god and war, part one
Not long after humanity was created, two sons were born to their parents. They were brothers, and their story is ancient and tragic.
One brother was a gardener. He grew vegetables and fruit. He worked the soil hard and grew wonderful food. He recognized that this food, while it grew from the ground, was provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
The other brother was a shepherd. He took care to make sure his sheep remained safe, well watered, and well fed. His sheep were of great value. The sheep provided warmth from their wool, milk for the family, and meat for eating. He recognized that the sheep were provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
One day these two brothers brought their gifts to their parents’ God, and this God responded. He looked with favor on the gift from the shepherd, but he did not look with favor on the gift from the gardener. This upset the gardener.
Out of jealousy, the gardener led his brother away and killed him. Then the God of his parents returned asking him, “Where is your brother?” This murder led to a curse being placed on the shepherd. He was prone to be a wanderer for the rest of his life.
This story is so tragic perhaps because they are brothers. Brothers are not supposed to murder the other. Brothers are supposed to drive their mom crazy together, play football, stand in one another’s weddings, and be the best of friends. Murder is not generally something found in the memory scrapbooks of brothers.
What is interesting is the reason behind the murder in this story. The killing stems from their relationship with the God of their parents. The idea of killing the shepherd stems out of some kind of ritual in which they participate. The first murder ever recorded in the history of humanity is connected to religion.
While we do not know much about the psyche of the gardener, and what led to his wanting to kill his brother; we do know it was connected to some sort of belief in the divine. Since this time the same story has been replayed over and over again. While we can hardly call this situation a war, we must remember that this murder killed one quarter of the world’s recorded population.
Thousands of years later brothers are still killing one another - and often there is a connection to the gods of their parents. It is harder to see how we are all related. Hundreds of generations have passed, families have moved all over the globe, the language barrier has interrupted communication, and people have reinterpreted the gods of their parents in all sorts of ways. Even still, in one way or another we are all still connected. There are still gardeners and shepherds, and there are still brothers killing brothers.
Over time we have created ways to justify killing our brothers. Now the killing happens on a grander scale. Brothers lock arms under the banner of an empire or nation, and take up arms in the name of one god (or another) of some country or family. Not all the wars today are directly connected to religion or rituals, but religion and the gods are never far from the art of war.
One brother was a gardener. He grew vegetables and fruit. He worked the soil hard and grew wonderful food. He recognized that this food, while it grew from the ground, was provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
The other brother was a shepherd. He took care to make sure his sheep remained safe, well watered, and well fed. His sheep were of great value. The sheep provided warmth from their wool, milk for the family, and meat for eating. He recognized that the sheep were provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
One day these two brothers brought their gifts to their parents’ God, and this God responded. He looked with favor on the gift from the shepherd, but he did not look with favor on the gift from the gardener. This upset the gardener.
Out of jealousy, the gardener led his brother away and killed him. Then the God of his parents returned asking him, “Where is your brother?” This murder led to a curse being placed on the shepherd. He was prone to be a wanderer for the rest of his life.
This story is so tragic perhaps because they are brothers. Brothers are not supposed to murder the other. Brothers are supposed to drive their mom crazy together, play football, stand in one another’s weddings, and be the best of friends. Murder is not generally something found in the memory scrapbooks of brothers.
What is interesting is the reason behind the murder in this story. The killing stems from their relationship with the God of their parents. The idea of killing the shepherd stems out of some kind of ritual in which they participate. The first murder ever recorded in the history of humanity is connected to religion.
While we do not know much about the psyche of the gardener, and what led to his wanting to kill his brother; we do know it was connected to some sort of belief in the divine. Since this time the same story has been replayed over and over again. While we can hardly call this situation a war, we must remember that this murder killed one quarter of the world’s recorded population.
Thousands of years later brothers are still killing one another - and often there is a connection to the gods of their parents. It is harder to see how we are all related. Hundreds of generations have passed, families have moved all over the globe, the language barrier has interrupted communication, and people have reinterpreted the gods of their parents in all sorts of ways. Even still, in one way or another we are all still connected. There are still gardeners and shepherds, and there are still brothers killing brothers.
