My day went as follows: I woke up this morning in my house in Homewood (1). I spent some time working on a project for my doctorate program (2). I went to a ribbon cutting ceremony for a brand new building in East Liberty, the neighborhood right next to Homewood (3). On hand at the ceremony were the mayor (4), community development groups (5), community residents (6), real estate developers (7), bankers and investors who had financed and supported the project (8), and the news media (9). I then drove back to Homewood to check in on some kids at their home (10). Then I drove to Wexford in the suburbs north of Pittsburgh (11) to North Way for a couple meetings with staff at the church (12) about how to mobilize our congregation outside the walls of the church (13) in order to build relationships with nonbelievers (14). I had a conversation with a staff person who read my blog and she was challenged to help out somehow. She decided to take responsibility for tracking down food and supplies for our Monday Night Madness group in Homewood (15). I had another conversation with a different staff person who's heart is breaking for the young people in Pittsburgh, but she doesn't know what to do about it yet (16). Then, I used the freeways to drive back to Homewood (17). A guy from a men's group at North Way Oakland stopped over to our house to take some measurements in our basement. His group is going to donate a lot of time and supplies to building out a space in our basement for kids in Homewood (18). As he was leaving, six kids stopped over to hang out at our house for a little while (19). They left, and now I'm blogging about my day (20).
Why are there numbers in the paragraph about how my day went today? Because, in just one day, I noticed 20 different ways that people can make a difference in the issues facing inner city neighborhoods. Here they are:
1. Move your family to a marginalized, inner city neighborhood. If you are a Christian, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. You will be doing your children a huge favor. You'll be blessing your new neighborhood by doing it. This is one of the best ways to enact change in the city.
2. Be a life long learner. Read books. Educate yourself on issues impacting the poor in the world instead of watching so much TV or numbing yourself with the latest distractions that the world has to offer. Christians, especially, should be on the innovative, cutting edge of society. That can only be done by keeping up with what's going on in the world. What's more imporant? Christians helping to transform people and places, or the latest episode of American Idol?
3. Celebrate breakthroughs! When something good happens in an inner city neighborhood, we should find great joy in the transformation. God wants us all to experience joy in this life. Let's celebrate when things go well.
4. Powerful people, in today's case the mayor of Pittsburgh, are significant players in the process of transformation. Government plays an important role in a healthy community. I believe that God created "the state" as a divine institution, just as he created the family and church as divine institutions. Transformational leaders engage both the powerful and the powerless.
5. Community members in inner city neighborhoods should work together to form groups that speak into issues that impact the community. People are more powerful when they work together. I know that goes against the lone ranger model which is held in high esteem in America, but it's still true.
6. Any work that is done to develop inner city communities should not be accomplished without the support and consensus of the residents in the communities being impacted. Period. Residents need to be empowered from a bottom-up approach, not ignored by a top-down approach.
7. Real estate purchasers and developers have the power to do great good or great harm in communities in the inner city. Did you know that most of the slum lords in Homewood live in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh? I wonder if they tithe off of that income at their churches? I wonder if that thought even crossed their minds when they went to a wealth builders seminar on how to buy up cheap properties in poor urban neighborhoods? Today, I saw real estate developers use their gifts for good.
8. Bankers and investors have the opportunity to do great good or great harm in communities in the inner city. Many cases have been documented where banks stopped lending money for home improvements to people in certain neighborhoods where either minorities or poor people started moving into the area. Today, I saw an example of how bank financers can make a positive difference in a community.
9. The news media have the opportunity to do great good or great harm in communities in the inner city. People must love to watch all of the stories of violence on the evening news, because the evening news is big business for local TV stations. Today, I saw an example of how the media shared a positive story about how things are turning around in a complex, urban neighborhood.
10. Go to where the kids are, and spend time with them on their turf. If you are a Christian, don't wait for people to come to you. Go to where people are and spend time with them in their environment. Christians are called to go into the world, not wait for the world to come to us on Sunday morning.
11. Urban and suburban partnerships are important. Both urban and suburban Christians should come together to resolve difficult issues facing the metropolitan area.
12. Use your influence to get people involved in your cause. Communicate however you can. Advocate however you can. Sometimes people may not agree with you or even push back against you, but that's just fine because Christianity should come with a certain measure of suffering for the sake of Christ.
