Spiritual Practices at Home: The Practice of Sabbath

One of the essential spiritual practices of the Christian life in general and of living the faith at home, is the practice of Sabbath. This has its origins in the Old Testament “Where God rested on the seventh day” (Genesis 2:2-3, NRSV). This became one of the defining marks of faith in the one God, the keeping of this seventh day of rest, “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath…you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:8-10). That’s found in that top ten list, remember? 

Sunday became the Sabbath (versus Saturday) for Christians. Some of you will recall or recall relatives reminiscing about a time when, in North American anyway, things shut down on Sunday as a way of honoring the importance of Sabbath and communal worship. For the most part, that time is over; which means, it is even more important that we create times for Sabbath in our homes and our lives. If you don’t, the world will gladly eat up all your time with its noise, with its screens, and with its endless offerings and demands (Netflix anyone…). 

Sabbath is about rest and renewal. Sabbath is about creating space to be restored in one’s relationship with God, with others, and with all of creation. It is a time for joy. It’s a time for respite. It is a time for re-creating the life of God in you. The old meaning behind our word, recreation. It is a time for making expensive gifts to your pastor (Just making sure you were reading carefully). Sitting in front of a screen and being numbly entertained may be a welcome way of winding down, but does it restore us? Does it bring you together with those you love? 

It might, but it might also be a convenient way to ignore the real issues in our homes, hearts, and relationships (including with God). Yes, to a movie night, but what about a weekly unplugged night? No screens. Just people. Just a book. Just a walk. You could have a daily hour of reading where all in the home read. Resurrecting Sunday night family dinners is also a way of practicing Sabbath (as our date nights for couples). Maybe Sundays (after worship) you dedicate to family and friends. How are you doing with this or how might you begin? 

Spiritual Practices at Home: The Practice of Prayer

One of the essential spiritual practices of the Christian life in general and of living the faith at home, is the practice of prayer. A trait that should mark a “Christian home” is a home that is marked by regular prayer. Prayer is one of the chief means by which we pursue our relationship with God. Prayer is one of the chief means, perhaps the most fruitful and faithful, of inviting God into the nooks and crannies of our hurts and joys, pleasures and annoyances (Praying in traffic comes to mine). Prayer isn’t meant to be a pause from life, but part of life. 

Faithful discipleship involves the cultivation of faithful habits. We are creatures accustomed to and stubbornly inclined toward habituation. Creating routines of prayer in the home can help open ourselves to the often hidden, sometimes surprising, sparks of the Holy Spirit. One way of doing this is by praying in regular spots on a regular basis. Praying grace at meals or at least one meal, is a way of doing this. It’s also an easy way to start. Another is when you get up in the morning and when you go to sleep at night (or can’t sleep at night). 

After all, many people when trying to get up in the morning or prior to sleeping at night invoke the Lord’s name. (Often vigorously!). Expand it into a regular prayer. The great teachers of the spiritual life across the Christian Tradition recommend a daily time of prayer. For most people, this is probably best done at home. Maybe you have a prayer chair or family altar where you can have your “quiet time” with the Lord. It need not be long, being consistent for two minutes a day is better than occasionally praying for twenty minutes but then not again for a week. 

If you are praying with others, like a significant other, roommates, or the terrors of cuteness that we call children, you will need to adapt your prayer to what works for all. This may mean shorter and simpler types of prayer. That’s fine. Some families have a custom of Bible reading and prayer (“family devotions”) once a week or briefly at night, including some households that pray some form of the Daily Office or Compline. A home marked by prayer is a home opening itself to the love of God. How are you doing with this or how might you begin?

Spiritual Practices at Home: The Practice of Reminder

One of the essential spiritual practices of the Christian life in general and of living the faith at home, is the practice of reminder. “Out of sight, out of mind” is well-worn aphorism, because of its veracity. In our screen infested age, we might also say, “Screen in sight, no sight of mind.” This is due to the screen’s phenomenal power to capture our mind’s attention, obliterating the world around us. The practice of reminder is all about reminding ourselves of the reality of God and the reality of our commitment to the God of love revealed in Jesus Christ. 

This is more than simply a reminder, such as a post it-note on the refrigerator door or stapled to the dog’s tail (I apologize, the Cat Lovers of Canada requested I include that line). This is a symbolic reminder. We are symbol hungry and symbol making creatures. Nobody needs to tell us this. Nobody needs to tell people to decorate their homes with items that reflect who they are and what they value. Family pictures, movie posters, and so on. Yet, I ask, are there any symbols of the faith displayed in your home? (Red Sox pennants don’t count, close, but no!)

There is a long tradition of Eastern Christians displaying icons in their home, sometimes called an icon wall. In the West, there is the long and wonderful custom of a family altar. A small altar or devotional space that includes saints’ pictures, prayers, and is often changed to reflect the season of the Church year. In more Protestant circles, a prominently displayed family Bible and sometimes also, Bible verses. Among Anglican Christians, a visible Book of Common Prayer. Among Lutherans, a displayed casserole (Yes, that was joke. I prefer Lutefisk, anyway.)

It is not necessary to have a full chapel in your home (though some people have these, really), but it is wise to have some holy reminders, some symbols of the faith, to remind you of your Christian faith. In fact, the idea is for them to be less churchy and more-homey or less gathered church and more domestic church. Let it reflect your personality and any others in your household. Be as creative as you like. There are lots of resources out there. Start small. How are you doing with this or how might you begin?

