solely about the bottom line, so much so to the point of down right being unethical, there has also been what is for me a welcomed trend. There have been businesses springing up that aren't simply about making money, but also making the world a better place. For example, when you buy a pair of Tom's Shoes a child in a third world country gets a pair as well. This mindset has begun to spill over onto marketing strategies.

I recently discovered HotelsCombined.com who is doing something I think is a stroke of creative genius. Instead of spending their money on a traditional marketing campaign they are donating that money to charities. So, I join their facebook page then write on their wall where I want their donation to go, or post a tweet that contains HotelsCombined.com in it, or I do a blog post like this and send them an email to make them aware of it, and they send a donation to the charity of my choice.

As you may know, I'm trying to raise money to build a well in Africa for my 30th birthday, so I've begun the Herston 30 for 30 campaign. The idea is that I invite friends to share in my 30th birthday by giving $30 to blood water mission with Herston 30 for 30 in the comments box. So, I have facebook, I have tweeted, and now I have blogged, and they should be sending $35 to Blood Water Mission on my behalf.

I know very little about this company. I haven't used their service (although I did do a quick hotel search on their site and found some pretty good prices). I can't vouch for them beyond what I think is a brilliant marketing campaign. But, for me that is enough to give them a try next time I'm shopping for a hotel. I just find it inspiring to see a company think beyond traditional marketing and use that money to support good causes. If you would like to have them donate to your cause go to http://www.hotelscombined.com/Charity.aspx

iPhone 4, Technology, and Relationships

2010-06-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

I've always been fascinated with gadgets, but I am a fan of very few products or companies. However, after working with/on computers for a few years I was really impressed when I experienced the OSX Mac. Since I knew Windows well I was afraid I wouldn't know what to do when when a Mac broke. Therefore I waited until they came out with Macs using the Intel Chipset so I could put Windows on it if I needed. But, I was so impressed with how much better it operated that it drives me crazy to use a PC with all it's freezing and crashing. If there were to be an operating system problem I still wouldn't know what to do, but after several years with this machine I haven't had to. So, I'll admit, I am a fan of Apple.

At the same time, I'm aware that Apple is not perfect, it is a company, it's out to make money. They tend to leave a few bugs in their first generation so that they can improve it for the next (like the recessed headphone jack on the 1st gen iPhones). This (along with money) is why I don't plan to get a 1st gen iPad. I figure I'll let them work out the bugs and we can get a 2nd generation or something. I'm still disappointed about the downgraded iMovie I was stuck with last time I upgraded iLife. But, faults aside, they do make darn good machines and I'm a fan. I love my 1st gen iPhone (even with the depressed headphone jack), I can have my iPod and phone all in one device, there's a full keyboard, and the calendar is fantastic and syncs with the one I use on my Mac.

I am really excited about the new iPhone 4. An led flash for the new 5 megapixel camera, taking HD video (and being able to edit it on the phone), the new display, and especially "facetalk" where you can actually do Jetson's or Skype type video phone calls from a mobile phone - finally, unbelievable. I think this is going to be an amazing device. I would love to get one, and anyone reading is more than welcome to purchase one for me.

Being a techie, I love technology, but I also realize that often our discoveries technologically tend to progress faster than our discoveries ethically. I love the idea of being able to video call with the family if I'm away somewhere, or be able to see what friends are seeing as they are on a trip. At the same time I'm slightly disturbed by what this could mean. I watched their ad and saw a father watching his child crawl, grandparents watching a grandchild graduate, a father watch an ultrasound, and I couldn't help but think, why are they having to use a video phone? Why aren't they there, why aren't they present?

The answer, because they don't have to be. They have a video phone and now they can give their presence to the things that are really important to them while not being completely absent from the relationships that matter most. I know that's a little harsh, it's really just to make this point, does technology actually expose our priorities? I understand there are times when we can't be somewhere and having this technology would be great. I have a cousin who had a birthday party the weekend before last and I couldn't make it. It would have been great to be on the other end of a video phone and be passed around to everybody and quickly catch up. But, the only way I would not have been there for my kids ultrasounds would have been if I didn't have a pulse.

Most of what we communicate does not come through our words, rather it's how we say it. The medium we use is the message. An extreme example: Have a nice day written on a card communicates one thing, having it written on the side of a bomb communicates something completely different. Calling someone on their wedding day let's them know your thinking about them. Driving five hours to be at the wedding, tell them congratulations, and give them a hug communicates something similar only in a more powerful way.

Technology has the ability to help us keep in touch with people. This is why I enjoy facebook, blogs, and twitter. But, they can only do so much. As Dr. Barnhardt says, they are great for maintaining relationships, keeping in touch, but they have a hard time actually strengthening or deepening relationships. And, if you're spending twenty minutes checking the status of hundreds of friends, that's twenty minutes that you're not spending with the people that are actually there, present with you in that moment.

So, don't get me wrong. I think the new iPhone is going to be awesome. I would love to get one. I love the part of the ad where one guy talks about his kids going off to college and him being able to not only hear their voice but look at their eyes and make sure they're ok. I'm a fan of technology and love that it can do wonderful things.

At the same time there is also the possibility that instead of us running the technology the technology will run us. There is the possibility that we will be connected to so many people that we won't truly be connected to anyone.

Exciting News

2010-06-07T17:03:00.001-04:00

As you may or may not know we have been in a bit of a time of transition the last couple years. This has pressed me into a bit of soul searching that I'm still in the midst of. But, in this process I am forming values and goals for myself which hopefully you'll hear about for years to come. I want to invite you to be a part of one of my first endeavors.

One of my great hopes is that when my life ends this world will have been a better place because I was a part of it. Like the boy saving starfish on the beach to whom the old man says there are too many for you to save them all and the boy responds but I can save that one, I know that I cannot save the world from all the things that plague it. I know that compared to all the issues in the world my impact will be small. However, I also have come to realize that the people who are truly changing the world would never say they were. They simply engage in the hard drudgery that matters most. Hopefully, while people will not be able to say that I changed the world, there will be people who will be able to say that I changed their world.

I think the greatest impact that can physically be made on our world is that of providing safe, accessible water in places where people are having to walk miles to gather water from contaminated mud holes and engaging the third world in microfinance initiatives.

Therefore, for my upcoming 30th birthday I am asking my friends not to give me presents. Instead I want as many people as possible to give $30 toward providing clean drinking water for those without it through Blood Water Mission. Of course if you are welcome to give more if you want. But, if 200 people give $30 each we should be able to build a well for a village.

The basic formula is that $1 provides clean water for 1 person for 1 year (that's less than the price of one bottle of water at most gas stations or a quarter of the price of a bottle of water at Starbucks - just kidding I don't know how much water costs at Starbucks, who would buy water when there's vanilla bean frappuccinos?). So, what we're able to do will depend upon how much is given. But, I would love to see us raise enough to create a solution (maybe build a well) that will provide water to a village for generations.

I'm sure we'll have some sort of party that you can give at, but if you would like to give online click here or go to www.bloodwatermission.com click on the donate tab, and put "Herston 30 for 30" in the comments box. All donations are tax deductible, so don't feel constrained to only giving $30.

Make my 30th birthday a happy one and save some people's lives.

Jason Mraz is right or The movement of faith and why prosperity preaching is wrong

2010-06-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

This is a post that leans heavily on Luke Chapter 8, so you might want to read it before or after. I primarily use the TNIV version here, and I have put letters in bold for those who want a quick reference for the various streams of thought P for path, R for rocks, T for Thorns and G for good. With that said, here we go.

A farmer once went out to sow some seed. (P) As he was scattering the seed some fell along the path where birds came and snatched it up. (R) Some fell among rocky ground where it sprang up quickly but when the sun would bear down, it would also wither quickly because it had no root. (T) Some fell among thorns, so they grew but they didn’t produce because the weeds choked the life out of them. (G) Then some fell on good soil and produced more than was originally sown.

Jesus told this parable then explained that he was the farmer sowing the seed of the message of the Kingdom of God. (P) He said that the seed that fell along the path is about people who hear the message but “the evil one snatches it away from their hearts” (primarily they don’t want to hear it or they are caught in behaviors they don’t want to give up). (R) The seed that fell among rocky ground are those who at first receive it with great joy but when trouble or persecution come they quickly fall away. (T) The seed that fell among the thorns are those who accept the message but then “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth” choke it. (G) The seed that fell on good soil are those who “hear the word and understand it.” They are the ones who produce a crop, more than was originally sown.

In this parable I see a few things going on here. In pastoring churches and in my life I have noticed some patters to faith. (P) God speaks to everyone, however everyone isn’t listening. At the same time, some of us are.

(R) Now, I’m not 100% sure of what all contributes to this, maybe it’s the really great personal stories we hear, maybe it’s the idea that we accept Jesus then whenever we die we go to heaven and escape trouble and that idea of escaping trouble then somehow bleeds over into ideas about our relationship with God here and now, maybe it’s an American pre-disposition, or maybe it’s the christian culture bubble and prosperity preaching, I don’t know. But usually along with learning of God’s love for us we also get a message of, “If you’ll get your act together and get cool with God then everything will go well. You will prosper, God will protect you, your family, and your friends, and you will be happy.” The problem is, it’s not true.

In Matthew, Jesus gives the sermon on the mount. At the end of this unbelievably extraordinary teaching he says that those who hear his words and put them into practice are like a man who builds his house upon rock. And when the storms come his house will stand firm. It doesn’t say that there will be no storms. Storms are assumed, it’s about being able to weather them.

Somehow we manage to read a lot of great things in the scriptures about people following God and things going well for them, but we miss their struggles along the way. We see the day of Pentecost and miss the martyrdom of Stephen. No one more fully walked with God than Jesus and he was crucified! Almost all the disciples were eventually killed for their beliefs and somehow we miss that and think that Jesus is our life’s easy button.

And it’s one thing for us to pick this up on our own, but when we have churches and preachers who tell you this specifically and it doesn’t happen people walk away from church, faith, God, and the whole thing. We often become cynical and jaded and it didn’t have to be that way. Prosperity preaching is stuck in the early part of the process of faith, and it produces type two soil (rocky ground). (R)(T) But, someone somewhere figured out that if they told people what they wanted to hear they would show up, watch their program, buy their books, and/or give. It’s the easy shortcut. We can have the best of intentions and yet choose the shortcut, go about the right things in the wrong ways, see success and at the same time leave devastation. This is why pastors, churches, and denominations can not seek effectiveness or success as their goal (and I’m defining effectiveness as bodies, budgets, buildings and/or saving an institution of a local church or denomination). Pursuing success leads to shortcuts. It is counter productive and brings devastation. However, pursuing faithfulness leads to fruitfulness (forgive my old preacherly cliche alliteration demons coming out).

But, this is part of the process of faith. (R) We hear of God’s love and we accept it with joy thinking it’s all going to be good now, then trouble comes. And the question becomes do we stick with it? Do we continue to turn in the direction we have begun, toward God rather than away? Do we decide that we must have had some beliefs wrong at this part of the process and seek to understand struggle and brokenness in the faithful life? Or, do we walk away from the whole thing?

After the joy phase comes the struggle phase. (T) And after the struggle phase comes the worry phase. At this point we’ve seen that what we thought before, that God would keep storms from coming, is false. We have this sense that anything in life that can happen can happen to us. Cancer, car accidents, anything that can happen has the potential of happening to me regardless of whether I’m walking with God or not. Our simple binary understanding of, walk with God only good things will happen, don’t walk with God only bad things will happen, has been destroyed. We had given our lives to God, but God didn’t come through, didn’t protect us, and while we might not have completely rejected the whole God thing, we came to some kind of understanding that this world is broken. Good and bad happen to everyone.

And we begin to realize that you can take the shortcut and succeed, that sometimes the wicked do prosper. In this moment we are faced with a new temptation. We may or may not still believe and affirm creeds, but the temptation becomes to take our lives back in the ways we live it in the day to day workings.

I love the way this is worded, “the worries of this life,” and I particularly love this phrase, “the deceitfulness of wealth.” Jesus is adamant that there is more to life than this life. And I know this has been used in the most trite and cliche of ways, but part of the key for Jesus is realizing there’s something bigger going on than our small little lives we get lost in. God is up to something bigger than the things we worry about and according to Jesus (and Paul) if we’re on board with God, in the end, in the bigger story, in the life beyond this life, it’s all going to work out. At some point everyone dies, but in the end everything will belong, none of the pain and tragedy will have been wasted.

Our job is to live in such a way that we bring heaven to earth (think, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven). Money makes us feel secure, it makes us feel safe. But, according to Jesus it’s a deception. All the money in the world won’t save you or your family or your friends from tragedy. If or when the worst happens, it isn’t going to matter how fat your bank account is. And it is this worry, this pursuing of safety and security and wealth that can get us lost in our little lives and contribute to the brokenness of the world. These are things that can drive heaven from earth.

