I'm Afraid It's Us...

I have to be honest and tell you I’m getting pretty fed up with folks who think they are the only ones with the correct “take” on everything. I find myself having to confess the uneasy fact that I see this in the church as much as anywhere else. I mean, I expect it in politics, which is getting quite repulsive in its own way. Democrats blame the Republicans and vice versa when I think we can all agree there’s enough blame to go around several times. I even expect it in the world at large as we all have preferences about car brands, sports teams and the best way to cook a turkey. Everyone thinks they’re right.

But there is something particularly offensive to me, as a Christian, about those who are part of a growing group who believe their specific brand or sect of Christianity has all the right answers and opinions and are the final authorities on everything “spiritual.” I would agree with many who say we, as Christians, are under no obligation to please or pander to the whims of society and what they would like us to be. On the other hand, I do believe that since our own statistical data, compiled by Christian organizations and pollsters, reveals the world sees us as bigoted, phobic, intolerant and judgmental, it may be time for us to come out of our shells long enough to see if their impression of us is at all justified.

In most of the data I’ve seen over the last couple of decades, those outside the church have a generally favorable impression of Christ. However, those same folks have an overwhelmingly negative impression of Christians. My initial take is that one of us misunderstands who Jesus is and I'm afraid it's us. My guess is we’ve made a Jesus that looks an awful lot like us and therefore they reject Him. I wonder what would happen if we tried the opposite and we looked more like Him. I suspect the end result might be more positive for all of us.

In a world where we have access to nearly unlimited amounts of information, much of it unreliable and never verified before it is published on the Internet, we are quick to form judgments and opinions that end up making us look very foolish. I have pleaded with Christians to check the facts before reposting articles on Facebook. Some of those posts are years old, were not true when originally posted and time has not made them any more true. In short, we end up looking like horses’ behinds and then wonder why the world doesn’t pay any attention to us when we stand behind our pulpits and declare something to be true with the same fervor with which we “shared” our false claims and prejudiced remarks on the web. We hide behind vague claims of someone being “New Age” or “known to associate with liberals” or “emerging” as though simply our accusation makes them guilty and therefore rendering anything they’ve done, said or written worthless, without moral, social or spiritual significance.

It has occurred to me lately that Jesus Himself had lots of accusations very similar to these hurled at Him. I shudder to think what might have been had Jesus showed up in the age of Facebook and Twitter. Can you even imagine the lies, innuendos, and judgment?

I suppose what I’m a voice crying in the wilderness for is sanity, fairness, tolerance and grace. We’ve demonized those attributes in the church and equated them with a watered down, sinless Christianity. I disagree. I believe with all my heart Jesus was a man of fairness, tolerance and grace…like no other before or after. His motives were pure and his insight was keen. He did not come to condemn but to rescue and save…and this is why I follow Him.

Pictures...

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about pictures…you know, snapshots, images, portraits, photographs. Pictures are everywhere, due in part, no doubt, to the fact practically everyone always has a camera (phone) with them. When I was growing up we had senior pictures and wedding pictures and that was about it…except in the country where my folks were from. They always took snapshots of their dead kinfolk in the casket. But these days we take kindergarten graduation pictures, engagement pictures and even pregnancy pictures where women show off huge, bare-skinned baby bumps. We take pictures at sporting events and banquets where our children receive trophies not for winning but for participating. We have become a society which immortalizes every event and non-event with a 10 megapixel memorial (perhaps because the pictures we take are reminders of events that are so insignificant they would be forgotten within minutes otherwise).

I read a few weeks ago that high school and college students are leaving social media sites like Facebook for sites which focus on pictures like Instagram. These sites use text and words sparingly…the story is told with a snapshot, and most of the time that story is an autobiography told with a picture of oneself. The unrestrained use of “selfies” (self-portraits) is a symptom of pandemic self-interest and self-love. It is no longer enough to take a picture of oneself, but now pictures are taken in front of mirrors so multiple self-images can be captured simultaneously. I even saw a news story this weekend about a famous photographer who has gone back and “photo-shopped” herself into famous pictures of people like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and The Beatles. Talk about making ourselves the center of attention! Camera shyness is a long eradicated disease.

There have been those who have noted the trend from text to image in our culture and have advocated for an image-based language of Christianity. I think a few years ago, maybe even a few months, this made perfect sense and represented an astute observation of our society. I would argue, however that our culture has moved past one that speaks in images to one that speaks in self-images. If an image does not represent in some way, does not connect on some level with the person looking at it, it will most likely be ignored. The marriage of self-centeredness with devices that make self-adoration so accessible has created a hideous monster-child who cannot get enough of himself.

So how is the church to respond? How can we communicate the truth about something greater than ourselves when what we are most enamored with is...ourselves? To even suggest that the gospel must start somewhere besides focused on the Cross of Christ seems at first glance like heresy. However, I would contend that a gospel that is solely focused on a subject to which no one is paying attention, is a gospel which will be ignored, passed over and go unnoticed. We sometimes think if we say it louder, with more flashing lights, in “costume” or using hipster language that somehow the gospel will become more relevant. In short…no it won’t. And not because it isn’t relevant, but because no one is looking where we’re pointing.  If we’re going to ask people to watch and listen, we must be pointing to an image they’re already interested in…and that image is them.

I would suggest this is not drastically different than what Scripture already does. If our approach is exegetical, isn’t Romans 3:10 and 3:23 a portrait of the condition of humankind? More importantly isn’t the metanarrative of Scripture a portrait of the brokenness, not of the world in general, but of us in particular? Aren’t the snapshots of Moses, David, Jonah and Peter images of the self-centered, terribly-broken human condition? Can we not assume that if the greatest of biblical heroes are tainted with moral failure, emotional breaks and cowardice in the face of peer pressure, that we are not at least equally flawed?

The difference is we have allowed the gospel to be contaminated with the “photo-shop” mentality. I saw a picture of someone I knew the other day on the internet but realized quickly the picture had been altered in order to make her look “thin.” In our obsession of a “better-than-we-really-are” falsified self-image we justify altering our image to meet criteria which we really do not meet. We in the church have fallen into the same trap. We are preaching a “You are somebody” gospel instead of an “all have sinned” gospel. We have put a “glamor-shot” spin on the image to help a lost world feel more comfortable in their “condition.” This is a fatal mistake. On the other hand however, we must never confuse the legitimate use of spiritual imagery with brow-beating, hateful attitudes, or drawing conclusions which are not ours to draw. Christ-directed imagery must show those who are broken a clear, monochromatic picture of themselves with no make-up, no colorization added after the fact, and no airbrushing out the imperfections, to help them see what is hiding behind the forced smile and blurred pixels, to see what is genuinely there, or not there, to realize the most important relationship in their quest to be fully human is broken. Remember a picture is worth…a thousand of our memorized, religion-laden words.

Once we see ourselves as we really are, we may become willing to look outside ourselves for a solution to our imperfections. This is, perhaps, when a different image, one of a Savior with outstretched arms and a healing touch, can be brought into focus. I am told by those in the “selfie” generation that photos of friends are often “compared.” If we could learn this lesson it could be the Church’s finest hour. We must learn the power of helping the world compare their “selfies” with a portrait of the Savior who came to wipe away the imperfections and the flaws not from our faces and bodies but from our spirits; a Savior who loves us in spite of our spiritual pimples, warts and big ears.

As I say, I’ve been thinking a lot about pictures lately, and I’ve found one I really like. It’s a picture of Jesus, laughing and smiling, inviting and forgiving, offering to make me over, from the inside out. It’s a picture I’ve chosen to share with others…I only hope they will take time to look.

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.