Do you have a church?

Just finished reading the book Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World by Lee C. Camp. Good book. Here is one story that grabbed my attention (from pages 110-111).


Clarence Jones established a community that was based on the Sermon on the Mount. He believed that this community would be open to all regardless of skin color. In the latter half of the 1950s segregationists attacked the community. They threatened, bombed, vandalized, burnt crosses, beat people. Clarence sought legal representation from his brother Robert Jordan. Robert responded:

“Clarence, I can’t do that. You know my political aspirations. Why, if I represented you, I might lose my job, my house, everything I’ve got.”

“We might lose everything too, Bob.”

“It’s different for you.”

“Why is it different? I remember, it seems to me, that you and I joined the church on the same Sunday, as boys. I expect when we came forward the preacher asked me about the same question he did you. He asked me, ‘Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?’ And I said, ‘Yes.” What did you say?”

“I follow Jesus, Clarence, up to a point.”

“Could that point by any chance be – the cross?”

“That’s right. I follow him to the cross, but not on the cross. I’m not getting myself crucified.”

“Then I don’t believe you’re a disciple. You’re an admirer of Jesus, but not a disciple of his. I think you ought to go back to the church you belong to, and tell them you’re an admirer, not a disciple.”

“Well now, if everyone who felt like I do did that, we wouldn’t have a church, would we?”

“The question,” Clarence said, “is, ‘Do you have a church?’”

So I wonder "Do we have a church?" Are we disciples or admirers?

I'm back

It has almost been a year since I lasted posted a message. I have all sorts of excuses, most of them are not really that important. But I have decided to work at posting again. So here we go...

On October 14 we Canadians are voting. I came across two resources that might help Christians discern who to vote for.
One is from MCC - election primer
The other is from EFC - election kit

Get informed and vote.

Hands

Over the last couple of days I have been walking with a family as they planned a funeral. Abe, a husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, died last week. His funeral was today. I was privileged and honored to walk alongside the family in this time.
When I saw the body of Abe his hands drew my attention. They were peacefully folded on his lap. His wedding ring clear for all to see (he was married for 63 years...what an amazing testimony). As I looked at his hands I realized that these hands held the hands of his grandfather (possibly even his great grandfather). That this man walked and held hands with people who lived in the 1800s. He is a link to our past.
Then I saw his young great grandson. Looking at him I realized that this young boy (the lord willing) will hold hands with people who will walk 2100s. He is our link to the future.
We truly are tied to our past and to our future.

Disciples of Jesus are citizens of the kingdom of peace

Anabaptists have held that our citizenship in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is our primary citizenship. Our ultimate loyalty and allegiance is to Jesus.
Matthew 6:24 - Jesus says "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (New Revised Standard)
Now the context of the verse is very clear. We cannot serve both our money and God, we have to choose. This message needs to be affirmed and taught in our churches. I wonder if I could stretch this verse to apply to more than just money. Jesus does say we cannot serve two masters. God can be our only master, to him and him alone do we give our loyalty and allegiance. Money is one of the masters that makes a claim for our lives. But what are some of the others masters? Addictions (food/drugs/alcohol/pornography), capitalism, democracy, freedom, security, family, possessions, governments, church...
Now when Anabaptists declared that they are citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus. They were making a political statement (not just a moral one). In a sense they were committing treason. They declared that they were not loyal to the government but that they were loyal to God. Now does the bible actually allow us to say this?
Romans 10:9 - Paul says "because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Confessing Jesus as lord is much more radical than is often believed. It is often believed that this simply means saying a prayer and asking Jesus into one's heart (not a bad thing but confessing Jesus as lord is much greater than that). Brian McLaren says, "Sometimes the Greek term kurios [Lord] simply means 'sir', but it is also the term used for the emperor. He is the ultimate 'sir', the ultimate authority, the king of kings, and the lord of all lords. The earliest confession of the earliest followers of Jesus - Jesus is Lord - was not in this light primarily a theological confession of Jesus' divinity, as many today assume; it was a very earthly declaration that Jesus, not Caesar, was the ultimate authority." ("Everything Must Change", page 98)
As an Anabaptist I say a hearty "Amen". Jesus is my ultimate authority.
Of course this raises the question. How as a follower Jesus am I to relate to my government? What is my responsibility to the government?

Anabaptist core beliefs

I have been reading Jacob Loewen’s book Only the Sword of the Spirit. In this book Jacob explores some of the core beliefs that Anabaptist’s (Mennonites) held to at the beginning. He then examines our history, evaluating how well we have done in living up to these requirements. According to Jacob as Mennonites we have not done a very good job of being faithful.

