God Needs More Cracked Pots

It appears that Terry Jones’ 15 minutes of fame has thankfully come to an end. Jones is the Florida preacher who announced that he and his Dove World Outreach Center would burn a big pile of Korans on September 11. This is, by the way, the same church that sent elementary kids to school on the first day of classes last year wearing “Islam is of the Devil” T-shirts. That got a little attention, but this threat to burn the Koran got Mr. Jones all kind of media face time and even drew comments (negative ones) from Gen. Petraeus and President Obama. For a time, Terry Jones replaced Fred Phelps as the top religious crackpot in the country. That's just what the church needs-- more crackpots like these clowns to cause our culture to take the Christian faith even less seriously than it does already!

But in our reading for today, Paul seems to think that what the church needs are more "cracked pots." No text captures Paul’s vision of himself as a servant of Christ better than does this—

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (2 Corinthians 4:4-12)

Paul saw himself as a "jar of clay." The treasure Paul promoted was not worldly wealth or political clout—it was rather “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (v. 4). Paul saw himself as simply the flawed clay jar than contained and carried that blessed treasure. Paul did not promote himself in the way we see crackpots like Terry Jones doing today. Paul was just a jar of clay that contained the gospel.

We may have a bit of a problem understanding his point. Why? We see clay jars as pretty neat things. I brought back a clay crock pot as a souvenir from my first trip to Ukraine; it still sits in an honored place in my office (if you can find it beneath all the clutter). Wacky tourists used to come from all over the country to visit the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. We think jars of clay are valuable in themselves. But to Paul, a clay jar was just a common and disposable article that often contained something of value. He saw jars of clay much as we would view a disposable 2-liter plastic jugs. But unlike 2-liter bottles, clay jars were brittle and breakable. There was no value or strength in a jar of clay, and that was Paul’s point. The precious “gospel of glory” comes in very plain and very breakable clay pots! That is how Paul saw himself; and that is who we are. We are broken jars of clay who are blessed to carry the precious gospel of the glory of Christ.

What God needs today is a few more cracked-pots, broken jars of clay willing to give him their weakness. He doesn’t just need people who know all about Bible; He doesn’t require people who are right on all the issues. God is not looking today for “practically perfect people.” He is looking for flawed jars of clay willing to hold His treasure and carry that treasure to others. Strength and beauty aren’t in the clay pot; they reside only in that which the clay pot contains. The jar of clay may be ordinary and broken, but it can be used by God.

A Key Tradition Is Changed

The picture at right was taken at camp year before last. We had just completed our all-camp relay race that ended with the battle of the canoes at the lake. We had just cheered on the winners and then everyone raced back to the dining hall for supper… and left little Micheala at the lake. Fortunately, the ever-vigilant camp director was on the ball and stayed behind to walk with her back to the dining hall. Actually, I was limping back to the dining hall and she was taking it show to keep me company. Anyway, we were best buds… until she found someone more fun to play with.

Let me share with you what my little buddy did yesterday. I always leave my keys hanging in my office door during church. For years, that has been my tradition-- I don’t want keys rattling around in my pocket while I preach. And if I leave them in my office, someone will invariably lock the office before I'm ready and my keys are locked inside. So every Sunday morning, I get to the building way early and just leave my keys in my office door. It has never been a problem… until yesterday.

Yesterday, Mickey decided to remove my keys from the door and play with them. Her Mom saw her playing with the keys and naturally assumed they were her keys and told Mickey to put the keys back in her purse. Being the obedient child she is, Micheala put the keys (my keys) in Becky’s purse and they all went home. Of course, I couldn’t go home because I had no keys! I knew my keys were NOWHERE in the building because I looked everywhere for them (including inside the refrigerator). They were gone. Fortunately, Roger was still around and gave me a ride home. Later Becky called the house and asked, “Are you by any chance missing some keys?”

So what is the point of all this? Next time, leave the kid at the lake? No, no, no, that’s not it! I guess the point is “Don’t leave your keys in the door.” I know that is the lesson, because when I called home to tell Lynn that I was stranded at the building, she said, “I told you not to leave the keys in your door.” And she had. But then, she knew I have a problem with keys; I left the hotel key in the hotel door on our wedding night!

Traditions are so hard to change. Particularly traditions that have to do with the way you do things at church. But I have to change my tradition. Sometimes you have to change church traditions because of the children. Thanks Mickey, for reminding me of that!

Small Group Pointers

Our 2010-2011 small Group season has officially begun at Denbigh. Well, except for the “improve your marriage” marriage small group that will begin on September 30 (we wanted to give folks a little extra time to get their marriages in line before we start talking about them. We had a great “first group” experience over at the Tanner’s Sunday night. I don’t know how large a small group can become before it is no longer “small,” but we may end up having to come up with a definition before we’re done.

Have you not joined one of our Body Life small groups? Maybe you are waiting to find our which group had the best deserts before you commit to picking a group. I thought I’d give you a little help in making your small group decision by sharing some of Jon Acuff’s (from his Stuff Christians Like blog) pointers about “Things to keep in mind as you join a new small group.”

• The first night you go to a new small group is like a first date. Try not to openly sob on that night. Imagine how great a first date would go if you started sobbing before they even brought out the blooming onion at Outback.
  
  
• You have an 87% chance that there will be a couple in your group who has been married for about 15 minutes.
  
  
• You have an 89% chance that couple will attempt to give you marriage advice they have culled from their 15 minutes of marriage.
  
  
• Be upfront about your age when finding a group. Age, parenthood and location are usually the three main criteria groups are built on. We failed to mention our age early on, prompting one guy to say when we did, “Yeah, but you don’t look that old.”
  
  
• Nothing brings a group together like an arch nemesis. Feel free to find a shared enemy small group that you can prank.
  
  
• Be the person that has the best small group dessert, but don’t overdo it. We once went to a small group that had a four course meal of the most elaborate finger food I’ve ever had. If at any point you find yourself wrapping food in bacon in preparation for small group, pull back a little.
  
