Spiritual Terrorism

Every life, no matter how monumental or insignificant, tells a story. The plethora of experiences that are our lives shape us and mold us into what we have been, who we are, and what we are to become.

Storytelling is a significant part of our sociology.  Every culture’s past is laden with layers of stories that often give meaning and significance to our human existence.  In fact, Christianity received its Scriptures, in part, through oral transmission. Native Americans, Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus…every type of culture tells their stories in a variety of ways.  Clearly, our world today has a love affair with stories…don’t believe me…look at the movie industry, the gaming industry, and what is left of the music industry.  What is a movie? A game? A song? The great ones begin with a good story that each additional element adds to until the object is completed.

Every story is important for a variety of reasons that I won’t go into here…but there is a question that I want to ask…who decides what stories are worth sharing?  Though I love movies there are VERY few that I actually pay to see at the theater…they are just not that good. It seems to me that too often the stories that matter are the ones that rarely get told. But then that is precisely the point…who determines what stories get told.  Hollywood and Washington have people who work hard and make millions of dollars each year to “spin” stories so that they gain interest.  The stories, as they gain interest, also gain reliability, credibility, and by default…authority.  Once the story takes on an authority of its own it then takes on tradition…and the weight of tradition is considerable.

This process repeats itself in our lives…with stories that are handed down from generation to generation. But it also repeats itself, unfortunately, in our spiritual lives and the lives of our spiritual communities that we call churches.  When this happens I call it “spiritual terrorism.”  It is an odd designation I know.  It appears like I am talking about “jihad” or something like that…but in reality it is much simpler.

The definition of terrorism is:” the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce,” or “the systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal.”  When applied to our spiritual lives it means that there are those “Christians” who, in my opinion, “terrorize” leaderships and congregants to get their way.  O course, THEY would never confess this…but when a small percentage dictates what happens to the greater percentage…then clearly someone is imposing their will onto another.  Rarely is it violent…but the threat is real.  There seems always to be a “if this…then this” which fulfills the definition of terrorism because it is “intimidation to achieve some goal.”  The difficult aspect of this terrorism is that the “goal” that they are trying to protect is usually something that is really not worth fighting for---HUMAN TRADITIONALISM. Earl Creps in his book Off Road Disciplines, makes this observation, “Younger leaders need to ask themselves what they will sacrifice for the sake of concerted effort. Older leaders need to ask themselves whether what they represent is worth sacrificing for…those holding the baton must own something worth passing along.”

Perhaps I am "kicking at the goads" all over again and making a BIG deal out of nothing.  After all, the same warfare is being waged on a much larger scale…but Robert Webber has already tackled that issue in his final work: Who Gets to Narrate the World?  I wish I had the answer to this problem—I can only ask the age old question: “who are we trying to please man or God?”  I, for one, refuse to be held hostage to spiritual terrorism because it is about the power of man and I believe I serve a God who overcomes…maybe not today, or tomorrow…but one day soon. When my days on earth are over…I hope I will have lived my life in a way that will make for a GREAT story…a story of obedience and captivity to the things that matter…the things of God.

For Whom the BELL Tolls...

      Apparently the Bell still "tolls for thee!!" According to the Tennessean Rob Bell has resigned his position as pastor of Mars Hill church in Grandville, MI. (click HERE to read the story). I'll confess when Bell first burst onto the public scene I was a fan.  I enjoyed the first few NOOMA videos that were released and I like his work Velvet Elvis (in fact it is still on my shelf). However, after that Bell gained notoriety in a variety of ways...much of it was controversial.

      In his latest work, Love Wins, Bell was accused of "heresy" (supply your definition here____________) by suggesting that IF people went to hell it was not in any sense eternal, and they need not feel compelled to stay there and could leave if they wanted!! (GREAT NEWS...thanks Rob!).  One of the most vocal opponents of his recent work and theology has been John Piper who tweeted "Goodbye Rob Bell" after viewing a preview video for the book's release.