Spiritual Practices at Home, intro

This Advent, I’ll be writing a three-part blog series, “Spiritual Practices at Home.” Advent is a wonderful season of the Church year for home observance with its Advent wreaths, calendars, and more. But here is the big secret…all the seasons of the Christian year are wonderful for home observance! Growth in discipleship, the pursuit of spirituality maturity, is an adventure of integrating faith in Christ with every aspect of our lives. Our homes, whether a humble room or grand house, influence us immensely and usually reflect ourselves in ways flattering and not so flattering (Really, it’s time to take down that M.C. Hammer poster.) 

Bringing your faith to bear visibly in the most intimate spaces of your life is an important step forward in the journey of Christian discipleship. Home observance of the faith is for all Christians. Certainly, there are practices that lend themselves to family life (in all the wonderful and weary forms it can take), but whether by yourself, with roommates, your significant other, your animal friend, or a house full of small people, the riches of our Christian heritage for daily life are immense. 

When observed faithfully, not perfectly, not dramatically, but regularly, over the months and years, they can serve as quiet shapers of our souls and steady channels of God’s grace, transforming us day by day into people of greater Spirit and Love. Are there particular aspects of home practice you are hoping I explore? (Perhaps the exorcism of that space filled with stuff you haven’t looked at in years?) Do you have recommendations or suggestions to make? They are always most welcome. Please share them as move through the series. 

In the World, Not of the World

This is a reflection and place for dialogue on my sermon (click here to listen) and related themes from the seventh Sunday of Easter, on the Gospel text from St. John 17:6-19. 

The relationship between Christians and the wider world has been a complicated one. Should Christians separate themselves from the world to maintain a purer form of Christian life and practice? Or should Christians throw themselves into the world to maintain a Christian life and practice that transforms the world? Within the history of Christianity and even on the contemporary scene both answers have found significant hearing and emulation. Often, not always, Christian congregations, traditions, and individual who lean one way on this spectrum find themselves in tension with those on the other end. This could be understood as another manifestation of the perennial clash of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Martha is helping to prepare the meal and busy meeting practical needs. Mary is sitting as a disciple, listening to her teacher.  

The problem with pitting contemplation/prayer/separation from the world against activity/practical help/engagement with the world is that conflict finds no justification in the life of Jesus Himself. Jesus’ life was a continual flow from quiet time withdrawal with His Father to active life and ministry among people. One could say that Jesus’ model of “being in the world but not of the world” was to abide in His loving relationship with God while abounding in loving acts with people. This basic pattern should be the paradigm for the Church and for Christians more generally. Further, there are dangers to emphasizing one pattern to the exclusion of the other. The contemplative path runs the danger of isolation or quietism. The active path runs the dangers of burn out, rootlessness, and activity for the sake of activity. In the history of the Church there have been individuals who have given themselves exclusively to these paths.

Those individuals and communities (e.g. monastic) that have committed themselves largely to the contemplative path have been a source of great blessing to the Church and the world. In the same way, those individuals and communities that have committed themselves to the active path have been a source of great blessing to the Church and the world. Historically, there has also been something called the “mixed life” which seeks to embrace both elements, much as our Lord did. It might be argued that most individuals are called to the active path (which requires Sabbath, prayer, and rest for it endure) with the mixed path and contemplative path compromising smaller groups. If this is true, that means the Church will need to give attention to supporting the active life, while also lifting the importance of the contemplative life in a frantic world that might otherwise be unaware of it. 

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?  

The Fool's Easter

This year has featured two unusual alignments between the Christian calendar and the secular calendar. The first was the coming together of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday on February 14 (click here for a reflection). The second is the coming together of April Fool’s Day and Easter Sunday on April 1. This will, no doubt, be great fodder for critics of faith in general and Christianity in particular. “April Fool’s, this stuff isn’t for real!” Of course, the Christian can easily retort to the atheist, “April’s Fool’s, this stuff is for real!” These sorts of jokes and jabs aside, what insight can be gleaned by bringing together a whimsical, secular, holiday, with the most important feast day of the Christian year? Let’s first touch base on the meaning of each observance on its own merits.

April Fool’s Day is an annual invitation to joke, prank, and pull one over on someone. Unusual newspaper articles, frightening friends with shocking, but old-fashioned fake news, and so on, often characterize the largely innocent quality of this holiday. Of course, it’s not really a holiday. No one gets April Fool’s Day off. Wait! I just received notice that as of 2018 April Fool’s Day will be a federal holiday in the United States and Canada. Yeah. Long weekend! Party time. Celebration. Oh wait…April Fools! This observance, while seemingly silly and light-hearted, has not gone without its controversies. Critics of April’s Fools, and specifically of the sometime elaborate hoaxes that individuals or organizations put on, decry the waste of resources and the confusion that ensues from such pranks.

Easter Sunday is the most important day of the Christian calendar. It is sometimes also referred to as Resurrection Sunday. Both names are proper, the first by long custom (ancient connotations aside) and the second being the event the holiday celebrates. Easter Sunday is a national holiday in many countries with a Christian cultural heritage. For many, Easter is more about family and candy that it is about the resurrection of a 1^st century Jewish Messiah. For the Christian, Easter is the high point of the Christian story and speaks of Christ’s victory over the difficulties and mysterious of sin and death. Christ’s resurrection validates His status as the long expected one and validates His teachings as worthy of reception. Christ is the example of what will take place to all who put their trust in Him. 

