April 2, 2009

Ur Video: Shane Hipps on Medium and Message

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February 25, 2009

Divine Agnosticism

by Skye Jethani

The following is an excerpt from chapter two of Skye Jethani�s new book The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity (Zondervan, 2009).

My brother and sister-in-law took me to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl while I was visiting Southern California recently. The renowned outdoor amphitheater is nestled into the hills of Hollywood creating a scenic environment for 18,000 people to enjoy an evening of music under the stars. As the sun was setting, the members of the orchestra began taking their seats in the white band shell. The sound of the musicians tuning their instruments was odd. Screeching strings echoed. Blasts came from the wind section. It was chaotic and unpleasant.

Finally, the conductor emerged from stage left. The audience erupted in applause as he took his position on the conductor�s platform. He calmly raised his arms over his noisy orchestra. Silence. The time for tuning their instruments was over. After a few moments of quiet anticipation the conductor�s arms moved and the soul-stirring music began.

Like an orchestra tuning their instruments, consumer Christianity is producing chaotic and unpleasant noise about God. The prevailing view of God as an alienated commodity has fueled endless pontificating about his ways and character. This noise reveals a failure of reverence toward the one who declared, �My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways�for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.�

Rather than adding to the noise perhaps it is time for us to finally be silent, be still, and wait in quit anticipation for God to begin a new work. Leopold Stokowski, the composer who founded the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in 1945, once said, �A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.� Maybe God is waiting for us to be silent long enough so he may begin painting a new picture in our imaginations; to begin transforming our image of a manageable deity into one that can truly inspire.

To start reversing our malformed view of God, perhaps we need to cover our mouths with our hands and humbly confess our ignorance like Job, �I have uttered what I did not know.� Strangely, our first step beyond consumer Christianity may be toward agnosticism. An agnostic is literally someone who says �I don�t know.� The word comes from the Greek a-gnostos meaning �not-knowing.� It is commonly used to mean one who neither affirms nor denies the existence of God. Divine agnosticism, the sort I�m advocating, differs in that it affirms the existence of God but then acknowledges our human inability to fully grasp his infinite nature.

Does this mean we can know nothing about God apart from his existence? Of course not. But there is an important hierarchy to knowing; before we can know anything about God we must first humbly confess that we know nothing. Divine agnosticism simply recognizes what Kierkegaard called the �infinite qualitative difference� between God and man. Like Job, an honest relationship with God begins when we accept our finite condition as a creature and cease our futile attempts to contain God with our noisy words.

Job�s humble silence before the grandeur of the Almighty was not an isolated event. The same human response has been recorded numerous times in both scripture and history. Thomas Aquinas was one of the greatest theologians of the Middle Ages. His Summa Theologia addresses ten thousand objections to the Christian faith. Some have called it one of the greatest intellectual achievements of western civilization. But on December 6, 1273 Aquinas abruptly announced to his secretary that he would write no more. While worshipping in the chapel of Saint Nicholas, Aquinas had an intense experience with God. �I can do no more,� he said, �such things have been revealed to me that all I have written seems to me as so much straw.�

More recently Karl Barth, arguably the 20th century�s most celebrated and prolific theologian, also came to recognize the limits and inadequacy of his words about God. Barth envisioned entering heaven pushing a cart full of his books and hearing the angels laugh. He said, �In heaven we shall know all that is necessary, and we shall not have to write on paper or read more�.Indeed, I shall be able to dump even the Church Dogmatics, over the growth of which the angels have long been amazed, on some heavenly floor as a pile of waste paper.�

Consumerism, with its never-ending noise about its consumable god, has led us to believe that our words and notions about God are of supreme importance. It has made the church into a noisy orchestra without harmony and fearful of silence. But humble silence offers us liberation from our digital cocoons to experience wonder once again. Silence allows us the space to contemplate the vastness of the heavens and the God beyond them. Silence can shatter the trivialized deity that has occupied our imaginations, and provide God the canvas to begin a new work in our souls.

You can read the full introduction to The Divine Commodity on Skye�s blog.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at February 25, 2009 | Comments (9) | TrackBack

January 30, 2009

Three Dramas that Drive Us

by Skye Jethani

At any given moment we are each engaged in three dramas, but only one of them ultimately matters.

First, there is the drama of the practical. These are the events and measurable conditions that surround us every day. For many church leaders the current drama of the practical involves the economic crisis and keeping their ministries solvent. At other times the drama of the practical is about increasing attendance, launching a new program, or financing a building campaign. Those men and women who learn to master the drama of the practical are often the most revered and celebrated. They know how to get things done so we buy their books, attend their conferences, and listen to their advice.

But there is a second drama that many practical actors ignore�the drama of the theoretical. While we are busy living our lives and doing our ministry, there is a deeper drama informing and guiding our decisions. This drama of the theoretical is where our assumptions and beliefs are at play; where our often unspoken philosophy of ministry is behind the scenes pulling the levers and pushing the buttons�what we believe about the church, mission, culture, and theology. Those with more reflective faculties are able to speak and identify this drama of the theoretical in a way many practical dramatists simply cannot. For this reason, as my college professor used to say, they often find themselves writing about the world rather than running it.

Most pastors and church leaders, as well as the resources created to help them, are primarily concerned with these two dramas�the practical and the theoretical. What should I think and what should I do? For this reason we often ask secular experts in the practical and theoretical to help us lead our churches. But we deceive ourselves if we believe these two dramas comprise the bulk of our life or significance. Because behind the drama of the practical, and far deeper than the drama of the theoretical, there lies a third drama more powerful than either and whose outcome controls them both�the drama of the eternal.

The Quaker missionary and scholar Thomas Kelly wrote about this deeper drama as World War II was escalating:

Out in front of us is the drama of men and of nations, seething, struggling, laboring, dying. Upon this tragic drama in these days our eyes are all set in anxious watchfulness and in prayer. But within the silences of the souls of men an eternal drama is ever being enacted, in these days as well as in others. And on the outcome of this inner drama rests, ultimately, the outer pageant of history. It is the drama of the Hound of Heaven baying relentlessly upon the track of man.

We are not merely managers of religious institutions with practical duties. Neither are we merely thought-leaders living on the rarified air of theory and vision. We are spiritual leaders called to shepherd the souls of women, men, and children. Of all people we are called to be most aware and sensitive to the drama of the eternal. And yet I hear so little about this responsibility among church leaders today because playing in the drama of the eternal is something secular leadership gurus and cultural pundits cannot teach us. But if we, the leaders of the church, will not take up this responsibility then who will?

Of course, before we can hope to see into the �silences of the souls of men� we must learn to discern the secret things that move within our own souls. For weeks on this blog people have debated the merits of missional verses attractional church models (an exercise in the drama of the theoretical). But can we see how our advocacy of one model or the other is linked to the eternal drama at play deeper within? What does attracting a crowd to hear me speak do to satisfy my insecure identity? How might an aggressively missional model fuel my need for accomplishment? We are na�ve to think the drama of the eternal isn�t in some way impacting the drama of the theoretical.

Likewise, our energetic and often frenzied pace in ministry (the drama of the practical) also finds its headwaters in the drama of the eternal. Do our actions, even the busy ones, flow from a soul at peace in the presence of the Lord, or are we accomplishing objectives from an idolatrous desire to serve our ego? The resolution of this inner drama, as Kelly remarks, will ultimately determine the outer pageant of our lives and ministries.

Ted Haggard�s step back into the spotlight vividly illustrates this truth. No one doubts Haggard�s expertise in the drama of the practical�he grew a very large church. Many have celebrated his ability to engage the drama of the theoretical�he became a leader in the evangelical political and cultural movement. But it was the drama of the eternal in his soul that defined his destiny and leaves me to wonder�could the very same wound in his soul that led to drug abuse and sexual misconduct have been what fueled his celebrated practical and theoretical achievements as well?

When we take our gaze off the celebrity pastors (practical dramatists) and the ministry pundits (theoretical dramatists) and we fix our eyes once again on Jesus, we�ll discover a spiritual leader with the wisdom to focus on the only drama that really matters. Jesus lived and served from a soul at one with the Father and an identity secure in his love. From this inner place he drew the strength to do might works (drama of the practical) and teach profound truths (drama of the theoretical), but more importantly he found the courage to endure outward failure, ridicule, and abandonment. The drama of the eternal, his inner communion with his Father, defined and determined the outward drama of his life. Unfortunately, too many of us in ministry have it the other way around.

At any given moment we are each engaged in three dramas, but only one of them ultimately matters.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at January 30, 2009 | Comments (6) | TrackBack

January 27, 2009

The Gluttony of Time

by Bob Hyatt

A paradox has emerged in this new millennium: people have enhanced quality of life, but at the same time they are adding to their stress levels by taking on more than they have resources to handle. It's as though their eyes were bigger than their stomachs.

�David Allen, Getting Things Done

It's more than likely that you've heard a message, read a book, or done some thinking about "busyness" in the last year or two. Slightly less likely, but still entirely possible, is that you've heard a message, read a book, or done some thinking on "gluttony" during the same time.

It's highly unlikely that the two were connected. But maybe they should have been.

