Confessions of a Hippie-Wanna-Be

I am quick to tell you that I grew up in the 60’s, but just a little too late (much to my chagrin) to be a true hippie. I was more of a hippie-wanna-be.

I was just in time though, to be a Jesus Person. Jesus People were kind of “Jesus-hippies,” most of whom had never been real hippies, but liked the idea of long hair, bell-bottom pants, and VW vans. I liked all of that plus I loved the cool clothes, Beatles music and psychedelic posters. While my mom and dad wouldn’t let me be a hippie, they did reluctantly allow me to be a Jesus Person, but I think only because it had the word “Jesus” in it.

I had a room down in our basement that I painted with brightly colored stripes. I strung some lights up and rigged it so they would pulse with the beat of the music. I would sit down there for hours and listen to my albums and pretend to be tripping out, although I had no idea what that meant.

It was during this period of time that Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell became popular. I used to listen to the music in my hippie…I mean Jesus Person room downstairs. It was…groovy.

When the movies came out, I went to see them too. I was intrigued in both movies with how the disciples of Jesus were portrayed. Growing up in a very conservative church and home, I guess I always assumed the disciples had crew cuts and wore suits. And even if they wore something other than suits, I was certain they at least wore frowns. Every Christian I knew wore a frown…why should they be any different?

But in the movies, being a disciple, or following Jesus was portrayed as something enjoyable. The disciples actually sat around and enjoyed being with Jesus. The first song I learned from Jesus Christ Superstar was “What’s the Buzz…Tell Me What’s ‘a Happenin.’” I could just hear the disciples singing it. It was so fun to sing. But then, when Godspell came out…oh what fun the disciples seemed to be having as they danced, laughed and dressed up...it makes me smile just to think about it.

The problem was I couldn’t reconcile what I had always assumed was true, (the disciples in their straight-laced clothing and hair styles following Jesus single file in lock-step) with the possibility that perhaps following Jesus was individual, creative, enjoyable and something that brought a smile to the faces to those in Jesus’ group (which of course was the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem).

A lot of people I talk to still think following Jesus is pretty boring and restrictive. I’m pretty sure they got that idea from us. I’m still not sure those of us who call ourselves Christians are convinced following Jesus can be a blast. Perhaps one reason those watching us are not too anxious to join us is because we look so miserable. Here’s a little idea that might help. Try singing, “What’s the Buzz” today. It’s a pretty catchy tune. Or maybe dress up as a clown and…well, maybe that’s going too far, but do something that makes you smile and maybe most importantly something that makes other people smile. I’m usually the odd one, but really I think it’s pretty great following Jesus. As a matter of fact one of my favorite things to tell people is that when I grow up…I want to be a hippie! That almost always makes them smile.

Should I Celebrate Halloween or Not?

I have to admit I’ve been all over the board on this one in the last 40 years. As a youth pastor in the 1970’s our youth groups had haunted houses and some pretty gory ones at that. In the 1980’s I listened to Mike Warnke talk about how it’s all of Satan and so we stopped participating on any level. I’ve wavered a bit from time to time but for the most part I’ve chosen to stay away from the entire thing.

This year we’re going to do something we haven’t done in a long time…we’re going to pass out candy on October 31^st. I know…some of you are shaking your head and moaning about another Christian whose gone done the satanic path of destruction and wondering if I’m also voting Democratic and cross-dressing. No, I’m not voting Democratic! (Smile)

I’m not really sure what changed this year…I still hate a lot of what happens on October 31^st. I don’t like tombstones in people’s yard with family member’s names on them. You may think that’s funny but when you’ve buried as many people as I have and seen the grief and devastation that death brings in a family, I can’t see joking about it…but that’s just me. I don’t like scaring people…never have…especially when it’s me that gets scared. Blood and gore? I get way too much of that on prime-time TV. Mummies, vampires and zombies bore me…so when it comes to the living dead I’m not easily impressed.

My main problem with the whole notion of Halloween is that this is not the wholesome, encouraging and uplifting kind of thing that Scripture says we ought to be keeping our mind focused on. So if we don’t become preoccupied with the macabre, is there a way to redeem October 31^st for good? As a matter of fact that might be a good place to start. I think in the past I was willing to just give up the day, count it as a loss for God’s Kingdom, a win for satan and move on to November 1^st. This season I started thinking, why give up the day. Every day is the day the Lord has made…right? If it is His, then I should do everything I can to redeem it.

