Hypervigilance

In Gracias! A Latin American Journal, Henri Nouwen told a story of a nun who was visiting in a poor section of Lima, Peru. She had been warned to be very watchful of other people because they would "...grab your money, your purse, and your watch." She was told to "...take your watch off and put it in your purse and hold your purse tight under your arm."

The nun did exactly as she was instructed. While riding on a crowded bus, she had to keep a tight hold on the handle to keep her balance. As she was jostled, she noticed her watch on the arm of a young man next to her. As the story goes, she very aggressively took the watch away from the man, only to later find her watch still in her purse. She had stolen an identical watch from the young man on the bus! Her paranoia had caused her to rob an innocent person.

How much of the time are Christians like this nun. We've been told that we need to watch out for those ___________________ (just fill in the blank), because they will ________________. They are either a threat to Christianity, to our way of life, or whatever else you can think of. We go through our days afraid, afraid of being corrupted or hurt by others. We have done a good job through the years of holding our life tight and hiding things away to keep them from being "stolen." In the end, we end up being the thieves.

When we hide the Source of our life away by separating ourselves, or by loudly proclaiming our opposition to the bogeyman of the day, we rob others of the message that there is a God who is a God of grace, who has become one of us so we can be like him, and who is redeeming this world and will put all things right. We rob them of the love that Jesus told us to show to all we come in contact with. We rob them of the opportunity to see people who have been transformed by God's love and grace, people who are truly different. Like the nun, we steal from others, and then find out later that they really weren't out to get us.

Jesus gave us the commission to go. We are called to be in this world. Jesus gave us the example when he ate and drank with sinners, so much so that the religious leaders called him a glutton and a drunk. Doesn't exactly sound like one who was being careful to not associate with the wrong crowd, does it? One of the big differences I see between the church of the first century and the church of today is the church today seems to more known for what it is against, and the early church was know for their love for each other and for those around them.

May we hold our lives more loosely, and freely share the treasure that we have been given.

Weekend Wanderings

Another week has come and gone. It seems like this past week was only a couple days long, it went by so fast. We celebrated Jan's birthday on Tuesday, had dinner with a dear friend on Thursday, and grilled for about 200 folks on Saturday. Add that to the usual goings on, and the week speeds along.

Here are the links:

So true.

Hmmm.

I wonder how many of us are like this (HT: Scot McKnight).

The Open Door.

Jon Acuff on surrender.

Ronnie McBrayer on worship.

Starbucks stimulus package.

Craig Bubeck on holiness.

Scot McKnight on the Gospel.

Arthur Sido has a question.

Alan Knox on vision.

The preacher.

Well, the weekend is almost over. Have a great week!

World Vision Wednesday

Here is something for all of us to keep in mind.

New Ways of Community

Bob Edwards left a comment on this post, wondering about a more contemporary expression of community beyond the "going house to house" of the first century church, especially for those with limited mobility. He made the point that we can be blinded to new ideas by trying to hold on to a form that doesn't necessarily work as well in the 21st Century. I believe that the form is not as important as having devotion to Jesus, and to one another.

Here is the question. What other forms of community are possible, that can meet the needs of different groups of people, and remain true to the ideal of devotion to Christ, and to one another ? Please weigh in.

Weekend Wanderings

Fall is here in the sunny South. This morning the thermometer on our back porch read 41 degrees. That's just a bit chilly for October. We're ready for some cooler weather, but I know there will still be some hot days to come. Last night we had our first neighborhood dessert night. Jan and I delivered flyers to about 100 families, inviting them to our house. Eight showed up , and we had a nice time meeting neighbors that we didn't know and getting to know some others better. Everyone enjoyed it, and we're going to have a second one in December at one of the other homes.

Here are the links:

Tales of a face giver.

Reckoning with R.E.M.

What should be our symbol?

Life in Christ is life in the Spirit.

Here is a fun video.

On "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," here is an iMonk Classic.

Kansas Bob on people who raise us up.

Jared Wilson on worship.

Knowing.

Distorted images of God.

An allegory.

Funny.

Ronnie McBrayer asks a good question.

Rich Wagner on sharing.

May your week ahead be filled with the Father's love.

Tom Sawyer Christianity

In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer gets Huck Finn and a group of boys together to form a gang of robbers and murderers. Tom gives the gang members a list of rules that they must follow in order to be a part of the gang. When questioned about some of these rules, Tom says that these rules must be followed because that's what robbers and murderers did in the books that he read. Because it was in the books, that's what robbers and murderers did, therefore that's what the gang was supposed to do. Of course, the rules had nothing to do with reality, and the boys ended up doing what you would expect from a group of young boys: they pretended to rob and kill. No one was harmed, and the gang eventually broke up because it got too hard to get together.

As I read I thought how much this is like a large segment of Christianity today. Folks gather in buildings every Sunday and listen to what essentially is a list of rules that they must follow in order to be in the gang. These rules range from behavior codes regarding dress, music, etc., to principles and steps to follow to be a better _______________. The unfortunate thing is that some in those buildings think they are part of the Body because they made a decision and are following the rules, but are deluded. While determining whether someone really belongs to Christ is way above my pay grade, a good look at the fruit shows a problem.

The rules and the principles and steps are like the rules in Tom Sawyer's gang; they do not correspond to reality. What is real is that Jesus has finished it. He has done everything that needed to be done. Christ has accomplished everything we need. When he said, "It is finished," on the cross, he meant it. He has called us to follow him, and has given us everything we need to do that. Christ did not call us to give assent to a set of propositions about him. He did not tell us to follow a set of rules, to get our act together, or to "get right" with him. He called us into relationship with him.

It is true that a relationship with Jesus will bring about changes in our lives. We are a new creation, and we are called to live as people who are different. Those changes that make us different will come about by the Spirit of God in us, not from following a set of rules or steps. We are not only saved without human effort, we also live in the power of the Spirit, not our own power. We can not get any closer to God by our efforts, we can not please God in our own strength. Everything we do must be done by God's power. Tom Sawyer's gang failed because they were trying to be a gang like Tom had read about, but had no ability to do what those gangs did. How many Christians flounder in their lives, and how many congregations are powerless because they are trying to be what they have read about, but are doing it in their own power.

Tom Sawyer's gang was playing at being a gang. I wonder how many of us who claim Christ are playing at following him. What would it look like if churches were made up of people who were fully committed to following Jesus in the power of the Spirit?

Weekend Wanderings

It's been a wet week here in the sunny South. The temperatures have gone up a little bit here at the start of autumn, but that's pretty normal. Jan and I spent Friday night and all day Saturday representing World Vision at the Women of Faith conference in Charlotte. It was a good experience, and no, I wasn't the only male there. In our community, we've been working through Micah 6:8 and what that means for us, beginning with our relationships. We've had some good discussion on a topic that I believe is important to our mission as followers of Jesus.

Here is a taste of some of the good offerings out there this past week:

Your brain and forgiveness.

Jo Hilder on the poor.

Trespasses.

Alan Knox on worship, Jesus Christ, and gathering.

It is easy to lose sight of things.

Wayward Son begins a series on distorted images of God.

A garden in the wilderness.

Arthur Sido thinks about being pro-life.

Spinning cogs.

Ronnie McBrayer says there is no need to keep jumping.

Following Aslan.

Keith Giles has a series on Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Part 1 is here.

Watering the garden.

Embracing the true, the good, and the beautiful (HT: Scot McKnight).

Are we maturing in Christ?

A good thought about the sacraments.

The perils of power.

Chaplain Mike says that prepositions matter.

The church of the greasy spoon.

Have a wonderful week!