Take A Coser Look

The awesome process of creation we see taking place in this Hubble telescope image actually took place thousands of years ago. Even so, it should prompt us to rethink our traditional interpretation of Genesis 2:1 -- Has God really finished the creation process?

The Morality Thermometer

Moral behavior is merely a spiritual thermometer, and not the central life-transforming force that fosters companionship with God and paves the way to eternal life.

A thermometer is an indicator ... an indicator of temperature.  A thermometer tells you how warm or how cold it is outside. A thermometer indicates your body temperature. A thermometer tells you how hot it is inside the oven in your kitchen.

A thermometer tells us something, but it doesn't actually DO anything. A thermometer does not affect the outside temperature — it simply tells us what the temperature is. A thermometer does not affect our body temperature — it simply tells us what the temperature is. A thermometer does not determine the temperature of an oven -- it simply tells us what the temperature is.

I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but the fact it that you don't have to be the brightest bulb in the room to understand that you can't control the outside temperature by messing with the thermometer. You can't lower your fever by tinkering with the thermometer, and you can't raise or lower the oven temperature by making changes in the thermometer. Duh!

A lot of us, however, are very much unenlightened when it comes to the matters of morality and moral behavior. The essence of Christianity is very often portrayed in terms of morality: being good, being generous, being tolerant, being loving, patient, and kind. Some tell us that Christians should not smoke, drink, cuss, dance, or hang out with people who do. We Christians have spent the better part of 70 generations expanding, defining, and refining the lists of things we regard as moral and as immoral. We argue over the items on the list, and we strain against the forces of man, God, and our own inner urges to satisfy their terms of Christian thought and behavior.

But here is the problem with all that:  morality is NOT the central, driving issue of Jesus' gospel. Morality is an issue, but it is not the driving force behind the Gospel. It is not what Christianity is all about. Jesus did not allow himself to be slain on the cross as an ultimate example of moral goodness. Our Christ-centered lives should not be defined in terms of our lists of things we should do and should not do.

Morality is an indicator ... it's a thermometer. Morality is not the force, itself.  Moral behavior is the result of a healthy companionship with God.  We get it all turned around. So often we are taught that moral behavior is required for entering into the presence of God. Many well-intentioned people actually think that Christianity is nothing more than a system of morality. That's sad. So very sad. And it is that kind of shallow portrayal that has left the world with millions of spiritually inclined people who have no interest in church and religion. Pre-school, do-good Christianity isn't selling very well on the streets these days.

We cannot determine the temperature with a thermometer. A thermometer is an indicator, not a force that influences the temperature. Likewise, we cannot satisfy the promises of the Gospel with good moral behavior. Moral behavior is merely an indicator, not the central life-transforming force that fosters companionship with God and paves the way to eternal life.

The fact is, there are a lot of squeaky-clean Chriss-chins whose hearts are as dark as the inner bowels of hell.  They set themselves up on thrones of self-righteousness and judge the moral behavior of others. Jesus has some strong words for such people. And we wonder why the surveys show there are millions of spiritually inclined, but "unchurched," people in America today.

Moral behavior is the result of a healthy relationship with God. "Seek first the kingdom of heaven," and your morality will take care of itself. You WILL walk in the fullness of the Spirit. But it is impossible to get to God through your good behavior. Your behavior is an indicator of your nearness, not the force that gets you close to Him.

So let's take all that effort we are tempted to expend on trying to be "good," and use it to refine our personal relationship with Him -- our Bible study, our prayer time, our meditations, and our fellowship with others in the kingdom of heaven. Do that right, and moral shortcomings (perceived and real) begin to lose their influence.

I'm running out of time. I wanted to take up the role of grace in this discussion. But let me just say that grace is God's way of looking at our faults while we are yet a work in progress. He know that, if we sincerely desires His presence, our morality will eventually conform. Grace allows that which is imperfect to blossom in the presence of one who is perfect.