(G) But, our other option is to continue to turn as we did to begin with. To continue to seek to understand this message of the kingdom. The word repent literally means to turn or return. Jesus’ primary message was to turn or return because the kingdom of heaven is near. It’s a perpetual turning. When we think we’ve got it all figured out and we quit seeking, we quit exploring, we shut ourselves off from this kingdom. At the same time it is a continual returning, returning toward the God who creates and loves us, and returning the world to the way God intends it to be. If we can do this, if we can continue to explore, if we can continue to patch the holes in our understanding of this faith that is bigger than our comprehension, if we can press on beyond the fallacies that we become aware of as the struggles come, as we’re tempted to take the easy way, as we’re tempted to take the shortcuts and false safeties, if we can press on beyond the struggles, the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth, then and only then do we truly produce a crop.

And what we will find is that just like the seasons, troubles come and troubles go. Everyone experiences good and bad. Everyone dies at some point. Tragedy befalls us all at some time or another. We can worry about it and expend a lot of energy, but we are really quite limited in what we can actually do to prevent or stop it. We can seek after money expecting safety but we will find that it fails. And through this process we will find that it is this very process itself that cultivates the heart into good soil. That by “persevering” through this process a crop is produced.

This is the pascal mystery. This is the story of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us. The one who teaches and shows us how to bring heaven to earth, who walked more closely with God than any other, and despite doing everything right suffered and died. It is only through this experience only through that death that resurrection occurred.

And here’s another thing, the gospels were brilliantly written with unbelievable intentionality. If we look at this parable in Luke (ch. 8) what we see are direct examples of each of these types of soil in reverse order. (G) First is in a parable of a lamp on a stand (good and noble heart that understans/good soil that produces a crop). (T) The second is Jesus’ mothers and brothers who are caught up in the worries of this life (seed among thorns/weeds). (R) The third is the disciples caught in the storm (troubles/seed on the rocky soil). (P) And the fourth is a man who is possessed by demons (engaging in various “sinful” behaviors was believed to open one up to demon possession, which would be hearing the word but having it snatched away by the evil one or the seed among path).

Now in the parable itself the view is somewhat negative, most of the seed doesn’t produce. Yet in the stories that follow no matter which type of soil they were, in reality Jesus was bigger than their issues. Eventually Jesus’ mother and brothers believe, Jesus calms the storm and the disciples go on to do great things, and Jesus drives the demons out of the man (and history goes on to tell us that his witness leads to one of the major early churches). It’s as if Luke is telling us, no matter where you are in this process it’s never too late.

Then, as if to drive this point home, he tells us of a story of Jesus bringing a dead girl back to life and healing a woman who had an issue of bleeding for years. She had tried every option and was now hopeless beyond Jesus. If it were ever too late, it would be too late for these two. And yet, Jesus is bigger than even their problems, even death. It’s as if Luke is telling us that with Jesus it is never too late. You can always turn, you can always return. Don’t give up, there is more to life than this life and Jesus is bigger than whatever your problems or hang-ups or, or wherever you are stuck in the process.

If you’ll just keep turning, what you’ll find is that, just like you have to turn soil in order to make it able to produce vegetation, in this process you are turning the soil of your heart. It won’t be easy, bad things will happen, and the temptation to take your life back into your own hands will overwhelm you through the pain. But, in then end none of it will have been in vain, nothing will have been wasted. Everything belongs, all of life is a gift, and that resurrection is waiting. In the words of Jason Mraz, life is wonderful.

Conan O'Brien's Dance off with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

2010-06-03T09:42:00.000-04:00

Are theological differences really about theological differences?

2010-05-28T08:39:00.000-04:00

So I've been "reading" a book, and by reading I mean skimming to get to one or two specific parts, and it's not my favorite. There's the religious language and just comes from a place that's kind of unappealing to me (for the most part, not completely). And it's not that those things are bad, it's just not my cup of tea. A lot of people would really enjoy it. Anyway, they did make an argument that I found really interesting.

They are reflecting upon some of the formulations of Christian doctrine, specifically whether Christ was in essence the same as God or in substance the same as God. While they're doing this they argue that the debate wasn't really about doctrine. Underneath the doctrine question was really a quest for power. You have two factions levying for power. Who will history deem right? Who will win and be able to lead this thing? The doctrine question was the symbol of this power struggle. Whoever won this battle won the war.

Now, this may be an oversimplification, and I'm sure each side had a lot invested theologically. But, I also know that usually things are rarely about what they seem to be on the surface. This is always about that. So, it makes me wonder if it's the same today. Are the factions within the Jesus faith really about the differences in doctrine, or are they really about power and the future? We look on these ancient debates and go, who cares, that's stupid to argue about, why are they even concerned about this? And I wonder if people will say the same about the "big" debates we have now. "Free will or predestination, that was stupid why were they arguing about that? Oh that was really about these different sides levying for power or self-justification, or fear that they might be wrong."

Love Your Enemies Video

2010-05-25T09:49:00.000-04:00

Beliefs and Relationship

2010-05-21T11:59:00.000-04:00

Sam is potty training. Therefore I read him a book, Everybody Poops, I asked him some questions about it which he got right, and I declared him potty trained. That is ff course until he pooped his pants. And in that moment I had a brilliant flash of insight, discovering something long forgotten that no one has knowing in 500 years, knowing about pooping in a potty and actually being trained to use the potty are completely different things. Donald Miller had a blog post yesterday in which this was a bit of the point.

Donald Miller created a post about right theology versus relationship. His basic argument from my understanding is that he wanted to show how right beliefs about God are different from a relationship with God - his post can be found at http://donmilleris.com. Another blogger came across the post and crafted a well reasoned argument for a more holistic understanding of the word theology, that given the meaning of the word theology it should include relationship as opposed to being place in opposition against it, as merely intellectual exploits concerning God- that post can be found at http://agreatercourage.blogspot.com.

In my opinion it appears that maybe Miller stumbled upon a matter of personal importance to agreatcourage who may or may not have inadvertently taken some angst on the subject out on Miller. I know neither of the individuals personally therefore I have no right to really take a side on the subject. Unfortunately some people have been offended and hurt in the process. I don't bring this up to "stir the pot." I hate that people have been hurt and hope that everyone can come to some kind of healing and reconciliation.

Actually I do this because I think both a of these people are extremely intelligent and articulate, much more so than myself. Both posts have great points at their core and I want to make those available for anyone who would like read them. Blog posts are not books, and I try to receive them in the fashion I create them, as not fully formed thesis on a topic, but a means of exploring with those interested ideas or concepts I'm thinking about and/or wrestling through at any given time. I hope for them to challenge, shed a little light, start a discussion, or beg a question. For me, a post should be the first step of a dialogue and our response should be that of questions. - Is this what you mean here? Am I reading this correctly there? What about this issue that relates to that? I would like to stay out of the stirred pot, therefore I'm addressing neither with my questions and thoughts, but I would love for anyone who would like to begin a discussion about a related matter to read the two articles then comment on this post about the relationship between beliefs and relationship.

I really like Miller's basic point. Belief is different than relationship, right belief does not equal having a tight relationship with God. We can look at scriptural texts and find that obvious (James 2:19). Miller uses two metaphors, one being that of marriage. He talks about how knowing information about your spouse is not the same as knowing your spouse. This is an issue I've been fascinated with recently with some great conversations about the impact of social networking sites (facebook, myspace, etc.) and their impact on relationships as well as some discussions concerning our celebrity worship culture where we feel like we know people because all the media/"news" outlets tell us everything about them. But, intimacy and information are not the same thing, we don't really know them.

The second metaphor is that of theology being like guard rails, they're not the point, but they take you to the point. In other words, my understanding of what he's saying is that believing the right stuff isn't the point. Believing the right stuff helps you get toward a deeper relationship with God, which is the point. All metaphors fall short, but for me this is the one that I have trouble with. I both agree and disagree with this simultaneously.

According to Isaiah (55:9) we are all heretics. God is beyond us. We have an experience of the Divine that is beyond anything we can comprehend. In a way experiencing God short circuits our brains. God is so imminent that we experience God as transcendent. So we're left trying to figure out what to do with something that's beyond what we can comprehend. On top of this we're left using words, which in and of themselves are metaphors, and this leaves us talking about things that words can't explain (for more on this check out Peter Rollin's How (Not) to Speak of God). We talk about God being love and use words like Trinity, yet we also know that God's love is really beyond any kind of love we could ever imagine (and good luck trying to wrap your mind around the concept of the Trinity). So, in our attempts to understand the incomprehensible we create beliefs. Much of the way we formulate our beliefs is determined by our context, a Pentecostal would probably describe the same experience very differently than a Roman Catholic. We have an experience of God's love, but words like love don't really describe it. It's more than anything you've ever experienced. However, it's only in exploring those beliefs and finding the places where our beliefs no longer work that we can continue to move forward. It is when we think we have all the right answers, we've got it all figured out that we're truly in trouble. Because we stop searching; we stop exploring.

I would say that beliefs are more like signs or ikons. They are representations that point toward a larger reality. They are things we have to use to guide us, that we can't navigate without, and yet we have to go further, we have to move beyond them toward that to which they point us. The sign of the beach is not the beach, but it points us toward the real beach. Without the sign we might go the wrong direction, so it guides us, yet we don't park under the beach sign and go, "man how great is this."

Which of course begs a couple questions. If reading a book on pooping doesn't make one potty trained, then why would affirming certain doctrines or beliefs make one in right relationship with God, a follower of Jesus, a Christian, or whatever language you want to use to speak about it? And, how can we continue to move churches from a place of telling us what to believe toward a place of encountering God, helping make sense of that encounter, and pointing people forward (a question in which there are a million flaws, please forgive)? And, if Jesus' primary command is to love, how do we continue to move churches more and more toward being places for training people how to love in the ways of Jesus?

Pure Awesomeness!

2010-05-12T08:47:00.001-04:00

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

On Church Plants

2010-05-11T16:27:00.000-04:00

When it comes to church leadership conferences there are two major seasons, Fall (Oct/Nov) and Spring (April/May). And it seems like whenever that season arrives familiar conversations around church planting seem to flair up once again. Consequently, I'm always disappointed by the fact that the polarization around the conversation hasn't dissipated.

Just like conservatives and liberals, republicans and democrats, for some reason there is a demonization that tends to go on around church planting. Either church planters are characterized as church destroyers whose only aim in life is to destroy someone else's church or the traditional church is demonized as the ineffective enemy of all things that are truly of Jesus.

I've seen situations that have gone each of those directions. I've seen people who have spitefully and intentionally split churches in order to start their new one. It is ugly and messy and destructive. It's definitely not God honoring. But, I've also seen the other side as well. I've seen established churches bribe, manipulate, and dash people's dreams all because they were defending their established church. In these situations the fact that we should all be working toward the same goal has been lost. Both are looking out for their own private kingdom. This happened in the bible too. When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead the pharisees decide they have to kill him because everyone might begin to follow him which would be a threat to their little kingdom.

I've also seen deeply dysfunctional established churches that were hell-bent on not being faithful to what a church should be and pastors feeling like the only way to be faithful was to start a new one. I have seen this happen quietly and peacefully and I have seen it happen loud and destructively despite pastors' best efforts to minimize the damage. (The thing that bothers me most is when a pastor is demonized even though it was the established church that actually caused the damage. The opposite happens as well, but then there's a community of people to deal with the issue as opposed to a single person. Always realize there are two sides to every coin and every story.)

However, in meeting countless church planters what I have found is that the spiteful intentional destruction of established churches in order to build a new church, while occurring far too often, is not the norm. Most of these guys have a real heart for God and don't want to see any church damaged. On the flip side there are many churches who welcome new churches to their area, even help them get started with financial assistance and man power.

In the end, we need established churches to reach the people who are being reached. At the same time we need new churches that are doing things differently to help those who aren't being reached by the already existing churches.

I just really hate that we keep falling into the tendency to polarize and demonize. Why can't we just answer Jesus' prayer (John 17:11).

There are five stages to group process forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. This means that in the end, churches split in various ways, shapes, and forms. Either we can embrace that, guide it, and let it be constructive and healthy or we can deny it, fight it, and let it be destructive and messy. There are churches that have begun to recognize this, the first for me was Northpoint in Alpharetta and it is something I have always admired about that church. They realized this tendency to split and so they decided they would break up intentionally. As the Sunday morning auditorium begins to fill they decide to start a new campus so that they can reach more people. It's really a beautiful way to reach more people without the whole thing going down the destructive path of the ugly mess that tends to characterize the church plant conversations that come about twice a year.

In the end, I think we need to realize that the defensiveness or offensiveness from "both sides" really comes from a place of fear, anxiety, or hurt. At the same time, living out of that by demonizing the other only tends to make us feel self-righteous. It doesn't actually make anything better, only worse. There are existing churches and church plants who are doing great things. There are some that are doing great things together. We can choose to be cynical because we know of some instances where things have gone wrong, or we can choose not to judge, we can cling to hope paying attention to the times it's gone right. And in so doing we can celebrate and encourage something beautiful.

Because when it becomes about "my thing versus your thing" then my thing is no longer accomplishing anything.

Despite appearances, some things are real

2010-05-07T09:07:00.001-04:00

Peter Rollins waxing philosophical on social networking.

Despite appearances, some things are real

Music from Convergence

2010-04-26T08:49:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all my new friends at Trinity UMC Homewood for a great weekend. I had a great time getting to know all of you and I appreciate you helping me find my new calling as a songwriter. We'll be cutting a demo soon and sending it to various record companies to try and get signed. Here are the lyrics for your special song to help you never forget what you learned at Convergence 2010, you truly had to be there.

