Chrillaxing (Learning to Christian relax and chill: leveraging the imperfections)

I came out of graduate school with two hands of missional dynamite ready to blow Sunday mornings back to where they belonged, the 1980's! If it was up to me, we were going to quit "playing church" in a building on Sunday mornings and were going to saturate the community with Jesus projects. My professors didn't brainwash me to such a mentality, they simply gave me the ingredients. I mixed them to make the explosives.

I was naive, arrogant, and passionate about Jesus! I know, that's a can of mixed nuts, but isn't that the truth for all of us: pure and impure, selfless and selfish, God-glorifying and self-exalting motives all wrapped-up in a self who desperately needs Jesus.  Yes, I'm older and hopefully wiser today than 2004, but I'm still a can of mixed nuts.  

Back to blowing up Sunday mornings...I have since changed my tune (still tone deaf but a different tune nonetheless). I value Sunday mornings, in all its messiness, more than I ever have. Here are a few reasons:

1. God's people gather.  You find it in the OT and you rediscover it in the NT.  God's people gathering in his presence is part of the breathing in and breathing out of communal life. It's in the rhythm. God gathers and consecrates the band of freed slaves around Mt. Sinai in preparation for his descent.  The people gather before entering the Promised Land to hear Moses's 33 chapter sermon. Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem to renew the covenant. Israel packs together to dedicate the Temple built for Yahweh. Ezra reads the Law to the mass of returned exiles at the Water Gate square. The ascent Psalms help us imagine the pilgrims trekking into Jerusalem for the religious feasts and festivals. In the NT, Jews meet in synagogues on the Sabbath.  In Acts 2, the First Church gathers in the very public Temple Courts and in more private individual homes. Even the term Paul uses for church, "Ekklesia," means "assembly."  We gather...it's in our blood!
2. Something happens. Acts 13:2 reads, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them.'" It was no coincidence that the Spirit moved among the Body as they gathered to worship and fast.  Something happens when the Body gets together, namely God moves - God does something. Churches of Christ could take a page out of the Pentecostal manual when it comes to expectation. Too many churches expect too little on Sunday mornings. Church leaderships should foster a culture that expects God to move!
3. It is a starting place. Sunday mornings are entertaining, consumeristic, fluffy, and overly time conscious, but they are also filled with greetings and hugs, the Word of God, songs offered as sacrifice, giving and tithing, confession, and prayer... Sunday mornings are like me- a can of mixed nuts- and far from perfect or theologically ideal. My theology has always said, "Sunday mornings are not the sum total of Christianity!"  Exactly! And in our consumerist/entertainment culture Sunday mornings are a starting place for discipleship.  So, let's leverage Sunday mornings as a starting place for faith and not as the time slot to prove the perfection of our ecclesiology (understanding/practice of the church).
4. I Crave It! In my respite from full-time ministry I find myself anticipating Sunday mornings. I crave those opportunities for communal worship, not because I put my Christianity on hold during the week, but because I need to join my voice with other Life pilgrims.  I need to hug some necks.  I need to hear the Word of the Lord declared and not simply read in solitude.  I need to hold the body of Christ in my hand and to taste his blood on my lips.  I need it!  And yes, it makes me FEEL good, and that is okay.  It plays with my emotions but in a good way.  Sunday reminds me of the larger story, the one playing out on a cosmic scale.  It fills me up and I want to be filled among the Body of Christ because so many other things compete for that space.  

I know it's Monday, but I''m looking forward to Sunday!

An Accordion at a Guitar Jam?

Several years ago, I listened to a Brian McLaren message.  He told a story. Brian was facilitating a discussion among a certain denomination's leaders.  He drew a line down the middle of a dry erase board.  On one side he wrote, "Major issues in in the Church."  On the other he wrote "Major issues in the world."  The denomination heads brainstormed both sides of the line until they exhausted their interest in the exercise.  At that point, Brian pointed out that there was no issue listed on the Church side found on the World side.  The story struck a nerve and led me to question, "Is Christianity and the Church relevant to the world? Can we survive the next century if we keep living on Planet Christian unaware and disinterested in the wilting world world around us? Does the message of the Christian faith speak anything worthwhile to the day to day life of everyday people trying to survive?"

