What are we doing here?

I just got back from a family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama. My family first started renting a beach house there when I was in High School. We haven't returned lately because my brothers and I had grown up and gotten busy with life. My brother John, my mother and I drove down and met my other brother and niece, who flew down, at our beach house. My family invents strange things to keep ourselves occupied on a long road trip. This particular trip we made up a story and named the characters after roadsigns for towns along the way in Alabama... the story was entitled Heroes Highway, maybe sometime I will post a chapter from this story as a preview, for I am sure that one day it will be published. Regardless, we also wrote down some of the names of churches that we found amusing. These included "The Church of Bible Deliverance" (do they deliver bibles? are the being delivered from the Bible?) and "Full Power Holiness Church." We also saw the greatest billboard... it read "Go to Church" in big red letters. In a smaller font it read "or the Devil will get you." Oh, and did I mention that it had a picture of what looked to be a man with a scythe... like somebody felt it necessary to remind us to go to church so that the scary man with a scythe doesn't come and kill us... sending us straight to hell. With all of this, paired with the religious conversation that is inevitable in my family, I started to think... I know... how unusual... but really my thought was, Why do we go to Church? What are we doing here?
For some of us, I think that the answer is quite simple. Sunday mornings our sleep would be rudely interrupted by our mother or father throwing back the curtains and flooding our bedroom with blinding sunlight. As they left the room, we'd hear the inevitable statements of "breakfast will be on the table in a half and hour" "make sure that you look presentable, don't wear those aweful jeans with the holes in the knees" "I don't want to be late and have to sneak in during the pastor's announcements, so get out of bed RIGHT NOW!!!" We'd creep out from under our comforters and loudly whine "Do I HAVE to?" Then as adults, after taking a hiatus during our college years, we return to the church as we have found that, like our parents, we want to raise our children in the church and pass on the faith, so now we are the ones throwing back the curtains and listening to the "Do we HAVE to's" from our own children... still somewhere in the back of our minds we are asking ourselves "Do I have to?" as well.
For others, it is not out of a sense of duty to our elders that we go to church, but rather a sense of duty to ourselves. We desire to go to church so that we can be "saved." We are looking for our personal savior to come and be the antidote for our unhappiness. We desire fullfilment, holiness, and righteousness. Now don't get me wrong, these are not bad things to desire, but if we are coming to church for ourselves... I ask again, what are we doing here?
The purpose of the church is no more a band aid to alleviate our unhappiness, then it is a babysitters club, watching over all of the babies who come because they HAVE to. And this is it... this is where my thoughts have led me. I am afraid that the church has become another club that we hold membership cards to. We pay our dues. We attend the meetings. We follow the rituals. We come to this club looking for fulfillment, or answers, or help, or hope... a sense of community... Again, these are not bad things to desire... only, they are not the purpose of the church... they are not the point of worship.
The church is the body of believers sent into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Let me say that again... the church is the body of believers SENT INTO THE WORLD to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The religious institution of the church should be equipping that body with the tools they need to proclaim this message; biblical knowledge, fostering of spiritual gifts, understanding of the radical relational and justice oriented message of the gospel, prayer, and an attitude of worship. We go to church for so many reasons... but ultimately the ONLY reason we should be going to worship is to give thanks and praise to our Creator who loves us, regardless of our undeserving, so much that God would become human to save us and bring us into eternal life and relationship with all of creation and its Creator. If we ask anything of God at worship it would be to stir up the Holy Spirit in the hearts, hands, mouths, and feet of the Body of Christ that we may truly be a vessel to re-present Christ to the world.
The church is not a club that you can hold up your membership card and say... look, now I have salvation because I go to church. The church is a responsibility not to be taken lightly... if you are coming to worship at church for any other reason than thanks and praise and relationship with your Creator, then maybe you should spend some time thinking... "What am I doing here?" Furthermore, if you read this and think... great!!! Karen is giving me an excuse to not go to church, then maybe you should read it again... you have a GREAT responsibility to re-present Christ!!! So.... BE THE CHURCH... don't just DO CHURCH...

