Lowest Common Denominator

Nothing says fun like math. Think back for a moment to the fun world of fractions. I still try my best to avoid fractions to this day. But, when it comes to adding or subtracting fractions I remember that you had to first find the lowest common denominator before you could complete the process. This often meant reducing one or more numbers, so that everything could look the same, and be measured the same.

It seems this has become the practice in our world and not just with fractions. Everywhere I look I find standards are lowered so more people can clear the bar. In fact the standards are often lowered to the point that anyone can clear the bar. It appears as the education system is in this mode, along with sports. I have seen where they have stopped giving out trophies to the winning teams because they did not want the losing team to feel bad. While all of this is tragic, the real tragedy is when this happens in our relationship to God. It was not all that long ago listed among the essentials of the Church was the exclusivity of Christ. The essentials of the church are those things which are recognized no matter what theological cloth you happen to be cut from. The exclusivity of Christ is the understanding that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. It seems as the time has come when we no longer can have this in the area of consensus in the church. I realize this has always been in the air for some, however we have reached the point when we are engaged in the lowest common denominator practice with Jesus.

Let me be perfectly clear, this is not a mandate to disrespect other faith traditions, or the people who adhere to them. It is not a reason to go our and tell people they are destine for hell if they do not believe in Jesus. Further, I am not offering an excuse to act in hate and ignorance toward people who are different than ourselves. What I am saying is I have a deep concern that we have lowered the standard of Christ to the point where it seems anything goes as long as a person is spiritual. The greatest evidence of this, is the fact that the idea of all religions leading to the same God has found significant support in the church.

So you might ask, if a Hindu does not believe in Jesus, are they destine for hell? The simple answer, I have no idea. It is not my job to determine who gets in and who does not. I am not even sure that is the real question. What I am sure of is this. Whether, Hindu or Muslim, Buddhist or Shinto, Christian or Pagan, there will come a day when we will have to deal with Jesus. I think about Matthew 7 when Jesus talks about those coming to him claiming Lord, Lord, and Jesus says I never knew you. Religious people of all fabrics will come before God, and may recognize Jesus but having no relationship will find themselves missing the fullness of God. Outside of Jesus there is no salvation. Not simply a knowledge of who Jesus is, but a relationship with Jesus.

An important note. While there is no salvation outside of Jesus, we must remember the reach of Jesus to be beyond our comprehension and knowledge. That is to say, we are not in charge of anything in the kingdom, we are not in management. The role of a follower of Christ is obedience, faithfully following the lead of our Christ. Christ is the only way to God, yet we are not the only way to Christ, our understanding is not the only way to Christ.

We must stop lowering the bar. When we read the Gospels we find Jesus setting the standards pretty high. In fact so high I am unbelievably grateful for grace and mercy. When the rest of the religious world was lowering the standards, Jesus raised them. It seems once again we need to return to the high standard of Christ, not as a goal, rather as a way of living. It has become increasing politically incorrect to be exclusive with Jesus. Yet, Jesus has often been politically incorrect. There is much more room in the Kingdom of God than I often realize, and I am sure when the great reunion of Revelation 21 and 22 happens, I will be surprised to see some of the folks there, just as they will be surprised to see me. I do not make the determination of who reaches God, yet I know the one who does, he is the gate by which we enter, Jesus.

Valentines Love

We have come to that day when we talk about the one we love. Let's keep in mind this is an extremely painful day for some who have loved and lost, or who have not know love at all. This is the day when I take time to celebrate the love of my earthly life, Sarah who has put up with me for nearly 12 years of marriage. Without her the ministry God has given me would suffer, and without the support, I would have long given up. This is the day when we love the lovelies in our lives, break out the flowers, chocolates, and other tokens of affection.