What happens when you put these together? You get the dangerous invitation to Easter as merely a sentimental occasion with pretty flowers, fine hats, and in a few places, fuller churches. Pretty flowers, fine hats, and fuller church are all fine and well. But, if Christians merely gather to smile and nod at a story they believe to be some sweet sentimental yarn of a nice man overcoming bad things so that we can be non-dangerously nice to each other, then we will have missed the message of Easter (for more on that click here) and settled for foolishness. The joke will be on us. We will have pranked ourselves. Because Easter rolls away the stone and shows us that the worst of misguided humanity, in its doing the worst, to a singular shinning life, does not have the last word. This is not foolishness. This is astonishing and for over twenty centuries has turned the wisdom of the worldly wise into spiritual tomfoolery. Don’t be fooled. Christ is Risen! 

A Serving Community

This Lent, I’m exploring Five Characteristics of Christian Community in series of sermons as well as reflecting upon these themes here. You can listen to the sermon on a Christian community being a serving community here. Service. Servanthood. Often people have a general sense that this is the sort of thing churches are doing or should be doing. The Church today has a mixed reputation on the street. Some bring only negative stereotypes, but others have a sense that even if churches are filled with old odd people or they believe in strange things, they do some good things. In fact, this is true! To some extent, every local church should be a center for community service.

However, the Church serves in Jesus name. The church serves as part of its faith commitment. The church serves and individual Christians serve, because of the Great Commandment of our Lord, “Love God, Love Neighbor” (Matthew 22:34-40). Churches and Christians can fall into two ditches along the serving highway. First, if we are not careful, we can give the impression that we are only helping people or doing good things in order to get people “saved” or to up attendance numbers at our Sunday services. Serving must be done in the spirit of Jesus which is a spirit that serves first and foremost for the sake of the person or the sake of the community’s betterment. No one enjoys being anyone’s project. If you are going to help, help because it’s what we should be doing as Christians and help because it’s the right thing to do.

Second, if we are not careful, we can give the impression that we are simply nice people who like to do nice things for others. In fact, we serve others in Christ’s name. In fact, what motivates our compassion and sustains us along the weary road of fighting poverty, reducing violence, empowering women, and a thousand other good causes, is our faith. There is an art to serving others in Christ’s name in a way that avoids the first ditch and the second. We don’t need to knock people over the head with our faith, but neither do we need to apologize for it by barely acknowledging why we do what we do. It takes trial and error, wisdom and grace, to avoid the first ditch of giving the impression that serving is only a means to an end and the second ditch of giving the impression that we are generic nice people doing nice generic things.

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about? 

A Welcoming Community

This Lent, I’m exploring Five Characteristics of Christian Community in series of sermons as well as reflecting upon these themes here. You can listen to the sermon on a Christian community being a welcoming community here. Welcome. Hospitality. These are words that should be synonymous with the word church. Sadly, for many people, this has not been their experience. Of course, for many others, it has. Most church people would agree that a church should be a welcoming community. What exactly do we mean by welcoming? Friendly, kind, and gracious? Yes. These traits are reflective of the fruits of the Holy Spirit that are the marks of growth in the Christian life as found in Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control.” These traits should be reflective not only of individuals in a congregation, but of the parish family overall. Of course, people are in different places spiritually and a welcoming congregation accepts this and (wait for it) welcomes it.

Herein also lies an important distinction, welcome does not mean full affirmation. That is, all Christian Churches, whether progressive or traditional, recognize that the Christian life involves repentance and growth. For example, a person struggling with an addiction should be welcomed graciously, but the congregation understands that God’s desire for that person is freedom from addiction. Therefore, they will support and encourage and once they have earned trust, challenge that person toward that end. The markers of what things are affirmed and what things are not in people’s lives differ depending on where a congregation is on a specific issue. However, every church will at times, if it is faithful, find itself calling out sin or saying no to certain elements in a person’s lifestyle or beliefs.

The critical element here is respect and kindness. So often people who have felt unwelcomed by the Church experienced petty judgment, mean spirited words, or hateful condemnation. All of this is to fail to be a welcoming community reflecting the teachings of Jesus Christ. A church can welcome people it does not agree with. A welcoming church can also graciously, respectfully, and appropriately be straight forward with people about its concerns. People may well still be offended, but at least the church did not add further offense by being mean spirited or cruel or rude. More broadly, a welcoming church goes out of its way to make it easy for people to find their building, get around the building, and to figure out what they are supposed to do once they are in the building. Many churches are intentionally very unwelcoming because they haven’t thought through how new comers and guests navigate their facility.

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?   

A Forgiving Community

This Lent, I’m exploring Five Characteristics of Christian Community in series of sermons as well as reflecting upon these themes here. You can listen to the sermon on a Christian community being a forgiving community here. A perennial topic of interest for human beings in all stages and states of life. The power of forgiveness and unforgiveness is immediately evident to everyone. There is a mystery to life and forgiveness. Some people are terribly wronged, mistreated, and abused, and yet; live, joyfully, gracefully, and fully. Others experience similar and sometimes much less tragedy and live in perpetual resentment and bitterness. Why? You can find professing Christians who have been able to forgive and those who have not. You can find those who profess no faith who have been able to forgive and those who have not. Forgiveness is a gift of God and something that Christians are supposed to be known for, but ironically, we are often known more for our unforgiveness and pettiness.

