I'm coming to the end of my New Testament course at BGU, and I have been really encouraged by the different perspectives I have been reading on the book of Revelation. I thought I'd share a couple quotes with you from some of the authors I'm reading.
George Ladd wrote, "The most important word of all - that which contains every other blessing of the new order - is subsumed in the words, 'They shall see his face' (22:4). This is the goal of redemption. No person has seen God at any time; the only Son is the sole mediator bringing the knowledge of God to human beings (Jn. 1:18). When Christ's redeeming mission is completed, the redeemed will enjoy the glory of the beatific vision. They will see God's face. All else is secondary and contained in this greatest of all blessings. And so the Bible ends, with a redeemed society dwelling on a new earth that has been purged of all evil, with God dwelling in the midst of his people. This is the goal of the long course of redemptive history. Soli Deo gloria!"
Winn Griffin wrote, "It appears to me that the main purpose of the book of Revelation is to comfort the church in its struggles against the forces of evil during this Present Evil Age. The symbolic language which breathes life into the book should not be taken with literalness, which often causes its expression of faith to be missed. The battle of this age and the Age to Come is played out in Revelation. The church is the battleground. She can take comfort from its words. God will win! No matter how dark and desolate it looks, God is always in charge."
So there's a good word for all of us today... God is in control, and one day we will see God's face!
Saturday, May 29, 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?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Global Christian History - Day Five
This was sadly our last day at Bakken. We spent some time reflecting in the morning, and then we had some really fun discussions to try to synthesize what we are learning. I am so pleased to me able to learn with people who have so many different perspectives.
Jesus had an agenda that clearly involved poor people, so we as Christians are all called to demonstrate compassion. There are over 400 passages in the Bible about the poor, and 67 of those passages call us to focus on justice and not just mercy. In a world with so much human need, we have to pick and choose where we as individuals focus our attention. In my case, the focus is Pittsburgh and LAMP. Other people are called to other things. Whatever our calling, it should not just be focused on mercy, but justice as well.
We are seeing more and more Christian silos going up today in America, where Christians are distancing themselves from the poor. We need to ask ourselves, why was Sodom destroyed? Because Sodom had a surplus, and they didn't care for the poor and needy. Just as they had a surplus back then, we have a surplus today in America. We get rich and we do not care for the poor. We have five percent of the world's population, and we use 25% of its resources. Christians should be salt and light. We need to pick out the worst parts of our cities, countries, and the world, and go there to bring the light of Christ.
Why do cities like Pittsburgh have neighborhoods that become poor and run down? Studies have shown that most money that is intended to help poor people in American cities never actually makes its way to the people in need. Instead, it goes through multiple layers of beaurocracy and social programs which use the money to sustain their jobs. We need to look at that sytematic level to determine why neighborhoods are being run down. Resources intended for poorer communities enter a huge funnel, and they are funneled away from the community. This is true of medical clinics and hospitals, the education system, plice, courts, parks, libraries, prisons, fire and EMS, local banks, housing agencies, businesses, and even churches.
So, what can we as the church do about it? We must engage at the systematic justice level. A church can transform a community. We can find many examples of this happening all over the country. The Asset Based Community Development model has proven to be particularly effective. Instead of looking at communities as takers, we should start to view people as assets. Everything must be done relationally. The problem with extreme urban poverty is not the absence of money, it is the absence of power.
Today we talked much more about transformational leadership in urban settings, but it was all actually built on the foundation of church history which we had been discussing for the previous four days. I left Bakken with Julie feeling equipped and empowered. We are ready to jump back in to urban ministry in Homewood!
Jesus had an agenda that clearly involved poor people, so we as Christians are all called to demonstrate compassion. There are over 400 passages in the Bible about the poor, and 67 of those passages call us to focus on justice and not just mercy. In a world with so much human need, we have to pick and choose where we as individuals focus our attention. In my case, the focus is Pittsburgh and LAMP. Other people are called to other things. Whatever our calling, it should not just be focused on mercy, but justice as well.
We are seeing more and more Christian silos going up today in America, where Christians are distancing themselves from the poor. We need to ask ourselves, why was Sodom destroyed? Because Sodom had a surplus, and they didn't care for the poor and needy. Just as they had a surplus back then, we have a surplus today in America. We get rich and we do not care for the poor. We have five percent of the world's population, and we use 25% of its resources. Christians should be salt and light. We need to pick out the worst parts of our cities, countries, and the world, and go there to bring the light of Christ.
Why do cities like Pittsburgh have neighborhoods that become poor and run down? Studies have shown that most money that is intended to help poor people in American cities never actually makes its way to the people in need. Instead, it goes through multiple layers of beaurocracy and social programs which use the money to sustain their jobs. We need to look at that sytematic level to determine why neighborhoods are being run down. Resources intended for poorer communities enter a huge funnel, and they are funneled away from the community. This is true of medical clinics and hospitals, the education system, plice, courts, parks, libraries, prisons, fire and EMS, local banks, housing agencies, businesses, and even churches.
