Bandits No More

In the last newsletter I started recounting some of the things we heard at the evangelism workshop led by Dr. George Hunter. Here are some more things we can learn from the story of Ruth’s conversion to the true God.

When we claim to be followers of Jesus, people look at us to see if we’re credible. They ask of us – as Ruth likely asked of Naomi: 1. Do we really believe what we say? 2. Do we live by it? 3. Does it make a difference? Since being in business of attracting people to Jesus and helping them become devoted to him does not presuppose our own perfection – if it did, we’d never get started – we must constantly ask ourselves these questions.

Ruth also found people – namely Naomi and family – who wanted to understand her, valued her, and loved her. She could then judge that if the people of Yahweh (the OT name of God) were like that, God might be like that also. God usually works through people. Thus people judge God on the basis of what they see in us. If we want to influence people toward Jesus, we must put on the character of Jesus so we faithfully represent him.

In the context of loving relationships, Ruth acquired knowledge. Remember she lived more than 2500 years before Johann Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. She was likely illiterate. Yet through her relationships – and conversations – with Naomi and family, she was able to learn the basics of the faith: the Shema (Deut. 6:5-6), Abraham, the Exodus, etc. In the same way, as we internalize the basics of the faith – who Jesus is, what he’s done for us, etc., we can then share those stories and realities with others.

Even though Naomi didn’t have the Great Commission (“Go and make disciples of all nations” – Mat. 28:19-20), she likely knew the Hebrew tradition well enough to know God’s intention was not only to bless Israel, but also to make them a blessing to all nations. In her relationship with Ruth, she knew that she didn’t have to do it all, but could depend on the community. Like Ruth, it will often be the case in our ministry that people belong before they believe. For many it will only be through the life of Jesus experienced in community that they come to faith and become Jesus’ follower.

Here’s the MP3 of today’s sermon. The Blessings of Living Under Authority is based on Matthew 8:5-13, 2 Kings 5 and Matthew 20:20ff. A centurion came to Jesus seeking the healing of his servant. Jesus offered to drop everything and come, but the centurion said that he understood authority and Jesus’ word would be sufficient. He – and his servant – were blessed for livign under authority. That’s not how we usually repond, though. More likely we’re like Naaman the Syrian in 2 Kings 5 who chafed under authority or like James & John in Matthew 20 who yearn to be in authority. To live under authority we need to look to Jesus, follow Jesus’ example and learn to practice discernment.

About a month ago my computer was going haywire. I’d scanned for viruses and hadn’t found anything, so I decided to try Microsoft’s tool for spyware detection and removal. When I went to the MS site, I discovered I would have to have my installation of Windows “validated.” Seemed pretty simple & straightforward. I’d bought my Compaq machine at Best Buy and it had the little MS Windows sticker on the case. But it wasn’t so simple. The validation test came out negative. The site then suggested I do manual validation, which required entering the multi digit code on my sticker. Again – failure. So I called Best Buy. They couldn’t help me. I called MS. They couldn’t do anything for me – other than send out vibes they thought I was a software pirate.

Today I tried validating again. No problem at all.

So what did I learn? Sometimes the validation doesn’t work and it’s due to no fault of the machine or the operator. MS and its systems are imperfect (no, I already knew that – it’s just a statement of fact). If you try validating your installation and it doesn’t work – and should – try again another day and see what happens.

This past Saturday several of us went to Tyler for a workshop led by Dr. George Hunter, professor of evangelism at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. Since we’re in the people business – attracting people to Jesus and helping them become his devoted followers – we thought this would be helpful. It was. His first session took us to the book of Ruth, an important conversion story in the Old Testament. In that book we see Ruth, a woman from Moab, attach herself to the people of Israel and claim their God as her own. Dr. Hunter identified ten factors that influenced Ruth in her action. I’ll share the first three in this piece and save the rest for the next newsletter.

First, Ruth’s action took place as a process over time. Ruth didn’t just meet Naomi and instantly decided that, “Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Naomi was her mother in law. She’d been part of the family system for a few years. In the same way, when we seek to influence people toward Jesus, we must remember that it is a process. Although I was raised in church, when I look back at my life and how I became a follower of Jesus, I see not just a significant moment, but a period of time (in my case the events of approximately 2 years were most significant).

