ReJesus Part Four

Lots of good stuff here, so I'll just put up some quotes without my editorializing.

Regarding the Shema ("Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One"):

"In radical contrast to the belief in many gods, Yahweh is the one and only God who redeems his people and subsequently requires that they love him as he had already loved them.  And the nature of this God and the form this love of God should take is made known to us in Scripture, nature, and history.  He is good, holy, just, and compassionate, and he requires us to be the same.  To be in relationship with him therefore brings meaning, focus, moral vision, and an ultimate reality to human life."

"There must be no limitation to the claim that Jesus makes over all of life.  When we get this right, Jesus' lordship takes on a missional edge.  "Jesus is Lord" is more like a rallying war cry than a mere theological statement."

Regarding worship, discipleship, and mission:

"Worship is nothing less than offering our whole lives back to God through Jesus.  It is taking all the elements that make up human life (family, friendships, money, work, nation, etc.) and presenting them back to the One who gives them their ultimate meaning in the first place.  But what is discipleship if it is not the same type of action?  Surely, discipleship is taking all that is me (body and soul) and over a lifetime, directing it to God through Jesus.  But the discerning reader would immediately notice that this sounds like a good definition of mission as well, because mission, insofar that it involves us, entails the redemption of a lost world and bringing it back to God."

Regarding how we understand God by understanding Christ:

"As startling as this sounds, we can say with confidence that the thinking about God in the early church did not begin with reflecting on God, it focused first on Jesus.  Jesus reveals himself not only as the door into salvation (John 10:7) but also the entry point into the knowledge of the one true God.  Kinlaw makes this clear: "Logically this means we should begin our theological studies with Jesus, who, as John said, "has made him [God] known" (John 1:18).""

From N.T. Wright:  "My proposal is not that we know what the word "god" means, and manage somehow to fit Jesus into that.  Instead, I suggest, that we think historically about a young Jew, possessed of a desperately risky, indeed apparently crazy, vocation, riding into Jerusalem in tears, denouncing the Temple, and dying on a Roman cross - and we somehow allow our meaning for the world "god" to be recentered around that point."

My reactions and takeaways:

1.  I like the idea how mission and worship and discipleship are all the same thing, really.  My tendency is to try to over-complicate things, to standardize whatever I touch.  This helps to keep it simple. 

2.  I like the idea of thinking about God by thinking about Jesus.  It puts a more tangible understanding that isn't so esoteric that you can't really "know".  

3.  I notice that I often say "Christ" rather than "Jesus" when referring to him.  I'm working on calling him by his name rather than his title.

ReJesus Part Three

I've had several posts and numerous conversations that expressed my disdain for "church" as we commonly know it.  I think that this might lead some to believe that I have little value for the church.  That is not the case at all.  In fact, I love the church!  But I'm not content to stick my head in the sand and pretend that nothing is wrong.  And while I think there is value in all church expressions, I think it is appropriate to evaluate our way of ordering our life and churches.

Hirsch and Frost echo this passion for reJesusing the church.  We must "[evaluate] the validity of our preferred expression of church by cues offered by Jesus the Messiah.  Unless we can validate who we are and what we do by lining ourselves up with the measure that Jesus laid down in his life and work, then what in God's name are we doing?"

My passion for church used to lie in raw pragmatism, the "whatever it takes" attitude to get people to show up.  While I'm still opinionated, my passion is no longer about WHAT we do but WHY we do it.  

Hirsch and Frost say that Christianity without Christ equal Religion.  Religion in the worst sense of the word:  rote, meaningless, and "outsourced" to the institution.  Hence, the need to continually reJesus.  In fact, if anything Christianity is anti-religion.  The authors examine the Pharisees and conclude "they are us, or at least what we can become if we are not attentive to the dynamics involved in the slow erosion of faithfulness into religion.  They are living mirrors of what can happen to all well-meaning and sincere people when they lose focus on the central issues of faith....The horror of this realization is complete when we remember that these fine, upright, devoted, religious people - people not unlike us - were hell-bent on murdering Jesus."

"The world of difference exists in how we inhabit the theology we adhere to - how we believe it.  Divorced from love, humility, and mercy, it readily becomes a dead and/or oppressive religion."

There's a way of life that Jesus brings that no longer needs religion.  Jesus upset the religious order of the day, and continues to do so.  Those who use religion for power and personal gain will oppose this radical call of Christ because he invalidates their system of control.

In Lost, the Islanders have found themselves skipping through time.  This nearly killed Desmond, until he discovered his "constant", the one person who could realign himself and the world around him.  For the church, Jesus is our constant.  And we must frequently remind ourselves of the mission of Christ and trust that his mission will bring about the impact that he promises.  

