thinking out loud...

Surprised By Hope 6

2011-07-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

Wright continues to lay out this New Testament hope for the future. For some this may be elementary, for others boring. I find it refreshing to affirm (and clarify) concepts that we hear in church circles but never seem to get around to discussing. It helps me for when I get questions, as a pastor, from folks about such matters.

Here are a couple of key points from chapters 8-10: (As with any of the points I have summarized in this post or others, I recommend reading the book for the full and best explication of Wright's argument.)

Chapter 8 deals with Jesus' return. The chapter (and New Testament thought, Wright would argue) is summed up in the following:

"There will come a time, which might indeed come at any time, when, in the great renewal of the world that Easter itself foreshadowed, Jesus himself will be personally present and will be the agent and model of the transformation that will happen to the world and also to believers." p. 136

Chapter 9 deals with judgment. Now in our culture this has become a taboo word. We don't like the thought of being judged. Yet, Wright reminds us that in the Bible, particularly the Psalms, God's judgment is a good thing -- something humanity and creation long for -- indeed a reason to celebrate BECAUSE God is the good and perfect judge, and that perfect judgment will put all things back to rights.

So, as Wright states: "In a world of systematic injustice, bullying, violence, arrogance, and oppression, the thought that there might come a day when the wicked are firmly put in their place and the poor and the weak are given their due is the best news there can be." p.137

Chapter 10 begins dealing with the confusion of Christians and non-Christians alike about what Christians believe about the fate of the dead. Essentially Wright says that resurrection is indeed bodily, and will take place on earth when Jesus is bodily present once again, and NOT immediately when we die. Resurrection, he writes, is a way of talking about a new bodily life after whatever state of existence one might enter immediately upon death. (Please note, Wright is not arguing for the existence of purgatory.)

Surprised by Hope 5

2011-06-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

Chapter 7 of NT Wright’s Surprised by Hope deals mostly with the idea of “the ascension”: the event of Jesus going to heaven. Wright argues if we misunderstand the ascension, then we get into some murky theology.

The part of this chapter that struck me the most are these two sentences:

“What happens when you downplay or ignore the ascension? The answer is that the church expands to fill the vacuum. If Jesus is more or less identical with the church—if, that is talk about Jesus can be reduced to talk about his presence within his people rather than standing over against them and addressing them from elsewhere as their Lord, then we have created a high road to the worst form of triumphalism.” p. 112

I believe see the affects of ignoring or downplaying the ascension in North American Christianity’s decline, in the United Methodist Church in particular. For too long, instead viewing the church as a means to God’s ends, we made the church the end in and of itself. Instead of proclaiming a Risen Jesus, who transforms lives and the entire cosmos, who is Lord over heaven and earth, the church proclaimed an institutional message that forgot who was the Creator and who was the created.

Having a healthy view of the ascension allows us as Wright states, “to give up the struggle to be God (and with it the inevitable despair at our constant failure), and to enjoy our status as creatures: image-bearing creatures, but creatures nonetheless.” P. 114

In other words we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth…including the church…including our lives. Then we seek to live out God’s agenda and not our own.

Surprised by Hope 4

2011-06-24T10:52:00.000-04:00

I am thoroughly enjoying NT Wright’s book Surprised by Hope, where he is laying out what resurrection is and what it means for the world and the church. In this section of the book Wright suggests three ways of seeing the future where humans find hope: Evolutionary Optimism, Souls in Transit, and What the World is Waiting For. I briefly discussed the first two in yesterday’s post.

Today I want to look at this third concept, what Wright would call a New Testament image of the future of hope (New Creation/Redemption). To understand this third way, Wright suggests we need to understand three concepts:

The goodness of creation – “[Creation] is good as creation, not as an independent or self-sufficient ‘nature.’” Creation is an act of love by the Creator that is designed “to reflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God back into the rest of creation in stewardship. “ (p. 94)

The nature of evil – Wright denotes evil is rebellion by which we worship that which is created instead of the Creator. He suggests we tend to lump transience, physical death, and decay into the category of evil. These he suggests are natural processes that point to what God is doing with creation: moving the world from its present existence to what it is mean to be.

The plan of redemption – “Redemption doesn’t mean scrapping what’s there and starting again from a clean slate but rather liberating what has come to be enslaved.” (p. 96) Because creation is God’s act of love, God has a plan to redeem creation, to put it to rights as Wright is fond of saying. This plan of redemption is not just spiritual, but physical in nature as well.

Wright then goes on to masterfully discuss six beautiful images the New Testament uses to point to this third way of seeing the future, a future that the whole world has been waiting for: redemption. They are: Seedtime and Harvest (1 Corinthians 15); the Victorious Battle; Citizens of Heaven, Colonizing Earth (Philippians 3:20-21); God will be All in All (1 Corinthians 15:28); New Birth (Romans 8:18-25); Marriage of Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21-22).

To sum up this third way, New Creation/Redemption, in Wright’s own words: “What I am proposing is that the New Testament image of the future hope of the whole cosmos, grounded in the resurrection of Jesus, gives as coherent a picture as we need or could have of the future that is promised to the whole world, a future in which, under the sovereign and wise rule of the creator God, decay and death will be done away with and a new creation born, to which the present one will stand as mother to child.” (p. 107)

Surprised by Hope 3

2011-06-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

In the second section of Wright's book on resurrection, he seeks to articulate a Biblical vision for the future. To do this he describes three options for how people view the future: two I will very briefly sum up below. I will deal with in a separate post post.

Evolutionary Optimism: this is the Myth of Progress (based on liberal modernism and Darwinian thought.) It believes that humanity is moving, progressing through education, technology, and science “up and to the right”. This philosophy of thought believes that all the worlds ills can be fixed through progress and humanity will one day arrive at utopia. Wright points out that this line of thought underestimates the nature and power of evil. It fails to deal with how to understand or prevent evil, past and present.

Souls In Transit: This line of thought relies heavily on Plato, that sees the material world as something to be transcended (evil and decay with it) for a more perfect eternal existence that has no material substance. In other words humanity was created for a spiritual existence and must endure the physical world to get to the spiritual world. This line of thought informed the Gnostic sect in early Christianity (as well as certain elements of the Romantic movement in the late 18^th& 19^th centuries.) Such a view devalues the material and any kind of physical creation.

As I read this chapter, I could see strains of each line of thought in the culture around me and in my very own thought process. Think about political discussion (or the lack thereof). Think about approaches to the environment (both good and bad). I think about my own love of technology and my tendency to be an early adopter, do I see that as a means to fix the world’s problems? I also see out culture and world’s difficulty in dealing with the problem of evil. As a pastor, I get questions all the time about the existence of evil.

I am curious to get to the third option for viewing the future to see how it agrees and differs with the two options above. Which of the above best describes how you see the future?

Surprised By Hope 2

2011-06-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

Resurrection is the central event of the Christian faith. NT Wright has written a masterful book that explores resurrection and what that means for followers of Jesus. I have been reading through Wright's book to help bolster my understanding of resurrection. Below are some "money" quotes from my reading today:

"Jesus of Nazareth ushers in not simply a new religious possibility, not simply a new ethic or a new way of salvation, but a new creation." p. 67

"Hope, for the Christian, is not wishful thinking or mere blind optimism. It is a mode of knowing, a mode within which new things are possible, options are not shut down, new creation can happen." p.72

What strikes me about these quotes and about resurrection are:
1. God is not static, but dynamically working in creation to bring about restorative justice
2. The resurrection of Jesus is the event where we see God conquering the powers of sin and death to usher in the new creation (i.e. the Kingdom of the Heavens) as a reality
3. Hope is a way of living recognizing God's movement and the future possibilities that God has for the creation, including you and me.

Lastly, I believe a robust understanding of the resurrection helps move Christianity from a set of propositional ideas or "truths" to an embodied and incarnate faith that changes the world in participation with the movement of the God of Creation.

What is Resurrection?

