iJesus

Cool Jesus
Originally uploaded by isc_luis_herrera

I have the key to reaching the world for Jesus: We ride the popularity wave of the iPod, iPhone and iTouch and market a reinvented iJesus.

The traditional Jesus is as dated as 8-track tapes. In today's world, even CDs are being replaced by mp3s. We need a Savior who is technologically savvy.

We've been doing cross-marketing for years, what with the John 3:16 guy in the end zone and athletes thanking Jesus for helping them to be successful. We just need to be more diligent. Maybe we could buy the naming rights to Wrigley Field. How does Jesus Saves Stadium sound?

Of course, we'll have to update our logo. The cross is iconic, but overdone. We need a fresh, new twist. Even Pepsi has updated their logo.

We need a cool Jesus, one that will boost consumer confidence and turn around our economy.

If this sounds like a good idea, head over to ChristianityToday.com and read Jesus Is Not a Brand by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson. Here are a few quotes:

When it's just you and Jesus, you (the consumer) "invite him" (the product) "into your heart" (brand adoption) and "get saved" (consumer gratification).

If you feel like a used-car salesman talking about Jesus, the solution to the perceived lack of authenticity isn't a smoother pitch—it's a renewal of the church.

In a consumerist society, my identity comes from what I consume.

Spiritual consumers, therefore, will approach the church with the same narcissism they bring to other brands. What am I expressing about myself if I buy Brand Jesus? How will Christianity fulfill my vision for me?

Preaching and evangelism that focus on the benefits of becoming a Christian present a message not fundamentally different from commercial advertising about the existential benefits of this car or that soap.

We live in neighborhoods of single-family homes populated by people like us, go to church with people like us, consume media targeted at people like us, and shop with people like us. All of this makes us more reluctant to inhabit a world with people who are not like us.

If we treat the gospel like a commodity, can we fault nonbelievers for thinking that the cross is just another logo?

Spiritual consumers will come to Christianity as do window shoppers at a mall, wanting a spirituality tailor-made to their preferences.

Tyler focuses on evangelism, but consumerism is deeply embedded in North-American Christianity. It won't be long until we have Consumer Reports reviewing churches and rating the programs that they offer.

Pastor Rod

The Master and the Musician

Anyone who says that Christian music is vapid has never heard Phil Keaggy play.

I recently attended a concert performed by this amazing artist.

The stage was bare except for a stool and microphone. Just after 7:30, Phil walked out with a single Olson acoustic guitar and plugged in to his direct box.

He combined vocals with long stretches of instrumental interludes. He finished his third song at 8:00.

Phil used his patented looping technique to build complex layers of thumps, strums and finger picking. And he did this so seamlessly that I had difficulty telling when he was starting and stopping the recording of each loop.

Here's a video of Phil talking about the looping technology:





Of course, he made expert use of hammer-ons, pull-offs and bends. On one song he used two capos, each covering only two strings to produce a unique celtic sound. He used several unorthodox tunings, all on the same guitar, all while talking and noodling around on the fretboard. He also changed the tuning of individuals string while they were vibrating in the middle of songs. He used the classic ebow for the eerie theremin sound. He used an egg shaker to strike the strings. He even used his pick to create the hip-hop scratch.

Here's Shades of Green:





Early in the evening he played Salvation Army Band:





He played two songs inspired by poems written by C. S. Lewis, and sang a third, "As the Ruins Fall." He played several older songs from his more than 50 albums, as well as some brand new ones. He even threw in a "Beatles" version of an Elvis song as an afterthought.

One of the two songs inspired by Lewis, "Addison's Walk":





Phil played some of his classics:

True Believers





The Maker of the Universe





Thank You for Today





Your Love Broke Through





Phil also did a more recent piece, "New Song":





In response to a request, Phil performed "Time"





Pay special attention to his comments near the end of the video.


After the intermission, Phil started with "Here Comes the Sun":





Here are a couple of clips of more of Phil:









Phil performed the confrontational "Why."





The final song was "Let Everything Else Go."





After a prolonged ovation, Phil came back out for "John the Revelator":





All this from one man with one guitar—and nine fingers!


Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

This Is Not Your Father’s World

The hymn "This Is My Father's World" uses an antiquated view of the universe as a poetic device:

This is my Father's world,

And to my listening ears,

All nature sings and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

"The music of the spheres" comes from the idea that the earth was surrounded by rotating, transparent spheres upon which were fixed the sun, moon, stars and planets. And these spheres operated according to ratios similar to those found in reflected in the harmonic scale. No one still believes that the earth is the center of the universe or that the sun rises and sets every day, but we still use that language metaphorically.

The key is that we know this is figurative language. It doesn't shape our actual perception of the world.

Every fifth-grader knows that the geocentric view of the universe was replaced by a heliocentric view. Johannes Kepler then refined the sun-centered model by discovering that the orbits of the planets were ellipses rather than pure circles.

A similar transition has happened in the world of communication.

Marshall McLuhan popularized the phrase, "The medium is the message." The point is that the method we use to communicate is at least as important as the message we think we are transmitting. As new communication media appear, they also shape the culture.

M. Rex Miller has written an analysis of these changes from the perspective of the church. The Millennium Matrix suggests that the way we store and distribute information changes our worldviews.

At the time of Jesus, the culture was oral. This prevailed until the advent of the printing press which gave birth to a print culture. Television ushered in the broadcast culture. Finally, computers and the Internet produced a digital culture.

