This is part 2 of our little series about why we want to plant a different kind of church.

What about the church? I remember reading this book called Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller where he tells a story about setting up a confession booth on the campus of a very liberal college. The confession booth was not so that students could come  and confess their sins of the weekend, but so that the Christians on campus could have a face to face confession to Christ-resistant students of the wrongs of the church over history (like the Crusades)–an apology. Too bad this is only talked about in a book and was done maybe this once. Some Christians may think there is not much for the church to apologize about–after all, we are the good guys right? I think this is a naive way to look at the church today. We are painfully misrepresenting the Gospel and Christ–who is the very nature and radiance of God. There are some very good things about the church. It is not all bad, but we as a culture–our media, our own memories–tend to latch onto those mistakes that make the whole body (not to mention God himself) smell rotten. For us to deny that there is a problem, however–a disconnect between the character of Christ and the Body of Christ– would be an avoidance of the truth. What if we, as the body of Christ, could offer the public a “peace offering,” an apology for the bad track record of the church in general? What could that look like? How would the public respond?

the signs were edited. original @ http://bit.ly/Zebub

In part 1 of this series we talked a little about architectural theology, that basically when you walk into a church and observe how its built and what’s in it, you can figure out what they believe. For instance the Greek Orthodox churches believe in a grand and transcendent God who is far off and majestic, you can tell by how much effort and money they spend on decorating their church buildings. For some churches I’ve been to, I couldn’t tell what that particular church really believed; it wasn’t really defined. Sure, God, obedience, Jesus dying for our sins were part of their messages, but their actions were quite different. It almost seemed that they believed in paying the bills.

I read an article today on msnbc about some bus ads in Iowa that said “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.” There was some tension over the ads and a tug-o-war of it getting pulled and put back on, but the lady in charge of the ads for the buses had said “the issue was with the word God. They’ve never used it before to maintain some autonomy. We’ve had churches advertise, but it’s been for their church, not their belief” (emphasis mine). I knew it was true once I read that, because every commercial I’ve seen about God has rather been about a denomination or a church. That itself, speaks what our theology really is. We care more about our church or denominational ties more than we do about restoring people’s faith in God and knowing Jesus. Again, we would rather replace the carpet in our church than fund a ministry to feed the local homeless for a year. But hey, if that carpet gets you to believe in God, it must be worth it, right?

This is one of the reasons why we don’t want to plant a church with a building program–that is, a building program that results a church building. Aside the building cost, with all the money that goes into maintaining a church building, which is nearly 70 cents to the dollar donated or tithed, we have to wonder if there’s a more efficient way to serve in worship. Not just because a church building costs so much, in fact, I’d rather build something more expensive, but I guess I’m looking for something with a little more balanced faith:works ratio.

Humility is a major trait of Jesus that is lacking in the church– sure, we’ve tried to act that way as individuals, and that’s really important, but somewhere in the translation to being humble as an organized body of Christ, that humility was quenched a bit. That is where we want to respond.

Comment! What does your church’s building say to you? What do you wish your church would publicly apologize for?

Not familiar with what we’re talking about?
Try starting here at Part 1 – Architectural Theology.

Mark 7:24-30 “And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”

Wow, Jesus, don’t be such a jerk! Right?

There are a lot of commentaries out there with a lot of different theories about what caused Jesus to respond in such a way to this clearly desperate woman. Some suggest that Jesus has come to this area hoping that he is less known and can get some rest from all the work he has been doing–and that when this woman obviously disrupts that plan, his response is a bit abrasive. Others completely disregard the harshness of his response and simply say that in this passage Jesus is showing that there is mercy for both Jews and Gentiles. There are a whole slew of other opinions out there…so I thought I might throw my thoughts among them. I would love to hear your comments and theories about this passage as well–I am just seeking to reconcile this seeming “contradictory” passage with my own beliefs about the character of Christ.

The first thing that I would like to address is the parallel that seems to be made between Jews and Gentiles, children and dogs, respectively. At first glance, it seems as though Jesus’ comment to the woman is a very rude one and that she is the more noble one for disregarding it and still seeking healing for her daughter. Instead of viewing this as an insulting comment–or completely disregarding what is going on here,  it is important to take this in context of what has been happening so far in the book of Mark. Jesus had spoken in parables to the people many times thus far–this was a very common practice in that culture and at that time. Also, we see the undeniable compassion that Jesus had for all who sought him with a pure heart. Instead of seeing this as a parallel of values, I prefer to view it as a parallel of situation.

