Is It Worth It?

A reminder that I am exploring the shift that took place in the church which moved it from movement to institution, and the implications of that shift. Today I will focus on what drives the church. As best I can tell what Jesus was leading the early followers to do, and what the early church was doing, was all about building the Kingdom of God. More specifically, the primary focus was to live in such a way that others could experience the Kingdom by how you lived. In one of my favorite movies, The Last Samurai, in the last scene Tom Cruise's character is asked to tell the account of how someone died. His response is, not about death but about how the person lived. Jesus death was crucial and without it we are all still in great trouble. However, if all that is examined and celebrated is the death of Jesus, something is missing. The way Jesus lives and called others to live was equally important.

As the church journeyed further from the movement of Jesus to the institution, two primary thoughts drove the church. One was all about salvation through the cross of Jesus, and the other was all about the re-order of society. These are both solid drives for the church. Often, however, they were mutually exclusive. Classically this has been outlined as the evangelical church and the social Gospel church. Pardon the oversimplification. These two drives caused the church to change focus. The evangelical church was and is convinced all that needs to happen is the world simply needs to be saved by the blood of Jesus. Truth. The social gospel church says that we bring people to Jesus by re-ordering society to look more like the Kingdom of God. Truth. The result is a church that is irrelevant to most, and impotent to really transform the world. So, we simply go through the motions to keep the institution alive because that provides one with a sense of doing something worthwhile.

It is time once again to have a drive change. The time has come to recapture the original movement. The work of the cross transforming lives in order that society would be transformed. It is very difficult to motivate people outside of the institution to sacrifice for the sake of the institution, it has lost its meaning. I do think that people will sacrifice for the sake of transforming the world. If the church's drive is to simply exist it has already died. the good news is God does some of his best work with dead people, but they must be willing to admit they are dead. Church for the sake of church is foolish, church for the sake of transformation of the world for the sake of Christ, that is worth dieing for.

How Did We Get Here?

In the midst of a class I was teaching in the church I was sharing my thoughts about the state of the church in America as a consumerist, narcissistic, imitator of culture. From across the table the question came, how did we get here? It made me think there are many reasons we are here, and it would take a lot of time to outline what has driven us to this point. So, I thought I would take some time to share my thoughts. Over the next few blog entries I will be writing about that topic.

To frame the discussion I need to delve into the world of sociology, and the works of Ernst Troeltsch. Mr. Troeltsch wrote about how an idea transforms into an institution. Please note this is a huge oversimplification of the work. Essentially an idea surfaces and others gather around the idea. The idea then gains momentum, becoming a movement. the movement grows and begins to develop normalizing factors, or norms which inform the understandings of the movement. As the development continues the norms create a more concrete structure and form known as an institution. At this point the institution can easily lose sight of the original idea and movement, and exist for the sake of the institution. This is know as institutionalization.

The church in America is riddled with institutionalization. At some point in history the idea an movement gave way to keeping the institution alive. This had implications for what drove the church, what has been taught by the church and how the church interacted with the world around it. There are key points in history which this is noticed. When the Roman Empire named Christianity the official state religion. When Martin Luther partnered with the Princes of Germany. The church of England being the state church. There are others, but those are some of the big moments. The struggle is nothing new.

It is amazing to me how there is a connection of tying religion with government and how the focus can be diffused. In the next entry I will explore how what drives the church changed, and the implications of that change.

The Crowd Response

Reading through the Gospels is always an inspiring experience for me. I gain great strength from the disciples and their tendency to miss the point of what Jesus was teaching them. It gives me hope for my journey. I am also inspired by the response to Jesus when he enters a new area. As soon as Jesus is recognized people run throughout the streets bringing all the sick, demon possessed and in need. The flocked Jesus knowing he was the source which could help.

Now most of the time today the church enters the town and people are suspicious. They do not go running through the streets gathering people. It seems the church of today has the exact opposite response as Jesus on a community. I wonder what it would be like of the church began to function in a way that the community responded as they originally did to Jesus?

Greater Things

I was introduced to this song while in Ohio this last weekend. The words haunt me and give me some great direction. God longs to do more right in our midst. Even if God has been doing great things, greater things are yet to come. I cannot wait to see what God wants to do.

Disconnected Reality

At the conference I was at last weekend, a long held truth was greatly reinforced, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus was not primarily about salvation. Before you brand me as a heretic, let me say the work of Jesus on the cross is crucial, and without it our faith is empty and pointless. Having said that, if the importance of Jesus ends with the cross we are missing the point.

The power of Jesus is the transformation initiated in our lives. Once we respond to the radical call of Christ, our lives should begin to be lived differently. We should have a heightened care for the poor and those who are going without the basics of life. Our lives should take on the trajectory pointing us to increasingly be living the way Christ showed us.

One of the many labels around this is missional. How tragic is it that we must use a word like missional to designate the church, as that has always been the point of the church. We are designed and created as people and as the community of Christ to be people of mission. Somewhere there was a disconnect with this. The people of God lost site of what really matters. The thought was it was about church gatherings, buildings and meeting the needs of the congregations. In reality it is about being on the mission of God, and all the other stuff should feed that mission.

Standing on The Edge of Possibility

I am off at a conference in Ohio this weekend hosted by Ginghamsburg Church. It is great to be in a place where my mind and soul are nourished and refreshed. While this is good, this is a dangerous place as well. I look at the landscape of the church, and in particular the church I serve in Cortland and know that something must be done differently. The options are great, the choices are plenty, but remaining the same is not an option.

So what is it that is next in my life as a pastor and therefore, for the church in Cortland? It is time to move in to the reality which has been being painted. The time has come for me and us to make living outside of the church, simply what we do.

This will involve a radical shift in how I as a pastor spend my time. I am not sure what the shifts will be at this time, but change is in the winds. It could be easy to see the days ahead with great apprehension, and anxiety. It is just as easy to see it as a time of great opportunity. To say it another way I feel as though I am standing on the edge of possibility.

Citizenship Matters

I am continuing to read through the book of Acts and rediscovering passages which send me thinking for a while. Today was the passage where Paul and Silas are in the inner dungeon, in chains, praying and singing songs to God. For some reason that is not what sent me thinking. What got me going was later in the story when Paul and Silas are told by the guards they are free to go, and Paul replies I think not. The reason for Paul's objection to being let go quietly, his citizenship. Paul and Silas are Roman citizens. They were beaten and imprisoned without a trial, well outside of the rights of a Roman citizen.

Paul could have gone off about the work ahead of him with out further incident, but he couldn't there was a justice issue to be addressed. Paul's citizenship gave him the unique responsibility to address what was happening to many others. I wonder how often we disregard the responsibilities which come with being an earthly citizen of the United States, and eternal citizens of the Kingdom of God? Our citizenship in the USA, affords us the opportunity to speak out against injustice, oppression and any other form of devaluing a human being. Our citizenship as children of God gives us the responsibility to do so.

Our heavenly citizenship is not so we can merely celebrate being 'saved'. Rather it allows us to be connected with God to continue the work of God since creation. What is that work? To draw all men and women into close relationship with Him. To help all people know their true and deep value to God in more than words, but with actions consistent with the call of God.

Are we using our citizenship to the fullest?