“Church, The Series”
If the Church were a TV series, what would it be?
There are, of course, programs that gain popularity because they play to our worst inclinations. Lust, violence, greed, and the desire to see others demeaned are a negative aspect of our humanity that an increasing amount of television caters to. But many others are based on our common needs, desires, and experiences. If well done, these can even become an integral part of our common culture. Mayberry means a close knit small town. Ozzie and Harriet communicates an idyllic family even to those who never have seen the show.
In my imagination, “Church, The Series” might be about sports. Perhaps it would be about an underdog team that always wins in the final moments of the big game. Jesus does win at the end, and the devil is our adversary. (I guess it sounds like a movie, not a series.) Or maybe, the show could be about a hero like Jack Bauer from “24” who reluctantly saves an oblivious world season after season with a team of mostly expendable characters. (Jesus did save an oblivious world, didn’t He? But I guess He didn’t torture anyone—He allowed Himself to be tortured.) Or how about a romance? We are the Bride of Christ, aren’t we? (Unfortunately, there would be fewer men watching than are interested in attending church.)
After eliminating those possibilities, my mind turns toward reality TV and comedies. A reality show about the church could work, but it’s too painful to even consider. But an ensemble comedy could work. I can see it now: a group of people thrown together, muddling through obstacles together, and growing to love one another in spite of often not liking one another. And there are classic comedies to consider as examples, aren’t there? “Andy Griffith”, “Mary Tyler Moore”, “Taxi”, “MASH”, “Bill Cosby”, “Cheers”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld”, and “The Office” are some that come to mind.
“MASH”, a comedy about the doctors, nurses, and staff of an army mobile hospital unit in the Korean War, makes the top of my list for three reasons. It was the most popular. Until the recent Superbowl, the final episode was the most watched show of all time in America. The show was successful in connecting the audience to the story and the characters. Secondly, the characters were flawed and funny, but passionate about their mission of healing the wounded. And lastly, their relationships were forged by their shared commitment to the mission, not by similar cultural background or interests or inclinations.
In many ways, MASH could be a parable of what the Church looks like when it works. Our mission is never funny, but we often are. We are quirky and murky when we have too much time on our hands, but when there is a noble mission, we risk everything for each other or even a stranger. When we realize that we are sent to be mobile healers of those wounded by wiles and weapons of Satan, we become heroes—reluctant, comic heroes-- but heroes none the less.
Unfortunately, those who view us from a distance often see us more like Seinfeld, famous for being about nothing. I don’t mind being laughed at, but I don’t want to be about nothing.
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Two Walls
I walked in through the city gate after working hard in the groves all day. I was weary, but content. The olives were nearly ready, and soon I would start the harvest. The rain had come at the right times. There was peace and few bandits. I looked forward to tending our small garden and then sitting in the twilight with my family.
When I reached home, I checked on my children and our garden. The children were fine, but the plants were all trampled down. I yelled for my wife, and she tried to calm me, explaining that the neighbor children had been playing without supervision and had run through our garden. All that contentment was trampled with my plants. I did my best to stake up what I could. I picked damaged vegetables that were still unripe and hoped we could get some good from them. As I worked, I decided what I would do to keep this from ever happening again.
At bedtime, I lay down and pretended to sleep. When I heard everyone had the breath of sleep, I quietly got up and went to the city wall. I climbed up, took an armful of stones and carried them home to my garden. I laid them out for the beginning of a little barrier to protect my garden. Surely, the absence of a few rocks from the wall wouldn’t be noticed and would hurt no one…A week later, I did the same. Another week or so later, I went out once again. Soon, my garden was protected.
I thought no one noticed. At least no one said anything, but I noticed other little walls slowly growing as our city’s wall gradually grew shorter. I didn’t care. My garden was safe. Besides, our city hadn’t been attacked in generations.
The next year at harvest time, I was again coming home from working in the olive groves feeling contented. There were rumors of war, but one always heard all sorts of rumors. The harvest was going to be good, and my garden would this year provide for our needs. As I walked along the path, others ran past me, yelling, “Run! Run for your life! They’re coming!” Though I didn’t know who was coming, I, ran. And though I ran fast, the horses carrying the men with swords and spears ran much faster. I stumbled and fell senseless and the riders passed me by, thinking me dead like many others all around me.
