Schooled: Week 1

Below is the first message in our three week series entitled Schooled, looking at the Old Testament book of Jonah. I have also included the discussion questions that we used to guide our conversation following the message.

Today we are starting a new series at Veritas entitled “Schooled”. In Schooled, we will be taking the next 3 weeks to look at the Old Testament book of Jonah and what it can say to us today. Throughout the 3 weeks we will be seeking to take the story out of the realm of Children’s Bible story books and into the realm that it should be, a deeply challenging, convicting, subversive, and radical call to those who would follow after the God of love, grace, and mercy.

I won’t be spending any time talking about whether this story is a true story or a parable. Whether it truly happened or is a story told for a point. I won’t get into try to defend or disprove whether Jonah was actually swallowed by a great fish, lived inside the fish for 3 days, and then vomited back up on land. I’m going to take the book as a story with an amazingly deep and challenging message for anyone who has or will read this story. You can argue if you want whether the story is true or a parable. I’m going to just look at the message that I believe God wants each of us to take away from this book and apply it to our lives. And if we apply it to our lives, I believe we will look more and more like the God of love, grace, compassion, and mercy that is described within its pages, and that in turn our communities will be flooded with radical followers of Jesus who want to, what Jeremiah 29:7 says, “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city.”

So let’s turn to Jonah chapter 1 and see what we might get out of this text that was written so long ago, but has some very relevant things to say to us gathered together in the 21st century.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

So the first thing we see in this first chapter of Jonah is God’s calling of Jonah to be a missionary to the people of the great city of Ninevah, which was the capital city of Assyria. Jonah represents the people of God called out from other nations to be a channel of God’s redemptive purposes. Now Ninevah was not a city of Israel and God was calling Jonah to go to a pagan, Gentile city and call them to repentance. As if God calling Jonah to go to a pagan, gentile city wasn’t bad enough, it was worse because the Assyrians were responsible for a number of Israel’s greatest disasters. God chose Ninevah to be an object of His mercy, because its inhabitants were more hated by the Israelites than people of any other city. You see the hatred of the Assyrians and by definition Ninevah comes from several places. First of all, as I just mentioned it was a pagan and Gentile city, of which good Jewish people should have almost nothing to do with, according to the OT law. Secondly, Ninevah was known for violence, plotting evil against the Lord, cruelty and plundering in war, prostitution, witchcraft, and commercial exploitation. Look at Nahum 3:1-4 to get a feel of the evil within Ninevah, “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots! Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses— all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.” Lastly, in the years following the exile of Israel out of their land to Babylon, there grew up in Israel a spirit of bitterness and vengefulness towards other lands. The nation had endured so much at the hands of enemies that there was little inclination to keep alive the vision of Israel as God’s servant through whom redemptive truth would one day reach all nations. The most passionate desire wasn’t for the redemption of all nations but for God’s wrath to utterly consume all if Israel’s enemies.

And so here God was calling his prophet Jonah to go to the very enemy of Israel preach to it, be a missionary to it and Jonah has a choice. Does he go, knowing that God is a God of compassion and mercy and if the Ninevites repent that destruction won’t come. Or does he disobey God and his calling as a missionary, and also the call to reawaken a nation to their missionary call to be a blessing to all nations, that they were called to all the way back in Genesis 12? Does he go the other way hoping that the Assyrians will be judged, condemned and destroyed? We find out his choice in verse 3 when it says, “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.” So the 2 questions that I immediately think of is: 1. Does he really think he can run away from God? And 2. Why and where is Tarshish? Well the first question I believe points us to the thought at the time, not so much from the Jewish perspective, but from other belief systems, that there were gods of various areas, and once you left a certain area, you could leave the god of that area behind. So maybe Jonah was trying to get away from God by leaving Israel, which we know was futile. But more than that, I believe the presence of God is intolerable to Jonah because it demanded of him the renunciation of his prejudices and his lust for divine vengeance upon Israel’s enemies. That I believe was the real reason behind Jonah’s running. He didn’t want to face up to the reality of his vengeful spirit and his hope for God’s wrath and judgment to be poured out on his people’s enemy. The second question I think is directly related to the first, in that Jonah thought, where is the farthest place I can go, to get away from God’s call on my life, and God’s desire to redeem these people. So he thought Tarsish, a city most likely to be identified with the Greek Tarteses in the south of Spain. It was as far west as ships were likely to sail from Palestine, and some thought it was almost at the end of the earth. Ninevah was east of Palestine and Tarsish was as far west as you could go, at the time. So he gets on board and ship heading to Tarsish and runs into trouble. The one thing that I find very interesting in this part of Jonah chapter 1 can be found in verses 11-13, “The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Jonah was willing to give up his life to save Gentile sailors, but couldn’t bear the thought that God should save Gentiles in Ninevah. Jonah’s readiness to die to save the sailors contrasts with his later callous departure from Ninevah to watch while the city perish, or so he hoped. To Jonah, and to the Israelites, it was harder to hate individuals than it was to hate groups of people. And it was harder to hate these gentile sailors when he was in relationship with them, knew their names, and were face to face with them. For Jonah, it was by far easier to condemn and hate a group of people who were not in relationship with him, that he didn’t know and never were face to face with. And so the last thing we see in this chapter is when Jonah is thrown into the sea, and the Lord provides a great fish to swallow Jonah, and that Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. And so know we turn to our time of discussion and application. The time where we can unpack the text into our local context and what God is saying to each of us about living this reality out in our neighborhoods, workplace, school, families, and communities. So let’s unpack this together and see what God might be leading each of us as individuals and as a community to.

Discussion Questions: 1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, pushback, etc... do you have regarding the Scripture and/or the message? 2. Who does Ninevah represent to you? Are you running away from them (and by definition away from God as well)? 3. Who is God calling you to be on mission with and on mission for? 4. What is God saying to you and what are you going to do about it? What is God saying to us and what should we do about it?

When the Empire gets Baptized

Below is the text for our last week in the Jesus for President series as well as two questions that guided our discussion time following the message. This morning we are wrapping up our 3 week series entitled Jesus for President. 2 weeks ago when we started we talked about Before there were Kings and Presidents, and we talked about 1 Samuel 8 where the people of Israel when to Samuel and demanded a King. They wanted a flesh and blood King who would fight for the nation, and would sit on the throne. They took the King of the Kingdom off the throne and put a human on the throne. Don’t we all do that as well?

Last week we talked about A New Kind of Commander-in-Chief. We talked about the coronation process of Caesar and the upside down Coronation process of King Jesus. We talked about the upside down Kingdom of God that followers of Jesus need to live out, in following our King.

Today our theme and topic of conversation is entitled “When the Empire gets baptized.” And so I thought I would kick off our conversation by asking, when have you seen or do you have an example of when the empire got baptized?

One example of when the empire gets baptized comes from the debate from the other night. At the very end of the debate Mitt Romney said these words, “America is the hope of the world.” Another example is closely tied into that comment but comes from a former president who said these two things, “There’s power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people.” And “The ideal of America is the hope of all mankind…That hope still lights our way. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” But of these statements are ripped from the Kingdom of God and used to describe the Kingdom of the World. The wonder-working power, in that quote, is not the blood of the Lamb (which is a hymn) but puts America there. And the other quote comes from John 1:5 and originally was addressed about Jesus, but the politician who said it said it wasn’t about Jesus, but about America. If that isn’t when the empire gets baptized, I don’t know what is.

To talk about when the empire gets baptized we’ll be looking at two different Scriptures. The first one is from John 18:36 and the second is Revelation 18:2-5, 11-14. So let’s take a look at John 18:36 which says, “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

This Scripture is in the midst of the trial of Jesus before Pilate. Jesus response in verse 36 is derived from a question that Pilate asks in verse 33, “Are you the King of the Jews.” Pilate’s only understanding of King was based on worldly Kings and worldly Kingdoms and probably from his viewpoint; Jesus didn’t quite fit that label. Jesus Kingdom and his kingship, as he says in verse 36, is not of this world. This doesn’t mean that it is only concerned with another world, and another time. It doesn’t mean that he is only King of heaven and that the Kingdom of God is only for the hereafter. No, that isn’t what Jesus means when he says that his Kingdom is not of this world. What Jesus is really saying here, is that he is a King all right, and that he has a kingdom. But that he is a King and his Kingdom are both radically different than the Kings and the Kingdoms of this world. His Kingdom is one that doesn’t have soldiers to protect it, not does it come, like most kingdoms, through power, force and violence. But instead comes through love, sacrifice, freedom, and grace.

The early church theologian Augustine observed from this verse that earthly kingdoms are based upon force, pride the love of human praise, the desire for domination, and self interest, all of these displayed by Pilate, the Roman Empire, and honestly America as well. The Kingdom of God, unlike the Kingdom of the world, which is exemplified by Jesus and the cross, is based on love, sacrifice, humility and righteousness/justice. So that is why, to Pilate, it didn’t seem like Jesus was actually a King. He was having his blood shed by “his enemies”, instead of shedding the blood of “his enemies.” He was showing power not by dominating and having people serve him, but by taking off his outer garment, getting a basin of water, and taking on the role of a servant and washing the feet of his disciples.

We need to really take a look at that idea again, that true power, true leadership, true change comes from serving, humbling yourself, and sacrifice. As followers of Jesus must take care that we live and serve with the power of the cross and not by the power of Rome (or America). The key to living in Jesus’ Kingdom is not found in trying to rule over things or others, but in being more fully ruled by God. You see, however, that in Jesus’ day (and ours as well) they were conditioned to look for salvation in political solutions- we are also tempted to further the purposes of the Kingdom by the power of this world. To seek to bring the Kingdom of God though the power of the Kingdom of the world, and that never ever goes well. Just look at the Crusades as an example when the empire gets baptized. How did the Kingdom of God come through the violence, murder, and power in the Crusades? It didn’t and it never does.