2011-06-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

If someone asked you to define "resurrection" what would you say? Why is resurrection central to Christianity? I would submit that many would struggle with how to respond to such questions, particuarly in light of our modern beliefs. It seems many modern understandings of resurrection and after-life death sound more like they are from Plato than they are from the New Testament. (i.e. the body is bad and the soul is good, and at death the body and soul are separated forever, the soul going to heaven and the body decaying to nothing.)

A helpul resource I have found in better understanding resurrection is NT Wright's book, Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.

Wright walks the reader through 1st century Jewish and pagan understandings of resurrection to clarify an orthodox Christian perspective on what resurrection is. He then looks at the implications of such an understanding for the future, exploring what heaven is and how we are to understand it (i.e. not just life after death, but life after 'life after death'.) Then in the third part of the book, Wright spells out the implications of resurrection on the mission of the church.

I am only part way through this book, but I have found Wright's book very helpful in articlulating a core component of the Christian faith. I am so thankful for theologians/pastors like Wright and his ability to help clarify the Christian faith and how it is embodied in our everyday lives.

What are you doing with your cognitive surplus?

2011-06-03T10:45:00.002-04:00

Author Clay Shirky in his book, Cognitive Surplus, asserts that because of a shift in media being something we merely consume (i.e. broadcast media,magazines, newspapers) to something in which we participate (i.e. Blogs, social media, sharing tools, etc.) we are now able to use our collective free time (as a society or a subgroup of society) to do some pretty cool things. For instance: Ushahidi.

Kind of humbling when I think about what I accomplish (or don't) with my free time. What is the most constructive thing you do with your free time?

Tomorrow's Workout - 2011-06-03

2011-06-02T20:49:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow's Workout: meet in front of Porter Library. Easy 3 miles. The "bus" leaves at 5:45AM.

Workout 2011-06-01

2011-05-31T21:01:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow's Workout: meet in front of Woodlands Pool. 4 mile hill run. The "bus" leaves at 5:45am.

Tomorrow's Workout: 2011-05-30

2011-05-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow's Workout: meet in front of Hampton Oaks pool. 3 or 5 mile option. The "bus" leaves at 5:45am.

Workout 2011-05-23

2011-05-22T18:54:00.002-04:00

Not available to work out this week. Will resume workouts 5/30. Have a great week!

Tomorrow's Workout - 2011-05-20

2011-05-19T19:36:00.000-04:00

Meet at Woodlands Pool parking lot. 3 miles: hills and negative splits. Come join the fun. Rain or shine the "bus" leaves at 5:45AM.

Interesting Research on The Wisdom of Crowds

2011-05-18T15:14:00.002-04:00

I saw this interesting Wired article via Zite. I read James Suriwecki's book, The Wisdom of Crowds, several years ago and was fascinated with its premise (that crowds that meet certain criteria are often smarter than individuals in making decisions.)

The end of the article, stating a conclusion from researchers led by mathematician Jan Lorenz and sociologist Heiko Rahut of Switzerland’s ETH Zurich, intrigued me:

“Opinion polls and the mass media largely promote information feedback and therefore trigger convergence of how we judge the facts,” they wrote. The wisdom of crowds is valuable, but used improperly it “creates overconfidence in possibly false beliefs.”

What do you think? How does this impact how we communicate and operate as the church, the community of Jesus?

Workout - 2011-05-18

2011-05-17T19:22:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow's Workout: Meet at Porter Library parking lot. ~3 miles, push-ups & sit-ups, too. Rain or shine the "bus" leaves at 5:45AM.

Tomorrow's Workout - 2011-05-16

2011-05-15T19:36:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow's Workout: Meet at Porter Library parking lot. ~3 miles, push-ups & sit-ups, too. Rain or shine the "bus" leaves at 5:45AM.

Introducing the Shallow Small Group...

2011-05-13T15:05:00.000-04:00

Pretty funny caricature of small groups. How does reflect (or not) your own perceptions or experiences of small group community?

Church: Purveyor of religious goods and services or Community of Jesus?

2011-05-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

When the church is merely a provider of religious goods and services, we run the risk of making Jesus a consumable "product" to meet our own needs, rather than the life-giving Savior who transforms and reorients our lives.

In what ways does the 21st century church seem to be merely a provider of religious goods and services? In what ways does the 21st century church seem to be the community of Jesus?

Tomorrow's workout...

2011-05-10T19:47:00.002-04:00

Inaugural workout tomorrow AM! Meet @ Hampton Oaks Community Center. Running 3 miles, push-ups and sit-ups after. The "bus" leaves at 5:45AM sharp!

BIG IDEA from the One-Month Experiment

2011-05-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

It's been a month since I wrote about committing to four practices. Three of the four were successful:

The one practice that I wasn't successful with was regular exercise. I want to change that.

So, here's my idea:

For the next two months (from now until the beginning of July) I am going to lead "group" workouts.
(Note: "group" equals whoever shows up. If no one shows up, then I will run with my good friends "me, myself and I." Either way, I am meeting my goal of exercising three times a week.)

Here are the details:

WHEN: Three times a week (M, W, and F) at 5:45AM. The "workout" begins promptly at 5:45AM, and will not last more than an hour.

WHERE: I will post the location and distance in three places: here, Facebook, and Twitter by 8PM of the night before. (You can friend me on FB or follow me on Twitter - bennettvt.) Workouts won't start in the same location twice in a row. We will meet up at the church, the local library, or one of the neighborhood community building parking lots. (All start locations will be within 5-8 minutes of the church.)

WHAT: Workouts won't be the same twice - some days it will just be running, some days we will incorporate other "goodies" into the run. (i.e. push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, sit-ups, etc.) Most days we will do between 3 and 4 miles. No work out will ever go over 5 miles.

WHO: Anyone can participate - just be prepared to do the distance. The motivation and accountability of exercising with others can be fun! If you choose to participate you are responsible for yourself. Your mother will not be there to watch over you. (Unless of course you choose to bring your mother, in that case make sure she's ready to exercise.)

I am curious to see how all this turns out. I look forward to seeing some of you at 5:45AM on Wednesday.

Never Say Never...

2011-05-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

I was talking with a friend yesterday. She was reflecting on an experience in her life where she has experienced significant growth. "Four years ago, I said I would NEVER lead a small group much less participate in one. Now I am leading one and, wow I have grown so much in my ability to be vulnerable in community." Never say never...

That conversation got me thinking about all the times when I said NEVER and what happened. Here are two:

NEVER #1:
In the fall of 1989, I remember watching the Hawaii IronMan on TV. I remember thinking, I will NEVER do that, its crazy. My "never" was primarily because I didn't think I would be able to do something like that. I mean come on, that's crazy - 140.6 miles, in one day, under your own power. That's insane! I could never do that!

Then in 2001 I met a group of guys at the gym who talked me into signing up for IronMan Florida with them. (Yes, peer pressure works.) I was excited about possibility that I MIGHT be able to do it. Those guys replaced my doubt with hope. I did what I said I would never do on November 9, 2002 in 14 hours and 21 minutes.

NEVER #2:
In Spring of 2006, after serving as an associate pastor where the senior pastor and I didn't always see eye to eye, I remember saying I would never be an associate again. NEVER... My "never" was based on fear going through the same challenges I previously experienced again.

In Fall of 2008, I had a conversation with my current lead pastor discussing the possibility of being an associate with him. I told him, "No" because of my previous experience. However, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. (The Holy Spirit's "peer pressure".) In January 2009, I called him back to see if the offer was still open. I knew from my conversation with him that this would be a different kind of appointment. (Not mention I had grown and matured quite a bit since my previous experience.) Now I get to serve with a great team, learning lots, and contributing in great ways to the mission of God through the church. This is a completely different experience than my previous experience.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED...(in addition to the fact that I can be talked into just about anything) I wonder if saying "never" to something is actually just putting up a wall against possibility for fear of failure, hurt, and/or rejection.

What if our "nevers" are a protection against something we really need. For instance, my "never" about the triathlon wasn't about triathlon. It was about the possiblity of pushing myself to step out of my comfort zone and attempt difficult things. My "never" about being an associate was judging all future experiences by past experiences without discernment and nuance. I needed to learn to not pre-script the future, rather to learn lessons from the past to help me be discerning towards the future.

