staying too long?

This past Sunday our church honored my Sr. Pastor, Shaun Sutton and his family, for being here at Fort Osage Nazarene for 20 years.  It was awesome to listen to people share memories and express their gratitude for the influence he and his wife have had in people's lives..  This church is definitely blessed to have had Shaun and his family for this long.

I have always been an advocate for long term investment into a community when it comes to pastoral ministry.  To be honest, there is a small amount of pride I take when I tell people that I have served at my church as the youth pastor for 6 years due to the fact that the average stay is much shorter than that.  It takes a long time to earn trust, build relationships, etc.  However, for the first time I find myself considering the negative effects of such a long term investment.

If Shaun were to leave this church tomorrow, whoever replaced him would be in for absolute failure.  No one could fill his shoes... Not necessarily because they would not be as qualified, relational, or intelligent, but because the community has become so emotionally attached to Shaun and his family that any replacement 'just wouldn't be the same.'  So, my question is pretty simple: Can building long term friendships/relationships and becoming so deeply rooted into a community actually end up as a potential hindrance to the gospel?

citizenship

I was falling asleep to 'Celebrity Apprentice' when the news anchor came on the television to announce a 'new information' in regards to the death or capture of Osama Bin Laden.  As the media awaited the presidential speech, there was about an hour worth of footage looking back at 9/11, military campaigns in the middle east, previous attempts to capture Bin Laden, etc.  One channel showed a number of people gathering in front of the White House singing 'We Are the Champions.'  It was all very odd and strange to me.

Don't get me wrong, I could hardly be considered a 'Bin Laden sympathizer.'  I did not and don't plan on shedding any tears due to his death.  In fact, my greatest hope is that in some way, this will help bring about greater peace in the world, however, I am pessimistic that it will.  If anything, my guess is that Bin Laden's death will simply act as a motivation to those people we have come to label as 'terrorists.'  

What puzzled me about the celebrations was the same thing that puzzled me when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004.  When Keith Folke got Edgar Renteria of the St. Louis Cardinals to ground out to win the game, I remember seeing Red Sox fans literally crying, screaming, and celebrating like they had all just won the Megabucks.  I was very happy to see my favorite team win, but there was something about the celebration that struck me as bizarre.  At the end of the day, a group of overpaid athletes won a sports competition.  I couldn't help but wonder if the people celebrating the world series victory had ever gotten more excited and joyful over anything else in the course of their lives. They cried, cheered, and celebrated as if these games actually had lasting significance.  So when I saw the thousands of people singing, cheering, and celebrating outside the White House, I couldn't help but think to myself, 'how is it that so many Christians can celebrate like mad when they hear of Bin Laden's death and remain quiet and content on Resurrection Sunday?'  It is very interesting to see the different things people become passionate about.  Why are we so excited?  Our actions reveal what we really think and feel.

I have come to the conclusion that many Christians are far more interested and committed to pledging their allegiance to the American flag as oppose to the Kingdom of God.  We are much more likely to pick  up and carry our flag as oppose to pick up and carry our cross.  How is it that we are so fazed and angered by the 3000 innocent people who died on 9/11 and don't give much thought to the 100,000+ innocent people who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of the 'war on terror'?  While I think there are many great things about the country that I live in (and I truly mean that), it is scary how close patriotism and idolatry are related to one another.  I grew up hearing about the 'Christian principles' that our nation was founded upon, only to learn later that massacre, massive slaughter, and animalistic slavery was somehow greatly downplayed in the textbooks I read at school.

When our primary allegiance and citizenship is in Christ and God's Kingdom, it becomes far more difficult to celebrate the death(s) of the one we call our 'enemy.'  

animals

I just watched a video on mercyforanimals.org (warning, very graphic footage) of a ranch in Texas that uses blunt force trauma (ice picks, hammers) to dispose of calfs that are sick or 'not worth feeding.'  This may be one of the most horrible videos I have ever seen in my life.  Their reasoning for doing this is because proper anesthesia cost money and killing animals in this manner enables them to receive higher profits for their other cattle.  While I am sure  there is a part of me that is writing out of emotion right now, I can't help but think that somehow my choice of eating habits encourage this type of behavior... Maybe not on that particular ranch, but the entire 'raising a mass amount of animals in a very confined space for the sole purpose of being consumed by humans' industry.

