Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)- Beliefnet.com.
Does The Church Need Saving?
I guess I’ve come full circle.
Two years ago, I became disenchanted with American christianity and the Church. (By “the Church”, I refer to the collective body of Christians around the world; not necessarily to the Roman Catholic Church, but certainly including it.) I began to step “outside of my box” and to investigate what others and “outsiders” were saying about Christianity and the Church. I discovered that many of them really liked Jesus but not the Church. I also discovered that “my christianity” and “their christianity” were not the same as Jesus’s Christianity. All of this was shocking and frightening to me, but I also knew that it was necessary and good. I was wrong on so many beliefs that I had cherished for so long that I knew the process of rediscovery would be hard, but in the end, worth it. Now, after two years, I’ve come full circle, but not back to the same place I started. I find myself embracing beliefs that are not newer or “more progressive”. They are actually ancient and rooted and secure. And they are in the Church, not outside of it.
In the book of Proverbs, we are admonished not to “remove the ancient boundary which your fathers have set” (Prov. 22:28, 23:10). Although this verse is speaking of land allotments and properties, there is another point being made: the ancient boundaries are important. They serve and protect us; they clarify what is ours and what is not. Boundaries give us the freedom and security of knowing our place. They protect us from the selfishness within ourselves and within others who would seek to take what isn’t legally theirs or ours. But, as many of us know deep in our own hearts and from our own experience, when the boundaries are ignored, whether by us or someone else against us, the consequences are painful, lingering, and potentially devastating. When the boundaries are pushed back or ignored, we set a precedent for our descendants. “What one generation allows in moderation, the next will abuse in excess.”
In the obscure book of Jude, he speaks of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (v. 3). “The faith” refers not to a spiritual act of belief, but instead, to a body of teachings that are authoritative and non-negotiable. These teachings are necessary for distinguishing and discerning truth and for proper, healthy growth in all areas of our humanity: spirit, soul, mind, will, and even body. The faith is revealed and taught to us by the Holy Spirit within and through the Church. The Church, corporately and individually, must conform to the faith – not the other way around. The faith is made up of those beliefs that have been believed by all Christians in all places and at all times from the beginning. If a belief wasn’t present from the beginning, then it is not part of “the faith once for all delivered to the saints”.
But what does all this talk about full circle, ancient boundaries and the faith have to do with anything? Just this: Much of what I hear being discussed nowadays is about what’s wrong with the Church. One popular author and speaker said the Church is in trouble. I’ve even heard some Christians say that if the Church doesn’t change, it will die. They talk about being “relevant”, “dialogues”, “conversations”, and being “progressive” – all in reference to specific teachings within Christianity, how to “do church” and to the variety of interpretations and opinions. And that’s what has helped to bring me back around.
The ancient boundaries, the faith, the Church, even Christianity itself, isn’t the product of opinions, interpretations, preference, relevance, or social and cultural whims and influences. Instead, they are the gifts of God for the people of God. He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth through the Church, through the ancient boundaries, through the faith. These are not archaic limitations and restrictions – they are the lines which mark the path of Life. They are the proofs for discerning His truth from what pluralism and relativism say is truth. They are the teachings that fulfill our humanity and bring us into the glory that He bestows and desires to give to all. These gifts are not the dictates of a tyrant, but of a loving Father who loves us and is committed to our best interests, based on what He knows, not what we think, prefer, or demand.
Jesus said, “I will build My church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Are there things in the Church that require our repentance and correction? Yes. But these are the result of moving ancient boundaries and disobedience to truths that have been in place from the beginning. They are not the result of poor craftsmanship on the part of the Builder. Jesus has built into His Church everything that is good, godly, healthy, and fulfilling – for us and for the world. If we reject the Church, we do so at our own risk.
I want to close by saying that I know there are folks reading this who have been burned “by the Church”. I understand; I have, too – and I’m one of its shepherds. But, in truth, what we have been burned by isn’t the Church, the boundaries, the faith, or Christianity. What burned us, what deeply hurt us, is sin – done to us and maybe even by us. And Jesus is grieved by it all – by what sin does to us and to others. And yet, He loves, He heals, He forgives, and He builds. Nonetheless, our safety and our welfare – as a people and as individuals – is within the Church. We live together or we die alone. But, one thing is certain, Jesus is building His Church and we have His promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail. And we can trust Him, the Master Builder, to fix and repair all that needs correcting. He loves us too much not to.
