Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The Most Interesting Man Alive? . . .

Yesterday I was asked my favorite question. . . twice. "What are you reading?" I love that question for the simple reason that it tells me that the asker is inquisitive, teachable, primed for growth, and serious about life. It's especially joy-inducing when it's asked by a youth worker, which was the case both times yesterday. That, to me, is a sign of hope in our youth ministry world.

I believe that reading can challenge and change us for the good like no other input method. Of course, you have to choose good books. Mortimer Adler once said, "In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you."

Right now, I'm reading one of those good books. It's a book that's doing more than just "getting through." It's piercing, in fact. The book is the newly released, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, by my friend Steve Garber. Be forewarned: it's a slow read in the sense that you must take it slow if you are going to ponder and absorb the richness of each paragraph and page. Those of you who know Steve would expect nothing less.

Let me tell you something about Steve. If I had to name my "Dos Equis guy". . . you know, "the most interesting man alive" . . . Steve would certainly be a finalist. Perhaps you've heard me talk about meeting Steve when I was a Freshman at Geneva College back in 1974. I was more interested in enjoying life than in any kind of academic pursuit (and uniquely gifted to do so). Steve was an upperclassman who co-lead my Humanities (History of Western Civilization) discussion group, a class which wavered between headache and necessary evil for nearly all of us freshmen. I remember two things about Steve. . . he was incredibly passionate and invested in intellectual pursuits, and he was incredibly thoughtful. He knew that our Humanities class mattered. At the time, I didn't. Now, I do.

Steve had wandered around a bit in search of life's meaning and truth (a very 60's and 70's thing), and had wound up for a time at Francis Schaeffer's L'abri, an experience which if it appears on one's resume, makes me want to listen. Today, Steve is the principal of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, & Culture, which is focused on the meaning of vocation and the common good. He's a man who advises and mentors all kinds of interesting people who are movers and shakers in the worlds of politics, business, and entertainment. I would liken him to a sage. You would know many of their names. Steve helps them, and us, see that we are each responsible, for love's sake, for the way the world is and the way the world ought to be. "We are called," he writes, "to be common grace for the common good. . . . To learn to see - to see ourselves implicated in history, to see that we share a common vocations to care not only for our own flourishing, but for the flourishing of the world - is the vision that has brought this book into being." Steve is someone who reminds us that all work and play matters, and it matters how we do our work and play.

I'm about halfway through Visions of Vocation. I'm reading it as one who battles all the distracting messages flying at me from every direction that work to convince me about what really matters. All of us, including our kids, battle the same thing. This book is serving to quiet that multitude of screaming voices so that I might focus in on the One voice that helps me see and live the things that really matter. For that reason, I'm not waiting to say, "Get this book and read it. Learn it. Live it. Teach it to the next generation."



Friday, February 21, 2014

Steven Furtick, Elevation Church, and Some Words of Caution. . .

In recent days, I've been seeing a growing number of Facebook posts among my Christian friends that question some of the practices of Steven Furtick and his Elevation (mega) Church in North Carolina. Admittedly, I know very little about Furtick and his church. But what I've heard, seen, and been reading has pushed some buttons for me and sparked some thoughts.

What I've seen includes a news report on Furtick, Elevation Church, and the way that baptisms are conducted. . . or even manipulated. As someone from a confessional church background, I'm always concerned about the dumbing down of the sacraments and how quickly we fail to provide adequate education, physical context for their enactment (in the larger body of Christ), and follow-up. Watching the news report (see below) and reading the accompanying written news story (picking the energetic young people to be first to go on stage. . . oh my!) on Elevation Church and baptism certainly raises those issues for me.

But there are other issues and thoughts that the report sparked for me. Then, I saw the posts on the Elevation Church coloring book for the kids. . . and felt even more uneasy and troubled.

Again, I don't know the entire story here, but what I'm seeing and hearing should, I believe, cause us all to step back with concern and take a long, hard, careful look at what we believe, how we do things, and who we are as the church. You see, there is a tendency among us to go beyond communicating an offensive Gospel to the world, to actually being legitimately offensive to the world by portraying a tweaked or even false Gospel. We can cross the line from being "fools for Christ" to actually being fooled and foolish. So, here are some initial thoughts about all of us and how we do things in the church today. . .


