American Christians live in a culture that values upward mobility and advancement throughout the course of a lifetime toward the American Dream. The values of upward mobility, as far as I can tell, do not seem to align with the values of downward mobility that were modeled by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. The authors of the New Testament went to great lengths to describe how followers of Jesus might live in a world that held strongly to values that ran counter to the values that Jesus modeled. I am sure that early Christians struggled to hash out their faith in the midst of a Roman Empire that celebrated many of the same ideals that our modern American culture holds up as important. In other words, modern Christians living in America must be willing to learn how to live out their faith in Jesus in ways that look different than the values of the upwardly mobile American Dream narrative that provides the framework for our existence.
This concept may be difficult for Christians living in America, and downward mobility is not necessarily something that we can accomplish on our own will. We need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to live passionately for Jesus in a culture that celebrates evil and idolatry in many different forms. So many things can become idols to us if we don't pay attention... money, sex, power, media, sports teams, smart phones, etc. Americans can make idols out of bigger homes, nicer cars, bigger retirement plans, and so forth. In our obsession with becoming rich, we can sell out the pursuit of an authentic relationship with Jesus. We remove the parts of Christianity that make us feel uncomfortable, anything having to do with suffering or the downward mobility of the cross, and we embrace the heresy of prosperity doctrine or trying to manipulate God to get the material things that we want in this life.
The solution is to recognize the temptations within the culture around us, and to ask God to empower us to discern which things in our society might ultimately harm us or draw us closer to Jesus. It is hard to have a close connection with God when there are so many idols in the way. We need to reject a comfortable Christianity, and embrace the actual gospel of Jesus Christ as Jesus modeled it for us. It is also crucial for followers of Jesus in America to pray, read our Bibles, and surround ourselves in Christian community with people who will hold us accountable. We need to make tough choices that may alienate us from our friends and family members. Still, I think that we should be concerned as Christians if our lifestyles mirror the upwardly mobile values of the culture surrounding us. We must thrive in the culture, but not be of the culture. This is a profound mystery that can only be revealed to us by God. And, as God promises, we will find joy in the midst of challenging circumstances.
Showing posts with label downward mobility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label downward mobility. Show all posts
Friday, June 7, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
The Cost of Following Jesus
This weekend I'll have the opportunity to preach live at North Way East End. I'll be teaching about Peter's restoration and the cost of following Jesus based out of the passage of Scripture from John 21:15-19. In this interesting section of the Bible, Jesus gives Peter his difficult calling, he tells him how he is going to die (crucified), and then he tells Peter to "follow me."
I think it's amazing that Jesus tells Peter how he will die. Peter knew he would die a violent death as a martyr in order to glorify God. The remaining years of Peter's life ended up being filled with suffering, persecution, imprisonment, and ultimately martyrdom. And, yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ spread at a tremendous rate through the ministry of people like Peter. God used people like Peter who were willing to be downwardly mobile, to risk all, for the sake of advancing God's mission.
At the end of his life, Peter found himself in Rome. He experienced persecution and imprisonment there under the Roman emperor Nero. Nero ordered mass killings of Christians, and it's likely that Peter and Paul were both killed in Rome as a result of these actions. What kind of way was this to advance a movement... to have the most passionate followers persecuted and martyred in the middle of a chaotic city?
Throughout the course of human history, we have seen that Christianity grows exponentially when it is subversive to mainstream society. Even today, we see that Christianity is growing among marginalized people groups who often experience persecution. Many Christians around the world in places like Latin America, Africa, and Asia are experiencing suffering and being martyred. Christianity continues to expand rapidly in those areas of the world while it continues to decline in places like Europe and America where we do not experience much persecution.
I find it interesting that Jesus plans to build his church through Peter, and that he tells Peter that he is going to die violently for his sake. In Jesus' last words to Peter, he chose not to tell him to save up a bunch of money so that he could retire comfortably. Jesus didn't tell Peter to responsibly build equity throughout his lifetime by building bigger and bigger homes. Jesus asked Peter to embrace downward mobility by saying two simple words: "Follow me." This brief interaction between Jesus and Peter presents quite a challenge for all followers of Jesus. What does it truly mean for each of us to follow Jesus? Are we willing to walk away from the comforts of this world in order to follow Jesus into dangerous places in order to advance the kingdom of God?
