Silly Season or Re-orientation?

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of Advent  – the time in the traditional church calendar when Christmas is celebrated. Advent is about expectant waiting, preparation and reorientation as we look forward to Christmas, to the coming of Christ into our world.

For many though, the next four weeks are regarded as the ‘silly season’, a time of stress and anxiety as we try to navigate the hustle and bustle of a consumer-driven materialistic Christmas. Fuelled by clever marketing, for some Christmas brings a whole lot of pressure to give the right gifts, to eat the right food, to throw the right kind of party. But we don't actually have to buy into these pressures. We don't have to be overwhelmed at Christmas.

Advent offers us four weeks to re-orientate our thinking around the true meaning of Christmas – Christ with us. We remember Jesus' birth two thousand years ago and that, in Jesus, hope entered our story. Knowing how the story unfolds, we're reminded that in Jesus, his life, his death and his resurrection, there is an arms wide open invitation to receive grace and love and reconciliation. Advent is also a chance to remember that Jesus still seeks to be a part of our lives today! Hope, joy, peace and love are found in Christ and that’s what we celebrate at Christmas.

So this Christmas, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the ‘jolliness’ of the jingles, if you're feeling pressured to give beyond your means, if you're tempted by months and months of differed payments and interest free options, if you're feeling anxious, stressed, disorientated, lonely or lost – take a moment to pause and reflect. Consider the reason for the season, the coming of Christ and the joy, hope, peace and love found in him. These things can be a reality in your life today. Don't be consumed by the consumerism of the season.

Maybe you could purchase an Advent reflections booklet for your Kindle or iPad? They are only a few dollars but full of meaningful reflections for this time of the year. I briefly looked at the following and they all seemed to be good value. 

God is in the Manger; Advent and Christmas Reflections - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

The Journey of Advent - John Carnes
Little Blue Book Advent and Christmas Seasons 2013-2014 - Ken Untener and Catherine Haven
New King for a New Kingdom; Advent Reflections - Fr. Robert Barron
Advent with St Francis; Daily Reflections - Diane Houdek

If not cool, then what? Relevant and contemporary.

If the attraction of church isn't its 'cool' quotient, what is its attraction?

I do think church should have an attraction factor, a number in fact. There are a few that spring straight to mind.

Firstly, and foremost, should be the very presence of Jesus in the church community, in the worship, the word, the sacraments, and in the individual lives of those that gather as the church.

Secondly, in a world full of pretence, show, self marketing and masks, there should be an attraction factor in the church in regards to authenticity, honesty, transparency, acceptance and its ability to ask hard questions and not just offer easy answers. The church should be a 'come as you are' community. There is something beautiful about this. Though of course the church need not apologize for also being a transformational community; 'come as you are' doesn't always equate to 'stay as you are.'

Thirdly, there should be an attraction factor in the way that the church community loves one another, cares for one another, stands with one another, celebrates with one another etc. As a redeemed community, as an advance party of heaven's invasion of earth, the church is a community (though flawed) that seeks to dwell in right relationship with God, self, others and creation. There should be something attractional about this.

And then fourthly, the church should also be a community that is relevant to contemporary society. Yep, I said it, RELEVANT and CONTEMPORARY. By this though, I don't mean cool. Remember my last post? Relevant to contemporary society doesn't have anything to do with being cool.

By relevant to contemporary society  I mean the, way in which it speaks  the life of Christ into the issues, cultures, addictions, pursuits, longings, questions and concerns, and worldview of its particular context in history. This doesn't necessarily mean contemporary mediums or packaging, in fact, you could argue that it may in fact require counter cultural mediums and distinctly alternative packaging in order to truly speak into today's cultural context. If the famous idiom 'the medium is the message' is true, then consideration must be given to the ways in which the mediums the church use at times enhance our message and other times distort it.

I think that if the church is to remain contemporary it must also be ancient. It should take seriously Jesus call to give, to pray, to fast, to turn the other cheek, to lay down one's life, take up one's cross, die to self. It should encourage stillness, reflection, contemplation. If people want to be 'pumped up' they can take a spin class or go to an AMWAY conference or tune into Anthony Robins. The church has some pretty ancient and some pretty unfashionable things to call people to. Fasting in a world of consumerism focused on touch, smell, taste experience? Have fun rallying the troops for this fun pass time!