  • We can easily cross over into relying on the spirit of the times, rather than on the Holy Spirit when it comes to our communication of the Gospel. The spirit of the times is one that celebrates and relies on marketing technique. When we co-opt that into the church, we tend to trust in our methods rather than on our God. When that happens, we effectively lead people to technique and experience, rather than to Christ. The enemy has got to be loving this.
  • Our theology can easily morph into commandeering God, rather than faithfully following the God who leads us. When Steven Furtick counts to three. . . and when Steven Furtick then issues the imperative, "Do it God" . . . we should cringe. Perhaps there are aspects of our own practical theology that should be cringe-worthy as well?
  • Charismatic leaders can become bigger than life. . . in their own eyes and in the eyes of their followers. They can become so big, in fact, that they eclipse God. Never forget, our culture celebrates and encourages Narcissism. But doesn't the Gospel call us to something different? And isn't that something different actually the kind of fruit by which we will know them?
  • We need accountability. We need it ourselves. We need it in our systems. We need it in our churches. . . desperately. I hear lots of people criticize church government and denominationalism. But when those systems are working well, there is an accountability that keeps us all honest and out of trouble. Recently someone asked me why CPYU is a board-governed non-profit with a board that has full authority over me. There's good reason. I am a broken human being. I need to be held accountable, as does our organization. Sadly, I think that in the church we are quickly moving away from models that embrace and facilitate accountability, to something that looks and functions more like a dictatorship than the Body of Christ.
  • When we're part of a system or institution that gets called out, our tendency is to first become defensive, to then fire back with accusations of judgementalism, to justify and legitimize that which is critiqued by pointing to its effectiveness at getting results (even though those results may be questionable), and to further cloister one's self and one's institution from helpful critique and accountability. It's a kind of "How dare you! We're doing this in the name of Christ!" mentality. What this means is that those of us within the systems might be so blind that we should welcome "seeing-eye" brothers and sisters whose care and concern could rescue us from danger and doom.
  • We need to realize that just because something is being done in the name of Christ, doesn't mean that that something is bringing honor and glory to Christ. Yesterday I started reading my friend Steve Garber's new book, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good. In the book's Introduction, Steve reminds us of what novelist Walker Percy once famously wrote: "Bad books always lie. They lie most of all about the human condition." In today's world, bad books almost always sell the best. . . . making them seem like good books. Well, the same could be said, I fear, of bad churches. . . they always lie. . . and one of the things they lie about the most is the human condition. Is it possible that a bad church could be one that sells the best? A good church will preach a deep and abiding sense of human brokenness. A good church will answer that brokenness with the Gospel. . . . communicated through carefully evaluated methodologies that never muddy the message, send the wrong message, or become ends in and of themselves. 
  • There's not one of us who isn't immune from sliding away from doing and being our best, into doing and being something much less than our best. Some of the best conversations of my life have been the most uncomfortable. They've occurred when I've been in the midst of doing what I believe are good things that others I trust somehow correctly see as things that maybe I shouldn't be doing. They will lovingly call me out with words like "That's not you at your best, Walt" or "That doesn't put you and God in the best light" or "Have you thought about what you're really doing and communicating here?" None of us are immune. That's another reason for accountability.
It will be interesting to see how we offer and take constructive criticism. For the church to advance in faithfulness to God, we have to willingly seek out and do both. 

In my quest to understand where those who share my German heritage went wrong, I ran across a horrifying and eye-opening quote from Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels: "This is the secret of propaganda: Those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda, without even noticing that they are being immersed in it." Hmmmmm.

All the chatter about Steven Furtick and Elevation Church is worthy of our time and attention. But let's not stop at our critique of Furtick and Elevation. We need to step out of ourselves and look at ourselves under the same light. What kind of "propaganda" are we swimming in that we don't even notice. . . but should? 

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Too Easy. . . .

I've got it easy. Most likely you do too. Sadly, it's so easy that we've come to expect easy and we don't even know that we've got it easy.

Jesus said that those who have it easy also have great responsibility.

My friends at Compassion are making it easy for those who have it easy to take on a little bit of responsibility. Check this out. . . and consider getting involved. . .

Sunday, February 9, 2014

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today. . . .

