Comfort or Obsession

Today's jumping off point from Crazy Love is, "People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's Kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress."

I want to be real clear, I do not like this statement. Not because there is anything about it which is wrong, I simply do not like the implications for my life. My preference would be to have everything work to be nice and safe. That life would not have pain, suffering and struggle as a part of it. The problem is, life does not work that way. Still many of us are on a quest to make life as comfortable and pain free as possible. More than once I have declined a situation because I knew it would cause me discomfort or even pain. I am not proud of that, but the truth must be told.

From an early age we are encouraged by well meaning people to be safe in what we do. Now I am not recommending that we stop wearing seatbelts and that we drive recklessly. I am not suggesting that we jump from airplanes without a parachute. There are some areas where safety is recommended. The trouble is we begin to sacrifice the call of God for the sake of safety. There are situations and places God is calling you and to right now, but we would rather play it safe. I cannot go to Africa, I might be in danger. I cannot go here or there, trouble might result. Whenever we find ourselves in these conversations, we are choosing to trust our own understanding more than God's. We are saying that God does not know how to take care of me.

One of the craziest statements going is, "The safest place to be is in the center of God's will.". For a moment lets look at some of the people in Scripture who were in the center of God's will. Esther, standing up to the king who could have her killed, and had a track record with that. The Apostle Paul, beaten, left for dead more times than I breath in a day. Jesus, crucified after receiving the worst beating in history. Does that sound safe? They were all in the center of God's will, but they were not safe. They were at peace, and they were cared for by God, but they were not safe.

The person who is obsessed with Jesus realizes this life is not about them. God calls people into dangerous situations. The church in America is at in interesting crossroads. It has been sitting at this crossroads for nearly 50 years. The comfort once experienced is starting to fade. People are not just magically coming to churches like they once did. The church is now called to go out into places and situations which are not safe for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Still, many in the church remain paralyzed by comfort and their desire to be safe. Obsessed people are willing to sacrifice everything, comfort, safety, and life for the kingdom. Until individuals and churches begin being obsessed with Jesus and not their own comfort and safety, we will sit at the crossroads, idling until we run out of gas and the car dies.

What's In It For Me?

Today we continue the series on being obsessed taken from the work of Francis Chan in Crazy Love. Our jumping off point is this quote, "People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly without censure. Obsesses people love those who hate them and who can never love them back."pg 132.

We have all heard by now that it is better to give than receive. For the most part that has become a cliche that people really do not believe to be true. Increasingly people are willing to give as long as they get something in return. We will give to charities so we can receive the write off to our taxes. We will take someone out for lunch this time and next time they will buy. When an opportunity to give arises we can easily get into a cost benefit analysis. The root question in that moment is, what is in it for me? This is the driving question of capitalism, and the consumer driven world.

When was the last time you gave with no chance of getting anything in return? Isn't that the truest definition of sacrifice, giving without return. The person who is obsesses with Jesus models Jesus in giving to those who hated him, and to those who could not pay him back. Think about it, the religious leaders of his day, hated him. Through the centuries there have been people who very openly and publicly have expressed their hatred and denial of Jesus. He died them. How about you and I? Can we ever repay Jesus for his sacrifice on the cross? I think not. He still did it knowing there was no way possible that we could repay him.

In the world of the church it is easy to thing about serving those who can benefit the church. If many pastors are honest that is why they engage in congregational care, because they do not want the people to get made and not contribute to the church. Many people give to the church financially and otherwise and expect in return the church will take care of them. We are back to the what's in it for me question again.

I wonder what would happen if people became obsessed? If people began to serve others, no strings attached, and the only hope is that they would themselves become obsessed? I wonder what would happen if people began to give freely and openly of their time, talents and treasures to the people they hate, or those that cannot pay them back? Is it possible to do away with the what's in it for me question all together? Yes, but it will mean being obsessed with Jesus more than ourselves. I believe this is not only possible, I believe this is already in the works. As more and more people repel the consumeristic faith of the past century, and begin to recapture the ways of Jesus this is happening.