When I came to myself, it was almost dark. I saw the city gates closed, but it was clear that wall was no longer a barrier to anyone determined to enter. I, too, was determined, as were the warriors who had gone over the wall before me. Stealthily, I went from building to building. The soldiers had finished conquering and now were now giving themselves to the rewards of that conquest. Now and again, I heard a woman or child cry out in anguish.
Finally, I reached our home. The door was askew. No one was there, but there was blood on the threshold. I heard drunken voices talking and laughing, coming in my direction, and hid in what had been our home. As I cowered in the corner, the sound of one of the neighbor children screaming, first in terror, then in pain, filled the night. He was one who had thoughtlessly played in my garden. When his cries stopped, I knew he would never play thoughtlessly again.
I remembered my anger. I remembered just wanting to keep my garden safe. And I remembered stealing the stones that were for my community’s protection and taking them for myself, and then others doing the same. I remembered my wife's face and my children's' laughter. I knew I would remember always because memories were all that remained--except my garden wall.
Haggai 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.
I walked in through the city gate after working hard in the groves all day. I was weary, but content. The olives were nearly ready, and soon I would start the harvest. The rain had come at the right times. There was peace and few bandits. I looked forward to tending our small garden and then sitting in the twilight with my family.
When I reached home, I checked on my children and our garden. The children were fine, but the plants were all trampled down. I yelled for my wife, and she tried to calm me, explaining that the neighbor children had been playing without supervision and had run through our garden. All that contentment was trampled with my plants. I did my best to stake up what I could. I picked damaged vegetables that were still unripe and hoped we could get some good from them. As I worked, I decided what I would do to keep this from ever happening again.
At bedtime, I lay down and pretended to sleep. When I heard everyone had the breath of sleep, I quietly got up and went to the city wall. I climbed up, took an armful of stones and carried them home to my garden. I laid them out for the beginning of a little barrier to protect my garden. Surely, the absence of a few rocks from the wall wouldn’t be noticed and would hurt no one…A week later, I did the same. Another week or so later, I went out once again. Soon, my garden was protected.
I thought no one noticed. At least no one said anything, but I noticed other little walls slowly growing as our city’s wall gradually grew shorter. I didn’t care. My garden was safe. Besides, our city hadn’t been attacked in generations.
The next year at harvest time, I was again coming home from working in the olive groves feeling contented. There were rumors of war, but one always heard all sorts of rumors. The harvest was going to be good, and my garden would this year provide for our needs. As I walked along the path, others ran past me, yelling, “Run! Run for your life! They’re coming!” Though I didn’t know who was coming, I, ran. And though I ran fast, the horses carrying the men with swords and spears ran much faster. I stumbled and fell senseless and the riders passed me by, thinking me dead like many others all around me.
When I came to myself, it was almost dark. I saw the city gates closed, but it was clear that wall was no longer a barrier to anyone determined to enter. I, too, was determined, as were the warriors who had gone over the wall before me. Stealthily, I went from building to building. The soldiers had finished conquering and now were now giving themselves to the rewards of that conquest. Now and again, I heard a woman or child cry out in anguish.
Finally, I reached our home. The door was askew. No one was there, but there was blood on the threshold. I heard drunken voices talking and laughing, coming in my direction, and hid in what had been our home. As I cowered in the corner, the sound of one of the neighbor children screaming, first in terror, then in pain, filled the night. He was one who had thoughtlessly played in my garden. When his cries stopped, I knew he would never play thoughtlessly again.
I remembered my anger. I remembered just wanting to keep my garden safe. And I remembered stealing the stones that were for my community’s protection and taking them for myself, and then others doing the same. I remembered my wife's face and my children's' laughter. I knew I would remember always because memories were all that remained--except my garden wall.
Haggai 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Waiting, but Not Ready
I'm usually the first one up on the mornings our family is taking a trip. But somehow, I am also usually the last one ready. I say I'm waiting on them, but I get distracted and don't get 100% finished with my own preparations. Maybe I haven't yet showered, or brushed my teeth, or put on my shoes. So even though I'm early, I'm late because I'm not quite ready.
