:: the least of these

My friend David Osborn asked me to speak on my thoughts about “the least of these.”

grace and peace…gibby

:: missional community

A couple years ago I watched a special on PBS about Rolling Stone Magazine called “Voice of Our Generation.” It really connected with me because the film was about music, culture and the creativity of the Baby Boomer generation. These are things that are near and dear to my heart.

An editor of the magazine made an interesting statement that I believe we, the Church, should consider. He said, “Wherever culture goes that’s where the music goes. Wherever the music goes that’s where Rolling Stone goes.”

Now, I’m not a proponent of Christians copying what marketing experts have already coined for their products because it results in cheesy T-shirts and creepy bumper stickers. Yet, I got the sense there is something we need to consider as we move forward on this missional movement. What we should at least be thinking is, “Wherever culture goes that’s where God goes. Wherever God goes that’s where the Church goes.”

Think about it, those who understand how and what influences culture are those who are infused into and connected with the things that create a community, or a following of people who are looking for something to hope in and embrace. This is what the hippie movement of the 60s was about…creating a community of love and peace. It wasn’t necessarily for all the right reasons the hippie movement began, but one can see the yearning of a generation for something more than the status quo. The movement was about creating a culture of change and finding something to hope in and live for. The same can be said for today’s emerging generations and for those who sit in the many churches throughout America and the Western world wondering when things will change.

Is that not what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 28 when he commanded us to “go”? I’ve heard it said that we are commanded to “go into all cultures.” I like that because it truly paints the picture that Jesus was speaking in the command. If we go, or should I say, as we go, into the cultures of the world, God is already there. He wants us to jump into the things he has in motion. He wants us to be a picture of the gospel of hope that leads people to redemption and reconciliation. He wants us to live a missional and incarnational life. So, what does it mean to be missional and incarnational?

Missional and Incarnational

In their book The Shaping of Things to Come, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch say,

“…a working definition of missional church is that it is a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the Church’s true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true Church. The Church itself is not only a product of that mission, but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God’s purposes in and through his people.”

For incarnational Frost and Hirsch state,

“The missional church is incarnational, not attractional, in its ecclesiology. By incarnational we mean it does not create sanctified spaces into which unbelievers must come to encounter the gospel. Rather, the missional church disassembles itself and seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don’t yet know him.”

This is the picture of a community that is active, alive and always moving to the places where God is, even if it is uncomfortable and dangerous.

Now, it’s important to let you know what missional is not. Alan J. Roxburgh, in his article, What is Missional Church?, lays out the following:

Being missional is NOT…

• An evangelism program
• A new way of doing foreign missions
• A method for church growth
• The “Next” way to do church
• A Post-modern way of doing church
• The Anti-traditional pattern of church

I mention what the missional church is NOT because as the “emerging church” movement got traction its leaders were accused of failing to give clarity on what the “emerging church” was and how it was going to revolutionize the mission of the Church. We entered into a great conversation about deconstructing the Church and Christianity, but I believe some have enjoyed the comfort of their cynicism and critical perspective of the Western Church (I being one of them). It took missional leaders to bring some clarity to the conversation. I believe Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, as well as Lance Ford, Neil Cole, Reggie McNeal, and other leaders, have brought a good base to build on for the Church to move forward.

Still, one has to ask what the Scripture says about being a missional church. Let’s look at Acts 2 and see how God moves in the midst of humanity when one soul commits to being the voice of redemption. We see where the believers had gathered in a house to celebrate the day of Pentecost. Some heavy duty stuff happened that shook the house and caused the gathering to speak in the languages of those from distant places who were living in Jerusalem. The believers seemed drunk to those who witnessed the event, but really they were filled with the very essence and presence of God…the Holy Spirit.

Between Sacred and Secular

Surrounded by the Apostles, Peter stepped forward to explain and defend what was happening to his fellow believers. As a result, the Spirit emboldened him to prophesy the truth that the Prophet Joel had written in what is speculated to be the ninth century B.C. (Acts 2:17-21).

Now, I want you to picture the scene where Peter spoke because it creates a huge metaphor for what God was beginning to do with his people, the Church, through the missional movement. Some of the research I’ve read states that the house where the believers met was very close to the Temple. This might be the case because they were celebrating Pentecost. Some scholars also say if that is the case then Peter could have stood in the court of the Gentiles. This is significant because it is where the Gentiles went to escape life’s chaos.