Over time we have created ways to justify killing our brothers. Now the killing happens on a grander scale. Brothers lock arms under the banner of an empire or nation, and take up arms in the name of one god (or another) of some country or family. Not all the wars today are directly connected to religion or rituals, but religion and the gods are never far from the art of war.
current reads
One question I am asked more frequently than "How are you?" is "What are you reading?" So to answer that question for all of my blog readers I have decided to create a "Current Reads" link on my sidebar. So if you want to know, what I am reading take a peak ... it will change every one to two weeks.
so impossible a kid can do it
The other day my son and daughter were fighting. Now this is nothing surprising, as it is what little kids do … especially brother and sister. So I broke up the fight. Both of them were crying and yelling at me to tell me why they were right and the other wrong. I finally said to them both, you need to apologize to one another and ask forgiveness.
In the more “grown up” world, we would say I was asking them to reconcile. With as much as my children apologize to one another, and presumably will continue to apologize to each other and others, one would think that people get better at the whole reconciliation thing. However, it seems that nothing could be further from the truth.
We live in a world that seems to think that reconciliation is impossible. When we hear of stories of reconciliation we stand in awe wondering how men and women could actually do something like that. Forgiveness and restoration are the exception to the rule in today’s world, not the rule. Admittedly reconciling is difficult.
One the one hand is the perpetrator. For reconciliation to occur the one who has committed the offense needs to confess to the “crime.” Most people are not good at doing this. Usually a confession is connected to the perpetrator telling the victim why he what he did, why he reacted the way he did, what the victim did that made him do what he did, or why he feels like he was not really wrong, but can understand why some people think he may be wrong.
None of these things are a confession. They are excuses. Confession is so difficult because it is simply saying three words “I was wrong.” It is giving the offended person the power to forgive or not forgive. It is placing the ability to fairly dispense justice to the party who was offended and claiming nothing for oneself. Confession is standing naked before the victim offering everything and demanding nothing. Confession, one part of reconciliation, seems impossible.
The second part of reconciliation is forgiveness. If confession is difficult, forgiveness is ridiculous. How can we forgive someone who has done something to us that cannot be undone? This is precisely why forgiveness is so difficult … no matter what we do we cannot change what has been done to us. So in our minds, if we do not forgive we do not close the door on the memory, we keep it alive. Withholding forgiveness keeps us in the place of power … or does it? When one confesses (or even if they do not confess) and the victim offers forgiveness they are asserting unbelievable power. By forgiving they are telling the perpetrator that that person will have no grip on them any longer. They are also giving something the offender is unable to get for himself. Forgiveness can only be given at the discretion of the victim.
Forgiveness also accuses the perpetrator. When we tell someone that we forgive them we are calling attention to the act performed against us; we are pointing to the offense and indicting the perpetrator. In doing this we are also placing justice in its proper place. When we forgive the offender we stand recognizing what that person deserves, and at times give credence to the consequences that inevitably follow. Forgiveness truly restores and moves the offender and the offended in the right direction.
Writing this is so simple. Living it is not. I am still mad at the person who cut me off this morning. My instinct tells me to cut them off worse than they did me. To give them some sort of single finger sign, to yell at them (even though they will never hear me), and if given the opportunity tell the people in my car why the other is a complete and total waste of flesh. This is not only my instinct but a cultural norm.
This is our world isn't it? Revenge not reconciliation. Getting even not offering forgiveness. The great epic movies of our time are predicated on the hero brutally killing the antagonist (think Gladiator, The Patriot, or a little less brutally violent ... Dodgeball). It is about the offended attaining vengeance on the offender.
Think about these words, "... there's no question about it, this act will not stand; we will find those who did it; we will smoke them out of their holes; we will get them running and we'll bring them to justice." These became a mantra of a presidential administration referring to the the violent retaliation they would inflict on men who inflicted a violent act on civilians. They hit us, we would not only hit them back, we would hit them harder and swifter. We would repay violence with violence. This is normal. The injustice done by the perpetrator would be rectified by injustice performed by the victim.
This is the world we live in. This is the norm. So why would we ever think that reconciliation is possible if all we see is retaliation and revenge?
The only way through this melee is for the Church to understand her role as reconcilers. We have been called to reconcile our relationships with one another, as God reconciled us to himself. He has given the church the task of telling everyone what he is doing, he uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them (adapted from The Message).
