Aaron Stern's Blog

Leading Leaders

When asking, ”what is the best way to lead other leaders?”, it is important that we look in the right places to find answers.  Before drawing on business wisdom, sports analogies or our own experience we need to first look at the life of Jesus and ask “How did Jesus do it?”  

I am not advocating a return to the W.W.J.D. bracelet era, replete with a full product line at the Christian bookstore to make sure we can wear and plaster the phrase everywhere we go.  Rather I am encouraging that we actually look at how Jesus did things.  Not just, “what would He do?”, but “what did He do?” The goal is to pay as much attention to the way we do things as to what we do.  For the question at hand we must begin by asking, “How did Jesus lead leaders?”

The leaders in the life of Jesus were of course his disciples and there are some significant take-aways when it comes to how He led them.

Invite. One of the phrases that grates on me is “we need to recruit some leaders.” Is this the US army? All Gospel accounts describe Jesus creating his leadership team through personal invitation. The power of a personal invitation is exponentially greater than a generic call for people to sign up. 

With. Most likely, the reasons we need leaders in the first place is because a job needs to get done.  Jesus had the job of announcing and modeling His Kingdom but He never asked his disciples to do it FOR Him, instead he asked them to do it WITH Him. 

Relational. Modeling and creating an “invite / with” culture is an important starting point and sets the tone for how we lead those who respond. It communicates that you are interested in relationship.  The words of Jesus to his disciples when He says “I no longer call you servants, I call you friends,” (John 15:15) are very telling as to how Jesus led them. A prevalent leadership paradigm says you must keep a distance from those you lead. This is not what Jesus shows us. Over the years, some of my greatest friendships have been with those I have led.

Developmental. On a leadership scale of 1-10 I would say the disciples probably fell somewhere around a 5 when Jesus picked them.  Isn’t it fascinating that none of them were rabbis or proven leaders?  They all needed work. When I look for leaders I will take a person with a servant’s heart over a polished and self-confident leader any day.  I know their heart is in the good place for the process of leadership development. Servanthood is the door to leadership in the Kingdom.

If people get the sense that you only want them around because of what they can do for you, the relationship will be short lived.  People can quickly see when they are being used. We must build people, viewing the task as a vehicle for doing that. This means we have to be more interested in who they are as a person than in what they do. One way to help us treat people well is to refrain from refer to them as resources. When we view something as a resource we see it as something to consume and then dispose of. Money, buildings and equipment are resources; people are image bearers who are worth dying for. 

In summary, the leadership model of Jesus is inviting a rag-tag bunch of guys to participate in the Kingdom vision and becoming friends while cultivating the necessary character to transform them into great Kingdom leaders. Let’s do that!

 

Steve Jobs and the Myth of Prometheus

It has been just over a week since the death of Apple’s founder and innovation genius, Steve Jobs.  Almost immediately Twitter, facebook, youTube and the blogosphere blew up as mourning people wrote epitaphs of his legacy.  I was struck at how many people, Christians included, applauded him for “changing the world.”  I use and value many of the products he introduced but I wonder how much we have thought about the cost of merely accepting and using every new machine thrown our way. In a discussion about the impact and place of technology I think it is valuable to know the story of the Greek god, Prometheus.

In the early days of the human race the essential characteristic of the human being was that each person knew the day of his or her death. That is to say, we knew our limits. Mortality was not a vague apprehension but a fixed date on the calendar. In such a condition and with such knowledge there was no incentive to do much more than exist.  On top of that, the gods were capricious and brutal. They had the knowledge of how things worked and the means to accomplish them, they shared neither their knowledge nor their means. They were neither generous nor fair. They held all the significant cards on their own hands. So what is the use of trying? The basic human experience is of mortality and tyranny.

Prometheus, one of the gods, somehow became compassionately concerned about our plight and correspondingly angry at Zeus, the chief of the gods. He took it upon himself to do something about changing the human condition for the better. He did three things that would make a difference. First, he “caused mortals to cease foreseeing doom.” That is, he took away the knowledge of the day of death, the sense of limits. The awareness of mortality.  Freed from a debilitating sense of doom, the human now could attempt anything. Second, he “placed in them blind hopes.” Prometheus instilled incentive in men and women to be more than they were, to reach out, to stretch themselves, to be ambitious. But the incentives were blind and directionless, unrelated to any reality. And third, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity.  With this gift, people were able to cook food, make weapons, fire pottery. The entire world of technology opened up.

 By this act, Prometheus set us on the way we have continued: unmindful of limits, setting goals unrelated to the actual conditions of our humanity, and possessing the technical means to change the conditions under which we live. We don’t have to put up with things as they are. Things can be better; we have the means to accomplish whatever we want to do. Consequently, we humans don’t know that we are human; rather, we think we are gods and act like gods.  The awareness of our mortality is lost to us. That would not be so bad if we did not have fire, the technological means to act out our illusions of divinity. As it is we have the technology of the gods without the wisdom of the gods.

