Leading and Serving

The last six months have been interesting for our Sunday evening open house.  Two of our core  members moved away last April to pursue further studies across country.  Another of our early regulars will be leaving at the end of the year.  We’ve wondered how these departures would impact who showed up.

We’ve noticed a marked uptick in attendance by friends of our children.  We now regularly have a teen-aged Russian guy coming by to game with our kids (and enjoy taunting us with his predilection for eating everything with ranch dressing).  Others have been coming as well, but he’s our regular.  And with him, on an increasingly regular basis, comes his mother, a recently naturalized Russian.  She has become closer friends with my wife over the last year or more.

Two weeks ago we got into a religious discussion.  We invited her to join a new Bible study I am leading at my congregation.  But with her busy schedule between work and school, she hasn’t had time.  But she’s clearly interested.  So we started talking about how to get the ‘big picture’ of Scripture.  Then she asked for help for a scholarship program in her graduate work.  We talked about the difference between how the world (and business schools) talk about leadership and how Jesus and the Bible talk about leadership.  We talked about the difficulty of maintaining humility in a world that essentially values pride as a necessary qualification for leadership.

I shared with her Jesus’ teaching in Mark 10:42-45, and showed her how Jesus made this teaching tangible in John 13:1-17.   And I talked about God as the ultimate example of humility and servant leadership and commitment to others in John 3:16.  We talked about the challenges and limitations of applying these truths in a business setting as a CEO or CFO or COO.  There, service to other is defined in terms of shareholders and perhaps clients/customers.  Commitment and service to others is often seen as a means to another end, like profitability, or employee retention/attraction.  We talked about how hard it is as broken, sinful people, to stay focused on serving others when the point of an MBA program is essentially the promise of skills necessary to make one successful in business leadership, and many people desire those skills and positions not for serving others but for pride, greed, etc.

All of this discussion with someone who is not Christian, but recognizes a universal need to have  some greater, deeper calling outside of yourself.

Christians should have a lot to say on this topic of servanthood and leadership but we all too easily are like James and John, confusing the standards and benefits of the world for the standards of the kingdom of heaven.  We can shake our heads and laugh condescendingly in at these two chuckleheads in Mark 10, but we share their assumptions, even though we have Jesus’ teaching and example in hindsight where they didn’t!

We talk about servant leadership, but we really mean doing things the way we want, presuming others are best served with our ideas until we quit bothering to listen.  We talk about serving but we often times mean ruling, dictating, demanding, forcing if necessary.  In the interest of higher ideals, to be certain, but reliant very heavily on the tools of the worldly leadership trade.  Tools that authorities have always kept on hand to ensure things run the way they want them to.

We don’t talk about servant leadership the way Jesus demonstrated it.  We don’t mean leadership that washes filthy feet.  We don’t talk about leadership that allows itself to be maligned.  We don’t mean leadership that suffers being called a liar and a thief.  We don’t mean leadership that leads by patience, day in and day out, year after year.  We don’t mean leadership willing to die for others rather than seek personal  protection or glory.  We hold these things lightly.  We see them as signs of weakness.

Just like the Jews did.  Just like the Romans did as they mocked Jesus with a fake royal robe and crown before leading him away to die.  What leader would suffer such a fate?  Isn’t it the mark of a true leader to avoid such shame, such failure?.  A leader who does things these ways, the way the kingdom of heaven does them, is no leader in our world today.  We don’t trust it if we see it.  We don’t respect it if we encounter it.

Challenging realities to face for someone who aspires to leadership, whether in the corporate world on in the church, which all too often prefers to borrow corporate principles rather than stick to Biblical ones.  Because it isn’t easy.  It isn’t perfect.  None of us have the perfect wisdom and insight of Jesus, and so have to make do the best we can with what we have.

I look forward to future conversations, and marvel how God the Holy Spirit continues to foster these possibilities.

