Posted by Chris on Aug 5, 2011 in
Church,
Culture,
God,
Life Faith is the navigation between experience and assertation. Experience is what your senses and your science tell you is true, like the fact that it’s 108º in Austin today or that the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. Assertation is the statements that we use to explain our experience, like “all men are created equal” or “the longevity of the Rolling Stones proves that they are the best rock and roll band of all time.”
Faith is the path that we take to get from today to tomorrow, responding to our senses and living out our assertations. For a scientist, their chief assertation is that the universe has an order, and that order can be discovered. The scientist’s faith is in the scientific method. For the buddhist, the assertation is that this world is to be overcome, and faith is in meditation and other processes that separate one from the world. For the Christian, the assertation is that this world is unfinished, and faith is living in a way that respects how things are but trusts in how things should be.
Jesus taught of the Kingdom that is now but not yet. The reality is that the world is full of disease and heartbreak and earthquakes and amputees. The reality is that God is good. He is in charge and there is healing and wholeness and peace.
Both are true.
Now. But not yet.
This blog meanders from theology to science fiction to relationships to politics. But at the core it is a blog about faith. My assertion is that there is something eternal about everything. The “present” is something recently experienced, like a date or a bike ride or my love for the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. The eternity is the deep truth, the old magic, behind all of these things. Exploring present eternity just means having faith that there is something to all of this.
Thanks for reading, for commenting and exploring with me.
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Tags: Blogging, Faith, writing
Posted by Chris on Jul 29, 2011 in
Church 
“The New Testament communities never considered capitulation to the naive dreams of “all men becoming brothers” or of “millions being embraced.” In a very realistic manner they sought to achieve fraternal love within their own ranks and constantly make simultaneous effors to transcend their boundaries. In this fashion an ever increasing number of people was drawn into the fraternity of the church, and neighborly relationships became possible.” Lofink, Jesus and Community, 114
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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
