american christianity ™

Tool Shed

Frank
It is that time of year to dust off your Sunday best, wake up a little earlier, and go to church for maybe the second time of the year (the first being Easter). You go to hear Christmas carols, watch a performance, or to satisfy your parents that you’re home visiting. You wish people Marry Christmas and probably have your house decorated with a tree up. You may even be done shopping using the guise of Santa. Why do you go? What do you hope to get from it?

That may sound cynical, but in a country where roughly 80% of Americans call themselves Christians “only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings (31%) attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s (42%) and nearly half of all adults age 40 and older (49%).” (from a 2003 Barna survey) A more frightening way of looking at it is that Barna considers those who only attend church at “Christmas or Easter, or for special events such as a wedding or a funeral” unchurched. This number of adults is a striking 34%. (from a 2004 survey)

So I don’t buy the label “Christian”. Which makes it hard to define “church” in a traditional way. We often define our religion based on how we were raised, and not necessarily our personal doctrine. In fact, doctrine is often secondary as we become a culture where “church shopping” is becoming more and more prevalent. So what is your church and why there? Is it the people you meet (look at how homogeneous your congregation likely is- income level, race, age)? Is it the worship (how relevant are you)? Is it the dynamic preaching (aren’t Jesus’ words the “same yesterday and today and tomorrow“)? Is it the parachurch ministries/activities (are you salt and light)?

But it is usually one of the above that motivates us to attend the church that we do. It should be all the above. But we need to check our expectations at the door. Perhaps you’ve heard the cliche “church isn’t about what you get out of it but what you give to it.” Instead of doctrine, theology, or polity; worship, relevance, or relatability; church is not what it looks like or what it does, but what we do as Christians in its name. For me, church is not a place of worship, it is a tool shed. Full of different tools to suit our different talents for us to use to the glory of God.

It’s too easy to rely on church leaders and think only of what we get out of church. But the Bible does not call us to just show up every weekend (or when it’s convenient). Instead we are called to use the talents we’ve been given to grow Christ’s Church. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:4-8) and “It was [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Note the ends and the means. God gives us talents and Christ appoints us to roles so that the Church may be united and mature. The goal is not church attendance, spirit-filled worship, or dynamic leadership. It is attaining the fullness of Christ.

You can read a diversity of definitions of church through this week’s blog carnival. To each who post, they are using the tools they get through their church to use the internet to bring unity to the Church. Let this motivate you to rummage through the shed and find the tool that fits you.

Not The Smallest Letter

Frank

The title is taken from Matthew 5:18 which reads, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (The smallest letter is a translation of “not one iota”, which is a figure in Hebrew that looks like an accent or apostrophe.) A lot of people point to wars, famine, natural disasters, and our increasing wickedness to claim that we are in the “end times”. I’m not one of those, but you could add all the hand-wringing over Bible translations to push personal agendas. I read about this before, but showing up in the headlines yesterday motivated me to write about it today: there is an effort to re-translate the Bible to remove “liberal bias”. As if the Main Stream Media wasn’t enough of a strawman enemy of the Right, you can now add “professors [who] are the most liberal group of people in the world, and… who are doing the popular modern translations of the Bible.” Riiight.

They want to remove, or at least re-translate such controversial passages as “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” from Luke 23:34 even though my Bible contains the footnote that “some early manuscripts do not have this sentence.” There’s no mention if they also want to take out the last several versus of Mark or the story of the woman caught in adultery which are also not found in the earliest manuscripts. If we’re not smart enough to make note of these footnotes, then maybe they should call this translation “The Bible for Dummies.” Oh wait, nevermind, that’s already taken.

There’s more to this though than trying to reflect the original intent of the Biblical authors. There is an admitted political agenda.”The phrase ‘theological conservative’ does not mean that someone is politically conservative,” says Andy Schlafy, the person behind this. I hate to break it to Andy, but Christian does not mean Republican either.

This is nothing new. There was a big fuss a while back over translations trying to make references to God more gender neutral. The Jesus Seminar color-codes quotes of Jesus by how likely they think it was he actually said it. Thomas Jefferson re-wrote his own version of the Gospels taking out anything “supernatural” like all of his miracles and the resurrection. And Martin Luther wanted to remove the entire book of James because it didn’t agree with his theology.

