I apologize for not posting in a quite a long time. There are a couple of reasons for (not) doing so. The first is that I really haven't had much to say. I believe that "journaling" is an ebb and flow process and that sometimes it's better just to clam up, read what other people are talking about, and wait until you have something to say, rather than say something just to fill space. The other reason is that I've been extremely busy as the beginning phases to the financial campaign that Southwest Church is going to go through early next year is hitting my areas in a big way.
However, I have thought of a challenge for the end of this month and all next month. By the way, both challenges so far have been successful, and yet not successful. What do I mean. Well, I fulfilled what I set out to do both times - not go to Starbucks, and not chew my nails. Yet I reverted back to doing both - today I went to Starbucks twice, and my nails are "down to the quick" again.
This next challenge of mine is one that will have a lasting effect, however; it's one of those challenges that you either fail completely or succeed completely.
I truly believe that God communicates to us in several different ways - through his Word, through the Spirit, through circumstances, through counsel of others, through prayer to name a few. These have all happened in my life at one time another - some of them I have seen as "big" communicators, some of them as subtle communicators (counsel of others probably being one of those). However, there is one communication process that I firmly believe God uses in my relationship with Him to speak to me and show me things in my life that need changing, or at least need examining. This communication process happens through my reading. I have noticed that as I read through books (I read through several at one time), there always seems to be a consistent theme that flows throughout them - stories, anecdotes, chapter themes, etc. And these themes get emphasized in other ways as well - conversations I have with people, messages at church, stuff I read online being some of those ways.
It is no different with what I'm reading right now. Everything I'm reading points to two themes that are pretty similar: forgiveness and grace. And I know why these themes are running through my reading and through my life. My life has not been an easy one, to say the least. The past few years have been relatively easy, but the rest of it has been one crazy ride. In the process of my life, there are several people who I have harbored resentment, anger and bitterness towards them - the way they have treated me, the situations that they have pushed me into, the way they have wrecked lives of people around me. It has become increasingly difficult to speak of grace and forgiveness in any kind of "church" setting, because I know that I am hypocritical in this area. I know that I cannot tell people that they need to forgive others in their lives when I have so many people that I have not forgiven in my life. I cannot realistically or honestly speak of grace and how it changes hearts, when my heart is filled with ungrace. I think that part of me has always felt that if I forgive someone, or extend grace to someone, that there needed to be an end then to the hurt that I feel as a result of the past. However, as I am reading the book "What's So Amazing About Grace" by Philip Yancey for the hundredth time, he says something that has finally helped me to see past this incorrect thought process. He says this:
"At last I understood: in the final analysis, forgiveness is an act of faith. By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am. By forgiving, I release my own right to get even and leave all issues of fairness for God to work out. I leave in God's hands the scales that must balance justice and mercy. When Joseph finally came to the place of forgiving his brothers, the hurt did not disappear, but the burden of being their judge fell away. Though wrong does not disappear when I forgive, it loses its grip on me and is taken over by God, who knows what to do...I never find forgiveness easy, and rarely do I find it completely satisfying. Nagging injustices remain, and the wounds still cause pain. I have to approach God again and again, yielding to him the residue of what I thought I had committed to him long ago. I do so because the Gospels make clear the connection: God forgives my debts as I forgive my debtors. The reverse is also true: Only by living in the stream of God's grace will I find the strength to respond with grace towards others."
I could never forgive in the past, because I could never see how the end result of that forgiveness would play out in my life and in the lives of those who have wronged me. Now I realize that I don't have to know the end result. I entrust it to God and allow him to know the end result and free myself from the chains of resentment and anger.
So this is my challenge: to forgive those who have wronged me, and to let them know somehow - not only by telling them so but by showing them through my actions and attitude towards them.
There is a flipside to this as well: thinking of those who I have personally wronged and asking forgiveness from them. Although I will never know everyone who I have hurt and wronged over the years, several people do come to mind.