I wonder today about how this Valentines love translates into our relationship with Christ? More specifically how we show love for those who God loves. On the list of greatest loves of my life, behind, God, Sarah and family is this thing called the church. For nearly 11 years I have had the opportunity to experience the love of church. There has been opportunity to laugh together, cry together, even have some debates and arguments along the way. Whether it has been in Farmington, NY, Wolcott, NY or in Cortland NY, I have loved being a leader in God's church. I wonder is those in the world around us get to experience that same love? Sure anyone can make the choice to join in the life of a church. Yet often when people think about the church, they do not think love. In fact increasingly when people think about love, the church is not even part of the thought process. Could it be that the church, the people, have lost their love for the people of God who are not yet a part of the church?

Sometimes they are called the unchurched. I have heard the term unconvinced. In some circles the words used are pagans, ungodly or lost. All poor ways to describe those who have not yet become part of the community of God known as the church. No matter how these individuals are described there is a simple truth related to them which the church must pay attention to; our passion for seeing new people engage the community of God is severely lacking. While there are some, not many people feel like they do not want any more people to attend their church. Even fewer people do not want to see more people come to have a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet in the group designed by God to accomplish this purpose we often have no passion, or willingness to live in such a way that we connect and invite others to experience the community of God.

I could list a whole bunch of excuses I and many others have used as to why this is the case. They are simply that excuses. What is comes down to is love. We love those who love us. More often we love those who do something for us. This is a common understanding, yet not a biblical one. With his lifestyle Jesus challenges us to love everyone. Those who love us, those who are not sure about us, those who we consider unlovely. On this Valentine's Day think about the people in your life, by acquaintance or notice that you deem unlovely. Show them love. This Valentine's I think it is time for a heart transplant for the church. We must get rid of our heart of exclusion, and replace it with a heart which shows love and beats for those who are not a part of the community of God. This is not about building the church, it is about helping others to experience Jesus Christ through the power of community which is centered on him. May we look back at this Valentine's Day as the day when it all changed. When hearts were turned to show the love of God to all those in the world. When the church of Jesus Christ became impassioned once again for those who are not yet a part of the community of God in its fullness.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

We have all had that dreaded experience, much less if you are a Mac user. All the functions of our computers come to a grinding halt. Nothing is working and we are left to restart. Once we restart, things start working like they were intended. Not all of life is a computer, at least not yet, but it remains true there comes time when we need to restart so things start working in their intended way. The church of Jesus Christ is no different. Throughout the journey of the the people called Israel, the people of God, there have come times when pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete have been necessary. Destruction of towers, great floods, and exile were all part of the attempt to return the people of God to their created function. The earthly pilgrimage of Jesus was in a effect a restart of the relationship of God and the people of God. People such as Phylis Tickle suggest since Christ about every 500 years the church goes through a restart process. I am suggesting we are at that point now.

In many ways the church is no longer functioning like it has been created to. In fact looking at the world of the church reveals more proximity with the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the Jesus day, than with Jesus. By and large the culture has stopped turning to the church for direction and started turning to anywhere else. Why? When the church is turned to the return is a religious system which short circuits a missional, relational and incarnational interaction with the Creator. In his book So Beautiful, and others, Leonard Sweet talks about the MRI church, Missional, Relational and Incarnational. In order to become such a place the church will need to restart. This does not mean what has always been is bad and of no value. Restarting does not mean everything is going to be scraped for the latest and greatest. Restarting means a return to the designed intention.

Restarting the church would return the church to understanding the creation of the church was not for organization, it was for being the mission of God. Being the mission of God requires organization but the organization supports the mission of God, not the mission of God supporting the organization. Pressing the restart buttons would return the church to a mindset of relationship with God through Jesus, and relationship of a community. This means more than simply knowing who God is, it is entering into community with others as we seek after a God who is seeking us. Finally restarting would move Jesus off the pictures on the wall into our day-to-day lives. I find myself treating Jesus as a memorial figure. Someone who once lived, was great, changed the course of the world but is dead. Jesus is alive, resurrection, not only alive, Jesus is with us this very moment. An incarnational Jesus is one who is amongst the people, real and tangible with and through the community called the church.

