My Audrey’s Little “Uh-Oh:” From Utter Sadness to Sanctification

Have you ever experienced one of those moments when your emotions overwhelmed you in a time you would never expect them to do so? That happened to me last night while I was lying in bed with my wife and daughter. I found myself extremely sad. Along with the sadness, I felt a sense of embarrassment, assuming if someone knew what warmed the tears in my eyes, he or she would find the cause extremely silly. The event seemed so out of place at the moment that I did not even mention it to my wife, maybe for the concern I might just lose my grip entirely if I spoke of the reason my heart was melting in my chest.

“Uh-oh, Mommy…. Uh-oh, Daddy…” I hear these phrases uttered from my daughter’s lips more times in a day than I care to count. Usually, Audrey voices her concern with this phrase when she drops something, bumps her head, or the like. In other words, she is recognizing, at nineteen months, a mistake, something that should not or does not have to be, “Uh-oh…” So there we lay, the three of us in the bed, because Audrey is ill and cannot find comfort. She is tossing and turning, and I cannot do anything to help. That was bad enough, but what happened next absolutely broke my heart.

As she tossed and turned, she whimpered, her congested chest and sinuses making lying down in any position uncomfortable. Then she tugged at her ears and said, “Mommy, ears… ears, Mommy…” It was obvious that she was in pain. Maybe the congestion was taking its toll on her sinuses so much so that it was putting pressure on her ears. It might have not been related to her sickness at all. She is, we think, also cutting here two-year molars, just adding insult to injury. Whatever the cause, she was suffering. In the grand scheme of things, this is no big deal. All babies fall ill sometimes, and they all cut teeth. But it was the reaction of her innocence that broke me down to sadness and even anger if I am honest.

“Uh-oh, Mommy… Uh-oh, Daddy…” As she tugged on her ears, she kept expressing her feelings with the phrase, “Uh-oh.” Think about the word choice. She knows “ouch,” and she also knows how to express pain by simply crying. Instead of choosing to say, “Ouch, Mommy… Ouch, Daddy,” instead of simply crying, she chose to say, “Uh-oh.” In other words, “This pain I feel is not natural. It is a mistake. Something is simply wrong with this situation.” I am not being overly sensitive here. I know my daughter, and I believe at the depths of my being, this is what she was communicating. As I said, in the light of all the real suffering in the world, this was nothing: A little Tylenol, and presto! She feels better. But the simple fact that she hurt isn’t the rub here; is it?

 As elementary a level as it might have been, my daughter came to recognize and express the human condition in her little, heart-felt, “Uh-oh.”  She knew that the pain she was feeling was not right. It did not have to be so. What breaks my heart all the more is that, while she recognizes it does not have to be so, she does not know why it is now the case that it is so. While she feels it in her being, she still, in some years to be, has to come to know our fall, a reality I do not want her to come to know. She has to learn of her exile from Eden. My heart melted in the knowledge that this is just the beginning of my daughter coming to know that all is not right in the present reality, and anger even filled my heart as I realized that sin is so pervasive that it will not leave her alone with a cold and tooth ache.

It took some time of real grief and anguish, but oh the joy that continues to fill my heart when I realize she will also hear the good news of Jesus Christ and His love for her. No one can take that away. The cruciform heart that led Christ to the cross, which is the same heart at the core of the Father and the Spirit as well, loves Audrey in her brokenness, like this heart loves every child born into this broken world, and one day, when she chooses Him for her Lord, her little “uh-ohs,” will become, “halleluiahs.”

I know this: As my heart melted in my chest from Audrey’s little “uh-ohs,” God’s heart melted as well. I am a father, but He is the Father. The goodness dimly reflected in my love, shines forth from Him at every moment. What my fatherly love draws to the surface of my broken heart is already at the core of His. In her little cries, I am sanctified, becoming more and more like my heavenly Father. My selfish heart fades away, as all my concern and love is lavished upon Audrey. God hears our cries, but He need not be moved to tears to be pulled from selfishness into outwardly focused love. This is just Who He is, and it is who He is making me in the most unexpected ways.

I can only hope that my heart would continue to bleed in love for the hurting children of the world, the hurting children in all of us. It is in the furnace of this love, the love afforded to us by His grace, that we are purified. As much as it hurt, I am glad that I was not too obtuse to hear the depths of her little “uh-oh.” It was not merely a recognition of pain, but of hurt on a deeper level, a recognition that not all is right. I can hardly wait for the day that I share with her the love that calls her out of this reality into His great adoption.

Lord, continue to sanctify me unto entirety through the little “uh-ohs” of the world. Amen

Why Is The American Church Losing Traction?

“We have to learn how to evangelize and plant churches again, and do it from the prophetic margins, not the center, of culture.” –Dr. Timothy Tennent

I was first introduced to the term ‘Christendom’ as a referent to any place in which Christianity has pervaded culture due to a dense Christian community when I read “The Next Christendom” by Larry Jenkins. These communities are those in which Christianity does not exist on the margins, but is a majority view highly acceptable by persons of that region. In a more strict sense, the sense I was more familiar with, this term refers to an official church state, but the broader term, in relation to the more narrowed sense, makes a great, correlating claim about the area being considered.

