Church and State

Martin Smith of the Christian rock and worship band Delirious wrote a song "Shout to the North", which speaks to the rejuvenation  of the church.  The words of the last verse;
"Rise up church with broken wings;
fill this place with song again;
of our God who reigns on high;
by His grace again we'll fly."

This song speaks well of the current state of the church.  But there is Hope...

I am a big believer in the separation of church and state.  What that means is that I believe that neither the province nor the Canadian government should be involved in each others affairs.  While I acknowledge the fact that Canada's early start as a country owes much to the church (starting many universities, hospitals and handing over many social institutions over), today's political and social environment is much different.  The church can no-longer assume that the government will continue to do adhere to Christian traditions and continue to do the work of the church.

What I mean is this; prayer, the bible, Christian teachings etc. are not the responsibility of the school system - it never should have been.  In my mind, that should have always been a function of the church.  That kids today know nothing of God is the fault of the church... not the school.  Had Christian education been handled by the church AND parents in manor that encouraged the whole family to learn together, the landscape of peopling knowing about God would look completely different.  But for years, the church complained about the fact that there is no more prayer in school; no bible readings in school, and did nothing to address the fact that the church lost that battle some 40 years ago.

So, today the church is 40 years behind (and still complaining), and struggling to figure out how to turn this around.  the reality is... it is not going to happen in our school systems so we need to look at how we do this outside the school system and handled by the people who are more subject matter experts than anyone in the school system.

I think, however, schools should teach religion - all religions.  It should look to bring in appropriate and respectful material and teach the basic understanding of common doctrine of all religions.  I know that there are books out there that provide this kind of material and I think it would bring a health understanding to kids of various faith groups.

As far as the Christian church goes, we have our work cut out for us; we have many years of catching up to do.  It had better be good; it had better be captivating and respectful; it has to be dangerously truthful because kids today are much smarter (with internet access and research capability) to sift through the "differentiating dogma's" of various denominations (and non-denominations - who take on one of those flavors anyway).  It has to be life-changing because that is what Jesus came here to do.  Not through government programs and institutions rather, through the church... the gathering of people who follow Jesus and believe that He can make a difference in everyone's life.  And it is not just on Sunday's either, it is every day.

Don't trust the government to do what the church obviously knows how to do better; Don't let government determine the church's success.  This is all in God's hands, not theirs.  And if we believe that we are the body of Christ... that means us.

Purpose of Church

Last week was a good week.  Actually, in our context (Westernized World view, that is), every week is a good week.  When we compare our lives to more than 90% of the people in this world, who can it not be a good week for?  Yet, our prayers and our belief systems put us in a place that we believe that things are not going well for us.  The Church is no different.

The Church likes to complain that things are not going well.  Beautiful heated and dry buildings, comfortable pews, paid staff to do all the work, gatherings and tradition that are pleasing to the members, and the list goes on.  So, what is there to complain about?  Well, who is going to take over this legacy of real estate?  Who is going to take this real estate and make sure that the church building survives in the future?  Because that is what we worry about. Who is going to continue "the tradition"?  But what tradition?

When I was studying in Montreal, I remember one professor tell me that the church is to "take care of the members and bury them when needed."  I was told that one of the main purposes for the church is to be Palliative in nature; take care of the dying; be there to hold hands of people until their time comes.  And I must agree, that is one purpose for the church (an important one) but not the only focus; there has to be more to it than just that.

To remain as a Palliative Care Ministry means that as the church "dies off", at one point, there will not be enough people to support the few remaining.  So the last ones to try and maintain this kind of ministry will no doubt be people who will not be able to receive this ministry themselves.  So there has to be more than just this kind of ministry moving forward.  But what is it... or... what are they?

Well for one, how about doing the things that Jesus told us.  How about the "Great Commission" and the "Great Commandment" that Jesus gave the church before any other ministry is to be started?  Some may be wondering what these two "Great Things" are?

The Great Commission - to go out and tell people that Easter was about an event in history that changed everything and show people just how much God loves us. The death and resurrection of a man people called (at that time) Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus, the Son of God wasn't really understood by people back then; it only happened after the resurrection and specifically... when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Jesus followers some weeks later.  It was only at this time that their total disbelief turned into understanding.  The Great Commission is about talking to people about what God is doing here on earth - 2000 years ago, today, and in the future.Part of the great Commission is "to do" the Great Commandment.