Now, whenever I say "I will never" it gives me pause to see what it is I am really guarding against, and how there may be a growing moment ahead of me.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What are some times when you have said, "I will never..." then some time later you found yourself doing that? What was the impact? How did you grow?

A One-Month Experiment...Update

2011-04-27T06:50:00.000-04:00

On my 37th birthday, I decided that for 30 days I would be diligent about doing four practices in my daily life:
Practice 1: Going to bed each night at 10PM and getting up each morning at 5AM
Practice 2: Becoming more regular in my practice of Spiritual disciplines (i.e. prayer, journaling, reflection on the Scriptures, etc.)
Practice 3: Exerciseing 3 times a week to take help maintain good health
Practice 4: Fasting once a week to remind myself that while the physical life is part of who we are, it is not our master.

I chose to tell about this experiment through blogging for two reasons. First, if one share's goals publicly it becomes harder (not impossible, mind you) to rationalize commitment to the goals. Second, because I had a fifth unstated practice - get back to regular writing and usage of social media.

So, dear reader, more for my own accountability than for your reading pleasure, here is how the practices have been going:

Practice 1: I have really enjoyed the challenge of going to bed by 10PMish* and getting up at 5AMish*. (*Note: "ish" is a technical term that means give or take five to ten minutes. Its a real life-saver when telling one's spouse what time one plans to be home from work. "No, I'm not late, I said 5:30ish.") And for the most part I have done pretty well. There have been exceptions to this rule, (trip to emergency room for stitches with a two-year old, guests arriving from out of town, etc.) but they have been for actual life events and not because I was staying up late surfing online for the latest Justin Beiber updates. (And no, I am really not a fan of Justin Beiber.)

Practice 2: Getting up early has made becoming more consistent in practicing the spiritual disciplines much easier. I have been successful at this practice and am thankful for the time to start my day in quiet reflection, prayer and reading. When I start my day out this way, i really notice a difference in my attitude and approach towards others. I don't know who said it, but I believe there is something to the quote: "Before beginning dealing with the affairs of men, it is important to deal with the affairs of God." (my paraphrase)

Practice 3: Umm...well...Yeah I haven't been very successful with this practice. I really need to find a group of people with which to run or sign up for another race to give me a goal. Even with the warmer weather, I have not been able to motivate myself to get out and run. So this practice definitely needs some work.

Practice 4: I continue to find the practice of fasting a helpful discipline. Interestingly enough, each week instead of getting easier, it seems to get more challenging. I find myself more tempted to break the fast early. Now that Lent is over and my Lenten commitment is ended, I have considered not fasting any more. However, since it is still a helpful and challenging practice, I will continue it for the rest of this one-month experiment, and re-evaluate then.

So, that's how the practices are going. I will give a final update on the "one-month experiment" on May 7...ish.

A Goal and an Idea...

2011-04-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Earlier today, we had the Sticky Group Summit, where we invited leaders and participants from our Sticky Groups (sermon-based small groups), other small groups, and adult classes to join us for a conversation. In the course of the conversation, I shared with them a personal goal to have 60% of our average worship attendance participating in a group where they are being connected to the Scriptures, to God, and to one another.

My purpose for stating such a goal is not about getting more people to do more stuff. This is about letting Jesus run rampant in our community through transformed lives. I believe that as the church we are about transformation.

I firmly believe that one of the ways we experience transformation is when we gather in community with others to explore the Bible and seek God. This is an important part of intentional spiritual growth.

Now back to the goal for a minute. Right now, 60% of our average worship attendance is about 720 people. Imagine if 720 people from the same community are experiencing transformation. Think about all the people those 720 people touch in their daily lives: their family, friends, and co-workers. Imagine the impact those 720 will have in the world. Its exponential!

Remember, this is not about getting more people to do more stuff. This is about letting Jesus run rampant in our community through transformed lives that begins in Christian community and runs out into the world.This about making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

If you live in Stafford, and you are not already a part of an experience where you are connecting with others, the Bible, and God, click here to learn about some upcoming opportunities for transformation!

Resurrection...

2011-04-15T17:08:00.000-04:00

People often ask me what makes Christianity different from other religions. This is a fair question. Today, while preparing for a memorial service, I came across the following excerpt from a sermon I did at a funeral a couple of years ago, which points toward a unique claim of the Christian faith. Since Easter is right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to post.

"You see, the Christian faith makes a particular and unique claim: Jesus (the Son of God) was crucified, dead and buried. After three days he was raised from the dead – not through some magic hocus pocus - but through the action of God to show God’s power over death and sin – two parts of life that seem to have so much power in the world, as evidenced by the power of the grief you are feeling right now.

Yet God has more power. Jesus conquered death and sin so that we, God’s creatures, are not conquered by death and sin. Jesus’ death releases us from the grips of these two oppressive powers and frees us for new life. This shows not only God’s amazing power, but it shows God’s amazing grace – God’s amazing love - that he would conquer those things on our behalf through the sacrifice of Jesus.

And so, by these acts, which are God’s initiative and not ours, we may lay claim to everlasting life – a life that begins here on earth and passes through death into new life at the resurrection. This everlasting life is not marked by fear or sorrow. This everlasting life is marked by hope and love. We have hope for the full and everlasting life God promises. And we grow in love for God, the one who frees us from the power of death and sin. And this love of God transforms us to go out and love others.

This is our unique and particular claim – that God loves us, and through Jesus saves us from death and sin, which transforms us to a people of hope and love. And this is a reason to celebrate life for death does not have the last word! That belongs to God, because God is about life – everlasting life!

And so my friends, today as we celebrate XXXXX’s life, a life of hope and love – may we rejoice in the everlasting life that is his and ours through Jesus."

Third and Fourth Practices: Exercising and Fasting

2011-04-14T07:19:00.000-04:00

"You are not a body with a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." I really like this thought from CS Lewis. One reason I like it is because it recognizes the priority fo the spiritual life. A second reason I like it is that it doesn't diminish the physical body. BOTH are important. All too often though we get caught up in a theology that says the body is evil and the spirit is good. (That kind of thought is actually part of an ancient heresy called gnosticism.) Now we get this kind of thinking because of the struggles we have with our desires,most of them right and natural. However as humans we are often tempted to get the right needs met in the wrong places. (Rabbit trail...for some reason as I wrote that last line, i can hear SNL's version of Lookin' For Love, sung by Buckwheat...)

So if we are this spiritual person, how do we honor the whole without diminishing either the spiritual or the physical? These would be practices 3 & 4, exercise and fasting.

Exercise takes care of the physical body that is created by God and given to us in whatever shape and form we have. We ought to take care of this physical body it is a gift. Now that said, it is easy for us to worship the body (look at most magazines in the checkout line at the grocery story) and make it an idol. That would be loving the right thing wrongly. No, the purpose of exercise is not to have six-pack abs and 0% body fat. No, the purpose of exercise is to be a good steward of what God has given us as a body. In some cases, exercise can even be a form of recreation and enjoyment. Great! So, for this one month experiment, I am going to commit to exercising at least 3 times a week for the purpose of taking care of this physical body God has given me.

Now that said, having a physical body means there are certain desires that come along with having a body. (food, drink, sex, joy, etc.) I believe these desires are part of what it means to have a physical existence in God's creation. However, those desires can easily turn into idols that draw our attention away from God. Which is one of the reasons Christians practice the spiritual discipline of fasting. Intentionally denying oneself a natural desire for a period of time to exercise self-control (a fruit of the Spirit) over bodily desires. This practice is often accompanied with prayer and reflection.

I have always liked the idea of fasting but always feared doing it. So I chose Lent, and now this one month experiment, to give me the opportunity to practice the spiritual discipline of fasting. One day a week I am fasting from eating. When I begin to feel hungry and start to crave food during that period, I will remember am thankful that I have access to plentyof food and pray for all those who do not have food. So far it has been a (pardon the pun) fruitful experience.

Humans are created to be whole (physical and spiritual) and just as it's important for us to intentionally care for spiritual life, I believe it is important to intentionally care for physical life.

The whole pie or a piece of the pie?