If we are labeling a state or nation with the term ‘Christendom,’ even while that country is not officially Christian by governmental proclamation, we are saying much about what we think this area of the world is like, and we are saying it is something like the official states in some sense. First, as stated above, we are suggesting that this is a place where Christianity is highly accepted and even assumed to be socially superior to other religions or worldviews. Moreover, since this is a state in which Christianity is not persecuted, it is a place where Christians can relax and interact openly in politics and cultural decisions as a Christian. It is a place where being a Christian, in an openly religious sense is not difficult.

As nice as this is, it does come with dangers, and this is where I think lumping these sorts of nations in with official church states is fitting. Tragically, being declared Christian by association with a certain culture leads to nominal Christianity and to an erosion of evangelical priorities. Whether one is declared Christian in the Constantinian sense, or one adopts Christianity because it is a social norm, a muddling of church and state can lead to true faith taking a back seat. Note that I am not saying that Christendom is or is not a totally negative phenomenon. That is a topic for another time. I am simply pointing out the fact that Christendom comes with its risks. Social engineering often replaces moral formation, and true faith is replaced with religious pretext.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the fallout of a failing Christendom project right here in America. It is not only illustrated by the daily decline of evangelical Christianity in the West, a place where Christianity used to be an assumed reality for almost every citizen. It is seen in the failings of the church in holding our ground due to the blindness of many church leaders to the fact of the condition of our society. There is a glaring neglect for missions and evangelism in so many churches still today, even while our part of the world is the fasting growing mission field in existence.

I have heard so many speak of feeling blessed to have lived in a time when morality in America was taken for granted. While ‘bad people’ were present, the vast majority of Americans had a respect for one another, at very least as a social pretext. I acknowledge that this was surely a blessing in a lot of ways, but, in some ways, I feel blessed to have been raised during the fallout, where TV is full of pornographic images, even on regular cable, where men openly treat women like objects, and women speak with tongues formally reserved for the most base individuals of society.

I certainly do not say this for shock value, nor do I delight in the openness in which people of today participate in immorality. Instead, I see a blessing in the fact that I have not been made delusional by a past that no longer exists except, perhaps, as a façade in certain areas of the country. Nor am I victim of to that which some of the older generations fell prey, which is lethargy and negligence due to ill-conceived assumptions. Christendom can lead to unwarranted assumptions concerning the need for effective evangelism, or lack thereof. In a culture in which everyone is assumed Christian, our missional call as the church takes a back seat. This is surely a huge problem here in America.

There was a time in which I almost fell into this line of thinking. I was only a child, perhaps just before the fallout in my area of the world, which might of held on a little longer, but I can remember coming home from Vacation Bible School in a panic. I figured if I were really called to evangelize to the lost like the Bible says I should, I would have to become a missionary, because everyone in my world, so I thought, was a Christian. It did not take much time out in the real world for me to become disillusioned. Unfortunately, there are those of generations past that are still living in the past because they do not interact on a social level with younger generations that are giving way to pluralism. Instead, these older generations grew up in an assumed Christian culture where missional thinking was fanatical or exotic, and church programs and social events replaced effective evangelism. For many, the church gathering on Sunday morning is as it always has been, a nice sermon, some songs, shaking of hands, and a filling lunch with acquaintances, and the true state of Christianity and the surrounding, declining culture is easily ignored. The assumption of a Christian norm still persists.

For my generation, at least those involved with the surrounding culture, we can no longer assume, as once was the norm, that those we engage with on the streets are Christian. Pluralism is on the rise, and evangelical Christianity in America, as has already taken place in Europe, is on the decline. Older generations who still are involved with the same friends they have always had, the ones they grew up with, do not see the lash back against Christianity amongst members of my generation, but people my age see it everyday.

Why is Christianity losing traction? In our comfortable Christendom, we lost discipline. Comfort led to nominal religion. Christian education is almost oxymoronic in many minds. The church lost much of its missional talent and we no longer have persons who are willing or educated enough to address a non-Christian, post-Christendom world. Frantically, my generation is trying to make up for lost time, the time in which we should have been discipled to have a missional heart and real intelligence.

The church by and large does not know how to be on mission right here at home. For too long we took for granted the state of the culture, and we are having a hard time fighting for the faith in this postmodern, pluralistic society. We do not know how to live on the margins, to be those ostracized for our opinions, and this only compounds the issue and makes us more and more marginalized. In our blessed comfort, we unwittingly became indolent and forgot catechesis, the raising up of disciples through disciplined, robust Christian teaching.

So, when my friend comes to me frustrated that his church is more concerned with fixing the television in the social hall than they are with working with a failing budget that gives little in the way of missions, and this friend only sees a sense of entitlement coming from an older Christian concerned with secondary concerns over the true mission of the church, my response is not merely to say that this is one bad egg amongst well-intentioned Christians. The question my friend is asking of this church leader is a common question that my generation has concerning many of our superiors: “How can you not see that you are not focusing on the mission of the church.” It is a matter of living in two different worlds. We grew up during the fallout. Many leaders older than us are still living under old assumptions. It is not a matter of one individual being stubborn or one being more intuitive or idealistic. It is a matter of generational assumptions, perspectives, and experiences.

Certainly, we have gained much from our elders, and many of our elders are just as missionally minded and exponentially wiser than many of my generation. We owe much to those who raised us up. But, now we have something to offer back, a new perspective, a call to regain our missional purpose. We need to call attention to the real state in which our American finds itself. Some truly do not realize how bad it is out there. All is not lost, but we must fight.

-TM

The Effectiveness of Prayer

“If God knows all that has ever been, all that is, and all that ever will be, including the little desires of my human heart, then what is the logic behind petitioning prayer? How can I change anything?”

