I was thinking a bit about my comments yesterday regarding the segregated nature of our faith, where God is not central to everything in our lives. There's a belief in God, but not a participation with God that is natural. This is in part because of our sinful nature, but perhaps it's also because we've historically defined or thought about faith in terms of what we do instead of who we are.
Who we are as people is made up of a number of different things...personality, gifts, etc. These things follow us around. There is no putting your personality off at one place and then taking it up at another. While we supress our gifts at times, they are still a part of who we are. This ought to be the goal of our faith in Jesus. No matter where we are at time or place we are present with Jesus, and He with us.
So instead of describing our faith by Bible reading, prayer, or other activities, maybe it's more helpful to use descriptives: faithful, holy, just, peace-loving...go down the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 or the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13. If we truly love Jesus, these are helpful descriptives as to what that would look like...what Christ-followers should look like. So you can tell them by who they are. The characteristics are fluid...they become part of every aspect of our lives. These characteristics cannot be done apart from Christ. Naturally we pull away from such characteristics, but being one with Christ brings us back to these things again and again.
So when we talk about how we're defining our faith it should be more about how God is shaping us and working through us. So in response to the question: What does a Christian do? it should be more than go to church, read the Bible, pray. My answer would be more along the lines of..."I allow myself to be shaped by Jesus. I realize I'm not a perfect individual...sometimes I'm not even good...but I know that Jesus wants me to be like Him, and I'm open to letting Him do that. In fact, it's something I seek out."
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
- Tendencies of this Generation's Faith
Todd Hiestand had a post on 7 Big Questions that were asked to major leaders in the Christian community. He wondered if some of us ordinary folks who blog would tackle these as well...getting some responses from folks not in the spotlight. Since I fit the "not in the spotlight" qualification, I figured I'd give two of the questions a shot.
1. What is a negative tendency of this generation as it relates to the faith?
Simply: the church has become irrelevant to the ins and outs of their lives.
What I mean is this...God is an addition to what's already going on...school, families, dating, career, etc. God is not the center of it. God has moved to the periphery, and while they seek for God through the above things, God is not central to these things. Character is shaped by the crowd...worth is shaped by companionship...and lack of worth is based on the same.
I don't think it's that they don't want God, but they don't know how to go about the pursuit. They don't know what's entailed or expected. They see Christianity as do's and don'ts instead of being...a being where one is present with God in all things, at all times, and in all places. So there really shouldn't be the separation of God here, work/relationships/school/etc. there, but that's the separation that we tend to see as we grow up (as I am a part of this generation...however an older part). When we see that sitting through an hour in church doesn't solve the problems, and no one tells us how Jesus matches up with the complexities of life, then I believe this group ends up right where it is...confused and bewildered.
One of the responses to this is simply through relationships. This generation, if they've been in church at all, was probably raised up on programming...school/tv/home/church...everything was a program. The thing about programs is that they're segmented and uncohesive. Programs don't translate well into all areas of life, because life is just not that structured.
A return to relationships and community is a must. Faith cannot be a Sunday gathering, it must be lived out and exemplified by the parents and the larger faith community every day. Being able to do life with others is where discipleship happens, and it's where Jesus meets us. Faith has been isolated into a neat box and that paradigm of thought is being done away with, especially in my generation. Jesus needs to have something to say to the totality of our lives...and He does. Our generation needs folks who will help us hear what Jesus is saying...and that comes from the one-on-one friendships we have that guide and shape us.
1. What is a negative tendency of this generation as it relates to the faith?
Simply: the church has become irrelevant to the ins and outs of their lives.
What I mean is this...God is an addition to what's already going on...school, families, dating, career, etc. God is not the center of it. God has moved to the periphery, and while they seek for God through the above things, God is not central to these things. Character is shaped by the crowd...worth is shaped by companionship...and lack of worth is based on the same.
I don't think it's that they don't want God, but they don't know how to go about the pursuit. They don't know what's entailed or expected. They see Christianity as do's and don'ts instead of being...a being where one is present with God in all things, at all times, and in all places. So there really shouldn't be the separation of God here, work/relationships/school/etc. there, but that's the separation that we tend to see as we grow up (as I am a part of this generation...however an older part). When we see that sitting through an hour in church doesn't solve the problems, and no one tells us how Jesus matches up with the complexities of life, then I believe this group ends up right where it is...confused and bewildered.
One of the responses to this is simply through relationships. This generation, if they've been in church at all, was probably raised up on programming...school/tv/home/church...everything was a program. The thing about programs is that they're segmented and uncohesive. Programs don't translate well into all areas of life, because life is just not that structured.
