Are we life-giving or life-draining?

I just returned from a truly life-giving weekend with my fiancée, Brenda. We were encouraged to attend a Mennonite/Brethren Engaged Encounter weekend retreat. This was a time for the two of us to reflect, pray, discern and write together.
It was led by a Mennonite “Senior Couple” who had been married 40 years and two “Junior Couples” who had been married 5 and 9 years. The format was quite simple and easy to follow, I will not elaborate more than I should for dread that I would give away more than is needed; I mean the experience itself should still be a bit mysterious.
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical at first for two reasons: 1) in our 4 ½ years together how much of the content would my fiancée and I have already addressed or discussed? 2) even though it was with our fellow Mennonites (who are Anabaptists just like us Brethren) I was fearful because the setting was at an evangelical Bible College, which to me meant that there would be a strong emphasis (or even guilt trip) on certain morals or values that maybe Brenda and I did not hold in common with the presenting couples.
Needless to say, none of those doubts were still in tact by Saturday afternoon, I had fully surrendered to something greater than myself. I had encountered the two great loves in my life; Jesus Christ and Brenda. I honestly cannot remember a time where I felt more loved! There is also something to be said about being in community during such a time. It helped to have other couples around who were discerning the very things we were, we could lean on each other, pray, eat and laugh together.
I will be an advocate for Engaged Encounters for the rest of my life. It was because if this experience that I know that Brenda and I are called to share this journey called marriage for the rest of our life together!
There are all kinds of different Engaged and Marriage Encounters that span between denominations and you could easily use a search engine to access any number of them.

It wasn’t until I got back home that I began to think about how the connection to Christ and the Church is much the same. The relationship of the Church and Christ has been often referred to as the bride to the bridegroom. My struggle is that what happens too often today is that the bridegroom is standing in the front awaiting his bride, the back doors are opened, the processional music is started and all the attendants are standing waiting with gladness. And the bride is nowhere to be found.
The imagery in Revelation (which by the way I rarely, if ever preach from) is so palatable for my circumstance today that I cannot overlook its importance. Have we really left Christ standing at the altar? Yes, we have. Does he ever leave? No, he waits like a child for the return of his bride. We would quickly begin the blame game for who is at fault rather than waiting.
I also had a greater awareness that sometimes I am too critical of the church and am always emphasizing the need for change. What would have happened had my mentality been the same towards Brenda this weekend? We might have called off the relationship had either of us done that! I realized that it is often just recognizing the very things that the church does do well that I need to better emphasize and love. I can give the space for change if Brenda wants to, the same goes for the church. One of the ways we really begin to reconnect is when we don’t demand such an emphasis on the change but simply love the church for what it is, faults and all, like we would our husband or wife.
There is a link between the high divorce rate in this country and the church losing members. What we do to each other, who we can see; is just as easily done to someone we cannot see (or choose not to see). That is why I identified so much with what was happening during the weekend; Brenda and I went so that our relationship and upcoming marriage would be stronger and more centralized in Christ. This is precisely the same reason that we attend retreats that cater to our spiritual needs. This is why I have a calling to lead retreats someday. It’s the ability to help repair or strengthen the relationship before divorce becomes the only option. We should all be such agents!

It's what's in here, not out there

This is the second post in response to Augsburger’s reflection on the Kingdom of God.

So much of our lives are lived in what I call the “when I…” stage. We tend to live out our deepest desires and our goals in an anticipation that says very boldly “when I get to this place in my life” or “when I am here I’ll be able to do this”.

Maybe we pattern ourselves in the same fashion in our understanding of the Kingdom of God. If the Kingdom of God is at hand as Jesus readily proclaims (see Mark 1:15) then how can it be something “out there” or looming on the horizon? If it is, then there is really no point in paying attention to the reality of our circumstance now. Everything suffers; our work, our marriage, our relationships, our churches and our faith. It is renewing us and transforming us daily; the Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you (see Gospel of Thomas 3rd pericope). It is easy to get lost in the modern interpretations and apocalyptic writings that sit atop the “Bestseller List” that would paint the picture of the Kingdom coming as a great battle that will take place between Christ and Satan. People who say “yes” to the previous observation most likely will not see the unfolding revelation of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in their own lives today. Indeed the Kingdom of God is at hand… through the works of our hands. Not some distant future… but in the present that is… us.

