Watching the fireworks display tonight, I couldn't help but be reminded about how our country was born of war and great turmoil (maybe this is because I was watching the History Channel earlier this morning, but I don't know). To think that today these fireworks are a celebration of the independent spirit of the United States, of the longing for freedom from tyrany and oppression, and at the same time they represent the war, the bloodshed, and the divided families that birthed this great country is strange and beautiful, it's proud and solemn all at once.
Having said all of that, I have to shamefully confess that I don't really care too much for American History. It's times like this, however, that change my mind, if only for one night.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
America, Weight, and Spiritual Conditioning
I have a theory. It sounds crazy, and I wouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket, but hear it out and think about it.
Our country is currently in an "obesity epidemic". Causes are said to include stress, poor diets, office jobs that allow little time for exercise, and laziness (aside from other medical conditions and the like). Obesity is leading to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, weakened bones and joints, and countless other threats to an individual's general well-being. Of course, the medical profession is all over this one trying to "solve the problem", and drug companies are capitalizing on it like any corporation worth its salt does when an opportunity of this magnitude arises. But what if we've all missed the point?
What if the problem isn't even primarily physical? What if it's the fault of the church?
Let me explain:
I saw a DVD (this will be ironic later) of this evangelist from India talking about the church around the world. He accused the American church of "getting fat" on the Word and the readily available (we're talking at Wal-Mart here, people) supplementary spiritual nourishment from Christian Books, Music, Movies, and yes, Sermons on TV and Recorded Media (this is the irony), while the church in China is flourishing where an average of something like (I'm trying to remember but I'll just pull a number from the air for now) 1 in 12 has access to a Bible. This got me to thinking, "Hey, (ok, I don't actually say 'hey...' when I have a realization, but it indicates the beginning of an epiphany of sorts quite well), what if the 'obesity epidemic' in the US is the physical manifestation of the spiritual state of the church here?"
Think about Jesus' story about the Rich Man and Lazarus. The rich guy was eating more than his fill and wouldn't even share his scraps starving Lazarus. When they had both died, Lazarus found himself in Heaven and the Rich Man was in Hell. I know this is a stretch, but what if the "Rich Man" could be the American Church, and "Lazarus" could be the unsaved in the US? Are we so sheltered in our Mega "Walled City with our own Water Source, Police, and Supermarket" Churches and so segregated from the world that's on our own front lawn? Are we guilty of putting the unsaved on "the wrong side of the tracks"? Are we in the Country Club while they're in the Projects?
I don't know if it's true, but it's food for thought.
Our country is currently in an "obesity epidemic". Causes are said to include stress, poor diets, office jobs that allow little time for exercise, and laziness (aside from other medical conditions and the like). Obesity is leading to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, weakened bones and joints, and countless other threats to an individual's general well-being. Of course, the medical profession is all over this one trying to "solve the problem", and drug companies are capitalizing on it like any corporation worth its salt does when an opportunity of this magnitude arises. But what if we've all missed the point?
What if the problem isn't even primarily physical? What if it's the fault of the church?
Let me explain:
I saw a DVD (this will be ironic later) of this evangelist from India talking about the church around the world. He accused the American church of "getting fat" on the Word and the readily available (we're talking at Wal-Mart here, people) supplementary spiritual nourishment from Christian Books, Music, Movies, and yes, Sermons on TV and Recorded Media (this is the irony), while the church in China is flourishing where an average of something like (I'm trying to remember but I'll just pull a number from the air for now) 1 in 12 has access to a Bible. This got me to thinking, "Hey, (ok, I don't actually say 'hey...' when I have a realization, but it indicates the beginning of an epiphany of sorts quite well), what if the 'obesity epidemic' in the US is the physical manifestation of the spiritual state of the church here?"
Think about Jesus' story about the Rich Man and Lazarus. The rich guy was eating more than his fill and wouldn't even share his scraps starving Lazarus. When they had both died, Lazarus found himself in Heaven and the Rich Man was in Hell. I know this is a stretch, but what if the "Rich Man" could be the American Church, and "Lazarus" could be the unsaved in the US? Are we so sheltered in our Mega "Walled City with our own Water Source, Police, and Supermarket" Churches and so segregated from the world that's on our own front lawn? Are we guilty of putting the unsaved on "the wrong side of the tracks"? Are we in the Country Club while they're in the Projects?
I don't know if it's true, but it's food for thought.
Monday, July 2, 2007
What is Church?
On Tuesday nights at theRevolution and at the Gathering we're always careful to point out that "this is not a substitute for church", these ministries are, by their nature (aimed nearly exclusively at a specific demographic), supplementary. TheRevolution, in fact, has often been called a "para-church ministry", meaning that it serves the local church and is not its own independent church.
North Avenue Baptist, Foursquare, First Southern Baptist, those are called churches. Two big reasons I would consider them churches are 1)because they are intentionally called so, and 2)they all strive for wide variety of ages and races in attendance. There are hosts of other reasons, but these two make a clear distinction from the Gathering and theRevolution.
What we must be clear about is that there is a difference between "church" and "a church".
This is from LifeANSWERS Summer 2007 Leader's Guide (From my Sunday School class at FSBC).
"Church is the group name for being Christian," write Douglas Jacobsen and Rodney Sawatsky in their book Gracious Christianity. "It refers to all of the followers of Jesus who have ever lived.... More intimately, and just as importantly, church refers to a local gathering of believers, people who know one another face-to-face, people who put up with one another's quirks and foibles, people who genuinely try to love one another despite all their imperfections. The local community of the church is the social context in which Christianity takes living form. Being church is being Christian together."
What I've drawn from this so far:
-The Gathering and theRevolution are "church" without being their own "churches".
-I'm a member of the same church as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and even Moses, David, Elijah, and Elisha.
-If I'm not getting to know people face-to-face, putting up with others' quirks and foibles, and genuinely trying to love others despite their imperfections, I'm not doing church.
-If I'm not giving others the opportunity to do the same thing for me that I should do for them, I'm not doing church.
This leave one obvious question:
ARE YOU DOING CHURCH?
North Avenue Baptist, Foursquare, First Southern Baptist, those are called churches. Two big reasons I would consider them churches are 1)because they are intentionally called so, and 2)they all strive for wide variety of ages and races in attendance. There are hosts of other reasons, but these two make a clear distinction from the Gathering and theRevolution.
What we must be clear about is that there is a difference between "church" and "a church".
This is from LifeANSWERS Summer 2007 Leader's Guide (From my Sunday School class at FSBC).
"Church is the group name for being Christian," write Douglas Jacobsen and Rodney Sawatsky in their book Gracious Christianity. "It refers to all of the followers of Jesus who have ever lived.... More intimately, and just as importantly, church refers to a local gathering of believers, people who know one another face-to-face, people who put up with one another's quirks and foibles, people who genuinely try to love one another despite all their imperfections. The local community of the church is the social context in which Christianity takes living form. Being church is being Christian together."
What I've drawn from this so far:
-The Gathering and theRevolution are "church" without being their own "churches".
-I'm a member of the same church as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and even Moses, David, Elijah, and Elisha.
-If I'm not getting to know people face-to-face, putting up with others' quirks and foibles, and genuinely trying to love others despite their imperfections, I'm not doing church.
-If I'm not giving others the opportunity to do the same thing for me that I should do for them, I'm not doing church.
This leave one obvious question:
ARE YOU DOING CHURCH?
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