Fear is often what keeps Christians from living a life that actually follows Jesus. Sometimes in American Christianity, it is extremely difficult to tell the difference between a Christian and a nonbeliever. That is because many American Christians have stopped embracing risk, and they have focused on embracing a religion that worships safety and moralism. People have stopped following Jesus, and started following a religion. Think about it. You can call yourself a Christian in America, and that religion will encourage you to live in a place that is devoid of poor people, send your kids to school with only other Christian kids who look and act the same as them, save up a bunch of money for "emergencies" and to retire comfortably on, becoming rich and buying bigger houses, and the list goes on and on just as long as a good, nice Christian doesn't drink or swear or show any signs of sin to anyone else. It is the gospel of sin management and keeping up a nice, clean front for others to see.
People sometimes ask me if I am afraid to live in the inner city because of the high rate of violence and perceived lack of safety. Actually, at this point I am more afraid to live in the suburbs because of the dangers of affluence, comfort, individuality, and complacency. I am terribly afraid of losing sight of following Jesus and focusing instead on the religion of American Christianity. It is fear that keeps Christians from actually following Jesus. Think about it. Jesus was countercultural, radical, a revolutionary. He lived a lifestyle that was exactly opposite of the kingdom of men (at the time it was Caesar) and of the religion of morality and piety (represented so well by the Pharisees in the Bible). Today we have established quite a powerful kingdom of men in America, and we also have a powerful group of religous people in America who represent the religion of morality and piety. Most American Christians align themselves with the kingdom of men and the mainstream religous majority instead of aligning themselves with Jesus Christ. Now that is a scary thought! Soren Kierkegaard writes, "To want to admire, instead of follow, Christ is not an invention of bad people; no it is more an invention of those who spinelessly want to keep themselves detached at a safe distance from Jesus." - From Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard
What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of broken people and places, or are you willing to give up everything, including your life, to dive head first into those places as Jesus did in order to be a radical follower of Jesus Christ? Are you a follower of Jesus, or a follower of a moralist religion of comfort, control, and safety? Do people think you are dangerous and radical because you are a Christian, or do they think that you are a really nice, moral, conforming, safe person? Being a follower of Jesus means that you should be living a life that rocks the boat, upsets the comfortable, and cuts right into the heart of anything that is representative of the worship of the kingdom of men or religous piety. It may get your persecuted, or even killed. That's OK... then you'll be getting closer to the point of what it means to actually follow Jesus.
11 comments:
Bryan, I agree with you in that fear is often a stopping factor in many things of this world, but especially following Jesus. It's almost as if the word "Jesus" is scary to say in public because of it's connotation in the media of being a fanatic nutty person. I was a little fearful when the book came out, and still am, b/c of how open I am about the scriptures and Jesus but it's only through Him that I could write the book, live this life, be married, etc so why shouldn't He be at the core of all we do.
Fear is often what keeps Christians from living a life that actually follows Jesus."
Is it possible to be a Christian and NOT follow Jesus. Or are you describing someone about whom Jesus will one day say, "I never knew you."
So, if I'm reading this correctly...then you can't really be a Christian and live in the suburbs.
I guess Billy Graham is not a Christian.
What if Jesus leads you to the suburbs?
You know I love you BMAC!
Jason... your book is a great example. I can't think of a bigger risk to take in following Jesus than writing something that will be "out there" forever.
Thesauros... I believe that some people who call themselves "Christian" are not actually followers of Jesus (which is what I think it means to be a Christian). I am not a judge of a person's faith, though. As you pointed out in your question, Jesus will decide if people knew him or not.
Kent... I love the push back. Of course I believe that you can be a Christian and still live in the suburbs. I know many suburban Christians, including yourself, who are passionate and authentic followers of Jesus Christ. I do think, though, that there are many barriers to following Jesus in the American suburbs (maybe that's why God has called you there). In studying how the God of the universe chose to model a perfect life for us on earth, I sometimes wonder what Jesus would think about the values that American suburban Christians embrace. Especially when those values add to the crushing poverty in my neighborhood, those fellow Christians living in the same metropolitan area.
Bryan, I'm going to be do piggyback off your response to Kent...I tried to stay out of it but you know me better than that. You used the phrase "suburban values" and questioned their values. I have to think that the values of christian suburbanites, like myself, focus on family - one of the core essentials that hold our nation together. With that...how does family values "add to the crushing poverty" of the urban family?
I am definitely not against having good family values. I believe that from my understanding of what is written in Genesis, the family is one of the three divine institutions set up by God in order for societies to be healthy. The other two institutions are the state and the church. So, strong families are an important part of a healthy society as God intended it. However, one thing American conservative Christians in particular have tended to do is place an overemphasis on the nuclear family to the detriment of the other institutions and society. To be fair, many liberal Christians tend to overemphasize the role of the state to the detriment of the nuclear family. Still, family values are important but they are not necessarily more important than the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world (and even those who are not Christian) who are suffering and living in poverty. In other words, God set up the church (the body of Christ) to also play an important function in the health of societies throughout the world. When Christians fail to live out the function of the church, which Jesus modeled for us with his life and described in detail to us in his Word, then that failure adds to the crushing weight of poverty in society.