The book contains a detailed matrix of the various cultures and their characteristics. (A brief PDF version can be found here.) For example, in the oral culture truth is relational. The credibility of a message is based on the credibility of the messenger. In the print culture truth is based on principle. Logic and other tools of deduction are used to verify the message. In the broadcast culture truth becomes existential. The message is validated through experience. In the digital culture truth is contextual. Community tests and validates reality.

We'll return to some other aspects of The Millennium Matrix, but first I want to make clear that this is not a generational analysis.

In 1990, I attended a seminar sponsored by The Church Growth Institute called "How to Reach the Baby Boomer." It was based upon research described in the book Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation, by Landon Y. Jones. This seminar had a profound impact on the North American church.

The idea was that Baby Boomers had similar experiences and expectations. Formulas could be devised to reach them with the gospel and to get them involved in attending church. Demographics became an essential tool in church growth. The seeker-driven model was canonized. Consumerism became the focus of church programs and ministries.

This approach was so "successful" that church leaders tried to adapt it to the following generations. Various names were suggested (gen-x, busters, MTV generation, millennials) but none of these really caught on. Furthermore, those who followed the boomers were not as monolithic in their attitudes and experiences. Many of their characteristics were seen as reactions to the values of the boomers.

The church growth industry produced strategies, methods and programs to reach these generations. But something just didn't click. These approaches were not as effective.

Into this milieu came the emerging and missional movements. The resulting confusion has left pastors and denominational officials baffled to this day.

First, they tend to see these movements as identical. Even though there is considerable overlap between the emerging and missional movements, they are significantly different.

Second, they tend to view them as a generational phenomenon. While many of the people who make up these movements are younger, they are not simply expressions of age and shared experiences. In fact, many of the key figures in these movements are boomers.

We now live in a world where generational analyses are less and less useful.

It is important that The Millennium Matrix not be understood as a description of younger generations. It is rather a description of the world in which we all live. Yes, some older people still try to live in the print and broadcast cultures. But we all live in a digital age.

Let's look at the way the oral, print, broadcast and digital ages view leadership.

In the oral culture the leader is a steward. The steward acts as a caretaker for the entire household as a representative of the owner, fulfilling his intentions.

In the print culture the leader is a manager. The manager uses command and control, division of labor, and vertical integration to maximize efficiency and production. The assumption is that people need to be structured and tightly supervised to be productive.

In the broadcast culture the leader becomes the inspirational leader. The focus becomes releasing the potential of individuals.

In the digital culture the leader becomes a facilitator. Management takes on a less definable structure and acts more like a web of collaboration.

The church still seems to be enamored by the larger-than-life leader. (See Joel Osteen.) Yet the digital culture requires something very different:

Congregants in the emerging digital culture are hungry for leaders who are approachable, touchable, accessible, transparent, and real. They want to connect with someone who is unscripted, unrehearsed, and not "on." They want a real person who walks among them, not someone who periodically comes down from the mountain to deliver a prescription for life or platitudes of hype.

M. Rex Miller, The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, pp. 154–155

The values of these cultures are also different. The oral culture valued reliability. The print culture valued productivity. The dominant value of the broadcast culture is quality. The highest value of the digital culture is creativity.

In the print and broadcast cultures, community is a technique.

Community becomes a strategy, a means to retain the numbers, instead of the end or the purpose from the very outset. That inversion seems to be an inherent trap that many churches focused on numerical growth succumb to.

M. Rex Miller, The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, p. 260

But in the digital culture, community is the goal.

If what we offer is a weekly experience or presentation that does not raise the urge or provide the opportunity for connection resulting in community, then we might as well take down our label as church and proclaim our facility a house of religious entertainment.

M. Rex Miller, The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, p. 182

Miller suggests that the church needs to embody eight values in the digital age:

• Agility
  
• Authenticity
  
• Cohesion and balance
  
• Resiliency and forgiveness
  
• Sustainability
  
• Open-endedness
  
• Accessibility
  
• Collaboration
  

This book does not provide the final word on the factors that shape our world and the context in which the North American church finds itself. But it does provide important insights and raises significant questions.

But remember, this is not our Church or our mission. It is God's. We are not charged with saving the world. It is not our job to devise the ideal strategy.

Our responsibility is to be aware of the world in which we live, to be open to the various ways in which God is working in that world, and to be willing to assume the role that God calls us to.

While this is not your father's world, it is your Father's world:

O let me ne'er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Sour Grapes

In the classic Aesop tale, the fox, unable to obtain a juicy bunch of grapes, convinces himself that he really didn't want them in the first place.

To many, my incessant nattering about the false idol of success will appear to be little more than the whining of a jealous pastor who secretly wants to trade places with a mega-church pastor with a book contract. There is probably nothing that I could do to dispel that perception (except to turn down the offer of a book contract, which I probably wouldn't do).

Let me suggest the possibility that there is really something else going on here.

Pastors are increasingly seen as administrators who must manage by objective, and church growth is thought to be the result of human engineering. We even measure our spirituality by the work we do. This "spirit of human management" is one of the "powers" that we must challenge if we are to recapture a biblical vision of the church and of society.

Paul Hiebert, "The Gospel in Our Culture," in George Hunsberger, The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America, p. 145

The church is being held captive by "the powers" against which we fight (Ephesians 6:2). Contrary to folk interpretation, the armor of God does need protection in the back--to defend against "friendly fire."