If Christianity simply promises a better afterlife, if its main gift to this life is moral mastery and the easing of a guilty conscious, if it offers hope for the future but simply medication for the present then, yes, Christianity is irrelevant to this life.  In this sense, not only is Christianity irrelevant, it suggests this life is irrelevant too- except for securing an invitation to the relevant life to come."

On the other hand, if Christianity centers itself on the gospel, if it really offers "good news," if it does not medicate this life but heals the wounds in this life, if the resurrection isn't the exception but rather the pattern, if it offers hope for your shattered relationship as much as for your eternal destination then the Christian message is the most relevant news in all creation.  I believe it IS relevant to those living in the open sewer slums of Brazil and to those vacationing in their Swiss mansions.  Jesus speaks to our greatest desires and needs.

1. LOVE.  I believe the number one desire of every human being is to be loved. We spend most of our life seeking genuine love, unconditional love, and relentless love (hesed).  God paints the gospel message on a canvass of love.  Love is the center, the reason, the point of the Christian faith.  God, as the perfect community of love - Father, Son, and Spirit, created from the overspill of his love. The snow-capped mountains, the reefs accessorized with dazzling sea life, the cries of a newborn, and the teaming white waters are God's love made visible.  God did not create to be adored.  He created to love.  Love is selfless.  It must have an object.  We are the object of his love and he invites us to make him the object of our love and only "there" is Love complete.  Some may say, "What about justice and wrath and worship?"  Yes, they are part of the gospel message but they are all children of Love.  Justice is Love with arms and legs.  Wrath is Love refusing to let the virus of sin destroy God's masterpiece. Worship is the response when encountering Love! If human beings ultimately crave love, then Christianity is relevant.
2. VALUE.  Clinging to the heels of love, we all desire to be valued.  We want our existence to be worthwhile and so we strive.  We chase money so our value has a concrete measurable figure. We accumulate power, collect people and place them below us, so we can look down and know, "At least I'm worth more than 145 people."  We crave influence and measure our value based on how often others retweet us, how many followers we have on our blogs, how many copies of books we sell, the size of crowds to whom we speak to, the number of individuals who quote our words... We strive, push, pull, run, go, work, climb, fight, reach, stretch until we are exhausted.  We look back on our lives and we see we spent all our time "doing" and forgot to "be." All to feel valuable. But, the opening chapter of the Christian story says: "So God created mankind in his own image/ in the image of God he created them/ male and female he created them." God says, "You have value because I made you." If human beings seek value, then Christianity is relevant.
3. BELONGING.  I had bouts this past summer with a loneliness so thick that, for the first time, I understood why some people contemplate and attempt suicide (note: I never contemplated suicide but understood why people arrive at that place).  Loneliness is crippling. We need relationship.  Gangs, people staying in destructive relationships, and peer pressure's effectiveness stem from our desire to belong.  Not only do we desire community; we need it. The old adage "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" sounds fierce and strong but it is a lie.  First of all, someone made the bootstraps. Second, while there may be times of "pulling yourself up" there will be more times when your bootstraps tear or you cut your arms off and you will need help.  We need to belong, to have family, to have friends, to have community.  Christianity is community!  You cannot be a Christian without belonging.  In the beginning God created a couple.  When he needed a representative to the world he raised a nation.  When he wanted to continue the ministry of Jesus on earth he bore the Church.  If you are a Christian you are grafted into a community, a people...you belong to a family of Spirit-filled beings. If we need to belong, then Christianity is relevant.
4. PHYSICAL NEEDS: "Ahh!" you say, "Charlton, what about water, food shelter? How relevant is Christianity to such basic human needs? How can you say it is relevant when so many are hungry, thirsty and homeless?!" I would argue that Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is the answer.  When the Church kicks on all cylinders, when she lives in the Spirit, when she takes seriously the mission of Christ the church meets physical needs.  In Acts 4 the text says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them."  The Church didn't need to argue capitalism versus socialism versus communism to secure the best way to meet basic needs.  But rather, out of an understanding of who they were in Jesus Christ they recognized that all belongs to God: land, money, health, crops.  They recognized that they were merely stewards of God's earth and so they made sure no one went empty handed.  If we need water, food, and shelter then Christianity is not only relevant...it should be the answer.

