It Takes A Church...

"The Earth-Keeping Spirit"

How some African Pentecostals have begun to refer to the Holy Spirit.

--cited in Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, 116.

"When you send your Spirit, new life is born, to replenish all the living of the earth." Psalm 104:30 

The picture is of an oncoming rain storm on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Two Things I really like...

Two pals, both named Steve, both have blogs, and both have put up things on their site that make me smile and ponder a bit.  How about you?

Steve's video

Steve's picture

Book Report #3: Learning Community and Family from the Margins

A big part of the early weeks of my sabbatical experience has been learning Spanish and getting some experiences that will help me to lead our church into a new ministry with the 20% of our local community who are Hispanic.  For a while now, we have felt a conviction that God is calling us to begin this ministry, and now I am seeking to learn the lessons and the wisdom to lead us wisely and well. And since I have been home, I have been thinking and praying about this a great deal.

While flying home from Costa Rica, I read Justo Gonzalez’ book Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes.  Gonzales premise is that the central characteristic of the Hispanic experience in North America is one of “marginality.”  Latinos who have left behind their homelands to come to the United States for a better life are often marginalized in both their new country and their native lands so they are in many ways, people without a place to belong.  Because of this reality (that I had never understood so clearly) I have been reflecting on both the challenge and opportunity that Hispanic ministry offers us in San Clemente. 

Undoubtedly, it will be difficult.  Most of us don’t like change very much and we are especially resistant when that change makes us uncomfortable because of the unknown.  But in a crucial way, the experience of Hispanics in our culture mirrors the historic position of Christians in virtually every culture.  And that “common ground” could be the perfect starting place.

Christians are, by faith and conviction, marginal people.  We are called to be “in but not of” the cultures in which we live.  We are called to and when living faithfully often experience the sense that “this world is not my home.” 

Throughout our history, the people of God found themselves again and again as strangers in a strange land, as “aliens” and “exiles”.  And over and over again, the people of God have been exhorted by God that remembering our own “alien” status will lead us to seek justice and offer hospitality to the “alien and stranger in your midst”.  This themes was picked up by early Christians identified with the “aliens and exiles” (see 1 Peter, for example) and made “a home for the homeless.”   But very often, we who are the “majority” culture forget this spiritual reality.  The more that we are “at home” in a place, the quicker we forget that we are actually “aliens and strangers”. 

Personally, the experience of traveling for three weeks in Costa Rica reminded me of what I should never forget as a Christian: of how hard it is to be “out of place”, and how gracious—truly grace-filled—is a welcoming glance, a kind smile, and a person who is willing to slow down to speak with you.  Of how great it is when you finally feel “at home” somewhere.

I have been praying a lot about what our church “Community” needs to become so that we can be a rare place of welcome and “settledness” for so many “marginalized” people in our midst, and how our conviction to offer people “a place to belong” can truly be extended to our Hispanic neighbors the way we have sought to do so for our neighbors at Camp Pendleton Marine Base, for retirees, for youth, for young adults and young families.   

But I also think that the greatest gift in starting our Hispanic community will be the surprise at how much we will gain, how much more equipped our church will become to fulfill our calling as a church because more “marginal” people will be part of the “center” of our church. 

Here is just one example: Gonzalez points out that the while so many of us in North American society focus only on the nuclear family, and then wonder why we still feel so alienated and alone in this world when we have so much, the “normal” frame of reference for Hispanics is not in terms of “individual status” like occupation or social standing, but in terms of “family” and “community”, especially in a deep commitment and high value put on the “extended family.” 

Gonzalez even points out that Americans tend to think of churches as being made up of “families” while Hispanics tend to think of the church as being ONE “extended family”.  Says Gonzalez: “Significantly, one of the values most cherished by nuclear families in the dominant culture is privacy—a word that does not even exist in Spanish.  When they come to church, most white middle class families wish to preserve their privacy.  When they come to church, most Hispanic nuclear families come to be part of the one extended family of the church.” (p. 109-110) In other words, they “do” naturally, what we highly-individualized North Americans have long forgotten, yet yearn for. 

Perhaps God is calling us to reach out to the Hispanic community in our town both to care for and extend welcome to the Hispanic community, as well as to help our church Community become even more the family of God we are called to be. 