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Stating the Obvious[ly Wrong]

In the command known as the Great Commission, Jesus said, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Of course, we all know exactly what Jesus meant:

• "Making disciples" means to seek the conversion of individuals.
  
• The goal is to increase the number of Christians.
  
• In order to be baptized, these individuals must repent, which means they must turn away from their sins.
  
• The responsibility of the Church (and individual believers) is to bring unbelievers to a point of decision after presenting them with basic information about the content of the gospel.
  
• After an individual is converted, then he or she learns the commands of Jesus and is encouraged to model his morality.
  
• While both of these steps are important, the most important is conversion because it allows people to get into heaven.
  
• A significant part of this Commission requires us to go (or send others) to other countries.
  
• "All nations" refers to the countries of the world.
  

The problem is that each of these "obvious" facts is wrong.

But our understanding of this Commission has become ingrained in our church culture, and no one asks anymore what it means. Furthermore, many of these assumptions actually get in the way of the Church fulfilling its true mission.

If one regards it as the primary purpose of mission to increase the number of Christians and treats such increase as the criterion of success, without posing all the time the more radical questions which the gospel puts to the common assumptions of our culture, if the dominical call to "repent" is translated as "turn away from your sins" and there is no understanding of that radical overturning of the world's ideas of sin and righteousness and judgment, then there can be rapid church growth; but the very success of the burgeoning congregations may actually incapacitate them for a radical encounter with the culture into which they fit so comfortably. If religion is an affair for the private life, it can flourish in a society governed by other assumptions, taking the characteristic form which we know so well—a series of voluntary societies made up of people who share the same religious tastes. In that form Christianity can flourish, but it cannot challenge the beliefs that control public life. It has been co-opted into the culture.

Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, p. 91.

Besides, the advancement of the kingdom is not the Church's mission. It is God's mission:

Mission, then, is not essentially a human activity undertaken by the church and its leaders out of obligation to the Great Commission, gratitude for what God has done for us, and the desperate plight of the world. It is God's own mission in which we are invited to participate.

Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God, p. 161

So what is the mission of the Church?

The Christian mission is thus to act out in the whole life of the whole world the confession that Jesus is Lord of all.

Leslie Newbigin, The Open Secret, p. 17

This requires deep knowledge of God and more than a passing familiarity with the culture in which a particular congregation finds itself. It is God's embassy in a particular community.

The business of the church is to tell and to embody a story, the story of God's mighty acts in creation and redemption and of God's promises concerning what will be in the end. The church affirms the truth of this story by celebrating it, interpreting it, and enacting it in the life of the contemporary world. It has no other way of affirming its truth. If it supposes that its truth can be authenticated by reference to some allegedly more reliable truth claim, such as those offered by the philosophy of religion, then it has implicitly denied the truth by which it lives.

Lesslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence, p. 76

So what do you think? Do you still agree with some of the "obvious facts"? Are there other "obvious facts" that you'd like to debunk?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Christian Political Action

As followers of Jesus Christ, what should be our role in politics?

Jesus called us to be in the world but to avoid becoming part of it. The way of Christ is the way of the cross—victory through weakness. The accumulation of earthly power seems contradictory to Christian discipleship.

Yet we are called to participate in the advancement of God's kingdom, seeing his will done on earth as it already is in heaven.

In a series of lectures in Bangalore, India, given in 1941, Lesslie Newbigin asserted

I do not see how the Christian can avoid concerning himself with politics. Love to men, and the fundamental obligation to seek everywhere to create true fellowship, cannot be made effective except over a very small range of life, without invoking political means. Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, p. 53

He reminded the audience that the kingdom cannot be produced by human effort. It can only come by God acting in history. But we have been given the privilege of participating in that kingdom.

While political participation is necessary, it is not without its difficulties.

Politics never allows us to choose exactly our own way, but compels us to decide between a very small number of politically possible alternatives. This means, therefore, that Christians taking part in politics always find themselves working with people who are not Christians and [who] do not share their motives or their ultimate aims. It is this that creates the extreme tension which is always involved in Christian political action. That tension cannot be avoided. Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, pp. 53–54

This means that we can never align ourselves with a political party, or even a political candidate.

We must never lose sight of our true goal. We are not seeking to establish a human-centered utopia. All those efforts seem to end in tragedy and exploitation. Our true goal is the perfect community of the New Jerusalem.

Our goal is the holy city, the New Jerusalem, a perfect fellowship in which God reigns in every heart, and His children rejoice together in His love and joy. To that we look forward with sure hope, and for its sake we offer up to God all that we do in response to His invitation to love our neighbor as we ourselves have been loved. Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, p. 55

At the same time, we realize that the goal will never be accomplished by us. This true community always remains just out of our grasp. In fact, the forces of evil seem to grow in strength at the same time that God's kingdom spreads.

And though we know that we must grow old and die, that our labors, even if they succeed for a time, will in the end be buried in the dust of time, and that along with the painfully won achievements of goodness, there are mounting seemingly irresistible forces of evil, yet we are not dismayed. We do not need to take refuge in any comfortable illusions. We know that these things must be. But we know that as surely as Christ was raised from the dead, so surely shall there be a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, p. 55

But this does not lead us to despair and passivity. On the contrary, we act with hope and purpose.