A return to relationships and community is a must. Faith cannot be a Sunday gathering, it must be lived out and exemplified by the parents and the larger faith community every day. Being able to do life with others is where discipleship happens, and it's where Jesus meets us. Faith has been isolated into a neat box and that paradigm of thought is being done away with, especially in my generation. Jesus needs to have something to say to the totality of our lives...and He does. Our generation needs folks who will help us hear what Jesus is saying...and that comes from the one-on-one friendships we have that guide and shape us.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Change for the Better
Here's an opposite perspective from my last post on change where change was all around us but not always necessary. Some background first...my wife is in social work, and she has been almost all of our married lives. There is certainly part of our culture or the broader human race where what has happened in the previous generation repeats itself time and time again. You see this in cycles of abuse or with addictions. You see this in marriages with roles or even with faithfulness. Cycles tend to repeat themselves.
But here is the great thing with the gospel...these cycles can be changed. This type of change I would suggest is beneficial and necessary. This is the type of change that churches should be working for. Let me rest on that thought for a minute...churches...agents of change to toxic generational cycles...
Have you ever been on a vacation or to some exotic place and tried to describe the pictures to someone else who hasn't been there? It's a difficult situation. The awe and enjoyment you had when you went is somehow hard to transfer to the person you're describing it to. But what if you had the funds to actually take them there...to show them in person the things you've experienced? It would then be something you shared...a common experience...the conversations would go on forever as you would recount the time you had.
It's one thing to say someone ought to change...to describe to them how they ought to do it, why they need to do it, why they will benefit, etc. It is entirely another to live with them through their current experience and bring the light of Christ to where they are. As followers of Jesus, we can bring the reality of hope into hopelessness, not flaunting it as something they don't have but demonstrating it in such a way they understand it is something within reach, no matter how desperate the situation.
But just as generational cycles repeat themselves over and over, this type of change (although good) does not happen quickly...it may not even happen at all. The cost of showing Jesus in this way is high. It's not programmatic. It's messy. Recently I've been privileged to see God work in the lives a few individuals in very dramatic ways...this was after a year or two of being with them and working through very hard things...but the reward was beautiful...life they never knew was possible, or at least they couldn't see it from where they were standing.
All that to say there is change that is good and for the better...change that is salvific and life transforming.
But here is the great thing with the gospel...these cycles can be changed. This type of change I would suggest is beneficial and necessary. This is the type of change that churches should be working for. Let me rest on that thought for a minute...churches...agents of change to toxic generational cycles...
Have you ever been on a vacation or to some exotic place and tried to describe the pictures to someone else who hasn't been there? It's a difficult situation. The awe and enjoyment you had when you went is somehow hard to transfer to the person you're describing it to. But what if you had the funds to actually take them there...to show them in person the things you've experienced? It would then be something you shared...a common experience...the conversations would go on forever as you would recount the time you had.
It's one thing to say someone ought to change...to describe to them how they ought to do it, why they need to do it, why they will benefit, etc. It is entirely another to live with them through their current experience and bring the light of Christ to where they are. As followers of Jesus, we can bring the reality of hope into hopelessness, not flaunting it as something they don't have but demonstrating it in such a way they understand it is something within reach, no matter how desperate the situation.
But just as generational cycles repeat themselves over and over, this type of change (although good) does not happen quickly...it may not even happen at all. The cost of showing Jesus in this way is high. It's not programmatic. It's messy. Recently I've been privileged to see God work in the lives a few individuals in very dramatic ways...this was after a year or two of being with them and working through very hard things...but the reward was beautiful...life they never knew was possible, or at least they couldn't see it from where they were standing.
All that to say there is change that is good and for the better...change that is salvific and life transforming.
Political Change
One of the ironic things that happens when election time comes around is the promise each candidate has for change. I don't care if you support Obama, Clinton, or McCain...each one has their own promise of how things will change if they are elected and put in office. Their promises of change seem like a breath of fresh air, but really it happens every time you have an election. The previous president, senator, or commissioner has made mistakes or not followed through in some way, and the opponent wants to play off of such things.
It's really no surprise everyone promises change, because change is inherent to the sense of fallen-ness we experience as human beings. We move from one unfulfilled promise to another, hoping the next will provide the fulfillment we're looking for. Until we center these initiatives around Christ and the Kingdom we will always fall short. Even when we do this we don't always find the answers we're looking for because the Kingdom has not come in its fullest realization of the Second Coming of Christ.
Take churches for example. There is no one church that meets the needs of all people. Churches emphasize one program to the neglect of another. Every time you choose one thing to work on you automatically choose something you're not going to work on. We're working for the Kingdom, and as the Kingdom has come in Christ, there is a sense to where it is still coming. As the Kingdom comes changes occur, or they ought to. So change is inherent to our society and our world as we await the coming of Christ.
