Dancing evangelism March 16, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Evangelism, Spirituality.1 comment so far
Neo, in Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian, says evangelism should be like a dance. “You know, in a dance, nobody wins and nobody loses. Both parties listen to the music and try to move with it.” (p. 62)
I’m a Baptist, but I like to dance, or at least I used to when I was younger. I’ve often said I plan to live in the dancing wing of heaven. There’s something enchanting about allow one’s body to move with the rhythms of music.
My favorite kind of dancing was and is ballroom dancing, and that experience does offer a corrective to McLaren’s perspective. When doing a waltz or fox trot, the man leads. Using gentle nudges of his right hand on the woman’s waste, he guides the two in moving with the music. I stress gentle, and I think a good male partner senses the movements of this female partner and responds to it, thus creating a unique dancing moment together.
Witnessing should be like that. It is a dance that is flowing to spiritual music, but it is OK for the believer to gently nudge and guide, to flow with and respond to his or her “partner”.
And, like McLaren said, it is not about winning and losing; it is about experiencing something divine together.
Looking at a Jesus-centered future March 15, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Church, Jesus, Religion, Truth.2 comments
If we think about a future-church possibility, what might it look like? If we can learn anything from the temple-to-church transition then we can surmise that the church-to-future church transition will involve a carrying over of the truths of the church into a broader understanding of God’s means of shining His light into reality.
Jesus said He didn’t come to do away with the law; He simply gave us a new way of understanding what God was doing through the law. If a new transition were to take place, God might say to us that He is not doing away with the Old and New Testaments; rather, He is giving us a new of understanding what He was doing through those revelations.
And if He does that, what will he say about other religions. I suspect He might say that He’s been revealing truth to mankind in many different ways through the centuries and that some of that truth is expressed in other religions. He might also help us to see that other faiths are linked to specific cultures. Just as some parts of Gentile, pagan culture was absorbed into Yahweh workship, what if some parts of Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic culture were absorbed into Yahweh worship today?
Brian McLaren comes at this differently, but makes a good point.
“… [I]t should be possible to be a Christian and yet be culturally Buddhist, Muslim, or Navajo,” says McLaren’s Neo character in A New Kind of Christian. “We have to realize that Buddhism is more than a religion, more than a culte. It is also a culture. So I can’t see why Jesus couldn’t invade Buddhist culture, just as he invaded Jewish and Greco-Roman culture in the first millennium and European cultures in the second. … That to me is the missionary challenge of the third millennium: not eradicating Buddhist or Islamic or tribal cultures but blessing them with Christ–letting Christ enter them and drive the evil from them. … And my guess is that each will bring something that will enrich our Christian heritage, too.” (p. 75)
Of course, Jesus is driving some of the evil from Christianity, as well.
However the future shapes up, with Jesus at the center it will be good.
Developing a moral agenda March 14, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Ethics.add a comment
Jim Wallis, of God’s Politics fame, has a great post today regarding a Christian moral agenda. It deals with James Dobson and others’ criticism of the National Association of Evangelicals’ efforts to combat global warming and with the NAE’s just-completed board meeting.
Wallis challenged Dobson to a bebate on the question, “What are the great moral issues of our time for evangelical Christians?” Dobson lamely deflected the challenge by offering a supposed Goliath from his Focus ranks to do battle for him; but Wallis is holding out for a face-to-face with the “king” of Focus (my labels, not Wallis’).
Wallis also has some great words about the NAE, Carl F.H. Henry and the importance of a moral agenda.
Something is right March 14, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Church, Jesus.3 comments
The other day I wrote about the shortcomings of the church writ large. Today I’m writing about the greatness of the church in the local sense.
I’m the member of a great church — not a perfect one, but a great one. There are self-centered people, there are petty disagreements, there is too much money spent on buildings; but it’s still a great church for two primary reasons — there are some wonderful, loving people in it and the church is commited to reaching out with love to meet the needs of hurting world.