Some Tough Questions for Church Builders

I found this on the Web this morning. Whoo! Rather nasty tone, but full of truth.

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Some Tough Questions for Church Builders

Missions

How on God's good earth can we give any credibility to a church that touts a fantastic missional emphasis on one hand, and yet, when we look over the congregation, we see no poor people, no one obviously bound by chemical addictions, no black faces, no Latino faces, no people in dirty clothes, no one desperate enough to cry out aloud during the multimedia presentation? If this church's message doesn't appeal to the poor, the mislead, the misused and abused, the misinformed, the cold and naked, the hungry and thirsty, and every other societal castoff its own city, how can its so-called message have any relevance to the common people in poor, third-world nations?

There is something incredibly weird going on in the mind of a pastor who serves white, upper-middle America in his converted shopping mall, but thinks he has a legitimate calling to a world that is ravaged with famine, poverty, brutish political oppression, sickness, and death. If the message doesn't attract a cultural, financial, racial diversity at home, it won't track "over there."  The best he can do is cobble together a mission effort and send a few people "over there" to give away some food and medicine. (I am aware that some think that IS mission, but most of us know better.) . Really, the best thing he can do is maintain an ongoing fundraising program for a few missionaries who are already in place and know what they are doing.

It comes down to this: If you don't have a gospel message that is universal enough to appeal to the less fortunate in your own city, why do you think that same message will appeal to those even less fortunate in an entirely different culture? And please don't answer by backflipping on multiple definitions of "missions." Sheesh!

The truth of the matter is that "missions happens," and happens with energy and unbounded potential. We don't have to set up a training program and end up scolding the congregation for their lack of interest. If you are preaching the gospel that Jesus intended, missions simply happens--in its time and in ways far more satisfying that any  man-made, me-too plan. But you don't stand a chance if you look out over your congregation every Sunday morning an see those cookie-cutter people--white or black, sophisticated or redneck. If you don't have diversity, you don't have a legitimate message to begin with.

Public Testimony Time

The Gospel must manifest in flesh-and-blood reality--today. That's what Jesus represented, and so should we. The Gospel has to walk and talk. It has to be experienced and witnessed to others. Printed words aren't enough to convey the goodness, grace, and power of God. And if your congregation's experience with God's intervention in our daily affairs, you have a deaf and blind congregation. God is always doing stuff. Most people simply are not taught to see it.

Of course Guideposts testimonies are better than none at all, but that isn't the option-set that God offers. God is truly authentic, and He wants his witness to be in the flesh and speaking to flesh. When we truly learn to see Him at work in our daily lives, we want to explode all over the place with excitement. And this is the nature of genuine, Spirit-driven, public testimonies.

Yes, yes, I know. There are boring testimonies and frustrating abuses. There is that little old widow (bless her heart) who has been taking up 15 minutes of congregation time for the past 20 years with the story about her husband getting them lost at the World's Fair. But that sort of chatter can be carefully controlled. Then there are the forced testimonies about how God found a good parking spot for the lady who didn't want to run through the rain to the grocery store. Hey! I'll tell you the kind of testimonies you can see in your services. Consider same lady testifying to a good parking spot. This time, though, it is a spot that places her face-to-face with a woman who says she is going home to overdose that evening if something meaningful doesn't happen in her life. "And here's that woman in church with me tonight! "

Why in God's name wouldn't you want that kind of testimony in your services? Start preaching the rich Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven and burn all those OT commentaries and alliterations. Become a force in the pulpit for Gospel growth. Avoid the temptation to reduce testimony gathering to a 10-point bulleted outline. Go the the mountain yourself, and get some of God's anointing all over you. Come down with the glory all over you, and preach about God's everyday goodness and grace with unction. You will have exciting and rewarding testimonies popping up all over the place!

