The Fast I Choose

In Isaiah 58:6, the Prophet says, "Is this not the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of wickendess, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"

And although Isaiah refers here to Israel's Babylonian exile, it nonetheless has significant meaning for Christians. This passage bespeaks a characteristic desire within God for our liberation and release from sin and oppression. And with every release from something, there is a tethering to something. Of course, our tethering as Christians is to the God Who reveals to us what true power and lordship is- that is, free from sin and oppression, as found quite acutely in the cross.

All of this is to leap into a hot topic in pulpits this time of year- Lent. Lent is traditionally a season of fasting in the church. And fasting typically involves giving something up for a while, such as food, dessert, or caffeine. So what am I giving up for Lent this year? Sadly, Facebook and Twitter.

Yes, you can tell that I am a product of the 21st century. I have become so heavily addicted to Facebook and Twitter that I feel it neccessary for me to give them up for Lent. I sincerely feel that these social networks have become so intrusive into my life of discipleship that I need to eschew them for 40 days. I have often found myself reaching over to turn on my phone just to check status updates, when I could have been doing something like conversing with my wife or reading Scripture. I have also found myself logging on to Facebook and Twitter at work, when I could have certainly done something far more productive. So in short, for the good of my soul, I needed a release from social networks (note: I do not include blogs in that definition!).

So what? How will I be any different by incorporating the practice of "giving up" something during Lent? In my opinion, I think that such a practice shifts our focus back to God at times when we might otherwise not. Whenever I am tempted to spend my time by mind-numbingly perusing status updates, I instead will take a moment to pause, read Scripture, and reflect on the goodness of God. Maybe it is a habit I will continue after Lent, or maybe not. But I hope that somehow during this time, I am able to leave room for God to work, to let God in, where I have otherwise filled my life with less important occupations.

Of course, if you heard my sermon this past Sunday, this is repetitive to you. But I, for one, am glad that Lent is here. That's because I can pause and realize how much I have been a captive to outside forces (even those as benign as Facebook and Twitter), and leave some space to taste- if just for 40 days- that liberation of God.

For Us and For Our Salvation

Those are the words constituting the thirteenth line of the ancient Nicene Creed, which has been the most complete and widely-agreed upon confession of the catholic (with a lowercase "c", meaning "universal", not Roman Catholic) church from the fourth century onwards. This line initiates a litany of twelve other colas which list the actions of God in Christ that have been or will be accomplished for this thing called "salvation". The problem is, it does not tell us exactly what is meant by "salvation". And, for as timeless as the Creed is, its lack of definition has sparked raging debates about the nature of salvation for centuries.

Lately, the nature of salvation has been the center of a debate surrounding the popular Christian evangelist Rob Bell. Now Bell is not your grandmother's evangelist. Bell is closer to mainline Christianity and is very progressive, and I would go so far as to say that he strives for orthodoxy. In his latest book, Love Wins, he reopens the old can of worms about universalism. That is, generally speaking, the doctrine that all are saved. I have not read this book, so I cannot comment on the contents of it. But it has already caused a huge stir with evangelicals, because it appears that Rev. Bell is espousing a form of universalism (there are many variations on this doctrine). That is, of course, a big no-no in the world of those who preach "salvation through Christ alone". Regardless, the topic is likely to pervade the press and church coffee bars for a while.

As for my take on it, this has never been a huge issue for me. My tradition leans heavily on the theological prowess of Karl Barth, who emphasizes the inscrutability of God (a description of which as one might find in Romans 9-11). There is, for me (and Barth), an "infinite qualitative distinction" between God and humans, so to make a decision on "who's in and who's out" is not mine- or any human's for that matter. I am far more worried about the Kingdom of God on this earth as a foretaste of eternal salvation. In my beliefs about the incarnation and my own call to ministry, I hold that God has a larger role for my decision-making in this realm than in the next.

Further, I think we have a very vague notion of what salvation in the next realm really is. It's not about playing a round of golf with JC. It's not even about being reunited with my deceased relatives and friends. It's got to be bigger than that. It's got to be all about God and closeness with God. Now I can only see that through the lens of Jesus of Nazareth. But it's not my place to say who does or doesn't belong under the eternal care of God in the eschaton. And thank goodness for that- because my judgment stinks. I'm glad it's left up to the one who has no problem dining with sinners (Matt.9:10, Luke 5:27-32, Mark 2:13-17), changing the course of religious history at the hands of a zealous sociopath (Acts 9), and offering a liberation to all peoples- called in covenant or not (Amos 9:7).