  
• Try to make your personal introduction shorter than an average sermon. No one needs to know about that time you got bit by a rat on the foot in the seventh grade. Unless you lost the foot or kept the rat and have it with you.
  
  
• Don’t tweet or blog stuff about the group without their permission. No one likes to read about themselves unexpectedly on Twitter.
  
  
• Every group has certain people in it. (The person who cries, the Theologian, the “but is that really so bad?” crazy person, etc.”) Make sure you know where you fit in.

Well, I’m sure that was very helpful for all of us. Now-- go out and find a small group to join! If you can’t find one, create one. Roger will be happy to teach it.

Speaking About Speaking in Tongues

Years ago, a van load of teenagers with their youth minister stopped by our church for a Sunday night service. There is a church near us that that was called at the time “Denbigh Church of God.” The similarity in our names and locations caused some confusion, and even now after they changed their name to “World Outreach Center” we still occasionally get calls and mail meant for them. It was obvious that this van load of teens thought they were going to that other church. We were just a little more low-key than the “Spirit-filled” worship they were expecting (our praise band was one guy with a pitch pipe).

I talked for a while with the youth minister after church, and what he wanted to talk about was the view of my church on speaking in tongues. Of course, I felt duty bound to convince him that he couldn't really speak in tongues because the "age of miracles" (good Biblical term) had passed. Of course, he was completely convinced that he could speak in tongues and had witnessed plenty of miracles. I talked about the “that which is perfect” from 1 Corinthians 13 and how tongues would cease after we got the completed Bible (an argument I would no longer make, by the way). He talked about Mark 16 and tongues as the sign that would follow those who believe (leaving out the part about handling snakes and drinking poison). We never really argued, but people could probably tell that we each thought the other guy was an idiot. I cringe when I look back on that conversation. I wish we would have talked more about youth ministry and how to get kids to fall in love with Jesus.

If I was to have a do-over with that conversation on tongues, I would probably want to find out exactly HOW they used tongues in their church. My faith tradition has always acted as if the New Testament clearly regulates how church SINGING is to be done (though nothing very specific mentioned). But Paul regulates speaking in TONGUES about as specifically as the Old Testament regulates the offering of sacrifices. Notice just a portion of our reading today from 1 Corinthians 14—

6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

It is obvious from 1 Corinthians 14 that Paul expected everything that was done in church to encourage and build-up the whole church. Because tongues (whatever they were) were by their very nature unintelligible to others, they were not to be used in church. Five words people could understand were better than ten thousand words in a tongue (v. 19). Tongues were flashy and could attract people's attention, but they could not teach. Tongues could encourage the heart of the one who was speaking, but they only confused other people who could not understand, especially those who were new to the church (v. 23). As far as the church was concerned, speaking in tongues was like speaking to the air (v. 9).

If someone today wants to speak in tongues (whatever that is) in their own private devotions at home, they get no argument from me. I no longer feel compelled to argue them out of the notion that God can still do that sort of thing today. As far as I’m concerned, God can do anything He wants to do. Paul accepts tongues (he spoke in tongues more than anyone), but he really did discourage their use in church. And if they are to be used in church at all, then Paul gives some very specific regulations on how they are to be used-- only 2 or 3 tongue-speakers were to soeak at any one service, they were to speak only one at a time, and they were to speak only if someone interpreted what they had said. That is very different from the way that I've seen tongues used in modern churches.

But after all, if you are going to do "Bible things," should you do them in "Bible ways?"

In a Family...

In Romans 12, Paul makes an argument for a unity based on a diversity of our gifts. We all have different functions in the body, and we must use our different gifts to build up the body. But we must be very careful not to make Paul say more than what he really said. Paul does argue for a diversity of function, but he doesn’t suggest that our function makes us valuable to God or his kingdom. After making a similar argument on the diversity of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 (our daily Bible reading tomorrow), Paul includes this disclaimer—

22 Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Some parts of the body seem more prominent and important, but we treat the less prominent parts with special modesty and care. In the same way, “more prominent” parts of the body of Christ (whoever they may be) must go out of their way to take care of the less prominent parts (whoever they may be).

Here is the difference between an organization and a family. In an organization, there is often a hierarchy of importance. Those who contribute the most to the organization are valued the most. Well, the church isn’t an organization; it is a family. In a family, everyone is valuable just because they are part of the family. They may not perform as vital a function in the family as another person, but they are valuable simply because they are family. Daddy may be the breadwinner and the entire family depends directly upon him. Baby doesn't contribute a single function to the family... except providing constant chaos. But who is the most important to the family? All are family! Pragmatically, by virtue of a greater need, Baby may get the lion’s share of the family's attention. In a family, sometimes it is the one who needs the most attention that gets the most attention.

We must make the church the kind of family where there are no prominent members or non-prominent members. We are family, and we must not allow ourselves to order ourselves based upon the hierarchy of an organization. We are God's family. And thus we are of equal value to God and to one another.

Family Disagreements

In 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul is dealing with the issue of meats offered to idols. In today’s reading (see Tuesday’s blog). In today’s reading, Paul warns the Corinthians not to make concessions to idolatry (10:14-22) , assures them that any food from God is from God (10:25-27) and reminds them not to flaunt their freedom in front of believers who have differing opinions (10:28-30). Boy, dealing with foods offered to idols was really complicated; I glad we don’t have any hard issues today!

Don’t miss an obvious point here—Paul assumes that there will be differences among believers. We can’t have freedom in Christ without disagreeing on exactly what that freedom entails. Most of our disagreements are over trivial points of procedure and opinion… though we’ll never admit for a second that our opinion is anything trivial! All families have disagreements. We have to work through family disagreements all the time? How? What are some things healthy families do when there is disagreement?

• We take turns (“You had your way last time, so now it’s my turn.”)
• We talk and come to consensus (we work to come to agreement)
• We give in to the strongest opinion (they'll get spoiled if we do it too much)
• We compromise on a solution (so everyone gets something)
• We go with the majority (life isn’t fair, but we can be sometimes)

Good families use all of these techniques at times. What good families don’t do is have family members get mad when they don’t get their way and run off and jon other families!

