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Saturday, March 21, 2009

Arkansas


The Modern Traveler has been preparing for a certain journey for quite some time now. My brothers-in-law (Chris, Robert and Ira) and I are leaving tomorrow for a week-long kayaking/backpacking trip in Arkansas. We'll be doing around 30 miles of the Lower Buffalo River through the Buffalo and Leatherwood wildernesses.

I think that all of us have been packed since Monday!

So, if you get a chance over the next few days please say a prayer for the safety of our trip...and the sanity of my super-trooper wife.

...jealous?

Brief Foundations Update...no seriously it'll be short



We began our Foundations retreat last night. As I've been talking to people leading up to the retreat, especially people who grew up going to youth retreats, I've had to say, "Its not really that kind of retreat"

There are no blind-fold walks or trust falls. 

However, last night was pretty hilarious. There were several moments when I experienced flash backs to my years as a youth minister (in a good way!)

Several of these folks were friends in high school and so there were stories of doing group projects together in 7th grade and the crazy teachers they survived. We even had a couple teenagers present who were cracking up because they have those same teachers and have the same experiences with them!

What was great was that the laughing and goofing around our tables was not the kind that happens when a bunch of adults are trying to protect their carefully crafted facades; very little evidence of posturing - just good friends and family, letting down their guards and experiencing life together. 

That's an important part of this Story, isn't it?


Monday, March 16, 2009

Crisis



In the beginning things were different. God, the One Who Is, The Eternal Relationship of Love decided to create something good and true and beautiful - because that’s what happens when love is experienced in community, good and beautiful things are created.


And so this God brushed away the darkness, stepped into the midst of chaos and brought forth solid foundations. God molded and formed an unbelievably expansive and expanding universe and in the midst of that, in an inconspicuous section of all that he began to paint with beautiful strokes a landscape that was begging to be enjoyed. This God showed an incredible ability to combine indescribable power with gentle beauty - from the crashing of tectonic plates, the trickle of a mountain stream became possible; a giant ball of super-heated gas, capable of destroying life lends its power to paint the sky at sunrise; immense trees, enormous grasslands, bluebonnets mixed with indian paintbrushes and buttercups; the sound of waves crashing against the rocks that you not only hear, but feel...God could not stand the thought of all this beauty going unnoticed and unexperienced. 


And so the God Who Is walked in the garden he had created. He knelt down and from the same material that formed mountains, deserts and jungles; the same material that made up the fish and birds and lions and bugs he began to mold something new; something that would see and know and laugh and love. He began to form something that would walk with him, that he could teach and love. He formed out of himself - using his own image as a mold and model. This new thing he was making would be the pinnacle of everything he’d created. He would be able to point out the sunrise and this new thing's breath would catch; when a thunderstorm would pass through this new thing would come running to God for protection and God would hold this small creature and explain that everything would be okay.


And so he formed this living being. He breathed his own life into this thing. And the community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the relationship that was full, complete and needed nothing - invited these new small frail children to share this powerful community. And it was so very good.


I wonder if it was cloudy when it happened? I wonder if the sun refused to shine and birds found themselves unable to sing as they waited for the children's decision. 


You see, doubt was introduced. The little children were told that God was holding out on them. There was something more they could attain if they would just apply themselves. The children were told that God was trying to keep them from becoming what they had a right to be - what they deserved! You have to look out for number 1, you have to do what it takes to get ahead. It isn’t personal its just business, its the way the world works baby.


But it wasn’t just business, it was much more than that. It was personal. It was communal. It was foundational. 


All creation holds its breath as the children are faced with the choice - will they walk away from the warmth of the fire into the cold and crushing darkness in search of a better fire? Would they leave the security and peace and order and jump into the chaos? There was so much more at stake here than merely a righteous God requiring complete obedience. This was the moment of choice.


True, God could have formed these creatures without the ability to choose their course. That was a decision that God had to make with the stars and planets and mountains and streams. None of these had been given the freedom to choose - planets and moons were in their orbit and they had no ability to choose to do otherwise. Mountains are tall and strong and they will never think, "I want to be a valley now." Gravity does not choose whether it will influence objects or not.