I drive an old car. I love it and enjoy driving it. It runs well and dependably in spite of over 200,000 miles of use. Other than maintenance, I've done hardly anything to it. It was a huge surprise a few months ago when I turned the key and it didn't start immediately. It made a single click and then did nothing. I tried again and it started immediately. So it wasn't the battery, it was the starter. Most of the time, the car would start fine. But increasingly, it would only click. And increasingly, it would take longer and longer for it to start. Occasionally, I'd even have to get out and tap the starter with a hammer. But money was really tight, and there never seemed to be enough for new starter. When it was time, however, to drive hours to another state, I knew I couldn't delay any longer. I knew I wasn't prepared for the trip. I could get stranded in the proverbial middle of nowhere. A long standing, long deferred need suddenly became urgent. I've been waiting for this trip for a long time, but I wasn't ready.
I feel the same way about the Church. I love the Church. I don't mind that many don't find it attractive in a trendy way. We are well worn, but built to last a long time. But increasingly, I have a sense of urgency. There is a road ahead of us that we are not ready to travel. The familiar ways that we have been accustomed to navigate are closing. The culture that has mostly been friendly to us is changing. No longer will that culture help us; indeed it is becoming hostile. We can't afford to "break down" in that neighborhood.
After 9/11, many people were saying, "This changes everything." There was an awareness that an era had ended, and a new one had begun. But that awareness seemed to be quickly lost, and for most, lives continued as if the old ways of understanding the world hadn't been outdated. Those who maintained the same assumptions about the economy as before have had a wakeup call. Savings depleted. Homes foreclosed. Whole industries decimated. It is as if there were a sudden temperature change from 35 degrees to 30 degrees. We'd been used to water being a liquid. If we stepped in a puddle, we'd get wet. Now, if we step in the same place, we'll slip. Or more apropos, we've been driving on a rainy day. The temperature falls below freezing as we're in the comfortable car and are totally unaware that the wet looking spot ahead is a patch of ice. Soon we'll be in the ditch and we don't have a clue.
We've been comfortable, and unaware of fundamental changes going on outside. For the most part, the world has been, at worst, neutral towards the Church in America and has even often helped us. In a sense, our culture (and government) has financed our buildings, programs, and staffs. We don't pay property taxes. Our contributions are tax deductable. There have been relatively few strings attached. But it seems likely that either those "subsidies" with cease or become leverage to force compliance to ways of acting and speaking that are clearly not Biblical. And then, what will we do? The level of giving will decrease if giving is no longer tax deductible. We will be unable to pay for buildings we have built on the assumption that giving would always increase, not decrease. Or if it's decreed that we can no longer proclaim Jesus as the only way to know God, or lose our tax deductibility status, what will we choose?
It is, I believe, inevitable that our favored status with the government ends. That is only the most obvious outcome of the changes already begun. It is not the most difficult. Ridicule will morph into persecution. Worldwide economic and political policies, unfettered greed and lust for power, and growing unrest among many groups could lead to unemployment and need and suffering that dwarfs anything most of us in the Western world have ever experienced. What do we do? Some will want to get involved politically. Do it, if the Lord moves you, but don't expect too much. Political victories do not change men's hearts. Others will want to stock pile food or invest in gold. Again, do it, if the Lord moves you, but food can rot and gold be stolen. These things can be blessing and provision, but they are not the answer.
Jesus tells the parable of the foolish and wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom in the night. All are asleep, and wake up when the message arrives that the bridegroom is coming. All begin to get their lamps ready, but five have no oil, no fuel. They were waiting but not ready. I think that this may apply to most of us. We are waiting, but asleep. And we are not ready. We have not learned how to depend on God rather than the world. We howl when a privilege like tax-deductibility is threatened, but remain silent when hypocrisy in our local churches demean the Name of God. We have not learned how to care for one another let alone lay our lives down for one another. When serious difficulties come, it may be too late to decide we were not prepared. We are waiting for Jesus to return, but not ready to live for Him now.
