american christianity ™

Jesus Shaped

Frank

I wanted to figure out a way to shoe-horn chapter 4 of Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity into Bridget Chumbley’s blog carnival on Hope. But that’s been our problem hasn’t it, trying to pound a square peg into a round hole, making the message of Jesus into something it’s not? Don’t get me wrong, second to love I would say that hope best describes Jesus’ ministry. But you couldn’t tell that today. And that is Michael’s point. What if Jesus showed up at your church for an “inspection”? Would he find it hopeful, in-line with his teachings? Or would he find it hopeful, filled with pop-psychology and an over-emphasis on feeling good?Would he even recognize it?

Michael argues that we’ve become so comfortable in our Jesus-culture, that we forget Jesus. In fact, to suggest following Jesus can be so radical that you may find yourself rejected, or worse, labeled a cult. To even have the nerve to advertise your church as “making Jesus popular” is so not-Jesus shaped it isn’t funny. I was recently in a toy store and I saw a Jesus action figure. I wanted it for no other reason than to remind myself that Jesus is real, not plastic. On and on I could go with examples, casting stones, with no suggestions of what to do about it. So let me share a recent personal journey in hopes it will lead us all to be more Jesus shaped.

A couple of years ago I was at a large event and an Elder was preaching on one of the miracles of Jesus. He made an anecdotal point using this miracle that didn’t hold up against the rest of Jesus’ miracles. As soon as he said it (I won’t say what) I immediately thought to myself, “that can’t be right” and I spent the rest of the sermon thumbing through my Bible to make sure I wasn’t crazy. He shoe-horned a good point into one of Jesus’ miracles that had nothing to do with that point, and he misrepresented the Word of God doing so. Mind you, this was an Elder, whose Biblical role is to ensure that the Church is teaching the Truth.

Hard, cold reality set in at that moment. I couldn’t rely on leaders, preachers, pastors or evangelists to chart my course spiritually. I needed to be led by Christ and his Word. But did I know it? So I made a vow to the Lord that I would study out the life and teachings of Jesus. I set out to read through the four Gospels in chronological order using several Bibles mixing up translations and commentaries and planned to read Jesus-specific books following (titles like Jesus the Same, the Jesus I Never Knew, etc) to close out the year. What was meant to last a few months in the Gospels and finish the year with a book a month, took over a year. I still haven’t technically finished (there are a couple more books to read).

I’m not saying this to boast. In fact it was so overwhelming I really need to take the time and go back over it. But it was an example of being proactive to be Jesus shaped. How can we claim to follow Him if we don’t know what He said, or how He lived? I want to approach this book positively rather than a blanket condemnation against the Church today. I can’t think of a better way to combat that cultural and spiritual malaise in the Church than to challenge ourselves to be Jesus shaped and there’s no better way to do that than to spend time immersed in his life through the Gospels.

This post adds to the discussion on Michael Spencer’s book, Mere Churchianity being hosted by Nancy at Bend the Page. Visit there for links to others in the discussion. And don’t forget to stop by Bridget’s for the Carnival too!

Weekend Reading, 4 September

Frank

As always, there are more quality blogs than I could possibly link. These are what I found via Twitter and there, it’s just a matter of timing- if I see a link while I’m on, I’ll click it. So my apologies if I missed you. I hope to catch you next time. Best (worst?) example was the effort of @ivoryjohn to raise money for Blood: Water Missions via retweets on Twitter. I retweeted the announcement that he was going to to this yesterday and then totally spaced it last night. I hope he does it again and I hope then I’m less flaky.

I also want to lead off with this post from Maurilio Amorim on the narcissism behind blogging and social media. It is a definite temptation, which is one of my main motivations for doing the “weekend readings“. I’m not in it for my glory, or even to hype these other bloggers, but for God’s glory. My hope and prayer is that through these links you might read something you might not have otherwise or catch a post you missed, and through the thoughts, convictions, and writings of others grow in your walk with Christ. Ok, on with the show…

A common theme I’ve found over the weeks is that of pastor burnout.

  • Perry Noble credits his wife and daughter for their encouragement and stresses that family remain a priority.
  • Ron Edmonson gives tips from his marathon training to avoid burnout by pacing yourself. (I personally love this, with my wife being a marathoner!)
  • Darryl at DashHouse posted on the value of sabbaticals to avoid burnout. A welcome suggestion and something I’m going to pursue for my own pastor.
  • Amy Sorrells challenges us to think like a Chilean miner when we get stuck. Good advice, pastor or not.
  • Johnathan Pearson reminds us that we need to continue to add fuel to our fire if we want to continue giving light and heat without burning out.

