Monthly Archives: October 2008

Happy Halloween Martin Luther!

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Happy Halloween Martin Luther!

It has been 491 years since you nailed your 95 Theses to the Wittenburg Church door and what a reformational act that was! Your “protests” against the corrupt Roman Catholic Church lit a fire that continues to burn to this day. You created a separate branch of the Church that we now call Protestantism but even the Catholic Church has gone through some major reform as well.

Dead Ancestors, Dead Saints, or Dead Doctrine?
Oh, and good choice of days for nailing up your protests against the corruption in the Church. October 31st used to be an ignorant pagan festival where people would dress up in scary costumes because they thought their ancient ancestors were coming to wreak havoc on their crops. Maybe if they looked scarier than their dead ancestors they might be scared away and leave them alone. They even sacrificed to them. In 800AD the Roman Catholic Church declared the day “All Hallow’s Eve” and the next day to be “All Hallow’s Day”. This was a day to celebrate the saints and martyrs of the Church. The church leaders had hoped this would take the place of such a barbaric pagan holiday.

Maybe you had the same thing in mind when you chose October 31st to start the Reformation? After all, what’s the point in celebrating dead saints and obtaining relics like a tuft of hair from this saint or a toe nail from that saint? Too bad Christians today neither celebrate the saints and martyrs (such as yourself) that have gone on before us or the Reformation. Instead, we choose to dress up in scary costumes and ward off little witches and goblins by giving them “sacrifices” of candy (and at $5.99 a bag it’s quite a sacrifice). It’s a pretty inane holiday and my wife and I give away candy to the children just so we can meet our neighbors but it’s sad that nobody thinks of what an incredible day this really is for God’s Kingdom.

Indulge Yourself
Anyway, enough about Halloween, I’m sure you wouldn’t be too happy that rather than celebrating the reformation of the Church we would rather carve gourds and eat ghost-shaped peeps. Let’s talk about penance instead. It seems that you spent a lot of your time trying to convince the Church that repentance was a matter of the heart and had nothing to do with some priest absolving you of your sin…especially through the sale of indulgences. I mean, what a rip off that was. We wouldn’t think of doing anything like that today. Instead, we do everything we can to guilt trip people into repentance. It’s the priest or ministers job to say things like, “I only saw you at the church (meaning a building) 5 days this week, were you partying the other 2 days?” or “I notice you didn’t check ‘Bible read daily’ on your offering envelope, care to explain?”. We would never stoop so low as to sell something when we can take the moral high road by guilting people into confession and repentance.

Poverty or Property
I also want to commend you for condemning the Church for using the money obtained through the sale of indulgences to build St. Peter’s Basilica rather than to give it to the poor. That was a lesson that we have taken to heart and I am happy to say, poverty is no longer an issue in the Church today. Not that poverty doesn’t exist anymore, it just doesn’t exist in the hearts and minds of most Christians, therefore, it’s not an issue in the Church. Problem solved. And we certainly wouldn’t waste money on a massive church building project to the detriment of the impoverished either. Why do that when we can just buy an already built football stadium and fill it with people and tell them that if they are poor or in need they should just believe…I mean really believe that God wants them to have their best life now. Maybe the reason they are poor is that they don’t smile enough.

Get Me A Tweezer
Finally, I should say that we are grateful for the movement you started in reforming the Church. You were right, the Church was greedy and corrupt and in need of reform. Unfortunately, almost everyone coming out of the reformation has a different idea on what needs reforming in the church and as a result, the Church today has never been more splintered. There are about 10,000 denominations around the world…some of them good, some of them not so good. We are divided doctrinally, geographically, racially, culturally, and in polity, purpose, and practice. I’m not sure what sort of tweezer is needed to start taking out the splinters in the Church but we are still in need of some desperate reform 491 years later.

So, I just wanted to say Happy Halloween and let you know how things are going here in the 21st century. People are just knocking on doors rather than nailing things to doors (my neighbors would be a bit upset). There is some good news: there have never been more Christians in all of history, but I guess the bad news is there have never before been so many people that have never heard the name Jesus. The world population is multiplying exponentially but the Church seems to still be using its fingers and toes to add and subtract. Hope you enjoy your peeps!

