The Shack, Church History, and The World

A quote from The Shack--Jesus talking to Mack:


"Mack, the world system is what it is. Institutions, systems, ideologies, and all the vain, futile efforts of humanity that go with them are everywhere, and interaction with all of it is unavoidable. But, I can give you freedom to overcome a system of power in which you find yourself, be it religious, economic, social, or political. You will grow in the freedom to be inside or outside all kinds of systems and to move freely between and among them. Together, you and I can be in it and not of it."

There are many people that are knocking this book because the way it represents God's disdain for worldly institutions including the church that developed power structures for institutional gain. I wonder if these critics are so caught up in these institutions and power structures because they use them for personal gain. In Wiliston Walker's A History of the Christian Church, he writes:

"...Christian writers from Hermas to Origen and Tertullian, make it plain that the churches of the second and third centuries continued to see themselves as a society some how "set apart"--governed by a Spirit other than the spirits that ruled the world at large. The original source of this attitude can no doubt be sought in the world-view of the Jewish apocalyptic [The Jewish Prophets]. Repudiating the political, moral, and religious corruption of a world trapped in the nets of evil, the apocalyptist had looked to the future for that world's overthrow--to a new age when God would punish evil, reward suffering for righteousness, and so set the creation right [looked forward to Jesus]. Since, however, those who had believed the message of Jesus' resurrection and had entered, by baptism, upon his new life knew themselves to have a share even now in the good things of the age to come, they also knew that it was their business to live as people "crucified...to the world."

It seems to be me The Shack is calling the church back to its original perspective and Christ's directive to be in the world and not of it. Are we so much a part of our world's institutions that we can't see we are a part of them? Do we not see that God has called us out from them? I grew up in Baptist circles and my extremely conservative Baptist church emphasized being different from the world. The problem: They only wanted us to be different in our private morality--don't drink, don't chew, don't go to movies, don't have sex out of marriage...etc. Granted they were right about some things in which we are a called to be different--sex out of marriage. They were legalists about others--don't go to movies. INSTEAD of focusing on private morality the church must focus on being different from corporate morality as well, it must be different from the world's systems and institutions, it and its members must act differently from them. We, the church, have to look at ourselves, both individually and corporately, to see how presuppositions are are based upon this world's understanding and way of doing things and not God's way revealed in Scripture. We have to know that we are so a part of these systems and institutions a part of us that we will have to work extremely hard not to twist the Bible to support our way of doing these, but rather use the Bible to examine how we have been co-opted by these institutions.

Slavery, The Politics of Power, and The Risk of Grace

The following is a great quote from a New Testament scholar regarding his reflections on the message of Philemon:

"All societies rest upon inequities--some concealed, others noticed--that make brotherhood impossible. Every age and locale has its particular and familiar slaveries. What heightens injustice is that all believers--exploiters or exploited--are equally nearsighted about the oppressions we have unwittingly learned to live with. No one cries out: the strong because they need not, the weak for they dare not. Or perhaps this unfair: it might seem that slaves would sense injustice that owners ignor. But even slaves must have their eyes and their feelings dulled; you cannot long entertain hope for what is unattainable. So, rather than live in perpetual frustration, the enslaved man generally will not allow his conscience to become too sensitive...Yet there is no social order, no revision of the economy, no advance in politics, no possible world situation that adequaetely conforms to the gospel or even makes room for its full realization, no revolution that does not eventually redistribute injustice."

This is the whole point of Paul not commanding Philemone to emancipate Onesimous; rather, tries to persuade Philemon in love and relationship. He (Paul) is trying to live out the Gospel that restores creation with Shalom or peace and he courageously keeps his "power" as an apostle under control--so he will not become an oppressor or exploiter and operate by the same world system that Christ came to redeem, and calls his church to redeem by operating Christ's way (love and self-sacrifice, power under not power over)--not the world's way.  Further, we have the Hope that God, when he returns, will finally correct all injustices--1 Samuel 2 is an example of this Hope/Faith in the life of Hannah.

I have a lot to learn from Paul and this letter to Philemon. I dare say the church in general has a lot to learn as well.

The quote above is from J. T. Burtchaell as quoted by Ben Worthington the III in his Socio-rhetorical Commentary on The Prison Epistles.

The Way The Unchurched Percieve The Church: A Story About a Friend's Unchurched Friend

So today I went to a my son Ian's soccer game and some friends from our small group came out to cheer him on. [We have a great small group that does life together--very biblical but that's another post.] Anyway, we went to McDonald's for our kids to play in the playland. While we were eating and watching the kids, my friend Chris began to relate to me an experience he he had with one of his unchurched friends.

He began the story by sharing how he was helping this friend, we will call him A. J. pull and winterize some boats from the area lakes. As they were driving from job to job AJ began to tell him a story about church people.

As it goes AJ rented some space for his business from a "Christian". This space was in a shop where this Christian businessman worked and AJ rented a certain # of square feet in this shop. As the story goes AJ never received the full number of square feet. Many times AJ would clean the section he was supposed to have and remove equipment and materials this businessman owned that were not suppose to be in his area. Every time he moved this material--it would end up back in his space the very next day. Eventually AJ decided he would only pay have the rent--since he wasn't receiving the full space. This business man cursed him out and yelled at him at the top of his lungs.