This is certainly a human question that arises often in many of our minds. It is an issue of logic, and logic often serves us quite well. So, it can seem counterintuitive to the logical mind of the devout Christian to petition God for anything. Even so, He asks us to pray nevertheless, even saying such things as, “Give us this day our daily bread.” In other words, “Lord, please provide for me those things I need for sustenance, for without You, I will perish.”

Now, we might suggest that such a petition is to be given so that we might remind ourselves of our utter need for God, that prayer becomes a didactic tool God gives us so that we can verbally acknowledge our dependency, and this certainly might be the case, but not merely so. Prayer is more than cathartic; it is effective (I Chron. 28:9; Matt. 21:22; Luke 11:9-13; James 5:16).

Now we have reached a seemingly paradoxical reality. Before we pray, God knows all that ever will come to pass. Nonetheless, the Bible suggests that our prayer has an actual effect upon reality. A basic response might be to suggest that God has answered our prayers beyond eternity, that time as we know it is not a limiting factor upon God.

I have another response to the Christian who questions his or her need to pray based on a theological understanding of the pervasiveness of God’s knowledge and, perhaps, will. While the one making this argument might within his or her own mind be suggesting a limitation on the human end, suggesting that because we are limited by our place in space and time we cannot effect the decisions of an eternal God, what the person is really suggesting is a limitation in God’s ability.

If we suggest that God’s nature is such that it limits our ability to affect reality through prayer, and yet we note that God says that He wishes for us to pray, what we are saying in effect is this: “While God might wish for us to make meaningful petitions, He cannot respond to the prayers of finite man due to His eternal nature.” In other words, God’s nature is a limiting factor upon what He can do. Is this the case? I do not assume so…

Think about it.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16

-TM

God’s Sovereign Election Demonstrates His Grace

Note to reader: This particular post is very theologically charged and focuses on a very specific stance on certain theological doctrines. This point of view can best be categorized as Wesleyan. I often reserve such posts for a separate blog site, but I am making an exception this time for several reasons. If you do not feel that you can read such commentary without offense or the like, I recommend skipping this particular post. This is meant to spur on healthy thinking, even if the reader does not agree with my point of view. 

Some time ago, I watched a video posted on an old acquaintance’s blog with the title “God’s Sovereign Election Demonstrates His Glory.” I am probably parodying the points within since it has been well over a year since viewing the hour long video, and I do not have the time nor patience right now to review, but, in short, I remember the speaker, Thabiti Anyabwile, suggesting that the ninth chapter of Romans is meant to suggest that, while we might not wish it so, God is glorified by his choice to pick and choose who does and does not go to Hell without any basis in human response or responsibility. So, he concludes, by the sheer fact that God is in such control, one should respond in worship. I believe that video was what spurred me on to write a previous blog, “Glorified For Our Sakes,” in which I argued that God needs not be glorified by us yet chooses to be so that we might be blessed. I guess this blog is somewhat a continuation of such.

My concern for such topics was once again ignited when I heard another famous pastor pointing out, to the chagrin—so he suspected—of many of his audience members, that election can be found throughout the Bible, and such stories demonstrate that God’s grace certainly is not based on merit of any sort. His main example comes from the OT, which was the topic of his talk, and revolves around the election of Israel, especially some of Israel’s main figureheads.  He began with Abraham and pointed out that Abraham was doing nothing to merit God’s election. Instead, it was by God’s initiative that Abraham was chosen. Likewise, God chose Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. Certainly, these are biblical examples of God’s sovereign election. No theologian of any orthodox stripe should find offense to such. However, this pastor also invoked the name of John Calvin, which gives the term election a certain spin does it not? Now, in the mind of the listener, this preacher is suggesting that God elected the patriarchs and Calvin taught election, and, therefore, this proves Calvin right.

So, does that settle it? Does God’s individual election of these Israelite leaders prove that there is such a thing as Calvinistic election, predestination typified by double, individualist election of who goes to Heaven or Hell merely based on God’s pleasures, or is there more to the fact of God’s election of these patriarchs? If we are going to use these patriarchs and there counterparts (those who God passed over in order to choose these individuals) as our examples of election and/or double predestination, then let us also get at the heart of what the Bible says about God’s choosing these persons.

Let us begin at the logical starting point, the Patriarch, Abraham. God certainly plucks an unsuspecting man from history with no coercion on the part of the human individual, and if this was all the information we had, we might rightly conclude that all there is to being of God is His mere election, unbiased and without basis. However, the Bible makes it clear that while God’s election is necessary and is certainly of His own accord, it is not the only factor, as if election was an ends within itself to gathering up a people for His own. No, it is a means with another end. While God’s election of these individuals certainly has profound consequences for the elected individual, God uses election for a further purpose:

Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;
      

I will bless you 
      

And make your name great; 
      

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
      

And I will curse him who curses you; 
      

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

(Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)

Here the Lord’s election of Israel is played out in real human history. The Lord is choosing Abraham, at this time known as Abram, and is calling Him to be set apart for the Lord. But, is this being set apart, leaving all that he knows, simply for the fact of being set apart. The Bible clearly says, “No.” God has elected Abraham for a purpose beyond individual predestination. God has chosen Abraham to be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” through a great nation that will come from his seed. So, yes, election of the patriarchs continues. Not only is Abraham chosen, but also is his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. Can you guess what happens when God chooses these men? He promises them the same promise He promises to their father, Abraham (see Genesis 26:1-4, 23-25; 28:14). To all these men God suggests that they will be blessings. God’s election of individuals throughout Scripture then is surely to be seen as a blessing to the individual, but more importantly, it is to be seen as a blessing to the world, not an in your face, “the elect are in and you are out” statement.

