question of the week

Tricks (and Treats) are for Kids!

Frank

With one major Fall holiday down, there’s one to go before Christmas, which means stores should already be stocked with Christmas decorations, parents are beginning to stock up and hide away presents for their little ones, and the “Keep Christ in Christmas” crowd is ramping up to full speed.

‘Tis officially the holiday season. Holiday, derived from Holy Day. Can’t really tell anymore looking at our consumer cultural landscape. Prior to having children, I was much more cynical towards the holidays, seeing them as nothing more than an attempt by the greeting card, toy, costume, and decoration industries to end their year in the black. Case in point, it is estimated up to $5 Billion (yes, with a B) was spent on Halloween this year (down from last, believe it or not). But going out with my young Iron Man and Minnie Mouse Princess last night and watching the joy in their faces as they went door-to-door, I’ve softened up my stance. Christmas and Easter I approach the same way- the kids don’t care about the etymology of holiday or how the Church blended pagan influences with their own doctrine to be relatable and supersede existing holidays- they just want to have fun (and eat candy, lots and lots of candy).

Yet of the three major holidays (leaving out Thanksgiving which exists for me on a whole other level), Halloween has always been a personal favorite. I love the effort put into costumes, carving pumpkins, and decorating. Maybe it’s the engineer in me. But as a Christian, there seem to be two approaches towards this holiday. Either participate but forbid costumes and themes that hint of the occult, or not participate at all. I’m honestly not sure which is better. As my son grows older, if he’s anything like me, he will look for the scariest costume he can find and run with it. I’m not sure how to cross that bridge when I get there. For now though, I’ll settle with Iron Man and Minne Mouse. And just from observation last night, superheroes and princesses outnumbered ghouls and goblins 2-to-1.

My question(s) of the week:

Did you celebrate Halloween last night? If so, how (basic door-to-door, haunted houses, fall festival, etc)?

Did you (or your kids) dress up? As what?

Inner Voice

Frank

I have to admire marathon runners. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Despite the physical strength required to run 26.2 miles, mental strength is also required. I can’t seem to concentrate on a single thing for more than a few minutes. Imagine having to focus your thoughts for anywhere from 3-6 hours? Sure, you can plug in your iPod, but that’s a lot of time alone with your thoughts. They say 80-90 percent of “self-talk” is negative. In other words, thoughts like “you can’t do that” or “if only I was like him/her” or “I’ll never…” A weak mind over the course of a race can be bombarded with such thoughts.

When I was younger and actually ran a little (and by little, I mean I sprinted. 400m was “long distance” for me) I read an article in Runner’s World called the “Nine Golden Cheetahs” that has always stuck with me. The story was of an African runner who would run for miles and miles. At some point, he would reach his “wall” where he strength could no longer sustain him, but only by sheer will-power could he reach his destination. He also hit a mental wall where his thoughts failed him. Delirium would set in. It was at this point that he saw nine golden cheetahs staring at him. As he approached, the cheetahs began to run away towards his destination. He was compelled to follow them. The will to follow those cheetahs overcame his pain, his exhaustion until he reached his goal and the cheetahs were gone.

Paul, when describing our adopted relationship with our Lord in heaven, said we received a Spirit that allows us to call Him ‘Abba’. (Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:15). Abba is an informal term and would have sounded shocking to his Jewish audience. The message being that we have such a close relationship that we can be informal with God. I’ve heard others pray to “Papa” in that same vein.

Yesterday my wife ran a half-marathon. Her second, to add to 6 full. I admire her deeply for the commitment she makes and the strength it takes. She’s found that her “wall” hits right around the maximum distance run during training. But the mental wall can happen at any time. Her mental wall hit with a little over a mile to go. She knew she was close and was making good time. But she saw something out of the ordinary out of the corner of her eye that tripped her concentration. When she tried to regain focus, she heard the words, “you can do it, mija!” coming from somewhere deep inside of her.

Mija is a term much like Abba. It is informal and endearing. But it’s not a word used casually, it is loaded with too much affection. My wife is Latina but she hasn’t been called mija since her grandmother would call her that as a child. That voice was out of the blue and unexpected. But she could feel herself somewhat carried the last mile.

We had a long conversation last night about where this voice could have come from. A distant memory? Did she overhear someone else? Was it God reaching out and giving her a hug? We settled on the latter. We recognize that sometimes God reaches out to us and whispers in our ear. I’ve heard such voices when facing hard decisions. But I have to admit I’ve never had an example so personal, so endearing.

My question this week: Has God ever audibly spoken to you? What did He say?

