Living As a Christian in an Anxious Age

With the presidential election results squarely in our review mirror, I’m amazed at people’s reaction. I know Christians who are deeply disturbed by a Trump presidency and others who are gleeful that at last, our left leaning country may stand a chance at tipping more upright. Some people in New York, Christians and otherwise, are afraid to admit they’d voted Trump for fear of recrimination, while others are planning on monitoring his every move. As one of my left leaning friends put it, “We’ll watch him and hang it on his neck when he messes up.” Others are protesting outright and taking to the streets. And then there are the protests of the protests. “What are we protesting?” I heard one person say. “Our democratic process?” One man named Dionne Alexander, a vet, excoriated those who are protesting in a Facebook post gone viral saying, “You’re causing all this destruction because your candidate lost! See that’s the problem with this country. You can’t always get your way…Quit being crybabies.” Whoa! We are one divided country right now. So what can we do to live in an anxious age?

I’m reading a good book right now by John Inazu called Confident Pluralism. It’s political science book and one that offers a way through the maze. I’d recommend it for those who are trying to figure out how we can live a pluralistic culture. The same author co-wrote an article with Tim Keller in Christianity Today, September 16, 2016 entitled, “How Christians Can Bear Gospel Witness in an Anxious Age.” Listen to Inazu and Keller: 

Our engagement in… an anxious age is made possible by our confidence in the gospel in a pluralistic society where people have profoundly different beliefs. We won’t always be able to persuade those around us that our beliefs are right and theirs are wrong.… But recognizing the existence of these disagreements should not prevent us from holding to what is ultimately true. Our beliefs can be true, and we can hold these warranted beliefs confidently even though others reject them. …. [a] confidence in the gospel can encourage us to work to strengthen the social fabric for the good of others.

This kind of posture is what one of us [Inazu] has called “confident pluralism.” As Christians, we can engage with the pluralism around us because our confidence lies elsewhere. We can acknowledge genuine differences in society without suppressing or minimizing our firmly held convictions. We can seek common ground even with those who may not share our view of the common good.

So here’s a thought. Regardless of where you/we stand on the election results, if you are a Christian, lets choose to put our confidence in Christ and what God has done through his work to bring real lasting change to each of our lives, and in our culture. And while we’re at it, lets take the time to listen to those who have a different opinion with respect, grace, and genuine interest. It will go along way to lowering social anxiety, contributing to the common good, and we may even learn something.

I'm Entitled

I saw it on the fourth of July, on a beach on the North Shore of Boston a few years ago. The crowd was poised for the fire works show. There were thousands of people milling around the beach with their blankets and beach chairs waiting for the inevitable. The place was packed. You couldn’t be alone if you wanted to. And its in that environment where I/we experienced, once again, the mindset of entitlement.

The show started and everyone took a seat on a blanket or a chair; well almost everyone. There was a small group of people, maybe ten yards from us, who remained standing. “Down in front,” people called. That did little to make them move. They huddled together a little more closely out of consideration but the message was clear, “We’re not sitting down. If we block your view, so what?!” And so the show went on and on and on and they remained standing—to the end. I guess I didn’t like that they blocked my view of the lower fireworks. It was pretty obvious that they were locals, based on how they were talking and acting. They probably had yearly beach passes. Maybe they lived in the community. I don’t know. But clearly, they felt entitled to stand while everyone else sat. They were at least middle class, white, and arrogant. They were entitled. And who they inconvenienced was irrelevant to them. It was truly amazing to watch. Irritating but amazing. They were entitled. And they let everyone know it!

It made me think about how much people feel entitled to. In America we feel entitled to compensation if we can’t work and a nice living if we can, freedom of speech and religion, health benefits, dignity, respect (even if you act disrespectfully), material goods, personal satisfaction and meaning, the right to say what you think or feel even if it hurts someone, happiness, and a lot more. We feel entitled. I’m not so sure that’s always good. I think in a democracy, there are benefits and those benefits, more than entitlements, seem to me to be more like privileges. I recently finished a book by a guy named Jamie Smith. The book is called How (Not) to be Secular. Smith’s book is a summary of a book by philosopher, Charles Taylor, who is so complex to read very few can understand him. So you read Smith to understand Taylor. At any rate, Charles Taylor (via Jamie Smith) notes that there is an individualism that haunts our modern way of life in the west. My take on it is that it erodes our ability to care for others the way we should.

