Well I just wanted to add two scenes which I didn't cover in my last post to my synopsis of my Fuller Visit. Since the last post was long, I'll try to be concise here.
Scene 1: I woke up on Friday morning after 11 hrs of slumber to my mom telling me it was time to get up. As I lie there she said she had to tell me something. "Earlier this morning while I was praying I really felt God speak to me very clearly. He said, "You have to let him go. You have to let him go." It was the clearest thing I have ever heard in prayer. Now I'm not saying it's Fuller, but God is telling me I have to let you go away to wherever you decide to go."
That was an incredible moment because something my mother has really wrestled with in my grad school explorations, esp with Fuller, is me moving away. To hear that was a great blessing.
Scene 2: As I said in the last post, I'm looking at pursuing the twin degree plan at Fuller so that I can take more classes in the School of Intercultural Studies. However, this begs the question: What are you going to do with that? That my mother asked while we were driving home from the airport. I responded that my heart is not drawn to building a mega-church in a white suburb or writing a best selling novel, both of which have become the unspoken markers of a successful pastor in America today. My heart is drawn to the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. I cannot pursue a life that would not be centered on an active work of helping the poor. As the poorest of the poor are in places outside the US, following my calling would most likely take me abroad. Not that all pastors of mega churches are evil or writing a book means sell out, it's just for me I can't see that being the focus of my life. I might write a book or pastor a church but both of those things will follow from my work. Not my work following my book or my sermons.
Well, needless to say my mother wasn't very happy with that. "I don't see why you have to go on some crusade to save mankind. there are poor people in my family, why don't you help them?" I know her words were more out of the motherly concern of "How will you eat? how will you support yourself? I won't see you if you are abroad." But that convo was still difficult. I think in time she will be a little more open to the idea but right now it's a slow process.
Anyways, that concludes all the thoughts I can muster about my Fuller trip. Feel free to comment on either blog post. Thanks to all the people who prayed for the trip as it was a great experience and I really love the place. I now simply have to trust that if God is continuing to call me there He will finance it as well. Thanks again, much love to all of you.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Fuller Visit: Trip Outline
Wow, what an intense three days I have just had! It has been so non-stop that in many ways I feel as though I am awaking from a deep sleep and wondering what was real and what was reality. So, like all good stories, let us begin from the beginning and end with the end.
Thursday morning I woke up at 4:45 am to my mother waking me up because BOTH of my alarms set did not go off properly. So in fifteen minutes I got ready so we could leave by 5 to make it to Hobby Airport in time to get through check-in, etc. Our flight left at 7:30 am to Phoenix and I had a good time early on looking out the window. I was too excited to sleep so I stayed awake listening to 2Pac's "California Love" and wrote some questions for the admissions adviser.
Landed in Ontario, CA at 11 am Pacific time. Hopped in the rental car and my mom drove us to Pasadena (about a 40 min drive). Once we got there we checked into our room at the guest center and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local burger joint which happened to be a Pasadena staple. I then left to meet with an admissions adviser at 2. The meeting went well, I just learned about the application process a little more.
When I asked what Fuller tried to instill in their students she remarked, "We want our students to develop critical thinking. We want them to think deeply about issues and develop their own answers to these problems. They don't have to develop the right answer now, or perhaps their answer won't be the most popular or the most conservative but we want them to have an answer that is theirs." I really liked that because I have no desire to go to a seminary to be told what to believe but to experience the diverse answers that are out there and be equipped with the tools to develop my own responses based upon what I've learned.
Left from the admissions meeting to a meeting they set up with me with a current student. He was a cool guy from Atlanta in his first year at Fuller in the MDiv program. He talked about the Pasadena climate and how great it was (avg 70s throughout the year, always sunny, little rain, near the mountains and the beach, and palm trees lining the streets). We also talked about the difficulty of student life in so far as course work was concerned. 15 pg essays, mid-terms, finals, and what not. So finding balance in life is important. But overall he was really happy with Fuller and excited to be apart of a seminary which has produced people like Rob Bell and John Piper.
