Posted by Chris on Nov 25, 2011 in
God,
Life 
Isolation is a term coined by the late Fuller Professor Robert Clinton. It refers to an experience where a leader is removed from a number of things, such as their position of leadership, a sense of God’s presence, a knowledge of calling or direction. Isolation can be chosen, like taking a sabbatical or returning to seminary. It can also be forced on you, like a health problem, imprisonment or getting fired. It can last for weeks, or for years.
My major Isolation experience began when my position on a staff at a megachurch in San Antonio ended. I was out of work for over six months. I was unable to find a suitable ministry position, and eventually ended up in retail. I went from having a place of positional leadership and what seemed like a career track to being alone, with no sense of direction and very little hope.
In studying Isolation as part of the MAGL, I read something from Dr. Clinton that basically went like this:
“Don’t try to be finished with your Isolation until you’ve gotten everything out of it that God wants you to get out of it.”
This floored me, because for two years, I’ve been trying to be getting out Isolation. Unable to find direction, I tried to dive further into spiritual practices. When I felt adrift in depression, I sought to distract myself, and eventually got into counseling to “fix it.” I’ve had to learn what it is to do ministry when it’s not my job. Worst of all, my sense of failure and lack of direction left me unable to even answer the question “what do you want to do?”
But this comment about “getting everything out of Isolation” forced me to reevaluate why I was in such a hurry. If the perfect opportunity fell in my lap tomorrow, would I know what to do with it? Am I mature enough to keep from repeating the mistakes I’ve made in the past? Am I even the kind of person who should be trusted with leadership?
For the first time in almost three years, I am beginning to sense some “movement.” It may be that some new opportunities are on the horizon. But what’s the rush? Maybe I still have something to learn from Isolation.
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Tags: 7 Things I'm Thankful For, depression, God, leadership, MAGL
Posted by Chris on Nov 24, 2011 in
Church,
Culture,
God,
Life 
Every once and awhile I hear people complaining about the lousy christian music that they were force fed when they were kids. I smile and nod, but honestly I don’t really have any idea what they were talking about. The tribe of churches I came from were skeptical of anything from other tribes, so we shunned the books, movies and music that was being peddled by evangelicalism. We had our way of doing things, and much of our energy was spent justifying ourselves…to ourselves. In other words, we were an echo chamber.
The danger of an echo chamber is that the only voice you hear is your own. The inevitability of the political echo chamber began with cable TV and exploded with the internet. Now, you can completely cater your media experience to consist only of things that you already agree with. You’ve met people who only listen to radio, read blogs, and communicate with others who share their politics. Some days, all I want is to hear a few jokes from John Stewart, a story from Ira Glass and an episode of Doctor Who. The internet makes this customization not only possible, but normal.
I find this sad. I’m a full believer in a classic “liberal arts” education. I believe that, even if I don’t like it, having an understanding of algebra, art history and biology will make us better human beings. It breaks my heart to meet someone who doesn’t know what Tale of Two Cities or a quadratic equation is.
When it comes to theology, an echo chamber isn’t just sad, it’s dangerous. A key tennant of the Christian faith, which the western church struggles to articulate, is that everything we believe is rooted in mystery. We believe in a God-Man and a wind-like Spirit and a living lifestyle rooted in a future we have yet to see. Everything we do is rooted in mystery. This is not to say that there are not key, identifiable marks of orthodoxy. But the fact is there’s a lot we can’t know, and a lot of room to disagree.
Theological echo chambers allow you to create systematic theologies and take them to logical yet dangerous theological and practical extremes. This creates Reformers more calvinistic than Calvin, Wesleyans who become universalists and Anabaptist that withdraw to farms where no one can bother them. Practically, this creates religious arrogance. The tradition I come from (like many) is often mocked for assuming everyone else is going to hell. There might be some truth to that.
I believe in humbly seeking to hear from a multiplicity of voices. This means more than being open to hearing the arguments of the people that you disagree with. It means finding approaching life with a learning posture, assuming that even those that there are thing you can respect and emulate in everyone. And while you may come away believing what you always have, you’ll know better than ever why you believe it.
Here’s how I practice this: I attend seminary with people who have some elements of theology I disagree with. I work with a parachurch organization that trains leaders from a diversity of denominations. I listen to podcasts from Tim Keller (reformed/presbyterian) and Bruxy Cavey (anabaptist/wesleyan), Catalyst (seeker sensitive/event driven) and Iconocast (Christian anarchist). Don’t get me wrong, I have my favorites and I definitely have my opinions. But I’m better off because I learn to love and respect others.
Have you broken out of the echo chamber? Why or Why not?
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Tags: 7 Things I'm Thankful For, God, theology
Posted by Chris on Oct 3, 2011 in
Life 
Life is Good.
It’s true that life is tough. And when you realize that it’s tough, it gets a little better. It’s hard not to get lost in the darkness. Suffering is immediate rich and important in a way that our small daily joys pale against.
Which is why it is essential to remember that life is good.
As I was leaving the Emmanuel Orphanage in Delhi, Lakshmi, a six year old girl with piercing blue eyes clung to me and cried “Uncle, Uncle!” She, and all those around hre had been abandoned and persecuted their entire young lives, but they still knew how to love deeply, in a way I struggle to remember. Life is good.