AJ commented that it is a shame that Christians--this business man--can live one way at the shop, but at church be a totally different person. He recounted how he had visited this man's church to see him in a suit and tie acting totally different. He then lamented at the fact that Christians think they can go to church and be one way so they can live the rest of their life another way. He also lamented at the fact that he had made some mistakes in his life (had a child out of wedlock) but that nobody AT CHURCH would accept him or give him a chance--even though for the past few years he had been turning his life around.

He then talked about a small group he had attended that wasn't like that. He said looking back--this was his church and this is they way he wished the church would be.

If the church would only realize that non-Christians perceive the institutional church a certain way and that the perceptions they work hard to keep people from having (having "bad" people in the church--one might say "real" people) actually contribute to the negative perception the unchurched have.

When will we learn that we need to be real and authentic. I don't know how many times I have been told that I need to wear a Jacket and Tie because that is what respectable pastor wear. That isn't me, and for me to do this would contribute to the negative perceptions that many of the unchurched have.

The Need for a Missional Ecclesiology Part 1

Once again Dr. Brisco has an excellent post on the missional church. It explains why the leaders of so many churches are afraid to make hard decisions and think only of making the congregants happy.

In this post he quotes Hunsberger who suggests 3 views of church in the US and the West that have contributed to a consumer church. The first view he mentions is called the "Reformed Heritage" view, and it naturally developed into the second view which he call the "Contemporary Variation". Our Church falls into view 1 and because of our consumer driven culture have morphed somewhat into view 2. However, we are not alone--most churches in the West have developed form this reformed heritage. This is why I believe the church in the West needs to recognize and lament what it has become--see my Tears, Persecution, and Connection with god blog--so we can envision a new tomorrow and be the church God wants us to be: view 3 which Hunsburger calls "Missionary vision".

Here is Brisco's Blog:
http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/the-need-for-a-missional-ecclesiology-part-i/

Here is my Tears, Persecution, and Connecting with God blog:
http://davesmcmusings.blogspot.com/2009/06/tears-persecution-connecting-with-god.html

Shared via AddThis

From Market Driven to Mission Oriented

Here is a link to an interesting blog. The posting is called From Market Driven to Mission Oriented. This is definitely a shift the church needs to make. Further, I agree we don't have enough pastors trained in missiology to help us make that shift. Even more many of the "conservative" or "fundamentalist" missionaries the West has sent have no real missiological training--there form of missionary activity was to impose Western values on the churches they were serving.

Shared via AddThis

Steve Addison Quote on Apostolic Leadership

The apostolic role within established churches and denominations requires the reinterpreting of the denomination [or church's] foundational values in light of the demands of its mission today. The ultimate goal of these apostolic leaders is to call the denomination [or church] away from maintenance, back to mission. The apostolic leader needs to be a visionary, who can outlast significant opposition from within the denominational [or church] structures and can build alliances with those who desire change. Further more, the strategy of the apostolic leader could involve casting vision and winning approval for a shift from maintenance to mission. In addition the leader has to encourage signs of life within the existing structures and raise up a new generation of leaders and churches from the old. The apostolic leader needs to ensure the new generation in not "frozen out" by those who resist change. Finally, such a leader must restructure the denomination [or church's] institutions so that they serve mission and purpose.

Steve Addison as Quoted by Alan Hirsh in the book The Forgotten Ways p. 156.

Key thoughts:

1. Reinterpetation of denominational or church's foundational values in light of the demands of mission today. Reinterpretation is hard to do. What is harder--people don't like the founational values of their "institution" messed with--let alone reinterpreted. How many times have I heard. You can't be negative.

2. Vision is key! How many times do churches and denominations squelch God given vision by committee? It is interesting to note that most appointees to a vision committe are not apostolic leaders, many are not leaders at all. In my experience, when committe develops vision, the usually end of restating the same tired cliches and never think out of the box enough to reinterpret the church's foundational values for mission today.

3. The apostolic leader needs to be a visionary that can outlast significant opposition from the church denomination [church] structures and who can build alliances with those who desire change. It is hard to outlast entrenched structures that exist to preserve power and the status quo. Many times there are so few people that desire lasting change that it could take a lifetime to outlast significant opposition.

4. The apostolic leader needs to ensure the new generation is not "frozen out" by those that resist change. The church's structures generally are set up to freeze out the new generation. This is why the house church movement is growing by leaps and bounds and church planting is taking off--many postmoderns (generally those under 40) are so fed up with the institutional church that they are choosing not to be part of existing churches.

5. Such a leader must restructure the denomination's [or church's] instituations so that they serve mission purposes. But this type of questioning is not allowed in existing churches and denominations. Those that question or challenge are told they cannot negative and must be positive. How can you change structures without questioning or being negative?

Just some thoughts. I welcome other thoughts and questions!

Hannah's Song

So I was listening to this pastor preach on Hannah's Song in 1 Samuel 2. His premise was: Hannah could give her son Samuel away because of what she knew about God. He then proceeded to systematically expound the theology proper (theology about God) of the song in an abstract sort of way). I was bored. His contention was what we know determines what is in our heart and then determines what we do. I believe this pastor's message was soo boring because he emphasized the knowledge of God divorced from God's personal nature. It was all abstract theology. Hannah's knowledge of God was not abstract, however. She knew God, because of God's relationship with her and her relationship with him. Notice all the MY's in the begining of this song. The way to know God is thru relationship not knowledge. The quickest way to correct actions is thru a deep, and personal knowledge of God. Most of the time this type of knowledge is not systamatic. How often do we systematize the knowleged of our spouse? I could verbalize it in a systamatic expressin--but I prefer to know her and vervalize my knowledge of her in a much more relational sort of way.