I wrapped up the day at 4, went back to the room to change and my mom and I went around Pasadena. Pasadena is a cool place, more akin to a small village than a city. I say that because everywhere you go you will run into people you know and no one really drives, instead they all walk. There is a section called 'Old Pasadena' which has a lot of shops and restaurants in a few square blocks. It has everything from locally owned stores to big name retailers like 'Banana Republic' and 'Vans.' Pasadena, like most of SoCal, is very artistic. There are about 7 theaters (most of which specialize in independent films), 4 or 5 art museums, at least 2 large gardens, and more than I can write. It's 9 minutes from camp grounds at the foot of the mountains and thirty minutes from Hollywood. So conversations you overhear will be about both mountain biking and the new segment of a film they're shooting tomorrow. It's a cool place so my mom and I grabbed some food at an Italian restaurant recommended to us and then went back to our room.
I was so exhausted from all the traveling that I passed out at about 9:30 and slept until 8 am the next morning. It was a crazy sensation to wake up in the room and realize I was in California knowing that the last time I woke up I was in Texas. Anyways, grabbed some breakfast real fast then jetted back to the room to brush my teeth so I could make it to the coffee shop on time for a meeting with a professor. But a little back story before we continue:
My mother's cousin asked me last Thanksgiving about seminary. I told her I was planning on looking at Fuller which excited her because she said her husband knows a lot of people there and donates to Fuller. She said she would go talk to him about Fuller and see if maybe he could give me some pointers on who to talk to. Well, as it turns out, he has recently gotten on the board of the School of Intercultural Studies (formerly the School of World Missions)! He said he would love to meet with me and help me in whatever way he could. Well, my mom emailed him a few weeks ago about our visit and he ended up calling me asking if it was alright to put me in contact with his friend of 35 yrs who is a professor at Fuller. Fantastic. Well, as it turns out, Dr. Bryant Myers (his friend) is a former board member of World Vision (which he served at for more than a decade) and is now a lead professor in the School of Intercultural Studies (SIS).
So I met with Dr. Myers and was incredibly delighted to hear what he had to say. There are currently four main classes in the SIS under his supervision which include: Advocacy and Social Justice, Humanitarian response, Poverty development, and one other one which I can't recall. In addition, he is in the process of developing some more courses. I really liked him as he was very personable and intelligent yet did not carry himself like an academic nor enjoyed academics (which reminded me of my teacher). He was very grounded and I particularly liked his comment, "in all truth, it's not rocket science to help the poor. you just have to love them." He informed me of a joint-degree program that Fuller has for people like me.
A normal MDiv has four sections: languages, Scriptures, church leadership, and electives. The electives encompass six units in which students can specialize (like I would with the SIS). However, for many students the six courses aren't enough class work done in that area. Also, the MDiv's high structure doesn't allow more much wiggle room. And if you're like me and have no denomination, a MDiv is really a requirement to be a pastor. So, many students have opted to join the joint program in which you basically disect the MDiv time. You take the languages and Scriptures classes which allow you to get a Masters in Theology, then instead of taking the church leadership and electives portions you dedicate all those hours to the SIS and get a Masters in Intercultural Studies. So basically, in the same three years I would graduate with a Masters in Theology and a Masters in Intercultural Studies.
I liked that program a whole lot better because the main focus of what I want to do in life will involve helping the poor so I would rather spend more of my time learning about that. Besides, as Dr. Myers pointed out, I might be more at home with the pragmaticists of the SIS who aren't as concerned about minor theological differences as I am with the theorists who only concern themselves with theology as intellectual constructions. Since we were at the Fuller Coffee Shop, a lot of his students and colleagues passed by and I was able to ask them some questions as well because Dr. Myers would stop them. So all in all, my time with him was an incredible hour which I gained some great insight into the program I want to be apart of.
I left from there to get a campus tour from a Admissions rep I met when he visited Baylor in the fall. I had a good time and learned a lot more about the campus which was good. I really enjoyed how Fuller had taken some of the historic homes near campus and converted them into offices and student lounges rather than tear them down for concert buildings. It gave the campus a more organic feel.
Jetted from the tour at 1:30 to load up the car then took my mom to In-And-Out Burger (good stuff) before we raced to the airport to check in the rental car then make our flight. I got back to Houston late Friday night and was in bed by 1:30 am. Got up the next morning at 9, talked with my dad about the trip, loaded up my car to capacity, and then left for Waco. Got here at 3, unpacked until 8 while doing laundry, grabbed dinner, played Wii with the roomies, saw Mallory, then went to bed at 1:30 again only to sleep until 10. So now I'm awake and still processing everything that has happened because it flew by so fast. There are so many things I didn't even cover in this already far too long blog that I'll have to post later today. Anyways, that is the outline of the trip. Ewh.
