Resisting the Injustice of Inequality in the Church

By Pam Hogeweide

Beyond Beliefism – From “Just Us” to Justice – A Book Review by Bill Dahl

Once Upon A Time…

Once upon a time – long, long ago – in a universe far, far away – there existed the planet of KOG. The planet was inhabited by billions of people – including those who lived in the Kingdom of Christendom. The kingdom was ruled by the emperor “Justus.” The citizens were ruled by a body of laws – including the few – and excluding the many – from full participation in the Kingdom. The “laws of Justus” were deemed sacred, inviolable and not subject to interpretation, by countless villages throughout the kingdom. Each village was referred to as “church” – a place where like-minded villagers would come together for fellowship, study of the law, and worship of God. More specifically, numerous laws excluded women from exercising their God-given gifts within the Church – including leadership and teaching. Truth be told, the “laws of Justus”   denied women fundamental equality with men in the Church. However, this particular set of rules regarding the role of women in daily life – and the Church – were often cloaked in a veil of vagueness, facilitating the transmission of the ongoing submission of women to the “laws of Justus” – from one generation to the next – to preserve unity within the Church…and the normative standard of ladylike identities, roles and behavior by women.

Throughout the years, many women left their local Church when they realized (among other things) their God granted giftedness and calling would not be honored by their male counterparts who led, taught and administered the Church. Many women remained content at Church. Others resigned and walked away. Others, continued to show up without being present.[1] Many more remained in the Church, submitted to the laws. Although those who inhabited the broader culture, outside the subculture of Justus, had canonized rules to insure the equality of women throughout the land – the Church remained a curious exception to these rules. How can this be? Some women (and men) began to whisper to one another. The laws of Justus demanded beliefism – an unswerving dedication to a body of beliefs – no matter what – passed from one generation to the next within the Church. It is the adoption of a way of thinking and set of beliefs about self, others, life and God that are right – and provide the basis for suspicion of others who believe differently ( see Henderson).

 Unladylike?

[1] Henderson, Jim The Resignation of Eve – What If Adam’s Rib Is No Longer Willing To Be The Church’s Backbone, BARNA – An Imprint of TYNDALE House Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2012 by Jim Henderson, p. 7.

READERS:Make sure to leave comments/questions in the dialogue box at the end of the interview…

Futurecast: What Today’s Trends Mean for Tomorrow’s World

George Barna – Bio excerpt below from The Barna Group

After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife (Nancy) and their three daughters (Samantha, Corban, Christine) in southern California. He enjoys reading novels, watching movies, playing guitar, and relaxing on the beach.

Questions from Bill Dahl are in red. George’s responses are in this color.

Here we go:

1. How are you and your family? Any major strategic initiatives on the horizon for 2011 in your professional life?

A: Life is good, God is better. Like many families, we have our ups and downs. Our children all have health issues, so that produces various forms of stress and hardship but we do our best to work and pray through that. If nothing else, those challenges keep us looking to God for strength and wisdom – which is an under appreciated gift in itself! Generally, though, we’re fine. When you have the opportunity to travel to countries where people are challenged in so many ways, where they lack the opportunities and blessings we take for granted, it puts things into perspective. We can whine about the high cost of health care and other daily challenges, but we are blessed to live in a country where great medical care, among other things, is available.

As for strategic initiatives, this year we launched the Maximum Faith Project, which focuses on my research concerning how God transforms people’s lives. I think it’s perhaps the most significant research I’ve ever done. 2012 will entail more emphasis on getting that information in people’s hands to facilitate more people experiencing all that God has in mind for them.

2. “Changing one life at a time” is a theme of your book. Yet, mass-production of disciples seems to be the dominant model in North America. How do leaders facilitate this change in their respective community of believers?

A: In some ways the mass-production model is another reflection of the American Church accommodating the culture. Americans are fed – and blindly accept – the notion that success is based on bigger, better, faster. I think a more biblical understanding of success is about deeper, simpler, truer. So perhaps the shift in our disciple-making strategy needs to start with how we define success. In a church setting, success is not about higher attendance, bigger budgets, expanded programs, hiring additional staff, or building out more square footage. Jesus didn’t die for any of those things. He died for us to invite Him to completely transform our lives, moving from sinners infatuated with the ways of the world to forgiven followers of Christ who live only to honor and obey God and pursue His agenda.

Metrics are a critical part of this discussion. Most churches measure some outcomes, but often they are irrelevant outcomes. What we measure is important because you get what you measure. If you measure attendance you’re going to focus on becoming a megachurch. If you focus on budget, you’ll emphasize tithing and budgeting. If you measure program availability, you’ll be focused on the breadth of offerings, sufficient staffing, adequate attendance in each program, and the like. We won’t actually begin to approximate the biblical Church until we begin measuring indicators of transformation. The best way to do that is to evaluate the increase in the fruit emanating from people’s lives.

The central message from Maximum Faith addresses this challenge. That research shows that there is a ten-stop journey God moves through with us. The purpose of the journey is to enable us to become lovers of God and other people. Life, in that sense, is all about our relationships. So how do we change the current programmatic emphasis in churches? Redefine success and facilitate behavior and experiences around what’s important. We have to place less emphasis upon irrelevant measures and instead focus on the things that represent irrefutable evidence that God is at work in a person’s life. To get there we need to focus on coaching individuals in how to grow from one stop on the journey to the next, rather than simply winning the attendance award and graduating from another program. The bottom line is about who we are becoming rather than what we have achieved or what we know. The goal is holiness, Christ-likeness, wholeness – not churchliness or wall-to-wall religious activity.

3. In the early part of the book Futurecast, you speak about the new degree of uncertainty and the deterioration in hope and optimism (in the U.S.) – These conditions typically cause human beings to go into survival mode…the foxhole posture – vs. embracing new forms of behavior that focus on the needs of others (“your desire and ability to bless people”(p.25). “The inconsistency between how people see themselves and how they behave” (p.12) has become more pronounced. What can leaders do to make people aware of this “disconnect” and initiate change to bridge the gap?

A: Our behaviors reflect our beliefs. Four out of five adults call themselves as Christian, yet less than one out of five identify first and foremost as Christian in their mind and heart. Two out of three adults claim to be spiritual, yet barely one out of ten says their faith is the most important component in their life. For the millions of Americans for whom being a Christian is a statement of religious preference rather than the essence of their identity, despair and pessimism is a reasonable perspective. In that frame of mind, this world matters more than anything, and their own performance on this planet is of paramount importance to shaping their identity, their well-being, and their hope. A devoted follower of Jesus, however, lives for His purposes and sees this life within a bigger frame of reference. Such an individual understands the imperfections of this world and our lives, and instead places their hope in the eternal future with God.

Leaders have the opportunity to help people shift their life emphasis from accomplishments in this life to investments in the life that will occur after they die. This speaks to how individuals define purpose and success in life. Most Americans, including born again individuals, do not possess a biblical worldview so they behave in ways that suggest what we experience here on earth is the sum total of reality, with a helping of fire insurance thrown in for safety. Helping people to adjust their frame of reference is critical.

Developing a biblical worldview is more critical now than it has been at any time since we’ve been alive. With secular perspectives becoming more pervasive, even within the church body, making such a worldview practical and integrated into the fabric of their being is crucial. That requires a substantial change in how most families, schools, churches and Christian organizations teach people and help them remain accountable for the things they say they believe. It’s also vital that we do this more effectively among children, since that’s when our worldview forms and it’s difficult to change after it has been formed and embraced.

4. Much of the research you cite involves the issue of the “belief in opposites.” It appeared to me that this is the source of where the “hypocrisy” label hung on Christians comes from? Can you elaborate?

A: A lot of the confusion I describe in Futurecast is not so much new as it is now more widespread and touches a broader range of life dimensions. Examples of the confusion and resulting contradictions abound. For instance, people maintain that marriage is important yet they have become accepting of cohabitation and divorce. Most Americans claim they are deeply concerned about the moral decline in the US, yet their own moral values are slipping. People bemoan the loss of the common good yet they pursue personal advantage and benefit whenever possible. Born again Christians say that they have been saved by Jesus yet a large percentage also says there are ways to eternal salvation apart from Jesus. Tens of millions of adults still pursue knowledge but only trust experience. It is increasingly common for people to demand respect, yet they act with incivility toward others. People extol the virtues of tolerance, but harbor islands of intolerance in their life. Most adults emphasize the importance of good parenting but treat their opportunity to invest consistently in their children as a secondary responsibility. You get the drift.

So, yes, some of this may be the source of people calling Christians hypocrites, but really it’s a problem endemic to almost every segment of our population. I don’t think we can attribute this deficiency to any single factor. It occurs in response to a number of cultural and personal transitions, such as the dismissal of moral absolutes, the demise of trust in leaders, people’s unwillingness to live within moral and civil boundaries, and the acceptance of religious pluralism. People in America are distracted by countless options and overwhelmed by information, resulting in nonsensical, individualistic responses to the circumstances they face. Without the moral standards that have traditionally been in place, everything is up for grabs.

5. You have, for many years, used certain measurement devices to evaluate the degree, and typology of a “Christian” in North America/U.S. These measurements have been fully disclosed by you and typically are associated with the definition of what has been heretofore referred to a “biblical worldview.” I have a question related to this. On page 124 you write: “There must be a connection between claiming the name of Jesus Christ and one’s lifestyle and choices.” One thing I see missing in today’s social research measuring tools as applied to the area of Christian faith, are tools that measure one’s transformation – from the standpoint of the individual respondent – as well as – from someone else (a spouse, friend, co-worker, neighbor etc). The measurements would be unequivocally biblical…an increase in the last year in your ability to love, to forgive, to tolerate, to behave compassionately, to invest your time in the care of elders, the sick or the disadvantaged etc. Can you comment on your perception of the value of these types of measurements? Is it possible to measure a biblical worldview through new measurements of a biblical lifestyle?

A: I think what such measurements would reflect is more than possession of a biblical worldview, and more so one’s progress in the process of transformation. I agree that we need a completely different set of metrics. If you study what Jesus examined in His interactions with people, He showed less interest in their beliefs than their behavior. Why? Because behavior is the proof of what you believe. Satan may say one thing but his actions demonstrate what he really believes in right or significant. Satan knows the right answers but behaves in contrast to what he often leads people to believe. He may whisper particular lies to us but his actions give him away.

It’s the same with us. Your worldview is important because you do what you believe. Your behavior, not your statement of faith, is what gives you away. And that’s why Jesus said He wanted to see the fruit.

So as I look at how things are evaluated in churches and individual lives, I think the measures we tend to rely upon reflect what we think of as success or significance in this life. Churches emphasize attendance, money, programs, staffing, and square footage. Jesus didn’t die for any of those. As individuals we tend to measure physical comfort, interpersonal acceptance, financial security, happiness, stellar health, and image. Jesus didn’t die for any of that, either. The problem is that you get what you measure. That being the case, it’s no wonder America is infatuated with megachurches, big homes, popularity, and the like. Those kinds of outcomes simply reflect what we contend is important.

Through the Maximum Faith research I realized that at each stop of the transformational journey, you are a noticeably different person than you were at prior stops. The only way to know, though, is by the fruit you produce. I have been encouraging people to pay attention to what they produce because you cannot produce stop 7 fruit if you’re currently living at stop 3. You cannot produce stop 9 fruit if you’re still at stop 2. The fruit you produce relates closely to how much you have cooperated with God in allowing Him to transform you.

So I think the kinds of measures that examine beliefs and knowledge are helpful insofar as they help us understand what underlies behavior. Religious knowledge for the sake of knowledge is rather meaningless, perhaps even counterproductive.

6. You make the statement (p.183): “Loyalty as a cultural value has seen its best days come and go.” Wow! What are the implications of that observation as it relates to creating and maintaining a life dedicated to Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior?

A: In some ways, the product of that reality upon our spiritual condition is already visible. People no longer believe it is necessary to belong to a church or group of believers for an extended period of time. Denominationalism is dead. Families are being divided and reformed with regularity. People feel comfortable with the notion that there are multiple gods. A majority contends that all of the major faiths teach the same basic principles.

A true relationship with Jesus Christ demands that you make a permanent and singular commitment that will not waver or change based on circumstances or emotions. When people live in a culture that celebrates freedom, independence, change, experimentation, randomness, and emotions rather than commitment, responsibility, stability, consistency, and logic, it is almost inevitable that their inclination would be to view all relationships as utilitarian, maintaining them only as long as they feel they are getting sufficient benefit and having to expend minimal energy and resources to keep it going. That’s not how a relationship with the God of all creation works.

Having said all of that it’s important to recognize that there is a bit of a counterbalance that provides a ray of hope. America’s ongoing love affair with postmodern thought and behavior does place a greater emphasis upon experiences and relationships, so while people are less likely to buckle down and really study the scriptures or church history, they are at least more open to the notion of developing a relationship with the living God, and having an array of encounters and shared moments with God.

7. Can you elaborate on what your research shows about the rise in the American consumption of media (in ALL its forms) and the ability of one to “read” books or “study” material — or pray regularly/extensively – that is a critical component of “lifelong learning” — and a fundamental element of growing in Christ?