We need to come out of that understanding, and that way of life, that the Kingdom of God can be brought through Kingdom of the world values. That the Kingdom comes through power over. That the Kingdom of God can come through voting. That the Kingdom of God can come through the American lifestyle or foreign policy. Or that the empire of the United States is actually part of the Kingdom of God, or put in another way, that the United States is a Christian nation. We need to come out of that. After all, as writer, speaker, theologian and professor Tony Campolo said, “We may live in the best Babylon in the world…but it is still Babylon and we are called to come out of her.”

Let’s look at what John the Apostle, said about Babylon in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, Revelation 18:2-5 and 11-14. With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves. “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ Some very interesting points can be found in this passage. First we see that Babylon and the merchants who live under her rule and reign are drunk, drunk on the blood of the saints. Her wineglass is filled with the blood she has shed throughout the earth of “saints, prophets, and all who have been killed on the earth.” Her is the cup of empire, slaughter, genocide, and power over. Everyone has grown drunk from the blood, and they stand back and marvel, ‘Who is like Babylon?” Babylon the beautiful. But there are those who do not drink from her cup, who do not grow drunk on the cocktails of culture. Their cup is filled with the blood of the lamb. It is the cup of the new covenant. The question for you and I is which cup will we drink from? The cup of the empire or the cup of the Kingdom of God? One that sheds others blood, demands power, force, and power over or one that has his blood shed, and is all about the power under of service, love, and peace? Also John was seeking to make a point about the empire of Babylon and the Kingdom of God. You can’t walk the line between them. John’s language couldn’t be clearer. We are to come out of her, literally to pull ourselves out. Let’s be honest, this is Rated R. Scholars point out that this is erotic language and that the words John uses are the same ones used for coitus interruptus- to interrupt sexual intercourse before climax. As John is speaking of this steamy love affair with the empire, he calls the church to pull out of her, to leave the romance with the world and be wooed by God, to remember our first love, to say no to all other lovers. To say no to the empire of the world, whether that was Rome or America, and to say no to the values of the empire, and instead say yes to the Kingdom of God and it’s values, which are totally upside down from those of the Kingdom of the world.

But what does that mean for you and I gathered together here today? What does it mean to say no to the empire and the Kingdom of the world and say yes to King Jesus and the Kingdom of God? Well let’s unpack that together now.

Discussion Questions: 1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, push back, etc... do you have regarding the Scriptures and/or message? 2. What is God saying to you and what are you going to do about it? What is God saying to us and what should we do about it?

A New Kind of Commander-in-Chief

Yesterday was our 2nd week in our Jesus for President series and we covered the theme: A New Kind of Commander-in-Chief. Below is the text of the message and the discussion questions we used after the message.

So today we continue our series entitled “Jesus for President”. Last week our theme was Before there were Kings and Presidents. And this week we are looking at “A New Kind of Commander-in-Chief.

As I was watching the Presidential Debate (this is the only reference to current politics that I am going to make) this past week a thought struck me. These men are talking as if they are the Messiah of America. They have a Messianic Complex. Now they wouldn’t come right out and tell you that, but when you listen to them they come off as “I can fix that. I can do this. I can do that.” Blah Blah Blah.

But that is nowhere near what the political scene was like in Jesus day. Let me read to you an inscription that was found on stone from the 1st century. “The birth date of our God has signaled the beginning of good news for the world.” Now this sounds like it was written about Jesus, but in actuality it was written announcing the birth of Caesar Augustine. In fact many of the titles and words we find in the Scriptures are directly confronting the Roman Empire. You see the title Son of God wasn’t just in reference to Jesus, but was a popular title for Kings and Emperors. Savior was a title also given to Caesar as was Lord and Emmanuel. Caesar if you will was the original Commander-in-Chief and ruled over the Roman Empire in such a way that he was definitely viewed as the messiah. So you want to talk about a messianic complex, this guy would have one huge one.

This morning we are going to do some looking at what kind of Commander-in-Chief Caesar was. We are going to look at the Coronation and Procession of Caesar. We are going to then contrast Caesar, the Commander-in-Chief of the Roman Empire, with Jesus, a new kind of Commander-in-Chief. We are going to also look at the Coronation and Procession of King Jesus and realize that this King and the Kingdom he rules over is an upside-down Kingdom and differs greatly than the Kingdom of the Roman Empire and by definition every other empire that has ever been on the face of the earth, including the Empire of the United States. And we’ll look at what it means to each one of us to live for commander-in-chief Jesus instead of ourselves and for his Kingdom and not the kingdom of our own making.

We all know, if we have done any study of history, that the Caesar’s were known for their insane, violent and power-hungry egos. As I mentioned before, the Caesar’s and Roman emperors were worshipped as gods on earth. So the emperor gained the title Son of God. Inaugurations of Caesars were ornate, public and meant to impress. The ceremony originated with the Greeks and was called a thriambas. Then the Romans adopted this ceremony. At the center of these ceremonies was the triumphant person to be deified- the triumphator. Both the Greek and Roman ceremonies were affiliated with gods that died and rose again. Dionysus and Jupiter.

The Christians in the Roman Empire recognized the power and devotion of the imperial cult. They also recognized that you could not serve the god of the empire and the God of Jesus. This is why they did not choose small language to communicate about Jesus, language such as ‘it’s just a personal spiritual conviction, not political.” No, they chose language and imagery with the weight of the empire behind their words. But probably the most poignant language in the Gospels that contrast Jesus with the power of his day is the crucifixion story in Mark (which we’ll turn to shortly). Ray Vander Laan notes the following 8 steps in the inauguration of a Caesar. Listen carefully to them, and then note the powerful and satirical method Mark uses to paint what he sees as the true inauguration of Jesus, the suffering and loving triumphator- or anti-triumphator.

So we’ll look at each of the 8 steps one by one of the coronation and procession of Caesar then we’ll look at the account of Jesus coronation and procession. Hopefully we’ll see clearly that this Kingdom that is the Kingdom of God is upside down, radical, and subversive and that it calls us to be upside down, radical and subversive as well.

The first step in the coronation and procession of Caesar was that the Praetorian Guard gathered in the Praetorium. The would-be Caesar was brought into the middle of the gathering. Now let’s look at Mark 15:16, which is the beginning of the Coronation and Procession of Jesus, which says, “The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.”

The next step in the Coronation of Caesar was that guards went to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, got a purple robe, and placed it on the candidate. The candidate was also given an olive-leaf wreath made of gold and a scepter for the authority of Rome. In Jesus coronation we see this in Mark 15:17, “They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.” We see the soldiers bringing Jesus a wreath of thrones, a scepter (which they use as a weapon on him) and a purple robe.

Next in Caesar’s coronation was that he was loudly acclaimed as triumphant by the Praetorian Guard. Jesus however was sarcastically acclaimed, mocked, and paid homage to by the soldiers. Mark 15:18-19, “And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.”

After loudly acclaiming Caesar as triumphant, the procession would begin through the streets of Rome, led by soldiers. In the middle was Caesar. Walking behind him was a sacrificial bull, whose death and blood would mark Caesar’s entrance into the divine pantheon. Walking next to the bull was a slave, who carried an axe to kill the bull. Some accounts note that some people would spread sweet-smelling incense around the procession. Looking at verses 20-21 is the start of Jesus’ procession, “And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.” Instead of a bull, the would-be king and god became the sacrifice, the bull. But he could not carry the instrument of death and be the sacrifice. So they stopped Simon and gave him the cross.

Caesars’ procession then moved to the highest hill in Rome, the Capitolene hill (head hill). On this hill is the Capitoleum temple. The account in Mark has Jesus also ascending a hill, “They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). In Aramaic, Golgotha is not precisely ‘skull hill’- that’s Calvary. To split hairs, Golgotha means ‘head hill,’ like the Roman Capitolene. Next, the candidate stood before the temple altar and was offered, by the slave, a bowl of wine mixed with myrrh. He took it as if to accept, and then gave it back. The slave also refused, and then the wine was poured out either onto the altar or onto the bull. Right after the wine was poured, the bull was killed.” Jesus, was offered wine as well, and he refused. Mark 15:23-24a says, “Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him.” The seventh step in the coronation process of Caesar was that the Caesar-to-be would gather his second in command on his right hand and his third in command on his left. Then they would ascend to the throne of the Capitoleum. In Mark 15:27 we read the words, “They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.” Lastly, the crowd would acclaim the inaugurated emperor. And for the divine seal of approval, the gods would send signs, such as a flock of doves or a solar eclipse. In the last step of Jesus coronation and procession we see Jesus again being acclaimed (mocked) and a divine sign confirming God’s presence (the temple curtain ripped in two.) Mark 15:29-38 bears this out, “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Other accounts have the whole sky becoming darkened, tombs bursting open, and the dead coning back to life.” So is it any wonder than that at the end of this story of Jesus crucifixion we read these words, “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” After all he had probably seen a coronation and procession of “the son of God/Caesar” before, but here was the true Son of God and he pledged his allegiance to Jesus.