Weekly Devotional

1 John 3:1-3

You can hear the wonder in John’s voice. When was the last time you felt that wonder? The wonder that you, right now, here today, are a child of God’s? Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it beyond belief, so wondrous as it is? You and I – sinful, broken, self-centered, stubborn, envious, petty – you and I are children of God. Not because we paid for it, not because we demanded it, not because we earned it, but simply because God says we are and we believe him. I cannot make you a child of God. Only God can do that. I can – and should! – share that wonderful truth and reality with you, but only God can declare it so.

It must be God’s declaration, on God’s terms. Adam and Eve discovered the hard way that, as with any petulant child who more privileges than he is capable of handling, the bite of the apple didn’t convey adulthood so much as make us child-like in all the wrong ways. Children not so much of God as children of sin and evil. All the worst aspects of children. God as the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier is the only one capable of reversing the judgment declared in Eden. The only one capable of making us his children again.

And if this is who God says we are, who are we to argue? I can’t doubt God’s Word! I certainly can’t claim to have better knowledge than the Creator as to whether or not the Redemption is mine. Does God say it’s mine? Then it’s mine! As I accept his promise, does his promise become real and true for me? Of course!

The world has little use for children. They don’t earn and they don’t spend. But in the Kingdom of God, only children can receive the love of God the Father. A love we can never fully comprehend this side of eternity, but a love we spend our lives in earnest desire to be more and more worthy of.

Comfort Near Death

In seminary I remember being warned by a prof about the danger people can be in near death.  This may sound a bit oxymoronic – isn’t anyone near death already in danger?  Certainly this is true, but the gravity of the situation can be aggravated.

This happens by well-meaning doctors, nurses, and family members.  Wishing to spare the person additional stress, sorrow, or any other negative emotions, they deliberately mislead the person as to their condition, or the odds of their survival.  By telling lies they seek to bring the person comfort.  With good intentions, however, the potentially deprive that person of being aware of their condition and intentionally spending time making peace with God.

I’ve always remembered this, and I’ve tried to be straightforward with the people I visit at home or in the hospital.  When the understanding of those around them is they are near death, I try to specifically ask them if they are fearful or have anything they would like to confess or otherwise talk about.  I am encouraged by the faith of some who are ready to meet their maker, firm in the promises of Jesus Christ.  I am likewise encouraged by some who take the opportunity for a confession or question or discussion.

But they need to know their situation accurately in order to best prepare themselves.  This especially true as, more and more often, final hours and days  are spent heavily sedated and unable to engage in conversation.  The goal is comfort, but comfort goes beyond the physical to the spiritual.

I had an interesting discussion the other day where someone expressed a reluctance to trouble the people of our congregation with the difficult reality of our congregation – that they are almost all well into retirement age and beyond, and there is no younger generation of kids and grandkids behind them to take over the congregation when they are no longer able to run it.  When this group of people pass (and barring a miracle of the Holy Spirit), only a handful (literally) might remain, not enough to sustain things as they are and have been.

He felt it was inappropriate to trouble them with thinking about the future of the congregation beyond their lifetime, that it would be a source of stress to them and could result in some of them leaving the congregation.  He spoke from a position of empathy, personally having experienced the loss of a spouse, the struggle of long-term care for a spouse with debilitating conditions, and other very real struggles people often face as they age.  And I know many in my congregation do deal with these issues or have in the recent past.  While I can sympathize and empathize with them, I haven’t been through these struggles personally and therefore there is much I don’t know and can’t begin to imagine.  This doesn’t change the reality that I have been called to be their pastor and shepherd, but it does make me second-guess myself at times.

Which is more loving, to not talk about hard things with people already facing hard things?  Or is it more loving to be honest about the hard things and allow people the opportunity to grapple with them for themselves.  I have a high opinion of my members.  Some of them may be less vigorous now in age as they once were, but they have lived long lives through difficult times.  The Great Depression.  World Wars.  The loss of loved ones.  Challenging economic times.  As such, I credit them with a deep reserve of resilience – a reserve only heightened and extended by their faith in Jesus.  I’d rather honor their capabilities even when that is challenging and requires a lot of time and explanation, than simply not tell them everything soas not to add burdens to them.