Here is a quote from John Wesley in one of his sermons, "It may enlarge our hearts towards those poor creatures, to reflect that, as vile as they appear in our eyes, not one of them is forgotten in the sight of our Father which is in heaven. Through all the vanity to which they are now subjected, let us look to what God hath prepared for them. Yea, let us habituate ourselves to look forward, beyond this present scene of bondage, to the happy time when they will be delivered therefrom, into the liberty of the children of God! (131)"

Many people look to the scriptures to affirm that humanity is God's supreme creation because we are made in God's image and, therefore, we are justified in our hunting and eating of animals.  However, I can't help but wonder what God thinks about it all.  Does God's 'heart' break at all for treatment of animals by the hands of humans?  As people who believe that God's creation is good and should be treated as such, should Christians take a greater concern for matters such as this? What do you think?

a unified church

I was recently reading through John's gospel, specifically Jesus' lengthy prayer for the believers in the 17th chapter.  What struck me was Jesus prayer for unity among the believers...  A unity with God and with one another.  

With that said, there are many things that I have come to value and affirm in the Protestant setting I find myself in.  However, if there is one thing that saddens me most, it is our history of disunity.  I am a part of a tradition that, just like a bad marriage, has sought out separation, divorce, splitting away, and breaking off as a way to solve its problems.  And just when we think we have arrived to something better, there is a sudden realization that the grass only seemed to be greener... and so we split again.  Now, Protestantism could best be described as a mirror that was dropped onto the cement from an airplane.  Whatever happened to 'reforming from within?'  The Jesuits, Franciscans, and the Desert Fathers may have found themselves in disagreement with Rome from time to time, but the answer was never to form a new denomination or 'brand' of Catholicism.  They stuck with their mother church.

We can say that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of our denominations but let's be honest, we don't live that way, and deep down, I don't think we really believe it.  We are quick to debate theology and acknowledge what makes our church/denomination superior to the folks down the road.  We are a shattered and divided people.  

I find myself frustrated with people like me... I know that something is off, but I am not sure how to fix it.  I am not sure where a shattered Church goes from here.  One thing I do believe is that we need to take seriously the call to love one another in the midst of disagreement.  We must unite under the historical creeds of the Church and learn the art of peaceful dialogue(gasp) when we disagree on secondary issues.  May we be a Church who is marked by peace, love, and unity.

interpreting scripture

I'm still working through some of these thoughts so bear with me.  Sidenote: I learned today, with the help of google, that I would have been incorrect to ask you to 'bare with me' as oppose to 'bear with me' as this is not an invitation to undress together.  Good thing I checked.

In much of the evangelical tradition, there is a strong emphasis on being faithful to the scriptures.  I will be the first to admit that I still have a far way to go in terms of learning, growing, and understanding God's Word.  It is my responsibility, along with all believers, to have a familiarity and knowledge of the scriptures.  However, this is where I run into problems.  Is not the individual the least solid of all biblical interpreters?  When proper interpretation is left entirely to the individual, aren't we running the risk of being influenced and swayed based on our own individual history?  Our individual personalities?  Individual biases?  Individual fears?  Individual agendas?  If we believe that there is more to God's Word than 'whatever you think it might mean' then we need some sort of accountability in our interpretation.

So the obvious solution is 'we must interpret scripture in the context of a community.'  But then, I wonder, which community?  Our particular church body?  Our particular denomination (after all, there are thousands of them)?  Our favorite theologian's interpretation? The other individuals who think the same way we do?  That could also be an unreliable alternative.

Some may take it a step further and say that we must interpret the scriptures within the context of a community that is most faithful to church history or a community that is most faithful to the historical creeds or a community committed to being culturally relevant, and so on.

At the end of the day, we all must interpret the scriptures in a certain manner.  To those who claim to read the scriptures literally... you still interpret them. Just one example (of hundreds) of this is John 6 when Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."  For one to come to the conclusion that Jesus is speaking metaphorically requires one to interpret and exegete the text  in a manner that they have chosen for themself.