At times, the more contemporary we become, the more irrelevant we become. It's hard to critique culture if we're not counter culture. And so it's an ongoing back-and-forth shuffle, working to ensure that the Sunday gatherings on the life of the church community are relevant to contemporary society,

that is...

they speak hope and truth and love,
and promise and grace and forgiveness ,
and the reality of Christ, and of his life and his death and his resurrection,
and of his arms open invitation to follow,
right into the very heart of the issues and challenges of 21st Century living.

I know as a local church pastor that sometimes we do this really well and that sometimes we don't do as well as we would of liked. I know too that sometimes I think we've nailed it and nobody says a lot and other times I think we've bombed it and people say things like, 'now I wish every Sunday was like that!' You scratch your head, trust God and push on. Jesus has a way of graciously meeting people right where they are at.

When the church speaks into the issues, the longings, the questions and concerns of its contemporary context, ultimately, it is attractional. Why? Because people know deep down that surely there has to be more to this life than this life. More going on than just consuming and acquiring and tasting and experiencing and conquering and striving and burning out and...

It's not about being cool.
What's the point when your message isn't cool?
It's just confusing.
It's about Jesus, authenticity, love and a boldness to offer ancient truth into a 21st Century context. 

Check out these Christians in the Philippines worshipping together after Typhoon Haiyan. Come on! That's what I'm talking about. The real deal.
 

Side note: I'm not here wanting to contrast attractional with incarnational. Ultimately the church should be incarnational rather than attractional, that is, a church that goes into the world rather than expects to attract people out of the world. I'm talking about a different kind of attraction here and believe there is a manner of speaking of the church as attractional that I think is appropriate.  

Should Church be Cool?

Addie Zierman recently wrote an article that was published in the Washington Post. You can read it here. It got me thinking; should church be cool?

It's not unusual to hear that advance guard millennials (born roughly 1980-1985) have, despite growing up in church, opted out of church but not out of faith. Now wearing fashionable fluorescent clothing for the second time in their lives, this crew grew up on a diet of easy answers, catchphrases and clichés. Zierman lists a few phrases you may be familiar with and I hope that if you break out in a nasty rash and cold sweats that you recover quickly: 'The Bible clearly says,' 'God will never give you more than you can handle,' 'are they a believer, an unbeliever or a backslider?,' 'God is in control, he has a plan, he works in mysterious ways.' I've got a couple to add: 'If it's God's vision look for God's provision,' 'God says it, I believe it, that settles it.' Enough? I could go on. 'A Bible falling apart will belong to someone who isn't falling apart.' Stop there? Ok. Sorry. 'Bigger level equals a bigger devil.' Sorry. Again. If there is one thing that these folk have learnt it's that; life is always more complicated than the clichés.

In some cases however, these millennials, now often with a young family in tow are returning to church. Partly cynical and partly hopeful they're willing to give church a second chance. For their own sake and for the sake of their children. Having a family they now crave a family beyond their own; immediate or extended. And with this in mind, it seems that if there is one thing they're not looking for the church to be, it's cool. In fact they expect the church not to be cool and would be suspicious if it was.

 They're looking for community, for authenticity, for grace, for inclusion, for acceptance, for church to be in fact what by nature it should be - everyday messed up broken people, all in equal need of the bread and of the cup of Calvary, who have encountered Jesus, received grace, offer grace and are attempting to live as an advance party of heaven in right relationship with God, self, each other and the created world around them. The reality is, 'cool' doesn't leave much space for community, authenticity, grace, inclusion or acceptance. It is a social construct that takes it cues from film, song, television, popular culture, fashion labels, social media, and marketing. By nature it deems some people to be 'cool' and some of course to be anything but. Cool isn't found in community it's found in clicks. Cool isn't found in authenticity it's found in conformity. Cool isn't found in grace, inclusion or acceptance but rather in judgement, exclusion and rejection. Cool can only exist when things are equally deemed to be 'un-cool.' This creates some issues for the church, the body of Christ, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male nor female, but rather all are one in Christ.

