Evangelism - Really!

My wife and I spent this morning working at our region's Food Bank, along with several folks from our church, folks from another church, and youth doing community service. In three hours we packages nearly a thousand food boxes, assembly line style. These boxes will be distributed to persons in need throughout the extreme southeast section of our state. That sounds good, on the surface. The truth is that, even with this important outreach, the majority of people who will seek this aid will be turned away, because there won't be enough. As the food and fuel crisis intensifies locally, and worldwide, the numbers are rising.

As we seek to introduce a struggling and disoriented world to a real Jesus, I've invited us to pray for the resources, commitment, and decisions necessary to raise disciples for Jesus. If we make prayer central in our outreach, if we make it the very fuel for our central task as the Body of Christ, it won't be only a matter of what happens when we're on our knees or when our hands are folded piously. Real prayer will reshape our heart, so that we see others as they are seen by the heart of God. Our lives will morph, as sacrifice and service become more the norm for how we live. Evangelism will be way more than getting people into heaven or into worship services. Evangelism will become economic, social, and political. The Spirit of God will cause us to look at the ever widening gap in our world between the few who have much and the many who are barely surviving, and it will cause us to say, "Enough! This is not the in breaking Kingdom of our God."

Again, quoting Richard J. Foster, "We must boldly teach the essential connections between the inner and outer aspects of simplicity. We can no longer allow people to engage in pious exercises that are divorced from the hard social realities of life. Nor can we tolerate a radical social witness that is devoid of inward spiritual vitality. Our preaching and teaching needs to hold these elements in unity." (from Freedom of Simplicity.)

Are we ready for an evangelism like this; a disciple-making posture that doesn't allow us to escape life as it is, but empowers us to wade into life as it is, fueled by a transforming Jesus? We're in rapids again. Let's so who makes it to the next bend.

Leadership

Some churches and church leaders are trying to chart a course back to God's mainstream of changing lives, growing disciples of Jesus the Christ, and transforming communities. As we do so, there's much talk about leadership. As we rethink our identity and mission, we'll need to rethink what it means to be a leader in the Body of Christ.

In my church background, leadership largely was a matter of office or position. People ordained to be pastors were automatically leaders. If a congregation nominated you and elected you to chair the church's administrative board, board of trustees, or finance committee, that made you a leader. Titles and formal authorization made for leadership.

While office and position are important aspects of leadership, they tend to support leadership as it serves static structures or organizations. Movement leadership may be something else, in these days when the Church needs to rediscover its dynamic, "movemental" character, especially as we are now in an era and culture that no longer grants automatic authority to organized religion.

Consider Jesus. You know the rundown...no formal education, no inborn prestige or title, no official religious credentialing, etc. etc. Yet no leader has had or continues to have the impact that Jesus wields. What does that say about leadership in the Church as a movement? What did Jesus embody that went beyond formal titles and authorization?

During the summer I'll converse regularly with a group of people in whom the Holy Spirit is stirring something and with whom I'll explore what it means to be a leader as a Jesus-follower in these days. So what do you think? What does it mean to be a leader? I'll see you around the next river bend.

Asking the Right Questions

I just finished leading a short class on the meaning of conversion in the Methodist tradition. One of the participants in the group had a very wise observation. He noted that many people in our current culture have no concept of a need for turning from something to something else. Many people, he observed, basically say, "Why should I turn to Jesus? My life is fine." Especially in affluent America, this is probably more true than Jesus-followers care to recognize.
People aren't asking about conversion.

As I view myself, other church leaders, and churches in general, it seems that often we try to address this cultural disinterest by trying to market Jesus as the answer to questions people are already asking. These questions might include, "How can I be successful?" or "How can I get what I want in life?" or "How do I get people to like me?" I've seen churches and Christian groups organize their presentation of Jesus around marriage issues, family relationships, business acumen, physical health, financial management, and a host of other issues. Well and good...

