caffeine, please.

Demons and stuff

A few Sundays back our New Life locations were teaching from Mark 1:21-28 and we talked about demons.  Incidentally, one reason I like teaching straight through sections of Scripture is that it forces me to teach on tough, easily neglected and important topics.  Unpopular topics like demons and demonic possession.

I got some questions seeking clarity and I thought I'd share them here figuring that others were wondering about similar things.  So verbatim from email response:

First, on the subject of "shame, blame, guilt, worries and fears" given to children...  I believe that if these things are left in the realm of bitterness/unforgiveness/anger in the child, they can become a playground for the enemy.  I suppose that depending on the severity, these things could become an open door for the enemy including demonic possession.  I believe this is why Jesus pronounces such severe judgment on those who cause "little ones to stumble".  One story that I think touches this issue is the story in Matthew 17:14ff of the demon-possessed boy who was brought to Jesus after His transfiguration.

Second, regarding the possibility of a Christian being possessed... That is a more complex question.  Can a Christian who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit be under the internal, possessed lordship of a demonic spirit? No.  But, can a Christian be so demonized that the difference between him and the demonically possessed non-Christian is difficult to distinguish?  Yes.  In other words, the sense of fear, helplessness and defeat from the believer who is pushed around by an evil spirit is not a small thing.  Erwin Lutzer has a great section on this topic in his book Serpent of Paradise.  I'd recommend it to you for further study.

Biblical worldview in America

What is a biblical worldview?  Barna defines it as believing that:

• absolute moral truth exists
• the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches
• Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic
• a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or doing good works
• Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth
• and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today

Surveying Americans on their adherence to these basic, core, Christian doctrines and beliefs is a valuable tool in discovering where the real core of the American Church.  I think it trumps church attendance stats and religious affiliation stats because it actually probes a person's owned convictions and faith outlook. 

So what did Barna discover when using the biblical worldview standard in their most recent surveys?

• Currently, 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview
• Among born again Christians, 19% express a biblical worldview [the most troubling survey result to this observer]
• The numbers show that 7% had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10% in 2000, 11% in 2005, and 9% now.  So essentially, the numbers are relatively flat--not strongly declining or increasing.
• Young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview:  less than .5% of adults age 18 to 23 have a biblical worldview.  Obviously that doesn't mean they can't change their views later in life but as young adults, they are almost universally rejecting a biblical worldview.
• A minority of American adults (40%) are persuaded that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life while He was on earth.  This is only one element of a biblical worldview but says much about the foundation of the faith.

To me this is like a seismic reading on culture and life.  It tells us an aspect of how the next wave of culture will be shaped.  The fact that less than .5% of young adults hold a biblical worldview ought to be like a ice-bath wake up call.  The church is NOT reaching this generation or stated alternatively, this generation is NOT responding to the Gospel of Jesus.

Now I want to have a more hopeful outlook but hope is birthed in part out of realistically appraising the present.  Without accepting the reality of the present, hope is replaced with wishful thinking.  This generation is in ICU-critical-condition need of real, living, authentic followers of Jesus who have a reasoned faith, a life that agrees with that faith and loving compassion for people who don't share their faith. 

Simply put, this generation needs followers of Jesus who flow in faith, hope and love.

Leonard Sweet on church architecture

Leonard Sweet, one of my favorite Dr. Strangelove church voices, posts an engaging set of principles about postmodern church buildings.  In his usual fashion, he quotes obscure items and makes them current while saying profound things in profound ways, all the while pulling it off without ever sounding arrogant.  That's a rare man. 

