Sunday Revival

We are busy celebrating the highschool graduation of our second son. (Yes, I did this last year too.)

An important post by Jason Evans about the spiritual formation of children.

Larry Chouinard. If he writes it, I will read it.

Jordon on planting missional ministries:

“There is a bigger question that we don’t often address and that is the unspoken idea something has to support a salary (often of clergy) to be worthwhile. Until we figure out a way to fight our addiction to a paycheck from the church, the mission of many churches will be to provide employment for pastors. Are we courageous enough to take a risk knowing that it probably won’t pay off but because it is the right thing to do and do it in some of the poorest neighborhoods where they may be no pay off?”

Also from Jordan, The Church In An Age of Scarcity

Out of Ur about the dangers of ministry centered around a single personality aka senior pastor:

Finally, be willing to ask yourself and your church why there is an instinctual desire to elevate one pastor? Why do we put our leaders on a pedestal and then stand in horror, and sometimes amusement, when they fall? The younger generation of evangelicals seems willing to put this culture of church celebrities to death, and that may not be as unwholesome as it sounds.

Great thoughts from Kathy on community and truly seeing others

Jeff at Under the Grace posts about the tension of not fitting in the traditional church box in these posts.

Alan Knox addresses the issue in a humorous manner in A Cup o’ Joe. Oh wait, he’s talking about coffee, not church.

Lots of other great posts about revival that I didn’t get linked earlier this week:

• Scott – Church People #2
• Barb – But What Does It Matter
• Jeff – Jaded? Or Just Hungry For More
• Eric – Let’s Do A Little Dance…A Party With You
• Cynthia – Monday Morning Mentations

I mentioned last week that my girls gave me the latest James Blunt CD, so I’ve been rocking out in my minivan all week to lyrics like

Why don’t you give me some love
I’ve taken a shipload of drugs

Oops, I’ve been singing it wrong. Good thing I’m usually alone in my van.

Apparently my family doesn’t share my taste in music. As I demanded they listen tried to share the experience with them, here are their responses:

• My boys: “It’s not country.” (What do they know, listening to drivel like, “All my exes live in Texas”?!)
• My girls: “He’s so weird.” (Apparently James isn’t a teen idol.)
• My husband: “Music to milk cows by.” (What the heck does that mean?!)

Bless Me!

From my previous post, Healing Revival:

I wonder if the people of Myanmar and China will receive a special outpouring.

This video, Least of These, asks the same question. Click link to view.
Don’t miss watching this 2-minute video. (ht Bill Kinnon, Eric Blauer)

The American view of blessing is often self-indulgent and does not take into account the degree of suffering experienced by so many of the people whom God deeply loves.

The movie’s creator said this:

After having no words to express my emotions regarding the recent revival manifestations in America, I created this video as a prayer for the deceived and the suffering…and those of us who need to help them both. – LeeElla

Isaiah 58: 2, 6-7

2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

What do you think? Where is their outpouring? When will we flock to stadiums begging God to bless them, to touch them, to heal them?

You Are God’s Anointed

Today’s cartoon from Naked Pastor seemed especially appropriate in light of the discussion about the revival meetings in Florida.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you may not question the methodology, theology, or fruit of those who minister.

Healing Revival

Charismatic friends and relatives have been sending me links to God TV which is nightly broadcasting the revival in Lakeland, Florida.

So what do I think?

It has been interesting processing my thoughts about charismatic culture, particularly the dynamics of revival meetings.

My first time in a charismatic church was almost 30 years ago at a “revival meeting.” The special speaker was literally a former circus performer and later discovered to be a charlatan. In spite of that, when I was in the healing line, Jesus met me there.

Since then, I have had a full range of charismatic experiences. There were several years that our church was involved in the renewal movement influenced by the Toronto blessing. We had, what seems like hundreds of meetings, both large and small, that were quite similar to the Lakeland meetings.

What do I miss? I miss corporate expectancy and openness to whatever the Spirit of God might do.

In that kind of a setting, there is almost always a mixture of emotionalism and supernatural ministry. It is not always possible to distinguish between what is real and what is hype.