And just like with visiting the seriously ill, most of the time there is an awareness already of the gravity of the situation.  We talk optimistically, but when reality is broached, most people are willing and able to respond to that.  I pray the same is true of my congregation and the future of the congregation.  I believe some challenging realities need to be faced and challenging decisions made.  But I’d rather give them all the details so they can make those decisions to the best of their ability, even if it’s challenging.

I pray and believe they’re capable of it, and I trust that through it all, God the Holy Spirit is present and more than capable of providing the strength and clarity needed to make those decisions, so they know they are ready for whatever the future holds, to the best of their ability, resting in the promises of our Lord who has conquered not only the physical death we each will likely face, but all the powers of evil arrayed against us individually and corporately while we yet live.  

I know I tend to expect more from people rather than less.  I like to think this is the better, more honoring thing to do.  But it might not always be, and I am grateful for those who challenge me to examine my way of approaching people and things to make sure it seems appropriate given the situation.

Church in a Box

So you want to start a church?  Easy-peesy!  Just order Church in a Box!

It will cost you anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000, depending on how big a church you’re starting, but they’ll provide you with everything you need (materials-wise, not personnel!) to do so.  Banners.  Audio/video equipment.  Coffee.  You name it, it’s included.

Assuming you have a venue, the people to do all of these things, and someone capable of preaching and teaching, what a cool way of one-stop shopping!

 

 

Religious Trends

Here’s another article about the ongoing trend of millenials  (those born between 1981 and 1996) away from religious life and particularly Christian religious life as defined by a corporate/communal worship service.  This isn’t anything new, but it does remind us that things are not changing, and are not going to change anytime soon.

The title of the essay is problematic, as there’s no exploration of why millenials are trending this way at all, other than a passing reference to being in the stage of life where family, finances, and career tend to overwhelm all other priorities.  But this is hardly anything new or unique to millenials.  Every generation has to balance and manage these demands during this time of life, and for far larger percentages of our population, this was done alongside (or perhaps more accurately enabled through) active, sustained, committed participation in a religious faith community.  Primarily Christian.  The Church.  This isn’t so much an issue with religion in general in America, but with Christianity.  According to this data, 70% of Americans consider themselves Christian (not including Mormons).  Non-religious make up almost 20%, which leaves only about 10% of the population that follows other religions.

So blaming the demands of work and finances and family doesn’t cut it as the reason millenials are no longer participating in churches as earlier generations did.  But the article does point out some of the ramifications of this change.

Yes, people are lonelier.  But let’s draw a few more tangible connections, please.  Loneliness is likely a high contributing factor to rising levels  of both depression and suicide.  More pertinent to this is the recognition that Christianity and the Bible offer something in very short supply these days – hope.  A reason to continue on in the face of periods of bleakness or sorrow.

The article also references lower levels of sexual activity among young people as another aspect of the pressures on millenials.  But what about some  deeper analysis, please?  Could reduced levels of sexual activity be linked to less attachment to Christian community and  a much decreased emphasis on the value and beauty of marriage?  Dating apps may be decreasing in popularity, but they are also being singled out as likely culprits for increasing rates of sexually transmitted diseases.  And of course if traditional Judeo-Christian teachings on sexuality are being increasingly ignored, then the overwhelming prevalence of pornographic access at the click of a button with virtually no safeguards or obstacles also is likely to play a big part in changing levels of sexual activity.

Of course the article doesn’t deal with the biggest issue of all – as rates and levels of regular worship continue to drop, there is a very real risk (likelihood?) of people abandoning not just worship but the faith.  Rather than temporal mental health or social health, Christianity posits that what we believe has eternal consequences.  That’s not something most articles like this want to deal with or know how to.  The reality is that increasingly these people may not simply be lost to the Church for the time being, but eternally.  That’s a huge deal.