Its all about me...

We are always asking the tough questions in contemporary society. What is the meaning of life? How did we get here? Just how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? In our contemporary Christian culture, we are no different. We look at Scripture as a book of answers to our burning questions about justification, salvation, forgiveness, reconciliation, etc. Despite our best efforts to discontinue our navel gazing, we first see our own personal or cultural experiences and then find God’s answers in the good book. We ask ourselves, how is God meaningful to our contemporary experience? If our theological endeavors begin with human experiences and end with anthropological "human centered" understanding of the Christian faith, are we left with a religious belief that is meaningless without our human experience? Furthermore, where is Christ in this understanding of Christianity? Have we reduced the unsubstitutable, particular Jesus Christ to an antidote for our ailments and an answer to our burning questions? What is more meaningful than the radical, transforming message of Jesus Christ?

I wonder about this because even in my own life and ministry I find myself in a place again where I put myself and my problems and my life first. Its all about me... my questions... my limited understanding... my spiritual life... But really... it is not about us. When we talk about faith we have become a culture that believes faith is about us... when really faith is entirely about God. We can sing all the hymns that we want about it being "all about you... Jesus" but when we study our bible or sit down to pray... all to often it ends up being all about us.

This story about the one and only Jesus of Nazareth, is the greatest love story ever told. When we look to the scripture as a manual to life or a dictionary of moral behavior, we miss the point. Salvation is not a recipe in this book... We are not the hero in the story... our role in this book is to listen. Instead of coming to scripture with our questions about our experiences in our lives... we must begin to let the scripture and this love story of a creator for His creation shape our questions about our experiences in our lives.

The Grass is always greener...or whiter...

So... tonight I was talking... or at least listening to a conversation about the MTV show "My Super Sweet Sixteen" it is not such a super show, unless you are in the mood to be completely disgusted by the frivolity of some people who seem to have everything. The show, if you are lucky enough to have never seen it, is about kids turning 16 and the parties that their abundantly rich parents throw for them. One of the people in the conversation told of an episode where the parents tell their daughter that they bought her a used BMW for her birthday... and the girl is angry, sad... pissed off. Well, they were only joking... they actually bought her a new BMW... which changes her mood. Sure she is happy, but what is really disgusting to me is that she thinks that she deserves it. Now I don't know about you... but kids in my neighborhood growing up were lucky to get a new BMX for their birthday... my first car was a 1985 Buick LeSabre... green... her name was Betsy. I am pretty sure that my grandparents bought Betsy brand new in 1985 and it was passed down from one brother to the next then to me in the family.

Anyway... I am not talking about cars. What I am talking about is our "natural" tendency to believe that we deserve things... that we are entitled to certain things in life. When High School was ending for me it really wasn't a question as to IF I was going to college it was WHERE. Why? There are so many people in this country... this city... my high school that were never going to go to college... either because they somehow fell through the cracks of our education system or because they just couldn't afford it. There are so many people who see finishing high school as the greatest accomplishment of their life.

I have now seen the movie Freedom Writers three times... and I would go again with anyone who wants to go. It is definitely not the best movie ever made, it may not even be one of the best of the year, but something about it has touched me. It is the story of a group of High Schoolers in Long Beach, CA following the Rodney King riots. It begins Freshman Year 1994 (which incidently is the same year I was a freshman). I think what strikes me the most about this movie is discovering who I identify with in this movie. I like to identify with the hero, the lover or the comedian who everyone likes... in this movie I found myself identifying with the characters who by the end of the movie you grow to be disgusted with.

