It Takes A Church...

Article: The Emergent Mystique - Christianity Today Magazine

Christianity Today has a helpful introduction and critique of the "Emergent Conversation," (That is their term.) Andy Crouch is a sympathetic critic who has deftly entered this discussion at several places along the way and proves a helpful guide once again in this article.
The Emergent Mystique - Christianity Today Magazine

Bill Bean offers a couple of book reviews for people interesting in dabbling into the "stuff" of the emerging church discussion (yes, my book is mentioned.)

I also recommend, Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives
by Leonard Sweet, Andy Crouch, Brian D. McLaren, Erwin Raphael McManus, Michael Horton, Frederica Matthewes-Green

Interview on Show Time

My friend and blogger extraordinairre Mark Roberts has posted a series of interviews with me about my new book, Show Time.  It also contains some excerpts

markdroberts.com

God and Y’all Staying Put

If you have been lurking on this blog the past week, you know that I have begun a conversation about Christian community and the mission of Christ in the world, by considering the “spiritual discipline” of stability. Yesterday I told you that perhaps the most important lesson from seminary was learning that the “yous” are better translated as “y’alls.” That is, the “yous” are plural. Today let me make a more explicit connection on between the NT “y’alls" and stability: Y’all is where God dwells in this world.

Most often when we talk about where God dwells, we think of a place. Indeed, even the Temple was an actual place. That the Jews labored to rebuild every time a conquering empire tore theirs down. But Jesus replaced the Temple in Jerusalem with himself and then promised that in the same way that he embodied the presence of God, his body the church would be the new temple.

Six times in the New Testament Paul uses the word here for Temple. It is the word for the actual holy of holies, the dwelling place for God. Five of the six times it is plural. It refers not to the human physical body, but the spiritual body of the church. Another example is found in Ephesians 2:22, where Paul writes about Jesus: “In whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”

God doesn’t dwell in a place but with a people. The temple is not a church (building). The church (body) is the temple.

But let me say something specific about this. When people hear this they have a tendency to say, “Cool. God’s not at church, he hangs out where ever I hang out with my friends. So, I really don’t need church, because Community, The Body, The Temple, is me and my friends.” Indeed, they may even quote a verse from Matthew 18 where Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Nice try. If you look at that verse in context it is talking specifically about the formal work of the church. The Church body is not just anybody we want to include. The Greek word for church means “gathering” and it irefers explicitly to the body of people whom God has gathered together, not us.

And that is exactly the point of this passage. Notice that Paul didn’t say, “Look if you guys can’t get along break up into little groups of people who will get along. God will make all your groups into little temples.” No. Instead he insisted that they had to pull together as the one church whom God has gathered to be his temple. The Church belongs to God. It is his dwelling place and if whomever he includes it, we have to include, love, care for and be unified with.

This is so important to God that in v. 17 we have one of the most strongly worded passages in the New Testament. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

God tells the Corinthians through Paul, that if they stop being a good, holy, and pleasing temple, he is going to tear it down. Just like the temple of Jerusalem that Jesus condemned, if we are not together as God’s dwelling place he will wreck it and go somewhere else.

Whoa. This seems harsh. But why? Because God is not just with us for his sake or our sake. Which leads to our second point. God dwells with y’all for the world’s sake.

Paul was so strict about the people of God in Corinth being a holy and unified body because they were God’s strategy for reaching the broken city of Corinth. And that is true today in your city and mine.

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians, Gordon Fee writes these challenging words. Seldom does one sense that the church is, or can be, experienced as a community that is so powerfully indwelt by the Spirit that it functions as a genuine alternative to the pagan world in which it is found.” ((p. 150)

A genuine alternative. We are meant to be a genuine alternative to the unbelieving, searching, culturally infected world around us. But we can only be that if we offer people the love, peace and unity of the Spirit that reveals the very presence of God with us. And, as you’ve been reading all that week, that takes, at the very least, hanging around and staying put.

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up this series of posts with some reflections on Reformation Sunday and when staying put is the last thing we should do.

The Most Important Thing I Learned In Seminary

When I was in college and working for Youth For Christ, I lived in a house with four people, one of which was a woman from Mississippi, named Laura. Laura loved being from the south, and loved to tell us that the biggest problem in California is that people didn’t know how to speak “southern.”