I preached because I believed Christianity wasn't opium for the masses, or medication for the sick. I preached because I believe the gospel is "good news" for every breathing moment of your life and my life.  It is practical.  It is relevant.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Acts The Sequel: KWO

In Acts 2, when the Spirit introduces himself to the Church, the Kingdom of God "makes an entrance."  It doesn't knock or call ahead; it just shows up, kicks in the door, hangs up the disco ball, and gets its swerve on.  Spontaneous foreign language fluency and an Easter sermon lead to 3000 baptisms!  What a logistical nightmare: there were not enough white jumpers for 3000 people, not to mention towels.  How many times did the song leader have to sing "O Happy Day?" Mary had only prepared communion for 120. "We don't even have a New Member minister."

There are times I wish I could have been in the crowd that day, felt the rush of the Spirit, heard Peter speak of a risen Lord, seen the people's hearts melt, and watch the water ripple with thousands of immersions.  For that matter, I wish I could be a fly on all the pages of Acts - to feel and experience the unmistakable work of the Spirit.  I have thought before, "If only the Spirit did such amazing feats today!"  But he does... oh he does!

While preaching at GCR, I stepped into the pages of 21st Century Acts.  During my first year, John Defore- a GCR member told me the story of the Spirit uniting a West Texas megachurch and the scattered rural churches of Kenya in an unlikely and powerful marriage that would change the shape of a country and the faith of thousands. The story follows OT genealogical phrasing: World Bible School beget Kenyan Christians, Kenyan Christians beget churches, churches beget orphanages, and orphanages beget KWO (Kenya Widows and Orphans).  Check out the story HERE.  It will blow your mind!!

Although things didn't end at GCR as I would have desired (due to my fault), there were many joys and great experiences in my 2.5 years there... I met some dear people.  It was a great place to worship and preach.  I found a second family in the staff.  I learned hard and humbling lessons that are making me a better man and follower of Christ.  But at the top of the list is the miracle happening in the sugar cane fields and green hills of Kenya and in the hearts of GCR members. 

"Thank you, Lord, for letting me see your Spirit in action!"

Eden Planters (Practical Redemption 3)

If God created the Church for Practical Redemption, then what does redemption look like?  It looks like Eden, a time when everything fell in line with the desires of God - a world in harmony: humanity living at peace through love, people and nature benefiting each other, and God walking among us "in the cool of the day."

Redemption looks like Jesus...  little Jesuses popping up around the earth because of the transforming work of the Spirit in the lives of his disciples: Jesus baristas, Jesus lawyers, Jesus teachers, Jesus hairstylists, Jesus businessmen, Jesus janitors...

Redemption looks like heaven breaking into earth, and by heaven I don't mean some other sphere where a Spiritual Scottie magically teleports Christians in the "End Times."  By heaven I mean the domain where things align with the will of God.  It is the answering of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come; your will be done on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN."

Yes, there are commands, laws, and teachings throughout the great story of scripture, but all of them serve the overarching purpose of redemption.  In Revelation 21:5, God says it this way: "I am making everything new!"  We spend so much time camping out on the Means to the Ends.  The Bible isn't about morality,  justice, or orthodoxy, but these three serve as different means of redeeming a broken and hurting world.

As the Church this is our lens, the lens of redemption.  Instead of putting acapella and instrumental worship in the ring to see who beats the snot out of the other, we ask, "How can our worship be Practical Redemption?  How can our worship best shape people into little Jesuses?"  It means we tackle conversations about women's roles with redemption as our guide.  It means we pour as much of our energy into what we do outside the building as to what we do inside the building.  It means we ask, "How do we grow Eden in our neighborhood and city?"  It means we spend less time worrying about conforming to the name on our sign and more time submitting to the Spirit in our heart.  It means that our presence in the world makes a tangible difference in the lives of people. We are a people of Practical Redemption.

[Note: Sin is the antithesis of redemption.  It brings weeds to Eden; it mocks Jesus as a fool; it repels heaven's descent.  I don't write this as a trained theologian.  I write it from experience.  I bit off a big chunk of sin this summer.  It wasn't people telling me, "What you are doing is wrong!" or "Your soul is in danger of hell!" or "You're an a--hole," that broke my soul.  It was my eyes opening to how my selfish and sinful choices undid, on so many levels, God's plan of redemption.  I uncreated!  That's not what I desire. Instead, I want the Spirit to redeem through me.  This is my prayer.]

Baptism, Communion, and Shriveled Hands (Practical Redemption 2)

Blue Cheese makes a simple observation: "Too often The Church's conversations are completely irrelevant to the brokenness, needs, hurt, and loneliness of the world."  I think of greater concern is not that our conversations are irrelevant but that we are unaware of their irrelevance. Or, perhaps of greatest concern is when our churches are aware of our irrelevance but fail to care because we are so caught up mastering our religious system.