The heros in this movie are the students. The teacher plays an important role, she listens, learns and helps these youth grow into strong confident adults. There is a Vice Principal and another teacher who play the roles of traditional antagonists. They create roadblocks and walls for the class to climb over. Finally there is the husband who has a line where he says "I just want to go about living my life without feeling bad about it." This is who I so often identify with. By the end of the movie I realized that I could use a little shake up in my life. Something to take my worldview and mess it all up so that I can see clearly the simplicity. The simple fact that we are all humans and I am no more entitled to anything than anyone else. A girl in the movie, Eva, talks about respect in so far as "white people" think they deserve respect just because they are white. And they can do anything they want just because they're white. We may look at this and say, "wow... she really doesn't get that being white doesn't get you everything" because we know from experience that we have our hurdles to jump over... but that is not the point. When was the last time that you looked at yourself and really thought about the privileges that you take advantage of due to the color of your skin. Really... look... when you go to church, do most of the people look like you? Can you walk into a fancy hotel without people staring? When you put a bandaid on your skin does it match the color for the most part? Do you have to shop in a different aisle at Target for your shampoo and hair products?

Some of these examples may not seem too big of a deal, but there are so many ways that we take advantage of a priviledge that we did not earn, but is afforded us due to the color of our skin. We live in a world that says that white kids are entitled to a better education. Not because kids at the same school of a different color don't get the same opportunities but because in areas with higher percentages of other races, the schools do not provide the same education. Please, if you are offended, don't turn off and stop reading... but look into your offense and see if there is any truth. One of the characters in the movie was a young black teenager who was in the "distinguished honors" class. She transfers to the other class because she is sick of being treated like the novelty... "the black girl with a brain." When we point out the people like Barak Obama, Colin Powell, Oprah, and other prominent and intelligent black leaders, and we point them out as the wonder kids who made it against all odds... sure it makes us feel good. We think, if they can make it, we must be doing something right. But what does that do? Are we just pointing out the successful men and women of color to show that they are the "black kids with a brain?"

The point is that we look at the affluent, rich kids from My Super Sweet Sixteen and think how disgusting their frivolousness is and how we have a much harder life with mortgages and paying for hockey equipment and balancing school, work and friends, and budgeting enough to pay for that Disney vacation and dealing with gas prices that keep getting hiked up so it costs $50 to fill the tank of our SUVs. We put money away into savings so that in a few years we can take that trip to Europe or put a down payment on a new house. We have it hard. Then think about the person who juggles 3 jobs to pay for the 2 bedroom apartment and fill 6 mouths. The person whose son deals drugs to bring home some more money for the family. The person who buys a gun to protect their family from gang violence or joins a gang to have protection from others. The person who has never left Wisconsin, never seen DisneyWorld, doesn't even dream about visiting Europe because it will never happen.

Yes... we are a priviledged culture. A poignant part of this movie was when a kid drew a picture of one of the black students with big fat lips. The teacher gives them a lecture about the holocaust (which most of the students had never heard of before) and tells them of the nazi tactic of creating ads against jews with big noses. They say that they think they will get respect when they die protecting their own... Yet, she says, when they die they will rot in the ground and everyone will go on living. When they die, she says, no one will remember them because all they left behind was hate. This is really not any different from us. When we die, life will go on... what will you be remembered for... will it be your fancy clothes, your nice car... your apathetic attitude towards authority and towards life?? We are all dust and to dust we shall return... What can we hope to be remembered for?

Pastor Rod said in his sermon this morning that the very best compliment we can hope to receive is that we have an excellent spirit, that we have integrity. The best we can hope to be remembered by is that we lived our life in love and others around us saw God's love thru us. And believe me... not a single one of us is entitled to God's love. We are broken, dirty, messy and sinful... We screw up everyday and we blatantly ignore our call to be people of God... no none of us are entitled to this gift of God's grace... We don't deserve it. But God loves His creation so much that He would die to make us new. If you want to be remembered for something it would be to humbly accept this invitation to be in relationship with God and to wholly give yourself to His service so that people will remember that you showed them Christ through your words... through your actions... through your love.

OK... don't think too hard... this is really not a deep thought, just a good laugh. BUT... wouldn't it be great if Steve Jobs really could offer eternal life with the iPhone. Yeah... that's a lot easier than this whole loving our neighbor thing.

The deep thought that could go along with this video: "Think about what you couldn't live without... about what you put your trust in... let's hope its not your blackberry, iPod, cell phone, or PC..."