If you are reading this, please pray for me. This is hard.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
More Ready Than You Realize
I'm almost done with this book by McLaren, and it's been pretty good, although the e-mail format makes it hard to read. But I thought that near the end, he does a good job at wrapping up his thoughts into eight separate evangelism "factors". Here they are, in condensed form:
I've been reading "More Ready Than You Realize" by Brian McLaren, which is a book on evangelism, and I thought that eight factors that he talks about at the end of the book was very good for us to think about when it comes to unchurched people and how we can reach out to them - here they are:
1. THE RELATIONAL FACTOR: Count conversations, not just conversions.
Some of us Christians don't "get out much." We run from holy huddle to holy huddle, like squirrels darting from tree to tree, afraid that we will get hammered by a devil or seduced by a temptation.
But if you are willing to get out, reach out, relate to and willing to be a neighbor, a friend, a decent human being, then you are more ready than you realize. You don't start by being religious; you start by being human, relational, neighborly, friendly. If you've forgotten, it is never too late to relearn.
You may have to, as we suggested before, trim back your church activities. Instead of yet another Bible study, you might start coaching basketball, or taking an art class, or volunteering at a retirement community - just to get out a bit. In the process you will meet some people and you will ask some questions, conversations will begin, and a relationship will develop. Don't worry about the content of the conversions. Just get them going and see what happens.
2. THE NARRATIVE FACTOR: Listen to their story, share your story, and share God's story, not just propositions or formulas.
As we have seen throughout this book, somewhere along the line modernity tricked us into thinking that the greatest truths are contained in abstractions rather than stories. We start by honoring the stories around us.
Next time you are on an airplane, don't hurry to stand squashed in the center aisle waiting to deplane at your destination. Just sit there and look at the people. Notice their faces. Imagine the story behind each face. You are story in progress surrounded by stories in progress, and at any moment, your story could intersect with the story of someone else, and as a result, both of your stories will take a novel turn. In the process, both of you will find yourselves part of God's unfolding story too, because God's story intersects with ours at every turn, in every breath, pulsing in every heartbeat.
3. THE COMMUNAL FACTOR: Expect conversion to normally occur in the context of authentic Christian community, not just in the context of information.
Spiritual friendship isn't just about you. You are part of something bigger, something Paul called "the body of Christ." In a real way, Jesus is still here in the flesh through one body composed of thousands and thousands of us. So one of the best things you can do for your friends who don't yet know and love Jesus is to introduce them to your other friends who do.
Jesus said that the love your unconvinced friends observe between you and your fellow disciples will be the most telling evidence possible for his legitimacy. In the context of imperfect but vibrant Christian community, the message of Christ will come alive in a way that a booklet or lecture never could convey. And once your community begins to function as such a portal, a process will be set into motion that will not always be easy, but will be exciting and worthwhile because every new person who comes in will make your community even more ready to welcome the next.
4. THE JOURNEY FACTOR: See disciple-making as a holistic process and unending journey, not just a conversion event.
You will be more comfortable with the journey factor if you understand the difference between four kinds of thinking - boundary, centered, process and journey thinking. (diagrams go here) Boundary thinking is always asking the same question: in or out? Christian or non-Christian?
One of the negative effects of our boundary thinking has been this: What Jesus intended as a starting line became for us a finish line. Because of our boundary thinking, many of us got across the in/out barrier and parked there. But Jesus did not call us to a parking lot, he invited us to an adventure, an odyssey, a journey that will never end. Quite a difference!
5. THE HOLY SPIRIT FACTOR: Believe that God is at work "out there" in everyone (either working from the outside to get in or from the inside to get out), not just "in here" in the church.
Many people are experiencing the Holy Spirit but do not realize it. The Spirit of God reaches out to them through beauty, humor, joy, rest, excitement, justice and mercy. In many ways, we simply come along to help them understand what already surrounds them, as Paul did at Mars Hill in Athens.
One of the tragic ironies of the twentieth century was the continual talk about "church renewal" that preoccupied us with how the Spirit would work through us in our church services. Meanwhile, Jesus was concerned about how the Spirit would work through us in the world outside the church - its ghettoes, art galleries, shops, schools, sidewalks,parks, etc. The Holy Spirit factor reminds us that evangelism is not simply the transmission of information, it is a mysterious encounter between human beings and the Spirit of God, who loves, surrounds, and pursues them gently. It is our privilege to be part of that mysterious encounter.