Forgiveness is central to the life and teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, forgiveness should be central to the Christian life. A good deal of the time forgiveness is tough going, but perhaps we stumble so much, not merely because we are human (that will do it every time!), because we fail to realize two major factors. First, forgiveness often requires God’s help. I may be able (depending on the day!) to shrug off, without resentment, the driver who cuts me off on the highway. But on other days, I may not be able to. This is minor, but minor bruises add up to a black and blue heart. Without even getting to major relational cuts and slashes, we find ourselves stuck in resentment over the minors. Forgiveness is very often out of our reach. We need divine assistance. Forgiveness will often fail when we ignore the God factor. Second, forgiveness is a practice. Prayer is a practice. Singing is a practice. In other words, you can develop your ability to forgive.

Most liturgical churches include a prayer of confession and a declaration of forgiveness in their services. This is an excellent time to flex your forgiveness muscles. That is, if you have given some thought to your past week and what you need to confess. That is, if the pastor or worship leader provides some silence in which you can confess to God in your heart your failings. Often, we simply go through the liturgy by rote and give very little attention to what we are saying or doing. The sacramental churches, particularly the Roman Church, are known for encouraging confession to God through the meditation of a priest. This is an ancient rite of the Church and one that God has used to bring much healing and mercy to countless individuals over the centuries. Of course, like with the prayer in the liturgy, many also experienced it as a requirement and went through the motions with little transformation. Perhaps, practical teaching, example, and testimony on forgiveness would help churches grow in this area?

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?   

A Discipling Community

This Lent, I’m exploring Five Characteristics of Christian Community in series of sermons as well as reflecting upon these themes here. You can listen to the sermon on a Christian community being a discipling community here. What is a disciple? In a general sense, a disciple is a student or apprentice. Not just a casual student, but a committed student. Someone who has devoted him or herself to a particular teacher. These sorts of student-mentor relationships have famous threads in many circles, but perhaps especially, in academic, artistic, and martial ones. The rising scholar whose mentor is a legend in their field. The renowned composer who studied with one of the greats. A martial artist who has devoted herself to her master and learning his art and passing it on to the next generation.

If you apply this understanding of disciple to Christianity, you are at once shaken and challenged. If the primary mission of the Christian Church is to make disciples, and if disciples are committed in the way that other disciples are to their teachers, then the work of the Church becomes both more challenging and exciting. We have often been pretty good at making church goers in our congregations. People who show up, sometimes regularly, and who sometimes also help out with other activities around the church. This is all fine as far as it goes. However, it doesn’t go far enough, according to the instruction of all the great spiritual teachers. Spiritual teachers aside, it falls short of THE Teacher’s example and instruction, “Go therefore, make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:16-20).

A disciple in the Christian sense is a follower of Jesus. A disciple in the Christian sense is someone seeking to allow their faith to anchor their life and their faith to flavor and saturate every aspect of their life. This doesn’t, necessarily, translate into being at the gathered church all the time. Disciples worship regularly, usually weekly, some more, but their particular sense of Christian call and responsibility may manifest through their profession, their volunteering, or in raising their family. There are many ways of following Jesus and many variations on the path of discipleship. Despite the disparate ways of being a disciple, disciples across the spectrum share many things in common, beginning with the one Lord. Disciples aren’t perfect by any means, but they understand they are on a journey. How is your discipleship going? Is discipleship something your local church talks about and more importantly, does?

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?   

A Worshipping Community

This Lent, I’m exploring Five Characteristics of Christian Community in series of sermons as well as reflecting upon these themes here. You can listen to the sermon on a Christian community being a worshipping community here. It might be obvious to state that a Christian community is a worshipping community. That worship of the Almighty is the primary purpose of its existence. However, like with common sense, the obvious isn’t so obvious a good deal of the time. For smaller churches, Sunday worship may be the only time the community gathers. In larger churches, there may be several worship services and dozens of activities, programs, and events held throughout the week. In either situation, worship should be the anchor of all that local congregation does. Why?

That’s actually a good question and a contested one. Community centers and agencies do many of the things churches do and often more efficiently and on a grander scale. But the church is more than a community agency or a social club. At least, it’s supposed to be more than (or perhaps different than) these organizations, which certainly have their place and which God uses to accomplish much good in people’s lives. A church should be a community in which individuals can encounter God. Christianity is a communal faith. Worship in the gathered sense cannot be done by yourself. The sacramental churches have always held onto to this truth with their emphasis on the Eucharist being the central act of Christian worship. You can’t celebrate the Eucharist yourself and yet in the Eucharist God can be encountered in a special way.

The evangelical churches have also held onto this truth with their emphasis that the Bible, as much as it should be read individually, should be encountered in community through preaching and shared study. The mainline churches have also held onto this truth with their emphasis on justice, which requires us to unite across all sorts of boundaries to cooperate with the Spirit for a better world. The charismatic churches have also held onto this truth with their emphasis on God’s presence, a presence that is best experienced and interpreted alongside other believers. Yet, for all the Body of Christ’s emphasis on gathered worship as the anchor of Christian life attendance by professing Christians at weekly services is on the whole, hardly overwhelming. But never mind attendance figures, but what about the spiritual figures of those attending?

