Tag Archives: faith

The faith I want

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Theology

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

I don’t want a comfortable Jesus.  Comfortable Jesus is the type of Jesus that puts up with a lot of stuff because, well, he’s trying to be nice.  Comfortable Jesus is about being nice above all else.  Being nice means not saying things that would raise questions or point out injustices or hang out with “those” people.  Comfortable Jesus is really just a nice guy you see at Starbucks every day on the way to work, but you really don’t know.  Comfortable Jesus is a nice neighbor from down the street who you wave to when they are walking their dog past your house.

I don’t need a comfortable Jesus.  I have all that already.

Would comfortable Jesus be willing to mix it up, get in people’s face, question things, point out injustice?  Risk death?  Of course not.

What I need is a Jesus who is willing to go through death and hell and come back.  It’s not a matter of wanting it. It’s a matter of needing it.  Because if things rely on me, then I’m screwed.  I’m going to fail and fall.  Over and over again.

I need a Jesus who is willing to act out what he claims.  I need a Jesus that is willing to stand beside me in the worst of circumstances.

Thankfully, then I read Scripture I see that Jesus.  I hear Jesus tell his disciples to follow him.  This isn’t an invitation to a BBQ.  It’s an invitation to drop everything and follow him – he is the Lord of our lives.

I hear Jesus tell those who would follow him:

‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

Take up your cross.  That’s not something like a hang nail that is bothersome and a burden.  That’s pick up the thing that will kill you and follow Jesus.  Willingly.  Jesus is talking about death here.  Not avoiding it.  Walking right into it.  Why?  Because Jesus knows that death doesn’t have the last say.

I want a Jesus who gets in my face and asks me:

‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you?

(Luke 6:46)

Yes, a Jesus who won’t make nice and settle for me only wanting to follow him some times.

I want a Jesus who talks about gnawing his flesh and drinking his blood and then pointedly asking me:

‘Does this offend you?

(John 6:61)

and,

‘Do you also wish to go away?’

(John 6:67)

He might as well be asking me this – are you all in on me?  Or is that a bit too much for you?

Simon Peter responds to Jesus question by saying:

‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life’

(John 6:68)

Right on Peter.  I’m with you Peter.  Where else are we going to go?  Certainly not some politician or political party.  Certainly not to money or work.  Certainly not to patriotism or capitalism or socialism or any other ism that exists.  Certainly not to sports or health.  Nothing else offers salvation.

And what will carry me forward and give me a course of action when I see a homeless person in need, or a hungry person, or someone who is sick, or dying, or in prison, or in need of clothes, or a listening ear, or who is in a broken relationship, or anything else.

Where else can we go?

This is the faith that I need.  It’s the faith that is offered to each of us.

Faith or politics informs our decisions?

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Organizational theory, Politics, Theology

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Beliefs and ideas about politics are often really no more than theological statements dressed up in secular terms.

Maybe you disagree with that statement.  But consider this, often politics offers something that theology has been about for a long time – a vision of salvation.  In theology we have terms for this – soteriology and eschatology.

Bad theology is often deadly and destructive.  It focuses on wrath, compliance, anger, and makes people suffer as a result.  Bad theology allows for abuse and violence.  Often these bad theologies find willing partners in political ideologies – a partnership of convenience.

When we hear politicians and others talk about salvation and a savior, it’s politics using theology.  Now, you may not think that politicians talk in theological terms but let me point out a couple of recent examples.  Remember when Obama was described as being like a savior?  Or how about people saying that Trump was put here by God.  How about every president invoking God’s blessing on the nation.  Or that we are a special nation ordained by God.  Those are theological terms that are hijacked for political purposes.  When we hear about being a great nation (or great again), it’s no different from what the crowds were expecting from Jesus when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  People were thinking politics, but were really doing theology.  They had an expectation of what a savior was.  But Jesus had a different definition.

Don’t tell me to have theology stop at the border of politics especially when politics tramples all over theology all the time and has for centuries.  As if theology shouldn’t have any effect on the public sphere.  It does, which is why politics is often trying to use it for its own advantages.

Which is the foundation of the other?  Is politics and ideology the foundation of life or is theology the thing that guides our decisions in both public and private life? Does politics and ideology inform our theology or does our theology inform our politics?

I would argue that most people place politics as the foundation of their lives.  We seem to invest a great deal of time on politics, ideology, party loyalties, and politicians.  Do we invest the same time, energy, emotion, and resources in to our theology?  How many times do we hear about a political leader being like a savior who is going to save the nation or make it great again?  Democrats and Republicans are both guilty of this.

How much time do we devote to opening the sacred scriptures of politics (news sites), listen to the religious authorities of politics (spin doctors on TV who tell us what to believe), give our tithes and offerins to the religion of politics (campaign contributions), listen sermons of politicians (speeches, tweets, etc)., and partake in apologetics of the faith of politics (defending the ideology from all attacks on social media, in person, or anywhere)?  Do we give that kind of investment of ourselves into our faith?  When is the last time you opened Scripture outside of church to read God’s word?  Want me to go on?

If you believe that theology and faith are only a personal matter and they have no impact on the social or community, the polity, then I have some questions for you?

How do you square that belief with the Great Commission of Jesus?  Matthew 28:18-20 states:

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Jesus says “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  As in all.  Not a separation between personal and the political.  “Make disciples of all nations.”  Do you think that might have an impact on policies that are implemented?

How do you square the belief of theology and politics being in separate realms, not impacting each other, with the whole idea of the kingdom/reign of God?  How do you square it away with the image of Revelation 21.  How do you square it away with the prophets of old telling kings what God’s words were?  How do you square it away with the time before kings in Israel where God was the head and they had no need of a king?

How do you square it with Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey at one end of the city in contrast to Pilot entering at the other end on his horse with his soldiers?  How do you square it away with the titles given to Jesus that had been reserved for Caesar, the Roman emperor – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the World, Prince of Peace?

How do you hold onto the belief that theology and faith have no impact on politics and living in community when the bible shows that the idea is false through out it?

