Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Faith and Politics?
So much news lately has contained our Midwestern senator from Illinois Barack Obama. It seems since he's mentioned the possibility of running for the highest position in the land he seems to be everywhere. But my personal favorite is the article in this months issue of sojourners Magazine written by this man in question.
It's an excellent articulation of faith and politics. It's a really interesting speech/article about how the progressive Christian voice can have good conversation with the Christian right.
So if you haven't read it. Go over to Sojourners or pick a copy up at Borders or wherever and check this article out.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Valley of Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:1-10 - The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”3 I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord."
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
--
If we are honest with ourselves, we live amongst a valley of bones. It is not hard for us to see the downward spiraling direction of our world. Each day as we turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper we am bombarded with each new outrageous event, yesterday I opened CNN.com and the lead story was this bombing in a holiday market in Iraq. Did you see it? This attack was 5 bomb-rigged motorcycles and mortar rounds exploding in a crowded holiday market killing between 18-20 people and injuring many more. These civilians were out in the market buying chocolate, candy, and new clothes to celebrate the end of Ramadan (the holy month of fasting). Imagine that one moment you are shopping, the next moment you are standing next to an exploding motorcycle? I don’t quite know what to make of things. It’s sometimes hard to imagine that we, as humanity, are capable of such wickedness and evil. Ever since this most recent war in the Middle East has erupted it has become increasingly hard to see the end of this conflict, it has been hard to see the good amongst the bad. Each day seems to take us further into the darkness of the night.
But we don’t have to go half way around the world to find messy justice or suffering. What are you supposed to do, when what is happening can’t be explained or rationalized, and the old rules no longer apply?
When I was in high school my grandfather came to live with us because he was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s. You see my dad and his siblings took turns taking care of their father, who had progressed so far into Alzheimer’s that on certain days didn’t even recognize them. Alzheimer’s is bad and then some; and all you can do is watch as someone you love becomes a shadow and fades away.
As a teenager (and even now) I didn’t really understand how and why things like Alzheimer’s happen. It’s really heart wrenching and painful to look your grandpa in the face, and see your grandpa staring back at you, and he doesn’t remember you; or that he used to take me to the swimming pool where he taught me how to do handstands in the water.
Sometimes my brother and I used to laugh about it. We used to laugh at ourselves and at him, about the seemingly hopelessness of it all. There was an afternoon when I came home from school and my grandpa chased me out of my house ‘cause he thought I was the gardener who was stealing from him. Ironically, he never had a gardener.
We sought all sorts of help for my grandpa, we took him to doctors, and we dealt with lawyers, and we prayed about his condition. I remember one night where I prayed that he would die in his sleep. The next morning I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to my mother about all of it. I asked her if we knew what we were doing with grandpa was right. I asked her if she thought we were doing the best thing for him. That’s when my mom said something I will never forget, “We don’t know what’s best anymore, how could we know?” How are we supposed to know what to do about suffering? How are we supposed to know what is true amongst all this violence and pain that is in this world?
So if we are honest, we are like Ezekiel looking over this valley of dry bones, we see the devastation and destruction lying before us. We see conflicts breaking out in more places than we see peace. Instead of countries putting down their weapons, we have added another country to the nuclear family. Instead of learning to mix with those different around us, we see ourselves creating more gated communities. Instead of seeing fewer people living in extreme poverty, we are seeing more. Instead of finding alternatives fuel sources, we are driving bigger SUV’s. Instead of feeding the children in Africa, we buy more Starbucks. Instead of our justice system rehabilitating prisoners, we see more repeat offenders. Instead of learning how to share our resources, we are teaching people to stockpile. Instead of revitalizing inner cities, we move to the suburbs. Instead of extending civil liberties, we are beginning to legislate them out of existence. Instead of helping those who come to this country seeking a new life, we build a $1.2 billion dollar 700 mile long fence! I think it’s pretty clear that when we look around and tell the truth, that we (like Ezekiel) are standing in a valley of dry bones.
God asks Ezekiel a question “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel responses “Lord, You alone know.” I think it’s like my mom telling me how could we know what was best for your grandpa? This is us asking for God’s answer. This is a tipping point. This is the moment when we can pack it in and say that we don’t think things are going to work out in the end; that there is just too much evil in this world. Or this can be the moment when we stand up and proclaim life.
This is where people have a critique of Christian hope, Christian eschatology, the doctrine of the ‘end times’ or ‘last things,’ has often been reduced to escapism, fire insurance, and/or justice in the future. It has been reduced to a heaven away from here, and the Christian’s job is to take as many people along to this good place as possible. We can’t let our hope be reduced to this; we can’t leave hope to deal only with the future. If we leave hope in the future, we lose the impact of hope on the present. God doesn’t call Ezekiel to leave hope in the future; God calls him to speak out now!
God said prophecy to these bones and Ezekiel prophesied. God said tell these bones that there will be life; Ezekiel does and then there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As Ezekiel stood in this valley of death he watched as tendons and flesh appeared on the skeletons and skin covered them. God is calling us to prophecy today on his behalf to yell out to this valley of dry bones that they too will live and that God will give them the breath of life.
I was reading a book around the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa the other day. The author, John De Gruchy, talked about a symposium that he went to in 1994 about whether or not the first democratic elections in South Africa could be ‘free and fair.’ Virtually all the participants were social and political scientists, except him (he’s a theologian). Hard nosed statistics and political realism drove the discussion throughout the day, and as the day progressed the mood became more somber and pessimistic. There was so much intimidation and violence in certain parts of the country that everything pointed away from the elections fulfilling the necessary criteria. Having agree with a great deal of what was being said, he began to share the mood, yet there was always something nagging in his consciousness that prevented him from succumbing to the prevailing pessimism. Finally in an act of desperation, he blurted out that no matter what statistics and the wisdom of political science might tell us, they could never have the last word. From a faith perspective nothing could happen to bring about change in South Africa unless people lived and acted in hope. Politics might be the art of the possible, but theology is the art of the impossible and unexpected.
We acting together can participate in developing a common vision for the future and in seeking to make that vision a reality. Judgment day is every day, just as every day can be the day of salvation. How we respond to this possibility and offer determines whether the future opens up in a way that restores justice or not.
“Hope becomes the only realistic way to live because it takes seriously ‘the possibilities with which all reality is fraught’ (Theology of hope - Jurgen Moltmann).” Those who trust in God’s promises will never be prepared to give evil the last word. We the church must be a ‘constant disturbance in human society’ because we refuse to allow things as they are to remain set in concrete. Hope must lead to creative action, for new thinking, new planning. Hope should be distinct from wishful thinking or utopian longing, it should precisely be that which makes us creatively alive to possibilities in the present as well as the future.
Not only does God raise the valley of bones into flesh once more, but God also breaths his spirit into them. “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” You see the problem with hope only in the future is that it leaves little room to imagine alternatives; if we look at things only in a rational modern framework we take away the element of surprise. One of the best things about humanity is that even in the darkest of times, even in the most selfish nooks on the planet, we get surprises. We must live in hope. Hope remains powerful and the necessary antidote to despair – despair about crime, violence, illness, and the ongoing struggles of this world. Hope is all about the vision of what God believes our world can be and should be. Hope is a valley of bones becoming an army that knows God’s love.
Hope must be our obsession of life! What else is the Christian gospel of reconciliation about than life lived within Christ’s call to enter the Kingdom of God, the promise of new life, new worlds, and new possibilities breaking down the old?