The church family will have to deal with disagreements, and a good church family will use all the above options (except to run and to find a new family). Paul reminds us here that there are things that are more important than being right. Sure, there are some things that are non-negotiable, part-n-parcel of the gospel issues. But these are generally not the things that divide us. It was less important for the Corinthians to be right than to be loving. In fact, they could speak with the tongues of men and angels, have the gift of prophecy and fathom all mystery, and if they didn’t have love… But then, that’s another days reading, isn’t it?

On Ice Cream and Manure

Tony Campolo once said, Mixing politics and religion is like mixing ice cream and manure; it really doesn't affect the manure much, but it really messes up the ice cream." The problem is that it is so easy to mix up the two. I just got another reminder this week.

Jon Cash, the longtime weatherman at WAVY TV-10 was fired last week after 21 years on the job. He was the early morning weather guy and early morning news is the only news I watch. So I've spent a lot his Jon's career watching him and his nice-guy, easy-going, slightly-goofy approach to early morning TV. Two more things draw me to the guy-- he is a Redskin fan and he is a preacher. While he talks about the Redskins all the time, I’ve never heard him talk about his faith or his weekend ministry speaking at churches on the air. I am very bummed out that Jon lost his job (though not nearly as bummed out as Jon and his family must be).

So why was he fired? No one is saying. WAVY isn't interested in eyewitness news about itself. But then, being a Redskin fan generally won’t get you fired in this area (though it will does lead to chronic depression). Cash initially said on his website that said “People of faith will be disappointed” when they learn of the reasons. Frankly, I had already decided that I was not watching WAVY TV-10 news... or anything else on the local NBC-affiliate(except Sunday night football of; no need to be a radical extremist about this).

But the message posted on Cash’s website yesterday disappointed me. There is still no word about the reason for his firing, thought he does promise “future statements detailing the events surrounding my brutal firing must be and will be told to the nation in a live broadcast in October.” (So... is Jon already booked on Fox News?) I guess Jon isn’t going “gentle into that good night” but will “rage, rage against the dying of the light.” What follows on his site is heartfelt to be sure; his heart is broken and he feels betrayed right now... and has every right to be. But what he says comes across (to me) as a political rant of Limbaugh-esque proportions.

We are watching citizens lose their homes because of the failure and greed of our system. We are watching the middle class destroyed, mimicking a system that has failed as I myself have witnessed walking the streets of Moscow. We are watching as people try to drive God from every aspect of public life. We are watching fellow brothers and sisters get fired for their faith in our God, or for our founding principles…

So was his disagreement with WAVY about politics or religion, manure or ice cream? Nobody is saying, but his web rant (to me) seems to blend the two. Jon may have been treated unfairly because of his faith... or maybe because of his politics. We have all known Christians that are personally annoying and who do everything they can to hang a “kick-me” sign on their back. And there is a tone in Jon’s rant that makes me wonder. And if I wonder that (and I'm still not watching WAVY in the a.m.), I wonder how non-Christians will view this whole fiasco?

Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church.” There was something about the quiet and dignified way that Christians faced persecution and death that reinforced the truthfulness of their message. Peter wrote to the very people soon to die with him under Nero

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Pet 4:12-14)

Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering the persecutions of a world that has turned against them. 1 Peter was likely written before the official persecutions of Rome began; that will come later to these readers. Peter is writing to believers who are suffering the unofficial opposition of a world that does not understand nor accept their faith.

What Peter tells them is to live holy lives (1 Pt 1:13ff) as “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Pt 2:11) who submit to the rulers of the world (1 Pt 2:13) and thus silence the foolish accusations of others (1 Pt 2:15) and show proper respect to everyone (1 Pt 2:17). And if they do suffer for doing good, they were remember that Jesus suffered for them (1 Pt 2:21). They were not to repay insult for insult (1 Pt 3:9) as they suffer for doing right (1 Pt 3:14) and they were to be prepared to give answer to those who ask about their hope (1 Pt 3:15).

Peter thought that how Christians handled opposition was critical to how their faith would be seen by non-believers. And it still is.

When Being Right Isn't Right Enough

“So what do you win if you are right?” I have no idea what issue Lynn and I were arguing over at the time... there is a good chance I didn't know at the time. But I clearly remember her ending it with that question. What would I win if I continued to press the issue until (in my own mind) I won the argument? What I would “win” was a seriously ticked off wife. If I would have stopped and thought about it, I would have known that I didn't want that! But at the time, whatever the issue happened to be, it was more important to me than me having a happy wife. Sometimes it's not right to be right. Sometimes it’s a whole lot better just to be wrong or wronged and get on with life. (It's fun to kiss and make up, but it is possible to skip the argument and go straight for the kiss!)

In our reading for today from 1 Corinthians 8, Paul begins a discussion of a burning question in the church at Corinth—“Is it OK to eat meat that has been offered to idols?” This was the second of a series of questions that the church evidently sent to Paul, kind of a “stump the apostle” exercise. (The first one was some simple little query about marriage and divorce). Meat for sale in pagan cities was often dedicated to pagan gods and then sold on the open market. So was OK for a Christian to eat meat dedicated to false gods? Or... was it OK to ever eat any meat and risk eating something dedicated to some pagan god or which proceeds were supporting some pagan temple? As is necessary for any good brouhaha, there were believers on both sides of the issue.

I like to call this the “pagan ham issue.” This is a fun issue to debate because none of us have a dog in that fight. No one argues about silly stuff like this today. No, we have much more important fish to fry-- like “Can a woman make an announcement in church?” Or “Is it sinful to sing praises to God if someone happens to be playing a piano in the same room?”