Thursday morning I woke up at 4:45 am to my mother waking me up because BOTH of my alarms set did not go off properly. So in fifteen minutes I got ready so we could leave by 5 to make it to Hobby Airport in time to get through check-in, etc. Our flight left at 7:30 am to Phoenix and I had a good time early on looking out the window. I was too excited to sleep so I stayed awake listening to 2Pac's "California Love" and wrote some questions for the admissions adviser.
Landed in Ontario, CA at 11 am Pacific time. Hopped in the rental car and my mom drove us to Pasadena (about a 40 min drive). Once we got there we checked into our room at the guest center and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local burger joint which happened to be a Pasadena staple. I then left to meet with an admissions adviser at 2. The meeting went well, I just learned about the application process a little more.
When I asked what Fuller tried to instill in their students she remarked, "We want our students to develop critical thinking. We want them to think deeply about issues and develop their own answers to these problems. They don't have to develop the right answer now, or perhaps their answer won't be the most popular or the most conservative but we want them to have an answer that is theirs." I really liked that because I have no desire to go to a seminary to be told what to believe but to experience the diverse answers that are out there and be equipped with the tools to develop my own responses based upon what I've learned.
Left from the admissions meeting to a meeting they set up with me with a current student. He was a cool guy from Atlanta in his first year at Fuller in the MDiv program. He talked about the Pasadena climate and how great it was (avg 70s throughout the year, always sunny, little rain, near the mountains and the beach, and palm trees lining the streets). We also talked about the difficulty of student life in so far as course work was concerned. 15 pg essays, mid-terms, finals, and what not. So finding balance in life is important. But overall he was really happy with Fuller and excited to be apart of a seminary which has produced people like Rob Bell and John Piper.
I wrapped up the day at 4, went back to the room to change and my mom and I went around Pasadena. Pasadena is a cool place, more akin to a small village than a city. I say that because everywhere you go you will run into people you know and no one really drives, instead they all walk. There is a section called 'Old Pasadena' which has a lot of shops and restaurants in a few square blocks. It has everything from locally owned stores to big name retailers like 'Banana Republic' and 'Vans.' Pasadena, like most of SoCal, is very artistic. There are about 7 theaters (most of which specialize in independent films), 4 or 5 art museums, at least 2 large gardens, and more than I can write. It's 9 minutes from camp grounds at the foot of the mountains and thirty minutes from Hollywood. So conversations you overhear will be about both mountain biking and the new segment of a film they're shooting tomorrow. It's a cool place so my mom and I grabbed some food at an Italian restaurant recommended to us and then went back to our room.
I was so exhausted from all the traveling that I passed out at about 9:30 and slept until 8 am the next morning. It was a crazy sensation to wake up in the room and realize I was in California knowing that the last time I woke up I was in Texas. Anyways, grabbed some breakfast real fast then jetted back to the room to brush my teeth so I could make it to the coffee shop on time for a meeting with a professor. But a little back story before we continue:
My mother's cousin asked me last Thanksgiving about seminary. I told her I was planning on looking at Fuller which excited her because she said her husband knows a lot of people there and donates to Fuller. She said she would go talk to him about Fuller and see if maybe he could give me some pointers on who to talk to. Well, as it turns out, he has recently gotten on the board of the School of Intercultural Studies (formerly the School of World Missions)! He said he would love to meet with me and help me in whatever way he could. Well, my mom emailed him a few weeks ago about our visit and he ended up calling me asking if it was alright to put me in contact with his friend of 35 yrs who is a professor at Fuller. Fantastic. Well, as it turns out, Dr. Bryant Myers (his friend) is a former board member of World Vision (which he served at for more than a decade) and is now a lead professor in the School of Intercultural Studies (SIS).
So I met with Dr. Myers and was incredibly delighted to hear what he had to say. There are currently four main classes in the SIS under his supervision which include: Advocacy and Social Justice, Humanitarian response, Poverty development, and one other one which I can't recall. In addition, he is in the process of developing some more courses. I really liked him as he was very personable and intelligent yet did not carry himself like an academic nor enjoyed academics (which reminded me of my teacher). He was very grounded and I particularly liked his comment, "in all truth, it's not rocket science to help the poor. you just have to love them." He informed me of a joint-degree program that Fuller has for people like me.