      Bell has usually been identified with what is often called "emergent theology." Since its inception (the dates which are frequently argued) the emergent movement has often tried, purposefully, to be out of the mainstream of both orthopraxy and theology.  In recent years, as the effect of postmodernity has waned, there has been a lot of juxtaposition within the movement as to exactly WHAT they believe and why (some who originally aligned with the early part of the movement have now purposefully distanced themselves--most notably Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill in Seattle--not associated with Bell's congregation). Few have dared to go where Bell has gone...which seems to be "off the deep end" of traditional interpretive schemes, Church history, and classic theology---all of which can be critiqued, called into question, even doubted but they CANNOT be ignored which is EXACTLY what Bell seems to have done.

      I know that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I confess that over the years my views of heaven and hell have changed...even changed dramatically.  Scientifically, I wonder how hell can be a place of utter darkness and burning at the same time.  As near as I can tell whenever anything burns it also gives off light.  Heaven seem now less like a "place" (though I still believe it is) and now seems more like a state of being in that place...or more to the point "heaven" is wherever God is present in the fullest sense of the word. And hell (though I STILL believe it to be a place of torment) is that place (or state of being) where God is absent in every sense of the word ABSENT.  Scripture teaches that both are eternal places (or states) and that we choose our destination based on free will...BUT...God in His compassion and grace has supplied a means for us to avoid all of it. There seem to be MANY questions but only ONE answer that is certain.

      It seems uncertain what Bell is doing (presently) or what he is going to do in the future...I simply find it odd that two of the emergent movements key personnel have now left their congregations for other avenues (first was Francis Chan, and now Bell)...is something going on?  Has the emergent movement run out of steam?  We are left to wonder..."for whom does the bell toll?"

PETA, Porn, and Postman

In an AP press release today PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) states that it is about to launch a porn website to help promote their animal rights activism and vegan agendas.  Neil Postman is cheering from the grave because I believe this step, in and of itself, finally, and without question, proves that we, as a society, are actually Amusing Ourselves to Death!

Is This Over the Top?

Postman’s thesis in his seminal 1985 critique of media in America was that rights are exchanged for entertainment (sounds a little biblical doesn’t it?  Check out the story in Genesis chapter 25) or, in more technical terms, “form excludes content.”  Postman’s ideas were first presented in a talk given in 1984 on Orwell’s book of the same name. However, Postman stated then that contemporary culture was better represented by Huxley’s work Brave New World where the public was addicted to amusement.

It appears now that PETA has gone beyond the Brave New World to just plain stupidity.  PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt says “a pornographic site will allow PETA to reach a broader audience.”  Really? I have found that pornography has always supplemented my ethical arguments. We might wonder why God tell Moses to have the women of Israel strip-tease at the foot of Mt Sinai when he revealed the Ten Commandments.  Obviously, Israel would have taken the Law to heart if there would have been nudity involved!!

            Should this be considered entrapment in reverse…or just stupidity?  I can see someone surfing the net for porn, (and unfortunately having no trouble finding it)---click the link for “FREE PORN”--but when they get to the site they are forced to watch a “commercial” about animal rights…and then…FREE PORN!!!  Really?  I guess each time I speak I will offer everyone whiskey and cigarettes…if we have to hear alleged “truth” we might as well have a good time doing it!

It’s not the first time something like this has happened of course. But it may be one of the most extreme cases in recent years. Are we so starved for anything “free” (I’ll argue that enslavement to sexual sin is never free!) that this would actually work.  The mindset that all entertainment is reality and that we are entitled to have our “piece of the pie” (BTW…a Yahoo headline declared this week that former president Clinton had announced that the concept of “The American Dream” has been under attack for more than 20 years—it is HARD to get anything past Bill…unless of course it is an intern with a cigar fetish!) is truly causing us to “amuse ourselves to death.”

Beyond the obvious are the underlying absurdities of such a move that MAY just allow this stupidity to pass.  In a telling 2006 article about the death postmodernity, Alan Kirby says that the death of postmodernity ushers in “pseudo-modernity” which feeds on the social sciences and escapism:

This pseudo-modern world, so frightening and seemingly uncontrollable, inevitably feeds a desire to return to the infantile playing with toys which also characterizes the pseudo-modern cultural world. Here, the typical emotional state, radically superseding the hyper-consciousness of irony, is the trance – the state of being swallowed up by your activity. In place of the neurosis of modernism and the narcissism of postmodernism, pseudo-modernism takes the world away, by creating a new weightless nowhere of silent autism. You click, you punch the keys, you are ‘involved’, engulfed, deciding. You are the text, there is no-one else, no ‘author’; there is nowhere else, no other time or place. You are free: you are the text: the text is superseded.