Hunter’s second point is closely related. Ruth’s conversion resulted from many experiences. Just like people today, Ruth was influenced by the direct action of God, answered prayer, discerning the truth of the scriptures, friendships with believers, and a host of other events. There is no one thing that tends to bring people to Jesus – but many things working together.

Third, as you already know, the change happens through relationships. Just as Ruth experienced the grace of God through mother in law Naomi and family, people today experience God through us. Our actions are tremendously important. Since we’re in the people business, we must work to ensure that our relationships are modeled on the character of Jesus – full of grace, love and kindness.

Our Book of Discipline says that “The underlying energy of the Wesleyan theological heritage stems from an emphasis upon practical divinity, the implementation of genuine Christianity in the lives of believers.” (Paragraph 101 under the heading “Our Distinctive Heritage as United Methodists) In other words, our heritage is to make Christianity real in people’s lives! We don’t want to get caught up in debates and arguments and endless philosophical discussions; we want to make Christianity real in the lives of people.

Young adults want real. It seems like every day there are three new reality television shows rolled out. A few years ago Nickelodeon ran an ad for “actual reality” where they recommended getting off the couch, turning off the tv, and experiencing life in person. The generation that watched those ads as kids and youth are now young adults. They would prefer real reality to reality tv.

Our theological heritage is real. Wesley’s theology was so real it wouldn’t allow the walls of a church building to contain his message. For over 200 years the people called Methodist have lived a life grounded in real theology. It is time to let all the young adults out there know it.

Our theological heritage is scriptural. At this point, many of you life-long United Methodists will be inclined to go to the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” We want to recommend against that. Here is why. As we showed above; 91% of young adults (and other unchurched people) say that what the church believed was important in their decision to come to that church. To the unchurched, beginning a discussion of “what United Methodists believe” with a digression into the Wesleyan Quadrilateral will sound like we are avoiding the topic.

After all, the quadrilateral was not the creation of Wesley, but a 1970’s model for interpreting how Wesley did theology. It was intended as a framework for guiding us as a broad and diverse denomination in theological conversation and exploration. Wesley himself never referred to a quadrilateral, nor did he leave us discourses on tradition, reason, and experience.

As United Methodists we, like John Wesley and all other committed Christian leaders before and since, start with scripture. Wesley described himself as a “man of one book,” though he read constantly. He even had a bookmount built onto his saddle so he could read while riding from place to place!

With young adults, you might begin with our Articles of Religion. There are two sets! When we became The United Methodist Church in 1968, we retained both the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church and the Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. In fact, it would be a good exercise in familiarizing yourself with what we believe as United Methodists to compare the two sets of articles as a group. (That the Articles and Confession are a good place to start testifies to the purpose of the quadrilateral; these are the foundational documents of our tradition).

To summarize, theology is important to young adults who seeking a church or who we might reach. As United Methodists, we have too rich a theological heritage to ignore, yet we have for years.

Young adults will find our theological heritage and the primacy of scripture in our tradition a very welcome foundation on which they may begin their lives of faith. Remember that our theological heritage is “the implementation of genuine Christianity in the lives of believers.” Because it isn’t just beliefs but the implementation of beliefs, it is real; the kind of real they are looking for.

Two “bummer” words in one title! Who wants “serious” when we can have “fun?” And “holiness?” The other “H” word – “happiness” – is much preferred.

Yet in the Methodist tradition, holiness was a serious pursuit from the beginning. Holiness was pursued not solitarily but in community. In the Methodist community more thought was given to the question, “How can I help my brother/sister in Christ become holy?” than to “How can I help my sister/brother be happy?” It was this serious pursuit of holiness that led the early Methodists to ask a series of questions before they became members.