What Have We Done?
Lately, I’ve been a little confused. I’ve had discussions on Facebook and Xanga and other blog sites where, although the topic was about Christianity in general, it seemed as though myself and the other person were talking about two completely different things. The topics have ranged from homosexuality, sin, politics, nonviolence, etc., and it seemed as if I was talking with someone who was in a completely different conversation. In fact, I’m not sure it could even be called conversation. This has been more like two or more people talking at the same time, each on different topics, all the while claiming to be talking about the same thing. To me, this is very tragic and sad.
It’s tragic and sad because we’ve ended up with something that I’m not quite sure should be called Christianity – at least, not with a capital letter “c”. In my opinion, we’ve allowed the basic message of America – freedom to choose – to become the object of our worship. And to make it worse, we believe that God is okay with whatever we choose. Our image of God has gone from being the angry, old grandfather in the sky who is just waiting for us to mess up so he can smack us to being the doting, non-involved grandfather who never corrects us but always bails us out and who blesses anything and everything we choose. I fear that we have reduced God down to nothing more than a servant that we can summon at will, who does what we say, and then goes back to his quarters to await further instructions. We have emasculated the Almighty God and turned Christianity into something like a Sears catalog that we flip through gloating and lusting but never enter the store. We merely find what we want and give the order. And if we don’t like it or it’s too slow in coming, we simply cancel the order and send it back.
The Scriptures say that we all see through a glass darkly. None of us sees everything perfectly. Knowing this should produce in us some level of humility, but instead I find it is used as an excuse to believe whatever I want (although this is certainly not true for everyone; just in general). Even Pilate, who condemned Christ, had the good sense to ask Jesus, “What is Truth?” – although his question may have been somewhat skeptical or sarcastic. But we, American christians, come before Him saying, “Truth is whatever I like, prefer, and feel comfortable with. Anything else is just opinion, or at best, suggestion.” But if Jesus said that He is the Truth, then real truth will always end up looking like Him, sounding like Him, being like Him, and living like Him. Anything else isn’t the truth.
I want to say clearly: Christianity is not a buffet or smorgasbord. The nature of real, true Christianity is not “pick-and-choose”. Besides, if I we could make good choices, we wouldn’t need Someone to save us. A slave can make choices but still not be free. And being free doesn’t mean that he’ll make good choices. We need not only a savior; we need a lord – a master, someone who owns us and who tells us what he wants from us, not the other way around.
The End
It’s my hope that anyone reading these simple posts have been blessed and inspired to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ and not American christianity. That being said, I’ve decided to close down all of my blogs. In the future, I may start something new, but at the moment, this is the end of the road. God bless you all!
The Gospel vs. The American Dream
In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy farmer who was blessed by God with a bumper crop. His return was so abundant that he decided to build bigger barns so that he could store away all the abundance for himself. He then decides to kick back, take it easy, and live out the rest of his days indulging himself, denying himself of nothing. But God said, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you” (v. 20). Jesus ends the story by saying, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).
But wait a minute! Jesus, you just shot down the whole American Dream!
From the time I was small up until now, from my parents and caring friends, even from the pulpit, I’ve been taught that I should do what the wealthy farmer in the story did: work hard and save, store up for the future; the goal being to save enough money that I can retire and enjoy myself – and my family – in my twilight years. We call it “financial security” and “financial independence”. These are to be pursued and desired above all else. But Jesus says, “Not so.”
In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus presents his way of security and independence – and it stands in glorious contrast to the American Dream.
He tells us to consider the ravens (considered unclean under Jewish ceremonial law): “They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them” (v. 24). God loves and values us more than the birds, Jesus says. Have you ever seen a scrawny bird? Have you ever seen any bird with a stomach bloated from malnutrition? Have you ever seen a bird on the sidewalk holding a cardboard sign that reads, “Will work for food” or “Need help”? And you never will, because God feeds them. “And how much more valuable you are than birds!”, says the Lord.
