So I was driving to a church board meeting tonight, and I was noticing a great deal of anxiety and not a little anger in my heart. I didn't want those things to be a part of who I am, so I began a little breathing prayer exercise. Here is basically how it developed for me...
I notice anger and contempt in my heart. So as I exhale I ask God to sweep those attitudes and thoughts from my heart.
I breathe out...anger, contempt, destructive thoughts.
Now as I breathe in, I invite God to replace those with His reality of peace and gentleness toward all.
I breathe in...love, forgiveness, gentleness, creative thoughts.
I notice other destructive thoughts dwelling there...So I exhale...rage, malice, anxiety, fear.
Then I inhale...peace, goodness, humility, purity.
A woman in the car ahead of me is driving too slow...I recognize my impatience...I exhale impatience, hurry, pride.
I inhale...patience, trust, God's presence.
I continue this exercise until I notice that I am exhaling 'toxic fumes.' So I imagine myself becoming so filled with 'good air' that I begin to breathe out the goodness I have inhaled.
I exhale onto the world around me...peace, gentleness, kindness...desiring the good of each person I see.
I inhale from the Father His goodness, love, patience, humility, trust...and exhale these things. I imagine myself in possible situations where I may meet those with whom I am not at peace...I exhale on them peace, patience, goodness.
And so on for the entire twenty minute drive...inhale...exhale...all a prayer to God inviting Him to overtake my heart.
Guess what? It worked...each time I began to sense anxiety or malicious thoughts, I would begin the exercise, sincerely asking God to change who I am...to make me into the kind of person who is not overcome by anger or anxiety or any number of destructive thoughts...to make me into the kind of person who is so hyperventilated by grace that all I exhale is grace.
It was one way I found to practice "off-the-spot."
Monday, July 29, 2002
This coming weekend I am supposed to be doing a seminar in Ft. Collins, CO for youth leaders... we are going to be talking about "absolute truth." I have been bouncing this concept around in my brain for a while now. If truth is embodied in Christ, and if we understand truth as we increasingly live in God's story, how can we expect the world to follow the same belief system? But, that is nothing new to this conversation... here is my premise... and probably others as well... the more the evangelical church has tried to create a black & white world of right & wrong, the more the church has alientated the culture.
Why do we prefer the easy and clean answers of "right" or "wrong"? Yet, it was Jesus who lived in the world of sinners. It was Jesus that was asked tough questions, but he returns the questions with other questions. It was Jesus who seems to live in a world of complex reality. I am thinking that if the church would be willing to struggle with the real issues of life, perhaps it would also more clearly bear witness to the reality of our risen Christ.
Why do we prefer the easy and clean answers of "right" or "wrong"? Yet, it was Jesus who lived in the world of sinners. It was Jesus that was asked tough questions, but he returns the questions with other questions. It was Jesus who seems to live in a world of complex reality. I am thinking that if the church would be willing to struggle with the real issues of life, perhaps it would also more clearly bear witness to the reality of our risen Christ.
Thursday, July 25, 2002
One more post before I go to work...if you haven't realized it yet, I am trying to install the talkback feature--thanks to the chaps @ enetation.
Two blogs I've just come across this morning...Stephen Shields and David Hopkins. Really good stuff.
Also, Randy and I are working with Jason Evans from Matthew's House on doing some really cool stuff for Soularize in October. Please be praying for us, and think about coming along...
Also, Randy and I are working with Jason Evans from Matthew's House on doing some really cool stuff for Soularize in October. Please be praying for us, and think about coming along...
Monday, July 22, 2002
Recently I have been playing with some on-line friends at a forum created by Jason Evans. The topic - "what is church." Some pretty incredible people having fun playing together... including James Ferrenberg, Charlie Wear, Laura Ogle, Steve Lewis, Alan Creech, and a few others who currently slip my mind (sorry guys). Check out the dialogue at the Matthew's House website!
Last night we did some more stations stuff. For those of you who are interested, here's what we did...
Station 1 :: Salt (We had some sea salt in a little bowl on a table)
We had pieces of paper that read:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
1) Read the Scripture.
2) Take a grain of salt and place it on your tongue.
3) As you meditate on the Scripture, invite the Spirit of God to speak directly to you and expose the places where your life has become tasteless.
4) Invite the Spirit of God to show you where you may be a cleansing, preserving, and flavoring presence in the places and times in which you live.
Station 2 :: City (we had some images of cities at night running in a loop on Randy's laptop)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
1) Read the Scripture
2) Watch the images on the screen.
3) Invite the Spirit of God to point out the areas of your life where you have been trying to hide the light of life.
4) Where have you been resisting the call of God to release the rule and reign of your life to Him?
5) Invite God to shine His light into your heart and mind.
6) Now see yourself as a city on a hill, fully illumined by the light of Life, reflecting the light of God to the people you will see this week.