I think it's amazing that Jesus tells Peter how he will die. Peter knew he would die a violent death as a martyr in order to glorify God. The remaining years of Peter's life ended up being filled with suffering, persecution, imprisonment, and ultimately martyrdom. And, yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ spread at a tremendous rate through the ministry of people like Peter. God used people like Peter who were willing to be downwardly mobile, to risk all, for the sake of advancing God's mission.
At the end of his life, Peter found himself in Rome. He experienced persecution and imprisonment there under the Roman emperor Nero. Nero ordered mass killings of Christians, and it's likely that Peter and Paul were both killed in Rome as a result of these actions. What kind of way was this to advance a movement... to have the most passionate followers persecuted and martyred in the middle of a chaotic city?
Throughout the course of human history, we have seen that Christianity grows exponentially when it is subversive to mainstream society. Even today, we see that Christianity is growing among marginalized people groups who often experience persecution. Many Christians around the world in places like Latin America, Africa, and Asia are experiencing suffering and being martyred. Christianity continues to expand rapidly in those areas of the world while it continues to decline in places like Europe and America where we do not experience much persecution.
I find it interesting that Jesus plans to build his church through Peter, and that he tells Peter that he is going to die violently for his sake. In Jesus' last words to Peter, he chose not to tell him to save up a bunch of money so that he could retire comfortably. Jesus didn't tell Peter to responsibly build equity throughout his lifetime by building bigger and bigger homes. Jesus asked Peter to embrace downward mobility by saying two simple words: "Follow me." This brief interaction between Jesus and Peter presents quite a challenge for all followers of Jesus. What does it truly mean for each of us to follow Jesus? Are we willing to walk away from the comforts of this world in order to follow Jesus into dangerous places in order to advance the kingdom of God?
Monday, January 14, 2013
Downward Mobility and Advancing the Kingdom of God
The past few weeks have been tough. I won't go into details, but I have noticed that the enemy is really going after me to try to take me off track from participating in God's mission. I know that God is victorious in all things, that God wins, and that good triumphs over evil. Still, that does not mean that this life is supposed to be easy or comfortable. That is especially true knowing God has called me to the front lines as a pastor in a complex urban environment.
Advancing the kingdom of God is messy business. Jesus modeled this as the ultra religious leaders and the political leaders of his day decided to crucify him for living and speaking such a subversive yet hope filled gospel message. Jesus rolled up his sleeves and entered into the human condition so that we might all find eternal life through his life, death, and resurrection. Most of Jesus' closest friends, his disciples, suffered tremendously while they lived before dying violently at the hands of human beings who rejected them. In the first 300 years of the Christian church, the time when it grew the fastest throughout the past 2,000 years, the followers of Jesus experienced tremendous persecution and suffering. Many followers of Jesus were martyred under Roman rule. Only when the Roman emperor Constantine endorsed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire did the early Christians experience relief from the persecution. Unfortunately, Christianity began to decline when it was married to the powerful systems of the Roman Empire (political, economic, etc.).
In looking back over 2,000 years of Christian history, we see that Christianity often declines when it becomes too closely associated with popularity, comfort, and power. On the flip side, we see that Christianity thrives among marginalized people groups, when it is a subversive gospel message. This is true today. 100 years ago, 80% of the world's Christians lived in the west (Europe and North America). Today, only 20% of the world's Christians reside in the west. 80% of today's Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Christianity is growing the fastest among marginalized people groups who often experience tremendous persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Most of Europe is already considered post-Christian, and America is well on its way to being a post-Christian nation. Could this be because western Christians have tried to marry a life of comfort, prosperity, power, and upward mobility with a gospel of Jesus Christ that was intended to be subversive and counterculture?
These concepts remind me that if I'm experiencing suffering or discomfort related to radically following Jesus Christ, then I must be doing what God is asking of me in terms of advancing his mission to redeem the world. God has set me apart to reach cities, to reach people who are often marginalized by mainstream society, and to live in authentic Christian community while radically loving my neighbors. This is why I am so wary of top-down, success oriented leadership styles being infused into Christian churches in America. The prosperity, or wealth and health, doctrine that has infiltrated many churches is heresy, plain and simple. The kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. It's not about producing programs or results. The kingdom of God is about following Jesus into the arms of hurting people in a broken world. We experience God's grace as it pools in low places. Mysteriously, God's love shines most powerfully through us when we take the focus off our own personal or corporate success, and God works through us to fulfill his mission to the lost through our downward mobility. There is great victory in Christ when we die to our selves. I get to experience the joy of victory in Christ when I enter fully into the difficult things that God requires of me on a daily basis.
