2012 Church Olympics
I don’t know about you, but my family loves the Olympic Games. So far, we have enjoyed watching volleyball, swimming, and gymnastics competitions among others. I also enjoyed several aspects of the opening ceremonies in London last Friday (which was also my daughter’s 15th birthday), especially the appearance of Mr. Bean. (It was pretty cool that the queen had a cameo also.)
Recently, I was wondering what it would look like if we attempted to turn some of the things we do as the church of Jesus Christ into various “sports” activities. By the way, I’m talking about activities that we actually do, not activities that other people may or may not do. (So, I’m doing this to “poke fun” at myself and my friends, not to ridicule or even to correct others.)
For example, consider these “sports”:
Active Toddler Relay
In this activity, the relay team takes turn spending time with and playing with an active toddler so the parents can get a break. Adding play dough and coloring books is allowed.
Plastic Cup Hurdles
The point of this activity is to make from one side of the room to the bathroom and back without knocking over any of the solo cups (filled with drinks, of course) that are scattered around the floor.
Synchronized Discipleship
In this activity, the participate must actively discuss spiritual and personal matters while simultaneously taking part in another activity (such as washing dishes, painting walls, etc.). My favorite, of course, is discipleship synchronized with running.
Meal Balancing
The purpose of this “sport” is to create a balanced meal from a plethora of crock pots, dishes, platters, and plastic containers.
Plate Lifting
This game is often confused with “Meal Balancing,” but in this sport, the participant must carry a full plate of full across a room without tripping over books, cups, chairs, or the occasionally toddler who darts into the room.
Boxing
There are two version of this sport. In the first, the participants must box up the entire contents of a house and load the boxes and furniture into a moving truck as fast as possible. In the final round, the same participants must unload a different truck filled with boxes and furniture of people they have never met before.
Standing Long Discussion
Participants must carry on a conversation about a particular topic or personal problem, bringing in applicable Scripture passages and personal examples, without straying off of the topic.
So, what “sports” would you and/or your friends among the body of Christ participate in?
Replay: How do you know how to do this?
Four and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “How do you know how to do this?” The point of the post is quote simple: In Scripture, teaching is not about transferring book knowledge or information; teaching is about helping someone live according to the gospel by someone who is already living according to the gospel. Thus, teaching and discipling is about someone who is actually living as a follower of Jesus Christ helping someone else live as a follower of Jesus Christ. Why do we put so much emphasis on formal education and book knowledge today?
(By the way, I never saw the movie that I mentioned in the beginning of the post…)
——————————–
How do you know how to do this?
Have you seen the previews for the movie Fool’s Gold? In one scene, Finn (Matthew McConaughey) and Tess (Kate Hudson) are flying in a small plane, with Finn at the controls. Tess says in amazement, “We’re flying! How do you know how to do this?” To which Finn calmly replies, “Playstation!”
(By the way, I’ve seen this line presented in two different ways in two different trailers. In the other trailer, Tess asks, “How do you know how to fly?” To which Finn responds, “Playstation!” I wonder which one will end up in the movie…)
As you can imagine, Tess does not like Finn’s answer. I mean, seriously, who would want to fly with a pilot who had only flown airplanes on a video game? In reality, who would want to fly with a pilot who had only read about flying and practiced in simulators? We want pilots with experience – pilots who had spent time learning to fly with more experienced pilots – pilots who had worked as navigators and co-pilots long before they took the controls of the plane that we’re in, right?
We want the same thing from our surgeons. Yes, we want our doctors to study books in medical school. But, we also want them to have practiced and successfully completed any surgical procedures that they are about to do on us. We want them to have worked with more experienced surgeons, learning from them, watching them operate, doing simple procedures, and working up toward the more complicated. We would not want a surgeon to operate on us if he had only read the books – even if he earned high marks in medical school.