A couple of how-tos for pastors and lay leaders.

  • Steven Furtick reminds us not to be ashamed to call others higher, in fact it’s a compliment to do so.
  • Scott Couchenour offers his usual input to leaders and offers some additional links on don’t stop growing. (It helps to link to others who have lots of links ‘causse it saves me space! Yes, that’s cheating)
  • Nick Croft (aka Nick the Geek), guest posting at Make a Difference to One, encourages us to pray not only for our own children, but also for the children in our church and to not take children’s salvation for granted. (As a former youth leader, I really appreciate this post)

Another common theme is rethinking Church.

  • I’m participating in a discussion on Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity. You can follow that conversation over at Bend the Page (with links back here and to other bloggers in on the discussion). We’re only on Chapter 3, so there’s time to catch up and join us!
  • Shawn Smucker pulls no punches observing that Democracy is an easy crutch for our Church.
  • Jason Stasyszen (and many others- more links!) is reading and discussing The Hole in the Gospel and notes (pun not intended) that we’ve reduced the symphony of the Gospel down to a single note. 
  • Alise writes a scathing letter to the American Church (TM) reminding us that we need to deal with the plank in our own eyes before we can remove the specks outside our church’s walls.
  • Brandon O’Brien writes on how we take a Pagan approach to our relationship with God: we do good, he owes us- and how wrong that is.
  • Bethany Keeley-Jonker wonders if you can have an online church. (a means others like Brand New Church and Lifechurch.tv are testing out)
  • Darrin Patrick challenges the Church that we have a “man problem” through a video promoting his new book.

Of course, part of Church is each of our own personal journeys.

Relating back to the Blood: Water Missions fundraiser above is also a fundraiser of 30 bloggers in 30 days that is worth checking out and following (and obviously contributing towards).

Also relating back to the news of Glenn Coffee abandoning his NFL career for ministry (and other similar stories) is news of Ben Roethlisberger’s comeback on the field and in his faith. Compare then and now.

And after you get through all of this, don’t forget the purpose of this weekend. Rest and celebrate the Sabbath.

The Uncomfortable Jesus

Frank

The premise behind Philip Yancey’s The Jesus I Never Knew is that the Jesus we know is so familiar he’s become routine. We know the stories. We know how it all ends. Nothing surprises us or makes us uncomfortable.

Michael Spencer approaches the third chapter of Mere Churchianity the same way. Imagine being a disciple of Jesus and having your world rocked with his unconventional take on the Jewish religion. Been praying all your life? Jesus will teach you how to really pray. Judgemental of that Samaritan woman? Jesus will go to her and strike up a conversation. It’s no wonder some of Jesus’ disciples responded to him saying, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” and later turned away and left him (John 6:60-66).

I admit I’m young and naive and maybe too idealistic for my own good. Regrettably, I’ve taken the destruction I’ve seen in my fellowship of churches and combined that with the media stereotype of the Evangelical Megachurch to paint a broad brush over all of American Christianity (TM). But I look at the Christian blogosphere and twitterverse and I see brothers and sisters doing it; making things happen in the name of Jesus to God’s glory. And I realize I’m wrong. I need to “tear up my notes” as Michael puts it.

I’m wrong about my church, too. Last week I may have been overly harsh sharing a single anecdote in a sea of experiences. Not to say the criticism isn’t fair, but there’s more to the story. You see, there are some things my church gets right. Recognizing Jesus’ teachings as uncomfortable is one of them. Growing up religious, when I opened up the Bible with brothers who cared about teaching me what it really says, not just what I’ve always heard, it blew my mind. It resonated in my heart because I knew this is what I was missing in my relationship with God. Jesus was uncomfortable and that made following him challenging and exciting.

Yesterday I wrote about the Transformational Loop. Each of the seven properties listed are uncomfortable.

  • Missionary mentality, where you see your community as a mission field and serve it that way? Uncomfortable!
  • Vibrant Leadership where it’s not a cult of personality but of inspiring example? Uncomfortable!
  • Relational Intensity where you genuinely care about your brothers and sisters’ spiritual and physical well-being and “make every effort” to deliberately be involved in one another’s lives? Uncomfortable!
  • Prayerful dependence where going to God in prayer is natural and asking for help via prayer is common? Uncomfortable!
  • Worship that continues beyond Sunday mornings (Romans 12)? Raising your hands in praise? Uncomfortable!
  • Community that is intentionally built around the purpose and mission of the Church? Uncomfortable!
  • Mission, seeking and saving the lost, being a central part of your life, the focus of your conversations and relationships? Uncomfortable!

