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Discernment

02 Monday Jul 2018

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The world certainly needs love.  Something that is in great need is discernment.  Discernment is a nice theological term that essentially means spiritual direction, understanding, or what’s God up to now?

We can certainly use some discernment in our national discourse.  We are caught in a pattern of controversy and reaction, controversy and reaction.  This cycle creates unneeded anxiety.  And our leaders seem bent on creating more anxiety, rather than relieving anxiety among the people.

We are responsible for discerning how we go about our days.  Recently, I have been asking myself the following questions to assist me in discernment – to know if I’m on the right track or I have fallen off base.  You may want to consider these questions for yourself.

When I respond to (insert controversial policy) am I in alignment with what Jesus taught?

Does my response advance the unfolding of the kingdom of God or the expansion of empire theology?  (Empire theology is the belief that might makes right, that the strong survive, the enemy must be destroyed or conquered, that God has no say in politics, etc)

Am I saying or typing words that are based in love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and peace, or at they based on something else like being right, control, fear, anger, etc.?

When I speak or act, who do people see or hear – Jesus or Caesar?  (Caesar is my way of expressing the rulers and ways of the world that are in opposition to the way of Jesus – there have been many Caesar-like figures throughout history.)

Forgive me Lord when I fail to speak or act in a way that conflicts with your way.  Give me courage to follow you.

Doubt

09 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in Theology

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On Sunday, we heard about “Doubting” Thomas, as he has come to be known in popular culture.  Except Thomas gets a bad rap.  The problem with the label goes beyond the bad characterization of Thomas.  It makes doubt itself seem like this terrible thing.  As if Thomas was a failure because he wanted what everyone else experienced – an encounter with the risen Christ.

Doubt is normal.  I believe God can handle our doubts and our questions.  I believe that our whole belief system won’t crumble like a house of cards if there is doubt.  There are some who disagree.  There are preachers who will go out of their way to make those who raise questions feel like they are in the wrong if they doubt or raise questions.  And these preachers are wrong.  Asking questions and raising doubts is normal and in some ways, it is a good thing.

Having doubt doesn’t mean there is something wrong with a believer.  Doubt is a part of faith.  That’s because faith doesn’t equal certainty.  Faith goes well beyond understanding and knowledge.  Faith is a gift from God.  Often times our faith doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  But don’t take my word for it.  There are examples of this throughout the Bible.

Abraham picked up all he owned, and started traveling until God told him to stop.  That’s acting on faith.  Abraham had no idea where God was sending him.  Moses acted on faith, without knowing how to get to the promises land.  The writers of Psalm 13, 22, and 88 know all about doubt – they feel abandoned by God, questioning if God even exists.  Even Jesus had some doubt – read his account of praying in the garden before his trial and execution.

Doubt is not a sin.  It means we don’t know everything.  We are not in charge.  Faith is a gift that is given to us by God.  It propels us forward, even, and especially, in the midst of doubt.  Our response is trust.  Faith is linked with hope.  Hope isn’t hope if it is something that we can see clearly, or even at all.  Faith and hope contain doubt by the mere fact that we don’t know everything about them.

This doesn’t mean that there is hopelessness.  It means that we will continue to question and doubt.  We’ll continue to ask questions of God – questions like why homelessness exist.  Questions about violence and evil.  Questions about human trafficking and prostitution. Why God?  Why don’t you do something about these things God?  Can you hear us?  Are you there?

God is big enough to handle these questions.  And God empowers us to do something in response.  To make us so uncomfortable and inconvenienced by these things that we step out in trust and hope – and we bring change.  We bring Jesus with us.  And miracles happen.

Questions for Christians

22 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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I read several articles over the weekend that were pretty predictable.  They were critical of Evangelicals and their support of Trump.  There were valid points in these articles.  And I think there were some unfair points too.  Instead of rehashing any of these articles, I’ve got some different questions for Evangelicals – questions that I’m truly curious about.    If you are a self-described Evangelical Christian, please take a moment an answer these questions.  They aren’t easy.  But your answers will help me understand how you live out your faith every day and how your beliefs about the world make sense to you.

Question #1 – Would you want Donald Trump as the pastor of your church?  Why or why not?  Leave policy aside.  Forget about whether Jesus would support this policy or that policy.  Just go with personality and character.  Would Donald Trump make a good pastor in your church?  What would make him good?  What would make him bad?