7) Imagine yourself shining the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy onto the lives of three specific people.
Station 3 :: Candle (We had three pillar candles on a stand in the middle of a room. Ideally it was to be a dark room, but the sun hadn't gone down yet, so it was not as effective in a sunlit room.)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"You are the light of the world.”
1) Read the Scripture
2) Watch the dancing flame of the candle and its effects on the whole room.
3) Consider how the light easily and naturally eliminates darkness by its simple presence.
4) Invite the Spirit of God to speak directly to you through these Scriptures to show you how your life may be the kind of life that easily and naturally eliminates darkness by your simple presence.
Station 4 :: Candles (We had 24 tea-lights on a coffee table in the center of our gathering space.)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"Think of one or two people who need the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy in their lives (one of them may be you).
Light one of the candles as you pray:
Father of light, in whom there is no darkness,
Shine the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy into __________’s heart and mind. Amen.
Then we asked everyone to remain in silent contemplation until everyone had completed the exercise.
Station 1 :: Salt (We had some sea salt in a little bowl on a table)
We had pieces of paper that read:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
1) Read the Scripture.
2) Take a grain of salt and place it on your tongue.
3) As you meditate on the Scripture, invite the Spirit of God to speak directly to you and expose the places where your life has become tasteless.
4) Invite the Spirit of God to show you where you may be a cleansing, preserving, and flavoring presence in the places and times in which you live.
Station 2 :: City (we had some images of cities at night running in a loop on Randy's laptop)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
1) Read the Scripture
2) Watch the images on the screen.
3) Invite the Spirit of God to point out the areas of your life where you have been trying to hide the light of life.
4) Where have you been resisting the call of God to release the rule and reign of your life to Him?
5) Invite God to shine His light into your heart and mind.
6) Now see yourself as a city on a hill, fully illumined by the light of Life, reflecting the light of God to the people you will see this week.
7) Imagine yourself shining the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy onto the lives of three specific people.
Station 3 :: Candle (We had three pillar candles on a stand in the middle of a room. Ideally it was to be a dark room, but the sun hadn't gone down yet, so it was not as effective in a sunlit room.)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"You are the light of the world.”
1) Read the Scripture
2) Watch the dancing flame of the candle and its effects on the whole room.
3) Consider how the light easily and naturally eliminates darkness by its simple presence.
4) Invite the Spirit of God to speak directly to you through these Scriptures to show you how your life may be the kind of life that easily and naturally eliminates darkness by your simple presence.
Station 4 :: Candles (We had 24 tea-lights on a coffee table in the center of our gathering space.)
We had pieces of paper that read:
"Think of one or two people who need the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy in their lives (one of them may be you).
Light one of the candles as you pray:
Father of light, in whom there is no darkness,
Shine the light of Christ’s love and peace and joy into __________’s heart and mind. Amen.
Then we asked everyone to remain in silent contemplation until everyone had completed the exercise.
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
Matthew 5:13-16
One thing I have been increasingly trying to do when I read a passage from the Scriptures is to look at how the passage reads my life. Rather than standing over the passage, observing it like a detached laboratory technician, I try to place myself beneath the text, and invite the Spirit of God to point out where my life is outside of God’s story. So I did this with this passage.
How does this passage read me? One way it reads me is that it points out that often, I mistakenly think that the Kingdom of God is revealed primarily in doing great works and being well-known by people.
Our culture has held up different models as 'more' significant, or 'more' respectable than others. From our scholastic past, we came to hold up great lecturers as the more spectacular expressions of the kingdom of God.
Others held up people, primarily men, who were effective motivators. If a person could get people to weep and dance and shake and run up to the altar at the end, THAT was what a person should aspire to become.
More recently, we have looked to effective 'leaders', the CEO and the mega church pastors have become the symbol for success. We protect ourselves from making them into idols by talking about the priesthood of all believers, but we still picture these people as perhaps 'more' loved or 'more gifted' by God.
So I have been tempted. I have been tempted to aspire to that 'great leader' type. I have been fooled into thinking that that is the only legitimate expression of the kingdom. To be seen, respected, inquired of, and admired--these are appealing things that come along with being 'the man.'
But what happens when I realize that I am not that kind of leader. "Learn to lead like that." I'm told. "God is going to use you in great ways" I'm told--I always assumed they were talking about having a big church with lots of people listening to what I have to say.
But maybe Jesus was saying that what you assume it means to be salt and light (flash, spectacle, significance, relevance, influence, etc.)--maybe Jesus is saying that these things are all wrong ideas about being his apprentice.
This passage reads me in a way that exposes my assumptions about what it takes to be salt and light. Maybe it is not in the ways that I have always assumed...being 'up front', leading, being the Bible answer man. Maybe it is in the ordinary, unseen things that I overlook and neglect each day.
