Locking Out the Poor

Shane Claiborne is the author of the Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, and part of the Simple Way - a community of faith in downtown Philly. (My daughter and her husband are part of a sister community - Circle of Hope)


Locking Out The Poor from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

The Strength Is In The Struggle

I received this this morning from an old friend named Marilyn...

I love the illustration of the caterpillar and the butterfly. The lonely butterfly egg hatches. The caterpillar just begins to instinctively eat the leaf it was hatched on. When it finishes that leaf it finds another. Yet one day, by God’s design, it climbs a small branch and spins a cocoon. In that cocoon, the caterpillar melts. From that liquid, God forms the butterfly. That is why the butterfly is all wet when it comes out of the cocoon. It then has to laboriously stretch out its wings to cause the liquids to move into its veins. Then it rests. Then it stretches out again and rests. Finally when it is dry and strong, the tiny thread that secured it to the cocoon breaks and it is free to fly and drink nectar.

Have you ever asked God to remove your trial? Paul did, and the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). I like to think about grace as a box. Each side top and bottom is labeled, “My grace is sufficient.” In my struggle, I often say, “Here I am Lord, standing in my grace box.” It helps me to focus on Him and realize afresh that I am surrounded by His grace strength.

Every trial contains another essential step in God’s purpose for our life. Hebrews 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Did Abraham struggle as he waited twenty some years before God’s promise was fulfilled in his life? Romans 4:18 says, “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed.” This needful endurance means that we can bear up under our difficult trial through hope, continually drawing our strength from the Lord.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Did you notice that the establishing comes after the suffering? So many things in nature bear out this truth. The crocus that emerges through the snow, the baby bird that pecks its way through an egg, the seedling that pushes through the earth, all represent how the strength is in the struggle.

1 Peter 1:7 tells how the fiery trials are necessary to purify our faith. Faith is essential. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. There is another aspect to struggling. People watch our faith. It could be that the trial you are enduring right now is a testimony to God’s grace strength in your life. I like to read true life stories of missionaries to see how God was faithful in their impossible circumstances. Their endurance fortifies and encourages me, as I read how God orchestrated their lives, interweaving people and circumstances to fulfill His divine purpose for them.

Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Be encouraged today to stand in your grace box and endure because the strength is in the struggle.

The Eastern Roots of Our Christian Faith

On a couple of occasions in a church service during our Deeper Still series (a contemplative look at the Lord’s Prayer) I have made the point that we, in the western world, often forget that Christianity was birthed and is rooted in the East. 

Here is my best attempt at a short history:

The westernization of Christianity began with Paul planting and writing to churches throughout the Mediterranean region.  The book of Acts ends with Paul imprisoned in Rome (about 64AD). Paul, by the way, was part of the early persecution of the Church (see Acts 8).  After Paul’s conversion he experienced severe persecution throughout the remainder of his life – which is said to have ended with his beheading.  The first large-scale persecution of the Jerusalem Church occurred in 70AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.  This drove Christians (and Jews) out of the region and onto the vast system of roadways built by Rome and linking what is today western Europe, Turkey, and northern Africa resulting in an era of missionality. In his book, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, Alan Hirsch calculates that the early church grew from 25,000 in 100AD to about 20,000,000 by 310AD!  This, no doubt, influenced Emperor Constantine, who, in 313AD, made Christianity the formal religion of the Empire (see map above).  (There is still debate over whether or not Constantine was an active follower of Christ.  Some maintain that in making Christianity the religion of the empire his goals were more political than theological.) Nevertheless, Constantine was uniquely a product of both the east and the west and this set the stage for Christianity to strengthen its flow into what is today Europe (and into N Africa).