And for cryin' out loud, don't make your people write out their testimonies, rehearse them, and read them to the congregation! Too often, I've seen people weeping and choking their way through some printed testimony. As beautiful as a testimony might be, it is best delivered with flesh-and-blood passion than with a mechanical reading of printed text. Can't you discern the anointing of the Spirit when you see it on your own people? Don't you know that God is trying to talk to your congregation, and you are sitting there like a log, hoping she gets through the reading without an embarrassing emotional outburst? Get your priorities straight. You are quenching the Spirit. Let your people become God's mouthpiece. Let them shout, weep, cry aloud, dance, or fall on the floor. You are supposed to have some spiritual discernment (after all, it is a gift of the Spirit), so you are able to see when the Spirit leaves off and the flesh takes over. That's the moment you simply take charge and move things along.

Praise and Preaching

Does anyone around here have the courage to whisper that the title of praise-and-worship leader does not represent one of the five-fold ministries to the body of Christ? Better not, because that would be a a heresy --albeit a man-made one. But I'll bet someone has taken the trouble to pretzelize some scriptures to make it appear that the praise-and-worship leader stands right up there with apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist, and teacher. Praise and worship filles a vital purpose in the church, but it isn't intended to replace preaching under the unction of the Holy Spirit and anointed ministry to the needs of the people.

How much clock time is spent in congregatinal prayer, compared to the time spent listening the whang-whang of guitars wired up to megawatt loudspeakers?  Geeez, I can get a big emotional buzz from singing Auld Lang Syne at midnight on New Year's Eve, but it doesn't mean the music is anointed and that I am being ushered into the presence of God!

Trouble is, we badly need to nourish this time spent in praise and worship, because the pastors aren't doing their jobs. There was a time when the preaching and praying were the chief reasons for going to church. Nowadys preaching and corporate prayer seem to be just a pile of dry bones. We need the excitement of praise and worhsip to justify the time we spend going to church in the first place.

Pastors don't go to the mountain of God themselves much anymore. They tend to complain that they don't have the time. What's that?! That's what your supposed to do! Pastors are supposed to be relating his/her own experiences with God, and not warmed-over mush from the latest book, seminar, or website. "Ohhh, I am so stressed and burned out." Well, get to the  mountain and get your spirit refreshed. Get your priorities straightened out--are you a spiritual leader or the CEO of a social club?. You can't serve both God and mammon. Take responsibility where it is due, take postive steps toward fixing the mistakes, and God will bless you, your family, AND your church. But stay home and continue bitching about how overworked and confused you are, and you'll end up on Ativan and your congregation in a spiritual morgue. Or maybe you can just find a praise-and-worship team that is more than willing to run the whole show for you. They're around these days.

God the Science Guy

Jesus did not teach that we should be striving to fit spiritual thinking and deeds into our secular lives. Rather, he taught that we should be walking a spiritual journey that happens to accommodate secular necessities.

We simply must stop trying to re-invent God and the person/gospel of Jesus Christ to suit limited capacity to perceive spritual things. God tells us that man cannot look Him in the eye and survive. Why not? Is it because God is some sort of thermonuclear "presence" that emits rays that can cook a ham at forty lightyears? No. It's much more likely because the human body doesn't have the sensory organs or mental/emotional capacity to appreciate the total presence of God. In the parlance of postmodern thinking, we are incapable of grasping more than a morsel of Absolute Truth.

Anyone who honestly seeks the presence of God in their lives is continually amazed by the awesomness of  the next experience. No matter how grand our hopes for knowing God's presence, He always trumps our expectations. Every step into new territory with Him expands our understanding and lowers barriers to unheard of, unseen, and heretofore unknown possibilities. Jesus was a way-pointer. He wants us to be way-pointers, too. What can be more exciting and meaningful that seeking God, ourselves, and then pointing the way to others??!!

The problem is, the farther we go, the more difficult it is to describe. And it is always impossible to explain. This is why we can only point the way to others. (Homework assignment: Think seriously about the difference between a description and an explanation.)