Did Jesus Contradict Himself?

Frank

Interesting discussion at my recovery group last night. Did Jesus contradict himself at the Sermon of the Mount? Specifically, Matthew 5:16, where Jesus instructs us to “let [our] light shine before men” and Matthew 6:1, where he warns us “not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.”

So my question of the week is simply, what do you think? How do you let your light shine while not doing “good deeds” to be seen?

I have my answer, but I’m first interested in your thoughts.

Where has your journey taken you?

Frank

In Chapter 9 of Mere Churchianity, Michael Spencer describes the point where he became disillusioned with the church. He then went out to search for the perfect church and lists the places where he looked. These stops are likely familiar to you, they are to me:

  • Church Renewal where you try to create perfection from within via methods.
  • Church Revival where you try to create perfection through worship and prayer (worship and prayer are not  bad ideas, but note who’s trying to create perfection here).
  • Small Groups where you hope for perfection amongst a subset of relationships.
  • Charismatic Movement where you effectively do nothing and expect the Holy Spirit to do it all (is that too harsh?).
  • The true church where you are convinced yours is right (in doctrine, method, or both) and everyone else is either wrong or should be just like you.
  • The Catholic and Orthodox churches where tradition reigns.
  • The emerging church where just about everything is thrown against the wall to see what sticks.
  • The house church where the institutional church is abandoned and like-minded Christians meet together in homes hoping to recreate the First Century Church.
  • The media church (now this would be called the multi-site online church) where there is a virtual fellowship via the Internet and the church has multiple sites all streaming the Word of God from some centralized locale.

My journey took me from the Catholic church to a combination of the true church, small groups, and the multi-site church. I’m happy with the decision and wouldn’t change it despite some pretty messed up things along the way. Since becoming active online, I’ve hung out with traditional Protestants who were migrating over to Orthodoxy, traditional restorationists who were exploring small groups, house churches, and renewal and now an eclectic mix of emergents, traditionalists, Catholics and Charismatics.

So my question this week is: where has your journey taken you in search of Jesus Shaped Spirituality?

Glenn Young shares his journey over at Faith, Fiction, Friends as he, Nancy Rosback and myself discuss Michael Spencer’s book. Please come back this evening for more thoughts from me on Chapter 9: What Jesus is Doing in the World.

I’ve Had Enough!

Frank

Skimming the headlines lately isn’t just depressing, it’s disturbing. Denver Broncos receiver Kenny McKinley. Restaurateur Joseph Cerniglia. Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. 13 year-old Seth Walsh. They say celebrity deaths happen in threes. But front-page suicides don’t seem to follow that rule. 34,000 Americans commit suicide every year. I wonder if our 24-hour news cycle, instant online access to information, and social media run amok has caused that number to increase recently. Each of the examples above suffered from over-exposure, desired or not.

Then there are those cases that don’t get the headlines. How many others don’t we hear about? How many crack under the pressures of the present economy? How many succumb to their addictions? How many crumble under the weight of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving our country? How many others just can’t take it anymore?

Elijah had enough. He just saw a great victory as God answered his prayers and rained fire down in spite of the prophets of Baal. That upset the status quo however, and he was now a wanted man. “’I have had enough LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'” (1 Kings 19:4-5)

God was still present, even in his time of despair. But he had to go out to see Him. (v 7-13)

Jonah was depressed because God forgave Ninevah, a hated enemy of Israel. “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:3) and later “I am angry enough to die.” (v 9)

God reminded Jonah to not be upset over things he had no control; that God was in control and He knows what is best. (v 10-11)

Would these examples have helped those above? I don’t know. In some cases, I highly doubt it. But they help me.

Chuck Salser recently posted on “going boom“. I commented that he described me perfectly. Thursday night I blew up. I’ve been continually irritable at work recently and even more irritable at home. I’m sure I’m not pleasant to be around right now. I’ve had enough! Enough of what, I don’t know.

Maybe it’s the change of seasons. Maybe it’s the start of the school year, turning my routine upside down. Or maybe I’m just missing what’s most important.

I need to take the lesson from Elijah and go out to seek God personally. I need to take the lesson from Jonah and not get upset over things I cannot control. I need to listen to Chuck and not let my anger boil over. Bottom line, I need to keep in mind the things of God and not the things of this world.

Just as importantly, I need to share this with others. Sadly we often do not know who is suffering in this way until it is too late. An encouraging word. A hug. Sharing from the Word of God. Who knows what effect this would have on a stranger, a friend, unless we stop and do it. That requires us to stop focusing on our own problems and seek to serve others.