Three elections come to mind when I reflect upon the great blessing of God’s sovereign election.  The first election that comes to mind is the election that was mentioned and sparked this whole blog, the election of Israel. Israel was certainly elected as an unassuming people. They were slaves. They had not merited any right of election. They were not overly pious people seeking the Lord at the time of their deliverance. No, they were simply making bricks, but God had chosen them long before they had even became a people, and not simply from whim. God had chosen them for a purpose that He soon reveals to them.

Picture the scene. A group of slaves have just been delivered from the hands of their oppressor by feats of strength only the Most High could perform. The supposed God-man pharaoh has fallen, and the people of Israel have done nothing but follow the Lord to gain refuge. They are at the foot of Sinai with no reason to boast in themselves, and God reveals His purpose in election:

In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.  For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:  ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.  Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”  (Exodus 19:1-6)

God has thus reminded Israel that it was He alone that brought Israel to Himself. Once again, God not only points out that He has elected, but also reveals his purpose for such: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation.” Israel has a role and purpose to play. They will serve as priest. In other words, the nation of Israel, through their holiness, shall be God’s means of mediating His blessings to all the nations of the earth, for “the whole earth is mine,” says the Lord.

Before we discontinue our discussion of Israel's election, I must, once again, address the original discussion that sparked this whole conversation. Thabiti Anyabwile suggested that Romans 9 is a demonstration of God’s sovereign election of some individuals over others (Calvinistic election), a fact Anyabwile thinks we Christians must come to grips with. However, from what we have been reviewing, it does not seem that election has always if ever been used as an end within itself for Israel or individuals within, and Paul is certainly addressing issues concerning Israel in chapter 9 of Romans (see vv 3,4). In fact, as Mr. Wesley points out in his NT commentary, individualistic, double predestination is far outside the scope of Paul’s purposes here. Paul is addressing the concerns of many who say of Israel, God’s means of salvation, redemption through Christ, seems to fail many of Israel since they do not believe. But, as Paul points out, God’s Word has not failed as some assume. It is not as if God was simply scrapping Israel and starting over with the church. Israel, through election, was meant to serve a purpose bigger than themselves and they had and were still serving that purpose. In fact, Christ came from Israel, the greatest blessing of all. Paul is defending the election of God and its effectiveness to serve its purpose, blessing the world. If there are those among Abraham’s physical progeny that are willingly rebelling, they are not truly Israel, who had been called to be holy so that others would know God as holy. So, their place in God’s fold did not merely depend on God’s election of Abraham’s physical offspring, but upon their response to such. Only the faithful remain, thus God’s words in His original covenant ring true: “…if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people.” Thus, Paul is not here focusing on Calvinistic, individual predestination at all, but whether or not God can be understood as faithful to Israel, even when His decisions seem to be precise and some vessels, individuals within the nation, are used for greater purposes over others. Paul suggests that God is faithful and who are any of us to say, “Well, if you would have just willed for me to be as great as so-and-so, I would believe.” Election is not merely about who is in and who is out, but who will be the one to best fulfill God’s will in election. So, once again, election is God’s means of mercy, mediated to the families of the earth, and Paul is out to defend such. Much more could be said about the individual arguments of Romans 9, but I have done that elsewhere and we need to move on.

The second election that comes to mind is that of the church: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9). Like Israel, God has chosen the church to be His, but, once again, this is not an end in itself. There again is a purpose for our election. We called to be a priestly nation, a holy nation that shines light into a dark world. Our calling is not simply a blessing for us, but a blessing for others, a blessing for the lost and hurting world who finds itself in darkness.

The final election that comes to mind and speaks volumes to the present discussion is that of Jesus Christ who “was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (I Peter 1:20). This verse really speaks for itself. The Father did not choose Christ so that only Christ would be blessed through this election. He was chosen and revealed for our sakes. In Christ, the predestined one, those who repent and believe find their redemption.

In the end, election is God’s means to bless the world. Through election, grace is poured out, not merely on the individuals elected for certain purposes such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. Those who are chosen are given a great responsibility, to mediate God’s grace to others as priest, Christ being our High Priest.  So, when preachers see election in the OT, there is no need to give a wink to those who cringe at the idea that God gives some no grace to choose Him. There is no need to mention Calvin in passing, so as to suggest, “Well, although I do not have the time to explain all the passages here, election is evident, and, therefore, Mr. Calvin must have been right.” The question is not whether or not God uses election. The question is, “for what purpose does He do so?” It is to demonstrate His grace. We should give Him all praise and glory, for election, even when viewed through this lens, proves our need for God. Without His mediation of grace, we have no hope. He alone decided we could receive redemptive grace, and we all have been given a blessed opportunity to receive grace through those He has elected: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, the Church, the Disciples, the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ.

As your Wesleyan friend, I implore you: Praise God for His sovereign election!

