On Thursday, Kendra was placed on a heart transplant list.  Last night at approximately 9 PM, her transplant surgery began!  It is a bitter-sweet answer to prayer when life is passed on to one family from another.  I am rejoicing for Kendra and her family, while I am gripped by a certain heaviness for the family that gave a hallowed gift.

Please continue to pray for her body to adjust and heal.

You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer.  Specifically how, being raised Pentecostal, I’ve been taught to believe in miracles and in things like healing.  What is it that makes a person continue to pray? 

art credit: caroline levis www.levisart.com, click image to veiw portfolio

According to rabbinic tradition and Acts 7, Moses tended sheep in the wilderness for forty years.  His first forty years were spent in a king’s palace.  His final forty years were spent leading a liberated, yet still grumpy people toward the Promised Land.  It’s the middle forty, the desert years, that seem pointless.  He got married, had some kids, and inhaled the smoke of a burning paote bush that led him to believe I AM WHO I AM was telling him to lead his people out of Egypt.  Forty years is a long time to listen to  sheep.  It is a long time to believe the words of a flaming bush.

What’s more is that God tells him the job he is preparing him to do will fail.  Exodus 4 paraphrased says, “You’re going to do all these miraculous things, but I’m going to harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he won’t listen to you.  It’s not going to work.  It’s not you; it’s me.”  Encouragement like that probably made the octogenarian long to hear the bleating of sheep. 

The road was busy, and I had been tailgated for seven miles.  I know this because I had been counting.  There was a line of cars in front of me.  We weren’t in a hurry; it was Saturday and the to-do list was mostly done.  That’s when it all began.  Tailgator crossed the double yellow into oncoming traffic in order to get one car ahead of me in the line up.  I slammed on the brakes and moved as far as I could to the right so that the poor fellow in the opposite lane could live to see Sunday.

this is not a photo from actual events described in this blog post.

What an idiot.  Then she does it again.  Double yellow, motor cycle in the oncoming lane and she pulls out right in front of him and passes one car in order to be next in line. 

It’s probably happened to you.  You were debating the existence of God, and your friend or debate sparring partner pulled out the winning question, “If God is a God of love, how come he killed off so many tribes of non-Israelites in the Old Testament?”  It is kind of hard to answer.  You spout off something about penal substitutionary atonement before the Mosaic covenant, argue for God’s moral law being broken or talk about cherem – shunning someone because of their behavior.  Your friend looks at you funny because your answer was confusing and it also did not satisfy the original question about a God of love.  I think I have a better answer for you; we’ll use the Ammonites as our example.

So the Ammonites needed something.  We’ll choose an arbitrary item, like: new shoes. 

There has been much ado about a recent issue of Newsweek which pronounced the decline of American Christianity.  Conservative Christian media outlets and bloggers have taken to chastising editor Jon Meacham, dismissing the Episcopalian’s editorial treatment of a study by the American Religious Identification Survey, which cited a 10 percent drop in Americans who claim to be Christians.  Rather than damning Mr. Meacham to that old Christian woodshed somewhere below the earth’s crust, why not consider the subject of the study?  Though lopping off the ear of the messenger is temporarily enjoyable it is rarely fruitful.  If a man has one hundred sheep and ten of them go missing, the good shepherd asks why.

Now I’d rather crank up my iPod listening to a band that sounds like Modest Mouse with positive lyrics and pretend that someone just found the LORD through a Christian t-shirt I was wearing.  Avoidance is a helpful tool.  The cultural version of American Christianity has been visibly suffering for two decades.  Signs are everywhere.  If your local Christian bookstore still exists, for example, congratulations.  Pick up a pack of “Testa-mints” from the checkout area and mail them to me.  For the rest of us: let’s list the why’s…