6. THE LEARNING FACTOR: See evangelism as part of your own discipleship - not just the other person's!
Like Peter with Cornelius, we all find that we learn lessons we never could have otherwise as we reach out with God's love. This learning posture helps protect us from the arrogance and brashness that were too common in our modern-era evangelism, as if we had found "it," figured it out, processed and packaged and sold it, but stopped learning from it ourselves.
7. THE MISSIONAL FACTOR: See evangelism as recruiting people for God's mission on earth, not just people for heaven.
When Jesus says to go and make disciples, teaching the new disciples to do everything Jesus has taught, it is clear that Jesus is not just recruiting "souls" for heaven. He is sending his agents into the world. He is launching a revolution, which he called "the kingdom of God." Hatred and revenge will be replaced by love and mercy; love and greed will be replaced by respect and generosity; luxury and stress will be replaced by joy and rest. We contribute, one life at a time, to changing the world.
The fact is, our mission has two dimensions - a historic, here-and-now, down-to-earth dimension of changing lives, changing cultures and changing history, and an eternal, ultimate, transcendent dimension of helping people become the kinds of people who will enjoy God forever beyond this life.
8. THE SERVICE FACTOR: See evangelism as one facet of our identity as servants to all.
Should we be surprised that Jesus said our role in this earth is not one of critics, cynics, consumers, escapists, controllers, or isolationists - but rather servants? Jesus said he came not to serve but to be served. So the best first step for you as you finish this chapter would be to keep your eyes open - as a servant does, as a waiter does in a restaurant, simply looking for an opportunity to be of service. Anyone can serve...anyone who is willing. And so, if you are willing, you are more ready than you realize.
I've been reading "More Ready Than You Realize" by Brian McLaren, which is a book on evangelism, and I thought that eight factors that he talks about at the end of the book was very good for us to think about when it comes to unchurched people and how we can reach out to them - here they are:
1. THE RELATIONAL FACTOR: Count conversations, not just conversions.
Some of us Christians don't "get out much." We run from holy huddle to holy huddle, like squirrels darting from tree to tree, afraid that we will get hammered by a devil or seduced by a temptation.
But if you are willing to get out, reach out, relate to and willing to be a neighbor, a friend, a decent human being, then you are more ready than you realize. You don't start by being religious; you start by being human, relational, neighborly, friendly. If you've forgotten, it is never too late to relearn.
You may have to, as we suggested before, trim back your church activities. Instead of yet another Bible study, you might start coaching basketball, or taking an art class, or volunteering at a retirement community - just to get out a bit. In the process you will meet some people and you will ask some questions, conversations will begin, and a relationship will develop. Don't worry about the content of the conversions. Just get them going and see what happens.
2. THE NARRATIVE FACTOR: Listen to their story, share your story, and share God's story, not just propositions or formulas.
As we have seen throughout this book, somewhere along the line modernity tricked us into thinking that the greatest truths are contained in abstractions rather than stories. We start by honoring the stories around us.
Next time you are on an airplane, don't hurry to stand squashed in the center aisle waiting to deplane at your destination. Just sit there and look at the people. Notice their faces. Imagine the story behind each face. You are story in progress surrounded by stories in progress, and at any moment, your story could intersect with the story of someone else, and as a result, both of your stories will take a novel turn. In the process, both of you will find yourselves part of God's unfolding story too, because God's story intersects with ours at every turn, in every breath, pulsing in every heartbeat.
3. THE COMMUNAL FACTOR: Expect conversion to normally occur in the context of authentic Christian community, not just in the context of information.
Spiritual friendship isn't just about you. You are part of something bigger, something Paul called "the body of Christ." In a real way, Jesus is still here in the flesh through one body composed of thousands and thousands of us. So one of the best things you can do for your friends who don't yet know and love Jesus is to introduce them to your other friends who do.
Jesus said that the love your unconvinced friends observe between you and your fellow disciples will be the most telling evidence possible for his legitimacy. In the context of imperfect but vibrant Christian community, the message of Christ will come alive in a way that a booklet or lecture never could convey. And once your community begins to function as such a portal, a process will be set into motion that will not always be easy, but will be exciting and worthwhile because every new person who comes in will make your community even more ready to welcome the next.