Maybe it is in the simple ways of being a sign of peace.
Maybe it is in the simple obedience that I embody as I set my life apart to God.
Maybe it is the simple actions that flow out of an undiluted confidence in Jesus.
Maybe it is in the simple acts of kindness and goodness that communicate the compassion of God more than my mere words can say alone.
If Jesus was looking at a crowd of ordinary, uneducated, overlooked people, then maybe he was announcing that it doesn't take a title to be the people of God. Maybe he was announcing that it doesn't take accreditation to be salt and light.
Some of us don't feel qualified to see ourselves as pastors and missionaries. But that may be precisely Jesus’ point.
Now that all of us unqualified people have been given the invitation to receive and enter into the kingdom, and now that we have (for those of us who have), what are we doing about it? We like to talk about it, but what are we really doing about it?
And that’s the rub, isn’t it? I wonder sometimes whether it is something that I really want. I mean, I guess I know I really want that—or at the very least I want to want it--and that is significant as a beginning. But I feel, to an extent, that I am spending too much time in the realm of abstract ideas and I need to move out into more specific application of all this stuff.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that what the church needs is not more people with seminary degrees, but more people who see their 'ordinary lives' as something more than 'ordinary.' We need more people to stop allowing our witness to be diluted either by superficial and hollow displays of religiosity, or by self-indulgent compromise in the name of 'freedom.'
I am becoming increasingly convinced that what we need is people who understand that life in the kingdom of God is extra-ordinary. Not in the sense of being spectacular, but in the sense of being able to see the power of God in simple demonstrations of love and peace and joy--the simple acts that we neglect precisely because we see them as ordinary or unspectacular.
So Jesus interprets that act of a poor widow who gave a small amount as a great gift, and the large donation of the wealthy man as such a small thing. And he says other things like the first will be last and the last will be first.
These people who place their confidence in Jesus will be, like salt, a sign of peace and love for strangers; like salt, a people who set themselves apart for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And like light, these people will be a sign of God’s incredible, supernatural love. They will not let their saltiness dissolve, and they will not hide their light beneath a bucket.
As the ruling and reigning of God is a reality in their lives, they will not be able to prevent others from seeing the kingdom of God among them. They will see our deeds of goodness--our expressions of the goodness of God--and praise our Father in the heavens.
Matthew 5:13-16
One thing I have been increasingly trying to do when I read a passage from the Scriptures is to look at how the passage reads my life. Rather than standing over the passage, observing it like a detached laboratory technician, I try to place myself beneath the text, and invite the Spirit of God to point out where my life is outside of God’s story. So I did this with this passage.
How does this passage read me? One way it reads me is that it points out that often, I mistakenly think that the Kingdom of God is revealed primarily in doing great works and being well-known by people.
Our culture has held up different models as 'more' significant, or 'more' respectable than others. From our scholastic past, we came to hold up great lecturers as the more spectacular expressions of the kingdom of God.
Others held up people, primarily men, who were effective motivators. If a person could get people to weep and dance and shake and run up to the altar at the end, THAT was what a person should aspire to become.
More recently, we have looked to effective 'leaders', the CEO and the mega church pastors have become the symbol for success. We protect ourselves from making them into idols by talking about the priesthood of all believers, but we still picture these people as perhaps 'more' loved or 'more gifted' by God.
So I have been tempted. I have been tempted to aspire to that 'great leader' type. I have been fooled into thinking that that is the only legitimate expression of the kingdom. To be seen, respected, inquired of, and admired--these are appealing things that come along with being 'the man.'
But what happens when I realize that I am not that kind of leader. "Learn to lead like that." I'm told. "God is going to use you in great ways" I'm told--I always assumed they were talking about having a big church with lots of people listening to what I have to say.
But maybe Jesus was saying that what you assume it means to be salt and light (flash, spectacle, significance, relevance, influence, etc.)--maybe Jesus is saying that these things are all wrong ideas about being his apprentice.
This passage reads me in a way that exposes my assumptions about what it takes to be salt and light. Maybe it is not in the ways that I have always assumed...being 'up front', leading, being the Bible answer man. Maybe it is in the ordinary, unseen things that I overlook and neglect each day.
Maybe it is in the simple ways of being a sign of peace.
Maybe it is in the simple obedience that I embody as I set my life apart to God.
Maybe it is the simple actions that flow out of an undiluted confidence in Jesus.
Maybe it is in the simple acts of kindness and goodness that communicate the compassion of God more than my mere words can say alone.
If Jesus was looking at a crowd of ordinary, uneducated, overlooked people, then maybe he was announcing that it doesn't take a title to be the people of God. Maybe he was announcing that it doesn't take accreditation to be salt and light.
Some of us don't feel qualified to see ourselves as pastors and missionaries. But that may be precisely Jesus’ point.