If the local church is pursuing cool, even as a means to an end, ultimately it's a betrayal of who the church is called to be. In the midst of a 'hyper-world' the church is instead to be a down-to-earth community of authenticity that lives out a counter-culture narrative to that of consumerism, materialism, individualism and self-gratification. And at the end of the day I'm not sure that you can actually put a 'cool' spin on laying down your life, taking up your cross, looking to the interests of others, offering cups of water to the least of these. The church is a place where people find Jesus, where they drink and thirst no more, not a place that serves up sparkling evian.

A 'cool' front is only going to make it difficult for people to embrace the grounded, sleeves rolled up, gritty, down-to-earth, up-side-down, His will be done, way of Jesus that Christ followers are called to live. And it's not necessary (or I think smart, or I think biblical) if we are to learn anything from millennials disengaging or reengaging from church it's that they actually crave an authentic, messy, down-to-earth, slightly chaotic faith that is true to Jesus and true to the realities of life and of family.    

   

When the Verdict Hurts

Sunday at St Luke's was themed around injustice / racism / prejudice / your experience perhaps as a victim / your experience as a perpetrator / the damage it does in our world.

The easiest way to make the content of Sunday avaliable is probably via a blog post, so here is Sunday at St Luke's 28/07/2013 in summary.  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it. LIFE TOGETHER page 30.

A Catholic Prayer:
Father, you have given all peoples one common origin.
It is your will that they be gathered together
as one family in yourself.
Fill the hearts of mankind with the fire of your love
and with the desire to ensure justice for all.
By sharing the good things you give us,
may we secure an equality for all
our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
May there be an end to division, strife and war.
May there be a dawning of a truly human society
built on love and peace.
Grant us values that seek justice,
May we be people that aid the victims of injustices.
As you forgive the worst sinners,
Equip me with a non-judgmental ability,
To forgive all offenders of Your laws,
And to support the healing process.
You are the true direction to justice.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.

An Unjust Verdict:

·        Consider the world through the eyes of others, through the perspectives of another culture.

·        Consider injustice in the world and the roles we play as perpetrators of injustice and as people called to stand for justice.

·        Consider injustice in your own life, your response to that, your reaction to that, how you carry that. How do you respond when an unjust verdict is directed at you?

·        Consider the impact your response to injustice has on the lives of those that look up to you or are closest to you. Kids, family members, colleagues.

·        Consider the response of Jesus to injustice.

·        Consider the way different bible characters and stories have different appeal to people of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds and how our ethnicity shapes our reading of the biblical text.

 

 

We then watched the sermon An Unjust Verdict by Howard-John Wesley, I couldn't work out to add the video into this post but the youtube link is here.


With your neighbour:

Re-read the quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the opening Catholic prayer.
What is compelling, challenging or inspiring about this quote and prayer?

Discuss.
What challenged or inspired you most in regards to Howard-John's sermon?
Are there certain passages of the bible or bible characters that you think particularly appeal to your culture? Why?
Are there certain passages of the bible that particularly appeal to our western, materialistic and individualistic culture? Why?
Are there certain passages of scripture, biblical character or theological themes that you think western, materialistic and individualistic culture tries to avoid?
Where you challenged in any regarding injustice, racism or prejudice?

Consider President Barak Obama's recent comments in regards to this incident. What stands out to you?
"In families and churches and workplaces, there’s a possibility that people are a little bit more honest, and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can; am I judging people, as much as I can, based on not the colour of their skin but the content of their character? That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy.

And let me just leave you with — with a final thought, that as difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don’t want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. I doesn’t mean that we’re in a post-racial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated. But you know, when I talk to Malia and Sasha and I listen to their friends and I see them interact, they’re better than we are. They’re better than we were on these issues. And that’s true in every community that I’ve visited all across the country."