What are people doing when they show up to worship? Are they just going through the motions? Are they encountering the divine? Are they opening themselves to the Spirit? Whether the service is High Mass, Rock and Roll, Quiet and Respectable, or whatever, are worshippers allowing the service to be a vehicle for God to transform their hearts and minds? Worship is an opportunity to step out of our constant fixation on ourselves and be opened to a greater reality that will point us to the mystery of life and to concrete service to life in all its forms. One of the great truths of the Christian faith that is visible by any quick survey of human behavior, is that we are by nature worshipping creatures. We are going to worship. It’s inevitable, but what or who are we worshipping?

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?   

Valentine’s Day Ashes

This year feature’s the unusual occurrence of Valentine’s Day falling on Ash Wednesday. One church calendar features a cartoon with valentines that read, “Won’t you be my Valentine you miserable offender?” and “Roses are red. Violets are blue. Lent is beginning. No chocolate for you.” Besides a few jokes (both fun and bitter), what insight does the bringing together of this largely secular holiday (St. Valentine not withstanding) and Ash Wednesday provide? Actually, the insight is pretty sweet (get it, sweet?). Let’s first touch base on the meaning of each observance on its own merits.

Valentine’s Day is a romantic holiday. A day for candles and candies, for special date nights, thoughtful gestures and the like. It is also a day of despair for those who wish someone was in their life and a disappointments for couples who feel their relationship is not all it is supposed to be. Women may be more hopeful about Valentine’s Day, yearning for something poetic and memorable to happen. Men may dread it or see it as little more than a day that obligates them to buy roses. Romantic hope, cynicism, and sorrow are all on tap on this day annually. Some families also exchange valentines, as do some school children.

Ash Wednesday is one of the most solemn days of the entire Christian year. It marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a season for self-reflection, spiritual spring cleaning, repentance, fasting, and the like. It can also be a day of despair because Ash Wednesday reminds us of the difficult reality of death. Ashes are marked on the foreheads of Christians with the declaration, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” Some Churches stress Ash Wednesday and attendance is strong and some do not with attendance being less. While the majority of Christian Churches observe Lent, there are a sizeable minority who do not.

So what happens when you bring together mortality and romantic love? You get life! (And Shakespeare…) Whether romantic love or not, one of the great joys of life – relationships – is also one of its greatest sorrows. Eventually, you and I will have to say good-bye to every person we care about. This can lead to despair if fixated upon. Relationships, of all kinds, with God and people, are what make life worth living. But people die, people move, children grow up, you take a new job, a break ups occurs, and eventually, some day you will join the great throng of humanity that has left this life for the mystery beyond.  

Where is the sweetness in this? A rose is sweet because its blossom is not eternal. Its bloom is precious because it is for a season. A rose should be enjoyed while it lasts. A rose should be tended to preserve its beauty and longevity. The rose will be a memory which if we have treasured, will be with us forever. Ok. You say, yes, treasure people, they won’t always be here, blah blah, etc. I get it. Do you? Are you? But there is something else. A rose is a gift. The people in our lives are gifts. They are not our possessions. We can trust that in some mysterious way our love for them will echo into eternity, but for now, they are temporary gifts. Cherish them.             

Mountaintop Experience

This is a reflection and place for dialogue on my sermon and related themes from the last Sunday of Epiphany, on the Gospel text from Saint Mark 9:2-9.   

What exactly is happening here? Are Peter, James, and John experiencing a vision? Is the veil between our everyday reality and the fuller reality of life being pushed aside revealing Jesus in all his splendor? No one can say with certainty save that this incident became so significant to the early Christian community that it was included in the Gospels. Certainly, this event, qualifies as a mountaintop experience! 

What are we to make of these sorts of experiences? Should we desire them? Should we seek them out? The importance of this event in the Gospel is once again affirming Jesus’ unique identity as the Son of God, while no doubt, encouraging the inner circle of apostles along the way. I have met many people, some active in their faith, many not particularly, who have experienced some sort of supernatural or unusual experience. For many, these events whether visions, angelic visitations, miraculous healings, and the like usually seem to have strengthened the faith of these individuals.  

On the other hand, I know many who have begged and battered the doors of heaven for some sort of transfiguration in their own lives or the life of somebody they care about. A different path are those seeking spiritual experiences and spiritual powers. Some find more than they bargained for. Some get involved in things they later wish they had not. Some discover nothing and toss their hands up at the whole enterprise of faith. All of the great teachers of the spiritual life have warned against seeking special visions and powers. If such experiences come they are to be gratefully received, but not desperately clung to. They are to be acknowledged but not worshipped. The goal in the spiritual life is learning to listen to the divine voice more clearly and to follow it more nearly. In the Christian tradition, the voice of God always points us to the loving service of our neighbor.  

What did you hear in the sermon, in the text, or this reflection? What would you challenge, what would you add? What are you still wondering about?  

Five Steps in Growing Congregations

In a previous post, I outlined five factors that congregations that wish to grow, spiritually and numerically, must reckon with. These factors are largely related to the shifts that have taken place in our society over the last sixty years, resulting in our present reality of living in an increasingly, post-Christian world (the United States is the furthest behind in this process for different reasons and can learn from countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand who are further along). These five factors must be considered when looking to take any of the five steps described below.  Let these five steps be conversation starters in your congregation regarding church growth and evangelism.   