The Great Commandment - to love one another unto death; to love one another to death?  This may seem totally weird.  Part of the Easter Story is that God loved us so much that He was willing to die to prove it - and He did.  "To love one another as Jesus loved people."  Jesus was so in tune with people outside of the religious circles at the time (the outsiders) that the people inside these religious circles (the insiders) hated him for it (they killed him because of it).  Jesus thought that "Outsider's" were more important than "Insider's"; go figure that one out. Believe it or not, Jesus said these things;  "Sick people need doctors, not healthy people";  "You look for lost items... not at the ones you already have."

The G's C's go together... Go out and let people know that God is still doing something today to let people know that He cares about them and loves them for who they are - warts and all.  He wants the local church to be a place that goes out and become a catalyst for God changing people's hearts.  We can't do this from inside a building; it happens outside of the building... that is what the legacy of the church building is supposed to be about... serving and not being served.  It's a mind shift for people, but a necessary one.  It takes work.

If you are the kind of person who wants to make a difference in people's lives, talk to me, I would love to hear from you;  I would love to hear where your passion is; I would love to hear what is on your heart.

God's blessing to you this day and all your tomorrows.

The time between Palm Sunday and Easter

Most people, when asked about Easter, think of Easter Bunnies and coloured eggs.  When asked about the religious content of Easter, I think most people (which includes ALL the un-churched and de-churched people) - would acknowledge that Easter might have something about Jesus... but really don't believe "the stories."  You see, "the stories" are impossible to believe; no-one raises from the dead.  When you are dead, it's over; you move on... but dead people stay dead.  For a long time, I agreed with that... and I believe that even today.  When I die, I die to this world and place my trust on Jesus' promise of eternity by the way He defined it. But I am dead to this world and I am not likely to be seen walking around the streets by people that I know (please do not confuse me with my twin brother - he still may be alive - but that doesn't count).

Interestingly enough, even Jesus closest friends and family believed that Jesus was dead after his crucifixion.  Read the accounts of the first people who came to the empty tomb... they were surprised by its emptiness.  These followers didn't run around and claim him to be alive right a way.  They were confused and didn't understand what had just happened.  They too, believed that dead was dead.  But... something happened.

These scared, in hiding, confused followers of Jesus were not waiting at the tomb for Jesus' return.  These are the same cowards who later BOLDLY claimed that they saw the resurrected Jesus.  Take a read in the Bible, outside of the first four "books" of the Early Christian writings (aka the New Testament), there is little written about what Jesus did and what Jesus said.  The majority of the writings cover a more simple message of the resurrection.  Andy Stanley puts the message this way:  You killed him; God raised Him; we saw Him; say you're sorry.  Even the writers of the first four accounts of Jesus' life (the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) spent far more ink and time on the death and resurrection - the last couple of weeks of Jesus' life than they spent on the three years with Jesus.

Something happened that allowed the story of Jesus' resurrection to survive the Roman Empire and all the persecution of the early church and be one of the most recognized stories in the world (even if it is hard to believe).  Something happened to Saul (late called Paul) on the road to Damascus that changed him from a person who was out to destroy the early church to become the greatest church planter of all time.  Something happened to a bunch of people who willingly went to their deaths KNOWING the resurrected Jesus.  And it wasn't about the teachings of Jesus - there were (and still are) great teaching out there by many spiritual leaders (even though they are dead); this was about an event that was being proclaimed... "we saw a risen LORD Jesus."  That was the message; that's what they died for... an event that occurred some 2000 years ago.

Everything we know about Jesus and His teachings comes from (and started with) a small handful of people who first believed that Jesus was dead; found it confusing that Jesus' body was missing; until they saw Him for themselves.  They put their faith into the resurrection... not the stories, not the teachings, not the things that He did... they put their faith and their trust into Jesus' resurrection.  It's the foundation of the early Christian people.  It should be your's, too.

The Noah movie...

I read in the paper this morning how Muslims and some Christians are upset about the making and showing of this new movie "Noah."  There are certain countries in the Middle East that will not allow this movie into their theaters; there are church leaders who are telling "their people" not to go and see it.  Often I wonder how the un-churched people view this; I wonder how the de-churched people look to these responses.  For un-churched people, I am sure it convinces them that these Christian people are as nuts as they believe them to be - after all; "It's just a movie!"  I am sure that for the de-churched that it is just one more reason not to re-connect with their lost faith.