Fight Naked

Fight Naked
In the shower with your mother in law
Fight Naked
With Proper boundries we can all belong
Fight Naked, Fight Naked

Reptiles have reptilian brains
Tim's skits make us go insane
Fight Naked, Fight Naked

Bob exits through the closet door
Playing games waiting out the storm
Fight Naked, Fight Naked

Eat, Sleep, Poop
Eat, Sleep, Poop
Eat, Sleep, Poop
and Fight Naked

Eat, Sleep, Poop

and Fight Naked

Purple eggs and 100 babies

Sleep deprived and going crazy

Fight Naked, Fight Naked

Welcome to Easter

2010-04-06T17:06:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the season of Resurrection, where all things are being made new and anything is possible!

We live in a world where we seem stuck on polarization. Left or right, liberal or conservative, it’s either up with the democrats or you’re down with gop, fundamentalist or emergent, calvinist or arminian, predestination or free will, and the list just goes on. And this affects our outlook on life as well. Either everything’s great or everything’s horrible. Often we can fall toward a blind optimism or dark cynicism. If we fall to the blind optimism we turn a blind eye at the things that go wrong and it’s all just a party in the USA. We fail to take head to the negative, thus doing nothing about it, letting the negative grow. But, if we fall to cynicism then we find ourselves helpless and hopeless. We acknowledge the wrong, but have no hope of a better future thus fail to move things forward and improving little to none. Often because of our dark outlook we simply make things worse.

But, the story of resurrection, that is a different story. That is a story that faces the pain, faces evil, faces the darkness, the negative, the hurt, but continues forward. And, just when all hope seems to be lost, when the one who raised the dead is now three days in the grave and you are left with no hope, in that moment you find that the tomb is empty of bodies and filled with hope.

When we fail to acknowledge the negative we’re left with a bubble gum, pop version of hope. It’s empty, it’s shallow. But, when we can make it through Friday and hang in long enough to experience Sunday, then and only then, suffering can take on meaning. Hope can become significant, weighty, real, beautiful, true. In that moment, the moment of true resurrection, anything becomes possible and life can move forward beyond the negative toward things more beautiful than anything anyone could have possibly imagined. Easter can only come after Lent if it’s going to be something of true worth.
I hope that you have enjoyed the parables as much as I have during lent. For me this was a very specific discipline and I decided to invite others along with me (probably against my better judgment).

If you go to any bookstore and enter the Christian (which is a horrible adjective) section, you can easily notice a plethora of books about the church, what’s wrong with it, and how young adults don’t want anything to do with it. I’ve shared many of the sentiments and read many of the books. For me, I wanted to sit with some of that for a while during lent so that with Easter I could move beyond it. It was a process of letting go. On one hand, I’m really thankful for all the books because there are many within the popular christian bubble who are oblivious (or at least seem to be) to many of the issues. On the other hand, I’m kind of getting tired of hearing about all the problems and issues. In Rollins parables I found a double edged sword of personal and corporate critique packaged in a creative and thought provoking way. These stories are almost like a rorschach test, they read you more than you read them. This is why I wanted to sit with them, to challenge myself.

When I found myself in my first appointment I found myself in a strange position. I had always assumed the church did what it was supposed to do, otherwise it would be doing something different. But suddenly I was supposed to be leading a church and I didn’t know what I was supposed to be leading it to do. This crisis took me on a personal quest to try and understand for myself why the church exists, what it’s supposed to do.

I have come a long way, but along that way I’ve learned that the more answers you get the more questions you have. Therefore, while I could give you several pithy, simple answers and probably either make them all rhyme or start with the same letter (not quite good enough to make them do both yet, but here’s to future divine revelation), I won’t do that because I don’t presume to know all the answers. But, I’m inspired by the traction I’ve gotten along the way.
Lent was my opportunity to sit with these stories, work through some issues (being a preacher’s kid they are many), and move toward Easter where I can let go of the issues and move forward, beyond the complaints, toward re-imagining and re-discovering the possibilities of what can be.
I hope this has been a great experience for you as well. Welcome to Easter, where all things are being made new and anything is possible!

Slavery Today

2010-04-06T09:42:00.002-04:00

New Music From The Innerchange

2010-04-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

My friends over at the Innerchange have recently released some great new music.
Here's a sample. If you like check out their website and request a disk www.theinnerchange.org

http://www.mediafire.com/?hozxjmwztcz

Easter Bonus Parable: Being the Resurrection

2010-04-04T00:07:00.001-04:00

Late that evening a group of unknown disciples packed their few belongings and left for a distant shore, for they could not bear to stay another moment in the place where their Messiah had just been crucified. Weighed down with sorrow, they left that place, never to return. Instead they traveled a great distance in search of a land that they could call home. After months of difficult travel, they finally happened upon an isolated area that was ideal for setting up a new community. Here they found fertile ground, clean water, and a nearby forest from which to harvest material needed to build shelter. So they settled there, founding a community far from Jerusalem, a community where they vowed to keep the memory of Christ alive and live in simplicity, love, and forgiveness, just as he had taught them.

The members of this community lived in great solitude for over a hundred years, spending their days reflecting on the life of Jesus and attempting to remain faithful to his ways. And they did all this despite the overwhelming sorrow in their heart.

But their isolation was eventually broken when, early one morning, a small band of missionaries were amazed at the community they found. What was most startling to them was that these people had no knowledge of the resurrection and the ascension of Christ, for they had left Jerusalem before his return from the dead on the third day. Without hesitation, the missionaries gathered together all the community members and recounted what had occurred after the imprisonment and bloody crucifixion of their Lord.

That evening there was a great festival in the camp as people celebrated the news of the missionaries. Yet, as the night progressed, one of the missionaries noticed that the leader of the community was absent. This bothered the young man, so he set out to look for this respected elder. Eventually he found the community's leader crouched low in a small hut on the fringe of the village, praying and weeping.

"Why are you in such sorrow?" asked the missionary in amazement. "Today is a time for great celebration."

"It may indeed be a day for great celebration, but this is also a day of sorrow," replied the elder, who remained crouched on the floor. "Since the founding of this community we have followed the ways taught to us by Christ. We pursued his ways faithfully even though it cost us dearly, and we remained resolute despite the belief that death had defeated him and would one day defeat us also."

The elder slowly go to his feet and looked the missionary compassionately in the eyes.

"Each day we have forsaken our very lives for him because we judged him wholly worthy of the sacrifice, wholly worthy of our being. But now, following your news, I am concerned that my children and my children's children may follow him, not because of his radical life and supreme sacrifice, but selfishly, because his sacrifice will ensure their personal salvation and eternal life."

With this the elder turned and left the hut, making his way to the celebrations that could be heard dimly in the distance, leaving the missionary crouched on the floor.

Rob Bell Resurrection Video

2010-04-04T00:02:00.004-04:00

Resurrection: Rob Bell from The Work of Rob Bell on Vimeo.

Playfully Irreverent

2010-03-31T10:29:00.001-04:00

A couple months ago I was reading the collected writings of Mike Yaconelli. It's a fantastic, yet easy must read that reminds me why I loved this guy and why he's one of the few people that I look to as one of my personal heroes, despite the fact that I never got to meet him face to face (and I never seem to be able to spell his last name correctly). There are many people I have and do admire, but very few that I actually see as a personal hero. I think even my closest friends would be surprised who's not on the list while Yac is. If you aren't familiar with him, he had clarity and passion for his faith and life, the skills to start an organization like Youth Specialties, and yet the spiritual maturity and humility to be able to pastor what he called the slowest growing church in the country. Each year I try to watch the only video of him that I have and I try to read one of his few books that aren't specifically about doing youth ministry.

As I was reading his collected writings I came across the phrase, "playfully irreverent." Playfully irreverent, that described Yac and it used to describe me. Then I became a pastor and despite the fact that Jesus says we are supposed to be like children, Paul tells us to put away childish things. Evidently playful irreverence is one of those things, or at least the easily offended seem to think so. However I'm not so sure. Because when I see Yac I see someone who had clarity, who had a lot better handle on the things that really matter, and that playful irreverence seemed to let him take his faith seriously and at the same time cause less hurt that the seriously reverent folks I've come across.

So, maybe the childish things that need to be put away are actually pride, ego, the need to convince others that I'm right and force them to come around to my point of view, lack of emotional maturity to get beyond being easily offended, the need for others to like me and all the ways I hide who I really am in order to gain their favor, the fear of how offending someone will negatively impact my future (which is actually nothing less than a lack of faith in God) and the fear of criticism that forces me to hide my playful irreverence that kills faith, dwindles hope, keeps me from loving well. This fear steals joy and keeps us from experiencing God more fully.

So, playfully irreverent, I'm not as good at it as I used to be, but hopefully I'll be regaining that. It's not so much who I am as what I want to be.
Blog posts - not for the easily offended. Forgive me when I get too serious, I'm working on it.

Lent Parable 6: The Reward of a Good Life

2010-03-26T15:20:00.002-04:00

Two brothers embraced faith together at an early age. One of the brothers took his commitment very seriously and wrestled diligently with the Scriptures. When he became a man he gave up all of his worldly possessions and went to live in the poorest and most dangerous area of the city. Many of his friends deserted him, and, because of his uncompromising dedication to the oppressed, he lost the one woman he truly loved, forsaking the possibility of marriage for the sake of his work.

the pain of this separation haunted him all his days. And because of the conditions in which he lived, he was frequently ill. When he died, no one was present, and only a handful of people showed up for his funeral.

In contrast, the other brother never took his faith seriously at all. As a man he became very settled, satisfied, and influential. He married the woman he loved, had many children, and lived in a beautiful home. As his satisfaction grew, his thoughts of God dissolved to nothing. He gave little to charity, unless it was prudent to do so for the sake of his reputation, and he paid little heed to those who suffered around him. After a long, happy, and successful life, he died in the arms of his loving wife with his children surrounding him.

In heaven God called the two brothers before him, embraced them both warmly, and to each gave an equal share of the kingdom.

As one might expect, the brother who had been faithful all his years was surprised-he had given up everything to live what turned out to be a torturous life of hardship.

However, his surprise was a joyous one. He turned to his brother, smiled deeply, and said, "Today my joy is finally complete, for we are together again. Come, let us break bread together." In response, his brother said nothing, but began to weep over the wasted life that he had led.

Unpacking Jesus and the Five Thousand

2010-03-22T15:59:00.002-04:00

Last week's parable is one that is quite heavy. It is dependent upon twisting a particular moment in the life of Jesus on it's head in order to make a point. Like the others, it is not exploring doctrine as much as practice. It is not describing the life of Jesus, rather it is challenging us to live into the life of Jesus.

The story begins in very familiar fashion, weary, hungry people listening to Jesus teach. Food is needed, but all that can be scrounged is five loaves and two fish. Then Jesus sends the disciples out to find more. One expects, or at least I did, for them to find more food, and the point of the parable to be that the miraculous happens when we all make what we have available. And while this would be a wonderful twist to this parable, this is not the direction it takes, it is more poignant that that. Instead, masses of food are found, then Jesus and the disciples help themselves to a feast, exploiting the weary and their resources and leaving them hungry, with nothing.

Obviously, the shock of this story is the point, that is simply not what Jesus did, nor is it what Jesus would do. My opinion is that the author is making a critique concerning the western church. As I mentioned in an earlier post, followers represent the one they follow. This is part of the reason Paul calls the church the body of Christ. We represent Jesus. There are many who are extremely critical of the Church, especially in the west, in regards to our consumerism, our levels of consumption, and the ways in which we thrive on the backs of the poor. I personally am not so critical. I think that much of this happens unbeknownst to most of us, at least I know that has been the case for me. A couple of years ago I came across various statistics that really took me aback. Things such as the fact that the projection for what it would cost to end world hunger was actually less than the U.S. and Europe spent on ice cream that year, that most of the chocolate we consume comes from the ivory coast where children are stolen from their homes and forced to work in the cocoa fields. For the author, I believe, the shock of the parable lies in the fact that Jesus would never do such a thing and in the idea that this is exactly what he does, because this is what we, his followers, the body of Christ, do.

Now, before reacting, please realize a couple of things. I hate guilt driven religion. By and large it doesn't work. When our faith becomes about a list of things not to do it loses the beauty and life it should give. So, there is no list of things not to do coming. I personally am still trying to figure out what to do with all of this. However, the point for me is not, hey we should feel guilty about these things. For me the point is hope. There is brokenness in this world and we have the ability to do something about it. Our faith should not be about a list of things not to do, it should be about giving our lives to something larger than just ourselves, about putting flesh and blood on the prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." For me it's about asking how can we move forward differently. How can I help to put and end to this stuff, what do I need to be throwing myself and the resources I've been blessed with into? The issues are thick, there's not simple, easy answers and I'm still bewildered by all of it.

If this is all new to you, let me offer a couple of introductory resources. Rob Bell explores this a bit in his nooma films Rich and Corner www.nooma.com and for more on the chocolate issue visit stop the traffik http://www.stopthetraffik.org/

Lent Parable 5: Jesus and the Five Thousand

2010-03-19T14:34:00.003-04:00

Jesus withdrew privately by boat to a solitary place, but the crowds continued to follow him. Evening was now approaching and the people, many of whom had traveled a great distance, were growing hungry.