Arguing over a pagan ham sandwich is just silly... unless you read Acts 15:28-29 and decide it wasn't so silly after all! There was a direct command and approved apostolic example (two of the biggies) telling the Gentile Christians not to eat meats offered to idols. Paul himself was present when that letter was written to the earliest Gentile converts. Can we see why some Christians were ready to fight over not eating the pagan ham and thus being faithful to the truth of the gospel?

So Paul is now expected to wade in and side with some of the Christians at Corinth over other Christians at Corinth. Paul doesn’t duck the question, but he prefaces his answer and application with something he sees as more important—

Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. 2 If you think you know something, you do not yet know anything as you should. 3 But if any person loves God, that person is known by God. (1 Cor. 8:1-3, NCV)

Paul in essence asks, “What do you win if you are right?” The side (whichever side) that pushes this issue to the point of division is wrong even if they are right. Paul will basically argue that is isn’t wrong to eat meats offered to idols BUT you don’t really win anything by being right! When we think we know “the truth,” we tend to get puffed up with our own importance. We never really argue with the other person, we always tend to argue DOWN to the other person. Thinking we’re the ones who are right usually drives wedges between us and them… and between us and God. Paul says that it ultimate doesn’t really matter so much WHAT you know as WHO you know… or Who knows you.

I like a good theological debate. I think if we keep the heat down and our hearts open, a good theological tussle can be an “iron-sharpens-iron” opportunity to grow in God. At least that is the way it should work. I am afraid that the way that it usually works is the way it was working at Corinth—battle lines are drawn and sides are chosen. Paul encourages us to choose the way of LOVE over the way of WISDOM. It’s better to be LOVING and give in than to be RIGHT and be divided.

Unless the issue is of God Himself, it’s better to GIVE IN than to BE RIGHT. I can say that with absolute confidence because I know for a fact that Lynn hardly ever reads my blog!

Welcome to Corinth

Today’s Daily Bible Reading reading is 1 Corinthians 5. Click on the link to read the text… or click on the little speaker icon in the top left and listen to the text being read to you. This is also the text that I’m preaching from on Sunday. Here is a little preview--

Several years ago, I remember hearing Don McLaughlin ask, "Where did Corinth learn that tolerating incest was OK?" We think that’s an easy question— "They learned it from their sinful pagan culture." After all, Corinth was saturated by all kinds of sexual immorality. I mean, the pagans in Corinth went to "church" to hook up with a prostitute! What do you expect from folks in Sin City? It was their culture to be immoral.

Maybe. Maybe not. Paul begins this who discussion by asserting that even pagans wouldn't have been OK with what was going on in Corinth. Oh, the pagans knew all about sexual sin; they were experts at it! But what they didn’t know about was how to feel morally superior and spiritually smug while being immoral! What has Paul so torqued is that the church not only accepted such blatant immorality; they felt so smug in doing so. It was the church that invented accepting sin while feeling and acting superior!

So here was McLaughlin’s question: Are we more concerned with guarding our church worship than we are about guarding our holiness? People will literally walk out if we do something in the worship hour they don’t like— perform a drama, present some special music, play an instrument or (horrors) have a woman read a scripture. I had a friend that was preaching and that some visitor stand up in the middle of church and yell, “Oh, fooey!” and walked out. People will walk out if you do something non-kosher (in their mind) during the worship hour.

We are concerned about doing worship right... even if right is only in our owns minds based upon our own traditions. But will we walk when something is amiss in the realm of holiness? Are we concerned enough about being holy that we will walk out (literally or figuratively) to preserve it?

• Will we walk out of movie where illicit sex acts are portrayed?
• Will we walk away if someone tells gossip or off-color joke?
• Will we walk to confront a brother/sister who mistreats their spouse?
• Will we walk to the side of someone who is the victim of racism?
• Will we walk way if someone disrespects the president we are to pray for?

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, “Why is that?” It is because we are more concerned with right church rites than we are with living a holy life before God? We think that being Christian is about how we do church! The important thing about church (we think) is being right in doctrine and worship. But if we aren't right in our holiness before God and others—if we cheat on a spouse, gossip about people, get drunk on Saturdays, lie to our boss, cheat on our taxes, or show prejudice in our treatment of others—well, nobody’s perfect! After all, we’re saved by grace, right. And we hear the tour guide say, “Folks, welcome to Corinth!”

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid at the Tea Party

I’m not a Tea Party sort of guy; I like coffee. But a lot of people I love are Tea Party people, and I can live with that. I did read with some interest about Glenn Beck’s rally in Washington this past week-end and number of people (evidently somewhere between 2 dozen and 2 million, depending on who is doing the estimating). You really have to admire the guy for his ability to work a crowd. The way that a successful TV personality becomes a successful TV personality is astute audience analysis and the ability to give that audience what they want-- Glenn Beck does that better than anyone.

I think there is a sense in which it is a good thing anytime anyone talks about God and morality in the public arena. So maybe Mr. Beck did some good. Paul talked about good being done despite the false and selfish motives (Phil 1:18). But then, Paul conceded that the gospel was being preaching. I can't help but suspect that Glenn Beck's real agenda is Glenn Beck. I think I'd listen to him more (and the same is true of Keith Olbermann, by the way) if I could denote an iota of humility in there somewhere. I would probably listen to them both more if I had cable TV.

I simply don’t believe that the “God and Country” message coming from either the left or right today has anything at all to do with the gospel. Let me quote a portion of a post by Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor at Highview Baptist Church. Of course, the real reason for the quote is plausible deniability. When people come after the messenger with tar and feather, it is quite helpful to be able to say, “I didn’t say that, that was him!” So here the quote—

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable.

Either we believe the gospel or we don’t. We can believe the gospel and be politically conservative or liberal… or not political at all. But what we can’t do is believe the gospel and think that the answers to society's ultimate problems can be solved politically or that somehow political parties and programs have anything at all to do with the kingdom of God.