I wonder if our greater mission, though, is not just to answer the questions that the secular world encourages us all to ask, but to challenge the presumptions of those very questions themselves. Maybe Jesus came not to answer existing questions, but to invite us to challenge the world view that evoked the questions in the first place. The noted spiritual writer, Richard J. Foster wrote about the Desert Fathers. Of them, he writes, "Their world asked, 'How can I get more?' The Desert Fathers asked, 'What can I do without?' Their world asked, 'How can I find myself?' The Desert Fathers asked, 'How can I lose myself?' Their world asked, 'How can I win friends and influence people?' The Desert Fathers asked, 'How can I love God?'"
(Richard J. Foster in Freedom of Simplicity)

Just a thought...maybe it's not just about answering the world's questions, but helping the world to ask the right questions. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

How We See People

All is right with the world! I went floating and fishing with a friend on the Current River in southern Missouri yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and I caught two smallmouth bass. (In case any Department of Conservation personnel are reading, I put them back. For the rest of you, they're out of season right now!)

I've learned that all evangelism, faith-sharing, and disciple-making is built on prayer. Jesus-followers associate such outreach with evangelistic preaching, visitation programs, revivals and other activities which are all worthwhile. However, none of these will replace life-yielding, heart-of-God-seeking prayer.

How do we begin to pray for our communities and people within them? In our church's Evangelism Team, we've learned that prayer has to start with seeking to see other people as God sees them. What does that mean? I'm reminded of a video I once saw on YouTube, I think from a church in Little Rock, Arkansas. (I'm having a little sense of deja vu right now, like I might have brought this up in a previous post...) In the video, a guy who is in a hurry to get to work, sees the people around him as hindrances to his progress. Then he miraculously starts to see each of these people with subtitles to them; things like, "Wishes somebody would love her just as she is," or "Thinking about suicide," or "Scared to death about losing his job," or "Just got diagnosed with Cancer," or "Doesn't think God cares about him." This imaginary phenomenon changes the hurried man's day, and changes his view of the people he contacts.

Let's try this for the next week. Any time we're out in public, let's invite God to direct our attention to one person whom we might otherwise overlook, or whom we might categorize in our minds and dismiss. In each person's case, let's say a prayer that starts this way: "God, where is this person in need, and how does he/she need to meet and know you?" Anyone who is interested, let's covenant together to invite God to see people as God's heart sees them.

The river is a little high, but running fast and clear. I'll see you around the next bend.

Impact

So, I'm on my second week of using a bicycle as my primary means of transportion to and from my office. It's not much of an impact on our fuel cost/energy sources/food distribution crises, I guess. Let's say that I average about six trips to and from work on the bike each week. At about four miles round trip, that would be about 24 miles a week. Assuming that gas gets to $4.00 an hour by Memorial Day weekend, I'd save about a gallon a week. If I use the bike through the relative mild weather months, or about 39 weeks of the year, that would be a saving of around $156.00, which is about what I paid for the bike. No big deal, right? Not much impact.

However, suppose I convinced 20 friends to find some way to cut back on gasoline use in their own lives, saving about the same amount of money a year. Between us, that would be $3120 routed away from the gas pump. Now, what if an entire community did this; a community of people a little larger than where I live now - 20,000 folks or so. Now we're talking $3,120,000. If just one community of that size from every state in the Union did that, we'd be at $156,000,000 not going into fuel consumption. That would be a hunk of change to keep away from the insanity which is fossil-fueled-based transportation and to put toward something of lasting importance.

Now here's the convicting rub...How many times have I passed up the opportunity to share my faith with someone or just to talk to someone, with the possibility of an introduction to Jesus? How often have I assumed that my attitude, my welcomeness or lack of it, my interest in a person's life or needs, or just my willingness to be present wouldn't really have any lasting impact? When have I passed up an opportunity for someone to see Christ in me, assuming that it really wouldn't make any difference anyway? Is it easier for me to pass by such opportunities, just as it's easier to go ahead and consume gasoline at any price, because I assume I really won't have any impact one way or another?