Here's my condensation and commentary on his "10 Commandments of Architecture for the Postmodern Church":

1. Thou shalt not make a graven image.
   • Sweet seems to be concerned here that the building does not become a celebration of its designers/builders but is instead "designed for recycling. It's egalitarian, mobile, and adaptable for multiple use."  I think the other side of this is that the building itself not be worshipped as sacred but kept in proper perspective and used up for God.  I think we need to grow in the area of maxing out the space God has entrusted us, frankly.
2. Thou shalt not create ugliness.
   • This is a classic Sweetlet:  "Vitruvius [you know, that guy], said in his manual On Architecture that a building should have the qualities of (1) commodity, (2) firmness, and (3) delight. By commodity, he meant user-friendliness. By firmness, he meant integrity: the building does what it says it does—it doesn't fall down or leak. By delight, Vitruvius meant joy and beauty."
3. Thou shalt design for all senses.
   • The Orthodox Church, in all its forms, already does this.  They've been 5 sense innovators since the Middle Ages and before.  This is not new ground but the idea of capturing more of the senses in worship captures my interest--if its not done with distraction and as a replacement to the spoken word in preaching and worship.
4. Thou shalt have a sense of place.
   • This is quite similar to Theology of Place.  I think this is my favorite of Sweet's list.  What it says about reflecting the community where a church resides is huge, especially in a community like Chicago with so many different neighborhoods.  The Catholic church gets this well in much of its architecture--or it least it did back when the buildings were built.
5. Thou shalt get real.
   • In the retrofitting of a Restart congregation, this can be an expensive challenge.  Our Lakeview building was constructed under a different church architecture philosophy.  Little open space, every room seemingly on a different level of floor, lots of passages and hallways.  It does not reflect the open design model that I prefer and that is more current.  Its hard to refit the buildings but some of our locations are doing a good job and we're doing what we can with the Lakeview building.
6. Thou shalt build a living church.
   • "Where else but in churches do postmoderns experience architectural spaces with hard benches, dark woods, and elevated presiders? he asks. Only in courtrooms, which are known for judgment; and funeral homes, which harbor death." 
   • Well stated.  That's why when we revitalize older church buildings, we try to keep some sense of the old without having distracting elements that congure up a wrong environmental response.
7. Thou shalt get the church out of doors.
   • Sweet's nudge toward outdoor amphitheaters (in the right climate--not Chicago) is already being considered/pursued by the church Francis Chan pastors in SoCal.  I love the hear behind Chan's decision--a desire to redirect building funds to serve the mission of kingdom advancement.
8. Thou shalt love thy setting.
   • This is Sweet's green-friendly command.  It applies mostly to new construction though we've talked about rooftop gardens as a way to retro-green some of our older buildings.  What I like about the rooftop garden is its going back the way we came--rooftops have a lot of biblical history.
9. Thou shalt build smart churches.
   • Here Sweet is at his best--proposing a radical rethink about every surface of the church as "a living organism that responds to human touch..."  Cool thought.  Probably will happen.  And the thing is, every display on every surface can be generated through light and projection and then rethought as needed.
10. Thou shalt create new God-glorifying spaces.
    • "The essence of architecture is the imbuing of matter with spirit until the spirit is uplifted."  And that is a fitting final statement to the matter... for now.

Deeper

Sunday we’ll begin a new 10 week teaching series called Deeper.  Since this was one the 3 words I entered into this year with I’m excited to head into this teaching.

When we start a new series, I get excited about what the teaching journey will do in me and then (I hope) through me.  Each series represents a new journey and each series is an opportunity for me to grow.  Looking forward to going Deeper with the New Life community as we head toward Resurrection Sunday together.

An Atheist's apologetic for Christian missions. Huh?

Alert reader Heidi W. sent me this article link written by an Atheist.  It is an argument for the unique value of Christian missionaries to Africa's overall growth and development.  I think that in light of last Sunday's message on perceptions about Christians in the U.S., this article may serve as a template for what we could hope the Church's reputation becomes in the U.S. in the next 20 years.  Oh to be living out our faith so well that Atheists would be telling everyone how valuable we are to the "good of the city".

Quotes I used this past Sunday...

I wanted to post some quotes that I used this past Sunday.  They are from some of the people I respect and who are helping shape me so passing along their words seems worthwhile in a forum like this.

