Starbucks and Salvation

"Throwback" Christian...

You might envision by the blog of this entry someone on a riverbank tossing a Christian back into the water...though some may feel that way in our culture, that's not the purpose of the title.  Occasionally in sports circles teams will do a "throwback" game or series.  Basically when they do this, they wear old uniforms from previous decades of their teams history, and celebrate the heritage of their program.  (As a side note, I'd love to see the PGA do a throwback event and make the pros play with the clubs and balls Nicklaus, Palmer and others played with...let's see how far Tiger hits it with a persimmon wood driver :) )

The throwback observances of the sporting world are pretty neat in actuality.  It's cool to see how the success of programs today owe much to the programs of the past.  In the same way, it may be time for Christians to begin observing "throwback" lifestyles...not to pay attention to the traditions past of denominations per se, but to observe the practices and lifestyles of the early church.  Additionally it is not best for Christians to observe this occasionally, but instead to make it an active part of life.  There is quite a bit of movement on this issue raising to the forefront of Christian living.

I'm getting ready to start a new book titled Finding Our Way Again: The Return of Ancient Practices by Brian McLaren.  It is a book built around the concept of "throwback" Christianity.  I've already been consuming writings in this area as of late.  I'm reading a book on fasting by Scot McKnight.  I've been reading some of the "Ancient-Future" series by Robert Webber (who died this past April)...his series includes thoughts on evangelism, worship, and faith.  I'm particularly excited about this new book by McLaren.  As I flipped through the pages of Finding Our Way I saw the topics McLaren is addressing...contemplative practices such as prayer journaling, prayer focused on listening/receiving instead of speaking/expressing...serving and giving to others 'secretly' by way of Matthew 6:3...feasting and celebration accompanied by fasting and self-denial.  He additionally speaks of 3 practices which all the ancient practices fall under.  Via purgativa is the practice of purging...not purging of food, but purging of sin and filth in life.  This can work through small groups, or "vulnerability groups" (which are accountability groups where you don't confess to shame, but to brothers/sisters who join in to help).  Spiritual purging is done through journaling, or through spiritual practices such as fasting.  The second practice is Via Illuminativa, that is the practice of learning to let God's light shine in dark places.  We welcome His light through study of His word...through fellowship with believers...through all manner of praise.  When we develop this practice, suddenly we begin to see His light in places we might not have before.  We watch movies and are not simply 'entertained', but see His truth.  We encounter seemingly meaningless activities (shopping, housework, family responsibilities) and they begin to have tremendous meaning due to His light.  Third we have Via Unitiva, or the increased unification of our souls/lives/bodies with God.  This is after all, what Christ came to do.  He said we would be in Him, and He in us.  Just as if we get too close to a person with a cold or flu we get infected with their germs, the closer we are to God the more we get 'infected' with who He is.  We receive His love, compassion, kindness...His justice, peace, and patience.  We join God in all that He is and all that He feels.  He is a God who suffers for His creation, who weeps for His people, and who rejoices over their success.  The major difference here from what most Christians perceive as unity with God is this; we seek to become more unified with Him not to further separate ourselves from unbelievers, but instead to strengthen our link to Him so they may know Him.

I'm overwhelmingly excited about the process of becoming a "throwback" Christian.  If you'd like, I invite you along on the journey...

Sometimes I Just Don't Get It...

So I'm in Lifeway Christian Stores today, picking up a couple of new reads...I get to the counter and am in line.  As I'm waiting, I see these small camo bibles, one for each branch of the Armed Forces.  Lifeway is running a promotion where you can buy one of the bibles for $4.99, write a personal message in the front cover to a soldier, and then bring it back to Lifeway and they will send it overseas.  A lady in front of me was finishing her purchase when the cashier presented his spill re: the bible...she said it sounded like a good idea and that she would buy one.  As he turned to get one to give to her, she asked, "Is it the King James Version?"  His answer was, "No maam, it's the New Living Translation."  Her response?  "Well then, no...I don't want to send one."

Really?  Really lady?  Do you realize how you might have just missed an amazing kingdom moment whereby a soldier or possibly someone else the soldier might share the bible with would encounter Christ? 

I was livid...and I was oh sooooo close to letting loose right there in line.  To let her know that all the "KJV only" garbage was just that...garbage.  But I refrained, and instead purchased a bible.

Sometimes I just don't get it...how do we let this kind of stuff get in the way of a missional moment?

A Great Story Out of Memphis...

You gotta love this granny...

You GOTTA Read This...