May we all become obsessed with Jesus, give freely and openly. May we be so obsessed that we follow the lead of Jesus and give to those who hate us, and to those who cannot repay us.

Obsession

Welcome back, oh wait I guess that would be for me. It has been nearly two months since I have written here. I could come up with many excuses, but won't, just plain haven't been writing.

Over the last few days I have read the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This is a good book and worth the time to read it. In chapter 8 Chan outlines a profile of a person who is obsessed with God. This has had a significant impact on me so I thought I would share it with all who are willing to read. Here comes the first disclaimer, I write not as someone who has figured out how to be obsessed with God. I write as a person engaged in the struggle to be obsessed. Perhaps you are in the struggle too, and perhaps we can struggle together.

If we are going to look at what in means to be obsessed with God we had better create a baseline for the word obsessed. The American Heritage Dictionary offers, To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic, as a working definition. This definition challenges, haunts, and makes me want to give up at the start. We live in a culture that tells us we do not need to be excessively preoccupied with anything. In fact it is probably not healthy to be that way with anything. Yet we are challenged to be obsessed with God.

To be obsessed with God has many implications for our lives. Most of these implications will require us to re-order our lives. The things which have classically been held as most important, might have to come down on the priority list. To be obsessed with God means a total devotion to the ways and being of God. Over the next few weeks I will be using the markers laid out by Francis Chan to explore what it might look like to be obsessed with God. Please feel free to join in the dialogue as I am hoping to discover something along the way.

A Flying Leap

As a participant of the Institutional church the meeting inevitable goes like this. A new idea is presented. Said idea is then run through the wringer, and out comes a little dryer version, with a little less risk, a little more stability and predictability, but still riskier than usual. From there the discussion will turn to it being a good idea, yet being impossible to do. We have not do it before, how are we going to pay for it, what if it doesn't work, all code words for I do not want to risk trusting God. Some might say that is too harsh, yet the reality remains, we shrink back from the possible for the sake of safe and known.

For centuries the church has been locked in the safe and comfortable place of Christendom. Especially in the Western world, Christianity has been at the center of the society and culture. The result is a church which has become impotent. Funny how our struggle to maintain power and control has resulted in losing both. This Christendom setting has fostered safe and measured communities, and when someone steps out of the mold the price is usually pretty high. How do we break away from the pattern? Many have chosen to leave the Institutional church behind for something else, often not having anything to do with the church, or even a journey with Christ. Is the another option?

In the Christendom era the church is trapped in, the change will not be a top down, or reformation from the top, process. It must be something from within. I resist using the term grassroots as Christendom has co-opted the term and rendered it nearly useless. Rather it will come from people who respectfully as possible push past the stagnation. People who are willing to take a flying leap. To risk big. As more people begin to risk stepping outside the normal, the always has been, something profound happens. Like it or not institutions are forced to deal with the decision to change, or die.

Now it would be easy to write this missive and remain stagnant. This would be exactly how Christendom would like me, and us to respond. Through prayer, discernment, in the midst of fear and hesitation, the time has come to jump. Actually we are well past the time to jump, but I think it is time to actually clear the edge. I am not sure what that means, and I am not sure where it will take me, but I cannot allow myself to remain captive. I must move forward.

I would invite any and all who are reading this to offer their thoughts, ideas and response the the above. Additionally, I wonder if I am the only one who is ready. Please share the stories of how God is pushing you to the edge.

What God is Doing

I am amazed at how we are people who live in the past. The events, circumstances and what was tend to hold us captive. In the life of the church we do this with a depth of connection to the past that is staggering. When we get confused, stressed or just are not sure what to do, we look at what God has done in the past. Then we go on to recreate or reconstruct the situation and circumstances based on how God has acted in the past. Most of life as a pastor has wrestled with this longing of people to go back to what was. This week as I was reading an insightful book by Tim Keel titled Intuitive Leadership, and the light went on.