Seeing this, Jesus sent his disciples out to gather food, but all they could find were five loaves of bread and two fishes. Then Jesus asked that they go out again and gather up the provisions that the crowds had brought to sustain them in their travels. Once this was accomplished, a vast mountain of fish and bread stood before Jesus. Upon seeing this he directed the people to sit down on the grass.

Standing before the food and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks to god and broke the bread. then he passed the food among his twelve disciples. Jesus and his friends ate like kings in full view of the starving people. but what was truly amazing, what was miraculous about this meal, was that when they had finished the massive banquet there were not even enough crumbs left to fill a starving person's hand.

On Church

2010-03-12T11:12:00.007-05:00

As I've reflected on my post from last Friday, I feel that I may need to do a little clarifying of what I am hoping as well as what I am not hoping to accomplish through this exercise. I might need to post a few words on church and my approach to it's past, present, and future.

Jesus once told a story about a man who was throwing a party. The man invited various people who for some reason or another didn't show. Then, so as to be able to throw the party since none of the invited guests came, the man proceeded to invite anyone and everyone (all those that did not make the initial invitation aka the rejects) from the area. He scrounged up anyone he could find that was willing to come. This among many things is a parable about the church.

Jesus' followers weren't the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious who should have been following him. No, he called the working people, the ones who were not good enough to be rabbi's. In his parable about the church, it's the losers and rejects that get in. This is what explains why I am in. I'm not supposed to be in, according to the old way I shouldn't be accepted (I like bar-b-que too much), but Jesus' grace is bigger than that. It includes me. The problem is that this causes problems, because we all know that followers represent to non-followers who the person is they are following. I personally don't live up to that. I try, I strive, and hopefully I'm making progress, but as anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm definitely no Jesus. So, first off, I need to apologize because I'm part of the church, I'm what you're stuck with. In my opinion, anyone who claims to follow Jesus or calls themselves a Christian should have no superiority complex whatsoever, because according to the parable Jesus told, we shouldn't be in. We're only in because of grace.

But, if I'm in with all of my shortcomings, brokenness, and questions and the church is full of other people with shortcomings, brokenness', and struggles then this is going to make for a church full of issues. I realize there is more that I don't know than I do when it comes to this. But when it comes to this subject, the way I see it we've got several options.

First, we can become cynical. We can focus all our attention and energy on the negative, ignore the positive, and throw the baby out with the bath water. We can walk away from church and maybe even our faith. We can claim that religion has done nothing but produce fighting and war. We can become angry and bitter, less and less the type of person we want to become.
(I in no way want to become or produce cynics. My intentions with these parables is in no way to try and make people cynical or angry with any church. I have no wish to be a source of division, and no comments during any of my blogs are intended to reflect any local church, denomination, etc).

Another option is the opposite extreme. We can focus only on the good of the church, but completely ignore the bad, disavow the problems. There is this toxic thing in many "Christian" circles that tells us we have to have a super faith that we don't really have, that no matter what is going on in life we can't question God or be honest about what's really going on inside of us. It reminds me of Job's friends who have the easy answers and tell Job he can't question God (however in the end it's Job, the one who was honest and sincere, who challenged and questioned, he was the one that God honored). God is big enough to handle our questions, our doubts, our fears, our struggles, and our lack of faith. This super faith where we're supposed to convince people that everything is always alright with us regardless of circumstances bleeds over into the church. We feel like we have to pretend that the church is perfect and the answer to anyone's problems. But, I believe this is why when people ranging in age from the late teens to the early thirties were polled about the first words that come to mind when they hear the word Christianity at the top of the responses were judgmental and hypocritical (for more info see Kinnamen and Lyons book UnChristian). I believe that this sweep problems under the rug and pretend like they're not there, that everything is always awesome mentality is part of what is driving younger generations away from the church. Why? Because it's not honest and they see through it. In the end, it doesn't actually take us forward, it doesn't make us better. Things that lie inside of us are stuffed only to explode when we can no longer contain it. Because if we don't let it out in positive, constructive ways, it's still in there, and it will usually come out at the least opportune time in some of the most destructive ways. But, there is a third option.

The third option is what I call an honest, hopeful humility. This option does not say, hey there are all these problems with the church, so we all need to leave. It's not cynical. Neither does it pretend like those problems aren't there, it doesn't become oblivious. This approach has the humility to recognize that I am flawed and broken, but I am invited to be a part of this thing nonetheless. It recognizes that since I'm part of the church, the church is going to have some things that are messed up. I'm messed up. It's honest, it recognizes things that are wrong and apologizes (especially to those it has hurt or alienated). But, it also has faith that God is continuing to work in us, that God is continuing to take us somewhere. So, it not only recognizes the bad and apologizes, but it also celebrates the good, when the church rally's around it's hurting, all the good ways it is making the world more what God longs for it to be, the orphanages and wells built, the starving fed, the healthcare provided in the third world (the list goes on further than I could type).
This approach is hopeful, because it doesn't simply see the flaws and walk away. Instead it recognizes the good and the bad. It celebrates and repents, and through the process moves forward, becomes better, helps more, hurts less. This, I believe is the direction this whole thing has been going over the course of human history and I have faith and hope that it is the direction we are continuing to move.

My intentions for this series are not to hurt the church in any way. Rather, it is to take part in the conversation of who we are and what we could be and in so doing honor the work of Jesus making all things new (including the church).

But, there is another danger. Even when having these conversations from the third point of view we can lose the plot. We can get so wrapped up in conversations about the church that we can begin to think that the church is the point. The church is not the point. Connecting with God, following in the ways of Jesus, and making the world more like God longs for it to be is the point. Praying and living out "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" is the point. Love is the point. Because God is Love. And the great thing is, in the end Love Wins!

So, hopefully that helps give insight into my intentionality. Again, there may be better ways to look at it that are more constructive and helpful. If you disagree with me, I welcome the conversation. It seems like the more I learn the more I realize I have yet to learn. However, I do ask that you be respectful, not attack me, anyone else who makes comments, or any specific local church by name. In my experience that doesn't take anyone anywhere.

Lent Parable 4: Engaging in a game that no-one believes in

2010-03-08T14:10:00.002-05:00

There was once a British army base located in a tiny town in rural Northern Ireland. The story goes that each time a new battalion of soldiers arrived to do their tour of duty one of the resident Officers would show them a trick that could be played on the hapless locals.

When the latest group of soldiers arrived the Officer brought them down to the local pub for a drink. When they were settled he got out an old twenty pound note and a one pound coin. As the soldiers watched he crumpled up the twenty pound note and polished the pound coin before placing them on the table. Once he had done this he then scanned the bar for one of the oldest and drunkest men in the place, and called him over. When the local had settled himself the Officer said, ‘I want to give you one of these, but which would you prefer, this bright shiny coin or this old crumpled piece of paper’?

In response the old man picked up the coin, bit into it with his teeth and then exclaimed with delight, ‘I’ll take the shiny coin please”. The soldiers, of course, found this hilarious and started trying it with others. The foolishness of the Irish provided them with endless hours of entertainment.

However there also happened to be a tourist in the bar that night who watched what was taking place in disbelief. When the soldiers had left, she went up to some of the old men and exclaimed, ‘why on earth did you take the coin when you could have had the note? Do you not know that it is worth twenty times more’?

‘Of course we do’, replied one of the locals, ‘but if we took the note they would stop playing’.

Unpacking the Parables

2010-03-05T13:29:00.001-05:00

If you’ve been reading the parables with me, thank you. I hope you are enjoying them as much as me. I have chosen the parables I have used quite intentionally, and they are about to shift.

The previous parables tell of individuals who have missed the point. The good hearted person who with the best of intentions has immersed themselves in religious activities and even leadership and yet missed something along the way. Often, it is easier for those around us to see this in us than it is for us to see this in ourselves. We can get so busy doing stuff for God, that we can miss God. We can miss the change that God wants to bring about in us and the world can miss the change God wants to bring about through us, because what we achieve inwardly will change outward reality. These parables ask us questions such as, are we seeking God simply for the sake of seeking God or are we seeking God simply for what could be done for us?

But, the issue isn’t simply one of the individual. The church plays a role. In the previously posted parables for me at least the movement is one from where it first raises questions about the individual (the main character, or namely me) but then radiates out to the larger issues. The next series of parables do exactly the opposite, at least for me. They question the systems and structures first, then raise questions about the individual.

For me this is an exercise in re-imagining what a community of faith could be. What would a community of faith look like that had the ability to churn out people who would be convicted, choose God and hell over satan and heaven, and that had somehow found a way to keep people from using their religious activities in order to make them feel good enough about themselves that they can go on living into the systems and ways that further the brokenness of this world rather than help repair it? How do we avoid the regular pitfalls that can commonly come with church as usual?

I don’t think there is a magic bullet answer, but rather a process to work through. I hope that these parables are helping you work through a process as they are doing for me. I hope that you have enjoyed the ones thus far and that you will enjoy the ones yet to come.

Lent Parable 3: Finding Faith

2010-03-02T11:59:00.002-05:00

There was once a fiery preacher who possessed a powerful but unusual gift. He found that, from an early age, when he prayed for individuals, they would supernaturally lose all of their religious convictions. they would invariably lose all of their beliefs about the prophets, the sacred Scriptures, and even God. So he learned not to pray for people but instead limited himself to preaching inspiring sermons and doing good works.
However, one day while traveling across the country, the preacher found himself in conversation with a businessman who happened to be going in the same direction. This businessman was a very powerful and ruthless merchant banker, one who was honored by his colleagues and respected by his adversaries.
Their conversation began because the businessman, possessing a deep, abiding faith, had noticed the preacher reading from the Bible. He introduced himself to the preacher and they began to talk. As they chatted together this powerful man told the preacher all about his faith in God and his love of Christ. He spoke of how his work did not really define who he was but was simply what he had to do.
"The world of business is a cold one," he confided to the preacher, "and in my line of work I find myself in situations that challenge my Christian convictions. But I try, as much as possible, to remain true to my faith. Indeed, I attend a local church every Sunday, participate in prayer circle, engage in some youth work, and contribute to a weekly Bible study. These activities help to remind me of who I really am."
After listening carefully to the businessman's story, the preacher began to realize the purpose of his unseemly gift. So he turned to the businessman and said, "Would you allow me to pray a blessing into your life?"
The businessman readily agreed, unaware of what would happen. Sure enough, after the preacher had muttered a simple prayer, the man opened his eye in astonishment.
"What a fool I have been for all these years!" he proclaimed. "It is clear to me now that there is no God above, who is looking out for me, and that there are no sacred texts to guide me, and there is no Spirit to inspire and protect me."
As they parted company the businessman, still confused by what had taken place, returned home. But now that he no longer had any religious beliefs, he began to find it increasingly difficult to continue in his line of work. Faced with the fact that he was now just a hard-nosed businessman working in a corrupt system, rather than a man of God, he began to despise his activity. Within months he had a breakdown, and soon afterward gave up his line of work completely. Feeling better about himself, he then went on to give to the poor all the riches he had accumulated and began to use his considerable managerial expertise to challenge the very system he once participated in, and to help those who had been oppressed by it.
One day, many years later, he happened upon the preacher again while walking through town. He ran over, fell at the preacher's feet, and began to weep with joy. Eventually he looked up at the preacher and smiled, "Thank you, my dear friend, for helping me discover my faith."

Lent Parable 2: The Last Trial

2010-02-23T12:17:00.002-05:00

You sit in silence contemplating what has just taken place. Only moments ago you were alive and well, relaxing at home with friends. Then there was a deep, crushing pain in your chest that brought you crashing to the floor. The pain has now gone, but you are no longer in your home. Instead, you find yourself standing on the other side of death waiting to stand before the judgment seat and discover where you will spend eternity. As you reflect upon your life your name is called, and you are led down a long corridor into a majestic sanctuary with a throne located in its center. Sitting on this throne is a huge, breathtaking being who looks up at you and begins to speak.
"My name is Lucifer, and I am the angel of light."
You are immediately filled with fear and trembling as you realize that you are face to face with the enemy of all that is true and good. Then the angel continues: "I have cast God down from his throne and banished Christ to the realm of eternal death. It is I who hold the keys to the kingdom. It is I who am the gatekeeper of paradise, and it is for me alone to decide who shall enter eternal joy and who shall be forsaken."
After saying these words, he sits up and stretches out his vast arms. "In my right hand I hold eternal life and in my left hand eternal death. Those who would bow down and acknowledge me as their god shall pass through the gates of paradise and experience an eternity of bliss, but all those who refuse will be vanquished to the second death with their Christ."
After a long pause he bends toward you and speaks, "Which will you choose?"