Author and theologian Andrew Perriman states the following about the Court of the Gentiles in his old blog opensourcetheology.com:

“The Court of the Gentiles was not a place of organized, official, programmed activity – other than the selling of sacrificial animals and the changing of money for the purpose of paying the temple tax, of which Jesus appears to have disapproved. We might think of it as essentially a place of presence, being, community, communion, congress, prayer, meditation, a place of proximity to God. The Court of the Gentiles is where the temple overlaps with the world. It is a place where people may safely approach the presence of God, but it could also be regarded, at least in our postmodern context, as a place of escape both from the world and from the sanctuary – a transitional arena, where people move between the secular and the sacred.”

It is very possible that Peter positioned himself between the people, who were in transition, and the Temple, which represented the unattainable and unreachable presence of God by the ordinary person.

Aren’t we, the Church, supposed to overlap the kingdom of God with the world? If we are the new temple then it is important to understand that we are the bridge that connects the world to God.

I know what you’re thinking, “Gibby, I remember a tract that showed the cross connecting the divide between the lost people and God.” That’s true, but we are the cloud of witnesses on this earth that God will use to draw men to him. We must be the flesh and bones of God’s truth, or as Audio Adrenaline says, the “hands and feet” of Jesus. We must be the gospel for a hopeless world.

In Acts 3 and 4 we see that Peter’s words continue to fuel a movement we now call Christianity and it transformed the world in a way that no other religious or spiritual movement ever has. It was a movement that revealed the very heart and mission of God. That mission is one of offering the hope, redemption and reconciliation of God to a hurting world.

With Peter we see a missional leader who stood in the midst of humanity as one who would bridge the divide between what was then described as secular and sacred cultures. In Acts 4 he stood on Solomon’s Colonnade (a regular meeting place for the early church) and continued to speak a message of hope and reconciliation to a people that had been emotionally and sometimes physically beat down by the Roman Empire and spiritually manipulated by some of the Religious leaders of the Temple.

Let’s go to verse 42 in Acts 2 and see the overflow of the Spirit. Keep in mind that for decades we have tried to find the best formula for doing and being church, and for reaching people. When we take a practical look at the Early Church we find a good foundation to build a church on and grow from. I’m using the International Standard Version here:

42 The believers continued to devote themselves to what the apostles were teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to times of prayer. 43 A sense of fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were united and shared everything with one another. 45 They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need. 46 United in purpose, they went to the temple every day, ate at each other’s homes, and shared their food with glad and humble hearts. 47 They were praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved. (ISV)

In this passage we see the believers continued to share everything they had for the purpose of serving those in the community who had need. While many were being saved there were also those who were on the fringe of these faith communities. They too had needs and the believers were very inclusive when it came to loving, healing and serving the people. There was nothing exclusive about their faith and they wanted to share it in every possible way. In their own way they understood they were a called-out community of God that needed to live in the midst of and serve their specific culture. They no longer lived for themselves or their own needs. They were imitating Jesus who was the best example of a servant.

Ministry of Reconciliation

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 the Apostle Paul says,

“18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NLT)

Basically, the Apostle Paul is saying we have been given a mission that requires us to be relevant within our culture by living as “Christ’s ambassadors” of reconciliation. This ministry of reconciliation is at the very heart of God’s mission because His plan is that all of humanity and creation be reconciled through Christ and redeemed to Him.

The difficulty we face today is that we live in an individualistic and pluralistic society. In other words, and especially in Western culture, we live for our own desires and ask that others not intrude in our freedoms and rights. Some of us believe that every path of belief (Islam, Buddhism, etc.,) will lead us to God. Yet, the Scripture is clear on both issues that life and our existence is not about us. That is where the Early Church was creating a counter culture…a movement.

Parts of that counter culture were the acts the Early Church were devoted to:

1. The teaching of the Apostles
2. Fellowship with each other
3. Breaking of bread
4. Times of prayer

If you carefully examine these four acts you will see that they are ways for creating and perpetuating community with God and others. It’s never about us, but about God and others. Ultimately it’s about the kingdom of God.

They moved forward in these acts because they were unified in purpose and they shared their possessions with those who had need. These are acts I will hope to address in greater depth some other time.