This decision allowed the universe to be orderly. But it also ensured that no planet would ever decide to write a song about this God. Sure God created great beauty in the planet; a beauty which is itself a kind of song, but it isn’t a song that the planet created. God wanted something that could create as he creates - not on the same level, but something that understood, as he does, that when love is present beautiful things result.


So the children could not be like the stars or the trees.


The children had to be able to choose. And now it was time for them to begin making their choices...


When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

 

Was the cry that spread across the universe something that could be heard by the ears or was it simply felt in the deepest part of the heart? What happened in that moment of choice? Some say that God was disobeyed and so his wrath was stirred. I think its much more sad and tragic than that. God had created these children to live in the trusting, loving relationship that he enjoyed as himself. They would walk together and he would teach them all about the world he’d created. But now...


Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

 

How deeply did God feel those words? These children were not created to be afraid of the Father, they were created to run to God when something else caused them to fear. And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"


Perhaps many people read those questions as an accusation. Maybe it would be more accurate to read them as a lament. It’s as if God is saying, with tears in his eyes, “you have no idea what you’ve just done.” 


You see their choice to doubt and distrust meant that life together in the garden would no longer be possible. They had chosen chaos and the order and peace of the presence of God would seem like constant torture. They would constantly life in fear of the presence of God and so they would have to leave the garden...


But God would not send them out alone. He clothed them, he told them would life would be like outside the garden. He warned them of the hardships that would come and he taught them how to survive. More than that he let them know that he had already prepared a plan to recreate and restore them. This crisis was terrible and tragic, but it would not have the last word. It WILL not have the last word.

Today we continue to experience this tragedy. We live in a world that is groaning and longing to be restored and reconciled by God. In this world tears are commonplace. We experience hurt, betrayal, sickness, loss, confusion and doubt. The darkness holds unknown monsters and we are afraid.


The children still have the image of God glowing within them and sometimes it even shines. But the lack of trust is like a thick layer of grime over the lens of the lamp...the light is muted and sometimes appears just plain dark. 

We still write songs about God, we still crave beauty, but our eyes don’t see as well as they used to and our ears often strain to hear the melody. It seems that most of the time we’re groping around in the dark unable to find the window shade that we know is blocking the light that still shines, unable to open that heavy thick door which mutes the sounds and songs that stir our soul.

But nothing can completely keep the light out; nothing can silence the song of creation. The door may be able to keep our ears from hearing the words of the song, but we can feel the deep thump of the bass. We feel the song more than hear it...and it still calls to us.


The crisis continues but there is hope. This tragedy didn’t destroy life or light or hope - they are all pressing against the gates of this hell. God's eternal community of love is breaking in even as we speak.


Children I have a message from God - these gates will not hold him back. He’s coming for you. Hold on, your rescue is close. 

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

What Does it Look Like?

A commonly recurring conversation these days centers on the question, "What does it look like to really actually live and be church this way?" If you aren't sure about the setting of this conversation check out my recent post on Questions.


So, in my last post I referred to David Fitch who currently serves as one of the pastors at Life on the Vine Christian Community - a church he helped plant in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He is also a professor at Northwest Seminary where he heads up the M.A. in Missional Church Ministry...I kinda wish I knew about that program 8 years ago when I started grad school...


Well, it seems that Chris and I are going to have to take measures against David Fitch because he has apparently been eavesdropping on our conversations about being church in our community. 


Disclaimer: tongue planted firmly in cheek - in reality, we would be skipping gleefully if someone (anyone) thought our conversations were worth eavesdropping!


Any-who, David’s most recent post on Instilling Missional Habits in a Congregation is worth reading. It is short and it is pretty much verbatim how we’re encouraging participants in the Christ Journey to see and function in this community. So, if you want to hear someone smarter than us speak with brevity on the issue check it out.


This way of living is so very difficult here in the Bible Belt because many people (even those with no church background to speak of) have firmly established concepts of church as place and church as a worship service. Transitioning to life shared in way of Jesus is counter-cultural - for both the “secular” and the “religious” cultures of our area.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Sin Management is Too Small to be Gospel

(this pic came up in my google image search for "sin management"...funny)

Have you ever heard the phrase “gospel of sin management”? I don’t remember where I heard it first or to whom to credit this pithy little title. I do remember Dallas Willard deconstructing this view of gospel in his book The Divine Conspiracy (which I don’t have handy to reference right now). Basically this “gospel” arises in the context where we (rightly) take the sin and brokenness in ourselves and the world seriously. However we then (erroneously - in my opinion) dive into a faith life dedicated to eradicating sin, living pure, etc.