13. Lead your church to involvement in your city. Many modern evangelical Christians have a rural bias. We think God is found in waterfalls and nature. I believe that God is in cities, too. Christians should be engaging cities, not running away from them.
14. Build relationships with people who do not know Christ. Also build relationships with people who are different than you racially and socioeconomically.
15. If you can't be directly involved with the people who are working in complex urban environments, then get involved in resourcing those people who are doing the work.
16. Let your heart break for people who are hurting. That should not just happen for people in far off countries, but for hurting people right there in your city. Your heart should break first... then you can do something about it.
17. Freeways are set up so that most commuters do not have to experience a drive through troubled urban neighborhoods. Next time you drive to work in a city or go to an event, take the "scenic" route through neighborhoods that you would not ordinarily drive through. And... don't lock your car doors when you get there.
18. Donate your skills to a worthy cause. The guys from this men's group have taken it upon themselves to build this basement at our house for the kids in Homewood. Use your skills for the Kingdom.
19. Practice the art of presence. Be available to people... on their turf, and on their timetable. Ministry is not always convenient. God calls us to many different types of places, at many different times of the day.
20. When I share publicly about my experiences in Homewood or with the things I learn through my doctorate program, I am doing so because I am being intentional about influencing others. I am doing my best to share stories with others in order to encourage people and help them to get involved. All Christians should use their influence to lead others, especially when it comes with a cost.
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Suffering
Suffering is an important part of the Christian journey, although you wouldn't know it from all of the self-help doctrine that is going around today in America through churches who emphasize wealth and health. Despite the self-help message which is being communicated by several people who are very effective communicators, we can still go back to the Bible to understand what God intends for us in finding joy in suffering.
The book of 1 Peter is one example. George Ladd once wrote, "The most important emphasis in Peter's thought about God is that of the divine providence in human suffering. The sufferings of which Peter speaks are not those of physical afflictions, natural evils, or accidents, or the sort of ordinary tragedy that besets all human beings. It is the sufferings people are called upon to endure because they are Christians... However, this is to be regarded as nothing strange, but as the normal experience of believers in an evil society."
So, how are you doing with your suffering? Are you suffering at all, or have you arranged for life in such a way as to remove all signs of unpleasantness? Are you suffering at all? If you are indeed a Christian, then you should be suffering at some level. Are you suffering well?
The book of 1 Peter is one example. George Ladd once wrote, "The most important emphasis in Peter's thought about God is that of the divine providence in human suffering. The sufferings of which Peter speaks are not those of physical afflictions, natural evils, or accidents, or the sort of ordinary tragedy that besets all human beings. It is the sufferings people are called upon to endure because they are Christians... However, this is to be regarded as nothing strange, but as the normal experience of believers in an evil society."
So, how are you doing with your suffering? Are you suffering at all, or have you arranged for life in such a way as to remove all signs of unpleasantness? Are you suffering at all? If you are indeed a Christian, then you should be suffering at some level. Are you suffering well?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Christians with Arms Outstretched
Jesus arrived on the scene to three groups of Jews who should have recognized him as the Messiah, but didn't. The quietists had withdrawn from the evil world in order to escape from everything. The compromisers were folks who acquiesced to the people in power in order to build themselves up and maintain their positions (no matter how pathetic those positions may have been). The zealots were angry and militant, seeking to overthrow those in power at any given time. All three groups of people failed to realize that the kingdom of God was at hand. They completely missed the point of why God had them here on this earth!
In modern Christianity we still have these same three groups of people. The quietist Christians believe the world has become too evil and they have withdrawn to their Christian safe places, essentially leaving themselves absolutely no influence on culture. The compromiser Christians can be found all around us, especially in America, where one can hardly tell the difference between their lives and those who do not believe in Christ. The zealot Christians are all around us, too, angry at the world, and with hate in their eyes as their fingers grip their megaphones at their rallies and buying up more guns and alienating themselves from as many people as possible who happen to think differently than they do. These three groups of people are also missing the point of why God has them here on this earth!