Why do we say yes to so much? Is it because we are guilt-ridden, co-dependent angst monkeys who lack the willpower to say no? No. We say no to a million things a day. Usually to things that are good for us, but still...when we want to, we know how to say no just fine, thank you.

Is it because we have a drive towards self justification that works itself out in our work and an ever-increasing load of commitments through which we seek to earn the favor of others and God? In part, yes...

But maybe it also has something to do with our appetites.

You know, our appetites for recognition and "importance." To be liked, appreciated, admired. Even our appetite to "get things done." And honestly, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But like all things in this broken world, left unchecked by the Spirit and un-submitted to God, our appetite to be liked and our desire to achieve will run out of control.

I've been thinking about busyness as though it is a problem to be managed�increase my productivity and I could, of course, accept and keep more commitments, more on my plate... more to feed my ego.

Maybe the problem with busyness isn't it. Maybe it's me. Me and my ego and pride.

Conceived of this way, busyness isn't an issue of time management and productivity, it's an issue of desire. When is enough, enough? When am I doing enough good things through which that God-given desire to feel productive and useful in this world can be fulfilled? When do I cross the line between finding satisfaction in the good day's work I put in and trying to find my identity through an ever-increasing load of ego-enhancing commitments?

I spend a lot of time thinking about how people can be more productive in ministry. And don't get me wrong, I want to continue to work on productivity/time management and all the rest. But until I work through the inner issues of why I try to do so much, all the productivity hacks in the word really just add up to enabling.

In other words, most days I don't need any more help being productive or managing the stress of work. I think I need help in managing my appetite for applause and the stress of opportunity.

I fear my busyness is simply a sign of my gluttony.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at January 27, 2009 | Comments (8) | TrackBack

November 18, 2008

God�s Voice in the Global Market Meltdown

by Dave Gibbons

I imagine you may be paying more attention to the market news. Our 401Ks have turned into a 201Ks! The markets are in transition. Most likely this recession will not be quickly fixed with bailouts and the lowering of interest rates. The unraveling of our security seems to be happening at unprecedented speed, leaving many disoriented and stressed.

This is affecting churches too. Giving is down. Layoffs are happening not only among our members but also our church staffs. I spoke to one friend who said their giving is over thirty percent below what was expected. Many of us in church leadership are facing hard decisions. To avoid some of these hard choices by closing our eyes only delays the inevitable pain.

When chaos happens it�s easy to just hunker down, think of quick strategies to get out of the mess, or make rash choices. But perhaps slowing down for a season of reflection would do us well. What might God be saying to me, to our country? While we gravitate quickly to happy endings and stories of inspiration, perhaps a period of confession and repentance is also in order. Could this be a disciplining from God�for America�for our churches� for me?

Sure it�s easy to shamelessly wag our finger at Wall Street bankers, traders, and lenders. Their avarice, greed, and ostentatious ways are notorious. But before we strain our finger, let�s not forgot who they�ve been working for. We�re also involved in their trades, their transactions, and the thirst for MORE. The hard reality is, we are Wall Street. We are the lenders, we are the traders, and now we are the debtors.

The church is not untainted by this. I understand a need to be a healthy and purposeful church, but have we gone overboard with our focus on formulas, numbers, size, influence, marketing techniques, and branding? Have we forgotten what makes the church the church? At the end of the day, are we really driven by God�s heart? Are we really motivated by Christ�s love and not the money or the numbers?

Of late the church has become increasingly �cause� focused. Justice and advocacy is our mantra, but how much do we need to pour into advertising this? I thought the right hand wasn�t supposed to know what the left hand was doing? How much do we really need to be spending on self-promotion within the church?

While in Thailand, the Muslims we worked with on one of the southern islands were sick of the Western �help� they received. They said after the tsunami, �western Christians came to give us things without asking what we needed, and then they took pictures with their banners and left.� Their conclusion, �The Christians used us.�

Perhaps just as these economic times reflect the greed and lusts of our capital markets, they also shed light upon the darkness of the church. I�m writing this in an airplane knowing that I too struggle with affections that cause me to drift away from my God. Given to my own thirst for material items and the good life, I too can forget the true wealth I have in Christ.

Then I remembered this mystical, unexpected encounter of the Spirit from earlier in the week. I had a sacred moment that came upon me and overwhelmed me with emotion. Two young men shared with me some temptations they were dealing with. In that moment as they were sharing, I was quickly reminded of what my father-in-law told me twenty years ago before I entered the pastorate. He said, �Dave, be careful of the big three: money, interactions with women, and pride.� As I recalled his words with these two promising leaders whom I deeply love, the words from I John 2:15-17 flooded my soul.

Love not the world. Neither the things in the world. For anyone that loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world,
The Lust of the Flesh.
The Lust of the Eyes.
And the Pride of Life.
Is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world passes away and the lusts thereof. . . But he that does the will of God abides forever.

As I shared this passage, I felt God�s presence much like I did when I first read those words in Telluride, Colorado, at a youth retreat in the middle of the Rockies. I vividly remember God speaking with me in the midst of the chaos of my parent�s divorce and the fracturing of our home, the loss of our socio-economic standing, the deafening sound of a family devastated by broken dreams: ��and the world passes away but he that does the will of God abides forever.� It was an invitation into an unshakeable kingdom, a bed-rock of safety in the midst of a long nightmare.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at November 18, 2008 | Comments (10) | TrackBack

July 8, 2008

Formation via Fiction

This is a highly unscientific observation, but I stand by it: In my scouring of bookshelves in pastor�s studies and church libraries, I regularly find volumes from the corporate world about how to be an effective leader and efficient administrator; studies from the humanities about human psychology and sexuality; and manuals from the financial and legal sectors about budgeting, zoning, and liability issues. What I seldom, if ever, find is fiction. And I think that�s a shame.

For much of their history, many evangelicals have considered novels to be either immoral or simply a waste of time. (To be fair, there are a good many novels that are both.) But good fiction (an entirely subjective category, I admit) can help a minister better understand the people to whom he or she is ministering�people struggling with doubt, addictions, or questions about calling and vocation. Here�s a list of a few novels I think every minister should read, along with a few reasons why.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde �a great look at how a person�s spirit can be tormented by secret sin.
Wealthy and conceited Dorian Gray wants to be young forever. He commissions an artist to paint his portrait. Then wishes that his portrait would age and bear the evidence of his dissipation and loose living, but that he would stay young forever. He gets what he asks for. His struggle with sin is powerful (and never explicit, by the way).

Continue reading at www.OfftheAgenda.com.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at July 8, 2008 | Comments (6) | TrackBack

May 30, 2008

You Walk (with God) Wrong

In a recent issue of New York magazine, Adam Sternbergh accuses, �You Walk Wrong.� And I can�t help but think that his insight into feet has spiritual application for Western Christians.

As the title suggests, Sternbergh claims that none of us walks correctly. But it�s not our fault; it�s shoes. �Shoes are bad,� he claims. In fact, he cites researcher William Rossi as saying, �Natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person.� After comparing the feet of 180 people from different cultures, along with a few feet from 2,000-year-old skeletons, researchers concluded that feet were healthier before shoes became fashionable (the skeleton feet were better off). And people who don�t wear shoes�Zulus, in this case�have healthier feet than we Westerners. Athletes who wear cheaper, less padded, shoes have fewer injuries. Elderly people with back, knee, and hip problems report less pain when barefoot. This is, to oversimplify, because feet absorb shock better than shoes (because they flex) and because we walk lighter when barefoot (because we can feel the ground).

Growing up, I loved the feeling of shag carpet and cool mud between my toes and feeling the earth as God made it, with all its points and sharp edges. So I was particularly pleased at Sternbergh�s conclusion: that our feet�and the rest of our ambulating parts by extension�are healthier when we avoid the temptation to wrap them in foam. Lacing up to avoid the momentary discomforts of walking unshod causes long-term problems, because although our feet adjust to walking without shoes, our joints never adjust to walking with them.

Now for the spiritual application.

Our culture is determined to mediate its own experiences, so that we feel what we want when we want. That explains my frustration with NetFlix. Who knows what kind of mood I�ll be in by the time I get a movie in the mail? Will I want to laugh or think or cry on Friday evening two weeks from now? Or to take another example, when my wife brings up a difficult conversation (like the family budget) at an inconvenient time, I�m tempted to say, �I can�t deal with this right now.� It�s as if I have some right to determine when to face difficulty and what emotions to engage.

This impulse appears in broader Christian culture. The title of a book by the bestselling author of Boundaries (Zondervan, 2002) says it all: Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren�t (Zondervan, 1996). We�ve learned to protect ourselves with spiritual gifts inventories: �I�m afraid I can�t help in the youth group; it�s not my gift.� We consider things edifying if they reinforce what we think, not if they unsettle us (I had this conversation with Christians concerning Pedro the Lion.)

Churches, too, can further insulate their members by catering to these tendencies. Instead of encouraging parishioners to submit to the congregation, an elder, or mentor, churches often teach them to self-diagnose and self-prescribe their spiritual formation regimen. Or they offer a variety of service times and styles to prevent congregants from making difficult (and formative) decisions about priorities.