1. Have you the forgiveness of your sins?
2. Have you peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ?
3. Have you the witness of God’s Spirit with your spirit that you are a child of God?
4. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart?
5. Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you?
6. Do you desire to be told of your faults?
7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and home?
8. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning you?
9. Consider! Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear concerning you?
10. Do you desire that, in doing this, we should come as close as possible; that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom?
11. Is it your desire and design to be, on this and all other occasions, entirely open, so as to speak everything that is in your heart without exception, without disguise and without reserve?

Can we ask these questions today? Do they even make sense to us? The only way we can do so is to find our identity and security in Christ rather than our own (pretended) goodness. But, like Wesley, I think it would be good for us.

Years ago I heard Charles Stanley on TV. I’ve heard him enough now that I recognize his voice when I hear it on the radio. He’s ok – sounds like an ordinary Southern Baptist preacher to me. I first heard his son Andy Stanley when I went to Injoy’s Catalyst Conference back in 2001. I like Andy. He doesn’t sound like a generic Southern Baptist, but like a fired-up, creative, evangelistic, passionate pastoral leader. Since 2001 I’ve read some of this stuff and heard him a few more times. One of the things he said that sticks with me is, “Vision leaks.” I think it sticks with me because it’s a short way of summarizing what I’ve seen many times. I’ve seen it not only in the churches I pastor but also in my own life.

In a Leadership Journal article called “Vision Leaks,” Stanley mentions three signs we can look for that will tell us vision is leaking.

1. Prayer requests. What people pray for will tell you more than anything else whether they are locked into the vision and priorities of the church. When you are in a leadership meeting, are the only prayer requests for sick people? When I’m in such a meeting, I say, “Whoa, is anybody in this group burdened for an unchurched or unsaved friend? Yes, let’s pray for the sick people. Now, what else can we pray for?”

2. Stories of great things happening in people’s lives. If there are no stories, then maybe the vision for life transformation has leaked.

3. What people complain about. If people are complaining about the wrong stuff, then vision is leaking. When they complain about the music, or the parking, or that the church is too big, or there are too many people they don’t know, you can respond, “I know. God is blessing us.” But it’s a sign of vision leakage.

These are not merely the signs of vision leakage, but also of the lack of an evangelistic vision. Since most of the items on our prayer list are for healing, it may not be that our vision has leaked, but that our vision is for all people to be in perfect health forever. Now this sounds perfectly fine – I’d much rather be healthy not not, and I’d rather my good health last a long time than a short time. But is there anything particularly Christian about this vision? What about stories? Well, we certainly don’t here many stories about life change – we still think faith is too personal to talk about. Complaining? We complain about noisy kids, mis-arranged class rooms, lack of ideal cleanliness. What vision do these complaints reflect? Anything particulary Christian about them?

What would it take to develop an evangelistic vision? I think it’ll take two things. First, we need to get a passion for people. As we learn to see people from God’s point of view – remember when God saw us in our sin his decision was to give his only Son Jesus to come and die for us. Serious stuff is going on here. God’s passion for us and the people around us is infinite. As we spend time with God his passion for people will overcome our passion for cleanliness, order, and mere physical health.

Second, as we get God’s passion for people, we’ll start investing ourselves in actual people. We then won’t only be passionate for people in general, we’ll be passionate about helping our neighbors, family members, friends – even enemies – come to Know Jesus and experience life in him,

From most appearances, Mammon is our national god. Oh, we don’t use that name for him: we more often speak of Prosperity, or The Economy, but looking at our country both form the perspective of the Bible and from most of the rest of the world, the god we trust in looks more like Mammon than the Father of Jesus Christ. Even when we don’t claim Mammon as our god, he makes enough noise clamoring for our allegiance that we are usually uncomfortable talking about money in church. My perception is that it is in those areas we are most afraid to talk about (think of Mammon’s friend Eros) that we are most likely to be deceived or led astray. Reading the Gospels we see that Jesus talked about money quite a bit – so from a Christian point of view it must not be a bad idea.