Question #2 – Why are you so loyal to Trump?  What is it about him that you have sworn allegiance to this man?  Does his paying off of a porn star because of a sexual affair bother you at all?  Does it affect your support of him?  How is this different then Bill Clinton’s sexual situation?  Did you get upset over that?  Why?

Question #3 – What do you say to people who question your Christianity and claim that all you really are is a tool for the conservative political ideology?  What is your belief about how Jesus calls on Christians to treat opponents and enemies?

Question #4 – If someone doesn’t agree with you and they are self-described as a Christian, what does that make them?  Can someone be a Christian and not agree with your beliefs?  How about your political beliefs, preferences, and loyalties?  Do you believe that it is your faith that informs your politics or that politics informs your faith?  Please explain.

Question #5 – How does Jesus’ teachings of the Sermon on the Mount impact your theological beliefs and then in turn impact how you live each day?  What about Jesus teaching about welcoming the stranger?  How about feeding those that are hungry?  How does any of Jesus’ teaching directly impact your daily life?  How do you live out your faith?

These questions aren’t meant to be an insult – I am genuinely curious.  They aren’t easy questions though either.  I’d be curious to hear what difficult questions you would have for someone like me.  Careful though – I’m happy to give you my answers, but you may not like them.  For one thing, I don’t fit into the nice, neat dichotomy of left-right political ideas.

Purpose and Meaning

15 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Theology

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Have you ever driven through sections of town that raise questions?  When you look around, you can’t help but wonder what happened?  Have you driven through a city to a section where you can literally see a lack of hope and future in the faces of the people and the properties and the landscaping?  The entire area just looks and feels empty of life.  There is survival, but that’s about it.  And often it gets summed up as this – Why am I still here?

So often we look to government to provide for people who are poor – and government does to some degree.  But government is limited – it can only touch on people’s material needs.  It can’t touch the intangibles.

These are intangibles like community, spiritual needs, existential needs.  I don’t care who you are, we all have these needs and often these needs are going unmet.

This is an opportunity for the church.  This is one area that the church has a unique opportunity and role in the lives of people – to do something that no one else can do.  To help people answer the question of why they are still here.

There are many people who seek purpose and meaning.  It’s as if they are waiting for an answer to just show up.  They don’t know where to search for the answer to the age-old question – and so they just exist.  And after you have done that for a long time, you forget that you were searching.  And instead, you bide your time, you distract yourself, and you find ways to fill the void in life.  Too many turn to unhealthy distractions of drugs, alcohol, sex, and entertainment.  Others turn to work and materialism.

But none of these can offer the answer to these deep questions about life.  And this is where the church can step in and help people with these questions.  It’s what makes the church unique.  But it requires a long-term commitment.  It requires an outward focus.  It requires trust and a willingness to ask difficult questions and sit with uncomfortable questions.  It takes time.

Purpose and meaning – even people who we think don’t care about these things really do.  Purpose and meaning are the difference between existing today and having direction.

Doing the wrong thing right

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Organizational theory, Politics, Theology

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Are we doing things right?  Are we more concerned with doing what we are doing the right way, or with doing the right things?

Will Richardson wrote a great piece that explored this subject when it comes to education.  He offers some thought provoking ideas and questions about how we do (or don’t do) education in the US.

Here’s just one question from the very beginning of the article:

Do we do the things we do because they’re better for kids or because they are easier for us? For instance: separating kids by age in school. Is that something we do because kids learn better that way? Or do we do it because it’s just an easier way organizing our work? I think all of us know the answer to that.

He’s got plenty more questions like this.  Questions we’d be asking if we really wanted to improve our education system, instead of just rearrange the deck chairs while we fight about who’s in charge of the ship.

What about other areas of life though?  How about in your family?  Are you more focused on doing things right, rather than on doing the right things?  Do you even know what that means when it comes to your family?  One example – a general question.  Are you spending time together as a family?  There’s a way to do this right and a right way to do this.  Doing this right means that you all happen to be in the same room together for hours, but you either ignore each other or miss the opportunity to grow in relationship because all you really care about is the entertainment that is being shown on some screen in front of you.  The right way to do it would be to pay attention to each other, do things together, talk, listen, etc.