The Fellowship of Kindred Souls

Agur and Jon, two friends from SCPC, both Marine officers serving in Iraq, get a chance to connect for a few minutes while a long way from home.  This heartwarming picture is a good reminder to all of us of the sweetness of Christian fellowship.  "It is grace to be together."--Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (If you want to keep up to date with one of the Marines serving in Iraq, Jon blogs almost daily at http://jarhedjon.blogspot.com/  (Jon, thanks for the picture!)

Book Report #2: The Three Rs for learning to be a “new kind of human”

Since returning to San Clemente from Costa Rica on June 10, I have spent the bulk of my sabbatical time practicing my version of the “three Rs”: Reading, Riding, Running.  I get up early in the morning and read for a few hours, then go ride my bike or run and pray about and think about my reading while I do. Beth says that when I return from a ride or a run, my body is tired and my mind is energized.  So, consider this “Book Report” the reflections from the road.

Part of my reading list has consisted of trying to catch up on some of Brian McClaren’s books.  As the identified leader of the “emergent conversation” McClaren is a bit of lightning rod for all kinds of discussion about the church in this post-modern day.  (For a good overview, see the “Theopedia” article here. And for what it's worth, his book on the Kingdom of God and the SECOND book in the "New Kind of Christian" Series are my favorites.)

Personally, I have never quite “gotten” what all the fuss is about, either for or against McClaren.  I find many of the stereotypes portrayed in his "creative fiction" annoying, I believe that at the very least his ecclesiology is lacking (but that is true with most evangelicals) but I do think that McClaren offers a refreshing and eye-opening perspective to those who are trying to break out of a more fundamentalist stripe of evangelical faith.  (Which really has never been my issue, frankly. )

Most of what McClaren writes about, I first struggled through at Fuller Seminary 15 years ago.  It has been the ongoing struggle of the more conservative wing of the church:  How do we respond to a changing world without losing our souls?  (And indeed, some accuse the emergent movement of doing just that.) But, in the final analysis, I think trying to become a "new kind of Christian" misses the point. What we most need to regain is the sense of what Christians are supposed to be about in the first place:  A new kind of human. 

This concept was brought to the front of my attention by reading a wonderful, readable, thick historical tome, The New Testament and the People of God by N. T. Wright.  (McClaren gives much credit to Wright throughout his writings, too, by the way.) The earliest Christians “naturally” understood that they were not a new religion, a new political group, but in the first century Christianity “was a new sort of movement, that could only properly be described by creating a new category alongside Greeks, barbarians, and Jews. It was a new way of construing what it meant to be human.” (Wright, p. 365, emphasis mine.)

Only as we Christians see ourselves as the heirs of the promise and the calling of God’s people throughout the centuries will we understand our true vocation as God’s means for reconciling the whole world. 

One thing that is clear historically, is that the only way can  fulfill that calling is by retaining both the uniqueness of our new identity because of God's work in our life and a passionate belief that what is true for us, is true for the whole world (at the same time.) And that “new way of being human” is what all Christians--new kind or not--are to be all about. 

What's (W)right with the Church

I know that many of you have been following the latest headlines from the Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly with some confusion and consternation.  For many of us, the political machinations of such denominational entities is exactly what is most "wrong" with the church.  Indeed, I often feel the same way. 

(And for those who'd like to hear more about what I think about the future of the PCUSA, I will yield my time to Mark D. Roberts who has once again captured it so well that I needn't spend any time on the subject at the moment.  Note: Mark and I are old friends, in the same covenant group and partner pastors in the same presbytery.  He is the person with whom I most often speak about these things and I genuinely share much of the perspective that he raises in these posts.)

But, you may ask, what is right with the PCUSA and denominational structures and the kinds of larger partnerships that many think will soon pass into oblivion?  Let me offer one example of what is "(W)right with the church" (pun absolutely intended, without apology...) and this time I don't mean the respected Bishop and theologian who is my literary sabbatical mentor, but another friend and the pastor of a new church plant in a neighboring community, Steve Wright.

I spent Father's Day at Village Presbyterian Church in Ladera Ranch, the church where Steve is the organizing pastor. Since it was Father's Day, I was allowed to plan the whole day to my liking and I chose to attend this church that meets in an elementary school.  It was wonderful.  Not only did I get to hear my friend preach a fine sermon from Nehemiah on being faithful to the scriptures even if they call us to uncomfortable and "temporary" places, but I got to be part of the mission of God going simply, humbly and joyfully into a new area of the world.  There was enthusiastic worship, a pile of kids sitting on a rug for children's message, warm greetings from the church members, heck, I even bought some "fair-trade coffee" to take home.

