Jesus: An Alternative to Being Missional

I was all for being missional before it was cool. I led a ministry in college designed to help students think of themselves as “domestic missionaries,” and have tried to approach my ministry in a way positions Christ following as a radical way of life that must be translated into the pluralistic, postmodern, pre-Christian United States.

Many great discussions about God’s mission in the world, and the purpose of the Church are helping to refocus the church, however, like any other terminology, missional has been quickly co-opted to mean whatever you want it to mean. For some it means rebranding seeker-driven formats of the 80s and 90s.  For others it means rationalizing a focus of social justice at the expense of personal morality and evangelism.

Ever since being blown away by Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy I haven’t been able to get past the idea that Churches should exist to teach people to live as Christ would if he were them. What if we just took simple ideas like “don’t hate other people” or “trust God” or “eat with people who don’t look like you” and formed sermon series, youth ministries and Sunday School classes around them?

Call me simplistic, but I’m operating from the belief that important doctrinal issues can only be worked out once you really love Jesus, are following him, and are being transformed into his image.  Focusing on the life of Jesus and his teachings would, in turn, make us naturally missional, and maybe even take the focus off some other arguments we Christians keep having.

Tags: Dallas Willard, evangelicalism, evangelism, Jesus, Missional, missional church, postmodern, social justice

Pat Robertson Made a Deal With The Devil (and so did I…)

Here’s the biggest problem with Pat Robertson.  It’s not that he’s prone to say stupid things, or that he’s making Christians look completely heartless: It’s really bad theology.  As in: Not Historic Orthodox Christianity, Pagan, Works Driven, Theology.

…There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Pat, voodoo practicing Haitians and myself all have the same problem: We have sinned.  We fell short of the glory of God.  In that way, every single person who ever lived has made a “deal with the Devil.”

From the best I can tell, there is absolutely no Biblical example of a deal with the Devil, save some allegorical stories in Revelation (which Pat might think he fully understands, but I don’t pretend to.)  The idea seem more grounded in the medieval tale of Dr. Faust, and popularized by songs like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

There is  good news for jerks like me and Pat, that

…[all] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

This, really is the core of the Christian message: Go to Jesus, and NO MATTER WHAT, YOU ARE FORGIVEN.

Whether you injudiciously use your national platform like Pat, or you were the jerk to throw the first stone, there is forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Tags: Jesus, Pat Robertson

What Obi-Wan, Dumbledore and Jesus Have in Common

I finally got a chance to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, an angsty film that falls short of the book’s entrancing sense of obsession and fear.  While an otherwise mediocre film, the director does a great job of capturing the anti-climactic death of the great wizard Dumbledore, who, weak from a fruitless mission, chooses not to go down in a blaze of glory, and is simply pushed out a window.

Dumbledore’s death is reminiscent of Obi-Wan’s final salute and parting words to Darth Vader, “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”

Neither Dumbledore and Obi-Wan make it through the end of the series, but both leave a legacy, and inspire others to carry on their own work.  It’s not to different from my favorite non-fictional superhero, Jesus.  In giving up his life, he brought the exile of Israel and mankind from God to an end, and opened up the door for the Holy Spirit and the Church to carry out his mission.

This is a tough lesson to learn.  I want to fight for what I believe is true, no matter what the cost.  If you betray the principles you are fighting for, it doesn’t matter if you are right, and a well aimed defeat can be as strategic as a hard won victory.

Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Jesus, Kenobi, leadership, Obi-Wan

That’s My Kind of Baby.

The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.

Blessings on you and yours.

Marantha.

Tags: Advent, Christmas, Jesus

War is Over (If You Want It)

Over the last few Christmases John and Yoko’s Merry Xmas (War is Over) has become my favorite Christmas carol.  It asks us all, do we want to live in peace?

As I’m writing this blog post, I’m sitting and watching Braveheart with some friends.  I love a good, violent war movie as much as the next Y chromosome, but I can’t help but think that even the most inspiring heroism of war is a twisted misrepresentation of the promise that came into earth at the birth of Jesus Christ.

In our world, we can’t seem to get out of Iraq or Afghanistan. I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. I know people who are sleeping on the streets and in mud huts. The best that our most creative minds can imagine is blue cat-monkey people fighting our wars for us. It’s hard to imagine the truth of Christmas:

War is over.

If you want it.

I have chosen to trust the counter-intuitive promise of the gospel: a Jewish child, born the son of oppressed peasants in a cave full of animals, is the Prince of Peace.  His birth heralds the end of all wars.  I want it.

Believing in this prince means living in and for peace: seeking peace between within yourself, and between you, God, and your world.

As you come together for Christmas this year, you have to ask “So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” By next year, I hope answer: “I lived for peace.”

And so this is Christmas (War is over)
For weak and for strong (If you want it)

For rich and the poor ones (War is over)
The world is so wrong (Now)

And so Happy Christmas (War is over)
For black and for white (If you want it)
For yellow and red ones (War is over)
Let’s stop all the fight (Now)

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

Tags: Afghanistan, Christmas, Iraq, Jesus, Merry Christmas, Merry Xmas, Peace, War, War is Over