• Christianity is largely viewed as being unChristian by outsiders.  From unChristian by Kinnaman and Lyons.
• "We need to go deeper."  Brian Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, MO. 
• “Some argue, with good cause, that the term Christian is now polluted beyond recognition.”  (Leonard Sweet, Church of the Perfect Storm)
• “The church must stop chasing the impossible, implausible, and dishonorable dream of re-Christianizing society.  It’s time for the church to understand that this is a missionary culture (Babylon) and that the church needs to think and act missionally.”  Allan Hirsch, author of Forgotten Ways.

Looking forward to pressing in Deeper, in Faith, Hope and Love to join in the Mission of God in 2009.

Multi-site trends

Jim Tomberlin is a leader who is on the front edge of multi-site church trends.  He recently posted an entry at MondayMorningInsight.com. 

I'll comment briefly on each of his trend items...

1. I agree-multi-site is becoming common and "normal".  Many church planters are planting with a multi-site mindset from the beginning.  Its weird because when I came to New Life in 1999, I remember how "out there" multi-site church was.  How things have changed in 10 years.
2. We definitely operate out of this model.  I think its like "urban warfare" applied to the church world.  The church, like modern militaries, are forced to rethink their strategy now that the world is more than 50% urban.  The recast strategy is to employ smaller, more mobile units in both the military and the church world--fighting the battle from "house to house".
3. True for us and seeing this at several other churches around the country (Seacoast, Lifechurch, soon Mars Hill Seattle).
4. This seems to be somewhat true though I think multi-site represents a big break from denominational thinking.  Multi-site churches seem to have a much higher value on intra-church cooperation and define themselves more by agreement than by disagreement.
5. This may be true but it seems also true that many campus pastors, in my anectdotal research, are hired from within most often.  Sort of a UPS hiring model--promote from within for 80% of the jobs.
6. Most notably, www.theaterchurch.com, the website of National Community Church in DC.  Mark Batterson and Co are doing a lot of pioneering on this front.
7. Or as we call them, Restarts.  And the more we witness the decline of older insitutional churches, the more this trend will increase.
8. My parents attend a rural multi-site church--Thornapple Valley Church--and I love Pastor Jeff Arnett's vision and passion to grow great churches in the rural communities of Michigan.  For him, if it has a grocery store, its probably a little too urban.  But as he notes, not too many multi-site churches are working in truly rural areas yet so this area needs a strong dose of networking and resourcing.
9. Not a fan of the internet campus.  I don't believe you can call something that happens over the internet a church in the fullest sense.  You can't baptize and you can't celebrate communion together, two functional basics that happen in the gathered community.  I'm all for the video delivery of messages to real gatherings of people but not for the virtual gathering of people on different computers.  I think innovation goes too far with this one.
10. Personally, I think this format will have a backlash.  Live preaching will never go out of style because in a techno world, people long for "the real thing, baby" (thanks Pepsi for the tagline.)  And I have a concern about the growth of video as a means of delivery--the celebrity nature of mass distribution.  I do not believe fallen humanity is built to handle glory and celebrity is a form of glory.  Seems to lead to trouble.  Again, not fundamentally opposed to video delivery of teaching, but I think it should be used with caution. 

It is better to receive

Rick has been warning me for a couple weeks that he "had something for me" on December 21st.  Rick is a faithful brother at the church who's been a serving part of our community for years.  So after our worship gathering yesterday he comes up to me with a priority mail box labeled with my name (Rick works at the post office).

"Should I open it now or later?" 

"Well I guess I'd like to have you open it in front of me so I can see your face when you open it."  I wrapped up some conversations with people and a little while later I grab the box and move over by Rick calling my wife over as well. 

I tear into the box and pull it open and inside I see a huge 3-ring binder.  The front is labeled Football Collectors Album and it is heavy.  I open to the first page and there he is--pound for pound the greatest player of all time, one of very few bright spots in the history of the NFL franchise I cheer for, the most elusive and entertaining running back to ever play the game:  Barry Sanders!

And Barry is not just on the first page.  His cards fill every page, page after page, 40 or more pages of just about every football card ever made for Barry Sanders.