When you walk without the insulation of shoes, you don�t have the privilege of deciding when to tread rocky ground or cool mud or warm sand. But that�s just what makes our feet resilient. We take the rough terrain when it comes and learn balance in the process. Similarly, if I lived without spiritual insulation, I would learn balance by adjusting my stride to account for difficulties when they arise, not by avoiding them until I�m ready to face them. My spiritual feet would toughen and I would be healthier for it.

What�s the solution? Spiritual disciplines are a great place to start. We can slip off our shoes and maneuver uncomfortable ground through fasting, silence, and giving. Over time�according to the saints who do this sort of thing�you find the periods of discipline more natural than indulgence, and your feet stay bare more often.

For myself, I�ve found liturgical worship and following the Church calendar to do much the same thing. Pentecost Sunday�regardless of how I feel about my finances or family issues�is a cause for celebration. I may not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, but I am directed to rejoice in it nonetheless. Conversely, whatever my personal victories, Good Friday is a time to mourn.

In The Gift of Pain (Zondervan, 1993) Paul Brand (with Philip Yancey), explains that insensitivity to pain has serious medical consequences:

Without this chorus of pain, a leprosy patient lives in constant peril. He will wear too-tight shoes all day. He will walk five, ten, fifteen miles without changing gait or shifting weight. And�even if sores break open inside his shoe, he will not limp.

Does the same not apply to our souls? What do we risk by ignoring the �indispensable protection of pain?�

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Posted by UrL Scaramanga at May 30, 2008 | Comments (12)

April 29, 2008

Money from Heaven

�I thought that spending my check from the government was supposed to be the patriotic thing to do, but I�m not sure it�s the Kingdom thing to do.� That is how my friend Chuck began explaining his idea about what our congregation could do with the economic stimulus payments that begin arriving in the mail this week. After hearing so much about the sluggish economy and our responsibility to jumpstart it through consumption, he was wondering if there might be a better way to invest Uncle Sam�s rebate.

On Sunday, I invited Chuck to join me in front of our church. I asked him to explain why spending the money on himself was not the best thing he could do with it. �As I read about the government�s plan in the news, the more the idea of spending money on myself seemed to be at odds with the values of God�s kingdom,� he said. He told us he�d been reading Jesus� words in Luke 12 and it appeared to be opposed to the message that we can spend our way to prosperity, security, and happiness.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear� 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.

Chuck said that Kingdom investment doesn�t necessarily mean giving money to the church.

Maybe there is a neighbor who needs some help. Maybe there is a ministry that could use some financial generosity. �The important thing,� Chuck told the congregation, �is to ask God what his plans are for this money.�

Next Sunday our church will use more time talking about this. The congregation will be encouraged to pray about the best way to invest their rebate. It�s exciting to consider how the thousands of dollars represented in our local congregation could be creatively invested in ways that reflect and advance God�s Kingdom.

Is your church talking about the Economic Stimulus Package? Has your congregation spent time imagining how our government�s plan to stimulate the economy might be an opportunity to demonstrate God�s alternative economy? Or, are you staying clear of anything that smacks of government and politics?

What about churches in urban or poorer rural communities�are these checks a small taste of justice for those left behind by our full-speed economy? Will people in your church spend the money on themselves, or will you also encourage them to invest it in God�s kingdom?

Share what your church is doing with the stimulus package checks�the editors would love to hear.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at April 29, 2008 | Comments (25)

December 3, 2007

The Obstacles of Advent

Last week my wife and I got all of our Christmas shopping done�in one day. This blitzkrieg approach has become a tradition for us. It�s like pulling a tooth; better to have the whole thing out at once. In the evening we treated ourselves to a victory dinner at a restaurant. While savoring my accomplishment and my meal, I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on the television above the bar. Ah, Christmas in America�spend all day battling the crowds at the mall and have Luke chapter 2 recited to you by a cartoon character at night.

Many have lamented the way our culture has �taken Christ out of Christmas,� and in recent years we�ve heard conservative pundits freak out when retailers wish customers a �Happy Holiday� rather than �Merry Christmas.� But even for those of us in the church, aware of the season�s spiritual significance, and determined to celebrate the advent of the Messiah, this month still poses many challenges. Let�s face it, focusing on God in our society is always difficult and the added stress of the holidays only makes things harder.

Four years ago we decided to shift the way our church engaged Advent. We came to see that December posed unique challenges for our people, and if these obstacles were left unchecked they would significantly interrupt our mission to be formed into the image of Christ. For this reason our church is taking some intentional steps to help people commune with God this Christmas in a counter-cultural way.

The first obstacle we identified was busyness. Ask anyone in my church, on any day, what keeps them from communing with God and chances are they�ll say busyness. But during December it really gets out of control. Beyond ordinary obligations schedules also fill up with numerous parties, school holiday programs, shopping excursions, vacations, and family gatherings with Cousin Eddie. During a season when we are supposed to slow down and commune deeply with Christ and family we can hardly find time to breathe.

We decided the church should combat this tendency rather than contribute to it. So, instead of adding programs and activities during December we�ve actually reduced them. For example, we�ve stayed away from large Christmas productions for children or adults. These events, while beautiful and worshipful, often take weeks of preparation that fill up the calendar with practices which separate families. We also suspend most adult and children�s classes on Sunday so families can worship together, and we provide at-home Advent family devotionals and encourage heads of households to gather their clan weekly.

In addition, beginning in late October we start encouraging everyone to complete their Christmas shopping before December 1. This frees up time during Advent to connect with others, and hours that would otherwise be spent at the mall can now be used to serve someone in the name of Christ. It seems so simple, but I can�t tell you how many people have been blessed by this suggestion.

The second obstacle we identified was materialism. You know consumption is a problem in society when the first day of the Christmas shopping season is known as �Black Friday.� It is so called because it�s the day most retailers discover if they will make a profit for the year (be in the black). Our entire economy hinges on whether or not people celebrate Christmas by purchasing ChiaPets and little dancing Santas. But all of the focus on �stuff� distracts us from focusing on Christ. (If you haven�t heard about it already, check out the site for What Would Jesus Buy?�a new film debuting this month.)

To address this obstacle we encourage our community to reduce their shopping expenses and match whatever they spend by giving to a compassion or missions project. This year we�re highlighting two projects in particular. The first is in partnership with our missionaries in Cambodia working with AIDS patients. The other is an urban ministry in Chicago we�ve been connected with for years. There are other projects available, and a number involve more than giving money. Many small groups, for example, take time to engage a local service project together and children are encouraged to participate as well.

To be honest, not everyone has appreciated this approach. Some come to our church with expectations of an elaborate Christmas pageant, and others don�t want to be challenged every week to shop earlier and spend less. But our desire is simple�to release time for communion with God and service to others, and to refocus our attention away from the kitsch and onto Christ.

That�s our attempt to overcome the obstacles of Advent. What is you�re church doing?

Posted by Skye Jethani at December 3, 2007 | Comments (10)

October 1, 2007

So Many Christian Infants

Gordon MacDonald�s column for October is my own lament: Why are there so many spiritual babies? And why don�t the mature believers do something about it? We�re really good at bringing people into the kingdom, Gordon says, but lousy at prodding them to maturity. Our sage is not afraid to point fingers.

I have been musing on the words of Martin Thornton: �A walloping great congregation,� he wrote, �is fine and fun, but what most communities really need is a couple of saints.
The tragedy is that they may well be there in embryo, waiting to be discovered, waiting for sound training, waiting to be emancipated from the cult of the mediocre.�

�Saints,� he says. Mature Christians: people who are �grown-up� in their faith, to whom one assigns descriptors such as holy, Christ-like, Godly, or men or women of God.

Now mature, in my book does not mean the �churchly,� those who have mastered the vocabulary and the litany of church life, who come alive only when the church doors open. Rather, I have in mind those who walk through all the corridors of the larger life�the market-place, the home and community, the playing fields�and do it in such a way that, sooner or later, it is concluded that Jesus� fingerprints are all over them.

I have concluded that our branch of the Christian movement (sometimes called Evangelical) is pretty good at wooing people across the line into faith in Jesus. And we�re also not bad at helping new-believers become acquainted with the rudiments of a life of faith: devotional exercise, church involvement, and basic Bible information�something you could call Christian infancy.

But what our tradition lacks of late�my opinion anyway�is knowing how to prod and poke people past the �infancy� and into Christian maturity.

A definition of a mature Christian is lacking. Best to say that you know a mature Christian when you see one. They�re in the New Testament. Barnabas is one. Aquila and Priscilla are others. Onesiphorous impresses me. And so is the mother of Rufus of whom Paul said, �she has been a mother to me.� That�s a short list.

The marks of maturity? Self-sustaining in spiritual devotions. Wise in human relationships. Humble and serving. Comfortable and functional in the everyday world where people of faith can be in short supply. Substantial in conversation; prudent in acquisition; respectful in conflict; faithful in commitments.