So, what can we as the church do about it? We must engage at the systematic justice level. A church can transform a community. We can find many examples of this happening all over the country. The Asset Based Community Development model has proven to be particularly effective. Instead of looking at communities as takers, we should start to view people as assets. Everything must be done relationally. The problem with extreme urban poverty is not the absence of money, it is the absence of power.
Today we talked much more about transformational leadership in urban settings, but it was all actually built on the foundation of church history which we had been discussing for the previous four days. I left Bakken with Julie feeling equipped and empowered. We are ready to jump back in to urban ministry in Homewood!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Global Christian History - Day Four
I am having such a great time here at Bakken. We are about 90 minutes north of Seattle, almost near the Canadian border. This property has waterfalls and the most amazing lush forest you can possibley imagine. It ought to be lush, considering that it is cloudy and rainy every day! It really is a special place, though. A unique feature of the home (among many) is Ray Bakke's collection of over 9,000 books on urban ministry, cities from around the world, global Christianity, and missiology. He has accumulated quite a collection over the years... one he shares with any students who happen to come through the house. I spent a lot of time there during our visit. Ray's wife, Corean, painted a picture for him that is on display in the library. It is a picture of Ray's version of heaven, or him in the midst of a huge library standing on a latter reaching for a book on one of the top shelves. Julie struck up a conversation with Ray's administrative assistant, and she told Julie that Ray reads at least one book every day. I would love to set a goal like that (one book every day), but I think I'll wait until I graduate!
Ray lectured a lot today. He told us about how much can be learned from the New Testament book of Philemon, especially if we look at it from a narrative perspective. Think of the story in five acts, like a play.
Act 1: It is the year 51AD in the city of Ephesus (the text is Acts 19:8-10). Paul has been traveling, and he finally gets to Ephesus. The first thing he does is go to the synagogue in order to reach Jews (which he had tried to do in many cities). He argued with Jews from morning until night for several months, until he is finally got kicked out of the synagogue for good. As an aside, Paul utilized many different techniques to spread to gospel. Depending on the culture of the town he arrived in, he shifted methods as needed. Prior to his arrival in Ephesus here, he had been to Phillipi where there were many women in leadership in that church. He also had gone to Athens, which was a classic university town in which he capitalized on knowledge and reason to spread the gospel. He went to Corinth, which was a blue collar town, and he took up the task of tentmaking. Tentmaking opened up many different doors with nonbelievers, and he was allowed two years with which to spread the gospel message utilizing those means. The point is, Paul was very creative, innovative, and entrepeneurial in evangelizing techniques. Maybe we can learn something from him about how we can be as creative today? Anyway... in Ephesus, after being kicked out by the Jews he turned his attention to the Gentiles. He rented a theater for five hours a day for two years in order to reach them. Because he had set up shop in an urban area (note: urbanization is the spreading of messages that begin in the city and spread out to suburban and rural areas from there... this is why suburban kids from Pine-Richland listen to Jay-Z or Lil Wayne), many people who were living throughout Asia heard his message. Cities are important places for spreading messages! Paul also used the Socratic method to speard the gospel, meaning he utilized questions and answers. He adjusted his meeting places, his messages, and his methods (the three Ms).
Act 2: In about the year 53AD, Paul heads up the river to Laodicia/Colossians (the text comes from Philemon 1). A house church has been planted by a wealthy land owner who had slaves, of which Onisemus is one. Philemon, like an good wealthy slave owner, would go to cities and hit the theaters. At some point in time, he must have stumbled upon Paul's theater in Ephesus because he had accepted Christ at some point and was now a church leader in his area. This again proves the point that if Christians would be willing to engage in cities, istead of running away from them, that there is great opportunity to share the gospel. In this case in Philemon, the gospel bounced up to a small town as a result of Paul's urban evangelism. If you're faithful in the city, stuff is going to happen all over the place. This is a good model for North Way! In this story, a slave called Onisemus stole money in Asia and ran to Rome to get lost in the crowd. He becomes an undocumented illegal alien, an Asian illegal alien living in Rome (can God work through illegal aliens in modern day USA?). At the time, Rome was one of two cities in the world with a population over one million people (the other was Xian, China). It was a good place for Onisemus to get lost. At some point in this journey, Paul arrived in Rome (with six assistants).
Act 3: It is about the year 63AD in Rome (the text is Acts 28:30). Paule by this time was on his third missionary journey. He is under house arrest. His six colleagues are out in the streets, spreading the message of the gospel. They were out in the streets and parks, sharing the gospel, and Onisemus was still out there trying to get lost in the crowd. He bumps into Paul's assistants, and he is never the same. He was discipled by Paul, and after a period of time Paul wants to send him back home. Paul pens a letter to Philemon, which ends up being the only personal letter we have from Paul in the New Testament. Paul basically butters Philemon up for eight verses. Then he sticks a knife in and twists it. Paul calls Onisemus his new son, just as Philemon was once his son. Paul wants Philemon to meet his new brother. It's funny, because Paul never wrote like this anywhere else. He is basically saying... I know he ripped you off, but I want you to welcome him anyway. In terms of context, if Philemon would have received this letter and set Onisemus free, he would have essentially ruined the area's economy which was based on slave labor. It would have set a terrible legal stance for all other slave owners, in terms of freeing slaves. How would that impact the economy? That was a question being asked all over the world in the mid-nineteenth century later on... how will abolishing the slave trade hinder the economy? Many people are asking the same question today... how will illegal aliens impact the ecomony? Are we going by God's economy or the world's economy? After writing his letter to Philemon, Paul assigned one of his assistants to carry it over 1,000 miles.