We are called to create a culture in which reconciliation is normal. We are called to live in such a way that confession is possible. We are not to create a place that is terrifying for the one confessing as they rightfully expect to be castigated and judged by their own faith community. We are to live as people who forgive as Jesus forgave. We are to pursue reconciliation (not apologizing then never, ever under any circumstances speaking to one another or hanging out together ever again while in the meantime causing all of your friends to be on your side) as the preferred outcome. Creating a culture of reconciliation is the job of the Church.
So there I stand with my kids. Asking them to apologize to one another. My son wraps his arms around my daughter’s head, kisses her on the top of it, and says, “I’m sorry I hit you, I forgive you.”
She looks up wiping away the tears that she had so recently cried because of her brother’s offense, and says “I forgib you, I yub you.”
She then kisses her brother. They look at me waiting to see what I will say. I bend down and give them both big hugs and kisses, and tell them I love them.
Then they both run away laughing with one another like nothing ever happened. As they did I thought to myself, “If only the Church could be more like children.” As this thought crossed my mind I was reminded of Jesus’ words, “Unless you become like little children …”
In the more “grown up” world, we would say I was asking them to reconcile. With as much as my children apologize to one another, and presumably will continue to apologize to each other and others, one would think that people get better at the whole reconciliation thing. However, it seems that nothing could be further from the truth.
We live in a world that seems to think that reconciliation is impossible. When we hear of stories of reconciliation we stand in awe wondering how men and women could actually do something like that. Forgiveness and restoration are the exception to the rule in today’s world, not the rule. Admittedly reconciling is difficult.
One the one hand is the perpetrator. For reconciliation to occur the one who has committed the offense needs to confess to the “crime.” Most people are not good at doing this. Usually a confession is connected to the perpetrator telling the victim why he what he did, why he reacted the way he did, what the victim did that made him do what he did, or why he feels like he was not really wrong, but can understand why some people think he may be wrong.
None of these things are a confession. They are excuses. Confession is so difficult because it is simply saying three words “I was wrong.” It is giving the offended person the power to forgive or not forgive. It is placing the ability to fairly dispense justice to the party who was offended and claiming nothing for oneself. Confession is standing naked before the victim offering everything and demanding nothing. Confession, one part of reconciliation, seems impossible.
The second part of reconciliation is forgiveness. If confession is difficult, forgiveness is ridiculous. How can we forgive someone who has done something to us that cannot be undone? This is precisely why forgiveness is so difficult … no matter what we do we cannot change what has been done to us. So in our minds, if we do not forgive we do not close the door on the memory, we keep it alive. Withholding forgiveness keeps us in the place of power … or does it? When one confesses (or even if they do not confess) and the victim offers forgiveness they are asserting unbelievable power. By forgiving they are telling the perpetrator that that person will have no grip on them any longer. They are also giving something the offender is unable to get for himself. Forgiveness can only be given at the discretion of the victim.
Forgiveness also accuses the perpetrator. When we tell someone that we forgive them we are calling attention to the act performed against us; we are pointing to the offense and indicting the perpetrator. In doing this we are also placing justice in its proper place. When we forgive the offender we stand recognizing what that person deserves, and at times give credence to the consequences that inevitably follow. Forgiveness truly restores and moves the offender and the offended in the right direction.
Writing this is so simple. Living it is not. I am still mad at the person who cut me off this morning. My instinct tells me to cut them off worse than they did me. To give them some sort of single finger sign, to yell at them (even though they will never hear me), and if given the opportunity tell the people in my car why the other is a complete and total waste of flesh. This is not only my instinct but a cultural norm.
This is our world isn't it? Revenge not reconciliation. Getting even not offering forgiveness. The great epic movies of our time are predicated on the hero brutally killing the antagonist (think Gladiator, The Patriot, or a little less brutally violent ... Dodgeball). It is about the offended attaining vengeance on the offender.
Think about these words, "... there's no question about it, this act will not stand; we will find those who did it; we will smoke them out of their holes; we will get them running and we'll bring them to justice." These became a mantra of a presidential administration referring to the the violent retaliation they would inflict on men who inflicted a violent act on civilians. They hit us, we would not only hit them back, we would hit them harder and swifter. We would repay violence with violence. This is normal. The injustice done by the perpetrator would be rectified by injustice performed by the victim.