It is tragic that so few actually choose to engage God this way. So very many, instead, get a brief, secondhand glimpse, and believe they have found the Absolute Truth. They stake out their claim, declare it's validity to the exclusion of all else, and spend their remainder of their life defending their little parcel of "faith." Their God is so small, so intellectually tidy, and ... well, "human" ... that the illusion of understanding God and His creation appears to be fact. If something doesn't fit the tidy scheme, they beg off with, "Well, that's just one of God's mysteries." Is there no limit to the self-deception and arrogance of mankind? Science, at least, would consider the possibility that the premise is faulty. Popular Christianity says, "If we don't want it to be faulty, it won't be."

God suggests many times, and King David declares, that -- compared to the overall scheme of things -- people are dumber than an amoeba.  Many church people go about supporting science or denouncing it, depending on the argument they are hoping to win at the moment.  Problem is, they have little knowledge of science and are unaware that their little turf of spiritual truth is an illusion. (Sounds like a gross waste of time and resources, doesn't it? )

Matters really get muddled when trying to use a shallow understanding of science to prove anything about the reality of a God that we cannot begin to understand. (Is this so sad that it's funny? Or is it just me?) The evolution vs creation issue, for example,  is a shining commentary on human mental incapacity.  It's like a Nintendo game--two imaginary forces dukeing it out with imaginary weapons, simply for the purpose of winning. Sooner or later, someone pulls the plug or lets the batteries expire, and the entire experience ... well ... becomes something less than a memory.  It might be fun playing the game, but the activity and its outcome are of no real consequence.

We must be careful trying to make God fit into our primitive science.  Humanity has barely begun to understand the workings of God's creation. Just barely. We see such a small piece that it is sometimes tempting to regard it as inconsequential. Personally, I believe the only enduring element of modern science is the scientific method, itself. The time is coming when school children will sniker at our primitive notions of atomic structure, gravity, light, and the "big bang." It's all changing, and we are just getting started. Unfortunately, this isn't the impression we get from our 7th grade science teachers (and beyond).  Science teachers and textbook authors feel compelled to portray science as an orderly set of facts. The illusion of order and predictability is a vital part of explaining science. Science, however, is not orderly. It's messy. Teachers, historians, the general media, and (alas) many scientists are devoted to the illusion of a science that is orderly and predictable. And they get all cranked out of shape at the suggestion that they are working with anything less than absolute truth. (Or am I talking about theologians, preachers, or TV evangelists?)

God isn't opposed to science anymore than Peter Pan is opposed to Little Red Riding Hood. They are heroes of two different stories. God is real and science is real. The conflict is an illusion that springs from our failure to take seriously our flawed understanding of both God and science. So let's not get caught up in any theological/scientific teaching that suggests a firm understanding of either.  Let's not waste our time and emotions trying to prove the Flood actually happened by searching for the Noah's Ark and pointing to telltale rock formations. Let's not fuss over geological evidence for Moses' parting of the sea. Please, let's not encourage these well-meaning people who have no real grasp of science or theology. The fact that these arguments exist is evidence of gross naivety.

God doesn't want to be our science guy. God IS our science. As potential mentors of an Emergent Chruch, we don't need to screw up our notions of God and science anymore than it already is. We need to seek the unspeakable Spirit of God and labor with the technical and intellectual tools of science that are at our disposal today. It is possible -- quite possible -- that the Emergent Church will mold our culture in such a way as to actually encourage more responsible scientific inquiry. This happened during the Enlightenment/Reformation, and it might well happen again.

God the Tinkerer

Jesus did not teach that we should be striving to fit spiritual thinking and deeds into our secular lives. Rather, he taught that we should be walking a spiritual journey that happens to accommodate secular necessities.