This can be applied to so many areas of life.  A book could be written on this concept as it relates to politics.  Politics is an area that excels in doing things right, rather than doing the right thing.

And we could apply it to church too.  Unfortunately, there are plenty of churches that focus on doing things right as opposed to doing the right thing.

The reality is that doing things right is much safer.  It doesn’t require us to rethink what we are doing.  It allows us to think that what we are doing is right.  We’re in control, we only need to tweak what we are doing.  Focusing on doing things right means we get to point at people who have new ideas and say that they are only interested in rocking the boat.  We can blame people for wanting to create chaos.  We can say that we actually changing because we are doing what we have always done, but just a bit differently – better actually.  Focusing on doing things right is more concerned with being right.

When we focus on doing the right things, we approach life differently.  We are open to the possibility that what we are doing is less than ideal, maybe even wrong or dangerous or divisive.  We let go of the desire to control everything.  We open ourselves to new ideas and new people.  We become vulnerable.  It can be scary – everything we knew to be true might not be true anymore.  We are open to change and seeing possibilities.  We are open to thriving and life.  We are open to the possibility that more change will be required.  We are open to the possibility that our vision might actually become reality.  That can be scary too.  Doing the right thing means letting go of being right.  That might sound contradictory, but it’s actually pretty accurate.

So, what are you focused on – doing things right or doing the right thing?  Or is it something else?  Because we all know, life isn’t as simple as just two choices.  And it’s never just that clear and easy.  Life is complicated.  And you know what – that’s ok.  Even if you are thinking about this question, you’re moving in the right direction.  Focus on what matters in life.  And I’ll tell you from personal experience – it’s not being right or having the right answers.  It’s knowing that you don’t, yet still moving forward in love, patience, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Questions and a time

18 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by in Society, Theology

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question-markWhat would you do if you didn’t have TV or internet for a week?  Would you feel lost?  Would you feel like you were disconnected from everything around you?  Would you feel like you stepped into the past or to another world?

Or would you feel set free?  Would you feel a sense of relief?  Would you feel calmness?  Would you feel healthier?  Would you feel happier?

Or would you feel all of these – maybe a bit of both?

Would you pay attention to things around you?  I mean, the things right around you.  You know, nature, people, architecture, plants, animals, the sounds you hear, the sights you see, the sunrise, the sunset, etc.  Would you notice the need your neighbor has?  Would you do something about it?  What?

What would you do if you couldn’t distract yourself with entertainment?  What would you do?  How would your life be different?  Would it be better?  Would you face the boredom?  What would you do about it?  Would you dare allow it to just sit with you, being uncomfortable?

Do you realize that these questions aren’t seeking an all or nothing answer.  They are just questions that seek some attention.  We don’t have to be completely disconnected from technology.  Just as we don’t have to be completely connected to it either.  It is a tool to be used.  And just like any tool – use the right tool for the right job.  You don’t use a hammer for every job do you?

The last question is this – what job are you trying to accomplish?  Is what you are using the best tool for that job?  Using the internet might be the best tool to find information?  But then again, maybe not.  Using your eyes and ears might be also.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

– Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I wonder, if Ecclesiastes were updated to a modern version, would the author add: a time to do, and a time to  be.  A time for internet, and a time for disconnection.  A time for distractions, and a time for paying attention.

Thought experiment: Christians and politics edition

15 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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Every once in a while I like to play with some thought experiments.  Today is one of those days.  Play along with me, won’t you?

What if pastors all became non-partisans?  What if they detached themselves from the political parties of the country? No more being tapped by candidates for office to be part of their Evangelical outreach campaign?  No more being tapped by candidates for office to be part of their Mainline Protestant outreach campaign?

What if pastors just stopped listening and buying the rhetoric of either political party?

That might be easy to play with, poke holes in, etc.  Here’s a better one.  One that I can imagine will raise plenty of criticisms and objections.

What if all Christians became non-partisans?  Whoa.  Hold the phones a minute.  Did I just suggest something that many would think is unthinkable?  What if we collectively decided that partisan politics focused too much attention on asking “Who is my neighbor?” Who is on my side and who is on the other side?  Who is with us and who is against us?  You know – us vs. them.  What if Christians actually took what Jesus was saying in the Good Samaritan parable seriously and started being neighbors to those they disagree with (and maybe even hate) and those that they have been told are their enemies?  What if?  I wonder how politics would change.  I wonder how lives would change?