The Missional Church (Part 2): Identifying Our Gifts:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. -I Corinthians 12:1-14

I hope that any given gathering of believers has a wide variety of members that encapsulate what it means to be eyes and ears and feet and hands, and, for that matter, armpits and ankles, and so on and so forth, and I suspect that this is a reality for most churches that have a thriving congregation. With this as a reality, the local church has the ability to do many and varied tasks that promote the kingdom. It is my prayer that we (i.e. each local church) would have a robust and well-rounded view of our mission as the Church (i.e. the body of all believers), and that we would be mindful of all the parts of the body and their talents as we pursue and follow the missio dei. This is certainly a priority given to the local church and its congregants by Paul (I Cor. 12:1-14), and we need to be ever mindful of it.

With our diversity in mind, the local church needs to be well rounded. However, is it the case that each local congregation has to do all the tasks that their neighboring congregations perform, as if we are in a competition? While I believe wholeheartedly in the need for a well-rounded body, I also find myself believing more and more that each local community has its own strengths that others do not. In other words, it is perhaps the case that while one congregation is filled with people of various talents so that we find all sorts of varying body parts within, when these parts come together as a whole within the local body, the whole, which is still a part of a much larger body (the universal Church), might best be described as a body part, having a few great strengths, rather than a lot of average strengths. I hesitate here to give an example because I hope that each church would be able to find for itself its own unique strength that could contribute to the whole, and I in no way wish to influence the discovery of such a call and gifting. 

Certainly, no church should ever settle by saying, “Well, we have this down and not that, and we are satisfied with feeding our strengths and ignoring our weaknesses.” I certainly am not suggesting we ignore our weaknesses. If a church feels it can ignore any facet of ministry that might utilize one part of the body over others, then there might be several people in the congregation that have their unique gifting ignored. Even so, there is nothing wrong with admitting that, as a whole, the church body can be used most efficiently for this or that Kingdom task.  I am merely saying we come to grips with our strengths and try our best to serve others (individuals or other local bodies) in these areas that might not be as strong in that given area. There are certainly varied attributes that should be held by all local bodies, and this is not a denial of this fact. I am merely speaking of those gifts God gives above and beyond the general gifts promised to all who are faithful. Let me see if I can show the practicality of what I am musing about at this moment:

For the past several years now, I have been involved in a project to raise awareness for the needs of the Navajo Nation and its people. Some time ago, I felt God speaking to me and asking me to stop with my normal pitch, which involved sharing with various church and organization leaders all of the various good deeds my organization was able to provide to these people, which was geared to convince others to support our own efforts, and, instead, God asked me to share the overwhelming issues that we (as a small organization) are unable to touch. So, instead of asking for assistance in the form of support for what is already being done, I was commissioned to ask for help for the Navajo apart from what we were able to do. When God first asked me to change my approach, I was a bit frustrated and did not understand why He would ask such, but I reluctantly followed, and I was often met with the same question.

Although in years past I have found this question to be quite ligament and still find it has its place, I have nonetheless found it increasingly strange for a church leadership to only ask others who are looking for missional assistance: “So, what do you want from us?” As one who has been asked this question several times now, I find it somewhat cutting. It carries with it, most of the time unintentionally, a sense of superiority. Once again, this is not to say the question does not have its place, but, perhaps, it could be reworded to be more servant oriented: “How can we be of help?” Even still, I find this question, no matter how it was framed, frustrating in light of the new approach God had given me.

 Before I share why this question became increasingly frustrating, I must make certain I am not heard as saying it is totally without warrant. Certainly, this question might reflect the reality of the reason the person who comes soliciting church leaders is asking for help in the first place. In other words, the person might be coming with a particular need in mind, such as financial support, and it helps to prevent beating round the bush. This question swiftly moves all involved to put all their cards on the table. The Church need not waist its time tiptoeing. But, what I often found is that, while I did my best to convince others I was not looking for direct support, unless that group felt led above and beyond my petitioning to do so, I was still heard as asking, “Support us,” instead of “Support the Navajo in the unique and special way God has given you, if He has indeed given you such gifts.” Much of the time, certainly not all the time, I was speaking past my audience because they had a preconceived notion of what I was looking for.  So, the question should be asked, and if that is what the person is looking for, then the cards are down, but perhaps, that is not what is being asked, and the conversation needs to continue by a discussion that demonstrates the local church’s understanding of its own call and unique gifting to help promote the Kingdom.

So, why was the question: “How can we help?” so unhelpful to the particular pursuit I was engaged in? Simply put, that was the question I was asking them. God was not interested in my sharing what we were doing so that the local body would know what they were supporting if they simply donated. He was interested in me presenting the issues beyond our control so as to say, “Does this church know of a way to move towards assistance in this or that area that we at my organization have no means to assist in at this time?” I would much rather hear the answer, “We do not feel called to help the Navajo, but we will pray that God calls out a group to assist them with their needs,” instead of “We do not think we can help you at this time.” Believe it or not, I was their asking on behalf of a needy people, not on behalf of a Christian organization looking to improve their own efforts in assisting others.

So, what am I trying to say? What was God trying to teach me by having me present these issues to church leaders, instead of giving them precise ways I, and the organization for which I work, planned to help? I think He was, at least in part, trying to share something of a need within the church on local levels: If the church has a very well-rounded understanding of its own strengths as part of a much greater whole, the leaders might best serve other’s of the greater body and the causes they present by being able to truly say: “We cannot do everything, but we certainly can help with this or that area.” Even here I do recognize that churches can become stretched too thin, even in areas of strength. However, if the body being asked for assistance cannot physically or financially support, I cannot help but think they could, if they knew their own gifts well, help those looking for help, by teaching them to strengthen their own body in this area by saying, “While we know how to help, we cannot physically do so without weakening the areas of ministry we are already involved in, but we would be honored to help you think this through and teach you what we have learned in this or that area of which we are very proficient.”