Advancing the kingdom of God is messy business. Jesus modeled this as the ultra religious leaders and the political leaders of his day decided to crucify him for living and speaking such a subversive yet hope filled gospel message. Jesus rolled up his sleeves and entered into the human condition so that we might all find eternal life through his life, death, and resurrection. Most of Jesus' closest friends, his disciples, suffered tremendously while they lived before dying violently at the hands of human beings who rejected them. In the first 300 years of the Christian church, the time when it grew the fastest throughout the past 2,000 years, the followers of Jesus experienced tremendous persecution and suffering. Many followers of Jesus were martyred under Roman rule. Only when the Roman emperor Constantine endorsed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire did the early Christians experience relief from the persecution. Unfortunately, Christianity began to decline when it was married to the powerful systems of the Roman Empire (political, economic, etc.).
In looking back over 2,000 years of Christian history, we see that Christianity often declines when it becomes too closely associated with popularity, comfort, and power. On the flip side, we see that Christianity thrives among marginalized people groups, when it is a subversive gospel message. This is true today. 100 years ago, 80% of the world's Christians lived in the west (Europe and North America). Today, only 20% of the world's Christians reside in the west. 80% of today's Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Christianity is growing the fastest among marginalized people groups who often experience tremendous persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Most of Europe is already considered post-Christian, and America is well on its way to being a post-Christian nation. Could this be because western Christians have tried to marry a life of comfort, prosperity, power, and upward mobility with a gospel of Jesus Christ that was intended to be subversive and counterculture?
These concepts remind me that if I'm experiencing suffering or discomfort related to radically following Jesus Christ, then I must be doing what God is asking of me in terms of advancing his mission to redeem the world. God has set me apart to reach cities, to reach people who are often marginalized by mainstream society, and to live in authentic Christian community while radically loving my neighbors. This is why I am so wary of top-down, success oriented leadership styles being infused into Christian churches in America. The prosperity, or wealth and health, doctrine that has infiltrated many churches is heresy, plain and simple. The kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. It's not about producing programs or results. The kingdom of God is about following Jesus into the arms of hurting people in a broken world. We experience God's grace as it pools in low places. Mysteriously, God's love shines most powerfully through us when we take the focus off our own personal or corporate success, and God works through us to fulfill his mission to the lost through our downward mobility. There is great victory in Christ when we die to our selves. I get to experience the joy of victory in Christ when I enter fully into the difficult things that God requires of me on a daily basis.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Reflecting on Three Years of Living in Homewood
About three years ago my family made a big move from an affluent neighborhood in the suburbs to a neighborhood in the inner city where the average family income is $18,000 per year. At the time of the move, my wife and I had never lived in a city before let alone a place where the average daily experience of my neighbors seemed to be defined by the struggles of poverty. My family walked away from the traditional comforts of the upwardly mobile American Dream in order to pursue to calling that God gave our family to become downwardly mobile. We have experienced more joy in life and closeness to God over the past few years than ever before. As I reflect on the past three years, I have learned that it is important to share about my family's journey because many people are curious about our lifestyle. The American Dream seems promising with all of its promises of comfort, safety, and security, but, as with all narratives that the world offers up, the American Dream ends up leading to struggles and emptiness. That is because I believe that most aspects of the American Dream are unbiblical and far removed from what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Don't get me wrong... I love America and I love being an American. I am thankful to be living in a country where I am free, and I know that freedom has come with a great cost. As as pastor, however, I spend a lot of time helping people unpack what goes wrong when the full embrace of the American Dream narrative leads to destruction. Americans are more depressed than any other people group in the world. We have, by far, the highest incarceration rate of any country. More importantly, the pillars of the American Dream actually keep us from possibly living out the lifestyle that Jesus set forth for us. The following are some examples of the staples of the American Dream that I believe keep many American Christians from experiencing the full joys of following Jesus:
