Systems Are Not Intimate

*This particular post is not intended to be exhaustive or dogmatic. Rather, it is written in a spirit of external processing, and it is intended to invite good honest, dialogue. If you have some thoughts – for or against – I would love to hear them. Let’s be kind and courteous in our comments. Let’s contribute to the thinking, rather than trying to destroy. Thank you.

Years ago it was suggested that I be ordained. The ordination was primarily a test about my beliefs. The council wanted me to write a systematic, propositional, paper, and then hang out with a bunch of pastors who would ask me questions about the paper. This time spent with those who would question me was called a “defense.”

Basically ordination was a small group of theologically astute individuals quizzing me to see if my theology aligned closely enough with their particular viewpoints.

I agreed on one condition. As I understood (and still understand) the purpose of ordination, it is a time for the Church to affirm the call that one has on his or her life to vocational ministry. With this understanding, I though just knowing what I was able to write and defend fell short of the intent of ordination. So I made a request.

I asked that the church appoint a team of three men and three women to me and my family for one year to investigate me. I asked that they be in my home, talk to my closest friends, ask my kids what kind of Dad I am, interview my wife, spend time with me, and examine my heart. If they were willing to do this, then I would write the paper. However, I told them that after such an examination they may not need me to write anything because they will have a firm grasp on what I really believe – they would know what I know. If I was to be affirmed for vocational ministry, I wanted my life to be affirmed, not just my thoughts on God.

I was asked three times to be ordained. My response was always the same. Each time I was turned down. It seemed the council, in the case of ordination, was more interested in a paper and a defense than a life.

The attitude behind this is what is concerning. Many want the “right” answers, and by comparison could care less about the person and the life giving the answers. You may think this is not true, but have ever wondered why, if the church has the “right” answers, so many leave?

It is rare that I speak with someone who has walked away from the church because they disagree theologically. Nine out of ten times it is because of the way someone was treated, legalism, or the biggest reason “hypocrisy.” People constantly speak about a person who spoke one way and acted another way.

Why are there so many people who hide their life’s crap from the Church – who is supposed to be a conduit of grace? Why do so many hide behind being the “good kid”? Because intuitive in many who have been around the religious culture for a while is the knowledge that if we look the part, speak the part, and can spout the right words we are considered to be fine. Few want to venture beyond that anyway. Because if you do then the same may be demanded of you.

For years we have built much of our “belief” or “faith” from static propositional statements. We seek to defend our system through logic and/or reason. Much of our belief, then, is a simple mental ascent to a system. When we are able to articulate the “why” and the “what” of this system well enough then one might say, “that person knows what she believes.” This way of thinking and believing is what many are taught.

Then one day there is an encounter with another person who knows more and is more certain of his belief. They clash in a war of reason and logic, and the stronger argument prevails.

This is the kind of thing we see quite often when a young person goes off to a state university and is challenged in their collection of propositional beliefs. When A + B is shown to not necessarily equal C it can be quite earth shattering – especially when the foundation of belief has been built upon C as the singular answer to A + B.

Maybe the problem is not the state universities, but more so the way we have approached belief. When our belief is reduced to static propositions we lose much. When our belief is in a system we lose more. God is not a propositional statement or a dogma. He is a being. You are a being. Beings are those who engage in a relationship of knowing and being known – this is anything but logical.

It is knowing that speaks of intimacy.

It is ripping open your insides and letting God and others have a look. It is being real about your foibles, brokenness, wounds, sinfulness, and rejoicing in God’s grace, mercy, healing, and hope. Intimacy is when we stop pretending to be that or that and live out of who we truly are. It is living more fully in the identity that God has given to you. It is diving headfirst with wild, reckless abandon into God’s all consuming love, and drowning in it.

Intimacy is much more daunting and scary than calculated systematic thinking. Perhaps this is why we have fallen to the latter, it is just easier to stay there. Maybe this is the wide road.

teaching and learning

As a teacher I am continually learning about how people learn. If I were to ask you, “How do you learn?” I am confident that most of you would be able to talk about how you learn. I have asked many people over the years how they learn, as it helps me with my teaching.