I certainly do not think this is outside the scope of Paul’s purpose for speaking of gifts and our need as local bodies to recognize that God gives us unique gifts for a specific purpose. While I recognize here that Paul is speaking about individuals, his argument is based on the fact that the individuals are part of a larger body. If this is at least one of his premises for arguing for the individual accepting his uniqueness as part of a bigger whole, I simply wish to use that same premise as it applies to the local church, which is certainly a part of a much, much larger whole. Isn’t it likely that He gives us these unique gifts so that collectively we can complete a specific purpose as well? Our church will most certainly be more affective if we know who we are and what we are called to do. This is not to neglect that each local body has callings that are shared by all local bodies, but it certainly is not limited to the general call, and the general call is certainly not an all inclusive call so that each church must do this or that at every turn. It is not as if we are failing in our outreach if we do not have a mission for every single need that exists. How wonderful would it be if local bodies would share one with another, “Here are our strengths so that if one local body was presented with a need that they where not called or equipped to help, they could tell the seeker: “We know where to send you for help!” Could you imagine what a larger community that houses such local bodies would look like? Instead of having ten churches all serving the food bank and none serving the women’s shelter, the community’s needs are met by the larger church working as a body made up of cohesive parts…

 Just something I have been considering…what do you think?

The Missional Church: A Reflection

Recently I have heard a lot of discussion swirling about in evangelical circles that suggests that the Church needs to refocus its idea of its own purpose and identity. Church leaders, in light of the burden brought about by the current confusion that suggests that the church is a place and is run and cared for by a select few, are now on a mission to reorient the lay persons' minds to the radical truth that the church is not a place, but exists as the community of all believers, that its purpose hinges upon all our participation. With this in mind, I want you to watch a quick yet moving video that demonstrates the church leaders’ attempts to refocus and reorient the body:

What if…? What if we actually mobilized like this and acted as the early church, organically. I hope that this reality really catches on. I hope our church leaders are successful in their endeavor to promote this Kingdom work that reflects the missio dei. I will pray until we find success through His grace and power. Will you join me?

...On the other hand...

Now that I have shared my heart on the issue, I hope you will hear my earnest plea to not take what I am about to say as a critique of what our leaders are doing through this message. I am merely trying to promote a proper understanding of what is being said.

In light of this video, and in light of what church leaders are saying concerning “how we do church” today, it can become easy to become cynical concerning what we still do on Sunday morning (worship, listening to sermons, serving in childcare-see note at end for a deeper look at this issue). If we are being told as a congregation that we have the wrong idea of church, we might miss the point and think that Sunday morning service is the issue. Sunday morning service does not sum up church, but it is a part of church, a part of what we do, gathering.

So often in the history of the church, reformers, as they are called, have come to bring a corrective to the body’s mindset, to call the church back to its rightful place and purpose. Usually these reformers are acting because of some extreme shift church leaders have allowed and perhaps even encouraged to happen that molds the church body's understanding of itself and its faith in a negative fashion. In an earnest attempt to right the wrong, these God-sent activists preach vehemently about the way the church is behaving, the result sometimes being an extreme shift in the other direction.

This need not happen in this case. In fact, I am of the opinion, right now, that it should not happen. We need not jump out of one ditch into the next. Yet, I am afraid that church member malaise, when and where it happens, might, in some cases (certainly not all, and probably not the majority of the time) stem from a lack of purpose, from a lack of understanding of who we are in light of all the ideas that are floating around. Some might feel that what they do on Sunday mornings matters little in light of the missio dei, and they might develop this understanding from a wrong attitude towards the proclamation that "how we do church" is wrong. They might assume that what is being said is that unless they are "out there" in the world, there service amounts to little. Certainly going out should be a large part of what we do. As the video above suggested, Jesus commands us to, "go," But does this mean that gathering and serving the gathering of believers is not a worthy cause. Certainly not:

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

What I am trying to say is this: What this emphasis on identity seems to suggest is that we do church wrong because we do not understand the identity of the Church. In fact, that is exactly what is being said, as illustrated by the video, which suggests that the Church should look more like a mobilization than a mere gathering of people on Sundays, more of a servant movement than a concert, and certainly there is cause for a shift. Clearly the Church needs to understand that "church" is not a building or a once a week gathering. The Church needs to know it is the Church. We must have identity to properly act. However, does this mean that we must drop everything we are doing on Sundays for this re-visioning? By no means… I certainly do not believe that this is what the church leaders are suggesting. It would make no sense for them to say such while still doing the normal Sunday routine. Instead, I believe what is being called for is a shift in mentality concerning our purpose.

We still need to gather. Gathering is not the antithesis of going. Going is something that needs to be the overflow of our gathering. The idea of “going” stresses the fact that we need to impact the world outside our church walls. But, I think that this stress of going as a means to reach the world can cloud, if we let it, the fact that gathering, as we do, can be impactful, even for those of the world. Our community can be a reflection of something great. Make no mistake. The world watches us, even coming inside our walls to see what we are up to. To better understand what we are doing in the here and now as we gather together, maybe we need a clear vision of where we are going:

What Wright is saying here is that we will be active in the life to come. We will not get a personal cloud with a harp. In fact, Wright points out that we will be leaders in the New Earth. We will have something to do. However, do not be confused; we will lead in the manner that Christ has already demonstrated for us in His first advent, not the way humans are accustomed. Jesus had a radical idea of leadership that certainly did not reflect the Greco-Roman model of leadership of the day. Instead of an idea of absolute, heavy-handed ruling, we will lead through our service to one another. So, what does this have to do with the role of the church in the here-and-now?