Is the answer to continue to interpret the text among communities that think the same way we do, AND in doing so, continue to produce endless amounts of denominations and 'non-denominational communities' (which, are simply a denomination unto themselves)? 

So, as a Christian people how do we appropriately interpret and read the scriptures?

meeting joakim

So I had a meeting in Lanexa, KS this morning from 9am to 11:30ish.  As I hopped back on I-70 heading back towards Independence, I thought I would take a brief detour down to the stadiums to see if the Royals were taking batting practice... if the gates were open for some reason... if they were looking for a new right fielder, you know, the usual.  When it comes to trying to get a baseball at a Royals game, my wife says I mysteriously transform into a 10 year old boy again.  I am turning 30 in September.

So as I park my car in the massive Kauffman parking lot and start walking towards the gate, a taxi pulls up and a guy who looked like Joakim Soria stepped out (their closer... he's a stud pitcher).  In an act of pure genius, I yell out his first name with no real plan.

Joakim "Hola amigo."

Me "Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy watching you pitch and that I won a signed jersey by you a couple years ago."  (that is actually not true, no one claimed the jersey and I begged Royals customer service for 30 minutes... I think they felt bad for me because I was a 28 year old man and they thought I was weird.)

Joakim: "Good for you, I hope you like it."

Me: "Yes I do.  I have it in a frame hanging in my basement  (Again, that is not true.  My wife bought a frame for the jersey but the jersey is too thick/frame is too thin... So it is nicely packed away)  Hey Joakim, if you guys are ever looking for another pitcher, I would be more than happy to join the Royals.

Joakim: "Can you bring it?"

Me: "I'm sorry?"

Joakim: "Can you bring it?  Ya know, would you strike people out?"

Me: "Well, in college I could throw about 85mph (not a lie), but I would probably be more in the 60-65mph range now..."

Joakim: "Ouch, my buddies daughter can throw that hard and I don't think she is 13 yet."

And with that, Joakim walked into the player's entrance and I walked back to my car a changed man.  My once semi-'braggable' baseball skills had just been spat upon by one of the American League's best closing pitchers.

And if you believe a word of that story, check the date.

what if we are way off?

My wife and I had one of those great conversations the other night.  We had just finished watching a documentary called 'Jesus Camp' that looks at a branch of evangelicalism that encourages prophecy, speaking in tongues, they are self-acclaimed fundamentalists, and they have a summer camp.  My guess is that many people who watched this particular documentary walked away thinking to themselves, "how could they have gotten the Christian faith so wrong?... how could they possibly be that way?"   After discussing the documentary for a bit, our conversation gradually caused us to ask some more self-reflecting questions.

I recently finished up a book by N.T. Wright who said, "My guess is that 80-85% of what i teach my students is 'true' and 'correct' and the other 15-20% is wrong... The problem is, I don't know what that 20% is."

That is how I feel sometimes.  As I grow as a believer and follower of Christ, one of my greatest hopes is that I am able to talk about and understand the God I am striving to know and serve more and more each day.  I believe it is very important to speak accurately about our faith.  However, I am sure there are places where I have simply 'got it wrong...' The problem is I am not sure what those 'places' are.  In fact, I could make a list of questions that I sometimes ask myself:

Have I become too liberal in regards too what it means to be a believer?

Should I be doing more to teach the students at my local church?

As I believer, should I take a greater concern in politics and government?

Has Protestantism strayed too far from its Roman Catholic and Orthodox history?

If Jesus were hear in the flesh, what would his words be to me?

And so on, and so on....

The obvious response is, "We need to see what scripture says and live according to God's Word."  But the problem with that response is that there will always be different interpretations and understandings of God's Word... Hence 10,000 Christian denominations (which is a pretty sad statistic, might i say) Different people who share a great love for Jesus will always walk away with different conclusions.  I guess our job is to continue to seek the Spirit's leading and guiding in our lives and resist the temptation to settle for easy answers.

One thing I do know?  We need to be ready to admit that we don't have all the answers, and we need to stand firm and be unwavering in the essentials.  What are those essentials?  Just add that question to the list above.