Jesus’ overarching purpose for coming to Earth was to redeem sinners from all nations, tribes, and tongues. However, Jesus’ specific purpose for this time was to preach the good news to the Jewish people convincing them of his identity so that later they would play an important role in the salvation of the rest of the world. We have read many times in the Old Testament that salvation would come through the line of the Jews. I do not think that Jesus was telling this woman that she was not worth his time and that helping her would be a waste of resources. Instead, I think he is simply making the point that his purpose right now is to give the good new to the Jewish people–it is not her time as a Gentile to be fed. She responds to this correctly then–even though it may not be her time to be fed, she still asks to receive benefit from Jesus’ coming and healing and teaching.

So, what can we learn from this? First, Christ is compassionate. He does not bless based on worth. God’s timing is supreme. We may not understand at the time, but God’s way is always the better way. In all times, when we do not understand, we must remain humble and keep in mind that all things have their time and purpose, and the God who has created, loved and redeemed us will never leave us wanting. He alone satisfies. We are all invited to feast together as brothers and sisters with Christ. He offers this, not reluctantly, but with arms open wide accepting all who come to him in humility.

I think there’s a special thing about walking into a grand church under the right spirit- but any other time all I can think about is how much money they spent on a now aging and oftentimes empty building- and consequently how much money was deferred from helping the public. Comment for me if I’m wrong- but I think this is the American postmodern way of viewing church buildings (where human choice and life is supreme). It’s a really common comment I hear from “spiritual” people my age- that with the money a church spent putting in new carpet, the church could’ve fed the local homeless for a year. When you phrase it like this (which is often now), it makes the church look like the big bad selfish institution that cares more for itself than the community- even if the church’s mission is to make disciples and equip the saints, all while caring for the foreigners, widows, and orphans.

So, that being said, what kind of architecture represents the God, Christ and Spirit that we aim to worship with our lives that is relevant in our economy-minded and humanitarian culture? There are three aspects of the Trinity that I think are important to convey to those outside the church body (and within, for that matter):

1. the grand “bigness” of God
2. the closeness and involvement of God in our lives
3. and the love of God that simply cannot be contained within the four walls of a building- a love that spills over the brim and revives all who it touches.

"I beatchu wit 'dis"

As the body of Christ, it is our privilege to take part in embodying these aspects of our Creator, Savior, and Advocate God. What does that look like to me? I see a body of believers coming together and dreaming of something bigger than themselves and knowing that, though the dream is big, they serve a big God without limitations. I see the construction of a building that is full and active 7 days a week with programs and activities that are developed based on the needs of that community–not to fulfill an agenda. I see a body of believers coming together to offer love and restoration to all who, not only enter the doors of the building or share a common belief in God, but to a community who is longing for something more, but has not yet found the strength nor the motivation to go looking for it.

I think any church that we’d go to would agree with everything above– but the difference comes in the intentions becoming a visible reality. For instance, any church would agree that their vision is big and that only God can see it through (or maybe that they are part of a working gigantor vision). Any church would agree that they want their building to be full everyday. Any church would agree that they want to minister to the needs of the community freely without strings attached. Is it merely a strategy failure that we see then? Or is it the absence of the Holy Spirit in church-people? Maybe all we’re doing wrong is hiring stupid architects? I doubt that.

To say the least, there are two gaps that we see:

1. When we read the Bible, and then observe the church today, there’s a gap.
2. When we see the power of the Holy Spirit, and then observe the fruit of the church today, there’s a gap.

We’re going to start writing a series that spells out our vision, how it will help complete existing churches (not replace), and how it will hopefully bridge some of the gaps.

Follow up on Part 2 – Organizations and Apologies

Download Path, Purity, and Peace

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Without my navigator though, no matter how hard I try- no matter how far I go- I am never going to make it to Nashville going 40-E from Knoxville. I won’t ever get there- there’s no question about it. I’ll get to North Carolina just fine, and if I go the right way, I could end up in Georgia, South Carolina, or New York… but I won’t ever make it to Nashville going 40-E from Knoxville. Just like if I want to bake chocolate chip cookies, I’m never going to be able to do it without chocolate chips, flour, and some sort of oven. The way I choose to go greatly affects where I end up. Duh, right? If I want to go to the grocery store but my car takes me to dominos, there has been a failure to communicate in my brain. The path I chose to get to Dominos didn’t get me to Dominos..

