Market Share and God's Kingdom

In a recent interview with Belief.net, Brian McLaren said:

"In the last thirty years, there's been more crossover between denominations. People are exposed to a lot more theological diversity even though many of our church structures were set up to preserve a lot more theological uniformity...A lot of these very detailed doctrinal statements arose in an era where almost everybody went to church. You had a little bit of competition about who would get a bigger part of the market share, if I can say it that way. Churches tended to emphasize their distinctive features. You could tell somebody that they should leave their denomination and join yours because their denomination is wrong about X, Y, and Z. But that's not the situation that most of us live in anymore. Now, less than 20% of Americans attend church on an average Sunday...What we have to do is honor the church in all of its forms. We need the eastern Orthodox churches to be strong and we need the Roman Catholic Church to be healthy and we need all different kinds of churches because there's so much work to be done in our world. God wants to work through all these different forms of churches. We shouldn't say this is the only legitimate form, but we should just be happy with every group of people who are seeking to follow Christ."

How much energy has been wasted by Christians who, instead of assaulting hell's gates where ever they find them, have turned their bayonets on each other. Rob Bell, who has recently been the object of such assualts, wonderfully refers to such energies in this talk.

He notes that religion is often a crutch for miserable people who need a place to stand and promote their misery. A perfect example is the dialogue at amazon.com over Rob's book. You will find (at present count) 118 different reviews (not quite as many as "The Da Vinci Code" which has over 3000, but not too far behind best-sellers like "Purpose driven life"). These reviews are almost entirely polarized, and many of them are quite venomous.

Take all the energy put into such reviews (of which I was one) and tell me that these Christians could not have done something else lasting, joy-filled, hopeful...even spectacular. Instead, we decided to spend time firing at one another. What a waste. Talking about who-God-is obviously has its place (I in fact have master's degree in the subject and find it quite valuable), but when the Body spends its time drawing distinctions, building walls, and seeking divorces from every other subset of believers over petty differences, we have failed our God.

In one talk, philosopher Ravi Zacharias pictured the Church as a crabby old man who lived on some run down property in the middle of a thriving city. When developers would come to ask to purchase his property, he would shake his fist and say that he had been on this lot when there was nothing else around, and no one was going to take it from him. For those who have ears...

Who's-in and Who's-not

John 5 - Part 1


I have enjoyed no other passage of John more than the fifth chapter. There is big stuff going on in this section. It begins with two miracles - the official's son healed at a great distance (at the end of ch. 4) and the crippled man standing at the pool of Bethesda. John wants to showcase Jesus saying something important, so he sets the scene by saying that these miracles are "signs." They are posts sticking out of the ground with directions on them.

The bulk of this chapter is Jesus telling his listeners what the signs are pointing at. The practical, accessible material have Jesus focusing on LIFE. Zoe in Greek. The kinda of stuff that is inside and spilling out of God. The kinda stuff that makes dead people--like us--perk up and experience what we're made for. I got really into this study and taught on it before our church.

What I didn't get into in John 5 was Jesus saying that he is the "Judge.” Not a comfortable topic for me. Not something that most folks coming to church for the first few times probably would desire to hear about: "In conclusion, Jesus miracles show us that he judges people. Amen. Come back next week."

But this morning, my men's study (just two of us today) began going through Galatians and we asked some of the tough questions most Christians ask about salvation. What does faith mean? Does your faith now affect your standing with God in five years, ten years, fifty years? What if the faithful person changes, rejects God, and does something awful, like, hunting fifth graders for fun? What if you are faithful to God, but your picture of God is slightly askew? We're familiar with such inquiries. They basically boil down to the question, "who's-in and who's-not?"

Then Rick--the other guy--said something profound, like, “These topics are interesting, but what do you gain by asking who gets in?” Not only was I not sure, but all that useless material I had skipped over in John 5 came flying back to me. "If Jesus is judge, then who's-not?"

I'm not.

How freeing! Isn't it? To not have to look at those you care about and say: you're definately going to hell. Isn't it freeing to know that you cannot make that call? To find that Jesus--the one who said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"--is the only one able to make such decisions.

"The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son" (5:22).

