new framework

N.T. Wright in his study book "Paul for Everyone: Romans Part One" wrote these words in reference to Romans 6.15-19:

"The early Christians developed certain basic traditions, about the gospel itself (1 Corinthians 15: 3-8), about the eucharist (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26), about behaviour (1 Thessalonians 4:1), and probably about several other things as well. These rules of thumb set out a framework for belief and behaviour, a family code of practice. As a pastor, Paul had no doubt often observed that when people became members of the family something happened to them, deep down inside, which made them want to live in line with this community to which they now belonged. Of course it would take teaching and moral effort. But the will was there, and Paul thanks God for it. It is sobering to imagine what Paul might say if he were to look up for a moment from writing this letter and glance round the church at the start of the twenty-first century."

So, what does this mean for you and I?

Within my Americanized worldview - inundated and saturated with style-focused church - it's challenging to ask the question: are we continuing the Christian family tradition? More so, do we have a framework about the gospel, about communion, about behavior and other things? And I mean 'framework' not as a doctrine, but as a lifestyle. Are we willing to live this out with the trust that God will use our lives, not just our good intentions, ideals (or morals)?

Is this framework lived out in such a way that it is attractive to others? Not in and of itself, but by the Spirit of God which is engaging these people who are actively living out this framework.

While talking with a friend about this, she said to me that "when you walk into a room with people who are engaging in an informed, Spirit-led relationship both with each other and with Jesus - it's attractive because it's comfortable. Not because of any intention on their part, but their very lives."

So, why do we (American churches) seem to have to work so hard to create comfortable atmospheres for 'seekers' when those who are truly seeking (or better said - spiritually curious) are not looking for something that looks comfortable but IS comfortable?

Is a matter of focus? Meaning: do we focus on the inside and the outside will naturally come together?

"You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." (Matthew 23: 25-26 TNIV)

What made Jesus attractive to those who followed? Was it the free coffee before He delivered the Sermon on the Mount? (Which was not really a sermon...thank God.)

In hopes of making attractive churches, have we become less attractive as Christians?

What does the community N.T Wright is describing - via the words of Paul - look like in this century? My hope is that God - through His Spirit - will help us reframe our daily lives in such a way that neither methodology, nor style, nor denomination or anything superfluous will stand in the way of God's destiny for you and I to BE the community of change - the children of God. That our lives will speak volumes more than our words ever could. That our insides will shine and create a community of Light that creates a beacon for those who are in the distance.

Community: not attractive because of "how, what, where, or when" but "who". Who we are and who we are becoming.

Nouwen on "Theology"

Almost a year ago, I read Henri Nouwen's book on Christian leadership. The book is entitled "In The Name of Jesus". This morning while talking with a friend on the phone, I was reminded of how Nouwen reflected on the original meaning of theology. I hope Nouwen's words benefit you as they did me.

From the book "In the Name of Jesus" by Henri Nouwen:

The original meaning of the word "theology" was "union with God in prayer". Today theology has become one academic discipline alongside many others, and often theologians are finding it hard to pray. But for the future of Christian leadership, it is of vital importance to reclaim the mystical aspects of theology so that every word spoken, every word given, and every strategy developed can come from a heart that knows God intimately.

ordinary is extraordinary [go]

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
(Paul’s 2nd letter to the church in Corinth)

“Go until you get a no.”

I could hear the words resonating in my head as I stood in my kitchen trying to make a crucial decision. Do I take my 7-year-old daughter’s school I.D. badge to her or do I go and pick up my friend so we can make our 9:45am flight to Orlando, FL? It was 7:30am and I was on schedule up to this point. Let me backtrack and tell you how we got to this point and to this crucial decision.

During the week, the normal routine at my house is to get up around 6:00am, get my 2 school age daughters out of bed, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:00am. After I drop them off at their school, I usually get back to my house around 7:30am. Today was no different with the exception that right at the moment my daughters were to jump out of the car and go to school, my oldest daughter informed me that she did not have her I.D. badge. She informed me of this while crying – actually, she was having a melt down. I calmed her down; she got out of the car and walked in the door of the school.

