I Need Your Help!

I just started a course in Global Christian History. As a part of the class, I'll need to do some in depth research on 20 significant people in Christianity over the past two thousand years. So... I need your help!

Please post comments about people who you think I should study over the coming months. Keep in mind that I'll not only be examining their lives and influence on Christianity in general, but I'll also need to apply what I learn to my current ministry context. What important figures of Christianity do you think I should study?

Looking forward to your thoughts on who and why?

Christians as Stewards

A big part of transformational leadership is stewarding resources on behalf of the powerless. It is not a complex process, and to some extent all Christians who have access to resources should be transformational leaders. Resources can be defined in such ways as money, property, people, and power (although not limited to those four by any means).

All money and property belongs to God, not us. We are stewards of money and property. On average in America, Christians give away less money (percentage-wise) to their churches and charities than nonChristians. And, often money that is given by Christians to churches is not stewarded on behalf of the powerless. Instead, it is used to build bigger buildings and grow internal programs. To use another example, a large percentage of federal money that is distributed to poor communities in America never actually makes its way into the intended communities. This should not be so, but people use that money to perpetuate cycles of poverty through programming because they are not interested in the transformation of individuals and communities. Otherwise, they would be out of a job.

I could give other examples about people (such as matching mentors with mentees) or power (such as our call to take on powerful systems that are guilty of injustices). The point is: Do you see yourself as a person who stewards resources on behalf of the powerless (which captures well the subversive nature of the gospel), or are you trying to steward resources on behalf of yourself so that you can live a better life (which captures well the goals of individualism in America)? Often when we talk about stewardship in a church it is assumed that we are talking about money, but stewardship actually applies to every area of our lives.

Private and Public Faith

Have you ever had anyone say to you, "My faith is a private matter. I don't feel comfortable talking about it with other people?" Many of us respect that because we live in a society which places a high value on individualism. However, God never intended for our faith to be a personal, private matter.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8 says, "Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Authors Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen summarize this passage well: The LORD intends that he should instruct Israel in every area of life. Only then will Israel truly become a light to the nations. "There is not a square inch of life which he does not say, 'That is mine!'" Religion is no merely private affair: the LORD wants his law (torah, "instruction") to permeate every part of his people's experience. His words should frame the personal life of each individual (being present in the mind and the heart, whether one is waking or lying down). They should shape the thoughts and actions of all his people, each day of their lives (being present on both the "forehead" and the "hand"). The torah claims both family life and public life. Upon leaving the house one sees God's words of instruction written on the gate. Upon returning, one sees them again, written on the door of the house. (The Drama of Scripture, 77)

So, the next time someone tells you that their faith is merely a private matter, you should challenge them on that with Scripture. Our faith in Jesus should be both private and public. Christians have the ability to do great harm to the world when they withdraw from living out a public faith. Christian bubbles need to be popped!

Reconciliation Through Relationships

Recently, I have had several conversations with folks about racial and cultural reconciliation. This is a topic I am very passionate about because I believe that followers of Christ should be leaders in this area. Too often, though, we are not. We fall into patterns of comfort. We let the world dictate what our Christian relationships (or lack thereof) look like. Entire movements within Christianity have been built on homogenous church growth principles, meaning that if you want to grow a big church then you should only attempt to draw in people who look and act the same as each other. Don't bother trying to figure out how to reach people who are different than you. Perhaps that is oversimplifying that way of thinking, but that is my perception of it.

When I say that Christians should be leaders in this area, I mean that God calls ALL of us to be in relationship with one another through the body of Christ. Jesus showed us how to do it, but even the early church leaders in the New Testament struggled in this area. The work of reconciliation is often difficult, but it is necessary. Exclusionary Christianity is sin. There are many unwritten rules, codes of conduct, and stereotypes within the church that cause a great deal of pain. We will only make progress when we humble ourselves before God and actually learn to love one another. The body of Christ around the globe is extremely diverse, and we should seek to build strong relationships with one another while working toward the common goal of reaching the lost.

Many people might say, "That's nice, Bryan. Sure, you can talk like that but it will never happen." To that, I would say that it can and does happen, and we are all called to lean into these issues. Many Christians have come before us and paved the way. It will come at a cost, but it will be well worth it. Where do we begin? It starts with one relationship at a time. The question is: How are your relationships with people who are different than you? If you're thinking to yourself that your friends all look and act like you, then maybe it's time to be intentional about this issue and stretch yourself a bit. Be like Jesus.