If our theology and faith don’t guide our whole life, including our politics, then what good is it?

How is that faith and theology going to bring about the kingdom of God?  And do we really want the kingdom of God to come at all?  The kingdom of God is all-encompassing, not just affecting your personal life.  Throughout the Hebrew Bible we hear about God restoring the entire world, not just individuals.  We hear about the salvation of Israel, not just individuals.  In the Gospel of John, we hear that God so loved the cosmos, that he gave his Son.  Not God so loved individuals – no, the entire cosmos, all of creation.

Which god do we lay our lives out in front of to determine how we will live – both personally and communally?  Which god invites us to participate in the unfolding of a kingdom?  God or some earthly kingdom and ideology and politician?

The book of Daniel is full of examples of politics stepping all over theology and faith. And there are consequences of this because God doesn’t care about these human made imaginary boundaries that we construct.  They are human inventions.

Jonah is sent by God with a message for the a secular city and it’s rulers to change.  Elijah flees for his life from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel because theology and faith are foundational for personal and public life and the politicians don’t like being put in their place as servants of God rather than gods over people.

The Apostle Paul, over and over again, suffers at the hand of politics and politicians, eventually being killed by politicians.  John the Baptist is jailed and beheaded by politicians because he dares to speak faith and theology into the life of politics.  Jesus suffers at the hand of politics, eventually being crucified by politicians because he is offering an alternative kingdom in contrast to the empire.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 states:

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Hebrews 13:1-5 states:

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’

When we read Ephesians 4:25-5:2 and Hebrews 13:1-5, do we only see these as personal suggestions on how to live life?  Do we put up walls to prevent them from being carried out publicly?  Or at least have higher expectations for our elected leaders?  Why?  What is it about these passages that is so dangerous to our political system that we make excuses for behaviors, rhetoric, and policies that are in opposition to what is in Scripture?

Before you level the charge that I am suggesting or advocating a theocracy, I am not.  Theocracies often end up being abusive, dangerous, full of violence, focused on compliance of action and thought.  Theocracies are all about using absolute power over people.  That’s not what the kingdom of God is about at all.

The questions I am raising are this – What does it mean to claim to be a follower of Jesus?  Does it only affect our personal life?  Is it acceptable to put Jesus on the side when it comes to our politics?  Why is that acceptable?  Why doesn’t our theology inform our politics, our policies, and our rhetoric?  That doesn’t mean we need a theocracy.  Far from it.  It means we need to live out what we claim to believe in into all aspect of our life, whatever our political structure is.

Ordinary vs. extra ordinary

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

If you had to describe the Gospel, or church, or faith, how would you describe it?

Would it be described as something nice, or routine, or a given?  How about church – is it something you go to or belong to?  Is faith something you’ve learned?  Is the Gospel  just a book, or Jesus message?

These many be technically true, but they seem…lacking or ordinary.  Maybe mediocre even.

Is that what Jesus is about – ordinary, lacking, mediocre?  When you read or hear passages of Scripture, do you think of ordinary, lacking, and mediocre?  Are you actually reading Scripture?  When is the last time you cracked open the Bible on your own to read it?  I’m not talking about what you hear at church either.

If you aren’t reading scripture, why not?  Maybe Jesus, church, and faith just don’t have much impact on your life.  Maybe they are nice, but that’s where it stops.  Maybe you are afraid?  Maybe you’re afraid that it will actually deliver on what is promised – a changed life. If your life changes, then you might not be in control.  Here’s a promise – you won’t be in control.

The Gospel isn’t ordinary.  It is extra ordinary.  Anything that is life changing would be.  Do you believe that the Gospel is life changing?  Do you believe that it not only impacts your life, but changes it?  Do you want that?  Or are you too comfortable?  Maybe you’re fooling yourself into believing that everything is going well.  But I’m willing to bet a million dollars that something in your life is broken and not working.  Something in your life is mediocre at best.

This doesn’t mean that the Gospel promises carnivals and blue birds on your shoulder.  The Gospel doesn’t promise that your life will look and feel like a made for TV movie.  Not even close.

Here’s what I know – Jesus wasn’t into mediocre and average.  Jesus wasn’t into just surviving either.

He’s all about thriving.  That’s what the Gospel is – thriving life, new life, death and resurrected life.  That’s life that has changed.  Life that is no longer in our own control.

If faith is only ordinary or routine, then it’s time to dump it.  Only a faith that is extra ordinary will carry you through the difficult times that are coming for each one of us.

The Psalm of John

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

The doorbell of the church rang while I was on the phone with a colleague.  I was told that a man came in and needed prayers.  When I finished the call, I went out to the man.  His name is John.  John proceeded to tell me that his mother was dying and is at the local hospital.  He was trying to get there.  He had traveled down from Scranton, a couple of hours away.  His car broke down in Harrisburg and so he started walking his way towards the hospital.

Along the way, he stopped and asked directions, had enough money to get something to drink, and rest his feet for a few minutes.

When he came to New Kingstown, something nudged him to stop at the church for prayers.  And he listened to that nudge.

We were able to get him some food and I spent time with him, listening to his story, and praying with him.  He wanted directions to the hospital.  He said that the prayer was all he really wanted.

I know that the hospital is a good 20 minutes drive, which includes highway.  There was no way that I was letting him walk.  So I offered him a ride, which he gladly accepted and reassured me that he wasn’t looking for a handout.

As we drove along, I heard more of John’s story.  I heard about the loss of many family members over the last 10 years.  I heard about challenges in the family with health issues.  I heard about his own blessings with health.

I asked John how long he had walked.  He thought for a moment and then told me that his car broke down in Harrisburg, he got a tow truck, gave the mechanic $1400 to fix his car – all his money – and then he started walking.  It was 5 am when he started.  He had been walking five hours by the time he had gotten to us at the church. I’ve run marathons, a couple of which have taken five hours before.  I know what being on your feet for five hours is like.  It’s not fun.  It’s painful.  But John said that he just kept going.  He didn’t know if his mother would survive the day and he had to go see her.