6 reasons why cultural Christianity is declining

1. Cultural Christianity has easily definable enemies. The reason the Bible is so darn long, has something to do with the fact that it is an ongoing story about a God who loves his creation.  Much of it deals with how followers of Christ are to treat their enemies.  People who oppose school prayer.  People who are pro-choice.  People who are gay.  People who were born in the Middle East.  People who believe in evolution.  Clearly enemies, right?  Clearly bound for judgment and destruction, right?  Love those that hate you.  Bless them that curse you.  Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.  Romans speaks of God’s kindness drawing all of us to repentance; even those of us who assume we’ve sinned a great deal less than the next guy.  How does anyone learn that God is kind in a world of constant brokenness?  Through grace demonstrated by others.  Be slow in choosing your enemies.
2. Cultural Christianity hopes for judgment. When you have a list of enemies, you must have an intended purpose for them.  The book of Amos says: “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!  Why would you have the day of the LORD?  It is darkness, and not light.”  God does intend to judge the righteous and the wicked.  Those desiring judgment to fall quickly may find themselves in the latter group.  The target audience of the Hebrew prophets was God’s chosen people, Israel.  It was their culture that God detested and rejected.  When the prophets of scripture spoke against Israel’s enemies, it was done in passing.  “Babylon will get theirs, don’t worry about them.  Vengeance belongs to someone else.  What about you?”  Israel was promised liberation, not victory.
3. Cultural Christianity embraces escapism. Rapture theology allows Christians to say, “we”re outta here!”  This theological idea is less than 200 years old and is a peculiar position in light of Jesus teaching his followers to pray that God’s kingdom would be experienced on earth.  Cultural Christians live with the idea that they won’t be here for long.  The bible of course tells us the exact opposite.  We will be here on the earth forever as God redeems his creation and establishes a holy city on the earth.  Vastly different than being given wings of ignorance and a harpsichord.  Imagine eternity spent in the exact same location where you refused to love your neighbor.  Not a very heavenly feeling, is it?  Because Christians believe in a kingdom not built with hands that extends for eternity, we should embrace every opportunity to demonstrate that belief.
4. Cultural Christianity is too political. Theologian and pop singer John Mayer asks, “Is there anyone who can remember changing their mind from some paint on a sign… or someone yelled real loud one time?”  I have a friend who lives near a Planned Parenthood.  When I meet up with him for morning coffee there is a group of people standing outside holding protest signs.  I wonder if anyone has driven by and thought, “Gee, I guess abortion is wrong.  I just changed my mind.”  If anything this has an opposite effect, further strengthening the belief that Christians only care about winning a cultural battle for conservatism.  Perhaps you’ve noticed that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction recently.  It’s not uncommon to hear Christians with a liberal bent berating those who are more politically conservative.  “Good morning” to believers who must attach a political adjective to your Christianity, you’re actions are exactly as offensive to the other side as the actions of the other sideare to you!  The tactics are the same, only the sound bites are different.  The false dichotomy of American politics is being exposed, hence the tension in our country.  Followers of Jesus embrace the sanctity of life, all of life, from unborn to the feudalist peasant, to the  minority, to women, to the dying elderly.  They recognize all injustice and work to lovingly correct it, regardless of which party claims the injustice as “their issue.”
   

   order from amazon here!

5. Cultural Christianity has a graven image problem. According to the book, unChristian, by Dave Kinnaman, the negative effects of Christian marketing are up to ten times greater than positive outcomes.  If a mass mailing produces one new Christian there are ten people who have been moved further from faith in Christ.  If you’re a pastor, I know what you’re thinking: “Those marketers don’t have my graphics guy!  They don’t have my clever phrasing.”  I know this because that’s what we all think.  Mass marketing of Christianity through mailings produces one half of one percent return.  20 thousand fliers = 100 people who might check out the Jesus you’re selling.  Potentially 1000 people who will decide to permanently ignore your message.  Save your money.  Forget your image.  Sit down and pray with someone instead.  Christians should consider prayer their greatest marketing tool.  Jesus doesn’t need to be cooler.  He just needs to be seen.
6. Cultural Christianity “sees that hand.”I remember listening to an evangelist’s sermon when I was a kid.  It ended typically, “You don’t know when the last trump will sound.  With every head bowed and every eye closed… (then there was a dramatic pause)… (still pausing)…”  With the church keyboard turned up to 11, the trump did sound, thanks to the keyboard player.  Hearts all across the auditorium stopped beating.  Old people died.  Many of us were audibly impaired for about a week.  Additionally there was a certain odor coming from the hind section of people’s Sunday Bests.  Becoming a disciple has very little to do with a repeat-after-me-prayer.  Loving one another as believers is the absolute best form of evangelism, or so taught Jesus.  When Christians care for other Christians everyone notices.  When we work together to make ourselves and one another look more like Christ, we’ll “see a lot more hands” in a figurative sense of course.