Act 4: It is 64AD and we are back in Philemon's area. The word got back to him in his small town before the letter even arrived. Onisemus was on his way, and how was he going to be treated by Philemon. Would Philemon obey the law? If so, the law (which was based on Aristotle's philosophy which said that slaves were not people) would have stated that he must be put to death (especially for stealing from his master). Slaves who ran away during that time were branded with a hot iron with a scar visible forever, but slaves who stole from their masters were to be put to death instantly if they were ever captured or returned home. Onisemus fit the category of being executed immediately, because he had broken the law by stealing from is master. Philemon could have sought to have his slave freed upon retrieving the letter, but it would have sent a terrible message to other slave owners that he had gone soft and it also would have been extremely expensive for him to go through that process. Was it worth it to go through all of that? But... Paul had written in Galatians that we are all equals (Jew, Greek, male, female, slave, or free). We must assume that when Philemon read Paul's letter, one thing he didn't do was rip it up (otherwise it wouldn't be in the New Testament). Instead, we have the first ever integrated house church. It consisted of slaves and free people worshipping together. Although the economy in that area suffered, be learn that Philemon took the risk by freeing Onisemus. Although we may not feel comfortable "intermingling" with people who are different than us (racially and socioeconomically), it is still important for us to engage in these areas and try to figure out what to do.
Act 5: The year is 110AD, and we're back in Ephesus (the text is from Ignatius of Antioch). At the end of the New Testament, the greatest church in the near east needs a new pastor. The first pastor of the church of Ephesus was the great Timothy, and the second pastor following him was John. Jesus' mother, Mary, actually attended that church. There was a lot of pressure to fill that position. Who could possible enter into such an amazing legacy? We learn from Ignatius of
Antioch that Onisemus had been selected as the person to replace Timothy and John as the pastor in Ephesus. The best evangelical and catholic scholars agree on this point... it was the same Onisemus as who had been a previous slave to Philemon. Because Philemon chose to free him, despite the economic and traditional backlash that would have occured, Onisemus went on to be one of the greatest church leaders of his era. How does this change the way we view illegal immigrants or poor people in our modern society in light of the way Paul addressed this issue counterculturally during his time? The controversy around Onisemus yielded the first interracial church, and he himself became the leading bishop of the church in the East. It is an amazing story! Sometimes God works through people who we might not expect, in order to reach people who we might not expect. In our modern context... ministry to undocumented aliens may be expensive. It may set back our economy in the USA, but who is going to be the next Onisemus? Will it be worth it for us to take that risk? It, at least, c0mplicates the issue for those Christians who think they have the illegal immigration issue all wrapped up nicely and neatly. What of Onisemus, whose story is shared in the Bible? Who does God favor in the end, the powerful or the powerless, or both? What does the Bible say about that? Ministry to illegal aliens may inevitably be expensive to the US, but is the economy in America more important than the Kingdom of God (which is the eternal economy)? Yes... it is going to be expensive. But is it worth it?
How did all of this get into the New Testament? Ephesus picks the most prominent bishop from the slave class. Also, Paul never lived to see the ending of his play. How many times in urban ministry do we not get to see the fruit of our ministry (this is somewhat true of LAMP). The Onisemus story is a great story... the urban refugee who becme the leader of the entire church. We, as modern day Christians, should be passionate about working with refugees and immigrants (legal or illegal). Yes, it is costly grace. It messes up the economy, of which many Western Christians hold near and dear to their hearts, but it is worth it in God's economy. It is difficult work, but it is worth it. The bottom line... Christians should engage in issues of immigration, and it's all laid out in the book of Philemon.
We also lectured this morning on the New World. the French, Puritans, Anglicans, and Russian Orthodox missional efforts all came to the New World. The French saw the natives as equals, and in the French-Canadian context they married them. The Spanish, influenced by Aristotle, cam to exploit the continent for gold and land. They ruled the Indians through the sacraments, or missions, to keep the Indians in the shadow of the church where they could treat them like children. Diseases and violence wiped out 95% of the native population living in Latin America once the Spaniards arrived. Does anyone hear that side of the story? As an opposite approach, the orthodox missions arrived in Alaska and northern USA by assuming the Holy Spirit was already there and moving in to those areas building upon what was already being done. The Puritans, or the dominant American ideal, represented the city on the hill. Their theology believed that "God hath given me this plantation." When you look around the land, you see the American Indians who represent Hittites and Moabites. The thinking was, don't kill them, just get them out of Canaan. George Washington came into power, and he let the Indians have forty acres and a mule. That was overturned by Andrew Jackson, which was a policy mistake we are still dealing with today. Jackson decided to push all Indians out onto reservations, a decison which still impacts us today. Indians were put onto 500 reservations, and they signed treaties which the US never lived up to.