This kind of manifestation is familiar to me, and I am not offended by its strangeness. Somewhere in the mixture, people encounter God, often in ways that are contrary to their sensibilities and preconceived ideas of experiencing Him.

As the hype of revival grows, so does the number of people hesitantly hopeful that God might touch their life, that He might hear their plea and have a cure for their need.

While the atmosphere of revival often builds faith, it also creates the notion that one must go to a special location to receive from God. Once there, people will do almost anything to be touched by the guest minister.

It is in this fertile soil of desperation that sincere people are ripe for being taken advantage of, for being abused, and for being led into false teaching. I am not going to address the motives of those who minister at these revivals. I would hope that most of them are sincere.

The charismatic, prophetic, and renewal movements are heavily influenced with false teaching from various other movements – Latter Rain, Dominionism, Kingdom Now, Restorationism, and the New Apostolic Reformation. While you might not be exposed to these teachings at special meetings, one should be aware that this is the background of the ministers who are involved.

Hopefully Rob McAlpine’s book, Post-Charismatic, will be a helpful corrective to the long history of aberrant teaching among charismatics.

My advice, stay wide open to the supernatural work of the Spirit and to the possibility of experiencing the power of God. He can move in ways completely outside our realm of understanding and control. However, be cautiously aware that the ministers themselves may not purely express the ministry of the Spirit.

In the meantime, I wonder what revival would look like apart from the package of church revival culture – special speakers, special meetings, special offerings. What does an outpouring look like in the streets without an audience? I wonder if the people of Myanmar and China will receive a special outpouring.

I am interested in your thoughts about this.

Related Posts:

• The Biblical Roots of Revival – Ed Cyzewski
• Oi-Oi-Oi-Oi-Oi. And Harrrumph., But Is It Revival? – Brother Maynard
• BAM! (thunk…) – Robbymac
• Good Grief, Charlie Brown – Bill Kinnon

Missional Monday

Mike Bishop writes

Sustainable means that we can continue on the path God has for us without having to rely on big organization, huge amounts of funding, or keeping up with the latest church trends. It means that we work without a lot of visibility, but will be able to minister right where people are hurting and in need of the good news of God’s kingdom. This is a Jesus-led underground movement. (Part 1)

We are not influential people in the wider Christian conversation, at least in terms of being authors or known speakers. Collectively, our faith communities do not amount to much on paper. ..So no…we don’t have all the answers. We aren’t qualified to prescribe a step-by-step plan for planting the next great emerging church or creating some world-changing organization. Ours has been a way of waiting, questions, pain, and even death. Not fun stuff. Not “host the next big innovative conference and sell a million books” kind of stuff, that’s for sure. (Part 2)

I believe where we go from here is to begin articulating for ourselves and the church that our lives have become unmanageable, that by ourselves we are powerless over the kingdom of ‘me’ and all of the cultural realities that kingdom has produced.

We can practice step one in a variety of ways – by continuing to nurture simple communities of faith that have a vision of God’s kingdom, through art, through being with the unwanted or ignored, through love rather than becoming another brand of entrepreneur. (Part 3)

Sunday Revival

Happy Mother’s Day!

Maybe I’m cynical (yah think!), but it seems to me that Mother’s Day is the most guilt-ridden day of the year for mothers and for adult children.

Need a last minute gift idea for your mom?
Better than a new frying pan…

You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I woke up to 4 inches of snow again yesterday. At least we weren’t snowed in this time.

A few links from this week…

Interesting post by Len about professional ministry

Great conversation on the topic of immodesty

Glenn shared Richard White’s dreams about community

Robbymac discusses the multi-faceted nature of the kingdom

Susan on “moving into the neighborhood”:

“Thought Experiment: what if more Christians moved in to the neighborhoods they currently are “writing checks” to, and when it came to “drive in” ministry they dressed up and drove out to the suburbs to mingle with wealthy unbelievers and share the Gospel with them?”