Beginning around the third century Christian hermits, ascetics and monks fled to the desert of Egypt.  They were seeking to escape the chaos and the Diocletian (predecessor of Constantine) persecution, abandoning the cities of the secular world to live in solitude.  In Egypt, refugee communities formed at the edges of population centers, far enough away to assure safety.  In 313, when Christianity was made legal, many continued to live in these marginal areas.  The solitude of these places attracted them because the privations of the desert were a means of learning the ways of Jesus -- fasting and seeking God.  They believed that desert life would teach them to follow God's call in a more focused and deliberate way.  During the 4th century, these communities continued to attract others and as the lifestyle progressed, these men and women developed a reputation for holiness and wisdom.  Today they are referred to as the Desert Fathers.  Many individuals who spent part of their lives in the Egyptian desert went on to become important figures in the Church and society of the 4th and 5th centuries, among them Athanasius, Anthony, John Chrysostom, and John Cassian.  The spirituality of the Desert Fathers deeply affected the Western Church (including Protestantism) and the Eastern Church – their role creates the opportunity for Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant believers to enjoy some common ground.  For instance Augustine, who was converted through the writings of  Anthony of the Desert, continues to be revered and respected by the Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants alike.  Additionally, the monastic institutions Cassian and Augustine helped spread into Europe are said to have kept learning and culture alive during the Early Middle Ages, and were often the only institutions that cared for the sick and poor.  (It should be noted that while all this was going on in N Africa and S Europe, Saint Patrick was preaching the gospel and building communities of faith in Ireland – which spread south into Europe even as Cassian-Augustinian inspired communities spread north.)  For this reason, the writings and spirituality of the Desert Fathers are still of interest to many people today.

When we hear the phrase “contemplative spirituality,” it is often a reference to the learning and teaching of these Desert Fathers. 

“Contemplative spirituality” means the understanding that God wants to have a real relationship with us – this is not just religion – God longs to walk alongside us in our lives and speak into and guide our live.  Our part in allowing this to happen is to learn the blessings of solitude, silence, and listening – this is especially helpful in our 21^st century ADD culture.  It’s a way of practicing our faith that can be foreign to many Christians, especially us Evangelicals who are trained to read Scripture more for information than formation.  We can engage the Text with the intention to be formed by it, to deepen our relationship with God.  In this process we are making ourselves available to God, positioning ourselves before him that he might have access to our lives.  Studying and learning both the western and eastern constructs of our Christian faith will strengthen us to live as balanced and faithful Christ-followers.

Here are some practices of Scripture that have a more contemplative aspect to them:

• Meditation (Psalm 1:2; 4:4; 27:4; 39:3; 48:9; 63:6; 77:6, 12; 119:15, 23, 27, 48, 52, 78, 97, 99, 117, 148; 143:5; 145:5)
• Silence as a form of contemplation and listening (Psalm 46:10a; Isaiah 30:15; Matthew 6:6; Matthew 11:29; 1 Peter 3:4; 1 John 3:19)
• Fasting as a form of humble focus (Ps 35:13b, et al.)

J.I. Packer in his classic work, Knowing God says, meditation is a lost art today, and Christian people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice.  Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God.  It is the activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God. (pgs 18-19).

A Consideration of the Focus of God's Wrath (or Anger)

The painting above is John Martin's, Great Day of His Wrath. (It hangs in the Tate Gallery in London.)

A while back, in a Sunday service, I mentioned that my perspective of God's wrath is that it has more to do with God's longing than with God's anger. This perspective elicited a disagreeing comment by someone who was there. Following is my attempt to articulate my thinking in this area. I am not insisting that I am right, only passing on to you my current thinking in this area...

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient” (Eph 5:6, emphasis added).

The word orgē (Greek: ὀργή) is used approximately 36 times in the New Testament; twenty-one times in Paul’s writings, six times in Revelation, and only occasionally in the Gospels.[1] In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul uses orgē three times (2:3; 4:31; 5:6).

Biblical hermeneutics is the art and science of biblical interpretation and is perhaps summarized best by 2 Timothy 2:15,

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Biblical hermeneutics is art because it calls for nuance and craft and science because it demands technique and skill. There are accepted academic rules to follow and one of those rules states that a verse or passage must be interpreted:

• Historically,
  
• Grammatically, and
  
• Contextually.

Historical interpretation refers to understanding the culture, background, and situation, which prompted the text. Grammatical interpretation is recognizing the rules of grammar and nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages and applying those principles to the understanding of a passage. Contextual interpretation involves always taking the surrounding context of a verse/passage into consideration when trying to determine the meaning.