Unlike restarting a computer restarting the church is a much more involved process. There is also more at stake in restarting the church than a computer. Let me be clear, if we do not act the work of God will not be derailed. Simply we will not experience life as we are created to experience it. Still there is great struggle ahead in restarting the church. There is not reason to think we will have it any easier than Jesus himself did in addressing an organization that has lost its essence of existence. Just like Jesus it starts small and builds momentum. It starts when individuals decide there is more to life than they are experiencing. It grows when those individuals form a community that is missional, relational and incarnational.

The restarting of the church is underway. There are people and communities who have decided to return to life as offered at creation. Likewise there are people and communities committed to keeping things as they have been for the past 5 centuries. For the rest of us, we must do some serious seeking to see where it is that God is at work.

Culture Is Never Neutral

We all live multicultural lives. They may not be culturally diverse, including other races, religions and ways of life, still there are multiple cultures we all live in. There might be the work culture, the home culture, the family culture, the culture of your church, the American culture and on it goes. None of the cultures we exist in are neutral. Meaning all of these cultures have been formed in one way or another. Some cultures form more organically. Patterns develop and before long there is a sense of simply being. Once the culture comes into existence those who are a part of that culture work to preserve the culture, even if there is no knowledge of where it came from. Other cultures we exist in are intentionally created. The values and ways of functioning are chosen and not left to happenstance. Like the more organic culture, once the intentional culture is established effort is made to maintain that culture. No matter what, culture is developed, and there are always players looking to have the culture function in certain ways. This leaves us with a choice, we can simply react to the culture around us, or we can participate in shaping it.

Everyone can be intentional about the formation of the cultures in which they exist. There are cultures which are more challenging to shape, like the American culture. Still we have some level of control over the cultures we exist in. There is always the choice to simply let it happen around us, to take on the attitude of whatever will be, will be. The appeal to this kind of culture formation is often appealing as it requires very little from the participants of the culture. On the flip side there is a great challenge in this style of culture development. Culture in never neutral, there will be ab underlying mindset that will influence the culture. Overtime the culture developed my by extremely dysfunctional and trapped by the influential people who have much to gain from the culture as created.

Intentional culture runs the same risk as being held hostage, however when the formation of the culture is done intentionally good questions are asked and engaged. As the culture is formed questions come to the surface about the values and functions of the culture. There is then conversation about the shape of the culture. A simple example is looking at home life. Many people are frustrated with their home life. Often not termed as such but it is a culture problem. People are not unhappy with those in their home, they are unhappy with the culture of their home. Chances are the culture was allowed to develop organically. The good news is the culture can be changed. It will take hard work and dedication because culture is never neutral. Patterns of functioning will have to change and who holds authority, and how they hold it may have to change. The culture of a home can be intentionally set, and they worked to preserve. If there is not a willingness to be intentional about the culture being developed, we must simply figure out how to endure the culture which emerges.

So what am I really saying? Culture does not simply exist, or is not something which just is. Culture has emerged from a chosen passivity, or has been shaped intentionally. When a culture is first emerging it is easiest to be intentional. Once established, it is very difficult to change the culture because of the desire of stakeholders to remain stakeholders, or the desire of the passive to remain passive. You can engage a culture and be a shaper of the that culture. This is true whether it is your home, your work, church, country or any other culture. Just know there will be other people and situations working to influence the culture as well. Their work may be to preserve the culture already in place.

In the next entry I will explore the role and importance of leadership in culture setting.

Christmas 2010

Once again we are at the time when people stress about the presents, the stockings, and travel plans. And once again I wonder if people are spending as much time stressing about the presence which is the forefront of this thing called Christmas. As I celebrate the inbreaking of our Savior, it is also the time of year when I begin my annual reflection. What are the highlights and not so highlights of my journey this year. The overall summation is that it has been a difficult and wonderful year all at the same time. God is revealing the fruit of ministry here in Cortland, however it comes with a sacrifice. Even with struggles there is much to celebrate this year.