SCPC is one of the supporting churches for Village Presbyterian Church, and I was part of a group of pastors that was called together by our Presbytery to help this church get planted.  I was the chair of the Pastor search team that called Steve and I am part of the small band of folks who are praying and supporting this church in whatever way we can. (At the moment that is mostly trying to figure out how to raise enough money to help Steve and his family get a house in the neighborhood!)

I was never more proud of being a Presbyterian than I was on that Father's Day in the middle of that worship service.  This is what being "connectional" is all about.  Not big gatherings for hammering out politically minded decisions, but covenantal relationships that lead to the expansion of the gospel and the presence of the Christian Community into every neighborhood and nation in the world. 

Sure there is plenty wrong with denominational structures, but pulling together to do what one person, one pastor or even one church could never accomplish, is certainly what we do right.

Why Did Early Christianity Grow so Rapidly?

While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.” (Acts 17:5-7)

“The single most striking thing about early Christianity is the speed of its growth. In A.D. 25 there is no such thing as Christianity; merely a young hermit in the Judean wilderness, and his somewhat younger cousin who dreams dreams and sees visions.  By A.D. 125 the Roman emperor has established an official policy in relation to the punishment of Christians…Aristides is confronting the Emperor Hadrian with the news that there are four races in the world, Barbarians, Greeks, Jews and Christians…

“Christianity did not spread by magic…Christianity summoned proud pagans to face torture and death out of loyalty to a Jewish villager who had been executed by Rome.  Christianity advocated a love with cut across racial boundaries.  It sternly forbade sexual immorality, the exposure of children and a great many other things which the pagan world took for granted.  Choosing to become a Christian was not an easy or natural thing for the average pagan. A Jew who converted might well be regarded as a national traitor…Pliny thought it normal to interrogate, with torture, slave girls who happened to be part of the early Christian movement…

“Why then did early Christianity spread?  Because early Christians believed that what they had found to be true was true for the whole world.  The impetus to mission sprang from the very heart of early Christian conviction.” 

N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, p. 360.

Book Report #1: Of Practice and a Place

Today marks one month that I have been on sabbatical and I thought that a little run down on the books that I have been reading would be an important way to mark the day.   I’ll open this post with three books and then write about three more in the next post.

I began my sabbatical by reading Lauren Winner’s book Mudhouse Sabbath.  This is one of two books that I am recommending to everyone who asks me what I think they should read.  Winner, a convert from Judaism to Christianity, reflects upon what she misses from her Jewish upbringing, by giving short, insightful explanations of different Jewish spiritual practices from a Christian perspective.  Topics like Sabbath, keeping kosher, grieving, and hospitality are given a fresh explanation.  It was the perfect “prime the pump” book for this season in my life.  Quote: “Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity. That is not to say that Judaism doesn’t have dogma or doctrine.  It is rather to say that for Jews, the essence of the thing is a doing, an action.”

N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian.  (This is the second highly recommended book.  Note to those on my staff team:  You may want to read this one.  Because I'll be "assigning it" when I return from sabbatical.) Presented as a Mere Christianity for the 21st Century, Wright offers his brilliant mind and clear prose to offer an argument for “why Christianity makes sense.”  He begins with a discussion of the yearnings that all people have for justice, beauty, relationship and spirituality and asserts that those longings are “echoes of a voice” that comes to us in the midst of the world from the God who created and is redeeming his creation.  This book is wonderful.  I have dog-eared almost every page.  Quote: “The way to be truly of use in this world is to be genuinely heavenly minded—and to live as one of the places where, and the means by which, heaven and earth overlap.” 

Brian D. McClaren, The Secret Message of Jesus. This may be my favorite Brian McClaren book (and it really could be, honestly, because in this book, McClaren is saying everything that I have been saying).  The secret message of Jesus is the announcement of the Kingdom.  The good news of the Gospel is the presence and availability of the Kingdom of God.  In one sense there is nothing here that Dallas Willard, N.T. Wright and my seminary New Testament professor, the late Bob Guelich have not been saying for years—indeed it is what George Ladd said a generation ago.  But McClaren’s clear prose and, frankly, his fame as the leader of the emergent movement will likely bring this emphasis even more clearly to the forefront of thinking.  And that is what is most important. While it is not as strong as the other two books above, it is a good book for people who want an introduction to the Kingdom theme that is so pervasive to the New Testament but so often, so tragically, ignored.  Quote: “Perhaps all along, my deepest joy has never been to have all my dreams come true, but rather to have God’s one dream come true: that this world will become a place God is at home in, a place God takes pride and pleasure in, a place where God’s dreams come true.” 

