Archive for christianity
Uncomfortable Christianity
A couple of weeks ago I picked up a book for my friend BT for his birthday (who, by the way, turned 5 this year thanks to February 29th) titled The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Since BT is always reading books of mine, I thought I’d get him a book I’d like to borrow from him sometime soon. (Yeah, hurry up and finish reading it, why don’t ya…?) Anyway, there was a sentence on the back cover from one of the endorsers of the book that got my attention…something I’ve heard before, but seemed to recapture me at that moment.
This book will comfort the disturbed, disturb the comfortable and invite believers to change the world with Christ’s radical love.
Comfort the disturbed. Disturb the comfortable.
This weekend, my friend Ryan Shuping courageously shared some of his thoughts on the Church, it’s history and some of our current practices in how we understand and make sense of what we’re doing when it comes to the idea of church. Ryan’s journey over the last few years have uniquely shaped and refined his views of the Church and how he views and lives out his faith. (I won’t share all the details, so if you want to know more, you’ll have to ask him yourself.) After meeting him over a year ago, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hearing his heart and his thoughts on what he’s been learning and his honestly on thoughts and questions he still has about what it means to be the church. About a month ago, I asked Ryan if he’s consider sharing some of his thoughts at our worship gathering, which he agreed to. And I have to say, it was thought-provoking to say the least. After confessing to Ryan, I had to admit that some of the things he shared Sunday caused me to feel a bit uncomfortable. Uncomfortable concerning things I do and simply don’t think about. Uncomfortable concerning whether or not I completely agree with what’s being said. Ever experienced this? Uncomfortable thoughts and questions like, Much of the way church (not all, but most) operates today is inherited, not ordained; and Most weeks our gatherings are only encouraging people to do the same thing - to spectate, and Is our approach to preaching each week establishing that ‘my voice matters and yours doesn’t?’ and If a church’s success depends on its numbers and big gatherings, is that where the majority of its resources should really start moving to? Obviously, I don’t have the space in this blog to lay out the context and depth behind all these thoughts, but these are some I wrote down and have been chewing on this week. And before you start yelling, heresy, keep reading…
Do these questions/thoughts make you feel uncomfortable in any way? Whether we agree or disagree, for now, that’s not the point here. Let’s go back to this phrase of comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable. When you consider the life and ministry of Jesus, isn’t that what He did? Aren’t these some of the primary attributes that caused Him to became famous during His day? So then, the point becomes this: where am I so comfortable in my faith that I need to be disturbed, and where in my faith am I disturbed that I need be comforted? This is what Jesus comes to do.
I’ve been reading through Luke’s account of the life of Jesus this past month. On His way into Jerusalem - riding a donkey - Jesus was given a parade fit for a King (21:36ff). The people even proclaimed Him as the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Matthew’s account records that the people shouted Hosanna, referring to Jesus as One who has come to save.
And what was the response of the religious leaders standing by? Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that! Do you think they were uncomfortable? Disturbing the comfortable. Jesus responded, If they keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!
I do think it’s important to consider much of what we personally say and hear today when it comes to the teaching of the Scriptures and how reflects what Paul warned Timothy about in 2 Timothy 4:3: For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. For many of us, we’ve grown accustomed to only listening to people with whom we agree with, or demanding and encouraging them (if that’s what you want to call it) to say what we want them to say, what we want them to hear. For many of us, we have yet to truly wrestle with some of the deep issues and questions of our faith we’re afraid of or too lazy to confront. So instead of coming to Jesus directly about it first, we sometimes take our frustrations out on the voices whom he’s speaking through to disturb us where we’ve grown comfortable.
This probably opens up a big ole’ can of worms, and I could keep going here, but the question I want to raise is this: Do we, have the courage to ask God to disturb us where we’ve grown too comfortable? And if so, what could that cost us?