Zeus, of course, was furious. He punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock in a remote mountain, exposed to the scorching sun and the cold moon.  Every day vultures attacked him, tearing at his innards, eating his liver. Each night the liver would grow back, ready for the next day’s rapacious assault.  Prometheus is unrepentant.

This is the story of Western civilization: incredible progress in things, defiantly unmindful of the nature of our humanity.*

The Apple technology that Steve Jobs created is both aesthetically pleasing and intuitively helpful, but does it give a transcendent sense of power and ultimately contribute to a false hope? I am not advocating for the elimination or avoidance of technology but rather a thoughtful recognition of where we can find real hope for from the world's problems.

Is it possible that by embracing all technology without limits or applied wisdom that our insides may be at risk?  Might our souls be eroding while we feel powerful on the outside? Is being connected to what others are doing and thinking at all times conditioning our hearts to avoid silence? Does the ability to communicate with many instantly neglect the personal and contribute to the depersonalization of humanity?

My hope is that we all would think critically about the means we use to live as Kingdom people.  As followers of Jesus, the way we do things is equally important as what we are doing.  Our motives are great – to help others – but are we then free to justify the means?

So with appreciation and sadness, thank you Steve Jobs.  And with prayerfulness and thoughtfulness let’s keep everything in perspective.

*This retelling of the Promethean story is from Eugene Peterson’s book Working the Angles. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids 1987, pp. 27-29.

 

A Chapter Closes: my last night as theMILL pastor

Less than 48 hours ago I gave my final talk as the pastor, leader and primary visionary of theMILL (to watch or listen click here). It was a joy to lift up the name of Jesus, celebrate what God has done in this community, see so many familiar faces from over the years and a blessing to personally hear the ways that theMILL has impacted so many lives.

For the past eleven years the only thing I have known on Friday nights is theMILL and my heart has been with and for theMILL community and the college students and 20-somethings of Colorado Springs. To not lead in this context in the future is going to take some getting used to. Giving my last message and walking off the platform for the final time was most definitely surreal but it also signified a chapter in the Stern family story coming to an end.

I have truly loved this chapter. All day on Friday I found myself brimming with emotion and regularly on the verge of tears. I know I will be doing a lot of reflecting in the days ahead, but as I have thought about and gone through this transition, one thing is sure…my heart is filled with gratitude. 

Thank you to theMILL community for giving me the privilege of leading you and walking with you.  For bearing with me as I learned how to communicate and unpack the Scriptures.  For catching the heart of God for the nations and being willing to go.  For bonding together under any and all circumstances. You showed your true colors in the wake of scandal, corporate trauma and personal tragedy. I am proud to call so many of you friends. I will carry the memories of Village Inn, the Incline, Ice Bowl, Fall Retreat, missions, road trips and so many other times together in my heart.  More than memories of fun times, I will carry with me the belief that a community can truly love God, each other and the world.

Thank you to New Life Church for believing in me and giving a kid who walked through your doors at 12 years old a chance.  I grew up at New Life - not only physically, but also spiritually. I don’t consider this next step a separation but a multiplication.

Thank you to Brady Boyd and the elders for praying with us and confirming God’s leading.  For sending us out and celebrating with us.

Thank you to my colleagues who have become friends who have become comrades.  David Perkins, Glenn Packiam, Rob Brendle, Jon Egan, Ross Parsley, Jared Anderson…this list could go on and on.  I don’t know who I would be without you. 

Thank you to Jossie. You are amazing! I am so lucky. Your support, strength and encouragement mean the world to me. You have always been in this with me. You are a true partner in ministry and the love of my life.

Not only would I not be the person I am today without these people and many others I wouldn’t be where I am today without them either. The process of saying yes to this change and the planting of Mill City Church in Fort Collins was affirmed and confirmed through many people in so many ways. This process was a picture of the Body of Christ operating as it was designed, by praying, hearing and following the Spirit’s leading together.

All of this is a poignant reminder of the role that relationships play in our lives in the Kingdom of God.  Relationships are not the end though, as highlighted by Jesus when he says we will leave brother and sister, father and mother for His sake (Matthew 18:29). Relationships do play a vital role in each of our stories which are then intertwinded with each other's and tied into God's story of redemption and grace. That is a privilege to be a prt of and so beautiful.

Even through the tears we are very excited about the road ahead. As God has gracefully closed this chapter of our lives He is kindly turning the page, and beginning to write something new, beautiful, and profound. Though there is a lot yet to unfold, Jesus is calling.  We are following.

 

What's Your Secret? book trailer

Does the thought of telling your secret make your heart race or your palms sweat?

Check out the book trailer for What's Your Secret?: freedom through confession.

   

 

Mill City Church announcement at New Life Church: video

This last weekend was a huge moment for us.  What God has been unfolding in our hearts for the last year has now become public.  Here is a video from this last Sunday morning at New Life Church.