Homosexuality in the Church (in response to Reinke's respectalliteration.blogspot.com)

I wanted to confess to you... I gossip about people who consider me their friend, behind their backs. I swear and have taken God's name in vain... yes the G-D has escaped my lips. I have been drunk many times. I do not do what I ought to show God's love. Should I go on... or is it already too much information? Trust me... these are not easy things to say, especially to an audience of my peers in the church and those who look to me as a leader in the church. However, I think that this is the first step in looking at the messy topic of homosexuality in the church.
Far too often people are arguing for or against homosexuality by quoting and arguing about the biblical witness. We look to scientists to give us answers as to whether homosexuality is a choice or a genetic trait. Many who are "pro-homosexuality in the church" want to prove that there is nothing "wrong" with the lifestyle of these individuals. On the other hand many who are "anti-homosexuality" want to prove that their lifestyles are sinful, "wrong" and not worthy of the grace and love of Jesus Christ as long as they live in sin.
Now believe me I can quote just as many scripture passages as anyone that supports the claim that homosexuality is a sin, according to scripture an "abomination." I can also make arguments that each one of those passages are meant to be read as part of a whole message that tells the story of all people living in sin and all people in need of salvation. The problem with this attitude is that whichever "side" of the issue I take, that is how I am looking at the scripture.
We, the church, must re-learn to take the side of Jesus, and not sides in an issue. And... it seems clear to me that Jesus was on the side of love, mercy, grace, justice, truth and hope. God's justice and God's mercy are wrapped up in this crazy little thing called grace. Only it is no little thing. Grace is what makes life unfair. Grace is what makes all of those people around us who have sinned against us... Who are not as nice as us... Who don't come to church or volunteer as often as us... Grace makes these people beautiful in the eyes of God.
Jesus' side is that He would rather die a painful death on a cross than watch us live in sin and broken relationship with God. That He knew we can't do this on our own. Jesus said "let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." When the adulterous woman was caught, Jesus showed mercy upon her because we ALL need mercy and forgiveness. However, I can't just end the conversation with the statement that we all need forgiveness, and we are all sinners... for Jesus did not leave it there. Jesus says to the woman "Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." There is mercy and forgiveness for the repentant heart, but the repentant heart wishes to change and not sin again.
So this leaves us with the dilemma... if homosexuality is a sin (as biblically it is)... and a homosexual person does not wish to refrain from practicing their sexuality... then how can they truly be repentant and a follower of Jesus? Well, I leave you with this... I began this blog with a confession. As Christians, the most we can do is to look within ourselves and confess our sin that we can own. Why are we always trying to point out the sins of others? Does this make our place in God's kingdom more secure? Does it help to build community in the church? I agree that we can be resposible for holding one another accountable in the church, but when accountablity turns to judgment, criticism and hate... our overzealous, jealous natures have turned our best intentions into sin.
If we could learn to lose control of the judgment of others and trust the creator and savior of the universe to judge creation, perhaps we could find a community that is based upon drawing one another into the purest, most selfless and true love we could ever imagine. Look in yourself, confess your sins, let go of the desire to confess the sin of your neighbor, trust God to be the judge and learn to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength... and love your neighbor as yourself. For this is what Christ has commanded.

Justification by Grace through Faith

I am pretty sure that one of the most beautiful things in the world is a fresh blanket of snow covering the earth. The shining crystal powder seems to have cleansing power to take a brown, seemingly dead world and coat it with its crisp beauty.

Besides my family, the thing I missed the most during my adventures in South Carolina has to be the seasons. Sure there were seasons there... An unbearable summer [side note: so that you understand that I am not exaggerating the unbearable heat, here is an example... Around 4:30 in the morning on summer I was in a taxi on my way to the airport... anticipating the flight that would take me home, my excitement was only heightened by the fact that the driver couldn't see through the window due to the condensation from the humidity] changing into a mildly balmy fall, a month or two with temperatures in the 30s followed by the short perfect weather of the spring. Add in the occasional hurricaine or tropical storm, along with the exciting snowfall... actually only a dusting... and you have the weather of South Carolina.