A Christian is one who, through Christ, has been reconciled with God who is the King. God's rule is operative in his heart, through gratitude to Christ. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. His gratitude impels him to acts of love towards men, but he also acts in hope—hope of the final completion of God's Kingdom in a perfected fellowship. Even though his actions may all seem to be failures as far as visible effectiveness is concerned, he commits them to God as his thank offering. In the sure hope that they will not be lost. And by faith, the substance of things hoped for, he now possesses in his heart a foretaste of the joy of that perfected Kingdom in which God's purposes shall be complete. Lesslie Newbigin, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, pp. 52–53

Christianity is not a private, personal thing. It is public and universal. It is good news for all people everywhere. At is very core, Christianity is political. The claim, "Jesus is Lord," has distinct political implications. As followers of Christ, we participate in his war against the "powers."

But we must never forget that it is God's kingdom and his mission.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

A Taste of the Slow Life

Traffic in Italy may be hectic, but most other parts of Italian life are much more laid back. And one of the most relaxed aspects is eating.

Preparing and consuming food is an art.

It is no coincidence that Italy is the home of the Slow Food Movement.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods.
To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.
A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.
May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.
Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food.
Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food.
In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer.
That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it.

Slow food is a way of life in Italy.

Most people (in Termini Imerese at least) eat lunch at home. About 1:00 in the afternoon, shops close, schools let out and business executives head home.

The traditional meal begins with pasta. After that is finished and the plates are cleared, the meat course is served. This is often accompanied by a simple salad made with lettuce, oil, lemon and salt. The final course is fresh fruit.

On special occasions, the process is even more elaborate and deliberate.

I enjoyed such an experience one Sunday at a family celebration. The table was set up outside on a patio. Antipasti were set out about 12:30. We stood around chatting and snacking on olives, nuts and cheese.

About a half hour later we took our places around the table and were served bow-tie pasta with freshly-grated parmesan cheese.

The empty plates were taken away. And the table was loaded with various meat and vegetable dishes: roast beef, sausage, eggplant, spinach, baked pastry made with cheese and spinach, involtini, potatoes and carrots.

We leisurely sampled all the dishes until we were fully satisfied.

The tabled was deliberately cleared.

Then fresh strawberries were served.

We sat and talked for about half an hour.

Then at about 3:30, a couple of cassatas were brought out along with other dolce.

The conversation continued for quite a while longer.

Here's an example of the relaxed atmosphere: As we were talking, the wind blew a plastic cup onto the ground. No one moved. In fact, everyone continued on as if it hadn't happened. I had to resist the urge to reach down and pick up the cup. Finally, several minutes later, I picked it up and put it back on the table, without a pause in the conversation or even a glance from anyone.

Of course, this was a special occasion. Every meal is not this deliberate. But the regular pranzo (lunch) is usually followed by riposo (a nap).

May we all learn to slow down and enjoy all the blessings of God's creation.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Outta My Way!

Imagine a city of 30,000 people without a single traffic light.

Termini Imerese, Italy, is such a place. (I'm here teaching English as a second language.)

You might think that this is because everyone walks everywhere and uses public transportation. But this hilly Sicilian town has as many cars per capita as any American town. And when you add in all the scooters, there is just about one vehicle for every person over the age of 14.

So how do they manage with thousands of vehicles and no trafic lights?

Life on the streets of Termini is a constant game of "chicken."

They do have stop signs. And they look exactly like the ones in the USA. But I think "STOP" translates into Italian something like "Slow down slightly and just keep going."

Every intersection becomes a contest of wills.

The strategy seems to be to startle the driver of an approaching car so that he taps the brake which gives you just enough room to nose out into the street. And then you take your time crossing or turning into the oncoming traffic.

The goal does not seem to be to keep the vehicles flowing smoothly, nor does it seem to be to arrive at your destination as quickly as possible. The goal seems to be to impose your will on the others.

For example, say you want to make a left turn and two cars are coming toward you with a large gap behind the second car. Efficiency would dictate that you wait for the second car to pass and then turn. But the Italian driver invariably cuts off the second car and waits for it to come to a complete stop. Only then does the driver make a deliberate left turn.

Liberal use is made of the horn, but not in the way it is used in New York City.

Only occasionally is the horn used to say, "What were you thinking?" Usually it means, "Attenzione! I'm coming through."

This game is not only for cars. Scooters and pedestrians can play as well.

Scooters weave in and out of traffic and obey the rules of the road even less than cars. Pedestrians step out into traffic and leisurely stroll to the other side of the street.

The fun continues on the sidewalk. People walk straight at each other expecting the other person to give way. A favorite maneuver is "two against one." Two people walk side-by-side on the narrow walk, preferably arm-in-arm. The single person is then forced to step aside into the street.

The point of all this seems to be to establish who is more important.

In America we play this game in less obvious ways.

Pastor Rod

Missional Manifesto III

What is the "job" of a pastor?

These ideas about leadership lead to misguided notions about what the role of a pastor should be. These notions are rooted in culture and are based upon value systems that are contrary to the gospel.

In North America the culture of the strong leader has pushed aside a proper, biblical understanding of the role of a pastor.

A pastor is not a CEO. Yet pastors are encouraged to follow the "take no prisoners" strategy of strong leadership. Because we have turned the mission of the Church into a to-do list and have lost our theological moorings, our pragmatism quickly degenerates into an "ends justify the means" mindset.

