Month: December 2005

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mclaren – the failed religion…

In the first centry, Christianity was an unknown religion. In the second, third and fourth centruries, Christianity was a misunderstood religion. After Constantine and the merging of Christianity and Empire, Christianity was at first a permissible religion, then a favored religion, and then the required religion. And it has continued to be the favored religion even in the protestant era, but something is new now, because for people like April, Christianity is, for the first time a failed religion. You know when you meet somebody and they’ve had five divorces… and you think, “You know… it probably wasn’t bad luck. There must be something…” I think when a person outside the faith, they think about us as a religion that’s had five divorces.

I was just in South Africa where the Christian community in South Africa invented something called Apartheid. And we had our own version here for a long time. First slavery, then segregation. If Christianity is so good, why didn’t it teach white people to love people of other colors? Any young woman who’s been to college and taken a women’s studies course is going to say “If Christianity is so good, why have Christians treated women like dirt for so long.” If Christianity is so good, why did Christian cultures create the industrial revolution that has brought us to the brink of environmental destruction? Why did we rape the earth? Why did we not appreciate God’s creation? And why is it that when people care about the environment today and try to make a difference, why do they find that Christians are against their efforts and make fun of them as tree huggers? Why is it that whenever there’s a war, Christians seem happy about it and are the first ones who want to go fight? Didn’t Jesus say something about peace? Why is it that rich Christians stay so far away from poor people?”

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mclaren – someone to talk to…

First, she says “I need to talk to someone…” She doesn’t say, “I need to have somebody talk to me.” “I need to talk to someone, and I can’t think of anyone I can talk to about religion.” Now brothers and sisters, I think you know that there are a lot of people around who would be happy to talk to her about religion, you understand? But what she is desperate for is not somebody to talk to her, she is looking for somebody who will listen to her and have respectful conversation with her. Does that make sense?

I hope this won’t offend anybody, but I think you will all understand if I use it this way. What if you had a sincere question about Amway Products?

And I understand that Amway changed their name exactly because of that reason, because there had been too many people who’d tried to twist people’s arms and get them in their upline or downline, and you know what folks – there might be some good reasons to change the brand name of Christianity for similar reason. Because a woman like April is desperate to talk to somebody, but she can’t think of anybody who’s safe to talk to.

…

She’s so honest, she’s so transparent, and she doesn’t want to put any pressure on me. She is doing unto me as she hopes that I will do unto her. Is it possible for two human beings in America in 2004 to have a conversation about God without one person putting pressure on the other? And there are people who are desperate for a conversation partner.

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my journey – part 9

I once saw a child speak.

His voice was squeaky.
His manner unsure.

He told a story that seemed to have no bearing on anything.

His connections to the Bible were poor at best, tragic at worst.

His lesson made little sense, and I struggled to follow it.

I struggled to listen to the beautiful story lurking below the surface of his message.

Even if his speech wasn’t good, I had to admit that his heart was.

I had spoken that morning.

I spoke with force.
and power.

I had a forceful message that made you think.

I spoke with passion and moving words.

He spoke with the words of God.

“If I speak
in the tongues of men and of angels,

but have not love,

I am only a resounding gong
or a clanging cymbal.”

God have mercy on me.
God have mercy on me.

those of you who know me closely know that pride is one of those nasty little things i struggle with. often. this might have been one of the first times i really recognized it.

the kid was terrible. he really was. most 8 year olds (or however old he was) are. i’m sure i was too. but what a beautiful heart, standing and speaking about something he loved – Jesus.

it was a shot across the bow, really – the first of many that God has sent me, and no doubt the last.

i am not all that. and for all the talent I have been given, if my heart is not in the right place and i am not constantly aware of my relation to a holy and perfect God, then anything i say is worthless. if i do not have love and cannot subjugate myself to others in order to do what it takes to love them, then all i’m doing is making noise.

and that’s hard for a person like me. even now, it’s something I struggle with. but it’s a part of my journey.