 

 

 

Hope to see you at the Dome: Passion 2012

Every college student/ 20-something needs to check out this beautiful video and do everything you can to be at Passion 2012.  I hope to see you there. Register here

 

Finding a Job: it's not about you

This article from the New York Times by David Brooks titled "It's Not About You" is a fascinating perspective for anyone entering or having difficulty in the job market.  It is a lucid reminder that we live in a culture that is cultivating a sense that all of life should revolve around us.  Though this is not written from a Christian standpoint I think it is interesting to see that Jesus says that "when we lose our lives is when we will find it." Would love to hear your comments.

Over the past few weeks, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates possess something of inestimable value. Nearly every sensible middle-aged person would give away all their money to be able to go back to age 22 and begin adulthood anew.

But, especially this year, one is conscious of the many ways in which this year’s graduating class has been ill served by their elders. They enter a bad job market, the hangover from decades of excessive borrowing. They inherit a ruinous federal debt.

More important, their lives have been perversely structured. This year’s graduates are members of the most supervised generation in American history. Through their childhoods and teenage years, they have been monitored, tutored, coached and honed to an unprecedented degree.

Yet upon graduation they will enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and unstructured. Most of them will not quickly get married, buy a home and have kids, as previous generations did. Instead, they will confront amazingly diverse job markets, social landscapes and lifestyle niches. Most will spend a decade wandering from job to job and clique to clique, searching for a role.

No one would design a system of extreme supervision to prepare people for a decade of extreme openness. But this is exactly what has emerged in modern America. College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment requiring a different set of skills, which they have to figure out on their own.

Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole baby-boomer theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast on C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.

But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front.

College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy.

Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.

Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life. A relative suffers from Alzheimer’s and a young woman feels called to help cure that disease. A young man works under a miserable boss and must develop management skills so his department can function. Another young woman finds herself confronted by an opportunity she never thought of in a job category she never imagined. This wasn’t in her plans, but this is where she can make her contribution.

Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.

The graduates are also told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most.

Finally, graduates are told to be independent-minded and to express their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well often means suppressing yourself. As Atul Gawande mentioned during his countercultural address last week at Harvard Medical School, being a good doctor often means being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a regimented checklist.

Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.

 

'What's Your Secret?' is now available

Shhhh…. Is there something about you that you hope no one else ever finds out?

You’re not alone. Everyone has secrets—hurts, abuses, bad habits, fears. Big or small, secrets can destroy you from the inside out. The good news is that confession is more powerful than secrets—or the fear that keeps you from telling them.

My new book, What's Your Secret?: freedom through confession is now available...find it on Amazon, Barnes&Noble or at a bookstore near you.

Possibilities are Killing Us

This article is from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries by Jill Carattini titled "To Dwell in in Possibility" I found it to be especially interesting considering our current cultural fascination with social media and the endless information feed provided to us via the internet and digital technology.  I don't think that we should thoughtlessly ingest what is available to us but rather be mindful of how things impact us. Would love your comments.

"Over the past few years I've had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory.  My mind isn't going—so far as I can tell—but it's changing."(1) So begins Nicholas Carr's Atlantic essay, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" His article describes the shifting of his own thought patterns; how he once could delve easily into long bouts of prose, but now finds his mind trailing off after skimming only a few pages. As a writer he is the first to applaud the instant wonders of Google searches, information-trails, and hyperlinks ad infinitum. He just wonders aloud about the cost. 

University of Virginia English professor Mark Edmundson is another voice attempting to articulate the current cultural ecosystem, and the minds, souls, and relationships it cultivates. In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education he attempts to describe the turbo-charged orientation of his students to life around them. "They want to study, travel, make friends, make more friends, read everything (superfast), take in all the movies, listen to every hot band, keep up with everyone they've ever known... They live to multiply possibilities. They're enemies of closure... [They] want to take eight classes a term, major promiscuously, have a semester abroad at three different colleges, [and] connect with every likely person who has a page on Facebook."(2) Edmundson argues that for all the virtues of a generation that lives the possibilities of life so fully, there are detriments to the mind that perpetually seeks more and other options. For many, the moment of maximum pleasure is no longer "the moment of closure, where you sealed the deal," but rather, "the moment when the choices had been multiplied to the highest sum...the moment of maximum promise."

There is a phrase in Latin that summarizes the idea that the way our minds and souls are oriented is the way our lives are oriented. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is an axiom of ancient Christianity, meaning: the rule of worship is the rule of belief is the rule of life. That is, the way we are oriented in worship (whatever it might be that we focus on most devotedly) orients the way we believe and, in turn, the way we live. In a cultural ecosystem where we seem to worship possibilities, where freedom is understood as the absence of limitation upon our choices, and where the virtue of good multitasking has replaced the virtue of singleness of heart, it is understandable that we are both truly and metaphorically "all over the place"—mentally, spiritually, even bodily, in a state of perpetual possibility-seeking. 

Of course, the ancient Christians who first repeated the idiom, Lex orandi lex credendi lex vivendi, did so with Christ in mind as the subject, aware that the Son of God was the only object of worship who could ever quiet their own restless souls. Before any formal creeds were written, the early church held this adage, knowing that the essence of their theology would rise from their acts of adoration, thanksgiving, and petition. And they knew that the ways of their worship, the things they said when they prayed, not only defined their ultimate beliefs, but ultimately defined their lives. 