God is constantly trying to show us how to conduct our lives with dignity, joy, victory, and peace. The foundation is wisdom. Godly wisdom leads us to dignity, joy, victory, and peace. Everything else is a consequence of our commitment and actions. Otherwise ... failing to hear or heed God's instruction and focussing upon our misery (real or imagined), we live out an endless, overlapping, series of awful situations. There is no dignity, no enduring joy, no lasting victory, and no permanent peace. Seeking God first and His right ways automatically leads to a fruitful life. It isn't magic. It isn't religion. It's a fact. The Old Testament book of Proverbs is God's primer on wisdom. Jesus teaches that those words of wisdom are crying in the streets for anyone who will heed them. "But seek first his [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [clothing, food, shelter, etc.] will be given to you as well." Sadly, we don't listen. And most of us worry and struggle over our first priorities--food, shelter, clothing, money, careers, family time, and self-esteem. We want or try to make God, Jesus, and church a part of our lives but, golly. There is simply not enough hours in a day, a week ...  Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could TiVo God so we could catch up on His latest word at our own convenience? Of course you don't have the time for God. You aren't doing your life His way.

God is an option many of us cannot afford.  So to soothe our conscience, we invent all these different kinds of God, each configured to suit a particular need or worldview. One such configuration is the on-call handyman-- like a garage mechanic, or tinkerer for hire. It seems incredulous that so many people, preachers, churches, Christian teachers and authors think this way. But they do. Honestly, they do.  And if this sort of attitude begins creeping into your Emergent Church life ... be wary. Be very wary. The slope is slippery.

We don't need the God of our Bible to find "God the Tinkerer. People of other faiths and belief systems do that, too.  Pagan faiths are built around it.  The idea goes something like this. God will fix things for you. We can go about our merry way, doing our own things our own ways. Then when something goes terribly wrong and we seem to be losing control over a situation, we simply dial up God the Tinkerer. He has all the answers and can move events and people to fix your problem -- so you can be on your merry way once again. 

• I need money for rent by tomorrow. Please send someone to help.
• My car won't start and I must get to work. Please fix it.
• My son has been gone for two days. I don't know where he is or what he is doing. Please send him home.
• I don't have enough food to feed my family tomorrow. Please send food.
• My boss has just fired me. Make him change his mind.
• My spouse is not treating me well. Please straighten him/her out.

Things like this are the very hallmarks of some people's idea of God and the Christian life. Entire congregations never get beyond this point. "Living my miracles," as some critics call it. Man cannot live by miracles alone.

For a person with the courage to fact the facts, this scheme really doesn't work very well. The money doesn't show up. the car doesn't suddenly start, the missing son simply sends Christmas and birthday cards for the next two decades,  the kids really don't have food on the table, the boss doesn't change his mind, and the spouse remains a thorn in your side.  Well, what do we do when God the Tinkerer seems to be on an extended vacation?

Well, one thing we do is lie to ourselves. We bend the truth and warp reality to make it appear that God is doing our bidding. Or we come up with cutsey slogans such as: "God has three responses to prayer: (1) Yes, (2) No, (3) Later. " The superficial logic, and tragic silliness of the idea rises from the premise that God always answers prayer. It often appears he does not, so the thing has to be dressed up to con the people who will believe just about any pound of bologna to keep their vision alive. It's simple, God isn't obliged to answer our prayer in the way we want. Good heavens! It's no wonder that two generations of people are walking away from the church. They deserve better!

But deceiving ourselves with some faux theology is only one way to cover for God when He doesn't respond exactly as we ask. Another is to believe we must do something special to get Him to respond.  It's the ol' give-and-take rule. You gotta pay for what you get.  And usually, the greater the sacrifice, the more certain the outcome is supposed to be.  So God didn't sent you the rent money that you requested. Maybe you should have spent more time reading your Bible, spent more time in church, did more random acts of kindness, forgiven the guy who cussed out out for cutting him off in traffic... . The variety and amount of pre-payment (or pre-sacrifice) for God's services is limited only by the imagination of a creative mind. "Ok, God. I just sent $500 to the TV evangelist and, like the guy said, I can expect my miracle. So heal this beast of a painful tooth!"   Someone should write a new Jesus song, "Make Jesus Happy and He Will Make You Happy, Too."