1.     Stepping Up Prayer 

Often people will nod to this step and then say, “Yeah, but, what are we really going to do?” If we are not willing to make a concerted effort in becoming more prayerful congregations and to pray more regularly and intently for the spread of the Gospel in our communities, then we should put our spiritual car into park and not attempt to hit the highway of evangelism until our parish and ourselves as individuals have had a major spiritual tune up. Avoid this step at your peril.

2.     Stepping Up Discipleship 

Remember, the target goal is not simply to increase attendance and add to the membership rolls of your congregation. These are inadequate motivators in the work of evangelism. Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples and love our communities in Jesus name. Disciples attend church regularly, but being a disciple and being a member of a congregation are not necessarily the same thing. If you do not know the difference between a church member and a disciple, find out. We will have to re-learn about discipleship, Christianity as a way of life, and how to offer preaching, teaching, and resources in our churches oriented to helping people with these goals in mind. 

3.     Stepping Up Welcome

Almost every church thinks of itself as friendly. The challenge is that research and anecdotal evidence suggest that many small churches are indeed friendly, with each other, but less so with new comers. For many, the prospect of showing up to a new place, much less a church, is an anxiety producing one. Have you thought through the entire experience of a first time guest from how they find you (for increasing numbers of people today they will start looking for you online…), get to you, park their car, find the right door to enter, find the worship space, know where to sit, and what to do, how to get to coffee hour (if you have one) and how you will follow up with them once they have left? This is just for starters. If you want a real eye-opener, ask a couple of people who have never been to your church to walk around the facility with you and give you their honest impressions!  

4.     Stepping Up Worship

This doesn’t necessarily mean bringing in a band and big lights and attractive lead vocalists. Small churches will not likely to draw individuals who are looking for a “big” church experience and vice versus. Most churches are small and such churches need to be seeking those who are looking for or who will better respond to a smaller, more family like experience of church. This is not an excuse for poor quality, however. Is the service well-planned and executed? Does the congregation participate strongly and devotionally? Is the worship space clean, well lit, and attractive? Are you sitting in an immense space with just a few people? Can you find ways to block off some of the space to give it a better feel? What can you do to improve your music? There are good pre-recorded options, find the best options you can. Piano and organ aren’t the only options for live accompaniment of congregational singing. Are there musicians in your congregation, what about your community? Is the preaching solid, clear, and oriented toward discipleship and Christianity as a way of life?  

5.     Stepping Up Invitation  

The best news you might read in this post is that drawing new people into a relationship with Christ and His Church (evangelism) does not require expensive programs, super talented preachers or state of the art facilities. Study after study, across denominations, continues to reveal that the number one reason people join a church or come to Christ is because someone they know invited them to church. That’s it. Yes, there is a place for marketing, web presence, dynamic preaching, stellar music and more. However, without an invitation to worship by a stranger, acquaintance, co-worker, friend, or family member, most people will never come to church anyway. We have to learn how to invite. There are ways of making that easier for many church folks who are often shy about these things. If you invite 10 people will all 10 people come? No. It will be a smaller yield and sometimes you will have to invite someone several times over a several month (or longer period) before they will come. But with God’s help we can do it. The future of our congregations depends upon it.

A Prayer for New Zealand

God of great waters and green islands, we ask your blessing upon New Zealand. Guide and sustain leaders at every level from the Prime Minister, to the Councils of every region, to those leading in their local communities whether civically, culturally, or within your Church. Strengthen bonds between immigrants, native New Zealanders descended from immigrants, as well as indigenous peoples. Guide those preserving New Zealand’s great natural beauty entrusted to it by creation. Bless every citizen and those eagerly working toward citizenship. Let the world learn more about this great nation and let those who make the journey there and back again be blessed and share their happy stories of this epic land in many languages across many nations. We pray this through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Five Factors in Growing Congregations

Before congregations and leaders can set their minds on growth, we have to soberly look around us and come to terms with the landscape of our communities and society at large. This confronts us with five factors that all congregations that wish to grow must wrestle and prayerfully respond to:     

Post-Christian Society

There was a time where the values of society and church were more in alignment. That time is over. There was a time when the definition of being a good person included going to church. That is no longer the case. Society use to support church going. It doesn’t now. In fact, in some circles, going to church carries a negative social stigma. Society will carry on with its activities, including on Sunday mornings, regardless of how we would like things to be. Do we find ways to challenge people to a high commitment in order to forgo these activities on Sunday morning or do we offer worship services at other times or both? These sorts of questions will need to be wrestled with and various experiments tried in response (for more on post-modernism click here).

Franchise System:  

For a long time churches merely needed to run their franchise (e.g. Anglican, Lutheran, etc.) and people of that denomination would show up and take their children through the system (baptism, Sunday school, etc.) and it would sustain itself. This system is now broken. We cannot expect Christians to simply show up to our churches. Increasingly, those who show up to your church and are your denomination and ready to participate in congregational life should be welcomed as unusual and a blessing. Congregations and leaders will need to focus on reaching all sorts of people: unchurched, and dechurched, regardless if they have your denominational tribal background or not.  In other words, we cannot simply wait for people to come to us. We must go to them.

Mission vs. Maintenance

There was a time where to keep a church going you mostly had to maintain the system. Now, if churches simply do what they have always done, the result is that, they decline.  Churches that are growing are committed to mission. They focus outward to their communities and the world. This outward orientation is key. Yet, it can be overwhelming for small congregations because the core volunteers are often already maxed out (sometimes burnt out) in terms of time and energy. Yet, efforts at reaching out to the community are essential not only for growing a congregation numerical and spiritually, but also in terms of being faithful to Jesus’ Great Commandment to Love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40).