2011-04-12T06:11:00.000-04:00

If our lives were a pie and the different parts were pieces (work, school, family, etc.), is God interested having the biggest piece or the whole thing?

Last week I was up at Wesley Seminary for a reunion of the Lewis Fellows. (A group that invests in young clergy to give them resources for leadership and the opportunity to develop connections with other young clergy leaders.) During one of the discussions, one of the speakers made an observation that's been bouncing around my mind ever since: In our congregations are we about transformation or merely enlarging our portion of the pie?

This is a really important question, because it shapes life together as Christian community.

If you were to ask most church leaders, 99.9% of them would say that we are about transformation, and rightly so. However, when it comes to how churches operate, it seems the "increasing the faith portion of the pie" is dominant. Worship and faith are just another part of the pie.

If worship and faith are just another piece of the pie, then the goal is to get people in the door. People just showing up at an event is success. This mindset sees all other activity (i.e. school events, community events, work, etc.) as competition. If the church and faith isn't taking up a bigger portion of the pie then it we are losing. This doesn't make better disciples, just busier disciples.

However, the church exist to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world. Thus, organizing around transformation looks at everything the church does, from worship to childcare, and everything in between, and asks the question: were lives transformed because of this event? The purpose behind everything is transformation in Christ Jesus.

Participation in a faith community should not be all consuming (of life, time, and resources), but transforming (of how we use our life, time, and resources). Moreover, the church is not the end, but means to God's purposes in the world. In other words we gather to be transformed or to be reminded of our transformation, so that we can go back out into the world as God's transformed people in the places where we work, play, and live: coaching our kid's soccer team, the way we run our businesses, love our co-workers, serving on the PTO, exercising at the gym, etc. Our lives shine the light of Jesus into the world's dark places.

I don't believe God is interested in just a bigger piece of the pie of our lives. No, God is interested in the transformation of the whole thing.

Second Practice... Spiritual Disciplines

2011-04-10T21:14:00.000-04:00

In light of beginning my 37th year, I am taking some time to discuss some new habits that I will be trying over the next month (in no particular order.)

Did you know that an apple tree typically doesn't bear fruit until 6-10 years after being planted? (Yeah, me either. I had to look it up. I do love finding immediate answers online!) Even though there is no outward fruit borne in those first years, the tree still grows, right? Root systems, branches, leaves...you get the picture.

In a culture that is filled with the immediate: cell phones, texting, email, information online,etc. I think we sometimes find it challenging to do that which does not produce instant results. I think this is why many struggle with regularly practicing the spiritual disciplines. We don't always see the immediate benefit of reading and reflecting on Scripture, or setting aside time for intentional prayer. But those practices, if done regularly and intentionally, do bear fruit.

We may not bear fruit right away, but that doesn't mean growth isn't happening. (Fortunately, most of us won't have to wait 6-10 years before we see fruit being borne from spiritual practices.) Hopefully we are falling more in love with the God who made us; we are growing more comfortable in conversation with God (i.e. prayer); as we read and pray over the beautiful and sacred texts of the Bible we begin to see how our story fits into God's Story. Such growth in these areas is wonderful, but it may not come across as outward fruit.

Yet with such a rich grounding in prayer, scripture reading, and reflection, our roots are deep and we begin to bear fruit. The effects of intentional time spent in spiritual practices is cumulative!

You see I don't always love God well or perfectly, but I want to. I don't always have control over my frustration or anger or desires, but I want to. I don't love others like Jesus calls me to, but I want to. I long to have a life that bears fruit.

Just as I have to do the training to run a marathon, if I want to...love God better...love my neighbor better...be more like Christ...bear fruit...I need to allow God to work in my life through the spiritual practices.

Thus, my second practice is to be more consistent with my spiritual practices. I believe that the more consistent I am at intentionally being present to God, the better the likelihood I can join God in the work he is doing in my life, the church, the community, and the world.

NOTE: I already pray, read scripture, journal, etc., just not as consistently as I did before children. Kids are my explanation for falling off the wagon, not an excuse! I want to intentionally work to get back on the wagon.

First practice... 10PM & 5AM

2011-04-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

In light of beginning my 37th year, I am taking some time to discuss some new habits that I will be trying over the next month (in no particular order.)

Ok, so the first practice: going to bed at 10PM and getting up at 5AM. Yup, that's it. It seems pretty easy, right. I mean, it's not like 10PM or 5AM sneak up me. They happen every day...at the same time!

My challenge is that I have what my wife calls "fear of missing out", or FOMO for short. I am afraid if I go to bed too early, then I will miss out on something then I will miss the answer to world peace or the cure for cancer. I don't really think that, but I fool myself into thinking that whatever I may be doing or reading or watching is that significant.

However, I know that I function better when I am well rested (duh) and my day goes better when I begin with prayer, devotion, and reflection. (Yes, I have a keen perception for the obvious, it's a gift.) So I want to prevent my FOMO from keeping me from missing out on that which is important.

Thus the first practice: going to bed at 10PM and getting up at 5AM so that I am well rested and have plenty of time set aside for daily devotion and reflection.

A One Month Experiment...

2011-04-08T06:37:00.000-04:00

When was the last time you actually kept a new year's resolution? Yeah, me too. Why am I talking about New Year's resolutions in April? Well, I just turned 37, its kind of like starting a new year. And to celebrate I want to try a some new month's resolutions. For the next month I want to try some new practices and reconnect with some old practices. So, in the coming days I will talk about each of the practices and why I am going to try it. Then on May 7, I will look at said practices and either keep them, drop them, or pick up new ones. I hear it takes 21 days to make a habit. Let's see what I can do with 30! (days, not habits.)

Dear Seth...

2010-03-31T00:07:00.000-04:00

Dear Seth,

If you are reading this it means you have received my application and are checking my entries. Thanks for reading. I don't update my blog as often as I probably should. But I have posted some fairly thoughtful work in the past, and I haven't ruled out that I won't post more in the future.

Anyhow, I think you should choose me for your program because I would learn a lot and I could contribute a lot to the group. I mean, how many other applicants quoted you about the lizard brain in a sermon? (In January I preached a sermon about how the church focuses on maintaining the status quo rather than focusing on God's mission for us because of fear - the lizard brain. If you want you can listen to it here. Scroll down to the sermon for January 31.) That's gotta count for something!

Well, thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing from you on April 7th!

Regards,

Chris

Seth Godin, Lizard Brains, and the Church...

2010-01-27T22:31:00.002-05:00

This morning I listened to an interesting interview between Seth Godin and Merlin Mann. (Seth is a marketing guru, and Merlin is a productivity/software guru.) In the interview Seth explains a concept about multiple minds (see his brief blog post on the same idea here, or a video of a talk about it here.)

He suggests that we each have two minds - the rational mind and the "lizard brain". The rational mind is what you would think. We consider concepts ideas and reason. The "lizard brain" is that part of our mind that is concerned about survival. When we go through threatening or challenging times, the "lizard brain" takes over and over-rules the rational brain at times to try and maintain survival.

By now you may be asking - so what? Right?

Well here's the deal. Have you ever been in the midst of a life-changing decision and all the sudden your brain just shut down? Or been on the precipice of launching some really cool idea and all the sudden fear jumped in and you ended up playing it safe? That was the "lizard brain" jumping in to ensure survival. Its not concerned about success or new ideas. It wants to maintain the status quo. Maintaining existence is its goal.

Yet we were created for more than mere maintenance of existence. So much more. Yet when we begin to take steps move beyond our comfort zone that darned "lizard brain" tempts us back to comfort...safety...existence...status quo.

So as I listened to Mann and Godin discussing this idea, Godin stated two ways to defeat the "lizard brain": 1. Ignore it OR 2. Soothe it.

Ignoring it means identifying when that portion of the brain rears up its ugly, lizard-head and doing the opposite. Going with that hare-brained scheme that might work. Launching an entreprenurial endeavor you have always wanted to try. Reaching out to a complete stranger in compassion regardless of the fear of appearing weird. Risking telling an acquaintance who is going through a dark time that you are praying for them.

