lifeasmission
exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same
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Archive of "sermon" Category
Consuming Jesus
I have been looking forward to reading Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church by Paul Metzger for some time. For the sake of an alternative context and experience, I was even more excited to read the bulk of it amidst my time in Africa and its deep seeded tribalism.
In Metzger’s words, his aim is to…
confront the ways evangelical-consumer or niche-church Christianity fosters racial and economic divisions, and I wish to offer an alternative theological paradigm to the one that is often embraced in the evangelical subculture. (11)
In my words, this alternative theological paradigm comes only by way of rejecting the version of the gospel which has led to a consumer-oriented faith/church and embracing one that prophetically strikes at the very heart of that reality.
In John Perkins’ words,
The only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and to each other. A gospel that doesn’t reconcile is not a Christian gospel at all. But in America it seems as if we don’t believe that. We don’t really beleive that the proof of our discipleship is that we love one another.” (9)
I love that Perkins understands the gospel by what it does. Like love, the gospel takes on its true nature only when it is enacted.
In the beginning of the book. Metzger insightfully traces the various streams, characters, and events which have so vitally contributed to the dominant expression of Christianity in America. From here, he probes into the ways in which “the dominant structure of the evangelical church today favors, fosters, and shapes its structures around the key ingredient of individual choice…” (79) Key to understanding this tendency is his discussion of the popularization of the Homogenous Unit Principle (HUP) by Donald McGavran as a method for church growth. The remainder of the book features insightful biblical and cultural reflections, helpful examples and a sustained discussion on the vitality of Scripture and sacraments for the formation of communities of reconciliation across racial and class boundaries.
Of Scripture, Metzger says…
We must move people with God’s word on Sunday mornings to move beyond their addictions to race and class affinity groups. Authentic witness to Jesus is at stake, and we must stake our lives on it. (117)
– a quick aside here: just as the goodness of the gospel lies in what it does, so too the sermon is only good inasmuch as it results in changed lives. Don’t ever tell a preacher his or her message was good unless you are prepared to also tell them how it resulted in your changed life
And I love that he includes Marva Dawn’s words on the Lord’s Supper…
How can we share the eschatological feast if we don’t participate in displaying God’s future, in which all will be equally fed and we will all join together in universal praise? It seems to be that if we eat the body and blood of Christ in expensive churches without care for the hungry, the sacrament is no longer a foretaste of the feast to come, but a trivialized picnic to which not everyone is invited.
The end of the book is the author’s attempt to move into a discussion of partnerships amongst churches across racial and socio-economic lines. His desire is for the church to…
re-envision its understanding of communal identity in view of its communal and co-missional God as involving solidarity with society at large…. This will entail a radical break from the dominant American individualistic mindset that keeps us separate from others. It will require that we lay down our lives and die for our enemies rather than try to take back America from them. (149)
I found this to be a fantastic book. A bit narrow at places where I though the discussion (at least by way of footnotes) should have been expanded, but definitely a much needed message for the American church. I suppose the big question I am let with is how to think about local congregations that are seeking to incarnate themselves in places that are intrinsically homogeneous. If anyone wants to weigh in, please feel free, I’d enjoy the discussion.
Relational Gift Giving Ideas
I mentioned before that our church community is participating in Advent Conspiracy. While I have some of the same reservations that Ariah does, it has been incredibly encouraging to see how many Living Hopers have embraced this new approach to Christmas and I see a lot of potential for the values we have been discussing being carried forward beyond the Christmas season.
For all my LH friends (and anyone else for that matter), I stumbled across this small list of some relational gift giving ideas that, in correspondence with what Matthew said this past Sunday (check here for the podcast of “Give More” when it’s up), would help us to give more presence – as opposesd to presents.
Scared to Lament
Our church community is spending three months wrestling in and through the Psalms. It is our hope that this time would be much more than a simple sermon series, but a season of spiritual formation for us as a community. As part of that desire, we have created a blog and various people are posting entries in an effort to stimulate discussion. So, whether you are a Living Hoper or another friend, hop on over there, check out the first couple of posts and share your thoughts. Here is my recent submission…
Gib spoke this past week on the idea of lament and as a community, we were led through a profound reading of lament over the circumstances in our lives, our city, and our world. I (JR) have continued to ponder the place of lament in the life of Christian community for the last few days. Many of you will have already discussed this in your small groups, but as mine meets tonight, I am still looking forward to the discussion.