There were three trails in the US in the expanding western movement. The Oregon Trail, which everyone knows about, wanted to go west and exploit it. In the middle of the US was the Mormon trail, of which the Mormons ended up going west to Illinois with some 50,000 followers who eventually landed in Salt Lake City to seek religous freedom from persecution. The third trail was the native Indian trail, the forced march of Indians called the Trail of Tears. many Indians died along the way. Our history books focus eighty percent on the Oregon trail, paritally on the Mormon trail, and not much on the Indian trail.
Missions had consequences, and the anthropology of the people I minister to has consequences. How do I see the people of Homewood and how do I describe them? The sins of our fathers go down generations. We occupied Indian territories and we forced them onto Indian reservations. Although Ray Bakke is a flag salluting American, he still protests the way we treat the Indians. He believes there should be an American Indian and black slave holocaust museum to go along with the Jewish holocaust museum. We have been an officially hispanic nation since the US stole Puerto Rico. The US also stole New Mexico and California from the Mexicans. They were there before we got there, we forced them out, and now we want to build a fence to keep them out? This US agenda is festering corruption when it comes to Native Americans. How does this change the way we may view the immigration debate? What if they were there before we got there?
Ray lectured a lot today. He told us about how much can be learned from the New Testament book of Philemon, especially if we look at it from a narrative perspective. Think of the story in five acts, like a play.
Act 1: It is the year 51AD in the city of Ephesus (the text is Acts 19:8-10). Paul has been traveling, and he finally gets to Ephesus. The first thing he does is go to the synagogue in order to reach Jews (which he had tried to do in many cities). He argued with Jews from morning until night for several months, until he is finally got kicked out of the synagogue for good. As an aside, Paul utilized many different techniques to spread to gospel. Depending on the culture of the town he arrived in, he shifted methods as needed. Prior to his arrival in Ephesus here, he had been to Phillipi where there were many women in leadership in that church. He also had gone to Athens, which was a classic university town in which he capitalized on knowledge and reason to spread the gospel. He went to Corinth, which was a blue collar town, and he took up the task of tentmaking. Tentmaking opened up many different doors with nonbelievers, and he was allowed two years with which to spread the gospel message utilizing those means. The point is, Paul was very creative, innovative, and entrepeneurial in evangelizing techniques. Maybe we can learn something from him about how we can be as creative today? Anyway... in Ephesus, after being kicked out by the Jews he turned his attention to the Gentiles. He rented a theater for five hours a day for two years in order to reach them. Because he had set up shop in an urban area (note: urbanization is the spreading of messages that begin in the city and spread out to suburban and rural areas from there... this is why suburban kids from Pine-Richland listen to Jay-Z or Lil Wayne), many people who were living throughout Asia heard his message. Cities are important places for spreading messages! Paul also used the Socratic method to speard the gospel, meaning he utilized questions and answers. He adjusted his meeting places, his messages, and his methods (the three Ms).
Act 2: In about the year 53AD, Paul heads up the river to Laodicia/Colossians (the text comes from Philemon 1). A house church has been planted by a wealthy land owner who had slaves, of which Onisemus is one. Philemon, like an good wealthy slave owner, would go to cities and hit the theaters. At some point in time, he must have stumbled upon Paul's theater in Ephesus because he had accepted Christ at some point and was now a church leader in his area. This again proves the point that if Christians would be willing to engage in cities, istead of running away from them, that there is great opportunity to share the gospel. In this case in Philemon, the gospel bounced up to a small town as a result of Paul's urban evangelism. If you're faithful in the city, stuff is going to happen all over the place. This is a good model for North Way! In this story, a slave called Onisemus stole money in Asia and ran to Rome to get lost in the crowd. He becomes an undocumented illegal alien, an Asian illegal alien living in Rome (can God work through illegal aliens in modern day USA?). At the time, Rome was one of two cities in the world with a population over one million people (the other was Xian, China). It was a good place for Onisemus to get lost. At some point in this journey, Paul arrived in Rome (with six assistants).
Act 3: It is about the year 63AD in Rome (the text is Acts 28:30). Paule by this time was on his third missionary journey. He is under house arrest. His six colleagues are out in the streets, spreading the message of the gospel. They were out in the streets and parks, sharing the gospel, and Onisemus was still out there trying to get lost in the crowd. He bumps into Paul's assistants, and he is never the same. He was discipled by Paul, and after a period of time Paul wants to send him back home. Paul pens a letter to Philemon, which ends up being the only personal letter we have from Paul in the New Testament. Paul basically butters Philemon up for eight verses. Then he sticks a knife in and twists it. Paul calls Onisemus his new son, just as Philemon was once his son. Paul wants Philemon to meet his new brother. It's funny, because Paul never wrote like this anywhere else. He is basically saying... I know he ripped you off, but I want you to welcome him anyway. In terms of context, if Philemon would have received this letter and set Onisemus free, he would have essentially ruined the area's economy which was based on slave labor. It would have set a terrible legal stance for all other slave owners, in terms of freeing slaves. How would that impact the economy? That was a question being asked all over the world in the mid-nineteenth century later on... how will abolishing the slave trade hinder the economy? Many people are asking the same question today... how will illegal aliens impact the ecomony? Are we going by God's economy or the world's economy? After writing his letter to Philemon, Paul assigned one of his assistants to carry it over 1,000 miles.