Let us Pray.
I want to show you a video during our reflection time, which is a prime example of hope as an obsession for life. I want to show you want it looks like to tell the truth and move towards a new relationship. I want you to see what it looks like to live into the vision of hope.
Check out http://www.worldonfire.ca/ for more info on the video and donations made.
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”3 I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord."
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
--
If we are honest with ourselves, we live amongst a valley of bones. It is not hard for us to see the downward spiraling direction of our world. Each day as we turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper we am bombarded with each new outrageous event, yesterday I opened CNN.com and the lead story was this bombing in a holiday market in Iraq. Did you see it? This attack was 5 bomb-rigged motorcycles and mortar rounds exploding in a crowded holiday market killing between 18-20 people and injuring many more. These civilians were out in the market buying chocolate, candy, and new clothes to celebrate the end of Ramadan (the holy month of fasting). Imagine that one moment you are shopping, the next moment you are standing next to an exploding motorcycle? I don’t quite know what to make of things. It’s sometimes hard to imagine that we, as humanity, are capable of such wickedness and evil. Ever since this most recent war in the Middle East has erupted it has become increasingly hard to see the end of this conflict, it has been hard to see the good amongst the bad. Each day seems to take us further into the darkness of the night.
But we don’t have to go half way around the world to find messy justice or suffering. What are you supposed to do, when what is happening can’t be explained or rationalized, and the old rules no longer apply?
When I was in high school my grandfather came to live with us because he was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s. You see my dad and his siblings took turns taking care of their father, who had progressed so far into Alzheimer’s that on certain days didn’t even recognize them. Alzheimer’s is bad and then some; and all you can do is watch as someone you love becomes a shadow and fades away.
As a teenager (and even now) I didn’t really understand how and why things like Alzheimer’s happen. It’s really heart wrenching and painful to look your grandpa in the face, and see your grandpa staring back at you, and he doesn’t remember you; or that he used to take me to the swimming pool where he taught me how to do handstands in the water.
Sometimes my brother and I used to laugh about it. We used to laugh at ourselves and at him, about the seemingly hopelessness of it all. There was an afternoon when I came home from school and my grandpa chased me out of my house ‘cause he thought I was the gardener who was stealing from him. Ironically, he never had a gardener.
We sought all sorts of help for my grandpa, we took him to doctors, and we dealt with lawyers, and we prayed about his condition. I remember one night where I prayed that he would die in his sleep. The next morning I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to my mother about all of it. I asked her if we knew what we were doing with grandpa was right. I asked her if she thought we were doing the best thing for him. That’s when my mom said something I will never forget, “We don’t know what’s best anymore, how could we know?” How are we supposed to know what to do about suffering? How are we supposed to know what is true amongst all this violence and pain that is in this world?
So if we are honest, we are like Ezekiel looking over this valley of dry bones, we see the devastation and destruction lying before us. We see conflicts breaking out in more places than we see peace. Instead of countries putting down their weapons, we have added another country to the nuclear family. Instead of learning to mix with those different around us, we see ourselves creating more gated communities. Instead of seeing fewer people living in extreme poverty, we are seeing more. Instead of finding alternatives fuel sources, we are driving bigger SUV’s. Instead of feeding the children in Africa, we buy more Starbucks. Instead of our justice system rehabilitating prisoners, we see more repeat offenders. Instead of learning how to share our resources, we are teaching people to stockpile. Instead of revitalizing inner cities, we move to the suburbs. Instead of extending civil liberties, we are beginning to legislate them out of existence. Instead of helping those who come to this country seeking a new life, we build a $1.2 billion dollar 700 mile long fence! I think it’s pretty clear that when we look around and tell the truth, that we (like Ezekiel) are standing in a valley of dry bones.
God asks Ezekiel a question “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel responses “Lord, You alone know.” I think it’s like my mom telling me how could we know what was best for your grandpa? This is us asking for God’s answer. This is a tipping point. This is the moment when we can pack it in and say that we don’t think things are going to work out in the end; that there is just too much evil in this world. Or this can be the moment when we stand up and proclaim life.
This is where people have a critique of Christian hope, Christian eschatology, the doctrine of the ‘end times’ or ‘last things,’ has often been reduced to escapism, fire insurance, and/or justice in the future. It has been reduced to a heaven away from here, and the Christian’s job is to take as many people along to this good place as possible. We can’t let our hope be reduced to this; we can’t leave hope to deal only with the future. If we leave hope in the future, we lose the impact of hope on the present. God doesn’t call Ezekiel to leave hope in the future; God calls him to speak out now!
God said prophecy to these bones and Ezekiel prophesied. God said tell these bones that there will be life; Ezekiel does and then there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As Ezekiel stood in this valley of death he watched as tendons and flesh appeared on the skeletons and skin covered them. God is calling us to prophecy today on his behalf to yell out to this valley of dry bones that they too will live and that God will give them the breath of life.
I was reading a book around the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa the other day. The author, John De Gruchy, talked about a symposium that he went to in 1994 about whether or not the first democratic elections in South Africa could be ‘free and fair.’ Virtually all the participants were social and political scientists, except him (he’s a theologian). Hard nosed statistics and political realism drove the discussion throughout the day, and as the day progressed the mood became more somber and pessimistic. There was so much intimidation and violence in certain parts of the country that everything pointed away from the elections fulfilling the necessary criteria. Having agree with a great deal of what was being said, he began to share the mood, yet there was always something nagging in his consciousness that prevented him from succumbing to the prevailing pessimism. Finally in an act of desperation, he blurted out that no matter what statistics and the wisdom of political science might tell us, they could never have the last word. From a faith perspective nothing could happen to bring about change in South Africa unless people lived and acted in hope. Politics might be the art of the possible, but theology is the art of the impossible and unexpected.
We acting together can participate in developing a common vision for the future and in seeking to make that vision a reality. Judgment day is every day, just as every day can be the day of salvation. How we respond to this possibility and offer determines whether the future opens up in a way that restores justice or not.
“Hope becomes the only realistic way to live because it takes seriously ‘the possibilities with which all reality is fraught’ (Theology of hope - Jurgen Moltmann).” Those who trust in God’s promises will never be prepared to give evil the last word. We the church must be a ‘constant disturbance in human society’ because we refuse to allow things as they are to remain set in concrete. Hope must lead to creative action, for new thinking, new planning. Hope should be distinct from wishful thinking or utopian longing, it should precisely be that which makes us creatively alive to possibilities in the present as well as the future.
Not only does God raise the valley of bones into flesh once more, but God also breaths his spirit into them. “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” You see the problem with hope only in the future is that it leaves little room to imagine alternatives; if we look at things only in a rational modern framework we take away the element of surprise. One of the best things about humanity is that even in the darkest of times, even in the most selfish nooks on the planet, we get surprises. We must live in hope. Hope remains powerful and the necessary antidote to despair – despair about crime, violence, illness, and the ongoing struggles of this world. Hope is all about the vision of what God believes our world can be and should be. Hope is a valley of bones becoming an army that knows God’s love.
Hope must be our obsession of life! What else is the Christian gospel of reconciliation about than life lived within Christ’s call to enter the Kingdom of God, the promise of new life, new worlds, and new possibilities breaking down the old?
Let us Pray.