In all of the answers I have received that speak about learning styles and effective teaching techniques, what is not said is starting to give me as much insight as the things that are said. This due to the fact that the way many choose to communicate today is one of the least effective means for teaching, persuading, or causing others to think.

Go through your Facebook homepage. How many people are updating their status with constructive observations on life? How many people are talking about what they like about a certain political candidate and praising his or her merits? How many speak of their untold joy about their job or family?

What about the comments on blogs? It seems that sarcasm, belittling, condescension (which means to speak down to you), and arrogance rule the day. Who learns anything that way?

We are so locked into an “either or world” and very few are able to move beyond to see the beauty of a third and higher way all together. We get so locked into one way of thinking and seeing. Black or White. Up or Down. Left or Right. Add your opposite here: _____________ or _________________.

As I continue to see the vast majority constantly critique, peddle fear, ridicule, mock, complain, or offer a-musing words; I have begun to wonder about learning. Perhaps people are able to speak in this way, because the truth is they have no concern about learning anything. Maybe their real concern is only to see their way of thinking triumph in the end.

The Strategy of the Beggar's Bowl

At Denver Community Church we were recently asked what our strategic plan was. The question was asked as we were speaking about the future. Several of us looked at one another with confused glances. The question was then clarified, “Where is DCC going?”

Initially we would have said that we do not have a strategic plan. At least not how most would think of a strategic plan. However, the more that we have spoken the more it seems we have a plan – if you can call it that.

At some level we have stopped trying to plan everything at DCC. This is intentional, and is related to the fact that we believe that God has a much wilder imagination than us, and is more ambitious with regard to his Kingdom that any of us could ever be. We continue to see men and women find hope, healing, wholeness, redemption, and grace in our midst. We continue to see men and women use their gifts, talents, and passions to serve the city of Denver and our world.

A few years ago we did come up with a plan. We bathed the plan in prayer, asked God to work in us and through us, and pieced together our goals and how we were going to get there. Nothing worked out like we had written down. God did more than anything we would ever have asked for or imagined. We didn’t learn.

We created a new plan. This one had bigger goals, better strategies, and a more aggressive timeframe. We thought that now we were surely in a place where we would be able to keep up with where God was bringing us. Once again, we underestimated what God’s plan was.

We began to rethink how we plan. We realized that as we looked down the road we thought we had our future sorted out. We, like most people who have been indoctrinated with the idea of mapping out our future, had spent our time before we had ever been given it. These plans had given us a false sense of security. We wanted to explain what was happening, and wanted to be able to measure success. If something went wrong, we wanted to be able to identify what was going wrong.

We had a growing sense that we needed a new plan, and that we ought to rest more fully in God, who, as it turns out, is far more sovereign than Franklin Covey. Together we decided that our new plan should be to simply listen.

It is a beggar’s bowl sort of thing. Centuries ago men and women of faith who had taken a vow of poverty would venture into the town square with their beggar’s bowl. They would wait to see what was put in it. Whatever food came to them that day, they believed that was what God wanted them to have for that day; tomorrow would take care of itself.

This is where we have come to at DCC. Each day we simply put out our beggar’s bowl and ask, “God what do you have for us today?” The answers are varied, unpredictable, and frequently cause us to be in a place where we are – in the healthiest sense possible – a little out of control. It causes us to stay in a place where, because we cannot stay in control, we have to constantly ask God to man the wheel and steer the vehicle.

Our leadership wants to stay in the place where we are in front of our faith community leading them well, but always behind God listening to him, and asking him for direction. It is not a science, it is certainly not predictable, it is wrought with uncertainty, and sometimes it is scary. However, in it all we are learning a lot.

We are learning how controlling we like to be. We are learning how often we lack faith. We are learning how small our dreams are. We are learning that we like certainty and crave comfort. But what we are learning is not all negative.

