Bandits No More

One of the latest offerings in reality tv will be “Tommy Lee Goes to College,” on NBC. The show has Tommy Lee, famous mostly for his stint as Motley Crue’s drummer and once-spouse of Pamela Anderson Lee, attending classes at the Unniversity of Nebraska.

The brief report in the Waco Tribune-Herald, as well as in the lin kabove, explains that the 42 year old connected with his botany class. “I think I was a tree or something in a past life,” Lee said.

Do you suppose that, in botany classes at the University of Nebraska, they teach students to relate to or get in touch with nature on the basis of reincarnation?

We like learning in school because what we learn there tends to be abstracted from our actual life situations. Math is clearly objective – not need for emotion or conflict there. History – we might argue over interpretation of various events, but whatever it was was way back when.

Some models of Christian education take this same tack and major on learning facts – what we might call head knowledge. We can learn tons about theology and the bible and still hold it at a distance, away form our lives. Unfortunately – so we think – that wasn’t Jesus’ style and isn’t what we followers of Jesus most need. Jesus spoke to people in the moment of their need. He provoked them and challenged them on what they were in the process of doing. No dry theory for him.

Jesus’ method provoked pain in his hearers – enough pain in some that they had him nailed to a cross and killed. His objective was not merely to fill their heads with knowledge but to change their lives. Since my calling to preach and teach came from Jesus, that ought to be my goal also.

But some times people don’t like it. “Have you been spying on me?” “Did so and so tell you what I said?” “How did you know that?” “I felt like you were preaching right at me this morning.” I’ve heard all these before. When I hear those kind of comments I know I’m doing something right. After all, isn’t it people I’m supposed to be talking to? Surely it’s a waste of time to address myself to pews & walls? What’s the point in saying things people don’t need to hear?

So how do I know what people need to hear? Three things:

1. I pay attention to what’s going on around me. Some things aren’t that hard to figure out. Consider the loss of the feed store. Is any one shocked that I talk about comfort in times of loss – about our mission being larger than buildings? When the decisions about renovating the sanctuary were made a few years ago there was some conflict in the church. I wasn’t here during that time, but I’ve had wide enough experience in church to not be shocked. So if I talk about conflict now with the loss of the feed store am I exhibiting extraordinary knowledge? I think not.
2. I creatively move from that I see out there to what I know of myself. Being a sinner, I know a bit about how sinners think – and act. I know what temptations I face. Sometimes you may here a sermon or teaching, or read something I write (this piece?) and think I’m talking to you. If so, give thanks someone loves you enough to talk to you. But many times from my own perspective, I’m addressing my own temptations, fears, and problems. I just happen to be enough of an ordinary human being that other people share some of my problems and insecurities. Surely you wouldn’t want any other kind of preacher.
3. I pray a lot. Many times what I preach, teach or write on has no inspiration whatever in what I see. This is a good thing, since though I work at paying attention to what’s happening around me, I’m still oblivious to too much of it. God seems to figure that I don’t have any need to know who needs to hear a particular message – only that some do. I not only listen to God, I also ask God to let what I say and write speak to the needs of the people. Most of us don’t have needs for abstract knowledge and theories. We need a word spoken into our lives where we are right now.

So – if in my speaking and writing it seems that I’m speaking directly to you – give thanks for it. But chances are I don’t have a clue what’s happening unless you tell me.

If you’ve read much of Dallas Willard (Spirit of the Disciplines, Divine Conspiracy, and The Renovation of the Heart are key texts) you know of his preference for the word “apprentice” over disciple. The latter has become so Christianized it has lost its original content. As followers of Jesus we are his apprentices: we spend time with him, watch what he does, and then do it ourselves. In a recent Leadership Journal Dallas Willard and Dieter Zander discuss how this works out in the church. Here’s just a taste from Zander’s final comment:

When we moved to San Francisco, we lived on a street where our neighbors included an atheist Jewish family, a Buddhist family, an Irish Catholic family, a gay family, and a Hindu family. There was no sense of community, so we decided to become conduits of the kingdom by practicing the discipline of hospitality. We learned people’s names and used them. We introduced neighbors to each other. And something began to happen.

My atheist Jewish neighbor came into my kitchen once and said, “You know, something has happened since you all moved to this neighborhood. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like an enzyme has been added. Where once there was no life, now there’s life. What is that?” And I said, “That’s the gospel of Jesus being lived out in our lives.”

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,