To be transparent, I must admit that I am scared to lament. It makes me vulnerable and threatens the pride I take in situations being within my control. These desires I have however, for invulnerability on the one hand and pride in my own ability to control situations on the other, are nothing shy of idolatry. To lament then, is to blaspheme the idols in my life in the hope that God will fill the void. The way God fills this void however, comes not by an immediate change of the situations which I lament, but by the constitution and life of a community which laments together – in hope.
I take great solace in the biblical notion that while lamenting may threaten that which I (wrongly) hold most dear, it simultaneously grants me the opportunity to realign my vision of reality with God’s by drawing me into a community seeking to live out the reality of God’s Kingdom in the world.
This is not a foreign concept to us; misery, as they say, loves company. But this is where the world and the people of God part ways. We seek solace in the arms of others not because they merely empathize with us and our grief (this is yet another form of idolatry), but because the very Spirit of God dwells in the midst of the body of Christ, strengthening us, sustaining us, and filling us with an overflowing measure of faith, hope, and love. I would go so far as to say that lament – a God-centered cry for justice and mercy – is a divine opportunity for us to live out what it means to be the people of God – a people united not in their complaints, but in their Spirit-infused hope for the Kingdom of God to come “on earth as it is in heaven.”
From faith (as an idea) to Faith (as a way of life)
This past Sunday I had my first opportunity to address the Living Hope community. I must have had a thousand different thoughts on what to share. Ultimately, I really wanted to share some of my story and highlight something that I found relevant for where we’re at as a community of faith.
What I decided on was the way in which God used grad school to change me from someone who placed their faith primarily in a system of belief, to someone who tried to practice faith as a way of life and to put my trust in God as one who could never be contained or exhausted by my ideas or beliefs.
We looked at the Exodus story and the way in which even after being rescued and redeemed by God, the people of Israel wanted to relate to God from a distance, wanted to avoid the fear and unknown of continuing to follow God, and opted to worship a idol created by their own hands rather than worship the living God by living in the way he had directed them.
These were all reactions I was tempted to embrace during some of the tumultuous times of grad school and more importantly, reactions which I often fear the average church in the United States facilitates. To be a church which refuses to allow for a two-tiered model of discipleship (leaders and the rest of us), which constantly asks, “what’s the next fearful and risky adventure God is calling us into,” and is more concerned with passing on a way of life than a system of belief, doesn’t exactly lend itself to our individualistic, consumer-driven, instant-gratification-seeking, culture. Yet, this exactly the sort of future I hope for our community.
Over and above merely having the opportunity to share my story and what was on my heart and mind, I also enjoyed being able to invite some friends to participate in the service along with me. Liz led a responsive reading, and Mike and Zach led the congregation into the Exodus story, by reading Scripture. I shared an excellent quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that my friend Eric reminded me of, and offered our community some questions to stew on as we concluded.
Anywho, it was a great time. Thanks Living Hope for being awesome.
It’s Not All About Me and Jesus
Corrie, a friend of mine, said something once that has stuck with me. “One of the most meaningful moments in my life was when I realized that being a Christian isn’t about making God a part of my life, but becoming a part of God’s life.” But, as evidenced by the picture above (taken today in my home town), Corrie’s sentiment is not universally shared.
The vast majority of my Christian experience has taught me that at the end of the day, what matters most is my personal relationship with Jesus. This, I have been taught, ought to be the core of my identity as a human being.
I no longer believe this, and I was happy to come across a recent sermon by Rob Bell where he articulates the alternative I have come to embrace.
(Speaking of Rob Bell, I just thought I would add to the blog buzz in saying that I don’t believe Rob – or Brian McLaren or Doug Pagitt for that matter – to be a heretic. But, for largely the same reasons as Bob, I am not going to wink either).
You can listen to Rob’s message at the bottom (43 min.), or visit the Mars Hill site directly. However, for those short on time, I will summarize below.
Rob is taking a look at Matthew 23:23-24 and its OT background and trying to make the point that much like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, many of us boil Christianity down to personal piety and morality – the “me and Jesus” mentality. Rob goes on to explain that it’s not that personal piety and morality are unimportant, far from it, but that the Pharisees, and many today, neglect what Jesus calls, “the more important matters of the law.” Namely, justice (living equitably), mercy (showing kindness to those in need) and faithfulness (personally and corporately showing the world what God is like).
I would say, therefore, that in terms of what it means to be a disciple and as far as what my identity as a human being ought to be rooted in – what is most essential is my incorporation into the life of a community which is seeking to do justice, show mercy, and live faithfully. Personal morality and piety have their place in relation to this vision, but only secondarily. To get them out of order is not to get it 1/2 right, but to misconstrue both. This is one more way to begin rediscovering that salvation is not something we either have or don’t have, but is a lived reality, something we participate in with God to greater or lesser extents.
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