This is the world we live in. This is the norm. So why would we ever think that reconciliation is possible if all we see is retaliation and revenge?
The only way through this melee is for the Church to understand her role as reconcilers. We have been called to reconcile our relationships with one another, as God reconciled us to himself. He has given the church the task of telling everyone what he is doing, he uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them (adapted from The Message).
We are called to create a culture in which reconciliation is normal. We are called to live in such a way that confession is possible. We are not to create a place that is terrifying for the one confessing as they rightfully expect to be castigated and judged by their own faith community. We are to live as people who forgive as Jesus forgave. We are to pursue reconciliation (not apologizing then never, ever under any circumstances speaking to one another or hanging out together ever again while in the meantime causing all of your friends to be on your side) as the preferred outcome. Creating a culture of reconciliation is the job of the Church.
So there I stand with my kids. Asking them to apologize to one another. My son wraps his arms around my daughter’s head, kisses her on the top of it, and says, “I’m sorry I hit you, I forgive you.”
She looks up wiping away the tears that she had so recently cried because of her brother’s offense, and says “I forgib you, I yub you.”
She then kisses her brother. They look at me waiting to see what I will say. I bend down and give them both big hugs and kisses, and tell them I love them.
Then they both run away laughing with one another like nothing ever happened. As they did I thought to myself, “If only the Church could be more like children.” As this thought crossed my mind I was reminded of Jesus’ words, “Unless you become like little children …”
what the ...?
Given that I just wrote the preceding blog titled Church Culture ... I have now come across a website that in many ways proves my point in the most disturbing of ways. Click Here
church culture
Yesterday I was in a meeting with several pastors. The focus of the discussion was “How to Become a Missional Church.” In my head I was thinking, “Isn’t the Church missional?” The church, simply put, is a group of people who have been called to continue to mission that Jesus started 2,000 years ago. The Church in its very nature is missional. So why are we having a conversation about how to become missional? If there is a group of people meeting together who are not missional, they are something, but are they the Church?
As I sat there I began to think about the Church in America. I listened to these pastors say things like, “I know I am going to experience resistance from my people over this.” I heard others say “We had a lot of people leave when we spoke of our new emphasis.” It took everything in me not to blurt out, “These people have never been a part of the Church! They are not leaving anything!”
As I listened to these comments I began to wonder who has had the greater influence in America’s congregations over the last hundred (or more) years … the Kingdom of Heaven or the Empire of America? I asked myself questions like, "What kind of power impresses us?" "What is normal for us?" "How do we define success in our churches?" "How do we govern in our churches?" Before you jump to an answer so quickly let’s consider together the state of many churches in our country, and reflect on just who it is influencing them.
When I was sitting in the with these pastors one of them commented on Jesus’ command, “Go sell your possessions and give them to the poor.” He spoke of how difficult that is for people today, and that in our minds Jesus must have meant something else. Well, Jesus also said he was homeless, told people to be willing to die, and said woe to the rich and the oppressors. These words kill us don’t they? We are told that we are supposed to manage wealth so that we can get more and retire when we are 55. We are to “reward ourselves” by driving big Buicks in an aloof manner all over America’s highways and by-ways. The reality is that Jesus speaks against hording wealth more than he speaks about being born again. Yet which do we hear more about?
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
I have been asked by many people, “How is the growth of your church coming?” The success of our faith community is measured, by some, by our church’s bottom line … how many butts in the seats, how big is the building, how swollen the budget. Let’s just be honest and say that a church is counted as successful by the numbers; like anything else. I wonder what people in America would think about a homeless, God-loving prophet in today’s world who had twelve flaky teenagers who were a part of his "church". No by-laws, no membership classes, no strategic plan … just living in such a way that others were pointed toward the good news of Jesus. I look at the largest Evangelical Church Conferences in the country today. More and more they are bringing in business experts to speak to pastors about systems, numbers, theory, strategy, Human Resources and staffing. The Church has become a billion dollar business.
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
At the pastors meeting we shared prayer needs I told them about my wife and I, and some of the thoughts that we have had about how we should live. I told them that we had been praying for families to live with and a neighborhood to live in. Our desire is to live communally and missionally together in our daily lives. I spoke of some of the neighborhoods we were thinking of moving into. Each time I speak of these neighborhoods people say things like, “Why would you live there? There is no plan to improve those neighborhoods!” “Don’t you know what those neighborhoods are like?”