We are learning that God likes adventure. We are learning that God is always present – even though sometimes it feels like he showed up “just in the nick of time.” We are learning that God works in the most curious ways that lead us to the place where we worship him with more passion. We are learning that God uses imperfect people, and that there is great joy in that.

As we continue this journey in what often feels like liminal space we are gaining greater confidence, not in our plan, but in God’s leading us. As it turns out we have a plan – we want to listen, as a community, to God, and respond to his call. The beautiful thing in this is that we cannot explain the “how”, “why” or “what” with regard to what God is doing at DCC, and we are okay with that. Our sense is, that when we can articulate exactly how things are happening at DCC – it just may be time for us to move on, because at that point God may have just “left the buidling.”

As we look toward the future, many have asked, “Where is DCC heading?” Our answer is simple: “Away from here.” That is what we know, because we serve a God who is on the move. As we listen to him and ask him to fill our beggar’s bowl we believe that he will move us here and there in his time. And when we get there – we will know that God is the one, who, in his mysterious ways, brought us there.

Ten Thousand Nets

There is a new campaign in Denver called Ten Thousand Nets . Several outlets have picked up the story of the efforts in Denver to fight malaria. Several churches have been involved - Bloom Church, The Next Level Church, City Presbyterian, and many others. We have partnered with ONE and Malaria No More to make malaria a thing of the past. Yesterday I wrote a guest blog for ONE. Rather than re-write it you can click here to read it.

A CURE FOR CANCER

Cancer is one of the leading killers in our world today. What would happen if a researcher locked away in a lab somewhere found the cure? What if there was a pill that could eradicate a tumor within a week of a doctor identifying a malignant lump inside someone? Some of you may be thinking, “That researcher would be rich!” Indeed.

Perhaps the researcher, and the company for whom she worked, would be rich because there is no telling how much money would be paid for these prized pills. When it comes to cancer no amount of money is too much when it means curing that disease.

But what if a researcher did in fact find a cure, but the pills which were sure to destroy the tumor were simply not available? What if the health care industry had to continue with chemotherapy, radiation, treatment, surgery, and for those who succumb to the disease – hospice? While the pill may be expensive all of these things would surely cost much more.

We would think, “Just cure it, stop treating it.” Sounds simple. In some ways it is.

While this scenario around cancer may sound trivial, the reality is that – give or take a detail or two – this is almost the same exact scenario that exists in our world about malaria. Malaria claims some 900,000 lives every year. Most of those who die are children. But malaria can be prevented, treated, and cured.

Yet for the nations that make up the continent of Africa they are still spending up to $12 Billion per year on malaria, and for many African households 25% of their income is spent on malaria.

Most people are not aware of how malaria continues to be a leading killer in our world, but it does not have to stay this way. This Sunday, April 25, 2010 is World Malaria Day. Churches throughout Denver will be observing this day, and we will be launching a city wide campaign to be a part of delivering bed nets to those who suffer most.

Stay tuned for more. As it turns out 2010 is not going to be a good year for malaria.

More Birthday Parties For Everyone

Sunday, April 25 is World Malaria Day. Let me say that again, SUNDAY, April 25 is World Malaria Day. When my friend Adam Phillips from The ONE Campaign told me about this, light bulbs began going off in my head, for I saw this as a time of great opportunity. This is because on any given Sunday at our faith community, and faith communities around the world, a lot of people gather and participate in worship together.

I became excited about the possibility of making a mention of it to our faith community, and thereby bringing greater awareness and education to a group of people about malaria. I spoke with several in our leadership as to whether this was something we should do. The response was an enthusiastic “Yes!”

This day presents to pastors around the world a remarkable opportunity to mention the day, and more importantly to educate those who are a part of our faith communities about the dark reality of malaria. Not only the dark side of the disease, but the dark reality that many have no idea as to how malaria is ravaging our world.

If you were to ask someone “What is malaria?” You may receive a host of answers. I did this recently. Quite a few said, “It’s a disease you can get from mosquitoes.” However, out of the nearly twenty people I asked, only one made any mention of malaria being a leading cause of death in our world.