Take a few minutes and ask how many people you know who would fit such a description. How many? Apparently, Paul, pondered the question when he thought about Corinthian Christians and said, �I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly�mere infants in Christ.�

As usual, I�m long on questions and short on answers. Right now I�m wondering�assuming that Martin Thornton is right�if we church people have forgotten how to raise saints. And if the question is worthy, then what�s been going wrong? Bad preaching? Shallow books? Too much emphasis on a problem-solving, self-help kind of faith?

Maybe the answer is deeper or more profound that that.

Continue reading Gordon MacDonald's column at LeadershipJournal.net.
Pastor and author Gordon MacDonald is chair of World Relief and editor-at-large of Leadership.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 1, 2007 | Comments (48)

June 21, 2007

The Organic Bible

Previously, John Dunham from the International Bible Society wrote about the unintended impact of having scripture divided by chapters and verses. It�s led to what he calls �verse jacking,� taking scripture out of context and using it for a purpose it was never intended. In this follow up post Dunham responds to some of your comments, and introduces an alternative way to read the Bible.

Commenting on my previous post, Glenn Krobel wrote:

There are too many Christians in ministry today who thrive off attacking our heritage without offering a solutions to problems they address.

Thanks for bringing that up, Glenn. I agree. And despite many people thinking the current system is too ingrained to move away from, I think it�s worth a try. On August 1, International Bible Society will release The Books of The Bible. Chapter and verse numbers? Gone. Topical section headers? Gone. Extra columns? Gone. On the page helps? Gone. Footnotes? Moved to the back of each book. What you are left with is a no-additives edition of the Bible.

Not only have we taken out the dubiously beneficial additives, but we have also humbly attempted to bring a more faithful structure to today�s Bible. There is no doubt the Holy Spirit has worked powerfully throughout the centuries through God�s word in the Messiah�s church, no matter what form his word has taken. But form does matter as we display the beauty of God�s word.

Topical section headers are shortcuts for finding a verse or letting us know what�s going on. Therein is the problem. Too often we rely on them to tell us how to interpret a passage without regard to the larger story, and sometimes these breaks come at the worst spots. While trained leaders may easily look past them, most readers are better off without them. The Books of The Bible allows the literary structure of a book to spring out by inserting appropriate amounts of white space in places where the author shows a transition (e.g., the toledot formulae in the Torah or Matthew�s five sections of Jesus� activity and teaching).

A single-column typesetting is what we expect when we open any non-fiction book or novel. But most Bibles have two columns. Rick Shott correctly commented that this is for conserving space and reducing white space. This ends up saving publishers about fifteen to twenty percent on paper. But at what cost? Books like the Psalms are absolutely decimated with no reasonable way of making sense of the poetic structure. A single-column text displays poetry more clearly and narrative more naturally.

At times throughout the Bible�s development limits in technology forced scribes to separate books that were meant to be one. For example, the books we know today as 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings were originally a unified book telling a single narrative. In The Books of The Bible, Samuel�Kings is presented as the one book that it is. Luke and Acts are two volumes of a single history, so they have been placed together.

Historians have documented over 70 different orders of the books of the Bible. In the current Protestant Bible, poetry and wisdom literature are mixed up with each other and prophets are generally grouped together by the size of the books, the four gospels are grouped together, and Paul�s letters are placed in the order of their length. As the reformers did, we asked, �Is this tradition helpful?� In The Books of The Bible, we have put poetry books in a group and wisdom books in another. We have put the prophets in historical order, and the same goes for Paul�s letters. And we�ve honored the fourfold gospel tradition by grouping each gospel with other New Testament books by theme or audience. To see the complete table of contents, visit www.thebooksofthebible.info.

To revisit chapters and verses, in many ways they have become a crutch for us to quickly locate a passage. But recall what Jesus did in Luke�s account: �He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: �The Spirit of the Lord is on me . . .� � Our Lord did not use a handy reference system. He had devoted his life to the study of Scripture and was able to find passages based solely on context.

I crave that sort of familiarity with the Bible, and I think it will help all people. In sermons and Bible studies, one can locate a section like any book club would: �Turn to page 362, second paragraph, where it says . . .� We already do just fine without chapters and verses in every other area of life. (We recognize, however, that chapters and verses are of limited benefit, so we have retained a chapter and verse range at the bottom of each page.)

We hope that God�s image bearers will use this new (and in many ways, old) format of the Scripture to engage in more and better Bible reading. There is no question that God has worked in amazing ways throughout the history of the Bible. But it is time to revisit how we print and read sacred Scripture. By liberating God�s word from some of the formatting constraints that have been placed on it, his people will be better equipped to tell his awesome story of redemption.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at June 21, 2007 | Comments (17)

June 7, 2007

Success Covers a Multitude of Sins

This week I am attending the Midwest Regional Spiritual Formation Forum at Elmbrook Church near Milwaukee. The conference theme is �spiritual formation and the mission of the church.� Most interpret �mission� to mean a measurable impact in the world. Are people coming to Christ? Is the church making a difference? But the first plenary speaker, Dave Johnson�pastor of Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, Minnesota�says our desire for external impact should take a back seat to internal transformation.

Johnson spoke about the pressure that comes from being anointed for ministry. When God empowers us with the skills to powerfully carry out his purposes it is like a weight being put upon us, and it takes real interior strength to carry it for any amount of time. This interior strength is a character formed in the image of Christ.

Drawing from the life and downfall of Samson, he went on to tell the stories of men and women who were used powerfully by God to accomplish even miraculous things, but who eventually collapsed because their characters simply could not carry the weight of their anointing. These leaders had not made the transformation of their characters the first priority in their life and ministry.

The reason many of us ignore the formation of our character, says Johnson, is because it will slow us down. Many ministry leaders want success, a big church, or a crowd. But how many of us want a real life? How many of us want a life in God? We can have that, Johnson believes. We can have a character that produces love, peace, patience, kindness�but it will slow us down. It might mean the church won�t grow as big as quickly. It might mean the crowd will get smaller.

But the alternative is both devastating and all too common. The alternative is a ministry of high impact but shallow character. As only Johnson could say it, �In the bible it was a miracle when God spoke through an ass. Now it happens everyday.� Translation: God is speaking powerfully through many pastors, but their characters show nothing of God�s life. These leaders, along with their anger, pride, bitterness, and cynicism, are tolerated by many churches because they are able to �fill the room.� Their powerful spiritual gifts, like Samson�s, deflect the flaws of their characters.

Johnson believes that many of us opt to ignore the slow, hard work of character formation because we simply don�t want it. It is a matter of intention. We don�t want to be slowed down in our pursuit of ministry impact and tangible achievement. In order to have a life in God, a life full of his character, we have to want it more than anything else.

Johnson concluded with this simple but haunting question�What do you want?

Posted by Skye Jethani at June 7, 2007 | Comments (21)

June 5, 2007

High Fructose Scripture

There are many dangers in ministry. Jesus warned about the yeast of the Pharisees. Paul warned about engaging foolish controversies. But what about enumerated chapters and verses in the Bible-are those numbers added by editors a threat to sound teaching? John Dunham from the International Bible Society addresses their unexpected impact.

What was the last thing you ate? If it came from a package, you could probably scan down the list of ingredients and find high fructose corn syrup. What is that stuff anyway? Suffice it to say, it�s a readily available, cheap substance that makes food taste good. A manufacturer�s dream. But is it good for you? Does it harm you? Think for a moment how ubiquitous this stuff is. We take for granted that our food will have high fructose corn syrup, so we eat it without a second thought.

You know what else is like that? The chapters and verses in the Bible. What was the last Scripture passage you read? While you were reading, you probably encountered various numbers strewn throughout. If you had seen those numbers in any other book, it would have seemed odd. But chapter and verse numbers have become part of the fabric of the Bible over the last few centuries. Are these numbers good for you? Will they harm your Bible reading? Chapter and verse markings have become ubiquitous, and people rarely stop to question the ramifications of their inclusion in the sacred text.

So why do we have them anyway? Chapter numbers were first added to the Bible in the 1200s to facilitate the process of reading Scripture publicly. The breaks were inserted to make the readings approximately the same length. Verse numbers entered in the 1500s in order to help scholars locate specific phrases as they worked in the burgeoning field of biblical commentary.

These additions to the text came from good motives, and were undoubtedly helpful to the people who used them for the reasons above. But are they helpful in all the ways we use them today? It�s not like they are an inspired part of the text. There were, in fact, various number systems developed for Scripture. (Did you know that one version of Matthew had 68 chapters?) But once a particular system became standardized, we never looked back. Chapters and verses were here to stay.

Some people have recognized the deleterious effects of these numbers over the last few generations. (See for instance The Message or The Bible to Be Read as Living Literature.) Sometimes sentences are broken in unnatural places. Verse numbers cause oral readers to insert breaks where none was intended. And perhaps worst of all, the story of God and his creation becomes chopped into little bits as �God�s Owner�s Manual for Life� or �Bible Promises for Expectant Mothers Named Cathy.� People naturally look to their favorite verses to provide comfort or instruction without regard to the author�s point in the surrounding context. Similarly, chapters tell me where to stop reading, sometimes at the most inopportune times.