I want to show you a video during our reflection time, which is a prime example of hope as an obsession for life. I want to show you want it looks like to tell the truth and move towards a new relationship. I want you to see what it looks like to live into the vision of hope.
Check out http://www.worldonfire.ca/ for more info on the video and donations made.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Re-imaging a Process
Ok. I have found myself in over a handful of conversations about ordination and call to ministry over the past week and I feel it’s about time I post/talk about it. Being at a Seminary such as SFTS this topic seems to be one that is always present.
This topic is particularly interesting to me for a few reasons. First, recently I have a friend whom is disillusioned about his ordination process with the PCUSA as a denomination. This disillusionment has stemmed out of his Committee for the Preparation of Ministry (CPM). They have not realized that they have a talented, smart, Godly man on their hands and should be looking towards him to help move that denomination forward. They have not shown much support or interest in him as an inquirer or brought him along in the ordination process. They have just left him dangling on a string. If an upstanding individual such as him can slip through the cracks of a system then it needs serious reevaluation. Second, for myself, I need to buckle down and decide about my future process in terms of denominations. Disciples of Christ? American Baptist? (both official denominations of my home church, Federated Church of West Lafayette) or even the option of becoming a Presbyterian? Third is that I think this is an important topic when you talk about community and their role in our lives and ultimately your image of how to live out the way of Jesus. This third point has stemmed from my conversations with a good friend of mine and my mom based around these first two points.
First off I would like to say I am a person on this side of a formal ordination process and on the other side of an informal ordination process. So you can probably guess where my bias is, but here I offer up my opinion humbly, so that we can work toward and hope for something better.
So the question is this, how does one begin to affirm a call from God for Ministry (mostly based around it as a vocation/job)? Is ordination by a denomination or group a required step in this process? What should the process look like?
In the classically Reformed theological tradition we talk about four things that are the basis for understanding theology and this being a theological issue I feel they are appropriate here. The four are scripture, experience, tradition, and reason. These areas are the basis for forming and understanding a person/communities theology. Ideally you can use all of them as a series of checks and balances, such that you can show how a specific theology is an accurate reflection of the will of God.
My experience around this issue is that denominations as a whole are rather inaccurate in figuring out which individuals should be ordained. Let me tell you more about my own context. I was raised in a Christian family and was instilled with many wonderful values (thanks mom) and ideas about how I am loved by my family and my God, but we didn’t really go to church. I started dating my now wife, the lovely Julia, in high school (pause… for the collective awww) and I went with her to Federated Church. I went to paint a youth room and ended up almost 8 years (I think) later at a Seminary studying to become a pastor as a vocation. What a long and strange journey it has been.
Now to say this was an easy or simple process would be very reductionistic, but just the same I want to try to represent the journey I have been on and will continue to be on. I like to begin this story by saying “God dropkicked me into Ministry.” Anyways (big ups Becky Dunham), I went to Federated to paint a youth room. The youth pastor at the time, Tim, spoke with me about life, faith, etc and was convinced that Julia and I would make excellent volunteers for the newly growing youth ministry. Rather sheepishly we accepted, being scared that we didn’t really know what we were doing or how we felt about life, faith and God (looking back we really didn’t). Through my first three years of undergraduate studies I was preparing for a career as a graphic designer at Purdue University and attending youth group helping to facilitate discussion, lead a small group, chase kids around the church, etc.
Now this is kind of a long story and to not get into it all here, lets just suffice it to say that in my last semester of undergrad Tim left the church abruptly. This left the youth group of 30ish kids and a handful of volunteers in shock and horror losing their pastor, friend, and confidant. With wisdom beyond my knowledge, David the senior pastor at Federated (and now I understand God) had a new plan for me. David came to me and asked me to take the reigns of the group and like any logical individual I turned him down. He left telling me to pray and consider it. I tried to ignore this “call” on my life for a while but he kept asking and I kept saying no. It became very obvious to me that these students needed a pastor and I had many meaningful relationships to them, but I felt completely under qualified. I truly loved and still love those students and what I did know is that I didn’t want them to feel that they have been abandoned. I wanted them to understand that God loved them even in the midst of what they were going through.
One Friday night, I went to the church to sit in the balcony (a spot for me that is holy ground) and pray and talk it over with God. I was meditating and praying. From below me I heard a noise, and went to check it out. It was David; he was coming into the office to put the finishing touches on his sermon for Sunday. He asked “What are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.” I told him and he took the moment and asked “So are you going to do it?” and for whatever reason I blurted out “Yes.” Having not really logically reasoned this decision out and hardly believing the words coming out of my mouth, added “at least until we find a more permanent solution.”
Over the next three years I not only cared for these students, but God strengthened my call to ministry. David took me under his wing and taught me many skills and knowledge that continue to guide and direct me. I grew and developed in my call in such a way that God continued to draw me closer, to bring people and issues into my life and ministry to Him/Her. That left me with a clear direction; full time ministry. As Niebuhr would say the void swallowed all other gods and left me standing before God on a path to ministry.
Now to make this clear, I was never formally ordained. I faithfully served what I believe God was calling me to do within that context and place. I operated through the blessing and watch of my mentor and the congregation. I preformed baptisms (at the request of the students), served communion, counseled students, and preached/taught. My call has yet to be affirmed by the Disciples of Christ or American Baptist denominations (the two official denominations of Federated). Is what I did not valid? Do you deny that people had experiences with the risen Christ? How about those students who trusted me to guide, direct and baptize them? Are those all of sudden invalid based on a technicality?
In my experience of 2.5 years of full time ministry I understand ministry (and conversely the call to it) as God calling individuals and it is their choice to answer that call. In my own experience of a call it is something that took discernment of the individual (me), the pastor/mentor (David) and the community in which the person will serve (in this case Federated). This is not to say that affirmation from the larger church community such as a denomination is not valuable because I also believe it is to some and can continue to be. I just don’t view it as a requirement for ministry. If God calls us to be a priesthood of all believers, why would God choose to make a call to one specific ministry more difficult to obtain than others? Do we really need years of institutionalized education to understand the mystery of sacraments or community of God more fully?
Now that I’ve shared with all of you my experience, I also want to share with you a few other places that I understand my experience to be re-affirmed. Within the area of tradition (I can say that my viewpoint is not the dominant point of view) I can think of a few instances where my experience is validated. For me it takes looking no further than the reformation itself. To my understanding, John Calvin’s call was not affirmed by the Catholic Church in fact the Church felt quiet the opposite. I think part of how I understand what happened in the reformation and my experience is part of recognition of apostolic leadership. Where in the current denominational ordination system is that allowed for? When it is one voice crying out against the majority about a specific issue is the single voice rejected because it’s not part of the majority. I am sure most of you would agree that does not suffice. How about how it affirms the movement of the Holy Spirit using whom ever God chooses? How are we set up to respond to the ever shifting winds of God when it takes an individual years (apart from ministry) to affirm their call?
That leads me into the next area, Scripture. “Church” leadership is a debated issue in the Old and New Testament. Paul’s conversion experience shows us an instance of a New Testament “call” that was highly contested by others. People were very weary of Paul because of his sudden 180 degree flip. Where is the formal education and passing of exams there? Wasn’t Paul’s “ordination” affirmed more by the communities over time as he was teaching? Is our best response to an individual to make them wait before working through all issues of faith? How did Paul train others in the ministry? Did he require them to leave the settings of ministry? No, they traveled with him learning and being encouraged by him. I think there is something we can all learn about the process from that of our rabbinic friends. Rob Bell says that a famous rabbinic blessing was “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.” It was a disciple’s duty to follow the rabbi so closely that by the end of the day he was covered in the dust that was kicked up by the rabbi’s sandals.
