What is the Missional Church?
Michael Frost talks about what it means to be the missional church, addressing the 2007 Presbyterian Global Fellowship Conference in Houston, TX.
The Promise Driven Life
Rick Warren became a nationally known figure in the 1990′s when his book “The Purpose Driven Life” became a runaway best seller. No doubt we all need things toward which we can aspire. There is nothing wrong with having goals as they help us extend our reach and influence beyond what we can reach at the moment. Goals give specificity to the things we have to do in order to reach a certain destination. It’s in the reaching that physical and moral muscle is stretched and strengthened. By such exercise we grow and become more mature.
But where does a sense of purpose come from? By what are we driven? What gives us our zeal and passion? The thing about having goals is that they help give direction but can they give us passion and energy for life?
At the beginning of the new year we have a tradition of setting New Years resolutions. Supposing we decide on new goals for ourselves. How soon thereafter do we find that we have lost all interest in keeping the new years resolutions? How long before we see that we are failing and give up in resignation? The interest I once had no longer exists. My sense of energy and zeal fails me. What happened? Could it be that having a purpose for my life may be the right answer to the wrong question. If I believe that my need for meaning is satisfied by having purpose and goals. Then I might ask what is my purpose. But what if that is the wrong question. What if what gives meaning and zeal and passion for life is not having goals and direction and purpose but something else altogether. What if the fuel that energizes your life is not purpose but promise.
The thing about purpose is that it is something that arises from within the self, but the energy for that thing within has to come from somewhere else. Does it not? The passion that arises from within depends upon an energy source that comes from outside the self. I suggest that promise and not purpose is what drives your passion for life. A sense of purpose comes from within the self, but it is fueled by promises. Promises have to do with your relationships: your connection with God, community, spouse, child, brother, sister, colleague, friend and even the enemy. Promises are what inspire, motivate, transform your life. These are the things that make for passion, for a life worth living.
Promise is what drives purpose; know who is important and then the purposes of your life will fall into place.
The Wisdom of James (4)
Scot McKnight says, “James sees the testing of faith — the ability to see through a bad situation to what God will make of it — as an opportunity to set off a chain reaction:”
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Here are these Jewish Christian communities under duress. They could go on the offensive and return the attacks tit for tat; they could internalize the criticisms and attacks of others as personal failings; they could assimilate back into their original communities, “because that is just the way it is.” James is urging upon these tiny communities another alternative, to choose to see through the situation to what God will make of it. Suppose someone does just that. McKnight says, “that person sets off a chain reaction for moral formation:
1. Perseverance leads to…
2. Maturity and completion…
3. Lacking nothing …
When suffering pain our natural response is to find a quick way out. But what if there is no way to avoid suffering? What if we need to choose the suffering because the suffering is part of what gets us to where we need to be (The athlete endures pain in order to be a better athlete)? What do we do then? James is suggesting a way of dealing with suffering which seems outrageous to so many of us, shaped as we are by our expectation that the desires of the self are almost alwyas to be indulged and satiated, if the self is to be healthy and whole. Maybe Bernie Maddoff buys into that mindset, but not James. Suffering for James is an education in moral formation. “Again, we are unwise to think James would suggest this for all suffering; after all, he protests much against some kinds of injustices. Like mothers everywhere, he didn’t need modern medicine and psychology to know that grinding, unrelieved suffering is very destructive. What he’s talking about here is either something they can do nothing about or a temporary situation.” But he also knows that suffering has an impact on character. It can be educational, even transformational. And anyone who has suffered knows the same thing.
Does God bring the suffering? The question of suffering is one of the most difficult questions we ever deal with, especially as we are still living in the shadow of the most destructive century ever in human history. Such a big question requires massive if not volumes of books for the question to be addressed honestly. Likewise if we are to respect James we cannot make him address questions that are not being asked. What we can be sure about is that “James does not say here that God brings the suffering; he does not say everything they suffer is an act of God. Instead, his focus is on God as one to whom they can go for wisdom and one in whom they can trust and that God, in spite of the suffering, can use that suffering to make something of it.”