So--we might ask--what are Jesus' criteria? Certainly Jesus has some standards. He isn't arbitrary, is he? What hoops would Jesus want us to jump through? What are the rules to this game? What are God's policies? How can I win? How can I ensure that I'm-in?

Catch the theme here? Hoop jumping misses the point! Paul calls one form of hoop jumping “a different Gospel” in Galatians. We should be mindful.

But as I thought on these passages something else occurred to me. Not only are we free from the burden of hoop jumping, but surely God is too. If God is so concerned with us not be held down by laws, rules, regulations, policies: why would he possibly want to place himself under such bondage, especially in regard to who he will and will not have saving compassion on?

God is not a concrete wall, standing fixed and immovable. The God revealed in Jesus of Nazareth is an alive, dynamic, ever-loving personality that reacts to his creation in generous and thoroughly creative ways. Do we really believe that God has opted for stagnation regarding how and who he is going to draw into his wondrous love such that it can be systematized? I don;t know about you, but there is no God I would perfer to serve more than one that deals with me systematically. Think: DMV.

For those of us who want to talk about God in meaningful ways and describe what he’s up to, we need to keep this mind.

"But how do we know what we're supposed to do?!? Because I love Jesus, I want to know the expectations." Again, that's just the point of Galatians. It is not what you do; it is what Jesus has done (and is doing) for you. Get your eyes of yourself. Quit being so self-absorbed. Surrender.

Certainly, God has set a certain course. Certainly, it is Jesus death that is saving men from sin as we saw in John 3. Certainly how we look on Jesus--this faith--describes our relationship with God and has some specific elements. And there is a way God is doing things and we can write these things down and study them.

But what do cliff notes to a great novel look like if the novel has not been completed yet? What does the movie review look like for a film that isn’t yet in the can? We must always hold this perspective in front of us when we talk about God, for what would a systematic theology look like if God kept doing new stuff?

Tragically dated.

Brian McLaren rightly points out that theology is an alive science. If it were not--if it were simply a set of immovable facts--then God isn't doing anything. He has set everything in motion to run in clock-like order without myself. This, however, is the god of Deism, not of Christianity.

The God of Christianity has a personality--three in fact. We know him, not just through the past and what he has done, but what he is presently doing. He makes new decisions. He has new encounters and adjusts as a loving Father would. God is affected by who people are because he loves them! He internalizes these relationships and reacts to specific needs. God engage us, not like the DMV, but in an individual manner. Why would we think his judgment is any different?

It seems then that those who want to say who's-in and who's-not are crowding Jesus space. They're saying, "Hey man, scoot over. I can do your job a bit better. You obviously were not thorough enough in that book.”

As Aquinas said looking at the volumes of theology he had composed: it's all just so much straw.

Signs

John 5 - Part 2

When I was eighteen, I went on a trip to Orlando. For months before hand I was amped for this trip, not because I like the mouse, but because there is such a mystique surrounding Disney World. It is "the magic kingdom." It is "the happiest place on earth." It is the American Hajj.

What I remember most clearly was not the theme park itself, but the trip there. I remember getting in a rental car, driving down the highway, and all of a sudden seeing the highway split. A giant sign announced that the two lanes to the left were headed to "Miami" (city of a couple million people), but the five lanes to the right were headed to "DISNEYWORLD".

The sign blew my mind. I remember shivering a bit and thinking, "It's gonna be huge!!"

Signs can be quite exciting. There is a city in America that must spend billions of dollars on just their signs. This city has gone so far now that not only do they have five story TV screens and dancing lakes, but the buildings themselves have become signs: shaped like giant Pyramids and even entire city skylines. Las Vegas should have been called Las Uber-Sign.

A few years ago my wife and I went to Las Ubersign on a climbing trip. After a few days in the desert, we decided to walk through the city to see the sights (and look for a free shower). We spent at least 12 hours just looking at things that were supposed to draw us into the casinos: huge fountains, pirate battles, volcanoes exploding. There is a real problem with people being fascinated with your signs. They may be so interesting that they care little for what the signs are point to.

All through John's gospel, Jesus has a Las Vegas problem. People are more interested in his miracles than they are in what his "signs" point to.

