by Joshua | Nov 8, 2012 | Faith
Last night I was discussing civil religion with a group from our faith community. We shared ideas on how easy it is for religious acts to be something we do as a part of a rhythm of our life without these acts actually bringing life. We identified a difference between acts of our faith and a life of faith – the former separating the sacred and secular, the latter seeing all things as sacred.
One person made the comment that I’ve heard many times before. Here’s the gist of the comment: “It’s too easy in the country we live in. If we live somewhere where persecution happens we would take our faith more seriously.” I’ve thought the same before, however, those comments struck me differently last night, as coming out of a place of fear.
As I’ve grown in my own faith understanding and experience of Jesus I’ve realized it is not defined by fear but by an ever-deepening understanding and experience of the love, presence, and beauty of God. Perhaps what is missing is not persecution, but an experience of the beauty of God.
We then began to discuss what takes us away from experiencing the goodness and beauty of God. We listed a variety of things: work, family, kids, riding bike or other hobbies. These were things distracting us from God.
I grew up thinking this way – putting God was in this box. I experienced an understanding of God and faith that revolved around my religious duties. My spirituality was based on how much time I spent going down my prayer list (that I was supposed to have created). I felt guilty about not doing this long enough or more frequently and consistently. I allowed the overwhelming guilt of sin to condemn, shame, and lead me to question God’s love for me. God was only found when I did my religious duties or led an above board moral life. God was not in school, family, friends, food, walks, work, or whatever else I did in those non-religious times. I didn’t look for him there because I was never told he was there.
But God is there – precisely there. For example…
The experience of God’s beauty and presence is found our your children. They are not a distraction, but an invitation. They invite us to laugh at meaningless things in our world of seriousness. They beckon us to admit our own need for love as they come repeatedly for our love and affirmation. In their dependence they mirror what it is like to be dependent on our creator. The beauty of God is found in their laughter, imagination, creativity, and peace as we watch them sleep (this last one gets less cute as they grow older…then they drool and snore!).
The experience of God’s goodness and beauty is found in our work. In it he forms and shapes our character. We are dependent upon his grace. We are reminded of purpose beyond a paycheck. In most of our roles we are forced to be around people – forced into relationships – the very thing God has created us for. Some of these relationships feed us and help us grow. Others challenge us yet still help us grow, because in these relationships we deepen in our ability for God’s mercy, grace, and love to flow through us.
God is in our hobbies, too. Where do we come up with this idea that God does not want us to enjoy life? He creates us for life and redeems us for life. Some of my hobbies/things I enjoy are music, reading, nature, walks, eating, listening, learning (note, none are really exercise). I experience God in these things. They are not a break from reality. They are reality. They are not a distraction but an opportunity to experience the Divine presence of the Creator of all things and the one who nurtures our souls.
Perhaps the problem isn’t that we don’t suffer enough. While we can’t say we (as the church) suffer much here in the good ol’ US of A, by virtue of being human beings we do suffer. We suffer as we experience our fallen, broken humanity. We don’t need more suffering.
Perhaps what we’re missing is the beauty – the ability to see and experience how the life of God is manifested all around us.
If we would just wake up
look outside of where we expect to find him
then, He may be found.
by Joshua | Oct 11, 2012 | Faith
I am becoming more and more convinced that what is lacking in most people’s lives is a relationship where one can be open, honest, and vulnerable about the struggles they face in life.
As I dive more into the ministry of serving others as a pastor I notice the incredible absence of these kinds of relationships, yet these kinds of relationships are exactly what people a) describe as a desire or b) is what they desperately need as they face the enormous challenge of simply being a fallen human being.
This may point to an issue of trust we have in relationship to and with one another. We’ve been burned in the past. We’ve opened up only to have people use what we’ve shared against us. We fear the ridicule or judgement of others – or the shame of saying out loud what we know in our hearts: we’ve failed…and sometimes miserably.
It may also point to the issue of busyness…we just don’t have time for that kind of thing. After all, it would take a great deal of emotional, relational, and logistical investment to make a relationship like that happen.
James writes this at the close of his book, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” Could we then say, no confession, no healing? Would it be safe to say that there are a lot of us who are walking around sick while pretending like it’s all ok?
As I think about serving my own church I’m beginning to believe one of the most helpful things I can create space for is these kinds of relationships where people can open up about what’s going on underneath the smiling surface. Come on…nobody’s that happy all the time, are they?! We all need someone to stand with us, but we also need to invite people to the space next to us.
Practical questions:
a) Do you have a confessional friendship? A person (of the same sex!) who you can share what goes on beneath the surface?
b) If not, who are the people in your life that might be that kind of person for you?
c) If you can think of no one, who are a few people who you want to get to know at a deeper level? Will you invest the time and take the initiative?
d) If you’ve been journeying with Jesus for some time, perhaps you can be the person people can come to…perhaps it’s time to make some new friends.
These kinds of relationships don’t just happen overnight. They take time to cultivate and develop. However, once established these types of friendships are what God uses to form and shape us into the image of Jesus. God uses them to help us become whole. They encourage us, listen to us, challenge us, and rebuke us…in each case with Christ-centered love where mercy triumphs over judgment. God did not create us to live isolated, disconnected lives. Part of redemption is the redemption of relationship with one another…to be naked (figuratively speaking 😉 ) with one another and share those parts of our life that shame us. As we bring those things to light before God and these friends we find healing and come more fully into the life God has created for us to live.
by Joshua | Aug 2, 2012 | Faith
I will begin by acknowledging there may have been those yesterday who, in good conscience and with prayerful consideration, showed up to consume some chicken.