What I want for us to see is that the Early Church is a great earthly example of being missional and incarnational. While they faced persecution from the religious leaders and government officials, they remained true to the new covenant that Christ brought about. They took on His yoke (teaching). They remained faithful to living as Christ did because they saw it in the lives of the Apostles.

grace and peace…gibby

(more coming…)

:: leadership

Before you read on let me state that the forthcoming thoughts are from my heart. As simple, wrong, unorganized and pointless as they may be, they are still my thoughts. I am writing them to clear my head and to process them as well. I’m sure you great theologians and scholars will pick me apart, and that’s cool. Like yourselves, I’m looking for answers and it’s not enough to tritely say, “Jesus is the answer.” Let’s help each other grow and keep moving forward in our faith.
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Leadership. This has been the hot topic of many blogs by missional leaders, and in my neck of the woods as well. It’s an important issue because we are in the midst of a spiritual paradigm shift in the Church that is bringing all areas of church life under the scrutiny of the scripture. Not that we haven’t done this before, but there is something different about what is happening at this point in space and time. Everything from the institutional to the missional is being challenged, and most discussions point to our defining the idea of leadership in the Church.

My belief is that leadership comes out of our ability to recognize that Jesus is Lord. By that, I mean we submit ourselves to Him and to others as they disciple us. The desired goal is to create an environment where we can make disciples and become servants. As servants we lead from the bottom up, as opposed to the hierarchical way of top down.

It was Jesus who said the greatest among us would be a servant (Matt 23). As we serve others we lose ourselves in Christ and worry less about becoming great leaders, but rather we desire becoming like Christ and loving others into the kingdom.

I remember early on my faith journey telling a mentor I wanted to be one of the leaders in his ministry. He responded by saying, “If you want to be a good leader you must to be a great follower.” At first I was perplexed because he challenged me to serve others. It was humbling and my pride was revealed. My motives were on becoming someone with authority over others because that’s all I knew about Christian leadership. Serving sometimes meant cleaning bathrooms, kitchens and auditoriums. Basically, I needed to serve others through humble submission and vulnerability. He also meant I must follow the one Rabbi who is worthy of being followed—Jesus Christ. What I hadn’t realized, until years later, was that my mentor had fostered an apostolic environment. All because he had trusted the Spirit to lead.

Many have said the time of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers (APEST) has passed. They argue that the shepherds and teachers are what were left to lead the followers of Christ after Constantine instituted the Church. I disagree whole heartedly because the Apostle Paul claimed the APEST was the gift to the Church from Christ (Eph 4). I don’t believe it was for a specific point in time, but for the Church past, present and future. The APEST is called to equip God’s people to build up the Church. Through the process of equipping the people, leaders/elders are discovered who can provide spiritual care for a community of Christ followers. It was the way of the early church to walk as a community and struggle together through persecution. It’s a very organic way of growing a community of faith and discovering leaders, but not leaders as we know them in our businesses and even our institutional churches. No, as I stated earlier they are servants and they know the Head Servant.

Just recently I was reading a good article on Organic Leadership by Mitch McCrimmon and there were two points that stood out concerning organic and mechanistic organizations.

- In mechanistic organizations, direction can be deliberately decided and planned by people appointed as leaders.
- In organic entities, direction evolves or emerges by learning through trial and error. In other words, direction is discovered by the organization rather than decided on by the few.

Another key statement made in the article is this: “Why is this (organic) important? Because everyone already accepts that organizations wanting to be more innovative need to become more organic and less mechanistic, but they perversely still want to label senior executives as leaders rather than recognize that leadership emerges at the front lines. By seeing this form of leadership as organic, we create a strong and clear link between this type of leadership and organic organizations.”

Mind you, the article was part of some research I was conducting for a project at work. The intriguing thing was in finding many articles addressing a shift in business organizations. I see this being the same issue in churches that consider themselves, or want to become missio organic. The irony in all this is that businesses are finding more creative and organic ways of conducting business and discovering leaders. Yet, the Western Church continues to cling to a hierarchical structure. Now, I will say that I have plenty of friends who are pastors in institutional/traditional churches who are tearing down the walls between the Church and humanity. They are mobilizing people to engage their communities for the sake of the kingdom and lives are being transformed by the Spirit.