So now you might be saying, that is all very interesting, or not, what does it have to do with my life. But let me finish up with a few thoughts that hopefully will guide our discussion time. The commander-in-chief, the King Jesus, the true Son of God, comes to the throne not from power, violence, killing his enemy, etc..but from living a life of peace, justice, forgiveness and compassion. You see Caesar achieved the peace of Rome (Pax Romana) through violence (can Peace reached through violence and war ever be true peace??). The pax Christi (peace of Christ) is not a peace of conquest bur rather the peace of true reconciliation. The King achieves peace not by shedding blood, but by shedding his own blood. What does this say how we respond to violence? What does this say about how we (as a country or a society or individuals) respond to our enemies? Jesus lived out the upside down Kingdom of God. He calls us to the same thing. This upside down Kingdom says love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you, deny yourself, die to yourself, put others first, bless don’t curse, serve others, etc….. Let’s spend time talking and unpacking more implications of how this new commander-in-chief lived the upside down kingdom of God and how we can apply it to our own lives.

1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, pushback, etc… do you have regarding the message and the Scripture? 2. What stood out to you regarding the coronation and process of Caesar vs. the coronation and procession of Jesus? 3. For you what are some of the implications of the upside down Kingdom of God are you currently wrestling with? 4. What is God saying to you and what are you going to do about it? What is God saying to us and what are we going to do about it?

Giving everyone a voice

A few years ago Stuart Murray while promoting his book "The Naked Anabaptist" came to Elizabethtown College to speak and share. During that time he gave out a document called "Anabaptist Network Core Convictions". Number 5 of the Core Convictions is "Churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission, places of friendship, mutual accountability and multivoiced worship." When I read that the term multivoiced worship jumped off the page at me and gave me words for what we had been attempting at Veritas. I wanted to know more.

Jump forward to a few months ago when Stuart Murray Williams and his wife Sian released the book "The Power of All: Building a Multivoiced Church." I knew that I wanted to read it and that is when I was given the opportunity to review the book through Herald Press. So I want to thank Herald Press for the opportunity to review this book.

The question that the authors are seeking to answer is how can a New Testament model help empower and renew the church in today's post-Christian society? And they spend the next 180 pages unpacking what it means to be a multivoiced church. They unpack what it looks like in worship, in leadership, in discernment, and in discipleship.

One of the first things though that needed to be explained by the authors is what a multivoiced church actually is. They define a multivoiced church as, "an alternative to the dominant traditions in which large numbers of the Christian community are passive consumers instead of active participants. It replaces reliance on one person (variously designated as priest, vicar, minister, pastor, lead elder, or whatever) or a small group of people (elders, deacons, leadership team, church board, parochial church council or whatever) with an expectation that the whole community is gifted, called, empowered and expected to be involved in all aspects of church life."

This approach, the multivoiced approach, to church life, ministry, and mission is something that we at Veritas have been trying to live out on a weekly basis in our gatherings. We have sought to move away from passive spectators to active participants by having discussion following the message as well as dialogue around our weeks and how we have been a blessing in the world, what God is teaching us, and how we are doing life with other followers of Jesus. Multivoiced worship takes longer. There is no in and out in under an hour. And that might scare some people away, because they want to come to church on Sunday and get out and get on with their day. But we are committed to being multivoiced even if it takes longer (in terms of worship but also in terms of leadership, decision making, etc..)

There is a wealth of information in this book. There is a lot to chew on and think about. There is a lot of ideas and concepts to think about and dream about, and figure out how to make it a reality in our faith communities. Here are some of those things that I will be chewing on in the days to come:

"Most Christians are not engaged as participants in the mission of God and Churches are structured for passivity." - Quotes from Ed Stetzer.

"It is not a big step from there to the notion that we come to church to be entertained and inspired by specialist."

"Post-Christendom represents a much more serious challenge to the churches in Western societies than post-modernity, although this also opens up many fresh opportunities."

"In post-Christendom there will be fewer cultural supports for faith, many more lifestyle options, and numerous disincentives to discipleship. Passive attendance at weekly front-led worship events, however inspiring, and passive consumption of sermons, however well crated, will not do."

"Those who urge us to abandon, or at least de-emphasize, attractional forms of mission in favor of an incarnational approach rightly recognize that in post-Christendom the church is no longer at the center of society but on the margins, that 'going to church' is culturally alien and unattractive to most people in this society, and that the onus is increasingly on all of us to engage in dispersed forms of mission in teh various spheres of life in which we spend most of our time. Our calling is to live out, and when appropriate speak out, the gospel in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces and social networks."

I could continue on in quoting various sections of the book that inspired, challenged, convicted, and made me think. There is just so much richness in this book. Anyone interested in moving from a passive spectator form to worship, church life, mission, and leadership should read this book. Anyone interested in post-Christendom forms of church, mission, discipleship, and leadership should read this book. Anyone interested in missional forms of church, mission, discipleship and leadership should read this book. I can't recommend this book any stronger. It was a privilege to read this book and I will be continually referring to it and using it to help our community become a multivoiced community.

Thanks to Herald Press for the opportunity to review this book.

Before there were Kings and Presidents

Here is the text from my message yesterday as we started our new series Jesus For President. I've also included the discussion questions that followed the message. So today we begin a three week series entitled Jesus for President roughly based off of the book of the same name, and also as a tie into to the election season that we are currently undergoing.

Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be looking at what it would be like if Jesus was President, what his platform would be if he did run for president, what type of “president” he would be. We’ll also look at what it looks like to be about the Kingdom of God and ultimately where we put our hope, trust and longing in.

Our theme today is Before their were Kings and Presidents. Next week we’ll be looking at: A New Kind of Commander-in-Chief. And the following week we’ll be looking at: When the Empire gets Baptized.

So today, as I mentioned our theme is Before there were Kings and Presidents, and to look at this theme we’ll be looking at 1 Samuel 8. 1 Samuel 8 is the account of the people of God, their dealing with the judge/prophet named Samuel and the radical turning point in the history of the people of God.

So let’s look at 1 Samuel 8 together and see what it might say to us gathered together in a different culture, a different time, and a different political system. 1 Samuel 8 says, “When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.” So in this story we find Samuel getting older and due to his increasing age he began thinking of a succession plan. Who would follow in his footsteps, and continue the work that he was doing. He was wondering who he could leave his legacy to. And because he had sons, the answer to him was very easy, why not appoint his sons as judges for Israel. But it wasn’t just as simple as appointing them Judges for Israel.

You see, his sons, Joel and Abijah, weren’t the kind of sons that you would hope for, as a prophet and judge. They were kind of like the stereotypical “Pastors’ kids. You know what I’m talking about. You see they didn’t walk in the ways of their father. They decided to make their own path. They went after fame and fortune, so to speak by going after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and also perverted justice. These things were explicitly forbidden in the Mosaic law.

But the elders of Israel challenged Samuel’s succession plan, and probably rightly so. His kids weren’t the kind of kids that you would want to be leading God’s people. They didn’t exactly follow in the ways of God or their father. So the elders decide to approach Samuel and let him know their thoughts and feelings around the succession plan. In verse 5 we read, ““You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” The elders cite Samuel’s age and the misconduct of his sons as justification for their request for a king. It soon becomes apparent however, that the more basic reason for their request was a desire to be like the surrounding nations- to have a human king as a symbol of national power and unity who would lead them in battle and guarantee their security. They were declaring that they didn’t want God to reign over them and be their king.

They wanted a king that they would see and touch and worship. With growing fear of neighboring empires like Assyria and Babylon, they were succumbing to the empty dream of domination. The very people who suffered so deeply for the things kings do demanded another king. Something whispered inside the Israelites that they needed a king “to be like the other nations”- a paralysis of faith and imagination. They still didn’t get that they were to be a people “set apart” from the nations and from the patterns destroying them. Moses may have freed their bodies, but Pharaoh still colonized their conscience.

And so Samuel is distraught. He realizes that what the people are saying is that they don’t want to live under the rule and reign of the true King, and instead live under the rule and reign of a flawed, broken and human king. They didn’t trust God to save them and deliver them. They wanted a human king to save them and deliver them. They wanted someone to rule with pomp, and power and military might, and not a God that was calling them back to their original calling as a people, that of being a blessing to all nations. (see Genesis 12:1-3)

And so when he was distraught by the demands of the elders, what did he do? Something that we all should do (whether distraught or not) turn to our King and pray. And the King of Heaven and Earth responds to Samuel in verse 7, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” And then the Lord tells Samuel what to share with the Elders, about what a Human King will demand from them, nothing more than total allegiance. And so we see Samuel sharing everything that the Human King will demand of his people in verses 11-18.

But to no avail. The people still demanded a human King and turned from the one true King and Kingdom. Putting their hope and trust not in the King of the Universe to save them, redeem them, and form them into a set apart nation of blessing, but putting their hope and trust in a human king that would enslave them, use them, tax them, and demand allegiance from them. And to form them into a nation, like all other nations, and not a nation of blessing but of conquest, power, and might. And the rest of the Old Testament bares this out, that they forgot who they were called and set apart of be, and the Kings mostly led the way not into the true calling of the people of God, but in the way of all the other nations.

So you might be asking yourself, what does that mean for us today? What is the relevance to my day in and day out life here in the USA where we don’t have a King of the land, but a President that we elect? If our series is called Jesus for President, what does that have to do with our text that we looked at this morning?

Well, that is where our discussion will take us now. Here are some of the questions that we’ll be talking and wrestling through and seeking to apply what we have just looked at in 1 Samuel 8. 1. What or Who are you putting your hope, allegiance, and trust in? 2. What or who is the King that you are living under their reign and rule? Is it the King of Heaven and Earth or is it a King of another kind? 3. What Kingdom are you seeking to live out in your everyday life?

Discussion Questions: 1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, etc.. do you have regarding the message and the Scripture? 2. What or Who are you putting your hope, allegiance, and trust in? 3. What or who is the King that you are living under their reign and rule? Is it the King of Heaven and Earth or is it a King of another kind? 4. What Kingdom are you seeking to live out in your everyday life? 5. What is God saying to you and what are you going to do about it? What is God saying to us and what should we do about it?