Eastern Orthodox Prayer:
We bless you, O God, most high and Lord of mercy.
You are always doing great and mysterious things with us,
glorious and wonderful, and without number.
You grant us sleep for rest from our sickness,
and repose from the burdens of our much toiling flesh.
We thank you, for you have not destroyed us with our sins, but have continued to love us;
and though we were sunk in despair, you have raised us up to glorify your power.
There­fore, we implore your incomparable good­ness,
enlighten the eyes of our understand­ing,
and raise up our minds from the heavy sleep of slow change.
Open our mouth and fill it with your praise,
that we may be able without distraction to sing and confess that you are God,
glorified in all and by all.
The eternal Father, with your only begotten Son, and your all holy, good, and life giving Spirit.
Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Marriage Equality Bill (NZ)

I trust that in this post I am not adding to the noisy clatter that has followed the recent passing of the marriage equality bill here in New Zealand. Social media has been inundated with banging and clanging and shouting and pouting; much of which has been nonsensical.

Walter Brueggemann has a brilliant book, Cadences of Home;Preaching Among Exiles. The general premise of the book is that our contemporary cultural context (from a Christian perspective) is best understood using the metaphor of ‘exile.’ In other words, while perhaps society might have once been considered (inverted commas) “Christian”; we now live in a post-Christian context. The Christian therefore finds them self living as an ‘exile.’ Not in the sense of geography but rather socially, culturally and morally. In many ways treasured symbols, values and ethics central to Christian belief have been rejected within our larger cultural context. To quote Brueggemann; “Serious reflective Christians find themselves increasingly at odds with the dominant values of consumer capitalism and its supportive military patriotism; there is no easy or obvious way to hold together core faith claims and the social realities around us.”  We thus increasingly find ourselves as “resident aliens.” This is not unfamiliar territory for the Christ follower. Peter addresses his first letter to “God’s elect, exiles scattered” and urges them as “foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires” and to live “such good lives” that those who do not live according to the Way of Jesus would “see your good deeds and glorify God.” I don’t actually think our society has ever been “Christian” but I’ll grant that society once held somewhat more of a traditional Judeo-Christian worldview than it does today. For many (perhaps specifically in North America though certainly not limited to North America) this Judeo-Christian ethic (as good as it was) has led to wrongly equating a Western worldview with a Christian worldview. This misunderstanding massively distorts what it is to be a Christ follower and live the way of Jesus in the world.

Every now and then some social, cultural, moral or spiritual awakening or crisis challenges ones worldview.  In regards to crisis (or perceived crisis) it seems to me that there are two sorts of Christian response. Firstly there is the response of those who either have an over-realised sense of triumphalism or underwhelming sense of God’s ability to continually work out his purposes in the world despite the ways of our world. This group bemoans the fact that their ‘Christian’ nation is falling apart and makes a whole lot of noise about slippery slopes, moral erosion, compromise and social breakdown. Then there seems to be a second group, Christians who understand themselves to be exiles living in a strange land. This group is simply reminded afresh that their nation is not ‘Christian.’ For them the ship of ‘Christendom’ has well and truly sailed, they recognise the reality our post-Christian world and are not trying to hold onto yesteryear. They do not expect secular government, media or general culture to reflect the way of Christ. Rather than protest, bemoan and argue, their response and commitment is to faithfully live the life of Christ in their spheres of influence. As Brueggemann puts it, “Exile did not lead the Jews in the Old Testament to abandon faith or to settle for abdicating despair, nor to retreat to privatistic religion. On the contrary, exile evoked the most brilliant literature and the most daring theological articulation in the Old Testament.” The truth is, if Christians might together ‘catch up’ to our profoundly changed social circumstance, we might proceed with a different set of presuppositions in regards to culture and also a very different sense of urgencies. This will in turn lead to more meaningful engagement with our contemporary culture than bemoaning “moral erosion,” or the breakdown of society and family,” or declaring today as a “sad day for our country,” or a day where one is “not proud to be a Kiwi.” These being simply the kinds of comments some have made in regards to the passing of the recent marriage equality bill. Many have said these sorts of things. Many have said a lot worse.

So what about the marriage equality bill?