Now that all of us unqualified people have been given the invitation to receive and enter into the kingdom, and now that we have (for those of us who have), what are we doing about it? We like to talk about it, but what are we really doing about it?
And that’s the rub, isn’t it? I wonder sometimes whether it is something that I really want. I mean, I guess I know I really want that—or at the very least I want to want it--and that is significant as a beginning. But I feel, to an extent, that I am spending too much time in the realm of abstract ideas and I need to move out into more specific application of all this stuff.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that what the church needs is not more people with seminary degrees, but more people who see their 'ordinary lives' as something more than 'ordinary.' We need more people to stop allowing our witness to be diluted either by superficial and hollow displays of religiosity, or by self-indulgent compromise in the name of 'freedom.'
I am becoming increasingly convinced that what we need is people who understand that life in the kingdom of God is extra-ordinary. Not in the sense of being spectacular, but in the sense of being able to see the power of God in simple demonstrations of love and peace and joy--the simple acts that we neglect precisely because we see them as ordinary or unspectacular.
So Jesus interprets that act of a poor widow who gave a small amount as a great gift, and the large donation of the wealthy man as such a small thing. And he says other things like the first will be last and the last will be first.
These people who place their confidence in Jesus will be, like salt, a sign of peace and love for strangers; like salt, a people who set themselves apart for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And like light, these people will be a sign of God’s incredible, supernatural love. They will not let their saltiness dissolve, and they will not hide their light beneath a bucket.
As the ruling and reigning of God is a reality in their lives, they will not be able to prevent others from seeing the kingdom of God among them. They will see our deeds of goodness--our expressions of the goodness of God--and praise our Father in the heavens.
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
"Can Christians have fun?"
The question was asked to me yesterday, and my response was, "It depends on your definition of fun."
I think Christians should be the most joy-filled people on the planet. Someone once wrote, "Of all the people on the earth, Christians have the most reason to party." We have reason to party, not because we are "going to heaven" (Christians shouldn't isolate themselves in an escapist ghetto), but because we can know the true peace and joy that come from being known by God.
I just think our definition of fun might be a little different than our culture's definition. I think our fun will be creative rather than destructive. I think our fun will be for the benefit of others rather than at the expense of others. I think our laughter will come from knowing the sweetness and goodness of life in God. I think we will dance and sing and giggle until our bellies burn with pain.
This is the fun that comes within community--true koinonia. The fun that comes with a life free from anxieties.
Yes, Christians can have fun. And when we do, I think it might look more attractive than any "fun" our culture offers up.
The question was asked to me yesterday, and my response was, "It depends on your definition of fun."
I think Christians should be the most joy-filled people on the planet. Someone once wrote, "Of all the people on the earth, Christians have the most reason to party." We have reason to party, not because we are "going to heaven" (Christians shouldn't isolate themselves in an escapist ghetto), but because we can know the true peace and joy that come from being known by God.
I just think our definition of fun might be a little different than our culture's definition. I think our fun will be creative rather than destructive. I think our fun will be for the benefit of others rather than at the expense of others. I think our laughter will come from knowing the sweetness and goodness of life in God. I think we will dance and sing and giggle until our bellies burn with pain.
This is the fun that comes within community--true koinonia. The fun that comes with a life free from anxieties.
Yes, Christians can have fun. And when we do, I think it might look more attractive than any "fun" our culture offers up.
Monday, July 15, 2002
Tonight we are going to be looking at a facility for our gatherings. It looks promising, and now we need to identify some way to use it between the meetings. An art gallery? A tutoring place? A bookstore? Maybe a combination of all of these things? It is not what I had ever imagined at the beginning, but it is better than I could have ever understood.
Sunday, July 14, 2002
I was rereading parts of Thomas Merton's "Thoughts in Solitude" this past week, and one little paragraph really keeps bothering me. It reads:
"There is no hope for the man who struggles to obtain a virtue in the abstract--a quality of which he has no experience. He will never efficaciously prefer the virtue to the opposite vice, no matter how much he may seem to despise the latter."
Yes, an irritating little quote. I hope it produces a pearl.
"There is no hope for the man who struggles to obtain a virtue in the abstract--a quality of which he has no experience. He will never efficaciously prefer the virtue to the opposite vice, no matter how much he may seem to despise the latter."
Yes, an irritating little quote. I hope it produces a pearl.
Thursday, July 11, 2002
The following is from an email I sent to Randy. I thought it might be worth others reading...
"What else is happenin'? What it is ain't exactly clear. I know I feel a great excitement about the possibility that we might actually pull off becoming a compelling alternative community of Christ followers. It also scares the crap out of me because I do not know the way--but I do know the WAY. And that is a very encouraging thing.