Many of us get a bit confused with James’ use of the word “perfection” , translated “maturity” above. He’s not talking here about flawless behavior, sinlessness or sinless perfection. As the teacher who can control his tongue is perfect (3:2), so the sufferer can learn the same by learning to look through the situation to what God can do. “Perfection here is about wholeness, maturity, holiness, love, peace, etc. and not about attaining a level below which one will never fall again. An unskilled laborer learns maturity (perfection) through being joined to a master craftsman as an apprentice. She learns to work and take responsibility through the freedoms and assignments given by the master craftsman, and the decisions she makes in those activities allow for growth as the skills of the master craftsman are acquired. Her choice to give attention and focus to the specific disciplines of various master craftsmen; to take again and again a thousand steps in the same direction, undeterred by her own inertia and the resistance of others, pushing through trial and error. These are the things that make for maturity.
The Leathrums and the Poindexters
The Foothills Presbytery is taking a rare and deep look into the world of two families faced with the needs of their children with developmental disabilities. Their stories highlight a mission — and a calling — to reach the hand of Christ toward a great need that’s too often invisible.
Westminster Presbyterian member, Jill Cogdill, led the production of a video on behalf of the InDwellings Ministry. The video showcases what the homes will mean to families facing the crisis of adult children in need of a home the family can no longer provide.
This video features two families. The first is the Leathrums, an Upstate family whose youngest son has Down syndrome. Roger, now 36, could live somewhere other than his parents’ home, with supervision, if only such a place existed in the Upstate. InDwellings wants to build just such a place, where folks like Roger can live with the dignity and sense of community they long for, providing a deep sense of peace for his family. The second family is the Poindexters, whose 2 1/2 year old son, Calvin, also has Down syndrome. Calvin’s mom, Katie, is already thinking ahead to what sort of home will be available when Calvin is an adult, and wants to live as independently as he is able.
Because many of the parents of adult children with developmental disabilities are now more than 55 years old, the need for these homes rises urgently by the day. If a medical or other crisis arises, these parents want to know that they have an option for housing these very special adult children.
Producer Jill Cogdill is an InDwellings’ board member, who secured the services of well-known photojournalist, Mario de Carvalho. For more than 30 years at CBS, Mario shot some of the biggest stories in the world. He has received numerous national Emmy Awards, and his passion and heart for this project are immense. (Many of you may know that Mario is married to the Upstate’s own Jane Robelot, former anchor of the CBS Morning Show, and treasured member of our community.)
InDwellings, Inc.
Charles and Nancy Blakely’s first child was born in 1980. Anne was born with significant disabilities, including mental retardation.
Now Charles and Nancy are asking for our help. Here is their letter:
“We cared for Anne with all the love in our hearts, and she lived a happy and full life, thanks to so many of you who knew her and cared about her, and about us. However we wondered what her future would be like once we passed on or were no longer able to care for her. We found that many parents in SC have the same questions about their children with developmental disabilities. With all the wonderful ministries of the Presbyterian Church and Foothills Presbytery, we hoped the church would take on another mission, to minister to people with disabilities, and to their families who need the peace of mind of knowing that their children would have a safe, warm, welcoming home with a Christian atmosphere once their families were unable to care for them. To that end we began the ministry of InDwellings, to build and operate group homes for adults with disabilities.
We have the land, we have the plans, we have the applicants, we have the dedication- we need is your support and prayers. We have embarked upon a capitol campaign to raise the funds needed to build and open our first home on land adjacent to the Presbyterian Communities in Easley. We’ll be kicking off our campaign on the evening of May 28 with a party on our property and we invite you to come and get involved. If you cannot come to that evening, we ask you and Pendleton Presbyterian to consider the needs of the special population among us and to make a donation to Indwellings, Inc.
Our daughter Anne passed away in 2004, and so Nancy and I continue our work with Indwellings in her memory. Is thee a special person in your family, your congregation, or your neighborhood whom you would like to honor with a gift to Indwellings? Our would you simply like to express the love of Christ toward those who would benefit from such a happy Christian home?
We invite you to join us in this ministry of Foothills Presbytery, and we would love an opportunity to come to your church and share more about the ministry of Indwellings. In the near future Laurie Lefevre (Board Member) or a member of our Capital Campaign Committee will be contacting your seeking an opportunity to meet with your Session regarding this important ministry. Thank you for your consideration.
Say, “Yes” to VBS!
Amy Marshall sent along this request to the VBS Team on National Day of Prayer last week.
Let’s remember today (The National Day of Prayer) by praying for VBS as well as anything else that God has laid upon our hearts.
Here are prayer requests of the VBS Team
*** I pray that we, as a team, can stay focused, creative, positive, and
energized so our children can benefit to the fullest.
***I pray that God will call others to serve in VBS in some capacity this year
and, that, by doing so, they will be blessed.