There is certainly a sense where one person can change things...or perhaps better stated would be a catalyst for change...take Martin Luther King Jr. for example. But behind any change or movement is a community that participates in the changing of things. This ought to be the church. While we have leaders in the church, we need the community of believers to work for the Kingdom and enact change. I think one of Obama's slogans is "Change we can believe in." For the Christian, it ought to be change I can be involved in. The fulfillment we want as a result of change can only come from working for the Kingdom of God. Even as we work, however, we will always groan inwardly for the realization of that Kingdom.
It's really no surprise everyone promises change, because change is inherent to the sense of fallen-ness we experience as human beings. We move from one unfulfilled promise to another, hoping the next will provide the fulfillment we're looking for. Until we center these initiatives around Christ and the Kingdom we will always fall short. Even when we do this we don't always find the answers we're looking for because the Kingdom has not come in its fullest realization of the Second Coming of Christ.
Take churches for example. There is no one church that meets the needs of all people. Churches emphasize one program to the neglect of another. Every time you choose one thing to work on you automatically choose something you're not going to work on. We're working for the Kingdom, and as the Kingdom has come in Christ, there is a sense to where it is still coming. As the Kingdom comes changes occur, or they ought to. So change is inherent to our society and our world as we await the coming of Christ.
There is certainly a sense where one person can change things...or perhaps better stated would be a catalyst for change...take Martin Luther King Jr. for example. But behind any change or movement is a community that participates in the changing of things. This ought to be the church. While we have leaders in the church, we need the community of believers to work for the Kingdom and enact change. I think one of Obama's slogans is "Change we can believe in." For the Christian, it ought to be change I can be involved in. The fulfillment we want as a result of change can only come from working for the Kingdom of God. Even as we work, however, we will always groan inwardly for the realization of that Kingdom.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Change
You ever heard the saying, "the only thing that is certain in life is change"? For one reason or another I've been thinking about change lately. Change can come on a lot of different levels...we can change cars, houses, professions, ideals, preferences, favorite TV shows, etc. There's not anything that's safe from the subject of change. My question is, why? Why do we feel the need to change so much, so often, and sometimes so dramatically?
Here's another cliche saying: "The grass is always greener on the other side." This is part of the change pandemic, at least for me. Simply, it's dissatisfaction. I think something is better than what I have now. Think of it on a material level...or for me, as it comes to the ol' homestead. There's a million and one things I could do to my house, maybe only one that needs to be done. But I want to do them because I think the latter will be more enjoyable than what I have now. Do I need the latter...probably not. However, the prospect of the newer seems much more appealing than what I already have.
Boredom. So if it's old it's not exciting anymore? What makes it unexciting anyway? Is it because the norm or the old is truly unexciting or is it because I've lost the initiative to enjoy its simplicity...it's comfort...it's beauty? Take this in the context of marriage (and here I am truly satisfied!!!!)...when does it become unexciting...why does new or different seem better? Is it because the routine has lost beauty? Sometimes we exchange the adrenaline rush of new for the faithfulness of the old. Let's get beyond marriage and just broaden this once more to include everything of change (you make up your mind to whatever that may be for you in your context).
All I'm saying is that change is all around. While some is unavoidable...change sometimes comes without your choice...many times change comes at your bid...it's your decision. One of the ways to live more simply in a fast paced society is to choose to change less. The changes we don't need to make...the ones that aren't pressing or necessary which are left the same can give us a greater sense of contentment, rest, and peace.
Here's another cliche saying: "The grass is always greener on the other side." This is part of the change pandemic, at least for me. Simply, it's dissatisfaction. I think something is better than what I have now. Think of it on a material level...or for me, as it comes to the ol' homestead. There's a million and one things I could do to my house, maybe only one that needs to be done. But I want to do them because I think the latter will be more enjoyable than what I have now. Do I need the latter...probably not. However, the prospect of the newer seems much more appealing than what I already have.
Boredom. So if it's old it's not exciting anymore? What makes it unexciting anyway? Is it because the norm or the old is truly unexciting or is it because I've lost the initiative to enjoy its simplicity...it's comfort...it's beauty? Take this in the context of marriage (and here I am truly satisfied!!!!)...when does it become unexciting...why does new or different seem better? Is it because the routine has lost beauty? Sometimes we exchange the adrenaline rush of new for the faithfulness of the old. Let's get beyond marriage and just broaden this once more to include everything of change (you make up your mind to whatever that may be for you in your context).
All I'm saying is that change is all around. While some is unavoidable...change sometimes comes without your choice...many times change comes at your bid...it's your decision. One of the ways to live more simply in a fast paced society is to choose to change less. The changes we don't need to make...the ones that aren't pressing or necessary which are left the same can give us a greater sense of contentment, rest, and peace.
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