They Just Keep Coming

My wife, LaWanda, and I are just wrapping up a two week trip to the Philippines where we conducted a Leadership Enrichment for the leadership team and superintendents of the Philippine General Conference of the Free Methodist Church. LaWanda also led a Women's Ministries International Convergence for several hundred women's leaders from all over the country. It's been a great few days to be back with so many of our wonderful friends in this strategic Asian nation.

This morning very early I was drinking coffee in the hotel lobby looking out at one of the busy Manila streets. The streets here are crowded with taxis, jeepneys, tricycles, motor bikes, buses, cars, but most of all, pedestrians.  I watched for over two hours as the mass of humanity just kept coming- surging forward. Never stopping, ever marching, they continued in the streets, on the sidewalks, anywhere they could find footing enough to stand. They darted in and out of jeepneys or tricycles, constantly moving forward. 

My mind was mesmerized by the expressions on their faces. Mostly young, but all Asian ethnicities.  Professionals and domestic workers alike. Some middle class and a few wealthy, but mostly a mass of poor human beings desperately trying to exist or seeking the next meal, or trying to climb the ladder to the next level by going to school or, in some instances, being trafficked by the worldwide net of human slave traders. 

And they just kept coming.  They never stopped. Later, we hailed a taxi and immediately swam right out in this sea of humanity with horns blaring, four lanes of traffic turned into eight and every passenger living dangerously close to the edge. It was then I remembered a conversation I had with a denominational superintendent who oversees Metro Manila. In a frustrated and deeply concerned tone, she said, "I'm still searching for the key to reach this city.  We desperately need more workers to do the job.  Sometimes I can't sleep at night thinking about this mass of humanity. 

Manila is a huge city of 18 million people. But it is only one of the  major cities of the world. As Jesus looked at cities and villages, He said, "Pray The Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers." Superintendent Pol Guazon and I prayed that laborers would be called into this vast urban landscape of helpless and hopeless humans. Jesus is 

still looking for laborers. Moments ago I checked down on the street again.  They're still coming. They just keep coming. 

If I Had My Life to Live Over Again

Years  ago I read the testimony of an anonymous friar in a Nebraska monastery. His words didn't make much impact on me then, but at this point in my life they make great sense and I'm trying to take them to heart. This is not what you would expect in a "religious testimony"... Maybe that's why I appreciate it so much. 

"If I had my life to live over again,

I'd try to make more mistakes next time.

I would relax, I would limber up, I would be sillier than I have been this trip.

I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips. I would be crazier. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. 

I would do more walking and looking. 

I would eat more ice cream and less beans. 

I would have more actual troubles, and fewer imaginary ones. 

You see, I'm one of those people who lives sensibly hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead each day. I've been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, aspirin, and a parachute. 

If I had it to do over again I would go places, do things and travel lighter than I have. 

If I had my life to live over I would start barefooted earlier in the Spring and stay that way later in the Fall .

I would play hookey more.

I wouldn't make such good grades, except by accident. 

I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies."

It's fairly safe to say, this old gentleman had his fill of stress. He realized that to break its spell one has to break the mold of a rat-race life-style. May his tribe increase. 

While I Mused The Fire Burned-- "On Being Real"

Transparency is so important. Jesus wants us to be real.  How easy it is to fake Christianity...to polish a super-pious image that looks great, but is phony. Through the years I've met Christians who are breaking their necks to be Mother Teresa #2.  Or, if you please, Brother Teresa!  Or Saint Francis of Portland, or Seattle...or wherever. Some Christians are trying too hard.  

But genuine Christ-followers?

Broken and spilled-out Jesus lovers?

Ah, many are sincere. They have the bright, outward veneer of Christian intensity. Busy?  Yes, but sadly, far from being authentically spiritual. 

Several years ago I came across some simple, yet profound advice:  "Be who you is, because if you is who you ain't, then you ain't who you is."

