From "respectable religion" to "evangelical faith"

In his farewell address after 10 years of ministry, John Thomas, the outgoing General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, the denomination to which I belong, said that he is "anxious but still hopeful" about what he describes as the transition from "respectable religion" to "evangelical faith."

It was great hearing that from a leader in a mainline denomination. The truth is that most church folk, from the most "liberal" United Church of Christer to the "conservative" Southern Baptist is a defender of respectable religion. They only differ on what respectable religion looks like. Jesus, on the other hand in his teaching and ministry, revealed respectable religion for what it is--impotent, nauseating, dangerous.

For the church to survive, for the church to be involved in what God is doing in the world, we have to do more than transition. We have to oppose respectable religion with the passion of Jesus himself because respectable religion opposes evangelical faith (something else revealed by Jesus in his death). We must choose one or the other.

A couple of days ago I was pulling up to my church. I had stuff I had to take to my office (at the south end of the campus) and to the kitchen (the north end of the campus). As I was pulling in to the parking lot I got confused as to which I wanted to do first. I ended up pulling in to the middle, resulting in me walking to one end and then the other. I was reminded that compromise rarely works.

I want to live a vitalized, evangelical faith. There are too many people hurting and confused. There is too much injustice, fighting, hunger and sorrow to allow respectable religion to have even a toe-hold.

So What About the Mirror?!

This Sunday we talked about an Ordinary Day With Jesus, using different props to show how every aspect of our day can be lived in the presence of and infused with Jesus. One of the props on the altar was a large mirror. However, I completely forgot to talk about it!

The mirror represents the people that we will see in the course of a day--those we know and those we don't. When we look at people, we have the opportunity to look at them with Jesus. We can ask Jesus, what are you trying to do in this person’s life? Is there a way that I can be a part of that? Can I further your work in this person’s life? Could I encourage them? Could I listen to them? Could I speak bold truth to them? Could I love them? Could I touch them? Jesus, could I help you in what you are doing in this person’s life?

I find in my life that sometimes the presence of Christ is obvious in my life. Other times, he can be really hard to find. Turning to the words of Jesus himself, we find there is one place where he can always be found.

"Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:37-40

Jesus is present in the least of these, in other people. Frank Laubach, the modern Christian mystic had a simple prayer that he would repeat over and over as he was among people: "Can I help you? Can I help you?"

An ordinary day with Jesus will include many opportunities to see Jesus and people. Will I take every opportunity to do so? Probably not. But it is definitely something to practice.

Seth Godin on "The Problem With Non"

Seth Godin's stuff is nearly always right on target for churches. However, today he writes specifically to nonprofits, the importance of our mission, and our paralyzing fear of change--good stuff!

Did you start or join this non-profit because of the non part? I doubt it. It's because you want to make change. The way the world is just isn't right or good enough for you... there's an emergency or an injustice or an opportunity and you want to make change.
These organizations exist solely to make change. That's why you joined, isn't it?
The problem facing your group, ironically, is the resistance to the very thing you are setting out to do. Non-profits, in my experience, abhor change.

Read the rest here.

Volunteering and Quality of Life

Group's website has an interesting article on studies done with senior adult and teenage volunteers.

"A study published by Aging and Mental Health in 2003 showed that seniors who volunteered were significantly more likely than those who didn't to report having high energy, concentration, and engagement."

and

"A study published in The Science of Altruism and Health followed 1,000 teenagers over a five year period, tracking their attitudes and behaviors. Those who spent the most time in various community service efforts were least likely to be involved in violence and pregnancy. They also were least likely to express negative feelings (!) or describe themselves as feeling stressed. As described in Gross National Happiness, "Provocatively, the investigators found that charity and faith tended to interact for extra benefit. Religious, giving teens had higher self-esteem, confidence, and optimism than nonreligious, giving teens."

Good stuff, stuff that people of faith already know, but it is nice to see it verified.

You can read the whole article here.