Unfortunate as it is, these few people who believe that they are speaking out on behalf of Christians every where, aren't, and they wind up throwing all churches under the bus (so-to-speak).  As for me, I say; "Go and enjoy the movie - if you can."  I truly hope that people will embrace the idea that someone saw a bible story worthy enough for all people to view - even if it is their interpretation.  It is then my prayer that these people will then (at least) look up the story online (at Biblegateway for example) Gen 6:1 - 9:29 and read it for themselves (the link connects to Eugene Peterson's 'The Message' version of the flood story - it's easier to read and understand).  I hope that there are people who do go to church do this; it may be one of the few times that they open their bibles (sad to say).

Enjoy your movie... hope to see you there...

Ron

Starting Out on Your Faith Journey

I started a preaching series recently on where our journey's of faith begin. Doing this series has taken me back to my days when I began my journey (grade 11). I remember that it took me some time to get to the point where I was willing to accept that Jesus was a real person; it took longer to come to the point that this resurrection thing may have really happened (some how); it took me a bit longer to acknowledge that this Jesus resurrection thing had any meaning on my life. The reality is this; Guy Kember, my class mate and all-round-great-guy tried for a long time to "convince me and others" at the euchre table about Christianity with little to no success. But it wasn't until he said these words that started my thinking process; "Well, it doesn't matter what you think; Jesus is real and he died for you." It wasn't until the idea that this whole argument had to be approached this from a different angle (or maybe he realized this unknowingly), was he able to get me thinking about God and Jesus.

I remember going back home and secretly looking up anything I could on the historical aspect. If Jesus was real, then someone else must have written about him, too. My dad had quite a library at home and remember browsing the modest library of books and spotting one book in particular; The Story of Civilization: Caesar and Christ by Will Durant, Historian. Wow, someone else was writing about this Jesus Guy; he must have existed at some time. But the next question; who was he - really. And I think that is the story of Christianity that we need to return to; Who is this Jesus person? C.S. Lewis writes about this is his book "Mere Christianity." It's a great book.

I guess the whole point of this is the fact that it took me years before the saying (or that I could say); "The Bible says..." seriously. When we had discussion around the the euchre table, and Guy K. would say; "the bible says..." he might as well have quoted from a comic book - at least I would read those. This whole preaching series brought me back to some very basic fundamentals; Guy's journey was not mine; my journey is not someone else's journey. We come from very different perspectives on what we need. I think that once a Christian realizes the power of the Scriptures written over thousands of years, we want to ram it down people's throats - not realizing that we are doing more damage than good.

I want to end this with a common quote that most people know; "you don't feed a baby a T-bone steak"; you feed them something that THEY can swallow...

Many blessings to you on your journey...

Ron

I'm back...

It has been a long time since I wrote. We have a new person working in our office and I asked her to review our web pages to see how "friendly" we are, as well as identify any links that appear not to work. Well, it took her all of one second to comment about a link on the top of our web page that led to a blog that hasn't been updated in years (too many years). I've always wanted to get back to it but I kept forgetting the password since we renamed our web site. Bad excuse, I know. Anyway, here I am; I hope that I can do this weekly, now. Expressions of Hope in a Messy World. We need this. For many people in our congregation, the world is changing too fast and... in their opinion... not always for the better. They find that the world they live in is no longer to be recognized. Yet, the church is in a unique situation; it is the connection between a God who does not change (unconditional Love for us shown through Jesus's action on the cross) and a world that is in constant change. The church has to adapt;the church needs to be that connection. Bill Hybels keeps saying; "The local church is the hope of the world." And I believe that. The church has an important role to play. I have now been at St. Andrew's Nanaimo for six years; I have started my seventh year as of March 1st. The changes here over those years has been many. And there are more changes in the works. Just recently (since the summer of 2013), I have read and done a book study on "Who Stole My Church: What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century" and it seems to have struck accord with a number of people. I under-estimated the kind of response that I would receive by "doing" this book study. It has been great. I recommend this book for everyone out there. We are now moving on to the next book; Deep and Wide; Creating Churches that Unchurch People Love to Attend. I am just curious where this is going to lead us. I really liked this book; I wonder if others will, too. Blessings for now...

Messy Theology

Health and Wealth; Name it and Claim it; it is the Prosperity Gospel; and our Western culture has embraced this and it is now a part of too many church's dogma (belief that this is true teaching).  I know this because I once was a part of this (but not as a Pastor - thank God).  But I am glad the God has made it clear to me now that this is rather a dangerous theology.  You see, I worked in the High Tech Industry (telecommunications/ Voice over the Internet/ Voice Embedded Application stuff) for over 20 years and in my last years making OBSCENE amounts of money.  I lived the good life; God wanted me to have ALL this; I was blessed by God.  However, my whole world came crashing down around me.  The Tech Industry bubble burst and I lost my senior management position; we had to sell some wonderful waterfront property where we started to build our dreams; we stopped our living practices - we gave up much; my plans of retiring at 55 were dashed; and then to top it all off, my dad died rather quickly to cancer.  This all happened within a year.

