Cover of What's Wrong With the World
Although I possess this inborn hunger to connect with the Jesus whom I encounter in the Gospels, I often wonder if he's truly present when Christians gather together in his name. Are we really trying to put his teachings into practice or playing the Sunday morning God game? Watching the Christian cliques gather -- the holy hipsters, the Promise Keeper/Suitable Helper couples who put Ken and Barbie to shame, the prayerful powerbrokers who keep the minister and the church coffers on a tight leash -- reminds me that I'm not the "right" kind of Christian.
How could I ever be one of God's girls when my deceased dad was a renegade Episcopal priest and college professor? The Rev. Dr. Karl Claudius Garrison Jr. might have hailed from the Bible Belt, but he sought salvation from a bottle of Southern Comfort.
Then again, take a good look at Jesus' crew. They were the unclean, the unchosen, the unloved -- the very people discarded by the religious establishment. What a bunch of missional misfits. No way would they be allowed to play on most Christian teams.
Here's what I don't get: Jesus' life, death, and resurrection turned his followers' lives upside down. So if those disciples were willing to give up everything they had, including their lives, to follow Jesus, then why are many Christians, myself included, such misguided messes? In the words of Mike Yaconelli, the founder of The Wittenburg Door and my first editor, "What happened to the category-smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered (by those in power) dangerous? What the J is going on?
I've been doing a lot of reading and looking at blogs. I am humbled at the intellectual prowess I see. I am awed at the sermon delivery. All these young, evangelical, socially-minded pastors looks so hip and with it. They seem immersed in the Gospel. I feel like I can't hold a candle to them. In short, I sometimes feel inadequate...here in my little (though now much bigger) church in my little mountain town in Alaska.
After all, what have I got?
Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but I'm guessing there are other preachers out there who have a little inferiority complex at times. There's a lot of good preaching in the world and sometimes I'm not so sure it's coming from me.
So, it was with some relief I read Jared Wilson's blog post from way back in September...which seems like a lifetime ago now. It's called "An Improvement-Proof Gospel" and it's a little reflection on Galatians 2:6 which says, And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
Jared writes:
Oh, how I love Paul! He is hilarious. He is so cheeky. "Sure, sure. Peter, James, and John, those pillars, they seemed like somebodies, I guess." Love it!
But is he being as disparaging as he appears? Not really, but sort of. Here's Luther on this verse:
Paul disparages the authority and dignity of the true apostles. He says of them, "Which seemed to be somewhat." The authority of the apostles was indeed great in all the churches. Paul did not want to detract from their authority, but he had to speak disparagingly of their authority in order to conserve the truth of the Gospel . . .
What they say has no bearing on the argument. If the apostles were angels from heaven, that would not impress me. We are not now discussing the excellency of the apostles. We are talking about the Word of God now, and the truth of the Gospel. That Gospel is more excellent than all apostles."The gospel is more excellent than all apostles." Yes!
You know what? Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, John Piper, Mark Dever, Will Willimon, David Platt. These guys and more are (probably) better preachers than you and me. But if your gospel is the Bible's gospel, their gospel isn't better than yours. Same gospel. They can't improve on it any more than you can defuse it.
If you're a good preacher, you're probably a better speaker than Paul -- because Paul himself acknowledged he wasn't an impressive speaker -- but if your gospel is the Bible's gospel, it is not your speaking that wakens hearts, but the same power the "unimpressive" Paul set loose.
If you know and speak the gospel, you are a channel for God's destroying of strongholds and resurrecting of lives. Every Christian who can articulate the gospel has the launch code and access to the button.
If you preach the gospel, you wield the most powerful word in the universe. It's not the gnosis of the apostles. It's the resurrecting word entrusted to us all.
But setting aside for the moment that American culture was not rosy before the late 60's -- or at least, it wasn't for people who weren't white -- I think it's more likely that once the church began to assume moralism as its primary message, it ceased to capture hearts and do what it claimed to do: compel behavior. So the hippie movement, legal abortion, prayer out of school, etc. may all be symptoms of an evangelicalism that traded the gospel and the all-sufficiency of Christ for "be good" and now we're both ignorant about the connection and ignorant enough to think if we go back to moralism -- for that's what championing Judeo-Christian values usually is -- we can turn the tide we gave rise to to begin with.
I talked to an older lady yesterday who is struggling in her Christian walk. She fears she is not fruitful enough. She said she's been in Bible studies and the like for 30 years and isn't sure what she's learned. I asked her, "If you could boil down all those studies and all the messages you've heard from the church for the past 30 years into one main point that they're all trying to teach you, what would it be?" After some thought, she replied: "Be a better person." And yet here she sat, not lacking in education in being a better person but certainly not feeling like it made a hill a beans worth of difference.
Over at The Resurgence, they do a lot with graphics and their posts. Very media & tech savvy. Lots of good (and deep) theology to look through. You'll read a lot of Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church and Justin Holcomb of Mars Hill and The Resurgence.
This is from a post called "The Gospel Changes Everything" and focuses on the fact that, at heart, the gospel is the story of how God saves sinners. Read the post here. See the graphic below.
You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
—Matthew 5:38-42, NIV
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
—Luke 6:27-31. NIV
"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."
The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"
Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.
"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.Over the course of the meal, Diaz and the mugger talked. The young man could see that everyone in the diner knew Diaz and that Diaz was nice to everyone there...including the dishwasher. This behavior...nice behavior, treating people well...was foreign to the boy. At the end of the meal the mugger gave the wallet back but took $20 that was offered by Diaz. All Diaz asked for was the knife. And the mugger gave that up...perhaps a changed man after being confronted with someone really putting that whole "turn the other cheek" scripture into practice.
Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.
"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."I'm not sure it's that "simple" really. "Simple" is handing over your money and trying to save your life. "Simple" is trying to fight back. It's harder to invest yourself so much in someone who, by all appearances, wishes to do you harm. It's harder to follow in the footsteps of the Gospel.
I'm concerned about what our American "Prosperity Gospel" -- which can, in some churches, teach that God intends financial prosperity for God's children. It can be full of false promises and false hope. And, from what I've read, it can have the benefit of encouraging better money management and a "Protestant Work Ethic" among its followers. However, this concerns me in a region of such poverty.
The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.