4. THE JOURNEY FACTOR: See disciple-making as a holistic process and unending journey, not just a conversion event.
You will be more comfortable with the journey factor if you understand the difference between four kinds of thinking - boundary, centered, process and journey thinking. (diagrams go here) Boundary thinking is always asking the same question: in or out? Christian or non-Christian?
One of the negative effects of our boundary thinking has been this: What Jesus intended as a starting line became for us a finish line. Because of our boundary thinking, many of us got across the in/out barrier and parked there. But Jesus did not call us to a parking lot, he invited us to an adventure, an odyssey, a journey that will never end. Quite a difference!
5. THE HOLY SPIRIT FACTOR: Believe that God is at work "out there" in everyone (either working from the outside to get in or from the inside to get out), not just "in here" in the church.
Many people are experiencing the Holy Spirit but do not realize it. The Spirit of God reaches out to them through beauty, humor, joy, rest, excitement, justice and mercy. In many ways, we simply come along to help them understand what already surrounds them, as Paul did at Mars Hill in Athens.
One of the tragic ironies of the twentieth century was the continual talk about "church renewal" that preoccupied us with how the Spirit would work through us in our church services. Meanwhile, Jesus was concerned about how the Spirit would work through us in the world outside the church - its ghettoes, art galleries, shops, schools, sidewalks,parks, etc. The Holy Spirit factor reminds us that evangelism is not simply the transmission of information, it is a mysterious encounter between human beings and the Spirit of God, who loves, surrounds, and pursues them gently. It is our privilege to be part of that mysterious encounter.
6. THE LEARNING FACTOR: See evangelism as part of your own discipleship - not just the other person's!
Like Peter with Cornelius, we all find that we learn lessons we never could have otherwise as we reach out with God's love. This learning posture helps protect us from the arrogance and brashness that were too common in our modern-era evangelism, as if we had found "it," figured it out, processed and packaged and sold it, but stopped learning from it ourselves.
7. THE MISSIONAL FACTOR: See evangelism as recruiting people for God's mission on earth, not just people for heaven.
When Jesus says to go and make disciples, teaching the new disciples to do everything Jesus has taught, it is clear that Jesus is not just recruiting "souls" for heaven. He is sending his agents into the world. He is launching a revolution, which he called "the kingdom of God." Hatred and revenge will be replaced by love and mercy; love and greed will be replaced by respect and generosity; luxury and stress will be replaced by joy and rest. We contribute, one life at a time, to changing the world.
The fact is, our mission has two dimensions - a historic, here-and-now, down-to-earth dimension of changing lives, changing cultures and changing history, and an eternal, ultimate, transcendent dimension of helping people become the kinds of people who will enjoy God forever beyond this life.
8. THE SERVICE FACTOR: See evangelism as one facet of our identity as servants to all.
Should we be surprised that Jesus said our role in this earth is not one of critics, cynics, consumers, escapists, controllers, or isolationists - but rather servants? Jesus said he came not to serve but to be served. So the best first step for you as you finish this chapter would be to keep your eyes open - as a servant does, as a waiter does in a restaurant, simply looking for an opportunity to be of service. Anyone can serve...anyone who is willing. And so, if you are willing, you are more ready than you realize.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
The Poor You Will Always Have With You, part 2
This article disturbed me in so many ways, that I don't know if I will be able to actually articulate well my thoughts on it, but I will try.
The basic theme of the news article, in case you really don't want to read it, is that Skid Row, the place where most homeless in Los Angeles "live", has become a dumping ground from other cities in Los Angeles County. I guess the idea is that we don't want them in our neighborhood, so let's send them to a place where they can hang out with other unwanted people or something.
I had the opportunity both in college and during my internship at a church in Tucson, Arizona, to spend several weeks down in the inner city of Los Angeles, with an organization called Center for Student Missions. One of the things we did every first night in L.A. was to pray for the city, and the CSM host would take us to different sites around the city and we would pray. We would always go to Skid Row, and it was amazing to see the multi-million dollar hotels and apartments just a block away from Skid Row. It was something that broke your heart. I remember one of my students asking a hotel concierge what they did about the homeless - what she was basically asking was "Does your hotel contribute to missions and programs that minister to the homeless?" What the concierge took her question as was: "How do you protect your hotel guests from these scary homeless people?" So he went on and on about the security procedures that they have, how they kick homeless people off of the street by their hotel very quickly, etc. It was disturbing.