I know a guy who begrudgingly gave the keys of his car to a single mom he barely knew for two weeks. They are good friends now. Life is good.
A friend of mine has often thought that the only way he could ever get a “good girl.” He felt like the only ones interested had different values and would treat him poorly. Then he met a girl, and has been attached to her at the hip ever since. Seeing them together is life seeing something that was always meant to be. Life is good.
Another friend of mine went to a foreign country to work with an NGO. His work was interupted when his teammates were captured, and he had to spend to next few months there negotiating their release. As heartwrenching as that was, he also sees it as the most important thing he has ever done. He took a furlough to recover, and is returning calmer, closer to God, and more excited about discipleship than ever. Life is good.
I get depressed sometimes. This summer was one of those. In the midst of that, I got a small, unexpected gift that helped shake me out of my myopic viewpoint. Life is good.
The scriptures teach when God created the world he called it good. When he created man, he called man really good. Then, sin wrecked all of that. Twisted and misshapen, like a fun house or a computer photobooth. But when we look behind the brokenness, we get to see that there is a heart wrenching beauty to it all.
The scriptures teach that this is not the way it was meant to be. Life is meant to be good. God has restored, is restoring and eventually will restore in full.
In time, the heartwrench will be over, and all we will see is that Life is Good.
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Tags: Community, depression, doubt, Faith, global journey, God, india, Jesus, Peace, Relationships
Posted by Chris on Sep 19, 2011 in
God,
Life I have always read a lot of books. I love having books around and talking about books. I think that bookshelves are the best way to decorate a house. So the idea of digital books didn’t used to be too appealing to me. However, during my trip to Fuller, I was embarrassed to see so many people carrying iPads and Kindles, while I had a second suitcase full of books. This was compounded by a 200 page , two column PDF that I had to read on my Macbook. Partially joking and partially exasperated I tweeted:
This has been a tough summer. In many ways, I feel like God has put me on hold. I’ve been waiting a long time for a lot of things, trying to be faithful with what I do have. But living in between is tough, and it’s worn me down.
The question that comes to mind is “why isn’t God working in my life?” I hear stories of God providing in emergencies, providing opportunities for vocation, or providing little things. It would be a lie to say that God has never worked in my life this way, but it feels like it’s been a long time.
Last Sunday I was handed a box that had been shipped to an old residence. I wasn’t expecting anything, much less the 1/2 lb. e-ink masterpiece I had been pining for. Shocked, I raced home and dug through my receipts just to make sure I had not accidentally bought it. Nothing. I tore apart the box for a shipping form, and saw my address and a short line that said:
#alwaysask
I’ve spent the last week attached to the little gizmo. A co-worker saw me smiling and said: “You look like you’ve got a new girlfriend.” I’ve devoured two books already.
It hasn’t fixed any of the problems that have got me down. But it is a reminder that God is out there, he listens, and other people do, too. I may have some complaints, but I have a good life. While I may still be on hold with God, I feel like he’s letting me know that he hasn’t gone anywhere. He cares. He wants to take care of me. Maybe he’s just waiting for me to let him.
#alwaysask
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Tags: books, depression, God, MAGL, prayer
Posted by Chris on Aug 12, 2011 in
God,
Life
One time I moved across the country for something that didn’t pan out. Another time I threw myself into developing a community that never knew how to welcome me. Those were dark days.
A friend’s husband just passed and left her with a baby. Another friend is suffering multiple miscarriages. Another friend was denied an interview for a job they deserve.
Some friends of mine back in Denver spend every day with homeless teenagers. Everyday with heroine addicts and drug dealers and occassionally, murderers. Two families I know are waiting for years to adopt while the kids they love are stranded thousands of miles away.
The kids I met at Emmanuel orphanage in Delhi are sleeping three to a bed in 110º. If things go well, they might get some chicken this week.
One guy I know is losing the battle to control both his mind and body. Another just got dumped…again. Another buried both parents the year he graduated high school.
Life is really tough.
To be honest with you, mine feels pretty rough right now. But not as tough as many I know.
Although I am often depressed and even despair, it hasn’t shaken a few basic hopes. They are:
1. This world is not all. Even when science explains how everything works, it will never answer “why?” The very fact that there is an unanswerable why question is all the proof I need to know that this world is not all.
2. We humans refuse to except a reality with no justice. Hindus count on Karma. Atheist fight against oppresive religion. Christians are holding out for a new heaven and new earth, and if necessary, a hell.
3. If there is more to this world, and there is justice, then there is a point to my story. To our stories. This is all going somewhere.
But none of this changes the fact that, in the meantime, life if tough.
So today, be kind to those you see. Chances are, they’re going through a lot.
And if you hope in Christ remember that
“ In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
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Tags: depression, Faith, global journey, God, india, Jesus, Peace, Relationships
Isolation is a term coined by the late Fuller Professor Robert Clinton. It refers to an experience where a leader is removed from a number of things, such as their position of leadership, a sense of God’s presence, a knowledge of calling or direction. Isolation can be chosen, like taking a sabbatical or returning to seminary. It can also be forced on you, like a health problem, imprisonment or getting fired. It can last for weeks, or for years.