What Wright will also say in various places is that the Church is to be a reflection of this reality about the life to come. In other words, our job here on earth is not simply to ensure others will make it to a heaven, which has little to do with what is going on here and now. In fact, the New Testament is clear that heaven is not some ethereal and eternal resting point. Instead, heaven and earth will be joined together, as the Kingdom is consummated. In light of this great fact, we mustn’t forget that we are the representatives of the Kingdom. The good news that Christ shares and has appointed us to share concerns the reality of the Kingdom (Mark 1:15, Matthew 4:23). Our role is to share this reality with the world. In other words, part of what we do now, if not all that we do, is doing Kingdom...

One of the greatest proclamations of the Kingdom of God is the living example of the Kingdom, embodied by believers (Matthew 5:14-16). Through our service, one to another, we exemplify the truth of the Kingdom. When we gather in worship on Sunday morning, we are, if in the right spirit, a glimpse of the life to come. Through servant-leadership, we speak to the world, and we say, “This is how life is to be done, now and forever.”

At the local church gathering that I attend, Saint Simons Community Church, the leaders have been in the pangs of recasting a vision that holds together the truth of our calling: “Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out.”They are doing exactly what I am musing about above: holding together the reality of gathering together (RI) to worship God (RU) so that me might be ready and refreshed to go out into the world (RO). The leadership has been tirelessly seeking after the body’s heart to capture it and proclaim to it: “We, all of us, are the church.” We are the priesthood of all believers. We must go. We must reach out. We must act. In light of this, I have been reflecting on this call to be better at reaching out, and I have come to the conclusion I hopefully fleshed out above: While reaching out means we go beyond merely reaching up and in, it does not preclude these efforts. Instead, the beginning point of reaching out is reaching up and reaching in. By our worship of God and service to others, we speak to the world in a soft, but clear voice, saying:

“The Kingdom of God is like this, that we love God and love others, and through this love, a radical new way of living is discovered. Don’t you want to be a part?”

Let us not give up on being this picture, but let us be enlivened by this picture so that we might go and make disciples, so that the picture can spread across our globe.

..................................................
A Further Reflection: This blog has already overreached the comfortable reading length for a blog, so, if you are already fatigued, I apologize and suggest you take a break and come back to read the rest. The following is simply an application to the above. It is part of another piece I am working on, but I thought it would fit well with the above:


From "What Good News is This" -Essay by Rev. Tab Miller, TSM Inc:

As the Church, in everything that we do, we act out of one inspiration given by God, to proclaim and demonstrate the good news. It is often the case that we perform service projects and volunteer our time at church because of some sense of obligation, and, at these times, we need to remind ourselves of the truth of the good news, that we, through service, are not merely fulfilling an obligation to help out, but we are reflecting the reality of the Kingdom of God in a lost and broken world, that something has truly happened that has called us to action. Through our care one for another, we show the world another way, the right way, His way.

I know at times people serve in areas such as, let’s say, child care at church, and they might wonder, “What does this have to do with the good news of Jesus Christ," and even a sense of guilt might wash over them when they think, “I could be out there really proclaiming the good news right now, out in a lost and hurting world, and, yet, here I sit allowing people the luxury to sit in a service while I watch their kids. Could we not do better than this? Should we not be out in the world acting instead of shutting ourselves in this building away from the world?” I certainly cannot help but think that this sense of guilt is not proper, but it might be the sense that some gather by many evangelicals' attempt to reorient people away from the idea of the “church, as it exists today.” I think some might be moved to throw the baby out with the bath water. I think that this misunderstanding is damaging to the call of the gospel. So, where is the disconnect? Have we really understood our call if our understanding of the call becomes burdensome instead of exciting.

What we must do at these times is go back to reflecting on the good news, the good news of a kingdom where people do not race to the top to be first, a kingdom where the last shall be first, where people will rule by washing feet. Instead of feeling burdened, live with a Kingdom heart, because, in the Kingdom of God people selflessly serve one another. With this at the forefront of our mind, childcare, that seemingly lowly act of service, becomes a reflection of the heart of the Kingdom, that heart being service. The good news is a radical proclamation of a “now, but not yet” reality. The Kingdom of God resides in the heart of the Church, and we live as resident aliens in the world. When we serve one another, we testify to the world: “The Kingdom of God is like this.”

In light of this reality, it is always beneficial to remind our selves about the radical reality of the good news and why we serve...

My Soul Is Haunted and Hurting for the Navajo

I woke up this morning and rolled out of bed, taking for granted the quality of sleep afforded me by my tempurpedic mattress. As I sat at the edge of my bed, I wiped my eyes and silently thanked God for the day, taking for granted the fact that I knew God was available to talk and actually wanted to hear from me. I stumbled into the kitchen and poured a glass of water because the air conditioning I take for granted had been so cold throughout the night that my throat was dry. I drank the water from the tap, taking for granted the ease of access and the quality of the contents of my glass. By this time, my body was warming up, and so my stumbling turned into a walk. As I went back into the bedroom, I opened my drawers filled with the multitude of clothes I take for granted. After I was dressed I slipped out the door telling my wife and daughter, those healthy and loving family members I take for granted, that I love them. I hopped into the car filled with the gas that is nearly four dollars per gallon, and, even so, I took for granted, even at such a premium, the fuel that I burnt between home and here at the coffee shop. As I sit here and peer out at the sun light, I am struck by an eerie reality.