What about preachers and teachers and disciplers? Do we expect the same thing from them? I mean, sure, we expect them to be educated and trained in communication and hermeneutics. But, is biblical teaching carried out when information is properly communicated? Can we limit the teaching and discipling function to doling out knowledge in an efficient or entertaining manner?
It seems that teaching, preaching, and discipling as described in Scripture are much more associated with living than they are associated with studying books. They are much more associated with demonstrating how to walk with Christ than they are associated with speaking in an eloquent and systematic manner.
Thus, when we are listening to someone teach, we are not simply listening to their words, but we are also learning from their lives. When someone disciples us in what it means to love others, we do not simply need an explanation from lexicons, commentaries, and theology books, we need an example from someone who has gotten his or her hands dirty while actually serving someone in love. When someone preaches about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the world does not need to simply hear a logical and rational explanation of passion, they also need to see someone whose life has been changed by that gospel.
In other words, whether we realize it or not – and whether the preachers, teachers, and disciplers realize this or not – when someone is speaking to us about following Jesus Christ, we are always asking ourselves, “How do you know how to do this?” We should never be content with an answer that rests on study and reading. Instead, we should listen to those who have lived the gospel in their lives. These are the true teachers, preachers, and disciplers.
What does it mean to please God?
God loves us. That’s clear from Scripture. We cannot do anything to change God’s love for us.
In Christ, we are righteous and holy. That is clear as well. We cannot do anything to make ourselves more righteous or more holy.
So, what does it mean for something to be pleasing to God?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are a few passages of Scripture to consider:
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV)
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV)
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (1 John 3:21-22 ESV)
There are many other passages that talking about pleasing (or not pleasing) God. And, these passages are written to people who are saved, who are in Christ, who are children of God, who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean for them (and for us) to please God?
Earliest NT manuscripts were written so that more people could read and understand
Larry Hurtado has shared a very good post called “Early Christian Manuscripts and Their Readers.” I love following Hurtado’s work, especially his findings concerning the early worship of Jesus Christ as divine.
In this post, he summarizes his article from a book called The Early Text of the New Testament, edited by Charles E. Hill and Michael J. Kruger (Oxford University Press). His articles follows the findings of William A. Johnson who concluded that “the rather severe and demanding features of high-quality ancient Greek literary manuscripts reflect the elite social-settings in which these manuscripts were intended to be read.”
But, when you examine the oldest NT manuscript, those “rather severe and demanding features” are not present. Instead, Hurtado finds the following:
If Johnson is correct that the format of the pagan literary rolls was intended to reflect and affirm the exclusivity of the elite social circles in which they were to be read, then Christian manuscripts (especially those that appear to have been prepared for public reading) typically seem to reflect a very different social setting, perhaps deliberately so. I propose that they reflect a concern to make the texts accessible to a wider range of reader competence, with fewer demands made on readers to engage and deliver them.
So, if Hurtado is correct, then the earliest copiers wrote the NT manuscripts in a way that allowed the most people from the widest social stratas to be able to read them and understand them. In other words, they were prepared for the common person.
So you want to share your life with others in Christ… but can’t find that kind of fellowship?
If you’ve been following my posts this week, you know that I’ve been writing about fellowship as sharing your life with others as you share your lives with Christ together. But, what do you do when you desire to share your life with others, but you can’t find that kind of fellowship?
Like I’ve said before, sometimes we go through times in our life without face-to-face interaction with other believers. But, God created us for a relationship with him and for relationships with one another in him. We should expect to find that God brings people into our lives.
However, sometimes when God brings people into our lives, they do not know how to share their lives with other people. And, it could be, that we do not know how to share our lives with others, even if we know that we need it.
So, it can help to intentionally seek times with others people – times that foster relationships, conversation, and growth. There are many different opportunities for this kind of relationship. I shared a few of those occasions when God has brought people into my life in my post “You found fellowship in Christ where and when?”