Erroneous? How can you say that Bret??? Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound?


I’ll agree with Paul’s response to those questions - By no means! (read Romans 6 if you aren’t familiar with that reference)


The problem isn’t that we take sin seriously and want to see it eradicated from our lives. The problem is that we begin to believe that if we just take God’s commands seriously enough we will flee from temptation and live holy and pure lives. “Our only hope is obedience,” one author says. 


Well, sorta. I agree that we should very carefully seek to put into practice what we have seen and heard from God, the Scriptures and from the community of believers who all call us (as Paul did in Ephesians 4) to live lives worthy of the calling we have received.


But will all of this really be accomplished by our obedience? What a human centered way of looking at life! Even the statement that God’s grace makes room for our obedience to take hold still assumes that God is passive - he removes the barriers so that we will come to him through our faithful obedience.


What if, instead, we understood God to be putting the pieces back together ACTIVELY? What if God himself were transforming us from within, writing his covenant on our hearts, as it were? (That’s a reference to Jeremiah...check out chapter 31.) What if God called us and sent us not just so that other people would receive salvation from sin and death but so that our own salvation would truly take root? What if the salvation we’re speaking of here refers to so much more than just heaven after we die? What if God were at work, right now today, putting creation back together? 


And what if sin isn’t the point at all? What if sin were merely a reflection of what happens in a person, group of people or a culture that has lost community with God? (Perceptive people will note a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg problem there...we can discuss that later if you want.)


What if we understood sin as the result of not trusting that God really has our best interest at heart? If we saw sin as the result of us moving away from God, then would treating the specific effects of sin (addictions, anger, greed, lust or whatever) be effective at treating the cause?


What if obedience was not what led us to transformation and relationship with God, but the other way around? What if falling into the arms of the Father who has run down the road to greet us actually leads to the transformation that naturally results in living out of our new self? What if we understood obedience as the natural response to a life in community with God, just as sin is the natural result of a life out of community with God?


David Fitch is rapidly moving up the list of my favorite writers/thinkers/practitioners. I was jumping up and down in the bagel shop this morning as I read this particular quote from his blog www.reclaimingthemission.com


This to me is the problem of inviting an alcoholic into an alcoholics anonymous meeting. The goal becomes overcoming alcoholism. And the alcoholics together largely stay within the frame of other alcoholics calling on Jesus (or another higher power) to achieve a personal goal. Instead all we sin-aholics of all kinds must be invited into a community of God’s all-encompassing Mission, His Story of reconciling the whole world into Himself thereby redeeming all of creation. In the process, every part of our lives (including our addictions) are re-oriented into a way of life born out of the salvation in Christ.


So let me end by saying this (because I have several people in mind who are probably throwing things at the wall right now!): I do not take obedience to the teachings of Jesus lightly nor do I think they are somehow peripheral issues. I would say that it is one of  my foundational beliefs that our contact and interaction with the Good News leads to a life lived in response. 


I do however disagree with the statement, “Our only hope is obedience.” 


I think the author of that quote would agree that actually our only hope is God, so that isn’t how I’d rephrase his statement. I believe that our only hope is restoration of community with God...which leads to transformation...which leads to obedience. Obedience is important but it comes as a result of being transformed. 


Let’s seek that transformation together. As Fitch said, “In the process, every part of our lives...are reoriented into a way of life.”

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Questions



Why do we emphasize house churches so much and what does that mean really? Is what we’re doing really any different from a traditional model with a small group ministry? 


These questions have come up in a few settings recently and they have been rolling around in my mind constantly. I can honestly say that I have spent a tremendous amount of time praying about this, asking God, “Is what we’re attempting here worthwhile? Is it what we should spend our energy investing in? Are we cultivating something that will invite people to experience greater transformation in you?”


I’ve attempted to listen for a response to these questions - as opposed to just praying and then figuring it out myself! 