If Kirby is right then PETA is also right…and, unfortunately, their all too pragmatic approach to selling animal rights, via free porn, will garner them a broader “fan-base” which will boost the number of people receiving their message, that may ultimately garner them future support for their agenda…it really is a Brave New World…I am just glad it is not my home.

Discerning Change?

It is a well know fact that the number one stressor for the human psyche is dealing with the death of a spouse.  I can’t even begin to imagine… However, I recently read some information that basically said that “systemic change” in belief, value, or worldview for anyone over the age of sixty years old has the same effect!!

What that suggests to me is that change is hard…especially for people over sixty! I would love to read more studies on the “age” aspect of this equation.  I know MANY under sixty years of age who feel the same way about “systemic change.”  I think there are far too many factors involved to simply suggest that “old people” are resistant to change.  Who isn’t?

For as much as I have taught and preached that our world is constantly changing—I am not all that wild about change myself.  More and more I am dependent on routine and comfort for stability and security in my life.  When I turn on the radio I NEVER listen to a station that has songs that are completely unfamiliar to me. In fact, I tend to have about three stations that I listen to: Christian, Classic Rock, and more classic rock.  I don’t turn on country, urban/hip-hop, or Euro not only because I dislike them but because I am not COMFORTABLE with them…when I turn on the radio I want to hear songs that I am comfortable with, melodies and harmonies that bring me comfort because of their familiarity...familiarity doesn't ALWAYS breed contempt!

However, sometimes, by no fault of our own, change is thrust upon us. When that happens we really only have three options: fight, flight, or adaptation.

1. FIGHT—some things are worth dying for, but not EVERYTHING…choose wisely.
2. FLIGHT—this response is twofold: (1) go someplace else where comfort easily returns, (2) “hunker-in-the-bunker” and hope it will all pass away  before you come up for air…neither usually solve the long term problem because they only deal with existential fear and insecurity.
3. ADAPTATION—is the hardest path…but also the most mature.  Change is inevitable…being trampled in the stampede is optional. Be honest enough to voice disapproval, but mature enough to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around us.

I’ll confess that it is a challenge.  Even my own life now reflects that more often than I care to admit.  In the midst of being unemployed, and without clear direction, I am suddenly bombarded with several options all of which seem to be plagued with “what ifs…” and uncertainty. I like change, as long as it is built on a sturdy foundation…but diversity without a foundation is like working the trapeze without a net. When I find myself in these situations I pray for discernment.

               Yes I need direction. Yes I need wisdom. However, what I really need is to discern what my desire is and what is God’s desire for me…after all I tend to be VERY selfish (especially when it comes to MY comfort!). One of my favorite passages is Romans 12: 1-3:

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The word, “discern” or “discernment” does not appear in this text but the concept does.  The ideal of “testing” and “approving” are synonyms for “discern.”  Paul is telling us that if we need to discern God’s will for us there are things that we must do as well.

               In view of what God has done for us we must willingly offer ourselves as living sacrifices…the problem with “living sacrifices” is that they continually jump off the altar!  Paul goes on to say that we must continually (grammatically the participle form makes this clear) stop conforming to the world and allow ourselves to be transformed (also ongoing) by the “renewing of your mind.”  Paul says, then, and only then, will we be able to discern what God’s will is. And, oh, by the way, God’s will is always: good, pleasing, and perfect…and that sounds pretty safe and comfortable to me.

Has "Jazz" Lost Its Beat?

Donald Miller, author of the now infamous “Blue Like Jazz,” has stirred controversy on the Catalyst website by questioning the link between academia and the Church.  Though Miller’s article was thought provoking (I must say that though I understand what he is trying to say I disagree with both his assumptions and conclusions) the comments following the article are perhaps more telling than the article itself.

First, we might ask what Mr. Miller means by “being led?” Does he mean the minister/pastor? The elders? The board or leadership? The denominational hierarchy? Those, like himself, who write books and articles for the rest of us to read, take note of? Surely, he is not suggesting the he quit writing books and articles for us to buy and read to help us lead?