Jesus understands this, and so he begins to undermine the people's curiosity. At the end of chapter four, Jesus returns to his hometown. Now, everyone has heard that the local boy is out doing some pretty impressive things. So people are out in the streets waiting for the fireworks to start. They are there to see the signs. They are there to ogle, but Jesus decides to withhold his power for the day. He has no interest in signs for signs sake.

However, there was also a man there who worked for King Herod and had come 17 or so miles to beg for Jesus help. You see, his son is dying of a severe fever and he is desperate.

This man, instead of exercising his power over Jesus and dragging him to his child's bedside in chains (which royal officials could probably do), pleads to Jesus to come and heal his son. In response to his request for help, Jesus simply says, "You may go. Your son will live." No fireworks. No neon lights. No five story TV screen. But the man "believing Jesus bare words" left on the long journey home with only a promise.

The writer and Jesus both desire the sign to recall an important story from Israel's past in which Yahweh comes to a man named Abram and says, "Go to the land I will show you." This is the beginning of God's relationship with the Hebrews. And Abram--who would later be renamed Abraham--"left as the Lord had told him." He believed Yahweh's bare words and went.

Jesus' signs are not arbitrary. They point to something. This is a clue to keep in your mind.

Desperation

John 5 - Part 3

John then tells us that "some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem." While he was there he goes to a religious landmark. Both Pagans and Jews recognized the Pool of Bethesda as a place of healing. At one point it was dedicated to a pagan healing god, Asclepius (Wright. John for Everybody. Pt. 1. p. 55). The Pool itself was "surrounded by five [luxurious] covered colonnades." So we get the picture of a beautiful resort like place of healing and joy, right?

Well, John goes on to say, "Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed." This is a picture of contrast: beautiful place, broken people. John is showing us a unique scene of desperation. So why are all these people hanging around this pool? Well there is a rumor that from time to time an angel would stir up the water, and the first person in would be healed.

Lest we think this is a good thing, imagine what it might look like to see six dozen "blind," "lame," "paralyzed" people pushing each other aside and bounding into a pool all at once? Can you imagine the chaos that would follow as each invalid flopped into the water? Perhaps there was someone who was healed, celebrating their wellness. But imagine the other fifty-plus infirmed left to tred water and try and get back out. Imagine the awkward limbs and scrabbling of the crippled. Imagine the sobbing of those who didn't get the prize. Some perhaps drowning. Many spitting out profanities at their lot and their inability to be first. Imagine. It is a tragic picture at which a devil might smile.

Enter Jesus.

Jesus learns that one man had been sitting at the pool 38 years in his condition. Seeing him there, he asks simply, "Do you want to get well?" It is one of the more intriguing things that Jesus says in the Gospels.

"Do you want to get well?"

It is a sign. The writer again wants us to think back to the stories of Yahweh. Often the God of the Old Testament does not do miracles for the sake of miracles. He acts in order to point out who is and who is not God.

We might think of Elijah confronting the prophets of Bal, or Shadrach, Mashach, and Abednego being saved in the fire. My favorite is the plagues that fall on Egypt when Moses demands the release of the Hebrew slaves. Each plague that Yahweh brings on Egypt targets an Egyptian God. The first is the plague of blood. It targets the Nile and its associated god. Then one after another Yahweh knocks out the main gods of Egypt, climaxing with the plague of darkness which assualts Ra (the Sun God), and the plague of the first born, which targets the pharaoh himself. God on earth. His son--the future god--dies.

In this scene, Jesus strides into a temple to confront gods who have no desire to heal, but only to mock the broken. Jesus steps into the courts of the pagan gods and shows that he is the one who truly possess the power to restore. Again, this is just a sign, just like the healing of the official's son. Just like the five story TV. But what are these signs pointing to?

The Apprentice

John 5 - Part 4

In a curious move, Jesus not only tells the invalid to "Rise," he also instructs him to pick up his mat. The invalid scampers off, but is confronted by some religious authorities who inform him that it is against the law to carry a mat on the Sabbath. The man is happy to tell them that it was Jesus who instructed him to carry stuff, perhaps they should take it up with him.

Which they do.