A: We are an entertainment-obsessed, distraction-loving, attention-challenged nation. We read an average of one-third of any book we start before discarding it in favor of some new option that has caught our ear or eye. The media have now trained us to “analyze” reality on the basis of sound bites and video clips. Instead of examining pages of newsprint or magazines, we now examine 140 characters on a mobile phone screen. USA Today was chastised as journalism lite when it began; today it is the norm. Newspapers are going under in favor of simpler, quicker, easier sources of information. News is what the Kardashians had for dinner. Amazingly, the content drawn from talk radio exchanges and from the late-night talk show monologues have become the primary news sources for millions of people.

All of this has resulted in a growing tendency for people to feel adequately versed in a topic once they grasp a few themes or dominant concepts. Memorization is looked down upon in society as a simplistic, empty-headed learning tool. Students often believe that the object of studying a subject is simply to pass a test or write a paper. The idea of “learning” is being redefined.

On the other hand, educational institutions that are tracking with these changes are discovering that it is possible for peoples’ interest to be sparked and maintained if the new learning tools can be properly used. I don’t think we’re entering an era in which people will be heavily inclined to use traditional study guides or attention traditional classroom-style learning options. However, Americans remain a somewhat inquisitive bunch, so if we can harness some of the new tools and use them responsibly, it is reasonable to expect that the current state of biblical illiteracy may not get worse. Will we rapidly transition to identifying and intelligently using the new tools of the trade? That remains a big “if.”

8. What are the two most troubling trends you are most concerned with, as identified in Futurecast?

People’s disinterest in and failure to diligently pursue transformation on God’s terms. The rejection and abandonment of absolute moral and spiritual truth.

9. It seemed to me that your two most recent books, Futurecast and Maximum Faith – play off of one another…that perhaps Maximum Faith is a response to the realities revealed in Futurecast. Can you comment on this?

I do think they help interpret each other. Futurecast provides the cultural context for why understanding God’s transformation process described in Maximum Faith is so critical – and why so few people are willing to go through the fullness of that process. On their face, the books seem very dissimilar, but there is a useful interplay between them.

In the past I’ve often heard people complain that my presentations about current trends caused them to feel discouraged – that the data presented were too pessimistic. My typical response is that accurate trend data is neither optimistic nor pessimistic; they are realistic, and it is your response to those realities that provides a sense or hope or despair. I think Futurecast fits snuggly within that framework. The book contains some harsh and startling views on the present and future. But what makes those views hopeful or hopeless is the nature of your trust in God, your commitment to changing those conditions, and the depth of your belief that God can do miraculous and mighty things through you and others.

At the same time, I think the portrait of society painted in Futurecast is made more bearable by the process of transformation described in Maximum Faith, which reminds us that we start changing the world by cooperating with God in His transformation of us, first. Knowing the nature of the journey, what the stops along the way require, and what to look for as evidence that God is at work in our lives and that we are working effectively with Him, provides enormous help and hope. It starts by understanding that you are not responsible for changing everything of dubious value or character that’s described in Futurecast; you only have to get your life right with God and give Him total access to your mind, heart, body, and spirit. When you do so, then He is able to affect the world through you, one life at a time, as He chooses, on His schedule and utilizing His resources. And suddenly things are no longer overwhelming, there is great hope for the future, and perhaps even a sense of excitement and anticipation.

Thank you George!!! Best wishes from our family to yours for 2012…and our deepest expression of gratitude for your ongoing, inspiring contributions in 2011.

Needless to say, America is struggling through difficult times.

Enter George Barna and FUTURECAST. At his own admission, Barna has a new perspective on a fundamental element seemingly overlooked or currently missing as a key to the “spiritual health” of America…a return to “the way Jesus did things – changing one life at a time.”

In the first part of the book, Barna characterizes the distinct changes that have become resident in America since 2007: loss of illusory wealth, heightened uncertainty, a decline in hopefulness (optimism), fear, etc.

Barna cites a “polarization within the American population regarding moral and spiritual matters that boils down to an inconsistency between how people see themselves and how they behave. (p. 11-12). Furthermore, he characterizes this phenomenon in this way: “Americans have become comfortable maintaining a belief in opposites.” Translation: saying one thing and behaving contrary to that verbal utterance.

The book delves extensively into the issues of American family life, attitudes and values, media,technology and entertainment, Religious beliefs, Religious behavior, Institutional faith, Demographics and a conclusion that “Together we can redirect these trends.”

Frankly, there is much that is new in this book. To attempt to summarize it here would be a task that I become weary even contemplating. THIS IS A BOOK WORTHY OF STUDY.

As a point of full disclosure, my personal library contains almost every book George Barna has ever published. I find both the research that his writings synthesize so succinctly, – and the heart of a man who cares passionately about the spiritual health of this nation – unavoidably essential reading.

Trained as a  sociologist in graduate school with a focus on social research and survey research, The Barna Group’s work has had an intellectual and spiritual attraction for me. HOWEVER, that’s not to say that I agree with everything Barna has to say.

FUTURECAST highlights one of the truly problematic issues faced by social researchers attempting to measure Christian America’s spiritual health. As Barna states on page 124:

“there must be a connection between claiming the name of Jesus and one’s lifestyle and choices. Yet, it appears that millions of self-described Christians are more like Lincoln’s five-legged dog: They embrace the title without backing it up with visible proof of their allegiance.”

Asa Barna’s protege David Kinnaman has stated in hs book unChristian – What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity – And Why It Matters: “We can’t change what we are known for unless we change how we live.” (p. 231).

The two appear to be of one mind on the theisi of changing one life at a time. Listen to the following from David Kinnaman’s most recent book, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith:

“We are at a critical point in the life of the North American church; the Christian community must rethink our efforts to make disciples. Many of the assumptions on which we have built our work with young people are rooted in modern, mechanistic , and mass production paradigms. Some (though not all) ministries have taken cues from the assembly line, doing everything poissible to streamline the manufacture of shiny new Jesus-followers, fresh from the factory floor. But disciples cannot be mass produced. Disciples are handmade one relationship at a time.” (pp.12-13).

Yet, here’s the challenge I referred to several paragraphs above regarding the measurement of an individuals spiritual state:

1. If you know that the verbal responses you receive from those you interview  varies distinctly and significantly from their behavior – has the degree of the reliability of the findings you are reporting been compromised?

2. Answer to # 1 above…”No, not if you are measuring their behavior as well and thus, have a basis for comparing verbal responses to actual behaviors.”

3. Yet, there’s a third possibility that Futurecast brought to light for me: Perhaps we are at a point where new methods of behavioral data collection are essential and helpful in measuring the “faith equation” for human beings.

FUTURECAST cannot be accurately characterized as “just another condemnation” of Christianity in America, the Church or self-proclaimed Christians. It’s a gut check, a reality check – not simply painting a brutally truthful, yet hard to swallow reality (that’s what prophets do you know); but a treatise that contains solutions to the conundrums so identified by the years of research Barna meticulously sorts through and interprets for the reader.

Finally, one would be remiss to recognize the sheer dedication of the author, as evidenced by his book (also published in 2011 by George Barna) entitled Maximum Faith – Live Like Jesus – Experience Genuine Transformation. It’s in this volume where Barna reveals the results of research that show, “Of all the adults who make a profession of faith in Christ – that is, they become “born again” – there is surprisingly little to show for the effort. On numerous occasions Jesus talked about the fact that you can tell Christians by the spiritual fruit they bear, but the data suggest that just one out of every ten adults who accept Jesus as their Savior make any substantial changes in their spiritual routines.” (pp.25-26)….”It’s time to acknowledge that the institutional, programmatic approach to facilitating true faith is as broken as it can get – much more broken than the people being numbered among God’s chosen one’s.” (p.185).

My suggestion: Read Futurecast before you read Maximum Faith. Actually, Read them BOTH. You really can’t get the entire picture of picture of the challenge and the solutions being defined by George Barna unless you do! Claim to Be A Christian? Grab BOTH these books today.

George Barna – A bold and courageous man, eminently gifted,  who believes all things are possible – with Jesus Christ.

“ALL IN….”

Barna, George Maximum Faith – Live Like Jesus, Metaformation, Inc. Ventura, CA & Strategenius Group, LLC New York, NY and WHC Publishing, Glendora, CA Copyright 2011 by George Barna.

Richard Foster has written: “We need voices of dissent that point to another way, creative models that take exception to the givens of society. Obviously, prophetic simplicity runs the risk of excess; but the danger is no greater than the excess of the status quo.” [i] Enter George Barna who takes his seat at the table of The Tournament of Christian Spiritual Transformation. For Barna, this is an elimination tournament with billions of players – the outcome is eternal.

In Maximum Faith – Live Like Jesus George Barna doesn’t pull any punches;

“the research indicates that only a handful of people make serious progress on the journey to wholeness.” (p.8) “Of all the adults who make a profession of faith in Christ – that is, they become “born again” – there is surprisingly little to show for the effort. On numerous occasions Jesus talked about the fact that you can tell Christians by the spiritual fruit they bear, but the data suggest that just one out of every ten adults who accept Jesus as their Savior make any substantial changes in their spiritual routines.” (pp.25-26).

Barna is ALL IN

Other than summarize and the data that Barna has derived and scoured, Barna has decided the to call the bluff of the purported players at the table of the ‘Christian community.’ This book is Barna’s “ALL IN.” He’s pushed ALL his chips to the center of the table. He’s not sitting back smugly waiting for your bet or your bluff. There are tears flowing down this man’s face. He’s sobbing. It’s authentically heartfelt. His arms are lovingly outstretched toward all the players at the table –  begging us to go ALL IN with him.

Examine Your Hand

Barna asks pointed questions like a well informed odds maker; “So if God provides us with a plan (in scripture) and the power (through the Holy Spirit) to become a full transformed person, why then is it that more than 80 out of 100 Americans call themselves Christian, yet only 1 out of every 100 are broken, surrendered, submitted and loving?” (p.36) — He’s asking each player to take another look at our hand – whattya got?… Really…?

The second section of the book revolves around Jennifer – a character Barna has developed to illustrate the real-life application of the principles and process he is recommending. He is forthright, pointing out; “Keep in mind that transformation is a process, not a simple formula that produces the desired outcome every time.” (pp. 155-156)….examine your hand.

Calling The Bluff

In the third section of the book, Barna demands that we “Roll Up Our Sleeves.” He implores us to consider the implications of maintaining a straight faced bluff with God: “The emptiness or frustration you feel reflects your failure to partner with God to grasp the meaning, purpose, wisdom, character and fulfillment He intends for you to have. Don’t instigate (or continue to maintain) a Watergate-sized cover up.” (p.157).

Getting Real

Leaning forward over the poker table, Barna lifts his dark glasses from his eyes. They are filled with tears. He sorrowfully states the following:

“It’s time to acknowledge that the institutional, programmatic approach to facilitating true faith is as broken as it can get – much more broken than the people being numbered as God’s chosen ones.” (p.185). “Programs don’t change people – God does.” (p.190).

New Rules

Barna is adamant that “tinkering with the current popular approaches that have proven to be inept at producing transformation will continue to put people in harm’s way.” Translation: The current game of Christian spiritual transformation produces vastly more losers than winners.

In 2001, co-authors George Barna and Mark Hatch made the following written prediction in their book, Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in 21^st Century Christianity “Around mid-decade we expect to see a nascent grassroots movement from within the Christian community to reintroduce people to the idea of living in accordance with a biblical worldview and discovering how to get there,” including values and lifestyles that reflect the same.”[ii) Well, it’s well past “mid-decade” and the research indicates that the odds of playing the game of Christian transformation by the same old rules – continues to produce a lousy outcome for all concerned.

For George Barna in Maximum Faith - Live Like Jesus, this is serious business. This is no game. The outcomes are eternal. George Barna is ALL IN. Yet, uncharacteristically, he reaches for the pile of chips he has pushed to the center of the table and distributes equal stacks of chips to all at the table. His desire is for all to win. He doesn't want your chips.

He reclines in his seat, having freely given away all his chips and concludes with the following heartfelt invitation: “A revolution is built one person at a time. It starts with you. If you want to make a difference in the world, start with yourself.” (p.198).

“It’s your call….”

I was blessed by this book.

NOTES:

[i Foster, Richard J. Freedom of Simplicity, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA Copyright 1981 by Richard J. Foster, p. 135.

[ii] Barna, George & Hatch, Mark Boiling Point – Monitoring Cultural Shifts in 21^st Century Christianity, Published by Regal Books, A Division of Gospel Light, Ventura, CA Copyright © 2001, p. 94

“What’s that?”

Each time I drive to or from San Diego, CA on Interstate 5 with a first time visitor to the area, they always exclaim, “What’s that?” They are pointing out the window to an upcoming sign posted distinctly at the side of the freeway. These bright yellow signs contain the contrasting dark image of an adult, holding hands with two children, one on each side. They are running.