It might be something to think about. Then again, I might just like to ride a bike. I'll see you around the next bend.

Expectations vs. Expectancy

Over the weekend I finished The Shack by William P. Young. Rarely am I affected by a book quite like I have been by this one. I'm still sorting out what has happened to me through the story of Mack Phillips' devastating tragedy and his grace-filled, transforming encounter with God. Really, I'm just kind of basking in it right now. Maybe I'll put words to it in an upcoming post.

William Young has presented a work that is moving, challenging, sometimes unsettling, and always engaging. Among many things that rattled my presumptions, I was drawn by his presentation of expectations versus expectancy in relationships in general, and in God's relationship with us in particular, through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nearing the end of the story, God (in the form of a loving, older African-American woman called "Papa") says this to Mack:

"Responsibilities and expectations are the basis of guilt and shame and judgement, and they provide the essential framework that promotes performance as the basis for identity and value...Honey, I've never placed an expectation on your or anyone else. The idea behind expectations requires that someone does not know the future or outcome and is trying to control behavior to get the required result. Humans try to control behavior largely through expectations. I know you and everything about you. Why would I have an expectation other than what I already know? And beyond that, because I have no expectations, you never disappoint me...What I do have is a constant and living expectancy in our relationship, and I give you an ability to respond in any situation and circumstance in which you find yourself. To the degree that you resort to expectations and responsibilities, to that extent you neither know me nor trust me..."
(William P. Young. The Shack. Windblown Media, Los Angeles. 2007. Page 206. emphasis mine.)

As someone steeped in expectations and fear of not living up to them, I'll need to keep thinking about that one. What do you think? If you happen to read The Shack, let me know how it hits you. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

(P.S. - I'm actually floating the Current River this Friday, weather permitting!)

Outside the Conversational Comfort Zone

In her comment on my second-to-the-last post, Annette raises a central issue. As Jesus followers strengthen and grow in their relationship with Jesus and in their discipleship, their social circles tend toward other Jesus followers. This makes sense, and it helps us to become the Jesus followers we were meant to be. However, we can end up with limited contact or relationship with those who are living far from God. How do we make the changes necessary to build relationships of faith sharing? How do we connect with and value people who have yet to meet Jesus in such a way that they trust us, they know unconditional commitment from us, and they feel heard by us?

First, most of us have people within our field of contacts already who are such individuals. The people could be co-workers, fellow students, neighbors, on-line contacts, family members, etc. It might be good for all of us to review our network of connections to see where existing relationships might grow to the point of faith-sharing.

Second, though, most Jesus followers need to expand their relationships beyond tight, church-bound circles. This will not happen by accident; it will take intentional effort. I don't mean that we walk up to total strangers and say, "Hello. My name is Geoff. I would like to start a relationship with you so that I can tell you about Jesus." That will be the fastest way to send people running! I do mean that we look for opportunities to connect with others, and we act on those opportunities. Bill Hybels, the lead pastor of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area, suggests that such contacts might happen through our interests and activities. (Hybels has made such contacts through his children's sports and his own interest in sailing.) This step outside the conversational comfort zone has been a challenge for me. I'm basically an introvert. Many of my activities have become solo activities, such as running, reading, and fishing. So I've decided to look for ways to engage in connecting activities. I probably need to consider working out at our local YMCA some, instead of always exercising alone. I plan to spend time once a week at our local library. I've started spending a morning a week at a local popular restaurant. All these things will take time, as I'm fairly new to my community. I just pray that, over time, the Holy Spirit will lead me to the right connections, and I'll have the opportunity to get to know people, to listen to their stories and needs, and to be ready to lift up Jesus when the Spirit moves.

Hope this helps...Let's see who we meet around the next bend in the river.

Letting Go of Ralph

In the next couple of days I want to respond to the questions raised in Annette's comment to my May 12 post. For today, though, just a quick observation.