This is a point of view that I believe is not just New Testament but an Old Testament vantage point as well. Let’s examine the prophets. We learned in our Prophets class last semester that a (if not the) major tipping point about which prophets were “true” prophets and which ones were “false” ones was based on if their “prophecy” came true. Yes, some prophetic individuals had communities that gathered around them and embraced their words, but weren’t also some rejected for the very “truth” they proclaimed? We don’t just have popular prophets; we have one’s whose prophecies came true.
The last area of the four is Reason. I want to make a small disclaimer; I am a member of what I would consider the upper-middle class of white America and definitely the upper class of the world, so please take my words as trying to understand another background and the bigger perspective (maybe other readers can share more on this subject).
Isn’t using a degree system that forces an individual to go to school for 3-4 years for a master’s degree an exclusionary system? Is it fair to put a price tag on your process of ordination? Is it an accessible system for those in the working poor or 3rd world countries? I believe it is not. I look around my seminary and see a large portion of our students to be from similar backgrounds (at least economically and socially) as myself.
Where is the benefit of removing an individual from a context in which they come and wish to do ministry and placing them in an isolated intellectual community for 4 years? If a person wished to become a carpenter or a fisherman what would the best method be? Sitting them into a classroom and teaching them what a saw looks like and what types of woods are the strongest? No, we would send them to a master in their profession and have them learn by using the machines and handling the wood.
Do I believe that a formal educational system has benefits? Sure I do, and I’m choosing to participate in one. Do I believe that what I learn in Seminary will make me a better pastor, of course! Do I believe that it makes me different than others who devote their lives to following the way of Christ, no I don’t. Do I think that if an individual feels God’s presence in their lives demanding of them to take up a specific ministry, it is required to be affirmed by the church, no I don’t.
I understand that ordination from a denomination IS meaningful for some people, Bruce my pastor and mentor at Mission Bay Community Church is one of them (and thank God for him). It is not my intention to demean these people in anyway and I want to say again, I recognize that I stand before an event/ritual that I am somewhat passing judgment upon (and I as always reserve the right to with draw this statement in a few years) but just the same, I make these comments striving for faithfulness in Christ.
** so yeah, I apologize for the long post. But I wanted to write out my point of view. Please, please comment and work on this with me.
This topic is particularly interesting to me for a few reasons. First, recently I have a friend whom is disillusioned about his ordination process with the PCUSA as a denomination. This disillusionment has stemmed out of his Committee for the Preparation of Ministry (CPM). They have not realized that they have a talented, smart, Godly man on their hands and should be looking towards him to help move that denomination forward. They have not shown much support or interest in him as an inquirer or brought him along in the ordination process. They have just left him dangling on a string. If an upstanding individual such as him can slip through the cracks of a system then it needs serious reevaluation. Second, for myself, I need to buckle down and decide about my future process in terms of denominations. Disciples of Christ? American Baptist? (both official denominations of my home church, Federated Church of West Lafayette) or even the option of becoming a Presbyterian? Third is that I think this is an important topic when you talk about community and their role in our lives and ultimately your image of how to live out the way of Jesus. This third point has stemmed from my conversations with a good friend of mine and my mom based around these first two points.
First off I would like to say I am a person on this side of a formal ordination process and on the other side of an informal ordination process. So you can probably guess where my bias is, but here I offer up my opinion humbly, so that we can work toward and hope for something better.
So the question is this, how does one begin to affirm a call from God for Ministry (mostly based around it as a vocation/job)? Is ordination by a denomination or group a required step in this process? What should the process look like?
In the classically Reformed theological tradition we talk about four things that are the basis for understanding theology and this being a theological issue I feel they are appropriate here. The four are scripture, experience, tradition, and reason. These areas are the basis for forming and understanding a person/communities theology. Ideally you can use all of them as a series of checks and balances, such that you can show how a specific theology is an accurate reflection of the will of God.
My experience around this issue is that denominations as a whole are rather inaccurate in figuring out which individuals should be ordained. Let me tell you more about my own context. I was raised in a Christian family and was instilled with many wonderful values (thanks mom) and ideas about how I am loved by my family and my God, but we didn’t really go to church. I started dating my now wife, the lovely Julia, in high school (pause… for the collective awww) and I went with her to Federated Church. I went to paint a youth room and ended up almost 8 years (I think) later at a Seminary studying to become a pastor as a vocation. What a long and strange journey it has been.
Now to say this was an easy or simple process would be very reductionistic, but just the same I want to try to represent the journey I have been on and will continue to be on. I like to begin this story by saying “God dropkicked me into Ministry.” Anyways (big ups Becky Dunham), I went to Federated to paint a youth room. The youth pastor at the time, Tim, spoke with me about life, faith, etc and was convinced that Julia and I would make excellent volunteers for the newly growing youth ministry. Rather sheepishly we accepted, being scared that we didn’t really know what we were doing or how we felt about life, faith and God (looking back we really didn’t). Through my first three years of undergraduate studies I was preparing for a career as a graphic designer at Purdue University and attending youth group helping to facilitate discussion, lead a small group, chase kids around the church, etc.
Now this is kind of a long story and to not get into it all here, lets just suffice it to say that in my last semester of undergrad Tim left the church abruptly. This left the youth group of 30ish kids and a handful of volunteers in shock and horror losing their pastor, friend, and confidant. With wisdom beyond my knowledge, David the senior pastor at Federated (and now I understand God) had a new plan for me. David came to me and asked me to take the reigns of the group and like any logical individual I turned him down. He left telling me to pray and consider it. I tried to ignore this “call” on my life for a while but he kept asking and I kept saying no. It became very obvious to me that these students needed a pastor and I had many meaningful relationships to them, but I felt completely under qualified. I truly loved and still love those students and what I did know is that I didn’t want them to feel that they have been abandoned. I wanted them to understand that God loved them even in the midst of what they were going through.
One Friday night, I went to the church to sit in the balcony (a spot for me that is holy ground) and pray and talk it over with God. I was meditating and praying. From below me I heard a noise, and went to check it out. It was David; he was coming into the office to put the finishing touches on his sermon for Sunday. He asked “What are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.” I told him and he took the moment and asked “So are you going to do it?” and for whatever reason I blurted out “Yes.” Having not really logically reasoned this decision out and hardly believing the words coming out of my mouth, added “at least until we find a more permanent solution.”
Over the next three years I not only cared for these students, but God strengthened my call to ministry. David took me under his wing and taught me many skills and knowledge that continue to guide and direct me. I grew and developed in my call in such a way that God continued to draw me closer, to bring people and issues into my life and ministry to Him/Her. That left me with a clear direction; full time ministry. As Niebuhr would say the void swallowed all other gods and left me standing before God on a path to ministry.
Now to make this clear, I was never formally ordained. I faithfully served what I believe God was calling me to do within that context and place. I operated through the blessing and watch of my mentor and the congregation. I preformed baptisms (at the request of the students), served communion, counseled students, and preached/taught. My call has yet to be affirmed by the Disciples of Christ or American Baptist denominations (the two official denominations of Federated). Is what I did not valid? Do you deny that people had experiences with the risen Christ? How about those students who trusted me to guide, direct and baptize them? Are those all of sudden invalid based on a technicality?