The idea here is not to bash the Western Church. What I want to do is point out that the Spirit moves and shapes those who are seeking to be in His movement. Out of that movement the Spirit reveals the leaders for the Church. Leaders emerge and take on the challenges of life according to their gifting. It’s important to state that this is difficult to do in today’s Western Church without APEST/Elders being recognized and allowing them to guide the people through mentoring. Every one of us should have a mentor who will challenge our thinking, and most importantly keep us accountable for our way of living.

While I don’t claim to be an authority in ecclesiology or missiology, I know deep in my soul this very thing; until we submit to the Holy Spirit and trust that he will speak to us and we listen obediently, we will continue as we always have in depending on man’s ways of leading. Our dependence on the Holy Spirit requires all the faith we can muster up, and without that we will be led by flawed philosophies and dogmas (Col 2) that contradict the very heart of God. We will resort to going back to that which is comfortable and secure.

For example, the Israelites had God leading them through the desert, yet they still wanted to go back to Egypt. As I think about leadership and disciple making I don’t want to go back to my Egypt of only depending on the old Sunday school, or Sunday morning experience to “be in God’s house” with hopes of the preacher speaking to the lost that they might be saved. No, what I desire is that when we gather on Sunday, or any other day, that we would listen for the voice of our Shepherd. He did say we would recognize his voice. Right?

As I close, let me reiterate that these are simply my scattered thoughts about the Church, leadership and making disciples. I believe the Church is an active, living and transforming organism whose structure and identity both come from Jesus who is the Head. I also want to be clear that I’m not saying, nor have I ever said the church shouldn’t have leaders, or that she doesn’t need leaders. I am saying the Church needs leaders who are led by the Spirit to be servants and disciple makers. The Church needs men and women who are passionate for Christ and compassionate toward humanity.

May we first be led by the Spirit to be on mission with our God. May we engage and walk with a broken, demoralized humanity that needs an incarnate Savior. May we grow in community through communitas, that our struggles would not define us, but rather refine us. May we invite people into our lives instead of an event. May we lead with humility, grace and mercy. May we plant the gospel and grow a community of faith around that gospel.

long time

It’s been a long time since I have written on this blog. I’ve had plenty of stuff stirring in my heart and will soon write about it. Some of you will like it and others of you won’t. But they will be my thoughts.

Convo with you soon…

europe: hungary

The Trip to and from Europe

Many have asked how the trip to Hungary was and if I can tell them what about it. Well, we left for Vienna, Austria on July 23rd and arrived on July 24th in the morning. The flight to Chicago was good, but once we got off the plane we were in chaos mode. We had to leave the domestic terminal and take the “L” to the International terminal, which meant we had to process through security again. It slowed us down a bit, but we made it on time to get on our flight to Vienna. If you have to fly to Austria I highly recommend Austrian Airlines. We were treated with excellence, the service was outstanding and the flight was very comfortable. Maybe that’s why Jonny had a great time. Not bad for it being his first time to fly, huh? The flights back were good, but we left Vienna 1 ½ hours late and got on our flight to DFW at the last minute, but let’s not re-live that episode. Let’s talk about the experience and start with Vienna, Austria.

Ah, Vienna. Our first day in Europe was really one of getting our bearings and trying not to overdo our activity because I was still recovering from gallbladder surgery. It was the first time Paige and Jonny had ever been to Europe, and it wasn’t too bad that we stayed at a Hilton. Okay, don’t be fooled by the name. It was a nice hotel, but not what I would call a 4 star hotel. I got a good rate on priceline.com and had to take it. Honestly, it was a nice hotel with a nice view of the Danube River. While in Vienna we hung out at the Stadion Center (a nice mall close to the hotel). It’s called the Stadion Center because it’s down the street from the massive futbol (soccer) stadium where the EuroCup 2008 was held. We enjoyed some food and time to relax. We did get to walk around by the hotel and see the swiftly moving Danube River. It was a beautiful day as we soaked in the Austrian scenery.

On July 25th we enjoyed the mall again and hung out to inhale the relaxed atmosphere. We did some shopping and my beautiful bride bought some nice clothes. She also talked me into buying a very cool and European jacket. The price was unbeatable…I’ll definitely wear it during the winter. Later in the day we took a shuttle bus to Sopron, Hungary to serve at the Connect 2008 conference held by Christian Associates International. The trip to Sopron was uneventful, but I was excited to finally get to the place we had been called to serve. For those who don’t know, the conference is held to bring all the team leaders from Europe and their teams together to be encouraged and refueled.