"I collected them at card shows and shops over the years."  Over the years.  Rick has been collecting this amazing Barrylection "over the years".  "I thought to myself one day, 'Pastor Kevin would appreciate this more than me'".  So he gave it to me for Christmas.  (By the way, there is a bonus section of my favorite receiver in Lion history, Herman Moore, in the back of the album.) 

I think this is the essence of a true Christmas gift:

• It has great personal worth both for the giver and the receiver
• Its high actual value can't be easily calculated
• It bears a lot of personal effort and cost
• It can't be reciprocated--I can't give Rick a gift that could match what he has given me

I think this is the most valuable Christmas gift I've ever received.  A gift that in some way is a shadow of the gift of Jesus.  This gift proves God's Christmas Value:  it is better to receive.

Joe the (Gay) Bricklayer

Reverend Phelps.  I have to admit, a year ago I had no idea who he was (at least by name.)   One year ago on a Friday night I was sitting in a Halsted gay bar, Sidetrack, sippin a coke and talking with a 40-something gay bricklayer named Joe.

Joe asks me, "so what kind of church do you go to that they would let you come here?"  We laugh together.  “Our church wants to get to know the people in our community.  That means getting to know people in their own environment.  I’m here to learn a part of my community that I don’t know.” 

Satisfied with my answer he asks, “so what do you think of Reverend Phelps?”  I draw an immediate blank.  Enjoying my struggle for a minute he finally offers, “you know, the God-hates-fags guy.”  Ohhhh.  That Rev Phelps.

I deduce all at once that if I play word association with your average gay man and I say “Evangelical Christian” he says, “Rev Phelps”.  (This is why writers like Annie Lamott are so reluctant to admit they are “born-again”.)

And so my question to myself one year later is simple:  What have I done since then to convince men like Joe the (Gay) Bricklayer that Evangelical Christian means something totally different than “Rev Phelps”?  Honestly?  Not much. 

I know I’m not going to hang out full-time in gay bars.  But I don’t know what I am going to do.  And that bothers me.  Its not enough to think the sign-holders fools and to say in my cozy confines, “that’s not who I am”.  I have to find something tangible that communicates a different Jesus and a different Christianity to men like Joe the bricklayer who party in Boystown in my city. 

Theology of work

Colossians 3:22-24 from the passage that we worked through yesterday is a great section contributing to a theology of work.  Theology of work is the idea that God has a big worship purpose in the everyday working life of everyday people.  The point is--your work is not separate from your spiritual life; your work is your spiritual life. 

There are two ways I see that a follower of Jesus can approach their work:

1. Work as "Eye-service":  you offer your work to your boss to convince him of your worth.  Result:  better paycheck.
2. Work as "God-service":  you offer your work to God to convince God of His worth to you.  Result:  better, fuller, deeper worship of Jesus.

Work as "God-service" is a powerful expression of worship.  And the powerful point of it is, if you offer your work to God, you send it ahead into kingdom as worship.  "...Work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward." 

That's kingdom speak.  It means your work becomes a tool for filling the eternal kingdom with blessing.  It means your work takes on eternal value.  Think about it--your approach to data entry, teaching, hammering nails, filing, consulting, programming, litigating...  all of it has the potential to be a chorus of worship that reverberates eternally.

Happy Monday!

Jerry Springer's ministry?

Today, in one of many busride discussions with fellow BGU students, a thought crystallized about the appeal of the Jerry Springer show.  (I know this is completely random--which could also easily be the name of this blog.)  But admit it--we've all often wondered, even aloud, "if people's lives are such a ridiculous mess, why do they choose to let it all hang out, often literally, on the Jerry Springer Show?" 

But what if the reason is redemptive?

Maybe, just maybe the unconscious thinking goes like this:  "My life is a wreck.  If I go on Jerry Springer and tell everyone about my mess, afterward my life will still be a mess.  But after the show I'll be (in)famous, for a minute.  And maybe being (in)famous for a minute will make my mess a little bit more worth it."