These two articles are on slow simmer in the crockpot of my brain:

• Why We Live in Community by Christine Sine (ht BrMaynard)
• The Journey Inward, Outward, and Forward about Gordon Cosby (ht Len)

Abmo started a meme this week about what a city taken for God might look like. I wanted to participate but didn’t get it done. However, I have a section of related books in my library that I would sell to the highest bidder.

• Taking Our Cities For God – John Dawson
• Primary Purpose – Ted Haggard
• Informed Intercession – George Otis
• Possessing the Gates – Cindy Jacobs
• Breaking Strongholds in Your City – Peter Wagner
• Commitment to Conquer – Bob Beckett

Let me know if you are interested.

Speaking of books, I thought of Brother Maynard when I picked up a book by Eugene Peterson and a book by Henry Nouwen for 10 cents each this week.

A final Mother’s Day moment…

Still Crazy After All These Years

Since the mass exodus from our CLB over a year ago, my husband and I have experienced the reconciliation of many of our relationships that were severed during our years of isolation. For the most part, this has been really positive.

However, in recent months, I have been aware of emotions stirred up that I thought were put to rest. In the process of walking with people who have just entered detox, we have encountered bits and pieces of the stories that have been told about us. No really big surprises, just details that make sense and cause us to say, “no wonder.”

One of the things which has come up repeatedly is the extent to which my former best friend went to to imply scandal concerning my husband. Hearing these stories has required that I step back into the cycle of forgiveness and letting go of offense and judgment.

The other thing that I struggle with is that in spite of the fact that some of the falseness at the church has been exposed, we personally were not automatically vindicated. While people feel free to talk to us now, many have not reconsidered what they were told about us for several years. Many still believe there was some sort of tawdry scandal in our lives. The tarnish still remains.

It was in this frame of mind that I recently encountered my former best friend at the coffee shop. It was like entering the Twilight Zone. No one shuns me anymore, so I wasn’t really prepared for this encounter.

She was there with another former close friend of mine, and I was with ex-CLBers who are mutual friends. During the 5-10 minutes we stood at their table visiting, she completely ignored my presence in spite of the fact that I was less than 3 feet from her. Apparently I was the only one of the group deserving of this special treatment.

Shunning is a group game that requires a target, who is being punished for deviating from established norms.

The Emotional Payoff: “We feel more powerful because we can punish people.”

Exposing the Game: Shunning can be difficult to expose, because denial of the game’s existence is an integral part of the game itself. Attempts to get shunning players to admit their tactics make the target appear needy and pathetic.

(from Secrets to Winning at Office Politics)

In the moment, I was struggling with my inner dialogue. This conversation from Barb’s blog was reverberating in my mind as I struggled with how to respond.

Barb: I will not slink around them though as if I have done something wrong any more though. I will not play the game any longer as if I deserve to be shunned. If someone is uncomfortable talking to me I am apt to ask them why all the discomfort. If they ignore me, I am apt to ask why they do that. If they pretend that everything is just fine, I may ask why they are pretending with me when I know they have huge problems with me.

My response: I do believe that for the people specifically responsible for the abuse, the public facade of niceness is an extension of the abuse forcing you to once again participate in covering up their falseness.

You see, I know her well enough to know exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it. I also know that I am not deserving of that kind of treatment and that it is part of the dysfunctional game that has been played for so many years. I don’t want to play the game anymore.

Somewhere between calling out the elephant in the room and refusing to play the nice game, I became mute. I walked away thinking, “that was really bizarre.” I was frustrated and disappointed with my response and lack of engagement.

Ever since then, I have been wrestling with the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation.

The Shack says, “Forgiveness does not create a relationship. Unless people speak the truth about what they have done and change their mind and behavior, a relationship of trust is not possible. When you forgive someone you certainly release them from judgment, but without true change, no real relationship can be established.”

I can and have forgiven. The responsibility for this broken relationship is not mine. It wasn’t my choice, and my friend has not expressed any interest in reconciliation. Good, I’m off the hook. Or am I?

What is my degree of responsibility for reconciliation? It seems everywhere I turn, people are writing about forgiveness.