Her favorite hobby was telling us all the southern phrases and words that were superior to our west coast, Yankee influenced expressions. Like “fetch” for instance. Fetch is a great word, she’d say. Where else do you have a word that says three things at once: “go, get and bring back.”

She also like to say “fixin’.” As in “I’m fixin’ to go to work.” A great phrase that told people that even while you are sitting on a couch drinking Diet Coke and eating Cheetos, you are still doing something. It may not be obvious what the action is, but fixin tell us of the potentiality of a person. One of our roommates who never had a job loved that word. He was always “fixin” to do something while he was doing nothing at all.

But by far her favorite word was “y’all”. She would say, “When your momma leaves the house and says, 'I want you to clean the house before I get back,' you and your brothers and sisters all start arguing over just who is 'you.' But when my momma left the house and said, “Y’all need to clean this house before I get home”, we all knew that the you was us. That’s the problem with you Californians, y’all think that 'you' is someone else.”

If that wasn’t enough, Laura was convinced that God was from Mississippi but that most translators of the Bible were too prejudiced against southern folks to recognize it. A Wheaton College graduate, Laura had taken enough Greek to know that the biggest misunderstanding in the English language Bibles is that every one reads “You” as singular. However, as I have said before, but never with as much directness as I am today, in the New Testament, in the vast majority of cases, the “yous” are plural.

In fact, 1 Cor 3:16 we have a great passage and a most important footnote that we dare not miss. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (NRSV)

I don’t remember the last time I wrote about a footnote, but here goes. If you look at 1 Corinthians 3:16 in the New Revised Standard Bible you will notice that right after the end of v. 16 there is a tiny letter, o. That o refers to a footnote at the bottom of the page that reads, “In verses 16-17 the Greek word for you is plural.”

In other words it would better be translated as the New Living Translation renders it “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God". Or as Laura would say, “y’all”.

Now, I seriously doubt that God is from Mississippi (after hearing her describe the mosquitoes, I am not even sure he made Mississippi), but we west coasters and Yankees probably need some help from our southern friends if we are going understand the power of this passage and what I have called the most important thing I learned in Seminary. In fact, this one fact changed the whole way I read the NT: In the vast majority of cases the "yous" are plural. My friends, when you read the NT, try to overcome the bias that every verse is for you alone, when in actually it is for you and me and all of us together.

Tomorrow, I’ll give you two points that I hope will help understand how the “yous” of the New Testament and the spiritual discipline of “Staying Put” come together.

A Great Ministry and a Great Life

Readers of my book, Show Time, and members of San Clemente Presbyterian Church know all about my friends, Al and Enid. But as I write this week about the spiritual discipline of stability and the blessings of long relationships and deep Christian community, I want to tell one more story about them. It is personal, but it also offers all of us, clergy and laity alike a model of the kinds of commitments that make for a life-time of ministry and blessing.

“Tod," Al said to me one day just weeks after my arrival in San Clemente, "Enid and I are committed to helping you and Beth have both a great ministry and a great life here in San Clemente. So whatever you need just let me know. Really.” That was about the most generous offer that I had ever heard. And you know what? He meant it. When Al agreed to be on the Senior Pastor Nominating Committee that called me to the church some 7 ½ years ago, he knew that it wasn’t going to be a commitment for 9-10 months, but maybe 9-10 YEARS. When Al said yes to serving on the PNC, he and Enid were dedicating themselves to serve and support whomever God brought as the pastor of the church.

Over the years, Al and Enid have served our church in a number of ways, watched our kids many, many times so that Beth and I could have a regular date night, and provided meals, and friendship and partnership that is invaluable. They serve the church sacrificially, they love Beth, our kids, and me unwaveringly. Al is often the first person to point out when he thinks that something is not quite right in our ministry and always (always!) offers to be part of the solution and not just the problem.

Sure, this was quite a commitment for two senior citizens who had already served the church faithfully for decades, but Al and Enid understand like few lay people the demands of ministry and the tolls they could take on a family (especially with really young kids like ours). Former youth leaders at another church, Al and Enid have seen literally dozens of their ‘spiritual kids’ become pastors and missionaries all over the world.