What I've taken away from this chapter: 

1.  My leadership at Resonate Community requires me to personally and corporately remind us of Jesus and his mission.  

2.  "What we do" must constantly be informed by Christ within our context.  Specifically, this means calling on others to take the mission of Christ for themselves and their families.

3.  The "scorecard" for us as a church must reflect our understanding of Christ's mission first and foremost.  This means that traditional means of measurement (attendance, finances, buildings) are no longer viable to determine the health of our church.  And the lack of these things doesn't necessarily mean we have it right.

Baby Grey

Baby Grey was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 21.5 inches long!

Sent from my G1 phone.

Kathryn Names Her Superheroes

ReJesus Part Two

So, now that we see God, the church, and the world differently, how does that vision impact the dynamics of our relationship with Christ?  

First, Hirsch and Frost examine the competing forces that vie for our imaginations.  Modern distractions of economic security and consumerism have drawn us away from truly following Christ.  We have co-opted God into this realm, using him as a means to getting "my best life now" or "financial freedom" or whatever.  Our minds need to be "reJesused", that is, brought back into knowing and following Jesus.  

To do that, we must become "little Jesuses", and to illustrate the point, the authors refer to the film "V for Vendetta".  The film takes place in a future-Britain, ruled by a totalitarian government who has captured the imaginations of its people using fear and consumerism.  

V's call for action succeeds, even though he dies in the process.  He has inspired the imaginations of others to follow him, and the government is reformed. 

In a similar way, we are called to become "little Jesuses", striving to become like Christ.  That is the focus and goal of discipleship.  It goes beyond going to a Bible study and memorizing some verses of Scripture. "We possess Christ's truth only by imitating him, not by speculating about him."

"The critical role of discipleship in the mission of the church once again highlights the role of the radical Jesus in the life of faith.  And this bond cannot merely involve a cerebral, objective, indirect understanding of Jesus and the Christian faith.  This substitution of thinking about Jesus for existential encounter with Jesus is a constant temptation for the follower.  This is partly because a living relationship with the Lord of the universe is a risky, disturbing, and demanding experience.  We never get the better of him, and it is a whole lot easier, and less costly, to think than to do."

And so, we are called to become more and more like Christ, and in doing so discover more and more what it means to be fully human.  We don't become like Christ by wearing sandals and learning carpentry.  We become Jesus in our context, in our culture.  And doing so requires more than just imitation through observation.  We must KNOW Christ, like we would know a loved one.  The gospels provide a compass for this journey.

Some thoughts and implications I gained . . .

1.  My role in communicating to others needs to help them discover the joys of imagination in Christ.  "We've heard too many sermons about how to be better citizens (or have better marriages, or better kids, or whatever).  Too much preaching is concerned with a fostering of a capitulation to the mores and values of a post-Christian empire rather than a call to allow our imaginations to be overtaken by Jesus and focused on treasures in heaven."

2.  I'm doing personal studies around the life and teachings of Christ, and letting them be the driving factor in my sermons and teachings.  I hope that it helps others to understand his mission (and, therefore, ours).

3.  I want to continually challenge our church to stand against the pricking of consumerism.  That begins with me to quit worrying about money for the church (it seems I can do this just fine for personal finances, but have a hard time for the organization).

ReJesus Part One

A year ago I read through "The Forgotten Ways", an exploration into the missional expression of the church.  It's a life-changing look at following Christ.  ReJesus follows these considerations up by examining the life of Jesus (without all of the perceptions that 2,000 years of church history can give).  While much of this book underscored a lot of my thinking, I was also challenged by some of the implications.  My imagination has been awakened!

"We readily acknowledge tha tnone of us have within us the fortitude, the grace, the courage, and the imagination to actually be like Jesus.  It is a lost cause.  But it's a lost cause made worth it by the forgiveness and grace shown us in Jesus' death on our behalf.  By dying for us to set us free from the penalty of our sinfulness, he doesn't nullify the call to good works and godly living.  Rather, he elevates from an endless and hopeless attempt to impress God to a joyful adventure of enjoying Christ's presence by imitating him."

Part of the reason why following Christ seems different is that we have made him "otherworldly", an alien from another world that is wholly different and beyond us.  This is only partly true.  Following him is something we do in a metaphysical sense, but genuine action is considered optional.  

The authors (Hirsch and Frost) conclude that, when we truly "reJesus" ourselves, we will see God differently (missio Dei), we will see the church differently (participatio Christi), and we will see the world differently (imago Dei).

"Those who are taken captive by Jesus see mission not merely as a practice preferred by God but as an aspect of his very character.  He IS mission.  Core to understanding God's nature is the realization that God cannot NOT be about the business of mission....In effect, he is both the sent and sending God."

Jesus said that he is about the work of the Father, that he simply does what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19).  In turn, we are sent by Christ (Matthew 28:18-20) to do what we have seen Him doing.  God sent his Son, Father and Son sent the Spirit, and now Father, Son, and Spirit sends the church into the world.