Millenials  aren’t coming back to church.  How many of them were really there before?  How many of them were raised in worshiping families where weekly worship was a priority, no matter how hard the work week had been?  How many of them were isolated from actual worship in youth ministry bubbles where fun and games eclipsed actual engagement with the Bible and Christian teachings, and where discussion of how faith applies to life were limited to purity rings and other one-off experiences?

We can look at lots of factors contributing to why young people are less and less interested in church, even if they still consider themselves to be Christian in some less-easily defined way.  But I think we need to include the Church itself in those factors.  Somehow, the faith was not transmitted to millenials (and the generations following them, don’t doubt it) in a meaningful and applicable way.  If most  younger Christians are essentially moralistic therapeutic deists, the Church has to wonder if it contributed to this tragic mistake?  If church is about being nice, can’t people get that other places?  School programs, work programs, TED talks, any number of other options.  What makes church unique if not the very message and heart of the Bible and Jesus and faith?

No, the youth aren’t coming back.  Not for a long time.  How is the Church going to adapt to this and plan to deal with it?  Especially given the reality the article notes, that collection baskets have suddenly gotten lighter?  And how does the Church attract a younger demographic that is going to see – and not entirely incorrectly – that a sudden surge in interest in evangelism is driven perhaps less by actual love of neighbor and more as an effort to prop up and sustain a model of doing church that is less and less sustainable as membership levels continue to drop?

Again, it should be noted: these are large scale trends.  There are (thankfully!) always exceptions to the rules, both individual congregations and even larger communities where this is not the case.  But it does mean that sooner or later these larger trends will begin to affect these places that may not really notice the change right now.

 

Reading Ramblings – All Saints Day

Reading Ramblings

Date: All Saints’ Day (Observed) – November 3, 2019

Texts: Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 149; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Context: All Saints’ Day – in one form or another – replaced celebrations of individual martyrs when Roman persecution created too many martyrs to be observed separately. The observance also moved from only honoring those who were executed specifically for being Christian to remembering all those of the faith who have preceded us into glory. This is not a day of sorrow, though of course we miss those who have passed into glory. Rather, it is a day to celebrate the promises of our Lord that the grave is not the final word in our lives, and that the resurrected Son of God will gather all the faithful living and dead together for an eternal celebration.

Revelation 7:9-17 – Those gathered around the throne do not sing their own praises. They do not laud themselves for their faithfulness, for their willingness to suffer and die for the name of Christ. They do not locate their salvation in some merit of their own, as though their supreme sacrifice in faith was worthy of God bestowing salvation on them. No, salvation belongs to God the Father on the throne, and to the Lamb, the Son of God who lives though he was slain. He alone is worthy of praise, even in light of the sacrifice these faithful made. Likewise, our lives are to be lives of faith and praise of our Lord and Savior, rather than directed at congratulating ourselves or enticing others to give us praise.

Psalm 149 – Our living God is worthy of living praise, praise that echoes his works of the past but is always new, always being added on to as we experience the work of God in our lives in the present. Such praise is not simply private but a public affair – we sing the praise of God together as we share what He does for us individually. It does not seem to be a very staid or stoic praise, either! It is decidedly un-Lutheran, but reflects the exuberance of God’s people before their God. That anyone else should expect such praise and glory, any earthly king or prince is ridiculous! It will be the people of God’s privilege and duty to ensure that all such powers do submit on that final day, so that none may remain in their lofty places of personal majesty, but rather all will come together in worship and adoration of God alone. All – which includes the living as well as those who have entered into glory already.