Sincerely,
Nathan Creitz

PS – I know my letter to you sounds negative but I do not wish it to sound like your work was in vain. My gripe is with today’s Church. You helped to start a necessary movement that brought reform and change to the corruption of the Church in your day. My prayer is that the bad habits and false beliefs that the modern Church holds will continue to be reformed and transformed. There is much concerning the Church with which I am sure Christ is pleased and I enjoy writing about that as well, but you set the tone…October 31st is a day to think about reform and change. This is a day to boldly protest so that we can see reformation happen again in every new generation of the Church. Let the Protest begin again!

PPS – Not everyone has forgotten that this is the day you kicked off the Protestant Reformation. A guy in Canada named Tim Challies has started a Reformation Day Symposium to get people talking about what this day should be celebrating. I’m sure he would love it if you dropped by and checked out what everyone is saying about you.

An Unnatural Life

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The Church is on the decline in Western society today. There is division in the Church in part due to a lack of diligence on the part of elders to ward off false teaching. Christians have become lazy in their thought and in their actions. The Church has ceased to have any major impact on the world.

There are thousands of root causes to the lack of influence possessed by the Church in the West. However, there is one cause that presents itself as a large heading under which many of those causes are categorized. The problem with the Church in the West is that we’ve forgotten that Christianity has no power apart from struggle. Indeed, many church goers are doing their best to avoid struggle and pain. They are hoping that the Church will give them their best life now. Surely, being a child of the King of Kings bears a certain pride and privilege. After all, we aren’t like those sinners are we?

Many of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit require struggle before they can be obtained. It takes effort. I’ve grown up hearing people say, “Don’t pray for patience or you just might get what you asked for.” They glibly realize and articulate that if our desire is for patience, God just might test us in a difficult way. We just might have to undergo a beating before we get it right. When we finally learn a lesson of patience God might just make us go through it again so we don’t get caught up in pride – humility being another quality that takes a lot of “lessons” from God (of all things, don’t ask God for humility, right?).

Struggle is essential to the Christian life. God will not develop such things as discipline, humility, selfless love, peace, and patience in us without tests of our character. The fact that the Western Church today lacks these qualities is due to the fact that we run from trials and tests. Peter says, “You rejoice in this [inheritance], though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith – more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) James even encourages us to “consider it joy…whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4) From these passages and others (not to mention the sufferings of Christ) we find the call to suffer. This call is referred to in several places as a refining process. The verse from 1 Peter even talks about being distressed by various trials even though we have a right to an amazing inheritance. 

Why do we go through this struggle? Purity, Genuineness, Sincerity, Experience, Endurance, Joy, Maturity, Perfection and God’s glory are but a few things that come to mind in light of the above verses and reflection on the life of Jesus. What happens when we don’t endure this struggle? Division, Greed, Selfishness, Laziness, Complacency, Unorthodoxy, Immorality, Jealousy, Strife, Envy, and Drunkenness all come to mind based on Galatians 5 and even a cursory glance at the status of the Western Church today. 

God has called us to something that is unnatural. God has called us to something that is impossible apart from Him. No wonder people give up so quickly when confronted with a difficult challenge. This is not natural! It’s not natural to discipline your body and your mind for God’s glory. There are natural laws that tell us the universe decays and winds down. Our spiritual life is under the same natural law that tends towards decay unless the Spirit of God energizes us and enables us to… to what? To have our best life now? To obtain all of the promises and inheritance of God? No, the Spirit energizes us to serve, to struggle, to discipline, to grow, to mature, to be patient, and to love. That doesn’t come naturally. God is the force that is at work helping us in our weakness to overcome various trials and tests.

The decline in the Church is due to natural rather than supernatural living. The Church is not in the habit of suffering and serving. We have traded in good habits for bad habits or simply stopped being spiritually disciplined all together. The Church is winding down due to a decreased desire for struggle and an increased desire for stuff. Ultimately, the Church will come to a complete stop if we don’t realize that we are called to live an unnatural life that is pleasing to God. It’s not natural to live by faith. It’s not natural to be self-controlled. It’s not natural to be patient. It’s not natural to love. But with God all things are possible. Let’s pray that the Church will receive the discipline of the Lord and become disciplined in their habits and actions.

Distinctively Christian: The Trinity

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This series of posts will address the theological and practical ways we as Christians are encouraged to be different. Some Christians become very different and are seen as quirky and out of touch. Other Christians try to blend in and seek to keep their faith to themselves. Both of these extremes are destructive to the Church. The thinking Christian has to discover those areas where they are to be different in thought and action from the world without sacrificing influence and reputation with the world.

