I preached a sermon last Sunday on prayer based on the text out of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4, verses 23 through 31.
I have been thinking about that sermon a lot this week. As I have revisited that scripture passage and the passage out of Genesis (Gen 16:1-16) where Abram and Sarai take matters into their own hands and have a baby with the assistance (if it can really be reduced that much) of Hagar, I have been hit time and time again with the same reality.
Often we ask God to bless our Ishmael's...we ask God to bless those things that we have planned, concocted, and set into motion, after they are well on the way to fruition.
One of the beauties of Peter and others of the early church is that they actually got it...they learned to pray expectantly before something happened. They learned to wait on God...on God's presence, on God's direction, on God's gifts...before they acted. They acted in God and of God through their preaching and healing and ministry to those that were entrusted to their care.
What would happen if we, the church, learned to apply this lesson to our lives again? I wonder what new outpourings of the Spirit might be present in our churches! I wonder what new signs and wonders God might do in our midst! I wonder how our souls would quake in the presence of God and what wonderful things might happen for the kingdom as we embraced a new found boldness and power for our mission and ministry in the world!?!
What if we acted where God was acting and where God called us to act, rather than acting and asking God to bless what we were doing? I would imagine that life, and the church that we serve, would be radically altered to the extent that the church would begin being the church rather than acting just as a group of people getting together to "do church" (thanks to Peter Storey for the analogy).
I say may it be so...Come Holy Spirit come...come and renew the face of the earth...let it begin in me, let it begin in us, let it begin in your church...and may the body be so radically altered that we truly partner with you in transforming the world! Amen.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A Truly Liberating Theology
Perhaps one of the most frustrating ideals posited at the seminary that I attend is that of liberation theology. The way that it is posited is that oppressed groups, who have long been without voice in the theological realm, are given primacy in interpreting the Bible and discerning its meaning for everyone. As such, you have a variety of liberation theologies. There are Mujerista, Womanist, Feminist, Black, Hispanic, and other liberation theologies. Each setting up their own oppressed group as the diviners of Holy Writ.
The problem with all of this is that new groups of oppressors and oppressed are created. For example, Justo Gonzalez (in his book Mañana) says both explicitly and implicitly that you can only 'truly' read the Bible if you are Hispanic...if you have experienced their oppression. What happens if you are Asian, Pacific Islander, African, or even Anglo? A theology of liberation that only liberates a few seems inconsistent with the Scriptures themselves.
After all, isn't it in John 3:16 that we read "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"? It is the world that God desires to reconcile...not just one group of oppressed or the other.
Additionally, if we cast our gaze in the direction of Romans (specifically 6:19-23) we read, "I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
A truly liberating theology, based on Paul's aforementioned words, must be ground in our liberation from the oppression of sin and death, which comes as an act of grace that is a gift of God. Simply put, liberation theology must offer liberation for all otherwise it is not truly liberating for anyone. It is not just the individual oppressions that God seeks to redeem us from (how we used the Scriptures to endorse slavery or to justify the crusades, or to justify a pure race as the German church did during the reign of Nazism...the list goes on ad infinitum). Rather it is the oppression of sin and death (of which all of the aforementioned examples and any others you could think of would fall under) that God redeems through his Son Jesus Christ on the cross. It is a redemption that was offered to all (Samaritan, Syrophoenicians, Ethiopians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, males, females, pharisees, etc) and is still offered to ALL today.
This, I believe, is where true liberation theology begins. We must stop being divisive. We must listen to and hear the voices that we have so long overlooked (especially here in the West). We must confess that no matter what our background or experience, we have been both the recipients and the perpetrators of oppression as defined by sin and death. Finally, we must turn to and embrace the grace that has been offered to us. It is only then that we, both corporately and individually, can be radically altered.
The problem with all of this is that new groups of oppressors and oppressed are created. For example, Justo Gonzalez (in his book Mañana) says both explicitly and implicitly that you can only 'truly' read the Bible if you are Hispanic...if you have experienced their oppression. What happens if you are Asian, Pacific Islander, African, or even Anglo? A theology of liberation that only liberates a few seems inconsistent with the Scriptures themselves.
After all, isn't it in John 3:16 that we read "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"? It is the world that God desires to reconcile...not just one group of oppressed or the other.