The Pharisees in the Gospel of Mark play this role well.  They, with good intentions, weighed The Law down with regulations, legalism, and doctrine to the point of irrelevance.  You could roll out a 15 foot scroll with perfectly dotted "i's" and crossed "t's" and yet the man who sits in your pew at Saturday Synagogue still comes and goes with a shriveled hand.  Let me explain:

¹ Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

 ⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

 ⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. (Mark 3:1-6)

Jesus blatantly breaks the Pharisaic interpretation of the Law.  A jury would convict him.  He was guilty, but he was right.  God always intended The Law to be practical to every day life.  It was to redeem, in a tangible way, a broken world.  God didn't give The Law as a set of rules for rules sake, but rather to transform and recreate.

For example, The Creator did not pull the "Keep the Sabbath Holy" command out of thin air to stroke his sovereignty.  The Sabbath command was practical for redeeming every day life. It challenged oppression.  Masters and Lords could not force their slaves or animals to work on Saturday.  Farmers could not tend their fields.  As a result, slaves and oxen could rest while their master was reminded, "These people and these animals do not belong to you.  They belong to God."  It also kept human arrogance in check. On the Sabbath Israel ceased all productivity and yet life carried on - the sun rose and set, the seasons continued as normal, the world refused to spin off its axis into the flaming ball of fire.  Every seventh day Israel tasted again God's sovereignty and their dependence upon Him.

Jesus gets angry not simply because the Pharisees screwed up the Sabbath but because they missed the purpose of the whole Law.  In response, Jesus readjusts their perception by taking them back to the heart of The Law - to the heart of God... PRACTICAL REDEMPTION.  He stands the man up and gives him a new hand!  "There!" Jesus says, "That's the purpose of the the Sabbath.  That's the purpose of the Law.  That's the heart of God! - Practical Redemption."

Practical Redemption was not only the purpose of The Law; it is the mission of The Church!

Blue Cheese: A Parable (Practical Redemption 1)

It was in the old part of town where local merchants sold organic produce under the open sky, where corner bakeries served gourmet coffees in anything but a Starbucks cup, and where the street was still paved in red brick.  The couple loved to take each other to this quiet and chic part of town for walks, talks, and of course the Bread Pallet.  The Bread Pallet was a small eatery with ancient wine, fresh yeast rolls you could taste by their aroma, and a heart-stopping Tiramisu.

The hour hand had just reached eleven and the the couple had already settled into their  favorite corner table tucked away by the front window under a painting of Puck from a Midsummer's Nights Dream.  He had ordered the Raspberry Tea with fresh raspberries layered among the ice; she drank espresso on ice.  Each time they dined at this favorite spot they'd read the menu as if they were exploring the entrees for the first time, but like the sun breaking over the eastern horizon they always ended up ordering "The Regular."  The menu reading was more of a game.  Often they'd pick a dish, appetizer, dessert or drink and discuss it's strengths, weakness, origin, etc.  Today? - The Wedge Salad.  The menu read:

Geyser's Wedge Salad

A refreshing quarter of iceberg lettuce adorned with

organic tomatoes, green onions, freshly cooked bacon,

blue cheese crumbles, and topped with our homemade

blue cheese dressing.

She speaks first, "Mmmm!  That looks good, except for the blue cheese crumbles.  I'd substitute with cheddar!"

"What?" he responds with disbelief, "You can't eat a Wedge Salad without blue cheese!"

"Sure you can.  You just say, 'I'd like the Geyser Wedge with cheddar instead of blue cheese.'" 

"No, no you can't.  If you cut out blue cheese it is no longer a Wedge!"

"Of course it is!"

"No, it is not!"

"You order your burgers without onions.  It is the same thing!"

"Shut up!  Not even close.  Ordering a wedge without the blue cheese is like ordering the burger without the meat."

"I'd argue that cheddar goes better with bacon than blue cheese anyway.  Think, 'Bacon cheddar burger.'"

"That doesn't matter.  Pull out Betty Crocker; flip to salads and guess what?  There will be blue cheese."

"Seriously?  You are going to Betty Crocker me?"

"Hon, you are wrong; it doesn't matter what you think because when it comes to the wedge...."

