Christ, Justice, and Warfare

On Saturday, November 7th at LLG’s weekly service, I preached a message called “Let Your Eyes Adjust – The Christian Response to Violence”.  The message was prompted by the violent events of this past week (The shootings at Ft. Hood and the capture of the serial murderer in Cleveland), and the passage we have arrived at in our study of Matthew–Mt. 12:15-21.  The passage reads as follows: ¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, ¹⁶warning them not to tell who he was. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
¹⁸“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
²¹In his name the nations will put their hope.”

In my anger, sadness, and anguish, I found myself asking the question, “Why, God?” yet again.  I am certainly not alone.

The passage invites us to examine the nature of Christ.  A messianic passage from Isaiah is quoted describing the character and nature of the Messiah.  I found five attributes in the passage.  Here they are:

1.  Jesus gives justice

2. Jesus does not bicker, quarrel, or fight

3. Jesus speaks truth and wisdom-quietly

4. Jesus is gentle and compassionate

5. Jesus leads us in hope

In yesterday’s sermon, I addressed the first two alone.  In the first scenario (of Jesus giving justice), we looked at what justice is (equalization) and how Jesus brings justice to all people (including the powerless and marginalized).  He lifts them up (as in the case of the homeless) and corrects all wrongs.

In the second scenario (of Jesus not bickering, quarreling, or fighting), we saw that Jesus withdrew from conflicts with his enemies, prays that we would escape the final armed conflict, and teaches us to fight with spiritual weapons (the Word of God) instead of physical ones.

We ended with a reading that declared the institutional church has often preferred the “Barabbas” version of Messiah to the “Jesus” view of Messiah when it comes to resisting enemies.  We would prefer to take up arms than to lay them down.

In looking solely at Jesus’ response to physical conflicts, we would have to agree that Jesus was more pacifist than militarist.  However, you and I have numerous layers of responsibilities.  Some of us are married and have children; all of us are citizens of a country (mostly the USA), and both of these commitments bring rights, privileges, and responsibilities.  Paul, for instance, parlayed his Roman citizenship into “Kingdom” opportunities to travel extensively, to preach to Kings and Governors, and to be rescued from violence.  Yesterday’s was a pacifist-type of teaching, no doubt about it.  But I think we need to distinguish between what Jesus did as the Lamb of God and what he expects from us.

So, does the message make me a pacifist?  I can’t agree to that because I am not finished wrestling with these matters myself.  Ultimately, it is important that we not shy away from the difficult teachings of scripture.  We have to wrestle with them, no matter how uncomfortable they make us feel.  In my opinion, Matthew 5:38-42 is the toughest passage in the New Testament.  I have wrestled with it and invite you to wrestle with it as well.  These passages, I believe, are what make the Bible so exciting!

“God’s Economy”, by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove has given his life to teach and exemplify a biblical community that sets itself against this world’s monetary power structures that actually impoverish both rich and poor and undermine the ministry of Good News.  Wilson-Hartgrove is an associate pastor at St. John’s Baptist Church in Durham, NC and lives at Rutba House—a new monastic community based in an impoverished area, where friends, neighbors, and the homeless are always welcome.  In God’s Economy, Wilson-Hartgrove uses stories, real life examples, and the Biblical narrative to describe a culture and community of the “radical abundance of a Father who loves without limits and gives without calculating the cost.”  The book has challenged me to re-examine the ways I lead a church, the way I live by faith (yet so often by sight alone), and the way I steward God’s money.

Wilson-Hartgrove believes we all need a new dream that is concerned with the economy of heaven and not the economy of this world.  Drawing from the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many of his former friends and co-workers, he invites us to “be part of the good life that God’s economy makes possible.”  This new dream of the good life in God’s economy is the third option.  Christians need not be pigeon-holed into either the materialism of the American Dream or the radical poverty of the willing aesthetic (pie-in-the-sky poverty).  This way to the real abundant life demands a re-ordering of our thinking.

Step 1: Money must be seen as a POWER.  Don’t get scared by the charismatic/demonology aspects of such speech.  Recognize it, name it (demons hate to be named).  In the history of the church, we have either embraced money as our own (medieval church and Christendom) or separated the two completely (God has my heart, but my business is of and for this world).  One way of unmasking this power may be the power of Christian community that meets each other’s needs (Acts 2 and Latin American community story) (reference page 50-51) and become a person of “no reputation”.  Abolish the pater familias idols (Mark 9, 10) to which we aspire.  What does it mean to be a man or woman of no reputation in our reputation-obsessed world?  The first tactic for abundant life subverts the power that this world’s economy exercises over us. (Jesus says, in effect, don’t let the CEO’s shape your dreams, but rather, learn from the restaurant waiters and migrant workers—turn the whole thing on its EAR)

Step 2: STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN.  Much is said about American financial success, savings, and economic principles of compounding interest, etc., but “God’s children plan ahead by investing ourselves now in the never-ending kingdom of abundance.”  Your heart is where your treasure is.  We invest in the things we love and our hearts get wrapped around the things we invest in.  Financial success and empires came from the Protestant Work Ethic.  That is where savings really started.  People delayed gratifying their own desires to invest in things that were better—social programs, for one.  “The tactic of eternal investment is Jesus’ invitation to unleash the power of invested hearts for the greatest possible good—for God’s kingdom here on earth—just as it is in heaven.”  It challenges all of us if we take it seriously… The story of the expensive nard (p.115).

