Initial Thoughts on the Boston Marathon Bombing

It's no longer a question of if we'll face the next act of senseless violence that will topple our illusion of security.  It's a question of when, where, and how bad will it be.  Now not even an event as politically benign and morally positive as the Boston Marathon is safe.  In horrid irony the bombings assaulted a sporting celebration dedicated to the victims of the recent Newtown Connecticut school shootings.

Much of the usual reactions will happen in the next few days.  Grief will be great for the dead and the maimed.  (As of this posting - 9:25 p.m. CST on 04.15 - three people are dead, including an eight year old child.  Up to a dozen are critically injured; more are hospitalized.)  We will be dazed and unsteady for a while.  The low, simmering unsafe feeling that's been a part of our lives since 09.11.01 will rise to a boil, at least for now.  Many will jump to blame.  Some will assume the action of international terrorists and may point the finger at Islamic extremists.  They may be proved right. Some will cry for stiffer penalties for the criminally ill, if that turns out to be the cause.  Others will blame violence in the media and in our culture in general.  Westboro Baptist Church will probably picket the funerals, celebrating "God's judgement."  Both people who claim faith and those who struggle with faith will quietly or openly ask why a good and loving God would allow something like this to happen.  Some will call for more accessibility to "conceal and carry" so citizens can protect themselves.  Others will demand tighter security for all public gatherings.  And we'll continue to wonder if it will ever be safe again to go to a ball game, a parade, a race, a concert, a worship service, a school, a movie, or wherever.  And, unfortunately, other parts of the world will look at this and say, "We're sorry for you, but we live with this kind of thing every day!"  That, of course, doesn't make it acceptable or tolerable in ANY place in the world.  It is beyond contemptible.

Fear and anger are normal.  To act on something other than fear or anger will take a decision - a decision against the flow; it will not come naturally.  It might be a good time to learn a lesson from history.  In Great Britain in 1939, the British Isles faced immanent violence and potential disaster.  Alone in Europe in defiance of the Third Reich, bombing assaults were certain and invasion was highly likely.  British leaders chose this slogan to really their people:  Keep Calm and Carry On.  Brits chose to fight back, win or lose, by refusing to give up on their values, their commitments, and their determination to live freely as they chose to live.  They took a serious beating, but Keep Calm and Carry On expressed their focused resolve.  Britain did not fall, and it became a staging area to turn back one of the greatest evils of human history.

For those who choose to follow the one known as Jesus of Nazareth, we are invited to chose something other than anger and fear in everything we face.  We're reminded that perfect love casts out fear.  Everywhere people default to hate and violence, we are to be the ones who keep calm (embrace the peace that passes all understanding, and give that peace) and carry on (continuing our commitment to change lives for Jesus and to transform a fallen and hurting world). 

One of my best friends in this world is a runner, who has done his share of marathons and half marathons.  Dan is also one of the most passionate followers of Jesus I know.  As a believer and as a runner, I know how he would address defeat, unfair injury, ghastly evil and injustice, and horrific loss.

He'd tie on the shoes and run again.  He'd keep calm and carry on.  That's how we heal; that's how we win.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.  Pray for Boston.

Someone Needs Your Legacy

North American churches of all sizes, styles, and brand names find themselves in challenging times.  The world is changing at such break-neck speed that it's hard for congregations to keep up.  Many groups of the faithful struggle to determine what needs to stay the same in their ministries and what needs to adapt to a new landscape.  In many congregations this surfaces around worship style.  Some of God's servants will work hard to preserve a "traditional" means of worship (whatever "traditional" means in any given congregation) in order to protect the core of faith experience in the midst of change.  At the same time, other followers will create more "contemporary" methods of worship (whatever "contemporary" means for any congregation) in an effort to keep up with changes and to attract new generations of people unfamiliar with Jesus.  Needless to say, this creates tension.

In multiple congregations I've visited, consulted, or been a part of, a polarity exists that is sometimes painful.  "Traditional" worshippers express their love for their worship experience using important concepts like "reverence" and "solemnity."  They experience God in a very real kind of "Holy otherness" that the quiet but genuine piety many traditional worship services provide.  They look at more "contemporary" worship as showy or frivolous when compared to the solemnity they value.  On the other hand, "contemporary" worshippers express their love for their worship experience with words like "celebration" or "praise."  They tend to experience God in the intimacy and personal energy that many contemporary services offer.  As a result, they look at the "Holy otherness" of traditional worship and they see stuffiness, coldness, and lifelessness.  The dichotomy and resultant division within the Body of Christ is unfortunate.  Beyond that it is counter-productive, as it bleeds energy off any church's primary task of connecting with unreached people, meeting unmet human need, and leading people into the saving arms of Jesus.

Recently I spent a day in thought and prayer about this, thinking about how common this is in churches of all kinds in our land.  I asked, "Where do these two vectors have common ground?  Even in the midst of these differences and the stressful times in which we live that can fuel the division, what is a different language we could use instead of the divisive language that "traditional" and "contemporary" has become?"  I thought about how many sincere traditional worshippers genuinely feel they are in danger of losing something.  I thought about how many committed contemporary worshippers seem genuinely fearful of missing out on something if they don't stay on the cutting edge.  Somehow, beyond the stylistic differences, encompassing yet transcending both "reverence" and "celebration" there must be something both want to secure, to protect, and to pass on.

To me there is one thing that embraces both reverence and celebration.  It's awe or wonder.   It's the utter incomprehensible nature of a God who would sew himself up in human skin to find a way to love and rescue a mess like me.  That's what causes in me both silence, humbling reverence and explosive, bang-that-guitar celebration.  It's awe; which is undercut equally by traditional worship that has become an empty, self-serving ritual or contemporary worship that has been reduced to self-indulgent emotionalism.  It's meeting the God-of-awe in Jesus, being completely transformed by him, and wanting nothing more than to pass that same thing on.  If awe is the common ground, then past, present, and future come together here.  It's not about preserving a worship style or trashing that to create a new style.  Style is the "how."  The "what" is awe of God in Christ, regardless of style.  It's not pipe organs or electric guitars we want to pass on to the next generation - it's Jesus.  The legacy and the future is the awe of God in Jesus the Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that's the word God gave me on that day of prayer.  Legacy; loud and crystal clear - legacy.  Regardless of worship style, church structure, denomination name, etc., we each will leave a legacy of something.  I'm told that, statistically, fifty years after I'm dead very few people if any will remember anything about me.  My time to make impact is now.  I can leave any kind of a legacy, good, bad or indifferent.  I can leave a legacy by accident or by design.  What I want to do, what I am called to do, is to leave a legacy of knowing and loving Jesus, having my life completely transformed by him, and doing everything I can to see that as many people as possible meet him.  I can leave a legacy of a life lived in awe of Jesus, whether I expressed that singing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," or "Our God Is Mighty to Save."

Whatever you sing in worship next, however you worship, and wherever you worship, someone needs not the legacy of your particular way to worship, but your legacy of awe.  

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.