MT25

Paraphrased Matthew 25 from "The Hole in Our Gospel".

Knee

Distance

"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time" (Steven Wright).

I'm a sucker for a road trip, even when others are taking them instead of me. Our friend Jolene gave my wife a road trip to the nearest In-n-Out Burger as a Christmas gift. We live in Denver; the nearest In-n-Out is in Salt Lake City. Eight hours of open American interstate lay between them and that burger, but they managed to bridge that gap and eat there twice over the course of their weekend together.

Personally, I find In-n-Out Burger to be relatively mediocre, which I know doesn't win me many friends on the west coast. Then again, I'm not from California, and I certainly don't have the same sentimental associations with the place that my California girl does. If I'm going to go out of my way for a burger in America's west, it would probably have to be from Carl's Jr...but it is highly doubtful I would spend an entire weekend trying to get my Guacamole Bacon Burger.

Practically speaking, I can't help but think how much each of those burgers and fries cost when figuring in the cost of gasoline, wear and tear on the car, and any other purchases along the way. But then again, that's not really the point, is it?

While the pursuit of the burger may have been the selling point for the road trip, the journey wasn't really about the burger. There was something much deeper going on. Eventhough In-n-Out might appreciate the lengths and distances people will travel to get their food, I know that this road trip was about the pursuit of friendship and a meaningful existence: two friends journeying together to meet up with a third (Brenda's friend, Janet who lives in Salt Lake).

Though some might judge their little road trip as impractical, irrational, and inane, there are quite a few things about it that I can appreciate. I appreciate the lengths people will go to bridge the distance between themselves and someone they value. I admire people who are willing to sacrifice time and resources to run after what is important to them, particularly when those sacrifices are beneficial for others. Distance traveled can be a measure of devotion. In this particular case, it was more than brand loyalty that took Brenda and Jolene across the west.

Our friend Jonathon leaves in a month to begin his walk across America from Delaware to California. He will spend the better part of a year doing so with pack on his back and dog in tow. His journey isn't some "Into the Wild" escape or running away from life but is instead filled with purpose, beauty, and meaning deeper than many can grasp. San Francisco isn't his goal; the journey is. I can appreciate his journey.

As impractical, irrational, and inane some journey's may seem to others, there can be no arguing with the things that move a man's heart and cause him to go the distance in the pursuit of others. The Christ I admire went the distance for humanity, and he teaches us that leaving the ninety-nine in pursuit of the one is a noble journey. Each of us measures the worth of others by whether or not we are willing to go the metaphorical distance to get to them. Jesus reminds us that people are worth the pursuit, and their value is affirmed in the time spent.

We may seek to quantify whether or not such journeys to help a neighbor or serve a nation are worth the blood, sweat, and tears (or, God forbid, the money). Our consumer culture has taught us this lesson well. But I don't think we should measure the worth of a man according to my convenience, my comfort, or the amount of money spent. Such measurements seem to cheapen a man's soul.

I will always love the journey. For me, the getting there is as important as the destination. The journey is the reward.

Serve

The following is from Hymn56 in the "Ausbund", the 1564 hymnal of Anabaptist martyrs.

What about the neighbor? -- When God's will is done -- Love of God and other -- Two loves become one. -- Jesus asks the question -- We dare not ignore -- "Will you be a neighbor?" -- "Do you love self more?"

What about the neighbor? -- Do we know their needs? -- Do we seek to meet them -- With both words and deeds? -- Christ is our example -- He did not divide -- Love for God and others -- Both stand side by side.

What about the neighbor? -- God requests reply -- Though we claim to love them -- Do our acts belie? -- No matter what others -- May do in return -- They're our sisters, brothers -- Our equal concern.

Letter

On Divisions in the Church

"Living Life Without Complaint"

Curtis has been living with us since the middle of December and has become a much-loved part of the family. He likes to write, and he shared with me this morning a rap he's been working on. It encouraged me, and so I post it here with his enthusiastic permission and is unedited. Curtis is 17, and this is his story.

Looking back at my life to all the things I see - This is the man I came to be - Grew up without a dad but kept my head up high - Still walkin' tall, livin' life without no lie - Everytime I look back in my past I start to cry - Askin' questions like why haven't I died - Well I got good people in my life to keep me going - Got paper and pencil to keep me flowin' - Understandin' why I haven't gone crazy and committed suicide - But to kill the bad shit is the best homicide - Your actions come from the things you decide to choose - If you wanna get rid of it, you got to pick what to lose - People are here to help you out, not control your life - Let 'em help you out instead of living on the edge of a knife - Pointy and dangerous sure, you can cease to live - The best thing to help will be the way to give - Showin' the love is the best glory you can get - The people I'm livin' with are the best people I met - Carin' for me in the best way they can - Appreciatin' the way for me to become a better man - Live by gun, die by gun is always what I thought - Live by love, die with love is really what I got - Thankin' people and the haters for what they did to me - Waitin' for the opportunity in my life so I could help people be free - Free of anger, free of hate - Can't wait to help people out so their life can be great - My grandma always told me to never hold a grudge on anybody for good - But to hold on to people who are great, I would - Let's pray for people, so bow your head - Pray for the bad so they can be good, not dead - Thankin' the Lord for everything he gave me - I don't got a hero but the Lord has saved me - Pulled me out of the fire so I wouldn't be burnt to ash - I live in the present and never will live in the past - I'm livin' well and healthy - And will die good and happy.