My question this week:

Have you had enough? And if so, what are you doing about it?

This post is participating in Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival. This week’s topic: Healing. Be sure to visit for additional insight and inspiration.

When is it ok to walk away?

Frank

Last week Pope Benedict XVI visited Great Britain for the first time in centuries and in the face of the ongoing child abuse scandal. Some demonstrators were so bold as to say that the Catholic Church “murdered” their souls. Despite this, they still identified themselves as Catholic: “I am a Catholic, but my faith is in God, not in those church officials who have covered this up,” one of the demonstrators said. Valid point, but why stay committed to that church?

At the same time, we have the audience Michael Spencer is writing to in Mere Churchianity; those who have left their churches and in some cases Christianity altogether because of abuse, hypocrisy, luke-warmness, and countless other reasons. Last week, I listed some specific examples. Each of these had valid reasons to leave, but I think just as importantly, each have a valid reason to return: the church is not Christ and Michael continues to hammer this point as we continue through his book.

Let us consider these “sins” of the church: abuse, hypocrisy, luke-warmness. You could add neglecting its mission, being polluted by the world’s values or even other religions. If this sounds familiar and you find yourself shouting, “preach it brother!” recognize that this isn’t anything new. In fact, these are the same claims Jesus himself brought against the church in Revelation. In other words, the Church has been screwing up since it was founded. Not that that makes it ok. In fact, Jesus had some very harsh words to those churches. So today we continue to re-vector our programs, our polity, our preaching to make sure our eyes are “fix[ed] on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

This is in fact the point Nancy Rosback makes in response to my query “But I wonder, how much responsibility should be on us, Joe six-pack Christians and our failure to recognize that little-c church is made up of people who make mistakes and is different from the big-c Church?” Her reply:

I was wondering when this topic would come up for discussion.

I actually think that Michael, as a pastor, was truly concerned for the people that have left Church, and wanted to reach out to them.

I also think that Michael was wanting to get a message to Church groups, that they must not lose sight of Jesus as the reason for being.

The thing is, if one really looks at any church from the beginning, we can see that human groups have not been able to keep there eyes on the source.

Yet, i think that God continues to renew His Church (capital C).

And that is why we see the changes in the small c Church over the centuries. There are always people that start new groups, thinking they have the answer to make it right. But, even if they are on the right path at first, many people lose sight of the reason for being.
and on it goes.

renewal happening in hearts, but, not all hearts, we are all growing in the same field until the harvest.

it IS a battle, a spiritual battle. the Word says this.

and i truly believe that God is going to continue to renew His Church, big C, no matter what anyone does.

As believers, we must allow ourself to be renewed, so that we do not become blind.

Now how this plays out in each individual life is up to God and that individual.

I do not BELONG to a little c- Church, even though i may gather with people that do. I choose to go with my eyes open to Jesus, or to not go with my eyes open to Jesus, and pray that i always will have my eyes open to Jesus.

We need to seek out others to encourage in Jesus… and in this we will be encouraged in Jesus.

How this is done, is in the Love of God. That is the ONLY way.

Where this is done, is anywhere that God leads each person to do it.

It can be done anywhere.

Here are some basics that i don’t ever want to leave, ever:

God is in charge of His Church,

Love God with my heart,

Love others,

and keep my mind on the fact that my Lord, Jesus Christ, is actually with me every second. (in many ways)

Can’t argue with much of that, but I will anyway. Keeping in mind, there are 51 “one another” instructions (some are more strongly worded as commands) to the Church found in the New Testament. Many of these cannot be followed outside of an authentic church community. One specifically, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Yes, you could argue that you can still have an authentic Christian community and not call it “church”. But then I’d just turn around and call you a “house church”. I guess whatever form it takes, we need each other for encouragement, for sharpening, for instruction, and for worship.

And this still doesn’t address the countless numbers who have walked away from the Church for any and every reason.

Keeping in mind Jesus’ own words to forgive not seven times, but “seven times seventy” times (Matthew 18:22) and to leave any offering to the Lord and first “be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23-24) yet “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:2) Add to that Paul’s instructions to “submit to every authority” (Romans 13:1 and also Hebrews 13:17) and to “not put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:13, but really the whole chapter applies). And finally going back to Hebrews 10:25 above and the example of abused Catholics at the beginning of this post, my question this week is:

At what point is it ok to leave the church?

And when should one return?

This continues the discussion of Mere Churchianity. More of the conversation can be found at Bend the Page and Faith, Fiction and Friends.

What are you reading?