Incarnational Pattern

I’m beginning to pray that we can eradicate our propensity to categorize people or put them into appropriate “camps”. Labeling has become such an insipid form of placing people into our perceptual boxes, no wonder they and we actually start to reside in those spaces. As often as I attempt to avoid using a label for a person, administration, movement, etc..; I can’t help but to find myself falling back into the very thing I am running from. So I hesitate, mumble under my breath and use those words that have become so empty, words like “conservative”, “traditional”, “liberal”, “progressive” and better yet attach a fitting prefix such as “Neo-” or “Ultra-”. It just doesn’t do the person or my sense of understanding any justice [see Luke 6:37], in fact, it actually hinders my own comprehension of that person’s character. This is probably most prevalent in regards to theological, social and political contexts. It is true though, we eventually start to live up to our labels (if we agree with them). And those labels never do so much harm as they do in the midst of our congregations. This is why I believe that Myron Augsburger’s article best identifies with this Third Way that should be present in our faith journeys; even though I don’t necessarily agree with his labels. I, considering myself to be a lib... (dammit I’m doing it again)! Oh never mind! Here is my response to his first issue: New Birth.

Where in scripture is there an emphasis that our salvation is a sign-sealed-delivered one-time experience? Is not our journey of faith a daily surrender and transformation to the image and identity of Jesus? When did it become such an emotional and one-time event as so prevalent the thought in today’s church? I read once that the term “born again” was a phrase that was not used hardly if ever before the 19th century, it became a prominent “catchphrase” in the American South starting around that time. It seems that for the modern church and it’s understanding of “rebirth” should in some form parallel our physical birth, full of blood, sweat, pain and tears. Is this the only “authentic” conversion experience? Does it get any more emotional than to be in the delivery room at the moment a child is born? Maybe not, then again I wouldn’t know, since I have not yet experienced this joy and grace as a father. Why are people who are raised in the church, who don’t have a conversion moment (even though most would probably say that there were a series of moments) viewed with some skepticism? I wholeheartedly believe that our conversion and transformation into the image of Christ is something that happens initially once (or better said when we become aware of it) and then is a regeneration process for the rest of our lives. If we ever believe that we have truly attained our salvation then maybe that is precisely when we are in danger of losing it (Luke 5:31-32). For truly Paul understood it when he said that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). Not just once, but for our whole lives!

Biblical conservatives try to follow Christ in every way, which sometimes makes them liberal.

This is an article in Mennonite Weekly Review written by Myron S. Augsburger, entitled “The Kinds of Conservatives We Should Be”. I will be commenting and posting on this article for my next couple of posts, for now I wanted to post this so that you could read it and be better prepared for my responses.

February 14, 2005, page 7

“Dividing people into two categories, liberal and conservative, fails to recognize those who try to follow a third way, accepting some things and rejecting others from both the left and the right. I believe we should be biblical conservatives-that is, Christians who seek to be faithful to God in his Word written. This will make us theologically conservative. But it does not require us to be politically or socially conservative. When we take Jesus’ commands to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love our enemies, this discipleship will mean that a truly biblical conservative will be a social liberal. Many Mennonites and other Anabaptists, many African Americans and many ‘progressive’ evangelicals will be a social liberal. One characteristic of our humanness is that we submit to Scripture’s authority, we must recognize the presuppositions we bring to Scripture. Often what divides Christians is not what the Word says, but what we understand it to say. A commitment of being honest about what we bring to scripture distinguishes authentic conservatism from unhealthy traditionalism. The latter is bondage and legalism. The former allows freedom to interpret and contextualize while being true to Scripture’s meaning. Traditional conservatives, I believe, are not conservative enough. They do not stand firmly for the whole of scripture nor let it actually be the authority in correcting a given base. I have selected seven issues that illustrate differences between biblical conservatives and traditional conservatives. These differences are stated in terms of what we should do to be biblical conservatives.”

1. “We must understand the new birth as beginning a daily walk with Christ, not as an emotional, one-time experience. Traditional conservatives, emphasizing the new birth as a crisis experience, often fail to emphasize the life of discipleship with Jesus. Biblical conservatism means walking with Jesus in life, being conformed to his image. One cannot be truly a Christian and live by a private piety. Nor can one assume that being saved means that one’s convictions are automatically conformed to the will of God. Our regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit recreating us to true selfhood. We are to ‘work out’ [our] salvation with fear and trebling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Phil. 2:12-13).”