He also tells us to consider the lilies, in particular how they grow: “They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (v.27). God loves and values us more than the lilies. He will clothe us in a splendor that only he can give. Have you ever seen a flower worrying about it’s appearance? Have you ever seen plants striving to provide their own clothing? Do flowers have to get for themselves their beauty? No, because God our Father provides for them everything they need to be adorned with a beauty and radiance that surpasses Solomon’s most regal attire. “How much more will he clothes you?”, Jesus asks.
Jesus ends by telling us how to be truly wealthy and rich toward God. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (vs. 32-33). How do you secure your future? Give to the poor. Jesus says then your heart will be with God. If your treasure is stored on earth, then your heart will be also. And if your treasure can be stolen by thieves and eaten by moths, then your heart will be, too. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v.34). But if your treasure is in heaven, then your heart will be, too. And if your treasure is in heaven, it will never be exhausted; neither will your heart. And the purses – the generosity and the abundance of love – in your heart will never wear out.
A Revolution Is In Order
A revolution is in order, I believe. I believe the time has come where I can no longer sit by and discuss what God has put in my heart about the least, the lost, the lonely, the poor. I can no longer excuse what I have called christianity. The words of Jesus are tearing that house of sand swiftly down. I’ve been on this journey for awhile now and I still am learning, asking and seeking, but my choice has been made. I will seek out the gospel of Jesus and live it by his grace, remembering the poor and the hurting. If it means being a pacifist, then I will be a pacifist; if it means getting rid of what I have and living with less, then I’ll do that. Whatever the gospel of Jesus is, that is what I want to live. Lord Jesus, accept me as your disciple. Let the revolution begin.
Fashion or Love?
“It’s fashionable to talk about helping the poor; it’s quite another thing to know them. When you love someone, you know their name” – Mother Teresa.
“Hungry for love, He looks at you. Thirsty for kindness, He begs from you. Naked for loyalty, He hopes in you. Sick and imprisoned for friendship, He wants from you. Homeless for shelter in your heart, He asks of you. Will you be that one to Him?’” – Mother Teresa.
“We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us…But if one of you has enough money to live well, and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help – how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord…” – 1 John 3:16-19, New Living Translation.
What Kind of Love…?
Recently, I’ve been given the privilege of loving someone who is in desperate need of healing and healthy changes. This person is a beautiful and talented person with a kind heart, but has made choices over the years that have left them bankrupt spiritually and physically poor. Although this person knows of God’s love, they choose to remain in their poverty and slavery. They are homeless…in every sense of the word.
I have prayed for this person for years, but recently had decided that since they didn’t want to change, I would simply pray for them and leave it at that. I didn’t know how to relate to someone who didn’t want to change, must less see their need for change; so I decided to only pray for them and to care less whether I saw them or not. I didn’t know what to do with them, so this was the most honest and loving thing I could do. And I was certain that Jesus understood and agreed with me.
Weeks later, the Lord led me to a scripture that clearly said the opposite. To be honest, I looked it up in other translations and read study notes from a variety of study bibles trying to find some excuse or explanation that would let me off the hook. I found none. So, I surrendered and said yes to what Jesus was clearly and simply saying. And I’m glad that I did.
When I told the Lord that I would obey, I expressed to him how frustrating it was to be with someone who so desperately needed to change for their own well-being but wouldn’t. In response, I heard him ask this: “What if they never change? Will you love them anyway? If they never change, will they go to their grave knowing that they were loved by you? Or will you love them only if they show you the changes that you hope to see? I want you to love them in such a way that, if they died today, they would know that you not only loved them, you really liked them.”
After hearing this, I saw how conditional my “Christian love” had become. I saw that the only kind of love that I was offering people was not the love that God has for them; instead, it was the very same kind of love that has screwed them up to begin with – only it was dressed up in my own self-righteousness and smugly called “Christian”. How sick.
In all of my life, when I was at my worst and sunk in my own sin, in the multitude of my selfish refusals of his love and the gift of change, Jesus has always shown me that he loved me deeply; and, most beautiful of all, that he really liked me and wanted to be with me.
And that’s the only reason I’ve ever changed at all…unconditional love.