“What’s that?” is indicative of the level of awareness and involvement of the Christian community regarding our existing immigration policy that systematically oppresses God’s children. The purpose of this expose is to change the posture of the Christian community in the U.S. from a position of “What’s that?” to “That’s what!”

The Call:

As I read my Bible, I am continually reassured by the penchant of our God to see what is going on down here, and His ability to direct His attention to the voices that seem to be drowned out by the chatter of man.

In Exodus Chapter 3, God appears to Moses out of a heartfelt concern for the plight of His people.  ”I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.[i]

Public policy that oppressed a certain segment of God’s children had become acceptable practice by the people of Egypt. It is interesting to note how often the Bible illustrates that which becomes ‘acceptable public policy’ in the eyes of man, is actually a distinct abomination in the sight of our God.

Today in the United States, we are modern day witnesses and participants in supporting a public policy that currently oppresses millions of God’s children. Pundits have even boldly advanced the following argument, as written in Exodus: 8Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9″Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” [ii] In other words, rather than viewing the oppression of His people as something the Christian must act against, many of us have become caught up in the “threat argument” that these aliens pose to us, tacitly supporting the oppression of existing public policy, contrary to the heart of God. Other Christians simply stand around with their hands in their pockets, whistling in an attempt to ignore the situation.

Something must change. Scripture clearly indicates that God is not going to change His heart with regard to the oppression of His people. Public policy won’t change until the Christian community comes together to provide the voice for the muffled cries of His children. These cries are currently drowned out by the media manufactured, secular agenda of mainstream priorities in the U.S. that invade our ears, eyes and minds on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, as it was for Moses, such is our lot today. It is through our obedient compliance to His Word that things will change. Yet, we must be the ones’ to heed His call. It is a call to become involved in the fray where victims of oppression are created by public policy that creates and condones “man’s inhumanity to man,” as characterized in the following by Francis Schaeffer:

“If it is true that evil is evil, that God hates it to the point of the cross, and that there is a moral law fixed in what God is in Himself, then Christians should be the first into the field against what is wrong—including man’s inhumanity to man.”[iii]

The Mexodus:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics have outnumbered African Americans residing in the U.S. since of July 1, 2002.[iv] This is a 58% increase in the figure reported for the 1990 census. Less than 60% of all Mexican-Americans hold a U.S. passport.[v] Hispanic families are reported to average more than three children per family while the remainder of U.S. families average under two. According to one author, “Anyway you look at it, the future of the United States is a Hispanic one. The Latino wave is unstoppable.”[vi]

Every 100 minutes, an illegal immigrant from Mexico or Latin America successfully crosses the border into United States. The issue of oppression is rampant within The Mexodus: The plight of millions of Mexican citizens fleeing to the United States motivated solely by the hope of a better life. This reality is created by the improbability and hopelessness of providing their families with a better future, escaping the certainty of subsistence level poverty in their country of origin. This is our modern day Exodus I am referring to as The Mexodus.

Through June 30, 2004, there have been a reported 880,000 arrests of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the U.S./Mexican border (versus 932,000 “total illegal entrants” at all 317 U.S. entry points and borders in fiscal 2003.[vii] (Period October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003). The “estimate” is that 2 – 3 times as many persons successfully cross the border than are caught. Depending upon whose numbers you choose to select, there are an estimated 9-15 million undocumented Mexican citizens presently residing in the United States.[viii]

Chillegals:

One critically important dimension of the Mexodus issue is the well-being of the children of illegal Mexican immigrants living in the U.S.. I will refer these innocent children here as ‘Chillegals.’ Most of these children began their journey to our country as infants, wrapped in blankets, and coddled in the arms of their parents as they made their way across the border. As infants and children, they did not give their consent to the decision of their parents. In fact, they were victimized by their parents. Victimization is defined as “adversity resulting from being made a victim.”

Most Christians would agree that prostitution, the use of illegal drugs and illicit gambling are crimes. Although “crimes” in the legal sense of the word and proscribed by Scripture, our society has labeled these acts as “victimless crimes” because “nobody other than those consenting to the act are harmed.”  I think we can all agree that this “victimless” stuff is nonsense can’t we? When it comes to victimless crimes, we know that prostitution, drug abuse and gambling cause harm to others, well beyond those involved “in the act.” All “victimless crimes” contain the element of “one consenting adult engaging in illicit behavior.”

Victimmigration:

As it relates to the plight of the millions of Chillegals residing in the U.S., these infants and children never had the capacity to consent or dissent to the actions taken by their parents. Yet, we hold them responsible and oppress them, based upon the immoral treatment afforded them under current public policy. This is Victimmigration: The ongoing oppression of infants and children of illegal Mexican immigrants in the U.S.

We oppress them in the following ways:

• No social security cards
• No drivers licenses
• No air travel
• Limit the opportunities for qualified candidates to pursue higher education.
• No opportunity to work legally
• We prevent them from participating in and contributing to our society…the only home they have ever known.
• We perpetuate oppression: A vicious, immoral, unnecessary cycle.
• We encourage the proliferation of poverty-ravaged subcultures within the U.S.

The Christian Call To Arms:

The Call To Arms for the Christian Community in the United States is to reach out and embrace these infants and children who have become non-consenting victims of U.S. Victimmigration policy. Their innocent voices cannot be heard by bureaucrats and the politicians in power in Washington D.C. Francis Schaeffer encourages us to speak up and act on behalf of the oppressed, as summarized in the following:

“The Christian should be in the front line, fighting the results of man’s cruelty, for we know it is not what God has made. We are able to be angry at the results of man’s cruelty without being angry at God or being angry at what is normal.”[ix]

Consider the following inspiration from our Holy Bible:

Numbers 15: 15The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.’ ” [x]

Jeremiah 7: ” 5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. [xi]

Ezekiel 47: 21″You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance,” declares the Sovereign LORD. [xii]

Zechariah 7: 8And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9″This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’ 11″But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. 12They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. 13″ `When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD Almighty. 14`I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ “[xiii]

Conclusion:

It is my prayer that your soul shall hear the voice of our Lord Jesus as He speaks in Luke Chapter 4:

18″The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[xiv]

Our choice is no different today than the one that confronted Moses a few thousand years ago. Will we continue to attempt to reply to Him, as Moses did, saying, 13″O Lord, please send someone else to do it?”[xv] Can we hear him responding to our apathy and feeble attempts to avoid acting upon His commands as He shouts: 11″Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” [xvi]

Our Call to Arms as Christian’s regarding the Victimmigration issue in the United States, is clearly captured in the following words from Jesus Christ that continue to ricochet through the corridors of time:

Mark 10: 13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16And He took the children in his arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. [xvii]

As you lift your arms to worship and embrace Jesus, be reminded to bow down and embrace the cause of His Children who have become victims of immoral, modern day public policy in the United States…the children of Victimmigration. This is the Christian Call to Arms.

He won’t “send somebody else” to accomplish His work on this Earth. He’s counting on you. So are His children.

Bow down. Embrace this cause today. Allow your “What’s that?” to become a “That’s what I am called to do as a disciple of Jesus Christ?”

NOTES:

[ii] Exodus 1:8 -10 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[iii] Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There, InterVarsity Press Copyright (c) 1968 p. 136

[iv] U.S. Bureau of the Census. June 18, 2003.

[v] The Latino Electorate- 2002 National Survey of Latinos, Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2002.

[vi] Ramos, Jorge The Latino Wave, Copyright (c) 2004 by Jorge Ramos, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. NY, NY p. 238

[vii] Performance and Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2003 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection – U.S. Department of Homeland Security,

[viii] Performance and Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2003 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection – U.S. Department of Homeland Security, p. 68… NOTE: As indicated in a memorandum from the Commissioner of  U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2003,[viii] the overall accuracy of the numbers reported by Border Patrol and Customs/Immigration Enforcement remain in doubt. The Commissioner states: “Customs had four outstanding material weaknesses at the beginning of FY 2003. Although we are well on our way to resolving a number of these weaknesses, until they are closed the existing deficiencies in the quality and adequacy of data provided by Customs financial accounting and reporting systems prevent me from providing reasonable assurance as of  September 30, 2003, that Customs overall controls and financial management systems were in conformance with standards prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States.”

[ix] Schaeffer, Francis A. He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Tyndale House Publishers Copyright (c) 1972 by Francis A. Schaeffer  p. 29

[x] Numbers 15:15-16 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[xi] Jeremiah 7:5-8 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[xii] Ezekiel 47:21-23 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[xiii] Zechariah 7: 8-14 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[xiv]Luke 4:18-19 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[xv] Exodus 4:13 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[xvi] Exodus 4:11-12 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[xvii] Mark 10: 13-16 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Venice Beach, Calif., is recognized as the birthplace for bodybuilding in the U.S. In ten years, it may be renowned as the location where a new body of Christ was born. At present, there is a tremendous amount of wagering going on within the Christian community in the U.S. about what the next form of Christianity will look like. It’s a huge gamble. The stakes are enormous. It’s the Omegabet.

In 2001, co-authors George Barna and Mark Hatch made the following written prediction in their book, Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in 21^st Century Christianity “Around mid-decade we expect to see a nascent grassroots movement from within the Christian community to reintroduce people to the idea of living in accordance with a biblical worldview and discovering how to get there,” including values and lifestyles that reflect the same.[i]

It’s 2005, mid-decade on my calendar. There is concrete evidence that whatever is oozing out of mainstream Christianity to contribute to this emerging form, Orange County and southern California are providing some of the essential ingredients.

Enter Newport Beach, CA resident Spencer Burke, a former pastor at Mariners church and talented photographer. Burke has spent over twenty years in traditional ministry environments, in a variety of denominations. He focuses his energies today contributing to encouraging the definition of the emerging church movement.

Burke was the host of this weeks fifth-annual Soularize:A Learning Party, in Venice Beach, Calif. Attended by roughly one hundred people from all over the U.S., and conferees from as far away as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

THEOOZE began in 1998 and boasts an international surfership of tens of thousands of users in over ninety countries. The site provides a safe place for people to network, ask questions, share resources, and learn from each other about the issues facing the emerging Church…the nascent grassroots movement bet placed by Barna and Hatch.

How has the Barna/Hatch bet paid off? After spending three days this week at the Soularize convention, I’m conflicted. Burke suggests that www.theooze.com and Soularize function as “a support group for crazy people in their garages. Individuals who are struggling to fit in their churches and understand how the cultural shift affects their faith. I laugh about it, but it’s actually true and you know what? I think it’s needed. There’s something wonderfully freeing about knowing that you’re not the only one.”

All kidding aside, I developed a tremendous respect for everyone I met this week at Soularize. I left this conference changed by the people I encountered. I was refreshed by the fact that I had been around a diverse group of people for three consecutive days, who referred to themselves as Christians, and I wanted more. Perhaps this is what is oozing out of mainstream Christianity, contributing to the essence of it’s emerging form. I hope so.

This bookmaker will pay on the nascent grassroots movement/alpha portion of the Barna/Hatch wager. The return to saner values and lifestyles part of the bet? Well, those dice haven’t been rolled yet. Burke’s bastion has maneuvered their way into a very crowded, raucous table game. They’ve got the dice. They’re discussing some new rules for the game amongst themselves at the moment, pinging the pit boss with their ideas. All joking aside, this is serious business. The impact may be eternal.

My money is on theooze crew. I’m all in: The Omegabet…betting on an unpredictable outcome when the rules of the roll have yet to play out.

What have you got to lose? Check out what’s oozing out of emerging Christianity.

Photo From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29772064@N02/2990790423/

Loose Change

If your life is anything like mine, there’s loose change all over the place. It’s in my wallet, the car, a mug in my office, in the bottom of storage boxes, a drawer in the kitchen, a container on an end table…it’s everywhere. We’ve even developed phrases that contain specific references to change like, “a penny for your thoughts, it’s not worth a plugged nickel, it’s your dime, and every time I turn around I’m being nickel and dimed me to death.”

Yet, what may have value in the U.S. may not be acceptable currency elsewhere. Imagine trying to pay a street merchant in Uzbekistan for an apple with five dimes, four nickels and three pennies? Language barrier aside, no matter how hard you try to convince the vendor that the coins you were offering had value, you would likely walk away with a pocket full of loose change and a huge hankering for an apple.

We take loose change for granted in the U.S. We use terms and phrases that include the words penny, nickel and dime throughout our lives, never giving much thought to who invented these terms, what they really mean, and whether or not they continue to serve their intended function in our society.

Christianity does the same thing. The Christian faith uses certain terms and phrases that are intended to be meaningful to all and convey value in the spiritual marketplace. The terminology that inhabits the dialogue within the Christian community is akin to loose change; everybody seems to have some but do we ever pause to examine it to determine whether or not the sum of it all adds up to the value it was originally intended to convey? Far too often I overhear a dialogue between an evangelical Christian and a spiritual seeker that sounds like the interaction between the Uzbekistani apple vendor and an American tourist. For the Christian, maybe it’s time to empty our pockets and examine the loose change we seem to be carrying around. Let me explain.