The apostle Paul clearly teaches that Christ is the “head of the Church” (Eph. 1:22, 5:23; Col 1:18).  Mr. Miller is not arguing this point but we might ask the question…who is leading the leaders?  If Christ is the head of the church should we not be following Christ?  I don’t think I have ever met a “church leader” who would debate that they thought that they were trying to follow Christ…and yet the pragmatic results of such leadership so often does not a appear “Christ-like” whether they were academic or not!

The comments seem to focus on the leadership issue as opposed to the need for education, or not.  Many might suggest that Jesus was the ultimate leader and he did not have a seminary degree, nor was he an academic.  My studies in various religious movements and mythologies have rarely suggested that a deity need earthly education or training.  However, this is EXACTLY where Jesus is different.

Paul says it like this, “Who, being in very nature God...made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:6ff).  Jesus, who was at his essence—God (assumes omnipotence) and yet he knew he would need to become a student.  Even at a young age he was in the temple with the teachers of his day, he became an outstanding rabbi (“do not think that I have come to abolish the Law…I have not come to abolish [it] but to fulfill [it].” He is simultaneously the teacher and the student, the leader and the follower, the Son of God and the Son of Man.

The beauty of the body metaphor is that we need the diversity of gifts that God gives to each of us. We need thinkers, doers, leaders, followers, etc…. Clearly, Mr. Miller is correct about at least one thing…”there are a million ways to be the Church.”  The problem is, regardless of their level of education, far TOO many people still want to “go” to church instead of “being” the Church, and even fewer are interested in carrying their cross to follow Jesus, the Head of the Church. As Cyprian said, “no one can have God as their Father who does not have the Church as their mother.”  We as the Church are hopelessly stuck with each other...we should learn to serve together!

You can read the full text of Mr. Miller’s article here:

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/shouldthechurchbeledbyteachersandscholars/

What's On My KINDLE

First off…I want to say that I LOVE Kindle as a product.  I have looked at other platforms like the Nook, Sony’s Reader, and some tablets--but in my opinion they pale in comparison to the digital text quality of the Kindle with no back lighting.  Yes, in my opinion it is a “one trick pony” but it does it SO well that you don’t even notice that it does not multi-task.  I didn’t want to buy a tablet I wanted to buy an E-reader!

Since my Kindle is still pretty new I thought I would share what is on my “recently read,” and “still to be read” list on my Kindle:

Barna, George.  Futurecast: What Today’s Trends Mean for Tomorrow’s World

Belcher, Jim. Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional

Chesterton, G.K. Orthodoxy

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Foxe, John. Fox’s Book of Martyrs

Groeschel, Craig. The Christan Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist.

Hammett, Edward H. Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60: Being Church for All

Heinz, Donald. Christmas: Festival of Incarnation

Idleman, Kyle. Not A Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus

Metaxes, Eric & Keller, Timothy J. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Piper, John. Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God

Platt, David. The Radical Question: What is Jesus Worth to You?

Sweet, Len. Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There

The Holy Bible (English Standard Version)

The Holy Bible (New International Version)

Zarrella, Dan. Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas.

What's With the Blog Title?: An Introduction

I chose this particular title because it best describes my journey to this point in life.  It is a metaphor used in the bible by the apostle Paul when he is retelling the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:14).

When retelling his conversion Paul says he heard a voice asking him "Why are you persecuting me" and in the Acts 26 version he adds the phrase "It is hard for you to kick against the goads."  So what is kicking against the goads?

Goads were quite simply "prods" that were used by those who moved livestock in biblical times.  The "herders" would get behind the livestock and literally prod them forward by jabbing them with the goad (probably a pole or a stick)...if the herder prodded them too often the livestock would resist the prodding and kick their hind legs backward to ward off any additional prodding.  So the livestock were literally, "kicking against the goad."

Paul uses this image as a metaphor for people who "kick against God's prodding" to move in a specific direction.  If ever there was a living example of this...it is me.  My parents obviously had no foresight when I was born or my middle name would be Jonah.

It has never been an easy journey...but by the same token, it has never been overly boring.  I continue to "kick against the goad" and God continues to bless me in spite of my resistance.  I have given up trying to understand it all and have now convinced myself that I am a "spiritual addict"...so now I stand before God each day, confess who and what I am and try to avail myself to His direction...rarely do I go willingly. To quote Luther, "Here I stand, so help me God I can do no other,"  My motto for this journey is simple, "I believe, help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).