Additionally, if we cast our gaze in the direction of Romans (specifically 6:19-23) we read, "I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
A truly liberating theology, based on Paul's aforementioned words, must be ground in our liberation from the oppression of sin and death, which comes as an act of grace that is a gift of God. Simply put, liberation theology must offer liberation for all otherwise it is not truly liberating for anyone. It is not just the individual oppressions that God seeks to redeem us from (how we used the Scriptures to endorse slavery or to justify the crusades, or to justify a pure race as the German church did during the reign of Nazism...the list goes on ad infinitum). Rather it is the oppression of sin and death (of which all of the aforementioned examples and any others you could think of would fall under) that God redeems through his Son Jesus Christ on the cross. It is a redemption that was offered to all (Samaritan, Syrophoenicians, Ethiopians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, males, females, pharisees, etc) and is still offered to ALL today.
This, I believe, is where true liberation theology begins. We must stop being divisive. We must listen to and hear the voices that we have so long overlooked (especially here in the West). We must confess that no matter what our background or experience, we have been both the recipients and the perpetrators of oppression as defined by sin and death. Finally, we must turn to and embrace the grace that has been offered to us. It is only then that we, both corporately and individually, can be radically altered.
Friday, May 16, 2008
"Confession"
I had posted this poem (on MySpace and Facebook) that I wrote for a class on Evangelism: Issues in Church Renewal, and just felt drawn to it again today...after two days where my experience of the church was less than what I think God calls the church to be (and perhaps the same could apply to seminaries), I thought I would revisit it and share it with others:
"Confession"
O God our great Creator,
We can’t believe the fuss;
That you forgave our many sins,
By sending your Son to us.
When all the work was finished,
And Christ arose not dead or still;
We pledged to you our allegiance,
Our hearts, our minds, and our will.
You simply wouldn’t leave us,
Alone and set adrift;
Instead you gave your Spirit,
To dwell here in our midst.
On that great day of Pentecost,
You gave birth to your church;
I have to ask if you’re surprised,
To find it in such a lurch.
We look around the world today,
And we can’t believe the mess;
What happened to the Church you birthed,
O how we’ve failed to bless.
Forgive us God, we earnestly pray;
For all the ways we’ve gone astray.
Come Father, Son and Spirit too,
Breathe life into the Church anew.
We have failed to serve the needy,
The hungry and the poor;
We have acted mighty greedily,
Always grabbing more.
We have chased the growth of numbers,
Converting in your name;
All the while forgetting,
This isn’t just some game.
We’ve been called to love you wholly,
And our neighbor as our self;
But our love is rather dusty,
Just sitting on the shelf.
We have acted as professionals,
Pastors where we stand;
But we’ve failed to follow servingly,
The Master in the sand.
We have run the church as business,
Forgetting who’s in charge;
Proclaiming gospel messages,
That make us rather large.
We have said one thing,
While doing another;
We have hurt our sisters,
And judged our brothers.
We have proclaimed on billboards
The internet and cable;
That we have open hearts and doors
Yet some still close their table.
Forgive us God, we earnestly pray;
For all the ways we’ve gone astray.
Come Father, Son and Spirit too,
Breathe life into the Church anew.
I pray that both our understanding and expression of the church becomes radically altered.
Russell
"Confession"
O God our great Creator,
We can’t believe the fuss;
That you forgave our many sins,
By sending your Son to us.
When all the work was finished,
And Christ arose not dead or still;
We pledged to you our allegiance,
Our hearts, our minds, and our will.
You simply wouldn’t leave us,
Alone and set adrift;
Instead you gave your Spirit,
To dwell here in our midst.
On that great day of Pentecost,
You gave birth to your church;
I have to ask if you’re surprised,
To find it in such a lurch.
We look around the world today,
And we can’t believe the mess;
What happened to the Church you birthed,
O how we’ve failed to bless.
Forgive us God, we earnestly pray;
For all the ways we’ve gone astray.
Come Father, Son and Spirit too,
Breathe life into the Church anew.
We have failed to serve the needy,
The hungry and the poor;
We have acted mighty greedily,
Always grabbing more.
We have chased the growth of numbers,
Converting in your name;
All the while forgetting,
This isn’t just some game.
We’ve been called to love you wholly,
And our neighbor as our self;
But our love is rather dusty,
Just sitting on the shelf.
We have acted as professionals,
Pastors where we stand;
But we’ve failed to follow servingly,
The Master in the sand.
We have run the church as business,
Forgetting who’s in charge;
Proclaiming gospel messages,
That make us rather large.
We have said one thing,
While doing another;
We have hurt our sisters,
And judged our brothers.
We have proclaimed on billboards
The internet and cable;
That we have open hearts and doors
Yet some still close their table.
Forgive us God, we earnestly pray;
For all the ways we’ve gone astray.
Come Father, Son and Spirit too,
Breathe life into the Church anew.