Neighborhood or Network Based Missional Communities

While spending a good deal amount of time, dreaming, praying, and wondering how and when we should launch missional communities that happen in various locations through Lancaster/York, I came upon this video that has helped me. I struggled because we have people all of the map as far as locality and people don't live in the same neighborhood so I wondered what the next step was. This video is helpful in that it gives other options than just a Neighborhood based Missional Community. So take some time to watch it. I think you'll find it helpful as well.

Neighborhood or Network Based Missional Communities? from Caesar Kalinowski on Vimeo.

unChristian: Week 4

This past Sunday was our 4th and final week in our unChristian series. This week we covered the last two perceptions that people have regarding Christians. So take some time to read the message that I gave yesterday as well as the discussion questions that we talked about after. This is our 4th and final week in the unChristian series that we have been doing. Over the last 4 weeks we have been looking at the perception that young Americans (16-29) have towards Christians. We have used the research done by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons in the book unChristian as the basis for our series. Kinnaman and Lyons found that when asked what the perceptions of Christians were, many young Americans answered in very much the same way. In fact, when all of the findings were done, the perceptions could be broken down into 6 different ones.

The first week of our series we cover the fact that people’s perception is their reality. That what they perceived about Christians, whether accurate or not, was their reality. Then we did a week on two of the 6 perceptions. Two weeks ago we covered the perception that Christians were judgmental and anti-homosexual. Last week we covered the perception that Christians were too political and too sheltered. And this week we cover the perception that Christians are hypocritical and too worried about getting others saved.

So one of the most common issues that people raise when it comes to Christians is this idea of hypocrisy. All too often we see this come to light, when a Christian leader has a moral failure. We saw it this week where a former Pastor in Lancaster County was charged with the murder of his 1st wife. We also saw this week the story where the former Lancaster Mennonite administrator got 3-9 years for molesting 3 male students. But if we are honest with ourselves we see it in smaller ways in each one of our lives. None of us live perfectly congruent lives with the faith that we profess. So when people say Christians are all hypocrites, they are totally being truthful, because we are all hypocrites, Christian and non-Christian alike.

One of the other common perceptions that people have of Christians is they are too concerned with getting others saved. People believe that there is always this hidden agenda with Christians and they bring it into every relationship. Reminds me of the time that a former youth pastor that I hung around with when I was a youth pastor, called me after leaving youth ministry and wanted to catch up and grab lunch. So we had lunch and after we were finished he made a sales pitch to me regarding finances, insurance, and a bunch of other services. I was rather ticked off because he scheduled the lunch not because he was interested in catching up with me but interested in me as a client of his business. It was his agenda. And that soured my relationship with him.

One thing that we all hate is when someone isn’t authentic and genuine. We hate it when they don’t practice what they preach, or when they only care about their agenda and what you can do for them. It really comes down to an issue of integrity.

We all long for people to have integrity in how they live and how they relate to us. That’s the image of God in all of us, not just believers. And that’s why so many non-Christians are so frustrated with Christians who are hypocrites or who only care about one thing: trying to convert them. The research from the book unChristian shows us that the perception regarding Christians is that we are hypocritical. They say that we say one thing and do another and they are very skeptical of our morally superior attitudes. They also say that Christians pretend to be something unreal, conveying a polished image that is not accurate. And all too often Christians think the church is only a place for virtuous and morally pure people (though none of us are virtuous and morally pure).

Also those interviewed for the book wondered if Christians genuinely cared about them. They felt like targets rather than people. They questioned Christians motive when we try to help them “get saved” despite that many of them have already tried Jesus and experienced church before.

So let’s take a look at some Scriptures that seek to address these two perceptions that people have towards Christianity. Because you see Jesus had plenty to say about being hypocritical and the Scriptures have plenty to say about seeing people as more than a project and/or an agenda. He even reserved his harshest condemnation for those religious people he considered hypocrites. Just look at Matthew 23. But the first text we’ll look at together regarding hypocrisy is found in Matthew 7:1-5, which says, ““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

This text is all about hypocrisy and trying to remove the sin from someone else’s life while totally ignoring your own issues. Or pretending that you don’t have any issues. Jesus does not prohibit judgment of others, inside the family. He does prohibit judgment of others outside “the family”. He only requires that our judgment be completely fair, and that we only judge others by a standard we would also like to be judged by. Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, not because we judge according to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard - we ignore the standard in our own life. We judge others by one standard, and ourselves by another standard - being far more generous to ourselves than others.

Now according to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus' time, God had two measures that He used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. Which measure do you want God to use with you? Then you should use that same measure with others. That’s what Jesus was getting at when he said “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Then Jesus uses a metaphor for our hypocrisy. He uses the figures of a speck and a plank. And the speck and plank are real figures used humorously. Jesus shows how we are generally far more tolerant to our own sin than we are to the sin of others. Our hypocrisy in these matters is always more evident to others than to ourselves. We may find a way to ignore the plank in our own eye, but others notice it immediately. And that is what drives people in our culture up a wall. It is like we don’t even see our own issues, and are far more concerned with others issues. At the same time, Jesus doesn't say that it is wrong for us to help our brother with the speck in his eye. It is a good thing to help your brother with his speck, but not before dealing with the plank in your own eye. Maybe we need to worry more about taking care of the issues in our own lives before we turn our attention to others? Maybe the saying should be love the sinner, hate my sin, instead of love the sinner, hate their sin? This also applies to how we interact with others and to see them more as a project or as someone who needs saved, because if we are all honest with ourselves we all need “saving” in some way, even if you are a follower of Jesus. And these issues are, as I said, not new. They were important in the early church as well and Peter gives us instructions about how we are to make the most impact in culture and in the lives of those around us. 1 Peter 2:11-12 says, “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Peter tells us that this world (the Kingdom of the world) is not our home, we are foreigners and exiles in this place. And since this isn’t our home we have to abstain from sinful desires, which attack our very lives and souls. To live out the Kingdom in this world, we need to make our spiritual lives a priority. As followers of Jesus our main priority needs to be the Kingdom of God and one way to live out the Kingdom is found in verse 12, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day he visits us.” Unfortunately we have all seen the past 4 weeks that all too often we haven’t lived such good lives. We will make the biggest impact on others through our good works toward others. This doesn’t devalue evangelism—there is a time and a place to, as Peter says a few verses later, “to give the reason for the hope we have.” But our words should be an outflow of our deeds. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

And I truly believe when we get the message of both Matthew 7:1-5, and 1 Peter 2:11-12 into our hearts and minds and into our lives, the perception that we are hypocrites and have an agenda with people will be brought into question. They will be brought into question because they see us dealing with our own sin or own planks in our eyes first. They will see that we truly care about them, whether or not they ever come to know Jesus. That they aren’t a project to God and they aren’t a project to us.

But again what does this look like on the ground lived out and fleshed out in the every day? Let’s spend some time talking through some questions about hypocrisy and too concerned about getting others saved.

1. What do you think the true definition of hypocrisy should be? What are examples of hypocrisy in your life that you should be more transparent about? 2. Only 34% of young outsiders believe that Christians genuinely care about them. But among Christians, 64% said outsiders would perceive their efforts as genuine. Why do you believe there is such a huge gap? 3. Read 2 Timothy 2:24-25. Discuss the role of the Christ follower and the part the Holy Spirit plays in someone choosing to follow Christ. 4. What is God saying to you and what are you going to do about it? What is God saying to us and what should we do about it?

unChristian: Week 3

Below you'll find the text of the message and the discussion questions that we used for our 3rd week of our unChristian series. So for the last two weeks we have been working through a series called unChristian, because as the art on the screen says, “Christianity has an image problem.” Two weeks ago we looked at the idea that the perception of Christians in the reality. That when someone has a perception of something it is true, to them. And when asked what the perception of Christians were, young Americans both outside and inside the church, said the same 6 perceptions. The 6 perceptions that were repeatedly shared were that Christians were: judgmental, anti-homosexual, too political, too sheltered, hypocritical, and only cared about getting others “saved”.

So we are taking 2 perceptions a week and tackling them together. Last week we looked at the idea that Christians are perceived as judgmental and anti-homosexual. This week we are looking at the perception that Christians are too political and too sheltered.

Now where in the world do these perceptions come from? Is it grounded in reality? Are Christians way too political and too sheltered? Before you say yes or no, let me share a few things with you. If you type in the word Christian vote into Google, the second website you find is called Christian Vote and here is their tag line, “How can a Christian vote Democrat.” And farther down the website you find this, “WHY PRAY TO JESUS ON SUNDAY AND VOTE AGAINST HIM ON TUESDAY?” So what they are saying is that Christians should only vote Republican because that is what Jesus would do. Personally I have a huge issue with that, and not because I believe the opposite to be true, that Jesus would vote democrat.

Politics and faith are some of the biggest issues that seek to divide people. And when you put them together, it seems like they just combust and blow up. Followers of Jesus, going to the same community of faith can’t get along because one is republican and one is democrat. Instead of letting the Kingdom be our true allegiance, we put our allegiance in this or that political party.

So this morning we are going to talk about politics and faith, and just like last week this can have the potential of getting pretty divisive. So the same ground rules apply. Speak your mind, and ideas, but do so out of love and respect for others, who may have a different opinion. Please share disagreements, we aren’t afraid of that, but do so in grace.

The reason we’re going to talk about faith and politics is because one of the greatest perceptions of Christianity is that Christians are too political. And more often than not, Christians are associated with right-wing politics. Maybe you don’t think this is an issue, because you yourself support right-wing politics. But, this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue among younger generations.