"The way of Christian witness is neither the way of quietist withdrawal, nor the way of Herodian compromise, nor the way of angry militant zeal. It is the way of being in Christ, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, so that the healing love of God may be brought to bear at that point. This perspective is deeply rooted in New Testament theology, not least in Romans 8. There Paul speaks of the whole creation groaning together in travail. Where should the church be at such a time? Sitting smugly on the sidelines, knowing it's got the answers? No, says Paul: we ourselves groan too, because we too long for renewal, for final liberation. And where is God in all this? Sitting up in heaven wishing we could get our act together? No, says Paul (8:26-27): God is groaning too, present within the church at the place where the world is in pain. God the Spirit groans within us, calling in prayer to God the Father. The Christian vocation is to be in prayer, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, and as we embrace that vocation, we discover it to be the way of following Christ, shaped according to his messianic vocation of the cross, with arms outstretched, holding simultaneously to the pain of the world and to the love of God." - NT Wright
We need to engage, folks. But, not arrogantly out of our own human effort which we assume represents God's perspective on how the world ought to function. It starts with our intimate relationship with Christ, out of an attitude of humility and God's sovereignty, out of prayer. Let's be Christians with arms outstretched to the pain of the world and to the love of God.
In modern Christianity we still have these same three groups of people. The quietist Christians believe the world has become too evil and they have withdrawn to their Christian safe places, essentially leaving themselves absolutely no influence on culture. The compromiser Christians can be found all around us, especially in America, where one can hardly tell the difference between their lives and those who do not believe in Christ. The zealot Christians are all around us, too, angry at the world, and with hate in their eyes as their fingers grip their megaphones at their rallies and buying up more guns and alienating themselves from as many people as possible who happen to think differently than they do. These three groups of people are also missing the point of why God has them here on this earth!
"The way of Christian witness is neither the way of quietist withdrawal, nor the way of Herodian compromise, nor the way of angry militant zeal. It is the way of being in Christ, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, so that the healing love of God may be brought to bear at that point. This perspective is deeply rooted in New Testament theology, not least in Romans 8. There Paul speaks of the whole creation groaning together in travail. Where should the church be at such a time? Sitting smugly on the sidelines, knowing it's got the answers? No, says Paul: we ourselves groan too, because we too long for renewal, for final liberation. And where is God in all this? Sitting up in heaven wishing we could get our act together? No, says Paul (8:26-27): God is groaning too, present within the church at the place where the world is in pain. God the Spirit groans within us, calling in prayer to God the Father. The Christian vocation is to be in prayer, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, and as we embrace that vocation, we discover it to be the way of following Christ, shaped according to his messianic vocation of the cross, with arms outstretched, holding simultaneously to the pain of the world and to the love of God." - NT Wright
We need to engage, folks. But, not arrogantly out of our own human effort which we assume represents God's perspective on how the world ought to function. It starts with our intimate relationship with Christ, out of an attitude of humility and God's sovereignty, out of prayer. Let's be Christians with arms outstretched to the pain of the world and to the love of God.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Social Justice
Social justice has been a hot topic in American culture lately. Glenn Beck recently suggested that good Christians should leave their churches if they teach about social justice. I have several Christian conservative friends who are actually outspoken against social justice. They fear that a form of social gospel will replace personal evangelism as the mission of the people of God. I have several Christian friends who actively embrace social justice issues, and they fear that a personalized form of religion has taken over much of American Christianity and, as a result, Christians have given up on their neighbors and the needs of others in our society.
I cannot fault folks for having a vested interest in ensuring that what is being taught in churches is truthful. I do have some concerns, though, for Christians who are so outspoken against social justice. My first concern is that most of my conservative Christian friends who are so outspoken against social justice issues choose to live in places where they enjoy the benefits of functioning systems. They are disconnected from broken systems and the brokenness of people in need. I would like to ask them why they choose to live in a nice suburban neighborhood (not that I have anything against that). I would bet that they would give a social example for almost every reason they live there: good schools, good housing that gains value, good public works, good police work, functioning local government, good shopping, good potential for economic growth, etc., etc. I would suggest that the Christians who are most passionate about embracing social justice issues are folks who live in the midst of dysfunctional systems in places like the inner city. Their life experiences are the opposite of the suburban friends I just described: poor schools, poor housing options, dysfunctional public works, lack of police presence, dysfunctional local government, no good places to shop, few profitable local businesses, etc., etc. If you can see my point, it is very hypocritical for Christians living in functioning social systems to denounce the Christians living amidst broken social systems for wanting to improve their lives and the lives of others by engaging in social justice. I guarantee that if the Christians living in functioning social systems ever had a complete breakdown in their systems, they would suddenly have a renewed vigor in the value of Christians engaging in social justice. Or, better yet, they could come and live in my inner city neighborhood for a while to see what it is like. Then they might understand.
