I have come that they may kick ass, and kick ass to the full

Today, a little post-Christendom juxtaposition. Some of us are desperately trying to regain the seat of cultural power, and one way of doing so is by appealing to cheap American populism.

Case in point: Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association is disturbed by a trend in the awarding of the Medal of Honor, as exemplified recently by Obama’s awarding Army Sgt. Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor for saving a fellow soldier’s life.

Fischer commends Salvatore’s actions, but then laments that we aren’t rewarding soldiers for killing too (HT: American Jesus):

But I have noticed a disturbing trend in the awarding of these medals, which few others seem to have recognized.

We have feminized the Medal of Honor.

According to Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal, every Medal of Honor awarded during these two conflicts has been awarded for saving life. Not one has been awarded for inflicting casualties on the enemy. Not one.

So the question is this: when are we going to start awarding the Medal of Honor once again for soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night?”

(I’ll set aside for a moment the observation that, with these comments, Fischer has managed to besmirch both femininity and masculinity – which, I have to admit, requires savant-like talent.)

The military exists to kill the enemy. If you have no problem with that, then you should have no problem with Fischer’s remarks. It’s only an issue because the AFA is a Christian interest group. Taking some heat from fellow Christians, Fischer followed up with a theological defense of his remarks:

“Christianity is not a religion of pacifism. Remember that John the Baptist did not tell the soldiers who came to him to lay down their arms, even when they asked him directly, “what shall we do?” (Luke 3:14).

War is certainly a terrible thing, and should only be waged for the highest and most just of causes. But if the cause is just, then there is great honor in achieving military success, success which should be celebrated and rewarded.

The bottom line here is that the God of the Bible clearly honors those who show valor and gallantry in waging aggressive war in a just cause against the enemies of freedom, even while inflicting massive casualties in the process. What I’m saying is that it’s time we started imitating God’s example again.”

This is typical of the Modern Christian-American narrative: God is on our side, and is glorified by the American military when they inflict large-scale casualties on the enemy – be they Brits, Germans, Japanese, Afghans, Iraqis…whoever.

We’re not the only one’s who believe it. Everyone believes God (or righteousness) is on their side. We believe it. America’s enemies believe it. Strangely enough, sports teams and athletes believe it. Businesses believe it. Churches believe it. And we all use this excuse to justify actions of aggression that hurt, suppress, exploit, defeat, or even, too often, kill those who are in competition with us.

Then we give medals and awards for it.

Interestingly, Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic Weekly posted this snippet of a Greg Boyd sermon today, which addresses this very issue:

“When you pick up the sword you lay down the cross.” Indeed. Let’s face it: God isn’t our God. Power is our God. Power guised as safety, security, prosperity, peace, family values, law and order, righteousness and morality, or evangelism and church growth.

But the cross has nothing to do with asserting power, it has to do with abdicating power. The cross is where the supremely powerful God of the cosmos abdicated power and thereby made the powers powerless. That’s precisely what makes it a scandal, an offense, and a stumbling block.

There’s a bumper sticker that quips, “I’m pretty sure when Jesus said ‘Love your enemies’ he meant don’t kill them.” My sentiments exactly.

But hey, that’s just me.

Technorati Tags: Bryan Fischer, Greg Boyd, Medal of Honor, Pacifism, War

Cultural reality check: Sara Bareilles

The churches I attended growing up regularly engaged with pop culture  – in a condemning way. Pastors often read rock-and-roll lyrics from the pulpit as evidence of the  “satanic” influence of the world.  Back then we still thought we were in charge.

As an adult I’ve enjoyed engaging with culture from the perspective of a missionary. That is, borrowing from the anthropologist, I enjoy trying to understanding this strange culture into which I’ve been called. When I quote here from pop songs, films, and literature, that is the perspective I tend to represent. Most of you know this already, but one thing is painfully obvious:

We’re no longer in charge (and it’s a good thing, too).

Case in point: Sarah Bareilles’ recent song King of Anything. Using thinly veiled evangelical catch-words and images, the lyrics portray the response of a woman who is triumphantly bitter about being evangelized. That kind of expression simply wouldn’t be tolerated in Christendom.

If you haven’t heard it already, I’ve embedded the lyrics and video below. Listen for yourself. Then, post your thoughts. What can we learn from Sarah’s song? How should we respond?

Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table
While I look outside
So many things I’d say if only I were able
But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by

You’ve got opinions, man
We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked
So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine
And get out of here fast

I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning
There’s no one here to save

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunset

I’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see

You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening

And who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy
While I just hurt and hide
Waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

Let me hold your crown, babe

Technorati Tags: Culture, Evangelism, Missiology, Music, Pop Culture, Sarah Bareilles

Taking the leap into non-professional ministry

For years I said I’d never plant a church. I said it publicly and I said it often. When people asked why, I always had a simple answer:

Church planters need to be bi-vocational and I’m not qualified to do anything else.

In a way it was true. I spent 14 years in professional ministry. Ministry is my passion, my main experience, and my only education. Yes, I’ve worked all kinds of jobs and have some good skills and experience, but the truth is I’d become accustomed to making a decent living as a pastor in a large church. I liked having a good paycheck, a car allowance, a cellphone allowance, a book allowance, and a 403(b). I liked preaching to a thousand or so people on the weekend. I was good at it.

Things began to change rapidly in 2005. I became convinced that putting on a good show for Jesus wasn’t the best way to teach people how to follow Christ (and that it wasn’t a good way to be a follower of Christ either). By the summer of 2008 this led me and Jenell to move from Ohio back to California to pursue a form of church that would probably never pay us a full-time salary. So, I determined to find a new career that would enable me to be more immersed in culture and foster a more egalitarian and decentralized form of church life.

Two years and three months later I finally have a job. Two, actually.

Okay, maybe that’s being a bit melodramatic. The truth is, I spent the better part of the past two years as a grad student at Fuller Seminary. On the other hand, I did take two quarters off school in order to pursue an opportunity that I thought would turn into a new career path for me. (Maybe I’ll share more about that little nightmare someday.)

Aside from that catastrophe, I dipped my toe in several part-time waters, always looking for a career foothold. I wrote for blogs, designed websites, developed marketing copy, ran real estate social media campaigns, designed product brands, interviewed Christian authors, produced audiobooks, developed sermon briefs for a Las Vegas mega-church pastor, and wrote youth coaching certification test curriculum.

It was an incredibly frustrating two years. I made very little money and there were times I knew we weren’t going to make it. We spent a sizeable savings (I’d be embarrassed to tell you how much), a retirement fund, and incurred significant debt in order to pay my tuition and generally make ends meet. I went outside at night and shook my fist at God a lot. He’d just stare back at me blankly and sort of shrug, which, you know, just pissed me off even more.

But we did make it. Somehow money always came.

I say that cautiously, because nobody should rely on unexpected checks for several thousand dollars to come from people one hardly knows. But that’s exactly what happened. Also, a couple dozen of our friends and family pitched in to help support us while we chased our insane little missional dream. There is no possible way to overestimate how much these gifts meant to our family. We wouldn’t have made it without them. To all those who have contribute to our mission, I thank you dearly.

The low point came about two and a half months ago. The bottom dropped out of another part time contract job. Maybe it’s that I was expecting this one to turn into a full-time gig. Maybe I was just overly stressed from going to school full time, working part time, and trying to get a church plant off the ground. Whatever the cause, I went home and suffered a kind of personal breakdown that turned me into a hysterical heap of flesh on the bed. It’s a strange thing to be split in two – one half of you crying-laughing uncontrollably at the hopeless absurdity of a life gone off the rails, the other half hovering above, just staring back at you blankly and sort of shrugging.

It scared Jenell. Hell, it scared me.

Then, two unexpected turn of events: First, a good friend named Roy asked me to help him with his small business start-up. We have great chemistry together and strong overlapping gifts and values. I’ll be ready to tell you more about this start-up after the new year, but suffice it to say I’m excited about being involved. However, as a startup, it isn’t able to pay me and probably won’t for quite some time. Even then, it will likely be a supplemental income for a while. So I still needed a long-term, full-time gig.

Then, 3 weeks before I completed my final coursework, I stumbled across an ad for a Communications Coordinator at Interfaith Community Services. I applied on a Sunday night, was interviewed on Tuesday, attended their annual business meeting on Wednesday, won a second interview on Friday, and started the job the following Monday.

Crazy. In a few short weeks, my whole world changed.

After two years of struggling to make ends meet as a grad student and church-planter I had somehow landed two jobs, just a few weeks before graduating. I’ve been collaborating with Roy for about 10 weeks now and working at Interfaith for 6. Both allow me to be creative and catalytic, and both  are connecting me with some of the most remarkable ministry and social service opportunities I have ever seen. I’ll be blogging more about both of these organizations in the future. Most importantly, having this work and being out of school has enabled me and Jenell to pursue the ministry we feel called to, in the way we feel called to pursue it.

In the end I’ve learned that God really is good, but mostly in unexpected ways and through unexpected people. I’ve learned that faith/faithfulness means persevering through uncertainty, and I’ve learned that hope and love make that experience bearable, and even at times joyful.