Soothing the "lizard brain" means trying to retrain it to realize that some of those things that it things are threats aren't really threats. Susan Boyle seems to me to be a perfect example of someone who soothed that lizard voice to try something really challenging (singing before a live crowd and a national TV audience).

So what does this have to do with the church? Maybe one of the reasons the church in North America is declining is because we have listened to the "lizard brain". We (the church) has become more concerned about existence and survival than the mission to which God is inviting us. And so we maintain a dying institution. We don't want to rock the boat to try something new, different, or ground-breaking because that requires stepping into the unknown and letting go of control. For those of us who a part of a worshipping congregation - how much of the budget is for mission/outreach and how much for maintaining structures? It seems we've become more interested in maintenance than mission.

God is all about new life. When God created the church I don't think the goal was to create an institution. Rather I believe God was creating a living entity with a life-giving purpose. I believe we experience new life the most when we are willing to leave behind that safe environment to which the "lizard brain" seeks to keep us, for the uncertain, life-changing, and at times ambiguous, mission to which God calls us in Jesus.

Checklist for life?

2010-01-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

Check out Mark Oestricher's blog for an interesting list of ways to live each day uniquely. My favorite is #3 and the one I need to heed the most is #6. How about you?

Shifting into Next Gear?

2010-01-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

Scot McKnight over at Jesus Creed asks an intriguing question:

How much of our vision for what God is doing in this world is shaped by a belief that God saves us in order to have an intimate relationship with him (personal piety) that flows over into fellowship with others, rather than Jesus' bigger kingdom vision of what God is doing in this world and that personal piety is designed by God to prompt us to work for that vision?

This is something I have been thinking a lot about as I've been reading Alan Roxburgh's book Introducing the Missional Church: What it is, Why it Matters, How to Become One, and as we have been preaching a series at church called Shift...

It seems to me that the church needs to shift in several ways.

First we must recognize that we are not an ends in and of ourselves. Rather we are to be the means or methods to God's ends or purposes in the world.
Second we must shift our model from information to transformation. Right now it seems the goal of Bible study is to gain as much knowledge as possible about the content of the Bible. (not that that's a bad thing) I would suggest that Bible study should be more about letting the text shape and mold us as we read about God's story and see how our story fits into it.
Lastly, I think we need to shift from maintenance to mission. Where do we direct the majority of our resources in churches? Towards buildings and staff or towards mission? Where do we focus our energy and effort? Towards maintaining an ineffective structure focused on survival or structuring to launch people into the world as everyday missionaries? Are we more focused on adding names to the roles or making disciples for the transformation of the world?

God created the church. I don't think its going to disappear anytime soon. However I do think that ineffective and self-centered models of church will die away. Maybe its time to crucify those models, for out of crucifixion comes resurrection.

Resuming Writing...

2010-01-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

After a 7 month hiatus, I have decided to resume writing on the blog again. At this point I haven't decided how often I will post. But I am looking forward to writing on the blog again.

Clarity for the future...

2009-06-20T10:07:00.004-04:00

"What do you see yourself doing in five years?" Uggh. I've never been sure how to respond to questions about the future. Especially since God shattered my previous plan for my life with my call to ordained ministry.

Recently though, I've been getting a better sense of what I want to do in the future.

Generally, I want to be an "agent of change" in the culture of the church:

I want to lessen the bureaucracy...

I want to shake complacency...

I want to see healthy systems in our structures, that lead to:

1. the church as a means to God's ends (and not vice versa!)

2. making genuine disciples of Jesus (not merely members of an organization)

3. the transformation of the world (as opposed to the perpetuation of an institution)

It is refreshing to be able to articulate these ideas. Also its been great to begin connecting with others who are feeling similar desires for the future. The next step is begin dreaming with others and discerning what God is doing with this.

Now, I am no longer uncertain how to respond when someone asks what I see myself doing in five years. Next time someone asks, I'll say: "Changing the world."

Want to join me?

June Update...

2009-06-20T10:03:00.003-04:00

I haven't written in awhile just because I've been devoting my time and energy to other things:

1. Moving. By far the biggest change coming in our lives is that we will move to Stafford, Virginia by the end of the month. As of July 1, I will be the associate at Ebenezer UMC. I am excited to work with Mark Miller, the great staff, dedicated lay leadership of EUMC.

2. Finding a Home. For the last three years we have enjoyed living in a parsonage in scenic Marshall/Rectortown, Virginia. Now with the move we've searched high and low for a new home. Without giving you all the boring details, we are building in Stafford and our home should be ready by November.

3. Planning Worship for Annual Conference. I had the honor of serving with a group of clergy to help plan the majority of worship experiences for Annual Conference. It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience. I enjoyed the collaboration and teamwork of planning and then implementing these services (6 in all).

4. Young Clergy Booth. Lastly, over the last five months I have been connecting with other young clergy from across the nation to begin conversation on how (and where) we see God moving in the UMC and how we can play a role of joining God's movement. (Check out 40 Days of Prayer for the UMC.) Along with other folks at other Annual Conferences, I put together a young clergy table at our AC. What a great opportunity to talk with others and meet new folks. (I will have more to share later about this.) Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the young clergy dinner at AC, but understand it went really well.

So, all that said, we have had lots going on over the past couple of months and I have made little time for writing. I am hoping once we get settled in Stafford, to begin posting more regularly.

Cheers,

Chris

Festival of Homiletics - Day 3:

2009-05-21T16:03:00.003-04:00

Began this morning with breakfast at a joint called the Flying Biscuit. I am afraid to ask how it got its name...

Fred Craddock preached this morning. He is known as one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century. He must be in his 80s now. His delivery was masterful and his content thought-provoking. What are we as preachers to do with the gift of preaching?

Following Craddock (not an enviable place) was Brian Blount, president of the Union-PSCE, newly renamed Union Presbyterian Seminary (so new its not even on the website yet.) Having gone to Union(2000-2003) his presentation reminded my very much of the many lectures from my classes: over my head enough to keep me interested yet two steps behind, but no so over my head that I couldn't eventually catch up after the talk was over.

I spent the rest of the morning looking for young UM clergy folks to spread the word about the 40 Days o' Prayer. I had some really engaging conversations.

Then I shared lunch with some old & new presbyterian friends to share a bit with them about the movement(s) going on among young clergy in the UM. We had a great conversation!

Now I am in my office away from the office (Starbucks) working on sermon stuff and trying to do e-mail. (this is the last time I stay in a hotel where you have to pay for internet...grrrr.)

Hoping to have my sermon at 80% completion before dinner!

Sometimes you are just so tired...

2009-05-21T15:58:00.001-04:00

...you colloapse in the middle of swinging.

Festival of Homiletics - Day 2:

2009-05-20T20:31:00.002-04:00

Great day of speakers!

First off was Victor Pentz. He preached about how Christians need to go outside the church. That reaching out to others is no longer about being attracting people to come to us, but that we must go to the people. He did so much more elegantly than my synopsis might suggest. I really appreciated his style and passion.

Next up, Craig Barnes talked about the need for pastors to engage the text of the scripture we are preaching in constant dialog with the context we are serving. The metaphor he uses is the pastor as minor poet. He expands more on this concept that he gets from TS Eliot in his book, The Pastor as Minor Poet. I really appreciated his style and dry sense of humor.

Will Willimon was the last speaker before lunch. He challenged us as preachers not to try and uphold a false unity that ignores obvious differences between people or groups. Rather, he suggested that if the Gospel is preached this will create division.

After a fantastic barbecue lunch, Adam Hamilton took the floor for the afternoon.

He talked about structuring a preaching plan based on the congregation's mission, vision, and plan to achieve them. He offered several fantastic ideas for sermon series ideas. His books Leading Beyond the Walls and Unleashing the Word contain many of the concepts he shared today, however his talk was peppered with fantastic and inspiring illustrations. Towards the end of his talk he took some Q & As. One of the things I really appreciate about Hamilton, having heard him speak several times before, is his transparency and authenticity.

So, a great day of engaging speakers. Lots to think about. All this creative energy is great! Maybe I can channel it into writing Sunday's sermon tomorrow.

