Posted by Chris on Jul 5, 2011 in
Church 
I was recently taking part in a discussion at David Fitch’s blog, and was posed the following question: Why is that twenty-something seminary types (such as myself) have trouble stomaching being on staff at a traditional church? Here’s my brief answer that I may expand on later:
Are you familiar with the concept of “brain drain?” It’s when a small town’s best and brightest go off to college, never to return. They are overqualified for their small town’s job market, and accustomed to a broader world. In a very real way, they “can’t go home again.”
That’s my experience with church. Growing up I was taught a very specific set of legalistic doctrines. Now, I have a few college degrees, a taste for beer, an understanding of evolution and more than few homosexual friends. My generation needs a church that wrestles with my reality.
Briefly here’s 3 things I need from a church:
1. Why not How. Donald Miller once said something along the lines of “we were asking questions like ‘why am I here?’ and getting answers like ‘here’s how to have a great marriage.’”
2. Action Oriented. Most of my generation would agree with Gandhi’s infamous statement “I like your Jesus, not your Christians.” I would like to be a part of community that is more concerned with doing what Jesus said than some of the unsavory things the church has been known for lately.
3. Deep Community. Keller said something along the lines of “chastity is impossible outside of community.” There is no reason nor foundation to live like Christ if you do life alone. Cool music and a good small group isn’t enough. We need sacrificial, intensely interconnected relationships.
Do you agree? What would you add to the list?
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Tags: Church, Community, Donald Miller, gandhi, tim keller, twentysomething
Posted by Chris on Jul 4, 2011 in
Church,
Culture 
Jesus does not often address the State, except for his famous words on taxes “render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” It seems that Jesus is drawing a clear line between the State and the Kingdom of God. The State is an unavoidable part of life, with its requirements, but it is neither from God nor for God. Notice that Jesus did not say “when you serve your country, you are serving God.”
Paul and his contemporaries continued to undermine the state. Phrases salted throughout the New Testament like “Jesus is Lord” are a direct mockery of the political slogans of the day such as “Caesar is Lord.”
The church of the next few centuries saw itself as it’s own nation. Origen said that ”in each city” the church formed “another sort of country, created by the Logos of God.” Tertullian pulled no punches saying, “Nothing is more foreign to us than the State.”
It’s easy to see why the early church found themselves in direct opposition to their host. They were worshipping Jesus in a empire that mandated the worship of many gods, including Caesar. They were actively breaking down barriers such as Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, male and female. Looking to Jesus teachings, they refused violence, and shied away from military service.
But aren’t there drastic consequences if we don’t love our country? When Origen was hit with the accusation that if everyone acted like Christians the entire empire would go to rot, he responded “If everyone were the same as I, the barbarians would also be converted to the word of God, and would be the most law abiding and mild.” It wasn’t a question of being anti-Rome. They just believe all the answers were found in Jesus.
So how would Jesus celebrate independence day?
I won’t pretend to speak for him on the matter. But for me, I’m going to work like every other day of the week. I’ll grill with some friends, because they happen to have a day off. I’ll join with Abraham, Jesus, Paul and Tertullian, and unknown writer of Hebrews:
“They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
The quotes from the ancient fathers were drawn from Gerhard Lohfink’s excellent book Jesus and Community, which I read as part of the MAGL.
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Tags: anabaptist, church fathers, independence day, Jesus, MAGL
Posted by Chris on Jun 20, 2011 in
Church,
Culture,
God,
Life These questions begged a much bigger one:
Could the Church be involved in politics at all?
Here we were, responding to a jihad by declaring a crusade. I began to wonder how any of the words that Jesus ever said, especially in key teachings of the Sermon on the Mount that could warrant even the most just war. Moreover, could a Christian even be an American (or a Brit or Afghani or Brazilian)? What if we went beyond politics to lifestyles? Could a Christian pursue the American dream? Buy products produced unethically? Eat food slaughtered violently or grown in a way that endangers the environment? Prize safety and good neighborhoods over proximity to the poor?
These are questions I still struggle with today. On one hand, I believe that there is value in cultural engagement. The church cannot abandon culture. Yet history and experience teach us that in our attempts at relevance, we quickly take up the morays of the culture, and become something much less than the Church.