Let me clarify something because I can hear the wails and gnashing of teeth over these questions – I’m asking about party affiliation, not removing oneself from politics completely.  Those are two different things.

I wonder, maybe the thought experiment is reversed in it’s thinking.  I wonder, if Christians started being neighbors the way that Jesus calls us to be, would they leave partisan politics behind?  Not reject it, but see it as worthless maybe?  Or just not that important anymore?  Maybe not.  Would they see the message of partisan politics as a message of division and scapegoating?  Maybe being a neighbor would have more of an impact on how the nation and the world changed than worrying about which candidate won, what they were saying, who they were blaming, and who would “save” the nation.

Maybe.  I don’t know.  Or maybe I’m not being realistic here because this is the way it’s always been.  Except it hasn’t.  That’s the fun of playing with a thought experiment – you can come up with crazy ideas and play with them.

What if Christians took Jesus’ message seriously enough to actually believe that it is a life changing and world changing message?  I mean really bought into the idea – hook, line, and sinker – not just mouthed the words on Sunday in church.  I’m talking about about buying the message enough that your life is changed and so you change what you do, how you talk, how you act, etc.  I wonder what would happen if we spent as much time thinking about, tweeting, posting memes on social media, having discussions, debates, etc. about what Jesus said as we do with what the candidates say?  What would that look like?  What would our nation look like?  What would world look like?  I don’t know.  It’s never been tried before.  Could be better.  Could be worse I guess.  Might be just the same.

I wonder if Christians just stopped buying the empty partisan rhetoric that claims that a person in a specific office will bring salvation (or peace, or prosperity, or security, etc.) by destroying our enemies.  I wonder what it would look like and sound like if Christians just stopped believing the scapegoating rhetoric that partisan candidates and loyalists use.  I wonder what it would look like and sound like if Christians spent as much time, energy, effort, and money living out what Jesus called us to, rather than trying to get someone elected to office.

I wonder.

Questions for Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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When did it become acceptable to hate?  Maybe that’s the wrong question.  There’s been a long history of hate within Christianity for a long time.  It probably goes back as far as when the church became culturally acceptable when Constantine was emperor.  You know, when you have the authorities and leaders on your side, you can start to look down on others who don’t.  Maybe the question should be, why has it taken Christians so long to figure out this out?

Why do you quote some bible passages and not others?  Is it because you want God to fit your worldview?  Do you realize that for every bible verse you pull out of context, I can find one opposing your view, also out of context – regardless of the topic? Do you not know that the bible raises more questions than it answers…and that’s a good thing?  Why do you think the bible is an answer book which answers all your questions?

Why do claim to interpret the bible literally, but then come up crazy ideas that literally aren’t in the bible?  For example Rapture.  It’s not there.  Never has been.  Never will be.  You can’t randomly pull scripture, tell me that weeks actually mean years, tell me what the weeks mean without it being there and in the same breath tell me that you interpret the bible literally.  You aren’t even following your own rules.  Why should I?

Why do you endorse and support a candidate for office who has been married multiple times, cheated on those spouses, flip flops on social issues you care about, is full of pride and arrogance, contradicts Jesus on the idea of neighbors, seeks revenge, doesn’t think he needs forgiveness, believes military force will solve problems, puts his faith in himself and in country over God and misquotes scripture?  How do you rationalize the conflict between what you claim to stand for with a candidate who is polar opposite?

Why do you think you have been appointed the culture police?  Where do you get the notion that the culture should match your interpretation of the bible and Christianity?

Why do you push away other Christians?  Why is your version of authentic Christianity right?  Why do you not recognize that interpretation is imprecise?  Why do you think people will be convinced of how right you are by you yelling at them and telling them they better get on board or else?

Why do you think the most important part of being a Christian is about being right and have the right beliefs?  What about the commands of Jesus who told us to go and make disciples and to go take care of poor, homeless, visit those in prison, and share Good News.

Why?

 

The purpose of life

26 Thursday May 2016

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

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What is the purpose of life?  It’s a question many contemplate, some offer answers and many avoid – too afraid of what the answer might be, or afraid of the lack of answer.