Christian Fundamentalism

What bothers me the most about Christian fundamentalism isn't that it doesn't match up with New Testament teachings; what bothers me the most is that it doesn't resemble Jesus.

It is ironic to me that fundamentalism started as a unity movement within the Christian church. While the earliest days of fundamentalism were intended to promote Christian unity, it evolved into something much different. Christian fundamentalism, in short, is a strict cohesion to a set of basic doctrines or principles as a reaction to the perceived "worldly, perverse" doctrinal compromises in the modern world. In 1910, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church published their Five Fundamentals at their annual Niagra Bible Conference. The Five Fundamentals are:

1. The inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit and inerrancy of Scripture as a result. 2. The virgin birth of Christ. 3 The belief that Christ's death was the atonement for sin. 4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. 5. The historical realities of Christ's miracles.

The General Assembly released other publications as well such as the "Niagra Creed" which contained 14 points or statements that were foundational for "true Christianity". Statements (or creeds) such as these exist to say, "If you want to be part of us, this is what you must believe". Influenced by my Anabaptist heritage, I don't believe a statement of beliefs (or your belief in them) assures one's salvation. Anabaptists believe that the Holy Spirit works among God's people in each generation to interpret our understanding of Scripture and the context in which we live it out.

These "fundamental statements" were used to separate those "not genuinely Christian" from those who profess the "true" faith. While fundamentalists would view these statements the foundations of true religion, I believe that the Sermon on the Mount and teachings of Jesus deserve our attention. How Scripture is understood, interpreted, and contextualized is very different from a fundamentalist view point and, lets say, an Anabaptist view point. Even the word "context" or "contextualization" could invoke charges of apostasy, heresy, and perverted worldliness from the fundamental viewpoint (although, I would charge, they have entirely contextualized their fundamental lifestyles to align with certain periods or thought in American history).

The trinity of fundamentalist thought is textual inerrancy, textual infallibility, and textual literalism. This seems to be true of any religious form of fundamentalism and their approach to sacred texts (whether they be Islamic, Jewish, Christian, or even Buddhist fundamentalists). Although biblical literalism is a relatively modern invention, you would think by listening to them that Jesus and Paul were literalists as well. In such fundamentalist thought, there is a belief that they alone hold to the truest form of their religion and that they hold the monopoly on truth. Everyone else is unfaithful and worldly. Islamic fundamentalists call us "infidels"; Christian fundamentalists call us "pagans".

In Christian fundamentalism, there is a strong emphasis on the strict adherance to doctrine based on a literal interpretation of Scripture. However, since fundamentalism is a reaction against the "corrupt", it became much more than a movement based on biblical literalism. Fundamentalists began to see themselves as keepers of the true Christian heritage of the first century and the heirs of the American, puritan, protestant empire of the USA. Their "battle" was a continuation of the paramount struggle of good and evil, between God and Satan, fighting against all who would corrupt the Christian religion (and America, I might add). In 1920, Curtis Lee Laws, a British journalist for the Watchman-Examiner, described the fundamentalist intent as "doing battle royal for the fundamentals". Anyone who didn't hold to the fundamentalist agenda for Christianity (or for America) was considered an enemy. Their list of enemies is long, and it continues to grow.

Fundamentalists began to court politics in the 1970's, evolved into the Moral Majority of the 1980's, and became the Christian Coalition and Family Research Council of the 1990's. I stopped listening to such groups as Focus on the Family in the mid-90's as they continued to adopt more and more of a political and cultural agenda (even though I may have agreed with some of their politics). I don't believe faith and politics make good bedfellows.

In short, here are some of the problems I have with Christian fundamentalism:

1) Fundamentalism takes it upon itself to decide who's in and who's out and justifies judgment of individuals and society as a whole, often choosing to condemn and criticize rather than serve in love. Their belief that they are "right" gives them the confidence not only to speak from God but to speak as though they were God. This fundamentalist ideology dismisses those they deem as outcasts, and many of these Christian people treat "sinners" with contempt and possess a spirit that is opposite of Christ. Judgment is an affront to Christ, and from a New Testament point of view, there can be no denying that!

2) By and large, there is a rejection of Social Justice among fundamentalists. I have been around many believers who treat those called to Social Justice as liberal, worldly, and ungodly. How can someone who claims to "believe the bible" deny that caring for the poor, serving the homeless, helping the sick, ending discrimination, and fathering the fatherless is wrong and a misallocation of church resources? For 2000 years, the Christian church has been carrying out God's work by founding hospitals, schools, and orphanages and working to abolish slavery, pursue civil rights, and terminate segregation (often in direct opposition to fundamentalists). I seriously question the sincerity of those who claim to "believe the bible" and yet criticize the cause of justice. There is more than one way to preach the Gospel!