Second, both words and works have equal value in communicating the gospel message. Sometimes we are called to use words. Other times we are called to use works. One method is not more important than the other. To give an example of this, sometimes when people participate in a neighborhood clean up event or serve food to the homeless, they express disappointment to me that somehow their time was wasted because they didn't have a chance to share the gospel. Actually, they did just share the gospel through their works. Maybe they'll be called to use words in the next situation that God places them, but in this instance of service they did share the message of Christ's love. Jesus did this all the time!
Notice I am not talking about abandoning the revolutionary and subversive message of the love of Jesus Christ. I am talking about engaging even more in utilizing all means of sharing Christ's love. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ should never be watered down. God chooses to work through us through words and works. Christians should be engaged in both personal evangelism and social justice. For the Bible tells us so...
I cannot fault folks for having a vested interest in ensuring that what is being taught in churches is truthful. I do have some concerns, though, for Christians who are so outspoken against social justice. My first concern is that most of my conservative Christian friends who are so outspoken against social justice issues choose to live in places where they enjoy the benefits of functioning systems. They are disconnected from broken systems and the brokenness of people in need. I would like to ask them why they choose to live in a nice suburban neighborhood (not that I have anything against that). I would bet that they would give a social example for almost every reason they live there: good schools, good housing that gains value, good public works, good police work, functioning local government, good shopping, good potential for economic growth, etc., etc. I would suggest that the Christians who are most passionate about embracing social justice issues are folks who live in the midst of dysfunctional systems in places like the inner city. Their life experiences are the opposite of the suburban friends I just described: poor schools, poor housing options, dysfunctional public works, lack of police presence, dysfunctional local government, no good places to shop, few profitable local businesses, etc., etc. If you can see my point, it is very hypocritical for Christians living in functioning social systems to denounce the Christians living amidst broken social systems for wanting to improve their lives and the lives of others by engaging in social justice. I guarantee that if the Christians living in functioning social systems ever had a complete breakdown in their systems, they would suddenly have a renewed vigor in the value of Christians engaging in social justice. Or, better yet, they could come and live in my inner city neighborhood for a while to see what it is like. Then they might understand.
Second, both words and works have equal value in communicating the gospel message. Sometimes we are called to use words. Other times we are called to use works. One method is not more important than the other. To give an example of this, sometimes when people participate in a neighborhood clean up event or serve food to the homeless, they express disappointment to me that somehow their time was wasted because they didn't have a chance to share the gospel. Actually, they did just share the gospel through their works. Maybe they'll be called to use words in the next situation that God places them, but in this instance of service they did share the message of Christ's love. Jesus did this all the time!
Notice I am not talking about abandoning the revolutionary and subversive message of the love of Jesus Christ. I am talking about engaging even more in utilizing all means of sharing Christ's love. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ should never be watered down. God chooses to work through us through words and works. Christians should be engaged in both personal evangelism and social justice. For the Bible tells us so...
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Christians Engaging Culture
Jesus calls us as Christians to engage culture as a result of being in relationship with him. All too often, however, Christians withdraw from culture and leave it to people who do not follow Christ to shape the world. We create Christian bubbles for ourselves and our families. That is escapist theology, and it is unbiblical.
We do not need to run away from messy environments and brokenness. Instead, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bring light into darkness. Amazingly, God chooses to work through us. This is why Christians should always be leading the way in such areas as cross-cultural relationships, racial reconciliation, local outreach, global outreach, and much more.
Neutrality and indifference to culture are not an option. Fear keeps Christians marginalized in society, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to engage.
We do not need to run away from messy environments and brokenness. Instead, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bring light into darkness. Amazingly, God chooses to work through us. This is why Christians should always be leading the way in such areas as cross-cultural relationships, racial reconciliation, local outreach, global outreach, and much more.
Neutrality and indifference to culture are not an option. Fear keeps Christians marginalized in society, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to engage.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Reflections on the Fourth Century Church in North Africa
According to Ray Bakke, during the fourth century AD one-fourth of the world's Christians lived in Northern Africa. Today, Christianity can hardly be found in that region except for a small amount of Coptic Christians in Egypt. How did Christianity lose so much real estate? A surface look into the situation would find that Islam conquered the region and implemented their own religious beliefs. However, looking deeper into the situation one finds that the church actually set the stage for their own demise in several key areas.