Here are some suggestions if you think God is bringing someone into your life for this kind of fellowship, but one or both of you are struggling with sharing your life:
1) Invite the person (people) to your home (or accept an invitation to their home) for dinner, coffee, dessert, lunch, hors d’oeuvres, bbq, etc. Sharing your home with others is one of the best ways to begin sharing your lives together. However, recognize that in today’s culture people rarely stay home, and being in someone else’s home is strange to some people.
2) Invite the person/people (or accept an invitation from them) to a restaurant, bar, coffee house, ice cream shop, etc. While this environment may not be as intimate as a home, these are the normal ways to begin connecting with people today. As you get to know one another better, invitations to one another’s home will be more natural.
3) Share your family life with one another. Attend their children’s activities and invite them to join you at your children’s activities. Sure, you may not particular like tee ball or dance recitals, but you do love the people, right? And, don’t forget about birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, etc. Share these celebrations with others.
4) Serve together. I can’t stress this one enough. Do you know someone who needs their grass cut or leaves raked? Then invite someone to join you as you serve that person together. Do you know someone who needs groceries? Invite someone to go to the grocery store with you and to deliver the groceries together.
These are just a few suggestions. Each of them can help you share your life with people that God bring you into contact with – especially when you or they or both struggle with fellowship.
When you get together, be yourself and let them be themselves. Listen. Ask questions. Find connections. You’ll be surprised what God will do when you begin to think about “one another” more than just yourself. Yes, it’s costly. But, it’s worth it.
Sharing life with one another and sharing life with Christ
In many blog posts, I write about sharing life with one another. In fact, my previous post was called “It’s about life in Christ, not ideologies about Christ.” In that post, I said that many problems arise because we disagree and argue without actually sharing our lives with one another.
If the authors of Scripture are right (and I think they are), then God did not give us new life in Jesus Christ in order for us to spend that life alone. Instead, our new life in Christ is to be shared with others in both big ways and in small ways. In fact, for those of us who are in Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then we share Christ with others when we share our lives with them.
John makes an interesting statement at the beginning of his first letter. After making several statements about his personal interactions with Jesus Christ, he says,
[T]hat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3 ESV)
There are two points that I want to bring up here. First, the word “fellowship” has several different meanings today. But, at the time that John used it, it was based on the word for “sharing” or “having in common.” So, John was saying that announcing what he had seen, heard, felt, etc. so that they could all share their lives with one another in a way that was not possible when they were not all God’s children.
Second, notice that the fellowship (sharing) that John desires with his readers is not ONLY sharing life with them but it is also sharing life with our Father and with Jesus Christ. When we have this kind of fellowship (sharing life) with one another, it is the same as the fellowship that we have with God. Yes, that sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what John wrote.
Let me say that one more time: as we share our lives with one another we are also sharing our lives with God.
But, what happens when we refuse to share our lives with one another? If John is correct (and, again, I think he is), then we are also refusing to share our lives with God. We are refusing fellowship with our Father and with Jesus Christ.
Now, I’m not talking about attending certain meetings or going to a certain location or joining a certain organization. I’m talking about actually sharing our lives with people. Which people? The people that God brings into our lives.
To be honest, Christians are usually less concerned with fellowship with those who are already in their lives and more concerned with fellowship with people who live across town (or perhaps in another town). I think it’s great to share our lives with people all over town, but not in a way that neglects the people who live near us, who work with us, who go to school with us, who God has placed right in our lives.
Fellowship with them is fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ… to paraphrase John.
It’s about life in Christ, not ideologies about Christ
I often write about different concepts and ideas related to being in Christ and part of the body of Christ, that is, the church. However, being in Christ is not about concepts and ideas. Being in Christ is about living.
When I first started this blog, I wrote about things that I was investigating in my PhD studies. However, I soon realized that I could not discuss ideas on a purely conceptual basis. So, almost everything that I write hear began with a real-life conversation or a real-life struggle or problem.
I was reminded of this last week when I had coffee with a good friend. We talked about the series that I wrote last week on the topic of unity. (See the introductory post called “Unity: The Series.”)