A God Of Our Making
Last week, I had a discussion about God and Christianity with a young man that I had met for the first time. He didn’t like what he had seen of Christianity (of christians, really) and proceeded to tell me that he believed in God, as well as what he believed about God. And he was very comfortable with what he believed about God. He talked and I just listened. Afterwards, while driving back to my motel room, I thought about what he had said and I realized how ridiculous his logic was.
Now, I don’t mean that to sound like I’m picking on him or just being critical. I really enjoyed my time with him. I’ve heard many other folks use the same logic. It usually goes something like this: “I believe in God, but if you’re talking about a God who let’s bad things happen to good people…”; or “…a God who would send someone to hell just because they didn’t say a prayer to Jesus… – then, I don’t believe that God is like that.” The young man’s beliefs were more like “God put us here and he doesn’t expects us to be so weak that we can’t do anything; he expects us to do whatever we need to do. I don’t like it when people say they have to pray about something or have to call on God before they can do anything, because he gave us free will to do what we saw needed to be done.” Something like that.
Here’s the problem with that logic. How can you form a belief about someone that you don’t know? And how can you embrace that belief when it has know solid basis in fact? When a person does this, they are really saying, “I’ve never met this person, but I believe him to be like this way or that way – and therefore, I like this person I’ve never met because I believe they are this way or that.” Do you see how ludicrous that thinking is? The one who uses this type of logic and forms their life behaviors and responses on it are really basing their entire life upon their own ideas and opinions – not on truth and facts.
Suppose you found me packing a suitcase full of swim shorts, beach attire, sunscreen, etc.. “Going to the beach?” you ask. “Yeah,” I answer back. Then you ask, “Where?” I look up at you, and smiling, I say, “Antarctica.” You would probably laugh and then say, “No, really.” ”Really,” I insist. You scratch your head and say to me, “There are no beaches in Antarctica.” Imagine what you would think as I looked you straight in the eyes and said, “I believe there are beaches in Antarctica because that’s the kind of Antarctica that I believe in. Therefore, if you don’t mind, I’m going to finish packing. Now, hand me that bottle of sunscreen.” You would think I was foolish, wouldn’t you? And yet, so many make statements like this all the time, declaring their beliefs in a god of their own making.
If I can make up anything I want to believe about God and then live my life based on that made-up attribute, I may as well not believe in God – because, in reality, that’s not who I’m believing in anyway. I’m believing in myself, only I’m disguising it as belief in God; only it’s not God, it’s a god that I’ve created to my own liking. And that makes me the Creator, doesn’t it? And that makes me God.
Heroes and Mercy
It happens anytime a celebrity becomes a Christian or whenever some ordinary “Joe Christian” takes a stand against the “powers that be”. I’m talking about the American church’s tendency to shove them onto a pedestal, into the spotlight, and proclaim them “our hero” – never mind that they’re baby Christians, newly born. I’ve seen it happen to B. J. Thomas (singer from the 70s), Mel Gibson, Amy Grant, and countless other Christian TV stars or musicians who come to Jesus seeking rest. They instantly become the new spokesperson for evangelical, American Christianity. We behave very much like the Jews of Jesus’ day who so desperately wanted to make him their king and deliverer; i.e., their hero. The sad thing is when the person fails or makes a bad decision (in someone’s watchful eyes), they are usually eaten alive. At best, they are just simply rejected at point-blank range. In short, they are left in their own blood, wounded and fallen.
Carrie Prejean is the latest. She was Miss USA (or could’ve been) but she gave an honest answer to a question about gay marriage. Simply, she stated that she didn’t believe in it. So she lost the title (or her chance at it). She was still Miss California and now she’s lost that. In light of all of this craziness, she’s garnered the praise of leading evangelical Christians, like James Dobson. Now, I think it’s good that righteous or good behavior is praised; or when someone takes a stand for what they believe, no matter the cost. I’m just hoping that we don’t make her the next hero for the evangelicals…or worse yet, that the Republicans would want her to be their “front man”. If that happens, Rush Limbaugh would be left bleeding and weeping, wounded, and rejected.
As Christians, we already have a hero…let’s just follow him.