1. The church in North Africa never figured out the race issue. They pushed Christianity onto people from a top-down perspective, the rich to the poor and the majority culture to the minority cultures. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Many modern Christian churches are not taking the time to figure out the whole race issue. The homogenous church growth principles are in, and most churches are segregated as a result. As history has shown, this mindset actually weakens the church even though our individual church numbers may grow. As I've said many times before, Christians should be LEADING THE WAY on the issue of race in America, not perpetuating the problem. Are we willing to change? Nobody said it would be easy, but this is a crucial issue for the long term sustainability of the church.
2. The church in North Africa had language issues. They never bothered to interpret the Bible into the languages of many different people groups in the region, forcing them to assimilate to the dominant cultural languages and symbols. The only attempted translation was into Coptic, which happens to still be around today. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? The message from many churches is "We have a corner on the truth. Come to meet us on our turf (church building) on our time schedule (precisely 11am on Sunday morning) in our language and in our denomination and with our style of worship and with our stained glass pictures of what Jesus looks like and with our Bible translation." This type of thinking leads to exculsivity, or what I call the country club mentality. Do you want to belong to our club (our church)? Then you need to assimilate to us. On a broader level in America, this is true of the immigration debate. From a Christian perspective (not necessarily a government policy perspective), Christians should be embracing our neighbors from the south with open arms. What an amazing opportunity to share the gospel message! Many of the folks who cross into America are Christians... our brothers and sisters in Christ! If they are not Christians and we are given the opportunity to introduce the gospel to them here in America, think about how many people they could influence for Christ back in their home countries with their families and friends. What is the point of white Americans sending missionaries to Latin American countries when we could be more effective by reaching out to them when they come here? Instead, many Christians in America dehumanize "illegal aliens" and treat them in their minds as sponges who come here to mooch off of our systems. If white American Christians do not try to figure out the issues of language and culture in spreading the gospel, then our churches will continue their decline and we will have nobody else to blame but ourselves.
3. The lack of indigenous people in the North African church was a problem. The church was always ruled by outsiders, or the power base which was in a different region. The local Christians were never empowered in North Africa. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Poverty is not the absence of money, it is the absence of power. As Christians in America, we need to stop making the people we are trying to reach dependent upon outside resources. Instead, we in the church should be seeking to empower others. We need to disciple people and elevate them into positions of influence. The problem is, influential American Christians often feel most comfortable when we are in positions of power. We are often raised on power, so it is disorienting for us to empower others and humble ourselves. However, the church becomes much weaker when we fail to empower others.
4. The North African church developed an escapist theology when Constantine endorsed Christianity as an imperial religion. They promoted sanctification over justification. Christians fled "messy" environments. Their own invididual souls became more important than their neighbor's souls. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Many Christians have fled the culture in America at an alarming rate. We are, in fact, very close to creating the perfect Christian bubble for ourselves. We have Christian music, Christian schools (or home schools), Christian books, Christian businesses, Christian coffee houses, and even Christian breath mints to get rid of that pesky Christian coffee breath. We think we can escape the messyness of the world if we try hard enough. After all, it is our own souls and our family's souls that matter most, and not those unpleasant neighbors of ours. Right? Well, actually I believe that Christians are called to engage culture. With so many Christians running away from messyness in America, will any remain to share the gospel? Or will we head up to our ivory towers and shout the truth down to masses with our megaphones (or maybe our protest rally signs)?
5. The "truth" churches and "love" churches fought each other in North Africa, and they eventually split. This goes back to the persecution of Christians during that time, where some chose to be martyred and some rejected the faith only to want back in when the persecution had died down. The truth Christians were unaccepting of their weakness and brokenness, while the love Christians embraced brokenness and welcomed those people back into the faith community. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? We still have truth Christians battling love Christians, and truth churches battling love churches. We lob bombs (metaphorically speaking) back and forth at one another. As another example, conservative Christians in America go to battle with liberal Christians, and we somehow lose sight of our mission to reach the lost along the way. The church in America may not be sustainable over the long run if we don't change our ways.
I love the church. I love my church. I desperately want to see the body of Christ grow in America. But, that is not happening right now and it is not only because of influences beyond our own control. In many cases, we are doing it to ourselves. The history of the church in fourth century Northern Africa may repeat itself if we don't learn from them and then change our ways.