In a few weeks, I’m looking forward to having some of Ryan’s thoughts available to read through or listen to. Stay tuned.
unChristian: thoughts from ChurchPlanters.com Conference (Feb. 17-19)
If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a flood light were filling you with light. -Jesus, from Luke 11:36
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend the ChurchPlanters.com Conference near Atlanta, GA, along with some of my friends who are in church-planting around the Greensboro area. On our way down on Sunday night, we stopped by NewSpring Church in Anderson SC - a church that has grown from 0 to 7,000+ in 7 years. We were able to tour their new facility and meet Pastor Perry Noble (founding pastor) thanks to some connections my friend Tadd Grandstaff has in the church-planting world.
We had an awesome 2 days of great training and challenging messages from other church-planters and leaders from all over the U.S. - including guys like Mark Batterson, Darren Patrick, Steven Furtick and Shawn Lovejoy. We also had the opportunity to stop by the Mall of Georgia (my first time ever there) to grab some dinner, check out the shops and even take in a movie - Cloverfield (the third time I’ve seen it!).
One notable thought (of many) I wanted to share about the conference came from a one-hour session with Gabe Lyons - co-author of “unchristian,” a book based on research about what 16-29 year olds really think about Christianity, and why it matters. During our time together, Gabe unpacked some staggering statistics about top-of-mind perceptions people have toward Christians: 91% of folks surveyed said that Christians are Antihomosexual; 87% said Christians are judgmental and 85% thought hypocritical. Also, 78% perceive Christians as sheltered or out-of-touch and 75% surveyed said Christians are too political.
So the big question is, why does this matter? Didn’t Jesus warn us that he didn’t come to bring peace (Luke 12:51) and that people would despise us on account of him (6:22)? Gabe Lyons points out two great reasons. First, even non-Christians believe that many parts of Christianity today bears little to no resemblance to what Jesus intended. Take a look around the Church landscape today, and this point needs little argument. Second, most of the words mentioned in the survey describe the organized religion of Jesus’ day…the very things that Jesus stands against and responds to with the words woe to you (see Luke 11:37ff).
So today, I had the opportunity to take my niece to lunch and during the course of our conversation, asked her, “what is your perception of me?” I’ve sensed a bit of a riff lately and haven’t sat down to talk to her in a while. She responded by telling me I seemed to be quite judgmental of some things in her life - specifically, her relationships. Ouch. I didn’t realize I’d ever come across that way. So what do you say to things like that? Granted, I want the best for my family and if there’s something I disagree with, it’s difficult for me to hide it. But sometimes, we can do it in ways that are far contrary to the heart of Jesus.
Now I believe we must continue to be a voice of truth and love in the world, even if it makes us unpopular with people…and I believe to walk with Jesus means that we must get accustomed to swimming upstream rather than with the flow…and I believe that sometimes we (as Christians) get the blame unfairly pinned on us simply because of the inner convictions at work in others’ hearts that they’re not willing to accept. However, we must also be a simple voice of confession, of apology where we’ve misrepresented Christ, where even out of our best intentions, we’ve simply been ‘unchristian.’
I believe what the world around us is looking for is not so much perfection, but instead, honesty. Where in the name of Christianity do you need to be honest today? Where is there room for someone’s impression of Christ in you to be restored?
Why we exist…
…Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” _John 20:21
Sunday afternoon, we worked a bit on this question: why do we do what we do as a church-community? We’ve been trying to answer this over the last several weeks and months ever since we started gathering people together, building the community of Awaken. And our answers (coming from our Core Team) seem to be pretty clear…we (Awaken) exist to extend the love of Jesus to others by extending ourselves relationally, discovering ways to serve our neighbors and our city, and ultimately leading others to discover that their heart matters to God by creating an authentic community for people to belong to. …and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
This week, I’m attending the National New Church Conference with some of my friends from the Greensboro area who, with other pastors from all over the U.S., are establishing new church communities for similar reasons. While here, I’ve already been confronted with a deeper question I’ve been dealing with for some time – a question that every church must ultimately seek to answer: If our church ceased to exist, would your city be affected? If our church vanished, would our community weep?
Jesus’ message is clear on this: The Church (the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today, including Awaken) does not exist for itself, but for the world. As Rob Bell puts it, “The Church is the only organization in the world that does not exist for its members, but for the good of the world.” Sometimes we get this idea messed up, thinking the church exists for our good, a place for us to be fed, to grow and to benefit. But that’s not God’s heart. As we see in Luke 15:1-7, His heart is focused on the lost sheep, and that’s His heart for the Church (for us) today.