He didn’t know where he was going to stay that night.  He would have more money in 24-48 hours, so he was hoping that some motel or hotel would be compassionate enough to work with him.

On the way to the hospital we stopped at a hotel, about a mile from the hospital.  I went in with him.  The hotel requires payment upfront.  So the church helped him out with a room for a couple of days until his car was repaired.

John was about ready to break down, I could see it in his face.  He told me that he wanted to repay the church for the rooms and the gas.  I told him that all he needed to do was to say thank you and that he needed his money more than we did.  I told him that if he really wanted to repay us, then to do something good for someone else.

He didn’t know what to say.  I told him – this is what grace is.  I can’t preach grace if I don’t live it.

The woman behind the counter heard this exchange and said “God is so good, isn’t he?”  Yes God is.

After getting the room taken care of, I drove John down the road the hospital.  We said our goodbyes and I gave him well wishes for him and his mother.  And off he went into the hospital to be with his mother for what is probably the last time.

I don’t know why God nudged him to our door.  But I’m glad John came to us.  And I’m glad we were able to give him just a little help.  More importantly, we were able to share Good News with him and with others.  Good News isn’t all about words.  Good News is how we live.  Our entire lives are an expression of Good News – or they should be for those of us to claim to follow Jesus.

Hang in there John.  You are not alone.

As I think about this encounter, I’m drawn to Psalm 23.  In one sense because the Psalm is used for so many funerals, and here was an instance in which death was right on the horizon.  But this was a bit different.  It’s not about the person who was dying.  It’s about the person who is seeing death of another.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.


Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.


You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

When I think about this passage of Scripture, I see John.  He’s walking through the darkest valley.  And God is the one who provides for him.  God makes sure John is not in want.  God restores his soul and leads him along right paths.  It is God who is with John in the darkest valley and comforts him.  It is God who prepares a table and blesses John.  It is God who gives a future.

Psalm 23 is the Psalm for John – and all Johns out there.

My encounter with April

02 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

April reached out to me by e-mail.  I was recommended to her as someone she should reach out to as someone who could help her out.  She wasn’t looking for help with paying the fee to live in the hotel, but help to get out.  She told me that she had to leave – that she needed to set free of the bondage of the place she was living in.  She was being reunited with her ex-husband who was living in Colorado.

I came and visited with her in her room just a couple of days ago.  I didn’t know what to expect.  She spent the first hour telling me her story, but with a twist.  It was a story of God’s timing and God’s plans and how they are different from ours.  She has been separated from her husband for 14 months, but that separation allowed healing to happen.  That separation gave room for April to see how God is Lord, and not anything or anyone else.

We talked and shared our faith stories, moments in our lives when we have experienced God nudging us and tapping us on the shoulder, and sometimes shouting directly at us to get our attention.

She shared with me what it has been like living in the motel – like a trap.  Things deteriorate, service is terrible, there is no kitchen or way to make food, except for a microwave, and things generally don’t work consistently.  But there aren’t a whole lot of options for people in her situation.  She described it as being in bondage – a term that is not used lightly.  And a term that seems very fitting.  It’s not just physical bondage, but bondage of the spirit, of the human will to live.  Every week, the bill comes due to cover the shelter of the room – an expense that is way beyond normal.  An expense that often times takes advantage of the poor who are sheltered there.  But then again, where else are these folks going to go?

In this country, there is a creed that we live by – individualism.  It’s the belief that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, that everyone is able to get themselves out of trouble, and that only the lazy suffer the consequences.

And in this country, we like to claim that we are a Christian nation.  Many churches proclaim the creeds of the church that were established centuries ago in far off lands.  And we claim to follow Jesus who favored the poor and proclaimed Good News to the poor.

How do these two creeds and belief systems compliment each other though?  Christianity isn’t so much about our personal salvation devoid of public implications, but as something far more greater.  Revelation 21 paints a picture of the entirety of creation being renewed and restored.  Jesus doesn’t proclaim that only the strong will survive and only those with material wealth are the ones who are blessed by God.

When I keep encountering more and more people who are struggling with the basic necessities of life, I have to compare our national operating creeds and beliefs with those of Jesus.  And frankly, I find our nation’s operating beliefs to be lacking – failing in the promise of an American Dream.  But Jesus has yet to fail to come through on his promises.  If we are a great nation, then why do so many struggle to survive?  If you think there is an easy answer for this, then you are dismissing the struggles that exist because you think they don’t affect you.  And you are wrong.

Homelessness does affect you.  When a homeless person without insurance gets sick, they go the hospital to receive treatment.  Going to a hospital for routine care is expensive.  Someone has to pay for that.  It ends up showing up in your insurance premiums and taxes.  When the poor don’t have enough food because they are being gorged with weekly payments, they become sicker and have health problems.  Guess who pays for that?  When the homeless sneak over to an abandoned hotel to find shelter and every day the local police department are sent over to kick people out – someone has to pay for the police to do this, as opposed to doing something else.  Guess who pays?  That’s right, everyone does, including the people who think that homelessness has no impact on their lives.  Apparently, we like to lie to ourselves and think that we are like islands.  Yet Christ calls us into community, to proclamation, and to service of others.

1 Peter 2:9-10 states:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

This isn’t only about individuals.  It’s much bigger than the American ideal of catering to each individual.  In the side commentary of the Lutheran Study Bible related to this passage of Scripture, it states:

What is the priesthood of all believers?  This is a key concept for Martin Luther, who insists that all Christians are priests or God’s messengers.  Proclaiming God’s mighty acts is not a job reserved for only a few people.  God calls all believers – no matter what their vocation or standing – to share the Gospel and serve their neighbors to that others come to know Christ.

(Source – Lutheran Study Bible, pg. 2002)

Did you catch the end of that – All believers are to share the Gospel and serve their neighbor.  Not make excuses.  Not judge.  Not put blinders on and ignore those around us.  The Gospel is Good News to the Poor.

At the end of my conversation with April, I got her set up with transportation.  And we spent time in prayer.