Another top perception of Christianity is that Christians are sheltered, old-fashioned, unintelligent, and out-of-touch with reality. Often, this is related to politics because Christians fight for values that many outsiders think are old-fashioned or out of touch with reality. All of this raises a question: is it a bad thing to be too political or too sheltered in the eyes of outsiders?

Now before we get into the Scripture this morning, I have to say that I really really wrestled with what Scripture we should even look at. I spend some time looking at various passages and nothing seemed to connect. Than I prayed and a weird statement came to my mind. Have you ever heard the statement, “politics makes strange bedfellows”? That thought came to my mind, and then that led me to the text that we’ll spend some time unpacking together this morning. We’ll be looking at Matthew 22:15-22.

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” Let’s look at this text and see what it might say about how our faith should play itself out in the political world. It might be easy to say that Jesus wasn’t involved in politics but it isn’t easy to say that people didn’t try to get him involved by trapping him with the big questions of his day. For example, one of the biggest questions that floated around Israel in the time of Jesus was whether or not a faithful Jew would pay taxes or not. Now keep in mind that Caesar’s coins were floating all over the empire, stamped with Caesar’s image and inscribed with the world “Long live the Son of God.” Now these coins were a sign that the entire economy belonged to Caesar and without him everything would fall apart. The interesting thing though is that the Jews even started minting their own coins, branded with the palm leaf (which is like their revolutionary flag). There was a group of Jews that refused to pay taxes. They “refused to call any man master” believing that they owed exclusive loyalty to God and could not render tribute to Caesar, who claimed to be Lord. Poor Jewish people like Jesus’ family in Galilee were usually so enslaved to debt and taxation that over 50 percent of their income went to Caesar. So it’s not surprising that people wanted Jesus to weigh in on the question, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not.” It is also not surprising that people would use this question to trap Jesus.

Now remember when I said politics makes strange bedfellows? This is such a case where politics certainly put together two opposing factions. You could almost say it another way, “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.” So these two groups of people come to Jesus, the Pharisees (and their disciples) and the Herodians. Two unlikely groups to work together. You see the Pharisees were at odds with the Roman occupation of Israel. And the Herodians who represented the Roman Occupation of Israel and were working for the man, so to speak.

So they come to Jesus and ask him to weigh in on this important question of his day, Should we pay the imperial tax to Caesar. You see they thought they trapped him. If Jesus would have said to not pay the Imperial tax, the Herodians would have passed that on to their superiors and the power of the Roman Empire would have been brought down on Israel. Jesus would have been seen as an enemy of Rome and then the hand of Rome would have sought to execute him before his time. If he would have said to pay Rome, he would have been accused of siding with the Roman occupation. He would have been accused of denying the sovereignty of God over Israel and would have been seen as an enemy of the Jews. So they thought they had Jesus trapped. But like our conversation from last week, Jesus had a habit of going above the conversation, not falling into the either/or trap. He went to a higher level, a third way if you will with his answer. He didn’t let either side dictate his position or his answer. His answer is brilliant. “Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” A couple of thoughts regarding this answer. First, it was quite radical to speak of God and Caesar as two separate entities. Jesus then left it to the hearers to decide what was God’s and what was Caesar’s. Caesar could brand his image on coins, crowns, and robes, but life and creation has been branded/stamped by God. Caesar could have his coins but life is God’s. We are reminded that just as Caesar stamped his image on coins; God’s image is stamped on each one of us. Even Caesar had God’s stamp. God made Caesar and Caesar was not God. What does this say about how followers of Jesus should engage with politics? I believe we can learn something about engaging in the political process by not being subverted by either party. Jesus wasn’t subverted by either the Pharisees or the Herodians. He lived out a third way of dealing with the questions. Neither political party in America today speaks for God; he is not a Republican or Democrat. When our values become to closely associated with one political party, platform, or candidate, we become spokespeople for that party/platform/candidate rather than for God. And we lose our ability to be a prophetic witness for God’s kingdom, which is not of this world. When we become more know for what we are against (either a Republican or Democratic agenda), we are perceived as sheltered, ignorant, and close-minded.

Let’s take some time now to unpack this perception that Christians are too political and too sheltered together as well as what God might be saying to us through the story of Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisee’s and Herodians.

1. Why do you think Christians are perceived as being too involved in politics? What is your own level of involvement in politics? How much or little involvement do you think Christians should pursue through politics? 2. Many Christians view the political arena as a means to promote Christian morals within the culture. When does this work and when does it not work? Is this the most viable approach? What other ways can Christian values be infused into a community? 3. Do you think Christians should change the language and style of their approach to politics? Do you think we should avoid citing Scripture in explaining our position on different political issues? 4. How can you strike a balance of in the world, but not of the world? How can you live with purity and values while still being proximate to a broken world with often opposing values?

unChristian Week 2

Below you'll find the text of the message from yesterday as well as the discussion questions that we unpacked together during our 2nd week of unChristian. Last week we began what will be a four week long series called unChristian, looking at the perception that young Americans, many of our peers, neighbors, and even friends, family members have about Christianity and Christians. This postcard says it well, “Christianity has an image problem.” Last week we talked about the idea that people’s perception of Christians is their reality, whether it is actually true or not. And people’s perception right now of Christians is not that great. In fact when asked by a survey group what they thought of Christians, many 16-29 year olds gave 6 repeating thoughts. Christians are often considered to be: judgmental, anti-homosexual, too political, too sheltered, hypocritical and too concerned about getting others “saved”. Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be looking at 2 of these perceptions each week. This week we’ll be looking at the perception that Christians are judgmental and anti-homosexual.

In fact when asked about Christians these perceptions were the top two listed. The interesting thing about these two perceptions about Christians were both held by those outside the church and also, believe it or not, within the church as well. Now we are combining these two because being anti-homosexual is just being judgmental applied to a certain issue.

So I have to ask, why when asked what people think of Christians, are the top two things listed (especially from young adults) judgmental and anti-homosexual? Why are Christians perceived this way? Is it because Christians are trying to legislate morality? Are we more known for what we are against than what we are for? Is it because we suggest to people that they have to change their sinful behavior before God will love them and accept them? Is it because we say that we hate the sin and not the sinner when people that are homosexuals see their behavior as an aspect of their identity (and so what they hear is that we hate the sinner)?

Are we really following Christ’s own example when we judge the sinful behaviors of others? During Jesus’ own ministry, he was often put in the position of judge. The rich, young ruler wanted Jesus to “judge” him as someone who was good and would inherit eternal life (Lk 18:18-23). Martha wanted Jesus to “judge” Mary as not having done the right thing (Lk 10:38-42). The man who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to split the inheritance with him (Lk 12:13-15). Consider Jesus’ response: “Who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” But did Jesus accept this role of “Judge”? Let’s look at a defining passage.

The passage we’ll be looking at today is one that many older manuscripts of the Scriptures don’t actually have. But we don’t have any reason to believe that this story isn’t actually an authentic story. The passage that I am talking about is John 7:53-8:11.

“Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Now what we see here in this scene is almost like a courtroom with the teachers of the law and Pharisees as prosecutors, the woman as the defendant, the crowd as the jury, and Jesus positioned as the judge. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees think they have trapped Jesus. They believe he had only two ways to answer their question of whether they should stone the woman. They said that the law of Moses says you should stone such a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. But they were only partially right because you see adultery is not an act you can commit alone. The law of Moses said you should stone both parties involved. So they were setting up the woman, and letting the man off the hook, all because they were hoping to trap and trip up Jesus.

Now they believe that if Jesus were to say, “Go ahead and stone her”, he would have brought down the strong hand of the Roman empire, because only the Romans had the prerogative to execute someone. The Jews had no power to put someone to death. Now if he said, “Don’t stone her” he would be accused of breaking the Mosaic law. So they thought, “Now we have him.” But how does Jesus respond? In a way that none of them even considered.

Now let’s go back to something that the teachers of the Law and Pharisee’s said when they brought the woman in. They said, “she was caught in the act.” Now we mentioned that adultery is a sin that can’t be done alone. And we wondered where the man was. Now Jesus response to their question of whether they stone her or not, touches on these facts. You see in Jewish law, witnesses to the capital offense began the stoning. When Jesus said, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first, He was really said, "All right, let's execute her. But let's do it right. One of the witnesses has to have a hand in her execution. So who among you is the one who witnessed this crime, but only brought to Me the woman, not the man?" Jesus makes it plain - whoever the witness is, whoever the one who has the right to cast the first stone is, he is as guilty as the woman taken in adultery, because of his hypocrisy.

In verse 7, Jesus implies that if he is to take the role of judge, then everyone will stand guilty—no one is without sin in their lives. And so the men with the stones in their hands, ready to stone her, go away, one by one, starting with the oldest ones first, until no one was left. Not one person was left holding a stone. Everyone leaves; no one is left to judge or condemn her except Jesus. The only one who would have any right to condemn, judge and throw a son, is the only one who has no sin. All the people that were there before were also sinners just like she was. Jesus the only one that could throw a stone at her, didn’t. He didn’t condemn her. Jesus says it this way, “Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” He acknowledges her sin and calls on her to leave her life of sin and to change her ways, but no where in this story (or any story for that matter in the gospels) does Jesus ever condemn or judge the woman. In fact, as John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Or put in the words found in the Message version, “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

What if we applied this truth as followers of Jesus? Isn’t this how we want to be treated? None of us is without sin in our lives; all of us are in need of God’s grace and we are so thankful that Jesus loves us and accepts us in spite of our sin. Like the woman caught in adultery, our sinful ways and lives will only change when we have first received, accepted, and experienced the unconditional love of Jesus. If that’s true, then shouldn’t we be people who are focused only on showing unconditional love and grace, and not judgment and condemnation toward others? What if Christians and local churches became places known for their grace and love and not for their judgment? Do you think that would be attractive? Who have you judged in your life and what can you do to change your posture, and consequently, begin to change the perceptions? All of this does not ignore the complex issues surrounding such topics as homosexuality. But it does mean that we have a new and different starting point for our attitudes and actions: love and grace. Why? Because “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Are we willing to follow his example?