That, unfortunately, is pretty much how we act. Sure, it’s obvious that driving to Lowes isn’t going to get us groceries- but how many times have we had a relationship crisis, or helped someone who has, and they’ve ended up saying, “how did we get here?” How many times has a business started, struggled, and then failed with a question, “what did we do wrong?” How often does a church ask themselves, “how come no one’s been baptized this year?” Certainly, circumstances change and every situation is different in some way, but largely the path that we choose to take determines our destination, not our intention. If we intend to be a church that unchurched people love to attend, but we take the path to be a country club and only get transfers from other churches, why even bother asking the question why we failed? If we intend to improve the grades in our school system, but all we funded was a football superstar program, why even bother asking why reading scores haven’t gone up? You know how it goes, hindsight is 20/20.

I wish King David asked the same questions. His captivating past moves me- he was so faithful, bold, creative, and a great leader, but later on he started taking paths that were probably not his intention from the beginning, and his destination was unpeaceful. I want King David to be an unblemished success story- but, just like us, he’s prone to mistakes- and those mistakes have a tendency to spread like wildfire. Let’s read some scripture.

2 Samuel 11:1-5 (MSG) When that time of year came around again, the anniversary of the Ammonite aggression, David dispatched Joab and his fighting men of Israel in full force to destroy the Ammonites for good. They laid siege to Rabbah, but David stayed in Jerusalem. One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was stunningly beautiful. David sent to ask about her, and was told, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent his agents to get her. After she arrived, he went to bed with her. (This occurred during the time of “purification” following her period.) Then she returned home. Before long she realized she was pregnant. Later she sent word to David: “I’m pregnant.”

Here’s some background on David- He was the perfect guy for leading the nation. If Christ had been around, he’d be the model Christian. He loved God, he fought for him, he did justice for him, he displayed mercy for him, and David did it all with seemingly perfect balance. He was on the path to righteousness. But after a history of winning wars while he’s there, losing wars while he’s not, David decided to stay at home during this particular war- which was an opportunity for his idle hands. That opportunity for sin came in the beautiful form of Bathsheba. We all know that the Kings of Israel always seem to have a million and one wives or concubines. The Bible never seems to address that issue that collecting women was wrong. Though it may not say anything directly, it does indirectly- David’s sin with Bathsheba was the culmination of the path he chose.

David chose the path to impurity- though intending to lead the nation well. He married, and married, and married, and now with Bathsheba he’s stealing married women and having sex with them, and later he’ll deceive and kill to cover up his shame. This path has consequences; Bathshebha’s grandpa was one of David’s counselors, who later on defected from him. She was also Eliam’s daughter, who was one of David’s Mighty Men- so you could imagine some tension there in the midst of war (a bad time for tension). She ALSO was the wife of probably the most faithful Jewish Hittite I’ve ever read about in the Bible. Let’s read a little about Uriah.

2 Samuel 11:6-15 (MSG) David then got in touch with Joab: “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” Joab sent him. When he arrived, David asked him for news from the front—how things were going with Joab and the troops and with the fighting. Then he said to Uriah, “Go home. Have a refreshing bath and a good night’s rest.” After Uriah left the palace, an informant of the king was sent after him. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance, along with the king’s servants. David was told that Uriah had not gone home. He asked Uriah, “Didn’t you just come off a hard trip? So why didn’t you go home?” Uriah replied to David, “The Chest is out there with the fighting men of Israel and Judah—in tents. My master Joab and his servants are roughing it out in the fields. So, how can I go home and eat and drink and enjoy my wife? On your life, I’ll not do it!” ”All right,” said David, “have it your way. Stay for the day and I’ll send you back tomorrow.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem the rest of the day.

The next day David invited him to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. But in the evening Uriah again went out and slept with his master’s servants. He didn’t go home. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front lines where the fighting is the fiercest. Then pull back and leave him exposed so that he’s sure to be killed.”

Uriah reminds me of a younger David- faithful, committed, determined. But instead of David continuing on his path of righteousness, he chose this path of unfaithfulness. When he couldn’t lead Uriah into having sex with Bathsheba, and therefore covering up the baby as David’s, he tried getting him drunk. When Uriah STILL didn’t have sex with Bathsheba to cover for David’s sin, David resorted to worse things. The only option then was to kill him. Obviously, though, he couldn’t do it himself, he had to devise a plan that would make it look like war took Uriah out. Not only did David plan to kill him, Uriah was killed by David through the Ammonites’ sword- surely adding insult to deathly injury- not only that, but Uriah delivers his own death sentence. That’s like Commissioner Gorden giving Batman a direct order to be deliberately sabotaged and killed by the Joker. The path that David chose was an idle one of sin, resting on the laurels of his kingship, indulging himself in any way possible.