Is happiness the purpose of life?  I don’t think so.  Happiness is a fleeting emotion that comes and goes.  It seems like purpose would be involved something more long-term.

Is power the purpose of life?  I don’t think so, although we certainly see plenty of people seeking it, thinking that it will give them everything they need.

Is the pursuit of money the purpose of life?  I don’t think so.  I have read about too many people who sought money and once they obtained it were more miserable than when they lacked money.

Is sex the purpose of life?  I don’t think so.

Is working the purpose of life?  Really?  You even have to ask?

What is the purpose of life?  Family?  Pleasure?  Relaxation?  Sport?  Health?  Entertainment?  What?

People seek out so many things that they think are the purpose of life – as if the purpose of life were some kind of object or destination.

I believe that the purpose of life is the pursuit of life – it’s the process by which we live.  It’s what guides us each day – not to obtain anything or get anywhere, but to live our life to its fullest – to be fully oneself, unlike anyone else.  This will be different for each person because we have been given different gifts and talents by God.  We are stewards of these gifts and we are called on to use them in life to their fullest.  I think God gives us these things and watches and urges us in directions and is full of joy to see what we make of these gifts in our own creative ways.  This is one way of looking at it – certainly not the only way.  Maybe not even the best way, but its one way.

How would you answer the question – what is the purpose of life?

Education Reform

25 Wednesday May 2016

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One of the topics that comes up every election cycle here in the US is education reform.  It usually ends up being a “discussion” about funding though.  It rarely ends up being about reform and if it is, it’s usually about something other than what it should be – how do we better educate our children in a way that will help them grow up to be thinking adults.

Our education system has some real challenges and it seems as though those challenges are not getting better.  I’m sure there are many things that contribute to that.  One of the biggest is that we are stuck in our thinking.  We think that we should only be reforming education, rather than looking at the whole system.

Our current education system is based on some old assumptions that don’t fit our current times.  Often our educational system is designed to train students to be compliant, to listen, to take tests and to work a lot.  We’re educating students to be factory line workers – all of them.  There’s nothing wrong with being a factory line worker.  My challenge is that this is not good training for most of the students who won’t be a factory line worker.  It’s a 19th and early 20th century way of thinking about education.

There are exceptions to this of course and there are some really great teachers out there.  Unfortunately these teachers hands are often tied behind their backs and aren’t allowed to teach students how to learn what they really need to learn.

One article on this caught my attention – “How Finland broke every rule – and created a top school system.”

Here’s how the article starts:

Spend five minutes in Jussi Hietava’s fourth-grade math class in remote, rural Finland, and you may learn all you need to know about education reform – if you want results, try doing the opposite of what American “education reformers” think we should do in classrooms.

Instead of control, competition, stress, standardized testing, screen-based schools and loosened teacher qualifications, try warmth, collaboration, and highly professionalized, teacher-led encouragement and assessment.

Here’s a warning for you before you start to say we should adopt the Finnish model – No we shouldn’t.  Finland has a great education system.  They have their challenges and problems too in education.  But overall, it’s a pretty good system.

We spend a year in Finland and our kids went to a Finnish public school – one where everything occurred in English.

Our kids had a good education, less homework, practically no tests, a lot more recess time and guess what – they learned and they were happier about learning too.

The danger is seeing this and thinking that it would be a good idea to transport this system to the US.  The danger with this is that Finland and the US are not the same.  They have different cultures, different languages and appreciations for language, different histories, different ways of looking at the world and society, different ideas about trust of other human beings, different government and political system, etc.

You cannot pluck a policy or system from one system and plop it down in a completely different place and expect it to work as well, or at all.  Doing that makes the assumption that the people involved don’t matter.  And they do – a lot.

Are there things to learn from the Finnish system – yes, certainly.

How should the US reform its education system?  I don’t have all the answers.  I think we have to start by asking the questions – What is the purpose of education?  Who are attempting to develop our students into?  Why are we doing organized education at all?  What are the values that should guide our education system?  What would it look like if we started from scratch?  What’s holding us back from making necessary changes?  How do we overcome them?  What can we agree upon?

There really is no sense in reforming the system until we start answering some core foundational questions about education.  Otherwise, it’s like we are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.  The moves may make it look nice, but really won’t do anything to make an actual improvement.