“There can only be a community of peace when it does not rest on lies and injustice.”
-Bonhoeffer, “No Rusty Swords”
I’m reading a book entitled “Performing the Faith: Bonhoeffer and the Practice of Non-violence” by Hauerwas. I’m only through the first two chapters, which happen to be the only chapters solely dedicated to Bonhoeffer, but I am really enjoying it. Since I have no one with whom to discuss, I choose to write. I want to say that Bonhoeffer’s life was intriguing even without his theology, but one cannot seem to separate the way he lived from his theology. It is also clear that his theology was unfinished and from my limited knowledge, misunderstood. His disdain for institutional religion has been viewed as some as the beginning of the “Death of God” movement. Hauerwas asserts that this would cause Bonhoeffer great agony, but I digress: on to the book.
Hauerwas asserts that Bonhoeffer was devoted to “the visibility of the church amid the ruins of Christendom.” This visibility could only be established by the proclamation and living of the truth. In other words, the “community of peace” cannot rest on “lies and injustice.” The community of peace I am equating to the visible church and the lies parallels living in truthfulness.
It is interesting to see Bonhoeffer’s take on the American church. Not only does he condemn the “Protestant fugitives” who fled Europe to worship God in peace, thus foregoing suffering, but critiques the American church in saying that “they do not see the radical claim of truth on the shaping of their lives. Community is therefore founded less on truth than on the spirit of ‘fairness.’” One can wonder whether this derives from the political nature of democracy (which is built on compromise), but that is a different discussion. Hauerwas characterizes it this way, “Fairness, not truth, becomes the primary commitment necessary to sustain community for Americans.”
As it would go, our idea of peace is based upon a sort of tolerance, a “subordination of truth and justice” where peace is seen as the absence of conflict rather than the reality of the gospel. A peace brought by war is only an illusory peace, a peace that is brought by injustice. Can there be war without a form of injustice? The visible church expresses that the gospel is “not an answer to questions produced by human anxiety, but a proclamation of a ‘fact.’” Bonhoeffer brings together the reality of truth-living with the visible community of peace.
But is he clear as to what that ‘truth’ is? Some argue no, some say he promoted a type of situational ethic (brought to fruition through his plot to assassinate Hitler), and still others (others being Hauerwas in this book) say that Bonhoeffer did not see the significance of giving a ‘theory of truth’ but rather realizing that being truthful is something learned. Whatever Bonhoeffer meant, we know that our living truthfully had everything to do with our life in connection with God’s, our ability to express truth vitalized through the expression of reality, as it is in God. And one cannot grasp reality without the truthful witness of Jesus Christ. As it turned out, Bonhoeffer saw the terrible lie that was Hitler as starting with the inability of the church to speak truth effectively even in the little things. It begs the question of whether our churches are adequately speaking/living truth even in the little things. Hauerwas continues that “Bonhoeffer believed that the church is the sign that God has placed in the windows of the world to make possible a truthful politics.” Is the church now truly a visible witness or have we consigned ourselves to the storefronts of abandoned warehouses?
Friday, November 30, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Democrat Primary Debate
I started to get interested in the upcoming Presidential Election last Jan/Feb. when Barack Obama made an intent to run and started a huge grass roots campaign while not taking any money from special interest groups. I remember thinking last June that Clinton was unelectable. It has little to do with her being a woman than it does her being stuck in the democrat political machine. I enjoyed listening to John Edwards and his comments on the poor but his $400 haircut kind of turned me off to him. Three weeks ago a debate was held in Philadelphia. Clinton had a poor outing. It appeared that she was staged, gave pat answers, and proved to give inconsistent answers on certain issues. She started to drop in the polls and Obama seemed to be on a surge.
Another debate was held last night. I was very interested in it, so I went to a friends house and watched it with about 8 others. To be honest, it was a lackluster performance from the top three candidates. Clinton seems to have come ahead only because she didn't stumble. Obama and Edwards didn't seem to make up any ground because they didn't stand out. However, I think a few things are worth mentioning.