No Conviction

2010-02-17T21:53:00.002-05:00

In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been accused of being a believer, arrested, and dragged before a court.
You have been under clandestine surveillance for some time now, and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs that show you attending church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this, they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CDs, and other Christian artifacts. Then they step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge. This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlinings throughout, evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and reread this sacred text many times.
Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all confidence and have ben on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the Prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ, you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case.
The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back. Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once you have been seated in the dock that judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands befor you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak.
"Of the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty."
"Not guilty?" your heart freezes. Then in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage.
Despite the surroundings, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence.
"What evidence? he replies in shock.
"What about the poems and prose that I wrote?" you reply.
"They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more."
"But what about hte services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?"
"Evidence that you are a good speaker and actor, nothing more," replied the judge. "It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law."
"But this is madness!" you shout. "It would seem that no evidence would convince you!"
"Not so," replies that judge as if informing you of a great, long-forgotten secret.
"The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christlike endeavor to create a better world. So, until you live as Christ and his followers did, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then, my friend, you are no enemy of ours."

Intro to Lent

2010-02-17T21:33:00.004-05:00

Today is Ash Wednesday. If you're not from a liturgical background, it's the day after Mardi Gras ends. Within the Judeo-Christian faiths there is a long tradition of marking time with certain rhythms. For example, the Sabbath, work six days, rest one. It's supposed to remind us that we are human beings whose worth comes from being created and loved by God. It is to help us rest, heal from the stress of the week, reconnect with God, and prepare us for the week ahead. It reminds us that our worth does not come from what we produce, that we are human beings, not human doings. So, there are all these rhythms: marking the day by prayers (morning, afternoon, evening), marking the week (sabbath), and marking the year (the feasts found in the first books of the bible, or the liturgical year for many denominations).
The liturgical calendar takes through a full experience of life as well as the ministry of Jesus. Often we are tempted to sit with just the parts of the bible we like most or acknowledge one dimension of the Christian experience. If we are celebratory, we tend to like Christmas and Easter, but neglect experiencing what takes place during Advent or Lent. Lent is introspective, we wrestle with the things that lie within us that we ignore most of the time, the places where we have room to grow. During this time we remember Moses' 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah (first five books of the Bible) and we remember Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness and his temptation that takes place there. Many give up something for lent. Some will fast not eating anything during this time. Others will fast smaller things such as soft drinks or sweets, televisions or cell phones, anything that seems to have too much power over you. It is an attempt to in some small way identify with Christ, to seek to connect with God in a deeper way, and to work on yourself.
I have recently finished a book by Peter Rollins called the Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. It is a collection of 33 parables written by Rollins. Each parable is followed by a commentary. The stories are broken into three sets of eleven. The first set is called Beyond Belief, the second is called G-O-D-I-S-N-O-W-H-E-R-E, and the third is called Transfigurations. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it. My intent is to post one parable a week during lent, I may at times post commentary either by Rollins or my own reflections. Most of the time I will probably let the story speak for itself that they might read you as much as you read them. May they push and stretch, challenge, provoke, and inspire you as much as they have me.

My Decision

2010-02-03T10:08:00.001-05:00

Here is the letter I sent to the Board of Ordained Ministry:

I embarked upon the candidacy process believing that I was to live out that call as an ordained elder. As I have gone through the process of candidacy, seminary, then probationary/residency I have learned and grown in ways I would have never imagined. I now understand faith and life as well as myself differently than I did when I began. My theology has moved from one of “conversion evangelism” to one of “restorative loving acts,” of trying to live in such a way that we live out the portions of the Lord’s Prayer where we ask that God’s Kingdom come and will be done on Earth as in Heaven. With my theological shift a shift has also come in my understanding of my calling. As I approached elder ordination I began to wonder if I were on the wrong track, if I should actually move to the Deacon process. But, I wasn’t sure if that was indeed what I was to be doing. Therefore, I asked for a leave of absence. I needed some time to work through some issues of grief over my father’s death, something that had been difficult for me to do while pastoring churches, and I needed some time to discern my particular call to ministry. I have found that both of these processes are slow journeys that take place over a lifetime. At the same time both journeys have markers, moments wherein there has sufficient movement to move forward with confidence.

Over the past year I have been working through the process previously outlined. I have been meeting with Sheri Fergueson, working with my leave discernment peer group, and engaging in prayerful discernment personally. At this point there is a general consensus that I have made great headway in both processes. I have been called to ministry. But, my calling appears to exist outside the bounds of the Deacon or Elder categories. It appears to be a pastoral position that also has rhythms of missional service intertwined. It appears to be some sort of mixture of the two. Therefore question becomes, what kind of ministry does my calling fit, and in what kind of setting can that calling be lived out? Since my calling does not appear to lend itself exclusively toward the ordination of a Deacon or an Elder, at this time I will be withdrawing from the process. My hope is that this will enable me to continue to find further clarity in pursuing my calling, finding the right settings in which I can live it out. Once I have found sufficient clarity, should there be settings in which my call can faithfully be lived out, and if you would permit, I would hope to return to the ordination process with the clarity and confidence necessary to faithfully live out such a divine privilege.

Thank you for the growth I have experienced in this process and your continued patience with me as I attempt to understand the invitation God has upon my life.

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Herston

Advent - When God is not with us.

2009-12-21T09:54:00.005-05:00

Elizabeth was barren. At least somewhat wealthy, respected, and mature, Elizabeth had most of the things for which we tend to strive. But, she was missing the one thing that mattered most to her. She was unable to have a child, and everyone knew it. You have to imagine that she sat and wondered why. I haven't done anything wrong, why is God doing this or why did/does God allow this to happen? Why me? Why can't I have a child? Is there any meaning in this? Why is God so absent in this one place in my life?

Advent is the time where we prepare for the presence of God among us.

Most of the year we put forth the effort to see that God is with us everywhere, all the time, trying to see God in every moment no matter what may be going on. Advent is interesting because if it is a time where we are preparing for God to enter our world, then that means that it is the one time where we intentionally don't recognize God's presence here and now. In some ways Advent is where we experience God's absence. It's the one place where God isn't because God hasn't entered yet, we're preparing for that.

But the simple fact of the matter is that this absence is what we struggle with all year long. In the loss of a job, lack of direction, horrible breakup, tragic events, and terrifying diagnosis we sit and wonder, "Where is God in this?" At Advent we get the opportunity to be honest, to leave the toxic habit of trying to pretend we have a faith we don't have, and to recognize that there are places in our lives where God doesn't seem to be at work.

But, we also get the opportunity to hope.

Liz's husband was a priest. Zacheriah's rotation finally came and he got his once in a lifetime opportunity to serve in the temple, to go in and burn incense. An angel appears to Zach, tells him he is going to have a son, and when he emerges he is unable to speak. Everyone begins to wonder what is going on. Then, Liz becomes pregnant and has a baby boy. At the naming "ceremony," if that's what you would call it (there's a little procedure invovled), Zach suddenly becomes able to speak and everyone wonders what is going to become of this child?

Advent is the time where we prepare for God's presence among us, especially in those places where God seems most absent. Usually we spend the Advent season hanging lights, eating foods, rushing here and there, shopping for a bunch of stuff to give a bunch of people because we're supposed to. And if you hear a message during that season it's about Jesus being the real meaning of the season and how we can miss God during this time if we go too fast. But, if this is Advent, if we're preparing for God to be among us, then that means God's not with us here and now.

So maybe we have it all right even when we have it all wrong.

Maybe part of the point is to miss God here and now, to realize what it is like when you are spreading yourself too thin, when you are accruing debt up to your eyeballs, when you're not living into the ways of God. Maybe part of what we should do during this time is expose ourselves to the suffering of the world and to see what it is like when God is not among us because we're not allowing Him to be in some way, shape, or form personally or globally. Maybe the point is to sit in the places where God is absent and to recognize that God is preparing to come among us in those places where He seems to be the most absent, which should fill us with great hope. Maybe instead of Christmas marking the end of a celebratory season, maybe it should be just the beginning, because at Christmas God is with us, God is among us. Maybe Christmas should be where the party begins. If we were to do that, to celebrate the light that has come into the world after wandering in darkness, what we might just find is that God had been with us all along, especially in the places He has seemed most absent. Maybe it's only when we've experienced God's absence that we can appreciate God's presence among us. And maybe, just maybe in this time where we miss the reason for the season we will realize that there is a better way to live and live into that until the next Advent comes around. Perhaps that's why in the liturgical year Advent marks the beginning, because God is always moving us from darkness to light. God is always moving us forward. So we begin with God's absence and move to God's presence.

And we celebrate.

In the scriptures, intermingled with this story line of Zach and Liz, is another story of a young girl who also sees and angel that tells her that she too is going to give birth to a son. She responds that there is a certain type of interaction that has to take place for that to happen, to which the angel says, not this time. Then the angel does something interesting, he tells her that a sign that this is going to take place is that her cousin Elizabeth who was barren is having a child. If Elizabeth had not been barren, this would not really be a sign. So in the place where God seemed most absent God was actually most present. Her pain had a point, there was meaning in her tragedy.

It was all a part of something bigger than she had ever imagined.

So, may you miss the reason for the season, and honestly examine all the places where God appears to be absent. May you have a great hope that God is about to be birthed into those places. May you have a Merry Christmas, experiencing God like never before. May you see that somehow God was present even where he seemed most absent. May you pain take on meaning, and may you realize that you are a part of something much bigger than you ever imagined.

And that morning may the party begin.

The Depths

2009-08-08T00:23:00.002-04:00

I recently went to a training event. To be honest I was kind of dreading it. A strange place with no friends, and sessions that began at 8:00 and went to 5:00. I expected too much information, dryly presented, and coming back to the room afterwards exhausted and lonely. What I found was exactly the opposite. The presentations engaging, the dynamics such that I made friends. By the end of each day I was energized and would go out with new friends to share conversation and meals. But, the most surprising and impactful thing were the presenters. They were so committed to what they were doing. For them it was a calling that they had sacrificed for. They continued to improve as opposed to moving on to something else. They continued to care and work out of a place in the deepest depths of their being. What I found was that they had something I was missing.

I want that. I want to live out of that place, to have that fire in the belly. To live and move and have my being out of the deepest depths of who I am. I think most of us would like that, and yet I think most of us fail to do so. As I’ve sat with these thoughts many things have flashed through my mind. The first being, I wonder if there is that kind of depth to me. Most of what I live out of is so shallow and superficial, and I never even noticed it until I saw what I was missing in someone else. And, I don’t know how to manufacture it. You don’t just create a true depths of the being calling. You can’t suddenly add depths of layers to who you are. Then I began to realize that the deep penetrating things within me are the things I spend the most time trying to avoid. Or, I try to indirectly chip away at them through the shallow things. But, if you can keep it shallow enough, then you’re never really vulnerable. But, you also never truly live out of that place because you’re out of touch with it. I began to wonder why that is. I mean, I know part of it is that in going to the depths of your being is uncomfortable, you have to step into your deepest pains, your deepest disappointments, and your deepest fears.

The problem is, I don’t think we know how to do that. We live in a culture inundated by the superficial. We’re bombarded by advertisements and constantly told to solve deep problems with quick fixes - food, clothing, shopping, stuff, self-help, television, movies, entertainment, etc. And by and large the church doesn’t help. We’re so concerned about crappy things that don’t matter like cussing (the mere fact that I didn't use an expletive there says a lot). How can you get in touch with your deepest pain when you’re not allowed to convey it in a way that has the raw reality of what’s truly going on inside of you? When you’re not allowed to be dysfunctional enough to act out against your deepest pains. Instead we tell people to give whatever our problem is to God. Which can be a good thing when done well, when we’ve done the hard work of wrestling with it and with God about it, finally coming to a place where we can really let go of it. But, it can also be more avoidance, another way to deny what’s really going on inside of you. So, we dress up, put on our smiles, and give all of our problems to God or so we think. What we actually do is lay them down at the alter, then secretly leave the back door to the deepest part of our soul open for them to crawl back in without us even realizing. We secretly carry them around, avoiding the fact that they’re there because supposedly we gave them to God. And we go on, with our shallow and superficial lives wondering why we haven’t found that calling that enables us to live out of the depths of our being.

I think this is also the story of Jacob. Finally he confronts his biggest mistakes and deepest fears, and as he does so he wrestles with God and with man (himself). On the other side he finds a new identity and becomes a patriarch of the faith. Maybe living out of these depths is what Mother Teresa meant when she said you can do no great things, only small things with great love. But, small things done with great love change the world. My hope and prayer is to do this hard work and get in touch with the deepest parts of me. To find the fire in my belly, and fan the flames to where I hear the clear specific call of God on my life just as I have seen experienced in others. May that also be my prayer for you.

Lent = Long

2009-03-31T22:53:00.006-04:00

First an update. Things are going well. I have been working at a local community outreach organization. It really feels like something special that God is involved in, so I'm excited about that. I'm loving getting to know the community better. It's needs, who's doing what to fulfill those needs, what needs that leaves unfilled, etc. I'm loving the schedule of keeping the kids a day, working a day. I'm getting to work with some old friends and I'm getting to make some new ones, so I'm really enjoying it. Last weekend a friend came to visit, and we went to visit another friend who has moved into the general area. He's leading worship and really thriving, so visiting him and getting to experience what he's doing first hand was a really amazing experience. So, things are well.

Over the last several weeks I've been asked to do some teaching on lent. I've heard people claim disappointment in missing it, so I thought I would share some of those thoughts in an abbreviated form (although sorry, it's still going to be quite long). While I realize that they may have simply been being cordial, it does seem to be an itch that people I have been in contact with want scratched, so here we go.