By the way, it is jaw-dropping amazing to me how many conservative, fundamentalist types Christians all of a sudden have no problem with Mormonism. Glenn Beck (and Mit Romney) are Mormon, so all of a sudden folks who are pretty exclusive in their views of who is a real Christian open their umbrella wide and embrace Mormonism as another branch of our family tree. Of course, President Obama isn't a real Christian; he is a Muslim and a proponent of Liberation Theology (never mind that you can’t be both at the same time). I'm not suggesting that all Mormons totally accept the official teaching of their church. I'm not suggesting that Mormons can't be Christians despite their church's teaching. But I am saying that this little cartoon does summarize pretty well the basic official Mormon worldview. So don't be too quick to drink the Kool-Aid at your Tea Party!

The Sanctuary

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

When I was a kid, Rule #1 of church building etiquette was "No running in the church building." It always struck me as funny that this was also rule #1 at the pool (where committed Christians wouldn't go anyway), though I never suspected any connection between the two. We were always told that the reason for the rue was the danger of knocking into some old person. I never heard of that ever happening, though perhaps it did. But I suspect that the "no running" rule had more to do with the fact that the church building was viewed as a special and holy place that wasn't to be desecrated by a bunch of kids having fun. We didn't have a sanctuary per se; we had an auditorium. But we pretty much treated the church building as if it were a sacred place, a sanctuary. I clearly remember the song the kids sang as they left the auditorium to go to their classes during VBS-- “Tiptoe, tiptoe in God’s house…”

Well, we don't follow Rule #1 at Denbigh. We got rid of our pews five years ago; we sold them to a church being rebuilt in Louisiana after Katrina. We replaced the pews with chairs that can be stacked and rolled out of the way. So now everything from VBS fun-and-games to teen laser-tag lock-ins to my 50th birthday party are held right there in the auditorium. We still call it “the auditorium because the term "worship center" for our little facility sounds too... sanctimonious. But we definitely don't see it as a sanctuary anymore. And now sometimes old people (like me) get bowled over by kids who are not tip-toeing in God's house!

The church building isn't special, but the church definitely is! In the verse above (part of today’s Bible reading), Paul says that the church is the temple of God in which He lives by His Spirit. To fracture fellowship and disrupt unity with our fusses and feuds (sometimes over how we use the building) desecrates and disrespect God's holy temple. That is Paul very point here! The church at Corinth was splintered by any number of issues and arguments that destroyed their unity and compromised their witness to the world. Paul says that such disharmony is like spray painting graffiti all over the temple of God.

The church through the years has had no shortage of issues that have become wedges that have driven disciples apart and honest seekers away. Very few (if any at all) of those issues have been anywhere near as serious as has been our ignoring God's clarion call to unity. We are the temple of God. Let's not allow God's holy temple to defiled by disunity.

Lord, teach your children to stop their fighting,
Start uniting all as one

Let's get together living forever,

As sanctuaries for you

O Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary,

Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving I'll be a living

Sanctuary for You.

Hope for the Future?

We've been reading the New Testament together as a church this year. My sermons have come from our readings, and starting in a couple of weeks, our small group lesson will also follow our daily Bible reading schedule. The readings are posted on our website, complete with a link to the reading itself on biblegateway.com. I didn't realize until yesterday that you can click on the speaker icon in the top left corner and LISTEN to the text read (by a talent reader with a British accent, because people with British accents just sound smarter). So it it helps to listen to the text read to you, then there you go. As a bonus, if you select the gender-neutral TNIV (Today's New International Version), you get a bonus-- the reader is female... though she doesn't have a cool British accent.

Mike Cope had a version of this video on his blog earlier this week. I found this one with people that I like better. If you are into hope for the future (rather than the belief that we're heading to hell in a hand-basket), you might find this video encouraging. If you aren't into hope, then you aren't into encouraging anyway, so just skip the whole thing.

The Way of the Cross

The church has always had problems. We may talk about "restoring the church of the first century," but we really don’t want to do that. At least, we don't want to restore any of the churches of the first century that we know about! The reason we know about specific first century churches is because they had severe enough problems that a letter had to be written to them to address their problems. Who in their right mind would want to restore the Corinthian church (we begin 1 Corinthians today in our daily Bible reading).

As Paul begins, he suggests that many of the problems at Corinth are caused because the Christians there are trying to look at things like the world sees them. They saw things from the perspective of philosophers seeking logic and wisdom and Jews who were seeking miraculous signs. Now Paul will do both of these-- logic and miracles. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 (from the NLT)

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

The church was looking for philosophy (wisdom) and religious experience (signs). Several years ago, I heard Jack Reese suggest that the church still tends to seek God through wisdom and signs. What follows is my take on these two ways (so don’t blame Dr. Reese here).

• The Way of Wisdom: We are a people of the book who “speak where the Bible speaks.” The problem is that we not always “silent where the Bible is silent.” We developed a system of received interpretations and entrenched traditions based on inferences that were not necessarily necessary and examples that were not apostolically approved. Every detail of how to do church from how to do our music to how to use our church buildings were deduced and systematized and made tests of fellowship. We defended our system was if it were holy writ itself. That is the way of wisdom.
  
  
• The Way of Signs: May rightly came to reject this head-only religion that argues over every issues as if it were the issue. They seek a more relational of God, and that has to be a good thing. But what is not good is when a willingness to leave behind the controls scripture in order to chase a religious experience. The “if-it-feels-good-do-it” approach fails theologically as well as it fails ethically. The genuineness or our worship and church experience is not tied to how it makes us feel. That is the way of signs.

Paul rejects both the way of wisdom and the way of signs for a third way— the way of the cross. In fact, it is the cross that is both God’s wisdom and sign, “Christ the power [signs] of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). When Jesus’ enemies asked him for a sign, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:18). Their sign would be the cross and the resurrection. The message of the cross was both foolishness and a stumbling block to the world, but it a foolishness that saves those who believe (1 Cor 1:20). You don’t hear much about the cross stressed by the prosperity preachers on religious TV or touted by political pundits (on both sides) who cherry-pick scripture for proof texts. But Paul said that the message of the cross was all he wanted to talk about (1 Cor 2:1-2)

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The way of wisdom and signs caused the divisions in Corinth where they argued about their preachers and their rights (wisdom). They argued about who had the best spiritual gifts (signs). The message of the gospel is that God's ultimate wisdom and sign in Jesus Christ and His cross.