No, I don't think anyone would actually have this internal dialogue consciously.  And no, I don't think this redemption has value that lasts.  But I do think this is at least part of what drives people to publicly expose themselves when things are all wrong.  Pastor Jerry Springer, bringing a version of redemption to the messiness of life?  I admit, its a stretch but worth thinking about.

Coach's tears

My theology of tears is developing.  Tonight at the introduction to the Chicago Plunge class I'm taking with Ray Bakke and Wayne "Coach" Gordon of Bakke Graduate University, Wayne Gordon shared an opening devotional.  His words were moving.  He said this in the course of his talk:

I cry every day.  When I stop crying, its time for me to leave Lawndale.

Spoken by an articulate, hard-working, passionate and visionary leader, these words touched my soul and serve as another confirmation from my earlier post and an area where I continue to pray.

Sunday funny not quite smackdown

About 5 minutes into the message at Lincoln Park on Sunday, 3 young men in dark pants and white button down oxfords walked down the aisle and slid into a pew about 1/3 of the way back.  My immediate thought--"hmmm.  got a couple Mormon missionaries here this morning." 

Not thinking much more of it I went on teaching from Matthew 25.  After our worship gathering I noticed that these three young men were at a table talking to a regular attender and Moody student.  Confident that these 3 missionaries weren't actively confusing people or trying to recruit the confused, I headed over to Lakeview for our 10:45am gathering. 

On Monday morning I bumped into the young man from Lincoln Park who talked to the three "undercover missionaries". 

"I'll bet you had some interesting conversation yesterday morning, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

Tears

Spent some time in tears today.  Its become more common for me lately.  Also spent time today with a man who shed tears--he's dealing with a cataclysmic life change and was sharing the fears he has about his future.  

I was talking with a ministry friend a few nights ago and sharing that I believe God is inviting me to welcome tears, even to seek Him for tears.  Never really thought I'd say that.  Seeking tears? 

Thoughts about tears brought me back to a chapter Watchman Nee wrote in Spiritual Authority entitled Tears.  I remember him saying that tears are essential to the life of any man of God.  I remember dismissing that at the time.  I don't anymore.

I'm not going to lay out a theology of tears right now but I think I need to figure out one.

The good, the shack, and the ugly

I read The Shack.

I'm not sure you should.  But I did.  This book is catching fire and selling lots of copies. 

Here's what I found admirable about the book:

• It expresses God as emotionally engaged and individually concerned.
• It pictures God redeeming pain for His glory and peoples' good.
• It faces harsh, harsh realities rather than running from them with platitudes.
• It pictures the possibility of real healing.
• The chapter where the main character wrestles with judgment is deeply insightful about human nature.

Here's what I found impossible to accept or overlook about the book:

• It distorts rather than clarifies God's Trinitarian nature as revealed in Scripture.
• It presents God as needing to masquerade, ala Satan, in order to reach and heal people.
• It is highly speculative in an area where speculation is most dangerous--i.e. the nature and communion of God within Himself.
• It presents the idea that interaction with the dead for the sake of reconciliation is normative and helpful.  In fact, key to the healing of the main character are his two interactions with his dead loved ones.  Scary.
• It tries to get some things right while at the same time getting some things hopelessly wrong--the most dangerous kind of lie is the one that has a good bit of truth in it.
• It compromises the clear identity of the first person of the Trinity, the Father, as Father for much of the book. 
• It represents the Father and the Spirit as human women rather than as Spirit.  It makes a graven image of God.  And make no mistake--people are worshiping this image.  Spoken to one of our pastors this past Sunday:  "The god of The Shack, that's my god."  Yikes.
• It casts submission and hierarchy into a category of sin and invention when Scripture reveals these concepts to be part of the very nature and inner communion of God.
• It is highly dismissive of the church, suggesting that a few people hanging out and skipping rocks with Jesus is really what He intended with the Church.
• The prose is pretty preachy and not terribly well written in my opinion.

Note to "Christian authors:  feel free to play around with non-essential areas of theology like the rapture or imagined dialog between Paul and his companions while planting churches in the first century. 

But please.  Please.  Leave the Trinitarian nature of God alone.  People have a hard enough time with the nature of God without you making it harder.