Spare Change

I saw Batman Begins recently. There is a line in the movie that continues to inhabit my head. “What chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?” This basic, simple question got me thinking about Christianity. I started asking questions like: I wonder if you can hold a biblical worldview, be considered a good person and do nothing to positively impact your world for Christ? What’s more important, beliefs, belonging or behaving? Maybe it’s time to take a look at the biblical worldview mantra and see how things are going?

From what I can discern, the term worldview is as old as the first communication between two people, sharing their respective views on life. The word was formed in Europe and was minted in the U.S. in the early 1900′s. For evangelical Protestants, it appears that guys like John Calvin, James Orr and Abraham Kuyper were the one’s who were primarily responsible for getting this spiritual currency into wide circulation. Originally constructed primarily as a defense to Christianity, it has morphed into a systemic, holistic, framework within which our central beliefs and the Christian definition of reality could be articulated.[i] Orr published his “Christian View of God and the World in the Incarnation” in 1893. Carl F. Henry, Francis Schaeffer, and a few others became the primary advocates for a complete biblical vision of life during the 20^th century. Most recently, Henry Blackaby, Charles Colson, George Barna and a whole purse full of others have safeguarded this asset.

It seems to me that this biblical worldview stuff is a lot like spare change; it’s passed from one generation to the next with nary a thought about whether the sum of it all has maintained the value it was originally intended to possess. For the body of Christ, we have invested heavily in the biblical worldview fund. Our investment decision was based upon the prognostication of a substantial return on investment by presenting biblical truth as a mosaic of belief that is clear, simple, compelling, and well-packaged.[ii] Yet, we Christians seem to have gone well beyond this. As Brian McLaren says, we attempted to achieve “a bombproof certainty, a state of faith where all our beliefs are at rest, where everything is proven logically, where there is no dynamic tension, where everything is clear and clean and unwrinkled and in its place, like pressed shirts in a suitcase.”[iii] The problem is that beliefs are like essential, spare change; they have different shapes, sizes and values. When they arrive in the spiritual beliefs safe deposit box of your life, you will rarely find them in the same position when you attempt to locate them the next time you need them. They’re fluid, in motion, varying in intensity and your awareness of their presence or absence. They’re alive…nothing like pressed shirts in a suitcase.

At this juncture, it’s important to make a few things clear. I have no problem with the component beliefs identified as comprising a biblical worldview. They are unequivocally our priceless, irrefutable, irreplaceable treasure. I am most certainly not implying that we should re-examine the veracity of the fundamental biblical truths. I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with possessing or desiring to possess a biblical worldview. I am not saying that a Christian definition of reality is not healthy and essential for a disciple of Jesus Christ today (although that reality may differ, depending upon who you speak to and exactly how they define that reality). I am taking the position that it’s time to look at the returns produced by this particular investment within Christian economy by we who both claim to possess a biblical worldview and champion it’s adoption by others.

I guess my concern adds up to this; if your worldview claim is that you are a dime, does that mean that you are actually composed of either two nickels, ten pennies or a nickel and five pennies? Maybe you’re just another dime. From a Christian standpoint, if you refer to yourself as a Christian, does that mean that you hold all the sum of all the beliefs comprising a biblical worldview? As Philip Jenkins writes, “Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and the persecuted, while it atrophies among the rich and secure.”[iv] Maybe this is all simply a function of socio-economic status? Could it be that it’s just spare change?

Make cents?

Short Changed

Have you ever been short-changed at the store? There’s that essential moment when you realize, “Hey, wait a minute!  Something’s not right here.” You immediately examine your receipt (the record of the results of the transaction), and begin counting your change. If there is a discrepancy between the results and what you received in return, well, you’ve been had. From a Christian perspective, let’s take a look at the receipt, the record of our results from exchanging the currency of a biblical worldview in today’s spiritual marketplace.

According to Charles Colson, “Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and comprehending all reality. It is a worldview.”[v] He goes on to say, “Understanding Christianity as a total life system is absolutely essential for two reasons. First it enables us to make sense of the world we live in and thus order our lives more rationally. Second, it enables us to understand forces hostile to our faith, equipping us to evangelize and defend Christian truth as God’s instruments for transforming culture.”[vi] Translation: “You’re nuts! So is the world! We’re under attack and we’re going to war! Fall in Soldier!” Could this be part of the explanation why we have so many among us who had enlisted and are now AWOL? Do you see anything in the above that talks about feeding the hungry, loving outcasts, alleviating global poverty, developing a personal, intimate relationship with the Creator of the Universe, mercy, love, forgiveness or a spiritual journey? Sounds like enlistment to me?

Colson says that the scandal in the Church is that we have failed to articulate, defend, and advance an intelligent and coherent Christian world-view.[vii] Translation: The results are in. Take a look at the receipt, the record of our results. We’ve failed. Yep. We’ve short-changed Christ. Our ability to trade the biblical worldview currency among ourselves, and in the global, spiritual marketplace around us has come up short…way short.

George Barna characterizes this short-changed conundrum in the following: “American Christianity has largely failed since the middle of the twentieth century because Jesus’ modern-day disciples do not act like Jesus.  They fail to represent Him well not because they are incapable of Christlike behavior or out of an absence of good intentions but because they do not think like Him.”[viii] According to Barna’s research in the U.S., only 2% of born again teens and 9% of born again adults possess a biblical worldview.[ix]

Perhaps the following from Leonard Sweet explains the difference between what the receipt says and the change we have received from the cashier buying into the biblical worldview transaction: “With Christians now largely indistinguishable from non-Christians in how they live and think, there is no longer a startling freshness to the proclamation of biblical truth when it is presented as principles and propositions.  How a person lives speaks much more loudly than what he or she asserts, now as always.”[x]

We’ve been had.

Foreign Exchange

At present, the Chinese government will not let their currency float. This means that the yuan remains artificially valued on world currency markets. This keeps the cost of Chinese exports artificially low. Translation: Lower costs of goods, labor and production result in a burgeoning Chinese economy as global consumers buy more Chinese manufactured goods. Should China decide to float their currency (bowing to existing pressure from the G-8 to do so), the global marketplace will establish it’s real value, over time. Here’s where it gets tricky. The question becomes, what’s it really worth? What will the intrinsic value of the yuan be when it is allowed to float and is exchanged for one euro, U.S. Dollar or British pound? Answer: Nobody knows for certain. This could be either genius or economic heresy.

What’s the point? What we believe about the value of the various currencies we Christians exchange in the spiritual marketplace have real consequences. Maybe we have already let the currency of the biblical worldview float. Perhaps the spiritual marketplace has established a value for this currency that is a fraction of the value we had anticipated. Certainly, in the Christian marketplace in the U.S., the production of new disciples is not booming. Maybe it’s time to embrace some holy doubt. As one author says, “sometimes doubt is actually holy — when it reveals a desire to pursue the truth, even when doing so means revising one’s current beliefs?”[xi]

Maybe merchants and consumers just aren’t accepting what we’re selling in exchange for this biblical worldview product anymore. Does the possibility exist that there has been inflation that has impacted the value of the biblical worldview currency in the global, spiritual marketplace? Has the nature of competition to purvey truth to consumers changed or intensified? Perhaps, we just need more and better sales training? Those darn consumers must be the problem! Could it be that the currency of a biblical worldview can only be possessed by a select few? Maybe Christianity was never intended to be minted, circulated and exchanged as a biblical worldview currency? Has a biblical worldview become like one of those offshore tax shelters I’ve read about in FORTUNE magazine? You read about this stuff in the crumpled publication stuffed in the seat pocket in front of you before takeoff, having forgotten your book in the overhead bin and climbed across folks to your window seat and buckled up. After takeoff, it dawns on you that the essential asset you’ve just read about, well, you’ve never met anybody in your circle of friends who actually has one, or at least they’re not talking about it. Maybe the value of a biblical worldview is something only the experts and professionals discuss amongst themselves in lofty theological discourse that never really filters down to us common folk? When’s the last time you asked a friend, how’s your biblical worldview portfolio performing lately?

It’s just foreign exchange anyway, isn’t it?

A New Currency:

Who would have thunk it? The formation of the European Union came before a common currency was introduced. I can recall reading the hysteria-enraged forecasts of economists and public policy pundits (the experts) predicting the utter certainty of catastrophic socio-economic consequences, if the Euro was authorized to replace the currency of each member nation in the EU. To do so, each nation had to disband their deep, heartfelt attachment to the franc, lira, deutschemark etc… What happened? The Euro is presently worth more than the U.S. dollar. What’s the point? The scenario above is a current day example that we can belong before we issue a common currency. Is there a central issue contained within this scenario that we Christians have been banking on that now emerges as a legitimate subject for debate? Answer: Yes!

The purveyors of the biblical worldview currency have based its valuation on the gold standard that you must believe before you belong. You must buy into a certain number of component beliefs before you are really one of us. If you actually possess a nickels worth of these beliefs and claim to be a dime like the rest of us, you’re five pennies short of where you need to be. We’ve even developed some nice names for you like notional, nominal, church hopping commie, seeker or just plain lost. If you don’t say that you buy into all of the life changing tenets of our faith that make up our biblical worldview, well, we’ll pray for you. Maybe you’ve memorized the ideas that comprise a biblical worldview. Well, more bad news, as Donald Miller says, “I don’t think memorizing ideas helps anybody understand the meaning inferred in the expression of those ideas. I think ideas have to sink very deeply into a person’s soul, into their being, before they can effect change, and lists rarely sink deeply into a person’s soul.”[xii]

Hmmm…As I considered this belief before belong precept inherent within the biblical worldview, my mind quickly went to Matthew 4:19, the calling of Peter and Andrew, “Come, follow Me.” In Matthew 8:9 Jesus calls Matthew, “Follow Me.” In other words, “Hang out with Me.” Jesus knew that through relationship with Peter, Andrew and Matthew, they would come to believe. Sounds, like an invitation to a journey, a friendship, an adventure… a process. Maybe Dallas Willard is correct when he writes, “To belong is a vital need based in the spiritual nature of the human being.”[xiii]

Frankly, the biblical worldview currency has not bought Christ much of anything constructive from an evangelism standpoint. Our primary use for the concept of a biblical worldview has been to reduce the component beliefs to questions in social research and then trumpet the results that hardly anyone possesses one…that’s encouraging. The biblical worldview stuff has also fed “justifiable” militancy within Christianity’s evangelical economy that has contributed to the marginalization of Christianity, particularly in the U.S. Finally, the biblical worldview has been at the forefront of the morphing of Christianity in the U.S. into some sort of civil religion where one must be a member of a particular partisan, political party to be considered “one of Christ’s.” This final unanticipated consequence has cast a dark shadow over Christendom in the U.S. as those who are against an agenda of socio-political issues versus those who are sold out to attracting others by virtue of  living lives as loving disciples of Jesus Christ. As Francis Schaeffer wrote, “But even orthodox doctrine can become merely intellectual, a final integration point and can actually shut us off from God rather than opening the doors to Him, which it is meant to do.”[xiv]

At this juncture, I am reminded of a few pertinent Scriptures from Romans. In Romans 14:1, Paul says, “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” In the same Chapter, he writes I verse 13, “Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brothers way.” Perhaps, we should consider the relevance of this wisdom in regard to the biblical worldview issue, as framed in the paragraph above.

I think Tony Campolo had the combination to the vault that leads to the discovery of the potential for a new currency within the Christian economy when he wrote, “The Greeks taught us that what people think and feel determines what they do. These ancient philosophers who have contributed significantly to our thinking were only partly right. While it is true that what we think and feel influences what we do it is also true that what we do influences what we think. Very often, our actions condition our thought patterns and determine our feelings more than we are willing to admit.”[xv]As one author suggests, “Right relationships are not produced by right thoughts or right actions.  Just the opposite. Right thoughts and right actions are produced by right relationships”[xvi] Maybe there’s some pertinent wisdom in a phrase from Brian McLaren that says, “Sometimes belonging must precede believing.”[xvii]

Perhaps it’s time to reflect upon the fact that our collective poverty is the currency that we must cherish, versus basing the value of one’s Christian witness to the world on the gold standard of a biblical worldview. As Robert Bellah wrote, “We have imagined ourselves a special creation, set apart from other humans. In the late twentieth century, we see that our poverty is as absolute as that of the poorest of nations. We have attempted to deny the human condition in our quest for power after power. It would be well for to rejoin the human race, to accept our essential poverty as a gift, and share our material wealth with those in need.”[xviii] Perhaps it’s time to move toward a new currency whose value is a reflection of Christ to the world that says, “what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do.”[xix] In this sense, we come to accept that through His power, our lives become the magnetic mystery, awe and wonder of living for what we believe, for His glory.

Perhaps becoming what you believe is a process that necessarily involves shedding beliefs that are no longer becoming. A new currency appears to be emerging within Christendom. I refer to it as embedded Christianity. This is a witness to the world that is minted on the face of the actions of our everyday lives, a reflection of the loving embrace of Christ to this, His world. Does this sound like the biblical attributes of a new currency that Christendom requires to transact His business in today’s global, spiritual marketplace?