This is a deep issue, and I could give hundreds of examples of how suburbanites in Pittsburgh add to the pain of poverty in my community in Homewood on a daily basis. These problems are not unique to Pittsburgh and Homewood, as this type of thing happens in cities all over the world. I will give just a few examples. Most suburban Christians in the Pittsburgh area value living in neighborhoods where poor and marginalized people are kept at a safe distance. The suburbs present a controlled environment of sorts, where suburban Christians can live, work, shop, worship, and send their kids to schools in places where they can be assured of not coming into contact with people who are dealing with the daily struggles of inner city poverty. If Jesus calls us all to love our neighbors, and he placed an especially high value on our neighbors who are poor, orphans, widows, and aliens, then I would suggest that suburban Christians might have a hard time living out that part of their function in the body of Christ if they are intentionally distancing themselves from the exact people that Jesus was describing. Jesus did not call Christians to distance themselves from the poor and just give some money every once in a while to charities who deal relationally with improving the lives of the poor. Jesus calls all Christians to be in meaningful, authentic relationships with the poor and marginalized people of society. As a basic Christian premise the poor should be a part of our community, not intentionally separated from it. Some Christians in Pittsburgh have big homes in the suburbs with extra bedrooms, and yet some homeless children in Homewood will go to sleep tonight without a roof over their heads. Some suburban Christians in Pittsburgh value saving up thousands of dollars (apparently Dave Ramsey says so), when their are children going to bed hungry in my neighborhood in Homewood. This is a direct correlation... people save up a whole bunch of money for themselves, and others go hungry right in their own city. I don't see how that adds up to the values that Jesus talked so much about. And, yes, there are urban Christians in Pittsburgh who do these same types of things, so these are not just blanket issues with suburban Christians. But, in this discussion we're talking about the suburbs so I'm emphasizing the suburbs.
Could you please define the difference between the values that American suburban Christians embrace and American urban Christian emabrace, and who is the authority on these differences? For instance, how are the values of Shadyside Christians different from those of Wexford Christians? Personally, I feel called to not only live in the North Hills, but also mentor high school students from the North Hills. If all Christians move to the city who will mentor the youth in the suburbs? I think this topic could potentially divide Christians. I love your family's heart and courage; I love what you are doing for the Homewoood community. However, this post gives me the sense that you don't feel the same about the community in which I do ministry.
My role at North Way requires me to be a bridge builder, not a wall builder, between the people who go to church at North Way and people in need locally in Pittsburgh. Perhaps I have pushed too hard in this post, which tends to build walls (division) instead of bridges (reconciliation). If I have caused division, I truly apologize for that. I desire to see Christians from all areas of Pittsburgh, whether they are from the suburbs or urban neighborhoods, get involved relationally with people struggling in the inner city. Through my experiences and studies, I have observed theological and societal ways of thinking and living that keep people from getting involved in the work that I have been called to. In this blog, I try to point those things out in order to get dialogue started, to challenge injustices that I see, and to advance the cause of building bridges to which I have been called. I am obviously very passionate about this cause, just as other staff members at North Way are passionate about their callings in ministry. I would think that my friends Dennis and Josh would be pushing just as hard to encourage Christians in Pittsburgh to get involved in student ministries in the North Hills, or that the worship leaders would be working just as hard to get people involved in worship at North Way. There are many strong Christians from North Way who are passionately involved in areas of ministry other than LAMP and Homewood, and I praise God for that. There are many different roles within the body of Christ. However, I am not really afraid of my strong words causing everyone at North Way to suddenly drop what they are doing and run to Homewood to focus all of the attention of the body of Christ on mentoring the kids in Homewood, somehow abandoning the kids in the North Hills. LAMP has gone several years now without having enough volunteers to match with the kids who need a mentor, so it is my job and my passion to advocate as best as I can, in any way that I know how, to work with the Christians at North Way to get involved relationally with the kids in Homewood. The majority of people who attend North Way are either from the northern suburbs or from east end urban neighborhoods like Oakland, Shadyside, or Frienship. If I am going to have a role in partnering with those particular Christians to get involved in Homewood, then I need to take on the barriers that keep them from getting involved. This blog is only my perspective, and I do my best to prayerfully consider how God has called me to speak into these issues without being divisive. I appreciate everyone's comments, feedback, and challenging questions in this format because it helps me to learn and grow as a leader in my particular area of calling.
I love the conversation and different perspectives. A few thoughts:
1. I love that we can have great dialogue and still be brothers in Christ.
2. We need to push each other in these areas...that's the whole Proverbs 27:17 concept.
3. BMAC needs to push our community beyond the "bubble" and so do I. I will soon be preaching on leaving a legacy as we are a church made up of "all generations" at North Way. Don't stop pushing us BMAC!
4. Each person's legacy will look completely different, and we need to cheer each other on as we advance God's Kingdom in our specific calling's context. It's not Homewood vs. Wexford, it's light vs. darkness. All Jesus followers (suburban and urban) have the light baby!
5. Jesus reached out to all people. Remember the song..."red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight."?? Love that song.
All you guys are forceful men laying ahold of God's forcefully advancing kingdom in different ways. Well done boys...keep up the great work! There's so much more to do!!!
Bryan,
Looking forward to hashing some of this out in person when you visit (our suburban home) this weekend.
;)
- Tim
Tim... can't wait to see you guys!
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