Step 3: Economic friendships. The story of immigrant families living 3-4 families under one roof.  “We are more enamored with the security and luxury of success than with the wisdom of the weak and God’s economy of abundance.” (Read p.150-151) IMAGINE WHAT ECONOMIC FRIENDSHIPS COULD LOOK LIKE AT YOUR CHURCH.

Without these, we don’t have any good news in the here and now.  The lesson of the feeding of the 4 and 5 thousand is that it leaves an abundance of broken pieces.  The abundance of God’s economy only happens when the bread is broken and shared.

Born of the Spirit

When Jesus talks to Nicodemus in theiroft-quoted late night hang (John, chapter 3), Jesus describes the way of the Spirit of God.  He compares the Spirit to the wind.  “The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

I am beginning to see the Spirit of God as a fully autonomous person.   Yes, He’s interdependent as a member of the Godhead, yet with his own personality.  I have never quite seen God in this way until now.

The other instance where I see clues of this is Luke 4:22-30.  It’s an interesting connection I am trying to make.  Just be patient, please.  There are children present…

Jesus has just quoted the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 and applies it to himself.  He states, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your presence”.  Now here is the interesting part.  He discerns the grumbling and the disbelief (“isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”).  He then defends himself in a most prickly way.  He basically tells them that they are not going to be visited by God.  That they are doomed.

I have been intrigued by this passage for a while.  Wouldn’t Jesus have a little more grace with his familiar neighbors?  Old Mordecai the Cobbler?  Sassy Shimei the Shepherdess?  But He kind of jumps down their throats!!!!!

Here’s what I think now.  When he recalls the story of the widow of Zarephath and the healing of Naaman the Syrian.  He was describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  It was the Holy Spirit who was resting on Elijah and doubly so on Elisha.  The choosing of where to go was not Jesus’ directive.  It was the autonomous authoritative decision of the Holy Spirit.  He was at work  in the earth preparing the way for the Messiah, guiding and shepherding Israel, speaking through her prophets, etc. throughout the Old Testament period and would be doing his thing once again after Jesus had finished his ministry.  I believe that Jesus was basically telling the people to “WATCH OUT”.  The Holy Spirit is extraordinarily jealous over the Son of God.  No village, person, country, etc. will fail to regret rejecting the Son of God when He visits them.  The Holy Spirit will make sure of that.  Be wary in how you honor the Son!

There may be myriad references to the often hidden “shadow ministry” of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.  It is the HOLY SPIRIT making the call.  When Christ says that we must put new wine into new wineskins, I believe He may be referring to the fresh winds, ways, and directions of God’s Spirit that we are so often blinded to by our traditions and doctrines and religious kingdoms and comfy places of knowing.  Let us start recognizing, honoring, and submitting to the Third Person of the Trinity in all the ways He moves…uniquely, autonomously, interdependently, and authoritatively.

Becoming the Answer to our Prayers

Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove have some terrific and important things to say in their book, Becoming the Answer to our Prayers.  Here’s a quote: “One of the greatest dangers of the church, especially amid a buzz that our faith has to be “relevant” to the culture, is losing the peculiarity of our politics.  The great challenge is maintaining the distinctiveness of God’s kingdom, which is so radically nonconforming to the patterns of this world.” (p.60)  It’s true!  How often do we allow the divide of our national politics (liberal and conservative) to define the politics of God’s kingdom?!?!  “Conservatives stand up and thank God that they are not like the homosexuals, the Muslims, the liberals.  Liberals stand up and thank God that they are not like the warmongers, the yuppies, the conservatives.” (p.48)

So what do the politics of God’s Kingdom look like to you?

Embrace the Charismatic.

I have been noticing that not many people in the “30 and under” demographic are beating down the door of our church to be a part of Light and Life Goleta.  But a few are.  Here’s what I am noticing about this crowd.  The majority of them come out of brokenness–particularly the brokenness stemming from or directly caused by substance abuse.  This very big group of people has had a variety of wild and exotic “trips” on drugs.  The stories and experiences are wild, zany, exciting, life-threatening, funny and adventurous.  To reach this crowd with the life-changing power of the gospel, I am convinced that church can’t be BORING.  Especially for this crowd, we must be fully self-convinced that the life of faith in Christ is the greatest adventure of them all, and we must lead and teach in ways that reflect this.