Bigger homes: Three years ago I bought a home in Homewood where the average home value is $22,000. My wife and I joyfully invested our life savings into a neighborhood that may never experience any property value growth during our lifetime. It was a scandalous investment. It made no sense by any upwardly mobile standards. Yet, it was the best investment we've ever made because it was a kingdom of God investment. It was an eternal investment with our life savings. We are blessed to be living in Homewood. We have neighbors who stop by our house all the time. Our home has become a refuge for some of the most vulnerable people in our city. We've welcomed homeless people into our home to feed them and offer them shelter. The goal of the American Dream is to start out by buying a starter home, and then over the course of our lifetimes continue to buy bigger and bigger houses in more affluent neighborhoods so that we can be sitting on a bunch of home equity when we're older. One major flaw with that philosophy is that living in big homes in affluent neighborhoods separates us from the poor. When we intentionally distance ourselves from the poor, we miss out on the joys of being in relationships with people in need as a natural part of our lives. Also, us humans are always trying to get back to the garden of Eden. We try to build paradise for ourselves during our short lifetimes, but I don't think that God wants us to build paradise with our homes. A huge home in an affluent neighborhood may seem like a good goal, but in the end that goal may actually distance us from the mission that God has for all of us Christians to advance the kingdom of God and eternal purposes.
Financial Security: The goal of the American Dream seems to be to save up as much money for ourselves as we can, but only after we've bought as much as we possibly can to make ourselves look better, feel better, and be safer. Americans seem to be obsessed with safety, security, and comfort. The gospel of Jesus Christ runs counter to the concepts of spending a bunch of money on ourselves or saving up a bunch of money for ourselves. The gospel of Jesus Christ is scandalous. Jesus was crucified. Ten of his closest followers, his disciples, lived in poverty and died violently simply for following the downwardly mobile ways of Jesus. Followers of Jesus during the first few centuries after Jesus' life experienced extreme persecution and many were martyred, yet Christianity grew faster than at any other time since then. When we put our focus on ourselves and our comforts, then we lose sight of what life is all about... God's mission to redeem the world. God wants to work through us, and that means that we sacrifice all. We should give time and money away to other Christians and to our neighbors freely, whenever God prompts us to do so. The gospel of Jesus runs counter to the world. I am constantly wrestling through this concept with Julie. Our goal is to give away more money to God's mission. Even the concept of retirement, or saving up a bunch of money to live on later in life, is unbiblical. The goal of life is not to live a comfortable lifestyle. The goal is to be obedient to Christ, and Christ may call us to give everything away... even our lives if we are called to do so. My goal in life is not to leave a bunch of money for my children to spend after I die and after I have lived comfortably in my golden years. For the rest of my life, no matter how old I am, I hope to be right out on the front lines advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ in dangerous places. I experience profound community and meaning in life when I live and minister in places of poverty. Modeling for my children about how to really live out the gospel in a world that desperately needs Christians to be authentic and credible is much, much more important to me than leaving money to my children when I die. This is all about making an eternal investment, not an earthly investment. I think God is big enough to figure out how to take care of my family members after I die, so there's no sense in me losing any sleep over something like that.
Prosperity Christianity: Prosperity doctrine is heresy. The self help gospel is heresy. These movements have no place in the church. American Christians are desperately trying to integrate the gospel message of Jesus Christ with affluence and power, and that is simply not possible. God often calls me to enter into other people's pain and suffering in order to bring about his purposes. Sometimes God calls me to go pray with people after a shooting happens in my neighborhood. That is holy ground. Sometimes God calls me to sit with homeless people or struggling, single moms in order to share the good news of Christ. Just like everyone else I could lose my life at any time, so I don't want to waste any time trying to get rich or trying to make myself feel better about myself. I am confident enough in who I am through Christ. I don't need marketers of the American Dream to tell me who I am. I don't need a self help guru to tell me who I am. I am a son of the Most High God, a co-heir of the kingdom of God because of what Jesus did for me. As a result, I've given up trying to be prosperous in this short life in exchange for being obedient to God's ways. I have experienced profound joy through being made uncomfortable in my calling from God.