Act 4: It is 64AD and we are back in Philemon's area. The word got back to him in his small town before the letter even arrived. Onisemus was on his way, and how was he going to be treated by Philemon. Would Philemon obey the law? If so, the law (which was based on Aristotle's philosophy which said that slaves were not people) would have stated that he must be put to death (especially for stealing from his master). Slaves who ran away during that time were branded with a hot iron with a scar visible forever, but slaves who stole from their masters were to be put to death instantly if they were ever captured or returned home. Onisemus fit the category of being executed immediately, because he had broken the law by stealing from is master. Philemon could have sought to have his slave freed upon retrieving the letter, but it would have sent a terrible message to other slave owners that he had gone soft and it also would have been extremely expensive for him to go through that process. Was it worth it to go through all of that? But... Paul had written in Galatians that we are all equals (Jew, Greek, male, female, slave, or free). We must assume that when Philemon read Paul's letter, one thing he didn't do was rip it up (otherwise it wouldn't be in the New Testament). Instead, we have the first ever integrated house church. It consisted of slaves and free people worshipping together. Although the economy in that area suffered, be learn that Philemon took the risk by freeing Onisemus. Although we may not feel comfortable "intermingling" with people who are different than us (racially and socioeconomically), it is still important for us to engage in these areas and try to figure out what to do.
Act 5: The year is 110AD, and we're back in Ephesus (the text is from Ignatius of Antioch). At the end of the New Testament, the greatest church in the near east needs a new pastor. The first pastor of the church of Ephesus was the great Timothy, and the second pastor following him was John. Jesus' mother, Mary, actually attended that church. There was a lot of pressure to fill that position. Who could possible enter into such an amazing legacy? We learn from Ignatius of
Antioch that Onisemus had been selected as the person to replace Timothy and John as the pastor in Ephesus. The best evangelical and catholic scholars agree on this point... it was the same Onisemus as who had been a previous slave to Philemon. Because Philemon chose to free him, despite the economic and traditional backlash that would have occured, Onisemus went on to be one of the greatest church leaders of his era. How does this change the way we view illegal immigrants or poor people in our modern society in light of the way Paul addressed this issue counterculturally during his time? The controversy around Onisemus yielded the first interracial church, and he himself became the leading bishop of the church in the East. It is an amazing story! Sometimes God works through people who we might not expect, in order to reach people who we might not expect. In our modern context... ministry to undocumented aliens may be expensive. It may set back our economy in the USA, but who is going to be the next Onisemus? Will it be worth it for us to take that risk? It, at least, c0mplicates the issue for those Christians who think they have the illegal immigration issue all wrapped up nicely and neatly. What of Onisemus, whose story is shared in the Bible? Who does God favor in the end, the powerful or the powerless, or both? What does the Bible say about that? Ministry to illegal aliens may inevitably be expensive to the US, but is the economy in America more important than the Kingdom of God (which is the eternal economy)? Yes... it is going to be expensive. But is it worth it?
How did all of this get into the New Testament? Ephesus picks the most prominent bishop from the slave class. Also, Paul never lived to see the ending of his play. How many times in urban ministry do we not get to see the fruit of our ministry (this is somewhat true of LAMP). The Onisemus story is a great story... the urban refugee who becme the leader of the entire church. We, as modern day Christians, should be passionate about working with refugees and immigrants (legal or illegal). Yes, it is costly grace. It messes up the economy, of which many Western Christians hold near and dear to their hearts, but it is worth it in God's economy. It is difficult work, but it is worth it. The bottom line... Christians should engage in issues of immigration, and it's all laid out in the book of Philemon.
We also lectured this morning on the New World. the French, Puritans, Anglicans, and Russian Orthodox missional efforts all came to the New World. The French saw the natives as equals, and in the French-Canadian context they married them. The Spanish, influenced by Aristotle, cam to exploit the continent for gold and land. They ruled the Indians through the sacraments, or missions, to keep the Indians in the shadow of the church where they could treat them like children. Diseases and violence wiped out 95% of the native population living in Latin America once the Spaniards arrived. Does anyone hear that side of the story? As an opposite approach, the orthodox missions arrived in Alaska and northern USA by assuming the Holy Spirit was already there and moving in to those areas building upon what was already being done. The Puritans, or the dominant American ideal, represented the city on the hill. Their theology believed that "God hath given me this plantation." When you look around the land, you see the American Indians who represent Hittites and Moabites. The thinking was, don't kill them, just get them out of Canaan. George Washington came into power, and he let the Indians have forty acres and a mule. That was overturned by Andrew Jackson, which was a policy mistake we are still dealing with today. Jackson decided to push all Indians out onto reservations, a decison which still impacts us today. Indians were put onto 500 reservations, and they signed treaties which the US never lived up to.