So I don’t take offense to this, but I would advise Mr. Schlafy and everyone else contributing to this (they’re editing it like a wiki) to consider the following passages (pick your favorite translation if you must, these are all NIV):

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19) While this specifically applies to John’s personal vision recorded in Revelation, it shows how serious God takes his Word.

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24) A “testimony” is more than just writing a biography and is even more than being a witness in a legal case. The author, in this case John, was admitting here that if anything he wrote wasn’t true he should be put to death by being stoned. I wonder if Mr. Schlafy would take a similar stand for his truth?

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

God’s Word has a purpose and I’ve already demonstrated how seriously he takes it. I would not want to be one who stands in the way of God’s Word not accomplishing what he desires.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17) The Bible is used for “teaching” making translators therefore “teachers.” And there’s specific warning against aspiring to teach: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Ironically, taken from the book of James.

Not The Smallest Letter

Frank

The title is taken from Matthew 5:18 which reads, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (The smallest letter is a translation of “not one iota”, which is a figure in Hebrew that looks like an accent or apostrophe.) A lot of people point to wars, famine, natural disasters, and our increasing wickedness to claim that we are in the “end times”. I’m not one of those, but you could add all the hand-wringing over Bible translations to push personal agendas. I read about this before, but showing up in the headlines yesterday motivated me to write about it today: there is an effort to re-translate the Bible to remove “liberal bias”. As if the Main Stream Media wasn’t enough of a strawman enemy of the Right, you can now add “professors [who] are the most liberal group of people in the world, and… who are doing the popular modern translations of the Bible.” Riiight.

They want to remove, or at least re-translate such controversial passages as “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” from Luke 23:34 even though my Bible contains the footnote that “some early manuscripts do not have this sentence.” There’s no mention if they also want to take out the last several versus of Mark or the story of the woman caught in adultery which are also not found in the earliest manuscripts. If we’re not smart enough to make note of these footnotes, then maybe they should call this translation “The Bible for Dummies.” Oh wait, nevermind, that’s already taken.

There’s more to this though than trying to reflect the original intent of the Biblical authors. There is an admitted political agenda.”The phrase ‘theological conservative’ does not mean that someone is politically conservative,” says Andy Schlafy, the person behind this. I hate to break it to Andy, but Christian does not mean Republican either.

This is nothing new. There was a big fuss a while back over translations trying to make references to God more gender neutral. The Jesus Seminar color-codes quotes of Jesus by how likely they think it was he actually said it. Thomas Jefferson re-wrote his own version of the Gospels taking out anything “supernatural” like all of his miracles and the resurrection. And Martin Luther wanted to remove the entire book of James because it didn’t agree with his theology.

So I don’t take offense to this, but I would advise Mr. Schlafy and everyone else contributing to this (they’re editing it like a wiki) to consider the following passages (pick your favorite translation if you must, these are all NIV):

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19) While this specifically applies to John’s personal vision recorded in Revelation, it shows how serious God takes his Word.

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24) A “testimony” is more than just writing a biography and is even more than being a witness in a legal case. The author, in this case John, was admitting here that if anything he wrote wasn’t true he should be put to death by being stoned. I wonder if Mr. Schlafy would take a similar stand for his truth?

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

God’s Word has a purpose and I’ve already demonstrated how seriously he takes it. I would not want to be one who stands in the way of God’s Word not accomplishing what he desires.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17) The Bible is used for “teaching” making translators therefore “teachers.” And there’s specific warning against aspiring to teach: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Ironically, taken from the book of James.

Rabbi, who sinned…

Frank

…this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:1-2)

I grew up with this personal theology. If I tripped and fell in the playground, it must’ve been because of the white lie I told my parents to get out of cleaning my room. If my knee was skinned really bad, then it must have been a sin much worse. This theology led to a religious paranoia and paints God as the cosmic puppet-master instead of the loving Father that he is.