There was a question last night involving human rights and national security. The question asked, "Would you place our national security above human rights." Sen. Dodd and Sen. Clinton said similar things. The job of the President is to ensure the security of our own. We are to do this while upholding the Constitution. Later analysts said that Clinton was looking toward the general election against the Republicans so they couldn't use her response against her. (The Republicans seem to be big on national security above any rights of anyone). I thought Obama's answer was intriguing though. He didn't give a yes or no answer. This, in a debate, sometimes comes across as a weakness but I hope people were listening. He said he doesn't think that national security and human rights are necessarily incompatible. One doesn't need be to placed above the other. This logic seems to make sense to me. Right now the Bush administration has polarized America with his war agenda. Not only are we in an unjust war in Iraq, but there has been talk of military conflict with Iran as well (this would be a grave mistake). However, while we are killing in the middle-east we are neglecting other countries like the Sudan and Burma where vasts amounts of people are now left homeless, injured, orphaned, or dead (not to neglect the other 2 Billion people living on less than $2 a day). The world has seen our ugly foreign policy and our trampling of human rights in the middle-east and places like Guantanamo. Obama, I think, rightly associates the building and support of human rights not only because it is the right thing to do, but because as a result it will in turn make us more secure. If people aren't dying, if they have enough to eat, or even enough to live, they are less likely to harbor bitterness. Even more, America is even the cause of that bitterness in several instances. Jim Wallis writes in "God's Politics" that "the developed World will never be secure until the developing world also achieves some economic security." I think there is some truth found in that statement.
It is my hope that this kind of Politics becomes more evident. I hope that Obama's words are heard for what they are (Bill Richardson said something similar). I still think Clinton is unelectable. She may be ahead in the Democratic primaries but recent polls show that the vast majority of independents and republicans would not vote for her. On the other side, Obama holds the votes of more independents and even some moderate Republicans than any other candidate. Just words to think about.
Another debate was held last night. I was very interested in it, so I went to a friends house and watched it with about 8 others. To be honest, it was a lackluster performance from the top three candidates. Clinton seems to have come ahead only because she didn't stumble. Obama and Edwards didn't seem to make up any ground because they didn't stand out. However, I think a few things are worth mentioning.
There was a question last night involving human rights and national security. The question asked, "Would you place our national security above human rights." Sen. Dodd and Sen. Clinton said similar things. The job of the President is to ensure the security of our own. We are to do this while upholding the Constitution. Later analysts said that Clinton was looking toward the general election against the Republicans so they couldn't use her response against her. (The Republicans seem to be big on national security above any rights of anyone). I thought Obama's answer was intriguing though. He didn't give a yes or no answer. This, in a debate, sometimes comes across as a weakness but I hope people were listening. He said he doesn't think that national security and human rights are necessarily incompatible. One doesn't need be to placed above the other. This logic seems to make sense to me. Right now the Bush administration has polarized America with his war agenda. Not only are we in an unjust war in Iraq, but there has been talk of military conflict with Iran as well (this would be a grave mistake). However, while we are killing in the middle-east we are neglecting other countries like the Sudan and Burma where vasts amounts of people are now left homeless, injured, orphaned, or dead (not to neglect the other 2 Billion people living on less than $2 a day). The world has seen our ugly foreign policy and our trampling of human rights in the middle-east and places like Guantanamo. Obama, I think, rightly associates the building and support of human rights not only because it is the right thing to do, but because as a result it will in turn make us more secure. If people aren't dying, if they have enough to eat, or even enough to live, they are less likely to harbor bitterness. Even more, America is even the cause of that bitterness in several instances. Jim Wallis writes in "God's Politics" that "the developed World will never be secure until the developing world also achieves some economic security." I think there is some truth found in that statement.
It is my hope that this kind of Politics becomes more evident. I hope that Obama's words are heard for what they are (Bill Richardson said something similar). I still think Clinton is unelectable. She may be ahead in the Democratic primaries but recent polls show that the vast majority of independents and republicans would not vote for her. On the other side, Obama holds the votes of more independents and even some moderate Republicans than any other candidate. Just words to think about.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Football and the Church
I read an article yesterday on Adrian Peterson. He's a running back for the Minnesota Vikings. He's actually having a tremendous season. Just last week he ran for an NFL record for most yards in a single game (296). He's on pace to break the single season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in the 80's. There are already talks of him being the best running back in the NFL at this moment, which is quite an accomplishment for being in the same league as Ladanian Tomlinson. Oh yeah, Adrian Peterson is a rookie. This is his first year in the NFL. The article was about Peterson's vision. What does he see to make him break the tackles that he does? Many have remarked that Peterson's vision is much like the great Walter Payton's. He doesn't see the tacklers, he only sees the goal line. In other words, he doesn't focus on making mistakes so much as he focuses on the purpose.