Earthy, but wise words. Words easily forgotten in the squirrel case of religious hyperactivity. Why not do a spiritual self-check?  This is a busy time of year and in a short time the holidays will be here. The church activity calendar will go crazy.

Have you become so involved in working for Jesus that you've forgotten the Jesus of the Work?  Are you keeping yourself clear so that Jesus can shine through?

Why not take a breath and allow His Spirit to make you real.  Transparent with His Grace. 

While I Mused the Fire Burned- "Sacred Cows Make Good Hamburger" #2

     Recently I talked about a number of biblical values that the western Church has contextualized to the point of syncretism that has forced us further and further away from biblical patterns of behavior.  In the first blog I said that "we have sacrificed transformation for culturally-determined "sacred cow" practices. I gave three Sacred Cows which need to be turned into hamburger ( see "Sacred Cows Make Good Hamburger" #1).  Here are three more.

     4.  Proliferation of church property dedicated to no one but those already Christian. 

American evangelicals are preoccupied with church buildings and massive building projects. Most of our edifices serve only us while failing to focus on serving others, particularly the have nots of the world. What are we doing to serve the needs of the larger community, especially those who are hurting and in need?  The Christian habit is to build to meet Christian needs. Perhaps this is the most significant evidence of an earthly culture at work conforming the church to the world. In much of the unreached world, church buildings are neither possible or affordable and yet the church is growing at a rapid rate in such areas. Today's believers must conceive of a church system that exists and thrives in the absence of buildings. 

     5.  Education as sufficient preparation for ministry without character development and 

           competence in disciple-making. 

Medicine is one of the few professions where mentoring or discipleship is a common and indispensable practice. Following medical school, a doctor goes through an internship, residency and specialized training, so why is it normal and necessary to train and mentor doctors so meticulously yet something as important  as communicating the gospel is treated so cavalierly?  Seminary education is vital, but learning the art of disciple making and learning to live truth is supreme. We should demand that disciples make disciples as a part of their vocational preparation. We must expect that one who is ministering must live out truth through a holy lifestyle. 

     6.  Understanding the "gospel" as primarily an issue of salvation. 

In a recent book, Scot McKnight says, "evangelism today is obsessed with getting someone to make a decision; the apostles , however, were obsessed with making disciples. Evangelism that focuses on decisions short circuits the design of the gospel..."  When people become Jesus followers their entire lives change. In spiritual terms, they see Jesus and do what they have been meant to do before the foundations of time; they fall on their knees and confess, "My Lord and my God."  What happens next in their lives is discipleship. No one can call himself a follower of Jesus and not be changed into His likeness. Matthew 28 tells us to go and make disciples of all ethne, not disciples of a culturally conformed North American church. Far from simply making decisions we must fulfill God's eternal purpose by being a disciple and making disciples. 

     Sacred Cows make good hamburger. We will never be free from the problems that cultural Christianity breeds unless we deal with these problems at their root. In an alien culture such as post modern America, it is easy to be squeezed into the world's mold, but we must rather follow the admonition of the apostle as he urged, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2).

While I Mused The Fire Burned - "Sacred Cows Make Good Hamburger" #1

     Just today I was talking to the executive pastor of a large evangelical church which by all accounts has had unusual growth and success over the last few years.  They have a godly pastor and a great staff, but my friend told me that changes must come.  He said "we have all the whistles and bells," but our people are shallow and do not live what they profess on Sunday.  They have all the "right stuff" without getting the right results.  The "whistles and bells" don't seem to be creating godly disciples.

     Sadly, this story can be told across the broad spectrum of the Christian church.  The most significant problems for the Church originate in our becoming lost in earthly cultures.  The net effect is that we attribute our cultures' values and beliefs to God and, in essence, reinvent God in our own image.  We have sacrificed transformation for culturally-determined "sacred cow" practices. Let me give you several Sacred Cows which need to be ground into hamburger:

     1.  Worship services ad nauseum. Most of us have failed to understand "worship" as something we do to honor our relationship with God and that requires us to bring something to the presence of God as an act of worship.  Sadly, worship has become an event that is viewed as entertainment or an event from which we should get something.  God is secondary if He is a factor at all.