On my way home I made the decision to have my wife take the I.D. badge later in the morning. However, when I got home, my wife was still in bed – it was her day off. When I woke her to say good-bye (remember I’m flying out at 9:45am) I told her about the I.D. badge. My wife casually mentioned that she hoped my daughter would not be penalized by her teacher for not having her badge. I said good-bye to my wife and went into the kitchen.

At that moment, many thoughts were swirling in my head. First, I needed to be at my friends’ house at 8:00am to take him with me to the airport. Second, we have to make this 9:45am flight. Third, my daughter was one day shy of having a perfect ‘behavior report’ at school and I knew she was really excited about getting her reward. Her reward was getting to rent and watch the Cinderella 3 movie. Thus, I did not want her to be penalized for something that I should have remembered. Fourth, it was Friday and that is my wife’s day off to recoup and relax – I did not want anything to interrupt that. For most (including myself up to this point) people this would be trivial. But is it? Is it really trivial?

Just so you understand how I am wired and why this was so important to me, know this: I strongly believe that our decisions affect everyone around us regardless of whether we are aware of it or not. Some of these decisions impact the world and some of these just impact ‘our’ world – our friends and family.

For a moment in my kitchen, I was paralyzed with indecision. In that moment, I realized my indecision was because I knew that I could take the I.D. badge to the school and still make it to pick up my friend and head to the airport. Again, my paralysis of indecision was because I knew it was possible, not because I thought it was impossible.

I immediately jumped in my other car (I drop the girls off at school in the mini-van and I take my Honda CRV to the airport). I arrived at the school and ran into the office and gave the I.D. badge to the administrative assistant. She said she would take the badge to my daughter for me. Having taken care of that, I ran back to my car, put the key in the ignition and my car is dead. I checked to make sure it was in park. I checked if my lights were on. I checked if ANYTHING was on. Nothing. I popped the hood and realized either my battery was dead or my alternator was shot.

At this point, with the hood up on my car, I laid hands on my car engine and began to pray over my car in the name of Jesus. Guess what? Nothing happened. I tried again – something in my head was reminded of ‘perseverance’ – nothing happened. This is about the point when I started to unravel a bit. I ran inside the school and asked the first man I saw if he could help me jumpstart my car. Fortunately, I had jumper cables and I had already hooked them up. All I need was a battery juice donor!

The man looked at me and said, “Well, all I’ve got is a mini-cooper. Hopefully that’ll work.”

After a few moments of trying to fix the battery cable connections, we finally jump started my car and I was on my way to the airport. I called my friend and told him to drive separate and meet me at the airport.

Even though Friday morning rush hour was slow, I made to the airport in time to make my flight. Quick side note, on the drive to the airport, I noticed a small company’s billboard which read “Success is dependent on effort.”

I was feeling confirmed…sort of.

When I arrived to my destination, I called my wife and told her all about what happened. She was very thankful that I let her sleep and took care of delivering the I.D. badge to our daughter. We laughed about the situation and then got off the phone.

As soon as I got off the phone, I realized something. As a man, and as an introverted creative-type of person, I am not very prone to asking for help. Maybe it’s because I’m big on personal responsibility and on top of that I’m a bit O.C.D. With that combination I really do NOT like bothering people with my problems. It’s like a nightmare for me.

In this moment of reflection, I realized that God knew that when my car broke down my immediate response would be to pray. For me, praying is comfortable. However, what is uncomfortable for me is asking someone to help me. It’s tough to be dependent on another person, isn’t it?

Not only is it out of my comfort zone to act on impulse and risk not being on time for something (being punctual is a major thing for me). It’s also out of my comfort zone to bother someone with my problem by asking for help. It’s shameful for me. It hurts my pride and ego.

This impulsive decision to ‘save the day’ for my family was on the level of super hero status in my mind, and yet no one else viewed it this way. For those around me it was a mundane occurrence, for me it was a tiny miracle. Believe it or not, I felt ‘called’ to take that I.D. badge to my daughter and still make it to my flight on time. It had significance to me and at first it freaked me out when something went wrong. My initial thought when my car wouldn’t start was “God, I thought you were in this?”