Chump Change:

Jesus was the witness to those in the world considered chump change, the expendables. Now we are to be His witnesses. Yet, we Christians have an indefatigable propensity to complicate the simplicity of our faith to such a degree you require an interpreter to communicate with us.  Some of the elements of the Christianese vocabulary, the currency of our dialogue we exchange with one another and the world around us need to be reevaluated. They are expendable, like chump change. They really serve very little useful purpose.

When I am in the Las Vegas airport departure lounge awaiting my flight, I am constantly amazed at the people who continue to plunk their coins into the slot machines that litter the area. They’re trying to recoup their losses by one last gasp opportunity to do the same thing over again that got them into the misery they cannot accept in the first place…nobody wants to go home a loser. If you talk to people who live in Las Vegas, they will tell you that those airport slot machines are simply “receptacles for chump change.” Maybe we need to revisit the second step in one of those 12 step recovery programs that says, Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. One of the objectives of this article is to cause us to pause, step back and take a look at our stuff. It’s not the machine that’s the problem. It’s us.

Remember: You and I are the chumps that He lived, died, rose and reigns to change.

Counting The Cost

“Show me the money. Show me the money!” Nobody can forget those lines from Cuba Gooding Jr. in the film Jerry McGuire. Guess what? They’re as applicable to the Christian life as they are to the expectations in the fictional portrayal of Cuba Gooding Jr. toward his agent,  Jerry McGuire. We are His agents. “We will stand before God one day and give an account for our lives.  And this generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of non-Christians.  God will ask, ‘Did you do all that you could?  Did you match the intensity and fervor I brought to the cross?’  People must be brought to the point of understanding that it would be a tragedy if change didn’t happen.  They must not simply embrace change, but cry out for it”.[xx]

This is why the paradime matters. Let’s face it. The biblical worldview currency we are transacting is simply not producing the righteousness He desires. Yes, our God expects results, righteous results, as defined by Him. “Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar! All for a paradigm shift stand up and holler!” My intention has not been to devalue the currency of the biblical worldview. Yet, I do believe that it is time to reconsider the wisdom to continue supporting the widespread circulation of this coinage, as the gold standard upon which we witness to one another, and those around us. Do I sound conflicted? I am! Guess what? I’m not alone.

Perhaps it’s time to exchange the paradime of the biblical worldview for a paradigm of deliberate, active faith. As Brian McLaren writes, “Faith involves admitting with humility and boldness that we need to change, to go against the flow, to be different, to face and shine the light on our cherished illusions and prejudices, and to discover new truths that can be liberating even though they may be difficult for the ego, painful to the pride.”[xxi] The words of Jesus challenge us today, as the same words challenged Martha: “Do you believe this?”[xxii] OK. Well, now what? As Barna says, “You and I may profess to be followers, but remember, the most significant evidence of our loyalty is not what we say but what we do.”[xxiii]

As I departed the theater after watching Batman Begins, a rephrasing of the line, “What chance does Christendom have if the good people do nothing?” continued to inhabit my head. Then, it dawned on me, “Where’s Robin?” I wonder if Jesus feels the same way about us, His disciples.

It might be time for some uncommon sense…and a paradime that produces a Christian witness worth more than twenty cents.

God Bless you,

NOTES:

[ii] McLaren, Brian D. More Ready Than You Realize – Evangelism As a Dance in the Postmodern Matrix, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. © Copyright 2002 by Brian D. McLaren p. 148.

[iii] McLaren, Brian D. More Ready Than You Realize – Evangelism As a Dance in the Postmodern Matrix, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. © Copyright 2002 by Brian D. McLaren p. 131.

[iv] Jenkins, Philip The Next Christendom – The Coming of Global Christianity, Oxford University Press, NY, NY © Copyright 2002 by Philip Jenkins, p. 220.

[v] Colson, Charles and Pearcey, Nancy How Now Shall We Live? Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. © Copyright 1999 by Charles Colson, p. 15.

[vi] Colson, Charles and Pearcey, Nancy How Now Shall We Live? Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. © Copyright 1999 by Charles Colson, p. 16.

[vii] Colson, Charles and Vaughn, Ellen Being the Body – A New Call for the Church to be Light in Darkness, W Publishing Group, A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN. © Copyright 2003 by Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn, p. 210.

[viii] Barna, George Think Like Jesus – Make the Right Decision Every Time, Integrity Publishers, Nashville, TN Ó Copyright 2003 by George Barna p. 40.

[ix] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 51.

[x] Sweet, Leonard.  Out of the Question… into the Mystery – Getting Lost in the Godlife Relationship, WaterBrook Press Colorado Springs, CO Ó Copyright 2004 by Leonard I. Sweet pp. 20-21

[xi] McLaren, Brian D. More Ready Than You Realize – Evangelism As a Dance in the Postmodern Matrix, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. © Copyright 2002 by Brian D. McLaren p. 50.

[xii] Miller, Donald Searching For God Knows What, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN,

Ó Copyright 2004 by Donald Miller, p. 57.

[xiii] Willard, Dallas The Divine Conspiracy – Redicovering Our Hidden Life in God, Harper SanFrancisco, A Division of HaperCollins Publishers, Ó Copyright 1997 by Dallas Willard, p. 153

[xiv] Schaeffer, Francis True Spirituality, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL., Ó Copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. P. 128.

[xv] Campolo, Tony Who Switched The Price Tags? W Publishing Group, Ó Copyright 1986 by Anthony Campolo, pp. 148-149.

[xvi] Sweet, Leonard.  Out of the Question… Into the Mystery – Getting Lost in the Godlife Relationship, WaterBrook Press Colorado Springs, CO Ó Copyright 2004 by Leonard I. Sweet p. 31

[xvii] McLaren, Brian D. More Ready Than You Realize – Evangelism As a Dance in the Postmodern Matrix, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. © Copyright 2002 by Brian D. McLaren p. 84.

[xviii] Bellah, Robert N et al.  Habits of The Heart- Individualism and Commitment in American Life, University of California Press Berkeley, CA © 1985 and 1996 by The Regents of The University of California p. 296.

[xix] Miller, Donald, Blue Like Jazz – Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN, © Copyright 2003 by Donald Miller, p. 110 & 111

[xx] White, James Emery Rethinking The Church Copyright (c) 2001 Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI p. 151

[xxi] McLaren, Brian D. Finding Faith – A Self-Discovery Guide for your Spiritual Quest, Zondervan Grand Rapids, MI © Copyright 2003 by Brian D. McLaren pp.13-14.

[xxii] Matthew 11:26 – New International Version

[xxiii] Barna, George Think Like Jesus – Make the Right Decision Every Time, Integrity Publishers, Nashville, TN Ó Copyright 2003 by George Barna p. 40.

What’s Cookin in Christianity’s U.S. Kitchen?

or

Chef Barna’s State of the Church

What’s Cookin?

If you’re wondering wassup within U.S. Christianity, it’s a good idea to sample the fare George Barna cooks up every couple of years. His most recent entrée is entitled, The State of the Church: 2005.[i] The Barna Group has served the results of this same survey, using the identical methodological measuring cup over the last fifteen years. The last time I devoured the results of this dish was in 2002. At that time, the menu item was called The State of the Church 2002[ii]. (Have you noticed that the name of a dish that has demand from the clientele doesn’t change?). Chef Barna’s research, writing, films and prophetic exhortations are as eagerly awaited and talked about by the U.S. Christian community as any new recipe Wolfgang Puck or Martha Stewart come up with. Let me explain.

The Taste Test

As I unwrapped the package from the UPS driver, something was distinctly different in terms of presentation. In 2002, the survey results and attendant discussion were encased in a book, I mean, a real paperback book with a nice navy blue cover and a picture of the chef on the back. There’s more vanilla in this year’s version. The 2005 edition is served up in 8.5 x 11 format with a plain white cover and black letters. On the face of it, I thought the 2005 version might be less appetizing than 2002. Instead of judging the fare solely by presentation, I decided to take the 2002 version out of the freezer and heat it up so I could perform a taste test between it and the 2005 version. Here’s what I came up with:

Return On Investment:

In 2002 Barna wrote, “It is quite astounding that although Protestant and Catholic churches have raised  – and spent – close to one trillion dollars on domestic ministry during the past two decades, there has been no measurable increase in one of the expressed purposes of the church: to lead people to Christ and have them commit their lives to Him.”[iii]

In 2005, the Chef states, “Nothing is more numbing to the Church than the fact that it is mired in a rut of unfathomable depths. The various creative approaches attempted over the course of this decade have drawn much attention but produced little, if any, transformational impact.”[iv]

The bottom line is that the spirituality served up in the name of Christ in the U.S. is distinctly unproductive and unprofitable. Some churches have remained largely unchanged while others have changed the ambiance, the music, the lighting, added video screens, pastors, elders, and websites. Others have embraced bigger buildings with different architectural features. Some have turned to new delivery systems, serving up their products via seminars, books cd’s, dvd’s, live television and training by subscription satellite broadcasts. According to Barna, no matter what the Christian retail outlets have done to attract customers and change them by virtue of how or what they consume, there appears to be no measurable transformational effect on their behavior, after dining in these establishments over a period of time.

It’s expensive to run a business like this, particularly when what one is serving up has eternal consequences. If the “church” in the U.S. was a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ or NYSE, there would be a shareholder revolt, SEC and Congressional investigations the likes of which would dwarf the outrage we witnessed over Enron. We would be toast.

Diners don’t revolt over the appearance of the menu. They simply stop coming in because of existing management, the fare, the help, the other diners or the atmosphere. Word of mouth kills restaurants. They tell their contacts about their last supper. The friends, co-workers and acquaintances of diners avoid these places without ever having set foot there. Are you getting steamed yet?

Marketshare:

In 2005, Barna states, “The nation’s population growth has fostered an expansion in the number of people who avoid churches.”[v] The Chef estimates this figure to be 100 million customers in the U.S. A figure he says is growing by one million annually.

In 2002, Barna suggested that there are greater than 300,000 Protestant and 20,000 Catholic churches in the U.S. He contrasts this with the 50,000 post offices and 15,000 McDonald’s that serve our nation. He writes, “the church has less impact on our culture than any of those less prolific entities, despite missions that are much less significant or compelling.”[vi]

Hmmm…I guess the old “location, location, location” mantra has fallen to the wayside here. Imagine having a business with 320,000 locations in the U.S. amidst a population of over 100 million customers who have never sampled the fare, and you can’t seem to break the cycle of those folks consciously avoiding your locations. In fact, their numbers are increasing.

Again, if the church were a publicly traded company, I can assure you that the Board of Directors would be screaming for an immediate “corporate restructuring” that would likely require the immediate downsizing of the existing physical plant, sweeping changes in strategic plans, and a wholesale housecleaning of present management. Perhaps it’s time to act upon the agenda of the shareholders within the Christian franchise who agree with Barna that, “We have learned that maintaining the status quo serves neither God nor the people He loves.”[vii]

When your franchise’s performance is benchmarked against the U.S. postal service and your outfit comes out on the short-end, perhaps it’s time for a change. There is a very vocal, well-regarded cadre of authors, theologians, academicians and laypeople who now agree that: “Christianity cannot survive in anything like it’s present form.”[viii] Chef Barna remains at the forefront of this movement adorned with the same sandwich board and megaphone he has used for the past twenty-five years.

The remainder of this article will examine this necessity for change issue within the U.S. Christianity franchise by focusing on current customers, existing management, the fare, the help, the other diners and the atmosphere. The oven is now pre-heated.

Current Customers

In business, one often hears the phrase that there is no more effective form of advertising than your current, satisfied customers. The U.S. Christianity franchise has attempted to sell the truth that “if you eat here regularly, you will become Christ like.” Unfortunately, according to Chef Barna, nothing could be further from the truth in terms of actual, verifiable, behavioral outcomes.

In 2002, Chef Barna wrote, “We witness a born-again population that is indistinguishable from the rest of the nation – and has very little credibility when it comes to promoting genuine Christianity…At some point, poor products come back to haunt the producer. Welcome to the haunting time.”[ix] In 2005, the sentiments of the chef remain unchanged. He suggests that, “people sleepwalk through their religious paces, oblivious to the fact that many of their beliefs and practices dishonor God.”[x]

It seems that the aroma that oozes from the pores of the professing Christian consumer is actually repelling others rather than attracting them. Something does not pass the smell test here. Perhaps the conundrum of the Christianity franchise is captured in a quote from Princeton University’s Professor of Philosophy Emeritus Henry G. Frankfurt, in the following: “For the essence of B.S. ( abbreviation is mine ) is not that it is false but that it is phony…What is wrong with a counterfeit is not what it is like, but how it was made”[xi]

If this section has got you into a rolling boil, simmer down a little. However, don’t even think about putting this article on the back burner.  There’s no way that we can overlook the fact that the people Jesus had the least patience with were the people who said they represented God but didn’t.

It appears that we must turn our attention to the current cooks in the kitchen, or those who prepare the fare.