Verse jacking, taking verses and using them for something other than what was intended, is endemic to our culture.
I hear people quote from Isaiah (55:11, for those keeping score at home) all the time saying, �God says his word won�t return to him empty.� I too have used that sentence to assure people that their quoting a Bible �verse� will surely be effective given this promise. But what happens if we look at the context? When you read the surrounding stanzas of the oracle, it emerges that God is foretelling his people�s return from exile, and further, even the removal of the curse from the creation. From Genesis and John we see that the very word of God is effective in creation. Isaiah says that God�s word will bring about re-creation, restoration and renewal.

Think about the storied approach to the Bible versus the spoon-fed bits approach in the context of discipleship. When you started ministering in your current church, did you sit a staff member down and ask them to list all the inside jokes you might encounter? More than likely, you let the jokes happen, and as they did, someone explained to you why they were funny. They told a story. They discipled you in the story of your staff. Similarly, as you lead your church in seeing what God is doing in the Bible, help them to engage the story organically, not as a laundry list of anecdotes.

While a smaller understanding of a phrase of Scripture may be technically correct, it is tremendously helpful, actually necessary, to see it within the context of God�s bigger story. In our bumper sticker culture, that�s a tall order, but it�s like choosing a natural sweetener over a cheap substitute. It�s just better in the long run.

John Dunham is a WordWright at International Bible Society. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife Susan and learned recently that whitewater kayaking is really hard work if you paddle improperly.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at June 5, 2007 | Comments (27)

April 13, 2007

Name Calling

What is a Christian response to the flap over radio personality Don Imus's description of the Rutgers women's basketball team? Is his firing a concession to pressure groups or an appropriate judgment? In this debate, is there something deeper to be said about language and the coarseness of public conversation? This column by Mark Labberton, appearing in the Spring issue of Leadership and arriving in mailboxes this week, was written before current controversy. In it Labberton speaks to the deeper issues of naming and labeling. He offers a biblical perspective on the words we apply to others and to ourselves.

Every day our naming of the people around us gives life and takes it away. Really? Really.

Being rightly named means being truly known. It changes our lives. Embedded in our words, and in our actions, are the names we give to and receive from others. Gestures of value, nods of recognition, glances of curiosity, looks of compassion, signs of paying attention build one another up.

God created by naming: �Let there by light,� and �let us make humankind in our image.� In turn, the human beings named with unflinching instinct, �This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.� Yet right from the start our very capacity for rightly naming includes our freedom to misname. �Did God really say . . .� are words that rename God�s intent, and reality cracks. �This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh� easily becomes, �The woman you gave me.�

Misnaming misidentifies who we are and our relation to others. The tragic consequences are everywhere.

Power can be measured by our capacity to give names that stick. Middle school teaches us this, if nothing else. If we carry the wrong name given us through some powerful voice at some vulnerable moment, we can be crippled.

Every time the church gathers in worship, we gather as those bearing names not our own: Inadequate. Failure. Bad Parent. Fat. Together. We can be deluded or oppressed by the naming and misnaming we experience and perpetrate on others.

Suffering, individually and collectively, intensifies when it�s not named or wrongly named. Injustice wracks our world with the complex legacy of God�s treasured creatures misnaming God, misnaming ourselves, and misnaming our neighbor. This abuse of power is our undoing.

Dalits (�Untouchables�) in India are required by Hindu law to be given one name, and it must be derogatory: Ugly, Stupid, Dung. Imagine the transformation when they discover that in Jesus, God came as a dalit (itself an extraordinary shock of rightly, if unexpectedly naming, God), and that he has the power to rename them: Chosen. Holy. Beloved.

�Behold, all things are new.� Indeed.

As pastors and leaders, ours is a vocation of naming. By God�s grace, our calling is to live into our own real names as we help others discover theirs, so that in turn they can so live and name the people and the world around them that what has been lost is found, that those who are blind may see. When we live this way, we participate in �doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly before our God.�

Mark Labberton is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, California.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at April 13, 2007 | Comments (7)

March 27, 2007

No Transformation Necessary

Dallas Willard has said, �We fail to be disciples only because we do not decide to be. We do not intend to be disciples.� But which is the greater problem, the person who does not intend to be a disciple or the church that never expects him to be one? Dave Johnson, senior pastor of Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, Minnesota, shares about a man from his childhood church. Ray was an elder who showed no evidence of transformation, and the church never seemed disturbed by that fact. Johnson asks the obvious question: What�s up with that?

His name was Ray. He sat in the 3rd row on the aisle seat of the church I grew up in. Every Sunday, there he was�watching, critiquing, making sure my father said it right. Ray�s Bible was a thing to behold. Words underlined and circled with arrows pointing to other words�notes in the margin of almost every page. I think he knew the Bible better than God.

Ray was a church guy. When I was 10, he scared me. When I was 20, after my father had begun to share with me the inside story of life in ministry, I came to realize that Ray scared him too. My dad was the pastor of our church. Ray was one of his elders�at least for a time�and he wasn�t a happy guy. The Spirit�s fruit, like love and joy, rarely showed up in him in any discernable way, and he didn�t much like it if showed up in yours.

Sometimes I wonder if I�ve been too hard on Ray. He�s somehow become the composite of every rigid, narrow minded person I�ve ever met in church. No matter�Ray�s dead now�long gone�in heaven, no doubt. At least that�s what we all thought, because Ray prayed the prayer. He believed all the right things about Jesus (His death, resurrection, 2nd coming, all that), and would fight you if you didn�t. Like I said, Ray was a church guy. He just wasn�t a good guy.

So here�s my question: �What�s up with that?� In all his years in church and in �the Word�, Ray never became a different kind of person. He never changed. He never became more loving, gentle, peaceful, or patient. Indeed, he only seemed to become more angry and rigid as time went on. He became harder to be around. What�s more, no one seemed to be bothered by that, as though something were out of the ordinary. No one wondered if maybe Ray had somehow missed the point.

In other words, not only did Ray never change but no one seemed to expect him to. Ray was just being Ray. He prayed the prayer, he believed the right stuff about Jesus, he was irritated with people who didn�t, and he went to heaven when he died. So again the question: �What�s up with that?�

Dave Johnson is the senior pastor of Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, Minnesota. An interview with Johnson is featured in the upcoming spring issue of Leadership. He will also be a featured presenter at the 2007 Spiritual Formation Forum in Milwaukee June 6-8. You can learn more and register at the Spiritual Formation Forum website.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at March 27, 2007 | Comments (33)

March 22, 2007

Redefining Character

The spring issue of Leadership is just a few weeks away from the mailbox. The issue focuses upon the formation of the pastor�s soul and character; the behind-the-scenes work of God in the lives of very public church leaders. Matt Branaugh, our colleague at Christianity Today International, recently attended a ministry conference where his assumptions about character were challenged. In this post he shares his new, broader, perspective on what a leader with character looks like.

�Our character,� goes the quote often attributed to H. Jackson Browne, �is what we do when we think no one is looking.� That�s how I�ve typically defined character. But not anymore.

Last week, I heard Dr. Henry Cloud speak at Willow Creek�s Children�s Ministry Conference. The psychologist, author, and speaker said how we define character is at the core of understanding why leadership problems develop in the church and beyond. �Character equals the ability to meet the demands of reality,� Cloud told the gathering of about 3,500 people.

Based upon his own research and consulting experience, Cloud said problems of character in situations he�s asked to help repair rarely have to do with a lack of brains, competency, or even honesty with the leader.

Instead, he believes a leader with character displays these six traits:

1. You create and maintain trust by making sure your people know that you understand their opinions and concerns;

2. You view truthfulness as more than just honesty, genuinely longing to digest information and adjust to the realities around you;

3. You make a genuine effort to be results-oriented, and not just grace-oriented;

4. You embrace bad news. You get it and get moving;

5. You don�t maintain your leadership abilities. You grow them.

6. You accept the question of transcendence�you say you�re not God and act like it.

I agree with Cloud. Doing these things says a lot about the stuff we�re made of in the volatile world of leadership. Plus, my previous definition seemed a little trite. Character should require more than just watching what I�m doing when no one else is looking.

Matt Branaugh is editor of Ministry Resources and BuildingChurchLeaders.com at Christianity Today International.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at March 22, 2007 | Comments (19)

February 27, 2007

Crowded Loneliness & Quiet Contemplation

Sam O'Neal, our colleague at Christianity Today International and the managing editor of ministry resources, recently participated in the small groups conference at Saddleback Church. In this report, O�Neal shares insights from two presentations. One highlighted the challenge small groups face in our culture, and the other presents an ancient alternative.

Last week, I had the privilege of representing Building Small Groups at the first-ever Purpose Driven Small Groups conference, hosted by Saddleback Church in sunny Lake Forest, California. Because the Purpose Driven folks were running the show, I've returned home with a great deal of useful information, almost all of it nicely packaged into acronyms and "pathways."

But I was most impressed by two presentations that drifted outside the Purpose Driven model. Both of them picked up the gauntlet thrown down by noted church consultant Lyle E. Schaller, who said: "The biggest challenge facing the church is to address the fragmentation and discontinuity of the American lifestyle."