There were three trails in the US in the expanding western movement. The Oregon Trail, which everyone knows about, wanted to go west and exploit it. In the middle of the US was the Mormon trail, of which the Mormons ended up going west to Illinois with some 50,000 followers who eventually landed in Salt Lake City to seek religous freedom from persecution. The third trail was the native Indian trail, the forced march of Indians called the Trail of Tears. many Indians died along the way. Our history books focus eighty percent on the Oregon trail, paritally on the Mormon trail, and not much on the Indian trail.
Missions had consequences, and the anthropology of the people I minister to has consequences. How do I see the people of Homewood and how do I describe them? The sins of our fathers go down generations. We occupied Indian territories and we forced them onto Indian reservations. Although Ray Bakke is a flag salluting American, he still protests the way we treat the Indians. He believes there should be an American Indian and black slave holocaust museum to go along with the Jewish holocaust museum. We have been an officially hispanic nation since the US stole Puerto Rico. The US also stole New Mexico and California from the Mexicans. They were there before we got there, we forced them out, and now we want to build a fence to keep them out? This US agenda is festering corruption when it comes to Native Americans. How does this change the way we may view the immigration debate? What if they were there before we got there?
Global Christian History - Day Three
This morning Ray talked about Acts 16:6. Paul comes to a place in his journey where he must choose to go left or right. To the west was a strong Roman government but weak cultures. To the east were strong cultures but weak governments. He chose to go west (as prompted by the Holy Spirit), and we are left to wonder why? Perhaps, if the message of the gospel had gone east at that point it would have been compromised by the strong cultures it would have come it contact with. Would the message have become distorted? Thankfully, today, the Holy Spirit has opened up everything.
On the the middle ages, now. Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Contstantinople, and Rome were the early Christian cities of influence. The imperial religion was set up to look like the imperial government. The church soon became hierarchical, in an almost military sort of way. We can still see ramifications of this today. Why is the church still so hierarchical? Was it even meant to be that way? Back then, the church was just contextualizing to Roman structures. As we all know, it is difficult to change once the chuch becomes fixated on something.
The Eastern churches were so different culturally from Western churches back then that a split between the two was inevitable. The cultures of the middle east were male dominated long before Jesus came. So, it's amazing how much work women did in Jesus' time and in the early church. The Eastern church was male dominated, but Western churches involved women in leadership. This is also why Islam in the East is so male dominated. It goes back centuries. Also, the Eastern church is more mystical than the Western church, and they do not use instruments in worship. Western churches, to this day, are far more freelance and active. Eastern churches tend to be more traditional. The East spoke Greek, and the West spoke Latin, so there were language issues. Basically, Christendom in the East and West split over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in 787AD.
After lunch we walked the Mission Trail at Bakken with Ray. I have a copy of the lecture he gave on DVD if anyone is interested to see it. He shared with us the twenty influential people from Christianity who make up his spiritual DNA. Then we headed back to the classroom for more lectures.
Evangelicals often operate with functional unitarianism. By that, I mean that they just care about the second member of the Trinity (Jesus). The goal is to just get people saved. However, balance is really critical. We need to keep the Holy Spirit as the centerpiece of the doctrine, otherwise old heresies will keep reappearing (as is happening quite often today). The two other natures of God and the Holy Spirit are together in Christ without confusion, change, separation, or division.
Ray spoke for a while about ministering in the inner city. He talked about the injustices faced by public aid moms. Moses' mom is a hero for all public aid moms. She worked the system in order to take care of her son. Is there any way around looking at it that way? That being the case, Ray still believes strongly that both inner city men and women need to be empowered.
If you are working in the inner city, it is important to find outlets for the intensity of the brokenness that you will experience. Accountability is also vitally important to sustaining one's self in the midst of urban ministry. Lone rangers will be taken out, usually pretty quickly. This is why we see many people leave urban ministry... they go at it alone and they don't know what to do with all of the pain that is around them.
Back to the middle ages, Ray talked about how Hindu India got Islamic bookends. Hinduism was, and still is, heavily based on the caste system. The Muslims took a lot of ground in India away from the Hindus because they moved into India and were willing to work among the lower castes. Hinduism had become a religion of elites, so the poor people in India were readily willing to embrace Islam. As a way of reflecting on this, much of modern day Islam in the West (Europe and America) is growing fast among poorer people where the Christians are unwilling to go. Many mosques in America are located in places where they have a strong foothold, which is often among poor people in inner cities. What can we do about it? Christians need to be willing to go places in America where others won't go. Instead, most Christians are busy arranging more comfortable lives for ourselves and ignoring poor pockets of the inner city. People who are treated badly are candidates for revolution. In America, when whites abandon neighborhoods there are often Muslims there willing to move in.