*** Given that our lives are pulled in many directions. I pray that we may say, “no” to some things, so that we can say, “YES” to VBS!
The VBS Team
The Wisdom of James (3)
James invites his tiny Jewish Christian communities to see the Christian life as the way of wisdom. Under great pressure to conform to a reality shaped, formed and controlled by others they resist and it gets them into trouble. Scot McKnigtht points out that James is urging them to face their abuse with some courage and faith and to see through the exploitation, which they were incapable of openly resisting, to something they could get out of it. So he tells them to face the trials with “joy.”
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
When James speaks of joy he is not speaking of that happy face we tend to want to put on. He is not the runaway best selling author of “Become a Better You” and he has no suggestions in aiding you in the discovery of your best self within. The joy James is talking about is not so much a positive outlook as a deeply grounded confidence in God, which is something very different than American optimism, rooted as it is in the individual self’s ability to make something of circumstances. Paradoxically, it is confidence in God which, because of God, leads into that willful, steely determination to make the best of a bad situation, that grows into a confidence in the final justice of God, and creates the kind of people who are morally mature. There’s a huge difference between a biblical sense of hope, which is anything but a mental trick, and the postive-thinking gurus like Joyce Meyers who propose positive self-talk as a way of changing one’s mental outlook. Instead of looking deep within for the spark within, James urges his folks to look through a situation to see God, to see God’s work, and to see that God will eventually bring justice. (We are to understand James 1:2 in the light of James 5:1-6 and 7-11.)
What James says in 1:2-4 is very tight and compact. It is not unlike the rose bud which has hidden within itself the full bloom which is to come later. This is another way of saying that James says everything now that he is going to say later. He delicately opens his argument up like a blossom, steadily revealing unfolding layers of hidden meaning until finally each pedal of the flower is presented in full glory. This is how James is writing.
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
“Here is why,” McKnight says, “James urges his fellow [Jewish Christians] to see through the situation to the final result.” Being Jewish and Christian placed them in dangerously precarious circumstances, very difficult to navigate, living as they did on the fringes of their own Jewish culture and in a Roman dominated world: not only were Jews held in suspicion, but a Jewish Christian had it doubly difficult. They were looked upon with suspicion by Jews and Gentiles. Given that this was the situation the temptation for the Jewish Christians was to strike back with violence (cf. James 1:20 and 4:1-2); James urges them to strike back with patient endurance because of what it would do for character. Again, the source of their strength is “God [who] has poured out his love into [their] hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given [them].”
“Here is that gem” says McKnight, “if taken to heart would so greatly help us in our own suffering: James takes the long haul view of suffering. He’s not a wimp; he’s an aggressive, active pastor who knows that God will bring justice and, in that situation, they were to take it on the chin with their heads held high and endure the suffering.”
So are they victims? Absolutly not! James is suggesting a subversive resistance in the face of overwhelming odds. Though mistreated and exploited they have a strong and unbeaten confidence in God. It is only a matter of time before they are vindicated. God will bring justice. It seems to me that what James is saying sounds a lot like Paul who wrote: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Eugene Peterson translates Paul this way, “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” This makes sense only if what we believe is true. If the alternative reality in which Christians live, shaped and formed and controlled by the Lord Jesus, is true and not that world formed by the interlocking network of powers – political, economic, social, cultural, religious, spiritual, ideological – that have turned their backs on Creator and creation in the service of evil, then we truly can let go and let God.
“It is unwise “,”says McKnight, “to think that James’ only strategy in every moment of suffering was just simply to take it on the chin. We might discern that we are to “fight back” by protest, or boycott”, or addressing our congressional representatives, or working personally to change or establish law.
Remember Rosa Parks refusing to sit in the back of the bus. She was part of a minority community that had taken ten thousand steps toward subversive resistance. They knew how to take it on the chin. She practiced the steps a thousand times herself when finally on that bus she was able to take the next step by refusing to step to the back. To everybody else her actions appeared to be the unthinking and spontaneous actions of one individual. To those trained up in the way of her community, as she was, Rosa Park’s stand was just another skillfully acquired step on the long road of patient endurance toward maturity.
James point is not so much the strategy, whether it be protest or boycott or whatever. His point is that they see through the situation to what God will make of them through the situation.
James sometimes sounds a lot like his brother Jesus . In Matthew’s gospel Jesus reveals reality as it truly is and not as we percieve it. And it is shocking!