We have a 40-something pastor, very intelligent and highly educated (has a real Ph.D. but doesn’t “doctor” himself or expect others to do so), energetic, creative, open to new ideas, patient with the older members, with a passion for missions all over the world. He is not slick handsome, so he doesn’t fit the megachurch plastic pastor mode. He’s also not great at pastoral care, but a guy can’t be perfect. Quite simply, he’s challenging and fun to be around. He has been our pastor for 10 years. It was a good church before he came, but it’s a great church now. He has patiently followed his heart’s desire to reach people and give some others time to make adjustments.
His leadership is so good that the greatness of the church is not centered around him. It’s centered around Christ and loving people.
So while I wonder about the future of “the church” on the large stage, I do not wonder about the future of this type of church. There will always be a place in this world for exalting Christ and loving people.
Those of you who do not have such a local church, I offer a blanket prayer — that you will join God in creating one.
Something’s not right March 12, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Church, Faith, Jesus, Religion, Spirituality, Truth.4 comments
My friend at the a-muse-ing blog has again gotten me to thinking. She responded with the following to some of us writing on a previous post:
“Thanks to all of you. I needed to hear this today. I grow and learn from my online community, but how I wish I had people like you to spend time with in person. I have become so weary of people adding so much of their crap to this beautiful message of love that Christ has given us, that I have no desire to go to church anymore. I love Jesus, but have become hurt too often from christians.”
I wonder if God is as fed up with the church as is my friend.
N.T. Wright says the following about Jesus and the kingdom of God:
Jesus “was announcing the kingdom of God for which Israel had longed, but it was an announcment that warned of immient judgment rather than imminent rescue.” (The Challenge of Jesus, p. 67)
The people of God in Jesus’ time were waiting for the Messiah to deliver and exalt them, but they rejected Him because they didn’t recognize Him and thus sealed their own doom. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans about 30 years after Christ’s death.
Christians today are waiting for the return of Christ and His deliverance from this perverse age. I wonder if Christians, who see themselves as the “people of God” today, are failing to recognize God at work in their midst and are thus doomed to have their “church” destroyed.
Make no mistakes, the real church, the people of God, will survive and thrive; but the outward edifices of inner faith seem prone to at first help the people, then distract the people, and then stand in need of distruction by the God of the people.
If God decides to destroy the outward “church” — not buildings necessarily but the organized facade — then He will do it, I think, in order to release His real people, His real followers to something new and better, just as Jesus did 2,000 years ago.
Jesus “believed that the time had come for God’s kingdom to dawn and that with it a new agenda had emerged diametrically opposed to the agenda that had taken over the symbols of national identity and was hiding all manner of injustices behind them. Jesus … declared solemnly in deed and word that the divine judgment was now inevitable.” (Wright, The Challenge of Jesus, p. 67)
If God shifted gears at least once in history (from temple to church) might He be desiring to shift gears again (from church to what)?
Taking an agnostic’s challenge March 9, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Evolution, Homosexuality, Jesus, Prayer, Religion.17 comments
I have an agnostic friend who doesn’t understand why more Christians do not stand up to intolerant, judgmental Christians. She has a point
“When I hear intolerant Christians having a public fit about people who believe in evolution or are gay or who don’t agree with prayer in school, saying that such people are doomed to hell and ought to be silenced, it makes a difference when I’m thinking about heading to church on Sunday,” Holly writes.
She has a point. I accept my own responsibility for failing to speak up against such voices. I think those of us who are more tolerant are hesitant to publicly criticize a fellow believer; but maybe that’s just an excuse.
Let me go on record regarding the things Holly mentioned:
– I do not think faith in Christ rules out acceptance of the theory of evolution. In fact, I suspect that’s how God did it; but I don’t know. I don’t trust those who rule out evolution, nor do I trust those who have more faith in a theory than in God. History has shown science to be just as fallible as Christians.
– I think Christians who have a fixation on the gay issue have deeper issues at work. The Bible says homosexual behavior is wrong, so that’s what I think. The Bible also says pride and gluttony are wrong, but I am occasionally guilty of both. Jesus came to die for gay people just like He came to die for me.
