One of my silly little college rebellions was against praying at meals.  I wasn’t a legalist, I had a relationship with God, so could pray whenever I wanted.  A funny thing happened: soon, I wasn’t praying at all.

Pharisees and legalistic Christians were doing something very natural, yet very dangerous: taking our human need for rhythm and ritual, and turning it into a man made religion, that has no need for God’s grace and intervention.

Until we created electricity, mankind had lived a rhythm of life determined by the sun.  We woke up with the sun, and went to sleep with the sun.  The seasons shaped our year, with hard work during the spring and summer, celebrations during fall harvest.  Rhythm has always defined what it means to be human, from beating of our hearts, to the ways we divide our year.

In a world with lights, television and refrigerators, rhythm has become a hindrance to a no limits lifestyle.

How do we create a rhythm of life, that encourages Christlikeness, without falling into the traps of legalism? Daniel was known for his prayer schedule.  Jesus and his early followers celebrating Passover and Pentecost.  When the early church was thrust by Constantine into the mainstream, they created traditions such as Lent to teach new converts the value of sacrifice.  The Benedictine Rule of Life was developed as a guide to bring together the various aspect of one’s life into a unified, Christlike whole.

My week is shaped by things like logging into Facebook, my work schedule, or when the next episode of The Office airs.  What could be more counter-cultural than allowing practices like prayer, Bible reading, time spent with community, fasting, meditation, and practicing mercy to shape how we organize our lives?

Many, in a reaction to legalism, have sought to be spiritual without being religious. This creates a vacuum filled by things of this world.  Perhaps a better goal would be to learn how to be HUMAN without being WORLDLY, which we’ll discuss in the days to come.

What are the rhythms of your life?  How have you overcome your human need for religion?

What is the What

The book really has it all:  tragedy, war, love stories and hope.  Dave Eggars narrator captures the voice of African refugees, with their zest for the small things in life and their deep understanding of tragedy.

The book makes it clear that refugee camps don’t go away.  Achak grows up in a refugee camp: a tent city built on a barren desert plain.  With no agriculture and little schooling, and the only economy at the mercy of the foreign aid workers,  there is little to do but wait.

Although Achak seems indomitable, he can’t help but struggle with theodicy.  Having lived through wars only to arrive in the U.S. and experience continued tragedy, he asks the question “does God have a problem with me?”  Neither Achak or Eggars ever answer the question directly, yet the hero never gives up, neither on his faith or his desire to build a better life.

This question is one that we have all asked in our lives, and What is the What is a reminder that there are many who have persevered through much more difficulty than we can imagine.

It is also an invitation for Christ followers to respond from the very core of their faith.  From the time of Abraham, God’s people have been refugees in a world not their own.  God loves them, and has given us the privilege of demonstrating that love.

Have you read What is the What?  How should we respond to stories of orphans and refugees?

Three churches whose podcast I listen to regularly are all teaching through the book of Jonah.

Andy Stanley, king of the one-liners, can be heard at the North Point podcast.  Rob Bell, with his new teammate, the pop-mennonite Shane Hipps, are exploring the depths at Mars Hill Bible Church.  Austin’s own Gideon Tsang is lending a hand to Chris Seay at Ekklesia Houston.

Why do you think that so many teachers are gravitating to Jonah at this time?  What have you learned from the story of the reluctant prophet, the giant fish and the great city?

The club is located on South Lamar, in a part of town known for cheap chic.  My favorite coffee houses, with their patio seating, exposed ceilings, and rickety tables maintain the bohemian steet cred.  But Highball doesn’t even try.

Instead they go for classy.  Leather paneling and chandeliers, high priced food and drinks make me put on a fedora and pretend that I’m somebody.  Then Highball throws you a monkey wrench, or actually a ten pound ceramic ball.  Bowling lanes and skee ball may seem to evoke “family fun centers” aimed at suburban teenagers., but actually add an element of interaction not found in your average club.  Hidden in the back are private Karaoke rooms.

Then there’s the events, whose sheer level of creativity sets the place on it’s own plane.  Everything from Geeks Who Drink trivia, to 90’s dance parties, to Oscar watching parties, to hip-hop karaoke.

I went by Monday night for Big Band night, which is where my only complaint comes in.  The music selection was over the top, brassy and to slow for most of us Swing Dancers (although, it seemed perfect for the surprisingly high number of gray hairs cutting a rug.)  The most fun we had on the dance floor was actually during the DJed breaks in between sets.

That being said, I’ll definitely give them another chance at the next Big Band night, and bring a few quarters for Skee ball.

Our new task is to imagine a Jesus way of life, true to who he is, yet meaningful in our context.  We now ask ourselves, what about our culture’s way of life is valuable, godly and should be affirmed?  What must be abandoned altogether?

The modern mindset would have us do this by breaking the world into categories.  It asks questions like “What is Christian music/family values/politics/personal finances/sexuality/entertainment?”  These are good questions which we may address later.

This categorization divorces relevant issues from the way in which we encounter them in life. No one says “from 8am-2pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I will listen to the radio.”  Instead, they listen to the radio as a part of their rhythm of life.  They listen in the car, or while they cook and clean.  The tactic has been to tell people to listen to the Christian radio station.    Rather than imagining what Jesus would do with a TV or computer, we put porn filters on our computers and try to find family friendly movies.

What if we asked questions like: “Why do I like porn so much?” or “Why do I turn the TV on the second I get home?”  We need to move from avoiding behaviors to addressing the way of life we have bought into: our daily, weekly and yearly rhythms, and the nature of our relationships. Which we’ll dive into soon.