Let’s continue the conversation about the text and the perception that Christians are judgmental and anti-homosexual. But let me throw this in there. This is a hot button issue with people on all sides of the issue. We, as the body of Christ, even if we disagree with each other, need to do it in the spirit of love and grace with each other. So feel free to disagree with each other, do it publicly, but do it in the Spirit of Jesus, best shown in this text.

1. When you hear the word “homosexual” what are your first reactions? Discuss your opinions and try to assess the reasons behind them.

2. If judgmentalism means you marginalize someone, describe a time when you have been judgmental towards someone else (whether regarding homosexuality or some other behavior you considered sinful). Compare that to a time when you were judged by another Christian who seemed wrongly motivated to find fault.

3. Have you ever heard the statement, “Hate the sin but love the sinner”? Have you ever used that phrase? Is that really possible? How does this approach help or hurt your ability to unconditionally accept anyone (whether they are followers of Jesus or not)?

4. What is God saying to you through the scripture, message and conversation? What are you going to do about it? What do you think God is saying to us as a community, and what should we do about it?

Losing My Religion and Rediscovering Jesus

The other night I started coming down with something. I wasn't sleeping very well. I was tossing and turning at night. I wasn't going to bed when I should. I wasn't feeling good at all. I was very short with my wife and kids. I wasn't sure what was going on so I started wondering what was wrong with me. That's when I got an e-mail with a book offer to read and blog about. The book was called Steeple Envy: Losing my Religion and Rediscovering Jesus. That's when it hit me what was wrong with me. I had a severe case of steeple envy.

At times this book helped me with my case of steeple envy. The author's (Victor Cuccia) openness and authenticity with his struggles was a breath of fresh air. His passion for the work of the Kingdom, and not just church, resonated with my spirit. At times when he described his work and his churches work in Guatemala and his "12x12 Love Project" (visit www.1212loveproject.org for more information), I began to tear up and dream how Veritas could be involved in something that really matters in the world. Helping move the Kingdom of God forward and not just the church. I appreciated his desire to just be and do church with people, and not worry about things like buildings, budget, numbers, growth, etc.... At times I was blown away by his story and how God moved and worked in providing them space, finances to fund kingdom projects, and how people's lives were changed.

At the same time some of the time my case of steeple envy came flooding back. (Nothing that was his fault...just my insecurity, frustration, and steeple envy). While he said he wasn't about numbers, he shared how many people came in such a short time (I believe it was 75 people in a relatively short period of time). My steeple envy started to grow. He mentioned how God provided for them and his community in crazy ways (100,000 dollars towards a new building with no funding campaign, no solicitations, etc..) My steeple envy grew some more. He told stories of life change, people giving selfishly and radically, and people becoming disciples of Jesus. My steeple envy grew.

I began to realize that my case of steeple envy was really really bad. I couldn't rejoice in the story of another. I couldn't rejoice in the story how God continued to provide for some awesome Kingdom projects. I couldn't rejoice with stories of life change, the Kingdom moving forward, and God being glorified...all because I was envious and jealous of "their steeple". This book showed me that I have a long way to go in losing my religion and rediscovering Jesus. It showed me that I sometimes an jealous of what God is doing somewhere else and I don't see where God is moving in me, my family, and my community. I forget the stories of how God has continually provided for my family and I (and our community) over the last 3 years. I forget the stories of lives that we have engaged with. I don't celebrate the wins that we have seen. Sometimes my case of steeple envy is so bad that I don't thank God for the people that he has brought alongside us to partner with us, because I am so focused on growing and looking at finding others.

So while it was a "painful" read as it showed me the extent of my brokenness and steeple envy, it was helpful as it also helped me to see God is working in Lancaster just like he is working in Jacksonville. That I need to focus on what God is doing and has done in me, my family and my community as well as rejoice with the story of God moving in awesome ways through the author and his faith community.

So pray for me. Pray for my case of Steeple Envy. Pray that I would be able to sleep better. Pray that I would be able to pray blessing on others (as we are on the same team). Pray that I would spend time in confession when my case of steeple envy comes back. Pray that I could be thankful for all that God has blessed us with and not focus on what others have. Pray that I wouldn't compare myself to others (because when I do I always lose).

Thanks to the Speakeasy Blog program for the opportunity to read the book and start to diagnose what was wrong with me. Thanks also to Victor Cuccia for sharing his story with others through his book and helping me to learn how to rejoice in what God is doing through him and his community. And my prayer is still that I might get to see some of the same things (life change, Kingdom impact, growth-spiritually, missionally, relationally, etc..) in Veritas.

unChristian Week 1

Below is the message from the beginning of our unChristian series which started yesterday along with the discussion questions that we unpacked together.

So today we are starting a 4 week series called unChristian looking at how Christians are viewed in the world. Today our theme revolves around the idea that Perception is reality.

So before we jump too far into the message, I want to ask you if you have ever been misunderstood. Of course, we all have. Just this week I was picking up my kids from the bus stop and walking them home and started a conversation with my neighbors son who plays football. I asked him what position he played, he told me linebacker (if I remember correctly). I gave him a look that to me meant isn’t he a little small to play that position. The neighbor thought my look was, I don’t know what that means and so she started to explain football and the position to me. My look was misunderstood. This was both a case of being misunderstood and a case of mistaken perception.

Just like my look was misunderstood, and perceived as I didn’t understand, Christians are misunderstood as well. That is what this series is all about, the perceptions that others have of Christians and Christianity. In fact the first question that we’ll be discussing together is just that, “What are some of the perceptions that our non-Christian friends, neighbors, and co-workers have of Christians?” (Dialogue)

We all know that there are misconceptions, misunderstanding, and perceptions that people have about Christians. We just shared a bunch of them together. But, just like Christians are misunderstood sometimes, so was Jesus. Let’s look at two verses of Scripture found in the New Testament book of Luke. The 3rd book in the New Testament around 2/3 the way back in a bible, or just three books back from the New Testaments on the table. We’ll look at this text and see Jesus coming into some misunderstanding as well.

So let’s look at Luke 15:1-2 and see what it might say to us about perceptions. Luke 15:1-2 says this, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Now you see the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the religious establishment of the day. They had strict rules of what you did and what you didn’t do. In fact they tried to live by 613 Old Testament Laws. Some of those laws included who you ate with, whose house you could go into and not go into, what you could or couldn’t eat, and who and who wasn’t unclean. In that time, as in ours, perceptions were important. If one was perceived as keeping the Jewish law, maintaining purity, and avoiding contact with “sinners,” he or she was considered a righteous person. That didn’t mean you actually you were a “righteous person” according to God’s standards of lowing God with everything you have and loving your neighbor as yourself. You could live out external rules and regulations but your heart could be as black as night and still be consider to be a “righteous person”. (Doesn’t seem all that different than now, when we can have the same issue.)

But Jesus seemed to break all these rules. He didn’t keep to the letter of the law (such as healing on the Sabbath), maintain purity (he touched lepers and impure people), or avoid contact with “sinners.” He not only did he hang out with tax collectors and sinners, he actually ate with them.

Now there are a few things we need to unpack about that last statement so we understand just how radical, subversive, and upside down it was from the religious establishment of his day. First we have to understand what we mean by tax collectors and sinners. You see, some of you may know this already, but Israel at the time of Jesus was under Roman rule. Rome was controlling their land, and the Jewish people were living under their thumb. And so at the time there were three different ways that people were dealing with the Roman occupation. One was to avoid the situation all together, go off into the wilderness and not be involved at all. This was the Essenes way of dealing with the Roman occupation. The Zealots were the ones who wanted to use violence and go after the Romans and forcibly remove them from their land. That was the second way. The last way was to work with the Romans and by definition against your own countrymen. This is what the tax collectors were doing. They were working for the man, so to speak. They were collecting taxes from their own people, to finance the roman occupation. Not only that, they were also known to rip off their own people so that they could get rich. So these men weren’t looked on to favorably by the religious establishment.

The sinners who are grouped with the tax collectors were not ordinary sinners. The Pharisees along with others could readily admit that everyone is, after all, a sinner and in need of God's mercy and forgiveness. But the sinners associated with tax collectors were in a special class. These were people who deliberately and persistently transgressed the requirements of the law. Included in this group would be money-lenders who charged interest on loans advanced to fellow Jews. This was a clear violation of the law of God stated in Leviticus 25:36-38. Also in this group of sinners might be prostitutes who made their living by their ill-gotten gains. These were individuals who sold themselves to a life of sin in deliberate disregard of the law of God. The second thing we need to unpack about this statement that the Pharisees’ made was that Jesus ate with them. Now you and I say, so Jesus ate with them, what’s the big deal? But in the culture of that day and age to eat with someone was a huge deal. You see in the social world of Jesus’ day, meals had four basic functions: 1. To support kinship – to create solidarity. One ate with the clan and by doing so established the boundaries of who was “in” and who was “out.” Meals reminded the household where their loyalties lay. The concentric rings of table fellowship were: extended family, household servants or hired workers, and members of your social class (those who could reciprocate), who were invited to special banquets.

2. To enforce boundaries – hierarchy, status, and gender – especially through seating arrangements. During these meals the social group was reminded who sat at the head of the table and who was at the foot (or in their case who washed the feet). Women’s roles and paternal hegemony were reinforced.