"Through Jesus' death God has entered into our world for good.  God will now no longer dwell in temples, but in the hearts of those who serve God."  

This is the understanding of Paul when we says that we are temples, ambassadors, and the body of Christ.

Regarding the church, "When we are taken captive by the Nazarene carpenter, we can no longer see ourselves as participants in a similar system to the one he came to subvert."  Religion holds no sway over followers of Christ!  

I meet people who say they are skeptical of organized religion.  Me too!  And I think Jesus would agree with them.  Instead, the church should be a gathering of people within the community who seek to make the community a better place. 

"As Robert McAfee Brown once said about the meaning of life, it is "our task to create foretastes of [the Kingdom of God] on this planet -- living glimpses of what life is meant to be, which include art and music and poetry and shared laughter and picnics and politics and moral outrage and special privileges for children only and wonder and humor and endless love.""

Finally, we will see the world differently:  "To say that we are all made in the image of God is to acknowledge that there are certain, special qualities of human nature that allow God to be made manifest in us.  It is a statement about God's love for humans but also a statement abou tthe uniqueness and beauty of humans."

Some thoughts and implications I gained from this reading...

1.  I need to communicate the missio Dei more often to Resonate Community Church.  We should never lose sight of the sent and sending God.  "To do what pleases God is not simply a matter of morality, but of sharing in God's life and mission."

2.  I'm glad we structure our Sunday gatherings as we have.  I think that the life of our church is so much more than what happens on Sundays.  However, I want to begin communicating that EVERY encounter we have with one another IS "church".  The stuff we do as a church (Bible studies, serving the community, Sunday gatherings, hanging out) is central to what we do, but just as important - and just as spiritual - are the neighborly pop-ins, impromptu coffees, and running into each other at the store.  Do our conversations reflect this?  Do these encounters remind us and others of Jesus?

3.  I desperately want others in our church to be as inspired and motivated by the mission as I am.  I hope that I can be the kind of leader and example that inspires them to engage in the lives of people - to infuse their lives with faith, hope, and love in a way that is different from "church as usual".   I love how we have such an eclectic mix of people and backgrounds, and how there's little shock about peoples past (or current) struggles.  We genuinely love people, and even if there's some other stuff lacking in "what we do", I'm pleased with that.

Slumdog Millionaire

Wow.   What a great movie.  It works on a lot of different levels, and I would say that the less you know about the plot the better off you'd be.  It's a fun, disturbing, poignant, and tense movie.  But, I think it captures how, even though this world can be all kinds of messed up and evil, hope and love and faith endures.

In Case You Missed It

For everyone who's not on Facebook, here's a video Erika put up last night.  That's my girl!

The Difference

First, a primer on missional churches. Go check that out and then come back here.

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Back already? OK, so you probably didn't read it, but promise you'll bookmark it and read it later.

In the past month, there's been quite the conversation about the roles of attractional churches versus missional churches. Read more here and here and here.

For me, it's beyond the "form" of church, and really lies in the "function". Most of the past conversations about the nature of church focused on form: worship styles, casual dress, whatever. But, the function remained the same: attact people to a central campus, have them passively sit and listen, compare the numbers to the church across town. At first they came because they were expected to, then because we stopped wearing ties, then because we threw in some drums and U2 songs. We were cool and postmodern.

But the function remained the same.

I guess part of my thinking is based on ecclesiology (the nature of the church). I'm sold out on a missional approach and (this is a personality thing), I believe it's the best (and, for me, only) way to do it. At Resonate, the "attraction" isn't found on Sunday, although we try not to be teh suck.

There's a place for attractional churches, I'm not saying there isn't. But my fear is that missional will become a buzzword, just another program to assuage our guilt when we look around us and find that we've trapped ourselves in a church we helped to create but no longer enjoy.

So, I find myself raging against the dying of a missional mindset. I won't go softly into the "you catch 'em, I'll clean 'em" mentality. I'd rather just live among the people, sharing life and truth as it comes.

I talked about that here.

I'm really writing this for myself, just as a reminder. :)

UPDATE: One more thought. I like this question: How do the structures of your church shape and train people in discipleship and mission. This is a question for both attractional and missional. And my answer to the question is why I'm committed to missional church.

Mr. Tootyhead

Last night at bedtime Kylie and I had a conversation.

Kylie:  Did you know the red on the candy cane means that Jesus bled when the soldiers killed him?

Kyle:  Wow.  Did you know that the soldiers also called Jesus names and made fun of him (I was hoping to lead into how we don't make fun of others).

Kylie:  Did they call him Mr. Tootyhead?

I quickly changed the subject and we said our prayers.  Kylie had one more comment.

Kylie:  What if someone's Mom and Dad named them Mr. Tootyhead.  Then you won't be ugly when you call them that.