St. Paul told the Corinthian church that he was entitled; entitled to compensation, entitled to respect, entitled to bring a believing wife along on his ministry if he so chose. But he didn’t. He chose, for others sake, to give up the things he was entitled to and live instead with a servant heart. Are we doing that? Am I doing that? Its easy to feel entitled. Its hard to want to serve. Jesus Christ, as the eternal Son of God, is entitled to respect, reverence, honor, and glory. On the cross He gave it all up for us. I think that means we can and should do the same for others.

I Just Bought My First Pair of Skinny Jeans

I just bought my first pair of skinny jeans. It’s true. I’m sort of, well—there is no easy way to say this—kind of skinny. I’m well muscled, as my aunt described me way back (I hang on to that statement hoping its actually true), but well muscled in a skinny sort of way. So the jeans fit and look good. I plan to wear them preaching some time. I share this bit of family reality for one simple reason. Christianity Today recently published a study done by Fuller Theological Seminary. The article was entitled “Put Away the Skinny Jeans.”  “But I just bought mine!!!” I protested. Let me unpack this more.

The article debunks what many in the Christian community have assumed for years—that youth are reached by a relevant service, modern music, hipster dress, a cool place to worship, youthful staff, and coffee. The key issue in reaching youth isn’t any of those things. The article lists several areas that are necessary: (1) They want to be the best possible neighbors within their cities. The churches that were “growing young” were showed high involvement and creativity in their commitment to be good neighbors (2) The goal is the gospel. Other things are good, like racial reconciliation, or social justice. But the ultimate goal is the gospel and engaging people as an expression of the gospel. (3) Key chain leadership, meaning senior leadership is avoiding leadership models that focus on personal charisma and moving towards giving the keys of power over to the younger generation. (4) Focus on youth has little to do with hiring a good youth pastor and giving them domain of a part of the property but is seen in everything from how the budget’s made to programming to planning and community life. In short, younger people are made a priority. They are needed and they feel needed! (5) Finally, older folks willingness to be part of the lives of younger folks including showing up at football games, learning their names, and supporting their endeavors.

The irony of this has to do with the demographic of Moses Lake Alliance Church where I now work as a pastor. It’s made up mostly of the kinds of people who have the biggest impact on the lives of younger people: older people. You read it right! Older folks like me (gasp—did I actually write that) who are just not yet retired (or even sixty) can have a meaningful impact on the lives of younger people by doing several simple things: (1) Caring (2) Releasing authority and responsibility into the hands of those who are ready to have it. (3) and focusing on the gospel instead of other superfluous issues.

The big challenge for any congregation is whether or not they want to do this. What I’d tell people is, “Don’t wait around for the staff to tell you how. Figure out a way to care for younger folks in the community and do it.” They’ll start inviting their friends to church, church activities, groups, and mid-sized events simply because they are cared for, loved, and respected.

A Lament for Another American Tragedy

Another black man was shot and killed by the police. This time it was in Charlotte, NC. The police recovered a handgun at the scene along with an ankle holster. The man was on medication and may not have responded properly to police commands. He was right handed but had something in his left hand which the police claimed was the gun. The investigation is underway. The man’s name is Keith Lamont Scott. He was not just another black man. He was a person. He was married. He had kids. And yes, he had a criminal record. I’ll let you read about the details in the paper.

The issue for me isn’t simply who's right and whose wrong here. That’s not the issue. The issue is that we have this incredible spate of police shootings of black men--regardless of who is right or wrong. The NT Times posted an editorial by an African American professor at Yale who wondered how long he’d live as a black man (can't find the editorial to post here). Just being a black male makes you a suspect these days. I’ve heard all the reasons why. And I think I can honestly say that in many cases, law enforcement is correct to shoot, regardless of a persons skin color. But not in every case!! There seems to be way too much of it these days. Some may say, “Well, if you limit police officers right to use deadly force, there will be fewer police officers going home for dinner after a shift.” That may actually be true. And that wouldn’t be right either.

Now some may say I’m moving towards a liberal view of justice. I don’t think so. I want to move towards God’s view of justice. The political and cultural right and left don’t dictate my views on things. I'm a Christian first, an American citizen second. 