3. To perpetuate social values. During meals certain rituals were maintained such as washings, prayers, and symbols. In addition special feasts, fasts, and Sabbath observances were celebrated. In some ways meals were quite liturgical, sometimes even mirroring the events of the temple (cf. Neufeld 16; Lev 23:2-44) 4. To gain honor through hosting banquets or through clever discourse as a guest. The wealthy were able to show off as well as demonstrate benevolence to guests. The guests were able to show deference as well as entertain their host and other guests with wit or wisdom. In fact Luke, who describes Jesus’ table fellowship in more detail than the other gospel writers, portrays them somewhat like the Greek “symposia” where wit and conversation are central.

This is the world in which Jesus lived. Yet he didn’t abide by its rules. In fact, he used meals as a means of disrupting social values and overturning normal standards of behavior and honor. First, Jesus used meals to reconfigure who he considered his true kin. Rather than capitulating to his family’s request to see him, he created a fictive family around the table based on one’s devotion to hearing and obeying God’s word. This was never clearer than at the Last Supper. Second, “Jesus’ open table fellowship was a strategy used to challenge social and religious exclusivism wherever it was accepted as normal or officially sanctioned” (Koenig, 20). Because he ate with all class of “sinners” he offended the sensibilities of the religious elite. Third, he refused to perpetuate religious traditions about washing, fasting, and Sabbath regulations. This was more than a faux pas. This was an assault on a religious system that prioritized rules above people. Finally, when invited by prominent teachers, Jesus often offended both the host and the guests by pointing out their misguided priorities. Moreover, he often honored some sinner who happened on the scene. He turned the tables of social rank upside down at these banquets.

So as we see Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners got him in trouble with the religious leaders of his day. Perceptions of Jesus were rampant and he considered a breaker of the law, unclean, and a “sinner” himself. In a sense, Jesus was misunderstood. Was Jesus okay with being misunderstood? Yes—because his actions and the resulting perceptions were driven by his mission to bring God’s love and grace to all people. But This begs a question: are Christians today misunderstood and are the perceptions of us driven by our mission to bring God’s love and grace to all people? Who are the tax collectors and “sinners” of our day and do they respond to us the same way that they did to Jesus? If we are honest, we definitely have to say no.

Unfortunately, the perceptions of Christians today are not very similar to those of Jesus. We are not known as people of unconditional love and grace toward outsiders. Instead, here are six of the dominant perceptions of Christians by young outsiders (unChristian, p. 28): -- Judgmental -- Anti-homosexual -- Hypocritical -- Sheltered -- Only concerned with getting people saved -- Too political

Are these surprising? Are these really the perceptions we want people to have of us? More importantly, are these perceptions based on our mission to bring God’s love and grace to all people? Perceptions are not bad; they actually reflect reality because they are often driven by our own actions. Actions drive perceptions. The problem is not the negative perceptions of us. The problem is us.

Over the next three weeks, we’re going to look at each of these negative perceptions and ask the questions: What are we doing to drive these perceptions? And how can we change them? This week, consider how your actions—the words you speak, the people you engage, the ideas you communicate, the posture you present—drive people’s perceptions about you.

If our mission is to be judgmental, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, sheltered, political, or only concerned with getting people saved, then we’re doing a good job— we’re creating the right perceptions of us. But if our mission is different—bringing God’s love and grace to all people—then we must make some radical changes.

1. Do you know anyone who isn’t a follower of Jesus”? Would you consider them to be friends? What do you think their perceptions are of Christianity?

2. When a person was asked what Christian meant to them, this is their response, “Christian means conservative, entrenched in their thinking, antigay, anti- choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.” What is your reaction to this comment? Why do people come to these conclusions?

3. The book “unChristian” describes a movement of young Christians who are reluctant to admit they are Christians. They are not simply trying to be cool or popular, but they are concerned that the current way Christianity is expressed toward outsiders actually makes it more difficult to express what Jesus was about. Are you encouraged or troubled by this trend? In what situations are you more or less likely to say you are a Christian?

4. In what ways can your life help to redeem the term Christian? How can you be a Christian, rather than simply telling people you are one? What does a Christian who represents both truth and grace look and act like?

Viral Jesus: Recovering the Contagious Power of the Gospel

The other week I received a copy of the book "Viral Jesus: Recovering the Contagious Power of the Gospel" by Ross Rohde, who is a house church planter and coach in San Francisco, through the Speakeasy blog program that I am a part of.

The premise of this book is to recover the viral movement nature of the church. Rohde puts it this way, "In the early centuries Christianity was an explosive, viral movement that spread by word of mouth." He then continues, "But today, the gospel is no longer spreading like wildfire throughout the western world. Slowly, Christianity has morphed into something much different...a stable institutionalized religion that no longer grips us with the excitement and spirituality of the early years."

Rohde then spends a good bit of the first part of the book unpacking the history of the early church and the viral nature of the movement. He does a great job looking at the early church, the persecution that fueled the movement, the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire by Constantine, and then the slowing down of the viral nature of the church due Constantine's decision.

He then moves on to some more historical examples of kingdom movements such as the Waldensians, the Anabaptists, the Great Awakenings, and also modern day China.

But we also need to ask, "Just what makes a viral Jesus movement, in the first place?' Rhode lays out 5 key aspects of a viral Jesus movement. 1. Apostolic teams found organic churches and networks that follow Jesus in every gathering. Yet every component, from individual Christians to networks, is easily reproducible and simple in design; simple but not simplistic. 2. Viral Jesus movements are focused on the kingdom, not on the church per se. This is because they are focused on the King and his commands. 3. Viral Jesus movements are founded with the fivefold ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. 4. Viral movements, by their nature, are supernaturally powerful because they are under the authority and power of Jesus. 5. Finally, viral Jesus movements are led by Jesus alone. He is the one who provides stability and control.

Probably the most helpful part of the book, to me, was the chapters on Viral discipleship and Viral Church Planting. The one on Church Planting was especially timely. You see the other week I was reading Matthew 9 and came upon this verse, "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” It struck me like never before. For me and my church planting journey, I needed to ask God to send workers into the harvest field, to join Veritas in our mission.

And so with those words ringing in my ears, I read the chapter on church planting and was again reminded that it isn't about programs, marketing, flashy websites, or other "gimmicks". It is about God bringing the growth. There were several quotes from the book that struck me about the importance of praying and seeking God and asking the Lord of the Harvest for the growth. Here are a few that stuck out to me:

"I believe that Jesus gives ministry success to a person or team because they are obedient, not because they have great technique."

"We can do everything technically right; but if we aren't obeying the Lord of the harvest, we shouldn't expect much fruit. And some are getting disappointed because 'it isn't working'. The 'it' they are talking about is some technique or set of techniques." (This one really resonated with me.)

"The first question anyone should face who believes himself truly called of God is the financial question. If he cannot look to the Lord alone for the meeting of his daily wants, then he is not qualified to be engaged in His work, for if he is not financially independent of men, the world cannot be independent of men either. If he cannot trust God for the supply of needed funds, can he trust Him in all the problems and difficulties of the work?"

"If we can't go without the security of a 401(k) plan or a retirement package, we are probably not ready for apostolic work."

Overall, I appreciated the opportunity to read the book and it challenged, encouraged, and at times, convicted me, especially in relation to our continued effort of planting Veritas, as a missional community of authentic worshippers.

To make disciples, you need to be a disciple

Here is the text and the discussion questions of the last message of our Scattered and Gathered Series that we have been doing since April. We tackled Matthew 28:16-20. This Sunday we have a picnic, then the following 4 weeks we'll be tackling the unChristian series. So today we come to the end of our series that we have been working through since April….looking at the two natures of the church….the Scattered nature of the church…being sent out into the world to be the hands and feet of Jesus, bringing blessing to the world. And the gathered nature of the church, where we gather together for community and discipleship. So therefore we’ve been looking at the three very things that drive what we are all about. The values of mission, community and discipleship.

April through May we looked at the value of mission, and ended our time together as we spent time at the Block Party on Queen Street. June through July we looked at the importance of community and how it is impossible to be a follower of Jesus and try to do life alone. We continue working on developing community in various ways (next week is our End of the Summer picnic at my house, and we are looking at holding a Guys Night in the next few weeks, and hope to throw a lot more community building “events” during the next few months).

July through August we have been unpacking what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus through the lens of stories and teachings found in the book of Matthew. I won’t summarize all that we’ve looked at, but suffice it to say, a disciple of Jesus is one who is a learner or apprentice of Jesus, and seeks to orient and reorient their life around Jesus. To look like Jesus.

As we come to the end I thought we would unpack, what can be a very well known passages, for followers of Jesus, that I believe combines the two natures of the church, the scattered nature and the gathered nature. This passage is sometimes called the Great Commission by followers of Jesus and can be found at the end of the book of Matthew. Specifically it can be found in Matthew 28:16-20. And this is what it says, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So I want to spend time this morning unpacking this text and what it says about being a disciple of Jesus and also how it combines both natures of the church.

The first thing that I want to look at in this text is this surprising words found in verse 17. “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” These were disciples of Jesus, who spent 3 years with him, seeing his miracles, his teaching, seeing his death on the cross, and then 3 days later seeing him come back to life, and then spend the last 40 days in the resurrected Jesus presence. This statement might weird you out, like how can these disciples, who have the resurrected Christ right in front of them, doubt? This actually brings me hope, that even the early disciples didn’t have it all together. And they, on this day, as Jesus gets set to go back to heaven, are capable of doubt. So honestly, I believe a disciple of Jesus is one who doubts. A disciple realizes that they don’t have it all figured out, and that they are okay with that.