It wasn’t until I arrived at the Orlando airport that I realized God had been in this crazy morning the entire time. I had written down the words from the billboard and remembered Dallas Willard writing something similar when he said “grace is not opposed to effort.”

It’s not healthy to think that God’s intent for your life – or your ‘calling’- will not come without some type of change, discomfort or stretching for you. God’s intent for your life will not have the strength or the capacity for change in the world around us until it changes you first. That’s what I learned by deciding to take my daughter her I.D. badge on an ordinary Friday morning. The ordinary can be extraordinary if we are paying attention.

Idiom Killed American Art

Remember back to your Kindergarten days when you’d learn a new song based on the melody or tune of an old song? Well, 1981 gave us “Video Killed the Radio Star” and it was not only the first music video to air on MTV, but the chorus melody works well with the title of this muse on culture. Idiom killed American art. Try it, you’ll see.

Like most years, I watched the 49th Annual Grammy Awards this year on television with hopes of getting to see some of my favorite artists perform live. And that did happen a few times. Other times it felt like the Grammy’s had become a parody of itself. More often than not, it seemed a little surreal to me.

At a certain point during the television broadcast, vocalist Natalie Cole and jazz artist Ornette Coleman came up to the stage. Natalie Cole was giving Ornette Coleman a Lifetime Achievement Award for is impact and contribution to jazz music. Ornette Coleman is the father of free jazz – it’s a major part of jazz history. Now please keep in the back of your mind that jazz music is an American art form. Rock and roll and most other forms of American music find their roots in jazz music – it is truly American. During the presentation of this award to Ornette, you could see the show producers scooting vocalist Carrie Underwood to her seat for her camera shot when her name was to be announced as a nominee for the upcoming award. After Ornette got his ‘15 seconds of fame’, he and Natalie Cole proceeded to announce the nominees for the Best New Artist category. The award for Best New Artist went to Carrie Underwood. At this point, Carrie Underwood comes up to the stage and right when you think she was going to say something to either Natalie Cole or Ornette Coleman, she blazes a trail right past them, takes her award and begins her acceptance speech.

Now I totally understand that Ms. Underwood was under a time constraint for her acceptance speech, but most of the time, the award recipient does say something to the folks announcing the award category. It’s almost a given, right?

At that moment, I heard in my head “American Idol does not recognize an American artist”. I kept thinking about it. America’s idols are not able to recognize American artists. I continued to ponder and watch.

Ornette Coleman received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the American art form of jazz music. But, somehow in that moment, I felt like I was watching a mock-umentary when Ms. Underwood received her Grammy from Ornette and said NOTHING to him. She went straight to her acceptance speech.....

Ignorance is bliss, right? Or is it just ignorance.

A few weeks ago, I was watching PBS and they were showing the Ken Burns special about the history of jazz music. While talking about Louis Armstrong (the great jazz trumpeter and vocalist), they told the story about how Louis did all that he could to show his disgust with the racial tension in the South during the 1960’s. His public display of disagreement got to the point where promoters were canceling Louis’ performances and his wife was even questioning him. The narrator mentioned that it was because Louis saw that jazz music represented the ultimate of freedom available in America that he felt it necessary to take a stand against racism.

The combination of this Grammy encounter and the thoughts about Louis Armstrong brought about these questions:

First, if jazz music represents the ultimate of freedom available to us as Americans, what does pop music (or culture) represent? And secondly, if jazz music represents the ultimate of freedom available to us as Americans, what is being passed along to the next generation?

Is ignorance is bliss. Or is it just ignorance?

My friends, who know me well, know that I'm not a ‘jazz nazi’ or a jazz purist. I have a very broad taste in music, so don’t let the musical genre’s represented in this story or the artists mentioned get in the way of my larger concern. My concern is for our general lack of appreciating what is truly beautiful in life. Whether it is jazz music, art, nature, different cultures and peoples…the list could go on and on.

Has idiom killed America’s ability to appreciate art or things that are truly beautiful?

Has the American market place educated us to such a degree that we are in fact ignorant of real beauty?

What will keep you and I level headed and passionate about life when and if what we thought was real beauty was only a parody of the real thing?

More importantly, what are you and I passing on to the next generation of Americans?