The great mystery here is that tremendous joy is found in the downward mobility of the cross of Jesus Christ. Around the world, Christianity is experiencing explosive growth amongst people groups living in poverty. Christianity is rapidly declining in areas of the world like Europe and America where well-intentioned people are trying to integrate Christianity with health, wealth, and success. 100 years ago 80 percent of the world's Christians lived in the West. Today, we represent only 20 percent of the world's Christians even though the percentage of overall Christians in the world has stayed about the same (around 34 percent). I believe that God can bring about revival in America, and that we can once again experience a profound movement of God throughout the country. For that to happen, I really believe that we will need to let go of the comforts of this world being offered up by the American Dream in order to embrace the radical, countercultural, and downwardly mobile lifestyle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bigger homes: Three years ago I bought a home in Homewood where the average home value is $22,000. My wife and I joyfully invested our life savings into a neighborhood that may never experience any property value growth during our lifetime. It was a scandalous investment. It made no sense by any upwardly mobile standards. Yet, it was the best investment we've ever made because it was a kingdom of God investment. It was an eternal investment with our life savings. We are blessed to be living in Homewood. We have neighbors who stop by our house all the time. Our home has become a refuge for some of the most vulnerable people in our city. We've welcomed homeless people into our home to feed them and offer them shelter. The goal of the American Dream is to start out by buying a starter home, and then over the course of our lifetimes continue to buy bigger and bigger houses in more affluent neighborhoods so that we can be sitting on a bunch of home equity when we're older. One major flaw with that philosophy is that living in big homes in affluent neighborhoods separates us from the poor. When we intentionally distance ourselves from the poor, we miss out on the joys of being in relationships with people in need as a natural part of our lives. Also, us humans are always trying to get back to the garden of Eden. We try to build paradise for ourselves during our short lifetimes, but I don't think that God wants us to build paradise with our homes. A huge home in an affluent neighborhood may seem like a good goal, but in the end that goal may actually distance us from the mission that God has for all of us Christians to advance the kingdom of God and eternal purposes.
Financial Security: The goal of the American Dream seems to be to save up as much money for ourselves as we can, but only after we've bought as much as we possibly can to make ourselves look better, feel better, and be safer. Americans seem to be obsessed with safety, security, and comfort. The gospel of Jesus Christ runs counter to the concepts of spending a bunch of money on ourselves or saving up a bunch of money for ourselves. The gospel of Jesus Christ is scandalous. Jesus was crucified. Ten of his closest followers, his disciples, lived in poverty and died violently simply for following the downwardly mobile ways of Jesus. Followers of Jesus during the first few centuries after Jesus' life experienced extreme persecution and many were martyred, yet Christianity grew faster than at any other time since then. When we put our focus on ourselves and our comforts, then we lose sight of what life is all about... God's mission to redeem the world. God wants to work through us, and that means that we sacrifice all. We should give time and money away to other Christians and to our neighbors freely, whenever God prompts us to do so. The gospel of Jesus runs counter to the world. I am constantly wrestling through this concept with Julie. Our goal is to give away more money to God's mission. Even the concept of retirement, or saving up a bunch of money to live on later in life, is unbiblical. The goal of life is not to live a comfortable lifestyle. The goal is to be obedient to Christ, and Christ may call us to give everything away... even our lives if we are called to do so. My goal in life is not to leave a bunch of money for my children to spend after I die and after I have lived comfortably in my golden years. For the rest of my life, no matter how old I am, I hope to be right out on the front lines advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ in dangerous places. I experience profound community and meaning in life when I live and minister in places of poverty. Modeling for my children about how to really live out the gospel in a world that desperately needs Christians to be authentic and credible is much, much more important to me than leaving money to my children when I die. This is all about making an eternal investment, not an earthly investment. I think God is big enough to figure out how to take care of my family members after I die, so there's no sense in me losing any sleep over something like that.