Matthew 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
I'm usually the first one up on the mornings our family is taking a trip. But somehow, I am also usually the last one ready. I say I'm waiting on them, but I get distracted and don't get 100% finished with my own preparations. Maybe I haven't yet showered, or brushed my teeth, or put on my shoes. So even though I'm early, I'm late because I'm not quite ready.
I drive an old car. I love it and enjoy driving it. It runs well and dependably in spite of over 200,000 miles of use. Other than maintenance, I've done hardly anything to it. It was a huge surprise a few months ago when I turned the key and it didn't start immediately. It made a single click and then did nothing. I tried again and it started immediately. So it wasn't the battery, it was the starter. Most of the time, the car would start fine. But increasingly, it would only click. And increasingly, it would take longer and longer for it to start. Occasionally, I'd even have to get out and tap the starter with a hammer. But money was really tight, and there never seemed to be enough for new starter. When it was time, however, to drive hours to another state, I knew I couldn't delay any longer. I knew I wasn't prepared for the trip. I could get stranded in the proverbial middle of nowhere. A long standing, long deferred need suddenly became urgent. I've been waiting for this trip for a long time, but I wasn't ready.
I feel the same way about the Church. I love the Church. I don't mind that many don't find it attractive in a trendy way. We are well worn, but built to last a long time. But increasingly, I have a sense of urgency. There is a road ahead of us that we are not ready to travel. The familiar ways that we have been accustomed to navigate are closing. The culture that has mostly been friendly to us is changing. No longer will that culture help us; indeed it is becoming hostile. We can't afford to "break down" in that neighborhood.
After 9/11, many people were saying, "This changes everything." There was an awareness that an era had ended, and a new one had begun. But that awareness seemed to be quickly lost, and for most, lives continued as if the old ways of understanding the world hadn't been outdated. Those who maintained the same assumptions about the economy as before have had a wakeup call. Savings depleted. Homes foreclosed. Whole industries decimated. It is as if there were a sudden temperature change from 35 degrees to 30 degrees. We'd been used to water being a liquid. If we stepped in a puddle, we'd get wet. Now, if we step in the same place, we'll slip. Or more apropos, we've been driving on a rainy day. The temperature falls below freezing as we're in the comfortable car and are totally unaware that the wet looking spot ahead is a patch of ice. Soon we'll be in the ditch and we don't have a clue.
We've been comfortable, and unaware of fundamental changes going on outside. For the most part, the world has been, at worst, neutral towards the Church in America and has even often helped us. In a sense, our culture (and government) has financed our buildings, programs, and staffs. We don't pay property taxes. Our contributions are tax deductable. There have been relatively few strings attached. But it seems likely that either those "subsidies" with cease or become leverage to force compliance to ways of acting and speaking that are clearly not Biblical. And then, what will we do? The level of giving will decrease if giving is no longer tax deductible. We will be unable to pay for buildings we have built on the assumption that giving would always increase, not decrease. Or if it's decreed that we can no longer proclaim Jesus as the only way to know God, or lose our tax deductibility status, what will we choose?
It is, I believe, inevitable that our favored status with the government ends. That is only the most obvious outcome of the changes already begun. It is not the most difficult. Ridicule will morph into persecution. Worldwide economic and political policies, unfettered greed and lust for power, and growing unrest among many groups could lead to unemployment and need and suffering that dwarfs anything most of us in the Western world have ever experienced. What do we do? Some will want to get involved politically. Do it, if the Lord moves you, but don't expect too much. Political victories do not change men's hearts. Others will want to stock pile food or invest in gold. Again, do it, if the Lord moves you, but food can rot and gold be stolen. These things can be blessing and provision, but they are not the answer.
Jesus tells the parable of the foolish and wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom in the night. All are asleep, and wake up when the message arrives that the bridegroom is coming. All begin to get their lamps ready, but five have no oil, no fuel. They were waiting but not ready. I think that this may apply to most of us. We are waiting, but asleep. And we are not ready. We have not learned how to depend on God rather than the world. We howl when a privilege like tax-deductibility is threatened, but remain silent when hypocrisy in our local churches demean the Name of God. We have not learned how to care for one another let alone lay our lives down for one another. When serious difficulties come, it may be too late to decide we were not prepared. We are waiting for Jesus to return, but not ready to live for Him now.