Truthfully, I don’t know what the answer is. But the only thing we can do is what the scripture calls Lament. The Psalms are full of Lament’s where’s God’s people cry out to God for his seeming absence. Ruth Haley Barton, a spiritual formation author, recently noted this on her blog site in response to the some of the tragedies including the killing of police officers in Dallas during a peaceful protest. Here is what she said: 

"The prayer of lament is that unsettling biblical tradition of prayer that includes expressions of complaint, anger, grief, despair, and protest to God. Many of us have never been taught this way of praying and it is often missing in the worship of many congregations…. The prayer of lament is a place to begin as we seek to respond to the sin, the brokenness, and the complexity of our life together as human beings. It is tempting to rush to problem-solving and fixing when the situation is so dire, but I hope we won’t."

"Let us stop, at least for a moment, and lament together. Let us stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters who continue to experience such tragic loss; let us mourn with them the loss of another black male and affirm that black lives matter. Let us grieve for the law enforcement officers who lost their lives while trying to keep the peace. Let us acknowledge complexity, that we don’t have answers, and cry out to God together for the peace and justice that seems to elude us."

Psalm 13 is an example of a prayer if lament. I’ll include it in this post for your reflection. 

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

How (Not) to be Secular--A Review

I’m not the first person to say this and I’m pretty sure I got this from someone else. So here goes: the great sin of our age isn’t that God’s dead, but that God’s trivial. He just doesn’t matter. “There is no God” is more than atheistic fiat. It’s the de facto way American culture works. We may give attention to him here and there but frankly, we don’t pay much attention. We give him his due, sort of, kind of, maybe—not really. It affects everything from what we spend our money on, to justice issues, to race relationships, to what we think about in our spare time. He’s just  not really considered.

I recently finished a book entitled How (Not) to be Secular—Reading Charles Taylor, by Jamie Smith. Smith is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. He’s taken Charles Taylor's book A Secular Age, and made it understandable. Don’t think that reading Smith’s a whole lot easier! He’s got a glossary in the  back just to keep the reader informed. It’s not an easy read. But if you want to understand the western culture we live in, that’s the book to read. Smith comes from a distinctly Christian worldview (Smith is a Philosophy Professor at Calvin College) but the goal is to understand culture more than provide an apologetic for the Christian faith. Here are a couple of his main points:

In the modern secular world, we doubt transcendence. As a result, doubt and longing are the cross pressures (how people respond to the lack of transcendence) of the secular world. Pg. 11

What makes our modern secular age is the default assumptions about what is actually believable. Some people call this a plausibility factor. A God whose personally involved in our world just doesn't seem plausible (e.g. I think Leslie Newbigin came up with that idea in The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society). Pg. 19

There is no goal beyond human flourishing. Pg. 23

Civility becomes the naturalized, secularized sanctification. Pg. 43 

Humanism isn’t something we fell into but an achievement (Taylor makes this very clear and Jamie Smith captures it nicely). Pg. 57

We are buffered and sealed off from enchantment (the sense of God’s presence in the world) which also seals us off from meaning and significance. Consequently we no longer view this world as a “Cosmos” created by God but as a “Universe” that is cavernous, anonymous space. Pg. 64, 69

All of this secularization is rooted in assumptions! There really is no neutrality only “unthoughts” as he calls them (Taylor—and thus Smith in writing about Taylor—begins in the later part of the book to show the inconsistencies of secularism). Pg. 80f

The real consequence of secularism is that you have no reason for meaning, morality, or beauty (he calls this agency, ethics, and aesthetics). These become “cross pressures” on our secular culture which forces us to violate the logical implications of a secular culture devoid of God. Pg. 102

In fact, secularism faces the same dilemma Christianity faces: to attain any sort of moral aspiration requires you repress your ordinary human desires!  Pg. 112

Consequently, there really are moral codes in a secular culture and they focus on political correctness. Pg. 128.

It’s an incredible book. The last chapter Smith entitles “How (not) to be Secular” but does little to clearly actually unpack specifics of what that may look like. The reader has to figure it out on his or her own. But it's a great book, one that I will turn to regularly as I seek to be a good Christian leader in today's culture.

It’s (not really) simple! Thoughts on Recent Tragedies

That seems to be the new American solution to everything. “It’s simple.” After a Muslim extremist shot up a gay night club in Orlando, there were essentially three reasons brought up for the carnage. An editorial in The Week noted the three most common: (1) Our failure to keep weapons of war out of the hands of terrorists (2) President Obama’s refusal to take ISIS seriously (3) Hatred and intolerance for the LGBT community. The reductionistic arguments repeated over and over by commentators, and others like them, became combatant and a bit odd when CNN’s Anderson Cooper went on the offensive against Florida’s Attorney General because she didn’t Tweet enough about Gay Pride.