"Did you see Ted Koppel's interview of Desmond Tutu? Tutu suprised me with how much he sounded like Henri Nouwen. I found an instant affinity for him. He celebrates eucharist every day (and made me wonder why I don't). He disagreed when Koppel called him an extreme optimist--he said he was not an optimist but "a person of hope." It reminded me that we too need to be a people of hope. Optimism is the unfounded opinion that things will turn out for the better. Hope is a confidence in God's goodness and in His ability to accomplish His will. One more statement Tutu made. He said that God is Omnipotent, and yet, paradoxically, God is impotent. I believe that is the most profound truth I have heard from a clergy person in quite some time.
"I have confidence that God is working in us and through us...though we do not know the way. As long as we know the Way, we need only to be willing to do what appears to be impossible. That is usually where God leads His people. Remember, God never calls us to something we can do without Him."
peace.
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
Monday, July 08, 2002
Over the next few months, we are going to be looking at Matthew 5-7, and we are going to be listening from the position that Dallas Willard suggests in "The Divine Conspiracy." We began this past Sunday night with the following material.
The Beatitudes:
Guess Who Is Invited to the Party?
What was Jesus saying by calling these people ‘blessed’?
Jesus was answering the question, “who is really well off?” by challenging the assumptions of his culture.
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Have you ever not received an invitation to a party you really wanted to be at?
(In our gathering, Heidi shared a little bit about a wedding invitation that she had been promised, but never arrived. Kathy shared about some parties in college that she was not invited to. How about you? How do you feel when you are one of the 'uninvited'?)
As Jesus was opening his mouth to teach the people on the hillside, I believe he was making an announcement to all the 'uninvited' people of the world. I believe he was making the announcement that the kingdom of God is now available to anyone and everyone who would place their confidence in Jesus and follow him.
I won't go into depth of all of the beatitudes of Jesus, but I would like to look at a few as examples.
Blessed are the Poor in spirit.
The poor in spirit are those people who you think don’t have a clue about the spiritual life. They are the people who seem apathetic about anything beyond the moment.
To religiously minded people, the poor in spirit are a waste of time. Religious-minded people look at these and quote things like, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine,” and stuff like that.
But Jesus is announcing that God’s ruling can be brought into even the most spiritually impoverished person you can imagine. So, in Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus puts out some tough warnings to the people who think they have it all together. Watch out, you holier-than-thou types! Watch out you high-minded orthocrats! You theology nazis.
Watch out, all of you who think you are high on God’s list because of the doctrinal positions you hold, because there will be people entering in the kingdom who know nothing of your doctrines—and they will be getting in the party ahead of you!
Blessed are Those Who Mourn.
Those who mourn, of course, are those whose lives have been devastated by tragedy. These are the people who our world calls the failures. The wife just can’t seem to get over the death of her husband. She hears the whispers, “Why can’t she just move on?” The father who loses his job and doesn’t seem to be employable. He entertains thoughts like, “Maybe I’m worth more dead than alive.”
To these, Jesus announces that there is right now available a life of blessedness under the ruling of God. He announces that this life is one that no tragedy can touch, one that no circumstance can mark a person with the name ‘failure.’
Blessed are the Meek and gentle.
The Meek and the Gentle among us are those who are stepped over and walked on. They are those timid people who are often taken advantage of. They do not get far up the corporate ladder. They end up serving as perpetual rungs on the ladder. They are the butt of everyone’s jokes.
To these, Jesus announces that they too are welcome to God’s party. God does not limit the invitation to the corporate climbers, the five-diamond distributors, and the politically influential. Jesus is saying something just like the lyrics from Paul Simon, “Blessed are the sat upon, spat upon, ratted on.”
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
7 "Blessed are the merciful
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Jesus is not holding these up as models for morality. He is simply saying, “To those of you here who happen to be spiritually bankrupt…to those of you here who feel like you have lost everything when you lost someone you loved…to those of you here who are getting stepped on and walked all over…and all the rest who have been deemed ‘uninvited’…you have an opportunity here and now to enter into the life of beatitude.
You are invited to God’s party.
Dallas Willard writes, “The gospel of the kingdom is that no one is beyond beatitude, because the rule of God from the heaviness is available to all. Everyone can reach it, and it can reach everyone. We respond appropriately to the Beatitudes of Jesus by living as if this were so, as it concerns others and as it concerns ourselves.”
Who have you written off as hopeless?
The other day, I was sitting with a few friends around a picnic table and a man drove by several times in his loud car. It was very distracting, so after about the third time this guy drove past us, one of my friends said, “Oh well, he’s going to hell anyway.” Of course, he was just kidding. I’m sure he is not that cynical. But many of us are about the people in our lives.
We write them off. “There’s nothing I can do. They’re going to hell anyway.” The Beatitudes of Jesus will prevent us from regarding anyone as hopeless.
Who might we put on our list of hopeless cases?