3 ”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 ”Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 ”Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 ”Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 ”Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 ”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 ”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 ”Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 ”Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)
It is interesting to consider how Jesus responds to violent domination by the Roman occupiers of his homeland and the exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful. ”He’s not a wimp; he’s an aggressive, active shephard of the sheep who knows that God will bring justice.” He sees the foolishness and folly of open rebellion. He will not have his gospel message be hijacked by violent revolutionaries since the real enemyJesus was engaging in battle was Satan and not Rome. He offers instead a subversive way of resistance against overwhelming odds. It is the way of wisdom.
“I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
43 ”You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:39-48)
Given what the brothers James and Jesus say, what do you think is Christian wisdom in the face of violent terrorism? If the terrorist mind is closed and the only intent is to win the argument by any means, including killing the innocent and most defenseless, then how does the Christian respond?
“Love is a feeling you feel when you are about to feel a feeling you never felt before.” This Flip Wilson quote was so funny to me as a kid that it just stuck in my head. I’ve never forgotten it.
One of the most attractive things about Christianity is those times when you meet someone who actually lives it 24/7. A genuine Christian character is one of the most attractive things you will ever find in people. When you encounter genuine love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness and self control you don’t ask yourself whether or not these are good things. You simply wish there were more of these things around. When Flip delivered that hilarious line in his comedy routine he was talking about hormone driven, passionate physical love between lovers. It is the kind of feeling that when it comes upon us just feels so right. But feelings can be misleading and deceptive. The thing about Christianity when truly embraced and lived is that not only does it feel right it’s also true. The truth of it when taken seriously by those who profess it is that Christian faith makes sense of and establishes human life in a way nothing else does. This–you know when you meet it,this is what human life ought to be like.
There are those Christian virtues called love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness and self control which should characterize the life of the the christian. So, why when we hear about somebody’s misfortune on the news do we say with a certain glee, “they had it coming.” or why when conflict erupts suddenly we’re treating each other as enemies and avoiding each other? Why are the Christian virtues so often missing?
Is it because many of us assume that this world really is a bad place and that everything that could be done has been done. All that matters now is that we believe in Jesus Christ so that we can go to heaven when we die? Many Christians really do mistakenly believe that we don’t have to be concerned with this world as it is all going to be destroyed anyway. Is it because we really have no clue that the Holy Spirit has anything to do with our lives– that really it is totally up to us. Or if we do have an understanding of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives maybe our tendency is to suppose that the fruits of the Spirit, which Paul lists, are things which will come naturally and be produced once the Spirit takes up residence. Many Christians assume that this is how it is supposed to be. Now that I am a Christian the Holy Spirit has come into my life. Therefore I can just do what comes naturally because now what is natural is of the Holy Spirit. Some may find that certain moral standards don’t come naturally despite their praying for grace to keep them. So, they conclude that those standards don’t seem to apply to them. For whatever reason it seems the church does not spend much time nurturing and developing these virtues within it corporate life.
What seems to have gained a lot of traction everywhere including the church is “feelings.” We say “I feel” when what we really mean is “I think.” “I feel that we should do this rather than that.” In fact feeling has become a central part of how we talk, it is actually changing how we make decisions, how we behave and even what we think is going on, especially in worship. Feeling is beginning to replace thinking. In fact feeling is now the way we get at the truth. Getting in touch with your feelings is the way of knowing what is most true about you. The whole idea is to find a way around the thinking mind. It only gets in the way in worship. Following your feelings and doing what they are telling you has become the way to expereince God in worship. I think this may be one reason why the mega-church is so attractive. The big space, large crowd and energetic band music combined creates an emotionally charged atmosphere. You feel yourself being absorbed into its ecstatic energy– it just feels so right. But feelings can be misleading and deceptive.
(Perhaps overemphasis on emotion and feeling in our culture is the pendulum swing away from too much weight having been given to objective scientific investigation as the Western worlds only means of defining what is true. As a result we have lost touch with other ways of knowing, ways of knowing that engage not only the mind but the heart and spirit, together with the mind–ways of knowing that give us a much more full and rounded sense of reality leading to awe before the transcendent beauty and mystery of creation.)
Paul says, “be transformed by the renewal of your minds so that you may discern in practice what is God’s will, and acceptable, and perfect.” He doesn’t say “be transformed by letting yourself feel a feeling you never felt before.” Consider what he is saying: The human being is made up of body, mind and spirit or soul as we often call it. Paul doesn’t deny what we would call feelings and emotion but he is clear: the thinking mind cannot be bypassed as a way to experience God if what is most true about us is that we are body, mind and spirit.