GOD

Our view of God is the most radical and original view known to humanity. It is not in the best interests of humanity to come up with the God of the Bible which is a strong argument (though not the only one) in favor of the God of the Bible. All the religions of the world come up with a god in their own image but, again, no human could have anticipated our God.

One God in Three Persons?

The distinct doctrine of orthodox Christianity is that God is one God in three persons. At the beginning of his Gospel, John writes, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I encourage you to continue reading chapter one of John’s Gospel to discover that “the Word” is referring to Jesus and it goes on to say that “all things were created through Him…” Here, John is not only placing Jesus as an equal with God, he’s teaching something that grates against our human understanding – that Jesus is with God and, at the same time, that He IS God! How can Jesus be with God and be God at the same time? At other places in the Bible we also see that the Spirit of God is a separate person and is also with God and is God at the same time. I’ve said elsewhere that it’s difficult to explain this concept other than to say that if God were easy to explain then there wouldn’t be any mystery or awe when we ponder His divine nature. God is Father, Spirit, and Son together in perfect unity and community and oneness.

One God Not Three gods

This post will not delve into all of the wonderful ramifications of worshiping a God who is One yet three. However, I do want to say a little bit about who or what God is not. The God of the Bible is not three gods. The God of the Bible is not many gods. He also is not simply a god with only one person. In order for God to be God, He must be viewed in terms of the Trinity. Herman Bavinck, a Dutch Reformed Theologian said, “The confession of the Trinity is the heartbeat of the Christian religion. All error is traceable to a departure from this doctrine.” As a result, the God of the Bible is the only God that exists and the only God worthy of our worship. To worship any other god is to deny the one true God, placing oneself in opposition to God. To reject the triune God is to rebel and to be willing to suffer the consequences.

I realize this sounds exclusive and close-minded. As Billy Graham puts it, when he flies he hopes his pilot is close-minded when he decides to land the plane. We certainly don’t want our pilots to be coming in any way they want. We are all close-minded to some extent. I refuse to drive on the wrong side of the road. I guess I could choose to drive on the wrong side of the road but then I would be inviting destruction upon myself and others. You could say I am closed to the idea of driving on the wrong side of the road. G.K. Chesterton said, “The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” Let’s all just get over the fact that close-mindedness is not always a bad thing. God will not accept our worship of false gods any more than my wife would accept me giving myself to a prostitute (even if she did look like my wife). When you get married, you close yourself to other women. Now that I know God, I have chosen to reject all other false gods.

The God Who Came Down the Mountain

So, is Christianity exclusive and intolerant? Is it bad news to suggest that Jesus is the only path the triune God has given us by which we may know Him? The Trinity is the most inclusive and inviting God humans could ever have wanted. Our God has invited all to repent and believe in Him and has promised eternal and abundant life for those who do. Christians often quote Romans 3:23 out of context: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is definitely bad news but in the context or Romans 3, it is part of the best news humanity will ever receive. In context, Paul is saying that God is aware of our helpless condition and that we are His enemies because of our sin against Him. Romans 3:23 is from God’s perspective. In other words, He is aware that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” so He chose in His mercy and love to do something about it. The very next sentence says, “They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The next sentence tells us that God removed His wrath from those who have faith in Jesus and that He passes over their sins. The next sentence after that says that He did all of this to demonstrate His righteousness and to declare us righteous. He doesn’t make us stop sinning and make us perfect (have you met any Christians lately?), but He declares that we have become holy and blameless in his sight.

Every religion of the world says that different religions are like different paths to God. They suggest eloquently that we are all climbing the same mountain and God is waiting tolerantly and lovingly at the top for us to arrive. The thinking Christian has discovered that God is not a passive God waiting for us to figure it out and make it to the top. The thinking Christian knows that those paths lead to nowhere and will eventually end in death and eternal separation from the one true triune God because those religions are seeking a god of their own making (God calls it idolatry). The good news is, the thinking Christian knows that, even though we cannot attain God’s good favor through our own effort, God is an active God who has already made it possible for us to know Him and have fellowship with Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6) Sounds very exclusive, but it is the most inclusive offer humanity will ever receive. Though we are completely cut off because of our sinful nature and our rejection of God, God has offered us life through His Son Jesus Christ. Anyone is free to accept Him and enter into a relationship with the Creator God.