Here are the 12 main beliefs that early Anabaptists held to.

1) Disciples of Jesus are citizens of the kingdom of peace

2) Citizens of the kingdom of peace must separate themselves from this world

3) The followers of Jesus should live together as a community of equals under Jesus as Lord and master

4) Disciples are stewards, not owners of property

5) The believing community should be governed by the Spirit of God mediated by its servants – the ministers and teachers

6) Disciples are to live by the sword of the Spirit in building the kingdom of peace

7) The Anabaptists read the Bible as a focused rather than a flat canon

8) Menno Simmons believed that the believing community should serve as an exegetical community in interpreting Scripture

9) Menno Simmons believed that the church can best make decisions on the basis of consensus under the guidance of the Holy Spirit

10) Menno Simmons believed that the congregation should fully participate in church governance as part of the Body of Christ

11) Menno Simmons believed that church members should practice sacrificial servanthood rather than seeking privileged status as God’s chosen people

12) Menno Simmons believed that the people of God should be identified by their discipleship, not by doctrine and ideology

Are there any that you agree with? Any that you think are totally crazy?

Apology to Natives

A couple of weeks ago PM Stephen Harper apologized to the Natives for the abuse that took place in the residential schools. I just read this response from Ray Aldred, "Response to the Prime Minister’s Apology to Aboriginal Peoples". I found it to very interesting. What do you think?

Marathon

Yesterday my wife ran the marathon. I am so proud of her. It took a lot of work and dedication for her to accomplish this goal. It was very exciting to see her run across the finish line.

Way to go Cindy!!

God speaks

If you wonder if God speaks - read this post that wife just made.
Cindy Street

Pastoral ministry

I have been reading Pastoral Ministry According to Paul: A Biblical Vision, by James W. Thompson. James overviews Paul's major writings showing what Paul's pastoral vision was. I think I can summarize James by stating that he believes Paul's pastoral vision was the transformation of the people and community to be more loving and become blameless. James states that Paul believes that this is journey and is on going. Conversion is a beginning step not the end result.
I think this book is right on. But it raises some questions.
1) James says that Paul believes that a ministry is only successful if actually leads to the transformation of people. Is this how we rate our ministries? What are some of the other ways that we measure the success of a ministry?
2) Have we failed if no one is changed? I have often heard that we remain faithful to God and let him take care of the results. Is this an excuse? Or is this true?
3) How do we measure transformation? Paul battles legalism (making laws the mark of spirituality).

Story of Stuff

What do you think?

Story of Stuff

An Evangelical Manifesto

I just read an article called An Evangelical Manifesto.
This manifesto comes out of a need to define what it means to Evangelical. The authors note that the term evangelical means different things to different people. They even state that some wonder if "Evangelical is ever positive, and many inside now wonder whether the term any longer serves a useful purpose." The authors believe that the term Evangelical can be redeemed (not sure I agree but I sure applaud their efforts).
I found this document to very interesting. It talks about beliefs and about practices. Here are a couple of my highlights:

"Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth."

"our commitment can be seen better in our giving and our caring than in official statements."


Evangelicals fail when "they fail to follow the great commandment that we love our neighbors as ourselves, let alone the radical demand of Jesus that his followers forgive without limit and love even their enemies."

"We confess that we Evangelicals have betrayed our beliefs by our behavior. All too often we have trumpeted the gospel of Jesus, but we have replaced biblical truths with therapeutic techniques, worship with entertainment, discipleship with growth in human potential, church growth with business entrepreneurialism, concern for the church and for the local congregation with expressions of faith that are churchless and little better than a vapid spirituality, meeting real needs with pandering to felt needs, and mission principles with marketing precepts. In the process we have become known for commercial, diluted, and feel-good gospels of health, wealth, human potential, and religious happy talk, each of which is indistinguishable from the passing fashions of the surrounding world."

I could sign a document like this - agreeing with the good and confessing the bad.

Been reading a book called "Kissing the Leper: Seeing Jesus in the least of these" by Brad Jersak. Brad tells story after story about how God is with the people that we have pushed to the edges of society. And we discover God when we open our hearts to these people.
I have been praying for God to break my heart. I have built walls around my heart to keep people who are too different distant and far away. I don't look to find Jesus in them and with them.
My walled heart has created a place of security for me. I know what is going to happen (at least I think I do). I know who is involved in my life. My fear is that if I have a heart so broken that the world falls in anything could happen with anyone. It feels safer (and most likely is) to keep the walls up. But the walls also keep Jesus out - and so I pray with Mother Teresa

May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.