Existing Management:

Chef Barna’s evaluation of the cooks in the kitchen in 2005 is characterized as follows: “The Church suffers from a debilitating absence of visionary leadership.”[xii] In 2002, Barna slices and dices it up this way: “They are incapable of motivating and mobilizing people around God’s vision. They fail to direct people’s energies and resources effectively and efficiently. The Church suffers for this absence of genuine leadership.”[xiii]

Wow! I have been an executive for several FORTUNE 500 companies during my business career. If Barna’s findings were ever printed on a management performance appraisal, you would be leaving the Human Resources office with your car keys in one hand and your final check in the other.

This management issue within the U.S. Christianity franchise is one that has been baked, basted and reheated a number of times. It’s a tough issue to digest. If something is well-done, it’s difficult to tenderize it back to a more appetizing state of medium or medium rare. Perhaps the difficulty is centered in the fact that the church has morped into an institution that is focused on survival from it’s original intent as a movement that transforms people. As one author says, “institutions preserve culture, while movements create culture.”[xiv]

May I speak to the manager?

The Fare

Maybe we have been eating our own fare for so long that we still think it’s the best around, while the tastes of other diners have changed. No matter how we package what we’re selling the results are, at best, discouraging.

I guess there may be some truth to the adage that you are what you eat. As my mother always said, you must eat the right things in the correct portions on a regular basis. For those who routinely dine at the Christianity franchises in the U.S., Chef Barna’s research results suggest that it’s time to change our eating habits.

In 2002, Barna spices things up a bit with statistics on our dining habits regarding the staples of the Christian diet. In regard to prayer, he says that “most people who pray do so at least once a day; the total amount of time spent in prayer per day is less than five minutes,” most commonly a quick grace uttered before a meal and then requests for stuff we want for ourselves.[xv] Regarding church attendance, the vast majority of Christians do not attend church every week.[xvi] Less than half of us graze on God’s Word outside of a church service each week ( However, In N Out Burgers print Scripture on the bottom of their cups in California and some people might believe this is actual Bible reading outside of a church service. Thus, the figures for actual, authentic Bible reading may be inflated here.). Volunteering at church has remained relatively constant over time at around 24%. Less than one in five Christians are involved in a small group, one quarter attend Sunday school and as a group, we have “no heart or stomach” for evangelism.[xvii]

The results above indicate that consuming Christianity cafeteria style leads to an unbalanced diet and impaired spiritual health for the individual Christian, and the body of Christ in the U.S. The reputation and integrity of the entire Christian franchise has become impaired.

For some reason, I’m losing my appetite.

The Help

The serving work within the Christianity franchise in the U.S. is still primarily accomplished through the efforts of paid professionals. As one author says, “laypeople have been a theological afterthought throughout the history of the church.”[xviii] Another suggests: “The Church began with men in the upper room agonizing and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing.”[xix] Chef Barna’s assessment indicates “tens of thousands of churches are woefully out of sync with the people they most want to seek, save, serve and send.”[xx]

All the evidence suggests that the vast majority of U.S. Christians are more interested in being served than serving. As Barna wrote in 2001: “We serve others when we must, but few believers have a love of serving people; our culture has seduced us into loving to be served instead of committing ourselves to meeting the needs of others.”[xxi]

According to Chef Barna, the figures for the laity volunteering at church are relatively constant at 25% from 1991 to 2005.[xxii] In terms of our tipping the help (if that’s what it is), Barna reports that only 4% of Americans actually tithe ten percent or more of their income (although a far larger percentage say they do).

We continue to struggle with the language barrier in serving those around us. Barna writes, “Can’t you just hear a non-believer, visiting your church, struggling to make sense of your jargon-filled, bet-you-can’t-penetrate-this language?”[xxiii] Imagine going into a new restaurant and the patrons and help were all speaking a language you didn’t understand.

How do we change this distasteful recipe? According to Barna, “The impetus to change and the creative focus and force reside among the frustrated masses, not the distracted professionals.”[xxiv] Others experts agree suggesting: “The church of the future will be shaped from the bottom up rather than the top down.”[xxv]

For the foreseeable future, Barna recognizes the growth among those who “are disassociating from churches because they want more of God, not less, and feel that the local church constrains them from being whom God has called them to be.”[xxvi]

It appears people losing their appetites for dining out in our franchise.

The Other Diners

I don’t enter establishments with large motorcycles parked out front and a history of drunken fistfights among the patrons. Why? The nature of the clientele that is known to frequent a particular establishment is an important consideration for many prospective diners. People listen to and observe the lives of those who claim the name of Christ by virtue of “the day to day ideas, conversations, choices, and activities of individual believers in the workforce, the marketplace, the halls of leisure and other public forums.”[xxvii] As one author states, “Will Christians increasingly embarrass themselves by fighting with each other in public?”[xxviii] In 2002, Barna wrote: “Once we clean up our act, our lives will become a pleasing fragrance not just to the Lord but also to those around us on Earth.”[xxix]

If you say you have the best steak in town, you better have just that when people show up expecting it. We are under observation by other diners within the spiritual marketplace. As chef Barna says, “Americans are not about to patronize and institution which appears incapable of living what it preaches.”[xxx]

Throughout Barna’s career, he has been consistent in maintaining that “American Christianity has largely failed since the middle of the twentieth century because Jesus’ modern-day disciples do not act like Jesus.”[xxxi]

It’s time to reevaluate walking the talk.

The Atmosphere

The mainstream secular media has a tendency to highlight extremes. As it relates to the atmosphere within the U.S. Christian franchise, the media focuses on dismal failures and success characterized by size. In terms of success, the media would lead one to believe that the franchise is building larger venues to accommodate overall corporate growth. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Barna’s research results reveal that: “Many people believe that churches are large and growing because of the focus on the megachurches. The truth is that only about 2 percent of all Protestant churches have 1,000 or more adults attending in a typical week. Most churches are small – and getting smaller.”[xxxii] In 2005, Barna finds that “the size of the church a person attends has no correlation with their views on the Bible’s accuracy.”[xxxiii]

As far as more retail outlets are concerned, Barna said in 1998 it’s time to “reevaluate the advisability of spending the billions of dollars presently being raised for the construction of new buildings, parking lots, and other institutional monuments.”[xxxiv] Another author agrees saying, “The church compares itself to a business and becomes preoccupied with numbers and statistics. Ultimately, the work of the church becomes institutional maintenance and survival, not spreading the gospel.”[xxxv]

I get the distinct feeling from Barna’s life’s work that it is not more locations and larger walls that we require. It is more and better bridges filled with fully equipped patrons dedicated to serving a hurting world empowered solely by the love and grace they have received from Christ.

Why would you want to super-size this?

Summary:

As we have throughout the history of the United States, we are presently confronted with a tremendous opportunity captured in the question George Barna and others have posed for many years: What must be done now, to shape a better destiny? It’s time to confront the truth. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “To be honest is to confront the truth. However unpleasant and inconvenient the truth may be, I believe we must expose and face it if we are to achieve a better quality of American life.”[xxxvi]

For the Christian community in the U.S., a community that purports to have all the answers, perhaps it’s time for confession: We need help…supernatural help. Now. Instead of continuing to manage an appearance of having everything together, maybe it’s time to admit we are struggling with an insufficient answer: “One of the moral diseases we communicate to one another in society comes from huddling together in the pale light of an insufficient answer to a question we are afraid to ask.”[xxxvii] For those stakeholders in the U.S. Christianity franchise one question must be: “What’s wrong with us?”

To have the courage to ask such a question, one must humbly acknowledge the existence of an unsatisfactory answer. In the last 25 years, there has been one voice that has been consistently courageous enough to confront the question and dedicate his life’s work in relentlessly evangelizing the awareness of an inadequate answer, including immediate changes to present unproductive practices. A second question to ponder is when will we begin to take stock of the ingredients that make up the flavor of the bouillabaisse served up in the name of Christ by our franchise in the U.S. today?

Since 1982, George Barna has been a prophet eloquently advocating at every shareholder meeting of our franchise proclaiming: “Yet, the severity of the problems facing the faithful cannot be a valid excuse for delaying a sincere, wholehearted effort to overcome the obstacles to corporate righteousness.”[xxxviii] For Barna, like most prophets, maybe “the hardest part is not envisioning the end but living in the sluggish in between.”[xxxix] Thus, another question we must ponder is why don’t we hear the present day prophets of the Almighty when His leading is written all over our lives? As written by Barna in 1990, he asks: “Is it a Christian virtue to ignore God’s handwriting on the wall?”[xl] What’s your answer?

A biblical prophet has been characterized as “not one who sees into the future, as stargazers and crystal ball readers purport to do. Rather, he’s one who sees things in the present that others are blind to. And a prophet is one who warns us of what will happen in the future if we don’t mend our ways.”[xli] I am reminded of the footnotes in my Bible in Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah lived most his life being mocked by people. Jeremiah was called by God to bring the people to repentance. The footnote goes on to state: “But this sad news was the truth. If they would have accepted it, they would have had to repent and turn to God. But because they did not want to do this, they rejected Jeremiah’s message. Have you ever rejected a message or made fun of it because it would require you to change your ways? Before dismissing someone who brings sad news, look carefully at your motives.”[xlii]

George Barna has been the executive chef performing the taste tests in Christianity’s U.S. kitchen for a long time now. Yes, he’s older and wiser than when he began his life’s work. There’s no indication he’s becoming weary, changing his tune or losing his voice. There are holes in the knees of his pants though. A quote from author Philip Yancey captures the essence of the results of George Barna’s work on the State of the Church in 2005 when he says, “Dependence, sorrow, repentance – a longing to change. These are the gates to God’s kingdom.”[xliii]

Perhaps it’s time for a new posture, one where we join George Barna on our knees and rise after confession and prayer to confront the reality of the inadequate answer…together.

Please pass the salt.

Notes:

[ii] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna.

[iii] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p. 63.

[iv] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 51.

[v] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 8.

[vi] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p.130.

[vii] Caldwell, Kirbyjon & Kallenstad, Walt with Sorensen, Paul Entrepreneurial Faith – Launching Bold Initiatives to Expand God’s Kingdom, WaterBrook Press, A Division of Random House, Inc., Copyright © 2004 by Kirbyjon Caldwell, Walt Kallenstadt and Paul Sorensen, p. 1.

[viii] Jenkins, Philip The Next Christendom, Oxford University Press, New York, New York  Copyright © 2002 by Philip Jenkins p. 9.

[ix] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p.128.

[x] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 50.

[xi] Frankfurt, Harry G. On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ Copyright © 2005 by Princeton University Press, p. 47.

[xii] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 50.

[xiii] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p.131.

[xiv] Marti, Gerardo – A Mosaic of Believers – Diversity and Innovation in a Multi-Ethnic Church, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN Copyright © 2005 by Gerardo Marti p. 86.

[xv] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna pp.26-27.

[xvi] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p.14.

[xvii] Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p.37.

[xviii] Lakeland, Paul Liberating the Laity – In Search of an Accountable Church, The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc. New York, NY Copyright © 2002 by Paul Lakeland, p. 184.

[xix] Ravenhill, Leonard.  Why Revival Tarries, BethanyHouse Minneapolis, Min © Copyright 1959 by Leonard Ravenhill p. 155

[xx] Barna, George The Second Coming of the Church – A Blueprint for Survival, WORD Publishing – A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Copyright © 1998 by George Barna, p. 131

[xxi] Barna, George Growing New Disciples – New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ, WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs, CO a Division of Random House, Inc., Copyright © 2001 by George Barna p. 83.

[xxii] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 14.

[xxiii] Barna, George Ten Years Later – Personal Lessons From a Decade of Life, Research and Ministry, Published by Barna Research Group Ltd. Glendale, CA Copyright © 1992 by George Barna p. 145.

[xxiv] Barna, George The Second Coming of the Church – A Blueprint for Survival, WORD Publishing – A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Copyright © 1998 by George Barna, p. 176.

[xxv] Gallup, George H. Jr. and Lindsay, Michael  The Gallup Guide – Reality Check for 21^st Century Churches, Group Publishing, Inc. Loveland, CO Copyright © 2002 by  George H. Gallup Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay P. 17

[xxvi] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 53.

[xxvii] Barna, George When Leadership Becomes a Struggle, You Feel Like A Fish Out of Water – 9 Strategies to Maximize Your God-Given Leadership Potential, Integrity Publishers, A Division of Integrity Media, Inc. Brentwood, TN Copyright © 2002 by George Barna, p. xxvi.

[xxviii] Wuthnow, Robert Christianity in the 21^st Century – Reflections on the Challenges Ahead, Oxford University Press, New York, NY Copyright © 1993 by Robert Wuthnow, p. 10

[xxix] Barna, George Grow Your Church From the Outside In, Regal Books – A Division of Gospel Light Ventura, CA Copyright © 2002 by George Barna, p. 160.

[xxx] Barna, George The Frog In the Kettle – What Christians Need to Know About Life in the 21^st Century, Regal Books – A Division of Gospel Light, Ventura, CA 93006 Copyright © 1990 by George Barna p.137.

[xxxi] Barna, George Think Like Jesus – Make The Right Choice Every Time. Integrity Publishers, A Division of Integrity Media, Inc. Brentwood, TN Copyright © 2003 by George Barna, p. 40.