Beneath these questions there is another question being asked. “Why we would not look in the wealthy, white suburbs (or neighborhoods) offering safety, good education, hope for a future, no trees because they were all cut down to develop non-energy-efficient homes, and the peace of mind knowing all of my neighbors think like me, look like me, and speak my language?” This is normal, this is what a good paycheck gets you. This is what four years of undergraduate work, and three years of graduate school have offered me, right?
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
So who has been more influential, the Kingdom or the Empire? If you are still curious walk into your church’s building and see what has been removed the American flag or the cross. Both are central to their respective cultures, yet it seems to be the cross that has taken the bigger hit so as not to offend people.
The church’s attempt to learn culture’s characteristics, thoughts, feelings, presuppositions, and values so we can streamline the message of Jesus has led to our mastery of the culture of the Empire. We create clever slogans like, “Got Jesus?” We wear the T-shirt and know that although we do not have a milk moustache people surely know what we are getting at. We have become so deft in learning the culture of the Empire, and in the meantime we have forgotten what the culture of the Kingdom is supposed to be.
The people of God are to be an alternative to the prevailing culture of the Empire. Our role as salt and light is to be about something else … we have encountered a new culture, the culture of the Kingdom. We have encountered the gospel of Jesus. Our role is to be a people who are constantly challenging to the norms, assumptions, and presuppositions of our culture based in the alternative culture of the Kingdom. It is more than simply withdrawing from our culture and becoming invisible. After all no one puts a lamp under a bowl, right?
We are to be in our culture, being for them, the gospel lived-out, experienced, and demonstrated in our daily lives. We are to be in the world, but not of it. The problem seems to be that we are of the world but not in it. The Church is to be the people of God that present an alternate way of living that brings healing, hope, love, peace, and justice to any culture in which it exists. If this is our role, then we cannot pay allegiance to earthly cultures, even the culture of the American Empire. No culture leads people toward true healing, hope, love, peace, and justice except the culture of the Kingdom of God. Kingdom culture is missional.
The Church is missional. Any attempt to “make it missional” is like telling someone you want to make an apple more like fruit. An apple is fruit. The Church is missional. As we move toward understanding this more fully we may want to begin by throwing off the dominant culture in the Church which is of the Empire, and dive into the subversive culture of the Kingdom. When we live according to the Kingdom’s culture then we can stop talking about the Church becoming missional, for we will understand that our very lives are a mission.
As I sat there I began to think about the Church in America. I listened to these pastors say things like, “I know I am going to experience resistance from my people over this.” I heard others say “We had a lot of people leave when we spoke of our new emphasis.” It took everything in me not to blurt out, “These people have never been a part of the Church! They are not leaving anything!”
As I listened to these comments I began to wonder who has had the greater influence in America’s congregations over the last hundred (or more) years … the Kingdom of Heaven or the Empire of America? I asked myself questions like, "What kind of power impresses us?" "What is normal for us?" "How do we define success in our churches?" "How do we govern in our churches?" Before you jump to an answer so quickly let’s consider together the state of many churches in our country, and reflect on just who it is influencing them.
When I was sitting in the with these pastors one of them commented on Jesus’ command, “Go sell your possessions and give them to the poor.” He spoke of how difficult that is for people today, and that in our minds Jesus must have meant something else. Well, Jesus also said he was homeless, told people to be willing to die, and said woe to the rich and the oppressors. These words kill us don’t they? We are told that we are supposed to manage wealth so that we can get more and retire when we are 55. We are to “reward ourselves” by driving big Buicks in an aloof manner all over America’s highways and by-ways. The reality is that Jesus speaks against hording wealth more than he speaks about being born again. Yet which do we hear more about?
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
I have been asked by many people, “How is the growth of your church coming?” The success of our faith community is measured, by some, by our church’s bottom line … how many butts in the seats, how big is the building, how swollen the budget. Let’s just be honest and say that a church is counted as successful by the numbers; like anything else. I wonder what people in America would think about a homeless, God-loving prophet in today’s world who had twelve flaky teenagers who were a part of his "church". No by-laws, no membership classes, no strategic plan … just living in such a way that others were pointed toward the good news of Jesus. I look at the largest Evangelical Church Conferences in the country today. More and more they are bringing in business experts to speak to pastors about systems, numbers, theory, strategy, Human Resources and staffing. The Church has become a billion dollar business.