Our Trinity is a wonderful God. He is the God who created us. He is the God who saves us from ourselves. He is the God who offers eternal and abundant life through faith in Him. He is the God who will not tolerate a world that denies Him. He is the God who won’t accept the worship of counterfeit gods. He is always consistent, He is always faithful, and He will always love us. He is One God in three persons. This is the God whom I love and serve.

What is the purpose of the Church?

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Recently I was asked to answer a couple of questions about the purpose of the Church and its role in society…a topic that is in keeping with the subject of ChurchETHOS. Therefore, I decided to post my answers here. I got a little crafty and used Ephesians 4:11-13 to answer my question. There, we can find God raising up leaders for the Church to accomplish three things. Certainly there are other purposes but it was intriguing to find that these three purposes answer the following three questions.

Q. What is the main purpose(s) of the church, and therefore, what should be our measures of church/Kingdom success?

The main purpose of the Church is to make disciples. When Paul tells the Ephesians (4:11-13) that God gave some to the Church as apostles, some as prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, it was for about three reasons. First of all, it was to train saints in the work of ministry. This training harkens back to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We are told to “Go and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” We make disciples and teach them to be obedient to the commands of God. What are those commands? Love God, love people, make disciples, and teach them to obey my commands. It becomes a cycle much like the cycle that Paul initiates and encourages in Timothy: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2) Paul is investing in Timothy who is investing in “faithful men” who will “teach others also”. This cycle is what has kept the Church in existence for 2,000 years.

How would you explain the current decaying of our culture and society in light of our current state of so many examples of successful churches?

This second question also leads us to the second purpose of the Church that Paul charges the leaders to accomplish. Therefore, I am still answering Question 1 while at the same time answering Question 2. Hope that’s not confusing. The second purpose of the church leaders is “to build up the body of Christ”. In other words, the Church is designed to grow. All organisms do it. We don’t have to be taught how to grow, but we do have to be taught how to stay healthy. The Church could be making a bigger difference in the world, but we aren’t healthy. As you mention in your question there are many examples of successful churches, but by what standard? Are they making disciples? Are the leaders encouraging growth that is both numerical AND in maturity? Meanwhile, the majority of churches are floundering. The world sees examples of perversion in the Church broadcast by the media and they don’t know what to think about the Church. Most of society has rejected Christ because of people who call themselves Christians but “deny Him by their lifestyle” as Billy Graham famously said. The leaders are given to the Church to build up the body of Christ.

What do you think the church can and should do in order to truly make a greater impact in our society and culture? To what extent is this possible?

Again, let me use the third purpose in Ephesians 4 to answer the third question. The leaders are given to the Church to do what? To make disciples, to build up the body, and finally, to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son. What must be done by the church to have a greater impact in society? We have to stand unified against injustice and evil but also unified in our love for God and people. Most of the world only knows what we stand against (abortion, homosexuality, Catholics, Baptists, etc.) but rarely does a community or a city know what a church stands FOR. Most churches in a city or town are AGAINST each other because of competition or differing theologies or different races, etc. We aren’t really doing a good job of showing our unity with each other, much less show the world that we are unified. In order to make a greater impact in our society we have to be unified in our support of other believers and we also need to be unified in our love for our neighbor, especially those in need. Let’s let the world know that we love them. Let’s let the world know that we are unified against evil and are seeking and praying for the good of the city in which we live. All three purposes (make disciples, grow, and be unified) are necessary to make an impact in our culture. If we are the body of Christ but look anemic and unhealthy, no one will care about what we have to offer the world. If people’s lives are not being transformed through discipleship, the Church will cease to exist.

Related Post: My Top Concerns for the Local Church ::  Subscribe ::

Spread the Wealth

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After learning about the global crisis of poverty in a previous post we are left with the question, “What now?” When we consider all of the problems in the world that are brought on by greed, materialism, or quests for power many of us are left despairing that we can’t do anything to help. Poverty is a problem that only big organizations or governments can handle. Let them deal with the problem. And yet, it’s my belief that when confronted with issues of social justice or the environment that it is precisely “we the people” who can make the difference and not the government. I’m not wealthy, but when it comes to sharing what I have with others, I would prefer to do that with my own hands and not through the government as intermediary.