Unless you were alive and paying attention at the time, you can't really understand the significance of what was taking place when The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show fifty years ago tonight, on February 4, 1964. At the time, it was the most-watched show in broadcast television history. It was also part of a watershed moment not only in pop culture history, but in the shift that was taking place from a modern to a postmodern world. There's been nothing in the popular music industry since then that's even come close.

Today, I'll watch my DVD set of The Beatles' appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was a different time that was ushering in different times. I'm reminded once again of our need to know the times so that we will know how to preach the Gospel to the times.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Youth Ministry Moral Compromise. . . Some Great Insights From a Friend. . . .

My buddy Sid Koop at Truth Matters in Canada penned this blog entry this morning. He titled it "It Feels Like a Youth Ministry Epidemic." Powerful. It speaks for itself and is worthy of your time and attention. Take some time to check out Truth Matters and Sid's blog. . . .

Last week I was told of another youth pastor who had a significant moral failure after many years of fruitful ministry. I’ve got to be honest, I’m tired of hearing these stories. It feels like a youth ministry epidemic.

As always, my heart broke for a number of reasons…

This youth pastor was going to have to face the consequences of shame and guilt for the decisions he had made, for a very long time. After journeying with other friends who have done the same, I know that process is full of confusion, rejection, sorrow, brokenness and anger.

His family would have to deal with exactly the same realities…only for them the sense of betrayal would be immensely worse.

His students, fellow staff members, and parishioners of his church would also go through much the same. For many, especially the students, such betrayal would result in questioning God and certainly questioning the trustworthiness of those in positions of spiritual authority. Perhaps for some, the seeds of cynicism towards the church would begin to take root.

Where time, emotional energy, strategic thought etc., should have been put into Kingdom initiatives, now, it would be put into survival and recovery.

Of course there are numerous other consequences that I have not mentioned, many more significant than those I have…but you get the picture.

As I have processed the numerous reasons why these things happen, and seem to be happening more regularly than I can remember in the past, there have been four possible triggers that have stood out to me above others (that does not mean these are the four most important, just the four that seem to stand out to me).

1. Our cultural worldview is founded on narcissism.

We live in a world that says life is all about you…the individual. You should do whatever feels good for you in the moment; your primary purpose is doing whatever makes you “happy”; your life belongs to yourself. While a biblical worldview is founded on completely opposite principles, the reality is that because of our culture, and because of our sinful nature, even as pastors, we struggle to not see life through exactly that same lens.

2. Our sexual ethic being defined primarily by pornography.

Pornography has been with us for a long time…maybe since the beginning of time. But before the age of the internet, in some way you had to pursue pornography…now pornography pursues you. In 2005, before the advent of the smart phone, the average age of first encounter with pornography was 11. I suspect today, that average is closer to 9…whether you are going to be a pastor or not.

3. Our unwillingness to pursue the often “disciplined work” of spiritual formation.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that we need to “train ourselves to be godly”. Again, in a culture that defines our primary purpose in life by pursuing whatever feels good, “training ourselves to be godly” is rarely our focus…especially when that “training” is the willingness to persevere in the midst of difficulty, which is where the Spirit seems to do His best work of shaping our character.

4. Our unwillingness to enter into true accountability with others.

We have grown up in a “hyper individualized” reality. When someone challenges us, on pretty much anything, our natural response consistently is “don’t judge me”. Behind the line “don’t judge me” is often the implication that this is my life, I can live how I want, you have no rights over my values or behaviours. As followers of Christ however, scripture is clear that we actually do belong to each other (see Romans 12:4-5), that we must invite others to speak into our lives and we are responsible to speak into the lives of others. We are not our own.

I know my friend, and others who have made decisions like him, are not even close to being beyond God’s redemptive grace. There is no such position for people who confess and repent. The cross screams that reality to all of us. And I know that I am just as depraved as my friend, and left to myself, equally capable of making much worse decisions. But that doesn’t mean we should not fight to keep from doing so. In fact, God’s grace means we actually have been given the ability to fight!! Over the next few weeks I want to explore exactly what that fight needs to look like in each of these areas. 

In the meantime, a couple of questions…
Of these four possible triggers, which do you struggle with, or have the potential to struggle with the most?
Have you asked anyone to journey with you in this area…even if you haven’t made any overt “bad decisions”?
How are you fighting (and yes, I believe it can require a fight) to see the reality, the awesomeness of Christ, and daily choosing to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him?