One day, I walked into Al and Enid’s condo to find Al reading a book called How to Keep the Pastor You Love, by Jane Rubietta. I said, “Al, what could you possibly learn from a book like that? You could write that book.” Al looked at me, “Oh there is always more to learn when something as important as this is at stake.”

The truth be told, Al and Enid are just one couple among literally dozens of people at SCPC who are deeply dedicated to helping all of us have “a great ministry and a great life.” If you ask any of my executive staff, they will tell you of how many people have come along side them, joined them in ministry and cared for them personally. And it is my confidence in this community of people that allows me to promise my staff that together we will all aim to have “a great ministry and a great life.”

And frankly, I think that is worth "staying put" for.

Taking the ball

Maybe it's just because the Boston Red Sox buried the "curse of the bambino" last night, but I like this excerpt from John Fischer's book, Fearless Faith:

Fischtank - Book - Fearless Faith

Jesus has invested his life for the world and is about to pour out his last drop of blood for its salvation. But what Jesus will do after that is just as remarkable. He is about to delegate the kingdom of God. He’s going to hand over his personal possession--his labor of love and sacrifice--to someone else. Someone else will continue the work he began. Like a starting pitcher who has held the opposing team scoreless through eight innings of a one run ball game, Jesus is standing on the mound, waiting to hand the ball to some rookie reliever sauntering in from the bull pen, chewing on a wad of gum.

No wonder he prayed so hard that night.

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you” (John 17:11).

That would be us. He’s talking about you and me--all believers in him. We are the ones with the ball now. And he gave it to us with the bases loaded and nobody out. It’s a dangerous situation to inherit.

If nothing else, it keeps us focused on what's at stake when we talk about "church things."

In my book, It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian, I offer an in-depth discussion of John 17 as the most important prayer for church leaders. I'd welcome the feedback of any who have read the chapters on "Transforming Witness".

Spooky Ironies

So I have spent all week blogging about staying "rooted" and getting "uprooted" and writing about trees that fall in storms... So guess whose big Eucaplytus tree took a powder in the windstorm last night?

Next week I'm blogging about winning the lottery...

Called to Stay Put

In 1989 I was asked to start a ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood for young adults in their 20s and 30s which we later called BRICK (Building Relationships in Christ’s Kingdom). To get it going, I contacted Lou. Lou seemed perfect for this ministry. He was in his young 30s, seminary educated, successful, single, had lots of time. He could easily share with me the teaching load and leadership tasks. I told him about the need and asked him to join me. He agreed that a church like ours should have such a ministry and so we decided to start a fellowship group.

We started with over 50 people but by the end of the first year it had dwindled to 18—and a number of them were extremely needy people. After the first year, Lou was offered a different career opportunity that allowed him to gracefully bow out of our struggling ministry. I was now faced with finding a new president for the class. One woman in the group, Lisa, seemed the best hope. She was naturally sweet and kind; she was friendly but a bit shy. I figured she would be a good fill-in until I could find a more charismatic leader. When I asked her if she would be the class president, she told me that she wanted to pray about it. A few days later she told me that she felt that God was calling her to be the class president.

I must tell you that I didn’t pay much attention to her use of the word “Call”. I simply thought it was just a Christian cliché. But a few months later, with the class still struggling along, Lisa came to me and told me that she had a chance for a big promotion in her work, but it meant moving across the country. Knowing that Lisa had moved to LA for work, I assumed that this meant that if she was offered the job then she was leaving and that I would need to find yet another president for my limping class. I wished her well and figured that was that.

A few days later, Lisa called to tell me that she had been offered the promotion, but had turned it down. When I asked her why, she said, “Tod, I really believe that I was called by God to serve this class.” At that time, so very aware of what it had cost her, I heard the word, “call”.

Slowly the group began to flourish under Lisa’s leadership. 2 years later when she turned over the class presidency, it averaged 100 people a week and was on its way to being one of the strongest ministries at FPCH. I believe with all my heart that the difference between Lou’s ministry and Lisa’s was that Lisa new herself to be as called by God to that ministry as any pastor.

For Lou the ministry was a burden and struggle, for Lisa it was an expression of her faith.
For Lou, the ministry was a chore, for Lisa the ministry was a call.

God’s Spirit called Lisa to serve and then blessed that call. Lisa responded to the call by committing, staying, and investing. Lisa later married Scott, a wonderful man, and the both of them attend and serve at FPCH to this day.