When dealing with the issue of poverty, there are several things that each of us could do right now! Short of “selling all and giving it to the poor”, what are some things that we can do to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves? Though we may not have much, is there something we can do to help?

Show Some Respect

The first thing I would suggest is that when it comes to interacting with people less privileged than ourselves we need to show some respect. The person asking for money on the street corner may not have a college degree or a nice car like you but that doesn’t mean they are any less valuable. For some reason, we get the attitude that a person living on the street is irresponsible, wants to use my money for cigarettes, and is incapable of holding a job. That may be, but do we have to assume it to be true (unless it’s written on a sign)? Why not assume the best rather than the worst in people. Who knows, maybe they do have a college degree but they’ve gone through a tough time? Who are we to judge based on a person’s appearance?

Buy a Meal

If you still have hesitation about a person, take them to lunch and find out what sort of person they are. Don’t just make a sack lunch and give it to someone as a gesture of charity. Instead, invite them to lunch just as you would a fellow colleague. You might say, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any cash on me right now, but my lunch break is at noon, would you like to meet me at that diner over there and I’ll buy you lunch? It would be my privilege.” We are quick to throw money at a problem when if we took a few minutes to get to know someone, we might be able to help in the context of a relationship. Pay for their lunch and spend time in meaningful conversation. Let them be the human that they are without being prejudged as incompetent.

Give A Gift of Love

There are dozens of organizations that help us realize that some people’s standard of living is so low that if we gave just $20 a month (for example), we could help feed, clothe, and educate a child in a poor region of the world. I’ve always appreciated what WorldVision is doing to get people to sponsor children but there are plenty of other organizations that you can research to find out their effectiveness. I also value the initiatives that help people “sponsor” cows, chickens, or sheep to help a family get milk or eggs or wool for themselves. Others get involved by donating money to dig a well that will give clean water to an entire village. Blood:Water Mission says, “$1 = one year of water for an African.” Check out globalgiving.com for even more ideas.

Volunteer
Habitat for Humanity is one organization that I can highlight here that has a proven track record of helping people through volunteerism. To own a home through Habitat for Humanity, the home owner builds sweat equity into his or her own home but he or she is helped by dozens of others who work alongside them as a way to show their love for their neighbor. This is love and service in action. You can even take a volunteer vacation through organization like the Sierra Club or Globe Aware. I’ve been able to work with Habitat for Humanity and International World Changers (a faith based organization) on dozens of projects all around the world. Travel is fun, but travel with a purpose opens your eyes to the need of the world.

Do Something Now

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically with love, respect, and humility…and do it now! Don’t wait for the government to do something. Spread your own wealth. I love what Paul the Apostle says, “I have learned the secret of being content – whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Poverty can hit any of us at any time, so if you are in a position to meet a need, do it!

What are your thoughts on what can be done to end poverty? What are some of the experiences you would like to share as you have fought against poverty in the world?

The Trinity Lives in a Shack?

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Not long ago I was reading The Shack by William Young which has quickly swept through the Christian community as a bestseller. I’m not sure why or how this happens, but every once in a while a book (or series) comes along that promotes lazy doctrine and hyped-up, fundamentalist Christianity. I have to check myself every time a new book comes out because if it has universal acceptance and buzz I probably disagree with it…am I always wrong? I can think of books like Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti, The Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. Each of these books, including The Shack have been extremely influential in shaping the theology of the larger Church. Somehow when it’s fictional Christians seem more ready to apply it’s theology to their lives. This doesn’t seem like a good habit to me.

What’s Wrong With Fiction?

The problems in these books are concerned with issues like demonology, eschatology, and the health and wealth gospel, but The Shack has to do with arguably the most important doctrine in Christendom: the doctrine of the Trinity. That is why this book troubles me so much. Since Young decided to put the Trinity front and center in this book, I want to focus the attention on his trinitarian theology.

How Should We Describe the Trinity?