April was having a true Jesus moment that had nothing to do with me.  Her old life, the life she was living here – a life in bondage – was dying.  Today her old life will die as she gets on the bus.  Following Jesus is about dying.  It’s about trusting what Jesus tells us – that following him will lead to death – death daily, death to self, death of life, death of bondage.

But it doesn’t end there.  Death doesn’t get the final say.  Jesus does.  In order to experience resurrection, we have to go through death.  When April steps on the bus, she will also begin to experience resurrection, new life.  A life of hope.  A life where bondage has ended and there is a future. A transformed life.  This is what Jesus promises.  And it’s not just for some time in the distant future.  It’s here and now.

Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we are stop fighting with God and allow God to take over.  Sometimes we have to get to a point of complete loss of hope in order to let go of the chains that bind us, that hold us bound.

April is a reminder that death and resurrection are real and are what Jesus calls us to – right here and now.  April left the bondage of a motel room with a life that was hopeless and she is getting on a bus filled with hope, looking forward to the embrace of love and family, and experiencing Jesus’ mercy and grace.  This is the Good News of Jesus in our midst.

A model for church?

27 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

I’ve been thinking a good deal about models for church – how church runs, if you want to think about it that way.  For many decades here in the US, we’ve been using a pretty standard model.  There’s a building, a pastor, limited other staff, programs, committees, and worship is the big thing that we try to get everyone to on Sunday morning each week.  There’s other stuff in that model too – education, ministry, budgets, and service projects.  I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but that’s not the point.  You know what I’m talking about.

But here’s the thing – this hasn’t been the only model for church.  In Europe, the model has been different – mostly because of the relationship between church and state is far different from the US traditionally.  When the church is an official state religion, you end up with a very different model.  The state collects taxes for the church, staff is usually greater, with larger and older buildings, worship happens, but has few attendees, and the church provides some services to the general public – weddings, funerals, baptisms.  The churches in these countries are usually more bureaucratic.

There are other models – African churches are different from American and European churches.  Some countries have more evangelists than pastors – a role that doesn’t exist in American Christianity.  The services are joyful expressions that last hours and are the heart of Sunday, with multiple offerings.  The church is more central to the life of the community, and the church hierarchy has more influence on government in many instances.

In all of these examples, the models have worked…until the don’t.  There were other models before these.  And when they didn’t work anymore, the church changed.  There are a variety of reason why a model doesn’t work any longer.  The current model for the church in the US is not working any longer.  The numbers show this.  Attendance has been in decline for decades.  Membership has too.  Offerings to church has gone down as well over all.  Although, the people who remain are actually giving more.  There is a focus on seeing results for what is given.  The numbers don’t lie.

Recently I made the argument that the church needs to be open to different models. There isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all silver bullet.  I do think there is something fundamental though – a shift in focus.

In the current model, there is usually great focus given to getting more people into worship first.  There are reasons for this – worship is the center of Christian life.  And so churches have spent a great deal of time, energy, and effort at figuring out ways to get people to worship.  Some of this makes sense.  It is during worship that an offering is made – the revenue for the running of the church. Churches adjust worship, add new things, have the latest technology, go old school with the liturgy, using social media – all with an effort to get people into the pews for worship.

Let me say this – I have nothing against worship.  I’m a pastor and worship is a big part of what I do.  I enjoy worship very much. But I wonder if there are other models that draw people in outside of worship.  That’s not to say that worship should be excluded – it’s still a central part of Christian life.  I’m saying there are other models that draw people in that will lead to worship.  But worship isn’t the end all, be all either.

If you are like me, maybe you need a visual.  Here’s a rough draft of the concept.

Photo on 7-26-18 at 4.06 PM.jpg

Throughout the Gospels Jesus is inviting people into relationship with him.  He’s telling them to come and follow him.  He’s inviting them into the work of the kingdom.  He’s got a mission that he is sending them on.

But he isn’t inviting people to worship, in the sense that we think about it today.  He invited people into ministry and mission, and he invited people into discipleship.

As you can see from the drawing, I put those two areas at each end of the church “pipe” as I’m calling it.  They are entry points into relationship.  And each of those moves towards and through worship and drives us out to do the other end.  Think of worship as a pump that moves us through to the other side.  In other words, if someone is invited to mission and ministry, they will be drawn towards worship and be sent out towards discipleship.  Worship still has a central place in the life of the church – but a different role maybe.  Ministry and mission, as well as discipleship are ways that Jesus brought people in and I think Jesus calls on us to begin relationships with people.

People want to be a part of ministry – especially hands-on ministry.  People want to take part in mission.  They are drawn to it.  As a result, they will want to grow deeper in relationship with the people they are doing ministry and mission with.  Worship is an opportunity for that.  Worship is a communal activity in the church.  At least in the Lutheran tradition, it involves gathering people in, hearing the Word, being in meal together, and being sent out.

Sent out where – for more ministry and for discipleship.  Discipleship is going deeper in living the way of Jesus.  It involves learning, listening, thinking, questioning, relationship, and more.  While ministry and mission are hands-on, discipleship is heart and head on.

Some people may be invited into discipleship and be drawn to that as well.  In growing deeper in discipleship, there will be a desire for relationship with other disciples where people can gather, hear the Word, be in meal together, and be sent out.  Sent out for more discipleship and ministry and mission.

A new model for church isn’t a total scrapping of everything the church is about.  It’s really more a change of what already exists.  Instead of focusing on getting people to worship first, the change is on reaching people through mission, ministry, and discipleship.  Those relationships will drive engaged people towards worship and send them out for more ministry, mission, and discipleship.

The practical question becomes, how do you pay for the running of the organization?  Good question.  Maybe offering in worship is just one aspect.  Maybe our idea of offering needs to expand because isn’t ministry, mission, and discipleship exactly what the church is called to? Is that not participating in the unfolding of the kingdom?  Are there opportunities to support these efforts directly?  I have no idea.  But I’m willing to guess that there are.