On the way back we spent the night at the Airport Eurohotel. It was like staying at a Motel 6 with no air conditioning. We did get to ride the tram into the center of Vienna and enjoyed the European culture and architecture. Jonny was obsessed with eating Italian food in Europe so I wasn’t going to disagree. We had some of the best Italian pasta dishes and washed it down with a very good German Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen beer. Well, I had the beer, Paige had the water and Jonny had the Sprite.

The Conference and The Heart

We served and worked very hard to make sure the behind-the-scenes stuff got done at the conference. It was really fun, but that’s not what made the time in Sopron a wonderful time. I was blown away by the stories shared by the missionaries living in the many parts of Europe. Hearing the stories of lives being transformed from Scotland to Russia was very humbling. Being in the presence of those whom God had chosen to engage the diverse postmodern and emerging cultures of Europe was very encouraging.

Seeing Europe in the faces of the many ministry teams was like seeing Europe through the eyes of God. It was as though God had allowed me to see His hope and desire for Europe, and to also see how that impacts us in the U.S. as a society and the Western Church as an instrument in God’s hand. There are so many things still stirring in my heart which are for me specifically, but the thing to share with you is that we need not complicate nor confuse the issue of “being” the Church and making an impact for the kingdom of God. For instance, I’ve had great concern for the spiritual condition of the Western Church, and rightly so, but God wants me to also be concerned with His kingdom because the Church impacts His kingdom. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV).

Another passage that ties into all this is Matthew 22:36-40. The passage states,

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The issue here is that we have taken a religious approach to doing church when in reality we need to take a missional-incarnational approach of being the Church in order to impact the kingdom of God. What do I mean by missional? In his book, The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch states:

Missional church is a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the church’s true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only a product of that mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God’s purposes in and through his people. [p.82]

Alan also states in The Forgotten Ways website, “If ‘missional’ means being thrust into the world as witnesses to the redemption that is in Jesus, then ‘incarnational’ shows us that we ought to engage the world in the same way that God did in and through the Incarnation of the Word in Jesus the Messiah. We must go into the world to reach people, but we ought to stay and abide in order to communicate the Gospel relationally and meaningfully in any given context. Mission always sets our Agenda and Incarnation must always describe our Way.”

The Church is important, but not more important than the mission of God, which is to love people into God’s kingdom for their redemption. Think about it, when our focus is to Love God and others we don’t have to worry about anything else. Why not? Because we are seeking the things that matter to God and those are the things of the kingdom. The people that are lost, broken and pushed to the margins of society are the souls that God would have us engage in conversation and serve through our actions. I realize I’m expressing a simple approach and the reality of life is very complex and chaotic. This is not an attempt to trivialize the life we live, but more of a challenge to revisit the life that Christ lived as our example as he ushered in the concept of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that weaves itself into the fabric of our physical reality.

I believe we have made the same mistake that the early Jews made concerning this man named Jesus. They were looking for a Messiah who would begin a revolution to overturn the existing governments and religious institutions. We seem to be doing the same thing. Our hope has been that Jesus would manifest himself in our political, religious and world leaders so that they would introduce ways for legislating morality. I’m not saying we should accept, allow or excuse ungodly behavior. I am saying that it is the Church’s responsibility to introduce into culture the matters of the kingdom and continue the revolution of discipling cultures…not overturning governments. We need to live as Christ-followers so that Christ can overturn hearts and revolutionize our spiritual existence.

As I look back at the many ministries that exist through Christian Associates International it encourages me that the teams are integrating themselves into the communities and cultures where they live. They don’t arrive in cities claiming to have the answers, or to change people. That is the Spirit’s work to do. These missionaries are not the typical denominational missionaries with a cookie cutter approach to “reaching the lost.” These are the grassroots people who are planting the seeds of faith in their communities through relationships. They are pouring out the new wine from their new wineskins. These are the warriors who are in the midst of a spiritual battle over the souls of people who need the redemptive grace of God.

I keep thinking of something Debra Hirsch (Alan’s bride) said at the conference. She told the story of a wonderful Baptist pastor in Australia who had made an impact on her life. This pastor was leading a workshop where he asked the attendees, “What do you see when you see people?” The predominant answer was that they saw sinners. Were they wrong? No. Their answer was correct; however, the pastor challenged their thinking by offering a new perspective. He said they might consider the idea that people are God’s creation. In essence, God thought of us and knew us before we were sinners. God knows us as his special beings in His vast Creation. If we could view the sea of humanity with this perspective it would change the way we approach people and their cultures. The lost souls of humanity are an amazing creation of God’s imagination. What God wants is for all of Creation to be redeemed and reconciled to him. He has already provided the way through Christ’s death and resurrection. We just need to speak the narrative of that truth into the culture.