But this theology is also applied to prop up one’s personal politics and biases. I sat in on a class on Abraham’s Covenant with God yesterday and I was reminded that there is no covenant between God and my country. Despite what some may preach, the United States is owed no special favor by God. Likewise, God owes us no special punishment for violating the terms of his covenant. Tell that to the talking heads after Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. Some were quick to assign motive to these tragedies while justifying their personal theology.

It’s a shame these recognized representatives of American christianity (TM) are not Ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20, Eph 6:20) instead because Jesus addressed this very issue in Luke, chapter 13: “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them- do you think they were more guilty than all the to others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.‘” (Luke 13:1-5)

These two tragedies, the Galileans whom Pilate killed and those who died in Siloam could be justified by the religious at the time because of their political ties. The Galileans were likely leading in a revolt against Roman authorities while the tower in Siloam was part of the aqueduct Pilate was constructing so those who died were in the employ of these same authorities. Jesus’ reply was much like the traps the Pharisees and teachers of the law would try and catch Jesus in by trying to force him to take a side. But much like his replies to these traps, his reply here emphasised that which side doesn’t matter. We should be concerned about our the condition of our own souls.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t preach against sin (despite the common strawman: judge not, lest ye be judged). But we should be preaching the Gospel of salvation, not the religion of condemnation. And we should never assign motive to what God chooses to do or not to do. I could close by saying something about why we shouldn’t assume. But you know how the rest of that goes.

(more on Abraham’s Covenant in tomorrow’s blog carnival)

Rabbi, who sinned…

Frank

…this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:1-2)

I grew up with this personal theology. If I tripped and fell in the playground, it must’ve been because of the white lie I told my parents to get out of cleaning my room. If my knee was skinned really bad, then it must have been a sin much worse. This theology led to a religious paranoia and paints God as the cosmic puppet-master instead of the loving Father that he is.

But this theology is also applied to prop up one’s personal politics and biases. I sat in on a class on Abraham’s Covenant with God yesterday and I was reminded that there is no covenant between God and my country. Despite what some may preach, the United States is owed no special favor by God. Likewise, God owes us no special punishment for violating the terms of his covenant. Tell that to the talking heads after Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. Some were quick to assign motive to these tragedies while justifying their personal theology.

It’s a shame these recognized representatives of American christianity (TM) are not Ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20, Eph 6:20) instead because Jesus addressed this very issue in Luke, chapter 13: “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them- do you think they were more guilty than all the to others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.‘” (Luke 13:1-5)

These two tragedies, the Galileans whom Pilate killed and those who died in Siloam could be justified by the religious at the time because of their political ties. The Galileans were likely leading in a revolt against Roman authorities while the tower in Siloam was part of the aqueduct Pilate was constructing so those who died were in the employ of these same authorities. Jesus’ reply was much like the traps the Pharisees and teachers of the law would try and catch Jesus in by trying to force him to take a side. But much like his replies to these traps, his reply here emphasised that which side doesn’t matter. We should be concerned about our the condition of our own souls.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t preach against sin (despite the common strawman: judge not, lest ye be judged). But we should be preaching the Gospel of salvation, not the religion of condemnation. And we should never assign motive to what God chooses to do or not to do. I could close by saying something about why we shouldn’t assume. But you know how the rest of that goes.

(more on Abraham’s Covenant in tomorrow’s blog carnival)

K.I.S.S.

Frank

Keep It Simple, Stupid. It’s a sound principle in management, but it’s also worth applying to our own Christianity (though maybe leave the ‘stupid’ part out).

I’ve had a serious bout of writer’s block over the last week, so I’ll leave it to others to make my point for me. The bottom line is that we don’t need gimmicks or flash to live out our faith and spread the Gospel.

What we don’t need: christian products that rip off popular culture or a hip approach to Christianity.

What we do need: humble ministry.

What we really need: The Gospel of Jesus, period.

K.I.S.S.

Frank

Keep It Simple, Stupid. It’s a sound principle in management, but it’s also worth applying to our own Christianity (though maybe leave the ‘stupid’ part out).

I’ve had a serious bout of writer’s block over the last week, so I’ll leave it to others to make my point for me. The bottom line is that we don’t need gimmicks or flash to live out our faith and spread the Gospel.