Recently, my professor said, ““He who tries to understand the Trinity will lose his mind. He who fails to believe in the Trinity will lose his soul.” Most theologians believe there are no illustrations that help us think of the oneness of the Trinity. Some explain the Trinity by equating it to H2O. A water molecule can be water, liquid, or gas. The molecule is one substance in three forms. The problem here is that a water molecule cannot be water, liquid, AND gas all at the same time. Others explain the Trinity by thinking of the different roles a person might have: she might be a teacher, a wife, and a mother. She is one person with three roles. However, the trinitarian God is one God in three persons and is accomplishing His three unique roles simultaneously…Father, Son, and Spirit. Still others use the example of marriage; a husband and wife are one. This is probably the closest we can come to an illustration of the Trinity, but it is still limited. For example, Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” I may be one with my wife but I don’t always know what she is thinking. Sometimes my will conflicts with hers. We don’t always submit to one another fully. We often have selfish moments or times when communication breaks down between us. These are not problems the Trinity faces.

Those examples may be the best ones we’ve got when it comes to thinking about the Trinity but I think the best answer is, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord?” (Ro 11:33-34) and “Listen Israel, The Lord your God, the Lord is One.” (De 6:4). It is actually refreshing that I love and serve a God who’s ways and thoughts are so much higher than my ways and thoughts. I can’t put God in a box or limit Him to human understanding. The uniqueness and the oneness of the Trinity among the other gods and goddesses of other world religions is probably the most compelling evidence in His favor. What human would’ve thought of this?

How Does Young Describe the Trinity?

And that brings us to the description of the Trinity in William Young’s book The Shack. The main character in the Shack is named Mack and he has an incredibly traumatic ordeal that sweeps him off his feet in the first chapters of the book. As he deals with his grief and loss he gets an invitation to meet God at the Shack which is where the traumatic event happened. When Mack arrives he is greeted at the door by Papa, a black woman who later reveals that she is God the Father. He also meets Jesus who is a somewhat clumsy Middle Eastern man with a large nose and Sarayu, a shimmery Asian woman who is presented as the Holy Spirit. They are extremely loving to one another in an anthropomorphic way that sort of creeped me out a bit. I don’t have a big problem with God being humanized as a woman since I know that God is neither man or woman, He is Spirit. However, I mostly had a problem with the Father and the Spirit being incarnated. I almost put down the book when Papa said, “I am truly human, in Jesus.” I can take a fictionalized account of the anthropomorphism of God but when that humanized figure of God the Father tries to teach doctrine that he is now human because of Jesus (as if that’s what Jesus accomplished) is taking fiction too far. This flies in the face of John 4:24 which states, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” In Young’s humanization of God, the Father becomes human, and not even a male human. He incarnates Himself as a woman human. God is Father and God is Spirit. These are attributes that can’t even be fictionalized in a woman character.

Young also tries to suggest that there is no sort of hierarchy within the Godhead. He writes, “Hierarchy would make no sense among us.” However, both the Spirit and the Son submitted to the Father but there is no indication that the Father ever submitted Himself to the Son or the Spirit. Jesus prayed in the garden, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mk 14:36). Here Jesus has submitted Himself to God’s will. The Bible teaches equality within marriage and in the Trinity but that there is a hierarchy when it comes to roles. God is the Father, the husband is the head of the household. Young offers no support for his theology that hierarchy makes no sense to the Trinity and that it is entirely a man-made structure (emphasis on the man-made part). 

How Serious is the Threat?

All in all, I find Young’s The Shack to be lacking serious theological truth. However, I don’t know that it will be entirely harmful to the Church. Most people will realize that God would notincarnate Himself as a woman and that Jesus is THE Incarnation of God. That incarnation didn’t make the Father and the Spirit humans. We are still to worship God in spirit and truth because He is Spirit. I don’t think people will begin looking for God to come and meet them in person in a shack of any sort. However, the danger here lies in incremental and subtle changes in people’s theology and concept of God. For that reason, I believe it is important to get these issues out in the open. The most important thing is to expose the bad habits of popular Christianity to latch onto these books that are written not by theologians or serious Christian thinkers but by people who are merely dabbling in theology. We must guard our hearts and minds against such things.

Related Post: Distinctively Christian: The Trinity

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Profile of Poverty

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Mr. Butch was a well known street performer in Allston, MA. He died July 12, 2007. His absence is still felt to this day. Image courtesy of <a href=This post is the first in a two part series on poverty. This first post seeks to understand the desperate need of the homeless and our collected complacency to do anything about it. The next post is linked at the bottom and will help reveal some practical steps we can all take to alleviate poverty locally and globally.