There were six reform movements that sprung up out of the middle ages. One focused on education as the way to reform society (build more knowledge through universities and seminaries). A second focused on evangelization as the strategy for reform. The third reform movement focused on breaking down structures (if you spread out the manure, it won't stink as bad). The fourth model was the government assistance model of reform (turn the church over to the government because we can't reform ourselves). The fifth model was the anabaptist approach which involved stripping everything away, going back to the beginning to start over (using the first century church as an example). The sixth reform strategy involves emphasizing missions (Europe is sick, so let's go spread the gospel elsewhere in far off places and it will eventually correct what is going on here). Most reform movements in the church today involve one of these six methods. But, which one is most effective? Which one did Luther and Calvin, the two great reformers, focus on to bring about change? The answer is... all of them. Luther and Calvin pulled a little bit from each method. If you want to change the church, you cannot just focus on one unique way. The church is too broad for that.
One thing to also remember is that the reform (big Church) and revivalism (small church) often bring about unintended consequences. If you study over the course of history, where revival happens usually cults also break out as a result. It's not that we should not be involved in growing and reforming as a church, but we must know that change will almost always yield unintended consequences.
On the the middle ages, now. Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Contstantinople, and Rome were the early Christian cities of influence. The imperial religion was set up to look like the imperial government. The church soon became hierarchical, in an almost military sort of way. We can still see ramifications of this today. Why is the church still so hierarchical? Was it even meant to be that way? Back then, the church was just contextualizing to Roman structures. As we all know, it is difficult to change once the chuch becomes fixated on something.
The Eastern churches were so different culturally from Western churches back then that a split between the two was inevitable. The cultures of the middle east were male dominated long before Jesus came. So, it's amazing how much work women did in Jesus' time and in the early church. The Eastern church was male dominated, but Western churches involved women in leadership. This is also why Islam in the East is so male dominated. It goes back centuries. Also, the Eastern church is more mystical than the Western church, and they do not use instruments in worship. Western churches, to this day, are far more freelance and active. Eastern churches tend to be more traditional. The East spoke Greek, and the West spoke Latin, so there were language issues. Basically, Christendom in the East and West split over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in 787AD.
After lunch we walked the Mission Trail at Bakken with Ray. I have a copy of the lecture he gave on DVD if anyone is interested to see it. He shared with us the twenty influential people from Christianity who make up his spiritual DNA. Then we headed back to the classroom for more lectures.
Evangelicals often operate with functional unitarianism. By that, I mean that they just care about the second member of the Trinity (Jesus). The goal is to just get people saved. However, balance is really critical. We need to keep the Holy Spirit as the centerpiece of the doctrine, otherwise old heresies will keep reappearing (as is happening quite often today). The two other natures of God and the Holy Spirit are together in Christ without confusion, change, separation, or division.
Ray spoke for a while about ministering in the inner city. He talked about the injustices faced by public aid moms. Moses' mom is a hero for all public aid moms. She worked the system in order to take care of her son. Is there any way around looking at it that way? That being the case, Ray still believes strongly that both inner city men and women need to be empowered.
If you are working in the inner city, it is important to find outlets for the intensity of the brokenness that you will experience. Accountability is also vitally important to sustaining one's self in the midst of urban ministry. Lone rangers will be taken out, usually pretty quickly. This is why we see many people leave urban ministry... they go at it alone and they don't know what to do with all of the pain that is around them.
Back to the middle ages, Ray talked about how Hindu India got Islamic bookends. Hinduism was, and still is, heavily based on the caste system. The Muslims took a lot of ground in India away from the Hindus because they moved into India and were willing to work among the lower castes. Hinduism had become a religion of elites, so the poor people in India were readily willing to embrace Islam. As a way of reflecting on this, much of modern day Islam in the West (Europe and America) is growing fast among poorer people where the Christians are unwilling to go. Many mosques in America are located in places where they have a strong foothold, which is often among poor people in inner cities. What can we do about it? Christians need to be willing to go places in America where others won't go. Instead, most Christians are busy arranging more comfortable lives for ourselves and ignoring poor pockets of the inner city. People who are treated badly are candidates for revolution. In America, when whites abandon neighborhoods there are often Muslims there willing to move in.
There were six reform movements that sprung up out of the middle ages. One focused on education as the way to reform society (build more knowledge through universities and seminaries). A second focused on evangelization as the strategy for reform. The third reform movement focused on breaking down structures (if you spread out the manure, it won't stink as bad). The fourth model was the government assistance model of reform (turn the church over to the government because we can't reform ourselves). The fifth model was the anabaptist approach which involved stripping everything away, going back to the beginning to start over (using the first century church as an example). The sixth reform strategy involves emphasizing missions (Europe is sick, so let's go spread the gospel elsewhere in far off places and it will eventually correct what is going on here). Most reform movements in the church today involve one of these six methods. But, which one is most effective? Which one did Luther and Calvin, the two great reformers, focus on to bring about change? The answer is... all of them. Luther and Calvin pulled a little bit from each method. If you want to change the church, you cannot just focus on one unique way. The church is too broad for that.