Now, when confronted, Jesus begins to unpack the signs. He announces in a controversial setting what his miracles mean. He says to them, "My Father is always at work to this very day, and I too am working" (v.17). These authorities are enraged, and John tells us that they are now bent on killing Jesus. But why? There are numerous references to Yahweh as Father in the Hebrew scriptures. Why would this set off the authorities.

Let's set up what Jesus is doing here by asking a few questions:

"Does God worship idols?"
Probably not.

"Does God misuse the name of God?"
Only when he hits his thumb with a hammer...Nah, he's got restraint.

"Does God covet anyone else's donkey or ox or maidservant?"
Maybe if it was the Ox 3000...well...no, again, probably not.

"Does God work on the Sabbath?"

Um....

Jewish philosophers had actually concluded that God does work on the Sabbath. Life is created on the Sabbath. The natural order is held together on the Sabbath. It's not like every Saturday the second law of thermodynamics fails. So, these philosophers came to the conclusion that there were rules that applied to men and there were other rules that applied to God.

By healing and commanding a man to walk on the Sabbath, Jesus is saying there are rules that apply to you, and then there are rules that apply to Me. I live according to the God-Rules. God is my unique Father and I am the unique Son of God.

Jesus unpacks it a bit more, in case they missed it, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" (v.19).

Want to know what the miracles I've been doing are about? Want to know what the signs are pointing to? I am an apprentice to my Father. I watch what he does and I do the same. I watch my Father tell men to go, to put faith in his bare words, and I do the same. I watch Him confront gods that are lame and useless through fantastic displays of power, and I do the same. I watch him set men free. "Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." (v.21 & 24).

John does something here that is wonderful. John is writing his biography of Jesus in Greek, but Jesus originally spoke Aramaic. So, John is translating Jesus words for a new culture, and he inserts a concept that Greek speakers would be familiar with into Jesus mouth. There are two words for "life" in Greek. The first is "Bios." It is where we get our word "biology." It refers to the kind of life found in animals. Our fleshy, bodily life is bios-life. When Jesus says, "No one takes my life, I lay it down of my own accord," he uses the word "bios."

But, the second word for life in Greek is "Zoe." This is a different kind of life. It is the kind of life the gods have. The gods don't have animal bodies. They don't have this fleshy stuff. They have Zoe. They have God-life. John is saying that Jesus is making people Alive in a new way: in the same way God is alive. This theme of life--of everlasting, eternal life--runs through out John's gospel. It also begins the book of Genesis.

Genesis starts with God creating the universe, our world, and us. "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being...The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'" (2:7 &15-17).

What happens next? Well, we know the man and his lady friend are rather careless. The two of them go ahead and eat from the tree, and they immediately fall down dead, and God has to create new people.

No! What happens?

God comes and asks if they have eaten from the tree of the knowlegde of good and evil. Of course they have, so he removes them from the garden. Genesis goes on to tell us that Adam lived for 800 more years (5:3-5). He didn't die!

Well... he did, but in a more profound and significant way. He did not die in the Bios way. He died in the Zoe way. He is a being that no longer lives in the way he was meant to. He was meant to be a son of God. He was meant to live in the presence of God. But he abandoned it all.

Fast-forward to the end of John's Gospel. Jesus has been executed, but has risen from the dead. His disciples are confused and gather together, and all of sudden Jesus steps into their midst, and what happens? "Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (20:21).

Bang! "Whatever the Father does the Son also does" (5:19).

What is going on? Jesus is making men alive again! "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live" (5:25-26).

Paul puts it this way: "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" God is breathing Zoe-Life into men once again, and John says it over and over again:

"In Jesus was LIFE;" "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal LIFE;" "The Son gives LIFE to whom he is pleased." Jesus says, "I am the way, the Truth, and the LIFE;" "I am the resurrection and the LIFE;" "I am the bread of LIFE...This bread is my flesh which I give for the LIFE of the world;" "I have come that they may have LIFE and have it to the full;" "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are LIFE;" "I give them LIFE and they shall never perish." And John concludes his book by saying, "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have LIFE in his name."

Do you want to get well?

Jesus has entered a beautiful world filled with broken people fighting to get the scant, insignificant goodies before them. He calls to broken individuals, and he asks them--in their pain and delusion--do you want LIFE?

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to Zoe" (5:24).

Believe.