Christianity began as a movement. Like most any movement that exists for a while it begins to become institutionalized in some way, shape, or form. But, even before that happens it begins to develop practices. The Christian tradition inherited practices from Judaism from which it emerged - things like prayer, fasting, study of scripture, tithing, worship, etc. One of the practices it inherited/developed was the arranging of time in such a way to keep us grounded in the things that really matter, the things of God, because if we're not careful we can easily let ourselves become too busy to live in an awareness of the things that matter most. For the Jewish people this was done through seasonal festivals (think passover), prayers (think temple prayer times), and fasting. The first Christians (who were Jewish) lived in these rhythms, and through faith in Jesus, they began to develop them to take on new meaning in coordination with their new faith. It's a sort of way of going beyond simply reading the scriptures and living into them. So, around this idea has developed the idea of the liturgical year. In more traditional denominations you'll notice a change of colors in the worship space as the year progresses, they are symbols of the season in which we find ourselves. This year begins with Advent, the time before Christmas, where we prepare for the coming of Christ. This leads into Epiphany, the season of light. Then comes Lent.

The word comes from the Latin for long. Generally it is the forty days leading up to Easter. Different denominations celebrate lent differently. Some simply go the forty days leading up to Easter while others do forty days not including Sundays leading up to Easter (because Sundays are considered little Easter's because it is the day on which Jesus arose). This is a time of contemplation and reflection. It is a time of preparation and repentance, where we wrestle with the dark things deep inside of ourselves - fears, sins, anxieties, addictions, etc. - and prepare for the time of crucifixion and resurrection. It begins with Ash Wednesday and is also a time of our wrestling with our own mortality. A common practice during this time is that of fasting and/or abstaining. The hope is that through giving up something we find a greater understanding of ourself as well as a fresh relationship with God. Some people go all out and actually fast (do not eat) for this period, while others give up something they enjoy (television, chocolate, meat, etc). Hopefully, through giving up something you depend upon you discover a greater reliance upon God to provide as well as a deeper trust that God will do so. It is an identification with various stories in the scriptures where people fasted for forty days. Moses did this on Mount Sinai before receiving the ten commandments, Elijah did this when fleeing from Jezebel prior to hearing the "still small voice", and upon Jesus' baptism he is led into the wilderness to be tempted. It is this story that becomes the central framing text for what the season of lent is about. And it really all revolves around one question, "Can God be trusted?"

Feel free to look the story up (Matthew 4), but for the sake of space I'm going to paraphrase. Jesus goes into the wilderness and fasts for forty days, and quite obviously he is hungry. It is in this moment that Satan appears tempting him to turn stones into bread. And he opens this temptation up with some form of if you are the Son of God, then you could. Now there are three temptations that take place - turning stones to bread, throwing himself off the temple, and bowing down to satan - however underneath the surface there are really all kinds of temptations happening here (as most of our temptations are a mix of a lot of different things). One of the things going on here is the temptation for Jesus to prove himself - to himself, to those in whom proving himself would most advance his cause/purpose/calling/career, and to the world. First he could be wanting to prove himself to himself. In the scriptures he has not yet done any miracles. Here is a private environment where he could test out his powers (how embarrassing to get in public and the miracles not be working). Remember when he was baptized there was a voice from heaven declaring his identity, but will he trust it? Second, if he jumps from the temple, it will prove to the religious establishment who he is, thus making his job much easier. And third, he could prove to the world who he is, thus fulfilling the every knee, every tongue thing. Now, I think we can all relate to this in that we all want to prove ourselves and believe that in doing so we will find self worth. But, there's also much more going on here.

In response to every temptation Jesus quotes the book of Deuteronomy. This is Moses' final farewell address to the Hebrew people before he dies and they enter the promised land. Each one of these quotes is a reference to a way in which the Hebrew people failed while wandering in the wilderness for forty (there's that number again) years. Jesus' response to the temptation of turning stones into bread is a reference to God's giving the Hebrew people manna from heaven. His response to the temple temptation is a reference to the event of the water from the rock at Massah and Miribah. And, his response to bowing to Satan is possibly a reference to both the golden calf incident and/or the turning to other Gods once in the promised land. So, there is this sense that Jesus, if he overcomes these temptations, is succeeding where his ancestors did not. But wait, there's more.

Some people claim that all of our temptations fall into one of the categories that each of these temptations create. And they all revolve around the question, can God be trusted. The first question is, "Can God be trusted to provide for my needs?" I feel like this is an extremely relevant question in this day and age, with unemployment and the economy the way they are. Jesus has been in the wilderness (most likely desert) for forty days. He's hungry. And up till now, God has not provided. Will he now take matters into his own hands, or will he continue to trust that God will provide? I imagine thoughts going through his head like, "if God really loved me He wouldn't put me in this situation," or, "if God were going to provide it would have happened by now." But, Jesus sees through the lie, and sees that it is in God that we find life.
The Second temptation is that of presuming upon God. Usually when we do this we use phrases like, "God always," or, "God would never." It the think fast situation where someone throws something valuable and makes you catch it. It's the tail wagging the dog. It's the kid that prays for the grade when he hasn't studied, but puts God on the spot in his prayer talking about how he would be a bad witness if he got a bad grade. It's that question of can God be trusted or do I have to force/trick/manipulate God into doing what I want so that things turn out o.k.? Again, Jesus does not fall for the lie. God will not be manipulated, and we are not to put God to the test.
The third temptation is to go about the right thing by the wrong means. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and says that he will give Jesus all authority if Jesus will only bow down to him. Now, the book of Matthew ends with Jesus' great commission. But, the great commission begins with Jesus saying, "all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28) So, Satan is offering to give Jesus the thing for which he came and to get it more quickly and easily. It's the temptation of the shortcut, to achieve the thing to which God called you, but to go about it the wrong way. The question is, "Can God be trusted to carry out what God has called me to do?" It reminds me of when David spared Saul's life in the cave despite the fact that the circumstances seemed to indicate that God had given Saul over to David to be killed. But, David knows that God commands against killing the anointed king. The simple fact of the matter is that when we go about achieving the purposes of God, but don't go about doing so by God's ways we put the calling above the one who called us. It is a form of worshiping something other than God. And Jesus sees through that lie as well and responds with worship and serve only God.

And so that is the point of Lent. To identify with the temptations of Jesus, to wrestle with our own mortality and the things that lie within us. To go through a process of self-examination where we wrestle with all the ways we are tempted to put our trust in our own ways of taking our lives in our own hands, providing for ourselves, advancing our careers, and fulfilling our callings. It's a time where we prepare for a kind of death as we get ready to examine the cross, and we make ourselves ready to embrace a new life that comes with the death of self as we celebrate the resurrection.
For more information on a brief history of the church and how it has developed I would recommend Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence, and for more on fasting I would recommend Scott McKnight's book in the ancient practices series aptly titled Fasting.

Disney and Disciplines

2009-03-18T21:30:00.005-04:00

Well, last weekend Katie's parents took us to Disney World. It was a lot of fun, especially watching Cari as she's now beginning to get to being old enough to kind of get it. She loves the Dumbo ride, the Teacups, and Small World. But, we all had a great (exhausting) time. Cari not only got to ride her favorite rides, but also met Bolt, Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle. So, all in all fun weekend. Also, it looks like I'm going to have the opportunity to work at the Circle of Care doing some different teachings. It will only be part time, but I'm enjoying getting my feet wet and looking forward to what lies ahead. And, now, on to the other stuff.

First a quick word about a book I recently read. The Blue Parakeet by Scott McKnight is a book about how we read and live out the bible. I had heard the name, but never read anything by McKnight. Much of it was review for me, but it is so well written that it was a joy to read. It is a fast read, he has some incredible insights about tendencies in reading the bible and the best way to go about reading the scriptures. It's the type of book that anyone who asks me how the bible should be read I would recommend this book. Fantastic!

Second, since I'm not having to concern myself with church duties, I'm enjoying some of the thinking I'm getting to do without being consumed with that stuff. Some of this revolves around churches, how they function or dysfunction, what it could be, etc. One of the things that I've been exploring is spiritual formation. Much of "church" revolves around institutional support - paying bills, receiving tithes, etc. Much of this relies upon keeping people coming or getting new people to attend. Without having to spend time on church techniques, I find myself getting to explore more the realm of spiritual development and formation. I'm fascinated with the last several years of information intake that I've been doing. Constantly having a message looming upon the horizon gave me a sense of a need to constantly be bringing in new information to share. Now I look back and wonder how much of the information has really sat with me, stuck and brought change. I see that I am quite different than I was when we last lived here. Some of that is due to experiences, some is due to things I've learned. Some of the ways I've changed I think are good, others may not be. I'm enjoying the opportunity to let insights and information marinate as I shared before. I'm enjoying sitting with concepts, ideas, and passages, and as opposed to moving on letting them take root within and hopefully bring transformation and growth that would not otherwise occur. But, I'm also becoming fascinated, and have been for a little while, with spiritual disciplines. I believe that these help shape and form us, and for the most part, since these things being done on a personal level don't really help further institutional needs, they get hijacked for the church or ignored. There is a group who is putting out a series of books on spiritual disciplines called The Ancient Practices Series. I believe Phyllis Tickle is the mastermind behind it all. Brian McLaren wrote the first one which was an introduction that I read I believe last summer. I'm now reading one of fasting which was also written by Scot Mcknight. It's very insightful. He does a great job of looking at cultural and sociological dysfunctions that have led to misunderstandings and misuses in fasting. I'm thoroughly enjoying the book. I'm really hoping during this time to move from a place of knowing a lot of stuff about God to once again really connecting with God, knowing God personally on deeper levels. My hope is that letting some things marinate, and engaging in some spiritual disciplines will aid in that endeavor.

Snow, Vineyards, and Stones (oh my)

2009-03-07T10:48:00.004-05:00

Believe it or not, it actually snowed!! Yes, in Alabama. It happens on occasion, but most of the time they threaten snow, then nothing happens. Even when something does happen it's not enough to actually stick, or it's only a light dusting that only lasts till the sun rises. But not this one, oh no. This amazing miraculous phenomenon occurred mid day in broad daylight. Two days before it was sunny and 70 degrees. The day before it was warm and rainy. Snow began in the morning, but was chased by rain midmorning removing any accumulation on random things like trampolines. We thought it was over, all hope was lost, but then as we ate lunch it began again. Only this time it snowed harder, and the temperature continued to get colder. Over the course of about an hour and a half we watched a couple inches of the beautiful white stuff accumulate not just on trampoline mats and plastic chairs, oh no, actually on the ground. And it was the good snow. You know the stuff, the kind that is perfect for packing into snowballs or rolling for snowmen. It was quite unbelievable. Now it's the following weekend and once again in the 70's. Alabama global warming weather, you just gotta love it. You never know what to expect. It had been ten years ago we would have blamed it on El Nino. Now, on to thoughts.

I recently finished a book by Brad Young - Jesus the Jewish Theologian. It's an interesting book that looks at Jesus through the lens of the jewish theology of his day. This type of work should have been going on for millennia, but with Christianity's distancing of itself from Judaism long ago we have robbed ourselves of this type of work. It brings new layers of depth and insight into the life and teachings of Jesus. I have been fascinated with this type of perspective for quite a while, and I had already read one of Brad Young's book on Jesus' Parables. So, some of this book was repetition and reinforcement. But, I did want to share an insight from one of his chapters.

In one chapter he discusses the parable of The Tenant Farmers, which he says should be called the parable of The Only Son. You may be familiar with the story. There are these tenant farmers who are working for an absentee landlord (a common practice of the day). When it's time the landlord sends servants to collect his portion, but the farmers beat them up. Then the landlord decides to send his only son, thinking surely they'll respect him. They see it's the only son, who would be heir to the property and think, we'll kill him, then when the landlord dies we'll get the property to ourselves. Then Jesus finishes the parable with a statement about the stone the builders rejected being the cornerstone and how it will smash anyone it falls upon and anyone who falls on it will shatter. Now, I've always understood this parable as having something to do with a rejection of the religious leaders of Jesus' day, but that was because of the focus (on the tenant farmers and the property). And, quite honestly I never really got the whole thing about the cornerstone, just that it somehow represented Jesus who is the foundation or cornerstone of our faith. But, Brad Young puts it into a context.

First, Jesus is moving toward his crucifixion. Second, there is a context to the parable. First Jesus is quoting Psalm 118 (the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The rabbis believed this referred to King David who was rejected by his father Jesse as well as Samuel at first, but then went on to become King and cornerstone of the kingdom. Then, there was also actually already a parable that the rabbis told about a stone and pots. How if a stone falls on a pot it will break the pot, but if a pot falls on the stone it will also break the pot. This parable was about the Hebrew people, saying that no matter what happened to them they would continue to survive regardless of attack.

So, Jesus tells this parable about the only son, who is killed. But, then he attaches these sayings about being rejected and yet surviving. Jesus in this parable may actually be referring to himself, the only son, the cornerstone (reference to himself as son of David) who would be rejected, referring to his crucifixion (the only son is killed), and referring to his resurrection, because despite being killed he will still survive (no matter what happens to him he will survive - the stone falling on and smashing and things falling on it being shattered.) I found that insightful and quite brilliant. So I thought I would share. But, Zoe's crying so I'll try to edit and make it a little more coherent later.