Again, Dallas Willard is helpful, “The flunk-outs and drop-outs and burned-outs. The broke and the broken. The drug heads and the divorced. The HIV-positive and the herpes-ridden. The brain-damaged, the incurably ill. The barren and the pregnant too-many—times or at the wrong time. The overemployed, the underemployed. The unemployable. The swindled, the shoved aside, the replaced. The parents with children living on the street, the children with parents not dying in the ‘rest’ home. The lonely, the incompetent, the stupid. The emotionally starved or emotionally dead. And on and on and on….Jesus offers such people as these the present blessedness of the present kingdom—regardless of circumstances. The condition of life sought for by human beings through the ages is attained in the quietly transforming friendship of Jesus.”
And even more, the kingdom of God is available to the walking moral disaster areas. Even the most disgustingly immoral person will be received by God as they place their confidence in Jesus and place themselves beneath the ruling and reigning of God.
The church is not a group of “shiny, happy people” who have it all together. It is a mixture of people with checkered pasts and sketchy character who have intended to place their lives under the direction of the Creator of the universe. It is a gathering of the intelligent and the simple-minded, the party animals and the zoologists, the beer-chuggers and the tea-totalers—a collection of thinkers, doers, and do-nothings—all of whom have answered the invitation to God’s great party called Life in the Kingdom of God.
So reconsider the people you have written off, because they too are welcomed to join the party.
(Then we prayed:)
Great God and Maker of All,
You are full of mercy and your compassion never ends.
Your love endures forever.
You did not write us off as hopeless, even when we have acted as your enemies.
While we were still living in wrong stories, the Messiah died for us.
Welcome us into the life of abundant, creative goodness
as we welcome those around us whom we have previously written off as hopeless.
Help us to live in the confidence that you wil provice for our needs
so that we may be generous to those in need around us.
Deliver us from being apathetic to people who offend us
with their words, their clothes, their smells, and their actions.
And bring our lives increasingly under your exceedingly good rule and reign
so that the world may be blessed because of how we live.
Amen.
The Beatitudes:
Guess Who Is Invited to the Party?
What was Jesus saying by calling these people ‘blessed’?
Jesus was answering the question, “who is really well off?” by challenging the assumptions of his culture.
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Have you ever not received an invitation to a party you really wanted to be at?
(In our gathering, Heidi shared a little bit about a wedding invitation that she had been promised, but never arrived. Kathy shared about some parties in college that she was not invited to. How about you? How do you feel when you are one of the 'uninvited'?)
As Jesus was opening his mouth to teach the people on the hillside, I believe he was making an announcement to all the 'uninvited' people of the world. I believe he was making the announcement that the kingdom of God is now available to anyone and everyone who would place their confidence in Jesus and follow him.
I won't go into depth of all of the beatitudes of Jesus, but I would like to look at a few as examples.
Blessed are the Poor in spirit.
The poor in spirit are those people who you think don’t have a clue about the spiritual life. They are the people who seem apathetic about anything beyond the moment.
To religiously minded people, the poor in spirit are a waste of time. Religious-minded people look at these and quote things like, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine,” and stuff like that.
But Jesus is announcing that God’s ruling can be brought into even the most spiritually impoverished person you can imagine. So, in Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus puts out some tough warnings to the people who think they have it all together. Watch out, you holier-than-thou types! Watch out you high-minded orthocrats! You theology nazis.
Watch out, all of you who think you are high on God’s list because of the doctrinal positions you hold, because there will be people entering in the kingdom who know nothing of your doctrines—and they will be getting in the party ahead of you!
Blessed are Those Who Mourn.
Those who mourn, of course, are those whose lives have been devastated by tragedy. These are the people who our world calls the failures. The wife just can’t seem to get over the death of her husband. She hears the whispers, “Why can’t she just move on?” The father who loses his job and doesn’t seem to be employable. He entertains thoughts like, “Maybe I’m worth more dead than alive.”
To these, Jesus announces that there is right now available a life of blessedness under the ruling of God. He announces that this life is one that no tragedy can touch, one that no circumstance can mark a person with the name ‘failure.’
Blessed are the Meek and gentle.
The Meek and the Gentle among us are those who are stepped over and walked on. They are those timid people who are often taken advantage of. They do not get far up the corporate ladder. They end up serving as perpetual rungs on the ladder. They are the butt of everyone’s jokes.
To these, Jesus announces that they too are welcome to God’s party. God does not limit the invitation to the corporate climbers, the five-diamond distributors, and the politically influential. Jesus is saying something just like the lyrics from Paul Simon, “Blessed are the sat upon, spat upon, ratted on.”
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
7 "Blessed are the merciful
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Jesus is not holding these up as models for morality. He is simply saying, “To those of you here who happen to be spiritually bankrupt…to those of you here who feel like you have lost everything when you lost someone you loved…to those of you here who are getting stepped on and walked all over…and all the rest who have been deemed ‘uninvited’…you have an opportunity here and now to enter into the life of beatitude.