The truth is that malaria is responsible for just under one million deaths each year. Most of those who die are children under the age of five. In fact, malaria is the leading cause of death in children in Africa, where one child, under the age of five, dies every thirty seconds from malaria.

This is not just a statistic. This is a child to a mother and father. A child like my daughter, who will celebrate her fifth birthday tomorrow. She has a whole day planned. She thinks she will be bigger, so she told me we have to buy her more clothes. She wants to go out with my wife and her closest friends. We are having a pizza lunch. And we will wrap the day up with our community celebrating her five years of life.

This is a privilege that thousands of parents are robbed of every day because their child's life is cut way too short by malaria. What is so maddening about these numbers is that it does not have to be this way. Malaria is preventable, treatable, and curable. Which means that there can be a lot more families celebrating their child's fifth birthday.

There are many ways the disease can be prevented. The easiest way costs just $10. For ten bucks you can buy an insecticide treated bed net that can last up to 5 years. This covers the making and distribution of the net, and education for those who are receiving the nets. These bed nets have been proven to reduce child deaths by up to 20%. That is the prevention of nearly 500,000 deaths every year in Africa alone. Which means a lot more kids can have a chance to blow out some candles.

The more I learned, the more my excitement grew about World Malaria Day. Rather than keep this to myself I decided to call other pastors. Many were excited and have chosen to say something about the day, ask people to give, or simply pause, and pray for the eradication of the disease. Together we have formed the Ten Thousand Nets Campaign, which is Denver's campaign to fight malaria (more details to follow).

Our faith community and many other communities of faith throughout Denver are putting our efforts toward raising awareness, educating our people, and supporting the fight against malaria, and it all begins on Sunday, April 25.

I invite you to join with us. Speak up and say something. It may be as simple as recognizing the day or a time of prayer during your worship service, or you may choose to dedicate your entire gathering toward the disease. The choice is yours.

We have joined together with The ONE Campaign, as they have a lot of great resources for the gatherings of faith communities with their ONE Sabbath Campaign. We have also chosen to give toward Malaria No More, a wonderful organization filled with passionate people who exist to see malaria eradicated.

Sunday, April 25 is World Malaria Day. I ask that you would email your pastor, forward this to every pastor that you know, put it on Facebook, tweet this everywhere, or if you are feeling inspired share about what you or your faith community are doing. If you ar a pastor, I invite you to participate with us on April 25. What could happen if communities of faith came together around this? I suspect that many more would have the joy of celebrating a fifth birthday with their child.

A Culture of Adolescence

Last night at dinner my children, who are 6-years-old and 4-years-old, were locked in an embittered struggle. The argument began over a particular detail in a cartoon they both like. My son insisted, “Yes, it is!” My daughter had a predictable retort, “No, it’s not!” This back and forth quickly devolved into name-calling and insults. I stepped in as the referee, and asked that they apologize to one another.

As dinner went on I realized that what I just witnessed between my children happens everyday, everywhere. However, it is not limited to two children sitting at a dinner table with their parents. It happens around the water cooler at work, between friends who are having a beer, and in public places like the blogosphere and most major media outlets. It begins with an issue and quickly moves toward insults, accusations, character assaults, and name-calling.

It is amazing to me that people get so angry, so quickly when someone disagrees with them. It seems that we are unable to discuss the real, important issues due to our swelling arrogance and the largeness of our egos. Because of this we lack the ability to go deeper.

This inability to pursue depth stunts growth. For many people, the issues that lead to such vitriol are vitally important. However, we never really get to them. We simply yell louder so that no one can hear anything. And there is a direct proportion to the volume of someone’s voice and their opinion of the person with whom they are arguing.

At the end of the day, each person walks away believing the other to be an ass, but neither is better. Worse yet, the issue at hand has in no way been resolved or spoken of with any intelligence.

