Quote To Chew On....

Summarizing a statement by Donald Hagner: "The faith of Jesus unites us but faith in Jesus separates us."

I've been chewing on this one for while.....I like it.

Falling Off The Wagon

Well...I fell off the wagon this morning. Actually, I blame my family (just like an addict would do, right!). Today is Veteran's Day holiday and the kids are out of school for the day. Leanne has a college class this morning (not a state school so they don't get many holidays off). Usually on these "special" days, the family starts laying down hints and my craving starts. I've been good the past few months and have tried to stay away from these. Since I've come back from my annual Lake Placid Hockey School (yep, I go to school for these kinds of things)with my friend Bill, I've been trying to maintain my physique.

But this morning I couldn't stay away. It is a crisp, fall day with bright sunshine and temps starting out in the 30's. I went and fell off the wagon at this place. I don't like coffee, but what a better way to start this "special" day with hot chocolate and those other things.

And I really fell off the wagon....I came home with an extra 1/2 dozen. Oh well, if you are going to fall...fall hard!

Have a great day!

Forget Making A Case

I been more into reading than writing lately. Here one blog I've enjoyed reading. This guy is a lawyer, he knows what he's talking about. In particular I like this post:

Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Further Adventures in Missing the Point

It seems like every time I browse through the titles in a Christian bookstore or in the Religious section of a chain bookstore, I always find something that strikes me as odd. Today it happened in the "Christian" section of a Barnes & Noble.

What is going on with all of these books about "evidence" that "demands" certain things and the "case" for various Christian-related ideas, events, etc.?

Honestly?

Are people's relationships with God so disconnected that they need some sort-of strict, rational reassurance that God really is out there? Or are people thinking that - if they can load up with enough quasi-judicial sounding "ammo" - that they can really stick it to their non-Christian acquaintances? And if they do "stick it" to their non-Christian acquaintances, do they really expect their humiliated opponents to start begging them for more information about Jesus?

Take it from someone who works in the "case making" business every day: the use of "evidence" that "demands" stuff from others is way overrated.

There is a level at which one's case and evidence are very important in our judicial system, but most lawsuits are driven by relationships, not evidence. The relationships between the parties, which normally begin to deteriorate long before a dispute develops between them. The relationships between lawyers and clients. The relationships between witnesses and parties. The relationships between judge and lawyer and, ultimately, between the jury and the parties. Tell me about how those relationships work, and I can do a pretty good job predicting how a lawsuit will go without knowing a single thing about the underlying dispute.

For all that matters, forget all of the other relationships. If you can just tell me which parties the jury LIKES and which ones they don't like, I can predict the outcome of a case most of the time.

My advice to anyone who is obsessed with making out the "case" for some aspect of their faith is this: lighten up. Walk with God, enter into genuine, authentic relationships with the people around you, even non-believers, and Kingdom stuff will start happening. Force feed this stuff to yourself and those around you, and you may end up like an obnoxious barrister who - in spite of having the perfect case - loses to the jury because he's a pompous smart alek.

Spiritual Blackmail

Greg Newton says this about Community and Coercion:

One thing that was impressed on me during our years in Africa is that ecclesial power is illusionary. In that situation you realize how powerless you are - and how foolish it would be to believe you can control those people.

I used to tell the Tanzanians "Budula wane buli giki, butogwa wingwe wa kudegeleka" (my power is this, your willingness to listen). I was being honest. They could walk away, do anything they wanted, and totally disregard me. There was nothing I could do to make them do what I wanted or said.

All Christians are volunteers. In Tanzania the word for believers also meant "agree-ers". What binds us together is uncoerced agreement. We agree to submit to one another. We agree to follow God's leading. None of this can be forced.

So often guilt, shame, and fear are used to wield power over people even in matters of faith. "Jesus gave us the power to bind on earth and in heaven so if you don't do what we say we will consign you to hell." The threat of excommunication kept medieval kings in line, if not because of their own fear, because their subjects would rise up in revolt against an excommunicated sovereign.

Spiritual blackmail has no place in spiritual formation. No fellow believer rules over me spiritually, and I rule over no one. We are all brothers. And yet I willingly submit to the instruction, guidance, and interests of others.

Trying to live out this reality in a community is challenging because all models that I am familiar with, have a hierarchy at the core. That hierarchy is based on illusory power, but those at the top of the structure attempt to wield it nonetheless.

Being free to pursue God, and yet indebted to love others, is the tension that keeps us in relationship without the coercion of human power.