Within the Christian subculture opinions are flying like ravens sent from an ark.  According to subculture pundits, some churches have been preaching a false gospel, some don’t talk about sin enough, some are too stuffy, some aren’t relevant, some have signs with cute slogans and some don’t.  Some believe that the Newsweek article is leftist propaganda to undo Christianity.  Some believe it’s a call to arms.  Maybe we should say, “It is what it is.”  Maybe we should notice that the article says very little about authentic Christianity; it is largely about the subculture of Christianity and its unraveling. 

Missionaries take their message to the culture into which they have been called.  That is, they strip themselves of the culture they know in order to present a greater message to a culture they must learn.

Grace.

Part 2 Friday: “Responding to the Eulogy.”

Let’s not forget that Holy Week – from the passion, to the death, to the glorious resurrection – is what we’re all about. The twin mysteries of the incarnation and the pasch define the transcending meaning of Christianity. We’re so used to this message that it is easy for us to forget just how incredibly radical this idea is.

The Holy Cross itself is a sign of contradiction. A horrible means of torture and death becomes the ultimate symbol of love. It is a stumbling block for the Jews, foolishness for the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23). But even this we try to normalize, file it away in the background of life. The Utah Highway Patrol argued in the Utah courts that the crosses they erected on the side of Utah highways to memorialize fallen state troopers were a nondescript, generic symbol of death, and not a religious symbol. How sad if this were true! How sad that there are those who believe it!

Let’s take a moment and remember just how amazing this idea is. That Christ would even come to earth as a human being, flesh and blood, is itself a wondrous start. Human ideas of God are almost always lofty, separated, set apart on a higher, untouchable plain. But here we have God-become-man walking among us, living among the poor and simple people. Then add to this the idea that he would DIE, the sacrificial lamb willingly led to the slaughter out of love to save a people who so willingly turn their backs on him. This is LOVE. All the hymns suddenly make more sense than ever. Amazing grace. What wondrous love is this?

We celebrate Easter because it changed our lives. Christ conquered death. Our sinfulness died with him, we are raised with him. We have hope at last!

By the Lord has this been done. It is a marvel in our eyes! (Ps 118:23)

You have preserved my life from the pit of destruction,

When you cast behind your back all my sins. (Is 39:18)

The Lord is our savior;

we shall sing to stringed instruments

In the house of the Lord

all the days of our life. (Is 39:20)

This Easter, pause to revel in the wonder, awe, and love that is Christ’s paschal mystery.

I happened upon a blog the other day where the author’s theme was, I’ll sum it up, “Lent, and celebrations like it, are the reason for American Christianity’s ineffectiveness.”  I found all sorts of things I wanted to say to the blogger, none of which I will share.  Instead I wrote the briefest story about the man, and am offering it to you today…

So It Goes…

“A construct of man,” wailed the man, who would have none of it.  Now, here I must pause to state the obvious in case you, dear reader, have missed it already: the wailing man, wailing about other men was himself, in fact a man.  This man would not move to the dancing music that played all about him.  Others danced according to the music that was piped, hammered and strummed in seemingly endless fashion from one end of the earth to the other.

Rather he damned the dancers for their dancing, deeming them “followers of pithy traditions.”  But the dancers heard him not as they called for him to join them in their movements.

The man could not hear their invitation, his ears having been frozen by the words that raced from him icy mouth, located much too close to his ears.  He was the sort of fellow who refused a winter’s cap and disbelieved those who propped themselves up as weathermen.  For the man, “Seasons were but a state-of-mind.”

The dancers clapped.

The man sat on his hands.

They wept.

He mocked them.

They rejoiced.

Ignored.

As Vonnegut said, “So it goes.”  As the man forfeited his option to participate.  His corpse was the rightest corpse in the morgue on the day of his passing.

The dancers wept.

For the man did never join

their ever-changing parade.

“Raca,” screamed the man from the here-after, “foolish dancers, I’ve proven thee all wrong.  It seems I was right this whole time, as I (how he did emphasize his “I’s”) am the only man present now.”  He was right.  He would never have to dance.  And finally the god-forsaken music was shut down.  He was right and alone.

In the dark of one Good Friday

All the dancers paused

With quietest invitation

Whispered from their tongues

Begging the world to cease from dancing

And for its heads to bow.

The music rests but for a second

resuming just after now.

I have but one tiny slice of advice to offer, a moral, if you will.  The music starts and it rests.  Starts.  Rests.  Careful that you pay attention.  The brightest crescendo comes to a close.  The fool sings alone through crescendo’s wake.

Have a meaningful, grace-filled Good Friday, my friends.