Often when talk about money in church begins, the word tithe is not too far behind. Some preachers will tell you that tithing – giving ten percent of your income – is God’s standard for all people. While I practice tithing of this sort – and have for years – I haven’t been able to find the biblical support to make a strong case for it. That said, I can make a strong case for commitment and generosity – and tithing is likely a good starting point. In Luke 21 Jesus praises the example of a woman who can be described either as giving two cents (considering everything we want to buy we like that idea!) or as giving all she had (which goes way beyond tithing). Although both descriptions are factual, it is the latter that Jesus praised.

John Wesley considered that episode and other words of Jesus and said, “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” (Keith Drury has a much fuller discussion of Wesley on money.) Mammon might say something like this too – but the emphasis would be entirely different. Notice those two little words “you can.” These can imply great effort or mere ability. Mammon’s version would have us apply the great effort at the front end – “Work hard to gain.” Then after you’ve gained a lot, filled up your bank accounts (saving) – and bought all the stuff you want – then give something. It’ll make you feel good.

Wesley would put the emphasis the other way. Gain to the best of your ability, save through frugal living, and work hard at giving. That’s the way Wesley lived. In his early years he made 30 pounds a year, lived on 28 and gave away 2. In later years he gained something like 100 pounds a year, lived in 28, and gave away 72. Some of you have heard of R.G. LeTourneau, a Longview industrialist who lived similarly.

I don’t have to look too far to see that Mammon’s advice is more popular than Jesus’ (and Wesley’s). It’s not just out there in the world, it’s not just out there in the church, it’s even in me. I’ve heard Mammon’s voice saying things like, “If you didn’t tithe, you could …. “ You’ve heard that voice too, haven’t you?

Consider another money word we use in church sometimes: debt. Unless we’re independently wealthy, most of us have to use debt from time to time. In our culture we use debt to buy houses, cars, and educations. It’d be nice if we all had the money to buy these things without borrowing, but most of us don’t. If cash up front were required, we’d simply have to do without.

Debt does have dangers. United Methodist pastors are asked a series of questions before being ordained. One of these – which date from Wesley himself – is “Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your ministry?” This is always a curious time at Annual Conference. The supposed “right” answer is “NO.” But in this era when the UM system requires so much education to be a pastor – a bachelors degree plus a 90 hour masters – debt is pretty common. And with the cost of education these days, the debt can be large. I’ve known people who get out of seminary owing 50 – 60 thousand dollars. (I joke sometimes, “It’s a good thing pastors are so highly paid – like doctors and lawyers!” – That is a joke.) So sometimes those being questioned speak truthfully and say, “Yes.” I’ve even heard a bishop – the one who asks the questions – respond to a “No” answer with the quip, “I guess you don’t embarrass easily.”

Educational debt can be hard to carry, but it’s not the hardest. In our culture credit cards seem to cause the most trouble. The average American has over $8000 in credit card debt. Do you know the rates they charge on those balances? That kind of debt starts easy, builds fast – frequently at the insistence of Mammon – and is hard to dispel. So in spite of our reliance on debt to get us what we want – more electronics, furniture, boats, houses, vacations, food, etc. – sometimes we find ourselves in a pit of our own digging.

Looking at debt this way it’s easy to see why churches would want to avoid debt. Yet we continue to use it. Why? Because debt can not merely be a trap from getting what we want, it can also be a tool to expand our capacity. When FUMC Pittsburg went into debt to acquire the Rock and the Feed Store, we expanded our ministry capacity. The key questions we asked was, What’s our business? Some might see our actions and judge that we must be in the building business. But we’re not. We’re in the people business. Buildings are a resource that help us reach people, build them as disciples of Jesus, equip them for ministry, and deploy them to reach the world.

Knowing our business – our purpose in being a church – guides us in money decisions, not only in whether we go into debt, but also what we spend our money on. When North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia built their first buildings they had such a strong conviction that they needed the buildings to reach people for Jesus (They’re in the People Business, just like us) that many within the church went so far as to take out second mortgages on their own homes so they could give more to their church. Sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? Obviously their mission was more than just meeting on Sunday mornings. That’s the kind of step you usually only take when life and death issues are at stake.

That’s how our Model thought. Jesus didn’t give much in the way of money. He didn’t have any – for much of his ministry he appears not to even have a place to live. Like the widow in Luke 21, he gave what he had – his life. His motivation was love – for us. For us his gift meant life – instead of death.