The year started out with walking with my mom as she beat cancer. That's right I said beat. The power of Christ, and the body of Christ in prayer coupled with surgery and follow up treatments, were no match. My mom proved to be a valiant fighter the whole way. A byproduct of the time with mom was also some extended time with my brother, including the three of us going to take in a game at Fenway. Quickly it was the celebration of Easter, and the refreshing of the summer. There was a great, but quick, family trip to Cleveland. Time with my girls at the zoo and science center were great. Once the calendar turned to September plans were in full swing for the trip to Haiti. October brought the trip to Haiti, as nine others joined in in watching God at work through the amazing people there. All along watching God develop the Cortland UMC into more and more of what He desires.

All the events and actions of ministry were and are wonderful and a blessing. However the relationships of my life continue to be the most rewarding. To the guys, Bill Mudge, BJ Norrix, and Alan Howe, I am not sure why you put up with me but glad you do. I know I would have given up many times without your support and care. To my extended family, thanks for your understanding and grace as my schedule messes up your chances to see Sarah and the girls. To my baby girls, Rachel, Leah and Hannah, I am so blessed to be called your dad. You make the effort worth it, Love you. To my wonderful bride. I am not sure most people know how much you sacrifice for the sake of the ministry. Sarah, I could not do this without you and I don't even want to try. I know the sign does not say it, and that the Methodist Church does not recognize it, you truly are the co-pastor of Cortland UMC. I still remember your sister singing Grow Old With Me at our wedding, that was the plan then and it is the plan now. Your stuck with me. Finally my God. You have continued to mess with my life and heart this year. Growing me into places and situation I either did not want to be in, or had no experience of. Thank you. I have so much to learn about you and about who you are shaping me to be. If all of it was taken away, I would cling to you no matter what.

As I close this most likely last entry of the year I have some questions for you the readers. First, should I continue to blog? This year I did not write as much, not for lack of things to say simple time choices. Second, what topics, issues or ideas would you like to read about? Please take a few moments to comment back. My human weakness seeks to know if what I am doing is being engaged, or is just more noise in the cluttered inbox of our worlds.

May you know the grace and peace of God in deeper and deeper ways. May you experience the inbreaking of God this Christmas. May you realize the gift is not Jesus, but you are the gift to him. May you know how blessed you are.

Grace and Peace

Aaron

Obedience and Blessing

Wow it has been a long time since I posted anything here. I could give a long list of reasons/excuses but I won't. The lack of posts does not correspond to a lack of content, more of time and motivation. This morning the Lord really impressed on me to write today, so here goes.

I think most any of us would like to see God bless us. In fact there are times when we feel like we are experiencing just the opposite of blessing rather we face challenge after challenge. Before going too far we must realize there are times when challenge is brought into our lives to help develop us into the person we have been created to be. Struggle and challenge in our lives is not directly connected with sin, or lack of faith. Sometimes we just go through tough times. There are other times when our actions of lack their of do bring consequences we see as a struggle or challenge.

You do not have to look very hard of far to find a preacher on the TV or the Internet who offers the promise if we simply give our lives to Christ everything will be okay. That might not be the exact quote, however it is pretty close to the idea presented. Perhaps all of you are better followers of Jesus than I am, yet this is not the journey I have found with Christ. Following Jesus is hard to do. After all it would appear if we are to follow Jesus we must be transformed from who we have always been. No longer do we get to decide what is best and right, we are given the call of Christ to follow him. The result of this challenge in my life is often disobedience. What an old fashion word, obedience. God calls to us and gives us direction and hope, and the call looks difficult and filled with situations we do not want any part of. So we decide to modify the call a little to fit our view of the world. We expect the blessing of God to be exactly the same even if we have tweaked the plan a little. We expect even if we are disobedient, God will shower us with blessing just the same.