That message didn't impress the wise men and the scholars of Paul's day; it won’t impress them today. But that message is the essence of the gospel and the center of who we are to be.

Unity, Restoration and Romans 14

KFC used to say that they were the best because they did just one thing. If you concentrate on just one thing, then you can do that better than anyone else. So their slogan was, “We do chicken right.” But from the very beginning of our movement, we’ve tried to do TWO things.

• Unity: The Restoration Movement began as a unity movement. The desire was to unite Christians of all denominations in one body that could work and worship together. Denominational divisions made that unity difficult, we needed to leave behind those loyalties and see unity as “our polar star.” (Barton W. Stone)
  
  
• Restoration: We saw the restoration of simple, congregational, non-denominational Christianity as the key to unity. If creeds and confessions separated believers, we would set them aside. We would go “Back to the Bible” and just be “Christians Only” who would “Speak where Bible speaks and be silent here it is silent.” The slogans were easy, but focusing on truth while maintaining unity wasn't so much!

It wasn't long before we found those issues as being in competition with one another. The more we found a certain view to be TRUTH, and harder it was to maintain any real UNITY with people who disagreed. So we eventually gave up the quest for the unity of all Christians and focused being right on the forms and formats of the faith. And our tribes divided and multiplied and got smaller.

In our reading today in Romans 14, Paul deals with how to deal with disagreements about how to do faith while maintaining unity. If there is a lesson that the church needs to learn today, it is this lesson of unity despite differences. The issues discussed in the church at Rome seem minor to us-- eating meats and observing special days. But these issues went to the very heart of the differences between Jewish and Roman Christians in a world divided. If we can’t find some more modern issues that fit Paul’s template here, then we just aren’t trying hard enough. Paul says four basic things about dealing with basic differences in the church--

• First, accept others without looking down on them (14:3). We don’t have to agree on all the issues—in fact, we can’t agree. Would Jewish and Roman Christians ever see all food issues exactly alike? Will high-church Presbyterians and happy-clappy Pentecostals ever view worship the same? We will never agree. Ever! But we must respect one another’s faith! Always! We will never really “accept one another” until we can learn to “respect one another.”
  
  
• Second, refuse to judge the motives of those who disagree with you (14:6). Even if we disagree on issues, we can share motivation to glorify God. We can fuss and feud about our preferred styles of church music… or we can thank God for our a mutual desire to praise Him! We must get much better job at looking past our issues to our motives. What we tend to do is impugn the motives of those who disagree with us. It’s too easy to dismiss someone with, “You would think that, you Bible-hating liberal!” Paul here assumes that our differences arise from a mutual love of God! We’ll get better at this church thing when we are grateful for the faith of people with whom we disagree on the details.
  
  
• Third, give up trying to CONTROL others (Rom 14:22). Why does Paul tell Timothy to stay away from “foolish and stupid arguments?” (2 Tim 2:23). It wasn’t that Timothy didn't enjoy a good tussle ever now-and-again; it was because he enjoyed it too much! That the "evil desires of youth" Paul warns against in 2:22! To constantly argue over issues only serves to drive wedges between us. There is a time to patiently study difficult issues and share our findings with others. We need to be better at that! There’s also time to treasure our beliefs and our liberty and keep them both to ourselves! Paul defends our right to private beliefs, but he wants them to stay that way!
  
  
• Fourth, we love each other MORE than we love getting our way! (14:15). The point of church is to help us get to heaven—not to make it harder! Paul says that his freedom to eat meat means that he is also free NOT to eat meat. Does that mean that UNITY more important than TRUTH? Well, maybe not… but it’s more important than me getting my way on what I see to be the truth on an issue that may or may not be all that important in the grand scheme of things. And frankly, those are the issues that have divided our churches.

Here’s the irony— this text is most often used as ammunition during the very church disputes Paul is trying to mitigate. Paul is pleading the church for unity despite there differences in perspective and background, and we tend to use it in an attempt to make the other side give in! One side may say, “Paul says that I’m not judged by your conscience and I have liberty in Christ, so you have to be quiet!” The other side replied, “Paul says that you can’t do anything that causes me to stumble, so you have to quit!”

It’s kinda funny when you look at it that way, isn't it? No, it’s not funny at all!

The Kingdoms of God and Men

David Lipscomb was prominent voice in our movement during and after the Civil War. He was a Southerner who stridently opposed the war and discouraged all Christians from entering it. In fact, Lipscomb oppose all Christian participation in government at all—no serving in the military, no being a police officer, no running for public office or voting for those who ran. Lipscomb saw all human government as a sing of rebellion against God’s rule (1 Samuel 8) and an abuse of power that contradicted Jesus call to love and serve (Matt 20:24). Lipscomb had what Richard Hughes calls an “apocalyptic worldview” totally focused on the kingdom of God. That kingdom was advancing, and it was opposed by the kingdom of men. Lipscomb denied we can be citizens of two kingdoms, so we must choose whether we are going to live a citizens of the kingdom of God or the kingdoms of men.

James Abram Garfield was a preacher who contemporary with Lipscomb. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted and was made a colonel in Union army. He recruited 250 students from Hiram College, a preacher training school in Kentucky. Garfield won several battles and fought at the Battle of Shiloh. Like many army heroes, Garfield went into politics after the war, being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield was then elected 20th president of United States, still the only president elected while in House. So Garfield’s view of the Christian and government was just a bit different from Lipscomb; he saw politics and government service as an extension of faith and a blessing from God Himself.

So who was right—Garfield or Lipscomb. What is the Christian's relationship to the government? Should we avoid all contact like Lipscomb or grow up to be president like Garfield? Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” But just what belongs to Caesar? Can I vote and be a faithful Christian? Must I vote to be a faithful Christian? Must I vote a certain way to be a faithful Christian? That depends on whether you ask Lipscomb or Garfield! If you ask Paul in today’s reading in Romans 13, you will get a pretty generic answer.