You are invited to God’s party.
Dallas Willard writes, “The gospel of the kingdom is that no one is beyond beatitude, because the rule of God from the heaviness is available to all. Everyone can reach it, and it can reach everyone. We respond appropriately to the Beatitudes of Jesus by living as if this were so, as it concerns others and as it concerns ourselves.”
Who have you written off as hopeless?
The other day, I was sitting with a few friends around a picnic table and a man drove by several times in his loud car. It was very distracting, so after about the third time this guy drove past us, one of my friends said, “Oh well, he’s going to hell anyway.” Of course, he was just kidding. I’m sure he is not that cynical. But many of us are about the people in our lives.
We write them off. “There’s nothing I can do. They’re going to hell anyway.” The Beatitudes of Jesus will prevent us from regarding anyone as hopeless.
Who might we put on our list of hopeless cases?
Again, Dallas Willard is helpful, “The flunk-outs and drop-outs and burned-outs. The broke and the broken. The drug heads and the divorced. The HIV-positive and the herpes-ridden. The brain-damaged, the incurably ill. The barren and the pregnant too-many—times or at the wrong time. The overemployed, the underemployed. The unemployable. The swindled, the shoved aside, the replaced. The parents with children living on the street, the children with parents not dying in the ‘rest’ home. The lonely, the incompetent, the stupid. The emotionally starved or emotionally dead. And on and on and on….Jesus offers such people as these the present blessedness of the present kingdom—regardless of circumstances. The condition of life sought for by human beings through the ages is attained in the quietly transforming friendship of Jesus.”
And even more, the kingdom of God is available to the walking moral disaster areas. Even the most disgustingly immoral person will be received by God as they place their confidence in Jesus and place themselves beneath the ruling and reigning of God.
The church is not a group of “shiny, happy people” who have it all together. It is a mixture of people with checkered pasts and sketchy character who have intended to place their lives under the direction of the Creator of the universe. It is a gathering of the intelligent and the simple-minded, the party animals and the zoologists, the beer-chuggers and the tea-totalers—a collection of thinkers, doers, and do-nothings—all of whom have answered the invitation to God’s great party called Life in the Kingdom of God.
So reconsider the people you have written off, because they too are welcomed to join the party.
(Then we prayed:)
Great God and Maker of All,
You are full of mercy and your compassion never ends.
Your love endures forever.
You did not write us off as hopeless, even when we have acted as your enemies.
While we were still living in wrong stories, the Messiah died for us.
Welcome us into the life of abundant, creative goodness
as we welcome those around us whom we have previously written off as hopeless.
Help us to live in the confidence that you wil provice for our needs
so that we may be generous to those in need around us.
Deliver us from being apathetic to people who offend us
with their words, their clothes, their smells, and their actions.
And bring our lives increasingly under your exceedingly good rule and reign
so that the world may be blessed because of how we live.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
On Baptism
We have been wrestling with the question of how we will practice baptism for several months. Most of the initial group of people in Water’s Edge have a strong background in a tradition that practices ‘infant baptism.’ I come from a background that practices ‘believer’s baptism.’ Initially, I think we approached the issue with the desire to win the argument—to convince the ‘other side’ of our respective positions.
What developed, however, was a conversation about baptism that enabled us to understand each other’s tradition better, and to better understand (and develop) our positions.
I think the picture of what happened in our group reflects the character of who we are as a community; that is, a learning conversation.
What do we profit from holding a position in a way that prevents us from being in community with each other? Not much. We can easily slip into an attitude of arrogance about the correctness of our position—and consequently the incorrectness of the other position—and can be patronizingly polite, yet unloving toward others.
Let me say at this point that I am not suggesting we take up a sort of ‘comfortably dumb’, ‘ignorance-is-bliss,’ ‘can’t-we-all-just-get-along’ approach. I really have firm convictions about the issue of how we practice baptism. But I also have firm convictions that I am not always as well-informed as I think I am.
I have learned that I can hold positions on things like baptism—and hold them with humility. And it is that humility that enables us to engage in a learning conversation. How will we hope to be led into the truth if we grieve the Spirit of truth by treating those who disagree with us in unloving, arrogant, divisive ways?
Someone reading this may think, “Well, you don’t believe in absolute truth! Someone has got to be right about the issue. Both positions can’t be right.” Of course I believe in absolute reality. But I also believe that only God knows what that is exhaustively.
The primary distinguishing mark of an apprentice of Jesus is not whether or not they are pre-mill, post-mill, or a-mill in their view of the end times. It is not whether or not they agree that women can be in leadership in the Church. It is not even whether or not they got wet under drops of water or in a river of water. Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).