Festival of Homiletics - Day 1:

2009-05-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

Last night caught the tail end of Barbara Brown-Taylor's talk. She really has an excellent way with words. She was speaking about understanding how we read the Bible and how that affects our interpretation and preaching.

Bishop Desmond Tutu preached at last night's worship. He has such a joyful presence. Its pretty amazing when you consider all he has seen and accomplished that he has such child-like joy! Spoke about seeing God in the other. They are (I am) lovable because God loves us. Thus when I participate in injustice or oppression against another person its like spitting on God.

This morning we enjoyed a session (both worship and lecture) with Brian Mclaren. What a treat! The worship/lecture was combined, so we enjoyed music (by Troy Brosnick) interspersed with three brief talks/sermons by Mclaren. Great stuff! The main topic was about preaching in the context of the economy. He suggested that when we the good news for the poor is also good news for the rich. He also argued that when we talk in terms of economic recovery it needs to be in terms of a recovery from addiction, not a return to where we were 18-14 months ago.

Supposed to hear Jim Wallis speak this afternoon. He missed his flight, thus missing the conference. So my buddy Mike and I got to enjoy an engaging conversation about his ministry context.

Lots of food for thought! Now its time to process it all!

Festival of Homiletics - This week...

2009-05-19T16:35:00.002-04:00

This week I'm traveling with a good buddy of mine to Atlanta, GA for the Festival of Homiletics, sponsored by Lectionary Homiletics (See below for the definition of those words.)

The lectionary is a three-year cycle of Scripture passages for designated for specific days. It can be helpful in that it is a guide for preaching and it helps the preacher to preach texts that he or she would may not normally preach.

Homiletics is the study of how one composes/constructs a sermon on a biblical text.

So, one might say the conference is about preaching and how one might prepare sermons using the lectionary (an incredibly simple overview of the conference.)

I have used the lectionary and I have preached apart from the lectionary, using topical sermon series or preaching through a book of the Bible. I don't know that one "right" way exists in terms of choosing Scriptures on which to preach. I believe a lot of it is driven by the context in which one preaches. (In conjunction with the movement of the Spirit in that context!)

All that said, this week I am hoping to:

- hear some engaging speakers

- be challenged on how and what I preach

- enjoy the opportunity to be with colleagues in a learning setting

I can't wait to hear some of the speakers/preachers. I plan on posting a synopsis each day as a way of organizing my thoughts.

Cheers,

Chris

40 Days of Prayer for the UMC

2009-05-05T14:07:00.002-04:00

Dear friends,

I invite you to join with me and others around the country (and world) to be in prayer for the United Methodist Church. On May 18th a grass-roots movement to pray for the church will begin. Young adults (clergy and lay-persons) from across the denomination have written prayers as a part of this movement. Each day the UM Young Clergy website will post a new prayer.

I invite you to join us in this prayer movement by subscribing to the prayer feed, or going here to pray the prayer for the day.

Thank you in advance for praying, may you experience the life-giving movement of God in your life, and together may we be open to God's life-giving movement for all of Creation, and how we are called to be a faithful part of that movement and witness in the world.

Would you close down churches?

2009-04-28T15:42:00.004-04:00

Adam Hamilton from Church of the Resurrection shares an interesting observation of questions the UMC could ask from observing what's going on at GM. (Read the full post here.)

He suggests that if the UMC were to close "dead" or "dying" churches two things may occur:

1) The UMC could use the pastors and resources from those churches create new congregations

My two cents is that, although this would be heart-wrenching and difficult, done with grace, its the right thing to do.

2) Seminaries would be forced to shift the focus of their training

Currently, in my opinion, seminaries train students for models of ministry that are at least one generation behind the current generation - no wonder 18-35 year olds are the largest missing segment of the church.) This issue with the curriculum isn't necessarily theological. Rather as Hamilton points out, practical. Seminaries need to give students tools for leadership, dealing with conflict, managing budgets, running a meeting, in addition to worship and pastoral care skills.

Lastly, a commenter on the Hamilton's post raises another good point about the difference between shifting structure and shifting culture. So often we do the former without considering the latter. My hope is that we could do both in order to make the emphasis of the church to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world, not church members for the sustainability of the denomination who are really well organized.

So, what do you think? How does our structure need to shift? How does our culture need to shift? How do we make this happen - so that our denomination is about something bigger than itself - the mission of God in the world.

Suffering and the Church...

2009-04-24T05:57:00.004-04:00

I've been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. Today's money quote:

"But the church knows that the world is still seeking someone to bear its sufferings, and so, as it follows Christ, suffering becomes the church's lot too and bearing it, it is borne up by Christ. As it follows him beneath the cross, the church stands before God as the representative of the world."

Earlier this week a 17-year-old in our community chose to take his own life. While he or his family was not connected with our church, our congregation has really been impacted by such a tragic event. More than once this week, the question has come up, "how do we as the church in our community engage suffering?" We...must...be...present...to...it.

Jesus conquered suffering by going through it, so the church as the Body of Christ in the world, must seek to conquer suffering (ours and others' suffering) by engaging it and being present to it.

We must hold the family who has lost a son. We must surround those whose life is crumbling before them. We must be present on the streets with the homeless. We must sit in the hospital room of the dying. If for no other reason than to point to (and maybe even sometimes be) the presence of God in the midst of suffering.

We can't remove others' suffering, but we can bear it with them, just as Christ on the cross bore our sin.

Starfish, Taxes, and Tea...

2009-04-15T10:06:00.003-04:00

This opinion piece about the Tax Day Tea Parties WSJ is a great illustration of decentralized movements. Regardless of one's politics, it is a great example a starfish movement.

What can the church learn from this kind of movement? What are historical examples of this in the church?

Pastoral Analogies

2009-04-12T21:37:00.005-04:00

This weekend I began reading M. Craig Barnes' book The Pastor as Minor Prophet. (Hat Tip: Scot McKnight.) Which started me thinking about all the possible analogies for pastors. (i.e. pastor as ceo, pastor as family chaplain, pastor as teacher, etc.)

What analogies do you believe best describe the role of a pastor? If you are a pastor, in what analogous role(s) do you see yourself operating?

As part of my own journey I am trying to more clearly understand my call to pastoral ministry and the analogous role that best describes that call. At the same time I'm working to understand the analogous role that the congregation I serve both needs and wants in their pastor (which could be two different and sometimes opposing roles.)

Generation F?

2009-04-08T20:25:00.003-04:00

I just ran across a great post (here) from Gary Hamel on the Wall Street Journal's management blog about managing "Generation F" (similar to "generation me"). Very interesting list of ideas on how the "rules of the workplace" may need to shift to attract young, bright minds.

Some of Hamel's suggestions resonate with a great book I just read, The Starfish and the Spider, about the power of decentralized organizations. (I hope to write more in a later post about this book and how it may (or may not) relate to the church. But for now, let me just say its a great book!)

What do you think about Hamel's suggestions? How would your place of work respond to such ideas?

North Alabama's New Process for Pastoral Appointments

2009-04-06T09:07:00.005-04:00

If you are UM (laity or clergy) you may find this of interest. Bishop Will Willimon shares the process the North Alabama conference will use to make appointments this year. This is the process straight from Willimon's blog (I added links to some of the things he references):

We shall look at the church statistics on the Conference website to get a longitudinal picture of the pastor’s leadership at the present appointment.
We will examine the statistics on the Conference Dashboard to get an up-to-date report on the results of the pastor’s leadership.
Every pastor to be moved will complete a Strengths Assessment Inventory (available through the book by Buckingham, Now Discover Your Strengths). The Cabinet has used this Inventory on ourselves and found it marvelously revealing. This enables us to get an accurate assessment of each pastor’s individual strengths, focusing on the specific gifts and talents of the pastor, rather than focusing upon any alleged weaknesses. This gives us the ability to match a pastor and his or her strengths with the needs of a congregation.
Every fulltime pastor who may be moved will be interviewed by a team of three District Superintendents who will guide the pastor through a conversation that will uncover a pastor’s own dreams, abilities, and strengths. Those conversations will then inform the discussion in the Cabinet.
The Bishop and District Superintendent will listen to and respond to a sample sermon from each full time pastor who is moving.
Every church will be asked for a statement of mission and goals for the future so that we can match a pastor’s gifts with a congregation’s needs.
Each District Superintendent will present the proposed new pastor to the congregation’s lay leadership and explain why the Cabinet believes this pastor is the leadership suited for this congregation’s mission.
Every newly appointed pastor will be asked to design and present to the DS and to congregational leadership a “First Ninety Days” plan for ministry in the first three months of the pastorate. This is after participating in a workshop that trains pastors how to devise these plans. The execution of this plan will be observed and shared with the DS who will work with the pastor on any needed modifications in the plan.