This also raises other questions – what does the structure of the church look like?  What is the role of the pastor?  What does church look like as an organization?

These are really big questions, which I don’t have the answer to.  But I think it’s important to ask the question, to explore, to test, to try things.  It’s important to recognize the reality that what worked in the past isn’t working any more.  It’s important to look at the reality of the numbers and face them, rather than kick the can down the road.  There is no more road for many churches.  And even though many church should have been tackling this challenge years ago, it’s never to late to start.  But the longer we wait, the worse the options will be.

But the good news is that this is a great time to be the church.  Yes, the numbers look bad.  But all that means is that we are given an amazing opportunity to do something that happens once every 500 years or so – rethink church and discern how God is calling the church to carry out the mission.  We have an amazing opportunity set before us.  We can approach it with fear, clutching onto a model that doesn’t work, saying things like “we’ve never done it this way before,” or we can respond in trust to the faith that God gives us, opening our arms to new models that haven’t been tried, and saying things like “We haven’t tried that before, I wonder what would happen…”

God is giving us an amazing opportunity.  How will we respond?

Control

19 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Health, Organizational theory, Politics, Society, Theology

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , ,

I think there is a valid argument for saying that the biggest sin that humanity commits is control.  It’s a sin that puts the created in the place of the creator – crafting ourselves as a god.  The sin of control is the ultimate broken relationship with God.  It’s us saying to God: “We don’t like your ways.  We’ll do it our way, thank you very much.  You go sit over here for when we need you to bail us out.”

The first commandment states “You shall have no other gods before me.”  (Exodus 20:3)  This applies to how we make ourselves into a god as well – not just idols that are created and worshiped.

We do this when we try to control things by keeping them the way they are or try to re-create the past.  Except we can’t.  Change will happen, does happen, and there is no way to stop it.  We can certainly adapt to it.  We can resist it to some degree, especially if the change is not healthy and good.  We might even be able to redirect the change.  But that isn’t the same as trying to stop change and keep everything the same – forever.

Look at the effort we give to trying to stop change from happening.

The most obvious way this happens is with ourselves.  We try to stop the aging process instead of embracing it as a part of life and adapting to it.  Our bodies change – that is a fact.  Look at yourself in the mirror.  Is this what you looked like 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years ago?  Of course not.  Your body changed, regardless of how you wanted to stop it.  You couldn’t.  Even if we cover it up, have surgeries, exercise, and have procedures, the fact remains that your body is still changing.  Yet, we are told a lie that we can stop aging, that we can hold onto our youthful look, that we can make our bodies youthful again.  And many buy the lie that we can stop change in ourselves.  There’s a lot of money to be made with selling a nostalgic self-image.

We try to stop change in our institutions as well.  Church is a good example.  Many want it the way it was, the way we see it through an idealized lens in which the pews were full, the pastor did all the ministry, everyone in town came to worship, everyone dressed up, and the culture assisted the church with laws and mores that gave the church a privileged position in society.  We want church to be a steady rock that never changes, all the while we will voice a desire for change, mostly because it seems like the right thing to say.  That is until we actually consider how that change will impact us, not just other people.  We want change in church, but change that doesn’t require us to change, only other people.  Often the change that is voiced isn’t so much a change with progress forward, with adaptions, and new ministries to serve new peoples in our ever-changing communities.  Rather it is a change by looking backward to nostalgia.  We want the world and the church to go back to the way it was – ignoring the challenges and sins that existed in the church and in the world.  We want to make church a steady and stable rock again.  We want a sense of control over life.

Yet, when Jesus calls people to follow him, he is asking for a huge change – a personal change.  He’s saying drop everything – all the nostalgia and the desire to control and stop change – and follow me.  Die daily so that new life can take hold.  Don’t just voice it, actually do it.  Jesus said:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do no do what I tell you?  I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.  But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of the house.”

(Luke 6:46-49)

We try to stop change politically and as a nation.  We hear it in the slogan “Make America Great Again.”  Many desire a change to some romanticized time in which all was well, that we were great, and everyone thrived.  Except this time never actually existed.  It’s a change backward, a reverse of time.  And it’s a lie.  There has never been a time in this country when all was well and where everyone thrived.  Never.  Certain groups of people certainly have, but not everyone.  And often there have been and still are groups of people who not only aren’t thriving, but are struggling to survive – pushed down by those in more privileged positions in life.  This is what the desire to control does.  There is a cost.

Things that are alive change and adapt.  Any science book will tell you that.  Things that are dead don’t move on their own and don’t adapt.  They wear away and decompose.  In that respect, even things that are dead change.  And eventually, they become unrecognizable and become dirt.  Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

And in the end the question remains – what is the point of trying to stop change completely?  Or of turning back the clock?  Change is coming.  It is already here.  It walks with us.  Why not spend our energy adapting to it, maybe even steering it in a positive direction towards something that actually can allow for more people to thrive?  What if we took some of the good things of the past and adapted them for our present circumstances as opposed to trying to recreate the past?

What is the point of trying to change things in a backward fashion – to a time that never actually existed and certainly can’t be recreated.  Everything else has changed around us.  The environment in which we find ourselves has changed.  We can’t go back.  We can’t be any of those things again.

Change means there is newness.  There is no “again.”  No matter how much we desire it, we can’t go back in time and have those beautiful memories become reality again.  There is change.  There is life and there is death.  And out of death comes new life.  We allow the past to die so that there is new life in the present and the future.  Shackling the present and the future with the past doesn’t bring us back to the past and the way it was.  It just holds us hostage.  And in the mean time, the world continues to change, without our consent.  Because we are not in charge. And we fall further behind.  This makes adapting to changes more difficult and costly.

This is what it means to follow Jesus.  We aren’t called to go backward in time with the church.  We aren’t called to go backward in time with our nation.  We aren’t called to go backward in time with our bodies.  We are called to go forward and to let past things die, so that new life can take root.