Do we think like Jesus? Do we think that the mission of the church – which we can see in John 20 21 as an extension of Jesus’ mission – is a life or death thing? If we do – if we think this people business we’re in is so vitally important – we won’t have trouble meeting the budget. We’ll more easily discern the difference between good debt and bad debt. We – like Jesus – like John Wesley – like numerous others – will be generous with our lives and our possessions. Mammon will squeal for his share – he’ll argue that we’re unnecessarily denying ourselves the pleasures of life. Don’t listen. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His way leads to death. Jesus not only knows the way of life – the Bible tells us he himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

So – let’s follow Jesus. And frustrate Mammon.

For the past several days, Ramesh Ponnuru and John Podhoretz have been debating stem cell policy, abortion, humanity at the Corner at NRO. In today’s (final?) post, Podhorezt says,

I am going to make one final point, and I mean final. What astonishes me in the course of this discussion (to judge from the blizzards of e-mails and other blog items done on this debate) is that I, a relatively secular person, am arguing the position that we cannot understand the mystery of life without faith — and that a great many pro-llfers, whose commitment to life is religious in nature and whose religion plays a far more central role in their lives than it does in mine, are arguing with me on the grounds that the whole business can be discerned entirely through reason and science.

Podhoretz finds this apparent inversion – a secularist arguing for faith and religionists arguing for science and reason. I do not. What he does not recognize – or acknowledge – is the relative rhetorical force of each kind of argument in the last couple of generations. Because of the dominant epistemologies (theories of knowledge) in the past couple of centuries, science and reason – conceived monolithically – have been seen as the arbiters of truth, while religion and faith have been judged to represent opinion (at best) or illusion and delusion (at worst). The modern world has taught Christians that if they want to argue for something, they need to do so purely on the basis of reason – particulary a reason that is universal. Since the public either does not value or completely excludes arguments based on faith (people talk about a First Amendment?), Christians must argue on the basis of something else, and in this case, as in others, a secular and universal Reason is close to hand.

But it doesn’t work. Why? The game is stacked against them. Reason masquerades as a single entity out there doing good to all of humanity. Reason isn’t just one thing; there isn’t just one system of rationality; it’s not just the neutral application of clear thinking. Every system identified with Reason comes attached to certain substantive positions. Christians – and likely others who seek to live a life of faith – suffer when they try to play the games of modern Reason. The deck is stacked against them.

What’s the alternative? A supposed “postmodern” retreat from Reason into irrationality? Some make take this route, but I think the better strategy is to tell the truth about Reason. Recognize that Reason always comes attached to substantive positions. Bring those substantive commitments and convictions to light. Talk about them. Let Reason confront Reason as their commitments (faiths) are laid bare. The price will be admitting there are no universal principles that “all right thinking, rational, moral people of courage” will admit to and stand for. But that’s ok.

We took Paul out to Applebees for his birthday today (my first visit to an Applebees since I got sick after eating at one a couple of years ago). I stil like Chilis much better, but Chilis hasn’t gotten smart enough to put a location in our area yet.

Business was pretty slow for the lunch hour. With Pilgrim’s Pride world headquarters down the road and a location right off I 30 I’d expected a bigger crowd. We were led quickly to out table, with no waiting. Soonthe servers came and started the order process.

I ordered the Cowboy Burger. It’s distinguishing characteristics, according to the menu, included onion peels and BBQ sauce. When our food was delivered it had neither. Though it was soon corrected, I’d rather have my order right the first time. Th eburger itself was ok – though not exceptional. The quantity was more than enough – half a sandwich would have been plenty. The fries were also tasty.

Christi had their new Orange Glaze Chicken Bowl. She said it was ok, but the “variety of vegetables” claimed by the menu included only broccoli and red pepper. She also commented that it was more soupy than she expected, since they had drenched it with the orange sauce.

Paul and the girls ordered chicken strips and their food seems to have been just fine.

Service was ok, though we had to ask twice for carry out boxes.

O Chilis, where are you?