What do you think of the above process? Pros? Cons?

I'm still not sure what I think about it, it seems like quite a few layers. However, I like the way the cabinet will get a good feel for each person moving. I'll be curious to see how this works.

(HT: Shayne Raynor)

Vacation time

2009-03-26T23:27:00.001-04:00

I'll be on vacation with the family until April 4. So probably no new posts until after then. Have a good couple of weeks.

Peace,

Chris

Gentle Wake-Up Call...

2009-03-25T06:30:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I become very task oriented. So much so, that I lose site of the relational nature of life. I fear I miss opportunities to love others, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. The other day I came across a story of a very out-of-the-ordinary cab ride. (HT: Zeray Gazette) I kind of felt like weeping at its simple beauty and out of shame for how I neglect to be present to opportunities to love others in my own life.

I am thankful for such a gentle and beautiful reminder to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others. I am also thankful that such stories remind and encourage us.

Do you have an "out-of-the-ordinary cab ride" story you wish to share?

Gen Me & Church Structures

2009-03-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Last week I posted on the book Generation Me, by Jean Twenge. I wanted to spend some time reflecting on how the generational shifts she describes affects the church. In a previous post I mused on Gen Me and evangelism.

Today, I would like to consider how such a generational shift affects the polity or structures of the church.

First, there seems to be more vocal dis-satisfaction with processes within the institution. At the same time there are positive movements of young clergy to work for change. Certainly there have always been gadflys in the UMC, but Gen Me has a proclivity to be more outspoken. Their parents had more of a "take one for the team" mentality. Thus, when this generation comes across structures or processes that don't make sense to them, they speak out. For instance, the young clergy in my conference are organizing a meeting with the bishop to discuss young clergy issues.

Secondly, Gen Me's difficulty receiving criticism affects structures and polity. Take the ordination process for instance. Not everybody passes on the first try. At times during this process there is a need for negative feedback. This becomes a big challenge to Gen Me's. Gen Me bristles at the thought that their work may not be good enough. There is currently a lot of noise about the process and how it needs to be changed. The challenge is filtering out the "criticism-sensitivity" noise and addressing the weaknesses and injustices that exist in the system.

A third way Gen Me affects systems and polity is the way they collaborate in a different way. A characteristic of Gen Me is emphasis or primacy of the individual. However, Gen Me still finds ways to bring their individual voices together in collaboration using technology. (Web 2.0 and Social Networking) I have seen this in and outside the church. First, is the coming together of young clergy across the nation to join together to address some of the issues they see in the church, sharing ideas and resources over Twitter, Facebook, liveblogs, and weblogs.

In the larger culture the open-source movement and the beta culture are relatively new ways of collaborating on projects. In the beta and open-source culture the software is usually encountered as an individual and then comments/fixes/or changes are made as an individual to repository or the software's original maker. So, many people collaborate, but the role of the individual is still primary.

How do you think generational shifts are changing church structures, polity, and culture as a whole?

How do you get your news?

2009-03-23T08:46:00.002-04:00

Listening to the news on the radio this morning, I realized I can't remember the last time I picked up a physical newspaper and read it. Scanning headlines on news media websites, or listening to a news radio station is typically how I know what is going in the world.

However, I rarely read the entire article when I do follow the link. Or if I am listening to news on the radio or web, I am usually doing something else while doing so. Why is this occupying space in my brain?

Because of a statement attributed to Karl Barth. He is reported to have said the Christians must "read with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other."

I wonder if somehow my ability to engage the congregation and the culture through my preaching is somehow diminished because of my peripheral contact with news. (Not to mention my ability to engage culture as an informed citizen who is a follower of Jesus.)

How about you, how do you keep tabs on what is going on in the world? How do you engage current events as a follower of Jesus?

Gen Me & Evangelism

2009-03-18T12:08:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I posted about Jean Twenge's fantastic book, Generation Me. I wondered how this cultural shift affects the evangelism, church structures, and ways of being the church in the world. Today I reflect on Gen Me & evangelism.

So how does a shift in the attitudes and traits of Gen Me, people born in the 1970s, 80s and 90s affect the way we share the Good News of Jesus, or evangelism?

What if evangelism wasn't merely about "saving that soul" or making sure "I" had eternal salvation? What if evangelism is connecting people to: the movement of God in creation, most concretely seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; a movement that is transforming creation into the New Creation; a movement where, once one is connected to it, "eternal life" and "transformation" are the fruit that is born out of the connection, or relationship, with God through Jesus.

And it would seem that we can't be in a transformative relationship to God without being in relationship to those around us. (the first and second greatest command, the sheep and the goats, etc.)

So maybe evangelism with Gen Me is about connection. Helping connect individual stories with God's Story. I once heard someone say that the goal is not to see how God fits into our story (a very individualized thought, eh?) but how our story connects with God's Story, the Eternal Story. (My apologies to the originator of that idea, I just can't remember who said it or wrote it - any help?)

The next connection, I think, would be to connect people with a community of faith where the community seeks to live out God's Story in creation - justice, righteousness, holiness. I think when people see others honestly trying to live this out in real, get-your-hands-dirty, authentic way they can't help but crave such authenticity.

So I guess the rabbit trail of my reflection on evangelism and Gen Me leads to this: sharing the good news (or evangelism) with the generation born in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s is about making connections: connecting our/their story with God's Story and connecting with a others who are seeking to live out God's story. The fruit of such connection is life-giving transformation, justice, righteousness, and holiness.

Your thoughts?

Clarification on Gen Me...

2009-03-17T21:53:00.000-04:00

Okay, I need to clarify something. In discussing this book and my observations with Jill (my wife) she asked me an interesting question - is there anything good about Generation Me? D'oh! I didn't communicate as clearly as intended!

Twenge's book takes a fair look at the good and the bad of Generation Me. I believe her purpose is not to criticize Gen Me, but to point out characteristics of this new generation of young adults. (Now that is not to say there aren't things we need to hold our generation accountable for - i.e. when healthy self-esteem spills over into narcissism.)

So when I attempt to summarize her arguments (which by no means does her book the justice it deserves) if I paint her book or observations in the book as mostly critical the fault is mine.

So in case my previous post suggested that there is no good in Gen Me, let me make amends by pointing out several positive attributes of Gen Me:
1. Gen Me is more open social differences.
2. Gen Me is more willing to speak up when they see something that doesn't seem right.
3. Gen Me, while skeptical, also tends to be more optimistic about the future.

Okay, so now that's been said. Tomorrow I will begin reflecting on the how the generational shift from the boomers to Gen Me may affect:
evangelism
church polity/structure
forms of ministry

So stop by tomorrow and add your two cents in the comments!

How does Generation Me Affect the Church?

2009-03-17T11:00:00.004-04:00

We are in the midst of cultural shifts. A quick glance at headlines and book titles at Borders illustrates this. However, I wasn't fully aware of the generational shift happening parallel to (and in response to) the cultural shifts. That is until I picked up Jean Twenge's book, Generation Me.

Wow! What an eye-opener. As one who is at the older end of the Gen Me span, I found Twenge's book fascinating, witty, and straight forward.

For instance:
- 18-35 year olds have higher self-esteem than previous generations thus more they tend to be more focused on the self/individual and seeking personal happiness than previous generations

- Gen Me's were taught "you can do or be anything you want if you put your mind to it" as we were growing up. So we enter our places of work with high expectations for how quickly we will advance (i.e. expecting to be a corporate executive making six figures after 5 years with the organization.)