Swords, Islam, and Reform

In this article, Salman Rushdie is seeking a better way in a world full of swords for Islam itself. Though Christians may not have a lot of clout in Muslim political/intellectual circles, we still may make every effort to bless those who follow Islam. Jesus loves Muslims and longs to show them what peace is. We are the ambassodors of that peace. We are called to do good in lands where Islam thrives in the name of Jesus, and show a better way, a way that inspires them to see God as he actually is. This may mean seeking out humanitarian groups. This may mean going, as one girl from our community has and is, and being Jesus to them. May God be with Altair.

Reading List - September/October 2005

Alright, so this hasn't changed much. (The History of Christianity I read last month was a monster text.)

- The Shape of Things to Come: Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
- Velvet Elvis - Repainting the Christian Faith: Rob Bell
- The Next Reformation: Carl Raschke
- The Meaning of Jesus - Two Visions: NT Wright
- A Primer on Postmodernism: Stanley J. Grenz
- Winning the NFL Way: B. LaMount (Don't laugh. I like football and cheesy leadership books)
- No Holds Barred - Wrestling with God in Prayer: Mark D. Roberts
- The Volunteer Revolution - Unleashing the Power of Everybody: Bill Hybels

Healing after Genocide

In speaking about Rwanda and what has happened in the last ten years to PBS, journalist Helena Cobban recounted just awful stories of the region, the pain, and the continued obstacles before the people of Rwanda. The final question posed to her was, "What about Rwanda today -- what sort of path is it on? What would you highlight?" And this was here response:

"I would highlight the word precarious, unfortunately. I look at Rwanda today as being very precarious, and needing all the love and care and prayers that we can send its way. It's a beautiful, beautiful country, in a very unstable part of the world. That's the first thing.

"The people there are all traumatized -- people who are survivors of the genocide and people who themselves participated in perpetrating the genocide. Participation in mass violence traumatizes people. Just as we know about soldiers who come back with PTSD -- but those are people who have participated in regular combat -- but people who have participated in those terrible, terrible acts of very up close and personal, direct killing and maiming and raping and looting. That traumatizes people. We have to recognize that.

"I should say, however, that there is one hopeful thing that I noticed in Rwanda -- that I hadn't really been looking for, and I haven't written much about this -- and that is the role of religion. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the involvement of various Christian churches, in particular, the Catholic church, in the genocide.
One of the amazingly hopeful things that has happened in Rwanda since the genocide has been a huge growth of evangelical Christianity. And there in Rwanda, they play a wonderful role.

"I'm a Quaker. There are Quakers in Rwanda and they are evangelical Quakers. And I was staying in an evangelical Anglican mission run by wonderful people. I met a few of these people who were evangelical, either Pentecostals or Anglicans and they were real wonderful social activists.

"In all of these institutions, I found survivors of the genocide and family members of perpetrators of the genocide working and worshipping together. To me, any force, whether it's evangelical Christianity, or any other social force that can bring about that kind of reconciliation, has to be supported and admired. It was quite genuine.

"I talked to a couple of very inspiring evangelical Anglican pastors, who were themselves Tutsi survivors of the genocide. Their testimonies were so moving, about how they had actually stood up to the genocidaires when they came to their door and used a kind of Christian-based reaching out: How could you do this to a fellow Christian? Don't you remember the words of Jesus? And they actually changed the hearts of those killers, who then left their doors.

"That stuff is powerful and it's there in the whole country. To me, that's fabulous because these are people who need all the healing they can get. That was the major institution I saw providing that kind of social healing."

In Rwanda, where much of the killing was actually done with swords, it was inspiring to me to read of the Church stepping into a world of pain to be salt and light. (The note on Catholicism should not be universalized, for there are many spots in the world were protestants are the one's with swords.)

Who are the Heroes

As the pundits sqabble about who deserves blame for a hurricane hitting a city, it has filled me with joy to know that the good guys of the story are two Christian organizations. The Red Cross and Salvation Army have placed themselves in a position to help broken people. How irrelevant the monday morning quarterbacks will look in five years when a city is completely restored and the lives of hundreds of thousands of families have been held together by Christians giving freely of themselves.

As you know, you can give to the Red Cross here and the Salvation Army here.