Two ideas that have stirred me this week…

We come to receive the Eucharist not just to receive but knowing that we are to take back to our communities what Christ has given us and shown us in meeting him in the Eucharist.

and…

When one of us is poor we all suffer; when one of us is rich we are all blessed. This is the interconnected community of Christ. A community that takes on the pain of those in its midst who are hurting and shares what it has to help those who are in need.

The first moved me because this is a sentiment that I have read and often expressed in leading groups through the Eucharist…but have seldom heard elsewhere. The Eucharist (or communion, Lord’s supper, etc.) it seems to me in most evangelical churches has simply come to be about me recognizing what was done for me. I am the focus. I am the center – not Christ and this is missing the point.

The second moved me because it is an idea that I have read. It is an idea that I believe the scriptures teach, but until Monday night I had never heard another pastor express. It moved me to tears. Blessed to be a blessing…that’s what we are and we each bare the burdons of those in our communities as we likewise revel in their joy. We are attached to each other but our fear, greed or other delusions help us to build protective walls. We convince ourselves that we aren’t attached but in reality we are. Every decision affecting those around us in ways we are often unwilling to see but the effects are there. Much like Dr. King’s picture of people being bound in an interconnected inextricable garment of destiny. We are attached and need each other. We must honor our connectedness to really be the communities of peace, hope and redemption that Christ calls us to be.

This week I’m praying to live these ideas out – not just talk about them.

Peace ~

Freedom is a word that get’s batted around a lot. Over the past few weeks I’ve been struck not only with repetitive phrasing that I hear using the word freedom but also how maybe our definition is a little shallow.

I would argue most often when expressed in America, freedom means:

Our ability (seen as unique in the world) to make choices and pursue what we want without being under pressure, persecution or manipulation.

For the Christian I’m not sure that this view is healthy. Most often even the Christian language I hear about freedom is much more nationalistic or individualistic than what I think we are called to. I wonder if in our flag draped culture our freedom in and through Christ has not been co-opted and replaced in priority by a national interpretation.

And who wouldn’t want to have the opportunity to make the choices that we get to make? America in many ways is brilliant! But to think that the “American Way” is always the best way is naive. The “American Way” allows us many many great opportunities to pursue good but at the same time litters our lives with pitfalls that appeal to our greed, materialism and consumptive tendencies. I wonder if we (Christians) really believe that…

Freedom is not dictated by geography, governmental structures or tax codes. The beauty of the Gospel message is that it works and if God has your heart you can be free even if you find yourself chained in the deepest most confining hole, found in the most hostile country in existence, while being tormented by the most evil people on the face of the earth…who happens to work for the IRS and was given his job by President Obama.

You can be and are free no matter

where you live,

when you live,

or whose rule you live under.

Your freedom comes not from your power to choose but in the the power that comes from God’s choosing of you, your saying Yes, and what was is is being done to your heart. How we express ourselves in our views of our physical environment reveals our trust or lack there of in his power.

What has been done in your heart and mind should free us from fear and empower us to be like Jesus. A dependance on any other idea or structure to provide us with “freedom”, is an affront to the gospel. The gospel message, the ways of Jesus work, if we’ll only believe.

So people die for the entity that is the USA but as a Christian no one dies for our freedom. Please don’t read that as degridation of sacrifice for our nation; sacrifice and self surrender are core to the Christian story, and can be a beautiful thing. Yet Christians are called to something and are part of something that is bigger and more significant than any nation. The scriptures never promises us a country. They never promise us safety; they promise us a cross but in bearing it, we are never alone, we are always loved and in the end…God wins. Maybe sacrificing the victory of the moment, giving up control, acting as Jesus acted reveals our maturity and our growth into Christlikeness.

No country provides us freedom. We are free because the son has set us free and if you have accepted his love and freedom; you are free and to feel as though we need anything else for freedom may be a warning call to examine the state of our heart and our perspective.

Your chains, limitations and persecutors only become prisons or persecution if you allow them to. 

Paul proved this to us in his prolific and powerful work from prison. Clear perspective allows Paul to boast and encourage while chained and tortured. This is why Emerson’s idea of what lies behind you & before you is of no comparison to what lies within you really resonates with me. Freedom isn’t about what was or what will be it’s in your perspective now.

So….does our language, 

1) Betray our real allegiance or to borrow from the scriptures shows “where our treasure lies.”

2) Belittle Christians who live in areas that are not accepting of believers. Is it a bit arrogant of us to think that we are rushing in to save the day for “them” so that they can one day breakfast at ChickFila, rush to Target to then hang out at Starbucks. I don’t mean to be trite and I realize that often non-believers, children and the elderly often go without basic needs being met but I wonder if we should adjust our verbiage.

3) Render us powerless in a country eaten up with individualism and personal choice. We look no different than everyone else.

4) Show that we are really slaves and don’t know it.

Friends, if the son has set you free, you are free and no one or no thing on their on can take that away from you. It is only by our concession and fear that we give up this space and forfeit our peace. Our scriptures say over and over again to Fear Not!

What if, we just tried it.

Peace ~

Let me say first off, I like Francis Chan. Even though, like Jeff Cook, I will probably come down in a different place than him on the eternity questions, I really appreciate his passion & his willingness to put his life where his words & books are. That is rare in our world.