In my experience of 2.5 years of full time ministry I understand ministry (and conversely the call to it) as God calling individuals and it is their choice to answer that call. In my own experience of a call it is something that took discernment of the individual (me), the pastor/mentor (David) and the community in which the person will serve (in this case Federated). This is not to say that affirmation from the larger church community such as a denomination is not valuable because I also believe it is to some and can continue to be. I just don’t view it as a requirement for ministry. If God calls us to be a priesthood of all believers, why would God choose to make a call to one specific ministry more difficult to obtain than others? Do we really need years of institutionalized education to understand the mystery of sacraments or community of God more fully?
Now that I’ve shared with all of you my experience, I also want to share with you a few other places that I understand my experience to be re-affirmed. Within the area of tradition (I can say that my viewpoint is not the dominant point of view) I can think of a few instances where my experience is validated. For me it takes looking no further than the reformation itself. To my understanding, John Calvin’s call was not affirmed by the Catholic Church in fact the Church felt quiet the opposite. I think part of how I understand what happened in the reformation and my experience is part of recognition of apostolic leadership. Where in the current denominational ordination system is that allowed for? When it is one voice crying out against the majority about a specific issue is the single voice rejected because it’s not part of the majority. I am sure most of you would agree that does not suffice. How about how it affirms the movement of the Holy Spirit using whom ever God chooses? How are we set up to respond to the ever shifting winds of God when it takes an individual years (apart from ministry) to affirm their call?
That leads me into the next area, Scripture. “Church” leadership is a debated issue in the Old and New Testament. Paul’s conversion experience shows us an instance of a New Testament “call” that was highly contested by others. People were very weary of Paul because of his sudden 180 degree flip. Where is the formal education and passing of exams there? Wasn’t Paul’s “ordination” affirmed more by the communities over time as he was teaching? Is our best response to an individual to make them wait before working through all issues of faith? How did Paul train others in the ministry? Did he require them to leave the settings of ministry? No, they traveled with him learning and being encouraged by him. I think there is something we can all learn about the process from that of our rabbinic friends. Rob Bell says that a famous rabbinic blessing was “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.” It was a disciple’s duty to follow the rabbi so closely that by the end of the day he was covered in the dust that was kicked up by the rabbi’s sandals.
This is a point of view that I believe is not just New Testament but an Old Testament vantage point as well. Let’s examine the prophets. We learned in our Prophets class last semester that a (if not the) major tipping point about which prophets were “true” prophets and which ones were “false” ones was based on if their “prophecy” came true. Yes, some prophetic individuals had communities that gathered around them and embraced their words, but weren’t also some rejected for the very “truth” they proclaimed? We don’t just have popular prophets; we have one’s whose prophecies came true.
The last area of the four is Reason. I want to make a small disclaimer; I am a member of what I would consider the upper-middle class of white America and definitely the upper class of the world, so please take my words as trying to understand another background and the bigger perspective (maybe other readers can share more on this subject).
Isn’t using a degree system that forces an individual to go to school for 3-4 years for a master’s degree an exclusionary system? Is it fair to put a price tag on your process of ordination? Is it an accessible system for those in the working poor or 3rd world countries? I believe it is not. I look around my seminary and see a large portion of our students to be from similar backgrounds (at least economically and socially) as myself.
Where is the benefit of removing an individual from a context in which they come and wish to do ministry and placing them in an isolated intellectual community for 4 years? If a person wished to become a carpenter or a fisherman what would the best method be? Sitting them into a classroom and teaching them what a saw looks like and what types of woods are the strongest? No, we would send them to a master in their profession and have them learn by using the machines and handling the wood.
Do I believe that a formal educational system has benefits? Sure I do, and I’m choosing to participate in one. Do I believe that what I learn in Seminary will make me a better pastor, of course! Do I believe that it makes me different than others who devote their lives to following the way of Christ, no I don’t. Do I think that if an individual feels God’s presence in their lives demanding of them to take up a specific ministry, it is required to be affirmed by the church, no I don’t.
I understand that ordination from a denomination IS meaningful for some people, Bruce my pastor and mentor at Mission Bay Community Church is one of them (and thank God for him). It is not my intention to demean these people in anyway and I want to say again, I recognize that I stand before an event/ritual that I am somewhat passing judgment upon (and I as always reserve the right to with draw this statement in a few years) but just the same, I make these comments striving for faithfulness in Christ.
** so yeah, I apologize for the long post. But I wanted to write out my point of view. Please, please comment and work on this with me.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
A little help people?
My new intership Church has just launched a
NEW WEBSITE and we are hoping to get some feedback. In this latest version of the online "Face" of Mission Bay Community Church we have tried to capture the faithful, yet quirky nature of our community, blending conviction, humor, authenticity and relevance.
We would appreciate getting your feedback about the site. I think it will take about 10-15 minutes to get through the site. After you do so we would love to get your comments via this post or you can fill out our brief 10 Question Survey.
While we would appreciate everyone's input we are most interested in getting feedback from folks who fit the following characteristics.
* are not attending any church, but might be open to the possibilities;
* live in the san francisco bay area or at least live in an urban/metro context;
We would also be interested in the same kinds of folks who are . . .
* Church Professionals
* Seminary Students
* Current Church Goer's
So for all you folk, lets get to work.
Website
Survey
Thursday, August 31, 2006
The "Bio"
For those of you who don't know much about me I wanted to toss out a few factoids.
I'm a 25 year old graduate student working on his Masters of Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary. I got my undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Computer Graphics Technology with an emphasis in Interactive Multi-media Development. Purdue is in West Lafayette Indiana. That is where I grew up, went to high school, met my beautiful wife (Julia), got my bachelors degree, and worked in my first church experiences.
God called me into the Ministry in the last semester of my senior year in college. I had been volunteering at my wife's church, Federated Church of West Lafayette. There I had been working as a mentor to High School guys as part of the youth ministry, and unexpectedly we lost our Youth Pastor. With wisdom beyond my knowledge, the senior pastor asked me to lead the youth group. I at first rejected the idea expressing no interest in working in ministry but God had other plans. God lead me to take the job in Youth Ministry and I fell in love with the teaching and guiding of people on their journey through life. Dealing with examining how one can live out their faith 24/7 365.
Through soul searching and God's leading Julia and I decided it was time for me to get my Masters of Divinity and we found a loving and wonderful community at SFTS. This year at SFTS I look forward to helping with Holy Grounds (an on-campus student ministry of hospitality for the community) and working with Mission Bay Community Church.
I'm a 25 year old graduate student working on his Masters of Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary. I got my undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Computer Graphics Technology with an emphasis in Interactive Multi-media Development. Purdue is in West Lafayette Indiana. That is where I grew up, went to high school, met my beautiful wife (Julia), got my bachelors degree, and worked in my first church experiences.
God called me into the Ministry in the last semester of my senior year in college. I had been volunteering at my wife's church, Federated Church of West Lafayette. There I had been working as a mentor to High School guys as part of the youth ministry, and unexpectedly we lost our Youth Pastor. With wisdom beyond my knowledge, the senior pastor asked me to lead the youth group. I at first rejected the idea expressing no interest in working in ministry but God had other plans. God lead me to take the job in Youth Ministry and I fell in love with the teaching and guiding of people on their journey through life. Dealing with examining how one can live out their faith 24/7 365.