As we’ve shared some beautiful stories over the last few weeks about how our community has served to bless those who are part of it (answered prayers, a place of encouragement and support for those struggling with situations in life, a community of love and acceptance, etc.), we’re reminded of others in our city who still have not experienced and encountered Jesus in these ways through a community like Awaken. And that is, and always will be, the biggest reason why we exist. Wholeness and completeness in our own lives is found in nothing else than this very reason.
We do not exist for ourselves; we exist for the world.
When we discover this (not only in our church-communities, but also on a personal level) we discover a fulfillment and satisfaction in life, “laying hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:19) That’s God’s life. He proves Himself to be a servant through Jesus, and that’s the life He invites us into.
being a eucharist
Perhaps this Easter Sunday you found yourself somewhere celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus and the fact that the tomb is empty, that Jesus is alive and is risen so that we might have life. (However you celebrated this past week, I hope it was rich in meaning for you.) Easter brings with it a time filled with deep significance and celebration for Jesus-followers, reminding us of the purpose of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, but also reminding us of our purpose as His followers.
Central to our understanding of what it means to be a Christian (a Jesus-follower) is found in the familiar words of John 3:16. There, we are told that God has given…He has given us a Gift, and that Gift is His Son, His One and Only, the Only Begotten, Jesus. And that through Him, He gives the gift of abundant, everlasting life to all who believe.
If you celebrated Easter with a church-community recently, you more than likely observed The Lord’s Supper, or Communion. As Christians we meditate and reflect on this gift and what it means to us through by periodically taking of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, otherwise known as the Eucharist. It’s our way, as commanded by Jesus, to remember His body that was broken and His blood that was poured out so that we might have life…and to be thankful.
a healing community
What fears are gripping your heart today? Have you ever found yourself ‘running to the hills’ (so to speak), or even pulling away into isolation out of a fear of hurt or rejection from people? Think for a moment about the fears that were gripping the heart of Jesus prior to His suffering on the cross. The fear of torment, accusations, mocking, ridicule…and ultimately rejection; enough to make any of us desire to run. Yet, Jesus faced his fears, and as Scripture tells us, out of the joy that would come of it, He gave Himself away and endured the cross.
Have you ever loved, only to be rejected? Have you ever given, only to be unappreciated? You’re not alone. God knows all about this. I think it’s amazing to consider how even the greatest of love and generosity toward us – expressed in God’s Presence with us through Jesus, and our rescue found in His cross – can be returned with such cruel rejection. Yet, that’s the risk Jesus took, giving us the choice to love Him or reject Him. That’s essentially the risk we all take when it comes to loving and giving in life. Our tendency, when it comes to giving ourselves away in love, is to play it safe, minimize the risk, only go after the battles we’re sure to win, avoiding rejection, and perhaps even people, in the process.
Have you ever thought that your journey with God would find it’s greatest fulfillment if you could only remove the obstacles of people? If you’ve ever had your heart wounded through the rejection of others, you may find yourself tempted to pull away from not only those who have hurt you, but from people in general. I’ve found myself here, and I’ve found myself empty in that place. You see, I think we find ourselves in an extremely dangerous place when we pull away from people, specifically meaningful, authentic relationships where we’re walking with others, learning more about ourselves and what it means to follow the Way of Jesus. Perhaps that’s what’s so dangerous about referring to church as ‘community;’ it involves giving yourself away to others, and sometimes that’s a risk we’re unwilling to take.
A part of the challenge in the journey with God is to never give up on people, because the journey is lived out in the context of relationships. And if we’re ever to find healing from the wounds of rejection, it will only be found when we give ourselves away to a higher purpose than ourselves. Simply put, we get better when we give ourselves away.
Jesus’ joy was knowing that His suffering would bring us life. And by giving Himself away, He has shown us that wholeness and completeness of heart in life is only found when we do the same…and that begins in the context of relationships and ‘community.’
