When charity forms an effective barrier to relationships…
Joshua at “In Search of the City” has written another excellent post, this one called “Where charity fails.” The point of his post is that the way of providing “charity” today often removes relationship which is one of the most important aspects of true charity.
Think about it… it’s possible to “give to those in need” today without actually knowing anyone who is in need. This nameless, faceless kind of giving is not what we read about in Scripture, and it’s not the way of love in Christ.
Here is a small snippet of Joshua’s post:
Because our primary need as human beings is not for stuff but for genuine relationships with other human beings.
In this regard, charity can unwittingly form an effective barrier to such relationships ever being formed. This is unfortunate, because one of the best things that can happen to a rich person is to become friends with a poor person. When the debilitating plight of ”those people” across town goes from being a vague social concern that you think about every now and then to the immediate, heart-felt struggle of someone you personally know and love, no longer can you coast through life with a smooth conscience while your neighbor wastes away in abject poverty.
Instead of “loving our neighbors” we assuage our conscience by sending in some money – either a small amount or a large amount – whatever it takes to feel better about ourselves. Or, instead of admitting our needs to our neighbors, we go to an agency or “ministry” in order to get our physical needs met.
This is how I commented on Joshua’s post:
It is difficult for either the rich man or the poor man to live in those relationships, but that’s the way God has created us. We are created to live dependent on him and interdependent on one another. But, for both the rich man and the poor man, living interdependently requires honesty and care for others that we rarely demonstrate.
I encourage you to jump over to Joshua’s post, take part in the discussion on this important topic, and consider whether or not you are following God in loving your neighbor…
To be in Christ is much more than membership in a religious club
I love to learn from brothers and sisters in Christ who have much more experience than me and who are much more mature in following Jesus than I am. One of those people – who I would love to spend time with face-to-face – is John (or “Aussie John”) who blogs at “Caesura.” His latest post is called “God’s Dealings with Us,” and it is filled with nuggets of wisdom.
Over the last few years, I’ve come to greatly respect John’s insights, especially given his background. He’s been through the system and now recognizes many of its failings and hindrances.
This particular post, as I said, is filled with thought-provoking excerpts of Scripture tied to application and experience. For the most part, the post is a challenge to rely completely on God (the way that Jesus did) instead of relying on our own reason, education, plans, etc.
At one point, he writes:
To be “in Christ” is much more than membership in a religious club, much more than saying we believe a systematic theology, or a statement of faith. Being “in Christ” denotes a lively relationship in which everything that proceeds from the one who is joined to Christ (“in” Him) is initiated by, and comes from Christ. As the sap and nutrition keeping a branch alive and allowing it to flower and bear fruit comes from the vine, so every ounce of strength, and fruit bearing exhibited by the genuine follower of Christ, flows from him, Not from us.
In the same way as the branch shares the bearing of fruit with the vine, so those who are totally reliant on Christ, by His Holy Spirit, share in His fullness, and His relationship with the Father, and all that implies, including His dependence on the Father’s direction.
Of course. Yes. Now… to do it. It’s one thing to say that we “are totally reliant on Christ,” and it’s another thing altogether to live that way.
Like I said, I would love to spend time with John face-to-face and to actually see what this means in his life. For now… that’s not possible… so I continue to learn from those who God places in my life.
May we all help one another live in a way that is totally reliant on Jesus Christ.
Do we see only despair, addiction, exploitation, bondage and abuse, or do we see hope for life?
Jim at “Crossroad Junction” has become one of my favorite bloggers. He writes about theory, but more importantly, he writes about real life. He describes what God is doing among the church in his area as an example and encouragement to others who are seeking God’s desire for them in their own areas.
His latest post is no exception. It is called “Generations,” and it’s primarily about a “third generation” church that has started in a “disreputable” part of his county.
He starts with this:
The world looks at particular communities and sees only despair, addiction, exploitation, bondage and abuse. But others in our fellowships saw what God saw – people whom He loves and calls to Himself regardless of their circumstances or their past – and decided to go and become part of their lives.
The folks who went loved Jesus enough get out of their sensibilities – not with all-too-typical arms-length programs, but with the boldness to stand firm in God’s precepts while embracing real people with messy lives.
Now, Jim’s post talks about much more than this, so I would encourage you to read it.
But, for the moment, think just about this quote above. What do you see when you look at the “disreputable” parts of your own community? Do you only see “despair, addiction, exploitation, bondage and abuse”? Or do you see hope for new life in Christ?