Of course, that’s just one of many similar books. You could add tithing, serving inside and outside your church’s walls, forgiving (ooh, that’s a toughie), fasting, eschewing the world, calling out sin, confessing sin, and I could go on and on.

Squirming in your chair yet? Well there’s nothing comfortable about being a disciple of Jesus. And you know what, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(I also encourage you to visit Bend the Page, Faith Fiction and Friends, and A Simple Country Girl for more discussion of this challenging book)

Jesus-colored Glasses

Frank

This post joins the discussion being carried on at Bend the Page on Michael Spencer’s book, Mere Churchianity. The second chapter, titled the Jesus Disconnect, discusses how the Evangelical church has lost sight of Jesus among all the programs, seeker-sensitive trappings, and relevant topics. Glynn Young offers a perspective of “the worship wars” while Nancy Rosback reflects on how she personally loses sight of Jesus.

I want to approach this from yet another perspective, that of ministering to those thrown under the fast-moving, sold-out, evangelical bus. A quote I especially like from this chapter reads, “Evangelical Christians… believe their ship is listing to one side because it gives them a more interesting look at the iceberg.” This is the Jesus-colored glasses I refer to. Michael continues, “Evangelicals believe that people who distance themselves from the church are not disenchanted but ‘under conviction of the Holy Spirit.’ Christians are convinced that the generally low opinion people have of them… is because people can’t deal with the uncomfortable truth about Jesus.”

Ministering to addicts, I have learned that not everyone struggles because they aren’t committed enough, don’t pray enough, or don’t have deep enough convictions. Real people face real demons in their past, their character, and their habits that cannot be overcome just by showing up every Sunday with a smile on their face. We too easily forget that Jesus came for the sick, not the well. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:12)

Sadly, we are quick to abandon the slow-moving for the sake of moving the church “forward” full-steam. Sold-out was our buzzword, but was code for legalism. You didn’t have time to deal with your marriage, your addiction, or your purity. If you weren’t 100% committed to the “purpose” then you weren’t really a disciple of Jesus. This is a battle I continue to fight when our calendar gets filled with evangelistic activities with no room to insert any solid food (Hebrews 5:11-14). As a small-group leader, when I recently questioned the schedule I was challenged to choose between the addiction ministry I help lead and my small group. Well that was a no-brainer (and thank God it didn’t have to come to that).

We say we are being Christ-like by “seeking and saving the lost” (Luke 19:10). We justify sacrificing our own health, spiritual and physical, because we “take up our cross daily” (Luke 9:23). And instead of “not putting out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) we instead get burned out. And the bus keeps rolling on while we are left behind.

Now I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer. It’s not always like this, and it’s not everybody who feels this way. But this attitude is contagious. We believe the hype. We are more inspired by a rah-rah pep-rally sermon than the life of Jesus. We are human. And the most important point I’ve taken from this book so far is that so are my brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is not a machine, but a living, breathing, body of believers. Real people with real struggles.

Weekend Reading, 21 August

Frank

Phew, I opened this window a couple of hours ago and just now getting to this. Normally I suggest pouring a cup of coffee, sitting back, and reading what I read last week. By now, that pot of coffee is probably empty (at least mine is). But I still encourage you to sit, enjoy, and reflect on blogs that hit home for me this week.

If you read my blog much, you know one of my passions is the current condition of the Church in America. It’s easy to criticize and make blanket statements. A point I stress when it comes to the interplay between Christians and politics is that not every evangelical, fundamentalist, social-gospel, and so-forth, church is the same. The lesson holds true when it comes to the health, spiritual growth, and appropriate focus of the same diversity of churches. But as a comment in the above link noted, the discussion needs to take place. Right now, I’m approaching this from two angles reading both Mere Churchianity and Transformational Church, because I think both points of view are valid. You’ll see that reflected in these links. Having said that, on with the show…

But “as for me and my household…” The best thing we can do as disciples of Jesus is to surrender our lives fully to him, regardless of what’s happening in our churches, our leadership, or even our homes.