Mostly, I’ve just learned.

Technorati Tags: bi-vocational ministry, Interfaith Community Services, Missional Church

3 questions about Jesus: JR Woodward

My friend JR Woodward is the last to tackle our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko | Steve Burnhope | Jason Evans | Daniel So | Bryan Dormaier | Sean Campbell).

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I was driving in Columbus, Ohio, when I came upon a hitchhiker who alternated between holding his thumb out and clasping his hands together as if he were praying. I picked him up.

His name was Mike, and I soon discovered he was a hard-core Aryan, pointing to a passage in scripture about being “a chosen people” as the reason for his convictions. I asked if he would be willing to reread the passage in context. He agreed.

As I reached in the back seat to grab my Bible he pulled a gun and pointed it at my head. I assured him I was just getting my Bible, so he put his gun away, and my heart started to beat again.

I realized Mike had no place to stay that night, so I invited him to stay with me.

“You mean you would trust me to stay with you after pulling a gun on you?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, “because God has given me a love for you that I can’t explain, and He loves you.” Tears welled in Mike’s eyes.

We talked until 4 a.m. and I told him about the Jesus the apostles wrote about, this Jesus who had become my hero, my savior and my example. I told him how Jesus was the liberator of those oppressed, the lover of those rejected, and the deliverer of those seduced by consumerism. He cried most of the night.

Later that week he took me to a Chinese restaurant and continued to inquire about Jesus.  I told him how Jesus lived his life for the sake of others, how he died so we could live, and how he rose again to show what God was going to do for the world.

Something in Mike changed that evening; he understood in a profound way who Jesus was and what he had done for him and the world. When I left Columbus, Mike’s heart wanted to share with his Aryan friends what he had learned, hoping they would let go of their racism and be part of a community that included people from every race, tongue, tribe and nation.

As I reflect on his story, I’m reminded that Jesus invites each one of us to partner with Him in the renewal of all things. And if Jesus can turn a racist into a lover of all, there is hope for everyone.

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JR Woodward is the co-founder of Kairos Los Angeles, a network of churches in the LA area.  He is also co-founder of the Ecclesia Network, a relational network of missional churches, and the co-founder of the Solis Foundation which gives micro grants to help start small businesses in Lodwar, Kenya.  He is finishing his Masters of Art in Global Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary and he compiled and contributed to the book ViralHope.  You can learn more about him at (jrwoodward.com).  You will find him blogging at (jrwoodward.net) and tweeting @dreamawakener.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, JR Woodward

James Smith roughs up Brett McCracken a bit for lacking a theology of culture

There’s a reason James K.A. Smith (right) is a rising star in the Christian intellectual world: Aside from being brilliant – which isn’t all that noteworthy in academia – he’s an immensely effective and even entertaining communicator – a quality that is frustratingly rare in academia. Smith brandishes these gifts ferociously in recent books like Desiring the Kingdom and Thinking in Tongues.

It hardly seems fair, then, when Smith turns his critical attention to populist fare like Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken, concluding he “lacks a theology of culture.” It’s nothing less than brutal.

I link to it, and quote from it, here because the mindless bashing of Christian movements en masse that continues to flow from from the conservative evangelical camp has swelled to such a ridiculous volume that it nearly deserves it’s own niche publishing category. I think Smith does a fine job of calling McCracken out for his lack of depth and thoughtfulness.

That Smith has at least one foot solidly in the Reformed camp makes his critique all the more refreshing. Here are my favorite parts:

While McCracken’s analysis perhaps pertains to a bunch of suburban kids who have adopted hipster as a style—just as they might have adopted “urban” as a style—his analysis doesn’t even touch those students I know who, from Christian convictions, have intentionally pursued a lifestyle that rejects the bourgeois consumerism of mass, commercialized culture. They shop at Goodwill and Salvation Army because they have concerns about the injustice of the mass-market clothing industry, because they believe recycling is good stewardship of God’s creation, and frankly, because they’re relatively poor. They’re relatively poor because they’re pursuing work that is meaningful and just and creative and won’t eat them alive, and such work, although not lucrative, gives them time to spend on the things that really matter: community, friendship, service, and creative collaboration. And despite McCracken’s misguided claims about autonomy and independence (192-193), the Christian hipsters I know are actually willing to sacrifice the American sacred cow of privacy and independence, living in intentional communities as families and singles, working through all the difficulties and blessings of “life together” as Bonhoeffer describes it. In short, the lives of the Christian hipsters I know are a gazillion miles away from being worried about image or trendiness; they live the way they do because they are pursuing the good life characterized by well-ordered culture-making that is just and conducive to flourishing—and this requires resisting the mass-produced, mass-marketed, and mass-consumed banalities of the corporate ladder, the suburban veneer of so-called success, as well as the irresponsibility of perpetual adolescence that characterizes so many twentysomethings who imagine life as one big frat house.