Image Problem

Older generations – even those who didn’t or don’t attend church- often have a respectable view of the church. This is not the case with younger generations.  The majority perceptions among younger generations of the church are negative, hostile, or indifferent. With much of the population, we are not starting from a neutral position in terms of their perceptions of us. Instead, with most, we are fighting against a negative position and several unfortunate stereotypes that people have about Christians in general and the Church in particular. Part of our evangelistic witness needs to be visibly living out our faith in ways that counters these stereotypes; also, we will have to name our belief and defend it ideologically in winsome and respectful ways. This has big implications for preaching and teaching in our churches. 

               

         Church-Goer vs. Disciple 

The Franchise system didn’t have to focus on making disciples because society and other factors motivated people into churches. Increasingly, it will be disciples who attend church as one part of a larger lifestyle commitment to Christianity. Disciple making was also Jesus’ focus. A church goer is someone who’s committment to Christianity largely consists in attending church (maybe regularly, maybe once in a while) and being a good person and good citizen. A disciple strives to follow Jesus in every aspect of their lives (more on church goers and disciples here). They are not perfect, but they acknowledge that following Christ should flavor all that they do, not just an hour on Sunday. A disciple will be willing to buck social expectations and live a Christian life; it will become more difficult for church goers in an increasingly secular society to do so. Part of our challenge is that we are often not so good at making disciples and will have to learn to become disciples ourselves as we are reaching out to other prospective disciples.

A Prayer for Australia

God of vast spaces and many peoples, we ask your blessing upon Australia. Guide and sustain leaders at every level from the Prime Minister, to Premiers of each state, to those leading in their local communities whether civically, culturally, or within your Church. Strengthen bonds between immigrants, native Australians descended from immigrants, as well as indigenous peoples. Guide those preserving Australia’s great natural bounty entrusted to it by creation. Bless every citizen and those eagerly working toward citizenship. Let the world learn more about this great nation and let those who visit it be blessed and share their happy stories of this epic land in many languages across many nations. We pray this through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Church Unity: What You Can Do

One factor that has long weakened Christian witness is Christian disunity, as manifested in thousands of denominations, conflicts between churches and within churches. In the last century and into our own, there have been considerable strides toward greater visible unity between the various Christian Churches. Many of these gains have taken place at the official level of commissions, bishops meetings, and the like.

These are all very significant and I encourage you to explore the ecumenical efforts within your particular denomination and between denominations (for example in the work of the World Council of Churches). But what can you do to foster greater Christian unity and greater realization of the true “Lord’s Prayer” as found in John 17:21, that we all be one? Here are some simple steps for individuals, small groups, and local churches.

1.     Pray. Pray regularly for Christian unity. Put some teeth on it by praying for friends, family, and co-workers who are members of other Christian Churches. Pray for the other Christian Churches in your community. Have your local church do this on Sundays (that includes the local churches you don’t like).

2.     Connect with other Christians. Whether among your friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors, or wherever, there are other followers of Jesus all around you. They may be Roman Catholic, you may be Methodist. But make a connection on the basis of your shared Christian faith first and foremost and explore tribal differences on a secondary basis.

3.     Think beyond your tribe. Think of the “Church” in your city, county, or region. So much can be done more effectively on a regional level versus the congregational level. Yes, you need to do certain things rooted in your local congregation’s distinctive identity, but there are plenty of things you can do more faithfully and more effectively by partnering with other Christians. NEWS FLASH: You do not need to agree about every matter to partner together for the common good.

4.     Stop bad mouthing other Christians! This is a cancer within the body of Christ. Progressive Christians make their snide remarks about fundamentalists. Conservative Christians make their jabs at liberals. Having been trained in and ministered across the theological and denominational spectrum, I can assure you that every stripe of Christian sub-culture faces this problem. Sadly, it is often taken for granted. In fact, some churches or individuals have made it a point of personal identity and pride to stress how unlike other Christians they are. Praise everything you can about other believers. Stress all the common points you can. When appropriate, share graciously your points of disagreement.

5.     (This is directed particularly to pastors and other church leaders). Think Kingdom increase, not just your local church’s increase. Your interest in people shouldn’t be merely to rack up attendance numbers for your local church. If in the course of your personal witness or church’s outreach ministry individuals become interested in Christianity, but end up attending another church. That is still a “win” in the Kingdom. Care about people and their spiritual well-being more than you care about increasing your membership rolls.

6.     Observe the week for Christian Unity which happens every year from January 18 through January 25.

What else would you suggest? What are you doing? What have you seen done that is faithful and effective in developing visible church unity and witness? (Speaking of denominations are they bad? Click here. Or maybe being non-denominational is the answer? Click here. Finally, know the difference between religion and denomination. Click here.) 

A Prayer for Christian Unity

Almighty God, you prayed that we might be one as you and the Father are one. While united by your Holy Spirit, we often divide ourselves by our own unwilling spirits. We say that we are Roman Catholic or Baptist or whatever the case may be, may we always proclaim that we are Christian first and our denominational tribe second. May we not neglect important matters of disagreement, but even more may we unite together in common witness to our communities and countries.