The short answer I believe I’m hearing: “Yes!”


The transition to experiencing community and engaging in the mission of God instead of “going to church” is very difficult for those of us who have been inundated our whole lives with church culture...whether we were participants in that culture or not.


Not viewing “Church” as place or even a worship service on Sunday is easy to say, hard to do. When I write or say that Christ Journey is a network of house churches in the Burleson/south Fort Worth region it is like saying, “The Kingdom of God has come!”


We’re experiencing some of the already-but-not-yet life of faith. Just as the Kingdom of God has come and is also still on its way, so it is with Christ Journey. We’re striving to cultivate an environment where community is the norm, confession is commonplace, neighborhoods are re-engaged and redeemed, neighbors are known and loved.


In many ways we are experiencing precisely that...and in many ways we are anticipating this experience.


From a church planting approach the question that comes up is whether a focus on house churches is best utilized in a “simple church,” “organic,” or “cell church” model. To those who aren’t familiar, these approaches typically focus exclusively on the house church/cell church - in other words there is no larger gathering, such as what we experience together at the Party Room on Sunday.


There are benefits to this approach for sure - there is little cost involved, it is simple and very mobile. It forces people to invest in one another because the community is so small. 


However, even though they a part of much larger network, they rarely see those folks and may not know who any of them are. And this I believe is a major downside. I could spend a lot of words laying out the various reasons why it is beneficial to remain connected to a larger body, including mentors and mature Christians. For space sake I’ll encourage you to join me at Denny’s sometime if you want to talk about those!

But I do want to say something about the value of gathering on Resurrection Day because this is something I am not willing to give up. 


My argument is not the legalism, “we have to because the early Christians did.” The truth is that we have ample evidence of the early Christians doing plenty of things that we don’t feel compelled to do - and plenty of things the early Christians did that we should not do (things which led Paul to write letters in order to get them to stop doing!)


But especially as we take the call to engage in the mission of God more and more seriously; as we pour ourselves out for one another and for our neighborhoods; as we seek to cultivate and experience a radical community of reconciliation and hope, I believe we’ll find ourselves NEEDING the opportunity to come together and celebrate on the day that Jesus defeated darkness, death and despair! We need to rejoice together because of what we experience together. For some folks on some weeks there will be so much joy and excitement that is spilling out that we need an outlet in community to praise God in song and prayer. That doesn’t mean that we should wait for Sunday or that we can’t do this with our house church - we should do precisely that. But there is something powerful about gathering with a group to celebrate isn’t there?


Other weeks and other folks will need to come together around the table to celebrate the resurrection because the darkness has threatened to pull them under. As we engage other human beings we make ourselves vulnerable to experiencing the pain and hardship that so many deal with each day. Nothing less than God himself entering into this story and defeating death can bring hope to some situations. So we gather around the table with dozens of other folks and proclaim together - Jesus is Lord and he is risen!


I think it is okay for Sunday to receive a lot of attention and preparation, even though we repeatedly remind one another that the basic expression of Church in our community is the house church. It is the basic expression because it is the place where we come together with a small group of people whom we are able to be completely open and vulnerable around. It is where we say, “This is what it looks like to live this life together.” And then we do that with these people. We hold each other up when it is hard to live this way. We rejoice when we experience the power of God transforming our lives and those around us. We are Church for one another.


And then on Sunday we gather with other house churches and we see that we are not the only ones experiencing this life. We are reminded that the Church is larger than our small circle of influence. We remind ourselves that though we are experiencing amazing things in the Kingdom of God, there is much more to that Kingdom than we can ever see at one time. We remember that we are members of the Body we are not the whole Body...and we are not the god who gives the Body life.


So when I say that Sunday morning is not the full or even primary expression of Church that is not in anyway to diminish its significance. The transition to seeing “Church” as a life lived in the midst of community and not a service we attend is definitely difficult. And as long as we gather on Sunday in the midst of the Bible belt, people are going to struggle from time to time seeing the distinction. But, as a friend said to me today, the transition we need is not to diminish Sunday but to emphasize the importance of shared life in our house churches. 