The path that we choose, not our intention, will determine our destination. This is really important because it determines everything that we do; if we intend to save 20% of our money, then we really need to set up some kind of system to save with. Do we just do it voluntarily? Do we tell our direct deposit to do it automagically? Do we have our spouse do it? If we set up no such system than we’re never going to save 20%. If we intend to find a job, we have to set on the path to look for one, right? That means we have to make up a resume, maybe buy some presentable clothes, talk to some friends for some possible connections. If we intend to be pure and serve the Lord only, don’t you think we need to set up systems to help us do that? If we set up systems that end up serving ourselves, don’t you think we ought to change those systems? This is obvious stuff but somewhere along the line we lose focus.  Here’s a psalm that really hits me hard and tells us why we need to set our paths straight. This is a psalm that David wrote after he did the dirty with Bathsheba.

Psalm 51 (NLT)

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

The only thing that strikes me about this psalm is that David HAS NO PEACE. When our intentions are not met, we end up feeling unsettled. When we start feeling like there’s something wrong, but we can’t put our finger on it, it’s probably because our destination is not where we intended to be, right?! We all intend to find a job that we love, but somewhere along the line we’ve ended up compromising on our intention to a great job and settled on what we’re given. We all intend to marry only one person. We all intend to do a good job the first time. We all intend to raise our kids well. Maybe the most important thing to make sure our path is straight is with purity–purity in a lot of things but mostly integrity (lying, deception) and sexuality. Those two things have such far-reaching consequences that they really have to considered. Purity affects our soul.

If our intention is to raise our kids to make purity choices, have we really given them an example, or a direction to fill out that intention? The direction we’re heading is a marriage-less world that encourages test-driving the potential spouse first, who has become a sexual object, by cohabiting with them first- seeing if we really can put up with doing the dishes, paying the bills, and how good they are in bed. Once the person has had their fill, or grown tired of them, they dump them either slowly or quickly, but always painfully, and then moves on to the next person- just like King David. Then we are left feeling violated, unclean, blemished, used, impure. And then we wonder why suicide rates are rising, self-image problems are rising, and marriages are failing- are we that stupid? We have little or no peace.

Download Vision Worksheet

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I’ve made up a sheet, which I call a vision worksheet. I want you to think about these questions for the rest of the week- in context of your job, your marriage, your kids, your church, your hobbies, your friends, everything. I don’t want you to do this worksheet so I can know what your visions are, I want you to do this because it HAS to be intentional. If you’re not intentional about readjusting your path to fit your intention, then you’re going to be the one suffering with little or no peace- like King David near the end of his reign. We have to be intentional about doing this- and granted that some people are not good at planning these things out–some of us are planners and thinkers, some of us are builders and doers– that’s why there are teams, that’s why there are CHURHES! We all need help in assessing our own gifts and talents that will gauge our vision.

Here’s a walkthrough- The first two questions determine your vision and your intention. Your vision is not what you want to be- your vision is exactly what it says it is: it’s a vision of the future. Close your eyes and imagine 10 years in the future the way you want it to be. Imagine it in the context of your job, your church, your community, homelessness, stores, relationships. That’s your vision. The third and fourth questions determine your direction. Hopefully, all these questions will point to the same things- but probably won’t. This set of questions determines which way you’re really going. So do this: close your eyes and imagine 10 years in the future the way things have progress from now if nothing changes. Sometimes visions need a bigger time- imagine 100 years, maybe 25. The last set of questions, about energy, affection, time, and money help determine what we really worship. Worship is a mixture of a lot of things- honor, praise, but also value. If we don’t value God, why honor and praise him? It turns out that what we value most gets our affection, energy, time, and money. What we value most determines what our intentions will be.

Imagine with me a church that has TOUCHED its community (not inappropriately) so far that the church has defeated  its country club stereotype. Imagine a student ministry so lively and involving that parents and students alike are actually not ashamed to invite friends to it- they have a car with decals all over it driving through the community saying how cool it is and giving out free red bulls and movie tickets or something. Imagine the gospel being TOLD in Sunday School classes in creative ways that invites non-believers, maybe it’s not even at the church building but in your backyard with steaks on the grill and the kids playing with the dogs. Imagine  the Word that brings life to its hearers being TAUGHT, so that those who had no hope will find a reason to live!