I'm doing the hospital circuit today, so any formal blogging I do will be tonight...however, I just ran across this AMAZING story of what happens when one man lets God's Word take hold...you should weep at this, I did...

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-just-kindergarden-christian-who.html

Marketing Christianity or Can I Sell You A Side of Jesus...

According to the American Marketing Assoc., marketing is defined as "...the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."  In simpler terms, you need/want something, they have something, and they create ways to let you know that you can get it.  You know how it goes; you see your shoes are beginning to wear out about the same time you realize you're putting on a few extra pounds.  You start thinking about new shoes and working out; then you see the latest Nike/Reebok/Adidas commercial featuring the incredibly buff/skinny/perfect person wearing their brand shoes and the light bulb goes off!  "All I need is those shoes, then I'll have new ones, and look like that person!"  Maybe you don't say that out loud, but it happens.  A month later, you find yourself sitting on the couch with new shoes...wondering if it's time to order that ab-roller machine.

Similarly, our "evangelism" tends to take a marketing approach.  Your life is not good...you have hurts/needs/shortcomings...Jesus can fix all of that...you need Jesus.  Now all these things are true.  Our lives are generally filled with some level or degree of trouble.  We DO have hurts/needs/shortcomings.  Jesus can and does 'fix' us.  Unfortunately after we get 'fixed', many times we'll find ourselves back on that spiritual couch, wondering what we need to purchase next spiritually. 

What contributes to this?  Obviously we are so consumer-driven in every other aspect of life, it seems natural that it would bleed over into our spiritual life.  We do see Jesus encountering people in life and pointing out their needs/hurts/shortcomings and inviting them to see their life changed...think the woman at the well in John 4, the invalid man in John 5, the man born blind in John 9.  What we don't see is Jesus following up that encounter by asking any of them to repeat a prayer, or handing them a list of do's/dont's to make them a 'good' believer.  What we do see is people who encountered Christ, and their lives were changed due to that encounter.  See, in a consumer-driven world, we have a need, we buy something to take care of it, and when that wears out, we buy something new again.  We do the same thing spiritually...say we think we have a 'need' for contemporary worship.  We find a church that does that, we stay a while, then we realize we now have a 'need' for more recreational ministry which that church doesn't do...so we find a new church.  Then we think we have a 'need' for 13-week discipleship studies, which the new church doesn't do...so it's off to find another church that does.  You get the idea...the problem here is so many people live this pattern...but never encounter Christ.  They think they encounter Him because they encounter stuff about Him...but they never really encounter Him.  That's why they are left searching for the next new thing they 'need'...it might be another denomination, it might be another church, it might be a completely different religion.  But they always fall short of satisfaction, just like we are never fully satisfied with the new shoes. 

So what we need to do different?  Do we settle that in Western culture this is just the way it is?  Do we put the emphasis back on the person, and say it's up to them to change the way they do things?  Or do we decide that it's time to get back to what worked in the life of Christ and the early years after Christ?  We get back to people, not their 'needs'...we get back to introducing people to Him, not to things about Him...we realize we can't out-entertain or out-market culture, but we can beat culture, because we offer the One who has withstood every test of time, because He IS time.  History is His-story...and no marketing strategy can defeat it or add to it and make it better. 

LifeChurch has this great blog entry on why being 'cool' is no longer enough (and really never was)...

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/05/13/cool-is-no-longer-cool/

You see marketing is about the bottom line...it's about figures.  And marketing Jesus has reduced us to figures as well.  How many do you have in church on Sunday?  How many kids were at VBS?  How many did you baptize last year?  How much money did you give to _______ (fill in the blank of your denomination's mission organization)?  Does it really mean we're successful in the mission of God if we have 700 in service on Sunday, but only 300 of them really get it?  Does success mean having 300 kids at VBS, but only 100 of them leave knowing the true Christ?  If we baptize 1000 but only see 150 in a committed relationship with Christ is that a success?  Are we successful because we cut a check in the amount of $25000 for missions, but never actually do missions? 

It's time we re-define what success in His church is.  Our lead pastor made this statement Sunday (I'm paraphrasing), "We need to stop saying that if we do all we do for just one soul to be saved it's worth it...we need to think bigger than one soul."  Success for us needs to defined very simply...after we introduce someone to the living Christ, and they encounter Him...their need to spiritually shop stops.  That's success...

Memorial Day...