[xxxii] Barna. George & Hatch, Mark Boiling Point Regal Books, A Division of Gospel Light Ministries, Ventura, CA  Copyright (c) 2001 by George Barna and Mark Hatch p. 238

[xxxiii] Barna, George and The Barna Group The State of the Church: 2005, Copyright © 2005 by George Barna and The Barna Group, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003 p. 34.

[xxxiv] Barna, George The Second Coming of the Church – A Blueprint for Survival, WORD Publishing – A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Copyright © 1998 by George Barna, p. 178.

[xxxv] Dick, Dan R. and Burry, Evelyn M. Quest- A Journey Toward a New Kind of Church, Discipleship Resources, Nashville, TN Copyright © 1999 by Discipleship Resources P. 19.

[xxxvi] Scott-King, Coretta The Words of Martin Luther King Jr. NewMarket Press, NY, NY Copyright © 1964 by the Nobel Foundation and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. p.89

[xxxvii] Merton, Thomas No Man Is An Island, Published by Barnes & Noble, Inc. New York, New York by arrangement with Harcourt, Inc., Copyright © 1955 by The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Copyright renewed 1983 by the Trustees of the Merton Legacy Trust, p. xiii.

[xxxviii] Barna, George and McKay, William Paul Vital Signs – Emerging Social Trends and the Future of American Christianity, Crossway Books, a Division of Good News Publishers, Westchester, Ill., Copyright © 1984 by George Barna and William Paul McKay p. 144.

[xxxix] Marsh, Charles The Beloved Community – How Faith Shapes Social Justice From the Civil Rights Movement to Today, Basic Books – A Member of the Perseus Books Group, Cambridge, MA Copyright © 2005 by Charles Marsh, p. 5.

[xl] Barna, George The Frog In the Kettle – What Christians Need to Know About Life in the 21^st Century, Regal Books – A Division of Gospel Light, Ventura, CA 93006 Copyright © 1990 by George Barna p.21.

[xli] Colson, Charles in Foreword to Schaeffer, Francis He Is There And He Is Not Silent Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL © 1972 p. ix

[xlii] Footnote – Jeremiah 23:33-40 Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois and Zondervan Publishing House Grand Rapids, Michigan Copyright © 1991 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. p. 1332.

[xliii] Yancey, Philip The Jesus I Never Knew, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI Copyright © 1991 by Philip Yancey p. 114.

Christialiens Imposters Inhabit the Body of Christ in the U.S.

Alien Abduction

They’re among us.

Have you ever seen one of those science fiction movies where aliens from another planet take over the physical bodies of unsuspecting earthlings? Somehow, the unsuspecting Christian is snatched up and beamed aboard some sort of spacecraft where the transformation takes place. (I’ve never been on one of these ships but I sure would like to get a look at the inside of one). When they’re returned to earth, they look exactly the same as before they were abducted. The abductees typically have no near-term recollection of what has happened to them. Yet, they behave quite differently. Let me explain.

Infectious Disease Alert #2005-654 B:

The Christian Center for Disease Control (‘CCDC’) has issued the following health alert for the Christian community in the U.S.: “It appears that the body of Christ in the U.S. has become infected with imposters. We are referring to the afflicted beings as Christialiens,” according to Dr. Larry Frank, Communications Director for the Institute. “We have several thousand suspected cases. Unfortunately, this outbreak has now officially been identified as possessing the clear and present danger of becoming an epidemic.”

The Apprehension:

Acting on anonymous tips, the CIA (Christian Intelligence Agency) launched a nationwide, multi-agency, covert sting operation. Agencies involved included the DEA (Disciples to End Apostasy), the ATF (Agency of True Faith) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Insurrection). Through the use of confidential informants and the successful infiltration by undercover agents, the task force apprehended several hundred Christialiens during the last week in the Washington, D.C. and Louisville, Kentucky areas.

In Washington D.C., San Diego radio-show host Roger Hedgecock of the “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” claim to fame was accompanied by 16 other radio hosts from California (John and Ken from KFI in Los Angeles were there), Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio and Washington state. These folks aired their radio broadcasts live from a Holiday Inn meeting room near the U.S. Capitol. Joining these hosts were and an estimated 400 fans ( proudly referred to as the “Angry Mob.”). In Louisville, KY,   the Justice Sunday gathering was held at a megachurch with a highly anticipated, videotaped, keynote address entitled Stop The Filibuster Against People of Faith from Senate Majority leader Bill Frist. It was broadcast via satellite simulcast to hundreds of thousands of the Christalien brethren throughout the United States. According to Task Force spokesman R.E. Pentance, “These events were identified by agency informants as target rich environments infiltrated by hundreds of Christialien insurgents.”

The Interrogation

Detainees apprehended at these events for questioning were whisked away by Task Force personnel and are presently quarantined in a secure, underground bunker. The location has not been disclosed due to national security considerations. The Christian Center for Disease Control (‘CCDC’) disclosed today that they have completed in-depth interrogations of 304 suspected Christaliens infected with the disease. At a press conference today, Dr. Hans Lewis, Director of the National Academy of Christian Epidemiology, who led a team of theologians who conducted the interviews and have profiled the characteristics of the malady stated: “There appear to be no visible, external, physical symptoms of the disease. You cannot distinguish between a sufferer and a healthy disciple from their outward appearance. Each sufferer has a vague recollection of being transported to a place (the abduction) where they became inhabited with the malady. It may be infectious. It’s just too early to tell. Clearly, the heart and mind of the unsuspecting victim have been significantly altered. We have identified the source as the Devil himself.” (Gasps from the crowd were heard as a female reporter ran from the Media room screaming hysterically, “They’re here! They’re really here!”).

Christialien Diagnosis:

The following section will describe the symptoms of Christialiens, as outlined by Dr. Lewis and his team:

1.    Power focused faith – The patients have become spiritually overwhelmed with socio-political issues of secular life. Their focus on Christ has diminished markedly, in some cases, altogether. They are clearly overwhelmed with concerns about what is going on with the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government. Winning, losing or spinning their personal interpretation on these issues has become their ultimate concern. They have distinctly lost their ability to sustain a focus on their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

2.    Self-Righteousness – The need to have ‘right’ beliefs on particular social and political issues in our culture has become the overriding concern of the Christialien. They are obsessed with position that they have all the right answers. They contend that the only problem is that the rest of us aren’t listening. They are compulsive about characterizing the world as us vs. them. Rather than treating them as neighbors to be loved, them has morphed into opposition enemies to be trampled and eliminated. This obsessive-compulsive dimension of the Christialien disorder results in markedly reduced or complete abandonment of their individual devotion to, and worship time with Christ. Worship has become warship for these poor folks whereby assemblies of believers are focused on bartering with God to bless the days pressing political agenda rather than house the homeless, feed the hungry or love their undocumented immigrant neighbors as themselves. Every Sunday, the pulpit is used a gun turret to target the coming weeks focus of the congregation’s spiritual coordinates.

3.    Arteriosclerosis – According to Dr. Lewis and his team, “Without exception, each Christalien suffers from an advanced ‘hardness of heart’ condition. Commonly referred to as arteriosclerosis or a hardening of the arterial walls of the heart that leads to impaired circulation.  It is particularly acute in patients when confronted by others who hold views on issues that are different from theirs.”

4.    Arthrightus – Due to the circulatory impairment described above, Christialiens have become rigid, narrow-minded, mean-spirited and inflexible in their thinking and communication. This behavior has a tendency to be revolting to others and creates social distance between the Christialien and others in our nation. Rather than sincerely seeking to fulfill the Great Commission by attracting others to Christ, Christialiens repel others from seeking a relationship with their God. Christaliens feel distinctly superior to others. They think of those who hold views contrary to theirs as less than, evil and defective.

Treatment/Immunization:

According to the CCDC, “The health of the body of Christ in the U.S. is under siege. Don’t panic. Repent and pray! Fall to your knees and ask Jesus to intervene in all this madness. Confess that you too have experienced some of the symptoms described herein. Confess to Him that you have felt resentment, disdain or disgust toward those who have been abducted and inhabited by the disease of the suffering Christialien. Pray that each of us shall muster the supernatural strength to hear and heed the following: “Narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ. “Look unto Me!”  How do we do this? “We shall not become like Christ until we give Him more time.”

We’ve been invaded Christendom!

Overlooked

I can remember an episode of the Lone Ranger on television. Tonto was hidden amongst the boulders on a bluff overlooking a narrow passage leading into a valley. The Lone Ranger was aboard his trusty stallion Silver near the valley entrance below, concealed behind a thicket of bushes, waiting to pounce on the unwitting outlaw. Tonto sees the bad guy entering the trail to the passageway and signals the Lone Ranger with a teeny-tiny mirror. Surprise! One more outlaw apprehended.          Hi Ho Silver!

After that episode, every kid on my block got one. We developed secret signal codes to use with our mirrors. We would play games where you weren’t allowed to speak. You communicated using only the secret code by flashing your signal mirror. We drove our parents crazy. The parents in our neighborhood got together and confiscated every one of these wonderful devices from us. (This occurred after my buddy Dickie flashed his mirror in Mr. Stewart’s car when he was driving home after work. My parents said Mr. Stewart almost had a heart attack and ran off the road).

It seems to me that man has a penchant for developing uses for things that were never intended by their original inventor. Sometimes, we characterize this process positively with words like progress, innovation, enhancement or improvement. At other times, we refer to the outcome of this process in a negative way with phrases like unintended uses, unanticipated consequences or clear and present danger. Finally, depending upon how we view the outcome of this process, we have a tendency to attribute value-laden terms to the results. We use terms like good, fun, helpful, useful, better, more efficient, bad, axis of evil, destructive and dangerous.

It is imperative that Christians in the U.S. become more informed about how this process really works. This is a subject that we seem to have overlooked. We are people called to become Christ-like. As Scripture states: “18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.[i] This article is designed to assist us in taking another look in the mirror. Let me explain.

The Essentials

Have you ever thought about the fundamental essentials that come with a house, apartment, or hotel room these days? Stuff like doors, toilets, sinks, showers, lights, shelves, running water, electricity, closets, floor coverings, and windows. We expect to find these accoutrements when we walk into any dwelling today in the U.S. One item we seem to overlook when compiling a list of the items that comprise our expectations is mirrors. Think about it. Even if the dwelling is brand new, you can usually find a mirror installed in at least one room of your accommodations.

Mirrors have become elevated to the list of essentials in our society.  We live in a society where the old era of “one mirror in the bathroom” has progressed to an age with mirrors all over the place. Mirrors are big business. I Googled the term “mirrors” and 19,800,000 results popped up. Mirrors are no longer optional. They’ve become essentials. We’re surrounded! We’ve become a mirror, mirror on the wall society.

A strange phenomenon occurs when something is transformed from an option to an essential in this country (other than the fact that by sheer numbers, essentials dwarf options); we humans begin to take them for granted. How many times do you see yourself in a mirror everyday without recalling what you actually saw? The last time you drove your car, which mirror, left, right, or rearview did you look into before you exited the vehicle? What is the date you intentionally looked yourself in the eyes in front of a mirror, other than to apply make-up, pluck your eyebrows, or get some foreign object out of your eye? If you’re honest, the answers to these questions are “I don’t have a clue.”

Essentials have an interesting way of de-sensitizing us. Becoming desensitized is an important part of taking things for granted. You know that you’re taking something for granted when you don’t miss it until you can’t find it, it’s stolen, closed or doesn’t work properly.

For the Christian, we have become insensitive to the fact that we are created in His image, for His purposes. We are His essentials. We have come to take ourselves for granted, numb to the fact that we are His witnesses to this world. After embracing the Face of mercy, love, forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ, far too many of us have journeyed on in life, somehow losing the luster of the intended preciousness of our relationship with Him. We received a glimpse of ourselves in Christ, listened to the word and have moved on, somehow losing degrees of the wonder of what we had seen, heard and experienced. As the Scripture says: 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.[ii]

Many of us who claim the name of Christ are, in fact, lost. It’s time to re-orient ourselves to what it means to be one of His essentials. I adore what theologian Thomas Merton says, “In order to find God in ourselves, we must stop looking at ourselves, stop checking and verifying ourselves in the mirror of our own futility, and be content to be in Him and to do whatever He wills, according to our limitations, judging our acts not in the light of our own illusions, but in the light of His reality which is all around us in the things and people we live with.”[iii]

It is essential that the luster He intended our lives to reflect be restored to the body of Christ in the U.S. How? You ask?

Mirror, mirror on the wall…it’s the next question that plagues us all.

The Glare

The new Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles is being renovated…again. After spending $274 million on this project, the daytime glare off of the Hall’s exterior raised temperatures within the interiors of the living quarters of adjacent condo’s fifteen degrees, distracted pedestrians and blinded motorists. That’s flashy! That’s hot! That’s L.A.