The City

To begin with, what is that status of poverty in the city? According to the UN (.pdf), Approximately half the world’s population now live in cities and towns. In 2005, one out of three urban dwellers (approximately 1 billion people) was living in slum conditions. According to the US Census Bureau the top 10 poorest cities in America are the following (with % living below the poverty line included):

1. Detroit, 32.5%
2. Buffalo, 29.9%
3. Cincinnati, 27.8%
4. Cleveland, 27.0%
5. Miami, 26.9%
6. St. Louis, 26.8%
7. El Paso, 26.4%
8. Milwaukee, 26.2%
9. Philadelphia, 25.1%
10. Newark, 24.2%

What about America?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau: “The official poverty rate in the US in 2007 was 12.5%, that is, 37.3 million people were in poverty. The Observer states, “America is the most unequal society in the industrialised West. The richest 20% of Americans earn 9 times more than the poorest 20%.”

A Global Crisis

Citing facts from World Bank, author Anup Shah writes an article for globalissues.org stating that 80% of the world lives on less than $10 US Dollars per day (based on purchasing power parity, PPP). The children especially get hit hard with 1 billion of the 2.2 billion children in the world living in poverty. According to UNICEF, nearly 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

Out of Control Spending

What is most disturbing about the issue of poverty is that around the world only about $5.6 billion dollars is being spent to ensure that water and sanitation services are available to all. Contrast that with the $9 billion dollars spent at Starbucks each year. Of course, Starbucks is very environmentally and ethically responsible, and they are creating lots of jobs around the world. Still, it leaves me feeling like those who are growing the coffee because of our indulgences and high taste are basically begging for scraps from the master’s table. The point is not that Starbuck’s is evil (I buy a frappuccino occasionally, and their donuts are amazing) but that our priorities are completely misaligned.

Take another example: Only about $13 billion dollars is being spent to ensure that people around the world have basic health and nutrition but $780 billion dollars are being spent for militaries around the world. With just 2% of military spending we could more than double our global spending on health and nutrition initiatives. What’s more essential to a person’s health: food and medicine or guns and bombs?

So why do we not live within our means? Why do we not give to those in need? How can we expect to be a country blessed by God when we refuse to live justly, seek mercy, and walk humbly with Him? I didn’t crunch the numbers but I wonder what it would be like if the richest 10% “tithed” 10% and bought food or medicine or clothing or shelter or education for the poorest in our country? Not to pick on Starbucks but what if we reduced our consumption by one beverage per week. At current prices, that would be $3-4 per week or about $200 per year. There are thousands of things we can do right now to help end poverty around the world.

Next Post: Spread the Wealth

Related Post: Main Street Solutions for the Economy

What is ChurchETHOS?

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Ethos is a term from classical Greek that Aristotle used to identify the character or quality of an orator. When a person got up to speak but had spent no time establishing a connection with the audience, the audience was less likely to hear him out.

The word ethos also means the fundamental character, habits, or values of a community or person. Together, these meanings have to do with how we live and whether or not the culture around us will take us seriously. ChurchETHOS seeks to apply the term ethos to the way the Church behaves. What are it’s fundamental habits and character? What does a church do or not do? What habits do we need to form? What habits do we need to break? Ultimately, do these habits, that is, our ethos, help to transform culture? What are we saying? How are we acting? Is anyone listening and looking?

These are the questions ChurchETHOS will attempt to address. They are my thoughts on what it means to be a part of the family of God. The global Church is fractured into thousands of shards because of false doctrines and bad habits. It is important to think critically but lovingly about the doctrines and habits of the Church in order to have right belief (orthodoxy) and right practice (orthopraxy). Understanding the Body of Christ from a Biblical perspective under the guidance of the Spirit of God will help us to develop an ethos that will be faithful to God’s will and relevant to the culture around us. Jesus told His disciples that “[the world] will know that you are my followers because of your love for one another.” As one person put it: the Church is the best apologetic for the gospel the world will ever see. So what is the truth about the way we live?