Paul’s words in this chapter on our relationship to the government can be summed up in three words—OBEY and PAY. We are to submit to the government as if we were submitted to God, obeying the law and refusing to be lawbreakers. That specifically means that we are to pay our taxes to the government, even if our tax money is used in ways with which we personally disagree. The king Paul mentions is Nero who was neither a nice guy nor careful spender of tax revenue; some of Paul’s tax money went to support the gladiator games in the coliseum; if Paul wanted to start a tax payer revolt, he missed a great chance here! Obey and pray. In writing to Timothy in the church in Ephesus, he adds one more Christian responsibility to the government-- PRAY (1 Tim 2:1-2).

The Bible’s focus is always on the kingdom of God, not on the kingdoms of men. There really is a fundamental difference in those kingdoms (Matt 20:25-28). The Kingdom of men is based on rule by power and force; the kingdom of God is about service and a cross. Lipscomb was right in that there is and always will be a fundamental tension between these two kingdoms. Garfield was right in that God can use His people for good in BOTH kingdoms. Both were wrong in seeing their views as being the essentially Christian view on the government.

No One Wins Until Everyone Wins

I remember reading somewhere of a missionary who (for some reason) tried to teach the game of croquet to the native people with whom he was working. They just couldn't get it. He laid out the wickets, explained the rules and showed them the basic skills. What they couldn't get is what happened when they hit an opponent’s croquet ball. He showed them how to place their foot on their ball and then “send” the opponent’s ball off the field. (That is the best part of croquet, sin't it?) The natives were completely confused, “Why would we want to do that?” Competition of this kind was unknown in their hunter-gatherer culture that depended on cooperation. Croquet for them became a cooperative effort; the game wasn’t over until everyone made it through all the wickets. No one won until everyone won.

That is a good description of church, “No one wins until everyone wins.” Sometimes we turn church into a contest of wills where there is a winner and a loser. The issue can be anything from worship styles to what color we paint the auditorium. We use influence and church politics to get our way so that our side wins. But church was founded by God’s love and on Christ’s cross. The way the church is supposed to operate is by love and sacrifice. When it becomes a competition where someone wins and someone loses, then it stops being the church. No one wins until everyone wins. Paul says this in our reading for today in Romans 12:14-18

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Sure this is really lousy advice if you want to win a competition. But this is a critical command if you want to live as the church of God. No one wins until everyone wins.

On Justifying Ourselves

In his book The Seven Deadly Virtues, Gerald Mann tells the story of a preacher in the south who courageously took a stand on the subject of racism at a time when that was not generally done among white, southern preachers... at least those who remained employed. Following the sermon, he was cornered by one of his members and taken to task for the lesson. The man demanded, “Well, if I ain't better than a (N-word) then who am I better than?”

“Then who am I better than?” That is likely a question that we have asked in some form at some time or another. You see, religion is often based upon the doctrine of “justification.” I’m not talking here about the great Biblical doctrine of justification by faith but the decidedly unbiblical desire justify ourselves. We know we are sinners, and that makes us uncomfortable. So we want to find ways to justify ourselves, and often the easiest way to feel justified is to point to our good points in comparison to the bad points of someone else. We have the right worship, the right doctrine, the right date on our cornerstone… the right rites. And that makes us right… right?

Wrong! That may make us FEEL right. Generally, when we say someone is just trying to “justify themselves,” what we mean is that they are making excuses for their bad behavior so they won’t look or feel so bad. I forgot my anniversary because I was so busy at work. I lost my temper because I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't gossip, I was sharing a prayer concern. All of that may "justify myself" in the sense that it makes me feel better. But I'm not justified.

Sometimes our religion is too much about justifying ourselves. Maybe that why a guy I know who hadn't been to church in years argued so strongly (obnoxiously) with a co-worker over the doctrine of baptism. It made him feel justified. Maybe that's why a guy I heard about put some extra bucks in the collection on Sunday ever time he had a rather rowdy Saturday night. It made him feel better. Maybe that's why some of us point so strongly to our right worship/doctrine/church and point our how others are doing it so wrong. Hey, if I ain’t better than a Baptist/Pentecostal/Catholic, then who am I better than?

But we can’t justify ourselves. No amount of good works can make up for the rebellion against God that the Bible calls sin. No matter how hard I try to do good, be good or worship good, I’m just not going to be able to justify myself. Paul says at the end of our reading today, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Rom 3:20). No amount of doing good, following the rules, and doing the right rites rightly will ever justify us. Only Jesus can do that.

21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Maybe we need to stop trying to justify ourselves and live as those who justified by faith.

One View From the Pew

Denbigh has for many years now partnered with Denbigh United Christian Outreach (DUCO). This association of churches in the Denbigh area serves as something of a clearinghouse for benevolent work done in the Denbigh and surrounding areas. Maria Cory serves as director of this fine work, and she occasionally visits DUCO’s member churches’ worship services. Maria was here with us Sunday, and she sent the following email to me on Monday morning. This was so encouraging to me that I thought I would share it on my blog. It is always helpful to see yourself through the eyes of other people. It is helpful to hear people who have complaints and criticisms— like the guy who told me once, “I’m from out of town, but I would never come to church here; you’re a lousy preacher.” (Those were his exact words; believe me, I remember!) But it sometimes also helps to hear people who appreciate what you are doing and who are pointed to God by it. Maria is obviously not from our religious tribe, but she is a committed follower of Jesus. Her words warmed my heart; I hope they warm yours--

Where do I begin? My heart is simply exploding with incredible emotion and inspiration after having worshipped with the Denbigh Church of Christ family this morning! While I am not searching for a new church home, it is a pleasure to visit and grow in relationship with our long-time DUCO Covenant Partner.