A normal MDiv has four sections: languages, Scriptures, church leadership, and electives. The electives encompass six units in which students can specialize (like I would with the SIS). However, for many students the six courses aren't enough class work done in that area. Also, the MDiv's high structure doesn't allow more much wiggle room. And if you're like me and have no denomination, a MDiv is really a requirement to be a pastor. So, many students have opted to join the joint program in which you basically disect the MDiv time. You take the languages and Scriptures classes which allow you to get a Masters in Theology, then instead of taking the church leadership and electives portions you dedicate all those hours to the SIS and get a Masters in Intercultural Studies. So basically, in the same three years I would graduate with a Masters in Theology and a Masters in Intercultural Studies.
I liked that program a whole lot better because the main focus of what I want to do in life will involve helping the poor so I would rather spend more of my time learning about that. Besides, as Dr. Myers pointed out, I might be more at home with the pragmaticists of the SIS who aren't as concerned about minor theological differences as I am with the theorists who only concern themselves with theology as intellectual constructions. Since we were at the Fuller Coffee Shop, a lot of his students and colleagues passed by and I was able to ask them some questions as well because Dr. Myers would stop them. So all in all, my time with him was an incredible hour which I gained some great insight into the program I want to be apart of.
I left from there to get a campus tour from a Admissions rep I met when he visited Baylor in the fall. I had a good time and learned a lot more about the campus which was good. I really enjoyed how Fuller had taken some of the historic homes near campus and converted them into offices and student lounges rather than tear them down for concert buildings. It gave the campus a more organic feel.
Jetted from the tour at 1:30 to load up the car then took my mom to In-And-Out Burger (good stuff) before we raced to the airport to check in the rental car then make our flight. I got back to Houston late Friday night and was in bed by 1:30 am. Got up the next morning at 9, talked with my dad about the trip, loaded up my car to capacity, and then left for Waco. Got here at 3, unpacked until 8 while doing laundry, grabbed dinner, played Wii with the roomies, saw Mallory, then went to bed at 1:30 again only to sleep until 10. So now I'm awake and still processing everything that has happened because it flew by so fast. There are so many things I didn't even cover in this already far too long blog that I'll have to post later today. Anyways, that is the outline of the trip. Ewh.
Monday, August 18, 2008
"The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning Quotes
[For the past two days Manning's book has consumed my thoughts. I am absolutely enthralled and his words could not come at a better time. I'm slowly processing the book so I thought that posting my favorite quotes and soon recapping what I read would help digest the message. For those of you paying attention, originally this appeared in three posts but they were so long I thought I was posting the entire work. Here is the abridged version.]
"Morton Kelsey wrote, "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners" (23)
"When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer." (25)
"Paul Tillich in his famous work "The Shaking of the Foundations": Grace strikes us when...year after year, the longed-for perfection does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is a as though a voice were saying: "You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you..." (27)
"But the salvation Jesus brought could not be earned. There could be no bargaining with God in a petty poker table atmosphere: "I have done this; therefore you owe me that." Jesus utterly destroys the juridical notion that our works demand payment in return. Our puny works do not entitle us to barter with God. Everything depends upon His good pleasure" (57)
"He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven" (75)
"They do not pretend to be anything but what they are: sinners saved by grace" (82)
"Now God raised up the prophets, burned into their consciousness a lively awareness of His presence, and sent them to reveal Him in a warmer, more passionate manner" (101)
"If Israel is unfaithful, God remains faithful against all logic and all limits of justice because He is" (102)
"More pleasing to Me that all your prayers, works, and penances is that you would believe I love you" (120)
"Each encounter with a brother or a sister is a mysterious encounter with Jesus Himself" (123)
"Compassionate love is the axis of the Christian moral revolution and the only sign ever given by Jesus by which a disciple would be recognized" (158)
"Our hope, our acceptance of the invitation to the banquet, is not based on the idea that we are going to be free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is based on the conviction that we will triumph over suffering" (170)
"What a man of God longs for in a shepherd--someone daring enough to be different, humble enough to make mistakes, wild enough to be burned in the fire of love, real enough to make others see how phony we are" (177)