Yesterday my wife and I took our old dog Ralph to the vet to have him put down. Ralph was a gentle, happy Chow/Border Collie blend, who had been a part of our lives for about sixteen years. He has been a part of the fabric of our family. However, his health deteriorated severely, especially in the last year. He became blind and completely deaf, and painful arthritis made movement difficult. Losing his senses, he became cut off from his world. We couldn't let him suffer any further. Some of you no doubt have had to euthanize a pet, and you know how hard it is. You come to a point where it is the right and loving thing to do, but grief is very real in the doing of it.

I talk a lot about the changes which Jesus-followers and churches must accept and embrace in order to enable people living far from God to feel the embrace of Christ. Sometimes I can become cavalier about those changes, as if people should just take those steps without hesitation. However, those changes involve grief. It means giving up facets of living as a church person and as a congregation to which people have become very accustomed. Even if it's the right thing to do, it will not happen without the pain of loss. I need to remember that even as I lead people to let go of the facets of being a church person and being a church which need to be removed from life support.

We have a mission to fulfill as Jesus-followers, and we cannot sway from it. But let's be gentle with one another when we make the hard decisions necessary to address that mission.

Remembering a good old dog as I paddle along today. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Yes, That's Me on the Bike

Okay, if you've been driving around my area today, the answer to your question is "yes"...I am the short, chubby, old guy peddling around town on the blue and silver touring bike. I put my kayak purchase on hold for a little while, and I bought the bicycle last Thursday.

I got it for several reasons, not the least of which is the price of gasoline, now approaching $4.00 per gallon. I'm enough of a child of the sixties that there's a little protest in it. In the last century we've gone from telegraph communication to palm-sized computers, but we've done next to nothing to change the basics of an internal combustion engine, dependent on non-renewable fossil fuel. The madness of over-consumption and over-dependence has to stop somewhere, so I'm riding a bike, at least to and from my office. (Don't be too impressed; it's less than two miles.) In addition, though, I love biking, it's good exercise, it slows down my hectic pace a bit, and it's cost efficient. (About two and a half fill-ups of my Toyota Rav4 will equal the cost of the bike!)

No change comes adjustment-free, though. I have a figure out a way to haul books, notebooks, and the other things I tote around. Riding the bike will affect my wardrobe. How will I prepare for days when the weather is fine in the morning, but inclement by the afternoon? And I'm feeling the effects of several miles on a bike, after having run several miles this morning - the old machinery ain't what it used to be. There are a lot of details to sort through when you decide to ride a bike to work. I guess I just have to decide whether or not the adjustments are worth it in reaching the overall goal.

We who align ourselves with Jesus face a similar decision. I don't think most Jesus-followers fail to offer Christ to others because we're opposed to doing so. Nor do I think we avoid this out of fear alone. The resistance may be due to an unwillingness on our part to make the adjustments necessary to do so...to build new relationships with people living far from God, to move outside of our zones of conversational comfort, to connect with people who are different from us, etc. At some point we just have to decide whether or not the overall goal is worth the changes necessary in order to grow the Body of Christ.

As far as the bike is concerned, this is the first workday using it, so we'll see. I'd still like to have that kayak someday. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Reflections on THE SHACK and Relationship

I believe faith is primarily about relationship. We try to make it mostly about adhering to certain doctrine, following certain rules, or abiding by certain behavior. All those things matter, but they are not central. Relationship with Jesus and with others through Jesus matters.

I'm halfway through one of the most impacting books I've ever read - The Shack by William Young. It's a story about a man named Mack who encounters/confronts God after the horrific abduction and murder of his youngest daughter. Here's an exchange in that encounter. (Mack experiences God as "Papa," Jesus as a blue jean and work shirt clad carpenter, and the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman called "Sarayu.")

Sarayu continued, "When you choose independence over relationship, you become a danger to one another. Others become objects to be manipulated or managed for your own happiness. Authority, as you usually think of it, is merely the excuse the strong use to make others conform to what they want."