No matter our object of worship, the same is true of our lives today. That which claims the most thorough part of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength both reflects and shapes our lives. We most certainly live in a time when the greatest commandment comes with great difficulty, when focusing our hearts, minds, and souls on one thing is a challenge met with a constant parade of options vying for our attention. But the God who longs to gather us, whose arm is not too short to save (even from ourselves), nor ear too dull to hear, is the same yesterday and today. 

What's more, the distracted soul is hardly unique to the age of Google. There was a time when the ancient church father Augustine of Hippo defined his soul as "too cramped" for God to enter. He prayed that God might widen it, seeing too that it needed to be emptied. "You prompt us yourself to find satisfaction in appraising you," he prayed. "[Y]ou made us tilted toward you, and our heart is unstable until stabilized in you."(3) Of course, such satisfaction in worship is not likely if God is known as one of many possibilities in a never-ending, ever-expanding web of activities and diversions. If faith is only a part of life, then it has become as optional as pursuing one more hyperlink or skimming one more article. But those who fully approach the God of all possibilities find rest and focus, wisdom—and indeed, possibility—for their souls. As we worship, so will we live.

 

Is it Judgment Day?

On the day that some people have concluded is the day that the world is going to end, here are a couple videos that may help you know why this is silliness.

A short informal video by New Testament theologian, N.T. Wright, on knowing when Jesus will return. Click here.

And a more in-depth  video by N.T. Wright.

 

What is Shaping Your Imagination? (part 2)

Last week I wrote a post encouraging us to be more aware of what is forming our imaginations and to be thoughtful about aligning our minds with the ways of the Kingdom of God. If our imaginations are left untended, they will be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people.” God’s thoughts and the thoughts of the world exist in radical opposition to one another – it’s self-giving vs. self-serving living. 

Take for example the subject of Church. When we think of what Church is, do we think about it as a place to get spiritual needs met or as a gathering of the interdependent people of God? I don’t think of Church as a grocery store that you go into with a checklist. I think of Church in terms of an old, solid, deeply rooted tree with lots of branches—branches that can’t live autonomously, that can’t live apart from the living organism. 

So this begs the question – what can we do to contribute toward a Spirit-shaped imagination? The quick answer is to immerse ourselves in the Bible and the body of literature that helps us enter into its world with a holy fascination. As we know it is not always that simple and our approach is as much a part of the discussion, so here are just a few practical things that I do to keep my mind pliable and leaning toward the ways of Jesus.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer – everything in the prayer given by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13 is contrary to the ways and desires of our culture.  This prayer is only something a follower of Jesus would pray. The prayer of the world is “My kingdom come, my will be done” rather than submitting ourselves to the will of God, and “Make my persecutors suffer” rather than embracing forgiveness. This is not a rote, dry repetition of an old prayer but a humble desire to give ourselves to the leadership of a holy, loving Father.

Read authors not just books – I have picked not just a series of books to read but a few authors to read. My goal is to read everything they have written. The subjects about which they write and the way they write contributes to how I think. Considering who I have chosen, the depth with which they write and the number of books they have written, it will take me most of my lifetime to achieve this goal. I have picked both non-fiction and fiction authors along both theological and pastoral themes. Eugene Peterson and Frederick Buechner are just a couple of the authors on my list.

Be very aware of cultural intake – It would be easy in this conversation to get on the anti-media bandwagon. I don’t think avoidance is either practical or inherently wise. The issue is selectivity. We have to be discriminating in what we choose to watch and listen to. And no, this does not mean we are limited to Christian TV—in some cases, it would exclude it! The safe ground is usually found somewhere in the middle of the extremes. 

Get Outside – For me being outdoors on a hike, run or bike ride is a sort of detox. I am removed from the messages that continually bombard me, and I’m reminded of who is big and who is small.

Are there any other things that you find helpful to develop a Spirit-shaped imagination?

 

What is Shaping Your Imagination?

In 2009, the Harvard Business School did a study regarding the influence that exposure to luxury items has on decision-making. Useful items (watches, shoes, cars, clothing) were shown to two groups of people, at which point they were asked to make some large business decisions, as if they were the CEO. The first group was shown very functional and unspectacular versions of the items – watches you might find at Wal-Mart or shoes from Target. The second group was shown the same items, only on the very high end – a $5,000 watch, a Rolls Royce, etc. They found that those who had just seen the luxurious items were more likely to make self-serving choices, often at the expense of others. 

This got me thinking. If focusing on luxury items can impact the way we think about ourselves and others, then what am I doing to counteract this subtle influence? Wherever I go I see luxury items. Things I don’t need. Products to make my life easier, more comfortable, more self-serving. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating a poverty mentality or a run-away-from-everything-convenient-in-the-world posture, but instead asking, “What has my attention?” Do I go about my life like everyone else, living according to the standards set by the culture? Or does the Way of Jesus permeate what I am doing? If walking in the Way of Jesus is the goal, what am I doing to ensure that the Way of Jesus is the major influence on (and shaper of) my imagination? 