I wonder if this isn't anything like the church. I am a part of a Monday night group that meets together for a meal. We're all younger married couples that bring a meal, share our time and lives, and we read and discuss the Bible or another book. We're working on a book by a guy named Kinlaw. He once was the President of Asbury. I am not a big fan of the premise of the book, "How every person can have the Mind of Christ." It sounds too much like one of those "if you follow this book then you too can be holy" kind of things. (7 Steps to your Best Life Now). The second chapter talks about the difference between doing right and being righteous. I found it odd that the criteria for doing right was abstaining from alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, smoking, and the like. In other words, doing right is not doing wrong. It sounds to me like we try so hard on avoiding sin that we miss the joy of Christ. It kind of makes me think that perhaps "doing right" is not in the things that we need to avoid but in the things that we as a church don't seem to actually do.
Matthew 25 gives a clear picture of what God desires. This chapter talks about the final judgment in terms of what we did or did not do for the Kingdom of God. It is very clear that Kingdom is more concerned about loving the sick, the dying, the poor, the outcast, the prisoner, and the single mothers than it is about the dangers of social drinking. I hope that we can start focusing on these purposes, and the joy that comes from being part of the Kingdom, rather than constantly getting bogged down by avoiding sin. It seems like a healthier way to live.
I wonder if this isn't anything like the church. I am a part of a Monday night group that meets together for a meal. We're all younger married couples that bring a meal, share our time and lives, and we read and discuss the Bible or another book. We're working on a book by a guy named Kinlaw. He once was the President of Asbury. I am not a big fan of the premise of the book, "How every person can have the Mind of Christ." It sounds too much like one of those "if you follow this book then you too can be holy" kind of things. (7 Steps to your Best Life Now). The second chapter talks about the difference between doing right and being righteous. I found it odd that the criteria for doing right was abstaining from alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, smoking, and the like. In other words, doing right is not doing wrong. It sounds to me like we try so hard on avoiding sin that we miss the joy of Christ. It kind of makes me think that perhaps "doing right" is not in the things that we need to avoid but in the things that we as a church don't seem to actually do.
Matthew 25 gives a clear picture of what God desires. This chapter talks about the final judgment in terms of what we did or did not do for the Kingdom of God. It is very clear that Kingdom is more concerned about loving the sick, the dying, the poor, the outcast, the prisoner, and the single mothers than it is about the dangers of social drinking. I hope that we can start focusing on these purposes, and the joy that comes from being part of the Kingdom, rather than constantly getting bogged down by avoiding sin. It seems like a healthier way to live.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
David Crowder
It's been a while since I have posted last. A lot has happened. I spent a weekend in Indiana preaching at a youth retreat. I did a series on the Parable of the Compassionate Father (the Prodigal Son). I've been subsituting regularly. I am about done with my application to Duke. I visited Duke's campus a few weeks back and absolutely loved it. I should know by Christmas whether or not I have been accepted. So it's been a good few weeks.
I have the new David Crowder album. It's called "Rememdy." I have really enjoyed it, and Dave Crowder is one of the few Christian bands that impresses me with their creativity. The last song on the album I especially love. It's called "Surely we can change"; the lyrics go as follows...
Where there is pain, Let there be grace.
Where there is suffering, Bring Serenity
For those afraid, help them be brave
Where there is misery, Bring expectancy
And surely we can change, surely we can change
Something
I found myself praying these lines this morning, not only for my own life (surely I need grace and serenity), but also for those who are pained over lost families and homes. It was a prayer for peace where suffering is only known. It was for the children in Iraq, Darfur, and Burma who are alone and without a family. It is a prayer for those who know misery, that they might experience hope. And it ends with the thought that there is change, and we, as God's agents, are part of that change. May the God all comfort continue to comfort even now.
I have the new David Crowder album. It's called "Rememdy." I have really enjoyed it, and Dave Crowder is one of the few Christian bands that impresses me with their creativity. The last song on the album I especially love. It's called "Surely we can change"; the lyrics go as follows...
Where there is pain, Let there be grace.