Of course a more mature and sophisticated God employer won't wait 'til the last minute to do make the necessary sacrifice to get something fixed. They are wise enough to know that they have to store up some good. Like Karma? Well, anyhow ...  So they maintain a godly to-do list. Pray a bunch, read through the Bible every two years, go to church a lot, give food and clothing to the shelters, fund some good causes, etc., etc, etc, ...

Unfortunately, this  do-good-to-get theology doesn't so clearly violate common sense as the self-deception routine. Millions get taken in, live by it and die by it.  When God doesn't respond, it's simply because these people, themselves, were not good enough. They--not God--are blamed for the apparent failure.

Sometimes it doesn't stop with simple sacrifices. Many pagan religions have gone a few steps farther to get God to tinker in their lives:  like self-mutilation and human sacrifice. Same phony theology, simply carried to its extremes.

It can slip into Emergent Church groups ever so easily. Like every sort of bad theology, however, it soon leads to a dead end that stifles further spiritual growth. We should leave this mess to some of the popular pseudo religions and self-help plans that come into our homes via afternoon TV.

If we want to see God answer our prayers, we have to do it His way. We have to be on the same page He is. Is this so difficult to understand?  Well, there ARE people who don't want to understand it, of course.  They say things like, "We can't possibly know the mind of God."  Well, I say, sorry about you. But God's Word tells me I can. What we think we ought to know and what God actually knows are often vastly different. I say that at the risk of sounding like I am playing logic games, myself. But consider God's word to Job. It appears God is putting limits on what Job thinks he knows about all of creation. But creation is a manifestation of God's Truth, not the Truth, itself.  Jesus says, "You know me, and you know the Father."  That's the Gospel. That's why we need to follow Jesus. Yes, God will answer our prayers, but not from the heart of darkness. It's a lifestyle, not a program.

The Emergent Church must cut through the popular, simple-minded, spirit-dulling notions of God the Tinkerer. Some thin theologies have to be tolerated, simply because baby Christians can't handle more. But God the Tinkerer is too distracting and deceiving. One can think they are growing spiritually by doing more things and more subtle things to make God respond. Not so. Watch out for it. 

Do you need money for rent by tomorrow? You already blew it. You can hope for some help, but what if you had studied Proverbs, worked out God's way to wisdom and prosperity. You wouldn't be hoping for rent money. You would own the place, employ the landlord and have enough left over to help others.

Your car won't start and you are going to be late for work. You car doesn't start because you haven't been taking care of it, or maybe you have a model that is so old that it is no longer reliable. It makes no differency why. If you had studied Proverbs and learned to take care of things, you would have a car that runs. Or at the very least, you would have enough money to hire a cab.

Your son is missing. Now whose fault is that? The wisdom of Proverbs leads to successful and loving parenthood. Even if a child does get it into their heads to run off for a while, the things that you've taught them when they were young (oops!), will come back to them when they are older. The prodigal son always returns -- to a wise, generous, and loving parent.

Not enough food in the house. If you think someone else is at fault, you won't understand a thing I say here. Situations like this can be avoided by heeding the wisdom of God --long term and with the tenacity of a pitbull.Just got fired? It's an opportunity, not a problem, for the wisest children of God.  You should own the company, anyway.

Spouse not treating you well?  Even devoted, wise children of God often fall into unpleasant situations. But it is the integrity of the Christian that comes to the forefront here. How you want things to be doesn't matter. It's all in how you handle things. It's the time for demonstrating a lifetime of committment to God's wisdom, not a time for endless whining at the Throne of Grace or on the cell with a close friend.

We look for answers to situations, when God has already provided the way.  We were just too blind, too ignorant, or too proud to see it.

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Next installment of this series:  God the Science Guy