Early Tuesday morning, Randy Frazee spoke on the call to community. According to Frazee, the average American family manages 35 separate relationships on a day-to-day basis�children, extended family, neighbors, government, school, friends, work, Starbucks employees, landlords, telemarketers, etc. And this is before that family gets invited to church, which usually adds another 6 connections�at least.

As a result, Americans are knee-deep in the unprecedented phenomenon of grouped isolation�what Frazee refers to as "crowded loneliness." We are in desperate need of meaningful relationships, yet too busy and too pulled to maintain them.

Even worse, our attempts to relieve our sense of isolation often contribute to our fragmentation. We might join a small group, for example. We'll get in contact with 3 to 11 other dedicated Christians and commit to meet and study the Bible every week.

But what happens? Those 3 to 11 people become another chunk of relationships that we have to manage�relationships that require phone calls, polite questions on Sunday morning, and Christmas gifts. That weekly Bible study devolves into thirty minutes of preparation, thirty minutes in the car driving to and from the appointed house, thirty minutes of genial conversation, thirty minutes of discussion, thirty minutes of prayer, and thirty dollars to pay the babysitter. In other words, our attempts to forge meaningful relationships often add up being "just another thing to do."

Randy Frazee did such a good job of highlighting the problems facing American small groups, and the perfunctory way we engage them, that I began to recognize a few disquieting patterns in my own life. How often have I approached the Bible as just another book to read? How often have I looked at Jesus as just another morning conversation?

These questions helped pique my curiosity about a workshop I spotted on Wednesday afternoon. It was called "Be Still." The presenters for the workshop were Judge Reinhold and his wife, Amy. You may be familiar with Judge from his roles in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Beverly Hills Cop. He was also Aaron, the �close-talker� from Seinfeld. I just had to check out what he was going to say.

It turns out that he and his wife have produced a documentary on contemplative prayer with Scripture, otherwise known as lectio divina. The DVD, also called Be Still, features some of the most prominent Christian thinkers of our time�Dallas Willard, Calvin Miller, Beth Moore, Max Lucado, and Jerry Root, among others.

And yet, as much as I appreciated what each of those people had to say, what I found most valuable was taking the final 10 minutes to practice the discipline of lectio divina myself. The experience was very, very cool.

I alternated between listening to Matthew 11:28�30 (read by Richard Foster, no less) and sitting quietly for several minutes at a time, allowing the Holy Spirit to seep through the tangled clutter of my thoughts and nurture me with his Word. I was surprised at how natural the experience was�at how easily the words of Jesus settled into a place of prominence once I pushed everything else out of the way.

While Randy Frazee�s talk helped me recognize the hectic and fractured reality of our lives, the Reinhold�s workshop revealed an alternative way. In Amy Reinhold's words, we need to give ourselves "permission to stop." Permission to put everything else on hold and experience the presence, power, and direction of the Living God.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at February 27, 2007 | Comments (14)

February 15, 2007

Caring for the Inner Pastor

Dallas Willard has written about the importance of soul care for those of us in ministry. He says,

The call of God to minister the gospel is a high honor and a noble challenge. It carries with it unique opportunities as well as special burdens and dangers for members of the clergy as well as their families. These burdens can be fruitfully born and the dangers triumphantly overcome. But that will not happen unless the minister's �inner person� (2 Cor. 4:16) is constantly renewed by accessing the riches of God and His kingdom in the inner person.

Willard�s words are beautifully optimistic, but how exactly does a minister �access the riches of God and His kingdom in the inner person�? I don�t recall that class being offered in seminary. Perhaps that�s why spiritual directors are becoming so popular, but a good spiritual director can be difficult to find. It�s not as easy as putting a personal ad in the paper:

SWM (Soul Weary Minister) seeks SMF (Spiritually Mature Friend) to help my inner person access God�s riches and experience triumph in my soul. I like long prayer walks in the park, guided sabbatical retreats, and reciting the daily offices. My turn offs are elder board meetings, church budgets, and Mrs. Clark�s mystery casserole. Please respond quickly, my soul needs urgent care.

Because the pastor�s soul is a vital component of ministry, and caring for it can be a challenging responsibility, we�ll be tackling the subject in an upcoming issue of Leadership. What keeps our souls fueled for ministry? What bleeds them dry? And what can we do to maintain our soul�s health and vitality? These are questions many of us might ask a spiritual director, but they are also questions pastors should be asking each other.

So, we are inviting you to share the practices you engage to keep your soul healthy and equipped for ministry. Tell us about the practice, how it nourishes your soul, and why other pastors should consider it for themselves. Be sure to include your name, your church, and your city. We�ll be compiling the list of soul-feeding spiritual practices in the spring issue of Leadership.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at February 15, 2007 | Comments (15)

February 9, 2007

Quiet Graces at a Loud Conference

Last year at the National Pastors Convention, Dallas Willard spoke at an early morning Bible study gathering. Unlike the main sessions the Bible study had no music, no flashing lights, no massive screen. There was nothing remotely worshipful or stimulating about the physical setting. Still, I recall feeling most blessed and caught up into something divine during that simple lesson by Dr. Willard.

Yesterday morning I had a similar experience. For the second year I have been blessed by a soft-spoken, gray haired sage. This morning it was Eugene Peterson. In the same bland ballroom Peterson opened the Bible to share his reflections on prayer. There was nothing spectacular about his presentation, but it carried the gravity of a godly life.

Peterson spoke about the prayer he begins every day with as he walks the quarter mile from his front door to retrieve his newspaper. Living amid the natural beauty of Montana, Peterson greets the squirrels and the deer as he recites the words of Zachariah in Luke 1:68-79.

The first eight verses of this prayer focus most heavily on what God does, he said. There are ten verbs that speak of God�s actions, and there is only one verb to describe ours, �serve.� Peterson said this helps clarify our identity�God does ten things and we do one.

In verses 76-77, Zechariah speaks of his newborn son, John:
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him;
To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

Most interesting is that while reciting these verses Peterson inserts his own name for �child.� He reminds himself that our calling as pastors is to be a prophet�one who speaks God�s word into our world�to prepare the way for the Lord. We are not the Lord, and we do not accomplish what he accomplishes. All we can do is prepare people to encounter the Lord. The outcome rests in his hands, not ours.

The final verse of the prayer speaks of Jesus coming as the Sunrise, or Daybreak. Peterson often says these verses as the sun peaks over the Montana horizon flooding the landscape with light. He says it reminds him of the sight of God over all things. Everywhere we move we are within his Kingdom.

These are simple ideas, but what I cannot capture in a blog post is the poise and substance of Peterson as he spoke. He taught as one whose inner spirit has been shaped by the prayer he cited. I suppose that is what the people meant when they marveled at Jesus� teaching�he taught as one with authority, not like the other scribes (Matt 7:29). It is the intangible authority of an integrated life.

Conferences like NPC are billed as action-packed events, gatherings to acquire skills to impact your ministry, and a place to have an invigorating and energetic experience. Fine. But what isn�t publicized are the quiet moments of inspiration. These moments are not prepackaged or choreographed. They are not projected onto huge screens or screaming to be heard. They are the unassuming pockets of God�s grace content to stay hidden amid the commotion, but longing to be found.

I suppose these graces don�t only exist at conferences. They must be strewn throughout my days. Sages like Dallas Willard and Eugene Peterson have inspired me to search more expectantly for them.

Posted by Skye Jethani at February 9, 2007 | Comments (10)

November 14, 2006

Protecting the Pastor's Soul

The phenomenon of celebrity pastors in the American church cuts two ways. When a mega-pastor succeeds everyone buys their book, attends their seminar, and emulates their strategy. And when a mega-pastor falls we all look into our own souls for evidence of similar frailty. Although the Ted Haggard story has been all but forgotten by the popular media since the election, there are many church leaders still reeling from the revelations. In this post we highlight insights from other blogs about how pastors can guard their souls from the self-destructive power of immorality.

Professor Scot McKnight address how the environment created by evangelicalism contributes to pastors hiding their sins, and the importance of developing the discipline of confession:

In evangelicalism, and the charismatic stream in which Ted Haggard swims, sin is bad and sin by leaders is real bad. This leads to a complex of features that creates a serious problem.

1. Christians, and not just pastors, do not feel free to disclose sins to anyone.

2. Christians, including pastors, sin and sin all the time.

3. Christians, including pastors, in evangelicalism do not have a mechanism of confession.

4. Christians and pastors, because of the environment of condemnation of sin and the absence of a mechanism of confession, bottle up their sins, hide their sins, and create around themselves an apparent purity and a reality of unconfessed/unadmitted sin.

5. When Christians do confess, and it is often only after getting caught, they are eaten alive by fellow evangelicals � thus leading some to deeper levels of secrecy and deceit.

Read more of Scot McKnight�s post.