Today’s experience has been an enormous blessing with so many anointed branches interlacing in one beautiful vine! Glorious music reverberates throughout God’s home at 205 Denbigh Boulevard—and, surprisingly to some, all without instrumental accompaniment. Having had the wonderful opportunity to share in and appreciate a multitude of worship settings and styles, I can honestly say that DCOC’s music ministry is among the most magnificent I have ever heard. What a splendid blend of traditional and contemporary hymns. If I have ever contemplated how the heavenly hosts would sound, it would be the angelic voices that excited my soul today. It truly was “music to my ears.”

Pastorally, the DCOC community is so very fortunate to have the shepherding of Tuck and
Roger (two gentlemen whose voices I still confuse when they answer the phone). The
Christ-passion, energy, skill, wit and humor from the pulpit and through the music leadership are divinely God-given gifts and talents. In our humanness, it is no small feat for pastors to keep one’s congregation alert, attentive and inspired throughout the service and the message. As would be said, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” My eyes did not once blink in fatigue; my mind did not once wander off our purpose this morning. I was so enthralled in the God-moment that I didn’t even notice (until Tuck pointed out) that there were no windows through which light would normally shine in a sanctuary. It did not matter; stained glass was not needed; the Light was clearly present.

In addition to praising the All in All, this morning included reflections of thankfulness for being among brothers and sisters in the faith. It always warms my heart to see Jacob
Peterson, your faithful volunteer who regularly visits DUCO with your gifts to equip our pantry. He is undoubtedly one of the most positive, upbeat people who has graced my life. And Roger…he has faithfully dedicated his time, for so many years, counseling people one-on-one when they come to DUCO for emergency assistance. In addition to his wise counsel, if the ministry’s challenges cause our spirits to lag, rest assured, comedic Roger will reenergize us (at the expense of ribbing Maria). ;-) We, of course, are also grateful for neighbor Lynne Bean who continues to serve as your committed DUCO Liaison.

There were so many other positive points—from the invitational and encouraging prayers lifted up by various members to a great instructional piece in the bulletin guiding guests regarding what to expect during worship.

The Denbigh Church of Christ family is a treasure to the Denbigh community and beyond.
Thank you for our sharing this morning and for your unwavering support of our ministry together through Denbigh United Christian Outreach!

On Quitting Christianity

Yesterday on her Facebook page, author Anne Rice announced that she was quitting Christianity. Rice is best known for her series of books on vampires, the best known being Interview with a Vampire. She returned to her Catholic roots and dedicated her writing to Jesus Christ, beginning a wonder series of historical novels on Jesus (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana). Rice says that she is still committed to following Jesus, but she is done with following His followers. Here two Facebook posts were short and matter-of-fact--

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

These were posted without much context-- between observations on eBook publishing and the dangers of art being destroyed in times of war. There were thousands of replies (I didn't read all of them) which seemed split between people who agreed with her and many who did not. Her latest post seems to emphasize that she remains committed to Christ, but she seems done with the Catholic Church… and any other church for that matter.

My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.

Two thought came to me as I read this. First, I must confess that my first thought was, “Please don’t let this mean that you are quitting the 'Christ the Lord' series." OK, that is a little selfish, but I love those novels. Second, I thought about my post yesterday and how many people want to be spiritual (and Christian) but not really religious (or connected to a church). Anne Rice is a brilliant writer; her appendix to Out of Egypt does a masterful job dismantling Jesus Seminar dismissals of the gospels as reliable literature. The two Christ the Lord novels are obviously written by someone who reveres, respect and loves Jesus Christ. But in seeking Christ, Rice is no longer willing to accept the doctrinal, social, moral baggage of her church. And face it, when you are Catholic, there is a lot of baggage.

What should Anne do (besides finish the Christ the Lord series)? The Christian faith is meant to be lived in relationship with others. Maybe she could find a small group of Christ-followers and truth-seekers who share some of her concerns as well as basic faith in Jesus. Maybe she could meet with this loosely organized group to pray, study and encourage others. What the Bible calls a group like that is “church.” Anne, you didn't quit the church; you quit a church. We have all allowed the church to become a word with organizational, political and social baggage. But those original bands of brothers and sisters who huddled in catacombs to encourage one another to be faithful until Jesus returned had no baggage; they had each other. Anne, you don’t need to leave either Christianity or the church; you need to come back to it in its original form! In fact, maybe we all do!

Spiritual AND Religious

The fastest growing religious group in America is “none.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that people are en masse losing their faith in God. What it means is that people are choosing to become more private in their faith—they believe in God, but not the church. The way that this is most often expressed is someone will say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Of course, being “spiritual” can mean anything from believing in a mystic oneness with the life-force in nature (as in Avatar) or it can mean holding fairly orthodox beliefs about Jesus sans any connection to a church or faith group. Spiritual, but not religious. Kinda catchy, isn’t it?

It is also very postmodern. And very self-centered. One with spiritual beliefs that are uninformed by an external authority (Bible) or spiritual family (the church) is basically free to pick and choose the religious concepts that fit him or her at the moment. There is no obedience or discipline. There is only what makes me feel good right now, a Burger King religion that lets me have it my own way. The “organized religion” that we know as “church” has indeed spent too much time in the past arguing over intramural issues that really don’t amount to much. But at its best, the church encourages and emboldens us to be better than we would be if left free to choose to do what we want. As Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, puts it--

Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness-- all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom. Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty.

We need the church to teach, inform and encourage us. Or as Paul put it, “Reprove, rebuke and exhort.” Has it been true that many Christians in the past have settled for a religiosity of external rituals without a true focus on God or serving others? Sure, they were wrong. But what about the (post)modern spiritual guru who wants picks and choose religious concepts a la carte based on what best seems to fit at the moment? Well, they are wrong too. Amos condemned the Jews who pointed to their external religion without any life commitment. But Malachi condemned the Jews who had no problem at all with hearts mixed with idolatry but who didn’t show proper respect to God in offering their tithes and offerings.

It seems that God wants us to be both spiritual and religious.