"The love of Christ is beyond all knowledge, beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine. It is not a mild benevolence but a consuming fire" (209)
"Ragamuffins are the anawim of the Hebrew Scriptures--the poor in spirit who, aware of their inner poverty and emptiness, threw themselves without hesitation on the mercy of God. They compounded a sense of personal powerlessness with unfailing trust in the love of God. They were indeed the remnant, the true Israel to whom the messianic promises had been made" (214)
"Morton Kelsey wrote, "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners" (23)
"When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer." (25)
"Paul Tillich in his famous work "The Shaking of the Foundations": Grace strikes us when...year after year, the longed-for perfection does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is a as though a voice were saying: "You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you..." (27)
"But the salvation Jesus brought could not be earned. There could be no bargaining with God in a petty poker table atmosphere: "I have done this; therefore you owe me that." Jesus utterly destroys the juridical notion that our works demand payment in return. Our puny works do not entitle us to barter with God. Everything depends upon His good pleasure" (57)
"He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven" (75)
"They do not pretend to be anything but what they are: sinners saved by grace" (82)
"Now God raised up the prophets, burned into their consciousness a lively awareness of His presence, and sent them to reveal Him in a warmer, more passionate manner" (101)
"If Israel is unfaithful, God remains faithful against all logic and all limits of justice because He is" (102)
"More pleasing to Me that all your prayers, works, and penances is that you would believe I love you" (120)
"Each encounter with a brother or a sister is a mysterious encounter with Jesus Himself" (123)
"Compassionate love is the axis of the Christian moral revolution and the only sign ever given by Jesus by which a disciple would be recognized" (158)
"Our hope, our acceptance of the invitation to the banquet, is not based on the idea that we are going to be free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is based on the conviction that we will triumph over suffering" (170)
"What a man of God longs for in a shepherd--someone daring enough to be different, humble enough to make mistakes, wild enough to be burned in the fire of love, real enough to make others see how phony we are" (177)
"The love of Christ is beyond all knowledge, beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine. It is not a mild benevolence but a consuming fire" (209)
"Ragamuffins are the anawim of the Hebrew Scriptures--the poor in spirit who, aware of their inner poverty and emptiness, threw themselves without hesitation on the mercy of God. They compounded a sense of personal powerlessness with unfailing trust in the love of God. They were indeed the remnant, the true Israel to whom the messianic promises had been made" (214)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Confessions are hard to do
Over the summer as an intern the staff I worked with read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together" (wonderful read) and I've also been hit-or-miss with doing some Scripture reading from the book of Matthew. Anyways, Bonhoeffer talks a lot about confession and the need to make admissions of guilt to fellow Christians in his work. In Matthew, Jesus says, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift" (5:23-24).
If you pray, pray that God will grant me courage to make honest confessions, a heart to hear honest words, and the fortitude to follow Christ not just in word but in deed.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Church of the Community
For a long while now I have differentiated between the Church (note the definite article) and a church. The Church is also known as "the Body of Christ" signifying its purpose of being the physical representative of Christ on earth. The Church consists of the true followers of Christ throughout the world. The Church is beautiful and holy, with Jesus Christ at its head.
A church is a group of people who gather together to worship God. A church is composed of people who are devout and not devout. A church can be very beautiful, reflecting the Church, or very ugly. And for the longest while I think I've let my ideas of church and my images of ugly churches skew how I think church should be done. So I present this idea which has struck me lately:
Church is about a group of people who have encountered and been transformed by Christ gathering together to share in their mutual love. Based upon Christ, these people mutually encourage and love one another as they continue to strive to embody the Gospel more and more. So church is merely a community of Christians and not a building. Not necessarily an organization.
Yet, I have community with Christians all the time. And I have been called to ministry. So perhaps I can look at things like this: My family, my friends, my coworkers, my neighbors, etc are all part of my congregation. My fellow Christians are part of a small church. As a result, everyday I have the chance to be a shepherd to them. In the sense that I might ask: Is my house a sanctuary where people can come to feel love and grace? Am I bearing the fruits of the Spirit in my relationships? Do I help to bring greater community to those around me?