Marination

2009-02-23T22:52:00.003-05:00

First an update. Mom came down this weekend, so we got to spend some time with her which was nice. We used the opportunity to visit Church of the Highlands in Auburn which was good. Now I sit with a sick little girl. Cari has not felt well and has been running a fever, but beyond that there are no real symptoms. So we're treating her with a little tylenol and lots of fluids and love. Now on to thoughts.

I love to learn. I think I'm addicted to information. We live in an information age, where you can find out anything you want to know by simply going online. Just Google It. That should be their new slogan, but it would probably infringe on Nike copyrights. Anyway, I love to hear messages from people where some sort of new insight is going to be brought. I'm always wanting to learn something new. I'm constantly on the lookout either in a message, a book, or wherever I can find it. But, it raises a question. How much really absorbs and becomes transformative when you encounter so much?

I feel like I get a lot of information that only goes surface deep. We need to find ways to sit with insights and let them penetrate a little deeper. It's kind of like a good steak. You can put the marinade on there, but if it doesn't have time to sit it doesn't really penetrate and fill the entire steak with the flavor. A little marinating makes all the difference, so it is with good insights. If we move on from them too quickly they don't stick with us, flavor our lives, and transform us. Which brings me back to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I don't know why, but the parable of the Good Samaritan has really been sticking with me, kind of marinating. Rob Bell spoke on it I guess about a year or so ago, and when I shared about this parable recently many of the insights came from him. Then it was a central text at the COH service we went to, and a phrase really began to stick out to me, "when he saw him". The text tells us that the Priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan saw the man. All of them saw him, and yet the Samaritan saw something different, he saw him with different eyes. And it raises the question, "what do you see?" Hurt people hurt people. When someone is hurting, when someone hurts you, when you're cut off in traffic, when someone annoys or offends you, what do you see? Do you see someone who is hurting and needs compassion, or do you simply see a jerk that you want to attack back at?

I think the Priest and Levite saw the threat of becoming unclean or a hindrance that would make them run late in their busy schedule, whereas the Samaritan saw a person who was hurting and in need. I read a while back that when we objectify others it actually makes us less human, less of what God intended when He created us. Likewise, when we see other people as human we become more human, we become more like what God intended when He created us. The eyes you see with makes all the difference. We tend to think that the more information we're exposed to the more clearly we'll see, but it is kind of the dilemma between knowledge and understanding. We can know all sorts of things about God and yet not have an actual relationship with God, not actually love God.

The difference, that moves us from where we are to where we need to be may lie in changing our eyes, and changing our eyes might just lie not in acquiring more knowledge, but in letting the information we have marinate, sink deep into our hearts and transform us from the inside out. Maybe it begins with simple questions like, "what do you see?"

A Theology of Doing

2009-02-15T03:02:00.006-05:00

So, there’s this guy. He’s an expert in the scriptures, and he wants to test Jesus, so he asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Now, first there is the issue of the question of whether there’s anything we can actually do to be able to inherit eternal life, but that’s not the real problem with the question here. What this guy is wanting to do is debate theology, but that’s not the way he frames the question. He doesn’t ask what the scriptures teach on inheriting eternal life, he asks what must I do.

Jesus, knows his intent, and as a good rabbi answers his question with a question, “What is written in the Law?” “How do you read it?” Jesus brings the question back to this guy in the form that the guy actually intended to begin with. Jesus doesn’t come back with what do the scriptures say you must do or what do you think you must do, but what is written in the Law, how do you read it? Jesus makes it a theological question.

The guy answers, “Love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Maybe this was his own take, or maybe he had heard Jesus say this before. Maybe for him this is part of his setup. In whatever case, he knows the right answer, he gets the theology question right.

Jesus responds, “You have answered correctly,” “Do this and you will live.” Did you notice that, Jesus then brings the conversation back around from the theoretical to the practical, from what do you think, to what must I do, which was the original question by this guy to begin with.

Now, one of two things could be going on here. Or, I actually think both are taking place. It could be that he’s got Jesus right where he wants him; here comes the test. But, I think more is actually going on. This guy has the right answers. He’s an expert in the scriptures, he’s studied them for years. And yet, despite his study and vast knowledge something is missing. It’s an itch he can’t scratch. He knows there must be more that what he has, but he has the right answers. Here he could ask a number of questions, for example, he could ask, what is love, what does it mean to love. But, he doesn’t instead he asks the question, “who is my neighbor?”

Now, there were two major popular schools of thought during this time based on two different rabbi’s Hillel and Shammai. Shammai was known to be more strict. Born from wealth he believed in literal interpretation of scripture, a conservative fundamentalist type. Hillel on the other hand was raised poor, and known for a more liberal approach, trying to get at the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law, as well as a more compassionate demeanor. Interestingly in most every debate we see Jesus in he sides with Hillel except in the matter of divorce. I bring this up because for the house of Shammai only fellow Jews were to be considered your neighbor. For Hillel, everyone was to be loved with the expection of one group, the Samaritans whom he considered half-breed disgraceful dogs. So, even the compassionate Hillel had a deep hatred for this particular group of people.

So, Jesus begins to tell a story of a man beaten, stripped, and left for dead who is rescued not by Jewish religious leaders, but by one of these deeply hated Samaritans. It’d kind of be like a story where an Al-Kida member plays the hero. You just didn’t do this. Now, if this guy has been beaten and stripped, you can’t tell who he is, what group he belongs to. So then a pastor, a priest, and a rabbi walk by. Sorry, a Priest walks by “on the other side”. On the other side of the road to Jericho? That’s like saying he walked by on the other side of a two foot wide alley. I mean to walk by this guy he probably had to step over him. It’s the same with the Levite. These guys are probably busy. They may be on their way to the temple for worship. They can’t touch blood or else they’re unclean. They may be in a rush. It makes sense that they wouldn’t stop for this guy. But then a hated Samaritan stops. He doesn’t know who the guy is or his background, and yet he’s overly generous. And it says that he bandaged the wounds and poured on oil and wine. Oil and wine, that’s the stuff that the priest and the Levite would use for Temple worship. Is Jesus making a statement about the true nature of worship here? The Samaritan takes the guy to an inn pays some money and promises to return to pay any additional charge owed. Jesus ends the story with a question, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replies, “The one who had mercy on him.” Notice this guy hates Samaritans so much that he can’t even bring himself to say the word, instead it’s, “The one who had mercy on him.” It’s almost as if Jesus is asking the question who is it that you hate so much that you wouldn’t want them to save you, even if your life depended on it? What if it’s in coming to love them that your salvation lies.

Jesus responds, “Go and do likewise.” To which I want to say, that wasn’t the question. The question was, “who is my neighbor.” But, actually the question was, “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” In telling the story Jesus doesn’t directly answer the question preceding it, rather he answers the original question, the real question that was brought to him.

Now, there’s another story where Jesus encounters a hated tax collector. As Jesus is passing through all kinds of people are trying to closer to him. But, in their efforts they effectively shut out this wee little man, forcing him to climb up in a tree (something you don’t commonly see, a grown man climbing trees). First, this begs the question of whether our pursuit of a relationship with God is helping others connect as well, or effectively shutting others out. But, the story continues. Jesus spots the man in the tree, tells him to come down, and has lunch with him. Something happens during this exchange and this wee little man changes. He commits to living a different type of life and Jesus says that “salvation has come to this house.”

So, we have two people. One an expert, knows all the right answers and yet something’s missing. The other knows relatively little in comparison, but is ready to jump into action. It’s easy to study, to learn, to wrestle to find the right answers. It is a much more difficult thing to take the risk to change your life because of your faith. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe the same is true for knowledge and action. And it’s not that our deeds save us, but as James puts it, the deeds are the evidence of our faith. Hebrews 11 beautifully connects the ideas of faith, action, and the crediting of righteousness. Because the point isn’t to know all the answers, because the more you know the more you realize you don’t know. Rather the point is to seek to live out this way of Jesus. Not to debate, but to do, to love.

I have become increasingly convinced that we will become consumed by one of two polarities: either being right, or being a force for good in the world. There are many who work very hard at having all the "right" answers and they are convinced that they are right. Yet, there seems to be little to no doing, there seems to be very little love. As Andy Stanley likes to say, it's not just about information, but application. The people that knew the scriptures the best in Jesus' day were also the ones who brushed shoulders with him never realizing who he was. Jesus at Gethsemane doesn't pray that we'll get all the answers or that we'll have our theology right. And it's not that those things aren't important, we find other scriptures telling us so, but it comes in second, to our doing, to our loving. Which will you focus your dominant energies on, being right, or being a force for good?

It reminds me of a talk I recently heard by Dwight Pryor which was excellent. In it he shared the story about a man to whom God had spoken deep in his heart that he can go no deeper or higher in his relationship with God until he went wider, sharing God's love with more people. I think there is a lot of truth to that.

So, go and do likewise. Go wider and in so doing go deeper and higher. Like Zacchaeus rather than the expert in the Law concentrate your energies on being a force for good in the world rather than being so concerned about being "right". Learn to love the one you hate the most, you never know, your salvation might just depend on it.

Heresy

2009-02-11T22:38:00.007-05:00

Well, the update section of the posts are probably going to start getting smaller, which is a good thing. Things have begun to stabilize, so each week is not quite so eventful. Katie is finishing her 8th grade sub job this week. Her 6th period class is kinda tough, but she's really been enjoying 8th grade. Next week she'll being her long term sub for the gifted teacher which will take her almost through the end of the school year. Besides that we took Cari to see the Imagination Movers on Saturday. We had gotten her tickets for Christmas, so the day finally had arrived. It was a long drive, but they did a great show and it was lots of fun. Cari didn't really sing or dance or jump around. She mainly just stood there with her mouth open overwhelmed that they were actually there in front of her as opposed to being on TV. They dropped balloons from the ceiling which she absolutely loved. She caught a blue one, and it took everything we had to pry it away from her long enough to buckle her in. She had a great time.

Now on to heretics. For some the word heretic is a dirty word. I grew up with the idea that if someone was called a heretic by anyone else, you just didn't listen to them. I mean being called a heretic was like a scarlet letter, it was worse than being called a cotton headed ninny muggins (which funny enough all those words must be legit since spell check didn't underline any of them?). But, I'm beginning to wonder if being a heretic is the worst thing in the world. I know it can't be fun carrying the stigma, but I'm no longer sure that if you're deemed a heretic that you're necessarily wrong. For instance, I've been reading in the book of Acts. This book begins with Jesus' assention and the Holy Spirit episode of Pentecost then it leads into the beginnings of the Church and it's spread. Now, one of the central issues becomes how to deal with this faith moving beyond Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. His theology was Jewish. This means his faith system was built upon living out the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures of Old Testament. The tradition is that God gave Moses these books on Mount Sinai, so these are the words of God teaching us to live in harmony with Him. Now, I could go into a long rant on shmikah, olam habba, tikkun olam, and fulfilling the Torah, but if you want to learn about those it would be easier for you to just go out and get a copy of Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis (a fantastic book you need to read anyway). So, Jesus is Jewish as are his disciples.

So, when Pentecost happens you have people from various places hearing the disciples speak in the tongue native to the listener. Also, the Church is persecuted and begins to spread out from Jerusalem. By chapter 10 you have Peter, a good little Jewish boy, having his whole understanding of what it means to live right with God blown apart. He begins baptizing people who aren't Jewish because when he told them about Jesus they received the Holy Spirit. Then Paul begins bringing the message to Gentiles as well, and they don't know what to do with it. If they're a part of The Way (what Christianity was called then) does that mean they have to be Jewish. By chapter 15 this is a huge issue. Paul has included these non-Jewish people and now these other Jewish believers are telling them that they now have to have a little procedure, if you know what I mean. Don't worry squirming at this point is quite natural.

So there's this big Church meeting. You may have been a part of one of these once. People on both sides are quite convinced that they are right, and they are arguing to get their point across. Paul, Barnabas, and Peter at this point are heretics. But, they share stories of what God has been doing and somehow manage to convince the meeting that this is something God is up to, and they shouldn't stand in the way of it. So, they send a letter to these people who have been told that a "minor incision" will be necessary. " It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things." (Acts 15:28-29)

Peter and Paul were heretics. So was Jesus. What I love about this letter is that it "seemed" good to the Holy Spirit and to us. They didn't claim something as solid with a lot of arrogance. Rather they spoke in humility about how they saw the situation, and not just how they saw it, but how they thought the Holy Spirit was involved. Often for one reason or another we want to act like we're sure about things whether we are or not, and often we're so busy with our way that we're not even paying attention to what God is up to. So, I find the opening of this letter quite brilliant. And the amazing thing is that in the end they side with the heretics. Now sometime heretics have destructive teaching, sometimes they're wrong and we need to be on our guard. But, sometimes the old party line is wrong as well. Sometimes the old party line is incomplete. And sometimes there are people who aren't being deemed heretics who are bringing destructive and dangerous heretical teaching.