I pray that both our understanding and expression of the church becomes radically altered.
Russell
Introducing Radically Altered
There was a time in my life where I attempted to fill the vast emptiness of my soul with anything and everything you could imagine. In 1997, I found myself at the end of my rope with only one way to turn...it was the way that I had avoided for the better part of 15 years. As I began to discover recovery, in many senses of the word, I began to long for more than I was finding in the smoke filled meeting rooms that I was becoming so familiar with. I found that something more at a remarkable little place in Houston called Mercy Street. It was there that I began to experience a radically altered life...a life in Jesus Christ.
I have now been clean and sober for almost 11 years (June 5th will by my 11th anniversary). My wife and I have been together for more than 7 years (married for more than 6 of those). My dad and I have been reconciled for more than 5 years. I now have a daughter of my own and more blessings in my life than I can count (friends that I can count on, a me that my friends can count on, a roof over my head, hobbies, and an extended family that is as amazing as it is large)...and this just scratches the surface of how God has radically altered my life.
Radically altered is what I believe God wants for each of us. When Jesus touched the leper he healed the leper's physical ailments, but he didn't stop there. A man that hadn't been touched since he was pronounced unclean had, in the instant of his physical cleaning and restoration, been also restored socially...to be counted among the clean...to be touched and hugged and connected once again. The once leprous man was commanded to go to the high priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses suggested to where he could be restored in his faith and community as well. A single touch offered restoration and wholeness...spiritual, physical, emotional, and communal wholeness! There was no part of the leper's life that Jesus was going to leave not radically altered!
Radically altered is what I believe God wants for his church too. We were not given the gift of the Spirit to try and move forth on our own steam. We were not sent this Wonderful Counselor to have his voice buried in committee meetings. The power of our witness and the effectiveness of the Church (when I use a capital "C" I am referring to the universal church) is dependent upon God's presence and ongoing gifts of grace...our effectiveness and witness are dependent upon our being continuously and radically altered.
That's the purpose of this blog...to explore what it means to be radically altered by Jesus Christ. At times I will take a topical approach with life issues or church issues or issues raised in books that I am reading and ask where God is at work and how God is attempting to radically alter us as individuals and as the Church. At other times I will explore the scriptures in search of the Gospel's radically life altering message of hope...a hope that is far more than a get into heaven free card...a hope that is tied to the current in-breaking of the kingdom of God...a hope that will turn our faith and our churches on their ears...a hope that continues to be fulfilled in deep, meaningful, and transformative ways!
I invite you to join me on this journey of faith and of life.
Shalom,
Russell
I have now been clean and sober for almost 11 years (June 5th will by my 11th anniversary). My wife and I have been together for more than 7 years (married for more than 6 of those). My dad and I have been reconciled for more than 5 years. I now have a daughter of my own and more blessings in my life than I can count (friends that I can count on, a me that my friends can count on, a roof over my head, hobbies, and an extended family that is as amazing as it is large)...and this just scratches the surface of how God has radically altered my life.
Radically altered is what I believe God wants for each of us. When Jesus touched the leper he healed the leper's physical ailments, but he didn't stop there. A man that hadn't been touched since he was pronounced unclean had, in the instant of his physical cleaning and restoration, been also restored socially...to be counted among the clean...to be touched and hugged and connected once again. The once leprous man was commanded to go to the high priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses suggested to where he could be restored in his faith and community as well. A single touch offered restoration and wholeness...spiritual, physical, emotional, and communal wholeness! There was no part of the leper's life that Jesus was going to leave not radically altered!
Radically altered is what I believe God wants for his church too. We were not given the gift of the Spirit to try and move forth on our own steam. We were not sent this Wonderful Counselor to have his voice buried in committee meetings. The power of our witness and the effectiveness of the Church (when I use a capital "C" I am referring to the universal church) is dependent upon God's presence and ongoing gifts of grace...our effectiveness and witness are dependent upon our being continuously and radically altered.
That's the purpose of this blog...to explore what it means to be radically altered by Jesus Christ. At times I will take a topical approach with life issues or church issues or issues raised in books that I am reading and ask where God is at work and how God is attempting to radically alter us as individuals and as the Church. At other times I will explore the scriptures in search of the Gospel's radically life altering message of hope...a hope that is far more than a get into heaven free card...a hope that is tied to the current in-breaking of the kingdom of God...a hope that will turn our faith and our churches on their ears...a hope that continues to be fulfilled in deep, meaningful, and transformative ways!
I invite you to join me on this journey of faith and of life.
Shalom,
Russell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