1 John 3:1-3 – What is love? It is the love of God bestowed on an undeserving creation that clings to him in faith and trust. It is his calling of his faithful children, rather than rebels or thieves or any number of other names that might more accurately describe our sinful hearts. Instead He calls us his children and gathers us to himself that we might know his love eternally. One day, that love and our relationship to him will be obvious to everyone, even those who deny his reality and hate his faithful. They are unable to see who we are, who God the Holy Spirit makes us into through faith – sons and daughters of the Creator of the Universe! Rather, we are subject to mockery and ridicule by a world that deems itself wise. The reality of our relationship to a very real God is not yet visible to the world, but it will be one day. It is this hope we press toward, the hope of what God has already made us and will reveal in fullness not just to the world but to even us, who can’t see our identities clearly through the fog of sin and ignorance. But trusting his Word, trusting that we are his holy children, we strive to make our lives more holy, more reflective of the reality He declares to us. We await the day when, raised from the dead we stand with all the faithful through history, revealed in the glory of Jesus Christ and joining our voices in praise of who He has made us to be through his great love!

Matthew 5:1-12 – How do we set out to make our lives more holy? In a sense, they can’t be any holier, as God has declared us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. Yet we remain sinful as well, and here is where our holiness can and should be cultivated. Yet, curiously, as Jesus characterizes those who receive the kingdom of heaven, their role is wholly passive. They are poor in spirit, yet they receive the kingdom of heaven. They do mourn, and they are comforted. They are meek, yet they inherit everything. They hunger and thirst, and they will be given what they hunger and thirst for. They are merciful to others – finally an actionable item on their/our part, and only made possible by the mercy first shown us in Jesus Christ. Pure in heart, because they are destined to see God and so have been made pure in heart through faith. Another actionable item – peacemakers. And finally they are persecuted, yet will receive the kingdom of heaven.

So in terms of this particular teaching, the only actionable things of God’s people are mercy and peacemakers. We grant mercy to others who do not deserve it because we have received God’s mercy. And we strive to make peace with one another because we have been set at peace through Christ. These are not actionable items our world thinks very highly of. Where’s the ambition? Where are the lofty goals and grand intentions?

If we desire to style ourselves as Christian superheroes, perhaps we need to rethink our goals and particularly our reasons for those goals. Mercy and peacemaking are things we are called to as part of the kingdom of heaven despite there being no personal glory in them, and perhaps precisely because there is no personal glory in them. Yet as we think back on those Christians influential in our lives but now in glory, perhaps mercy and peacemaking were aspects of them that made them so influential, even if we couldn’t pinpoint those traits at the time (or even now!).

Missed Messages

I wonder if he would have left a message on the machine.

I wonder what that message would have said.

You don’t call a church at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night expecting someone to answer.  Frankly, anymore you don’t call even looking for service times and information.  Even Baby Boomers know to find that stuff on the Internet or through their mobile devices.  So I wonder what he would have done if I hadn’t picked up the phone.

As it was, when I answered, there was a short pause, a fumbling  to find the right words for an unexpected situation.  And then a simple confession.  I had an experience with God.  God touched me.  

Interesting, and not the normal lead off.

Why would He do that?

Very interesting indeed.  The man’s voice is cracked and ragged.  The sinful part of me wonders if he’s been drinking,  and that has driven him at this hour to pick up the phone and call a church.

That was 45 years ago.  But I feel it just like it was yesterday, like I was still in the car.  It’s that real.  I spent my life trying to figure it out.  I majored in religious studies at USC.  I’ve been trying to figure this out for a long time.   Why did He touch me?  Would He do it again?  I need to get back to church.  I was raised Norwegian Lutheran.  I need to get back to church.

I can hear the sincerity, the reality of his questioning.  Why indeed?  Or why not, just as easily.  I talk about the Transfiguration, about those brief moments on a mountaintop that Peter wanted to stretch out indefinitely.  But Peter was told to shut up.  And then he and the others were led back down the mountain.  Into the real world again, as we like to think of it.  A place where the reality and touch of God can seem much more remote, and the presence and work of evil so much more palpable.

I need to get back to church.  

I tell him our worship time for the next morning.  I invite and encourage him.  But I doubt I’ll see him.  He reached out not expecting to find anyone, and he found someone.  The one touched by God now fumbling because he unexpectedly touched someone.  Perhaps he was unexpectedly touched back.  I pray he was.  That he does show up some Sunday for worship.  I encourage him that perhaps that is why God touched him so long ago, knowing that he would wander even as he sought God, that he would get lost in the maze of life while never forgetting that moment in the car when God touched him.  And that touch, so many years ago, maybe that touch was intended to draw him back.  To ensure there was a way back out of the maze and  into the arms of his creator and redeemer and sanctifier.