Now I truly believe that doubt is not the opposite of faith, but only faith’s misgivings. That we shouldn’t fear doubt unless it comes from sin; there is faith in honest doubt. So if doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, what is? I believe the opposite of faith is cynicism. And so here is the early disciples who gave their life to Jesus, doubting Jesus. So if you feel like you are struggling and thinking, man I can’t be a disciple of Jesus because I just have too many doubts, than realize that even the disciples of Jesus who looked eye to eye with Jesus doubted. And that doubt has a way of leading to faith, when we wrestle with our doubts.

So the next thing we read is what could be called Jesus’ most important message. Think about when someone is on the verge of passing away, they usually say things that they want to get across to their family, and friends. The thing that matters most. And so Jesus here is doing just that, letting his disciple in on a most important issue. His call for his disciples, is for them to go and make disciples and to teach them everything that Jesus had taught them. Dallas Willard, a theologian and author has this to say about the importance of this text, “The greatest issue facing the world today; with all its heartbreaking need, is whether those who by profession or culture, are identified as Christians, will become disciples- students, apprentices, practitioners- of Jesus Christ steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the heavens into every corner of human existence.”

Jesus told us, as disciples, to make disciples. Not converts to Christianity, nor to some particular faith and practice. He told us that while we are going, that we are to make disciples. That wherever you go this week, to school, to work, to play, in your neighborhood, etc… that you are to make disciples. This could also mean going to other parts of the world, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we are also to see where we are as a mission field to be about the work of discipling others into the ways of Jesus. This is one side of the nature of church, the scattered nature. If you want to obey this great commission, then you need to go. You can’t just stay. You can’t just stay in the gathered nature of the church all the time. But you can’t just go out alone trying to disciple others. You have to gather together, help disciple each other, teaching each other to obey everything that Jesus commanded, and then scatter out to make other disciples (which I believe includes the process of evangelism as well)

But all too often we have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. The current assumption is that you can be a Christian without being a disciple, but Jesus never made that assumption. To be a Christian, to Jesus, means looking like little Christs (where the name Christian came from) and that looking like little Christ’s means living under the teaching and life of Jesus. We have made disciples the elite within the Christian world, but Jesus calls each and every one of us to be and make disciples. We have said come to know Jesus, secure your place in heaven, than wait around till you die to go to heaven. Which has made what Dallas Willard calls “vampire Christians” who want Jesus for his blood and nothing else. Who don’t care about obeying everything that Jesus commanded, or who think being a Christian is just about a future destination and forgiveness of sins. Maybe that is why it seems like the 20th century/21st century evangelical church has had little impact on societal problems? Maybe the lack of care for social justice issues (all though this thankfully is starting to change) is because we believe Jesus wants us to be Christians and that means only being forgiven so we can go to heaven when we die and not truly understanding that Jesus doesn’t want us to be Christians in that sense, but disciples who live out Jesus call to “Follow Me.”

But what does it mean to be living out the Great Commission? What does it mean to “obey everything that I have commanded?” What does it look like to go and make disciples? How does it work for you and I and our community? That is what we will unpack together in our time of conversation and discussion.

1. What are your thoughts, comments, insights, questions, pushback, etc.. do you have regarding the text or the message? 2. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? How does or how could it look like on the ground, day in and day out for you? 3. How are you and I seeking to make disciples who obey everything that Jesus taught? 4. Who are you intentionally investing in, or intentionally discipling? (Whether they are a Christian or not)

What a Waste

Yesterday during our gathering, I shared the text from Matthew 26:6-13 about Jesus being anointed by Mary. Below you'll find the message and the discussion questions we used for our time of unpacking of the Scripture. This week is our next to last week looking at what a disciple of Jesus looks like through the lens of the gospel/book of Matthew. Next week we finish this series and take a week off for the End of the Summer Picnic, and then on September 9 start a new series called unChristian, looking at the perceptions that younger Americans have of Christians. Look at the postcards on your table about this series, and if someone comes to mind that you can invite that this series would connect with, take a postcard or three and invite some people.

As I said we have been looking at what it means to be a disciple of Jesus through the lens of the New Testament book of Matthew for the last several weeks. When we started this part of the series we began by looking at the story of the woman who was hemorrhaging for 12 years, touched the robe of Jesus and was healed. We talked about the boldness of the woman and how she had basically ignored social rules and norms (as she was “unclean”) to go into a crowd and talked about how disciples of Jesus need to be bold and sometimes ignore social rules and norms to follow Jesus.

We then talked about the parable of the sower and talked about how as disciples of Jesus we have two roles, one as a sower of the seed of the Kingdom of God, and the other to be the receptive soil for the seed of the Kingdom of God to fall into. We can’t be either the sower or the soil as a disciple. We have to both give and receive.

We then talked about Matthew 14:22-32 about Jesus spending time on the mountain with his heavenly Father, then coming out on the lake, and having Peter come walking on the water, only to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus. We talked about how Peter was the only disciple to get out of the boat and how following Jesus means taking risks and sometimes stepping out of the comfortable and known to embrace the risky, uncomfortable, and the unknown.

Then we talked about Jesus call for those who want to follow Him to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. The radical call of following Jesus, to die to yourself, and raise to new life, his new life living in you.

And finally last week we talked about another radical call that Jesus had to the rich young ruler, to give all that he had to the poor and then to follow him. And we talked about the idea that we all need to figure out what is holding our hearts from truly following after Jesus.

This week we encounter the story of a woman who was all out in her worship of Jesus, the response of those around her, and what Jesus is calling us to through the act of this woman.

So let’s look at Matthew 26:6-13 and see what we might learn about being a disciple of Jesus through this story. “While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Let’s spend sometime unpacking this text and see what it might say to us about what it looks like to follow Jesus. So the first thing we see is that Jesus is in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper. Now Bethany is also home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus (whom Jesus’ raised from the dead). So Jesus is in the home of Simon the Leper, who was probably a well known victim of leprosy who had been healed by Jesus. And probably as a means of thanking Jesus for restoring him to his family, his community, and restoring his health, Simon invites Jesus and his disciples over for dinner while they are in town.

Into this setting comes a woman, which we find out in other texts, to be Mary, sister of Martha and Mary. She takes an alabaster jar full of very expensive perfume and pours the whole jar out on the head of Jesus. Now this is a lavish display of worship from Mary to Jesus. It was costly perfume, in other texts it was called Nard. There was probably enough nard in the container that it probably was valued around a years wages. But this isn’t the only reason why her act of worship was so costly. There are other reasons why this act of worship is radical, convicting, and subversive to the way we follow Jesus.

Let’s take a look at the alabaster jar and what exactly that jar was all about, and what it symbolized in the time of Jesus in Israel. In the days Jesus was on earth, when a young woman reached the age of availability for marriage, her family would purchase an alabaster box for her and fill it with precious ointment. The size of the box and the value of the ointment would parallel her family’s wealth. This alabaster box would be part of her dowry. When a young man came to ask for her in marriage, she would respond by taking the alabaster box and breaking it at his feet. The gesture of anointing his feet showed him honor. Perhaps this story takes on a new meaning. Mary’s perfume was very valuable, worth a year’s wages. But what stands out to me is that Mary didn’t save this special gift for her earthly bridegroom. She chose to use it on Jesus. I think the word of Mary’s actions spread rapidly. First, Mary was a woman. In that day, that fact alone held expectations. 2nd, the Bible says, I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. In this part of Jesus’ story, everyone knew of Him, and although there were no phones, I am sure they had a way of spreading any news of Jesus quickly. He was the biggest celebrity. 3rd, what Mary did could have totally killed her chances for every marrying. I think that is very noteworthy. You can find plenty of women out there who never marry, but I think there are few out there who willingly say: “I choose Jesus over a man.” or “I don’t want to marry. I just want Jesus.” We sometimes call those women crazy, or that they are giving up on something that they are going to regret. I say: “Way to choose Jesus first!” and I think Mary of Bethany would say the same thing. She realized that no man would be better then her Jesus. When she broke that alabaster jar and poured her expensive perfume over Jesus in front of a room of men, she was giving up a portion of her dowry, her reputation, and most importantly her heart. The question is, could we do that today? In Jesus day, it was a big deal for a woman to turn down marriage, because that was how she was provided for, taken care of, watched over. And by breaking the alabaster jar over the head of Jesus, she was basically giving her whole life and self, her future, her provisions, her everything to Jesus.

The response to this all out worship, devotion, and giving of her whole life to Jesus, from Jesus’ own disciples was “Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” His own disciples failed to see the beauty behind this act of worship. His own disciples called it a waste. They were looking purely at the financial cost and they also weren’t truly caring about the poor. In other texts of this account we see Judas being the head complainer as he held the money bag, and many times would help himself.

So I believe it is quite possible for us to live in such a way, giving ourselves to the Kingdom of God and to the King of the Kingdom, and still be looked at by other “Christians” as living a life that can be seen as a waste. To be spending ourselves on behalf of the world, to be a blessing, to confront the status quo inside and outside the church, and be marginalized from the church and “good Christians” As I mentioned before we went to see Shane Claiborne on Wednesday and I believe many Christians probably look at his life and say “What a waste.” So let’s unpack what this text looks like on the ground, lived out in the everyday life that we live. What do we sense God speaking to us about and what are we going to do about it?

1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, push back, etc.. do you have regarding the message and the Scripture?

2. What is God saying to you? What is God saying to us as a community?

3. What are you going to do about it? What are we going to do about it?

unChristian

Join us September 9-30 for unChristian:

September 9: Christians in Culture: Perception is reality September 16: Judgmental and Anti-Homosexual September 23: Too political and sheltered September 30: Hypocritical and Get Saved