The sun that has been pouring out over this little south Georgian island for almost two hours now is just now peering over the ridges of the Navajo Nation’s plateaus, spilling into the valleys, and crashing into the little tin roofs that cover the precious heads of the people called Navajo. For so many, there is no mattress to awake upon. There is no knowledge of the Holy One who wishes to speak with each of them. If water is available, which is not always the case, it is full of uranium and e coli. As they sip the water before passing the cup to their siblings, the heat in the house slowly rises, and the window unit is out today, as it is so many days. Each child goes to his or her designated corner and does not have to dig through piles of clothes to decide what to wear. All that each child owns is right there before him or her in a small stack. It is now reaching temperatures in the nineties, yet one of the young boys slips on his North Face jacket that some kind soul from thousands of miles away sent him at Christmas. It is his prize possession, so he wears it. As he turns around, he sees his mother drinking out of a cup, but he knows it is not water. She’s doing it again, which means he is in charge of taking care of his siblings. There is no car to drive to the nearest hangout. It is just the family, alone in the dilapidated singlewide trailer in the desert. And the sun relentlessly beats at all sides.

It is easy to feel passionate about the peoples of the world right after feeling the spiritual brokenness afforded by a short-term mission. Piety fills the veins and righteous indignation strikes to the bone and shakes us to our core. We shiver when seeing the waste of our own culture, including our own. Resolution to be better sets in. We walk and talk a little bit differently, and this is good. However, those children are still out there, and we are here. Fear sets in because I know the routine. The wound is fresh in my heart, but it will eventually close up, and, while the scar tissue remains, I will become use to it again. I do not want it to close; I want to bleed. Although it hurts, I do not want to forget this pain. The wound beckons me to action; my mind moves a thousand miles a minute, revolving around the needs of the Navajo, but, again, I am here and they are there, and I wonder, timidly, how God is going to use this pain. I have yet been called to move my family to full time missions, but I know the need is there and my heart sinks into my stomach when I think of how forgotten the Navajo really are.I wonder respectfully what God is up to with the Navajo, and the "Whys" fill my mind...

Sunday, I awoke from my post-mission trip crash, and had yet to fully recover. As I walked into the church, I knew my eyes would grow increasingly heavy. I resolved that God would understand if I dozed off here and there. While God understood, my wife did not, and she jabbed her sharp elbow into my rib cage. I came to just in time to hear the preacher introduce a couple who will be moving to Haiti for a life of mission work. As I heard of the call that God had placed on their lives, and the deep understanding they had of God’s mission in and for the world, I began to covet, for the sake of the Navajo, the call they had for the Haitian people. Do not misunderstand what I am about to say. I know God has called these people to Haiti, but I cannot help but wonder. In light of the massive influx of missionaries to places like Haiti and Kenya and China, when is God going to call for such a convergence upon the Reservations of the Native Americans who are as lost, if not more lost, than the peoples of the foreign world. Why are the Navajo so forgotten? They sit in our backyard, hopeless and ignored. HOPELESSNESS. For even very young children like Sabrina, who was fourteen the first time our team reached out to her family and community, suicide seems to be the only option out of the hopelessness they awake to every day. Hopelessness over took this child, and she did that thing most of us find to be unimaginable. I once heard it said that when we wish to ask, “Where is God in this place,” our question should be, “Where are God’s people?” God resides in our hearts, and He goes with us to the far reaches of the world and even to the backyard. Who will God send, or even more to the point, who is God trying to send, and are they listening?

I have been sitting here writing for some time now, trying to express this painfully consuming thought that I just cannot express, because it is more of an emotion than an idea. I am not sure I will ever be able to express what I feel, but I think I can tell you an idea that it elicits each time it washes upon the shore of my heart. This feeling is closely associated with the realization that, while I am home safe and sound, the reservation is still there. It is a real place where real people live, precious people, forgotten people. For so many, it is an uncomfortable home and not a place to visit like it is for me. At this very moment, some two thousand miles away, those precious children are living, breathing, feeling, wanting, and many feel hopeless. Right now, as I think about these children, they are living. Even outside my reach, they still exist. Savannah and Eli are out there, in need of help, in need of love, in need of God, and here I sit, heart broken and bleeding. And I wonder, whom will God send. Is it I Lord? I know He has a plan for the Navajo, and I must take solace in His love and provision, but I am begging you, Oh, Lord, my God, do not allow this wound to close. I wish to bleed.

For now, God has me where He wants me, but He has called me to raise awareness for these forgotten souls, these precious people:

I, the Lord of sea and sky
I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save:

I who made the stars and night
I will make the darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go Lord
If you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

I the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people's pain,
I have wept for love of them,
They turn away...

I will break their hearts of stone
Fill their hearts with love alone
I will speak my word to them
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go Lord
If you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

I, the Lord of wind and flame
I will tend the poor and lame
I will set a feast for them
My hand will save:

Finest bread I will provide
Till their hearts be satisfied
I will give my life to them
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go Lord
If you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

("Here I am Lord" -Dan Schutte)

He is calling, and we must listen. His heart breaks, and ours should as well...

TM