From the book Ain’t Too Proud to Beg:

The forgiveness that Jesus’ subjects show to each other and to every neighbor, stranger, and enemy extends the fruit of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth, actualizes the atonement, and renews creation. We who receive forgiveness are newly created and newly restored, and we who offer it are co-creators and co-redeemers, deputies of the King.

Prayer for persecutors and love of enemies presupposes forgiveness of debtors. Jesus has prefaced his prayer with the command to go to any brother or sister or accuser who has something against us and be reconciled.

Peggy’s post, When Enemy Wears the Mask of Friend contains these wise thoughts:

Most of the people who are at the center of wounds in my memory are supposed to be my friends, not my enemies. It is an important thing to bring “enemy” closer to home, just as it is an important thing to bring “sin” down to not choosing to love…As we look at the faces of those who have wounded us, we must recognize the image — the cracked Eikon — of God.

May I have the courage, first, to call the name “enemy” where, in truth, it lies … and then to ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in my heart and memory that results in power for forgiveness of and love for and restoration of the name Eikon where Enemy once sat.

Alan Knox addressed reconciliation in his recent series on Matthew 18:

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

Peter understood that if his brother sinned against him and then reconciled, sinned against him and then reconciled, sinned against him and then reconciled…he may have to continue to humble himself and go to his brother and seek reconciliation… how many times? Surely seven times would be enough. Surely, Jesus, if I do this seven times, doesn’t this show that my brother really isn’t concerned about me and that I shouldn’t forgive him any longer?

Larry Chouinard’s thoughts on Matthew 18:

In the Kingdom the offended pursues the offender so that together they can experience the transforming power of reconciliation. There are no cold wars in the Kingdom, either you are working for peace and restored relationships, or you are part of a dysfunctional body. It is in this pursuit of peace that Jesus promises to be in our midst.

Too often the values of the Kingdom are gutted and muted by the hypothetical and the failure to imagine the possibilities. If you are counting how many times you’ve forgiven someone, you’re not really forgiven them, only postponing revenge.

I don’t know what reconciliation would look like in this situation. I am not really interested in a restored friendship. Whatever reconciliation might look like, it would start with me letting go of my right to truth and justice and being friendly in the face of ongoing rejection and arrogance. I am willing to be humiliated by this person who wants to punish me, if I can remember that there is a bigger picture than what I am experiencing in the moment.

When a friend who witnessed this encounter invited me to coffee recently, she asked if I might prefer to go somewhere where an encounter would be less likely.

I said, “No, I would welcome a do-over. Perhaps I will do better next time.”

Review: Consuming Jesus

The subtitle of this book by Paul Metzger is “Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church.”

Hopefully I can adequately describe what an important book this was for me to read. Growing up in the rural midwest, I have lived relatively sheltered from race and class issues. Because of that though, I have also lived a safe and secure distance from the realities of poverty and need.

Since becoming involved in the emerging conversation, my eyes have been opened to the poor and marginalized. In many ways though, I have not known how to cross the chasm between “us” and “them” in ways that didn’t exude condescension. I have been aware of the lack in my understanding and perspective, but ineffective at developing a response beyond charity and guilt for my position of privilege.

In my opinion this is an important book for all evangelicals and for suburban christians in particular. Paul uncovers our blindspots and challenges the idea that it is okay for us to remain segregated in our comfortable ghettoes of sameness. He provides a solid theology of engagement and gives language and doctrine to a way of relating with others based in solidarity and unity.

Paul first exposes the misdirected focus of the evangelical church culture in the areas of power politics and consumerism. He addresses how both of these have contributed to division in the church. He suggests that in spite of the fact that we share communion in the body, in many ways we remain unreconciled to one another. The vision he portrays of the church as an alternative community living in the reality of relationships restructured according to the value of the kingdom is a prophetic call that must be heeded.

I won’t go into great detail in this review. I plan on posting several more specific posts about topics in the book over the next week or two. This is not a feel-good, entertaining book to read, but it is possibly one of the most important books I have read as far as the impact it made on my views about relationships within the body of Christ.