And:

The Christian hipsters I know are pursuing a way of life that they (rightly) believe better jives with the picture of flourishing sketched in the biblical visions of the coming kingdom. They have simply discovered a bigger gospel: they have come to appreciate that the good news is an announcement with implications not only for individual souls but also for the very shape of social institutions and creational flourishing.

Also:

If McCracken is lamenting the fact that Christian colleges are producing alumni that are smart and discerning with good taste and deep passions about justice, then we’re happy to live with his ire. The fact that young evangelicals, when immersed in a thoughtful liberal arts education, turn out to value what really matters and look critically on the way of life that has been extolled to them in both mass media and mass Christian media—well, we’ll wear that as a badge of honor.

And last, but not least:

It turns out [McCracken is] just worried that young Christians might be (gasp!) smoking and drinking a bit too much and have not sufficiently considered injunctions about dress in 1 Peter 3. Well, yes, indeed: those do seem like quite pressing matters for Christian witness in our postsecular world. By all means, let’s get our personal pieties in line. For as McCracken sums it up, “the Christian hipster lifestyle has become far too accommodating and accepting of sin” (200)—and by this, he means a pretty standard litany of evangelical taboos (did I mention sex?). It’s funny: my Christian hipster friends think conservative evangelicals have also become too accommodating and accepting of sin, but they tend to have a different inventory in mind—things like the Christian endorsement of torture and wars of aggression, evangelical energies devoted to policies of fiscal selfishness, and lifestyles of persistent, banal greed.

Emphasis most definitely added.

Technorati Tags: Brett McCracken, Culture, Hipster Christianity, James K.A. Smith, Theology

3 Questions about Jesus: Sean Campbell

We have a couple of late addition to our 3 Questions About Jesus series. This week, my good friend Sean Campbell tackles the questions, Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko | Steve Burnhope | Jason Evans | Daniel So | Bryan Dormaier).

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After losing what seemed like the same argument again and again, my wife finally clued me in. She had probably been telling me for a while, but I tend not to pick up on these things quickly. She said that behind every difficulty we’ve ever had, she always wanted to know that I still loved her, or, rather, that she was still lovable.

God gives us relationships as metaphors to better understand how he relates to us and how we can relate to him. One clear metaphor he gave us was that of husband and wife. Jesus came that we might know not only that we are lovable, but, also, that we are desperately loved.

What’s more, when my wife handed me this epiphany, I was offended. (And this is the risk God takes when giving us relationships as metaphor. They’re nearly always flawed.) I actually wondered how my wife could suspect me of not loving her; I tell her I love her multiple times every day and I always have. How could she have such a warped picture of me? But as I reflected on this, I realized that this assurance is a deep need of hers and it is also an important part of the metaphor.

Jesus came not only to demonstrate the Father’s love for us, but also to defend his character. You see, God also wonders how we could have such a warped picture of him. We all do. And this is why he sent his son, to daily tell us he love us, that we’re still lovable, and he hopes, that as he remains faithful in this, we might begin to correct our image of him and see him for who he is. This is what Jesus accomplished.

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Sean is software engineer for a startup in Carlsbad, California. He is married with four children.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Sean Campbell

How important are interfaith efforts today?

Please take just a few minutes to answer these 7 questions. Your perspective is very important to me!

3 Questions About Jesus: Amy Rozko

Amy Rozko is next to answer our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko).

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You couldn’t have asked any more important questions.  Ever since I met Jesus I’ve made it my goal to get to know him better and try to be better understand him. I’ve known him over 20 years now, and I have to admit that I still don’t have him completely figured out.  Is that so surprising, though?

It would be easy for me to get existential and abstract when talking about Jesus, so let me first talk more concretely about what I know about Jesus.  It is undisputed among legitimate historians that a man named Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth approximately 2000 years ago in an area of the world now known as the nation-state of Israel.  If you can believe in the historical reality of Julius Caesar or Cleopatra then you can believe that Jesus really lived and walked on this earth.  His life was of such significance that we restarted our clocks, so to speak, to mark time before and after his life here on earth.