A New Sound Yields Familiarity

The sounds of trains, buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and emergency vehicles are constant around where I live. I don't even really notice the sounds anymore. We just happen to live close to a railway, busway, a busy street (Braddock), a biker bar, and a fire department. Last night a noise that is not a normal part of our urban soundtrack interrupted my studying... a helicopter circled over our neighborhood for almost an hour. As I stared out my window in interest, I realized that this was the first time that I can remember a helicopter hovering over me for an extended period of time. I don't think it would have happened any other place I have ever lived. I had something new to add to the familiarity of living in Homewood.

We really are starting to become familiar with our neighborhood. I am so thankful for that. We are starting to have friendly visitors on a regular basis... mostly kids but also many adults from Homewood. One of the biggest adjustments for us has been learning how to respond to frequent visitors. In the suburbs, where we lived prior to our move to Homewood, we had a pretty predictable level of autonomy. We desired to be in community, but we could arrange for it as we wanted by going to church, having small group, inviting friends over for dinner, or hanging out at places like the YMCA. We still desire to be in community here in the city, but often the community comes to us! People depend on each other in our neighborhood. Relationships are more spontaneous. We often cannot control them. Although boundaries are important, and we implement them on a regular basis, we are finding so much joy in becoming a part of the fabric of this community. Every day we are learning to expect the unexpected. Who will God bring across our paths today?

Retirement

Many Americans place a huge emphasis on retirement, or the thinking that we need to save up as much money as possible so that we can one day stop working and live comfortably in our golden years. Just watch most of the ads on TV during sporting events (if you can sift through all of the beer and Viagra commercials). Retirement ads send a powerful message that a successful person accumulates wealth to live comfortably in retirement and distributes that wealth to their families to leave a lasting legacy when they pass away.

While many Christian speakers and authors emphasize the concept of saving up a bunch of money for retirement, I do not think that retirement is a biblical concept. I am not advocating for financial irresponsibility, but I am interested by how much followers of Jesus in America have bought into a worldly concept. I cannot find anything about retirement in the Bible.

Much like the divorce rate in America, does the emphasis on a comfortable retirement by American Christians reflect the values of the world? Or thinking of it in another way, two-thirds of the world's popluation lives on less than $2 per day. The majority of the world's Christians, around 80%, live outside the West (where retirement is highly valued). So, the majority of followers of Christ in the world have no concept of retirement, nor do they value it as an essential part of following Christ. Perhaps for us in America we could learn something from the majority of Christians around the world and begin placing more of an emphasis on eternal outcomes instead of focusing the majority of our time on accumulating wealth for retirement.

What do you think?

Partnership from the Urban Perspective

I wrote the suggestions for suburban Christians in my last post (please read it for context). So... here are the suggestions for urban Christians when partering with suburbanites:

1. Do Be Motivated by the Larger Gospel Truths of Reconciliation and Mission / Don't Let Financial Needs Define the Partnership

2. Do Be Honest about Your Struggle / Don't Sabatoge the Partnership with Unforgiveness

3. Do Have Confidence in What You Bring to the Partnership / Don't Play the Victim

4. Do Provide Key Leadership in the Partnership / Don't Acquiesce to the Default Posture of Subservience

5. Do Listen to the Insights of Suburban Partners / Don't Let the Opressed in You Become the Opressor

6. Do Be Open to New Ways to Understand Time / Don't Dismiss the Virtues of Timeliness

7. Do See Enriching Suburban Culture as Part of the Task / Don't Ignore Suburban Culture

Although the lists from the last two blog posts are just suggestions, I personally believe that the church should be leaders in the areas of racial and cultural reconciliation. Unfortunately, we are often very bad at it and we do much harm to one another by accepting division in the body of Christ as "normal" or just a reflection of society at large. We can do better than that! We all have a responsibility, as Christians, to be uniters and reconcilers in the body of Christ.

Suburban and Urban Partnership

Yesterday I had the chance to co-lead a LAMP cultural training in Homewood. We covered a great deal of content in just a few hours, such as what it is like for children to grow up in a place like Homewood, prayer, race, class, and partnerships (churches and schools, suburban and urban, etc.). This particular group of potential mentors had suburban and urban trainees, ranging from Wexford to Homewood residents. Everyone in the group was very gracious with one another, demonstrating attitudes of learning and humility. The dialogue was honest in that we didn't skip past tough issues, but it was not negative by any means.