What position will we take on baptism? We will take the position of learners in conversation. It is not agnosticism. We do not take the position of despair and resignation. We take the position of humility and hungering after truth. And so, we seek to understand through conversation. To hold to our convictions, but to hold to them with teachable hearts.
We will hold convictions, but we will hold them with love for each other—even for people who disagree. And this love is not some pie-in-the-sky, everybody-is-right, don’t-ruffle-any-feathers love. It is a love that is expressed in the deep respect for the other person, and a profound confidence that the Spirit of truth will lead those into the truth who truly seek it.
Where does this leave us practically? I believe it compels us to keep the conversation going—to continue learning and reaching to understand. It means we will remain in community with each other, keep loving one another, and keep striving to embody the love and life of Jesus.
If this offends you, I can appreciate that. If it does not offend you, understand that it will offend many people. It is difficult for many people to care passionately about their convictions while still being in community with people who are equally passionate with different convictions. In some matters, it will be necessarily impossible.
For us, however, it seems best to us—and we feel that we are being led by the Spirit through our conversation—to remain in the learning conversation and allow people to be led by the same Spirit of truth that Jesus promised his apprentices.
Wherever we are led, it will certainly be to lives of increasing love, joy, and peace. It will lead us, above all, to live the baptized life—a life submerged in the presence and mission and character of God.
Jesus said,
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5-8).
Let us keep ourselves from the arrogance that creates dissension. Let us keep ourselves from the agnosticism that creates despair. Above all, let us together remain in Jesus; loving as He loves, doing what he did, and obeying what he commanded his apprentices to do.
We have been wrestling with the question of how we will practice baptism for several months. Most of the initial group of people in Water’s Edge have a strong background in a tradition that practices ‘infant baptism.’ I come from a background that practices ‘believer’s baptism.’ Initially, I think we approached the issue with the desire to win the argument—to convince the ‘other side’ of our respective positions.
What developed, however, was a conversation about baptism that enabled us to understand each other’s tradition better, and to better understand (and develop) our positions.
I think the picture of what happened in our group reflects the character of who we are as a community; that is, a learning conversation.
What do we profit from holding a position in a way that prevents us from being in community with each other? Not much. We can easily slip into an attitude of arrogance about the correctness of our position—and consequently the incorrectness of the other position—and can be patronizingly polite, yet unloving toward others.
Let me say at this point that I am not suggesting we take up a sort of ‘comfortably dumb’, ‘ignorance-is-bliss,’ ‘can’t-we-all-just-get-along’ approach. I really have firm convictions about the issue of how we practice baptism. But I also have firm convictions that I am not always as well-informed as I think I am.
I have learned that I can hold positions on things like baptism—and hold them with humility. And it is that humility that enables us to engage in a learning conversation. How will we hope to be led into the truth if we grieve the Spirit of truth by treating those who disagree with us in unloving, arrogant, divisive ways?
Someone reading this may think, “Well, you don’t believe in absolute truth! Someone has got to be right about the issue. Both positions can’t be right.” Of course I believe in absolute reality. But I also believe that only God knows what that is exhaustively.
The primary distinguishing mark of an apprentice of Jesus is not whether or not they are pre-mill, post-mill, or a-mill in their view of the end times. It is not whether or not they agree that women can be in leadership in the Church. It is not even whether or not they got wet under drops of water or in a river of water. Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).
What position will we take on baptism? We will take the position of learners in conversation. It is not agnosticism. We do not take the position of despair and resignation. We take the position of humility and hungering after truth. And so, we seek to understand through conversation. To hold to our convictions, but to hold to them with teachable hearts.
We will hold convictions, but we will hold them with love for each other—even for people who disagree. And this love is not some pie-in-the-sky, everybody-is-right, don’t-ruffle-any-feathers love. It is a love that is expressed in the deep respect for the other person, and a profound confidence that the Spirit of truth will lead those into the truth who truly seek it.
Where does this leave us practically? I believe it compels us to keep the conversation going—to continue learning and reaching to understand. It means we will remain in community with each other, keep loving one another, and keep striving to embody the love and life of Jesus.
If this offends you, I can appreciate that. If it does not offend you, understand that it will offend many people. It is difficult for many people to care passionately about their convictions while still being in community with people who are equally passionate with different convictions. In some matters, it will be necessarily impossible.
For us, however, it seems best to us—and we feel that we are being led by the Spirit through our conversation—to remain in the learning conversation and allow people to be led by the same Spirit of truth that Jesus promised his apprentices.
Wherever we are led, it will certainly be to lives of increasing love, joy, and peace. It will lead us, above all, to live the baptized life—a life submerged in the presence and mission and character of God.
Jesus said,
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5-8).
Let us keep ourselves from the arrogance that creates dissension. Let us keep ourselves from the agnosticism that creates despair. Above all, let us together remain in Jesus; loving as He loves, doing what he did, and obeying what he commanded his apprentices to do.
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