Today is Memorial Day...a day for remembering those who have died while serving in the Armed Forces over the years.  My immediate family has not been impacted heavily by conflicts around the world.  I believe I had some great-uncles who served in the Korean War, but that is all I know about.  So today has traditionally been a day where remembrance was made, but didn't have too great a personal touch. 

As I've been thinking about it today, and reading news reports/blogs/etc...a different thought has occurred to me.  I am grateful for those who have sacrificed on our behalf.  I pray that young men that I know personally who are in the Armed Services or are joining up will not have to be placed in situations where there life is in danger.  But there is another group I am thinking of today...actually 2 groups.

1) The individuals who have served who are still alive today, but who in their times of conflict had to take the life of another human being.  Perhaps they took that life in close-range combat, or perhaps they took it from the sky or from a distance with artillery.  However it was taken, what must Memorial Day be like for them?  How have they lived with the emotion(s) of knowing they took a human life?  I realize most all of our nations' conflicts were presented as good vs. evil and fall into the category of a "just" war...but "just" or not, taking someone's life is not anything I think would be taken too lightly.

2) This group that I am thinking of today are those who fought for their countries outside of the United States...and lost their lives.  As referenced in group one, our conflicts have generally been seen as "just" conflicts, and so the loss of their lives has by and large been considered a necessary part of war.  If we look at many of our opponents through the course of history however, very few have been opponents where their soldiers were of a true volunteer status.  For a time in history, the U.S. did have a draft, but by and large our soldiers have been those who desired to go into the service.  I am no history major, but I believe that cannot be said of those we have been in conflict with.  In many cases soldiers our soldiers fought against were forced to serve, or be faced with dire consequences involving themselves or their families.  Many of them may have lost their lives, not for a cause worth fighting for, but for a dictator or government who did not have an concern for individuals. 

Memorial Day is often seen as a day for being off work, grilling out, and catching up on sports...in the meantime, we try to honor/remember those who have fallen.  Perhaps we should consider the travesty of the loss of all human life due to war, and pray that the Lord return sooner than later.

With So Much Drama In The SBC...Friday Mind Dump part 2

So here are links to just a few of the latest newsworthy items in the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention)...

http://sbctoday.com/2009/05/20/bgct-refusing-to-release-lottie-moon-funds-sources-report/

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/05/walking-where-sbc-preachers-fail-to.html

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-sbc-bullies-and-how-to-deal-with.html

http://blog.9marks.org/2009/05/sixty-percent-of-adult-baptisms-in-sbc-churches-are-rebaptisms.html

It seems reports such as these are surfacing on a daily basis anymore.  With additional reports circulating about a motion that's going to be made in June at the SBC National Meeting in Louisville, a motion that would in essence require all SBC employees (of any SBC school, missionary organization, etc...) to sign the newly minted Great Commission Resurgence Document (seen here http://www.greatcommissionresurgence.com/ ) or be fired, it is safe to say if that happens, there will be no shortage of news accounts at that point.  What can be made of all of this?  Is the SBC really on its way to being the elite of the elite?  Is it purposely trying to alienate itself from any and all other believers?  Is the SBC future built upon buying an island, moving all the "true" SBC'ers there, and sheltering themselves from the rest of the world?  (note: this is strictly my hypothesis, not revealed in any SBC documentation...yet)  I wait with anticipation for next month's convention...if that motion is made, and if it passes, the summer should be filled with much debate and discussion.

Now let's dump some meaningless mind information...

1) John Wall finally signed with the University of Kentucky, leading many fans to a state of euphoria no drug can induce...is it just me, or has it seemed like the past few weeks of signings and reactions almost has a "The circle is complete now...domination is imminent!" feel to it?

2) Gas prices are back on the rise, apparently due to the increased travel plans of Americans...um, no one has interviewed me to see if I am traveling, have they you?  Attention big oil...I'm not going anywhere!  Can I have some reduced gas prices please???

3) With the new SCHIP tax in place, cigars are now .50 to .60 cents higher per cigar...guess I'll have to start growing/rolling my own.

4) Katie had her first golf lesson this past Wednesday, and apparently did quite well!  I'm somewhat proud, and somewhat apprehensive...another expensive pastime!  Oh well, maybe she'll get college paid for!

5) American Idol is over...thank goodness! 

6) It's now been over a month with no cable/satellite t.v....u should try it, it is amazing!

7) Nothing says love like a pitcher full of sweet tea.

8) I will be a bachelor Friday night thru Sunday night...the fam is going to Michigan.  That will be weird...

9) however, with the fam gone, I will finish painting the ceiling, mow the yard, and maybe even tackle the garage...that will be good!

