Community... Part 2
So after hitting a bit on some of the critiques of the church (hypocritical and anti-gay in case you missed it, look back at Part 1), we're back with three more: too political, irrelevant, and judgmental.
We'll start with the easy one, "too political." This comes from many who are fighting the "culture war" and who have been part of either the moral majority or any other Christian political cause. As people who believe in Christ, we do, honestly and with some humility stated here, know the best possible way. I mean that (the honestly and with some humility part too!). The way of Christ is the best of all possible ways and is the fulfillment of creation. I mean, every single thing revolves around the person of Christ (like the sun in our solar system), was made in and for the person of Christ, and receives its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Therefore, we receive our fulfillment (as does the fullness of Scripture) only in the person of Christ: read Colossians 1:15-23 if you want to see it all there in black and white. So is it a surprise that Christians want to give everyone else the best possible world? It shouldn't be, however our humanity gets in the way! Justin McRoberts (some singer guy Matt likes a lot) has lyrics that hit the heart of the matter: "If I sit down with the wrong man and don't cast my vote Republican, what will my brothers think of me?" His conclusion is that he will meet them at the cross, and if that's the only place they meet, it's fine by him. I like the first part and I like the premise, but we're called to the sloppy relational soup of the church, not just those we're comfortable with. Have some in the church been too political? Possibly. Especially when people see the church as an outgrowth of a political party.
The church and state debate has been hot since the early days, when Constantine neutered the church by making it the official religion on the Roman Empire. Since then it has been mauled by England, Germany, France, and almost every other major country as part of their national agenda. Thus, the US was founded not on separation of church and state (that line never, ever appears in the Constitution or otherwise in U.S. and is a complete fabrication, read the Constitution for yourself!) but a separation of the state from the church. They made it so that the government could not co-opt the church,, leaving the church an independent entity to teach, preach, and otherwise unmolested (and yes, I used the word "unmolested," so shoot me!). That does NOT mean that the church cannot be involved in politics, but the question is, should the church be involved in politics (which comes from the Latin, poli meaning "many" and ticks meaning blood-sucking parasitical insects.)?
I would say no. The answer of taking God to Caesar (Jesus' answer was to leave the corrupt, pagan, nasty Roman government alone and just pay taxes, etc. as needed) tends to lead not to the redemption of the culture, but to the corruption of the church (if you doubt, check into church history post Constantine and tell me they didn't pay a steep price that we are still paying into). Just saying, my God has no need for me to try and become a "benevolent dictator" or anything else, His mission is for me to live Jesus and let as many see that as possible. If I was called there, I would need to go and be Jesus there. However, is that the overall mission of the church? No. If we live as Jesus, the rest follows, not conversely where everything falls into place and we can neatly follow Jesus in a "ideal" society...
On to number 4: irrelevant. As a youth/worship pastor this is a horrible word. I cannot even stand the thought, but I know it to often be true of many churches. Now, note, relevancy doesn't mean I subjugate myself to every trend, TV show, movie, musical group, book, and such just to make a point. If I did that, I would be polluting the things God has for me. Instead, the key is the power of "Christ in me." If I know Jesus and follow Jesus, His life should shine through in me. If His light shines through in me, I am living in love and demonstrating for the world how amazingly relevant Jesus is. If I speak about it and never live it, I am relegating Jesus to irrelevancy. This isn't about the various ways we interact with culture, but with who we are as a base as Jesus followers. Worship is just as awesome with an organ and hymnal as it is with screaming guitars and catchy choruses. Sermons can be just as amazing and life-changing with just plain exegesis as they are with movie clips and relevant humor. The key is "Christ in me." If we present Jesus in all His life-changing glory, the way we do so is merely window dressing.
The only other thought here is why we do things the way we do. I lead worship in a modern style integrating media and diverse music (I mean, how often do you get Supertramp, Chris Tomlin, and Isaac Watts all in the same service?) in an effort to reach people where they are. I teach and lead our youth ministries in such a way that they are made to interact and react with students where they are. Why? Relevance isn't a buzzword or something to be sought for, relevance means making what we say about a transcendent Jesus speak into the culture He is being presented to. Think missionaries: they spend years learning the culture, language, and everything they can about the people group they are going into. Youth ministry is no different: I have (and continue) to learn the language, customs, and culture I am speaking into. If I don't do that, I am failing to give Jesus to them. Instead, like Paul in Athens, I use things that are familiar to them and speak about things they understand to present them the unchanging truth of who Jesus is. The question is, can we let go of our own "trappings" to actually meet people where they are or are we stuck in our own rut? Paul said it best: "I [will] become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." Is that our goal as a church? If so we will always stay relevant...