"Isn't it helpful in keeping people from fighting endlessly or getting hurt?" (Mack asked.)

"Sometimes. But in a selfish world it is also used to inflict great harm."

"But don't you use it to restrain evil?"

"We carefully respect your choices, so we work within your systems evil while we seek to free you from them," Papa continued. "Creation has been taken down a very different path than we desired. In your world the value of the individual is constantly weighed against the survival of the system, whether political, economic, social, or religious - any system actually. First one person, and then a few, and finally even many are easily sacrificed for the good and ongoing existence of that system. In one form or another this lies behind every struggle for power, every prejudice, every war, and every abuse of relationship. The 'will to power and independence' has become so ubiquitous that it is now considered normal."

"It's not?"

"It is the human paradigm," added Papa, having returned with more food. "It is like water to fish, so prevalent that it goes unseen and unquestioned. It is the matrix; a diabolical scheme in which you are hopelessly trapped even when completely unaware of its existence."

(The Shack by William Young. Windblown Media, Los Angeles. 2007. Pages 123-124.)

Strong image. What do you think? An unrealistic assessment of things, or prophetic words? Let's see what the next bend of the river brings.

Radical Trust

Looking back on some of my previous posts I realize that they are way too "churchy." I see much too much content related to what churches are doing, are not doing, should be doing, etc. There's not nearly enough on just seeking and inviting a relationship with Jesus. I wanted this blog to be an invitation to conversation for both those who are connected with congregations and those who are open to spiritual exploration, but who may not be open to organized religion right now.

So let's talk about trust. Do we really trust anybody or anything, fully? In some ways we've become a cynical culture, or maybe it's just me. We sort of presume the absence of trust. If politicians are moving their lips, they're lying, we think. Lock your doors and protect your on-line identity. Promises aren't good enough; get it in writing and get it notarized. What would it be like to trust someone or something without reservation; something a great Christian thinker and writer named Brennan Manning calls Ruthless Trust.

Remember the scene in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Harrison Ford's character steps blinding into the open area over a deep cavern, trusting his father's promise that his feel will land on something solid and he'll make it across? I'm talking about that kind of trust. The story of which Jesus is the center is loaded with that level of trust. Abram and Sarai trusting that they'll have a child after a lifetime of barrenness; Moses trusting that God will part the waters; David trusting that a small rock is sufficient to bring down a giant; Jesus trusting that there's life on the other side of the cross, to name a few examples.

In canoeing we're taught to trust the mainstream of a river. It may take us through rough moments, but it will resolutely move us downstream. What if there was a God who was that radically trustworthy?

Do you trust what's around the next bend in the river? Let's find out.

Hard Days to be a Jesus-Follower

I hear a lot of negative talk among people around the region and around the world who have hitched their wagons in one way or another to Jesus of Nazareth. They talk about how hard it is to be a church, to be a pastor, to be Christian in this complex, "post-modern" world. People lament the diminishing impact of organized religion in contemporary life. Christians on the so-called "right" will cry out about American society's separation from Christian morality, about the absence of God references in public schools, or about the danger of taking "In God We Trust" off of American currency. Believers on the so-called "left" will vent their anger over the failure of churches to address the real needs of people living on the margins worldwide, deciding that the Church has devolved into putting its energy into maintaining its own structures. Thus, they say, it has become irrelevant to the least, the last, and the lost. I hear a lot of hand-wringing about how hard it is to be Jesus-followers these days. I probably participate in that myself.

Now, if we want to talk about hard times in which to follow Jesus, consider this: Not just government apathy, but government hostility; dozens of competing belief systems; a small number of adherents; frequent denigration and humiliation for those who claim Jesus; and limited-to-no financial resources. Now that's a hard time in which to be a Jesus follower. And yet, "Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were being saved." (Acts 2:43-47, THE MESSAGE - emphasis mine.)

Not bad for a pitiful little movement that should have died. It give me hope, anyway. Let's keep paddling; I'll see you around the next bend in the river.