I believe that one of the ways we can do this is by embracing charismatic expressions in our service.  By this I mean that we should leave space in our service for God to move.  This might mean a protracted worship set or a time of prayer that includes the “laying on of hands” or a time of personal prayer wherein God might speak a word to a needy soul.  In whatever way this might look (always “decently and in order”), I am becoming more convinced that this postmodern culture is hungry for an experience of God…not business as usual, not safe and refined, but raw and real and awesome.

In the past, folks were attracted to the church culture because it gained them a measure of respect as being a well-built family or something like that.  It was socially smiled-upon.  Christian leaders were intelligent and well-spoken and well-educated, and people liked that association.  Today this isn’t the case.  We Christians are thankfully known for our good works in the community and helpful social programs, but you don’t need to go to church to be well-thought-of in your Kiwanis, Lions, PTA, or Bridge Club. youknowwhatimean?

Here’s what has us really excited at LLG.  God is moving!  At our prayer night, God has been speaking words of encourgement and edification to our prayer warriors as we take communion together at the end of the evening.  I believe there are three things to always keep in mind when you think the Lord might have “a word” for someone you are praying for.

1.  Be Humble.  Don’t be in a hurry to say things like “The Lord says…”  It’s usually better not to say anything like that at all.  I usually introduce a word by saying, “I am just feeling in my heart that the Lord wants you to know he loves you and is going to work this out” or something like that.  Remember that prophetic words are always subject to the witness of the Holy Spirit in that person and in mature Christians and elders around you.  Don’t allow people to get into “parking lot prophecies”.  Those usually come from a wrong motive.

2.  Be Biblical.  Stay within the bounds of Scripture.  Extra-biblical stuff should set off all sorts of alarms.

3.  Be Encouraging.  Words of judgment, gloom and doom are extremely rare.  People should leave with a renewed sense that God loves them, at peace, with hope, and a reinvigorated faith.  That’s the point.

OK.  The reason that I am blogging this and sharing this with all of you is that I am not an expert on this subject.  I have a number of years of experience with charismatic expressions but am still a novice in many ways.  Please chime in with your thoughts and ideas and corrections if you have any.

Blessings,

Dave

Getting Up In Each Other’s Business!

Christian accountability is a touchy subject these days.  It is an especially touchy subject for me because I spent six and a half years of my life in a Christian Church that was, by all social standards, very unhealthy (bordering on “cultish”, if it wasn’t in fact a full-blown Christian cult).  Accountability in that church looked like life-control more than sin-elimination.

But sin-elimination is the point.  Our motives are extremely important and so are the results.  I think the means take a back-seat to the motives and the results.  Just take a look at Phil Jackson, the coach of the Lakers.  Here is a guy whose methods and means are quite unusual.  He had the Lakers visualizing themselves as frogs on lillypads before game 4 of the NBA Finals!  Those methods are not questioned but imitated, because he has gotten results.  10 NBA championships speak for themself.

Now let’s refocus on the idea of sin-elimination with another metaphor.  A friend of mine does not believe in spanking her child.  I understand that.  No one but a sicko enjoys the actual act of spanking a child.  However, I get pleasure in disciplining my sons for the sake of their character and moral development.  That is the hoped-for result.  The motive is love, plain and simple.  (I am not suggesting my friend does not love her children, don’t get me wrong.  I think we disagree on the eventual character of disciplined children who receive the “rod” and those who do not.)

Now to the main point.  John Wesley was God’s gift to His Church in that he established SMALL GROUP MINISTRY for the sake of developing disciples.  Most large and successful churches around the world employ small groups as a huge part of their church life and practice.  They are used for discipleship, Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and other essentials of Christian growth.  As he and George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards road the wave of the First Great Awakening, he understood that something would have to be done to receive and develop the huge numbers of Christian converts into mature Christian believers.  He established class, band, and society meetings–SMALL GROUPS.

At a class meeting, recent converts would be asked 5 penetrating questions:

1.  What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?

2.  What temptations have you met with?

3.  Were you delivered?

4.  What have you thought, said, or done which you question whether was sin or not?

5.  Have you nothing you desire to keep secret?

WOW!  Can you imagine the fidgeting and nervous laughter taking place at those meetings?  Some people today would call that an abusive invasion of privacy.  Would you?  I believe that Wesley’s motives were to see a HOLY, sinless group of people.  Did he achieve that?  By all accounts, YES!  The Methodist Church exploded in numbers and converts in Great Britain and the US and around the world.  The resulting piety of the British lower classes has been widely understood to have prevented a political revolution similar to the one that bloodied France in the late 1700’s.  Innumerable hospitals, churches, schools, and humanitarian agencies were spawned in the centuries following.  I could go on.