Matthew 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Forest AND the Trees: The Good News (part 5)
It seems to me that I most often hear the Gospel of John quoted, especially in regards to sharing the good news. "You must be born again;" ' For God so loved the world;" "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly;" and "I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me" are rightly quoted often. But they are relational verses--verses that allow me to see myself from God's perspective. I, and all the individuals around me, can each be a "tree" in God's forest. That's great news, but by itself, it is the story of each tree. Other parts of the Bible give the perspective of seeing the "forest" rather than the individual.
Matthew is often a "big picture" account of the good news rather than focusing on the individual seeker. Early in the gospel, as Jesus' ministry is beginning in earnest, he writes: "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. He speaks about the kingdom of God in over fifty verses. John does it in about three. Simply put, the kingdom of God is Jesus, as king, and those whom He rules. Being part of that kingdom is what we're told to seek first. It's the pearl that we should sell everything we possess in order to purchase. It's the tiny mustard seed that grows to be huge.
The possibility of being a part of God's rule, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son, is good news. Those that He rules get to enjoy Him for all eternity. Within His borders are protection and provision. In His garden are productivity and fruitfulness. Being under His rule gives unity and common purpose to all the divergent trees and allows then to become a forest.
Individual salvation is essential, but it's not what we are commanded to seek first. Forgiveness of sins makes it possible to have fellowship with a holy God, but it's not the thing for which I sell everything to purchase. Those things are among the individual elements that make up the larger picture. They are trees that make up the forest.
Preaching the good news of the kingdom focuses on Jesus as King. Jesus as King rules His followers and gives all that is necessary for them to obey and productively work together for the King's benefit. Preaching the good news of salvation focuses on Jesus as Savior. Jesus as Savior forgives sins and saves us from the judgement we deserve. Announcing salvation while neglecting to proclaim the rule of God gives those who believe permission to go to heaven but no power to obey and be changed on this earth.
I want to go to heaven, but I also want to be productive. And I don't just want to be productive. I long to be part of what God has been doing since the beginning of time. I may be a little tree, but I'm part of a big forest. To me, that's incredibly good news!
Matthew 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
It seems to me that I most often hear the Gospel of John quoted, especially in regards to sharing the good news. "You must be born again;" ' For God so loved the world;" "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly;" and "I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me" are rightly quoted often. But they are relational verses--verses that allow me to see myself from God's perspective. I, and all the individuals around me, can each be a "tree" in God's forest. That's great news, but by itself, it is the story of each tree. Other parts of the Bible give the perspective of seeing the "forest" rather than the individual.
Matthew is often a "big picture" account of the good news rather than focusing on the individual seeker. Early in the gospel, as Jesus' ministry is beginning in earnest, he writes: "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. He speaks about the kingdom of God in over fifty verses. John does it in about three. Simply put, the kingdom of God is Jesus, as king, and those whom He rules. Being part of that kingdom is what we're told to seek first. It's the pearl that we should sell everything we possess in order to purchase. It's the tiny mustard seed that grows to be huge.
The possibility of being a part of God's rule, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son, is good news. Those that He rules get to enjoy Him for all eternity. Within His borders are protection and provision. In His garden are productivity and fruitfulness. Being under His rule gives unity and common purpose to all the divergent trees and allows then to become a forest.
Individual salvation is essential, but it's not what we are commanded to seek first. Forgiveness of sins makes it possible to have fellowship with a holy God, but it's not the thing for which I sell everything to purchase. Those things are among the individual elements that make up the larger picture. They are trees that make up the forest.
Preaching the good news of the kingdom focuses on Jesus as King. Jesus as King rules His followers and gives all that is necessary for them to obey and productively work together for the King's benefit. Preaching the good news of salvation focuses on Jesus as Savior. Jesus as Savior forgives sins and saves us from the judgement we deserve. Announcing salvation while neglecting to proclaim the rule of God gives those who believe permission to go to heaven but no power to obey and be changed on this earth.
I want to go to heaven, but I also want to be productive. And I don't just want to be productive. I long to be part of what God has been doing since the beginning of time. I may be a little tree, but I'm part of a big forest. To me, that's incredibly good news!
Matthew 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
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