– I think prescribed prayer in public schools is a bad thing because the state has no business telling people how to pray. If Muslims ever out-populate Christians, I would hate for the Christian kids to have to pray in a Muslim fashion. Of course, any child can pray any time in public school; but they simply need to have God as the only hearer. That’s who it is for anyway.
– As for condemning people to hell, I’m going to leave that to God. I believe in a God of justice and grace. I kind of go with the old line that if someone goes to hell it’s because they chose it, not because God sent them there. Do you have to trust your life to Jesus or you go to hell? That’s what the Bible seems to say, but I trust God to do what is right by His children — that’s all of us.
Holly then mentioned the recent story about James Dobson and others seeking to get Richard Cizik, a vice president with the National Association of Evangelicals, fired for leading the organization to speak out about man-made global warming. I was disgusted by Dobson and compatriots. Three cheers for Cizik and for his boss, Leith Anderson, refusing to fire him.
Thank you, Holly, for reminding us Christians to stand up publicly to oppose the un-Christlike behavior of our fellow believers. Of course, my behavior is not always Christlike either, so I am depending on grace, the grace that came to Earth through Jesus of Nazareth.
Of course, I remain anonymous because I fear the retribution of intolerant Christian fundamentalists. I wish it were not so.
Seeing Christ and more March 6, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Baptists, Christianity, Jesus.Tags: Pope John Paul II
2 comments
Twelve years ago, Richard John Neuhaus wrote that Pope John Paul II “never tires of repeating that the revelation of God in Christ is the revelation of God to man but also the revelation of man to himself.” (“The Public Square: A Pope of the First Millennium at the Threshold of the Third,” First Things, January 1995)
Baptists don’t talk this way, so these were rather memorable words for this Baptist. Because of the passage of time, I’m not sure exactly what point the Pope or Neuhaus were trying to make, but I can extrapolate my own meaning from the comment.
I think I do see myself more clearly when I “look” at Jesus. This seems to happen in two ways.
First, I see shadows of Him in my life. I see a little of the goodness, a little of the love, a little of the sacrifice, a little of the purpose, a little of the faithfulness to the Father. I’ve been “looking” at His life for almost all of mine, and I think I see in me that I would not have had the goodness, the love, the sacrifice, the purpose or the faithfulness if not for the model of Christ and for the connection with His Spirit.
Second, I see how little goodness, love, sacrifice, purpose and faithfulness are present in my life. While He has helped me become more than I would have otherwise been, I still have so far to go. Sometimes it’s hard to “look” at His life and then at mine because I know people label me as one of His followers and yet I follow so imperfectly.
While “The Lost Tomb of Christ” television show focuses our attention on the pivotal event of Jesus’ life, I do not want to forget the pre-crucifixion life that is revealed in Scripture. In that revelation we see something timeless, God, and we see something very much in our time, ourselves.
Day after the tomb’s opening March 5, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Faith, Jesus, Truth.Tags: Resurrection
5 comments
I waited about 24 hours after watching “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”. I waited to make sure the theoretical walls of Christendom did not crumble under the weight of television “journalism”. So far, they still seem intact.
I’m already reading and hearing some interesting responses, but I have not seen the follow-up show yet because my beddy-bye time precluded it Sunday night.
As a mental exercise I want to explore some options. What if it turns out that filmmaker James Cameron and crew are right? What if Jesus did not physically rise from the dead? What are my options of response? Here’s a go at it:
1) Ignore the truth and go on believing and teaching what I’ve always believed and taught.
2) Ascribe to only a spiritual ressurection and still affirm that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.
3) Reject the notion that Jesus was the Messiah but affirm him as a great teacher and continue to build a God-faith around his teachings.
4) Reject the notion that Jesus was the Messiah but affirm him as a great teacher and begin to build a God-faith around the teachings of all great teachers.
5) Reject the notion that Jesus was the Messiah but affirm his as a great teacher and begin to build a godless life philosophy around the teachings of all great teachers.