We quickly moved from discussing the concepts related to unity to talking about real life situations related to unity among the body of Christ. Then, our discussion moved from focusing on unity to focusing on our life in Christ in general. We talked about some of our recent struggles and some recent areas of growth and encouragement.
My friend made an observation: it is easier to live in unity if we actually share our lives with one another. Disunity pops up when we argue and disagree about concepts and ideologies, but we don’t share our lives with one another. My friend and I have seen this in our own lives, because we are able to live in unity with one another in Christ in spite of our differences.
His observation also reminded me of something my family experienced a couple of weeks ago when we spent a week in Virginia serving some people in the Norfolk area with other believers. We spent the week working together, not talking about issues of disagreement. And, there were disagreements – the kind of disagreements that have often caused followers of Jesus Christ to separate from one another. But, there was also real unity, in spite of those disagreements.
Our life in Christ is just that: life. It’s not simply concepts or ideologies about Christ. Instead, as John said in his first letter, it’s about sharing our lives with one another (fellowship) which is also sharing our lives with God the Father and with his son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
Perhaps, our struggles with unity would not be as difficult if we truly shared our lives with one another instead of spending as much time discussing issues, topics of theology, concepts, or other ideologies.
What do you think?
Replay: Red, White, and Blue… and Jesus, too
Last year, I wrote a post called “Red, White, and Blue… and Jesus, too.” I love living in the United States of America, but, to be honest, I get tired of some of the spiritual language that is attached to this country. This is not “God’s country.” We are not the new Israel. I think this kind of uber-patriotism is damaging to the body of Christ. The political freedoms that we have as citizens of the USA are secondary (at least) to the freedoms that we have in Christ.
———————–
Red, White, and Blue… and Jesus, too
Yeah, I know… everybody and their sister (in the USA) is writing a post about Independence Day. Not the movie… the patriotic holiday. The day that the USA celebrates it’s rebellion from… I mean, independence from England.
No, I’m not anti-American. Not at all. I’m very grateful to God that I was born in the country in which I have many personal freedoms. But, I’m also tired of the church in the USA confusing patriotism with following Jesus.
I haven’t traveled out of the USA much. But, I’ve traveled (and read) enough to know that God blesses many people in many different countries. Yes, sometimes the people in those countries have less personal freedoms, but, for the church, that’s not always a bad thing.
I’ve talked to too many Christians in the USA who were more concerned with the individual rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed by God in the Bible, right?), and much less concerned with giving up their rights (much less their life) for the sake of others. To be completely honest… I have been numbered among those as well.
But, spending time with believers in Nicaragua and Ethiopia has opened my eyes to a new set of rights that God truly bestows on all his children. No, I’m not talking about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I’m talking about death, service, and pursuit of others to show them the love of God.
Yes, many people died to guarantee certain political, social, cultural, and even religious freedoms. Like I said, I’m grateful for those freedoms, and I pray that I take advantage of them in the service of my God.
However, those freedoms cannot (and must not) stand between me and showing the love of God to others through word and through deed. And I mean that the existence OR lack of those freedoms must never stand between me and showing the love of God to others through word and through deed.
Citizens of the United States of America definitely have more individual freedom than citizens of other countries of the world. However, these freedoms are not based on our relationship with God. Those freedoms are granted to Christian citizens and to nonChristian citizens. Yes, Christians died defending those freedoms, but so did nonChristians.
So, while I am truly grateful for the freedoms that I have as a citizen of the United States of America, I refuse to recognize myself and other citizens as honored higher by God simply because of our citizenship.
Similarly, I refuse to speak or to write about God’s view of America and Americans in a way that I could not also speak of Nicaragua, Ethiopia, China, Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other country in the world.
The United States of America is not God’s country. Citizens of the United States who have received the good news of Jesus Christ and have been indwelled by the Spirit of God are God’s people. But, citizens of other countries who have received the good news of Jesus Christ and have been indwelled by the Spirit of God are God’s people also.