On to number 5 (the final complaint we'll look at): judgmental. This should be fairly easy to see! The Church (not every church, but the sum total of all portions of God's body) is often guilty of pushing those who don't fit our model to the sides. Maybe they don't wear the right clothes, maybe they smell funny (many middle school boys fall into this category!), maybe they say the wrong things, maybe they don't go to the right school or play the right sport, regardless, they feel about as welcome as someone with leprosy (or maybe herpes?) because they aren't "like us." A lot of it comes back to our snap judgments: we don't know them, but we imagine we do. Like Simon the Pharisee, who thought he knew Mary Magdalene thinking, "If this Jesus was really from God he'd know how super slutty and sinful this woman was and not let her touch him," when Jesus was the only one who knew Mary. He knew how hard her road had been and what He had forgiven and freed her from. He knew everything about her: all her screw-ups, hang-ups, failures, and misguided efforts to find love and He LOVED her intensely enough to stand up for her and to finally die for her (read her full story Luke 8:2 and then John 12:3-8/Luke 7:36-50]).
Do you act like Simon, seeing someone and saying to yourself, "Holy Moses, why is she here? Doesn't she know that this is a church not a brothel? I mean, what could that slut have to do with Jesus?" Or do you see someone who is just as broken as you are and just as in need of Jesus as you? Last night as we talked about this story, one of the girls hit the nail on the head as we talked about Mary: "She sounds a lot like me..." We are all broken and in need of repair from the person of Jesus Christ. If not, there was no point in Him dying and God is evil. Fortunately, the truth is we all need Jesus desperately and He knows this so His blood was shed once for all so that we could have life, not the death sentence we so rightly deserve. The Church (in every individual) needs to remember that instead of spewing self-righteous indignation. Like picketing a strip club: does it show the ladies who work there respect and love? Instead, if we go in and fix up their rooms and help care for their kids and show them love, change comes and there is no longer a need to picket the club because it shuts down...
My prayer today is that you become someone enamored with the person of Jesus Christ so that instead of being a "hypocritical, anti-gay, too political, irrelevant, judgmental Christian" you can be Jesus Christ to everyone around you. Let His light shine as you become less and less while He becomes more and more...
More so, my prayer is that we do this together so people can see the love He has for us in the love we have for each other...
We'll start with the easy one, "too political." This comes from many who are fighting the "culture war" and who have been part of either the moral majority or any other Christian political cause. As people who believe in Christ, we do, honestly and with some humility stated here, know the best possible way. I mean that (the honestly and with some humility part too!). The way of Christ is the best of all possible ways and is the fulfillment of creation. I mean, every single thing revolves around the person of Christ (like the sun in our solar system), was made in and for the person of Christ, and receives its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Therefore, we receive our fulfillment (as does the fullness of Scripture) only in the person of Christ: read Colossians 1:15-23 if you want to see it all there in black and white. So is it a surprise that Christians want to give everyone else the best possible world? It shouldn't be, however our humanity gets in the way! Justin McRoberts (some singer guy Matt likes a lot) has lyrics that hit the heart of the matter: "If I sit down with the wrong man and don't cast my vote Republican, what will my brothers think of me?" His conclusion is that he will meet them at the cross, and if that's the only place they meet, it's fine by him. I like the first part and I like the premise, but we're called to the sloppy relational soup of the church, not just those we're comfortable with. Have some in the church been too political? Possibly. Especially when people see the church as an outgrowth of a political party.
The church and state debate has been hot since the early days, when Constantine neutered the church by making it the official religion on the Roman Empire. Since then it has been mauled by England, Germany, France, and almost every other major country as part of their national agenda. Thus, the US was founded not on separation of church and state (that line never, ever appears in the Constitution or otherwise in U.S. and is a complete fabrication, read the Constitution for yourself!) but a separation of the state from the church. They made it so that the government could not co-opt the church,, leaving the church an independent entity to teach, preach, and otherwise unmolested (and yes, I used the word "unmolested," so shoot me!). That does NOT mean that the church cannot be involved in politics, but the question is, should the church be involved in politics (which comes from the Latin, poli meaning "many" and ticks meaning blood-sucking parasitical insects.)?