We all have an imagination. I’m not talking about the fantasy wonderlands that my kids dream up, but what we think about (imagine) when an idea is put before us.  Let me give you an example.  What do you think about when I say, “Church?” Or, what about “prayer?”

And what about…Holy Spirit?

Whatever came to your mind has to do with the data or stimuli that have shaped your imagination on that particular subject. I wonder if the responses are more shaped by our cultural surrounding than by the truth of God. Maybe it is because of this that Paul so frequently urges us to address what happens in our minds.

Take for instance Colossians 3:1-2: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I love how the Message states this idea in Romans 12:2. “Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Left to ourselves we will lean toward our cultural norms, selfish desires and personal preferences. So let’s not allow our imagination to be formed by our self-serving culture since we follow a self-sacrificing God. Let’s allow the Spirit to awaken our minds and recast our imaginations in a biblical and prayerful way.

 

Rob Bell and Hell: is love winning?

One week ago, HarperOne released a book by Rob Bell called Love Wins: a Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. But before it ever hit shelves or came out of the Amazon warehouse things were buzzing in the blogosphere and Twitterverse about the message of his book.  Most of the activity was coming from the camp decrying Bell as a Universalist and thus a heretic – this based off a three minute Youtube teaser video and a book summary.  In the last seven days the cyber-jousting has continued, and after having been asked what I think of all this and some long discussions, I have compiled a few questions and thoughts that might be helpful in this conversation.

Why are we so quick to throw people under the bus? I have not read the book, so I can’t make a definitive statement on what I think of what Rob Bell is saying…but how could everyone else? It seems that instead of waiting to take the time to read the book, maybe even try to have an actual conversation with Rob Bell, statements like “farewell Rob Bell” and labels of “heretic” are very quickly handed out. Whatever happened to civil dialogue, believing the best in others and thinking that we might be able to learn something from others? We should all be glad that our judicial system is founded upon the basic assumption that someone is innocent until proven guilty. Could it be that we’ve made Bell out to be guilty until his book proves him innocent? 

Is there room for discussion on issues like this? On many issues there seems to be the belief that there are only two sides and one is orthodox and the other is heretical. Maybe it would serve the Body of Christ well to slow down and realize that there are some terms we should learn to create a more informed dialogue (for a good list and definition of terms valuable for this discussion, visit Glenn Packiam’s blog here), and to accept that there are multiple perspectives on the afterlife that are within the bounds of orthodoxy (for a few worthwhile and credible perspectives click here, here, here and here). We should remind ourselves that respectable God-fearing people have been debating (and disagreeing about) these issues for a couple millennia. 

When truth is in question what does our response look like? I believe that we can and should hold the line of orthodoxy. Period. But what happens when someone falls off the path (and I’m not implying that Bell has. Haven’t read the book yet.)? Do we all of a sudden stop acting like Jesus? Though Jesus disagreed with the Pharisees, he still extended a welcoming hand to them to identify themselves as lost and come home to the Father (Luke 15). If Rob is a misled brother we are called to restore him gently (Gal. 6:1-2). If he is in fact a heretic, it seems that we should and can defend truth but are then called to love him as a lost sheep…that wouldn’t seem to involve condemning him to hell! It doesn’t seem like love is winning in this one.

Why are we so scared? I have heard a lot of “having any ambiguity on this subject is dangerous,” or, “anyone who is wondering about Universalism will only be given permission by Bell to believe it is true and walk away” talk. So in an attempt to make everything safe we make a clean cut statement about something that is not so clear in Scripture. We know that there is an afterlife and eternal punishment, but there is also a considerable amount of mystery involved with them. Can we be ok with that?

In our desire to not allow for ambiguity for fear of people walking away, have we maybe made things so clean and unambiguous that people have been pushed away from the faith? Ambiguity within faith has its value. Maybe it causes us to lean in to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal truth. Isn’t that what the Christian life is about?

Are we missing the point? Is eternal punishment a biblical idea? Most definitely. Is it important? Absolutely. Is it possible that there is more to this discussion than “is hell about eternal conscious suffering”? I think so. What about a challenge to the hell, fire and brimstone style of preaching that scares people into praying a prayer? Are we approaching the Gospel from a “what we are saved from” angle or from a “what we are saved into” perspective? 

If there is any heresy here (and we shouldn’t be so quick to assume that there is), the Body of Christ should deal with it in a loving and gracious way. But let’s be people that are quick to promote the Kingdom rather than sitting around waiting for our chance to pick someone else apart.

Paul's Letter to American Christians: by MLK

As I pause and think about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. today I am challenged by his courage and resolution to stand up for truth in the face of intense resistance.  The following excerpt was delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on November 4th, 1956. I pray that it reminds us to lean into and lead others toward Jesus in this present generation of Christianity.