Then after the unjustified killing of several black men by the police in Minneapolis, MN and in Banton Rouge, LA and the killing of five police officers in Dallas during a peaceful protest, the blame game started. “It’s simple,” we were told, The problem is the Black Lives Matter movement, Donald Trump, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Church, and so forth and so on. 

 

I’m thinking these simplistic solutions to complex problems aren’t helpful. And they are really unhelpful when they take on religious overtones. But I have my own simple solution. It’s the human heart. Our hearts are hard. All of our hearts; not just the hearts of people like the guy shooting up the gay bar in Orlando or the people shooting up the café’s and dance hall in Paris. And not just the hearts of right wing conservatives who naively seem to think that our only real problems are economic and big government and we should become isolationists to protect ourselves, or left wing liberals who can’t seem to tolerate anyone who disagrees with them and believe the best rules are no rules except the rules they want. 

 Our hearts are hard. And people do what they do for reasons we are unaware of. In fact, based on my experience, people do what they do for reasons they themselves often don’t fully understand! Why? Because their hearts are hard and its complex. Who can know the human heart?! It’s not really that simple.  

As a follower of Jesus I’ve been struck by how the early church addressed issues like this. Christianity was birthed, and thrived, in the midst of a cultural cauldron that didn’t include CNN, smart phones, multiple political parties, and democracy. The King or Emporer could have a commoner killed for doing virtually nothing wrong. Work was hard. Oppression of the lower class was rampant. War and terrorism were common occurances. Violence was the norm. In Greaco Roman culture, sexual promiscuity was common which included abortion, adultery and long term gay relationships. And yet over time, over decades actually, the church thrived and grew and became powerful in the midst of it all. How? 

Here’s a couple of ways I believe that happened: (1) People in the churches loved each other. Christians were known for their love. (2) They did the politically incorrect thing in a gracious compelling way. They served and supported those society rejected. (3) They policed themselves. That is, not everyone who claimed to be Christians were allowed to call themselves Christians. This separated the wheat from the chaff and allowed the true church to emerge. (4) They valued marriage, family, and sexual purity. It set them apart from the culture as a whole. (5) They sacrificed themselves on behalf of their neighbors and others. They’d adopt little girls exposed to the elements after birth by the Romans who didn’t want baby girls. They stayed in cities during the plagues and cared for the sick at their own risk, when everyone else fled. (6) They valued everyone—especially women and children, who had little worth in the minds of many in that day. (7) They rejected the violent entertainment of the day and didn’t support it. 

In short, they didn’t run away. And best I can tell, they didn’t blame. They didn’t stop living out their faith every day. They continued to worship. They fought for the true faith and celebrated everything Christian because Jesus, the God man, gave everything for them. As Keller puts it somewhere, Christianity fights the individualistic, autonomous consumerism of modern culture because Jesus gave himself for his enemies. Shouldn’t we do the same? The gospel fights the simple reductionistic solutions to difficult problems and provides us with the tools to live humbly, simply, and generously in cities and communities that are often troubled. Life is messy. Lets get in the mess and realize the solutions aren’t simple but they point us to the ultimate solution—a relationship with Jesus Christ that addresses the hardness of the human heart by repentance from sin and faith in his work on our behalf. There is no other world religion like that!

Better to Post Late than not Post At All

I’m not real consistent in posting things on my blog. I blog, often on my own time, then post things when I feel like it. Part of the reason is that people have used those things I’ve posted against me. So I’m careful. 

But I’ve been struck by the things people post on Facebook and on blogs these days. I appreciate honesty and openness but I’m not so sure being that honest and open on a public venue is all that helpful. Same thing with Tweeting. Sometimes its fun to know what people are thinking, or doing, right at a given moment. But sometimes it crosses a line—a big line. A golf commentator once noted a Jordon Spieth tweet that was marginally inappropriate and said, “Well, he’ll learn to not to do that….” 

So below you’ll find a bunch of posts from a while back. Many of them posted on a church web site where I worked and just didn’t post them on my personal site. Some of them are dated. But I’d rather post late than not at all and I’d rather post late than post to regret it. More to come!