I hold what would be considered a “traditional” or “conservative” Christian position in regards to marriage and in regards to homosexuality. I think coming to this position is a fairly straight forward procedure, however, outworking its implications pastorally is an incredibly complicated challenge. I don’t think the Church has done particularly well in this area. This is a discussion for another time however. Now, when it comes to the marriage equality bill. Firstly, I’m of the position that we now live in a post-Christian society. Secondly then, to oppose something in a public forum based on the Bible and using biblical texts as proof for or against an argument is ludicrous. With this in mind, for me the debate on changing or not changing the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples comes down to genuine issues of equality, human rights, oppression and any form of genuine peer-reviewed  scientific evidence of how sociologically such a change could somehow be damaging for society. Considering this I was left largely sitting on the fence. I’m not convinced of any good reason to change the definition of marriage based on the above, and at the same time, I am not convinced of any good reason not to change the definition of marriage. If I had to lean one way based on the above argument it would be towards allowing the amendment to go through. As it just has. I wouldn’t find it contradictory to support the government's decision to affirm same-sex marriage while at the same time holding to the position that this is not a theologically valid option for Christians. This too is a discussion for another time.

So what then for Christians going forward?

Continuing with the metaphor or exiles the challenge becomes twofold. Firstly not to assimilate into the culture that surrounds, and secondly, not to become so pre-occupied with self that one cannot see outside of one’s self to re-think, re-imagine and re-describe larger reality. As Brueggemann says, “Self-preoccupation seldom yields energy, courage, or freedom. In ancient Israel, one of the strategies for coping shrewdly and responsibly beyond self were the narratives of defiance and cunning that [challenged] exiles not to confront their harsh overlords directly, but to negotiate knowingly between faith and the pressures of ‘reality.’” Think of Joseph, Easter and Daniel and the requirement of an endlessly cunning, risky process of negotiation.

Rather than bemoan, belittle, protest, march against and prophesy doom gloom and doubt, (I enjoyed this brief speech in parliament by National MP Maurice Williamson), Christians must subversively write great songs, tell great stories, paint great pictures, make great movies. All of which tell a different story, tell of a different narrative, that of God's hand at work in the world and of the love and grace of Jesus. A story that offers a different way of being in the world. We do this as artists using whatever medium comes most naturally, but most importantly, as artists expressing oneself through the canvas of one’s life. Your covenant of marriage is before God. You standard of ethical living is before God. The way you raise your kids is before God. Therefore, live in such a way that you are a credit to the message of Christ (Philippians 1:27). So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. (Romans 12:1-2)

In other words, nurture your counter-identity. Live out the hope you have in Christ even amidst a season of despair (which is not a reference to the marriage equality bill but rather the reality that we live in the now-but-not-yet in which all has not been redeemed and reconciled as it one day will be). Encourage one another to live free “from the pathologies, coercions, and seductions that govern our society.” Offer to one another the encouragement and support that gives spine, resolve, courage, energy, commitment and freedom to fully embrace and live out your counter-identity in Christ. Live out the way of faith, hope, and love. Divorce yourself from consumerism, materialism, individualism, narcissism and hedonism and embrace grace freely given. Freely offer grace to those around you. Look forward to the “homecoming” of God’s will on earth even as it is in heaven, the eternal hope, and live in the light of that hope today.

In other words, for God’s sake, don’t be so nasty! Let your light shine. You’re marriage isn’t under any more attack or in any more danger than it ever was, nor does it mean anything less. Love your spouse all the more. Love your kids all the more. Love your family all the more. Don’t sigh and despair. Don’t point the finger and judge. Don’t fire of Bible verses as if they somehow have sway in a secular context. Love the world around you all the more. Speak love and grace and peace. There is nothing to bemoan about the marriage equality bill being passed. If you have gay family members that are going to tie the knot and they invite you to their wedding. Go. Buy the best wedding present ever! Your lack of attendance isn’t going to be the key to them finding faith. You’re a Christian, a Christ follower. You are the church, the body of Christ “that lives as God's pardon in the world, with arms wide open ready to spoil any wayward son [or daughter] with royal rings.” (Toby C).