Why do we have to think? Precisely because as with having to learn anything worth learning you need to concentrate, to become self aware to realize that at certain points you do have to train those moral muscles. With the fruit of the Spirit you need to choose to do with difficulty the things you hope will eventually come easily to you but don’t yet. You need to concentrate on the individual steps, take note of every point because you are not yet fluid, and fluent and natural in it as yet.
When Paul gives his lists of the fruits of the Spirit he says nothing of their bypassing the mind and the conscious patterns of thought. They themselves have to be learned and practiced in the same way one learns the flute or a foreign language. And it is in fact precisely in this way, through the renewal of the mind that the Spirit works to make us truly human, to enable us to live as truly human beings. Indeed, part of the way the Spirit produces those fruits is by the Spirit alerting us to the states of mind and habits heart that we regularly fall into. The Spirit works through Scripture, sacraments, and the community of faith to help us to make the conscious effort we need to make, to choose to live the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love. This is the path of freedom.
The idea that we are only free when the mind is disengaged and no disciplined moral effort is involved is lethal. “You will know the truth,” said Jesus, “and the truth will set you free.” Freedom comes not by the mind being bypassed but by being woken up to grasp hold of truth previously unrecognized.
From Michael and Nancy Haninger
Michael Haninger giving ultrasound training to four Congolese physicians
Dear friends,
Toward the end of 2008 and beginning of this year, we were pleased to be in the States visiting many of you and interpreting the work of the church in Congo. During those visits, we gave mission presentations in which we identified four primary areas of our ministry: education, evangelism, development, and health. These ministries are not distinct and separate, but integrated and overlapping.
The Wisdom of James (2)
James, brother of Jesus, invites us to think of the Christian life as the way of wisdom. He opens his letter with a brief greeting and then immediately leaps into the messiness of our lives with these words:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
When we approach the Bible it is always our tendency to make it say what we want it to say. This is one reason why we sometimes find such widely divergent interpretations of scripture, even of James, who seems so plain in his meaning.
This verse would probably fall into the favorite catagory of postive thinking guru types like Norman Vincent Peale and Joel Olsteen. On the other hand, it has also been used by some to give shape to Christian Stoicism where what matters is me getting in line with God’s will and the virtuous state of my soul. The Christian Stoic is concerned to acquire habits of life that are indifferent to external circumstances such as personal health, friends, wealth, respect, success. To them such things are supposed to be irrelevant (Can you see how this could become the world view for those of us who have little control of over our circumstances to begin with?). This kind of thinking has led some Christians to the further conclusion that we can simply neglect this world as “not my home” -heaven being the final destination. In his commentary Scot McKnight says, “None of this works for James. For him, James sees the storm coming and he walks right into it with his head held high: ‘Sure,’ he seems to be saying, ‘you’re facing trials. Sure, it’s tough and causing you pain. But instead of caving in to it, turn into the winds, face them head on and learn from them. Trials and tests can lead to maturity — to perfection (a common translation for “mature” in 1:4). “
“But what trials did he have in view?
“Good question because it forces us to ask how we are to read James. For some, when James says ‘whenever you face trials of many kinds,’ they think James is referring to most anything we can imagine or most anything we face. The next thing we are talking about losing jobs or divorce or flat tires. This view of James 1:2 is shaped more by what we want out of the text than what James meant.
Scott McKnight suggests that the first thing we are to do is read James to see what he might mean. We look for clues in his letter to see what fits logically and what does not, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, then we can come up with a nice little list of his pressing concerns:
- 1. 1:2-4 suggests he’s talking about the sorts of things that try one’s very faith and that lead to the virtue of perseverance.
- 2. 1:5-8 suggests he’s talking about the sorts of things that lead us to cry out to God for wisdom.
- 3. 1:9-11 suggests he’s talking about stuff the poor are experiencing and it is right here that we can explore all kinds of texts in James, including the judicially-sponsored exploitation of the poor (2:1-7) and the oppression of the poor by the rich (5:1-6).
It is wiser to let James give us concrete ideas before we impose our own (i.e. my girl friend dumped me, ). James is more likely addressing the stress of the poor at the hands of oppressors than he is giving simple timeless wisdom about putting on a happy face in the hope that we can rise above our present external circumstances, even eventually be able to leave this world behind and go to heaven when we die.
Perhaps you are already wondering how this all might apply to us who are of the middle class and relatively well off, even rich by the standards of most in the world. I suggest that James is indeed as relevant for us as for the poor. What do you think?