So, now let me give you the surprise ending… When I wrote my first post on this blog about “Staying Put” I was thinking of telling the story about Lisa and Scott eventually. Who do you think was the first person to write me and congratulate me on the new blog? Scott. And I’ll share what he wrote (with his permission, of course)

Joe is a western region salesman for a Cleveland based company who was recently offered a big promotion. It was his dream job, one he has been hoping for and looking forward to. However, it would have meant moving back to Cleveland. He and his wife discussed and prayed. They felt God was calling them to stay here … because of the growth in their spiritual lives because of BRICK. They felt like God wanted them to stay here for BRICK, so he declined the promotion!

Lisa and I wept when we heard the story.

I got a bit choked up too.

Up Rooting Well

I once interviewed for an associate pastor job with a senior pastor who told me that he and the church leadership were right in the middle of a conversation about his future as the pastor. He mentioned that he had been at the church for ten years and that it seemed like a good time to discern whether God wanted him to stay there or to move on. It was evident to me that the church had flourished under his leadership. What had been a struggling, hurting congregation was now a vibrant, caring community. He noted that his pastoral gifts were perfectly suited for a “turn around” church and that he wondered if they needed a different kind of pastor now. Then he said to me, “So the church leadership and I are trying to discern whether I should keep being the pastor here.” Then he turned and looked at a lay leader who was there and said, “Do you think I said all that right?” She nodded.

I must tell you that at first this discussion freaked me out. I figured that something had to be wrong. Pastors never talk to church leadership about leaving unless they are getting the boot. Or do they?

It turns out that this pastor had developed such a good, trusting relationship with the church leaders that they could have continual honest conversations about both the church’s needs and his calling. It's probably no surprise that this pastor eventually stayed at that church until the end of his life.

Could this be a model for how a healthy community offers both stability and sensitivity to God’s leading?

In this series about "staying put", we are looking at some of the issues around building Christian communities where people stay "deeply rooted". But, if God blesses "staying put" (as Desert Father Abba Anthony implies--see post below) when do we leave a place and how should we do it. Let me suggest three ideas and see if you have any others:

1) Remember that the key point in leaving, according to Anthony, is that we shouldn’t “easily leave it.” Don’t uproot until you have long been rooted in. Most of us look for any excuse to move on or move away when the Spirit tends to work most significantly when we move in. We may have to move on some time, but it should never be “easy.”

2) In the same way that pastors are “called to” a church, they should only leave when “called away.” And I envision that that calling should include not just people from the new church, but also to an even more significant degree from the church that he or she is currently serving. In other words, for a pastor to move on there should be some process and discussion with the “sending” church, not just the new “calling” church. In the same way that we have Pastor Search Committees, why shouldn’t we have Pastor SENDING committees, who work with the pastor to discern when God may be calling him or her away? I also think that small groups in the life of a church could operate similarly for church members.

3) Perhaps the overriding principle for all of us needs to be grounded in the steps for conflict resolution and confrontation of sin found in the New Testament. Since most of us tend to move on after we have been bruised by a sister or brother (or a church full of bruisers), we need to be better at conflict resolution. So, if you find yourself leaning toward leaving a community in disappointment, only leave somewhere AFTER we have finished all the prescriptions of Matthew 18:15-20 (I’ll let you look them up.)

Recently at a church lunch for our seniors fellowship, I was asked in a Q & A time what is the hardest part of ministry. My answer was: The hardest part of ministry is that people assume that I know when I have failed them. Very often I only find out after the fact that I have let people down, even to the point where they want to leave the church, without them ever telling me what I had done. I told these folks that I since I am committed to them for the long haul, I need both more patience and more confrontation. The only way we are going to keep going deeper with each other is if we keep the conversation going...bluntly and lovingly.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you my favorite story of how God blessed a whole community of people because one lay leader was called to stay put…and the surprise blessing that came to her 15 years later.

I"ll get by with a little help from my friends...

Thanks to all of you who have cruised through this site after hitting the links at Mark Roberts' and Hugh Hewitt's sites. Those guys are the real deal and their sites are must reading for many, many people. All this goes to show how right John Donne was so very long ago. No man, nor blog, is an island... Check back later today for the next post in my Staying Put series...