History is replete with the insidious reality whereby deliberate attempts to make us the fairest of them all, end up as embarrassing snafus. Disney’s Concert Hall has plenty of company, including the Christian community in the U.S. One of the primary reasons behind these recurring historical facts is that we continue to fail to take into account the impact our witness will have on our own, our neighbors, and the observing world. As characterized by one author, “The world is watching us.  They are watching and wondering whether we will be different.”[iv] Another writes, “To understand the love-hate relationship, the attraction-repulsion toward America that exists in many parts of the world and is widespread in the Muslim world, we must not only know who we think we are and how we view others but try to understand how others might see us.”[v]

When you take a look at the U.S. Christian community today, you’d better grab a pair of polarized lenses. Christianity was never intended to be an institution that reflected glitz and glare by virtue of it’s exterior. I am convinced that Christ weeps over the rancid name calling in the U.S. secular and Christian media between those who claim His name. Christianity, from its inception has been a counterintuitive faith. It is intended to be a movement attractive by virtue of the transformation that occurs in the interior life of those who claim the name of Christ, giving all the glory to He who makes this all possible. Yet, without the essential reflection of Christ to those around us, we are just more glare that people have learned to turn away from. The reflection of Christianity in the U.S. finds itself in desperate need of a renovation it seems unable to envision. Have we been blinded by our own light?

The Disney Concert Hall fiasco had plenty of blame to spread around; the designer, the materials provider, the general contractor etc. The blame game is simply another form of glaring at one another for the purpose of distancing ourselves from the shame and guilt associated with the conundrum. It’s a disingenuous attempt to avoid personal responsibility. Heaven knows we Christians are no different. Author Donald Miller captures the essence of this point in the following; “I think every conscious person, every person who is awake to the functioning principles within his reality, has a moment where he stops blaming the problems in the world on group think, on humanity and authority, and starts to face himself.  I hate this more than anything.  This is the hardest principle within Christian spirituality for me to deal with. The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest.”[vi]

Pound your chest three times and keep reading.

The Illusion

In the U.S., it seems that a central, biblical truth of our faith that becoming Christ-like has somehow become optional or illusory. This present day mirage has become an illusion because so many Christians in the U.S. think that it’s optional, strangely elusive or doesn’t apply to them. Frankly, others feel that “I’ve got a good handle of my faith and relationship with Jesus.” (What they are really saying is Jesus has limits that they have reached regarding the personal transformation possibilities). Both camps have succumbed to a subtle, destructive illusion.

Again, you are essential to Him. It’s time to get honest. We don’t behave in accordance with the tenets of our faith[1] because we really don’t believe what we have been told or what we say we believe. Unfortunately, that’s not faith at all. That’s maintaining an image or managing an appearance. It’s simply living the illusion.

The next question that plagues us all now becomes How do we become accountable to Him? One author shares some wisdom that is pertinent here; “Again and again, I’ve heard active citizens say that what motivates them the most is the desire to respect what they see in the mirror.  The exercise isn’t about vanity, but about values, about taking stock of ourselves and comparing the convictions we say we hold with the lives we actually lead.  If the eyes are windows to the soul, and faces reflections of character, looking in the mirror lets us step back from the flux of our lives and hold ourselves accountable.”[vii]

The next question above casts a light upon the fact that the lives we actually lead are somewhat contradictory to the Christian convictions we say we hold. This is an issue of authenticity. Part of the answer, I believe, is contained in the following from A.W. Tozer: “Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus’ feet and surrender ourselves to His meekness.  Then we will not care what people think of us so long as God is pleased.  Then what we are will be everything; what we appear will take its place far down the scale of interest for us.  Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed.  Only an evil desire to shine makes us want to appear other than we are.”[viii]

Perhaps we must begin to desire to break away from the precarious comfort that the illusion of glitz, glare, complacency and comfort have blinded us with. Illusions are optional. Our maturing beyond them is essential. Yet, in some peculiar way, I have the feeling that this maturing may distinctly involve humility. Not just an intellectual acknowledgement of humility but an actual metamorphosis into becoming a child of God again. As Harold Kushner writes, “The real child will come to life only when the illusory child dies.”[ix]

It’s time to get honest and begin to wrestle with the illusions perpetuated by mainstream Christianity in this country. The authenticity of our faith is legitimately judged by its results. All the results are in and, at best, they are perplexing. At worst, they are embarrassing and shameful.[x] Maybe the following from C.S. Lewis captures the essence of the challenge in our midst: “Fine feelings, new insights, greater interest in ‘religion’ mean nothing unless they make our actual behaviour better; just as in illness, ‘feeling better’ is not much good if the thermometer shows that your temperature is still going up. In that sense the outer world is quite right to judge Christianity by its results. Christ told us to judge by results…Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity.”[xi]

I believe this to be a critical item within the next question agenda the emerging church must intentionally explore. This is an essential part of moving beyond the known, into experiencing mysterious, new dimensions of becoming Christ-like that He so desperately desires to reveal to us. It’s akin to lightening your pack on a weeklong hike, discarding those items you have been carrying about that have only served to weigh you down. It is an indispensable part of moving beyond where we presently find ourselves. As Leonard Sweet says, “Christianity is a mystery religion.  When you’ve wrung the mystery out of Christianity, you’ve wrung its neck.”[xii]

This process of de-illusionment is not optional. It’s essential, as stated by sociologist Daniel Levinson in the following: “As he attempts to reappraise his life, a man discovers how much it has been based on illusions, and he is faced with the task of de-illusionment. By this expression I mean a reduction of illusions, a recognition that long held assumptions and beliefs about self and world are not true. This process merits special attention because illusions play so vital a role in our lives throughout the life cycle.” [xiii]

Rub your eyes, throw some cold water in your face, refocus and let’s move on, shall we?

The Reflection

Imagine you were blind from birth, living without the sense of vision. What would the term reflection mean to you? Living in total darkness, you couldn’t see a reflection, even through an incredible exertion of your own willpower. You wouldn’t be standing in front of a mirror for countless hours attempting to admire your own image. No, the manner in which you would be capable of comprehending your sense of self, others and the world around you would be quite different. In fact, your ability to grasp your sense of God would be altered significantly, versus those of us who with sight.

Why is it then that Christianity in the U.S. is so vision-impaired, when it is composed by a vast majority of people who have absolutely no problems whatsoever with sight? As one author writes, “I believe that the crisis of vision is at the core of the crisis of reflection. We simply don’t spend enough time reflecting upon why we do what we do. As a consequence, at many levels, the images and values of modern culture subvert our lives, families, and Christian organizations, and we scarcely seem to notice.”[xiv] Once again, I believe this issue of reflection to be a vitally important item within the next question agenda emerging Christianity has an opportunity to uncover.

In terms of the reflective properties of the Christian life in the U.S. modeled for us in Scripture with terms like image, likeness, resemblance, Christ-like and disciple, we have reached a juncture where we must confess that we have been admiring the wrong image in the mirror for far too long. This self-righteous fixation on the wrong object of our attention is, I believe, the root of the crisis of reflection. This point is eloquently portrayed in the following from Oswald Chambers: “The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord; you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord’s Own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you.[xv]”

Philip Yancey once wrote, “If we cannot detect God’s presence in the world, it may be that we have been looking in the wrong places.”[xvi] Perhaps we have prostituted our God-given ability to see into a form of diabolical spiritual blindness. The present-day, primary use of our sense of sight has corrupted our willingness to spend the gift of time each day seated at the feet of He who created it, reflecting upon His majesty, forgiveness, mercy, grace and love. Just as the moon cannot reflect the sun’s illumination if it’s light is eclipsed by the Earth’s position between them, it serves no purpose to howl at the moon or shout at the sun. It is our position that must change.

We must modify our present posture to reflect the Son’s illumination to this, His world. This is essential.

Summary:

If this article has got you all steamed up, or if you cannot see the way out of our present-day, foggy conundrum, that’s okay. You’re not alone. Take some comfort from the Scripture that says, “12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.[xvii] However, don’t rest there. Yearn to move beyond what you can see. Develop a passion for the reality of the unseen. If there is one thing this article has attempted to do is to reinvigorate your appetite for the mystery and majesty of Christ, beyond the existing mirrors we have erected and become to reflect Him to the world. As A.W. Tozer wrote, “We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen.”[xviii]

It’s time to move reverently beyond what we Christians in the U.S. have come to say we believe or what we know, while our lives reflect dramatically different images. It’s time to confess that “militant ignorance helps us deny the most destructive results of what we say and do.”[xix] However, as one author points out, “History need not determine the future.”[xx]

As we move forward, maybe it’s time to recognize that the phrase “Mirror, mirror on the wall” is a phrase from a fairy tale. Yet, it is only half of the entire phrase. The final part of the phrase is a question. It’s the next question that plagues us all. Christianity in the U.S. has demonstrated that when the next question becomes who’s the fairest of them all, the magnetism of Christ’s witnesses to this world morphs into something He never intended. It is transformed from a Divinely ordained attraction reflected through the loving lifestyle of a people of The Way, to a people of the Choice; choosing to revel in the institution of our own image rather than He whose name we claim.

Perhaps it’s time to change the rhyme we’ve become so accustomed to and cry out from the depths of our souls, Jesus! Jesus! Lord of All! Teach us to reflect Your love to all! Are you up to it? …it’s the next question that plagues us all. Merton sums it up quite nicely; “For love must not only seek the truth in the lives of those around us; it must find it there. But when we find the truth that shapes our lives we have found more than an idea. We have found a Person. We have come upon the actions of One Who is still hidden, but Whose work proclaims Him holy and worthy to be adored. And in Him we also find ourselves.”[xxi] As Richard Foster says, “Lone Ranger Christianity is a contradiction in terms.”[xxii]

Finally, a man enters a busy office and raises his voice over the din…”Excuse me. Have you seen a real, live disciple of Jesus around here today?” After a four second silence, an obscure voice is heard from the back of the room, “Next Question.”

God Bless you,

Bibliography and Notes:

[ii] James 1:22-25 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

[iii] Merton, Thomas.  Seeds, SHAMBHALA, Boston © Copyright 2002 by Robert Inchauti

P.116

[iv] Burchett, Dave.  When Bad Christians Happen to Good People, WaterBooks Press Colorado Springs, CO Ó Copyright 2002 by Dave Burchett p.84

[v] Esposito, John L.  Unholy War-Terror in the Name of Islam, OXFORD University Press, Oxford, NY Ó Copyright 2002 by John L. Esposito p. 155

[vi] Miller, Donald.  Blue Like Jazz, Thomas Nelson Publishers Nashville, TN Ó Copyright 2003 by Donald Miller p. 20

[vii] Rogat Loeb, Paul.  Soul of a Citizen – Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time, St. Martin’s Griffin, NY Ó Copyright 1999 by Paul Rogat Loeb p.14

[viii] Tozer, A. W. The Pursuit of God – The Human Thirst for the Devine, Christian Publications, Inc. Camp Hill, PA Ó Copyright 1982, 1993 by Christian Publications, Inc.p. 109.

[ix] Kushner, Harold S.  How Good Do We Have To Be – A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness, Little, Brown and Company Boston, MA Ó Copyright 1996 by Harold S. Kushner, P.75

[x] Dahl, Bill Chef Barna’s State of the Church 2005, http://the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue78/index.cfm?id=1&ref=COVERSTORY

[xi] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, HarperSanFrancisco – A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, (c) 1952, pp. 207-208.

[xii] Sweet, Leonard.  Out of the Question… into the Mystery – Getting Lost in the Godlife Relationship, WaterBrook Press Colorado Springs, CO Ó Copyright 2004 by Leonard I. Sweet p. 197.

[xiii] Levinson, Daniel J., The Seasons Of A Man’s Life, New York: Ballantine Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, 1978, p.192

[xiv] Sine, Tom Mustard Seed versus McWorld: Reinventing Life and Faith for the Future, Copyright (c) 1999 by Tom Sine, Baker Books, A Division of Baker Book House Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49516, p. 146.

[xv] Chambers, Oswald My Utmost for His Highest Journal Barbour Publishing, Inc. Copyright (c) 1935 Discovery House Publishers & Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright (c) 1963 Oswald Chambers Publications Association Ltd. p. January 23^rd

[xvi] Yancey, Philip.  The Jesus I Never Knew, Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan © Copyright 1995 by Philip Yancey. P. 232

[xvii] 1 Corinthians 13:12 Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[xviii] Tozer, A. W. The Pursuit of God – The Human Thirst for the Devine, Christian Publications, Inc. Camp Hill, PA Ó Copyright 1982, 1993 by Christian Publications, Inc.

[xix] Rogat Loeb, Paul.  Soul of a Citizen – Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time, St. Martin’s Griffin, NY Ó Copyright 1999 by Paul Rogat Loeb p. 84

[xx] Butler Bass, Diana Broken We Kneel – Reflections on Faith & Citizenship, Jossey-Bass Publishers, Inc. Ó Copyright 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 117.

[xxi] Merton, Thomas No Man Is an Island, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, NY Ó Copyright 1955 by The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Ó Copyright renewed 1983 by The Trustees of the Merton Legacy Trust. P. 9.

[xxii] Foster, Richard J. Freedom of Simplicity, HarperSanFrancisco, A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, Ó Copyright 1981 by Richard J. Foster, p. 146