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
At the pastors meeting we shared prayer needs I told them about my wife and I, and some of the thoughts that we have had about how we should live. I told them that we had been praying for families to live with and a neighborhood to live in. Our desire is to live communally and missionally together in our daily lives. I spoke of some of the neighborhoods we were thinking of moving into. Each time I speak of these neighborhoods people say things like, “Why would you live there? There is no plan to improve those neighborhoods!” “Don’t you know what those neighborhoods are like?”
Beneath these questions there is another question being asked. “Why we would not look in the wealthy, white suburbs (or neighborhoods) offering safety, good education, hope for a future, no trees because they were all cut down to develop non-energy-efficient homes, and the peace of mind knowing all of my neighbors think like me, look like me, and speak my language?” This is normal, this is what a good paycheck gets you. This is what four years of undergraduate work, and three years of graduate school have offered me, right?
Is this influence the Kingdom or the Empire?
So who has been more influential, the Kingdom or the Empire? If you are still curious walk into your church’s building and see what has been removed the American flag or the cross. Both are central to their respective cultures, yet it seems to be the cross that has taken the bigger hit so as not to offend people.
The church’s attempt to learn culture’s characteristics, thoughts, feelings, presuppositions, and values so we can streamline the message of Jesus has led to our mastery of the culture of the Empire. We create clever slogans like, “Got Jesus?” We wear the T-shirt and know that although we do not have a milk moustache people surely know what we are getting at. We have become so deft in learning the culture of the Empire, and in the meantime we have forgotten what the culture of the Kingdom is supposed to be.
The people of God are to be an alternative to the prevailing culture of the Empire. Our role as salt and light is to be about something else … we have encountered a new culture, the culture of the Kingdom. We have encountered the gospel of Jesus. Our role is to be a people who are constantly challenging to the norms, assumptions, and presuppositions of our culture based in the alternative culture of the Kingdom. It is more than simply withdrawing from our culture and becoming invisible. After all no one puts a lamp under a bowl, right?
We are to be in our culture, being for them, the gospel lived-out, experienced, and demonstrated in our daily lives. We are to be in the world, but not of it. The problem seems to be that we are of the world but not in it. The Church is to be the people of God that present an alternate way of living that brings healing, hope, love, peace, and justice to any culture in which it exists. If this is our role, then we cannot pay allegiance to earthly cultures, even the culture of the American Empire. No culture leads people toward true healing, hope, love, peace, and justice except the culture of the Kingdom of God. Kingdom culture is missional.
The Church is missional. Any attempt to “make it missional” is like telling someone you want to make an apple more like fruit. An apple is fruit. The Church is missional. As we move toward understanding this more fully we may want to begin by throwing off the dominant culture in the Church which is of the Empire, and dive into the subversive culture of the Kingdom. When we live according to the Kingdom’s culture then we can stop talking about the Church becoming missional, for we will understand that our very lives are a mission.
can we just speak?
I have had the opportunity since moving to Denver to strike up a great mentoring relationship with a seminary student named Paul. He is a great guy, with a heart the size of his head in his chest. I have enjoyed our time spent together immensely over the last few months. The other day during our time hanging out, I asked him a question, that I pondered for a long time afterward.
We were discussing theology and theologians. We spoke about how so many people are concerned with nailing down the perfect way of articulating a propositional truth that for so many seems irrelevant to daily life. We reflected on how some are concerned with the world of “scientific theology” and others are concerned with how people are living theology.
As we discussed these subjects we began speaking about those who study all of this. So I asked him, “Have you ever had a conversation with an Evangelical about theology in which one or the other wasn’t trying to prove why he or she is right?” We both sat silently for a time. As I asked this question, I began to wonder why we do this.
Beyond trying to prove our point, there are also things like anger, aggressive language, and dogmatism that begin to creep in. Why? Why do have to speak about our faith in ways that challenge the beliefs of others? What would our beliefs look like if we spoke about them as a love story?