I decided this year I didn’t want to be the guy whose lights are out and who’s hiding in the dark because he doesn’t want to be contaminated by the trick-or-treaters and their scary costumes. How can I be the light if I’m hiding in the dark? This year I decided I want to be the guy who’s handing out GOOD candy… chocolate candy…brand-name candy. The guy everybody wants to go to his house. I want to be the guy who’s sitting out waiting for the parents to bring their kids by and meeting the people in my neighborhood because I never know when God will give me an opportunity to be Jesus to them. This year I’m going to stop hiding and start shining. After all, if Halloween is a day of darkness, it’s not going to get better if all of us Christians run and hide. The darkness is the best place for light to show itself…right?

I’m not trying to talk anybody out of or into anything. You have to do what you’re comfortable with. For a long time I just couldn’t get comfortable with the whole idea. To be truthful, I’m still a little apprehensive…a little nervous. But I’m trying to step out, let my little light shine. I’m not going to dress up this year, except as myself. Maybe next year I’ll be a candlestick or maybe a salt shaker. Yep, I think that’s it…next year I’ll be salt and let Jane be pepper. Keep smiling!

Pastor Rick

Has the Church assumed a “Quick Fix” posture?

Has the Church assumed a “Quick Fix” posture?

     In a word…yes!

     Somewhere along the line, (or perhaps lots of “somewheres”) the Church has moved from understanding the process of following Jesus to misunderstanding it as an (solitary) act of following Him. One is about the fact that following Him is a journey, while the other defines it as an event.

     Evangelical Christianity in particular has reduced the whole of experiencing Christ to a single experience with Him. Having been raised in a conservative Christian home, I was raised to believe in an experience that we called, “being saved.” I still hold to this basic theology but see crossing the line of faith as the beginning of an eternal relationship with Christ, the beginning of a process, not the end. Paul seems to agree with this in Philippians 3:12-14. 

     There are many metaphors in Scripture given to help us understand this relationship. One is the metaphor of marriage. Anyone who believes the marriage ceremony and honeymoon to be the end of the marriage process have either not been married or have most probably not been successfully married. The exchange of vows and consummation of marriage is only the beginning. Every day of marriage is another step in the process of knowing one another on a deeper level, responding with love to the desires of the other and discovering the joy that comes by pleasing the other person.

     Another metaphor which describes “the way” is the maturation process of human beings. Jesus talked about the “birth process” and Paul describes “stages” of maturity (babies who drink milk and more mature believers who eat meat, for example). Babies aren’t born as mature adults, for which birth-giving mothers are thankful, and yet all mothers expect their babies to eventually learn to take care of themselves and become independent adults.

     Defining Christianity as an event rather than a process is problematic for several reasons. One, we set expectations unrealistically high for new believers which frustrates both them and the Church. Two, we remove both the new believer’s motivation to spiritually mature and our responsibility to disciple them. Three, the attrition rate is unsatisfactorily high because those who have come to faith are quickly disillusioned because the trouble-free, prosperous life which was advertised cannot be delivered. But perhaps most troublesome is that defining Christianity in a one-stop, quick-fix, easy answers kind of way, robs those who choose to walk with Jesus the beautiful experience of building a lasting, trusting, and progressive relationship with the Savior. What God desires, after all, is to be in meaningful relationship with His creation…us.

     So the next time you are tempted to simplify the adventure of following Jesus to “a formula and a prayer,” remember this: If that’s all your relationship with Christ consists of, it is most likely a shallow relationship at best and perhaps no relationship at all. Don’t cheat others out of the “bigger-than-life” adventure of getting to know Jesus.

Facebook...love it or leave it!

I can't decide if I love Facebook or hate it. Most days I hate it, but I still go to it and read it every morning. It's kind of my morning "paper" only it just has stories about the people I know, or at least am friends with on Facebook. I don't know some of my "friends" on Facebook, but that's another story.

Anyway, every morning I catch up on the drama that's gone on overnight. Most of the time it's small potato stuff, but every once in a while there's something juicy. Mostly it's people complaining about life, family, school, sickness, and the way people treat them, etc. I'm always amused at how people I saw a few hours earlier are suddenly deathly sick a couple of hours later and yet are feeling well enough to give you all the details on Facebook.