If you are a participant in the Christ Journey with us here in Burleson, I invite you to find ways to make this transition real. If you are a companion on the journey with Christ in some other place we pray that you too will see this transformation take place in your own life of faith. May the words of Psalm 84 find expression in your life:


Blessed are those whose strength is in [God],
       who have set their hearts on pilgrimage


Monday, March 2, 2009

Repost...to save time


I haven't had any time to finish my post on time! But its still on my mind. This post was put on ChristJourneyLife last week - and I hope to have a follow up to it here soon...



Like all of us I’m on a journey of transformation. The past few years of my journey have been incredibly difficult, but sitting in the Waffle House this morning waiting for the guys in my formation group; thinking about the front yard barbecue party we had at the Chappotin’s last night; remembering the guy we met playing racquetball yesterday who seemed quite interested in our house churches; recalling the lunch we had with friends from Harvest House on Tuesday; anticipating the new house church I’ll be leading in Shenendoah townhome community...even the painful times I’ve been through are valuable because they’ve brought us to this place, at this time.


Sometimes we have epiphanies. We read a book, have a conversation, pray a prayer, dream a dream or just slap our heads and say, “OH!” and the light comes on. Transformation can occur that quickly.


But typically it occurs in time. We are transformed in many different ways, but most of those ways involve continual change and growth.


That is why it is so tragic and such a missed opportunity when we live in an unexamined routine completely cut-off from the larger Story which has informed our story. My intention isn’t necessarily to convince anyone that we should study history (though, I REALLY believe that we should). My intention is actually to begin looking at the value of allowing time and rhythm to play an active role in our spiritual formation.


The larger Christian community, of which we are a part, is entering the season of Lent - a time to reflect on our brokenness and sin and a time to anticipate the need for a Savior. Lent falls within a season for Christ Journey that focuses on foundations. During the next few months we’ll focus on the story we find ourselves in, the Story of God and his creation. We’ll discuss the core values of our community. We’ve tied this time in with Lent and Easter because the progression of darkness to light is so very appropriate.


What I want to say here is more than just a preview of what we’ll be discussing and practicing in our house church gatherings, Sunday worship or the Foundations Retreat (March 20-21). Instead I want to encourage you with a few ideas.

First, remember that your spiritual formation and even your transformation take place in time. Don’t imagine that you can just collect spiritual truths apart from real life, apart from a real context. While God may exist outside of time, we do not. Therefore our formation will occur in time and space. Reading, studying and the like are surely important, but so are listening, laughing, engaging and practicing. Reading a book on evangelism is certainly helpful...listening to the stories of a neighbor who is struggling with health issues can be even more formative.


Second, your spiritual formation will occur in due time. Recently I’ve had the opportunity to practice a spiritual discipline that is somewhat new to me in actual, real world practice. Surprise, I’m not very good at it! However, I believe that in time this practice will become more natural and over time I am also convinced that it will aid in my continual process of being conformed to the image of Christ. You are no different.


Finally, your spiritual formation will benefit from the rhythm that only time can provide. Whether it is family holidays, sports seasons, or the start of a new semester, we usually have strong reactions (positive or negative) to the recurring events and seasons in our lives. One of the things we hope to emphasize in the various gatherings of the Christ Journey community is that we are people and a community in process. By cultivating a rhythm of telling and retelling the foundational stories of our faith, we have the opportunity to live into that story in deeper ways over time.


Seasons such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost are more than just dates on a calendar, they are tools for engaging time for the purpose of spiritual formation. They engage us in the progression from darkness to light and they do so from year to year. During this season of Lent we are encouraged to find solidarity with the suffering of Christ, recognizing the very real and deep effect of sin and brokenness. Beyond this, by sacrificing something we enjoy during this season we acknowledge that only God is able to sustain and satisfy us. No amount of caffeine, sweets, red meat or sleeping in can fill that void we feel. (For a more detailed treatment of Lent, check out Kester Smith’s post ).


If you’ve never practiced Lent or if it has just been a requirement to give up something you like for 40 days, perhaps this year you can benefit by merely considering the potential blessing of this season. And perhaps next year you’ll find that the return of this season brings new possibilities.


And now it is 11:19 pm and I am sitting on my couch and I began this post at 7 am in Waffle House. My how time flies....


- Bret