Their secret discovered, they burned with shame...

Burnout

According to a November 15, 2997 Reuters report, two leading religion journalist have quit in recent months “saying they had acquired such a close look at such scandalous behavior by Christians that they lost their faith and had to leave.” Stephen Bates, formerly of the London Guardian and William Lobdell, formerly of the Los Angeles Times, related that what they witnessed weakened their faith.

Bates covered an Episcopal Church meeting and what he saw was more than he could take. The article relates:

“Writing this story has been too corrosive of what faith I had left: indeed watching the way the gay row has played out in the Anglican Communion has cost me my belief in the essential benignity of too many Christians. For the good of my soul, I need to do something else.” Bates, who says he still regards himself as a Catholic, said he was turned off by the intolerance he saw towards gays and the self-righteousness of Christians who “pick and choose the sins that are acceptable and condemn those – always committed by other, lesser people – that are not.”

Bates continues,

“Now I am moving on. It was time to go. What faith I had, I’ve lost, I am afraid – I’ve seen too much, too close. A young Methodist press officer once asked me earnestly whether I saw it as my job to spread the Good News of Jesus. No, I said, that’s the last thing I am here to do.”

Jesus said:

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The link for this article is:

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2007/11/15/burnout-on-the-god-beat-second-top-religion-writer-calls-it-quits/

All the Time. Everywhere. Everything.

Jesus lived with his disciples for three and a half years. In addition to teaching the twelve, he ate with them, slept next to them, shopped with them and walked with them from town to town. They were together a lot. His schedule for building disciples was not limited to a one hour morning meeting at the Jerusalem Denny’s. Jesus knew, as we must learn, that discipleship is about the whole person because following Jesus involves the whole person. Discipleship is more than meeting once a week for a time of prayer and accountability. Discipling someone does not mean that our purpose is to help them memorize several verses and develop a regular quiet time. If we confine our understanding to this narrow characterization, then we are missing both the reality and the necessity of walking together.

Perhaps this misunderstanding of discipleship stems from our inaccurate view of spirituality as just one of many dimensions of our lives. We have our social life, our school or career life, our hobbies and our spiritual life. We view ourselves as segmented individuals. The truth, however, is that everything we do is touched by our spiritual lives. Our Heavenly Father cannot be confined to one room in our soul’s house. Everywhere there is truth, the Father is speaking. Everywhere there is brokenness, the Father is there to offer hope and healing. Consequently, when we confine discipleship to merely one piece of our lives, then we are already missing the point. Our intellect, our relationships, our interests, our sexual urges – everything we are is affected and informed by our understanding of the spiritual.

Overcoming Hypocrisy

Since we have identified several of the problems we face as followers of Jesus, I thought it would be a good idea to actually go through them and look for answers. As I mentioned yesterday, one of the perceptions nonbelievers have of us is that we are hypocrites. So, how can we live in such a way as to not be hypocritical? I think I’ve discovered a few answers.

In Matthew 23, Jesus is pronouncing misery upon the religious elite. When Jesus is speaking to the crowds about the Pharisees, he says in verse 3 that they “do not practice what they preach.” He goes further by saying in verse 4 that they “tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” If we just take these two statements, we can gather two life lessons.

The first step for us is to not preach what we do not practice. In other words, it is not enough to “say” we believe something; the real proof is in how we live. How often do we quote the words of Jesus to others without first examining whether we do those things ourselves? If I do not want to be a hypocrite, then I must first let my life do my preaching.

The second step is in Jesus condemnation of the burdens that the Pharisees place on the shoulders of others. Love desires what is best for those it loves. If I love someone, I want what is best for them – not what is best for me. The Pharisees would make grand pronouncements about the sinfulness of others, but they were not willing to involve themselves in helping them to change. If we are going to live honestly, then we must be willing to help others to become more like Christ – not just tell them that they should.

There is more to say about this, but again, we are looking for truths to live. Today (and for the rest of life) our challenge is let our lives declare what we believe (and they already do) and to involve ourselves in the lives of others. These are the first steps to overcoming hypocrisy.

Raspberry Ice Cream and the Meaning of Life

I have long believed that it is fortunate for the more plebeian lovers of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream that raspberry ice cream was not the first flavor of ice cream developed. For if raspberry ice cream would have been the first, there would have been no need for additional flavors. The reason is obvious; you cannot improve on perfection. There is no epicurean delight to compare with the experience of raspberry ice cream. It makes my taste buds dance like happy little bunnies celebrating the dawning of a spring morning. To me it is the perfect food; faultless in texture, pleasing in color and magnificent in taste. I like raspberry ice cream.

In addition to their use ice cream, raspberries have given pleasure to the human palate since prehistoric times. They are used in pastries, soups, salads, jellies, sauces and mousses. The ancient Romans enjoyed this fruit while watching contests in The Coliseum. While on their quests to the Middle East, the Crusaders stumbled across these delightful berries and were so taken by them that they brought them back to Europe. There are over 200 varieties of raspberry. Red raspberries originated in Asia Minor and black raspberries are native to North America. The English took seriously the improvement of the raspberry and eventually exported the plants to the United States. Some cultures consider raspberries aphrodisiacs and other civilizations use raspberry tea to calm upset stomachs.