We live in a culture of accepted and affirmed adolescence. A culture that tells us whoever gets the last word, with the best insult wins. We veer away from the issues and simply try to make those who believe in certain issues look like idiots. We then think, “You have to be an idiot to believe that!” And with self-assurance we tell ourselves we are not idiots, therefore we are right.

Perhaps this is why people continue to speak about the divide that exists in our world. Maybe it is not the issues that divide us, but the way we approach the issues. Who wants to hang out with someone who fires away at your character because you have a difference of opinion? Who wants to learn from someone who, in the most condescending way, parodies a person with whom they disagree?

Name-calling has nothing to do with healthcare. Fear mongering has nothing to do with exploring theology. Character assassinations have nothing to immigration reform. Mockery has nothing to do with an opinion that is different from yours. Insults have nothing to do with why a candidate should be in office. Condescension has nothing to do with doctrine with which you disagree.

We need to move to a deeper place altogether. This requires us to mature and to agree that we will stop acting like kids arguing at dinner over their cartoon. This is hard work. We have to listen, delve into issues, listen, educated ourselves, listen, read about the issues from all points of view, listen, and listen. Perhaps if we begin to do more of this we will be able to see more clearly when the issues cease to be a part of our conversations, and in the end move back to the issues at hand – and together move to a deeper place.

Glenn Beck and Social Justice: A Response

Recently Glenn Beck made some comments about leaving a church if the priest or pastor speaks about “social justice”. He instructed his listeners to “look for the words ’social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church website” and then told them that should they find those words to “run as fast as you can.” Why? Well Beck believes those are “code words” that have malevolent ties to communism and Nazism.

He spoke about his own church community and his pastor, and said proudly that if his church was about “social justice” he would report his church to the church authorities. So Beck, postures his argument as a churchgoer.

I have received a few emails and texts from people about these comments, so I thought I would respond to the many emails here.

Let me begin by saying that I do not presume to know how Beck defines social or economic justice. Perhaps he is referring to the ethos of caring for the poor and needy, or the demand for human rights in this world of ours. Maybe he is referring to the tradition of the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures, like Amos who says:

You levy a straw tax on the poor

and impose a tax on their grain. 


Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,

you will not live in them; 


though you have planted lush vineyards,

you will not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your offenses

and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes 


and deprive the poor of justice in the court …

seek good, not evil, that you may live.

This is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says:

"I hate, I despise your religious festivals;

I cannot stand your assemblies.

Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them. 


Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

I will have no regard for them.

Away with the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

(From Amos 5.11-24, click here to read the whole chapter).

First, if Beck is speaking about justice along with Amos and the other prophets, then he is definitely talking about caring the for the poor and speaking about human rights. Many people are up in arms about his wanting to link this ideology to political theories such as communism and Nazism.

However, we need not become so upset. For true justice is rooted in the heart of God. As the Psalmist says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne” (Psalm 89.4). If justice, then, is of God then we need not listen to Beck’s assertions. For God is not a Nazi or a Communist. Nor is he Democrat or Republican. In fact, God has no political affiliation. The rule and throne of his Kingdom is built on righteousness and justice.

Second, Beck calls for those who are a part of churches that preach social justice to run away. He goes on to instruct his listeners to report their pastors or priests to the church authorities. With this side of Beck’s argument I too have no issue.

For, some may, no doubt, leave their church because of preachers preaching about poverty, human rights, economics, and justice. And if they do, then I say, “Thank you Glenn Beck, now there is room for more who are desperate to see justice roll on like a river.”

And now, a word to Glenn Beck. I will not argue with your political viewpoint. Everyone is entitled to have his or her opinion, slant, or spin on any particular office, legislation, or politician. Each person also has a right to make their ideology known to whoever will listen.

However, when you speak as a churchgoer, and when you begin roping the Church into your rhetoric; things get a little more serious. I would encourage and exhort you to use more care, and to consider your words more carefully. You influence a lot of people in this world, and have the potential and power to do much for good.

My hope for you, is the same for myself; that your thoughts and words would move those who listen to you more toward the mind and heart of Jesus. May that be the end toward which we both strive.