2. “We must give priority to God’s kingdom in life relationships now. Traditional conservatives tend to see the kingdom of God only as a future happening. They read the Bible as a flat book and miss the unfolding revelation to its full expression in the Incarnation. They tend to take many biblical statements in a literalistic way, except those that don’t fit their presuppositions. Often they minimize being members of the kingdom of God now. We are born into the kingdom. This is a new relationship and order of life in the present. Eventually Jesus will complete building this kingdom and will turn it over to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24). Paul writes that we are citizens of heaven now (Phil. 3:20)”

3. “We need a biblical understanding of the state. Traditional conservatives fall prey to “God-and-America” ideas that neglect caring for the whole human family. Rather than being a Christian influence in the social order, as salt and light, they give the impression that they want to sanctify the state and have it mandate religious ideals… Biblical conservatives seek to be in the world but not of the world, living as resident aliens, seeking to express the will of God in society rather than trying to impose our convictions on others. Interestingly, traditional conservatives seek to confront the state with a higher will on issues such as prayer in public schools and abortion, but they become critical when biblical conservatives confront the state on additional issues such as war. God has ordained government to secure order in society. God has not ordained any specific government or leader, but government in general. Our witness to government should be to call it to be fair and just in its treatment of all people.”

4. “We need to follow Jesus’ command to love our enemies. Traditional conservatives apply this teaching to personal relationships but not to the social and political order. They claim to serve God even when carrying out the state’s violence. If one believes war can be just, it would seem logical that one should carefully examine whether a particular war is just or not. But such a judgment would be seen by many traditional conservatives as unpatriotic. Biblical conservatives are pacifists simply because we want to follow Jesus. Our pacifism must be clearly distinguished from a liberal pacifism based on humanism. Contrary to what some evangelicals believe, pacifism does not weaken America, or any other nation, but enriches it. Love must be our way of life.”

5. “We must be better stewards of material resources. Traditional conservatives tend to elevate capitalism as though it is the Christian approach to the material order. Many seem to measure God’s blessings by material prosperity. Some imply that God guarantees financial success to the faithful and that this is an essential aspect of true faith. Biblical conservatives emphasize dimensions of stewardship that promote equity and mutuality to meet human need. Jesus taught that we are not to hoard wealth but to share with the needy. Felix Manz said, ‘What is mine is the church’s if my brother has need.’ God has promised to supply our needs, not out wants. Christians should live at the median level of their community of residence rather than at a superior level. We should not spend on ourselves to the extent that we neglect the needs of our world.”

6. “We need to take a service approach to mission as we share Jesus’ message. Many traditional conservatives are so focused on ‘getting saved’ that they fail to model discipleship or to pursue evangelism that engages people in discipleship. The result is a conflict between religions and arguments over religious values rather than an emphasis on a covenant response to God. Our mission and evangelism must follow Jesus’ teaching that we are to relate to others by being servants. We need to serve in the spirit of Jesus, serving others as they need to be served and not as we want to be served. The Master has given us the ministry of reconciliation and has called us to be ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:18-20). If we go with Western arrogance, power, dominance and immodesty, we invalidate the gospel. Paul writes that we should not let the world squeeze us into its mold, but by the transforming grace of God demonstrate his good and perfect will (Rom. 12:2).”

7. “Our mission must be global and beyond nationalism. The traditionalist conservative finds it easy to endorse Zionism-establishing and preserving, at any cost, and Israeli state. The biblical conservative follows Paul’s teaching that Jesus broke down the wall to make of Jew and Gentile one new humanity, so making peace (Eph. 2:14-16). The biblical conservative sees the Incarnation as the final word of God and does not see a return to the Old Testament Jewish practices as a way of salvation in the future. The presence of the Jew anywhere in the world is a sermon for Jehovah. It is for us, by a spirit of grace, to help Jew and Arab, Jew and Gentile, to understand that God is creating ‘One new community’ in Christ. ‘For other foundation no one can lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ’ (1 Cor. 3:11).”