Raspberries also have a place in popular American culture. Fans of comedy are familiar with the sound of the “raspberry tart.” Referring to the verbal taunt, the Merriam Webster Dictionary delicately defines a raspberry tart “as a sound of contempt made by protruding the tongue between the lips and expelling air forcibly to produce a vibration.” Each year The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation bestows The Razzie awards. According to their website,

Starting with an Oscar Night ceremony so small it was actually staged in a living room alcove, The Golden Raspberry (RAZZIE) Awards have grown into what E! On-Line recently called, "the foremost authority on all things that suck on the big screen." Annually presenting Dis-Honors for Worst Achievements in Film since 1980 in categories ranging from the obvious (Worst Picture, Actor and Actress) to the obtuse (Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Screen Couple) The RAZZIES today receive television, radio and newspaper coverage around the world.[1]

In the 1970’s, The Raspberries, with most notable member Eric Carmen, scored hits with “Go All The Way (1972)” and “Overnight Sensation (1974).” Finally, a first degree abrasion, the kind that happens from a scrape or fall, is often referred to as “a raspberry.” In more ways than one, raspberries are all around us. Beyond the gastronomical delights and practical uses of raspberries, they also serve well as a lesson for life. The excellence of the “berry of the gods” is allegorical to our struggle in this life.

Many people settle for second best because they are not aware that anything better is possible. They live lives of quiet resignation, settling for strawberry because raspberry is not available at their local ice cream parlor. They live in bondage to their pain because they have not heard of the one who has come “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.”[2] They settle for superficial relationships because they do not understand the depth of commitment than can exist between two friends who center their relationship in the Father’s love.[3] These poor souls marginalize their own significance because they compare themselves with others instead of embracing their identity as a child who the Heavenly Father loves. Some even try to earn a salvation that has already been secured by the redemptive work of Christ. They live what they know because another option has never been offered.

Not all tragedy stems from ignorance. While many can be no more than they know, others will be no more than their resignation allows. Theirs is not a lack of knowledge; theirs is a lack of motivation. Raspberry ice cream is a freezer staple in the Northeast; here in Kansas it is as foreign as a day without wind. To be a devotee of a locally nonexistent flavor is a hard thing. To live differently in this world is to follow a hard path. To reject the cynicism and self-absorption of our culture is to walk apart from the mainstream. It requires a certain amount of character to be the only one in line who does not order a chocolate cone. Jesus encourages his followers to count the cost because following him is costly.[4] As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his masterwork The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man he bids him ‘Come and die.” Christ calls us to die to the status quo and to instead live for something better.

So what is a raspberry lover to do in a vanilla world? How do we live in the abundant love of a caring Heavenly Father in a cruel, cold world? That’s easy: share the wealth. Just a Paul shared with the Corinthian Church, we have the privilege to pass on to others what we have received from the Father. To those who are poor in spirit, we can share the love the Father lavishes on us. To those imprisoned by their past, we can proclaim the true freedom of a life redeemed. When we meet those who are blind to themselves and to others, we can witness to the truth of the Father’s perspective on their lives. To those who are oppressed by sin, we can declare the immediacy of the Lord’s favor. There is a reason that it is called “Good News.” At the ice cream counter of life, the Father does not offer us a small scoop of vanilla in a paper cup. He offers us a triple scoop of raspberry ice cream in a waffle cone.

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[1] http://razzies.com/asp/content/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=8 accessed February 20, 2004.

[2] Luke 4:18.

[3] I Samuel 20:42.

[4] Luke 14:25-33.

Leadership and Intimacy

My Friend Joel sent me the following quote from Henri Nouwen. It is worth think about:

“One thing is clear to me: The temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat. Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love.”

How Do I Become A Follower of Jesus?

We speak often of the need to reach others for Christ. Many desire that the new converts pray a particular prayer which, they are told, makes them converts. But, what does it really mean to become a follower of Jesus?

The initial commitment to follow Christ is a renunciation of the life alone and an invitation to walk in relationship. To receive Christ is to receive hope for genuine change and to begin the process of transformation in which we will “work out”[1] our salvation over the course of our lives. “A proper sermon should be like holding out to a child a shining red apple or to a thirsty man a glass of fresh water and asking: Wouldn’t you like it?”[2] To meet Christ is to meet someone who offers complete acceptance. Jesus looks at us with love, just as he gazed at the rich young ruler who came to him seeking the way to eternal life.[3] This love is not a sappy, overemotional feeling. Love is the perfect balance of grace and truth. Love without truth is sentimentalism. Love without grace is damning. The love that Jesus has, the love that is a reflection of the Father’s very essence, is perfect love that is equally truthful and equally gracious. It is a love that is the embodiment of Micah 6:8 – a love that does justice and loves mercy. It is the love that caused the Father to give “his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”[4] It is the love that reminds us that the Father “did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”[5] Jesus gazes at our lives with unflinching realism. He knows our sins and our brokenness. He is aware of our pride, our arrogance, our lust, our addictions, our hypocrisy, our lies and each of our secret sins. But in spite of our shame and in spite of our humiliation, he looks at us with love and offers to us the grace to accept his complete forgiveness and to walk in relationship with him and with others.

A new life in Christ is a new life together. It is the beginning of a great dance of love. It is more than a quick prayer, it is the beginning of life eternal.

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[1] Philippians 2:12.

[2] Bonhoeffer, Worldly Preaching, p. 88.

[3] Mark 10:17-22.

[4] John 3:16.

[5] John 3:17.