A casual observer may more easily compare much of what masquerades for Christianity with Nietzsche's power ideal than with Jesus' focus on vulnerability and service and Paul's conviction that God's power most often shows through our weakness.

Brian J. Dodd, Empowered Church Leadership, p. 83

Some pastors suffer from the messiah complex. They need to be needed. Others buckle under the weight of "responsibility." But this is not a responsibility placed upon them by God. Others mindlessly follow the model of business leaders and sports heroes. As "quarterbacks" it is their job to "take control of the huddle."

We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for.

Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, pp. 43-44

To be truly effective, pastors must give up the idea that they are the key to success. They must avoid the temptation of thinking that God needs them.

Our strategies, action plans, pastoral resources and entrepreneurial church revitalization techniques have become not the solution but the problem. Our ministries need to be crucified. They need to be killed off.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 10

If anything of any lasting value happens in the Church, it is not because of the skill, effort or dedication of a pastor. The only way anything worthwhile will come about is through the work of the reigning Lord Jesus Christ.

Everything that we "know" about pastoral ministry has to be rethought.

Ministry is not a matter of a minister working hard, preaching relevant sermons, being a super-efficient congregational administrator, attending those who are sick, downcast, grieving and lonely, all the while growing the congregation and charming the people with a winsome and attractive ability to relate warmly.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 119

All that we think we should do and can do and are doing in ministry must be put to death.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 13

So is there nothing for a pastor to do?

There is much important work to be done by pastors. At its heart, the work of a pastor is primarily theological.

The work of theological reflection in a profoundly changing culture must be reintroduced into the daily practices of pastoral life.

Alan Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader, p. 170

The Christian leaders of the future have to be theologians, persons who know the heart of God.

Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, p. 68

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Theological reflection requires fluency in the Scriptures, personal knowledge of God and a deep understanding of the culture. Doing theology should not be left to those in academia. It is not a luxury reserved for those who have extra time. A pastor should never say, "I'm not a theologian."

Theological discernment is the primary skill we need. Regardless of our therapeutic skills, without theological discernment pastoral care does not happen. God undoubtedly is up to something, but it will be in spite of us if we are not focused on the present ministry of Jesus Christ.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 131

The task of pastoral interpretation is through and through theological, always asking the key question Who is Jesus Christ for this person, and what does this mean for faith and faithfulness?

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 137

Doing theology does not mean memorizing the propositions of some dead thinker. The work of theology is more narrative than it is propositional. The content of the Old Covenant is the story of God's interaction with his people to deliver them from slavery, oppression and their own faithlessness. The New Covenant is likewise a story, a continuation of the previous story but with several surprising twists.

At its core, pastoral work involves bearing witness to the joining of two stories, the parishioner's and God's. Who is Jesus Christ specifically for this person amid the particularities and exigencies of her current life experience?

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 128

Proclamation is an important part of the role of pastor. Preaching is not about tips and techniques for a better life. It is not about selling tickets to heaven. It is not about mobilizing volunteers.

Everything else we might do is an addition to speaking of God. Because God is means God acts, we must speak of the God who has acted, does act and will act in time and space in, through and as Jesus Christ. Everything else we do is secondary, no matter what its seeming institutional, programmatic or administrative importance.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 132

Commit yourself again to ever more deeply becoming a careful preacher of Christ. Don't preach to grow your congregation; preach to bear witness to what the Lord is doing, and let him grow your church.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 44

The primary task of the pastor is theological reflection and proclamation. To that the pastor must add the ability to "connect" with other people.

No matter what your theological skills, if you do not know how to relate to another person, your pastoral work will not get off square one.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, pp. 130–131

The effective pastor cares for people, not in the abstract but as individuals. The effective pastor has empathy. The effective pastor knows how to put others at ease and just be with them.

I would argue that in today's society, any attempt to model your life on the life of Christ must include a genuine attempt to hang out regularly in third places. Genuine incarnational living demands it.

Michael Frost, Exiles, p. 59

Incarnational ministry is not about goals, agendas or schedules. Incarnational ministry is simply being with people redemptively. Incarnational ministry is the "enfleshment" of God's love, mercy and grace.

Ministry is no longer about us and our skills. It is now about the real presence of Jesus Christ, whenever and wherever in his gracious freedom and love he is Emmanuel, God with us.

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 16

Incarnational ministry is impossible if the focus is on results. When we start to press, we begin to rely on our skills, commitment and effort. The ministry stops being about the presence of Jesus Christ and starts to be about "closing the deal."

All our instincts and training tell us that we should do something. Our sense of responsibility makes us feel guilty that we are not trying "hard enough." But, if we give in to these impulses, we lose our long-term effectiveness, and possibly our souls as well.

To live and minister in light of these truths [of the gospel] you really do have to have a lot of peace in your heart. That comes from the realization that you don't have to make it happen. You just have to be truthful, follow your studies, stay with your fellowship with the few who are close to you, and just keep going. Because, truthfully, what we need is a revolution, but revolution is always very dangerous. And human revolutions always devour their children. And so what we need is a revolution that is actually conducted by Christ. And that means that we have to be content not to make things happen.

Dallas Willard, "New Age of Ancient Christian Spirituality" www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=95

The issue is not How does Jesus get in on our ministries? Instead, because he is the living and reigning Lord, the issue is now What is he up to, and how do I hitch a ride on whatever he is up to?

Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry, p. 12

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

14 Ways to Increase Your Empathy

Empathy may be the most important skill we possess as humans. Much depends on our ability to connect with others, to identify what they are thinking and feeling.

Some people are better than others at this. Women tend to outshine men in this area.

But whatever your current expertise, here are 14 things you can do to improve your empathy.

1. Listen more, talk less. The most reliable way to know what other people are thinking and feeling is to listen to them when they are talking. When you are talking, they are not. Just by talking less, you can dramatically improve your empathy.
   
2. Stop interrupting. When people are comfortable with each other, they feel safe in interrupting during conversation. However, cutting off the other person gets in the way of empathy. People feel more understood when they are allowed ample space to state their opinion. Conversation is not always about efficiency.
   
3. Don't finish sentences. When you think you know what other people are going to say, you are tempted to finish their statements. This is partially prompted by a desire for efficiency and partially by a wish to demonstrate an understanding of the other's thoughts. But this practice actually gets in the way of empathy. It is better for people to tell you what they feel than for you to tell them what they feel. Besides we rarely understand others as well as we think we do.
   
4. Don't give advice. Resist the temptation to fix the problems people tell you about. When you give them advice, it has the result of minimizing their feelings. Sometimes, almost all the time, all people want is for someone to listen to their concerns. If they really want advice, there will be plenty of time to unload your great wisdom after they have had ample time to express their emotions.
   
5. Ask good questions. Ask short, open-ended questions. Don't interrogate them. Most of your questions will be answered if you will just wait.
   
6. Give focused attention. When others are talking, give your full attention. Notice their body language. Make eye contact. Indicate interest with your own body language.
   
7. Slow down. Don't be in a hurry. If you really must end the conversation at a specific time, let the other person know in advance. But then give yourself fully to the conversation. Most of the other things you "really need to do" you don't really need to do. Many time pressures are self-imposed.
   
8. Acknowledge your own feelings. The better you understand your own feelings, the better you will be able to understand the feelings of others.
   
9. Genuinely care about others. If you really care about people, it will show. You cannot fake empathy. If you try to fake it, you will be exposed.
   
10. Read good fiction. Well-written stories will help you to identify with people who are different than you are. This will develop you empathy "muscle."
    
11. Visit other cultures. We tend to be blind to our home cultures. When we visit other cultures, it helps us to see our own in a different light.
    
12. Ask people about their feelings. Sometimes the best approach is the direct one. Ask people what they think and what they feel. You may think you know, but assumptions can be dangerous. Besides, people sometimes figure out what they are feeling when they talk about their emotions.
    
13. Care for pets and babies. Very young children and dogs can only communicate with nonverbal signals. To understand what they want, you will need to interpret these signals.
    
14. Participate in theater. Drama requires you to imagine that you are someone else. It is excellent practice for empathy.
    

The bottom line is that if you care about people you will find a way to demonstrate it.

Tell me what you think. What have you found to be effective in developing empathy?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Walk This Way

In the movie Young Frankenstein there is a classic comedy scene where "Igor" (Marty Feldman) tells Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) to "walk this way." This scene inspired the hit song by Aerosmith.

There is a similar misunderstanding in the church, which would be hilarious if it were not so tragic. Congregations try to mimic "successful" churches and end up without either success or anything resembling a church. Reverend Russell Rathbun writes (HT: Maggi Dawn):

Nothing is sadder than to see a beautiful congregation of fifty member that has been around for a hundred years in a small town in rural Iowa turn them selves inside out chop up their organ, spend what little money they have on technology (cordless mic.s and keyboards are favorite starters, then on to the projector and the power point) all because one of the board members attended a Willow Creek training and bought the "How To" book at the sales table on the way out.

The church ends up having to watch kindly Mr. Sundquist fumble with the sound system, able to get from it only ear piercing feed back, while the forty nine year old volunteer youth director tries to rap.

He likens this to trying to wear someone else's clothes. The book of Acts, he argues, is not a "how to" book. We shouldn't try to mine it for the "biblical principles" for growing a successful church.

The only thing worse than wearing someone else's hip new clothes, is wearing someone else's old clothes.

But this is not only true for the early Church in the book of Acts. It is also true for the "seeker-driven" model of Willow Creek and Saddleback Church. Not only are the strategies and methods a poor fit for most congregations, but the days of the church service as a late-night talk show or as a rock concert are over.

So what do you think?

Why are church leaders so eager to copy the methods of others? Why are new churches trying to become megachurches "right out of the box"? Why do small churches have such an inferiority complex?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

No More Biblical Principles

You can find people offering "Biblical Principles" for just about any subject:

• Biblical Principles for Marriage
  
• Biblical Principles for Business
  
• Biblical Principles for Raising Children
  
• Biblical Principles for Spanking
  
• Biblical Principles for Finances
  
• Biblical Principles for Time Management
  
• Biblical Principles for Conflict Resolution
  
• Biblical Principles for Fitness
  
• Biblical Principles for Government
  
• Biblical Principles for Church Organization
  
• Biblical Principles for Leadership
  
• Biblical Principles for Sex
  
• Biblical Principles for Education
  
• Biblical Principles for Church Music
  
• Biblical Principles for Vegetarianism
  
• Biblical Principles for Bible Study
  
• Biblical Principles for Prosperity
  
• Biblical Principles for Economics
  

So what's the problem?

The problem is that these "biblical principles" do not all agree and are often more an expression of culture than they are of any clear teaching of the Bible.