I also wonder… have any of you experienced “the boldness to stand firm in God’s precepts while embracing real people with messy lives” as opposed to “all-too-typical arms-length programs”? Would you be willing to share some of your experiences to encourage and challenge your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Do you know how to make disciples?
Chuck at “Being Filled” has written a very good post called “What about the Other Great Commissions?” Chuck’s title, of course, refers to the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:19-20 and the OTHER commissions given by Jesus found in the other three Gospels and Acts. Neither of them are word-for-word copies of the others, but they all have the same thrust. (Perhaps this shows that there was not just one commission, and that the sending was more important than we even think since it was repeated by Jesus to different people on different occasions?)
But, Chuck’s post ends where I want to begin. Because he ends his post asking a very good question and offering (in my opinion) some very good answers to his question.
Chuck writes:
Besides all that, it seems to me that we’ve totally distorted this commission anyway. Jesus never said, “Go preach to the lost, lead them through a prayer, then recommend a good church.”
No! He said, “Make disciples.”
Do you know how to make disciples?
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Teach… them to observe everything [Jesus] commanded.”
As I’ve said before, “Disciples follow Jesus.” It really is that simple. How do we “make disciples”? By helping each other follow Jesus.
And, like Chuck says, that includes loving God, loving others, and helping each other obey Jesus.
Do you know how to make disciples? Are you making disciples?
Checking in on One Another
The “One Another” chain blog is still going strong. Another new link post was just added to the chain yesterday!
As I’m writing this, it’s been 17 days since I started the chain blog back on October 1, 2012 with a post called “Chain Blog: One Another.” That post has been updated with all the latest link posts.
About a week later, I wrote an update/summary post called “Blog with One Another: A Chain Blog Update.” That post also had all the updated link posts as well as a short “teaser” from each post.
While we’ve covered many topics related to the topic “one another,” I think there are still many topics to cover. In fact, I have an idea for another topic. So, I may jump in again in a few days.
The more voices involved and the more topics covered, the better this chain blog will be. Do you want to take part in our chain blog? Then jump over the last link post in the chain and leave a comment that you want to write the next post. (See the two posts above for the links.)
Examining Traditions Among the Church
Jon at “Jon’s Journey” has written a very good post called “Are All Traditions Wrong?”
I won’t leave you in suspense; Jon concludes that all traditions are NOT wrong. And, in fact, I think Jon is in good company. When Jesus condemned some of the Jewish traditions, he didn’t condemn all of them. He only condemned those traditional practices that went against God’s commands. (See Mark 7:1-9, for example.)
So, Jon offers some suggestions toward evaluating traditional practices:
I find it gives me the freedom to question if it is the best way of doing something. If something is a tradition that is not commanded or demonstrated in Scripture I think it is worth asking a few questions about it:
- When did we start this tradition?
- Why did we start this tradition?
- Are there better ways of doing things?
- What does the Bible have to say on the topic – if anything?
- Are we OK if some people do things different than us?
I think these are good questions. I’d suggest a couple of other questions such as 1) What are the benefits of doing this? and 2) Are there more benefits in doing it differently?
By the way, I think Jon’s final statement is huge when it comes to traditions. That’s what usually causes problems among people with different traditions.
What do you think about Jon’s questions? What about my additions? What other questions would you ask to evaluate your traditions (and you do have traditions)?
Outdo one another in showing honor…
Joshua at “In Search of the City” has written a very good post called “When it’s OK for Christians to compete.” His post is the 10th post in our chain blog on the topic of “one another.”
When Joshua writes about Christians “competing” he’s not talking about competing for place, or for people, or for money. No, he’s talking about competing with one another to show more honor to one another.
This is what Paul wrote in Romans 12:10 – Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV)
In response to that instruction, Joshua writes:
Outdo one another, he says. Other translations say to “honor one another above yourselves.” Either way what Paul is saying is this: Go for the gold when it comes to raising other brothers and sisters up higher than yourself. See who can do it the most, the best. Strive to be number one in this arena. Don’t let anybody show more honor toward you than you show toward them.
(Please jump over to Joshua’s post to read the rest of what he wrote. It’s very good. Then, if you haven’t already, read the other posts in the synchroblog and consider writing the next post.)
Can you imagine what that would look like? What would it look like if we actually “considered others as more important than ourselves” and “outdid one another in showing honor” and all of the other instructions that tell us to put others first?