Ministers tend to be very intentional in how they do ministry in their church. They create special events, build relationships, etc with the intent on helping people draw near to Christ. But what if every Christian led their lives that intentionally? Like had big dinners, got together people to have fun in a park, got coffee with someone, etc. What if everyone strived not to push the Gospel on other people but intentionally sought to embody it for their micro-communities?
True community lies all around you. You are part of a small church everyday in your interactions. Perhaps we should stop depending on institutions do the work that people should do and begin to pour into our relationships.
A church is a group of people who gather together to worship God. A church is composed of people who are devout and not devout. A church can be very beautiful, reflecting the Church, or very ugly. And for the longest while I think I've let my ideas of church and my images of ugly churches skew how I think church should be done. So I present this idea which has struck me lately:
Church is about a group of people who have encountered and been transformed by Christ gathering together to share in their mutual love. Based upon Christ, these people mutually encourage and love one another as they continue to strive to embody the Gospel more and more. So church is merely a community of Christians and not a building. Not necessarily an organization.
Yet, I have community with Christians all the time. And I have been called to ministry. So perhaps I can look at things like this: My family, my friends, my coworkers, my neighbors, etc are all part of my congregation. My fellow Christians are part of a small church. As a result, everyday I have the chance to be a shepherd to them. In the sense that I might ask: Is my house a sanctuary where people can come to feel love and grace? Am I bearing the fruits of the Spirit in my relationships? Do I help to bring greater community to those around me?
Ministers tend to be very intentional in how they do ministry in their church. They create special events, build relationships, etc with the intent on helping people draw near to Christ. But what if every Christian led their lives that intentionally? Like had big dinners, got together people to have fun in a park, got coffee with someone, etc. What if everyone strived not to push the Gospel on other people but intentionally sought to embody it for their micro-communities?
True community lies all around you. You are part of a small church everyday in your interactions. Perhaps we should stop depending on institutions do the work that people should do and begin to pour into our relationships.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Irrelevant Church
So I'm a college senior in the midst of a world which is changing before my eyes. Many scholars debate now about the current philosophical, sociological, economic, and scientific shifts which are happening. In the Western world, a sharp decline in Christianity has been experienced since the birth of the modern age.
While skeptics might claim that it's simply science making the world more rational and understandable, I would argue something different. I believe that Christianity has experienced such a sharp decline because it's no longer relevant to us Westerners. Clearly, there is an explosion of Christianity in Asia and Africa which would point away from the Modern extinction of religion.
The issue I see is that my generation and similar generations before me are starved to see a relevant strand of Christianity. Christianity has been so consumed by theological debate and political theory that it no longer shows us that God is good anymore. Indeed, two world wars, the dropping of the A-Bomb, genocides, global poverty, AIDS, and natural disasters can lead many people to ask, "Is God really good? Is He even around?"
I believe God is in an active work of rescuing mankind. I believe Christ is the hope of all mankind. But I also believe that God has one main plan of getting His work done: us. The Gospels say that Jesus would look out upon the crowds of the poor and the oppressed and have compassion on them. But few people in the West see the Body of Christ reflecting that. The first Christians led this contagious lifestyle of actively working to create a better world, a world they called "the kingdom of God."
Now most Westerns create bigger and better Churches. Perhaps thats why our Christianity is declining while other parts of the globe are experiencing exponential growth: they are seeing the body of Christ as work.
To be relevant to my generation today, the Church has to stop talking and start walking. We need to see the Church lead out in the fight against AIDS, against poverty, against hunger, against injustice. I believe in Christ and I believe in the Church. I just feel like maybe we should bring it back to the old school. Before the mega-churches. Before the Moral Right. Before Christendom. Back when bringing love, beauty, grace, truth, and forgiveness to hurting people was foundations to the Way.
So let us all keep it Old School.
While skeptics might claim that it's simply science making the world more rational and understandable, I would argue something different. I believe that Christianity has experienced such a sharp decline because it's no longer relevant to us Westerners. Clearly, there is an explosion of Christianity in Asia and Africa which would point away from the Modern extinction of religion.
The issue I see is that my generation and similar generations before me are starved to see a relevant strand of Christianity. Christianity has been so consumed by theological debate and political theory that it no longer shows us that God is good anymore. Indeed, two world wars, the dropping of the A-Bomb, genocides, global poverty, AIDS, and natural disasters can lead many people to ask, "Is God really good? Is He even around?"