Pastor of Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll, outlines the precautions he takes to avoid compromising situations with women in his church:

Pastors should have their office at the church and their study at home. There is no reason a pastor should be sitting alone at the church at odd hours (e.g., early morning and late evening) to study when anyone can drop in for any reason and have access to him. Instead, a pastor should come into the office for scheduled meetings and work from home on tasks such as emails, planning, studying, sermon preparation, etc. I spend the vast majority of my time working from home. Some years ago when I did not, I found that lonely people, some of them hurting single moms wanting a strong man to speak into their life, would show up to hang out and catch time with me. It was shortly thereafter that I brought my books home and purchased a laptop and cell phone so that I was not tied to the church office.

Read more of Mark Driscoll�s post.

Finally, Jenell Paris shares about the five sex scandals she�s witnessed in the seven evangelical churches she�s been a part of. This pattern, she says, is more than coincidence:

Their abuse was allowed to continue, in part, because of evangelical practice. We expect our leaders to be morally superior to the masses, and in order to preserve our expectation, we believe this to be so. We often allow pastors privacy in travel, expenses, and other arenas that we wouldn�t allow to others. We often believe men in positions of power more than we believe the women and children who cry out against them. We prevent women from becoming true peers and colleagues to men, and so inhibit the formation of checks and balances that draw on the strengths of all people.

Read more of Jenell Paris� post.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at November 14, 2006 | Comments (14) | TrackBack

November 10, 2006

The Poet of Ur: "The Liar�s Lament"

A reflection on the assassins within us all.

Daniel Haase, a professor at Wheaton College, is a frequent visitor to Ur. The last time he shared one of his poems with us it was after a heated conversation on the blog that turned ugly. Haase has composed another poem in the wake of the Ted Haggard scandal.

After reading Gordon MacDonald�s recent post about Ted Haggard, I have been reminded how knit together and effected we are by the actions of others. As John Donne puts it, �No man is an island.� This in turn has led to a reflection on my own actions and the �assassins� I allow within my heart and mind. What follows is a poem that has been written as a prayer of lamentation. I hope it might lead to a prayerful reflection of our own darkened corners and hidden places.

The Liar�s Lament

Sabbath.
Stillness.

I am sitting in a chair attempting prayer.

The assassins within make their way to the rooftops of my mind.

Anger is camouflaged in kindness.
They position themselves in the bushes of my conscious.
Impatience wears a smile and is dressed as a gardener.

Fear roams the street; he is carrying a newspaper �
Headline reads: EXECUTION IMMINENT

A shot rings out from the bushes.
A flash of light from the rooftop.

What was quiet has turned so loud.
I rise out of the chair.

Am I a dead man walking?

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at November 10, 2006 | Comments (19) | TrackBack

October 12, 2006

Baptizing the Imagination

Our Good Friday this year included no sermon, no worship team, no cutting edge technology or lavish drama. And still people lingered for hours to pray, teenagers returned later in the night with their friends, and children begged their parents for the opportunity to stay longer. Why? I believe it�s because our church chose to nourish the most emaciated aspect of people�s spiritual lives�their imaginations.

Traditionally discipleship has focused upon two areas�knowledge and skills. Churches have poured enormous energy into communicating knowledge about God through preaching, classes, and small groups. In recent years an increasing number of voices have challenged the effectiveness of information based discipleship. That has resulted in churches shifting their focus to skill driven formation��how to� have a healthy marriage, share the gospel, or parent difficult teenagers.

However, knowledge and skill based models, while necessary components of spiritual formation, both miss the imaginative aspect of the human spirit. And by ignoring the intuitive capacity of the mind the church has essentially surrendered people�s imaginations to the pop secular culture without a fight.

In his stirring book The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann says, �We need to ask if our consciousness and imagination have been so assaulted and co-opted by the royal consciousness [popular culture] that we have been robbed of the courage or power to think an alternative thought.� Those filling the pews every Sunday may be full of information about God, and they may be expertly trained to obey God, but without an imagination enraptured by God they will be powerless to live the life he�s called them to. They simply cannot imagine living any differently than the culture around them.

Without significant re-cultivation and sanctification of the imagination, aided by God�s Spirit, a disciple will be incapable of weeding out sin and living obediently. Oswald Chambers understood this reality. He knew that if �your imagination of God is starved then when you come up against difficulties, you have no power, you can only endure in darkness.�

Thankfully many are coming to recognize the importance of imagination in spiritual formation. Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer, author of The Drama of Doctrine and professor of systematic theology says:

�Imagination has been a dirty word for too long�The imagination enables us to see the parts of the Bible as forming a meaningful whole. But we can go further still. The imagination also enables us to see our lives as part of that same meaningful whole. This is absolutely crucial. Christians don�t need more information about the Bible, trivial or otherwise. What the church needs today is the ability to indwell or inhabit the text.�

Using the imagination to inhabit scripture may seem like a new idea to American evangelicals, but the practice is far from original. Since the middle ages practitioners of Ignatian spirituality have used their imaginations to enter biblical narratives, and Brother Lawrence has instructed Christians for centuries to practice the presence of the Lord with their intuitive senses. The beauty of these ancient models of spiritual formation is that they require no technology, no monstrous church building, not even a digital projector.

On Good Friday we helped people enter the biblical narrative with their imaginations by adapting the traditional stations of the cross into an experiential journey with Jesus from Gethsemane to the grave. While holding a bag of silver coins people contemplated what they valued more than Christ. Children, using a stool if they were too short, lifted a cross suspended from the ceiling while considering if they would have helped Jesus carry his burden. Newcomers jumped as someone nailed a spike into a beam while Isaiah 53 was softly read. Some adults who have known the story since childhood were brought to tears as their imaginations, perhaps for the first time, traveled with Jesus through the suffering.

Ultimately, we do not need multi-sensory events or media saturated worship to engage the imagination. Sometimes we just need the space (devoid of noise and clutter) and the permission (from leaders who affirm the importance of the imagination) to apprehend God and his story intuitively. When biblical knowledge and pragmatic skills are linked once again to an imagination ravished by God, we may finally find the power to obey.

Read more about the imagination's role in spiritual formation in the Fall issue of Leadership.

Posted by Skye Jethani at October 12, 2006 | Comments (15) | TrackBack

July 23, 2006

Spiritual Formation: we�ve already got a proven model, but do we want it?

Recently friends from a major publisher of Sunday school curriculum called me. They were researching trends in spiritual formation, they said, and they thought I might help them.

After a few warm-up questions, they got to the heart of the matter: �What would you recommend for spiritual formation in our time?�

�The monastery,� I said.

There was a long pause.

�I�m serious,� I said.

Another long pause. �You�re going to have to unpack that for us,� they finally said.

�It�s a proven model,� I pointed out, �a model that includes everything we know brings about transformation. What would happen to your life� (I was now turning the question on them) �if you lived in close geographical community and relationship with other people; if you lived in submission to authority; if you practiced silence and simplicity and discipline; if you regularly read the Bible and prayed and meditated on what you read; if you made study part of your life; and if you worked hard in some daily occupation, seeing your labor as full of dignity and offering it to God?�

(I thought, but didn�t say, that this is the same general approach followed by YWAM, which started in 1960 and now has 1,000 locations in 149 countries.)

�But not everyone can move into a monastery,� they said. True, but we already have the solution: they�re called oblates or tertiaries, people who live outside the monastery but who in their daily lives follow the same ideals of sacrifice, simplicity, and service. Or consider the parallel model of Opus Dei, the Catholic organization founded less than a hundred years ago: of its 87,000 members, both men and women, 98 percent are laypeople, and most of those are married.

In fact, to the extent that our local churches are changing people�s lives, they�re usually approximating this monastic ideal, recreating it on a smaller scale and adapting it for, say, married people who live in subdivisions.

�Okay, but what about the children?� they asked. �What do you do with the children?�

�Actually, monasteries were full of children,� I said, �though usually starting at the age of elementary school. From the years 600 to 1000, a period that�s been called �the Benedictine centuries,� the monasteries provided much of the education in Western Europe. And any other questions about what to do with children have already been worked on by the cell-church and house-church movements.�

My friendly questioners had a third and final concern: �But you�re making it seem as if the culture is something Christians should retreat from, while the emerging church is interested in engaging that culture.�

This took some explanation. I do think that as evangelicals we consistently underestimate the power of culture, and our attempts to �be relevant� usually end up as our weakness rather than our strength. But I believe in a certain type of counterculture�in Tim Keller�s immortal phrase, �A counterculture for the common good.� We create alternate communities that not only pray for the wider world, but also serve that wider world in acts of mercy and justice. Take The Salvation Army--an evangelical approximation of monastic counterculture and discipline, complete with distinctive clothing. In the mid-1880s the Salvation Army took on the audacious goal to end unemployment in Britain. They didn�t succeed, but their experiment led to thousands of urban ministries today.

So I return to my original question: What would happen to your life if you lived in close geographical community and relationship with other people; if you lived in submission to authority; if you practiced silence and simplicity and discipline; if you regularly read the Bible and prayed and meditated on what you read; if you made study part of your life; and if you worked hard in some daily occupation, seeing your labor as full of dignity and offering it to God?

At least Saint Benedict thinks you�d become a healthier human being and godlier Christian. And 1,500 years of history would prove him right.