Where there is suffering, Bring Serenity
For those afraid, help them be brave
Where there is misery, Bring expectancy
And surely we can change, surely we can change
Something
I found myself praying these lines this morning, not only for my own life (surely I need grace and serenity), but also for those who are pained over lost families and homes. It was a prayer for peace where suffering is only known. It was for the children in Iraq, Darfur, and Burma who are alone and without a family. It is a prayer for those who know misery, that they might experience hope. And it ends with the thought that there is change, and we, as God's agents, are part of that change. May the God all comfort continue to comfort even now.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Suffering
I have been struggling with the concept of suffering. How does it relate to the Christian lifestyle? How is it that I suffer, if I do suffer? Is it something physical or is it a "spiritual" suffering? (I don't like talking about the separation of physical and spiritual for fear of falling into some sort of Gnostic dualsim). How does my suffering relate to God and his suffering?
I'm not really sure where to go with this post. To be honest, I don't think that biblical suffering has much to do with a certain person that you don't get a long with or having a broken leg for 6 weeks. I am hoping that the two people who read it will comment with their thoughts. The prophets talked of a suffering Messiah, the One who must come, suffer, and die. Jesus talks about how the Son of Man must suffer to be lifted up. We are to follow Christ and his way. Are we not to assume that suffering will follow? And if it doesn't, am I truly following Christ? Phillipians talks of our imitation of Jesus, who lowered himself to be like us (which if you're God than becoming human is pretty incomprehensible). Upon lowering himself, he then went through ridicule, torture, resentment, and death. And we're to imitate that? Then there are Jesus' words spoken in John: (paraphrased) The World hates you. But it isn't a surprise because the world has hated me first. I am your master. If you truly follow me you will be persecuted as I am persecuted. You will be able to bear it though because I'm giving you a counselor. He will guide you into all truth and you will testify to the salvation and wholeness that I have brought to the world.
So, I am now living pretty comfortably. I live in a pagan nation but they don't care how I live as long as I don't frustrate their ends (which I think as Christians we sometimes need to frustrate). I haven't been thrown in jail (like Martin Luther King, Jr.) and I haven't been tortured (like the Korean missionaries taken hostage by the Taliban). How is it that I am following Jesus? Should suffering be something that we seek, or if we truly follow the way of the Master, is it something that comes? Are we willing to deal with the life of a true Christian?
God suffers. He has to suffer. We not only realize the divine suffering in Jesus but we see his anguish throughout history. Grief, sorrow, and anger are outpourings of His love. Can we truly love without suffering? Jeremiah saw God's heart and wept. Jesus wept over Jerusalem before its destruction longing for the people he loved. Grief gives way to suffering which is a result of love. Paul writes about us being heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If God truly suffers because of our brokenness and separation, should we not also suffer by grieving with that same compassionate heart? I would suspect that this type of suffering would work at bringing us to solidarity with the poor, downtrodden, and oppressed people of the world. When I read the gospel account of Jesus, I see his heart associated with this group of people.
These are just simple musings that I've been thinking. Hopefully they will lead to some sort of contemplation, and perhaps some action.
I'm not really sure where to go with this post. To be honest, I don't think that biblical suffering has much to do with a certain person that you don't get a long with or having a broken leg for 6 weeks. I am hoping that the two people who read it will comment with their thoughts. The prophets talked of a suffering Messiah, the One who must come, suffer, and die. Jesus talks about how the Son of Man must suffer to be lifted up. We are to follow Christ and his way. Are we not to assume that suffering will follow? And if it doesn't, am I truly following Christ? Phillipians talks of our imitation of Jesus, who lowered himself to be like us (which if you're God than becoming human is pretty incomprehensible). Upon lowering himself, he then went through ridicule, torture, resentment, and death. And we're to imitate that? Then there are Jesus' words spoken in John: (paraphrased) The World hates you. But it isn't a surprise because the world has hated me first. I am your master. If you truly follow me you will be persecuted as I am persecuted. You will be able to bear it though because I'm giving you a counselor. He will guide you into all truth and you will testify to the salvation and wholeness that I have brought to the world.
So, I am now living pretty comfortably. I live in a pagan nation but they don't care how I live as long as I don't frustrate their ends (which I think as Christians we sometimes need to frustrate). I haven't been thrown in jail (like Martin Luther King, Jr.) and I haven't been tortured (like the Korean missionaries taken hostage by the Taliban). How is it that I am following Jesus? Should suffering be something that we seek, or if we truly follow the way of the Master, is it something that comes? Are we willing to deal with the life of a true Christian?