I believe God is in an active work of rescuing mankind. I believe Christ is the hope of all mankind. But I also believe that God has one main plan of getting His work done: us. The Gospels say that Jesus would look out upon the crowds of the poor and the oppressed and have compassion on them. But few people in the West see the Body of Christ reflecting that. The first Christians led this contagious lifestyle of actively working to create a better world, a world they called "the kingdom of God."
Now most Westerns create bigger and better Churches. Perhaps thats why our Christianity is declining while other parts of the globe are experiencing exponential growth: they are seeing the body of Christ as work.
To be relevant to my generation today, the Church has to stop talking and start walking. We need to see the Church lead out in the fight against AIDS, against poverty, against hunger, against injustice. I believe in Christ and I believe in the Church. I just feel like maybe we should bring it back to the old school. Before the mega-churches. Before the Moral Right. Before Christendom. Back when bringing love, beauty, grace, truth, and forgiveness to hurting people was foundations to the Way.
So let us all keep it Old School.
Friday, August 8, 2008
A Beautiful Franciscan Blessing
[A pastor read this sermon today before a large gathering of ministry leaders and I absolutely loved it. The beauty of this blessing is wonderful and its source in the Franciscan Order only adds to it for me. May it touch your heart as well]
May God bless you with discomfort at half-truths, easy answers, and superficial relationships, so that you will live deeply and from the heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people, so that you will work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those in pain, so that you will reach out your hand to them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with just enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this old world, so that you will do those things that others say cannot be done.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A definite life change
So I'm at a leadership conference at FOTW put on by WillowCreek Church because the MET was gracious enough to pay my way to go to the event. So I'm in the middle of Gary Haugen's talk on social justice and I wrote this, "Cast down your idol of hip cultural urban ministry and pursue the heart of God recklessly. No longer serve the vain statue of counter-cultural pastorship but be a lowly worker of the harvest."
It was as if I finally, in a very clear way, felt as though I was receiving an invitation by God to participate in His work of rescuing the poor and oppressed in the hurting places in the world. I don't mean to speak for God or to say definitely how this is to be worked out, all I can say is that for a growing while I cannot watch a video of starving people, dying people, hurting people somewhere in the world and not have this voice inside me say, "I need to go there. I need to help those people." All my life I have known I want to help the hurting people of the world. As if it is written on my heart. But I felt that there were hurting people in the US I could help. However, I feel as though for me this would not be truly answering my call. For me, okay, for me...I feel as though if I were to be a pastor in the US I would either be serving the capitalist, shallow, glory-seeking model of cheap suburban christianity or bowing to the idol of hip, underground, counter-cultural pastor. As if my society has placed Billy Graham and Rob Bell as the idols I am to bow to. Now this isn't to say that my brothers and sisters who are working to authentically embody the Gospel of Christ in the United States are wrong or sell-outs. It simply means for me, I cannot serve in the United States without feeling a void in my heart because I am not with the lowest of the low. I must go to the poor. I don't know what I will do, I don't know how to do it, I don't know where to go, I don't know how I'll get there...all I know is that right now I feel like God is calling me to leave the States to go to His hurting people. And I simply pray that He will continue to move in my heart and to lead me down the path of His love and endurance.
It was as if I finally, in a very clear way, felt as though I was receiving an invitation by God to participate in His work of rescuing the poor and oppressed in the hurting places in the world. I don't mean to speak for God or to say definitely how this is to be worked out, all I can say is that for a growing while I cannot watch a video of starving people, dying people, hurting people somewhere in the world and not have this voice inside me say, "I need to go there. I need to help those people." All my life I have known I want to help the hurting people of the world. As if it is written on my heart. But I felt that there were hurting people in the US I could help. However, I feel as though for me this would not be truly answering my call. For me, okay, for me...I feel as though if I were to be a pastor in the US I would either be serving the capitalist, shallow, glory-seeking model of cheap suburban christianity or bowing to the idol of hip, underground, counter-cultural pastor. As if my society has placed Billy Graham and Rob Bell as the idols I am to bow to. Now this isn't to say that my brothers and sisters who are working to authentically embody the Gospel of Christ in the United States are wrong or sell-outs. It simply means for me, I cannot serve in the United States without feeling a void in my heart because I am not with the lowest of the low. I must go to the poor. I don't know what I will do, I don't know how to do it, I don't know where to go, I don't know how I'll get there...all I know is that right now I feel like God is calling me to leave the States to go to His hurting people. And I simply pray that He will continue to move in my heart and to lead me down the path of His love and endurance.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Reflections on Anarchy
[Origen, quoting Celsus:] "If everyone were to act the same as you Christians, the national government would soon be left utterly deserted and without any help, and affairs on earth would soon pass into the hands of the most savage and wretched barbarians." [Origen:] Celsus exhorts us to help the Emperor and be his fellow soldiers. To this we reply, "You cannot demand military service of Christians any more than you can of priests." We do not go forth as soldiers with the Emperor even if he demands this. [Origen goes on to say that if the Romans followed the teachings of Jesus, there would be no barbarians.]