Just because something is stated in the Bible that doesn't mean it is a "biblical principle."

Some things are clearly presented as biblical principles, especially statements by Jesus. When Jesus said, "Bless those who curse you," he intended for it to be a guiding principle for his disciples.

But a passing statement in the Old Testament should not necessarily be turned into a "biblical principle."

The book of Proverbs is a collection of general truths. These are not "biblical principles" as the phrase is generally used. The precepts collected by Solomon and others require wisdom in their application. Some are even contradictory:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself (Proverbs 26:4).

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes (Proverbs 26:5).

Notice that these contradictory statements are found right next to each other. They were never intended to be "biblical principles."

The book of Psalms is a collection of Hebrew poetry. It is not a theology textbook. It is not a collection of "biblical principles."

Here is one of the milder imprecatory psalms:

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man (Psalm 10:15).

Surely that statement was not intended to become a "biblical principle."

The book of Job is a drama composed of speeches by Job, three of his friends, another guy who just shows up without explanation and God. God takes issue with what Job says. He repudiates the speeches of the three friends. And he ignores the comments of the other guy. There important theological lessons to be learned from Job's story. But be wary of any "biblical principles" that are based on proof texts from Job.

Statements made by God to Jeremiah (1:5) or through Jeremiah to the Israelites going into exile (29:11) are not "biblical principles" applying to Christians.

Actions taken by biblical characters are not necessarily templates for "biblical principles" to be applied to business, leadership or government.

Evangelicals seem to prefer a black and white world. They seek rules that they can blindly apply to every situation.

But being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a paint-by-number project.

Let's have a little less talk about "biblical principles" and a little more focus on living as apprentices of Jesus Christ.

Jesus clearly avoided simplistic answers in his earthly ministry. Why would he want his followers to reduce his teaching now to simplistic rules?

Jesus did not call potential disciples to a code of conduct. He called them to follow him.

As a pastor, I must repent for all those sermons I preached when I said, "This is what the Bible says you should (not) do."

It's not my job to teach "biblical principles." My job is to say along with Paul, "Follow me as I follow Christ."

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Put the Credit Card Away

I've noticed with some concern how parents feel enormous pressure to spend money they don't have on their children at Christmas.

Brant Hansen provides a gentle word of advice for those parents.

It's time that the Church made a stand against this materialistic, consumeristic tradition. Let's quit spending so much money on our children (and ourselves.) Let's quit buying expensive toys for the kids in our Adopt a Family programs. Let's refuse to buy anyone a gift card.

I'm not against gifts.

Gifts are great. But the boxes we wrap at Christmas aren't real gifts.

Among other things,

• Real gifts are especially suited for the recipient.
  
• Real gifts are not made in expectation of a return gift.
  
• Real gifts are unexpected, surprising in some way.
  

Give your family, your friends and yourself permission to get off the Christmas gift escalator.

Good grief, how did we get to the place where a Lexus is a reasonable Christmas gift?

Whether you are "that guy" or not, you don't need to buy your wife a diamond.

American retailers are not going to come by your house in February and help you make your credit card payment.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

All Around the World

One of the cool things about writing a blog is having readers from other countries. The Internet is indeed creating a global village.

Over the past five months, this blog has been visited by individuals from 94 countries.

The top ten are

1. USA
   
2. Canada
   
3. UK
   
4. Australia
   
5. Germany
   
6. Malaysia
   
7. Denmark
   
8. South Africa
   
9. Netherlands
   
10. India
    

Some of the more interesting and surprising locations for visitors were

• Romania
  
• United Arab Emirates
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Slovenia
  
• Pakistan
  
• Lithuania
  
• Iceland
  
• Georgia
  
• Mozambique
  
• Azerbaijan
  
• Malawi
  
• Malta
  
• New Caledonia
  

Almost 5% of my visitors are using a language other than English for surfing the Internet.

So if you are one of my international visitors, I'm glad to welcome you to my little corner of the world. I enjoy meeting people from different countries and different cultures. I also teach ESL. If you have any questions about my use of English, ask about it in the comments. I love to answer questions like that. I learn a lot in the process.

God Bless,

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional “in quotes”

The missional church rejects the association of Christianity with American values and the association of the church with entertainment, marketing, and corporate business models. The missional church is reading both Scripture and culture with new eyes. It sees that what is determined by the Christian faith is more than being a good, upright citizen. It sees the church as something different from the smooth corporate model of business. This emerging church calls for honest, authentic faith that seeks to be church in the way of a more radical discipleship.
Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Evangelism, p. 129

Contrary to the perception of many critics of the "missional/emerging" Church, the motivation is not to make following Christ more comfortable. The motivation is to take discipleship seriously, to take Jesus seriously.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Definitive Missional Definition

I have heard complaints about the word "missional."

• Some say that it has become just another buzz word.
  
• Others say that it is only a "code word" for post-modernism, the emerging church or the social gospel.
  
• Many express their frustration at the lack of a clear definition for the word.
  

Wikipedia has a definition that is neither helpful, nor objective, nor accurate. Alan Hirsch has a "working definition" of missional church. As helpful as I've found his books, his definition was inadequate.

So I decided to formulate a more robust definition. Of course, this is my definition. Other people may mean different things when they use the word.