I can imagine the Apostle Paul writing a letter to American Christians in 1956 A.D. And here is the letter as it stands before me:

I, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to you who are in America, Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For many years I have longed to be able to come to see you. I have heard so much of you and of what you are doing. I have heard of the fascinating and astounding advances that you have made in the scientific realm…I have heard of your great medical advances, which have resulted in the curing of many dread plagues and diseases, and thereby prolonged your lives and made for greater security and physical well-being. All of that is marvelous.

But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances.

Let me rush on to say something about the church. Americans, I must remind you, as I have said to so many others, that the church is the Body of Christ. So when the church is true to its nature it knows neither division nor disunity. But I am disturbed about what you are doing to the Body of Christ. They tell me that in America you have within Protestantism more than two hundred and fifty six denominations. The tragedy is not so much that you have such a multiplicity of denominations, but that most of them are warring against each other with a claim to absolute truth. You must come to see that God is neither a Baptist nor a Methodist; He is neither a Presbyterian nor a Episcopalian. God is bigger than all of our denominations. If you are to be true witnesses for Christ, you must come to see that America.

There is another thing that disturbs me to no end about the American church. You have a white church and you have a Negro church. You have allowed segregation to creep into the doors of the church. How can such a division exist in the true Body of Christ? You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at 11:00 on Sunday morning to sing praises, you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.

So Americans I must urge you to get rid of every aspect of segregation. The broad universalism standing at the center of the gospel makes both the theory and practice of segregation morally unjustifiable. Segregation is a blatant denial of the unity which we all have in Christ. The underlying philosophy of Christianity is diametrically opposed to the underlying philosophy of segregation.

I must bring my writing to a close now. Timothy is waiting to deliver this letter, and I must take leave for another church. But just before leaving, I must say to you, as I said to the church at Corinth, that I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world.

So American Christians, you may have the gift of prophecy and understanding all mysteries. You may be able to break into the storehouse of nature and bring out many insights that men never dreamed were there. You may ascend to the heights of academic achievement, so that you will have all knowledge. You may give great gifts to charity. You may tower high in philanthropy. But if you have not love, it means nothing.

I must say goodbye now. I hope this letter will find you strong in the faith. It is probable that I will not get to see you in America, but I will meet you in God’s eternity. And now unto him who is able to keep us from falling, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy, to him be power and authority, forever and ever. Amen.

Why Read Fiction?

When I tell people it is important to read fiction, I regularly get a reaction that sounds something like this - “I don’t have time to read stories. I need to gain something from what I read. I can’t even keep up with all the non-fiction I want to read so why waste time with fiction?” I understand this response as I once shared these sentiments, but I think this approach is shortsighted and misinformed. 

Here are just a few reasons why reading fiction is so important:

Fiction helps us see life through the lens of story.  Reading stories develops an ability to connect characters, timelines and themes. This is so important for believers because the Bible is a story. The Bible is the timeless, cosmic, redemption story of God.

When we only read non-fiction books our minds are trained to think in a linear, cause-and-effect way. The result is treating the Bible as an “if/then” book to be used, often with the intent of mining principles out of it, rather than seeing it as a story that includes us. As believers we are part of the story of God and it would serve us well to connect our story with the people, history and themes of the Bible. So when we read the story of David we see ourselves in his failures and triumphs; when we read the Gospels we remember the covenant to send a Messiah centuries earlier; and when we read Paul’s warnings to be on guard against deceptive philosophies we realize we are that community of faith, with the same tendencies to fall prey to selfish desires. 

The poet Denise Levertov says that poetic story language is not “an examination of what happens but an immersion in what happens.” The Bible is not a life-management book or a collection of moral lessons but rather a story to be entered.

Fiction helps us see the complexity of the world.  When we read fiction we experience the nuances of life and understand that the world is not black and white. Non-fiction books (especially pop-culture, self-help books) are often very black and white with little concern for the layers of complexity that is life. A wise old friend of mine once said “adolescents see the world in black and white…until they grow up and realize the world is a lot of gray.” This is not to say that the Gospel is relative, but that the world around us cannot be comprehended with simplistic naïveté. When reading The Great Gatsby you learn who Gatsby is and develop sympathy for him rather than making sweeping judgments as we can so easily do when we only see people one-dimensionally. Fiction reminds me to see people through the lens of grace.

 Fiction develops our imagination.  The language of non-fiction books is not the same as a well-written novel. Non-fiction language is primarily the language of information, but to only engage the world on the level of information is to miss the beauty and profundity of that which isn’t “useful.” The beauty of relationships, creation and many of the ordinary aspects of life can easily be overlooked unless our eyes are trained to see beneath the first layer.  The Bible has some facts and data but it is mostly jammed with poetry, song, prayer, narrative, metaphor and prophecy.  To only read the Bible for information is to miss out on a significant portion of what God is saying through His Word. In the words of Susan Sontag (Against Interpretation), “We must learn to see more, hear more, feel more.”

Time is valuable and we shouldn’t waste it reading meaningless drivel, but I implore you to have a steady dose of fiction in your reading diet. Regardless of whether you are an avid reader or a meanderer, pick up a piece of fiction and enjoy the story.