To another [Jesus] said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

(Luke 9:59-62)

These would-be disciples wanted to go back, to hold onto the nostalgia – to bury their dead and to say farewell.  To look back.  But Jesus knows that a look back will only hold us back.  You can’t plow looking backwards.  You can’t drive a car looking in the rear view mirror.  You can’t walk forward while you keep your eye behind you.  It doesn’t work.  You can’t be the church, or you, or a nation by having a tight grip on the past, holding the present and the future hostage, with an old model that doesn’t meet current conditions and challenges and cultures.

Jesus calls us forward, not to a time of nostalgia.  The kingdom isn’t in the past.  The best days of the kingdom of God are unfolding now and are to come.  They aren’t in the past.  It’s unfolding right now.  It’s causing a change.  Will we be embraced by it, or will we resist it?  In the end, resisting it and trying to stop it will never win out.  It can’t.  Because change is always taking place.  The kingdom is always unfolding in new ways, in ways that are different from the past.

These are dangerous times

17 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Theology

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

These are dangerous times.  I don’t think that is a controversial statement.  The world order is being rattled severely.  Nationalist politicians are winning leadership positions in many nations, especially in Europe.  Let me be clear, nationalism is different from patriotism.

Merriam-Webster.com defines nationalism as “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”

By nationalism, I mean politicians that are anti-immigrant to the point of blaming immigrants for the problems in any given country, along with other nationalist oriented policies.  And not just blaming, but implementing policies that are designed to kick immigrants out of their nation.  This, by the way, is the classic definition of scapegoating – to put the sins of a community or nation on a goat and send it away, thus the community can believe that all its sins have been cast out. Except, scapegoating doesn’t actually clear a community or nation of its sins.  It just covers them up with a lie.

Many of these nationalist politicians utilize fear and anger rhetorically to push their agendas.  Scapegoating requires there to be an enemy that is to be feared.

And we just had the US President openly siding with a foreign government regarding interference in US elections, in spite of the fact that pretty much every one agrees that Russia interfered with our elections.  On top of this, long-established international relationships are not healthy at the moment.  There is a high level of anxiety racing throughout the world.

So what is a follower of Jesus to do?  Are we to be anxious?  Are we to fight?  Are we to resist?  Are we to attack?  What?

Or do we look to Jesus?  Is that different from the other options?

This much I know, there is not a nice easy answer to this.  Difficult times call for difficult decisions.  Difficult times call for solid faith.  Difficult times call for prophetic voices.  If following Jesus were easy in difficult times, then everyone would be doing it.  Instead, difficult times are not easy.  And following Jesus is certainly not easy.

The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are not easy to follow:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

(Matthew 5:3-11)

Jesus doesn’t say only follow these and be these when times are easy.

Jesus is constantly inviting people to follow him.  Yet there always seems to be an excuse.

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’

(Matthew 8:18-22)

Jesus certainly didn’t say follow me to this disciple when times were good – but rather in a very difficult situation – the death of his father.

But here’s the thing – following Jesus isn’t about following him in the easy times.  It’s all about the difficult times.

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

(John 14:1-7)

Jesus says the above quote not long before he is handed over and then crucified.  It wasn’t an easy situation.  And Thomas asks a valid question.  Discipleship often leaves us with unanswered questions and make us feel blind and lost.

Our faith isn’t there for us for the easy times when the waters are still and we can see the shore clearly.  Faith is given to us for just a moment as this – when the waters are a storm and we are perishing.

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

(Mark 4:35-41)

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  That’s what the disciples and many of us are asking Jesus. And, just like in the story, we aren’t getting a verbal response that we want.  Instead, Jesus asks the disciples and us an important question – “Why are you afraid?  Have you still not faith?”  Do we ignore Jesus’ question like the disciples, too easily distracted by the storm and the miracle to pay attention to what Jesus is saying?

How do we respond to the storm of this world that is currently building?

I don’t know the full answer to that.  I can’t see the shoreline and the water is coming into the boat.

But this much I know – Jesus is asking us right now this important question: “Why are you afraid?”

Why are you afraid?  Do you really believe Jesus, what he teaches, who he is, and what he commands us to do?

Then why are you afraid?

Maybe you are right there with the disciples and asking their question – “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  Jesus doesn’t answer that question and for good reason.  He doesn’t promise that we get to escape death.  He promises that death doesn’t have the final say.  In fact – this is uncomfortable for us if we are willing to admit it – Jesus calls on us to die daily.

Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

(Luke 9:23-26)

Jesus doesn’t promise us safety and security.  He calls on us to die daily.  To deny ourselves.  To follow him.  To step into the unknown with trust.  To look at death square in the face and tell it that it can do its worst, but it doesn’t have the final say – God does.

What is a follower of Jesus to do in these stormy times?  Follow Jesus.  That will take different shapes and forms for different people. For some it will mean speaking up.  For some it might mean protesting the powers that be.  For some it might mean serving.  For some it might mean prayer.  We are each gifted and called in unique ways to follow Jesus.

Follow what he calls us to do.  And what is it that he calls on us to do? The simple version is to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God – to participate in an alternative way of living and living in community.  To love, even those that are our enemies.  To offer mercy, even to those who are merciless.  To be a peacemaker, even when peace is not welcome.  To forgive, even when it is not deserved.  To offer grace, even when it is not welcome.  To serve the least among us, even when service doesn’t seem to make a difference.  To make disciples, even when discipleship is not appealing.  To die daily to self, even when we’d rather be in charge.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.  I don’t even know what all the questions are.  I don’t judge those who would respond differently from me – at least I try not to.  There are certainly good arguments for other responses.  And I believe people respond in the best way they know how.

This is my path.  This is the path I walk on.  It is a road I am called to walk down.  You are welcome to walk with me.  Regardless of the path you take, I will hold you in prayer.  Please do the same for me.  What is your path? Maybe our paths intersect.  Maybe they are on the same path.  Maybe they aren’t.  But let us go forward, holding each other in prayer and then carrying out the Kingdom.

What does faith cause you to do?

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

What does the faith that God gives each one of us cause us to do?  How do we respond to it?

How has faith changed your life?