1. The church in North Africa never figured out the race issue. They pushed Christianity onto people from a top-down perspective, the rich to the poor and the majority culture to the minority cultures. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Many modern Christian churches are not taking the time to figure out the whole race issue. The homogenous church growth principles are in, and most churches are segregated as a result. As history has shown, this mindset actually weakens the church even though our individual church numbers may grow. As I've said many times before, Christians should be LEADING THE WAY on the issue of race in America, not perpetuating the problem. Are we willing to change? Nobody said it would be easy, but this is a crucial issue for the long term sustainability of the church.
2. The church in North Africa had language issues. They never bothered to interpret the Bible into the languages of many different people groups in the region, forcing them to assimilate to the dominant cultural languages and symbols. The only attempted translation was into Coptic, which happens to still be around today. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? The message from many churches is "We have a corner on the truth. Come to meet us on our turf (church building) on our time schedule (precisely 11am on Sunday morning) in our language and in our denomination and with our style of worship and with our stained glass pictures of what Jesus looks like and with our Bible translation." This type of thinking leads to exculsivity, or what I call the country club mentality. Do you want to belong to our club (our church)? Then you need to assimilate to us. On a broader level in America, this is true of the immigration debate. From a Christian perspective (not necessarily a government policy perspective), Christians should be embracing our neighbors from the south with open arms. What an amazing opportunity to share the gospel message! Many of the folks who cross into America are Christians... our brothers and sisters in Christ! If they are not Christians and we are given the opportunity to introduce the gospel to them here in America, think about how many people they could influence for Christ back in their home countries with their families and friends. What is the point of white Americans sending missionaries to Latin American countries when we could be more effective by reaching out to them when they come here? Instead, many Christians in America dehumanize "illegal aliens" and treat them in their minds as sponges who come here to mooch off of our systems. If white American Christians do not try to figure out the issues of language and culture in spreading the gospel, then our churches will continue their decline and we will have nobody else to blame but ourselves.
3. The lack of indigenous people in the North African church was a problem. The church was always ruled by outsiders, or the power base which was in a different region. The local Christians were never empowered in North Africa. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Poverty is not the absence of money, it is the absence of power. As Christians in America, we need to stop making the people we are trying to reach dependent upon outside resources. Instead, we in the church should be seeking to empower others. We need to disciple people and elevate them into positions of influence. The problem is, influential American Christians often feel most comfortable when we are in positions of power. We are often raised on power, so it is disorienting for us to empower others and humble ourselves. However, the church becomes much weaker when we fail to empower others.
4. The North African church developed an escapist theology when Constantine endorsed Christianity as an imperial religion. They promoted sanctification over justification. Christians fled "messy" environments. Their own invididual souls became more important than their neighbor's souls. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? Many Christians have fled the culture in America at an alarming rate. We are, in fact, very close to creating the perfect Christian bubble for ourselves. We have Christian music, Christian schools (or home schools), Christian books, Christian businesses, Christian coffee houses, and even Christian breath mints to get rid of that pesky Christian coffee breath. We think we can escape the messyness of the world if we try hard enough. After all, it is our own souls and our family's souls that matter most, and not those unpleasant neighbors of ours. Right? Well, actually I believe that Christians are called to engage culture. With so many Christians running away from messyness in America, will any remain to share the gospel? Or will we head up to our ivory towers and shout the truth down to masses with our megaphones (or maybe our protest rally signs)?
5. The "truth" churches and "love" churches fought each other in North Africa, and they eventually split. This goes back to the persecution of Christians during that time, where some chose to be martyred and some rejected the faith only to want back in when the persecution had died down. The truth Christians were unaccepting of their weakness and brokenness, while the love Christians embraced brokenness and welcomed those people back into the faith community. Do you see any comparisons to the church in America today? We still have truth Christians battling love Christians, and truth churches battling love churches. We lob bombs (metaphorically speaking) back and forth at one another. As another example, conservative Christians in America go to battle with liberal Christians, and we somehow lose sight of our mission to reach the lost along the way. The church in America may not be sustainable over the long run if we don't change our ways.
I love the church. I love my church. I desperately want to see the body of Christ grow in America. But, that is not happening right now and it is not only because of influences beyond our own control. In many cases, we are doing it to ourselves. The history of the church in fourth century Northern Africa may repeat itself if we don't learn from them and then change our ways.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)