Through soul searching and God's leading Julia and I decided it was time for me to get my Masters of Divinity and we found a loving and wonderful community at SFTS. This year at SFTS I look forward to helping with Holy Grounds (an on-campus student ministry of hospitality for the community) and working with Mission Bay Community Church.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Left and Right....Right and Wrong
Check out this post about Emergent called "Is Emergent the New Christian Left"
I think that it is an interesting conversation to talk about emergent as left or right. And please read my comment there (maybe i'll copy it here later). But the one other thing that I want to add is from one of McLaren's book about most people argue about where we fall on a linear path but what Jesus did was change it from being about the line to being about the circle. Jesus is not on the linear path but on a circle above the path.
I also posted a second point which I copied before I posted it. And it says...
“Your conversation is like two people standing on the shore talking about the best way to save the guy drowning in the river. You can't even decide if the guy is really drowning.
I'm diving in.” --Richard Dennis miller on May 25, 2006
First, Richard, I want to make sure that you know that I applaud the fact that you have dove in. I’m swimming too, and I’m part to the emergent community. In fact, pretty much everyone in the conversation I’ve met is swimming. It’s not that the emergent conversation is two people standing on the shore talking about the best way to save the guy who’s drowning; it is more a conversation about what you say to the guy to let you help him out of the river (or another analogy could be that it’s teaching people how to swim). If a drowning man doesn’t trust you to save them and they don’t relax (or you don’t know how to swim fairly well) they will pull you under. Now you have two dead. The point is that the people I know in the emergent community are diving in day after day. I think the point is we all want to figure out how to help the drowning man out of the river. We may just disagree on the way to do it. It is unfair to judge a group of people because they have different opinions about what you should tell the man after you pull him out of the river or what stroke to swim on the way out to him. I believe this was the point Tony was making when he said we know that we need to do something about poverty. Poverty is the river that people are drowning in. We all pretty much agree with need to get them out. Where differences come into play is how to do just that.
To go back to the drowning analogy, if a man is dying of poverty and you walk up to him and tell him to believe in Jesus and he will not be hungry, is he going to accept this? That has not been my experience. That would be like shouting from the river bank saying if you believe in Jesus you won’t sink. The point is still the one that you were making and that is we have to get in the river to help them out. We need to go to areas of poverty and bring them food and supplies (i.e. get them out of the river) before we share with them about Jesus.
It has been my humble pleasure to observe that people I’ve met in the emergent community are diving in on a regular basis (I also want to say I know lots of people who would not consider themselves part of the conversation that are swimming as well).
“I do not believe that a lesbian priest is right in the eyes of God. I can’t help but think I would not be welcome in your Village holding this belief.” --leoskeo at May 26, 2006
Leoskeo, I encourage you to go to the village or to an emergent cohort meeting in your area and find out. I have faith that you will experience, as I have, that you can bring a very different opinion from the majority of the people in attendance and still be lovingly accepted into the community and conversation. I’m not saying that its perfect or that people won’t disagree or argue with you, because they probably will. But I know that if you came to our cohort, that we would welcome you in with open arms.
This issue about the conversation taking a stand needs to be put in the right framework. Emergent does not tell people who participate in the conversation to not take a stand or say definitely what they believe. But at the same time, one person can not speak for all the individuals out there that are part of this conversation; hence the no “Emergent” statement of faith. Would you like me to tell people what you believe? I know I wouldn’t.
I also want to totally applaud you if you are a part of that list of things that you were talking about sending all that money to help all those people in need! That’s so awesome! God is truly at work in those areas.
“What makes some issues more important to Emergent than other issues? What criteria did you use to discern the important from the less important issues? Can these questions be a part of the conversation?”
No issue is truly more important than any other issue. People may be spending a lot of time talking about specific issues but that doesn’t make them more important or others less important. The point is if you want to talk about an issue then we can talk about that issue. I have experience in my cohort that I can bring ANY issue to the table. So to answer your question. YES! Those questions can and are a part of the conversation!
“My frustration with emergent continues to be very simple. I still have no idea what anybody in the movement really believes.”
If you want to know what someone in the movement believes ask them, face to face (especially if you expect someone like Tony or Brian to answer that sort of question). The problem with answering that for the high profile emergent individuals is that when they open their mouth to express themselves they don’t want to cast that shadow on everyone else in the conversation. If you want to know what I believe on any issue feel free to email me, I'll gladly explain my point of view to you.
“They simply mean that biblical condemnations of murder, theft, adultery, homosexuality, which have been authoritatively interpreted by the church for twenty centuries as meaning pretty much what the words say, need not "discussed" or "deconstructed" according to a set of philosophical assumptions that have only recently gained ground.” --Dan at May 26, 2006 05:45 PM
The problem with accepting all those as authoritatively interpreted by the church is the pitfalls that all of us as part of the church have been through before on issues that we thought we had figured out. Take slavery, many within the church used to definitely believe that slavery was made right by the authority of the bible.
What about an eye for an eye? In the biblical day that expression was an extreme movement towards reconciliation because before that if you took someone’s eye they could kill you. God was asking for a change in that behavior. Does that mean that when someone punches me I should punch back? No (as many here would argue that Jesus changed all that).
The point is that the Gospel is lived out differently in different contexts. The emergent conversation is dealing with the postmodern shift (if you argue that the postmodern shift isn’t happening then that’s another argument). The emergent conversation is about discussing and examining how the Gospel can be meaningfully lived out today. But it doesn't stop there, it's about living in relationship with the living God. It's about how do we have a 24/7 365 faith. If you want an emergent bottom line that's about as simple as I can state it.
I think that it is an interesting conversation to talk about emergent as left or right. And please read my comment there (maybe i'll copy it here later). But the one other thing that I want to add is from one of McLaren's book about most people argue about where we fall on a linear path but what Jesus did was change it from being about the line to being about the circle. Jesus is not on the linear path but on a circle above the path.
I also posted a second point which I copied before I posted it. And it says...
“Your conversation is like two people standing on the shore talking about the best way to save the guy drowning in the river. You can't even decide if the guy is really drowning.
I'm diving in.” --Richard Dennis miller on May 25, 2006
First, Richard, I want to make sure that you know that I applaud the fact that you have dove in. I’m swimming too, and I’m part to the emergent community. In fact, pretty much everyone in the conversation I’ve met is swimming. It’s not that the emergent conversation is two people standing on the shore talking about the best way to save the guy who’s drowning; it is more a conversation about what you say to the guy to let you help him out of the river (or another analogy could be that it’s teaching people how to swim). If a drowning man doesn’t trust you to save them and they don’t relax (or you don’t know how to swim fairly well) they will pull you under. Now you have two dead. The point is that the people I know in the emergent community are diving in day after day. I think the point is we all want to figure out how to help the drowning man out of the river. We may just disagree on the way to do it. It is unfair to judge a group of people because they have different opinions about what you should tell the man after you pull him out of the river or what stroke to swim on the way out to him. I believe this was the point Tony was making when he said we know that we need to do something about poverty. Poverty is the river that people are drowning in. We all pretty much agree with need to get them out. Where differences come into play is how to do just that.
To go back to the drowning analogy, if a man is dying of poverty and you walk up to him and tell him to believe in Jesus and he will not be hungry, is he going to accept this? That has not been my experience. That would be like shouting from the river bank saying if you believe in Jesus you won’t sink. The point is still the one that you were making and that is we have to get in the river to help them out. We need to go to areas of poverty and bring them food and supplies (i.e. get them out of the river) before we share with them about Jesus.