A way that maybe didn’t rely on an answering machine, but an unexpected dialogue.

 

Bad Bibles

I’m often asked to make recommendations for the Bible.  Meaning, which one should I buy?  Not being a linguistic genius or blessed with the time to read every available translation or paraphrasing and compare and determine for myself what is best, I rely on old standbys.

The King James Version is beautiful and classic but largely inaccessible to people uncomfortable with an antiquated English language.

The New International Version is fine up  through the 1984 edition, but the more recent edition makes deliberate choices to omit masculine pronouns in reference both to God as well as humans, I imagine in a play to not offend anyone obsessed with gender issues these days.

I prefer the English Standard Version.  Readable but still with attention to detail and accuracy.

But I’m grateful when I come across thoughtful critiques of different translations.  I’m not personally familiar with the New American Bible but the author of this series of blog posts makes some excellent points.  His critiques are aimed at translational decisions made by the editorial team of the NAB.  He critiques some of the unpoetic, clinical language chosen for this translation, which loses both beauty as well as great theological significance in some passages.  He critiques editorial choices that blur or narrow great theological significances conveyed in the original languages and maintained faithfully for literally thousands of years in translation.  And he critiques changes in verbiage that obscure or even hide the actual meaning of the original languages, perhaps with an eye towards making the Word of God less offensive to contemporary cultural preferences.

All of which seem very legitimate reasons to me NOT  to suggest the NAB, even if it is approved and endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church.  Thoughts?

 

Picture Language

Here’s a fascinating image gallery of anti-Christian propaganda posters produced during the time of the Soviet Union.  Hopefully it isn’t lost that some of the same caricatures of religion as backwards compared to the progressive movement of the State are being utilized today.

In our own country.

 

Weekly Devotion – October 21

Genesis 32:22-32

Jacob’s journey home is anything but heartwarming. He’s spent 20 years away from home, leaving behind an angry brother who sought his death, a mother who schemed with Jacob to gain the advantage over his brother, prompting Esau’s anger, 14 years of hard work for a man who became his father-in-law, deceiving him on his wedding night by marrying him to Leah rather than Rachel. Laban tries to trick and cheat Jacob at every turn, but God has preserved Jacob, increased his wealth vastly, and provided him with many sons. Finally, Laban’s family turns against Jacob and with divine direction, Jacob flees to return home with his wealth and family. Only divine intervention spares Jacob from an attack by his father-in-law and extended family, and now Jacob receives word his brother Esau is coming out to meet him – with 400 men, a small army.

Jacob does all he can to ensure at least some of his family survive in the event Esau attacks. He does all he can to buy his brother’s good will, but now on the last night before they meet, alone after sending the last of his family ahead of him, Jacob is left by the Jabbok River. Alone except for his fear and anxiety.

Here, God comes to him. More accurately, the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus, comes to him as a man and wrestles with him through the night. Jacob has no time for worry or fear about Esau, as his attention is fixated on this struggle. Jacob brings his characteristic tenacity to the duel, never giving in, never breaking off. And the Son of God, who comes to Jacob not to crush him in defeat, gives Jacob encouragement for the tasks ahead of him with Esau, leaving him with both a new name and a blessing.

God enters into our struggles with us and for us, and his presence leaves us changed forever as well. Jacob walks forward towards his encounter with Esau with a limp, a reminder of how he grappled with God himself, and a reminder that it is not his own power that preserves him. God is with and for him, and so his encounter with Esau ends well.

May we have the faith to reach out to God in prayer, to grapple with him in his Word and the presence of his Holy Spirit. And may we each leave such encounters strengthened and encouraged by God’s gentle strength, and more aware than ever who it is that sustains us each moment of our lives!