Good theology

This is theology expressed powerfully.  Michael Ovey writes in God's Power to Save:

To say that God is simple is not saying that God is somehow simple-minded, or that he is a primitive prototype as against later and more advance models.  To say that God is simple is to say, first, that in God all his attributes are essential.  There are no optional extras in God, something added on to the basic product.  It is not the case with God that some attributes are primary, some secondary...  Simplicity minimizes the desiergner-deity tendency humans have, the urge to pick and mix the attributes we personally like the best...  Second, simplicity means that all God's attributes are integrated.  God is not a mixture or composition of more basic principles, into which he can be divided...  As all the attributes are equally essential, so all the attributes are inseparable.  So simplicity means we cannot set God's attributes in opposition to each other:  his is a pitying truth and a truthful pity. 

Expelled, in brief

I got a chance to take in Expelled on Tuesday.  I was eager to see the movie and it did not disappoint.  The movie provides compelling evidence of the intolerance of the scientific establishment to squash any conversation that does not start with wholesale acceptance of Darwin's theory of origins. 

This is not a Christian project.  Ben Stein is a devoted Jewish man who believes the Hebrew Scriptures.  And as a journalist and researcher, his interest is to expose what is happening out of the public eye.  I think  he succeeds and along the way he is pretty hilarious in a dry-witted manner.

My favorite scene is when Stein is searching downtown Seattle for the Discovery Institute.  Let's just say I can relate.   

The Rightness of Wright

On the way to our pastoral team prayer meeting yesterday I caught a good portion of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's speech to the National Press Club on the radio.  I couldn't take my ears off the radio.  I was late for my meeting because I was so reluctant to quit listening.  (The video below only includes the last section of his address and the first few questions.)

Jeremiah Wright is a tough cookie.  And he is a straight shooter--I did not hear the voice of a man who was concerned with pleasing or impressing the nation (though he does have a quite a charismatic stage presence) and neither did he backtrack on or explain away the soundbites that have been used against him lately.  I admire that.  I felt like I was listening to the voice of a prophet--a man who wasn't afraid to tell the truth to power. 

As a pastor, I found myself understanding where he was coming from and agreeing with much of what he said.  His response to the question about "America's chicken's coming home to roost," was priceless.  "Did you hear the whole sermon?  No?  Well that nullifies that question but let me see if I can answer it anyway.  Are you aware that I was quoting ... with that statement?"  At the core, Wright is not wanting to be identified by 10 second soundbites after an over 30 year career of preaching regularly.  I concur--its scary to think what people might be able to do with some of my 10 second soundbites and I've only been at it for a few years.

I found myself in equal agreement with his explanation of the now infamous "God Damn America" quote.  Where is it written that pastors are the tools of the political/governmental establishment?  As I read Scripture it seems that blessing every act of the government was the property of the false prophet.  Confrontation and truth were the property of the true prophet.  I haven't heard the entire sermon to say whether I agree with every point but I do believe in the principal that pastors are not called to be blessing factories for the acts of government and that they may need to confront government when it is wrong.   

And to the accusation that Wright "hates white people"--that is a classic straw man argument.  (Straw man:  I reduce your argument to a caricature so that I can dismiss and ignore its substance.)  If you hear Wright's comments in context in this video, you see that he is focused in his views about slavery and repentance.  He rightly credits many white churches/christians with pursuit of reconciliation and gives credit to the predominately white church's role in abolition and the underground railroad.  His beef is  primarily with a government that stubbornly refuses to admit its past wrongs and make them right.

So I encourage you, if you haven't, to watch Wright's remarks in their entirety and see if your views about him become more balanced.  Maybe dismissing him based on soundbites is hasty.  Maybe he has something to say that we need to hear.

And one more thing... I do not know all of Rev. Wright's views and theology and will not claim to agree with him on everything he says.  What I find refreshing is a man committed to truth, unwilling to be cowed even when he's set on fire by the press, and clearly understanding his role as a pastor and follower of Jesus.