Anyway, could we handle that kind of strict accountability?  Should we call for that again?  Was that methodology for another age and culture?  I am not sure.  Whaddaya think?

What are your big “YESSES”?

Stephen Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about the need to operate out of a principled center. More important than being centered on good things like spouse, job, friends, pleasures, or any extrinsic factor, or even yourself is to be centered on correct principles. Such a focus on principles keeps us from being reactive to the impulses and circumstances of a given situation. A focus/center on principles helps us navigate between all the choices before us in the day. We always say “yes” and “no” to a thousand things during the day. Will we finish the day having said “Yes” to the correct things? That’s the question.
Covey follows with the emphasis on a personal mission statement. The personal mission statement for our family is this:
Jesus is the center of our lives and his goodness, truth, and love channel through our core values of Discipline (choosing the good over quick, easy, or indulgent), Uniqueness (celebrating each person’s talents and strengths), Communication (respectful, loving, and listening), Togetherness (having fun as a family), and Service (to God, each other, and the world).
I am searching for a cool mag-wheel or rim of some sort with 5 spokes or channels that could be a helpful visual aid to teach and remind us all. I want to illustrate to the boys that when we hold the wheel at its center it spins properly. But if our focus and grip goes someplace other than to the center (which is Jesus), the wheel doesn’t work right.
Anyway, if you see a cool one the next time you are rummaging through a junk yard, let me know.
Love ya!

Prayer Stations

This week we are beginning Prayer Stations at LLG’s Prayer Night (Thursday nights) (see www.lightandlifegoleta.org for more details).

Here’s the format for this week:

We are going to have four stations available for prayer.  The four stations will be Global Concerns, Local Churches, LLG Concerns, Personal Concerns (including all manner of healing).  At the altar, the Lord’s Table will be prepared for those who wish to partake.  I will be there to facilitate the giving of that sacrament.  One or two elders will be available at the Personal Concerns area to pray and anoint with oil whosoever might request that.

There will be no facilitator when you come in (althought I will be giving directions for the first few weeks, presumably, until we get the hang of it).  At each prayer station, however, there will be an altar of sorts, where prayer station sponsors will decorate and prepare the areas with appropriate icons, candles, photos, maps, that will assist prayers.  Also, each table will have a small piece of paper with specific prayer concerns and appropriate Scripture passages.  The pews will be arranged in a semi-circle around each prayer station.  People are encouraged to pray in any appropriate Biblical posture they choose (kneeling, prostrate, standing, arms raised, seated, etc.).  There will be soft, worshipful music playing throughout the time.

Tracey and I (and many others) are really looking forward to this chapter in our church’s life.  Prayer has been stirring in our church for several months now and this is a very appropriate next step as we see it.  I am particularly grateful to Deb H. who saw such a clear vision for the prayer stations and really helped it come to pass with her encouragement.  Hope to see you there!

No more ostrich necks in the sand!

I read something recently that I really like.  The writer says the following: “Salvation comes to those who recognize their unworthiness.  Unless you are unworthy, you cannot be saved.  Rewards come to those who are recognized for their worthiness.  Unless you are worthy, you will not be rewarded….If there really is a payoff in heaven that holds implications for Eternity, how important is it to prepare for the computation?”

Here’s how I processed this: I think that good works must flow out of a “baseline” sense of self-worth and self-confidence.  If we don’t think that we have something to contribute, then we shouldn’t waste anyone else’s time.

So much of my life has been about stirring up good works (giving, serving, feeding, helping, preaching, etc.)  for the sake of a pat on the back from God or those around me whose approval I seek.  It rarely came from that “PURE PLACE” of doing it because I wanted to.  As I have realized more of my self-worth over the years I have come to enjoy and appreciate me not as I please people, but as I just am.

Now here comes the theological part.  If God has rewards with Him that He plans to bestow on his servants, isn’t it a good thing to confidently and robustly pursue those things?    I ran a marathon in 2006 and I would have never finished the race if I didn’t experience joy and confidence before and even during the endeavor.  I ran hoping to finish well.  And I did!

We can’t have a dark cloud overhanging our works of service and giving as unto God.  We must do it with joy and zeal and confidence.  God wouldn’t accept anything less!  No more ostrich necks in the sand!

WOW… Psalm 121

1 I look up to the hills. Where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord. He is the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He won’t let your foot slip. He who watches over you won’t get tired.

4 In fact, he who watches over Israel won’t get tired or go to sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you. The Lord is like a shade tree at your right hand.

6 The sun won’t harm you during the day. The moon won’t harm you during the night.

7 The Lord will keep you from every kind of harm. He will watch over your life.

8 The Lord will watch over your life no matter where you go, both now and forever.