I have told a lot of people about my wife. I have told her about the things that I do that she loves, I have told them about my shortcomings as a husband, I have told the story of how I asked her to marry me, and how we met. In all of this I have never challenged the love that anyone else has for their spouses. I have never claimed to have the best wife ever, and told everyone else their wife is inferior. I simply tell others that I am in love with an amazing woman, and that everyday I can’t believe she is my wife. That’s it.
So what would it be like if when we told people about our God whom we loved? As we discuss what we believe what if we began telling them about our life? What id we told them about our shortcomings as Jesus followers, what if we told them of what we believe about God and why, and what if we spoke about the love that we believe he has for us?
What is interesting is that when I simply tell people about my wife they often say, “I would love to meet her sometime.” And why wouldn’t they? They have just heard a husband speak about how wonderful his wife is and how in love with her he is. What would people say about a God of love, hope, justice, compassion, who challenged the prevailing culture, and allowed himself to be a sacrifice for all humanity?
Rather than backing someone into a corner with our brilliant arguments maybe we should just tell people about a relationship in our life. Maybe our theology should become more of a love story about God and humanity. After all the book on which we base our beliefs is a great love story. Why do we have to argue and become defensive? We have nothing to fear, and no reason to be defensive. We have a story to tell, not an argument to win.
We were discussing theology and theologians. We spoke about how so many people are concerned with nailing down the perfect way of articulating a propositional truth that for so many seems irrelevant to daily life. We reflected on how some are concerned with the world of “scientific theology” and others are concerned with how people are living theology.
As we discussed these subjects we began speaking about those who study all of this. So I asked him, “Have you ever had a conversation with an Evangelical about theology in which one or the other wasn’t trying to prove why he or she is right?” We both sat silently for a time. As I asked this question, I began to wonder why we do this.
Beyond trying to prove our point, there are also things like anger, aggressive language, and dogmatism that begin to creep in. Why? Why do have to speak about our faith in ways that challenge the beliefs of others? What would our beliefs look like if we spoke about them as a love story?
I have told a lot of people about my wife. I have told her about the things that I do that she loves, I have told them about my shortcomings as a husband, I have told the story of how I asked her to marry me, and how we met. In all of this I have never challenged the love that anyone else has for their spouses. I have never claimed to have the best wife ever, and told everyone else their wife is inferior. I simply tell others that I am in love with an amazing woman, and that everyday I can’t believe she is my wife. That’s it.
So what would it be like if when we told people about our God whom we loved? As we discuss what we believe what if we began telling them about our life? What id we told them about our shortcomings as Jesus followers, what if we told them of what we believe about God and why, and what if we spoke about the love that we believe he has for us?
What is interesting is that when I simply tell people about my wife they often say, “I would love to meet her sometime.” And why wouldn’t they? They have just heard a husband speak about how wonderful his wife is and how in love with her he is. What would people say about a God of love, hope, justice, compassion, who challenged the prevailing culture, and allowed himself to be a sacrifice for all humanity?
Rather than backing someone into a corner with our brilliant arguments maybe we should just tell people about a relationship in our life. Maybe our theology should become more of a love story about God and humanity. After all the book on which we base our beliefs is a great love story. Why do we have to argue and become defensive? We have nothing to fear, and no reason to be defensive. We have a story to tell, not an argument to win.
podcast
I wanted to let you know that the teachings from Denver Community Church are now available on the Podcast Directory. If you click on the Podcast Icon on the right side of the page it will take you directly to our Podcast site. You will need iTunes in order to download. Enjoy listening.
eyes to see
This past Thursday night, I sent out the following email to many in our faith community at Denver Community Church.
Today I received a phone call at our building from a woman named Diane. She is trying to move out of her apartment and into a new one. The place she is living in now is run over with mildew, and mold. Bottom line, she needs to get out. Here is the problem she is having. She does not have a driver's license. Therefore, she cannot rent a truck, so she cannot move. So she called me today to ask if there was any way someone with a license could help her out. I took down her information and said, "Yeah, let me see what I can do to help." I heard nothing on the other end, and it became very quiet. I waited, and then said, "Hello?"
Diane was choked up and said, "No one has ever told me they would help me before."
I was stoked. So here is my thought ... rather than drive her around a little, what would it look like if a faith community helped her move?!? I spoke with her tonight, and she would love to be able to move by Sunday. I know this is last minute, but I thought we could gather together and then head off to "Moving Day 2007." If you are willing to come and move some furniture, drive a truck, and have a back slappin' good time serving someone, please reply as soon as you are able if you are interested.