Should Christians participate in the government? It is clear from history that the first Christians believed you shouldn't, especially not as a soldier. But two thousand years of Church history has demonstrated that perhaps the temptations of secular power can be too great for Christians at times. I some times wonder how politically active Christians should be, especially in the context of modern America with its "Moral Right." The first Christians were considered anarchists and insurrectionists by the Roman government but most American Christians consider patriotism a virtue. So what of this? Perhaps the early Christians simply couldn't envision a world in which politics didn't involve compromise. Politics is about give and take, at times I have to sacrifice to get something done. But the first Christians refused to compromise. Refuse to give an inch on their values for the world.
But if we dissolved the government, we'd have chaos! Perhaps. Surely human history has demonstrated the utter chaos which can be caused by the destruction of government. But perhaps thats because government is merely an expression of the innate human desire for domination and control. Humans, desiring to imitate God, seek to bring chaos. In some ways, the desire to bring order isn't bad. Order is one of the chief foundations of society. But how is that order discovered? Through domination or through love? Perhaps this is the cornerstone to the early Christian argument. When you attempt to live without a government in a society based upon domination you have destruction. You have war. But when you organize a society without a government founded upon love...you have the early Christian community.
Christians and government, can we get along? Or are we destined to combat each other based upon our founding principles? Many would argue that government maintains order and control. But does it? Or does it simply allow us to express certain desires in greater proportion (greed, selfishness, power-hunger)? Look at American greed, exploitation, lust, etc...do we really have control? Has government really solved the problems?
Children die everyday of hunger. Mothers die of diseases cured decades ago in the Western world. Fathers die without clean drinking water. You are being suffocated by the American dream. Your children are dying of greed and lust everyday. And yet we defend government as the cure-all to life. Maybe we should give love...nay, God...a chance.
Should Christians participate in the government? It is clear from history that the first Christians believed you shouldn't, especially not as a soldier. But two thousand years of Church history has demonstrated that perhaps the temptations of secular power can be too great for Christians at times. I some times wonder how politically active Christians should be, especially in the context of modern America with its "Moral Right." The first Christians were considered anarchists and insurrectionists by the Roman government but most American Christians consider patriotism a virtue. So what of this? Perhaps the early Christians simply couldn't envision a world in which politics didn't involve compromise. Politics is about give and take, at times I have to sacrifice to get something done. But the first Christians refused to compromise. Refuse to give an inch on their values for the world.
But if we dissolved the government, we'd have chaos! Perhaps. Surely human history has demonstrated the utter chaos which can be caused by the destruction of government. But perhaps thats because government is merely an expression of the innate human desire for domination and control. Humans, desiring to imitate God, seek to bring chaos. In some ways, the desire to bring order isn't bad. Order is one of the chief foundations of society. But how is that order discovered? Through domination or through love? Perhaps this is the cornerstone to the early Christian argument. When you attempt to live without a government in a society based upon domination you have destruction. You have war. But when you organize a society without a government founded upon love...you have the early Christian community.
Christians and government, can we get along? Or are we destined to combat each other based upon our founding principles? Many would argue that government maintains order and control. But does it? Or does it simply allow us to express certain desires in greater proportion (greed, selfishness, power-hunger)? Look at American greed, exploitation, lust, etc...do we really have control? Has government really solved the problems?
Children die everyday of hunger. Mothers die of diseases cured decades ago in the Western world. Fathers die without clean drinking water. You are being suffocated by the American dream. Your children are dying of greed and lust everyday. And yet we defend government as the cure-all to life. Maybe we should give love...nay, God...a chance.
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