So it was with a sigh, that I first saw this video about his coming book, Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and The Things We Made Up. I haven’t read it; I will, but I’m concerned about the length of it.  If we take the title literally, then this book could be really really long or incredibly short and with the price of gas these days, I kinda wanna know what I’m getting.

Here’s what I mean; let’s take the title.

Erasing Hell: What the God Says About Eternity -

*Erasing Hell (reference to the Bell discussion)…okay. I see where he’s coming from even though right now from just the video I feel like he’s missing the point of the previous discussion, as did many  and there is from my chair a common theological faux pas.

*And let’s be real here, if he’s going to write a book about what God actually says about eternity (from the mouth of God himself or from the lips of Jesus) this will be a very short book – there is simply not that much material from the mouth of God about it. The Old Testament is basically devoid of eternal insights and as N.T. Wright often quips Heaven & Hell aren’t things that Jesus seems to be too concerned about.

Honestly, it’s the And, The Things We Made Up part that concerns me.

I mean how is he going to in one book cover…

Weekend Worship Services
Sunday School
Small Groups
An Age of Accountability (if you’re not Baptist, go here)
Infant baptism (if you are Baptist, go here)
Tithing as the base of New Testament/Church giving
Pastor as CEO
Just War Theory
Those funny outfits that priests wear (thinking the hats & shoes)
Purgatory
Verse #’s in the Bible
Teaching as the most important thing that we do in churches
Worship (singing) as a sacrifice ( I mean really…)
Building buildings
The rapture
That the world was perfect before Adam & Eve’s sin
Evangelism as a sales pitch
Discipleship as a program outside of relationship

And that’s just the beginning. Over 2000 years we’ve really we’ve made up a lot of stuff. Can he really get to it all? Maybe that’s why he stepped down from pastoring, to write this tome. Or maybe he’s just going to pick and choose the stuff that we’ve made up that is important to him or his tribe. Not to pick on Francis Chan at all; we all do this but not everyone has the platform to lecture their points. And growing a large church and being a very good communicator or even writing a good book doesn’t make you a theologian with the wisdom to lecture the masses. Having a blog doesn’t give you this right either.

My Few Insignificant Thoughts…

1)These items above are all from my perspective and his ideas about eternity will be from his perspective. Beyond the sarcasm what really made me nervous was the title of the video I saw over the weekend promoting the coming book. Specifically “we can’t get this wrong.” With this phrase comes the assumption that we can get it right.

We do the absolute best that we can with the information that is given to us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and faithful men and women under this direction have come to different places on the topic. So to assume that one side is right and the other is wrong means that God is misguiding or blinding some or that we are in a time where the Spirit is allowing a wrestle over this topic. Maybe one day it will be made clear and maybe it will not ever be.

I dread the idea that again over the summer we are going to be dragged into another “we are right and you and everyone else are going to hell!” finger pointing match. It’s almost like we’re getting a rebuttal from the opposing party who is rolling out there “trendy hip guy.” In the words of Roberto Duran, “No Mas!” (If you’re younger than 40 click here). I’m actually starting a count of how many times I’m asked if I saw this video or read this book…should be interesting, especially since…I have a friend who has been somewhat vocal about all of this

Not that we can’t get this or other things right but to get it right we’ve got to include all of the insights, all of the voices and then wrestle through it with divine help. Anything else is just building dogma from what we know or feel comfortable with. The beauty of Love Wins was not a new a theological insight, not a new fresh inspired word from God about what’s really out there, not  even an unbelievably well written book that you just couldn’t put down but it was a tool that started discussion…a discussion that I still here today and That is a win – but only for those who discuss. Those who are arguing even when thinking that they have won have only lost and so has the kingdom.

We need to think, discuss, wrestle with, test our faith & our stances. But this requires time, patience, listening and the willingness to admit that we could be wrong and we aren’t very good at these things. We as a culture are very poor listeners & learners. Me thinks that it’s a pride thing.

2) The video quotes Isaiah 55v8-9 and God’s words that his ways and thoughts are not our ways and are highter than outs. I would never assume to know what God is up to or why he moves or doesn’t move. But I do know these things:

1) Paul writes to us in Romans 8 & 12 about a process of us being transformed and renewed mind and body to be like Christ. So though God’s ways are higher we are seeking to be like him and attain his character.

2) God is higher but knowable.

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10v30

He also said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the father.” John 14v9

John also wrote that the “Word was with God and was God.” John 1v1…”the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1v14

Paul wrote, “He is the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1v15

The author of Hebrews speaking of Jesus said, “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” Hebrews 1v3.

Are we seeing a pattern here?

While we may never know “why” God does what he does. We do have a crystal model of who God is and how he would act. So when we approach heaven, hell, sin, forgiveness, giving, going, listening, talking or eating fried chicken. We really know what God would do – look at Jesus.

This is what makes it hard for many of us who struggle with God acting the way that some believers believe that he would/does. I find myself over & over again in these discussions thinking, “This is simply not Jesus.” …which again reminds me of this gem:

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.

Soren Kierkegaard

Jesus to me is pretty easy to understand – easy to understand but most often not easy to follow. It seems to me, and maybe just me, that our arguments are so often nationalistic, tribalistic, self-preserving or poorly informed and often, out of character with Jesus…it often simply doesn’t add up.

Speaking of adding up…We’re there really three wise men? Can’t wait to see if we get an answer to that one

Peace ~

William