A few days later a large group from our faith community showed up at Diane’s apartment to load up her belongings in our cars, SUV’s, and pickup trucks and move them to her beautiful new apartment.
The morning before I sent that email I came across a quote from Mother Theresa. Throughout her life many people contacted her and wanted to travel to Calcutta to serve alongside her and the sisters of Missionaries of Charity. She was known to say “Calcuttas area everywhere if only we have eyes to see.” I read that, and paused for a moment. I said out loud, “God give us eyes to see.” An hour or so later, the phone on my desk rang and it was Diane. As she was speaking I heard, “Do you see?”
Diane’s response floored me. Just saying, “Yeah, let me see what I can do to help,” induced tears from this woman who had a need. When I called her to tell her that a group was coming to help her move she cried again, and said, “I love whoever created you all.” Fast forward to “Moving Day 2007.” When I met Diane, she gave me a huge hug, and with tears in her eyes said to all of us, “Thank you, thank you all so much … you have no idea.” Her words trailed off as tears fell from her eyes. She made my week.
It was so great. There were no committees that met to decide if this was something we could do. No money was raised for a missions project. There was not a church-moving program created to handle this. There was just a group of willing men and women who had eyes to see the need, and without any fanfare did what needed to be done.
As we moved the last box into Diane’s beautiful new apartment, and helped get the day-bed into the right spot she gave more hugs to everyone. Then she said, “Now you make sure you come back around Thanksgiving for some sweet-potato pie! Then she asked me for our church’s address. As I wrote it down for her, she said, “I want to send you my tithe so you can keep on helping people.” I smiled and in that moment knew that Diane also had eyes to see.
Today I received a phone call at our building from a woman named Diane. She is trying to move out of her apartment and into a new one. The place she is living in now is run over with mildew, and mold. Bottom line, she needs to get out. Here is the problem she is having. She does not have a driver's license. Therefore, she cannot rent a truck, so she cannot move. So she called me today to ask if there was any way someone with a license could help her out. I took down her information and said, "Yeah, let me see what I can do to help." I heard nothing on the other end, and it became very quiet. I waited, and then said, "Hello?"
Diane was choked up and said, "No one has ever told me they would help me before."
I was stoked. So here is my thought ... rather than drive her around a little, what would it look like if a faith community helped her move?!? I spoke with her tonight, and she would love to be able to move by Sunday. I know this is last minute, but I thought we could gather together and then head off to "Moving Day 2007." If you are willing to come and move some furniture, drive a truck, and have a back slappin' good time serving someone, please reply as soon as you are able if you are interested.
A few days later a large group from our faith community showed up at Diane’s apartment to load up her belongings in our cars, SUV’s, and pickup trucks and move them to her beautiful new apartment.
The morning before I sent that email I came across a quote from Mother Theresa. Throughout her life many people contacted her and wanted to travel to Calcutta to serve alongside her and the sisters of Missionaries of Charity. She was known to say “Calcuttas area everywhere if only we have eyes to see.” I read that, and paused for a moment. I said out loud, “God give us eyes to see.” An hour or so later, the phone on my desk rang and it was Diane. As she was speaking I heard, “Do you see?”
Diane’s response floored me. Just saying, “Yeah, let me see what I can do to help,” induced tears from this woman who had a need. When I called her to tell her that a group was coming to help her move she cried again, and said, “I love whoever created you all.” Fast forward to “Moving Day 2007.” When I met Diane, she gave me a huge hug, and with tears in her eyes said to all of us, “Thank you, thank you all so much … you have no idea.” Her words trailed off as tears fell from her eyes. She made my week.
It was so great. There were no committees that met to decide if this was something we could do. No money was raised for a missions project. There was not a church-moving program created to handle this. There was just a group of willing men and women who had eyes to see the need, and without any fanfare did what needed to be done.
As we moved the last box into Diane’s beautiful new apartment, and helped get the day-bed into the right spot she gave more hugs to everyone. Then she said, “Now you make sure you come back around Thanksgiving for some sweet-potato pie! Then she asked me for our church’s address. As I wrote it down for her, she said, “I want to send you my tithe so you can keep on helping people.” I smiled and in that moment knew that Diane also had eyes to see.