This got me thinking about what makes good urban and suburban partnerships work. Recently, four well-renowned authors on the topic, Ronald Sider, John Perkins, Wayne Gordon, and Albert Tizon, teamed up to write a book on that subject called "Linking Arms, Linking Lives." I am currently reading through that book with North Way's MICAH team, and there are many useful suggestions that they offer in the area of partnering effectively. The following are suggestions that they give for suburban churches who are trying to partner with urban churches (and schools, too, in LAMP's case):

1. Do remember that Jesus is Lord of the City / Don't be Overly Critical of the City

2. Do Make It Personal / Don't Objectify the Urban Poor

3. Do Understand the Initial Distrust and Resentment That May Come from Urban Counterparts / Don't be too Defensive

4. Do Establish Presence in the Community / Don't Be Aloof

5. Do Live by the Principles of Servant Leadership / Don't Always Feel You Have to Lead and Teach

6. Do Show Generosity as the Ministry Calls for It / Don't Mistake Wanton Handouts for Generosity

7. Do Share the Responsibility of Managing Financial Resources / Don't Allow Finances to Manipulate and Control the Ministry

8. Do Learn the Art of Being Flexible with Regard to Time / Don't Be Impatient and Too Quick to Judge Tardiness

9. Do Provide Ways for Suburban Volunteers to Participate in the Work / Don't Make a Showcase of the Poor


Perhaps I'll list the suggestions they gave for urban partners in my next post. In the mean time, what do you think about the Do's and Don'ts listed by the authors? LAMP's official motto is "Impacting the City of Pittsburgh One Student at a Time," so I think that reflects numbers 2, 4, and 9. Our informal motto is "Be Fun and Flexible," which is probably captured best by numbers 1, 3, 5, and 8. Our really informal motto for North Way's LAMP partnership in Homewood is "Mentoring is the Best." I don't have any numbers for that one, so you're going to have to post a comment if you are either curious why we have adopted that or if you know and would like to share the inside joke with everyone else in the blogosphere.

Creation and Science

I have been learning about a perspective on creation that I had not really thought of before. The story of creation in Genesis was given to a group of ancient people who were leaving a polytheistic society (Egypt) and entering a polytheistic society (Canaan). God was making the point, through the creation narrative, that he wanted them to become monotheistic. The creation narrative dismisses the other gods that the people would have picked up culturally over time.

With that context and purpose in mind, the creation narrative in Genesis was not intended to be used scientifically. It was not meant to be taken literally. It was a story given to a certain people in a certain context. It is theological language, not scientific language. As an example, creationism should not be used to combat darwinism. It is an inappropriate application of Scripture. The Bible will be more free to transform our lives when we stop trying to transform the text into applying to things that it was never meant to be applied to.

That does not mean that we cannot learn from the creation narrative today. It helps us to place ourselves in God's plans, and we can still learn a lot about God. Our modern Western culture still has many gods and idols just as Isreal did. They may not be cast in bronze and transported around for us the kneel in front of, but idolatry is very strong in our society. God still wants us to worship him, and not any other gods in our modern polytheistic society.

Understanding Brokenness

Recently, I have spoken with several people who are what I would describe as "on fire for God." In discovering more about their stories, the theme I noticed is that each individual had experienced the pain of brokenness and come through it with the attitude that God was preparing them for greater things.

When we experience brokenness, whether it is caused by our own doing or not, we have basically two options. We can embrace it and grow in our faith in the Lord, or we can grow angry and double our efforts at trying to control life on our own. In my experience, the path of finding joy in suffering yields spiritual growth, while the path of more control leads to more frustration. It is hard for God to speak to us when we believe that we have everything under control.

How do you respond to life's difficulties? Do you try to grow from tough times, or do you frantically try to fix the problems on your own?

Watch Out For Snowballs

Julie went over to Ohio with the girls to visit her parents this weekend, so I had some time to myself. It's always strange when I happen to be alone for several days in a row because I often try to squeeze too much fun into a relatively short amount of time. This weekend was no exception. On Saturday night I had the opportunity to hang out with some good guy friends of mine. We had a blast together! We talked about life. We talked about Jesus. We talked about girls (our wives, of course). We talked about music. As I walked to my car to leave in the early hours of the morning my friends decided to throw snowballs at me (and my car). One of my friends made a one-in-a-million shot by launching a snowball from the top of the downtown building we were at into the driver seat of my car. Although I had to drive home sitting on the broken remains of a snowball, I had to laugh because it was the perfect ending to a great evening with friends.

Then, on Sunday evening I had the chance to hang out with my mentee. We went to church at North Way Oakland, we ate dinner at the O, and then we played Wii Resort for a while back at my place. We had a blast together! We talked about life. We talked about Jesus. We talked about girls. We talked about music. I guess some things never change from one generation to the next. When I dropped him off at his house, he walked about ten steps away from my car, turned around, and then threw a huge snowball at my car. Of course I had to get out of my car and teach him a lesson in respecting his elders. Yes, my arm is sore today, but it was so worth it. Anyway, the snowball he threw was the perfect punctuation mark on our time together.

Sometimes we adults make mentoring and relationship building out to be so diffucult, but it really isn't that tough. We just shouldn't take ourselves so seriously. You'd be surprised at how much we have in common with young people. Just watch out for those snowballs.