Jesus was the only person born fully-man yet fully-God.  I can’t fully explain what this means but let’s just say that he was absolutely unique.  He taught about God and the meaning of life with authority and in a way people could understand.  He backed up his teaching with miraculous signs that backed up his claims to be God (the most astounding being that after having been killed for crimes he did not commit he rose to life again).  Jesus claimed to be God and Jesus spoke with the power, authority and love of God.  So either he is, in fact, God in the flesh, or else he was crazy or else he was a scam artist.  The people who knew him best were willing to bet their lives on the fact that he was God and, over the past 2000 years, millions of others (including myself!) have come to the same conclusion about Jesus.

Sorry for the monologue.  Did I answer all of your questions?  I’m sure I didn’t.  I actually hope you have even more questions.  I’d love to keep exploring who Jesus is with you.

PS – I’d encourage you to begin reading the Gospel of John before we talk again if you’re curious– some great stuff about Jesus life and teachings written by one of Jesus’ very best friends.

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Amy and her husband of just over a year, JR, live in Elgin, IL (Chicagoland area) where she also works for International Teams US as the Director of Mobilization. They are an active part of Life on the Vine and really excited to be participating in the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization this coming October in Cape Town, South Africa.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Amy Rozko, Jesus Christ

3 Questions About Jesus: JR Rozko

JR Rozko approached our 3 Questions About Jesus as though it were an email from a  friend, asking: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke)
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Dear Friend,

What matters most to you?  No matter how you answer that question, I’d venture to guess that it relates to what it means to live a life of significance.  I mean, regardless of whether we think that some higher being exists or not, the mere fact that we exist compels us to wonder what life is all about – it’s really the most fundamental of life’s questions right?

The basic Christian answer to this question regarding the purpose of life is that we have been created by a God who made the world and everything in it and desires to be in relationship with us.  As I’m sure you’d agree, our world is far from perfect.  I wonder what you might name as its fundamental problems and where you think they came from?  Christians would say that all the pain and suffering in the world stems from the fact that this relationship we were created to have with God has been broken by our prideful attempts to try and be God as opposed to be in relationship with God.

This is where Jesus comes into the picture.  Jesus is both our chief example of what it means to live in relationship with God as well as the one who has restored our ability to even have that relationship.  Jesus fed the hungry, restored sight to the blind, and made crippled people walk.  He did all this to exhibit God’s desire to make all things new.  The pinnacle of this mission came by way of his death and resurrection.  He was killed because he suggested that God was ultimately in charge of the course of history and not us.  A few days after the ruling powers hung him on a cross, God triumphantly raised him from the dead.

I realize this might be difficult to believe.  It is – and it should be.  I wonder if you can pinpoint any beliefs you hold that might be difficult for someone else to believe?  I bet you can.  That’s because believing is always a matter of experience and relationship.  One never really comes to believe in God, the resurrection, or the ongoing work of God in the world until they experience it in the context of a true relationship.

Looking forward to more conversations.
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JR and his wife Amy live in Elgin, outside of Chicago.  JR works for Northern Seminary and Amy works for International Teams.  They are part of Life on the Vine, a missional community in the NW suburbs of Chicago.  JR blogs at lifeasmission.com.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Jesus Christ, JR Rozko, searching

3 Questions About Jesus: Ben Sternke

This week Ben Sternke responds to our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark)

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Who is Jesus Christ? Wow, where to start. Jesus is a lot of things. First, I should say he was a man who caused quite a stir around 2,000 years ago by claiming that the God who created the entire cosmos was working through his life to save the world from itself, to make everything right.

Which sounds incredibly cliché, doesn’t it? It’s easy to find nutcases like that today. The thing about Jesus, though, was that he backed up his claims by making things right with unusual power and effectiveness: delivering people from sickness and psychological oppression, bringing freedom from guilt and shame, challenging injustice, and teaching people how to live well.

Ultimately this put him on a collision course with the religious and political authorities of his day, because they had stock in keeping people fearful and needy. But instead of fighting them, Jesus allowed them to torture and kill him. Even those closest to him didn’t understand this. Why not fight to stay alive? They thought it was over after that.

Hang with me, because here’s where the story gets crazy. He didn’t stay dead. A few days later he was alive again, in a totally new way, like he’d gone through death and out the other side. He had actually conquered death by his own death and through his resurrection opened the door for everyone to enter into a truly blessed life in God’s family.

We enter into that life by becoming an apprentice of Jesus. It might sound kooky, but you can actually know Jesus today. You can really be with him and he will teach you how to live a blessed life in God’s family, just like him.

Pretty unlikely story, huh? Yet I find myself living in it every day.

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Ben Sternke is a husband of one, a father of four, and currently pastors Christ Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a recent missional church plant. He also blogs about faith and church leadership at bensternke.com.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Ben Sternke