Frank

I just finished John and Staci Eldrege’s Love and War (review to come soon!). I saw the finish line and sprinted ahead to get through it this weekend. By doing so however, I’ve fallen behind on Mere Churchianity and Transformational Church. Yes, you read that right, I’ve been juggling three books. When my business travel was steady, that was easy. Now that I’m grounded for a while, and with school back in gear, my free-time to read has dwindled. So you’ll have to jump over to Nancy Rosback’s Bend the Page for the latest on Michael Spencer’s wonderful book. I may or may not get caught up later today. I’m also regrettably unable to participate in the discussion on the Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns (I mean, there’s only so many hours in a day!) 

This kind of revisits a similar question from the beginning of the summer. But what are you currently reading?

Are you now, or have you ever, participated in an online book discussion like those above?

Do you have a favorite book that you’ve always wanted to discuss?

I’m really enjoying these discussions and if I ever get all caught up in my reading, I might do one here. Stay tuned.

Weekend Reading, 11 September

Frank

I’m going to bypass my usually lengthy roundup of the week and instead direct you towards other compilations.

My recommended reading from last week is just one. On this day, for what all it means, we need to be reminded that monsters are real. Thank you Billy Coffey for such a terrific post.

God bless you all this weekend. Please say a prayer in remembrance of September 11, that the Prince of Peace will come to bring everlasting peace and that we may find what temporary peace there may be until He comes

Are you a member of a cult?

Frank

Scary title, but bear with me for a moment. The term cult is thrown around a lot to disparage churches whose doctrine we don’t agree with. I don’t want to minimize real Jim Jones-like cults, but I want us to think about the definition for a moment. What are the three main attributes of a cult?

  1. Religious devotion to a single individual who alone defines doctrine and lifestyle
  2. Separation from the world, including family and friends
  3. Unorthodox theology and practice

Now consider the following:

  1. John 14:6
  2. Luke 14:26
  3. John 6:60

The notion in Chapter 4 of Mere Churchianity is that our churches actually don’t want to follow Jesus. After all, wouldn’t that make them a cult?

So my question this week is, Is Your Church a Cult?

Please come back later today for more discussion on Mere Churchianity.

What is your Church’s Strength?

Frank

I’m reading Transformational Church by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer as a compliment to my reading of Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity. Chapter two introduces the “Transformational Loop” of properties present in Transformational Churches. It is a loop because each area feeds into another and no one property can stand alone in a strong, transformational church. The areas are Discern, Embrace, and Engage and the properties present are a Missionary Mentality, Vibrant Leadership, Relational Intensity, Prayerful Dependence, Worship, Community, and Mission.

Reading through the description of each of these, it quickly became clear where my fellowship is strong and where it falls short. The recommendation for a stagnant church to become a transformational church is to identify your strengths and use them to build the other properties. For example, if your strength is worship, use that to build community, and so on.

I’ve been wrestling for some time with why things don’t seem to be clicking in my fellowship. We have our strengths and weaknesses just like any other congregation. And I don’t expect us to be perfect. But I just get the feeling that a piece is (or pieces are) missing. This loop helps me to identify what we need to build on and grow in.

My fellowship’s strengths are mission and community. We have a strong evangelistic focus, taking on the mission of Jesus to “seek and save the lost.” We build community through small groups for accountability, personal growth, and to facilitate evangelistic activities. These communities forge life-long relationships.

However these strengths ebb and flow. We take our strengths for granted and grow complacent. I believe this is because our strengths do not have deep roots and this loop bares that out. We are strong in mission, but lack a missionary mentality. We are strong in community but lack relational intensity. So our strengths are what we do, not who we are.

I am also convicted personally because I lack in prayerful dependence. I’m not a prayer warrior, though I need to grow in my prayer life. But I look around and I don’t see many prayer warriors around me either. I admired an Elder we had who would pray “without ceasing.” Ask him a question and he would pause, consider it, and then pray about it. Without fail, every question. But I don’t see that as my church’s culture.

I also admire one of my best friends who is strong in worship. He lives it, studies it, and teaches it but being worshipful has only rubbed off on a few. And our Sunday services are better for it!

So the pieces are there to build, despite my negativity. I’m sure if I looked around I could find individuals who are strong in one or more of these properties. The trick however is spreading those strengths through the congregation until it becomes part of its culture.

Given that background, what would you say are your church’s strengths?

What are your strengths and do they feed into your church’s?

Would you describe your church as “transformational”?

For your own assessment, check out the Transformational Church Diagnostic Tool (hopefully up and running soon)