Afterthoughts

So, for those who know me, this dialogue is nothing new. The Connect conference was very refreshing, confirming and affirming to my soul. We spent some time conversing with and listening to Debra and Alan Hirsch. They are the most amazing couple I’ve met in a long time. They have such a passion for the Church and God’s kingdom, as well as the people in the margins. To gain a better appreciation for the Hirsches I recommend reading The Shaping of Things to Come and The Forgotten Ways. Now, while listening to their discussion on Living Missionally God reminded me that my life is not my own, but rather it truly is His. My desire to engage the people of Europe and the emerging generation in America is real and from God. I know He will use me to fulfill that desire, but it will be His way and in His time.

As for Sopron, Hungary and Vienna, Austria, they are both very beautiful cities in their own right. Europe is where culture has happened for hundreds of years. Whether it is fashion, music, art or philosophy it is Europe where these things happen best and sometimes first. These things influence American culture in their own way. Some would argue that it is the other way around, but that is more in the areas of business and economic development.

What I have discovered is that we (America) have worked hard to introduce democracy and a global economy into much of the world. Yet, we have lagged in our ability to become global in our thinking…economically and spiritually. The countries we have helped develop are moving forward at a fast pace. It’s like the student surpassing the teacher. The issue here is that we have done well to introduce democracy and globalism, but we’ve done a poor job as Western believers to introduce a loving and relevant Christ to those same people. Sure, we’ve sent many missionaries into the farthest points of the world and some have been successful. Folks like Hudson Taylor, John Birch and Lottie Moon all made their way to China and God used them to change lives because they became like the Chinese and didn’t preach an American Gospel. Yet, I’ve read stories from the converts abroad saying they were glad we taught them how to “come to Christ,” but not always engaging their culture to show them how to “grow in our faith in Christ.” As far as Europe goes, we’ve been hesitant to engage and challenge postmodern culture and thinking. While Europe is moving past the philosophical musings of postmodernism, we in the U.S. are just getting serious about postmodernism’s invasion into the fabric of our thinking and faith. It’s like religious leaders are either in denial about the influence, or they are shocked that it is even influencing the thinking of their congregation members.

It is for this reason that Christian Associates International needs our prayer and support. They have taken on the cause of Christ to engage and influence the thinking of European people. They truly understand the “go” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 28. This, when you think about it, is a tough thing to do. As a matter of fact, there are places in Europe that are so spiritually dark and heavy it is hard to imagine light breaking through. Yet, there is hope and grace and mercy and peace and redemption and so on.

This reminds me of Exodus 20:20-21 (NIV) where the Israelites are telling Moses they don’t want God speaking to them because they are afraid they might die. Instead they want Moses to speak to them of whatever God has to say. In verse 20 Moses tells the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” And then in verse 21 we see that the people were too afraid so they kept a good distance from the dark cloud that led them. What really fascinates me is that “Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”

Aren’t we like the Israelites? They feared going into the dark place, not because they feared God, but because they feared dying. If they had feared God with the respect and reverence he deserves then they would not need to fear or worry about dying. Moses reminded them that it was a test and if they feared God it would keep them from sinning. Many of us know that in Romans 6:23 it says, “Sin pays off with death. But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord” (CEV). We also know that Lucifer selfishly reconstructed God’s words by telling Eve “surely you will not die.” Why is it that this all matters? Well, postmodern thinking questions the relevance of absolute truth, but most importantly it questions the reality of God. The truth is that the price of sin is death…spiritual and physical. In the end postmodernism is not so much about the question of absolute truth as much as it is about questioning an absolute love that the human mind struggles to understand and that the Church has not lived effectively.

I close with these rhetorical questions. Are you willing to walk into the darkness where God exists? Are you willing to go into the dark places where the marginalized live? Or is your life one that is consumed with the status quo of a comfortable life?

Don’t worry it’s difficult for me to answer these questions as well. Much of my difficulty has to do with my own fears and failures. However, I do desire to follow Christ with total abandon. The reality of life is that I too have to face my fears and either be controlled by them or overcome them.