Just typing this out brings to mind so many stories from those missions trips. I remember one morning we went into MacArthur Park, where a lot of homeless people slept. Right before we did this, we all bought breakfast and were pretty hungry after a long night of prayer and ministry. The host showed us all the homeless people and said, "Okay, now you can eat your breakfast. Or you can share your breakfast with people who possibly haven't eaten for days." So we went out and met people and heard heart-breaking stories. One man only talked about his young daughter and how he missed her. One of my students gave another homeless man her Bible. I firmly believe that although we helped a lot of people on those missions trips and everything, the inner-city missions trips helped us. They changed us. They made us realize that Jesus was out on the streets of L.A. They reminded us that Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head. They broke our hearts.
Another disturbing thing about the article was when they talked about the elderly people who couldn't afford care anymore in nursing homes getting dropped off in Skid Row. I remember a quote I heard a long time ago that basically said that you can tell a lot from a country by how they treat their elderly and their young.
The basic theme of the news article, in case you really don't want to read it, is that Skid Row, the place where most homeless in Los Angeles "live", has become a dumping ground from other cities in Los Angeles County. I guess the idea is that we don't want them in our neighborhood, so let's send them to a place where they can hang out with other unwanted people or something.
I had the opportunity both in college and during my internship at a church in Tucson, Arizona, to spend several weeks down in the inner city of Los Angeles, with an organization called Center for Student Missions. One of the things we did every first night in L.A. was to pray for the city, and the CSM host would take us to different sites around the city and we would pray. We would always go to Skid Row, and it was amazing to see the multi-million dollar hotels and apartments just a block away from Skid Row. It was something that broke your heart. I remember one of my students asking a hotel concierge what they did about the homeless - what she was basically asking was "Does your hotel contribute to missions and programs that minister to the homeless?" What the concierge took her question as was: "How do you protect your hotel guests from these scary homeless people?" So he went on and on about the security procedures that they have, how they kick homeless people off of the street by their hotel very quickly, etc. It was disturbing.
Just typing this out brings to mind so many stories from those missions trips. I remember one morning we went into MacArthur Park, where a lot of homeless people slept. Right before we did this, we all bought breakfast and were pretty hungry after a long night of prayer and ministry. The host showed us all the homeless people and said, "Okay, now you can eat your breakfast. Or you can share your breakfast with people who possibly haven't eaten for days." So we went out and met people and heard heart-breaking stories. One man only talked about his young daughter and how he missed her. One of my students gave another homeless man her Bible. I firmly believe that although we helped a lot of people on those missions trips and everything, the inner-city missions trips helped us. They changed us. They made us realize that Jesus was out on the streets of L.A. They reminded us that Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head. They broke our hearts.
Another disturbing thing about the article was when they talked about the elderly people who couldn't afford care anymore in nursing homes getting dropped off in Skid Row. I remember a quote I heard a long time ago that basically said that you can tell a lot from a country by how they treat their elderly and their young.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Whoa...
Okay, so I pretty much don't read/watch/pay attention to the news very much. I mean, I might have been the last person to know about the Hurricane Katrina aftermath and destruction and all. I just don't pay attention.
However, I was looking up an article on wikipedia - the free online encyclopedia - when I glanced at the news area.
It said that President Bush nominated a woman by the name of Harriet Miers to fill O'Connor's spot on the Supreme Court.
Well, I was rather surprised. No, actually, my jaw dropped, because Harriet Miers attended the church that I worked at in Dallas. She was a long-time member, and, although she left ("temporarily", she said) about four months after I got there - Bush tapped her to be the staff secretary - the person in charge of all incoming mail and correspondence to the White House - I had met her and she seemed to have a real good head on her shoulders. She was good friends with an elder at our church (okay, they dated over the years), who also was on the Texas Supreme Court, and I remember wondering one time if we would ever see Nathan on the U.S. Supreme Court.
It turns out I wondered about the wrong one.
Well, Harriet, I hope you're confirmed. Although some conservatives are mad because they don't think you are conservative enough - and you donated some money to Al Gore's campaign - ironic, considering you ended up working for the other guy - I think you will do a great job!
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