Organic and Sustainable Christianity

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An Intended Meaning
Organic and Sustainable Christianity has a double meaning. One meaning has to do with what a Christian believes, the other is how a Christian responds because of that belief. What do we believe about the world? That God created it? That since creation, humanity has fallen and has brought suffering in the world? If so, how does that cause us to act? Do we seek to fight injustice? Do we desire to protect the environment? Do we care for people’s physical and spiritual needs? Faith should lead to Action!
Faith

To begin with, a Christian needs a strong organic faith that is characterized by growth. Our faith must be nurtured through prayer and Biblical reflection but it must also be pruned by God’s Spirit and accountability and fellowship with other Christians. Jesus lived in an organic way. He created few traditions but he was always sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. He walked where he was supposed to walk and did what he was supposed to do. Today, our churches tend to be program driven and not driven by natural relationships. We have a routine when it comes to our Christianity: Sunday service (2 hours), Weekly Bible study group (2
hours), the freedom to spend the rest of our time the way we want (priceless). Jesus calls us to discipleship, not to sit back and watch the world suffer. Every moment is an opportunity to grow personally or to respond to a need or to engage in discipleship. 

This sort of approach to our walk with Jesus will also lend itself to sustainability. Sustainability doesn’t depend on a faith that is informed only by a 20 minute sermon on Sunday and one quick time of Bible study with a small group. Our relationship with God is sustainable
because of the deep intimacy that we have with him and with others. Our faith should be growing organically and that natural growth will cause us to be like a “tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does
prospers.” (Psalm 1)
Action
That leads us to the other meaning of living an “organic and sustainable faith”. Our world is suffering. Jesus identifies with our suffering. He was born into poverty, was a refugee in Africa for a number of years, spent years bringing about healing and hope to the marginalized, and finally was forsaken and rejected by even some of his closest followers and put to death. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53) He brought not only physical healing but more importantly he brought spiritual healing. Our world is hurting because of poverty, slavery, violence, disease. We are facing economic and environmental crises. As Christians we are called to action! Assuming that we are already focused on
spiritual issues (sharing our story about our relationship with God), the Church needs to do much better about addressing physical suffering in the world. The terms “organic” and “sustainable” are usually associated with environmental issues, but if we don’t also address
social justice issues, people’s hope will not be sustainable. Our hope in each other is beginning to fade and we need to share with people that God loves them and we love them so we are going to help them. 
Ecology is the interrelationship between organisms and their environment and we need to begin demanding an ecology that focuses on those interrelationships between “organisms”, with priority being placed on our relationships with other humans.
Our action must be organic in that it must respond naturally to the needs of those around us. When you see a need, meet a need. You don’t have to be involved in every issue that our world faces, but find some that resonate personally with you and work on them. You might be fighting to end breast cancer. You may decide to compost. You may decide to volunteer at an animal shelter or work with the homeless or the orphaned. You may feel led to put solar panels on your roof. Whatever you do, don’t do it because it’s trendy but because it comes natural to you. Again, this will lead to sustainability. Sustainability for the environment and sustainability for the relationships living in that environment. If you care about something, you tend to do it long term. Our suffering world needs something they can hold on to and if we are showing love then a person can be sustained by that love. If we are like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, men and women of faith, then we can believe that whatever we do for God’s kingdom and for His creation will prosper. So let’s start working on it.

If This Were Christianity, I Would Quit!

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I just had to laugh at this video. 

However, there’s something scary about this knowing that there are still people today who have some sort of emotional, silly, unattractive faith in Jesus. It shows up in unfair caricatures of Christianity like Bill Maher’s new movie Religulous. I won’t provide a link to the film because the trailers I’ve seen for it are completely unfair. He found the people in the world that have the kind of faith that is found in this ridiculous YouTube video and exploited their ignorance and stupidity and dares to call it a documentary. This is why I blog about thinking Christianly in a post-Christian world about issues such as social injustice, environmental responsibility, reforming the church, and having the Mind of Christ. If we can’t offer the Truth about God to a world that desperately needs Him then we need to give up.

On the other hand, we are blessed to be called children of God and therefore, we have something to be excited about and something to share with others. We should be living transformed lives that have been transformed by the renewing and the exercising of our minds. Studying the Bible, reading books on theology and culture, having open discussions about faith with church and unchurched friends, practicing a faith that is visible but not for show. These are the sorts of things we should be doing. Otherwise, people like Bill Maher will continue to reject God and the gap between thinking followers of Jesus and everyone else will grow by default.

I don’t want my thoughts to be rejected just because someone associates me with all the stereotypes of Christianity. I want people to let the Word of God speak objectively to them. This is a call to action, a call to think, a call to love and serve, a call to non-stupidity. If you’re not up to the challenge, then you are forsaking the two greatest commandments: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Can any rejection of the greatest commandments be called Christianity?