One thing to also remember is that the reform (big Church) and revivalism (small church) often bring about unintended consequences. If you study over the course of history, where revival happens usually cults also break out as a result. It's not that we should not be involved in growing and reforming as a church, but we must know that change will almost always yield unintended consequences.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Global Christian History - Day Two
I finished posting all twenty of the Christians who make up my spritual DNA. I did not go into depth about each one, so I hope if you're reading this blog that you'll take the time to research some of those remarkable people.
The class is going very well here at Bakken. I am really enjoying my time with Ray Bakke. He truly is an incredible mentor for me. I have been impacted by him so much, and he is very gracious in opening up so much about his life and the things he has learned about church history.
We had some great discussions on day two about the current state of global Christianity. I've said this to many times before, but I need to say it again: In 1910, 80% of the Christians in the world lived in the West (Europe and North America). Now, in 2010, 80% of the Christians in the world live outside the West in the global South (in places such as India, China, and Africa). However, American Christians are still trying to act as if we have a corner on Christianity in the world. We are not dominant in numbers anymore, although our hiring practices at churches, in seminaries, and in mission agencies still greatly reflects a white American male demographic. The population of minorities in American will soon outnumber whites. Many American Christians are acting like somebody moved their cheese, and they don't know what to do except feel threatened and afraid. I love the church in America, and I don't want to see us decline anymore. We need to adjust effectively to how God is moving in our world, and I think we can do it if we become more humble and teachable.
We also discussed immigration today. I've written about this issue in recent blog posts, but it is still something that is on my heart. Most people don't realize it, but Jesus was an undocumented illegal alien. Ruth was an undocumented illegal alien, and the first thing she did was manipulate the welfare system. Moses' mother broke the law and then manipulated the welfare system in order to provide for her son. I realize that this is a complicated issue in America, but we cannot look at what the Bible has to say on the subject from a one sided perspective. Many white Americans are feeling disoriented. They are feeling vulnerable for the very first time, while people all over the world have experienced vulnerability for a very long time. Gated communities are growing faster than ghettos in the United States. And to be honest, many Christians are running away from brokennes as fast as they can.
I'm learning that learning about Christian history should inform our theology. You cannot tell anyone where the church should be going until you can tell everyone where it's been. Many, many, many issues that are facing contemporary Christians today have roots that go back hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. How can you solve a problem if you don't know what the root of the problem is or how it began?
I'll close with some of Ray Bakke's one liners from today:
History does not repeat itself, but patterns do.
Mission is the mother of theology.
Heresies are exaggerations of truths.
When it comes to the body of Christ, be a body builder and not a body divider.
The class is going very well here at Bakken. I am really enjoying my time with Ray Bakke. He truly is an incredible mentor for me. I have been impacted by him so much, and he is very gracious in opening up so much about his life and the things he has learned about church history.
We had some great discussions on day two about the current state of global Christianity. I've said this to many times before, but I need to say it again: In 1910, 80% of the Christians in the world lived in the West (Europe and North America). Now, in 2010, 80% of the Christians in the world live outside the West in the global South (in places such as India, China, and Africa). However, American Christians are still trying to act as if we have a corner on Christianity in the world. We are not dominant in numbers anymore, although our hiring practices at churches, in seminaries, and in mission agencies still greatly reflects a white American male demographic. The population of minorities in American will soon outnumber whites. Many American Christians are acting like somebody moved their cheese, and they don't know what to do except feel threatened and afraid. I love the church in America, and I don't want to see us decline anymore. We need to adjust effectively to how God is moving in our world, and I think we can do it if we become more humble and teachable.
We also discussed immigration today. I've written about this issue in recent blog posts, but it is still something that is on my heart. Most people don't realize it, but Jesus was an undocumented illegal alien. Ruth was an undocumented illegal alien, and the first thing she did was manipulate the welfare system. Moses' mother broke the law and then manipulated the welfare system in order to provide for her son. I realize that this is a complicated issue in America, but we cannot look at what the Bible has to say on the subject from a one sided perspective. Many white Americans are feeling disoriented. They are feeling vulnerable for the very first time, while people all over the world have experienced vulnerability for a very long time. Gated communities are growing faster than ghettos in the United States. And to be honest, many Christians are running away from brokennes as fast as they can.
I'm learning that learning about Christian history should inform our theology. You cannot tell anyone where the church should be going until you can tell everyone where it's been. Many, many, many issues that are facing contemporary Christians today have roots that go back hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. How can you solve a problem if you don't know what the root of the problem is or how it began?
I'll close with some of Ray Bakke's one liners from today:
History does not repeat itself, but patterns do.
Mission is the mother of theology.
Heresies are exaggerations of truths.
When it comes to the body of Christ, be a body builder and not a body divider.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer
He was a German pastor born in the early 1900s who had the opportunity to stay in England or the US during WWII, but instead he went back to Germany to be with his people. He was placed in a concentration camp and eventually hanged by the Nazis out of spite event though the war was just about over. His writings are still influential, and his life was a great example for all. I learned from him that Christians should not run away from messy situations, but instead we are called to intervene in the midst of brokenness and suffering.
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