You are our Lord, instead of bickering with each other or letting areas of disagreement divide us, let us join hands in every way we can. The world needs concrete expressions of your gracious love more than it needs church versions of petty politics and power plays. We are called to witness to a different way of living, a different way of disagreeing and a different way of being human. Let it begin with me, let it begin with my local church, let it begin now, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Spirituality and Race

In Christianity, discipleship is intimately tied to spirituality. Spirituality is notorious difficult to define, to the point that many people dismiss it as an unhelpful term. Some say that religion is the official teachings, doctrines and structures; whereas, spirituality is the actual living out of the teachings, doctrines, and structures of a given religion in one’s daily life. There are some problems with trying to tease these two apart, but regardless, Christian discipleship involves integrating every aspect of one’s life with one’s faith. We might call this integrated faith, integrated spirituality or integrated discipleship. Then we have to deal with the controversies surrounding the definition of race.

I’m going to side step the controversies for the most part, by simply accepting that sociologically people identify themselves and others by racial, ethnic, and national markers. Often these markers are blurred together and it is, like with religion and spirituality, difficult to tease them apart without problems. However, for women and men seeking to be faithful to Christ and seeking to integrate their faith into every aspect of their lives, what should they do about race? This can be a strange question for white people, who can ignore issues of race because of their privilege; others, do not have this option.

The Biblical tradition embraces a tension between highlighting a particular race and affirming the universal nature of Christian faith. Jesus was a Jew. Understanding Jesus and thus understanding Christianity requires at least an elementary understanding of what it meant to be Jewish in first century Israel. Furthermore, to understand the rest of the New Testament, with its controversies surrounding the inclusion of non-Jews into the faith (Gentiles) requires at least an elementary understanding of what it meant to be a Greek or Roman in the first century Mediterranean world.

This may point toward how Christians should approach the topic of race. They need to be self-reflective about who they are and faithfully engaging the challenges and joys related to who they are, while not becoming so racially oriented that they miss the reality that their confession of faith in Christ makes them one with Christians of many tribes, nations, and languages. This will involve painful listening and partnering by white Christians with their oppressed sisters and brothers. This will involve persistent truth telling and partnering by non-white Christians with their white sisters and brothers.

This is all to abstract, discipleship deals with concrete realities, the messiness of individual lives, and the complexities of societal problems. Racism is a sin. Christianity’s earliest proclamation pointed toward a radical inclusion of people across racial and socio-economic divides: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Despite this early call for radical inclusion and despite the great heritage of Christian movements laboring for racial equality, race remains a problem in our societies and churches.

Your thoughts on race and discipleship?

Sermons: What Are You Listening For?

When is the last time a good friend of yours said, “Let’s listen to a sermon!” It’s probably been a long time, unless it was raised as an alternative to visiting the dentist or proctologist. Even then, at least these doctors do something practical for you. What of the soul doctors of the pulpit? They too offer something practical and of lasting, perhaps even, ever-lasting value. But what exactly is that? What are you listening for in a sermon? Maybe you aren’t really listening at all? The sermon is increasingly a strange beast in our culture of constant on demand content and content that constantly demands our attention.

Our expectation of the sermon, and thus, what we are listening for, are shaped by our experience of vocal communication in the wider culture, but also our own particular understanding of Christianity and often – even if we don’t know it – a particular denomination of tradition’s understanding of the role of preaching. People get annoyed or bored or upset with preachers when their understanding of the sermon’s role is in conflict with the preacher’s or tradition’s understanding of the sermon. There are dozens of ways of classifying sermon types and approaches. Let’s look at five: 

1.     The Sermon as Twitter Account

The sermon is purely the preacher’s opinion. They can use the pulpit to communicate whatever they feel like talking about. It may be informed by the texts assigned for the day, but ultimately it is a vehicle for the preacher to communicate private opinions and experiences on sundry subjects.  

2.     The Sermon as Life Message 

The sermon is a proclamation of the faith rooted in the assigned texts oriented toward the joys and challenges of daily living. The message must be rooted in the assigned texts and general Christian teachings, but the preacher’s job, with God’s help, is to connect text and tradition with daily life.

3.     The Sermon as History Lesson

The sermon is about scholarship. The sermon brings forth the vast riches of academic insight about particular texts and conveys them to the people. The message engages with commentaries, historical accounts, details, and more. The preacher’s job is to educate and sophisticate the congregation.

4.     The Sermon as Monologue

The sermon should be the ecclesiastical version of classic late night monologues. It should be funny, heart-warming, and perhaps have some helpful information or encouragement. The preacher’s job is to connect with the congregation, with emotional catharsis of some kind being a sign of success. 

5.     The Sermon as Social Expose

The sermon’s purpose is to comment on current social controversies. It should be bold and sometimes revolutionary. The Christian Tradition, especially its social justice movements and ideologies, are often the theological anchors of these sermons. The preacher’s job is to challenge and critique.

Each approach contains at least a modicum of truth or a potential purpose to the sermon, but perhaps some for more than others. Philosophical approaches to sermons aside, what sermons listeners often complain about are not content, but delivery and structure. “He’s so boring.” “She has no organization to what she says.” “It goes on and on and on.” “He talks about to many things.” “I can’t hear what she is saying.” Etc. What about you? What are you listening for in a sermon?" 

(Click here if you need an alternative to the dentist or proctologist or here for sermon listening tips)