It has been my humble pleasure to observe that people I’ve met in the emergent community are diving in on a regular basis (I also want to say I know lots of people who would not consider themselves part of the conversation that are swimming as well).
“I do not believe that a lesbian priest is right in the eyes of God. I can’t help but think I would not be welcome in your Village holding this belief.” --leoskeo at May 26, 2006
Leoskeo, I encourage you to go to the village or to an emergent cohort meeting in your area and find out. I have faith that you will experience, as I have, that you can bring a very different opinion from the majority of the people in attendance and still be lovingly accepted into the community and conversation. I’m not saying that its perfect or that people won’t disagree or argue with you, because they probably will. But I know that if you came to our cohort, that we would welcome you in with open arms.
This issue about the conversation taking a stand needs to be put in the right framework. Emergent does not tell people who participate in the conversation to not take a stand or say definitely what they believe. But at the same time, one person can not speak for all the individuals out there that are part of this conversation; hence the no “Emergent” statement of faith. Would you like me to tell people what you believe? I know I wouldn’t.
I also want to totally applaud you if you are a part of that list of things that you were talking about sending all that money to help all those people in need! That’s so awesome! God is truly at work in those areas.
“What makes some issues more important to Emergent than other issues? What criteria did you use to discern the important from the less important issues? Can these questions be a part of the conversation?”
No issue is truly more important than any other issue. People may be spending a lot of time talking about specific issues but that doesn’t make them more important or others less important. The point is if you want to talk about an issue then we can talk about that issue. I have experience in my cohort that I can bring ANY issue to the table. So to answer your question. YES! Those questions can and are a part of the conversation!
“My frustration with emergent continues to be very simple. I still have no idea what anybody in the movement really believes.”
If you want to know what someone in the movement believes ask them, face to face (especially if you expect someone like Tony or Brian to answer that sort of question). The problem with answering that for the high profile emergent individuals is that when they open their mouth to express themselves they don’t want to cast that shadow on everyone else in the conversation. If you want to know what I believe on any issue feel free to email me, I'll gladly explain my point of view to you.
“They simply mean that biblical condemnations of murder, theft, adultery, homosexuality, which have been authoritatively interpreted by the church for twenty centuries as meaning pretty much what the words say, need not "discussed" or "deconstructed" according to a set of philosophical assumptions that have only recently gained ground.” --Dan at May 26, 2006 05:45 PM
The problem with accepting all those as authoritatively interpreted by the church is the pitfalls that all of us as part of the church have been through before on issues that we thought we had figured out. Take slavery, many within the church used to definitely believe that slavery was made right by the authority of the bible.
What about an eye for an eye? In the biblical day that expression was an extreme movement towards reconciliation because before that if you took someone’s eye they could kill you. God was asking for a change in that behavior. Does that mean that when someone punches me I should punch back? No (as many here would argue that Jesus changed all that).
The point is that the Gospel is lived out differently in different contexts. The emergent conversation is dealing with the postmodern shift (if you argue that the postmodern shift isn’t happening then that’s another argument). The emergent conversation is about discussing and examining how the Gospel can be meaningfully lived out today. But it doesn't stop there, it's about living in relationship with the living God. It's about how do we have a 24/7 365 faith. If you want an emergent bottom line that's about as simple as I can state it.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
value? without no value?
Can something valuable come out of something that is not valuable (or considered less valuable)?
I had coffee with a friend of mine today and we got to talking about authentic community and the issues involved with postmodernism and modernism. He sees major issues with postmodernism (and for that matter modernism as well – but thinks it is better than PM) because he thinks that it eliminates the regions that modernism creates in such a way that makes it so individual that no one can say anything that stems outside of their own context (if you want to argue about if postmodernism says that or not, that’s another argument).
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Evangelism (a few thoughts)
When it comes to evangelism I often feel we act like teenagers stuck in a van for a long road trip when we are trying to decide what CD or radio station to play. When teenagers decide what music to listen to it is typically followed with a series of shouting, ultimatums, and shame-based negotiations. We all talk about the way others do evangelism in the way that teenagers refer to the types of music each other listen too. We often attack and critique the way others do evangelism (or not do evangelism).
Evangelism is both a modern and postmodern issue, but it is imperative that we recognize that we are a part of a postmodern world. We need to work hard to demonstrate the implication of evangelism to our congregations. There are many ways to do evangelism and many definitions of what it means for each of us to be the resident evangel. A definition of evangelism is faith sharing with the unchurched, a way to introduce a person to Christ. The PCUSA defines evangelism as joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God’s calling people to repentance, to personal faith in Jesus Christ, to active membership in the church, and to obedient service to the world. Each definition brings clarity to evangelism but isn’t limiting it to one idea.
As pastors and leaders we work hard to demonstrate that the severity of the choices that we make in the way that we personally and professionally do evangelism. They affect people and the world. Ways that we do evangelism often stem too much from the entitlement of an entertainment-based society, rather than from any biblical or spiritual mandate. This is not to say that we can or should just drop all the forms of evangelism that represent society but it is important to identify where our motivation or sense of entitlement stems. We have become indoctrinated with the idea that our faith is part of this affluent, consumer driven multi option society and that the answer revolves around finding the right kind of marketing scheme for the good news. It doesn’t. We can’t just participate in this market economy of possibilities providing outlets to suit each preference on how and when evangelism should be done. Evangelism is not about how you choose to share the good news but rather that you do it.
The style of evangelism that we choose is not just a pastor issue but an issue relevant to each congregation in its own unique and context. There is an ongoing debate about which is the best form of evangelism. It is often just banter of philosophies that think they have it figured out. This debate is not a new debate but it is an essential issue. There are many philosophies, principles and values that inform the practice of evangelism in our postmodern world but there is no one model that simple works.
The essence of evangelism is not a well thought out approach, event or path to enlightenment. It is not as simple as implementing and teaching the right technique to the right people in order to grow the church. Better strategies and new styles are not the answer. Our pluralistic postmodern context is not going to be won over based on event savvy churches that are targeting specific audiences. This culture does not need churches that major in offering the right kind of faith or right kind of product for them to join. What this culture desperately needs is to see God’s story and kingdom as a good, plausible, and an embodied reality.
The theology behind our practice of evangelism is the most important part of evangelism (not excluding doing something). Missiologist Bengt says “Theology is, in the last resort, translation. It is an ever-renewed re-interpretation to new generations and peoples of the given-Gospel, a re-interpretation of the will and the way of the one Christ in a dialogue with new thoughts forms and culture patterns.” Our theology is the way that we choose to represent the Gospel in our culture. I believe that evangelism is a part of our theology and is best represented by missio dei (God’s sending of the Son and the Holy Spirit into the world for the healing of creation). God is a missional God who calls the church into being and sends the church into the world on God’s mission of healing. At the end of the day evangelism is about love. As Rob Bell talked about in the Bullhorn Nooma video we watched in class, often the Christian loves people and build relationships in order to convert them to the Christian faith. That’s love with an agenda, and if we think about it, and there is an agenda, then it isn’t really love. Our goal is to then rediscover how to truly love people, because that’s what Jesus teaches us to do. We have to realize that we will never convert them and if they choose to not to become a Christian there is nothing we can do about it. We have to trust God to be at work in that person.