     2.  Preaching without teaching/training.  Our Sunday experience is a one-way communications process where the people who come are passive listeners.  If it is really teaching there must active participation from both sides.  In many, if not most churches, the message simply fades away at the close of the service seldom to be thought of again.  Where is the training that really affects change?  Start living on Monday what you sing about on Sunday!

     3.  Orthodoxy without orthopraxy.  Right thinking (orthodoxy) must always be paired with orthopraxy (right behavior).  When a person comes to Christ, his or her direction is changed, but following Jesus will also bring a change of lifestyle.  Right living is as important as right doctrine.

     In part 2 of this blog I will give 3 other "sacred cows" which need to be dealt with.  Grinding up these customs which have grown up in the church is no easy process, but we will never be free of the problems which cultural Christianity breeds unless we deal with them at the root.  My friend who talked to me about the plight of his church will only continue to have significant issues unless the people's understanding of the gospel can be significantly changed and consumer christianity can be eradicated.  Sacred Cows make good hamburger.  Start grinding!

While I Mused The Fire Burned- "The Presence, The Hallowing Presence"

"The place where you stand is holy." This is what God said to Moses at the burning bush, and to Joshua on the outskirts of Jericho.
What makes a place holy? Only one thing- the presence of the Holy One. His presence makes the Temple holy. His presence makes a life holy.
The place where God encounters us to change us and command our service is sacred. Not the sand, not the bush, not the fire, but God- present, speaking, acting- made that desert spot holy ground for Moses. It wasn't the river he had crossed or the city he would conquer, but it was God who made the place where Joshua stood holy ground.
Only the presence of God makes a building a temple or a congregation a church. Holiness is achieved only by the living God as He graciously draws near to redeem and enlist human life.
We can meet together, we can sing hymns, say prayers, read Scripture and even give money, but all of this is empty ritual in a mausoleum unless God is present to own and bless us. We can write bylaws and mission statements, chant slogans, battle social evils and run victory laps, but our reforms are cosmetic and fleeting unless God is present to energize and direct us. Where holiness is concerned everything depends on the Presence. God's presence cannot be manipulated or controlled by people, not even ordained people in clerical dress. God is not a genie who appears because we rub the lamp or tap a bell or blow a whistle. He is sovereign.
His presence is not capricious. He comes where two or three are gathered in His name. Obedience assures His presence, disobedience forfeits His presence. GOD IS THE HOLY ONE. Nothing is holy except by His presence. Nothing is holy in His absence.

While I Mused The Fire Burned "Beyond the Music"

Last evening America's beloved gospel singer, George Beverly Shea, joined the heavenly crusade choir at age 104. My whole life is filled with memories of this humble man whose music has been heard by millions all around the world. The last time I heard him in person, he was in his 90s and his voice was still strong and resonant. I was amazed at the control and his ability to communicate the message of the song, but as much as I loved that rich baritone voice, it was never about the voice or even the music.

Bev Shea gave us all a powerful lesson in telling the story of Jesus. Whether one likes his style or the genre of music, it is refreshing to see a man who in such a simple, forthright way went straight for the heart. When he sang "I'd Rather Have Jesus" (which he also wrote) you immediately knew how personal that story was and it sent arrows straight to the heart of the listener.

For many singers, the music becomes the message. Not for Bev Shea. The tune was only a vehicle to bring the love and comfort of Jesus to a parched and aching heart. Much of the time his accompaniment was only a piano or organ because he wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Billy Graham said he never wanted to preach unless Bev sang first because when the song was over the audience was ready for the sermon. It was a perfect combination; both used their gift to tell The Story. In an age when music can become a cacophony of noise, George Beverly Shea spoke to the heart and the message he shared brought Jesus close and very personal. It was beyond the music.