But don't get me wrong. I still believe in conversion. I still believe in action. Because God has established a covenant with the church that, through us, the world may be blessed. We may get caught up in what happens after death. But last time I checked, God cares intensely about this world. After all, God made it and God redeemed it.

Reflections In the Face of Death

By far, the most humbling experiences I have had since starting my ministry at Trinity eight months ago have been hospital visitations. One day a week, I visit our members who are in area hospitals. Some folks are sick, some are having babies, some are dying, and some are healing. But all of them have one thing in common- the desire for God's peace in their lives.

Naturally, folks do want to feel better and move on with their lives- that's why hospitals exist and praise God for that gift. But hospitals can be scary places (and by that token, let me note that I have a newfound respect for medical personnel), and patients usually desire something that medicine cannot offer. When one is in the hospital, with doctors and nurses running around, machines beeping, and uncertainty everywhere, anything to take a bit of fear away is welcome. And it is my hope that God uses me on those visits to spread God's peace in places of darkness.

Of course, I would appreciate if he could save some of that peace for me. Sometimes hospital visits frighten me. Before entering seminary, I had been into a hospital room three times in my life- and one of those was when I was born. So I've been able to keep a comfortable distance from those places where death is only inches or minutes away. But since I have begun to visit folks in the hospital, I have had to, for the first time in my life, face questions that truly put my own life into perspective- questions about the relative brevity of my time on this earth and my true purpose. As I see persons in their 80s and 90s fight for every last breath, I begin realize that, yes- believe it or not in my young age, I will be in that spot one day (if I'm lucky). I suppose the thought had crossed my mind before, but standing beside someone experiencing that sort of suffering really brings home the reality of that part of my future.

In these moments my mind races to find meaning and the proper perspective in life. Lines from Ecclesiastes rush into my head: "to dust you shall return", "all is vanity", and "chasing after the wind"; my aspirations of climbing up the ecclesial ladder crash down; and dreams of title and respect fade to vapor. I begin to wonder about the grander metaphysical aspects to life and the soul: Is life just a blossoming and subsequent decay? Is there really an eternal soul? Come on, really?

While some of these thoughts sound morbid and contrary to what I will actually affirm about Christian doctine concerning the soul. But I think they are just the kind of ideas and questions that Christians- especially young folks like myself who turn a blind eye to the reality of death- need to consider. So what if I get a promotion and a little more respect? So what if I've got a fat bank account and a house in the Bahamas? Where is God really calling me to be? I think that if we can really wrestle with the reality of death and be present with those suffering and dying, we can start to view life as the act of grace that it is, and we can then begin to appreciate and be joyful over the claims of resurrection and new life. That, to me, is the start of true peace.

Getting Connected

In my former life as a banker, I had a coworker who talked about his church a lot, but rarely talked about his faith. When he discussed his church, the topic was either the church volleyball and softball teams or a fellow church member upon whom he could call for prospective business. "The church is a great place to make business connections," he always said. In my typical non-confrontational manner, I never told him how ridiculous that statement was. But I wanted to reply, "That's hardly why it exists."

So you can imagine my surprise when some of the staff here at Trinity proposed that we find a way to get Trinity members connected to one another professionally- and that I was appointed to head it up. At first, I was a little unsure about it-we don't want church members to treat the church like the Rotary Club. But, my colleague Dave Barnhart pointed me to the words of our Methodist godfather (I don't like to use the term "founder", because founding a new denomination was not his intent) John Wesley. In The General Rules, Wesley wrote that we ought to "[do] good, especially to them that are of the household of faith or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others, buying one of another, helping each other in business, and so much the more because the world will love its own and them only." (For you UMC geeks, that's paragraph 103, page 73-74 of the 2008 Book of Discipline).

And I think Wesley was on to something here. If the church is supposed to be the visible manifestation of the body of Christ, why not extend our unity to our livelihoods? Of course, there is always the danger of treating the church solely for business purposes (as I think Wesley was aware), but I think that if the membership of the online community and the church itself are carefully monitored, this is a ministry that can truly produce some fruits for the community of faith.