10) Angels and Demons is a really good flick...u should see it!

Friday Mind Dump...

I was reading a blog the other day and came across an entry dealing with leadership in the church and their families...you can read it here...

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2009/05/his-children-1.html#links

Interestingly enough, I agree with their premise.  It does seem very biblical to teach leadership that if their family is out of sorts, they should take some time out of the ministry...however, there are a couple of points to debate here.

1) Who exactly determines how "debauchery and insubordination" (also translated as 'dissipation or rebellion' in the ESV) is defined?  The word for debauchery/dissipation is defined as a life abandoned (what does that really mean?) and the word for insubordination/rebellion is defined basically as one who is not subjecting themselves to authority.  Do we call a two year old who refuses to go potty guilty of insubordination?  Is a teenager who refuses to clean their room justification enough to remove someone from ministry?  It seems a very gray area here in scripture to define who should be removed from ministry due to the behavior of their children.

2) While it may be apparent at times the level of rebellion that would call for the suspension of ministerial duties, we must ask the question, "Did the ministerial demands of the father/mother play a role in that rebellion?"  It seems an unfair situation in most ministry positions...the person in ministry is expected to keep a somewhat 'perfect' family, however they are also expected to be on call 24 hours a day, even on their "days off".  We seem very quick to expect a level of family life that is essentially unattainable if the minister in question is subjected to the demands of most positions. 

3) The author of the blog states it thusly, "the pastorate/eldership is not for guys who are still working out their issues"...really?  So who among us are qualified for ministry?  For a person to say "I have no issues" is akin to them saying "I never sin".  Perhaps the time has come for robotics to enter the pastorate...

I'll be back in a minute for part 2 of the mind dump...gotta run.

Grumpy Wednesday...

So today, I'm slowly becoming what my 2 year old daughter calls a "grumpus"...there is no particular reason, just a myriad of non-particulars.  I had big plans of big posts today, but at this point my heart isn't in it, so instead I give you this video, showing one church in Texas that "gets it"...

Monday With the King...

Today we look at Matthew 6...the chapter begins with these words of Christ...

"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

The 'acts of righteousness' Jesus speaks of in the remainder of chapter 6 are giving, prayer, and fasting.  We read the word 'reward' in verse 1 as coming from the Father, in verse 2 as what men have already received, and verse 4 as future coming from the Father.  The word here is 'misthos', and it primarily denotes rewards received in an earthly fashion, not heavenly.  It's impossible to know the mind of God in this instance and adequately state what 'kind' of earthly reward(s) Jesus is speaking of here...nonetheless, it is valuable and useful.  For those who practice acts of righteousness in a public manner to be seen, their reward on earth is already been given in full.  For those who practice such things more humbly, and not in attention to themselves, their reward is still coming. 

Jesus tells us to not draw attention to ourselves in giving.  Jesus lived in an agricultural setting, where much of the currency of the day was still animals and crops.  However, Roman coins were utilized as well (not much of the paper money we know today).  When one would make an offering in the temple setting, many would pitch their money in an attempt to make a sound so all would know how much they gave.  Additionally, to announce something with trumpets was to give it great importance.  Jesus uses that phrase to point to self-promotion in giving as something to avoid. 

Jesus also cautions against drawing attention to ourselves in prayer.  I can remember as a boy growing up, at the end of a service the pastor would call on a man, usually a deacon or some other leader in the church, to pray.  What many did not know then was that the pastor would usually give a couple days notice (usually via a phone call) to that man to let him know.  That gave him adequate time to "write" his prayer, so that everything would go smooth and sound good.  I always thought that very odd...

Finally Jesus cautions against the outward appearance of fasting.  For the record, I doubt fasting is a major part of most believer's lives, at least in American Christianity.  So we probably gloss over this too easily.  When Jesus teaches on a spiritual discipline we don't observe, we most likely don't get much from it.  In the Jewish tradition, people would put ash on their face during fasting.  Jesus essentially is teaching to let fasting be done privately, not in a showy manner.

As I read this passage, I'm drawn to many of the "events" we so often hold in American Christianity.  We hold massive prayer events at political sites, in public parks, and in places where we know media will be present.  We brag about giving, whether it be what is given through our denomination circles, or personally.  Times we do fast, are usually accompanied by fanfare and public recognition (think 30 Hour Famine for all you student workers out there).  As usual, when we match what we do to the words of Christ, it seems we fall short.  Jesus was much more concerned with personal holiness, than He was with a good public showing.  Are we?