6) Reject the notion that Jesus was the Messiah or a great teacher and disregard all vestiges of his teaching and look for truth elsewhere.
7) Stop looking for truth.
I’ve always been one who likes to look at options, so this little exercise helped me. Did I miss any in general terms?
Please do NOT think I’ve drunk the James Cameron Kool-aid and bought this story line. I surely haven’t. But I’m willing to look at it. As this blog’s subtitle says, I’m listening for truth in an amazing world.
By the way, I still prayed this morning and felt the presence of a loving God in my spirit just like I had the day before seeing the show. While godless options are intellectually possible, I simply cannot imagine living with one.
Power of touch March 4, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Jesus, Salvation, Spirituality, Truth.5 comments
A number of years ago, a stomach virus went through our family. One night my wife, in the grip of the thing, chose to sleep on the couch.
Sometime during the night our 3-year-old son found his way to my bed and went back to sleep. I awoke around 4:15 and got up. After washing my face and getting more awake, I walked through the darkness to my study, which opened from our bedroom. In the darkness I bumped two porcelein pans we had bought to use on camping trips and by the time I turned on the study light, our 3-year-old was out of bed and walking wide-eyed toward me. My hopes of early morning work instantly looked dim. I scooped up my son, held him close, and we both laid back down, him laying on my chest.
In a few minutes I moved him to my side, but I stayed on the bed. As I laid there, I prayed. I was struggling with some frustrations at that time, most importantly, I was just struggling with life itself.
As I laid there, I began to pray, and I said something to the affect of, “Lord, I need a fresh vision of Your presence. I need to know You’re here with me.” And then, as I laid there with my eyes closed, my son laid his young arm across my chest. He was on the edge of sleep once again, and he had reached out and touched his dad.
In that moment I felt a peace beyond understanding. My son’s touch was so soft and gentle and comforting. It was a touch of love, for I knew in his semi-slumber that he was making sure I was still there. And in that moment I thought of the sheer joy of being touched, that feeling of flesh against flesh, and how through such a touch we feel loved.
Then I thought of a Bible verse, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In the silent pleasure of that moment, I better understood the incarnation of Jesus Christ, as He became flesh and dwelt among us and touched us in a way we had never before been touched.
Vigilante moralists March 2, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Ethics, Freedom, Islam, Jesus, Truth.7 comments
Those of us who are basically moral folks have to be careful. We look at the world around us and see the moral decay and it makes us want to wipe out immorality because we know how distructive it is to individuals and society. That is a good instinct. The tricky part comes in the approach we take to wiping out immorality. Do we do it from a compassionate perspective that recognizes our own failings and the importance of maintaining human freedom, or do we do it by attacking.
National Public Radio reports the latter in Gaza. A story by reported today on “Morning Edition” that a “violent group in Gaza has murdered prostitutes and destroyed a variety of businesses in the name of Islam. Some worry the crimes are meant to impose a wider Islamist social order in the area.”
This story is about Islamic moralists, but we Christians must not be smug. Religious fundamentalism breeds this sort of verbal and physical violence whether it be Islamic or Christian or whatever.
Westervelt used a great phrase — “vigilante moralists”. In other words, these seemingly moral people have taken the law, and it is religious law, into their own hands and are seeking to enforce it with murder and destruction. They don’t seem to see the murder and destruction as moral failure.
Your local Christian fundamentalist may not be murdering and destroying property, but he or she does often seek to take away the freedom that leaves the door open to immorality. And even if they don’t seek it they often secretly wish it.
Make no bones about it, freedom and immorality go together. If people are free then they will act in ways that are destructive to themselves and to others. In fact, it is a basic Christian teaching — all have sinned.
So how do we “fight” immorality. We keep holding up a moral standard, one exemplified by Christ and other great religious leaders throughout history. We keep seeking to live in such a moral way. We reach out to the “immoral” with compassion and understanding. We make sure we do not use immoral means to pursue moral goals.