In Paul’s letter (epistle) to the Ephesians he was probably writing primarily to Christ-following Gentiles, or Greeks -- and not Jews. (Ephesus was ranked with Rome, Corinth, Antioch, and Alexandria as the foremost urban centers of the Roman Empire.) In writing to Gentiles, Paul, as a well educated rabbi and also a citizen of Rome was, no doubt, aware that in the Rhetoric,[2] Aristotle defined wrath (orgē) as, “a longing, accompanied by pain…”[3]  Aristotle additionally ascribed value to wrath (or anger) that has arisen from perceived injustice because it is useful for preventing injustice.[4]

Misconceptions of the wrath of God have led to a false picture of God. One such is reading into the phrase “wrath of God” the idea of a “wrathful” or “angry” God. Here God is often seen as stern and cruel, a mean Judge who loves to revenge and punish humankind whenever there is an opportunity to do so, and at times even does so arbitrarily. Such a picture of God, however, is a grave distortion of God’s character and often leads to unhealthy fear or reward-motivated obedience -- disconnected from love.

The Old Testament certainly states that opposition to God's will results in God's anger. In reference to anger, the Jewish Encyclopedia[5] states: God is not an intellectual abstraction, nor is He conceived as a being indifferent to the doings of man; and His pure and lofty nature resents most energetically anything wrong and impure in the moral world. Christ-followers also subscribe to the perspective of God's holiness and anger welling up in the sight of evil and this anger is not inconsistent with God's love. We also believe that the wrath of God comes upon those who reject Jesus.

Yet, could this wrath (or anger) of God be focused more on the effects of sin than on the sinner? In Romans 1:18 Paul states, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Could this be speaking of the longing and pain that God has for people to repent of their godlessness and wickedness?

The totality of Scripture makes it very clear that the wrath of God is not the last horizon. God is love (1 John 4:16). God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but is pleased when they turn from their sinful ways and live (Ezekiel 18:23). God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the saving truth (1 Tim. 2:4-6). Reconciliation has its starting point in Christ. God wants the world to be reconciled with him, both in and through him (2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 5:8-11). God does not desire revengeful punishment. Within the context of biblical judgment, divine wrath is not an expression of a despotic deity, but a just and legitimate reaction against the effects (or, sinfulness) of sin. God’s wrath is aroused against sin, because sin is a rebellion against God's nature and character. But even in God’s wrath mercy is remembered (Is. 54:7, 8).

The ultimate test of biblical scholarship is whether it serves effectively to equip God’s people for discipleship. The essentials of the Christian faith include: 

• The authority of Scripture
• The existence of a Triune God
• Humankind is a physical and spiritual being who is created in God's image
• Jesus Christ is by God's grace, was born of a virgin, is fully God and fully man, died for our sins, physically rose from the dead, will one day return to judge the world and fully deliver his people, and was sent to save us from our bondage to sin
• Faith in Christ is the only means by which humankind can escape eternal judgment
• The church as God's ordained institution headed by Christ, composed of all believers, and organized for the furtherance of the kingdom of God.

In the essentials of the Christian faith, we must have unity (Eph. 4:4-6); in the non-essentials of the faith, we embrace diversity (Rom. 14:1-6); in all matters of faith, we seek to have charity (1 Cor. 13:1-3).[6]

The focus of God’s wrath, or anger, is not – by my understanding – an essential of the Christian faith. Respectful, honest dialogue will help us to refine our faith…

What are your thoughts??

---

[1] Brown, Dictionary of NT Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967), p. 110

[2] Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the fourth century BC.

[3] 1378a

[4] According to Aristotle: "The person who is angry at the right things and toward the right people, and also in the right way, at the right time and for the right length of time is morally praiseworthy." cf. Paul M. Hughes, Anger, Encyclopedia of Ethics, Vol I, Second Edition, Rutledge Press

[5] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/search_results.jsp?searchType=1&pageNum=1&search=anger&x=0&y=0&searchOpt=0

[6] The History of the Christian Church, by Philip Schaff. In Volume VII, Modern Christianity, The German Reformation, Schaff writes: “This famous motto of Christian Irenics, which I have slightly modified in the text, is often falsely attributed to St. Augustin (whose creed would not allow it, though his heart might have approved of it), but is of much later origin. It appears for the first time in Germany, a.d. 1627 and 1628, among peaceful divines of the Lutheran and German Reformed churches, and found a hearty welcome among moderate divines in England…The authorship has recently been traced to Rupertus Meldenius, an otherwise unknown divine, and author of a remarkable tract in which the sentence first occurs. He gave classical expression to the irenic sentiments of such divines as Calixtus of Helmstädt, David Pareus of Heidelberg, Crocius of Marburg, John Valentin Andrew of Wuerttemberg, John Arnd of Zelle, Georg Frank of Francfort-on-the Oder, the brothers Bergius in Brandenburg, and of the indefatigable traveling evangelist of Christian union, John Dury, and Richard Baxter.”

