REPENT!

I attended a clergy retreat last week that included lectures by writer/theologian Dana L. Robert, professor of World Christianity and History of Missions at Boston University Seminary. One of the things I found intriguing is the changing face of missions in the 21st century. Did you know there are currently 30,000 foreign missionaries working in the United States? These are trained missionaries who have been sent here to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and plant churches on US soil. In what is often pegged as a postmodern and post Christian era, many in the third world church see this country as a fertile mission field and have responded by sending missioners to the US in response to the perceived failure of Western Christianity! Case in point is the Redeemed Christian Church of God of Nigeria. While the RCCG currently only has 292 churches in North America, the denomination has 5 million members worldwide. The RCCG is developing a 500 acre denominational North American center in Floyd, Texas that will include a 10,000 seat sanctuary, two elementary school-size lecture centers, a dormitory, several cottages, a lake and a Christian-themed water park. We appear to be in the beginning stages of a radical reformation of Christianity in this country. Who would have anticipated this reversal of roles?  Still the church in America must find its bearings and begin to think of itself in terms of the global community it is now a part of. As things continue to change rapidly in this world, do we hang on tight to what we know or do we "think outside the box" imagining God's future for us? I vote for the second.

Me First!

In the Gospels, Jesus saved his harshest criticism for the religious leaders of his day whose hypocrisy  frustrated Jesus to no end! These leaders claimed to be defenders of God's temple and yet sacrificed little out of their own pockets to support it, relying instead on the generosity of others to provide for its well being. Of course, even Jesus' own followers were not immune from self interest. As Jesus turns his face toward the cross, Peter challenges Jesus' understanding of his mission. "Lord, this must never happen to you!" Jesus' uncharacteristic reply? "You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Matthew 16:22-23) This statement launches Jesus into a discussion of the cost of discipleship, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." vs. 24 What this tells me is each of us needs to learn to vote against self-interest and seek God's Kingdom first. When we fiercely defend the status quo at the expense of Jesus' mission to reach the unchurched for Jesus Christ, we become a stumbling block to what Jesus is trying to accomplish through his church. Like Peter, we need to guard ourselves against the temptation to paint "human" concerns as Kingdom issues. For this, Jesus had one response, "Get behind me..."

Discernment

Have you ever been accused of "playing the devil's advocate?" In modern parlance it means someone who takes a position that he or she doesn't necessarily agree with just for the sake of argument. It comes from the Latin advocatus diaboli, a title used to describe an official of the church (RCC)  selected to examine the facts critically and raise objections in the case of a dead person named for beatification or canonization. It's not an attempt to undermine the process but rather to do a careful, exacting evaluation of the facts. I'd like to reclaim that phrase in a more redemptive way. I'm often guilty of  challenging Christians to think critically about their beliefs. I playfully refer to this as playing Jesus' advocate! Have you ever heard someone speak of God with catchy slogans and phrases? I suspect we've all been guilty of that at one time or another. But often these phrases have to do with what sounds good, reasonable or supports our personal agenda but have yet to be thoroughly vetted. I still remember a well meaning church member telling my wife after she suffered a late term miscarriage, "God must have needed that baby more then you did." No one likes to have a cherished belief challenged and yet just because its cherished doesn't mean its right. Just because its pulled from scripture doesn't mean its faithful to the larger biblical witness. At one point both racism and slavery were justified as "biblical." I don't claim to have all the right beliefs. I'm still maturing in the Faith and Jesus continues to teach me through his Church! But shouldn't we all seek to have an intelligent faith? One that's attempts to be faithful to the biblical witness? One that is sound and stands up to test of time and tragedy? We never truly own our beliefs until we learn to question them. This is a process of discernment. Discernment is how we cooperate with God's Holy Spirit to determine how best to behave and believe.

I'm Only Human

John Wesley gave his Methodists three rules to help them stay in love with God and neighbor. The first was to do no harm. How practical is that in today’s world? Then again Jesus demands a lot from his disciples. Love my enemy and pray for them? Turn the other cheek? Forgive someone 7x70 (I did the math…that’s 490 times)! Talk about letting someone walk all over you! “Jesus, just what kind of mamby pamby land are you living in?” Did I just say that out loud? If you and I were to take a Twix moment, you know catch ourselves before we said something unkind or hurtful to another, can you imagine how much work that would be? Jesus once said, “The road is hard that leads to life and few find it (Matthew 7:14).” Why is it we find this “road less traveled” so hard to take? Has Jesus simply forgotten who he’s dealing with? We’re only human, after all.