This gym is a natural place for people to meet and have fun- imagine if it were full every night! That sanctuary is a beautiful place- imagine how much more beautiful it would look if it were prayed in every morning. That fellowship hall has a stage in it- imagine plays being done weekly on it. Imagine if we set our paths straight, straight for the Lord, how much more peace we will have for ourselves and for our families and for our church. My dad used to tell me how he wanted to raise me- he said that all he wanted to do was raise me to be better than him, in whatever way. I want to raise my own kids to seek the heart of God. Your kids- they’re beautiful, the possibilities are endless! We just need to set our paths straight and make sure our intentions match up with our paths. Take just a minute here in silence and just think about some of those things we intend to do. What are some directions in your life that don’t match your vision?

Regardless of how different our visions may be- we will always have at least one common destination: heaven. Under the grace of God and our reliance on Him, there’s only one person to thank for that. Let’s praise him.

For related info, see Andy Stanley’s “Principle of the Path” free podcast or book.

“follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your loyalty. At the end of that trail you’ll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship.” - Louie Giglio - The Air I Breathe

Download Desperation and Faith

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Giving is something that obviously is part of the church- it almost defines its existence to be an organization that demands donations, and gives it out to others. Almost a religious Robin Hood of sorts, right? Rich people come to church, give their money, and the church uses it for the facilities and the rest for ministries aimed primarily for the poor. Giving is also part of what I think is the epitome of being human- being a philanthropist, or in other words a rich dude with lots of money that makes it his job to give it away to worthy causes. We have some examples of what it means to be a philanthropist: Bill Gates was the wealthiest in the world. He now has given $20 billion away since he started his foundation with his wife. Oprah has given about $300 million through her channels. Howard Hughes, an older aviator and filmmaker, ended up starting the largest foundation devoted to biological and medical research, giving about $1.6 billion. Li KaShing is probably a guy we’ve never heard of- since he’s from Hong Kong. He built an empire of business over there and now ends up giving away a third of his earnings. That third is $10 billion.

Don’t we all dream of being those kind of people? I mean, even in the smallest scale I wouldn’t mind being a business owner, comfortably living however I want, and giving the excess away. Once I’ve had my fill- sure, let someone else have my excess.

There’s a problem with this mindset. It’s all good and dandy that they make billions of dollars and give a lot of it away, but for what purpose do they do it? I’m tired of religious organizations- supposedly the archetype of good and faithful works, coming in last place. Non-religious organizations do it out of a felt need called “the white man’s burden,” not necessarily because of any faithful foundation.

Basically, the white man’s burden is the responsibility felt by wealthier folk to lift up their fellows in order to be like them- to give them a chance to succeed. Here’s my problem with it: I think it’s ok to be poor. I think it’s ok to be ignorant of technology- heck, look at our grandmothers. They probably think a BlackBerry is still a fruit and a rotary phone is an object of pride. Also, it operates out of the mindset that we need to do something good in order to be accepted. We need to be moral in order to be generally accepted. We need to give things because, well… we just need to, we don’t really know why.

Here’s some scripture that I think is going to guide us out of this hole.

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 (MSG) Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.

Notice the part there where they committed more offerings than they could afford. Out of their generousity, out of their desire to help, they gave above their heads. Here’s the phrase that I latched onto though, “the trial exposed their true colors.” This is the part I want to focus on a bit.

I’ve always had this belief for some reason, I don’t know where it came from but perhaps just my own experience, that when I’m desperate, I show off what I truly believe. If I get angry and start flinging stuff around and cussing, well, I think that not only am I angry, but my heart is welling up at that moment and whatever is in my heart is coming out of my mouth. Me flinging things around the room is my heart telling me that I am the most important thing in the room. Let’s take something a bit more serious- hurricane Katrina exposed a lot of true colors. When I was down there, I experienced a lot of true colors of desperation. Some of those colors weren’t good. People started looting, shooting, and seeking only themselves. But some people started rebuilding, restoring, and healing. It’s been an incredibly long process, one that I think is being strung out by powers that be, but under that condition of desperation, we saw what some people truly believed.

Why is it that when desperation happens, we degrade ourselves to savages? Survival of the fittest. That’s what people tend to truly believe- this sort of elitist attitude that says “I could in fact be better than someone else, and I’ll steal, kill, and destroy to prove it and prolong my own life in the process.” Let’s read on.