The final product of these deliberations is the Trinity Business Directory- an online community where Trinity members can promote their businesses, post their resumes, and seek the employment of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Feel free to peruse it and even offer some suggestions to the website administrator (yours truly). Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to find that babysitter you've been looking for, support a fellow disciple of Jesus in his or her profession, and get to connected a little deeper into the body of Christ.

Trinity Walks the Line

This past Sunday, Trinity's Contact worship service (our contemporary service at 11:15) launched a new sermon series entitled "Johnny Cash: Sin, Death, and Redemption". The series focuses on the life and music of the notorious Man in Black, how he wrestled with these three themes, and how the church deals with them. So far, the response has been outstanding. On the first Sunday, the attendance in Contact was over 220 (for a service that averages about a hundred less than that). The series has also received some attention in the press. As a fan of the rhythms and scriptural focus of traditional worship, I admit that I was apprehensive about this (as I am most) sermon series. However, in my six months at Trinity, I have been convinced of the effectiveness of sermon series. Those prior sentiments have been countered by the overwhelming response of the congregation to a well-planned and executed series- and this one has been no different thus far. At Trinity, we are so thankful to have our series carefully thought out by our wonderful preachers and worship planners (in this case, the incomparable Dr. Dave Barnhart), so I am excited and anxious to see over the next few weeks how the Man in Black can inform my faith! To check out the sermon audio, click here.

Derek Webb on Homosexuality

A while ago, I blogged about sexuality and how the church just seems downright mixed up when it comes time to discuss it. I don't plan to be redundant, but after reading an article this week on homosexuality, I felt that this would be a good time to bring up that particular subject (as a side note, I acknowledge that my terminology may be politically incorrect, i.e., "LGBT", "queer", "homosexual", etc., but I am unequipped to keep up with the current appropriate terminology, so I will simply state my ignorance up front).

The article was an interview in the Huffington Post with Christian singer/songwriter Derek Webb. Webb is quite notorious in the Christian music scene for his edgy lyrics and outspoken views (and, if you ask my wife, add "goosebump-inducing music" to that list). The interviewer asked him about his views on homosexuality and Christianity, and I found his responses thought-provoking and challenging.

Webb calls for Christians to first look at themselves when they look at homosexuals and realize that they are not radically different people. For him, many Christians have seen homosexuals as fundamentally "other"- as people of a completely different ontology (my words, not his). Naturally, this has caused fear and, in turn, hatred. This is not the response of the gospel in Webb's view. I see his point. Whether you see homosexuality as a sin or not, homosexuals are still created in God's image. So are saints, murderers, and the playboy who sleeps with a new woman every night. No matter what your opinion of each of these person is, Christians and the church are called to nourish and replenish whatever may be tarnished in that image with the love of Christ.

But Webb is careful to point out that love is not tolerance. Love is much stronger and much more engaging than tolerance. He is dead on here. Tolerance is not a virtue. Tolerance decides that "I'll let you do your thing if you let me do mine". Tolerance keeps others at an arms length. This is not what Christians are called to do simply because that is not the gospel. God did (and does) not just tolerate humankind. God loves us intensely. As we are so often reminded here in the Christmas season, what God did in Jesus was very a very intimate reponse to our desperate need for salvation- it was love in its purest state.

This brings me to a final point of Webb's interview- following Jesus. Webb calls for Christians to focus primarily on the call to follow Jesus. This seems like a no-brainer, but Webb reminds us how hard that really is- especially as it concerns the homosexuality issue. But what does this look like? I am not ready to ordain homosexuals in the United Methodist Church. I am not ready to concede that God is "OK" with homosexuality any more than I am ready to concede that God is OK with any other sexual sin (and this might rile you up, but I am almost at the point where I am ready to include recreational birth control, even for married couples, in this). But I will admit that I am ignorant. I do not know many homosexuals, and I do not feel educated enough to make any sort of judgment on the topic. Really, if I'm supposed to go beyond tolerance and love, I should not judge at all. In short, my mind is always open on this subject. So how do we go beyond tolerance and enter into loving dialogue and action with homosexuality?

No More Methodist Church?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a short blog about politics and religion. Today, a friend of mine posted this article on Facebook which exemplifies why I no longer vote for political conservatives- or really at all. I would love to hear some responses on this (OK, so nobody ever responds to my posts, but I thought I would give it a shot.)