Where was God in all this? Did God hate me now?  Who was God?  These are some very hard questions.  To add to all this; I had a member of our congregation say to me; "just pray for a new job; I did, and got one."  As if I hadn't already been doing this. This comment made me more angry.  I felt like hitting someone. God isn't fair; God should give me back my luxury life-style because I was supposed to be blessed by Him; taking advantage of my God-given talents for my own purpose and my own advancement - isn't this what God wants?  I want it; I pray for it; I get what I want... full stop... this is what the Gospel is.  Pray for that Mercedes (I think of Janice Joplin's "O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz song); pray for that obscene pay check; pray for that 5000 square foot home; pray for that huge bank account pray for all this in Jesus' name because we said it is supposed to work that way; "ask and you shall receive."

Then... reality breaks into my life.  S#!% happens; life happens; we seek God's help to get us through the messiness of this world.  Reality breaks in when I see millions of people (Christians included) who pray daily just for a clean glass of water... I guess God hates these people, too?  Reality sets in and I see that in the midst of suffering God is in the middle of it all, carrying me and comforting me because I am having problems doing this myself.  Reality breaks into my life and I realize just how dangerous the Prosperity Gospel is because I almost gave up on God; he wasn't living up to the Gospel message that was being preached.  The church in the western world is messed up; this Theology simply isn't biblical. I read about a Jesus who said; "give everything you have to the poor and come follow me;"  I read about a Jesus who reached to the out-castes of society and touched the un-touchables; I read about a Jesus who had no-place to rest his head; I read about a Jesus who said our rewards are in heaven.  Jesus did not die for our possessions and our bank accounts; he didn't die for our Mercedes or our 5000 sqft home; he died for our souls; he died for our heart; he died for our relationship with God. Someone once told me; "have you ever seen a trailer being towed behind a Hearse?"  Below is a link to a video on YouTube on the "Prosperity Gospel" by Pastor John Piper; take a look...



Our messy theology in a messy world... I thank God for waking me up to reality... the reality of God being in a messy world Loving people who lead messy and broken lives. In some way, I pray that God messes you up, too... that is... if you aren't already messed up...

Welcome to the Human Race

Lately, I have been thinking about about our church - a lot.  I am not talking just about St. Andrew's rather, I am thinking about the church in the so-called "Western Civilization"... if we can call it that.  I talk about messy lives and I am concerned for people who lead messy lives.  But this also includes a great number of people who go to church regularly and lead quiet, well-hidden, messy lives.  I once made the mistake of making a comment to a Pastor in our denomination (this was during a time that I was attending Theological Studies in Montreal - about 4 or 5 years ago), and I said; "all to often we spend too much time preaching to the converted."  This Pastor told me that there are too many in our churches who simply come because "that's what they have always done" and have no real idea who God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or how it all fits together.  Now, that's messy.  Just recently I read a chapter out of a book "The Christian Atheist; Believing In God but Living as if He doesn't Exist" by Craig Groeschel.  If there was ever a title that spelled out the messy situation we find ourselves in, this is it.  It all comes together for me, now.  I always knew that we have a great, awesome God, and I have always tried to live in a way that reflects my understanding of God (and I must admit, I still fall grossly short of what I even expect of my self).  I guess - Welcome to the human race. Our lives are all about being broken and failing time and again.  It is our human nature.  However, we do seek God and the Help of the Holy Spirit to get us through this messy world.  I am so glad that God can see beyond our human nature and still sees something within humanity worth saving - we simply have to ask and to receive that Grace from Him; His action to move towards us through Jesus Christ and the Cross.  Thank you God for helping me through the mess of my life - even still, today.

Life Happens... sometimes it's not nice...