What we don’t need: christian products that rip off popular culture or a hip approach to Christianity.

What we do need: humble ministry.

What we really need: The Gospel of Jesus, period.

Making Jesus Popular

Frank

That was on a sign at a construction site for a new megachurch being built. Really. But popularity was never Jesus’ goal on earth. Just a sample (I love Biblegateway!):

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. -Matthew 10:22

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. -Luke 6:22

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. -John 7:7

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ -John 15:18-25

Yet we try so hard to be “seeker sensitive” or to be “relatable” or “relevant” instead of being radical. We dress a certain way, we incorporate multimedia into sermons, we have bands playing contemporary worship music (or cheesy pop music) instead of letting the Gospel of Jesus stand on its own.

Many flock to Saddleback Church because of Rick Warren. Thousands fill the old Alamo Dome to hear Joel Osteen. Celebrity also draws people. The fastest growing church in America is that of American Idol winner Kris Allen. Coincidence?

Once upon a time in my church, growth was used as a “sign” of God’s blessing and that if the church wasn’t growing at an incredible pace then there was something wrong. Spirituality soon began to be measured with numbers. If you weren’t constantly bringing visitors, you were chastised. So begins the pressure to be popular.

But it is not supposed to be this way. Not to say a church that’s growing old and withering on the vine is ok, but we need to check our motivations and ask if we’re compromising the message of Jesus for the sake of attendance. We need to remind ourselves of what was prophesied about Jesus:

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2b-3)

Making Jesus Popular

Frank

That was on a sign at a construction site for a new megachurch being built. Really. But popularity was never Jesus’ goal on earth. Just a sample (I love Biblegateway!):

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. -Matthew 10:22

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. -Luke 6:22

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. -John 7:7

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ -John 15:18-25

Yet we try so hard to be “seeker sensitive” or to be “relatable” or “relevant” instead of being radical. We dress a certain way, we incorporate multimedia into sermons, we have bands playing contemporary worship music (or cheesy pop music) instead of letting the Gospel of Jesus stand on its own.

Many flock to Saddleback Church because of Rick Warren. Thousands fill the old Alamo Dome to hear Joel Osteen. Celebrity also draws people. The fastest growing church in America is that of American Idol winner Kris Allen. Coincidence?

Once upon a time in my church, growth was used as a “sign” of God’s blessing and that if the church wasn’t growing at an incredible pace then there was something wrong. Spirituality soon began to be measured with numbers. If you weren’t constantly bringing visitors, you were chastised. So begins the pressure to be popular.

But it is not supposed to be this way. Not to say a church that’s growing old and withering on the vine is ok, but we need to check our motivations and ask if we’re compromising the message of Jesus for the sake of attendance. We need to remind ourselves of what was prophesied about Jesus:

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2b-3)

Fake Plastic Jesus

Frank

Her green plastic watering can
For her fake chinese rubber plant
In fake plastic earth.
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plants
–Radiohead Fake Plastic Trees

Roughly 80% of Americans claim to be Christians. Woo-to-the-hoo. I look around, and I don’t see it. Granted, I don’t expect to see Paradise. Not so long as sin reigns in this world. But I would hope it would look better.

So what’s the problem? You could point at many things: sin, lukewarm churches, cheap grace, a watered down gospel, politics, and I’m sure you could think of more. But this video, I think, does a great job summing it up. (Thanks Luke for sharing this Sunday!)

There’s much of this to which I can relate, and as I watched it last this last Sunday I could help but feel challenged. And what came to mind was The Fellowship of the Unashamed. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard it and just as long since I’ve felt it.

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed.

I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..” (Romans 1:16)

This is often attributed to Dr. Bob Moorehead, though I’ve also heard it attributed to “an African missionary who recited this right before he was martyred.” This also may not be the correct version. In a sad demonstration of the division in the Church, some versions leave out “Holy Spirit Power” and others leave out “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ”. Ironic that some versions of The Fellowship of the Unashamed are ashamed to call themselves disciples of Jesus. Maybe their Jesus is plastic.