 

Eight Essentials for College Ministry

This article was posted by Justin Holcomb on The Resurgence blog in 2009.  I am reposting it because I think there is a lot of truth in it for college pastors (and all pastors for that matter).  The original post has six essentials - I edited #3 and added #7 and #8.

I've learned some lessons about doing campus ministry both the hard way and from great mentors. Here are the top six (now eight) things you need to know if you're doing college ministry:

1. Don't confuse the gospel with religion
To prevent doing this, talk about Jesus (who he is and what he has done) all the time. If you don't, students will think Christianity is really about something else, like morality, philosophy, piety, social justice, or a religious experience. If you start talking more about what they should do instead of what Jesus has done, you're preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which is to put heavy burdens on them (Matt. 23:2-4).

2. Learn about sexual assault
The prevalence of sexual assault is staggering. At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. And the numbers are much worse for college students. These young women and men feel crippling shame, deep guilt, and painfully alone because of what has been done to them.

3. Teach students how to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
This means giving a clear picture of the meta-narrative of the Bible.  Having a birds-eye view of the whole story helps one know how the individual stories and passages fit together.  Without context we run the danger of extricating meaning based on our experiences and feelings and thus making the Bible say what we want it to say.  The most simple presentation of the story of the Bible is the Children's Bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible.  We must also teach students that the Bible is not a book to be used but a story to be entered.

4. Be prepared to comfort students because of divorce and death
College students are at a phase in life where their parents seem to get divorced, if they aren't already, now that their children are leaving home. This is also the age when grandparents begin to die.

5. Study apologetics
Many students still have brain cells left, and they've been reading and thinking about their world. They have legitimate questions about who Jesus is and what he did and why he isn't just a good example. They want to know why they should trust the Bible as reliable. The immense suffering in the world makes them doubt either the goodness or power of God or both. They think Christians are hypocrites and bigots, so why should they become one?

6. Be prepared to counsel students about what they're really facing
You must be prepared to counsel about eating disorders, pornography, cutting, abusive relationships, and the lingering damage of sexual sin. College students tend to be the shock-absorbers of the myths our cultural sells. Idols are brutal slave masters.

7. Teach students what to look for in a church.
Students in college ministries will not be there for more than a few years and chances are they will at some point move to another city.  I find that I have a huge opportunity to shape their ideas of what Church is all about.  I want them to embrace and engage the local church, even when they can't find one that "fits" their preferences.  The Church is more than a social club for Christians and goes much deeper than worship style or service length.  Church is the people of God - a supernatural, God-inspired, Holy Spirit-driven, less-about-me-and-all-about-God-and His-plan-for-the-world community of faith.

8. Invite students into a story that is bigger than they are.
Our culture teaches, and our sinful nature believes, that the biggest story is our own.  History began and ends with the story of God and only when we allow our story to become part of His much bigger story are we able to become who God made us to be.

Do we Have a Man-crisis?

I have four amazing boys - Parker (8), Cohen (6), Brooks (4) and Smith (1) - and I take the job of training them to be men very seriously.  I am grieved at the trend I see in our society of boys not becoming men.  This has major implications on marriage, children and the Church.  I believe our culture has helped 20-somethings extend adolescence rather than transition to adulthood and the Church needs not follow suit.  We must reverse the trend!

Check out this video.

 

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

In my periodic YouTube perusing I found this video.  It is worth watching not only for the brilliant way the content is presented but for the content itself.  It is worth the 10 minutes it takes to watch and a valuable lesson, especially for leaders with teams. Hope you enjoy.  I would love your comments.

Half Church: there's more to it

 What is Church?  The Bible uses two words to describe Church.  In the Greek, they are Koinonia and Ecclesia.  Koinonia means “communion, fellowship or close relationship.”   The definition implies an intimate, personal and small connection of people.  Acts 2:42 uses the word Koinonia as it describes what was happening among the early church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Ecclesia is defined as “assembly” or more specifically “the assembly of the called out ones,” which means larger gatherings of those who are in Koinonia with some but not all. This often looks like a traditional church service, as referenced in Hebrews 10:24-25(ESV): “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together (ecclesia), as is the habit of some….”  

As a pastor working primarily with college students and 20-somethings, I see two interesting trends related to these words.  Each leads in a very different direction.  The first is to emphasize Ecclesia only - the promotion of the large gathering, the necessity of being in church on Sunday, serving in a ministry to make the gathering happen, and being at church every time the doors open.  The dismissal of koinonia is often done with the excuse “I am in church and around what God is doing on a regular basis.  I don’t have time to get caught up in the drama and difficulties of smaller groups.”

The second, and maybe more prevalent trend, is to only emphasize koinonia -- the gathering of close friends who challenge, pray for, and encourage one another towards growth in God.  The rational for dismissing the large gathering (eccslesia) is that “the Church is not a building but people.  I am the Church.  My God-fearing friends and I are the Church wherever we are.  Big gatherings of people on a weekly basis in a building lacks intimacy and is institutional.”

The problem is that both of these facets are good but neither are complete on their own.  Church is intended to be both ecclesia AND koinonia.  