So, what have I taken away from these three books?  Well, I am still ruminating on them, but these are two recurring thoughts:

• Practice.  If the church is going to be part of God’s plan (God’s “dream” ala McClaren) to renew all of creation, then it will be accomplished more through what we do then what we say.  Through the way in which we act, consistently, diligently and yes, humbly to live out our faith.  Winner’s notion that “practice” is the center of biblical faith is not new to me, but I do feel like the concept has been reemphasized for me.  The whole idea of “practicing the faith” as a double entendre is also strangely attractive to me.  (We both “practice” that is “act out” our faith and “practice” as “trying out”, and “learning” our faith.).  In an earlier post I considered the maxim “play + practice = work”.  How can we take a light-hearted and humble approach to the things of the spiritual life, but in a consistent, disciplined way?  What does discipleship as “playful practice” look like?  Wouldn’t more genuine Kingdom transformation come through a commitment to simply being a people who “practice” our following of Christ in every circumstance, every day?
• Place.  In our church’s vision statement we declare our intention to offer every person in the greater San Clemente area “a place to belong in the family of God, a place to grow in Jesus Christ and a place to serve by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit.”  But I have been thinking about N.T. Wright’s idea of the church (that is the community of believers and indeed, each individual believer) as the “place where heaven and earth overlap” more and more.  This could become the central metaphor for thinking about the church in the world and in the lives of both seekers and believers.  What does it mean to be “a place”?  What does that require of me as both as a Christian and a pastor.  (Already I have been thinking about the structure for a book along theses lines.  Word, Worship, Wisdom of the Spirit, A Witnessing Community…all “places” where heaven and earth “overlap” and the presence of God is made manifest in the world.)

Until the next book report…

El Mundo es Mi Professor

When I first told the president of The Jesus Film Project, Jim Green that my family and I were heading off to Costa Rica for language school, he said something that has stuck with me the past few weeks.  Jim and his wife, Nan are career missionaries and they learned French at age 40.  Jim said, “Good for you, Tod.  That just great.  There is nothing more dear to a person than his or her own language.  People love when you will learn to talk to them in their own language.”

This is one of those pearls of wisdom that was proved true at every meal, in every cab ride, every time we turned in a load of laundry or bought a piece of fruit.  Almost everyone we met knew far more English than we knew Spanish.  They didn’t need to speak Spanish.  They didn’t expect to speak Spanish, actually.  They took one look at us and immediately switched to English.  And it’s worth saying that you could tell that they didn’t mind at all.  There was no resentment like I have encountered in other countries.  They just naturally assumed that we needed them to be the one who switched to a “foreign” language.  And often we did.  Especially at first.

But over the days as we learned more and more words, and slowly, painfully, awkwardly and light-heartedly “played” with them, practicing what we were learning, a big smile would cross their faces and they would start speaking in slow, baby-talk Spanish, encouraging us all the way.

It happened over and over again.  Starting with Francisco, the waiter who taught us the words for “salt and pepper” (“sal y piemienta”), and other waiters like Olmer and waitresses, Jolie (from Dominican Republic), Albertina, and Sylvia, there were numerable taxi drivers with names like Luis and “Tobacco”, Felipe and Gonzalo (from Columbia), and the two young guys who ran The San Bosco Hotel, Jose and Josi, and their breakfast crew, Manfred and Gilman.

All of them patiently taught me words and phrases, correcting me in the same clear, positive manner.  Me: Yo quiero aprendo mucho.  Costa Rican “teacher”:  AH!  Usted quiere APRENDER mucho.  Aprender, verdad?  Me:  Si, si, Yo quiero aprender mucho. Gracias.  (Now, repeat this scenario a hundred times with every different sentence structure and verb conjugation possible. )

And they were so, so positive. “In five years, you will be TEACHING Spanish, Tod.”  “Please come back again and learn more, you are doing so well.”  (I’m not sure I believed them, but it was nice to hear.  It is something how far a little affirmation will go.  I found myself trying so hard just to hear a hearty "perfecto!" from my teachers.)

Through our language school we had simply wonderful teachers.  All young, well-trained university students in their mid-20’s, I enjoyed them all and learned a lot.  But if we go into the world humble, playful, eager to learn, we’ll find that there is a world full of teachers eager to share with you what is most dear to them.