Missional Christianity is the view that being a follower of Jesus Christ involves both an inner transformation toward Christlikeness and an active participation in the mission of God's kingdom as it overcomes evil in every part of creation.

While this captures for me the essence of missional Christianity, it leaves room for misunderstanding about the nature of the inner transformation and the mission of God's kingdom. To help refine this even more, I offer the following statements:

• Missional Christianity is not tied to any age group or any particular style of doing church.
  
• Missional Christianity is incarnational rather than attractional.
  
• Missional Christianity sees evangelism as a part of the mission, not the entirety of the mission.
  
• Missional Christianity sees making disciples as much more than getting people signed up for heaven.
  
• Missional Christianity does not rely on strategic planning.
  
• Missional Christianity does not rely on marketing.
  
• Missional Christianity opposes a consumer mentality.
  
• Missional Christianity believes in the sacredness of all of life (no sacred and secular parts).
  
• Missional Christianity is culturally aware.
  
• Missional Christianity seeks to serve rather than to be served.
  
• Missional Christianity focuses on building the kingdom rather than on building a congregation or a denomination.
  
• Missional Christianity does not seek power, wealth or popularity.
  
• Missional Christianity takes discipleship seriously as essential for all followers of Christ rather than something optional for more advanced followers.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that a congregation's job is to participate in God's mission in the world rather than to formulate their own mission and ask God to bless it.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that God tends to work at the margins of society.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that ministry should be concentrated at the margins of society.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that God works most often through weakness, rather than through human power.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that the gospel is good news to be proclaimed, rather than an "offer" to be marketed.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that true holiness is the most powerful form of evangelism.
  
• Missional Christianity realizes that there is no culture-free expression of the gospel.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that the gospel is for all peoples, in every culture, at all times.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that "epistemological humility" does not weaken the truth claims of Christianity.
  

I don't know how complete this list is or how helpful others will find it.

Let me know what you think.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

That’s My Story

I want to build on a post by Jason Clark: The Stories We Live By.

We instinctively live by stories. There are dominant narratives in our lives, in our imagination, beliefs, values, inner voices and dialogues, childhood experiences, that are the reality we live by.

He then lists three stories that he frequently hears (in the UK).

Here's my list of stories that I hear in our American culture:

1. I'm busy. (Related stories: I'm tired, I'm in a hurry, I don't have enough time.) In our culture, busyness is an indicator of significance. Anyone who is not busy must not be very important. The important people are always on call. They are constantly working extra hours because everything depends on them. Even our kids are busy.

Who has enough time to waste it on something as unimportant as sleep? So we are busy and tired. And we're always in a hurry. It's such a habit that we are in a hurry even when we are not in a hurry. And we complain that there are just not enough hours in the day. (Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein discovered some secret way to squeeze 30 hours out of every rotation of the earth.)

Busyness is an enemy of the kingdom. Can you picture Jesus in a hurry? "Let's go. We have to be in Nazareth by sunset or our whole itinerary will be off. Let's stay focused on our mission, guys."

2. I shouldn't have to put up with this. A slow line at the grocery store. Traffic backups for "no reason." Telemarketers calling during mealtime. These are just a few of the things that annoy us because they are "unnecessary." I find that most of the time that I get angry it is because I am telling myself this story. If anyone ever had a reason to say "I shouldn't have to put up with this," it was Jesus. Thank God, he never did.

3. I'm entitled to . . . This story adjusts to our stage in life. When we are young we tell ourselves, "I'm entitled to have a good time." When we get older and more responsible, we say, "I'm entitled to enjoy myself on the weekends." Then when we have kids in addition to our other responsibilities, we say, "I'm entitled to a little 'me' time." Or another variation is, "I'm entitled to at least one vice." Thankfully, Jesus never told himself these stories.

4. Someday things will settle down. This story has many variations:

Right now things are pretty rough, but in a few days life will get back to normal.

If I make a few sacrifices today, someday I'll be able to enjoy life.

When things get back to normal, I'll attend to all those things that are important.

I'll cut a few corners now, and then, when I get over the hump, I'll do what is right.

I really don't want to follow God's rules, but if do what he says now I'll get to go to heaven when I die.

Many Christians have confused Christianity with stoicism. But Jesus was no stoic, biting his lip and enduring whatever life happened to toss his way. Yet we have trouble seeing him as a man who enjoyed life. This is one reason that the miracle of turning the water into wine seems so out of place. Jesus had a very clear mission. But he knew how to live each day. I suspect that hanging out with Jesus was not all that different than hanging out with Robin Hood and his merry men (except the part about robbing the rich).

Life is what happens while we are waiting for things to get back to normal. Today is "the day God has made." The kingdom of God is not something that we join after we die. Eternal life is not something that is tacked on to our earthly life.

5. Everything would be fine if I could just . . .

be accepted to the right college.

get a good job.

get a better job.

find a good wife/husband.

buy my own house.

go on a nice vacation.

lose a little weight.

make more money.

buy a better house.

But, of course, these things don't fill up what's missing in our lives. Our lives need more than just a few tweaks here and there.

The only story that truly satisfies our souls is the story of the Gospel: The story God is telling. The story featuring Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah. The story staring Jesus the Messiah. And God invites us to participate in his story.

The story of the kingdom should be the substance of our self-talk.

We should be living that story. We should be aware of it developing all around us. We should make it the dominant narrative of our lives.

So what do you think? Are there any stories you are hearing that deny the reality of the kingdom?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"