Break my heart

May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.

Mother Teresa.

Moved in Infinite Love - Part 4

My friend Ryan posted a comment on this prayer and he noted that God is moved by almost everything and since we are to be like Jesus we are to not remain cold and impassive but be moved. I totally agree.
But how is to happen?
So often I become overwhelmed with the problems of the world. I feel like I would be crushed if I allowed every painful thing to move me. I mean there are so many painful things ... Aids, poverty, children soldiers, human trafficking, destruction of our world, greed, injustice, violence, gangs, abuse, lies, broken relationships, homeless, and on and on the list goes. Often I just stick my head in the sand because I do not know what to do. I know that this is not what we are called to do though. We are called to extend God's kingdom.
Father, I don't what to do with all the problems of the world, move me. Specifically father move me in compassion to the pain of those who are in relationship with me.

I also believe that we are not only to be moved by the painful things in our world, we are also to be moved by the good things. The bible tells us to be thankful and to rejoice.
Father I give thanks for my children who bring so much energy into my life, my wife who loves me so much, for health to ride to work, a nice bike, the sun shine, birds, computers, friends, the many different colors, books, Fruit Loops. Father move me to see you and your blessing so that I will always give thanks to you.

Moved in Infinite Love - Part 3

Soren prays
"submitting ourselves to the discipline of Your unchangeableness, so that we may in unconditional obedience find our rest and remain at rest in Your unchangeableness."

What does it mean to submit ourselves to the disciple of God's unchangeableness?
Too often I have sought to change God - to remake him in an image that I find more pleasing and less offending. I try to make God to be a god who hates my enemies instead of loving them and who never seeks to change me or demands anything from me.
One of my struggles is resisting this temptation to change God and just allow him to be God. My prayers too often are asking God to change his character. "Bless me but don't shape me." "Do things my way and not your way."

In what way does unconditional obedience help us find rest and remain at rest in God's unchangeableness?
Unconditional obedience is a sign of trust. If there are conditions to obedience then we do not fully trust God. And we can trust God because his character does not change.
Rest is the result of trust. When I first went sailing the wind caused the boat to slightly lean over. I sat in the cabin holding on to a metal pole convinced that I was going to die. I was not at rest because I did not trust the boat. Eventually I would stand on the very front of the boat completely at rest because I trusted.
Trusting God results in resting and I learn to trust God when I obey him unconditionally.

Moved in Infinite Love - Part 2

Yesterday I posted a prayer by Soren Kierkegaard. Here are some thoughts I had when I prayed this prayer.
In Soren's prayer he praises God that he does not change.

For I the Lord do not change - Malachi 3:6

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8

Since God's character does not change I can trust him. Trust him to relate to me out of his love for me and for all. Trust him that in pouring out his grace he will change me until my character reflects that of Jesus (character not personality). I can trust him that he will love the world, even though it can be very ugly. I can trust that my sin breaks his heart. I can trust that God will accomplish that which he started in me. Simply put, I can trust.

Moved in Infinite Love

A prayer by Soren Kierkegaard (from Devotional Classics);

You who are unchangeable, whom nothing changes! You who are unchangeable in love, precisely for our welfare, not submitting to any change: may we too will our welfare, submitting ourselves to the discipline of Your unchangeableness, so that we may in unconditional obedience find our rest and remain at rest in Your unchangeableness. You are not like us; if we are to preserve only some degree of constancy, we must not permit ourselves too much to be moved, nor by too many things. You one the contrary are moved, and moved in infinite love, by all things. Even that which we human beings call an insignificant trifle, and pass by unmoved, the need of a sparrow, even this moves you; and what we so often scarcely notice, a human sigh, this moves You, You who are unchangeable! You who in infinite love do submit to be moved, may this our prayer also move You to add Your blessing, in order that there may be brought about such a change in us who pray as to bring us into conformity with Your unchangeable will, You who are unchangeable!

Pangea Day

One of the characteristics of the kingdom of God is that we seek to love those who are different than we are. To truly love someone we need to begin to understand them.
I came across an initiative to create understanding across the globe through film. It is called Pangea Day. To me this looks like kingdom work. So I encourage you to mark May 10 down on your calendars. Join the global camp fire.

Ethanol

Lots of people tell me that Ethanol is the (almost) perfect fuel of the future. It is perfect on every level. Our governments are starting to totally support this move.
However things might not actually be so good - in fact they might be worse. But don't take my word for it here is an article written by Times magazine - The Clean Energy Scam.