The Anabaptist movement, for centuries, has stood for unpopular things. They were martyred for their belief that an adult chooses their faith, not their family or the State. Even today, their mennonite and amish and christoanarchist descendants fight against the constant creep of civic religion. During Vietnam, Mennonite Conscientious Objectors were sent to staff psychiatric hospitals. Their humanizing treatment of the mentally ill has led to many advances in patient care.
When I asked an mennonite preacher what their hermeneutic was, he responded “The Sermon on the Mount.” As a person wanting to live like Christ in the midst of the longest war in American history, their way of life just makes sense.
My dream is to be a part of a community shaped by the story and teachings of Christ. The Church does this both in spite of the world, and simultaneously for the world. This may mean abandoning the comfort and structures that America has to offer, and living as a stranger in one’s own land. It may be that this countercultural, underground radical community grounded in obedience to the teachings of Christ is the best hope of us, our churches, and our neighborhood. We can thank Osama bin Ladin for teaching us.
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Tags: anabaptist, Bin Ladin, Bush, Harding University, hauerwas, just war, mennonite, niebuhr, pacifism, Peace, War
Posted by Chris on Jun 13, 2011 in
Church,
Culture,
God,
Life 
I have never understood how the Church and the Republican Party became synonymous. The Religious Right was nothing new, but it seemed like the culture wars reached a new high during the 2000 election. I often felt alone when I tried to explain why I believe that single issue voting does not make you a better follower of Jesus. With the blurred lines between pop-Christianity and the Bush administration, and an enormous flag greeting us every morning, the imminent wars produced a new message: Being a good Christian meant supporting your country in war.
This began to churn something inside me. I could see why understand dismantling Afghanistan, but chasing WMDs in Iraq was harder. It seemed that whenever such concerns being voiced, it resulted in one’s patriotism, and likewise their faith, being called into question.
My graduate studies in theology began in the midst of the 2004 election. There were wars of two fronts. About the time John Kerry was being demonized for his participation in anti-war protests, I was taking an ethics class.
We read Reinhold Neibuhr, the father of modern Just War theory. Then we read Stanley Hauerwas’ The Peaceable Kingdom. For the first time I encountered a way of being the church, in the midst of a war torn world, that seemed completely in line with the way of Jesus.
This wasn’t about individual morality or proper ecclesiological structure. It was a vision that
the church existed to stand with, and alongside the lost world,
as an inviting example
of what the universe would look like when the Kingdom of God was complete.
This was a different way to answer the questions that had flared up since bin Ladin had interrupted our lives. What if, instead of railing against the prevailing culture, we lived lives that showed how it was lacking? We could respond to abortion by setting an example in adoption. We could respond to marriage and sexuality discussions by working on our own marriages and standing in contrast to the American divorce epidemic. We could respond to violence by addressing the root issues of hatred and inequity.
This question begged a much bigger one:
Could the Church be involved in politics at all?
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Tags: anabaptist, Bin Ladin, Bush, Harding University, hauerwas, just war, mennonite, niebuhr, pacifism, Peace, War
Posted by Chris on Jun 9, 2011 in
Church,
God,
Life 
While I was meeting with my MAGL cohort in Colorado Springs, we talked a lot about books. Since books and audiobooks are such a big part of my life, a classmate suggested I create a reading list. This series will tackle that question.
If you could read only one book about Jesus, it should be The Divine Conspiracy. Dallas Willard masterfully explains the core topic of Jesus teachings, The Kingdom of God, and how we are to respond to them.
The book begins with a discussion of the very idea of a kingdom, how we each have our own, and what it means for God to have one. At it’s most basic, the Kingdom of God is “the dome under which God is King.” He then goes on to explain that if Jesus is God, he is also the smartest person that ever lived. He also explains that Jesus teachings were meant to be taken as serious ethical directions for individuals and societies. The majority of the book works through Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
What makes Willard’s writing so meaningful is that he is a foremost a highly astute philosopher. Yet despite his intellectual prowess, the majority of his teaching is based in the belief that we can, and should do what Jesus said. He shows how very simple, yet difficult, it is to live in the kingdom of God.
Divine Conspiracy is on my vert short list of almost yearly reads. When I read it, I feel like I am finally seeing who Jesus is, and how his teachings were meant to change our lives and the world.
You can find The Divine Conspiracy here in paperback, digital, and audio.
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Tags: books, Dallas Willard, discipleship, if you could only read one book, Jesus, spiritual formation, The Divine Conspiracy, Willard