2 Corinthians 8:5-7 This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That’s what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you’re articulate, you’re insightful, you’re passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.

These Christians, however, didn’t degrade to savages. Their true belief shined through. In fact, one of the major points of this letter 2 Corinthians is Paul encouraging them by sending Titus to help them complete their commitment. They committed above their heads WILLINGLY and ENTHUSIASTICALLY

—but they were having some trouble living up to their word. That’s pretty understandable, and Paul even goes on to explain that they weren’t in trouble for doing so, he just wanted to see the commitment come to completion. They had a different mindset about how giving is done. They had a different mindset about how humans are to act. They believed in a true God, truly. Let’s read on.

2 Corinthians 8:8-20 I’m not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. So here’s what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart’s been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands. This isn’t so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you’re shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,
Nothing left over to the one with the most,
Nothing lacking to the one with the least.

Giving is part of our humanity- lest we prove ourselves right in thinking that we are in fact only, and will only ever be, evolved animals. Giving completes us in that we are a community. But here’s the catch! Remember that phrase near the beginning, “fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors.” This is an important verse in understanding all of this.

I guess this is really what baptism is all about as well as the Jewish passover (our communion)– it’s all about remembering where we were to begin with: lost. Lost but now we’re found, blind but now we can see. Without these memories, all we can remember is the comfort that we’ve always lived with. In that comfort, we tend to not need God. Multiply that by several hundred years and what you get is a Christian culture that is ungrateful, arrogant, and has lost its roots.

I really don’t think we’ve been pushed to our limit in desperation. Sure, we’ve felt like we’ve been desperate before, but come on. Losing your mutual fund? Wrecking your car? Not having health insurance? You call that desperate? No. That’s not desperate. There’s far worse things that could happen. Read Job. Live in Zimbabwe or Haiti. Here’s my lyric for the day… and by lyric I mean my point in all this… that perhaps we really don’t know if we believe, since we’ve never really been truly desperate. I don’t know how to fix that– other than maybe to take a chance. Live for today, not for in 30 years or something ridiculous. Get out of the US and experience a culture that doesn’t “have.”

I want to end this on with a creative video, so we’re going to watch a NOOMA video that I think really pushes this idea further. Throw down a comment if you agree or disagree, or maybe where you’ve sensed this worldview problem in your experience!

This is a video developed for an organization about making choices that better the lives of individuals in the community around you. I love it, it’s a bit odd and somewhat dark with a childish cartoony animation- so all that together makes the video interesting to watch. I haven’t really heard much about United Way (which my wife tells me that I’m just uninformed. I must’ve lived under a rock). Here’s my opinion on it: this organization is awesome– it’s just lacking one thing.

I think it’s awesome because this video represents exactly what the church should be doing -> social justice, being community-oriented, appearing less oppositional, and living simply. All they want to do is attack the root causes of neighborhood decay. Here’s a quote

These are the conditions or actions underlying community needs and issues and causing them to happen or to worsen. While United Way organizations do address the issues directly in a remedial fashion, the “safety net” (i.e., addressing hunger by feeding hungry families); in order to truly make progress against these issues, the root causes or community conditions must be addressed (i.e., what makes families hungry in the first place? Some example root causes might be lack of employment or job skills or lack of access to adequate food). Addressing root causes is a fundamental principle of United Way’s work.

Don’t get me wrong- there ARE churches that do these things. To say that there aren’t would be ignorant, but that would not be ignoring the fact that maybe 75% of churches don’t do anything near these things, and instead only tend to their own members– just like a country club.

So what is United Way lacking? It’s lacking the only thing that churches are known to do- worship. I would say “Christ,” but I think that these works are very Christlike… it’s just that the purpose of this organization is utilitarian, and not seeking the Kingdom of God for folks. But it’s amazing at the same time– this religionless organization is doing a better job it seems in helping the community than the church, whose sole mission is to bring the Kingdom of God to the community. What United Way is doing is wiping away tears from the hurting, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked- and not only the that, but alleviating the roots that cause these problems!

Let me be a cynic here: what a church might do instead is sit in their building, run canned food drives (which only gets pumpkin pie cans, expired peanut butter, and asparagus), occasionally preach about the poor, and hold on to cliches like “God only helps those who help themselves.” it’s sickening. Something needs to change. That’s what I want to do. But while you’re at it, check United Way out. Throw down a comment too here while you’re thinking about United Way- do you think I’m way off base in my assessment? What about other organizations?