church . . . doing vs. being

The church.

Who we are. At the core of our existence should exist a belief, a soul-knowledge of who we are called to be. I have lost much of this in the discussion on how to creatively “do” church. And that’s not say that we shouldn’t use our talents and creativity to be excellent in all we do, because we should. But I have a question.

What is it all for? Why do we do it?

Are we teaching the church how to be the church, or is it something much less? Are we teaching our congregations that in order to act like real Christians we do X, Y, & Z? or maybe that’s the problem in and of itself. We are teaching how to act. In essence, it is behavior modification. Because while we are here on this earth, we need to play by the rules, and the goal is to go to heaven when we die. So that is why we “do” church. So that we can remind ourselves how to act proper. Because that’s what good Christians do. They act right.

Most everything that we do reflects where we find our identity. If we see ourselves as unlovable, then our actions reflect that. If we see ourselves without purpose, then our actions reflect that. Everything goes back to our identity. Other times, we place our identity in what we do, or what we have done. This can go for anyone from a fratastic partier to a self-righteous preacher. They are defined by what they do.

And when God calls the Isrealites His people, it is shift in thinking. No longer is their identity based on what they do(making bricks). It is based solely on who they are(His people). Who we are. And not only does He change who they are, He gives them a purpose. To represent Him. To be His priests, a holy nation.

Look at the order. First is who we are. Second is what we do. And not the other way around. Because as children as God, that is first and foremost what matters. Who we are. Not what we do, what we have done, what we are going to do, what we might do, what we thought about doing . . . Who we are. This is inescapable. We are loved. We are cherished. We are doted upon. He looks on and is overjoyed with how beautiful we are. We are loved.

And then our mission becomes to reflect that love. And Jesus follows the long line of prophets who called the nation of Israel on the carpet for not doing this. For not taking care of the poor, the orphan, the fatherless, the widow. Israel doesn’t do what it was called to do. His nation of priests don’t live up to their calling, because their identity has been lost. So Jesus, the priest from the new order, comes and doesn’t just call them out, He does it. The priests in the line of Levi and Aaron forgot. So it took God’s Son, from the order of Melchizadek to set things right. To demonstrate what the church is supposed to be.

Everything that the church does should reflect who we are. I believe that the world is aching for the church to start acting like it. To stop thinking about how to get everyone and in the door and present the gospel to them. That is not being the church. That is a organizing a gathering. And the gatherings are not supposed to be the point of who we are. In Hebrews, it says “let us not stop meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, so that we may spur one another on towards good works.” The point is the good works. The point is demonstrating and living out the resurrected Christ each day. As Jesus said in John 13, “love each other as I have loved you. This is how the world will know you are My disciples.”

This self-sacrificial love is what the church is called to exhibit. This is how we become the church. This is how the world sees the church. And from the New Testament on, the church was called to be a sending church. No longer attractional, but one that goes out and demonstrates this type of love.

And we have to meet together to encourage each other towards this, because there is no way that we can do this without encouraging each other. It is not possible. That is why we gather.

I can’t help but think of what the world would look like if we started to act like the church. I can’t help but get excited and get a fire in my belly about it. Because I love Jesus. And I love His church. And if we, His church, would realize who we already are, then we could see who we are called to be, and then it just might be possible to see that the kingdom of God is at hand. Then we might see the revolution in our midst.

And that, my friends, changes the world.

be good to each other. look at Christ. peace.

scot mcknight . . . brilliant

click on the title for the out of ur blog.

this might be the shortest most complete article i have ever read on what it means to be a christian. on what it means to be a member of the kingdom of God. like scot, i have been troubled by the growing self-centeredness of atonement.

he writes "At the bottom of lots of our problems is a “gospel” problem. Students of mine that grow up in Christians homes often admit to me that the gospel they grew up was this: Jesus came to die for my sins so I could go to heaven. This parody of the biblical gospel, I contend, is at the heart of many of our problems."

i sense that this a growing concern among a new generation. some may call this emerging or emergent. . . i say, who cares? if its true, than it needs to be addressed. and his first example is absolutely hilarious to me, because i hear it all the time! and i'm not surprised that people's response is what it is.

we have reduced the gospel to having sins forgiven and going to heaven. i heard a pastor say once that the reason a congregation should get involved in a gift giving program for less fortunate families during christmas was so that the congregation's kids would have a better understanding of what christmas means! i mean, i'm not saying that those who give don't receive something greater in return for giving, but that can't be the reason. the reason has to be to show the love of Christ in a self-sacrificial way(John 13:34-35).

i also just heard a message from rob bell entitled wine and heaven. it is a much longer discussion on the same issue of salvation, heaven, kingdom life, etc. you can download it for free here, or you can get it on the mars hill podcast, which is also free.

be good to each other. look at Christ. peace.

q reflections

over the past few days, as i have painted, painted and painted; i find myself going back to the conference, and here are the highlights.

- catherine rohr sticking to the pastors about not being welcoming towards former prisoners as they re-enter society. how pastors read moses, david, and paul and they were all murders, so why do act different towards murders today?

- chilling with the guys from imago dei and new providence at ted's thursday night. rick mckinley is absolutely hilarious. meeting christian was a good time. a few drinks, many laughs, great stories. . . i have got to get down to the bahamas.

- the worship experience thursday night. rob bell led communion, and the worship was communion with God. an intimate time, yet a celebration of life, forgiveness, and love. singing tim hughe's song everything was a profound spiritual experience for me. everyone should go and download it right now. no questions asked.

- beating hootkey, shotgun, and pony in poker tuesday night and making a quick 15 bucks.

- eating at fire of brazil. the amount of meat i ate for dinner thursday night was phenomenal. seriously. filet mignon, flank steak, top sirloin, chicken, lamb, sirloin wrapped in bacon. . . i can't remember all of it. there were no exotic meats, like gator or kangaroo, but i don't care. one of the best dining experiences ever.

- the panel on homosexuality with shane wheeler and chris seay as well as the talkback session with them. while they remained fairly conservative on their stance towards homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle, i felt they still approached the topic with a grace that is not usually exhibited by pastors at conferences. they were still very thought provoking and i believe will help move the conversation forward. i thought it was interesting that they didn't let them talk, but instead they were interviewed.

- blake mycoskie from tom's shoes. click on the link to the right to find out about them. they're great. and i love ideas like this that will change the world. basically, you buy a pair of these argentinian shoes, and they give a pair to someone in argentina. its that simple. and there are tons of different colors and styles.

- the private concert with jon foreman of switchfoot. i wrote about this before, but this was one of the coolest concert experiences ever. during the whole thing i kept thinking about mckinna, and how i wished that she was there with me, and how much she would enjoy it, and right after it was over, her mom called me to tell me that she had talked to her, and kinna wanted me to know how much she loved me and missed me, and how she couldn't wait to see me. that was exactly what i needed to hear.

anyways, it was overall a great conference. i hope to go next year and continue to meet new people, continue to be inspired, and continue to move closer to God.

be good to each other. look at Christ. peace.