Don't Lower the Bar, Lower the Barriers - Becoming Missional

Before Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the state in the year 313, Christianity was a subversive, counter-cultural movement that existed at the margins of society – not at the center. The subsequent move to the center of society had advantages as well as dis-advantages.:

• The advantage was that there was a common (Biblical) language and reference point for public moral discourse with which society could discuss what was “good” or “moral,” or “right.”
  
• The disadvantage was that (legislated) Christian morality without the Holy Spirit and gospel-changed hearts often led to cruelty, hypocrisy, and the abuse of power and authority.

There is an often-told story of Thomas Aquinas (13th century) when he visited Pope Innocent IV and found him counting a large sum of money. “Ah, Thomas," said the Pope, "the church can no longer say, ‘silver and gold have I none.’” That is true, Your Holiness," said Aquinas, "but then, neither can it now say, ‘Arise and walk’" (Ref Acts 3:6).

One of the downsides of Christendom is that we’ve placed way too much emphasis on the WORDS of Christ and not enough emphasis on the WORKS of Christ. We’ve been a voice without sufficient action. Again, in Christendom nations -- and people groups -- have been “Christianized” without becoming whole-heartedly converted.

Since about the mid-19th century the church in Europe and North America has been losing its privileged place in the center of society and as the authority of public morality. The decline of Christendom has accelerated greatly since the end of WWII, when science and reason ultimately failed to fix all our problems and concerns (i.e., the decline of modernity).

We are now living at a time that many would consider “POST-Christian.” (Or, if you’re an optimist, “Pre-Christian.”) Once again the church is finding itself at the margins of culture and society – we are losing our place of moral authority. This will force us, as the church, to engage the culture around us in a whole new way. (That is what it means to be “missional.”)

Studies indicate that unchurched people do not have a problem with God, or even Jesus -- they have a problem with the church. Our current context in North America is more like the early NT context – the church has been pushed to the margins and is no longer at the center of society.

The people who make-up a missional church see themselves as missionaries to the dominant post-Christian culture that surrounds them – as well as the various sub-cultures. As missionaries to a “post-Christian” culture it would be wrong to assume the people we encounter have any basic background regarding the availability of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ – or that they have read the Bible. And the ones who have grown-up in churches may, very well, have an extremely negative view of the church.

As missionaries we are invited by God to seek new ways to tell the “Jesus story” to the surrounding culture. It takes understanding the culture (contextualizing the gospel for the culture we are investing in) and looking for redemptive ways to share the Jesus story.

What other parts of our current cultural context are redemptive? One de-churched person asked how a church can sing (the hymn), “This is My Father’s World” on Sunday and rape the environment on Monday? Justice issues? Affordable housing? Oppressed poor? Aids? Care/treatment for the homeless?

A missional church is seeking to engage the surrounding “dominant” culture with redemptive relationships – and move people toward reconciliation – with one another and with God. We don’t want to lower the bar; we want to lower the barriers.

Characteristics of a Missional Church (Pt 5)

Tim Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NY. He is also the author of the Reason for God and Prodigal God. He is also the founder of a churchplanting movement that has planted over 100 hundred churches. In 2008, Keller spoke at Google as part of their "Authors @ Google" program. You can find that talk here.

Marks of Missionality

How do we know if, or when, we are diving into missionality?

Missionality goes beyond any ministry or program - even evangelism. For instance, a 'missional' small group is not necessarily one which is doing some kind of specific 'evangelism' program (though that is to be recommended). Rather...

1. If its members love and talk positively about the city/neighborhood,
2. If they speak in language that is not filled with pious tribal or technical terms and phrases, nor disdainful and embattled, or embittered, language,
3. If in their Bible study they apply the gospel to the core concerns and stories of the people of the culture,
4. If they are obviously interested in and engaged with the literature and art and thought of the surrounding culture and can discuss it both appreciatively and yet critically,
5. If they exhibit deep concern for the poor
6. If they show generosity with their money
7. If they show purity and respect with regard to opposite sex
8. If they show humility toward people of other races and cultures
9. If they do not bash other Christians and churches.

Then seekers and non-believing people from the city...

• Will be invited and
• Will come and will stay as they explore spiritual issues.

If these marks are not there it will only be able to include believers or traditional, "Christianized" people.