I would say no. The answer of taking God to Caesar (Jesus' answer was to leave the corrupt, pagan, nasty Roman government alone and just pay taxes, etc. as needed) tends to lead not to the redemption of the culture, but to the corruption of the church (if you doubt, check into church history post Constantine and tell me they didn't pay a steep price that we are still paying into). Just saying, my God has no need for me to try and become a "benevolent dictator" or anything else, His mission is for me to live Jesus and let as many see that as possible. If I was called there, I would need to go and be Jesus there. However, is that the overall mission of the church? No. If we live as Jesus, the rest follows, not conversely where everything falls into place and we can neatly follow Jesus in a "ideal" society...
On to number 4: irrelevant. As a youth/worship pastor this is a horrible word. I cannot even stand the thought, but I know it to often be true of many churches. Now, note, relevancy doesn't mean I subjugate myself to every trend, TV show, movie, musical group, book, and such just to make a point. If I did that, I would be polluting the things God has for me. Instead, the key is the power of "Christ in me." If I know Jesus and follow Jesus, His life should shine through in me. If His light shines through in me, I am living in love and demonstrating for the world how amazingly relevant Jesus is. If I speak about it and never live it, I am relegating Jesus to irrelevancy. This isn't about the various ways we interact with culture, but with who we are as a base as Jesus followers. Worship is just as awesome with an organ and hymnal as it is with screaming guitars and catchy choruses. Sermons can be just as amazing and life-changing with just plain exegesis as they are with movie clips and relevant humor. The key is "Christ in me." If we present Jesus in all His life-changing glory, the way we do so is merely window dressing.
The only other thought here is why we do things the way we do. I lead worship in a modern style integrating media and diverse music (I mean, how often do you get Supertramp, Chris Tomlin, and Isaac Watts all in the same service?) in an effort to reach people where they are. I teach and lead our youth ministries in such a way that they are made to interact and react with students where they are. Why? Relevance isn't a buzzword or something to be sought for, relevance means making what we say about a transcendent Jesus speak into the culture He is being presented to. Think missionaries: they spend years learning the culture, language, and everything they can about the people group they are going into. Youth ministry is no different: I have (and continue) to learn the language, customs, and culture I am speaking into. If I don't do that, I am failing to give Jesus to them. Instead, like Paul in Athens, I use things that are familiar to them and speak about things they understand to present them the unchanging truth of who Jesus is. The question is, can we let go of our own "trappings" to actually meet people where they are or are we stuck in our own rut? Paul said it best: "I [will] become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." Is that our goal as a church? If so we will always stay relevant...
On to number 5 (the final complaint we'll look at): judgmental. This should be fairly easy to see! The Church (not every church, but the sum total of all portions of God's body) is often guilty of pushing those who don't fit our model to the sides. Maybe they don't wear the right clothes, maybe they smell funny (many middle school boys fall into this category!), maybe they say the wrong things, maybe they don't go to the right school or play the right sport, regardless, they feel about as welcome as someone with leprosy (or maybe herpes?) because they aren't "like us." A lot of it comes back to our snap judgments: we don't know them, but we imagine we do. Like Simon the Pharisee, who thought he knew Mary Magdalene thinking, "If this Jesus was really from God he'd know how super slutty and sinful this woman was and not let her touch him," when Jesus was the only one who knew Mary. He knew how hard her road had been and what He had forgiven and freed her from. He knew everything about her: all her screw-ups, hang-ups, failures, and misguided efforts to find love and He LOVED her intensely enough to stand up for her and to finally die for her (read her full story Luke 8:2 and then John 12:3-8/Luke 7:36-50]).
Do you act like Simon, seeing someone and saying to yourself, "Holy Moses, why is she here? Doesn't she know that this is a church not a brothel? I mean, what could that slut have to do with Jesus?" Or do you see someone who is just as broken as you are and just as in need of Jesus as you? Last night as we talked about this story, one of the girls hit the nail on the head as we talked about Mary: "She sounds a lot like me..." We are all broken and in need of repair from the person of Jesus Christ. If not, there was no point in Him dying and God is evil. Fortunately, the truth is we all need Jesus desperately and He knows this so His blood was shed once for all so that we could have life, not the death sentence we so rightly deserve. The Church (in every individual) needs to remember that instead of spewing self-righteous indignation. Like picketing a strip club: does it show the ladies who work there respect and love? Instead, if we go in and fix up their rooms and help care for their kids and show them love, change comes and there is no longer a need to picket the club because it shuts down...
My prayer today is that you become someone enamored with the person of Jesus Christ so that instead of being a "hypocritical, anti-gay, too political, irrelevant, judgmental Christian" you can be Jesus Christ to everyone around you. Let His light shine as you become less and less while He becomes more and more...
More so, my prayer is that we do this together so people can see the love He has for us in the love we have for each other...
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