God have mercy on me.
God have mercy on me.

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my journey – part 8

Heart and Soul.

I fell in love with you
heart and soul.

Take my heart, God.
But my actions are mine.

Take my heart.
But what I do on Friday is my business.

Take my heart.
But this show is more important than spending time with you.

Take my heart.
But I’m keeping my money this week.

God looks at what we give,
But he cares about what we keep.

To fall in love with Him
Is to give your heart
and your actions.

Heart and Soul.

there is a completeness to our walk with Christ that is something we aren’t spiritually born with. as a result of our compartmentalization, we often think we can give little pieces to God – that somehow this is a sharing process and that we get to choose what God gets, while at the same time choosing what we get from Him. sort of like a best of both worlds type of thing.

too bad that’s not really not a sound theological way to look at it.

our lives need be completely surrendered to Jesus Christ. there is nothing left – nothing we can hold onto, nothing left to keep. the key statement for me here, i think, is that Christ looks at what we give, but cares about what we keep. those things that we hold onto – those are the things keeping us from Christ.

may we each let go of all the things that encumber us, and the sin that so easily entangles, and run the race toward God.

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my journey – part 7

Jesus.

Who did he associate with?

Was it
the rich?
the influential?
the popular?
the powerful?

No.

It was
the poor.
the weak.
the outcasts.
the wretched.

“Therefore let your attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

God have mercy on me.
God have mercy on me.

the wretched – les miserables. no doubt i was reading through that, my favorite book around the time i wrote this.

i was struck, and still am, at the company we keep. one of the most common criticisms of Jesus was that he was a friend of sinners. so often we engage in sectarian practices where we try as hard as we can to not associate with “bad people”. “bad character corrupts good morals”, we say. stay away from those people at all costs.

sadly, though, we ignore other verses. you are the salt of the earth. you are the light of the world. be in the world but not of the world. we’ve withdrawn from the very people who need us the most, and condemned the world to hell while we stand by watching. so un-Christlike.

not many of us minister anymore, really. and it’s a sad thing. because i think Christ would keep vastly different company than i do – and that is something that causes me more than a little bit of tension.

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my journey – part 6

There are verses in the bible that I don’t like.

Oh, I know they’re there, but I don’t like them.

The ones about
preaching to the lost,
giving of my self,
taking up my cross.

The verses that imply I must do something.

Christianity isn’t a club where you
show up to meetings,
pay your dues,
stamp your card,
and stay on the roll to be a member.

Church maybe.
But not Christianity.

Being a Christian,
being a follower
of Christ,
requires one important thing:

you must follow.

When we say that there is nothing we can do that will get us to heaven, I think we miss one point.

Christianity implies that we must do something.

“Follow me.”

this was written in tandem with the following one:

There are verses in the bible that I like.

I seem to return to them every chance I get.

The ones about
how I’m saved,
and loved,
and cared for.

The ones that imply that I have a free ride.

Christianity isn’t a club where you
talk to the right people,
know the right verses,
do the right service work,
and give the right amount to be a member.

Church maybe.
But not Christianity.

Being a Christian,
being a follower
of Christ,
requires one important thing.

you must realize that it’s not enough.

When we say that we need to do these things so we can get to heaven, I think we miss one point.

Christianity implies that we can do nothing.

“Follow me.”

i think the interesting thing about these two passages is that it marks one of the first times i can remember coming to a conlcusion that things might be a whole lot more complicated than i’d originally though. in “a new kind of Christian”, mclaren notes that a lot of times our theological positions are like some high school kid’s gym bag – stuff hanging out everywhere because it won’t quite fit together.

we use fancy words for it, of course – calvinism, armineanism… pre-destination, etc… but the reality is that there are theological issues that we will never grasp the complexity of. how can i be saved completely by the grace of God, but still at the same time have to do something about it? i’m not really sure. there are so many mysteries to Christ that we can argue about forever, but, as each one of these ends, the most important thing we can do is follow Him.