Evangelism is about sharing the good news with people around us; simply put loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. It is not some perfect blueprint or twelve step process. Anne Lamott in Traveling Mercies talks about faith saying “I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shinny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life hands you these rusty bent old tools – friendship, prayer, conscience, honesty – and says, do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they’re enough.” Evangelism is not a shinny wrench that you apply to a person and they magically twist them into a life of faith. We are left with our tools like friendship and honesty to share our story about how God has affected our lives in such a way that this rusty old tool actually does work and is important.
This still leaves us to figure out how evangelism works in the congregational context. It is important to realize that each context is different. What is a meaningful way to evangelize and love people in one context may not be affective in another. You don’t need to take soup to the millionaire and you don’t need to tell the poor to give up their possessions. Craig Cross has an interesting point of view on this topic. His book The Gutter has made a lasting impression on finding where it is that God is calling us to help. “The gutter can be described in different ways with different terms. Put simply, my gutter is not necessarily your gutter. The gutter is the place where we discover that we need God most.” The goal for evangelism is then to find the gutter in which you can go and where you can help. You need to realize that their really isn’t a big difference between ourselves and the people in the gutter and the biggest mistake is not going to the gutter. We can identify and meet a need there.
The interesting thing is evangelism in this form is not just about the person that we can help, but in some magical way it helps us relate to God. Cross puts it this way “When we go to the gutter, we aren’t just changing gutter-dwellers; they’re changing us. We’re all being changed for the better. Too often we sit through church, and when it’s over, we think we’re done with our work for the week. That is wrong, wrong, wrong. You cannot live out your faith based solely on what other people tell you; you can not be okay with merely consuming information. You must be convicted to take action for God.” Jesus said that what you do for the least of my people, you do for me.
The last portion of evangelism to consider is those who have gone before us and the good/bad that they have done. There has been plenty that was done in the name of Jesus that I’m sure Jesus didn’t want a part of and it’s important to realize that many people have many legitimate reasons for bailing on this whole Christianity thing. That there is a choice involved. But in the same way we have a choice as well, when we encounter a disgruntled individual that has been hurt by Christianity in their past that we can either turn away from them or we can embrace them. I think that most people can identify with the fact that the church has caused some hurt in people’s lives (haven’t we all?). But we have a choice to not become bitter, suspicious, and fed-up, because anybody can do that, we can choose to reclaim the Gospel message as good news, we can insist that the hope is real, and the world can really be changed by it.
It is our job as pastors and evangels to never stop believing that God can and does redeem this world. That Jesus has lived and died for us to have a better way. It’s important to not stop talking about evangelism in terms of the ongoing process that we are still all a part of. Evangelism and faith are not destinations but a journey. And our conversion or our works as an evangel are only road markers along the way. We need to realize that while we may be stuck together in this van that we don’t need to take it out on each other. We can take this thing called evangelism and dust it off. Talk about in real, honest, and loving ways to both those who have Jesus in their lives and those who have yet to recognize his face. The two things that I am absolutely sure of; one, that others out there are capable of thinking about evangelism in ways I haven’t even thought of and two, that God is driving the van.
ps. i stole the kids riding in the van thing (although it wasn't originally about evangelism) from Tim Conder's great book "the church in transition" but it's fair because im a former youth pastor too ;)
Saturday, April 01, 2006
There is Simplicity ...and then there is Simplicity
If you haven't read this yet you should...
Lenten Reflection by Doug Hagler, HAE team, March 31, 2006
There is simplicity...and then there is simplicity.
There is the simplicity of 'us versus them', the simplicity of 'with us or against us'. There is the simplicity of right and wrong, of good and evil, of orthodox and heretical. This sort of simplicity comes naturally to us. It is a way of making the world about the categories we choose, so that we get to determine what is true and what is false. Our ideas of the world, our biases and petty bigotries, become the world. All of us do this, in one way or another. This is the kind of simplicity we practice.
There is another kind of simplicity, and it has to do with who you are, who you choose to be. It is simplicity of the self, paring down to what is essential and letting everything else fall away. It is the radical and countercultural act of saying "enough." This kind of simplicity is a calling. The Dao De Ching says "for the Sage, every day another thing is put aside." Jesus says "give all
you have away to the poor and come follow me."
Something in us truly fears to give up the things that insulate us. We don't need the clutter that chokes our lives. Most of the time, we aren't even sure we want it. For some reason, though, we fear to live without it. When we begin to give things up, when we begin to put things aside, what is left? Only our selves.
This shouldn't frighten us, but it does. How can we face God if we cannot even face ourselves? How can we serve God if we are buried under our own lives?
Singular God, we ask for new life while yet fearing it - give it to us anyway. Shock and surprise us with gifts of true value. Don't listen when we say we can't, or we won't, or we aren't worthy, or we aren't ready. Just listen when we say "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done..." Amen.
Lenten Reflection by Doug Hagler, HAE team, March 31, 2006
There is simplicity...and then there is simplicity.
There is the simplicity of 'us versus them', the simplicity of 'with us or against us'. There is the simplicity of right and wrong, of good and evil, of orthodox and heretical. This sort of simplicity comes naturally to us. It is a way of making the world about the categories we choose, so that we get to determine what is true and what is false. Our ideas of the world, our biases and petty bigotries, become the world. All of us do this, in one way or another. This is the kind of simplicity we practice.
There is another kind of simplicity, and it has to do with who you are, who you choose to be. It is simplicity of the self, paring down to what is essential and letting everything else fall away. It is the radical and countercultural act of saying "enough." This kind of simplicity is a calling. The Dao De Ching says "for the Sage, every day another thing is put aside." Jesus says "give all
you have away to the poor and come follow me."
Something in us truly fears to give up the things that insulate us. We don't need the clutter that chokes our lives. Most of the time, we aren't even sure we want it. For some reason, though, we fear to live without it. When we begin to give things up, when we begin to put things aside, what is left? Only our selves.
This shouldn't frighten us, but it does. How can we face God if we cannot even face ourselves? How can we serve God if we are buried under our own lives?
Singular God, we ask for new life while yet fearing it - give it to us anyway. Shock and surprise us with gifts of true value. Don't listen when we say we can't, or we won't, or we aren't worthy, or we aren't ready. Just listen when we say "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done..." Amen.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
In the beginning...
In the beginning...God said let there be a blog...ok ok, it was just me saying that. Welcome to my random sparatic thoughtful (and less) rambings. I apperciat your reading it. I encourage you to comment and reflect back your own thoughts and feelings.
I would like to thank one of my partners in crime (eman) for generating this name with me. Reflectant was orginally started as a partnership in designing really good websites. We've got mad design skills (speaking of which I have still not designed my own blog template) and like to create some wicked slick designs. Reflectant is what we came up with as our company. But I'm approriating it to my own personal usages.
The intention of REFLECTANT is to be a forum for thoughts generated and then reflected back.
So Enjoy!
.n
I would like to thank one of my partners in crime (eman) for generating this name with me. Reflectant was orginally started as a partnership in designing really good websites. We've got mad design skills (speaking of which I have still not designed my own blog template) and like to create some wicked slick designs. Reflectant is what we came up with as our company. But I'm approriating it to my own personal usages.
The intention of REFLECTANT is to be a forum for thoughts generated and then reflected back.
So Enjoy!
.n
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