And their banter carried on through the appetizer, through the entree, and even through his after-dinner coffee.  Unbeknownst to them, two blocks over in the ally out back of Danielle's Paninis, an middle-aged man rummaged through the trash looking for provolone that happened to cling to the side of the dumpster, or a half chewed piece of french bread, or some chicken scraps.  His stomach cramped with hunger, his head a little light, legs shaky and all the while they argued over blue cheese.

This is a story, too often, about the church.

Three Days 'til Twindom

I'm not sure who stalked who first.  We first encountered at Subway during Anytober.  I was reloading my water and he was carbonating up.  I would describe him as pudgy and I, on the other hand, kick my own butt to avoid pudginess.  As if kin to the Komodo Dragon, his tongue flicked faithfully like a spatula scraping impaled peanut butter off the inside of his upper lip.  He was unaware. And only yesterday, I stepped into Sports Cuts for a hair-tidying appointment in order to compensate for the new patch of zits I had apparently been fertilizing on my face.  When he spoke, after each phrase or sentence I would usually utter a "Huh," Excuse me," or "I'm sorry?"  And, up until recently, I had supported my family via theological gab.  I was paid to communicate clearly.  After a short interaction we separated, and little had I known, I had found my brother.

Next day I'm going for a jog, 10 miles, decked in polyester and other wicking fabric.  I pass him.  He is walking the same direction as I'm going.  Again, who was there first... him or me?  Was I following him or was he tracking me?  Never mind that; he sported the same clothes as the day before and perhaps the day before that, and before that, and... yes, maybe before that.  Did I mention he was Black?  I'm more like bread that has been left in the toaster too long... brown on the edges but white in the middle.  No communication, no talking, no interaction that day.  We did not need to any longer; the connection was made, although I was unaware.

Day three... I'm filling out applications online in an appendage restaurant to the local grocery store.  It's one of those dives that stays in business because college kids can get 2500 calories wrapped in a tomato basil tortilla, log on to Facebook, and sip on a Frappufrufru at one stainless steel table.  Guess who strolls in?   I'm no genius, not even that smart, and when it comes to chess I'm not worthy to untie the laces of Bobby Fisher's shoes.  But, if my new friend and I sat down for a game of chess, I would bet on myself.  SAT scores?  I win that one too (and mine were just average).  Sudoku?  Never played it, but going to wager against my new friend.  Did I mention I'm taller than him?

So, there I am working on this application.  It is about 12:30 PM and he walks in.  Twelve-thirty is no coincidence.  It is the busiest time of the day.  My friend came for people, lots of people, people laughing, eating, talking.  He shuffled in, proceeded to a table with a dining family, and started hugging them.  They didn't know him anymore than they knew me, and I couldn't tell you their names or even what they ordered.  He ended up getting a picture with them (Thank you, iPhone).  He was there because he did not want to be ALONE!! And that's when it hit me, "We are twins!!"  Granted, I didn't pull up to a stainless steel table to hug on random families but only to mooch the free WiFi, but we were twins because we crave the same thing.

Genesis 2 spouts it this way, "The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"  Loneliness is one of those few things that is worse than death.  If Laurence Fishburne manifested and said, "Take the red pill and be alone but live, or take the blue pill and die,"  I'm swallowing blue.  This summer, for the first time in my life, I came to place where I thought and screamed out loud, "I'd rather be dead!"  Loneliness was pulling the trigger.  It was a self-induced loneliness but loneliness the same.

No wonder my new friend showed up at the hopping joint during the busiest time of the day.  Why wouldn't he?  He needed to feel a part of a community; he needed to feel love; he needed to NOT BE ALONE even if just for the lunch hour.  He and I have nothing in common except that which makes us twins, soul brothers: the longing to not be alone, to be loved.  God said it, "It is not good for man to be alone!"  That is why God raised a nation, a community called Israel, rather than a single person with whom to make a covenant.  That is why the Church is not a building, a sermon, or Gungor jamming our socks off, but rather a community of diverse people sharing life together.

The Church has so much to offer! As I experienced true loneliness for the first time in my life, my eyes were opened to see how many, millions, of people are lonely.  Maybe you are one of the lonely!  The Church has been set up, when it moves with the Spirit, to meet that need in a practical and tangible way.  To the lonely in the world, the Church says, "Hey!  You are not alone.  You are one of us.  You belong here.  We are twins!!"