Prosperity Christianity: Prosperity doctrine is heresy. The self help gospel is heresy. These movements have no place in the church. American Christians are desperately trying to integrate the gospel message of Jesus Christ with affluence and power, and that is simply not possible. God often calls me to enter into other people's pain and suffering in order to bring about his purposes. Sometimes God calls me to go pray with people after a shooting happens in my neighborhood. That is holy ground. Sometimes God calls me to sit with homeless people or struggling, single moms in order to share the good news of Christ. Just like everyone else I could lose my life at any time, so I don't want to waste any time trying to get rich or trying to make myself feel better about myself. I am confident enough in who I am through Christ. I don't need marketers of the American Dream to tell me who I am. I don't need a self help guru to tell me who I am. I am a son of the Most High God, a co-heir of the kingdom of God because of what Jesus did for me. As a result, I've given up trying to be prosperous in this short life in exchange for being obedient to God's ways. I have experienced profound joy through being made uncomfortable in my calling from God.
The great mystery here is that tremendous joy is found in the downward mobility of the cross of Jesus Christ. Around the world, Christianity is experiencing explosive growth amongst people groups living in poverty. Christianity is rapidly declining in areas of the world like Europe and America where well-intentioned people are trying to integrate Christianity with health, wealth, and success. 100 years ago 80 percent of the world's Christians lived in the West. Today, we represent only 20 percent of the world's Christians even though the percentage of overall Christians in the world has stayed about the same (around 34 percent). I believe that God can bring about revival in America, and that we can once again experience a profound movement of God throughout the country. For that to happen, I really believe that we will need to let go of the comforts of this world being offered up by the American Dream in order to embrace the radical, countercultural, and downwardly mobile lifestyle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Claver Lessons - Multiplication and Rejection
Pedro Claver invested relationally in the lives of slaves, and as a result Christianity grew well with that group of people. Eventually, new Christian slaves grew in their faith and they began to care for others on their own. Claver knew what many good leaders know... that you cannot do everything on your own. You must give up control. You must disciple others, empower others, and then release them to lead. This is multiplication. Jesus set the ulitmate example of multiplication for us. He invested intimately into a small group of people, who in turn went out and changed the world.
Claver was rejected by the world and mainstream Christian society. However, he had a good understanding of God's economy where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. In his life and ministry, he completely flipped the heirarchy of the world upside down by serving the slaves first, then the poor, then children, and then others after that. How many Christians in America today are racing to be first? Or, how many American Christians are willing to not just have a head knowledge about God's economy but actually flip their lives upside down and live as if the poor and needy of society were actually the most important investment they could make with their time and effort? Some call this lifestyle downward mobility.
Just try going against the grain and live as though all of the values of individual gain and upward mobility were flipped around. The world will scream at you to get back in line! In fact, most comfortable American cultural Christians will scream at you to get back in line! But, the big secret is that true life and communion and intimacy with God can be found in downward mobility. That was the profound thing about Jesus Christ. He was unrecognized by the powerful in the world and the mainstream religous people in his day. He modeled the ultimate downward mobility for us, dying a humiliating and excruciating death on the cross... and prior to his death he spent his time with people who the world and mainstream religous people had rejected. If we realize that we are off track in American Christianity today (which I believe is true and for which I developed a case in my prevous blog post), then we need to humble ourselves and learn from the likes of Pedro Claver. We must become downwardly mobile. It is OK to be rejected. What better example do we have than Jesus?
Claver was rejected by the world and mainstream Christian society. However, he had a good understanding of God's economy where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. In his life and ministry, he completely flipped the heirarchy of the world upside down by serving the slaves first, then the poor, then children, and then others after that. How many Christians in America today are racing to be first? Or, how many American Christians are willing to not just have a head knowledge about God's economy but actually flip their lives upside down and live as if the poor and needy of society were actually the most important investment they could make with their time and effort? Some call this lifestyle downward mobility.
Just try going against the grain and live as though all of the values of individual gain and upward mobility were flipped around. The world will scream at you to get back in line! In fact, most comfortable American cultural Christians will scream at you to get back in line! But, the big secret is that true life and communion and intimacy with God can be found in downward mobility. That was the profound thing about Jesus Christ. He was unrecognized by the powerful in the world and the mainstream religous people in his day. He modeled the ultimate downward mobility for us, dying a humiliating and excruciating death on the cross... and prior to his death he spent his time with people who the world and mainstream religous people had rejected. If we realize that we are off track in American Christianity today (which I believe is true and for which I developed a case in my prevous blog post), then we need to humble ourselves and learn from the likes of Pedro Claver. We must become downwardly mobile. It is OK to be rejected. What better example do we have than Jesus?
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