See, we often want to think of faith as a destination rather than a journey. If you believe this, this, and this, then you're in. If you don't believe in line with our doctrines or dogma, then you're out. But, one of the major lessons of scripture is that God is taking us somewhere. God is constantly taking us from darkness to light. The central metaphor for faith and life in the scriptures is journey. And, when we quit moving, when we quit changing then we miss the new thing God is doing. So, just as much as we need to read the heretics with a critical eye we may need to do so just as much with the ones we think are safe. I noticed in a certain bookstore a few months ago that they began putting disclaimers on certain books that you should read them with discernment, as if you didn't need to do so with other books. It is the heretics of today who will bring the common understandings of tomorrow. When it was first proposed that the Earth was not the center of the Universe, it was deemed heresy. People were actually excommunicated from the church for holding to that belief. Now, we know we're not even the center of our own solar system, much less the universe. The scriptures didn't change, but our understandings of them did. Luther was deemed a heretic for challenging the authority construct of his day, and yet he helped give birth to protestantism. Something I have learned over the years is that what we consider traditional or biblical is actually usually newer than we realize, and sometimes the heresy we criticize is something we lost along the way that needs to be picked up, dusted off, and examined again for today and tomorrow. So, if you hear someone deem someone else a heretic, don't be too quick to shun. God may just be doing something among them and their heresy may just be tomorrow's common knowledge.

On a parallel note, Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, MI celebrated it's 10th anniversary Sunday. I have been tracking along with them for several years now. They are an amazing church, and if you are not familiar with them you really should become so. Their webpage is www.marshill.org They are doing great work around the world, and their teachings have continued to challenge and inspire me week after week. They more than anyone else continue to shape what I believe church could and should be. My congrats to the Tribe of Mars Hill. Grace and Peace.

Human Too

2009-02-06T22:01:00.006-05:00

Ok, first, for an update. This week Katie has had steady work which is great. She is filling in for a maternity leave all next week, then the following week she's supposed to fill in for a different maternity leave throughout the rest of February, through March, and I think into April. So, while it's substitute pay, so it isn't much, it's going to be steady. So, it will be something. As for me, I'm learning to play as Katie's brother Will calls me, Mr. Mom. So, we're adjusting, but it's really not going too bad. For Christmas we had gotten Cari tickets to see the Imagination Movers, so we go to do that tomorrow, which we're excited about.

Now, on to the thoughts for the day section. As I've been reading various things I've been forming this idea, but it's still really fresh for me, so it's not well packaged and polished. But, I figure this is a blog, not a book, so it should be ok. I just hope there's enough to kind of follow the idea.
I finished rereading a book by Mark Kurlansky called Nonviolence 25 lessons in the history of a dangerous idea. To say it's thought provoking is a massive understatement. It challenges me in a lot of ways, but those are the kind of books that are so much fun to read. In any case, in it there is a quote from Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu from the funeral of Steven Biko. He said, "Pray for the leaaders of this land, for the police - especially the security police and those in prison service - that they may realize that they are human beings too." Now, I know that Jesus said to pray for your enemies. I try to trust that prayer can work wonders in both us doing the praying and the enemies for which we are praying, but what he is asking people to pray for is odd. I mean it seems like he would encourage people to pray that these "enemies" would see that the people they are oppressing are human beings too, something like "pray that they would see that we are human beings too." But, no he says pray that they, "realize that they are human beings too."
Now, I'm also re-reading Rob Bell's book Sex God. Which is quite an odd name for a book in the "Christian" genre (but it makes for a lot of fun to call bookstores and ask about copies, "Do you have a Sex God?"). But, this book is about the connections between our sexuality (much more than simply sex) and its connection with our spirituality. At one point he begins talking about how whenever we treat other people as things or commodities, it doesn't just do something to the person being objectified, but also to the person doing the objectifying.
See, the idea is that the Garden of Eden Creation story shows us how we were created to live, what it looks like to be truly human. Part of that is the connection with each other. When we see the "fall" take place, the two lose their connection, their ashamed of their nakedness, hide, and begin to play the blame game. To be truly human is to see the divine image in those around us and to connect on a deep level because of that. When we objectify and abuse, when we fail to see the divine image in those around us, something happens not just in them, but within us as well. We become less human, less than what we were created for.
But, what if your "enemy" was to begin to, "realize that they are human beings too"? Connecting with the divine image within themselves, "they" would also begin to see it in you. If "they" can become more human, then this is good news for you as well. If "they" can become more of what "they" were created to be, only then can "they" begin to see the divine image within you as well. Now, you may be wondering why all the quotation marks around the word they. One reason is that I'm not sure that an us/them mentality is actually helpful because really in the end there is just us, everyone is we. We all have this divine image no matter how scarred or fractured, we are all human. But, the other reason is that if we have an enemy, then chances are that we in some situations also are a "they". So, suddenly the question becomes flipped. Who is it that I am likely to miss seeing the divine image within? Who is it that I villainize, demonize? Maybe it's time that we turn around, face up to where we lack, return to the garden state, to what we were created for, and in so doing see the divine image within our enemies.
We need to pray for our enemies. Maybe we even need to pray that "they" see that "they" are human too. But, maybe we also need to pray that we see that we are human as well. Because, when we objectify others we lose a part of who we are. We lose a piece of our true humanity.

Ananias and Sapphira

2009-01-31T23:52:00.003-05:00

As I write this the month of January is winding down. It's hard to believe that 09 is already 1/12 done. I don't write tonight because I have some special insight of inspiration that I simply have to share, although I have a few thoughts I will share. Really, for me it's more of trying to develop a discipline of blogging. I've started a couple others in the past, then let them fall away. I'm really hoping to keep from doing that with this one. Bear with me as I continue to try to work toward getting the design to where I want it.

As far as things go with the family, we're beginning to get adjusted. We're getting into some rhythms, which is great (especially for the kids). Since the positions we were hoping on for Katie have fallen through we've been a little bummed about that, but she did some substitute teaching this week, and she's been given a long term sub position for a maternity leave beginning mid February, so we're excited about that. She'll be working with older gifted kids, so she's really excited about this opportunity. And, believe it or not, we got to go out on a date last night. We divided the kids among family and went to see Paul Blart Mall Cop. So, that was a lot of fun. Also, this weekend is a youth weekend at the church, so it's been fun being a part of that this evening.

Now, my spiritual thoughts for the day. I've been re-reading Velvet Elvis (something I like to do every year/ ever other year or so) and Mark Kurlansky's book on Nonviolence. As a "secular" author he sees Jesus as the introducer/creator of the concept of nonviolent resistance, which is an aspect of Jesus' life and teachings that I think most churches tend to ignore or spiritualize to make it not about nonviolent resistance. But, as I've been re-reading this book and just turning it over in my head while reading the gospels I'm beginning to see all kinds of dimensions to the crucifixion event that make it even more meaningful and powerful. I think there's some significant things going on there from that perspective that are really helping me get a deeper handle on it. I'm also reading N.T. Wright's Following Jesus, and through it rediscovering books of the New Testament. His insights on Colossians and "forces" are brilliant. I'm also enjoying rediscovering Matthew through this book.

Now, in devotional life I'm now working through Acts. One of the big things that stand out to me is the boldness we see. They know what the Jewish leaders are capable of, and yet they still speak boldly and unafraid. I guess when you follow a guy you saw rise from the dead you figure they don't really have anything on you. I really admire their boldness, and personally struggle to find ways to be bold while at the same time being humble. There's also this theme of caring about what God thinks rather than men, you see Jesus talk about it some in the book of John, then Peter and John really get in on it when they're told not to teach in Jesus' name anymore. Then it carries over to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

You have this great Pentecost moment, 3000 people join the movement that day (a reference to the Golden Calf debacle?), they hold everything in common and we're told people are added to their number daily and there was no one needy left among them. So, this couple sells some land and they give some of the money to the Way/Jesus Follower Community/Church/whatever you want to call it at this point, and they keep some of it for themselves. Peter confronts them, and they die on the spot. Hopefully, you can understand why I've struggled with this passage. I mean, is the message here not to give some of your money to the church and keep some for yourself or else you'll die? I mean, I don't give everything I have to the church, and I don't know anyone who has. Even Rick Warren only gives 90% (and yes I meant only sarcastically, although I think it's fantastic that he reverse tithes). I mean they die on the spot, what do you do with that? Is the moral don't mess with Peter, the church, what? See, the tendency is to think it's because of what they did to the church, but Peter gives a different reason. He says it's because they lied to God. And this is something that I think is more common than maybe we'd like to admit.

I remember going to this funeral and there was this person there who was very close to the deceased. So, I went and asked them how they were doing and they said that they were doing great, that they know their loved one was in a better place. And it was as if they felt like they weren't allowed to mourn. Like if they did they would show a lack of faith or something.

And there was this other time when I was flipping through the channels one day and I happened across a TV preacher who informed me that when I'm having a bad day I need to smile and act like everything was going great because as a Christian I'm representing Christianity and I'd be doing it a disservice if I was honest about how I was feeling. I mean who would want to sign up for a religion where someone who followed it had a bad day?

It's like there is this lie out there that we have to be super spiritual. It says that we can't doubt or question, we can't mourn, we can't be honest about our faults, and whatever we do, whatever the circumstances we have to do it with a smile acting like we've got this super faith through which we're trusting God with whatever is going on, lying not only to everyone else, but also to ourselves and ultimately God. I mean I couldn't count the times I've heard people say, "you can't question God." To which I say if you can't question God then your God is too small. See, God is bigger than our questions. Actually it's through honestly exploring our doubts and questions that we draw closer to Him, gain insight and understanding. If we don't grieve, we don't find healing. If we're not willing to admit our faults we wind up isolating ourselves, cutting ourselves off from community. And guess what, when we have a bad day, people see through the fake smiles and cry impostor (although hopefully not to your face, despite how funny of a skit that might make). In my experience, whenever you can admit your pain and struggle and at the same time not give up on your faith or on God because you're still working on it, or He's still working on you, in you, even in the midst of this, people take notice. They appreciate the honesty.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Ananias and Sapphira were the fake super spiritual couple. They wanted everyone to think they were something they weren't. They wanted everyone to think they were super generous, even though they weren't there yet. But instead of saying we're just not there yet, we don't feel comfortable giving all of it they kept some and told everyone that they did give all of it. Peter explanation for their deaths are that they lied to God. And I think maybe the point for us is that when we pretend to be super Christian what we're really doing is lying to God, which in many ways kills us. When we refuse to mourn we miss the opportunity to connect with God in a special way, we miss the growth that comes through the process, and all the stuff that we won't admit to hides and festers inside of us. It's the same with doubts, questions, and the lying with the smile that we're just trusting God, when we know that we're really struggling. See, being super spiritual isolates us. It cuts us off from others and the world around us. It places us in denial with ourselves, separating us from both ourselves and ultimately God. Which, if you notice parallels the consequences or "curses" in the Adam and Eve Genesis story.

So, I guess the point of this story might be that we're all on a journey, and none of us have arrived as followers of Jesus. We lose loved ones and we grieve, we have bad days, we struggle with doubts, questions, the future, and with becoming who God created us to be. But rather than pretending to be something we're not we need to be honest about it and have real faith, the faith to continue on the journey. Because this is how we continue to become who God created us to be. This is the direction toward life, the other kills us from the inside out.

On a personal note, maybe that's part of the key to the boldness with humility thing. Caring more about what God thinks than others we should simply speak honestly and be willing to listen in case we're wrong. I mean isn't most of the super spiritual stuff because we want others to think certain things? And whenever we're bold and arrogant isn't it usually because we want to convince someone we're right and they're wrong? And if we're being super spiritual, if we're faking, if we're lying, doesn't God know it, even when we've convinced ourselves? So maybe, just maybe if we could learn to care more and more what God thinks rather than what everyone else thinks we could grown more and more in this direction.

But, I'm not there yet.
Nonetheless, I'm working on it.

Quote God and Salvation of the World

2009-01-21T14:22:00.006-05:00

Well, yesterday was a big day. We’re trying to sort through job opportunities and see what happens there, so pray for us on that and, there was a little ceremony that you may have heard about bringing in a new president.
Now, I’m not one much for politics, and I think that the Church getting mixed in with politics has proven to be a horrible idea since it first started doing so with Constantine (thank God Christendom is finally falling or has finally fallen depending upon who you’re talking to). The Church tends to lose its ability to speak truth to government when it gets too involved in government. But regardless of political spectrum it’s amazing to see a black person become president considering where we were as a nation not so long ago. But, while I’ve got a lot of thoughts swirling in my head regarding civil religion right now, what I really want to do is share a quote. The last part of last year I reread Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian Series, and toward the end of the last book The Last Word and the Word After That a quote was given that has stuck with me. I will admit that I have not read the book that McLaren quotes, so like with so many things the quote may have more going on in it because of what’s outside of it than I realize. But I post it because I found it in and of itself quite intriguing.

“To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God.
Christians believe in “the end of the world,” they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others.
Atheists in their turn . . . refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in him and take no interest in the world . . .
Which is the more culpable ignorance?
. . . I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble him enough, who love the world enough so that he could send them into the world to save it.”
- Louis Evely, In the Christian Spirit (Image, 1975)

New Year New Blog

2009-01-20T09:29:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everybody, my intent is to begin to capture various thoughts for discussion in this blog and simply kind of share my world and what's going on with me. At the moment the kids are asking for Cheeze It's, so I'll wait until later to post something more substantial.