I celebrate and am thankful for the ways in which God has been at work in the past. I would not be a follower of Christ today if it were not for the work of God in ages past. Now that we have reached a time and place when our world, more specifically the United States, is at a confusion point, people are out of sorts. The culture in which the church exists is very different than it has been in the past. The most common way through this is to look at what God has been doing. As Keel suggests with great mastery through the account of 1 Samuel 4, it is time to start seeking what God is doing right now.

Our God is a God of creativity, remember that is how we first encounter this God in scripture as creator. In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of the present age, we should look for what God might be doing new in our midst. Going back to recreate what was does not mean that it was wrong, or bad, yet it might not be what God is doing this time. In fact on the extreme side of it going back can create idols without even realizing it. The activities, artifacts and actions of our past are not in and of themselves the point, it is the God who we meet in the midst. The God of creation, who continues to create and develop to this day.

The actions and practices which brought us this far hold great significance, still they cannot move us to the next place. I wonder what would happen if we the people of God began to ask what God is doing and listen for an answer, rather than telling God to act like the last time. What is God doing in our midst?

The Center

Yesterday at church I asked an important question, what is the center of your universe? What is it that all other things revolve around? The answers varied from God, to family, to food, to money and other things. The answer I would like to give every time is to say that Jesus is the center of my universe, the reality is this is not always true. I have found when I take Jesus out of the center, my life begins to fall apart. Jesus is still there, loving me, forgiving me, and wanting to guide me. but I have pushed him to the side.

This is a Lordship problem. I like to thing about Jesus as my Savior. The one who forgives my sins, who paid the price for me. Discomfort comes into play when I think about Jesus as Lord. If Jesus is Lord, the center of my life, I will do what Jesus wants. If Jesus is Lord in my life, it means what I want does not really matter. One thing I have learned is I am a control freak, I like my life to play out as I planned it. When Jesus is Lord, control freaks have a problem, because he is in control, not us.

While it is difficult to do, all are called to have Jesus not just as Savior, but as Lord. Moment by moment we must submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Constantly we must be making sure that it is Jesus who our universe revolves around. There can only be one center to our lives. Jesus will step aside when we put something else in there. Still the point will come when we must once again decide to put Jesus in the center. The reality is, when Jesus is not the center of our lives, we are not followers of Jesus. we are chosen to be followers.

Modern Day Idols

Look around at churches today. Many that are not on the newer side, even some that are, are filled with all kinds of stuff. There are the multi-thousand dollar stained glass windows. The precious altars, pulpits and other worship furniture. Going room by room there are sacred cows which hold a mystical power over people. Items which hold more value than they should. Often as pastors we joke about the challenges of replacing the carpets in a church because of the fight over what color and style etc... because the carpet that is there seems to carry a significance beyond carpet. We joke because if we do not we will cry. The stuff in our buildings is simply that stuff, yet we tend to elevate its standing to become god.

As I spend more time in this thing called the church, I find more and more people whos god is the stuff in the church, and they miss a connection with the true God. Throughout the journey of humanity this has happened. Some would argue it started with the Golden Calf in Exodus. Throughout time people have made objects and stuff their god. Whenever stuff replaces God it is called idolatry. Idolatry is one of the big 10 we are to stay away from. Yet it seems the faith of many has deteriorated, or possibly never grown beyond that point.

Everyday I become more convinced one of the worst things for the church is stuff. Property drains resources for mission, things create traps for idolatry. More church arguments and conflicts arise over the stuff of the church. Wouldn't it be great is our disagreements were over things that really mattered. I hear people cry for revival, I too long for a renewing of the Spirit in the world today. Before this can happen it we as people will need to destroy our modern day idols, and return to the source. The time has come for us to once again fall in love with the true God, not stuff.