Posted by Kevin Miller at July 23, 2006 | Comments (30)

June 23, 2006

Radioactive Church Attendance: predicting your congregation�s half-life

Some churches are more unstable than others. This may not be the result of impulsive leadership or poor planning, but rather the life stage of the congregation. Dave Terpstra pastors The Next Level Church in Denver, a community comprised primarily of young singles and families. Here, Dave compares the instability of church attendance to the half-life of radioactive material and gives some helpful suggestions from his own experience.

I have noticed a trend in the churches of which I have been a part. Most church attenders have a half-life. In other words, on average, one can predict the longevity of an individual�s participation in the church by their life stage. [I�m going to be using general terms and rough numbers so please don�t get lost in the details, but try and stick with the overarching analogy.]

After high school students graduate from high school, about half of them will leave the church. After college students graduate, about half of them will leave. When a college grad takes a career, again half of them leave the church. When they get married, when they have kids, when they become empty nesters, when they retire�half, half, half, half.

Chances are more than half leave after high school and maybe more than half stay from empty-nester to retirement. However, the phenomenon of church members leaving at life�s natural transition points still exists. So what does that mean for us as church leaders?

1. Just like in radioactive material, the more �half-lives� the material has made it through, the more stable the material. Therefore, retired people are the most stable, followed by empty-nesters. High school and college students are terribly unstable (in case you didn�t already know).

2. Churches that target young families are targeting those who may be stable for the longest period of time. A family with a newborn will potentially stay for 18 years until their child graduates from high school and they become empty nesters.

3. If the numbers turned out to be true based that means only one out of 64 high school students will actually make it to retirement in the church.

4. Radioactive material doesn�t disappear all at once. The material transforms over time. Don�t expect all of the transitions to take place at once, but they will take place.

Since my church is full of students and singles it is more unstable than a church full of empty-nesters and retirees. However, instability and radioactivity can produce a lot of energy as well. So remember that there are costs and benefits to both sides.

But since most churches seem to go after families, allow me to give some more general challenges and warnings.

1. Don�t just go after the �easy� target of young families. Students and singles need the church too. Especially considering how unstable their lives are, perhaps they need us even more than young families. Deal with the instability and reach young people for the Kingdom!

2. Give your youth pastor, college pastor, and young adult pastor a break! You cannot expect them to be able to retain every student and individual that was at the previous stage. Even the best senior leaders don�t keep everyone who becomes and empty-nester. Cut them some slack.

3. Pay attention to an increased adult population nearing a transition point. If a couple of families every year become empty-nesters that may not be a significant change. If 1/2 of all your families go through that transition in three years time, you may see a major drop in attendance or participation.

4. Constantly go after individuals on the lower end of each half-life cycle. Remember, you can�t just expect everyone to transition from one stage to the next.

5. Pay attention to staff members going through transition points as well. It should not be a surprise when a staff member leaves after getting married, having kids, or becoming an empty nester. Life transitions lead to job transitions as well.

I recognize I am not speaking with hard data to back up my conclusions. I am simply making observations. But I am interested if there are churches that have mastered the art of retaining people in their community from one stage to the next. I�m curious if this is just a large church phenomenon or if smaller churches experience it too. I�m most curious about churches that are able to help someone make it from being a college student to a young family�the most unstable life stage of all.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at June 23, 2006 | Comments (7)

February 8, 2006

Exit Stage Left 2: How the Spiritually Mature Reengage

In his earlier post, Dave Terpstra described why the spiritually mature find most churches ill-equipped to assist them in their growth. This, he says, is why the more mature often leave the church or disengage from active service. After reading your responses, Dave has returned with further thoughts about spiritual growth within, and without, the church.

When my friend�s dad died it was a challenge to his faith to say the least. His dad was a long time follower of Christ and had been in full-time ministry for years. He seemed to be at the height of his ministry career. The he got sick and died. My friend didn�t officially �leave� our church. But as best as I can remember he stopped serving. He stopped participating in programs. I rarely saw him at worship services. I�m sure he missed more than he made. But God was up to something amazing in his life and with his faith.

Some of the comments in response to my original article seemed to hold the viewpoint that my friend was being spiritually immature because he stopped serving. But to cut straight to the point, I trust his maturity more than those who would question it simply because he stopped serving for an indefinite period of time.

It has been my experience that everyone who matures in their faith has times where God grows them tremendously through basic discipleship and service. I would hope that those are maturing elements of our faith to varying degrees throughout our lives. However, I disagree with those who would argue those are the only times and ways in which we grow. I believe in the same way we experience times of transformation through discipleship and serving, we also experience times of inner transformation that are not initially outwardly expressed.

In Galatians 1:15-17 Paul writes, �But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.�

According to scholars Paul spent a couple of years in Arabia. He was not doing the externals of the faith, being discipled in church services or serving. Paul was receiving the gospel straight from heaven. That seems to be quite a journey inward to me.

Why is it that when someone tells us they need to take a break from serving or from the programs of our churches we become so defensive? Was Paul being selfish because he took two years off from helping in children�s ministry? I think my defensiveness towards those who might leave my church is wrapped up in a healthy sense of wanting what�s best for them, and an unhealthy desire that I (or even my well programmed church?) have failed them.

No, I am not creating victims. No, I am not excusing selfishness. I am questioning the mentality of myself and other church leaders who so quickly assume that a time of disconnect from the programs of the modern (or postmodern) church immediately indicates apostasy.

My friend who �left� our church has come back. He is now an elder. He is one of the most spiritually mature men I have met for his age. He serves and disciples in ways he never could have before his inward journey. He is moving on to the selflessness of stages 5 and 6 where his faith and service are out of a deep friendship with God.

If our greatest strength is found where Christ is made strong in us (2 Cor. 12:10), then perhaps as church leaders we should delight when others experience the weaknesses that come from not growing through our teaching or the service opportunities we provide. Perhaps God has them on a journey we can�t draft on the white boards of our meeting rooms or diagram in a membership manual. We can plant. We can water. But let�s trust God to make people grow.

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at February 8, 2006 | Comments (26) | TrackBack

February 1, 2006

Exit Stage Left: Why the Spiritually Mature are Leaving the Church

Last month we looked at George Barna's new book, Revolution, which reveals that a growing number of people are seeking spiritual growth outside the institutional church. In this post Dave Terpstra, pastor at The Next Level Church in Denver and a regular contributor to Ur, explores why Barna may be correct. Although many will say preaching, music, or programs are why they left a church, Terpstra wonders if more people are simply outgrowing the church's ability to spiritually nourish their faith.

I�m sure there are just as many reasons that people leave churches as there are people who leave them. Perhaps more. In this consumer culture I�m sure that many people who leave churches are going to search for a better or newer �product.� But recently I�ve wondered if some followers of Christ simply outgrow churches.

If you haven 't read the book The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich (Second Edition, Sheffield Publishing 2005) you need to pick up a copy. Although the book�s subject is spiritual formation and not church dynamics, it gives great insights into why people leave the church�reasons many pastors have likely never considered.

Hagberg and Guelich propose that most spiritual journeys tend to move in six distinct stages. The first three are easy to see and hard to argue with: (1) Recognition of God, (2)The Life of Discipleship, and (3) The Productive Life. Certainly after most people become followers of Christ (stage 1) they begin to absorb as much content (stage 2) as possible. Then sometime later they begin to serve (stage 3). And since the authors propose that the stages are cumulative, people of faith continue to be good at these stages over the long haul. I believe these are the three stages of faith where our churches excel and where most church leadership energy is expended.

But Hagberg and Guelich suggest there are still three stages to go, and it is the fourth I want to focus on. The fourth stage is called �The Journey Inward.� The authors suggest that at some point our faith shifts focus from the externals of discipleship and service and begins to become internalized. We begin to redefine our impressions of the faith and to some degree even our theology as we mature.

This fourth stage is where my experience (and the authors�) reveals the church�s weakness. Speaking in generalities, churches do not specialize in people who have been following Christ for years and who are deeply questioning and reexamining their beliefs. It�s especially difficult when people who reach stage four are in positions of influence and leadership. Churches, from the mega to the mini, are designed to help people mature in the external areas of service and discipleship, not the internal struggles of identity and meaning.

So what happens when people get burnt out on the basic teaching and serving. Some go looking for fresh new content and areas of service. Some discover a new teacher across town who �really� teaches the Bible. Some discover service to the under-resourced or in foreign countries. While their true need may be for something deeper, they settle for at least something different.

Chances are you have not only seen these attempts at continued growth in stages two and three, but you have experienced them yourself. Maybe you have even suggested them to others. But if you have experienced stage four yourself then you know what comes at the end: �The Wall.� Our attempts to continue to grow in discipleship and service eventually wear out. Many people become so disillusioned they leave the church (physically or at least metaphorically by �checking out�).

Obviously churches can�t stop evangelizing and doing the basics of discipleship. After all, most of our people are in stages 1, 2, or 3. But how do we walk alongside those on the Journey Inward. What do we do when someone hits the spiritual wall. What happens when we as leaders reach that place? I believe it is this moment in our journey when we need the church most; so what�s a local church to do?

Posted by UrL Scaramanga at February 1, 2006 | Comments (48) | TrackBack