- Gen Me's struggle with anxiety and depression significantly more than generations before them (mostly as a result of realizing that no you can't be or do anything you want to...there are realistic limits).

(For a full discussion of Twenge's book, jump over to Scot McKnight's series at Jesus Creed, where I first heard about the book. He works through the book in 15 posts that do a great job of summarizing and reflecting on the book.)

While reading this book I couldn't help but wonder about the impact of such generational shifts on the church and Christianity, more specifically in my context in the United Methodist Church.

- How does this generational shift affect evangelism?

- How does such a shift affect structures and processes in the organization of the church (i.e. ordination)?

- How does such a generational shift affect the culture of the church and how the church operates going forward?

In the coming days I will reflect on each of these questions in a separate post. What are your observations?

Please join the discussion in the comments.

One of the greatest sounds...evah...

2009-03-16T22:11:00.001-04:00

Snark?!

2009-03-16T10:40:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading David Denby's book Snark: It's Mean, It's Personal, and It's Ruining Our Conversation. Denby lays out the history of snark and how it has (d)evolved over time. He suggests that a lot of our current rhetoric falls into this category.

What is "snark" you may ask? "Snark" is a type of snide, or rude, remark. (Denby never really defines the term, but gives many illustrations of "snark" in his book.)

The problem with "snarky" rhetoric is that it does nothing to further conversation or discussion over an issue, situation, or person. Rather it casts judgment in such a way that there really can be no conversation, or if there is it sounds like petulant children arguing on the playground.

I heard (and continue to hear) a lot of this language with the presidential campaign, as both sides attempted to tear down the other side's candidate. Not helpful, and ultimately very frustrating.

Now the questions I have: where do we see "snark" in the church? How have you responded to "snarky" rhetoric? What was the result?

Idolatry: Substitution or Transformation

2009-02-02T11:42:00.002-05:00

I've been working my way through Martin Buber's I and Thou. Today's reading dealt with idolatry and God. Buber states, one cannot merely substitute God for whatever idol they may worship in their lives. For part of worshiping idols is the way we relate to them - usually by desire to possess whatever the idol offers.

God cannot be possessed. If we try to do this, the in the words of Martin Buber: "Whoever is converted by substitution, now has a phantom he calls God. God, however, the eternal presence, cannot be had. Woe unto the possessed who fancy they possess God."

I really appreciate this insight from Buber! It is both enlightening and damning at the same time. So much of Western Christianity seems to be built on this idea that we can merely trade-in or substitute our idols for God and then everything will be okay. Where is the transformed life?

For as Buber asserts, the problem is not merely the object, the idol itself that is the problem, but also the way one relates to the idol.

For instance, if one idolizes women, merely replacing women with God does nothing to change the, what I would suggest is sinful, way one related to women - treating them as objects merely to satisfy an sexual desire, not as humans. Or if one idolizes money because of the status it affords or the pleasures it can buy, then substitutes God for money, the heart is not changed. Rather one takes up a new means to try and accomplish that which I hoped to do with money.So then God becomes a phantom. We like the idea of God because of what he can do for us. And the way in which we attempt to relate to the Divine Creator of the universe (as the substitute for our idol) is still bent towards our utilitarian purposes.

Thus, casting aside our idols involves changing the way we relate to objects in addition to relinquishing the objects of our idolatry. Not only the object changes, but also the way we attempt to relate.

Another way to think of it is this. Let's say I have a sudden stroke of conscience and recognize the need to get rid of my gas-guzzling car in order to do my part to save the environment. Do I trade-in or substitute my old car for on a better, new car that still guzzles gas? Or Do I get rid of the car entirely and begin riding a bicycle? One is substitution. The other is life-change.

I can't help but think of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians about being a new creation in Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION, the old has gone the new has come." (2 Cor 5:17, emphasis added.)

Rather than making God a phantom through substituting objects, transformation occurs. We are completely new. Our idols are cast aside as well as the bent ways in which we attempt to relate to those objects. In their place comes a life-giving, whole-person renewing relationship with God. And we begin to learn to relate to all objects rightly - the way God intended.

Sunday Evening Update (on Monday morning)

2008-12-29T07:49:00.004-05:00

The Weekend: We had lots of family in town to participate in Henry's baptism with us yesterday. We had a great time eating lots of food, sharing stories, and being together. We had a family friend do the baptism so that I could participate as a parent not the officiant. That was really nice.

To-do This Week: Organize the office - closing out 2008 and getting files and such ready for 2009. Plus I am preaching at our District's leadership training event this Saturday, so I need to get ready for that.

Procrastinating: Working on the leadership training day for our church...

Book I'm in the Midst of: For Christmas I got Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class. It was first published in 1904. A very interesting economic and sociological look at a how humans choose to stratify themselves. This is the book where the term "conspicuous consumption" was first coined.

Music that seemed to catch my attention this past week: Still reaching back to the past I stretched back to middle school by purchasing Run-DMC's greatest hits. Its pretty "bad" stuff. ("not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good!" - if you can name the song that lyric comes from I will send you a prize.)

How I am feeling about this week: I feel pretty good. I am really enjoying having time together with family and look forward to a day or two of downtime this week to ring in the new year.

Sunday Evening Update (on Monday evening)

2008-12-22T09:35:00.005-05:00

The Weekend: Sunday we hosted over 60 people at an open house at the parsonage after church, so much of the weekend was spent getting ready. Though, Saturday morning as we were running errands we stopped for breakfast at IHOP...mmm.....pancakes. Last night Henry came down with his first cold.

To-do This Week: Write a sermon for Sunday, finish Christmas shopping, try and do some end of year reflection...

Procrastinating: Working on the leadership training day...

Book I'm in the Midst of: Just finished Body Piercing Saved My Life. Very interesting. I really appreciate Beaujon's very fair, and at times generous, approach to the Christian music industry, particularly as a self-identified atheist. Next up: UnChristian, by Dave Kinneman and Gabe Lyons - trying to understand a bit about culture and how (according to Barna Group's data) Christians are perceived in American culture.

Music that seemed to catch my attention this past week: while vacuuming to get ready for the open house I delved into some the albums from my college and high school days....ahhh...memories from: REM, Genesis, and Rush.

How I am feeling about this week: A bit stressed about our Christmas Eve service.

Sunday Evening Update (on Monday Morning)

2008-12-15T10:45:00.003-05:00

the weekend that was: Kind of a low-key weekend. We made some goodies for our upcoming open house this Sunday. I got to do a fair amount of reading this weekend which is always a plus. Last night we had the kids Advent program at church - fantastic!! They were adorable!

on my to-do list this week: Christmas Eve service, trying to get the bulletins for the next few weeks as far along as possible, and spending some time working on our leadership training event in the middle of January.

procrastinating about: (this should come as no surprise) Christmas shopping

book i’m in the midst of: I just started two interesting and very different books - The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria and Body-Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock by Andrew Beaujon. The first book is an attempt to look at the world and how it is changing in light of shifts in politics, economics, and culture - kind of a mile wide and an inch deep. The second book is the opposite - an inch deep and mile wide look at the Christian music subculture.

music that seemed to catch my attention this past week: because I have been doing a lot of work at Starbucks over the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about the various versions of different Christmas/Holiday songs. KT Tunstall's 2000 Miles from this album really caught my attention.

how i’m feeling about this week: I'm feeling pretty good about the week and I will feel better once I get some of the things on my to do list done!

Blink: the power of thinking without thinking

2008-12-14T15:09:00.004-05:00

I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's second book, Blink. I thoroughly enjoy Gladwell's style of writing. I love his narrative style recounting various events and studies through the eyes of the people who led the studies. (He used to write for the Washington Post.)

The basic premise is that our unconscious thought, through training and experience, can be amazingly accurate. He illustrates that there are times when too much information can actually impair one's decision-making. On the other hand, Gladwell also illustrates how our stereotypes and biases can also be heightened in thinking in the blink of an eye.

This is a very interesting book. As far as application for ministry goes I would think it might help Boards of Ordained Ministry as the evaluate and refine their processes. Another application might be to help administrative councils and leadership teams discern a framework to empower committees and individuals to make decisions on the fly.