I know what it would look like. It would look like Jesus.
How has someone shown honor to you lately?
Shifting the way the church meets, learns, and leads
Last week, Kathleen at “Church in a Circle” warned us that she was starting a 12 part series on “how to change the church culture from within.” (See her post “A new format for a new era – a new blog series to change church culture from within.”)
Her first post in the series is called “Tomorrow’s church: Changing the way we meet, the way we learn, and the way we lead.”
She begins her post (and, thus, her series) by talking about many of the business and cultural changes that are taking place right now, fueled primarily by the internet. She says her goal is to discuss how some of the results of these changes can help the church shift the way we meet, learn, and lead:
Over the next few weeks I’m going to explore how the church can take advantage of this broader cultural shift to change church culture from within. The societal changes which are such a headache to businesses are a golden opportunity for the church. For the first time in many years, the church is poised to return to a more interactive model of meeting, where all of God’s people are empowered to participate and to minister to one another.
By the time we finish this series together, I hope to have communicated some adaptable strategies that every healthy church can consider to shift the way they meet, the way they learn and the way they lead.
Next she gives some specific examples in each category. (Jump over to her post to read about these specifics.)
I like the practical approach that she’s taking in this series. The things that we do (not always the things that we say or that we think we believe) demonstrate what we truly think about the church, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, etc. So, a practical approach can be helpful, as long as it is connected to a theological and spiritual reality.
I’m looking forward to Kathleen’s series, and I plan to follow along.
What do you think about her approach in this series?
Understanding Jesus better through community with others
Joshua at “In Search of the City” has published a great post called “How my journey out of institutional Christianity first began.” It’s a personal piece filled with stories and insights from his own life, but it may be helpful to others who are just beginning (or even wondering about), in the middle of, or beyond this same kind of journey.
While I can relate to many of Joshua’s experiences, one in particular caught my attention. Why? Because he talks about learning about Jesus Christ through community with others. In the same way, as I began to understand “the church” as my brothers and sisters in Christ and not a building or system or organization, I also began to know Jesus more.
At one point, Joshua writes:
[M]y life became closely knit with a small group of brothers and sisters from all parts of the country and all different walks of life. For the better part of three years we ate together, worked together, played together, and studied together. And in the midst of it all, we pursued the Lord. We fellowshipped and we shared the mutual discoveries we each were making along the way. It was in this context that I began to catch a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ that was bigger and better than any small view I’d ever had of Him before. In addition, I began to see the church. Not an “it,” but a she. I saw her passionate, loving, drawn from His side. Not a place, but a people! Relentless in their pursuit of Him.
There is something special about sharing life with one another as we share our common life with Christ. As Joshua recounts, he later recognized this same kind of fellowship in the pages of the New Testament – in passages that often seemed foreign to him before.
Paul wrote in Ephesians that believers are God’s treasure and inheritance. I think if we understood how truly valuable we are to God, we would begin to understand how important and valuable we are to one another. In community with one another in Christ we grow and build one another up in maturity and love… knowing Jesus more.
Learning how to love your neighbors in a new culture
My friends Paul and Laurel moved to the Congo a few months ago. If you’ve heard anything about the Congo in the news lately, they’re in the area of that country that has experienced an ebola outbreak recently.
Recently, they wrote about learning how to love their neighbors in that new culture. They published their thoughts on their blog in a post called “Building relationships in a new culture: Freely go and visit.”
Responding to something they read in a book, they write:
He said that for Westerners, we usually seek to build relationships by inviting people over for a set date and time. We do this a few times and feel like we’re getting to know someone. However, he explains, that in an African culture, that would be out of place for us to do as the visitor. Good to know! Instead, he says it is totally appropriate to drop in, unannounced at someone’s house to spend an undetermined amount of time with a person and their family. If it’s around a mealtime then you would just share in that meal with them. If they had other plans then they would just cancel them! This is how the author encourages Westerners to pursue relationship building in an African cultural context. It’s hard to imagine from my Western point of view because we would usually feel so put out if someone stopped by, especially at a mealtime!
They have made it a personal goal to go against their own inclinations and tendencies and to drop in on their neighbors occasionally.
Now, I realize that most of my readers do not live in Africa. But, do you know your neighbors well enough to know how to show God’s love to them? Have you ever thought that your tendencies may seem rude to your neighbors? And, what they do that seems rude to you may not seem rude to them?
Have you ever gone against your own tendencies or habits in order to show someone that you cared about them?