God suffers. He has to suffer. We not only realize the divine suffering in Jesus but we see his anguish throughout history. Grief, sorrow, and anger are outpourings of His love. Can we truly love without suffering? Jeremiah saw God's heart and wept. Jesus wept over Jerusalem before its destruction longing for the people he loved. Grief gives way to suffering which is a result of love. Paul writes about us being heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If God truly suffers because of our brokenness and separation, should we not also suffer by grieving with that same compassionate heart? I would suspect that this type of suffering would work at bringing us to solidarity with the poor, downtrodden, and oppressed people of the world. When I read the gospel account of Jesus, I see his heart associated with this group of people.
These are just simple musings that I've been thinking. Hopefully they will lead to some sort of contemplation, and perhaps some action.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
In-School Suspension
I’m writing this while at work. I have decided to take the year off from school and save in order to afford graduate work next year and the years to follow. In the mean time, I am a substitute teacher in Bourbonnais, Bradley, and Kankakee. I’m at my second day of work. It is only the beginning of the school year, but hopefully this will turn into an every day thing.
Today is weird. I’m at the Bourbonnais Upper Grade School. The school districts are unlike anything I’ve seen before. This school is only grades 7-8. There is another school that is just grades 5-6. All of the middle grade levels in Bourbonnais and Bradley feed into one high school. I am only substituting for grades 5 and above. I did high school last week and today I am in the Upper Grade school.
This is the weirdest position imaginable. I am actually sitting in as the teacher for in-school suspension. I figured that this day would be about 15 kids that would be somewhat hard to control. There are two kids: a seventh grade boy and an eighth grade girl. The office said that this is a large group for this early in the year. Justin got in a fight with a kid who decided not to fight back. Shane is here because she decided she didn’t like her math teacher and walked out of school. A returning field trip saw her out of class and she was caught. Who just walks out? I understand that happening in high school when you are more independent and can drive, but this is eighth grade. I find this somewhat amusing. There cool kids though, and I’ve found that as long as I treat them fairly and with respect they also respect me.
Just a side note, I changed my background picture from Joy and I’s footprints on the beaches in Mexico to a wedding photo of both of us. I started smiling and Shane asked why. I showed her the picture and asked if that was my wife. I smiled and said yes. So she bluntly says, “Oh, I thought you were gay.” She continues to explain that all the in-school suspension teachers are homosexual and she assumed that I was like the others. My first reaction to such a question was a resounding no, followed by a quick thought of whether I actually appear homosexual, and finally to thinking about the audacity to say to her teacher that she thought he was gay. I don’t think I’ve ever come off as gay. I’ve been hit on by a male before, but it was in high school and it was more of a show than an actual attraction. That’s neither here nor there, but part of the happenings of the day.
So my duties today consist of monitoring. They shouldn’t talk, sleep, draw, or do anything that doesn’t relate to school. I walk them to the bathroom and give them 40 minutes for lunch. I sit here and read, write on my blog (except I don’t have the internet so I’m writing it out on a word document), and am listening to Bright Eyes. I played mancala on my computer, did a sudoku puzzle, and read a little from my ESPN magazine. Oh yeah, I’m getting paid for this.
Today is weird. I’m at the Bourbonnais Upper Grade School. The school districts are unlike anything I’ve seen before. This school is only grades 7-8. There is another school that is just grades 5-6. All of the middle grade levels in Bourbonnais and Bradley feed into one high school. I am only substituting for grades 5 and above. I did high school last week and today I am in the Upper Grade school.
This is the weirdest position imaginable. I am actually sitting in as the teacher for in-school suspension. I figured that this day would be about 15 kids that would be somewhat hard to control. There are two kids: a seventh grade boy and an eighth grade girl. The office said that this is a large group for this early in the year. Justin got in a fight with a kid who decided not to fight back. Shane is here because she decided she didn’t like her math teacher and walked out of school. A returning field trip saw her out of class and she was caught. Who just walks out? I understand that happening in high school when you are more independent and can drive, but this is eighth grade. I find this somewhat amusing. There cool kids though, and I’ve found that as long as I treat them fairly and with respect they also respect me.
Just a side note, I changed my background picture from Joy and I’s footprints on the beaches in Mexico to a wedding photo of both of us. I started smiling and Shane asked why. I showed her the picture and asked if that was my wife. I smiled and said yes. So she bluntly says, “Oh, I thought you were gay.” She continues to explain that all the in-school suspension teachers are homosexual and she assumed that I was like the others. My first reaction to such a question was a resounding no, followed by a quick thought of whether I actually appear homosexual, and finally to thinking about the audacity to say to her teacher that she thought he was gay. I don’t think I’ve ever come off as gay. I’ve been hit on by a male before, but it was in high school and it was more of a show than an actual attraction. That’s neither here nor there, but part of the happenings of the day.