Interview: Michael Kelley

Recently, Threads Media gave me the opportunity to review Michael Kelley’s study, Tough Sayings of Jesus II. This would be great material for group study and discussion. Follow the links for further info about the material.

As a part of an online book tour, I had the following email interview with Michael. His responses here reflect the engaging style of his writing.

Grace: Michael, while I can see that most any age group would benefit from the lessons, I wondered if you wrote the series with a particular group in mind.

MK: While the Bible study is targeted at 18-34 year olds, it’s really appealing to a certain mindset more than an age demographic. I think all over the place people are rising up across age lines with similar desires and spiritual markers – things like depth of study and experience, community with those around them, and a responsibility to leave the world different than they found it.

Grace: I enjoyed your portrayal of Jesus as more than the two-dimensional flannelgraph Jesus of our Sunday school days. Are there aspects of Jesus’ character and nature that you feel need to be emphasized?

MK: I think I’m shooting for a more holistic view of Jesus here. While we might not admit it, most Christ-followers have “niceness” as a predominant attribute of their Jesus. He’s nice to kids, sinners, and probably puppies.

I do think Jesus is nice, but as you read through the gospels, we start to see that in a lot of situations He didn’t take the nice road. He was intentionally divisive, hard-hitting, and difficult. He tried to get rid of crowds more than He tried to gather them. That flies in the face of the Jesus I am more comfortable with, but that’s what we find.

Grace: You mentioned the story of Jesus turning the tables at the temple. What are the things that you see that the church or christians do now to hinder or obstruct others in their approach to God?

MK: In many ways, I think we have created a whole Christian sub-culture that has its own lingo, stars, and candy. Maybe we like that subculture even more than we like Jesus, because the subculture was implicitly created to make us comfortable. Stuff like that I think tends to get in the way of an authentic and deep walk with Christ.

Grace: In your speaking and teaching, who have you found to be most open to and willing to embrace the idea of a “deeply uncomfortable” walk with Jesus?

MK: I think it’s been the people who have been forced into a situation where they had to wrestle with God. Cancer, car wrecks, divorce, virtually any painful situation like that brings us to a point where theology confronts reality, and sometimes seems to contradict it. It’s that kind of situation that makes people wrestle. And their walk with Christ is already a little uncomfortable.

But also, there’s a whole group of people who have grown up indoctrinated in the subculture of Christianity, and in the end, have felt some element of inauthenticity about it. They – and we – want something more. Something deeper and more real.

Grace: Do you have a favorite story or response from this series?

MK: My take on the cursing of the fig tree seems to illicit interesting responses. There’s been a few times when I have talked through that, that people have disagreed with what I think is happening there.

But maybe the most meaningful has been people’s response to the session about Lazarus. I don’t think we tend to think about the emotional life of God too much, but if we are emotional beings, and we were created in His image, then it stands to reason that He is actually more deeply emotional than we are. The thought of a God who would enter into someone’s moment of pain, even though He knows the happy ending, seems to resonate with a lot of folks. That’s been cool.

Grace: Finally, you mentioned a fondness for certain fruit-flavored candy. I was just wondering what your favorite color is?

MK: Purple. No, red. No wait – Purple. Darn my fickleness!

Grace: Purple?!! You must be kidding. I usually give away the purple ones.

Thanks Michael. I enjoyed the book and your perspective on the parables and what they show us about Jesus when we take the time to look beyond the surface of the story, and thanks for your great responses to my questions.

Missional Monday

More from Consuming Jesus:

“All too often, we think of the church simply as a building with programs aimed at making sure the church survives and thrives. On this model, people do everything possible to keep the show going. This view of the church is not missional.

And as far as the poor in the surrounding community are concerned, they are viewed simply as a side issue – simply the beneficiaries of our charity. But charity does not build community. It fosters separation, keeping the poor at the far end of our outstretched hand.

As Christ’s community, we must move to the place of seeing the church as an extension of Christ’s missional presence in the community, where justice for the poor is central. Christ followers must go to the poor, not primarily for the purpose of inviting the poor to church, but to be the church in their midst.”