  • Jezamama writes an awesome post on what it takes to surrender all and be stripped bare.
  • Similarly, Michael Perkins writes out what he’s giving up for God.
  • Jim Foreman takes a lesson from David that we need to choose the hard things to see what lesson God has in store for us.
  • A real-world example of all the above is found in Glen Coffee who just walked away from a promising NFL career to follow wherever God is going to lead him.

It’s that time of year when our children head back to school. This is a time of transition and transformation and of rites of passage.

  • Billy Coffey writes about the lessons learned while doing back-to-school shopping.
  • Ron Edmondson shares what he wrote to his son as he saw him off to college.
  • Jay Cookingham shares about the passage of his son into manhood and the lessons to be learned from the older brothers who have gone on ahead of him.

The end of summer is also a bit of a letdown. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and find ourselves again while continuing to push on.

When Church Signs Lie

Frank

Normally, I’ve been reserving Tuesdays for my “virtual small group“. I haven’t been able to work out a post yet, so try again tomorrow. In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to stop over at the blog Bend the Page for a discussion on Michael Spencer’s book Mere Churchianity. Also check out the discussion at Faith, Fiction and Friends and Poems and Prayers.

My comment from the blog if you wish to discuss it here:

I think the trap of the church sign is that we, as individuals, are supposed to be the evidence of Christ’s presence. We gather as a community of believers in a “church” to worship together, to fellowship, to study, and support one another (all the “one anothers” in the NT). What I struggle with, and is evidenced by the lying church signs, is that the church too often is the end, not the means. The end should be a Christ-like life, not filled pews.

Be Careful How You Talk About Your Bride

Frank

One of my convictions when it comes to marriage is to never speak negatively about your spouse in public. This conviction came about from observation- almost every Sunday I will hear someone bad-talking their husband or wife. It’s one thing to be open for the sake of getting help, but it’s a whole other to just gossip and gripe.

We treat Christ’s bride the same, sadly. And I am guilty of this myself. I just read this fro the first chapter of Transformational Church bt Thom Rainer and Ed Setzer and I need to camp out on it for a while:

Right now it is en vogue to look down on the church. If you take a look at certain sections of the blog and book worlds, or just peruse the Christian Twittersphere, you can find all kinds of people taking all kinds of shots at the Bride of Christ. And they’re doing it for all kinds of reasons. Many are disillusioned with the church of their upbringing. Some are discouraged by decline or scandals. A younger generation is frustrated with the church’s apparent apathy about social justice causes. Some are upset that the church won’t get more modernized; some are upset because the church has lost it’s ancient ways. There are criticisms abounding of emerging churches, seeker churches, missional churches, traditional churches, Boomer churches, multi-site churches, old churches, new churhes, and the list goes on. Sometimes it seems there are as many complaints as ther are Christians, and some of these complaints are well meaning.

But… If you can’t do, teach. And if you can’t do or teach, become a critic.

Weekend Reading, 7 August

Frank

Wow, what I week! I didn’t think I spent that much time online and thought this would be a short shout-out, but this list kept getting longer and longer. So, grab a large cup of coffee and read what I read this week:

 

Weekend Reading, 24 July

Frank

Some common threads looking back at this week…

First to set the tone, grab a Big Mac and check out this picture from JesusNeedsNewPR. Then be sure to read the scathing, but deserved, commentary that follows.
Makes me wonder why we even go to church? (via Esther Meek at Common Grounds)
I hope were offering real conversion. If we are, we have mission and a method, even if we don’t do a good job of it. (thanks to Kevin Martineau at Shooting the Breeze and Matt Appling at The Church of No People)
At least, I hope our lives are preaching the “best sermon” someone else will hear. Because you never know who that someone might be. (from CNN and Donald Miller)

For a summer diversion, maybe you’re taking a road trip. If so, you’re not the only one. (Duane Scott and CaryJo Roadrunner beat you to it)
Or maybe you’re catching the latest summer blockbuster. Watch Inception, then read this from Cerulean Sanctum.

Is Patriotism an Idol?

Frank

My “question of the week” is late coming, just getting back into routine after a weekend spent camping. But the question in the title has been resonating in the back of my mind since I read these blogs from Relevant and Sojourners before I left on Friday. A counter-argument, so to speak, was posted at SoJo this morning.

So I’m throwing the question out to you, the reader. Is patriotism an idol?

Some additional thoughts from past blog posts can be found here, here, and here. And for some humor, check out JesusNeedsNewPR’s Jesus Pictures of the Day.

Please keep the debate respectful.