3) Fundamentalism requires conformity to established dogmas and doctrines. With major issues resolved, all that is required by followers is conformity...and there is little tolerance for diversity. However, as views get narrower and narrower, the church continues to splinter into smaller and smaller sects, shattering the unity of the church and giving rise to potentially manipulative and controlling environments. Any sect that does not tolerate debate and questioning is obsessed with control. I do not believe coercion or manipulation have any place in the Christian faith because it is opposite to the spirit of Christ. I do not believe that God is threatened by those who poke and prod, search and seek. I do, however, think it is dangerous and irresponsible when we fail to ask questions and seek for truth.

4) Fundamentalism, all too easily, makes enemies of men -- despite the prohibition of it in Scripture and the example of Jesus. Michael Graeme said, "The fundamental flaw of fundamentalism, be it religious or scientific, is that it has a nasty habit of riding roughshod over the humanity it claims to serve." In the name of "true religion", many fundamentalists have declared open season on anyone they have labeled as a scourge on the land. In the name of God, they afflict pain and suffering of a different kind, leaving a shattered humanity in their path. The damage done to people cannot be justified by someone claiming to follow Christ! This kind of religion is perhaps religion in its ugliest form. It all too closely resembles the Pharisees of the New Testament in its tactics and treatment of "sinners". With utter defiance of the teachings of Jesus, they place the law above love and choose repeatedly to cast the first stone.

For the fundamentalists, salvation is found in the correctness of their beliefs and conformity to their expectations. While I do not disagree with any of the Five Fundamentals as individual statements of Scriptural truth, I profoundly disagree with fundamentalism. I cannot identify with nor support they way they live among our neighbors. I cannot reconcile in my heart that their way is Christ's Way.

I just cannot.

While fundamentalism may appeal to our narcissism (we are God's chosen) and to fear (salvation must be this way), it misses the mark when it comes to Jesus. We cannot say, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" and ignore the Sermon on the Mount, the Greatest Commandments, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats and so many other great and wonderful teachings of Jesus! If we ignore Jesus, then what are we?

Legalism (or even moralism) cannot usurp the teachings of Christ. Jesus, I believe, is God's revelation of Himself. When we see Jesus, we see God! To see Jesus is much more than just understanding the facts that surround his life (virgin birth, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection). To see Jesus is to allow him to read our life, our motives, and our heart and to be transformed into people who live as He did, carrying the Good News on our lives and on our lips -- and we cannot have one without the other!

Please, Mr. Robertson

I wonder why so many opportunities for mercy get buried in judgment? How can we, time and time again, ignore the Spirit of Christ who transforms us and desires to be present through us?

"Think of the overwhelming perception among young outsiders that we are merely hypocrites. Does your life point people to a life in Christ that bursts with freedom to love, restoration, purity, and transparency? Or are you burying people -- insiders and outsiders -- under the weight of a self-righteous life? Do you lift a finger to help?

As a Christian it is my duty to ask: Are you lifting a finger now?

Which one?"

(Kinnaman, UnChristian)

Indeed.

Individualism

Conversion

"Mere sorrow, which weeps and sits still, is not repentance. Repentance is sorrow converted into action, into a movement toward a new and better life" (M.R. Vincent).

I had a pastor who was fond of saying "what you win them with is what you win them to." I've taken a liking to the phrase myself, and it sprung to mind again recently while reading a chapter on authentic witness in David Augsburger's book "Dissident Discipleship". There was a particular quote by Jim Wallis that caught my attention in chapter seven:

"The gospel message has been molded to suit an increasingly narcissistic culture. Conversion is proclaimed as the road to self-realization. Whether through evangelical piety or liberal therapy, the role of religion is presented as a way to help us uncover our human potential -- our potential for personal, social, and business success, that is. Modern conversion brings Jesus into our lives rather than bringing us into his. We are told Jesus is here to help us do better that which we are already doing. Jesus doesn't change our lives, he improves them. Conversion is just for ourselves, not for the world. We ask how Jesus can fulfill our lives, not how we might serve his kingdom" ("The Call to Conversion").

"Modern conversion brings Jesus into our lives rather than bringing us into his." That sentence lept off the text when I read it. Has our understanding of conversion become another path towards self-fulfillment rather than the death to self Jesus spoke of? Has our understanding of conversion been influenced and shaped by the consumer culture and market-driven church?

Conversion: from what to what?

There's nothing new about the pursuit of self. Nothing new at all. Some Christians would suggest we abandon the ways of the world (which includes "trying to make it on our own") while subscribing to a new-found "faith" that resembles little more than legalism. It's a bit like jumping from the frying pan and into the fire, if you ask me. They would suggest that salvation is dependent upon conformity to the rules and regulations of the law favorable to their own particular ideologies.

Others, as it seems, have attracted countless followers through the preaching of "another gospel" that seems to glorify our selfish pursuits and reinforce this idea that even the King of the Universe exists for my pleasure. What a religion!

But being "in Christ" changes everything. It puts to death my vain attempts at righteousness by my own efforts and "draws us towards his intentions for humanity" (p. 183, Augsburger). Oswald Chambers describes conversion as a human being awakening to true life, and I am convinced we find true life by participating in his.

Sacred