Needless to say it is good to be home. I may be singing a different tune after a few months of below zero wind chills, but for now... I am looking out my window at the sparkling coat of new snow, and feeling as though the whole world has been renewed. A professor at my seminary assigned for each of us to create a "stained glass" that explains what justification by grace through faith means. Stained glass windows are used as an artistic portrayl that is meant to point past itself to a spiritual truth, they tell stories... they invoke emotion... they explain religious truths. So, we were able to use other artistic mediums besides colored glass in order to explain justification by grace through faith alone. Some used music, others poetry... I chose to use photography.
Photography is one of my passions, I am not a expert photographer or even know what I am doing, but I really enjoy capturing life in a photo... and get easily proud of myself when a picture turns out great. When I looked at this photo, as well as staring at the roaring waterfall itself, I saw glorious power... I saw God. While thinking about this I tried to look again and again at this photo to try and figure out where I was in the picture. I would have loved to say I am in the mist and steam rising from the falls, in an attempt to be the one who brings the beauty of God gently into the world. But... no...

I thought, what if I am the building in the back... it doesn't fit in the picture of the beauty of nature... it watches from a distance the power of the falls, yet is not moved... and I really hoped this wasn't true. I realized that I am in the front of the frame in this picture, how could I have overlooked it? I am one of the dead sticks. Ok, now how is that better than the building? Well, these dead branches are part of what make this picture so beautiful... they are coated in same substance that rolls over the falls. That water has coated each branch so what you see is glistening ice, sparkling like diamonds. Furthermore, in the springtime, that ice melts into the branches bringing them to new life.

This is justification. We are broken, dead sticks. We have done nothing to deserve the gift of our new coating of ice, which makes us beautiful. When God sees us, thanks to the gift of Jesus, we are seen coated with Jesus' righteousness. And it is that same grace which nourishes us bringing new life.

The world is your oyster...

The neighborhood that I grew up in was in a word, charming. I lived in the white two story with the red door. Across the street and over one house was my friend Michelle, and five houses up the street lived my friend Chuck. They each had siblings the ages of my brother John. Our parents were all friends, wait... still are friends. In summers we'd play until it was too dark to see one another. And in winter we'd pummel each other with snowballs until we could no longer feel our fingers. Every year on the first day of school we'd gather outside and take pictures together... followed by the pictures of all of our new shoes pointing together in a circle. I learned early about community. I grew up raised by not just any ordinary village but one that taught me I can do anything I want.
My closest friends are people I met while growing up on that street... even to this day. Among them is a pharmacist, an architect, a firefighter, a law student, a med student, a nanny, a dancer, and one studying to be a teacher. What I am getting at is that we were always reminded by our village, our community, that we could do anything we wanted with our lives. And we have... we have followed dreams until they've become reality. Then we kept dreaming.
The world may be my oyster, but lately I have worried that my sense of entitlement has become narcissistic. Ok... now not necessarily like I feel that the world revolves around me. But you know what its like when you leave a job, school, community, and you sometimes expect that everything will either stay exactly the same... or at least fall apart a little bit with out you... but definitely not move forward without you. Well, that's sort of what I am talking about. What worries me even more is that it is not very often that people have to remind me that my life is making a difference... I think I know that... what worries me is the people who don't know that about themselves.
You may not know one of these people personally, but I am sure you have met one before. They are the people who did not have that village, that community... not even one person telling them that they can do anything that they want to. There is tragedy in this. Who are these people who don't know that they truly can do anything. They can follow dreams. And when they don't know that... do they just stop dreaming?
We are all children of God... we are entitled to life, love, even the pursuit of happyness. We... all of us. Yeah that means you... that means your neighbor... that means your enemy. If I wake up one morning and look back at whatever accomplishments I have... whatever degrees or publications or loves won... but I can't say that I have shared God's love... have I really accomplished anything at all? My narcissism goes out the window when I think about sharing God's love, because who am I to be entitled to that? I don't deserve it. But that's the thing about it... my neighbor, my enemy, even me... we are loved by God because of what God has done, not our accomplishments. No one is entitled to it... its a gift.