Is church just something that you’ve always done, so you’ll just keep on doing it?  Or does it impact your life, cause a change?

Is church just a social club where you get together with people who you like and look forward to seeing them each week or however often you go?  Or is church a training ground and refueling station from which you are sent back out into the world to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom of God?

Is it your faith, or is it the faith that God gives you?

Does this faith ever make you uncomfortable or inconvenienced?  If not, why not?  Do you believe that faith should never make you uncomfortable?  What about those that are afflicted or suffer injustice?  Does that affect you at all?  Or are they just a bunch of whiners?

Does it ever afflict you in your comfortableness?  Does it comfort you in your affliction?  Does this faith demand that you take steps without knowing where you are going, what you will be doing, where things will be coming from, and will not have all the information that you desire?

Does this faith cause you to seek out people who Jesus spent time with?  Does this faith make your hands dirty?

Does this faith question and poke you in ways you would rather not?  Does it question your loyalty and allegiances?  Is this faith costly?  Does this faith guide you in the midst of trial and trouble?  Can this faith be there when it is most needed?  Or does it only work when times are good?

Does this faith cause you conflict with the ways of the world?  Ways of anger, fear, violence, blaming, scapegoating, desiring safety above all else, having enemies, coveting other people’s stuff, believing that buying more stuff will give you meaning, and more.

Does this faith cause you to weep when you see the world – does it break your heart?  Over and over again?  Does it grab hold of you and not let go?  Does it present a way forward and show you that there really isn’t another option – everything else doesn’t make any sense?  That the ways of the world fail us over and over again and yet we have this sick addiction to keep trying them?  How many wars do we need to go through, how many times do we need to use violence, how many foreigners do we need to blame and dehumanize, how many enemies do we need to create and blame, how many people do we need to curse and damn, how many people do we need to take pleasure in their suffering?  How many until we see that these ways don’t work?  That’s why we have to keep doing them over and over and over again.  They don’t work.  When will be see the stupidity and insanity of the ways of the world instead of embracing these ways?  When will be follow the way of Jesus instead?

Does this faith make you understand the prophets and their desire to run far away from God – yet you follow anyway because where else are you going to go?  There is no hope outside of God and God’s way.

Does this faith wrestle with you and leave you with so many uncertainties, yet you know the most important thing there is – that God will not abandon you and God keeps God’s promises?

Does this faith give you life, especially when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death?

Does this faith demand you die daily so that the real you can be released and flourish?

Does this faith remain unsatisfied with just surviving, but pushes you forward, cajoles you into thriving life?

Does this faith see beyond you as an individual and show you how you are connected to so many others and their well-being?  That to turn a blind eye on those suffering around us isn’t just ignoring them and keeping you safe, but keeps us trapped in a cage with a thick wall around us.  We become prisoners of our own desire for safety that can never be fulfilled.

Does this faith that you have been given have impact on your life?  Does it call to your deepest self and invite you to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God?

Is this faith worth devoting your life to and ultimately dying for?  If not, then why not?  What are you afraid of?

How do you respond to that?

By sitting and waiting?  By being scared?  By delaying?  By running?  Or do you take a risk and take a step in faith?  A risk that could lead to utter desolation.  Or a risk that leads to unbelievable life.  I know this much, the alternative – the way forward without faith – without responding to this gift that has been given to us – leads to certain death.  Always.  No exceptions.  It’s just a matter of time.  And when we consider that, which is really riskier – not responding to faith or taking a step in faith knowing that God walks with us?

The invitation remains to all.  The gift has been given.  Will you unwrap it and respond, or will you put it on the shelf for a more convenient time?

I am grateful that God doesn’t consider the same question for each one of us – will I encounter you or just put you on the shelf for a more convenient time?  God invites us to participate in the most amazing thing ever.  What are we waiting for?  Now is the time.  You aren’t alone.  Let’s take a risk together. Jesus is with us and risks it all for us.

When it’s ok to not follow Jesus

06 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Politics, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, ,

You claim to be a follower of Jesus.  And life is complicated.  You’re tired of the pastor saying things you disagree with about what it means to follow Jesus. What does he/she know anyway?  He/she lives in a bubble, not in the real world.

Looking for a list of situations of when it’s ok to put Jesus aside?  When it’s ok to not follow Jesus?  Look no further.  I have spent hours and hours of time compiling a list for you.  All from the best sources – words from Christians, people who claim to follow Jesus on when it’s ok to not follow Jesus.  Without any further ado, here goes:

  • When you are attacked.  Of course it’s ok to put Jesus aside in this instance and strike back.  It’s not like Jesus said to turn the other cheek.  That’s just crazy.  You could get hurt or even die.  Plus that whole turn the cheek thing is for other people, not you.
  • When you come across someone who is clearly wrong.  On any subject.  You can certainly put Jesus aside here.  Jesus was obviously more concerned with right belief and compliance, and getting your act together before following him.  Plus, you are the authority on what is right anyway.  Everyone knows that Jesus comes to you for the answers.  There couldn’t possibly be another way to looking at a situation or issue and coming to a different conclusion?  There’s only one way and you have it.  Why would Jesus want someone who’s clearly wrong following him?  That would make him look pretty bad.  Plus it would get kind of crowded – you don’t like crowds, and you can’t imagine Jesus does either.
  • When you come across the poor/homeless/prostitutes/victim of human trafficking/etc. It’s not like Jesus spent time with these people!  No way Jesus wants you to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced by these people.  They are just lazy after all.  And smell.  You might get dirty or something.  And of course these people are violent and might steal from you.  Instead, throw them a dollar and tell them to get a damn job.  That’s definitely the Jesus way.
  • When you come across someone from another country – especially an immigrant, or even better, an asylum seeker.  These damn foreigners are going to kill our country.  It’s completely fine to not follow Jesus with these vermin.  They are just going to be an infestation in our land, taking our jobs, and stealing all our government welfare.  They are going to use our health care.  They are going to rape our women and kill us all.  Damn foreigners.  No way that Jesus would want us to treat them like ourselves.  No way.  They aren’t even people, they are just illegals.  Send them back to their own shithole country.  It’s not like Jesus and his family ever fled for their lives to a foreign country.  Or went into a shithole like Samaria where the people hated Jews.  He was just trying to make Israel great again, not expand the kingdom to outsiders.
  • When you are dealing with an enemy.  Yes, we know that Jesus said to love your enemy, but really?  Do you really think he meant that?  By love your enemy he clearly meant to nuke the assholes and wipe them off the face of the earth.  Then we could have peace.  Peace, after all, is the absence of enemies – once we’ve killed them.  God is on our side anyway, so that trumps whatever Jesus said, right?   Besides, national security is God ordained.  Anyone who doesn’t care about it should just leave.
  • When dealing with someone who is different from yourself.  Jesus was a working white guy from the US after all, so we know that he was just like us.  He only spoke English.  I know this because I’ve read the King James Version of the Bible – the original authorized Bible.
  • When dealing with someone in the opposing political party or anything political at all. Jesus was all about scoring political points and making his political opponents look like the schmucks that they were.  Children of God – Ha!  Children should be seen and not heard, don’t you know.  And those damn (Democrats/Republicans) act like a bunch of babies.  They are more interested in destroying the country anyway.  Plus, what did Jesus have to say about politics anyway?  He was just a nice preacher who never made anyone feel uncomfortable – unlike your pastor.  The guy/gal won’t shut up about politics and injustice.  Politics and religion don’t mix.  There’s no way that God wants to say anything controversial or upset the status quo.  Besides, even Jesus said “render unto Caesar that which is Caesars.”  That means you can have whatever political beliefs you want – Jesus doesn’t want to have a say in politics.  It’s not like the church is trying to change the world.  It’s more like a country club.
  • When dealing with money.  It’s not like Jesus ever talked about money and what it should be used for.  You earned it, you determine what to do with it – all of it.  God should feel lucky to get any of it.  It’s like another damn tax – a God tax.  I don’t want to pay the bills of the church.  The pastor only works on Sundays anyway.  What the hell does he (she – God forbid there be a female pastor) do anyway?  Why isn’t he/she checking in on my more often?  That lazy pastor.  We ought to get rid of him and get someone who will do all the ministry, bring in more people, find more money, do all the visitation, stay away from controversial topics, and make you feel good.  We pay him/her too much anyway.  I only want my money going directly to ministry, not paying salaries.  I’m not sure how that ministry will happen without staff, but that’s beside the point.  The staff should be happy they are getting anything.  It they want to be well paid, they should work for something like a video game company that makes violent video games, not a non-profit or church that are trying to make a positive impact in people’s lives.  Seriously?  What does the pastor think the church is about anyway – making disciples and following what Jesus said?  Yeah right!  It’s about me and my well-being.  That’s what I pay him/her for.
  • When dealing with our own safety.  Jesus doesn’t want us to be unsafe.  Jesus understands our fears.  It’s not like Jesus said to pick up the thing that will kill us and carry it.  No, Jesus said to pick up a gun and follow him.  We have to be able to protect ourselves after all.  And that means we have to mistrust people.  Especially anyone we don’t know, looks different, sounds different, looks at us strangely, walks near our property.  Jesus really said pick up your crossbow and follow him.  The editor missed the end of that.

I’m sure I’ve missed a few exceptions – times when it’s ok to not follow Jesus as a self-proclaimed follower of Jesus.  The above lists are actual arguments, with actual language that has been used (and a few exaggerations, but based on truth) I’ve heard related to these topics – so Christ-like, isn’t it?  Christ radiates out of all of these sentiments, doesn’t he?  Maybe we can redo the words of the old hymn – “They will know we are Christians by how we ignore Jesus, how we ignore Jesus.  Yes, they will know we Christians by how we ignore Jesus!” Needs a little work, I admit, but you get the sentiment.

When you compile this list, you’ll see that in reality being a follower of Jesus is pretty easy.   There really aren’t a whole lot of times or situations when you need to actually follow Jesus and his way.  It’s not like Jesus is asking you to drop everything and follow him with your whole life.  Geesh!  Actually when you look at what’s left, I think the only time you need to follow Jesus is when you are by yourself, feeling happy, have no worries and aren’t bothered by anyone else.  So about 1% of your time.  Unless you want to follow Jesus in your sleep too.  That jumps the time right up to 25-33% of your day right there.

Of course, if we claim to follow Jesus, then are there exceptions?  No.  The above arguments are as empty as they sound.  They are statements of faith though – faith in something else besides Jesus.  Sorry to burst your bubble on this – actually, I’m not sorry to state this obvious fact at all.  I guess I’m one of those pesky pastors people complain about.  If we claim to be a follower of Jesus, then that means we follow Jesus.  Always.  Especially in difficult situations.  There aren’t exceptions.  Exceptions mean that we think Jesus is full of it, when it comes down to it.  Why would you follow a way of someone you either don’t trust or don’t really believe?  That’s what we are saying when we make excuses for ignoring what Jesus says about difficult situations, enemies, money, and more.

Here are some other’s who had the same belief.

Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’

(Matthew 8:21-22)

Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

(Luke 9:61-62)

If your faith is only a guide for you in easy, simple, and peaceful times, then what good is it?  If it doesn’t guide you in difficult times, then why bother?  If following Jesus doesn’t make a demand on your life and isn’t costly, then why bother?  If it doesn’t change your life, then what is worth?  If following Jesus isn’t worth following in difficult situations and times, then do you believe that Jesus knows best?  Do you believe that Jesus is your salvation?  Do you believe that Jesus will be with you?  Or do you think that Jesus will abandon you in times of trial, so you have to go another way?

We’re moving into difficult times.  Now is the time for faith – faith that will guide our steps.  Faith that will guide our lives.  Faith that will sustain us.  Faith that will save us – not from trials, but will walk with us in these trails.  Faith that doesn’t need exceptions.  Following Jesus way does that.  Especially in difficult times.  Everything else is lacking.