However, what I believe to be more accurate is that ‘Christians’ again went along with the politicized American cultural climate of consumerism and hatred toward those with different ideologies and supported those who are like them in order to prove a point to those who are different. And many did so thoughtless of the consequences.
Yesterday wasn’t about Chick-fil-A no matter how much people try and spin it that way. Yesterday was using yet another area of cultural discord to accentuate a divide between groups and classes of people rather than unite people together in love and mutual respect.
We’ve fogotten Jesus’ example of being with those the culture of his day (and ours) hated. We’ve forgotten Paul’s words that the battle is truly not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. That’s right, if those you’re fighting have flesh and blood you’re looking in the wrong place. They’re not your enemy. They’re your brother or sister. I would name the enemies in this case to be a system of politics and ethics that demonize and sacrifice people to prove points.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” Jesus in Luke 6:32
by Joshua | Jan 22, 2012 | Current Events
When things go wrong we want to make them right. However, the right way is often illusive and even our best attempts at doing the right thing cause further harm. This is part of the human experience. Even when we do our best our limitations are still on display.
The easiest thing to do is identify our differences and the failure of others. Rather than being united around the common cause we become people who are divided. Rather than leaning on the collective shoulder we isolate ourselves into different camps holding our own views of who’s wrong and what should be done.
The continuing strand of tragedies at our beloved Penn State exemplify the limitations of humanity. So the following is an encouragement for us to consider the loss of all involved and to grieve – but to grieve in a redemptive way that sees this beyond a university and community tragedy – to grieve in such a way that in the end unites our hearts and helps us extend grace, forgiveness, and understanding.
The Many Ways We Lost…
The Children lost. No one fought for them. Absent of their own parents or guiding figures they were taken under the wings of someone with dark ulterior motives. Their trust again was broken. They lost when the headlines became about football and not about their injustice. We lost, and continue to lose as a society, when we don’t advocate for our kids, mentor them, or speak encouraging words into their ever forming souls.
JoPa lost – and today we lost him. We lose as we allow a life well lived to be overshadowed by a costly mistake. Culturally we create icons who can do no wrong. Eventually we discover they are human – and punish them for it. We lose when we forget even the (seemingly) greatest among us fail, and fail often. We lose by casting these public figures as gods, placing them on pedestals, and not treating them as human beings. Coach did some great things. Coach also failed. Coach was human. Coach needed grace too.
The Trustees lost. We lose, too, when we think there is a sure-fire right answer. We lose when we forget the pressure placed on those to make impossible decisions. Did they want this for their university? I don’t think so. Did they want to make the decisions they did? I doubt that too. Did they do it perfectly? No, but then nobody did – and that’s what we have to remember. Even working toward what (we think) is right is done in fallible ways.
The Students lost when their identity rested on a university – and not a common bond with greater humanity. We lose when we allow our loyalties to institutions, beliefs, and the like to overcome our loyalty to love our neighbor.
Sandusky lost. This will be controversial and perhaps tick some of you off. But if we are to remember our total human situation we must remember the dark nature that plagues every soul – and if not dealt with grows into the ugliest of inner monsters that destroys what is good. We lose when we don’t confront evil. We lose when we don’t confront the evil within – the evil in all of us.
As we continue grieving I hope it can become bigger and broader – encompassing the entire human situation and not just a (valid) headline lasting a few days or weeks. I hope we can remember the need for grace and forgiveness. I hope we can remember we are stronger together – united in peace, love, and understanding – as fellow human beings.
Borrowing from the Penn State cheer I’ve called out sitting in Beaver Stadium many times…
We are…
human.
by Joshua | Jan 10, 2012 | Faith
I used to want to be famous. You might still want to be. (Ok, truth is I still want to be famous enough for 5 people to read this…actually 50). This desire to be something more came from the discomfort of just being me. I was uncomfortable with myself, and equally uncomfortable not being the person the next rung up. Life is filled with frustration as you measure who you are by what you’re not.
Celebrity is part of our culture – it makes us feel the consistent nagging to be more than we currently are – if our life will count for anything. Even that equation is a bit insane, because you hit the next rung, then there’s another, and another…
I find this in almost every area of life. There are better dads than me, better husbands, better friends. There are people who are smarter, wiser, more intelligent and more spiritual. There are better leaders, speakers, writers. There’s always someone better, and one of the most discouraging things is measuring oneself against others. As someone once said, “Comparison is poison.”
I’m daily tempted to drink the poison.
So then what? How do I measure my life? How do I think of myself in light of all the people who are better than me? Two thoughts:
A. Better than me…but not me. I’m responsible for my life – my wife, my kids, my church family, my friends, etc. They only have one me – and I play a specific role in their lives (and they in mine). I think one of the downsides to viral community and greater awareness in the global community is we think we’re all the same and we lose a sense of the different textures of our various contexts, places, and communities. I’m not encouraging a sense of individualism here – but I am advocating for value as God-created/breathed human beings. I’m arguing our context has value and meaning. God’s given me the gifts of persons and places – my context. So how will I steward these things as a unique human being created, formed, and shaped by God and planted in this place at this time?
B. I need to scrap this whole idea of success altogether. Success takes away our sense of being. It calls us to the next place without allowing us to be present in the place we currently are. With success the present becomes a stepping stone to the future (you get the picture of walking all over your present place to get to someplace supposedly better? Here’s an image!).
What if we aren’t supposed to initiate the move to the next thing, the next place? What if we were to respond to it? What if the present is God’s way of forming in us what needs to be formed? What if (and I think this is the case) He knows this, but we will never see it but in hindsight? Follow when he calls, wait till he does. Wait with God. Because what’s present is important.