To have ecclesia without koinonia is to enjoy the corporate worship and gathering of the diversity of God’s people but at the neglect of intimate fellowship.  Someone could easily come to a church, especially if it is large, and never open his or her heart to others, never be known by or experience  true community, and never become more than part of a crowd.  It is a sense of belonging without the transforming power, accountability, encouragement (and mess) of community.

To have koinonia without ecclesia is to have close friends who share similar interests and allow the enjoyment and comforts of commonality and strength of relationship, but at the neglect of a corporate gathering and corporate leadership.  How easily, in such an environment, someone could insulate himself from people with whom he doesn’t naturally click!  It is a sense of belonging without the diversity, refinement, encouragement (and mess) of a corporate gathering.

Both are ultimately about belonging to the Body of Christ and God’s design of Church but -- in both cases -- to have one without the other is to avoid mess and to miss out on something important for our spiritual growth and maturity.  Most likely, some of us feel more comfortable in a corporate gathering and others of us find our niche in a smaller setting. Regardless of feelings or comfort zone, both are a necessary component of being a part of God’s Church.

I am of the belief that the messiness of Church is part of God’s plan.  The difficulties that we so often want to run from or avoid actually are part of the mirror God uses to confront our selfishness, pride or other hidden pockets of sin in our hearts.  What if the annoying guy that drives you up the wall is part of God working patience in your life?  What if the desire to only be around those you like is a signal of your need to push on your desire for a comfortable and controlled world? What if the drama queen is God’s way of instilling compassion and faithfulness in you?  What if differences in biblical interpretation is a reminder to focus on the absolutes of Scripture and embrace unity?  What if the person that hurt you is how God intends to teach you forgiveness and redemption?   It might seem easier to run from or quit the half that is hard but we need BOTH!  

We need ecclesia to see what God is doing around us, to realize we are not alone, to be motivated toward godliness, and see where we fit in the body of Christ.  We need koinonia to experience community and recognize what it means to belong to one another, to work through the difficulties of relationship and to be faithful to walk with other individuals. We need the messiness of Church to grow and become more like Christ. Are you willing to embrace the need for both koinonia and ecclesia in your life?

Time for a facebook Diet?

As you know, I left in June for a six week sabbatical. I returned a few weeks ago and am finally getting around to a little blogging.

My sabbatical was amazing -- I am a huge fan.  Not only was it a break from work and all that comes with pastoring people and being a part of their lives, Jossie and I and our boys were able to take some time away from Colorado Springs.  The time together as a family was invaluable and the joy of being present as a dad and husband for many days in a row was my favorite part.
 
It was incredible to see what floated to the surface without the pressures of daily work and the requirements of maintaining normal life – changing the oil, mowing the lawn, reading the mail, or running other sundry errands.  To alleviate most everything and have few responsibilities was an incredible gift of space.  I read a lot, slept a lot and Jossie and I talked, prayed and processed about many things that will impact our hearts and lives for years to come.  I returned not only physically rested, but mentally invigorated, emotionally refreshed and spiritually challenged.

When I started sabbatical, I assumed I would jump right back into everything I was doing when it ended.  Life would resume as normal. Instead, I have found it an interesting process to re-enter my pre-sabbatical world.  Just like it took time to decompress, it has taken time to fully re-engage.  Naturally it takes time to get back into the swing of things but as my email inbox starts to get back to a normal level, I am finding that my time away had a profound influence on my thought processes and perceptions of some things I do.  I am not fully interested in jumping into how everything was before my sabbatical. It took me a couple weeks to check facebook and I haven’t posted a blog or twittered nearly as much as I used to. It’s not because I don’t like these things anymore or that I won’t use them for personal or vocational use, I just find that they’ve taken a different place in my life.
 
I won’t check facebook nearly as often as I used to not because it’s not enjoyable but because I would rather spend more time with people face to face than in sound bite interactions in cyberspace.  Facebook is a useful tool to connect with people but the problem comes when it is at the expense of those who God has put directly in front of us.  In an attempt to connect with everyone I wonder if in the end truly we truly connect with no one.

We can’t recapture time so we must treat it with care.  Priorities and values will drive how we use it.  So I suggest that personal relationships are of greater value than virtual ones.  I love what my good friend Glenn Packiam says about Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools.  They are only frosting on the cake.  They cannot replace the cake.  So invest in the right relationships first!

I also recommend allowing for space in life and relationships so we can see what God is up to.  With all the flittering (and Twittering) around from network to network, following of celebrities, acquaintances and enemies it is easy to never be still enough to know where God is at work.  I so deeply want to be who God has designed me to be and do what God has called me to but it is going to take being attentive to where God is.  Eugene Peterson hits the target when he says “most people are dominated by a sense of self, not a sense of God.”  If we are to be God-dependent and Spirit-directed people we must have space in our lives for more than just ourselves.

So bear with me as blogs may be fewer and farer between and facebook comments less frequent.  But I pose the same questions to you.  Are you missing out on what is right in front of you for that which is less real and less near?  Is your social networking frosting or cake?