I wish there was a negative/positive meter on Facebook that would rate what percentage of your posts are negative. I have some Facebook friends who are 100% negative, or at least I assume they still are. I "hid" them a long time ago because they depressed me with all their sickness and marriage drama. If there was a negative/positive meter then when someone asked to be your friend you could kind of make an informed decision before hand.

Another thing I really hate about Facebook is politics. Maybe it's not the politics as much as it is the intolerance on both sides for each other. Democrats say they believe in everyone's opinion being valuable but that only seems to last as long as your opinion is the same as theirs. Republicans say they're mad because their conservative Christian values are under attack. They say that, of course, as they attack what they perceive to be liberal and anti-Christian. Personally, I think Facebook would benefit from banning political rhetoric, but then Facebook would be much less entertaining.

I don't like the posts that promise if I post this or that for 10 minutes that I'll inherit a fortune or have good luck. I especially don't like it when they bring God into the mix. It reminds me too much of the preachers who promise me a million dollars if I send them a thousand. Besides, who takes down their posts after 10 minutes?

I do like seeing people's pictures on Facebook, at least most of them. Really some people shouldn't take so many close ups of themselves and post like 20 times a day. Pet pictures get old too. Other people's pets aren't nearly as cute as they think they are and unfortunately neither are some babies. I do like vacation pictures, especially if they're neat places. However, I think everyone should be limited to one Pinterest recipe post per day. I hear Americans are getting fatter every year. I'm pretty sure Pinterest posts on Facebook are to blame for that.

All in all, I guess it's a love/hate relationship with Facebook for me. I'll keep reading it and occasionally posting if I feel I have something worthwhile to share. In general, I think everyone should probably post a lot less, especially about themselves and try to keep it positive and funny. Post some videos of people falling down...that always makes people laugh.

Jesus, Paul and Table Fellowship

I often hear from those in academia and would-like-to-be theologians, how Jesus and Paul preached two different gospels. These days we are seeing quite a momentum to swing toward the words, deeds and example of Jesus for patterning our life and mission as Christ-followers. It seems lately that Paul gets the blame for all the apparent inconsistencies in the New Testament (or Second Testament, as my professor Leonard Sweet likes to say).

Although one can make a case for some differences in their approach to mercy and grace, one of the most striking similarities is their teaching and exemplary living regarding “table fellowship.” The concept of eating together was deeply ingrained in the culture of Jesus’ Palestine. One of Jesus’ major religious faux pas, as least as far as the Pharisees was concerned, was His table fellowship with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners. His willingness, even intentionality about inviting everyone to the table speaks volumes about how He interpreted the levelness of the playing field when it came to grace.

One of the important teachings of Paul that can be overlooked, if the culture in which Paul speaks is ignored, is his teaching about table fellowship and the Corinthian church. In his instructions concerning the meal served before the observance of the Lord’s Supper, he speaks directly to the class warfare and segregation that had made its way from the Roman dinner and drinking parties to the Lord’s Table. The issue was the preferential treatment of the rich, allowing them to eat and drink before the poor. This segregation into lesser areas of the house meant they ate much later, were served poorer quality food and drink and were separated for obvious reasons from the rich host and his cronies. This teaching in I Corinthians 11 begins with a discussion about divisions in the church, moves on in chapter 12 to talk about the body, the more presentable and less presentable parts and the need to treat all parts, especially the less presentable ones with special care. The discussion then moves to Paul’s most excellent treatise on love (charity) in chapter 13. Of course, knowing that there were no chapter divisions in Paul’s letter, we must assume that this long discourse on non-preferential treatment, honoring all parts of Christ’s body and allowing agápē love to be the guiding force in our actions, is a written reiteration of Christ’s living example of table fellowship. I can just imagine Paul recalling the stories of Jesus and His controversial meals as he sent his message to Corinth: “The table of grace is for everyone!”

Seeing this consistency between Paul and Jesus ought to speak to those of us who claim to be following Christ in the twenty-first century. There is no room in the house for classification, segregation, or prejudicial treatment toward any who would desire to sit at His table and “dine with Him.” Ain’t nobody got time for that!