Another way of looking it this is to say we want all the reward without the effort. I love watching college football, and we are coming to the time of year when the national champion will be rising to the top. In early January one team will be crowned the champion, and a player on the team will more than likely be deemed the hero of the game and season. This person will be hoisted up on shoulders and be on the cover of magazines. That shoulder top ride did not come without a price. There was a consistent obedience over a long period of time which resulted in the great blessing. On our journey with Christ we often want the shoulder top ride without the effort it takes to get there. We want the blessing without obedience. Simply we expect God to bless us even if we follow our own understanding and desires more than the understanding and desires of God.

I am not saying if you are facing struggle right now it is the result of disobedience. What I am saying is you have an opportunity to work toward the blessing by how you respond to the struggle you are in. I have spent a large amount of time lately thinking about what it would look like if a group of people called the church began to live in radical obedience to God. What would happen if the people of God began to consistently be obedient to the call of God? Would there still be hunger? Would there still be poverty? The sick? The imprisoned? Children killed? Disease? Injustice? The blessing we receive from obedience is not always a personal blessing, it is a blessing to the people that we are a part of. What's in it for me is not the question of a follower of Christ. What must I do to follow God is the question.

We all seek the blessing of God. For some the vision of blessing is a little different than others. Still most of the time we want the maximum blessing with minimal effort. In reality it is not about amount of effort it is about obedience. We cannot and will not experience the blessing of God if we refuse to be obedient.

Where To Set Up Camp?

Here in these United States we are people of place. Contained in our lives is a strong desire to find place, physical or otherwise to set up camp and reside. Not always a physical address but a state of existence. We like to reside in the same thought patterns, behaviors and activities. Even when these situations do not produce what we think they should, or what they once produced we do not like to find a new place to set up camp. This is the struggle of our life with God, not simply day to day living in America.

As I though about this the last couple of days I was able to verbalize it like this, we cannot live or camp in the past because it is gone. We cannot live or camp in the future because it is not yet here. However, we cannot live or camp where we are at because this passing moment becomes the past as quickly as it was the future. So, where do we set up camp? In this question we find the tragedy of the Old Testament Temple. Long before there was a temple, before Israel had a king, before the promise was ceased, the people of God followed encamping as they went. Where God lead them they followed for the most part. Along the way there was grumbling and rebellion which resulted in correction and teaching. The people knew they could remember what was, but could not live there, and they had not yet taken a hold of the promise of the future. Further they knew the place they were at was only temporary even if they liked the place.

The day comes when the people begin to settle in the promise land. Settle they did and from there the struggle of following God intensified. Many had gotten to the place they had wanted to be and wanted to stay there until they died. This went way beyond geography. Once in the promise land the relationship between God and the people of God was characterized by a growing staleness. This caused the people to look around to other nations and people for guidance than to God. Soon the cry for an earthly king went before God. Even with God warning them of the consequences they moved in that direction. From there David, the earthly king, wanted to build a residence of God on earth. At the outset God seems to be against the idea, and likes the idea of being a transient God who is free to move and invite the people to move. Yet the human drive kicks in and the Temple is build. All along the way people begin to move from camp to permanent structure in dwelling and thought.

What if we are intended to be people who live from encampment to encampment? What if the love of God is so great that we are constantly understanding God in different and news ways? Not that God is changing, rather that we are changing. Where we camped yesterday is part of our history and therefore it matters, yet we cannot camp there again. Tomorrow holds the promise of heaven, and therefore it matters, yet we are not there yet. Today is the gift of God, and therefore it matters, yet today will soon become yesterday. So where do we camp? The simple answer is where God is. Realizing this is harder to accomplish in reality it is still the truth. We must live in such a way that we are camped where God is at this moment and when God says its time to move, we break camp and follow.