Some people told me that they don't like the word "messy" when describing people's lives... because... I think it is describes situations in people's lives that make a child's 'messy room' look neat.  I don't know how better to describe some lives that I am privileged to participate in (in some strange way) than messy.  Life gets so complicated - especially when it's not supposed to.  Society creates rules; we follow them or else. And this causes problems as it becomes painfully aware that there are many good people out there making some not-so-good decisions; not just one not-so-good... but many of them.  Where it really gets messy is when we judge these people by the results of their actions and we believe that this is who they are; we wind up judging the person as a whole flawed individual.  The reality is that these people would love to live "normal lives" but the challenge is in their decision making process that they learned as children. Look back into people's lives; on what basis have people learned to make good choices?  While some people claim that they had a "good child-hood" - although challenged at times - I really wonder because I would not want  it for the life of me. Good people making bad choices and a system that is in place that doesn't allow them to address the issue very easy at all (sometimes rather difficultly).  No matter what happens; they think they are doing "the right thing" and it winds up getting all over them.  Then more bad decisions; followed yet by one more.  before you know it, they are covered head-to-toe in results of not-so-good choices.  Now if that isn't messy, I don't know what is.

What people need is a path on which they know that they can start to make good choices; they need a target to aim for; they need something beyond themselves as a guide; they need the mentoring of a caring, loving Power that sees beyond their brokenness and deep into their hearts where that good individual is just waiting to break free.  Freedom, that is what they need, freedom.  Freedom from judgment; freedom from the guilt of human failings; freedom to accept the permission to start life over once again without the history report card coming out and dragging them back into the abyss again.  These people need to experience the Gospel of Jesus Christ - who came for exactly these kinds of broken people.  Jesus Christ; the one who ate with the tax collectors (remember - tax collectors were worse than sinners - they had their very own category below the sinner bar); Jesus Christ, the one who reached out and touched the untouchable's in society.  Jesus offered healing and He offered life - all in a messy world. The question for us is this, then; do we truly believe that we are the hands and feet of Christ; do we truly believe that the Church is the vessel by which God allows the Gospel to be experienced so that one day it may be heard?  If so, where do we all fit in? Maybe we are leading messy lives, too?

Starting Where You Are

"To start fresh, to start over, to start anything, you have to know where you are.  To get somewhere else, it's necessary to know where you're standing right now.  That's true in a department store or in a big church, on a freeway or on a college campus ... or on life, for that matter.  Seldom does anybody "just happen"  to end up on the right road.  The process of redirecting our lives is often painful, slow, and even confusing.  Occasionally, it seems unbearable." - Charles R. Swindol, Starting Where You Are, pg. vii.

These are the words that Charles uses to start this book.  I think they are great.  Just these words alone is worth the price of the book.  But how difficult is it to truly grasp this.  Too often, we fool ourselves thinking that the way life is going is okay. The world is a mess all around us; we are up to our armpits in messy stuff.  And some how too many people think that this is okay.  We complain bitterly about our problems being the result of some-one else; it is never our own.  But... one day we will have to look in the mirror and take a good look at ourselves and ask the question; "are we happy with the way things are going; are we okay that our life is total mess?" We sit at the bottom of the abyss and try to find a way out. But it has to start with honesty; it has to start with a real understanding of where we are.  Then, and only then, do the words "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" really mean anything.  We can't do it ourselves; we need help.  Well, God gives us permission to start over; God gives us the right to start our life anew - washed clean; all our messiness is nailed to the cross where Jesus died for us (and our messiness).  You just need to ask and accept the gift that has your name on it.

A Messy World

I read this book once; it belonged to one of my kids - he was a teenager at the time.  The book was called Messy Spirituality and it was written by Michael Yaconelli.  It is about God's annoying Love for imperfect people - and that includes me.  And that is what I loved about this book.  It brought God into people's worlds - right smack in the middle of brokenness.  I remember talking to some people back in Ottawa about a tragedy that occurred in Southern Ontario (http://www.firehouse.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64044).  While a man was in Ottawa, his pregnant wife and 7 children died in a horrific house fire (this was in the Fall of 2004 - I was studying for the ministry at that time).  A few friends of mine questioned the faith of the man (a Christian) and asked me where God was in all this.  I told them "right in the midst of the fire."  These people where surprised at my answer; they couldn't believe that God would have anything to do with this - God should have protected them if they where really "good Christians."  They became quiet when I said; "if there is any time in my life that I want God with me - it would be then; Him coming to me to comfort me and take me away from the horrors of (being in) the fire."  Being Christian does not spare us from life's trials.  Life happens and we seek God to get us through the trials and the ugliness of it at times.  That is why I liked this book; that is why I think this is a book that everyone should read.  Yaconelli reminds us that Jesus came for messy lives - not perfect ones.  I forget who said this but, Jesus died between two thieves; not between two clergy.

And thus, this blog.  A place where I/ we can expose God's annoying Love for imperfect people  in a messy and broken world.

Ron