So to finally close this I say that the trip to Hungary was incredibly amazing. God took me to the woodshed and had “the talk” with me about my life, my heart and my purpose. I can’t speak much about that right now, because there are things I need to work through. Do know this; my heart has not been the same since the trip. It’s all for the better, but the crucible is not without pain.

On the journey…Gibby

ancient faith

We have all but abandoned the faith and ways of the Ancient believers. Our fear of God, the Creator of all life, has almost diminished. The Church has become a “place” of status quo assembly, instead of a “people” full of God’s Spirit moving with Him on this journey of life.

We have cheapened the Truth for a message that says we “deserve” to prosper financially and “feel good” about ourselves. The truth is we are nothing and our life is a vapor. The one thing that makes us worth anything is the One who made us in His image. It is the very Spirit of God in us, the Spirit that resurrected Jesus, which gives us purpose and reason to live.

Let us not abandon the example of faith the Ancient believers lived and embraced. We must live with total abandon to God with a faith that transcends all cultures, societies and humanity. We must rediscover the Jesus of the Bible and seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness.

areopagus

You’ve probably heard the story of Paul addressing the philosophers on Mars Hill in Act 17. It’s at the heart of the missional movement of the emerging church. I’ve heard the arguments from those who oppose the emerging church that it is just another way to tell the institution to stick it where the sun don’t shine by the “new hippies.” I’ve heard the emerging leaders speak of a way to deconstruct the Christianity we know to be like the one Paul intended.

Personally, I think both sides are right, but the unfortunate thing is that we have created sides. The reality of all this is that Jesus, Peter, Paul, and the other Apostles would be disappointed if they were here to see the condition and structure of the Church.

When I read Act 17 it excites me to see that while Paul waited on Silas and Timothy he didn’t waste any time engaging the culture of Athens. Sure he was an incredibly educated man, so he knew the spiritual landscape of Athens. Still he didn’t wait for someone to create a committee and determine if there was funding to support a new mission in Athens, as today’s churches would do. Instead, Paul “reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there” (v.17 – ESV).

The beauty of Paul’s life is that he “lived” where he was. By “lived” he not only moved into the community of the people, which was the case for much of his journey. I also mean he was alive in his calling and set the example of how the Church should live among the sea of lost souls. Many of you have heard or read my rants on denominations building bigger edifices to compete with the next church congregation. Some say the motive is not competition, but rather a way to be a beacon for the surrounding community. Do we need buildings to gather? Yes. There is no doubt we do, but why spend so much money on that when people can help each other like they did in Acts 2 and 4. My thought is that there are plenty of buildings where the people gather on a daily basis. These are places where we can meet and discuss the issues of life, the philosophies of the day, and the desires of our hearts. They are also the places where our worlds collide, cross and mesh with the worlds of others.

In Acts 17:22 we see where Paul entered the Areopagus (Mars Hill) to address the philosophers speaking and pondering the thoughts of the day. During that time the Romans had destroyed many of the cities of Greece. The people of Athens had wounded spirits and the philosophers carried the torch of reason for the entire country. They asked the deep questions and ponder the deepest thoughts of tragedy, hope, faith, and religion. It is for this reason that Paul says, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” Paul proceeded to explain Jesus and the resurrection, which caused some to sneer and others to be drawn to the truth.

We, too, can engage our culture with the same passion and purpose. We know the people around us. It is no surprise to us what and who they worship. Some worship themselves, while others worship men, and even those us who worship God find ourselves struggling with our own philosophies. Still we should not wait for a committee to form and determine if a certain segment of our communities needs a church or a mission event. No, we should go into the synagogues and marketplaces to connect with the people and engage them with the faith, hope and love that is within us. We don’t need to wait until Sunday to get our spirits juiced. Jesus is with us always and if we truly are his followers, his Spirit dwells within us to guide our steps.

Find your synagougue, marketplace and Areopagus. Embrace each one, connect with the people and engage their souls. We’ve already been told what to do in Matthew 28. The Apostles and the Early Church have given us an example of how to be the Church. It’s time we actually do it and quit waiting for someone else to “act” on God’s calling. It’s time to do what most Christian Americans expect the Government to do…feed the hungry, care for the widows and the orphans. Many of them you will find within the walls of your church gathering. Seek them out and serve them.

Blessed are those…