Replay: When God Communicates is it Subjective or Objective?
Four years ago, I wrote a post called “When God Communicates: Subjective or Objective?” Have you ever thought about the difference between how God communicates and how we receive what he communicates? I’m not talking about any specific type of communication, but any time God communicates with us, including through Scripture. This post is part of my thinking on this topic.
————————
When God Communicates: Subjective or Objective?
Over the last few weeks, I’ve read something similar to this a few times: Scripture is objective; but any other communication from God is subjective. This post is not directed at anyone in particular. Instead, as I’ve read the above comment a few times, I’ve been thinking about the objectivity and subjectivity of God’s communication.
By the way, I like to say “God communicates” instead of “God speaks”. Usually, the verb “speak” assumes something (audible communication) that is not always present when God communicates. So, when I say, “God communicates”, I mean many different types of communications, including but not limited to Scripture, dreams, visions, impressions, other people.
When God communicates to us, he always communicates objectively. His communication is never subjective. However, our interpretation of God’s communications is always subjective. This includes our interpretation of Scripture – it is always subjective. It is true that some interpretations are less subjective than others, but all interpretations are subjective.
It would be incorrect to say that interpretations of Scripture are always less subjective than interpretations of other communications from God. For example, when God told Abram to leave Haran, Abram did not consider that communication to be subjective. When God communicated with Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul did not consider that communication to be subjective. When God communicated to Peter while Peter was on the roof of Simon’s house in Joppa (the dream with the sheet and animals), Peter did not consider that communication to be subjective. Notice that all of these acts of communication are now part of Scripture, but they were not part of Scripture when they occurred.
(Interestingly, Peter’s dream became normative for everyone. I wonder what would have happened if Peter had thought his dream was more subjective than Scripture and had compared his dream to Scripture. But, this is another issue altogether.)
I am not questioning the importance of Scripture. I do believe that Scripture is extremely important. I believe that Scripture is inspired by God, and I believe that Scripture is inerrant in the original autographs. I believe that Scripture is authoritative. However, there are times when I’ve felt that Scripture has been placed in a position above the living presence of God Himself – and not just Scripture, but our (individual or corporate) interpretation of Scripture.
Our goal should not be to relate properly to Scripture. Our goal should be to relate properly to God. Some may suggest that studying Scripture brings one into a right relationship with God, but remember that the scribes and Pharisees studied Scripture meticulously, as do many scholars today. Studying Scripture does not guarantee that we are hearing God.
God always communicates to us objectively. Perhaps we have not heard him – as others have heard him in the past and as has been recorded for us – because we are not listening to him. Instead, we have replaced him with something else. We have made our interpretation of Scripture objective, and we’ve made God subjective.
Mind your own business discipleship
Have you visited Josh’s new site called “In Search of the City“? If you haven’t, you should. And, you can start with his post called “What’s it to you?”
Josh’s post is about following Jesus… and other people following Jesus… and how they follow Jesus into different things than we follow Jesus. He builds on the conversation between Jesus and Peter at the end of the Gospel of John.
At one point, Josh writes this concerning Jesus’ conversation with Peter (about John):
If this man shall follow me in that way, what is that to you? If I lead him to do a certain thing while you are busy with another, what difference does it make? You are following me and so is he. How each of you are called to follow is my business and not yours. Your responsibility is simply to be faithful in that to which I have called you.
Yes! God calls us to follow Jesus in different ways with different types of service to others. Of course, this is not really “mind your own business discipleship”. (By the way, Josh didn’t call it that… that was my “tongue-in-cheek” exaggeration.)
Instead, discipleship is helping others follow Jesus to do what he has called THEM to do – not what he has called US to do. Part of that, of course, is helping them to listen to him and helping them to determine what Jesus is calling them to. Meanwhile, we also allow others to help us follow Jesus as well.
Thanks, Josh, for the new site and for this post! It’s always good to think about helping each other follow Jesus.