So my duties today consist of monitoring. They shouldn’t talk, sleep, draw, or do anything that doesn’t relate to school. I walk them to the bathroom and give them 40 minutes for lunch. I sit here and read, write on my blog (except I don’t have the internet so I’m writing it out on a word document), and am listening to Bright Eyes. I played mancala on my computer, did a sudoku puzzle, and read a little from my ESPN magazine. Oh yeah, I’m getting paid for this.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
President's Dinner
I went to the President’s Dinner the other night. My wife is a Resident Director with the University, and as a result, we were invited to join Dr. Bowling and his wife for an intimate evening among 800 other staff and faculty members. I felt a little underdressed in my button up shirt and kahki pants. However, I didn’t care too much. I am always intrigued by these kinds of events. It was somewhat reminiscent of a homecoming. Everyone sees each other after going through a period of not seeing each other, and it’s really quite nice. The thing that gets me though is the amount of pride that Chalfant hall seemed pregnant with that evening. Which is all well and good (it was quite humorous to hear everyone bellow our boring Alma Mater). There is nothing wrong with feeling a sense of honor towards one’s university. We see it every weekend of college sports, every homecoming, and apparently at President dinners too. But something seemed a little off. Let me explain.
Olivet has a number of singing groups. One in particular is the “Olivetians.” They are the premiere group that seems hand picked as the best singers and representative “models” of the Olivet community. They are the ones sent to churches and doing PR and stuff. They don’t ever seem to sing songs that college students actually enjoy, but older Nazarenes love them. At any rate, they closed with a song about God’s holiness, exalting his name. Adoration and praise is something that we ought to give God. He is truly the only One worthy of the name Lord, and the only One who is holy. So they sing these verses and lead into the chorus singing, “So I only want to tell you I love You.” It’s got a catchy tune and the orchestral arrangement was done so that it would grip the heart of the audience (you know, the booming bass line during certain words, the key change: it was written musically to invoke passion). And I could only sit there and think to myself, “We’re only telling God I love you? Does God really want us to sit here and tell him that, or go and show him that we love him?” I remembered Jesus talking to Peter and asking Peter that question: Do you love me. And Peter says of course, and Jesus responds “Then feed my sheep.” The scripture continues with several like phrases of showing compassion as the way in which we show love. Basically, loving God is not telling God we love him; it’s loving our neighbor.
I was explaining this to my wife on a walk the other night. I happened to be talking about the contradictory statements that I had noticed in the speech that evening. It was the normal stuff that I always seem to notice. The fact that Olivet is said to be missional and a model for the disciple of Jesus while building a 22 million dollar chapel strikes me as a bit odd, especially considering Jesus’ words throughout the gospels. Joy then told me that she doesn’t think I will ever be able to commit to any institution because they are not, in my eyes, “perfect.” She continued that it was as if I had a pre-conceived notion of what things ought to be like, and if it wasn’t that, I could only sit there and criticize.
I have struggled with this concept before. I believe that the Kingdom of God is here and yet to come. It is here in the sense that Jesus has made it readily available for us to be a part of, live, breathe, and act upon. Jesus, as a proclaimer of this message, not only taught it, but fully embodied it and passed it on to his Church to proclaim and embody: to live out. This Kingdom is the reality that the church lives by: to seek justice, proclaim mercy, and walk humbly with God. Unfortunately, we also live with the tension of our humanness. Occasionally (or quite often), this nature has a way of weeding itself into the realm of Kingdom living. Sometimes it’s quite obvious (history can point to the Crusades, the Inquisition, or colonialization: which all seem to have their root in the compromise of religion with the state). However, more often than not it creeps up unbeknownst to most: selfishness, pride, indignation, resentment, poor stewardship. It’s so sneaky sometimes that we hardly even notice that certain elements (certainly not all) are masquerading as Kingdom elements.
My wife might be right to a certain extent. I do pick out and criticize the institution for their flaws. This goes for the church, university, or even small group bible studies. To her, I see the flaw instead of the diamond. And, it’s a completely legitimate concern. I guess that she sees me longing for perfection when perfection so easily evades. However, I do not think that I am so far off. I may criticize (perhaps a little too often), but my criticism is out of a love for the Church as the primary mode that God has chosen to do his work. While the University is not a church, by claiming Christianity it is inherently a part of its work, and therefore God’s Kingdom.