What are your fears when it comes to ‘community?’ Face them, and discover the joy of Jesus in giving yourself away!
home
“They ate till they had more than enough, for He had given them what they craved.” -Psalm 78:29I’ve been so encouraged recently to watch relationships with people in our church community continue to grow and deepen. Last Tuesday evening at our monthly dinner party, the atmosphere seemed to feel a lot like home – where people were laughing, eating and sharing stories together; a place where each person is accepted just as they are and where their words matter. I get excited when I see things like this because I truly believe that finding and experiencing such relationships and community in life is like coming home to a place our hearts are always in desperate search of.
When we set out on this journey several months ago, I can’t tell you how many times I was warned about the difficulties we would face when it came to carrying out our vision…one that emphasizes relationships over programs; one that is driven not by doing church, but by being church. And as we continue to build and deepen our relationships with one another, I see our love growing as we continue to move toward our mission to extend the life and love of Christ to our surrounding community.
So what’s the problem with carrying-out such a vision?
Relationships can be messy sometimes, can’t they? In fact, when it comes to offering a relationship to someone (one that includes your heart and your love), we can easily find ourselves in a dangerous place. Why? As the famous song so appropriately puts it:
Love hurts, love scars, Love wounds, and mars any heart. Not tough or strong enough to take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain. Love is like a cloud, holds a lot of rain. Love hurts……ooh, ooh love hurts
Once you open yourself to a new relationship, you not only add the opportunity for things like authenticity, honesty, depth, acceptance and love; you also add the opportunity for hurt and betrayal. That’s the danger we face in relationships, in becoming a relational community…and maybe that’s why we sometimes find ourselves running from such things. But to run from something your heart craves (because God created us with a relational-need, to Him and to others) is maddening. It’s simply a risk we MUST take to survive and find satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
Discussing this issue with our Core Team Sunday stirred my heart to keep standing for something I passionately believe in…that relationships are what matter most to God, and though they can be dangerous and difficult to manage at times, there’s nothing our hearts need more than a place where we find ourselves unafraid, where we belong, where we can rest and feel the warmth of the love of God through the love of others.
May Awaken be such a place, where we find home in the unchanging love of God, in the fellowship of walking with Jesus and with friends, and in giving ourselves away freely to our neighbors and God’s mission to bring every heart home to Him.
craving intimacy
Have you ever had an unexplainable loneliness even while standing in the middle of a crowd? I heard a friend say several times recently that he doesn’t need anymore acquaintances in his life, that there is no more room for such relationships. He desires friendships that go much deeper than that, friendships that are authentic, real, transparent, intimate. People who he will be there for, and who, in turn, will be there for him. I agree.
Think about your own life. Who are those ‘deep’ friendships you share, those deeper than merely ‘acquaintances?’ Who are the people in whom you are investing yourself and who are investing themselves in you? Who are the people you are walking with through life, who make you better, who even perhaps sharpen you spiritually?
One evening last week, a group of people I’m beginning to count more and more as my ‘deep’ friends (people who are also in our church community) spent some time together bowling. We had a blast laughing together (and not so much at each other), applauding and giving high-fives, encouraging each other and enjoying the unique personalities each person possesses. It was also a surreal evening as we all watched Molly dominate us on the lanes! I was humbled.
Bowling that evening was one of those moments where things deeper than community are formed. Relationships are deepened and become more intimate. People develop meaningful, more authentic relationships as they share their lives together; relationships that go beyond simply the people you go to church with, to a holistic-level in life. These are the people I’m beginning a new spiritual journey with, the people I’m walking with and sharing my life with. And that’s our vision with Awaken…a community of people in deep relationship, who walk together and who live out the very meaning of koinonia, the Greek term for Christian Fellowship as it should be.
Looking at God’s Word, I’m convinced these types of relationships – ‘deep’ friendships – are what our souls crave. But to have these types of relationships require that we give more of ourselves away, including our hearts and our love…and that can be risky. Yet, that’s how God created us, because the more we love, the more our love expands, the closer it leads us to God.
Is your soul finding satisfaction in your relationships? Who are you walking with? Who can you go deeper with? Listen to your soul…
Chris Shelton resides in Greensboro with his wife, Molly, their daughter, Julia, and Baby #2 due in March...