I was a little hurt by Joy’s comments on that walk. I wasn’t hurt necessarily by what she said, nor by her speaking her mind, but rather of the small glimpse that we still have a lot to learn of each other. I am committed to the church. I am a harsh critic, but I still long to be part of a community that together seeks and proclaims God’s Kingdom, here and to come. These were the very issues that I wrestled with when seeking ordination. I finally realized that while the church has its faults, it is still God’s church, and I am God’s.
So, now I need to practice all the stuff I talk about: justice, mercy, and humility. So I embark on that journey with millions of others who are also trying to live a different kind of life.
Olivet has a number of singing groups. One in particular is the “Olivetians.” They are the premiere group that seems hand picked as the best singers and representative “models” of the Olivet community. They are the ones sent to churches and doing PR and stuff. They don’t ever seem to sing songs that college students actually enjoy, but older Nazarenes love them. At any rate, they closed with a song about God’s holiness, exalting his name. Adoration and praise is something that we ought to give God. He is truly the only One worthy of the name Lord, and the only One who is holy. So they sing these verses and lead into the chorus singing, “So I only want to tell you I love You.” It’s got a catchy tune and the orchestral arrangement was done so that it would grip the heart of the audience (you know, the booming bass line during certain words, the key change: it was written musically to invoke passion). And I could only sit there and think to myself, “We’re only telling God I love you? Does God really want us to sit here and tell him that, or go and show him that we love him?” I remembered Jesus talking to Peter and asking Peter that question: Do you love me. And Peter says of course, and Jesus responds “Then feed my sheep.” The scripture continues with several like phrases of showing compassion as the way in which we show love. Basically, loving God is not telling God we love him; it’s loving our neighbor.
I was explaining this to my wife on a walk the other night. I happened to be talking about the contradictory statements that I had noticed in the speech that evening. It was the normal stuff that I always seem to notice. The fact that Olivet is said to be missional and a model for the disciple of Jesus while building a 22 million dollar chapel strikes me as a bit odd, especially considering Jesus’ words throughout the gospels. Joy then told me that she doesn’t think I will ever be able to commit to any institution because they are not, in my eyes, “perfect.” She continued that it was as if I had a pre-conceived notion of what things ought to be like, and if it wasn’t that, I could only sit there and criticize.
I have struggled with this concept before. I believe that the Kingdom of God is here and yet to come. It is here in the sense that Jesus has made it readily available for us to be a part of, live, breathe, and act upon. Jesus, as a proclaimer of this message, not only taught it, but fully embodied it and passed it on to his Church to proclaim and embody: to live out. This Kingdom is the reality that the church lives by: to seek justice, proclaim mercy, and walk humbly with God. Unfortunately, we also live with the tension of our humanness. Occasionally (or quite often), this nature has a way of weeding itself into the realm of Kingdom living. Sometimes it’s quite obvious (history can point to the Crusades, the Inquisition, or colonialization: which all seem to have their root in the compromise of religion with the state). However, more often than not it creeps up unbeknownst to most: selfishness, pride, indignation, resentment, poor stewardship. It’s so sneaky sometimes that we hardly even notice that certain elements (certainly not all) are masquerading as Kingdom elements.
My wife might be right to a certain extent. I do pick out and criticize the institution for their flaws. This goes for the church, university, or even small group bible studies. To her, I see the flaw instead of the diamond. And, it’s a completely legitimate concern. I guess that she sees me longing for perfection when perfection so easily evades. However, I do not think that I am so far off. I may criticize (perhaps a little too often), but my criticism is out of a love for the Church as the primary mode that God has chosen to do his work. While the University is not a church, by claiming Christianity it is inherently a part of its work, and therefore God’s Kingdom.
I was a little hurt by Joy’s comments on that walk. I wasn’t hurt necessarily by what she said, nor by her speaking her mind, but rather of the small glimpse that we still have a lot to learn of each other. I am committed to the church. I am a harsh critic, but I still long to be part of a community that together seeks and proclaims God’s Kingdom, here and to come. These were the very issues that I wrestled with when seeking ordination. I finally realized that while the church has its faults, it is still God’s church, and I am God’s.
So, now I need to practice all the stuff I talk about: justice, mercy, and humility. So I embark on that journey with millions of others who are also trying to live a different kind of life.
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