Relevance, Part 2

Image by Lawrence OP via Flickr

When I look around at others, and I try to understand people's motives for church attendance, I am often baffled. I don't really understand why people choose to attend a weekly church service – or get involved at a deeper level. But my not understanding probably says more about me, then it does about the people I'm trying to understand.

Typically, I am not a joiner. I tend to not just go along because everyone else is doing something. As a certified introvert, I tend to prefer my own company over that of others. So, when I see groups of people gathering – for anything, not just church – I am left a little confused as to what their motives, or intentions are.

Read more »

Event: Idea Camp Coming to Portland

Idea Camp followed us on Twitter a few days ago, but other than liking the name, I didn't think much of it.  Then, last night, two of my friends invited me to the Facebook event listing for the Portland event.  Now, I don't know about you, but I get a lot of "invites" on Facebook, and most aren't worth my time, but since I recognized the name, I took a look.

If you're familiar with the OpenSource software movement, or the openspacee format of the un-conference, you'll recognize this format.  I've attended various tech events locally, and have been thinking the Church needs to embrace this format of reaching out to our culture, but I haven't had the time to make it happen - yet.

In a nutshell, what this does is to take your online social networking into the real world - and vice versa...

But here it is, live, and coming to PDX!

More details here: http://theideacamp.ning.com/page/icpnw-details

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why You'll Love Portland, Oregon (centernetworks.com)

Different economics

by Nathan Brown

Most of the biggest news stories from this year so far have been focused on economics. From stock markets, exchange rates, interest rates, oil prices and food shortages in some parts of the world, many of the economic systems and implications we as a society have tended to take for granted are being brought into focus and questioned, particularly with regard to sustainability. As Christians, we are asked the same questions but these questions offer us the opportunity to urge some different answers.

One of the first realisations is a reminder that much of the current economic systems of our world—based as they are on greed, exploitation, injustice and absurd over-consumption—is wrong. That may not be the easiest thing to say. In times of stress, people tend to stick to what they know.

But the economic theory upon which so much of the way we live our lives is that which “inspires our pursuit of as much resource use and waste production (also known as economic growth) as possible, as fast as possible” (Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change). The comparative privilege enjoyed by most of us in the developed world is subsidised at the expense of the rest of the world. We need to be prepared to recognise it for the wrong it is, and use the stresses of economically difficult times to prompt us to consider how we, individually and as a society, might do things better.

As part of this process we need to ask ourselves if our lives and even our faith are so entangled in the economy as it is that we are unable to imagine other ways of ordering our lives and our world. Those who promote and profit from our economic systems have powerful voices, tuned to convince us of their importance and pre-eminence. Indeed, the prevailing economic forces can be described as

a religious movement of previously unheard-of proportions. Progress is its underlying myth, unlimited economic growth its foundational faith, the shopping mall (physical or online) its place of worship, consumerism its overriding image, ‘I’ll have a Big Mac and fries’ its ritual of initiation, and global domination its ultimate goal (Brian J Walsh and Sylvia C Keesmaat, Colossians Remixed).

In the face of rampant market-driven capitalism, it becomes increasingly clear why Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24, NLT). He went on to urge that we should not worry about what we should eat, drink or wear—and the list would probably be longer if the Sermon on the Mount had been preached to 21st-century consumer in a shopping mall rather than to rural peasants on a hillside—and reminds us to look first to God who “already knows all your needs” and “will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” (Matthew 6:32, 33, NLT).

But even as we ask some of these questions of our own lives, we need to be quick to realise that the poor and already disadvantaged are always first to suffer in whatever stresses impact society. We must be asking how we as individuals and as churches can reach out to those who are hurting financially and emotionally in our communities and around the world.

Giving is the ultimate rebuttal to an economy built on getting and having. We must resist the temptations that uncertainties bring to try to build walls of protection around ourselves. Instead, as Jesus recommended, by our generosity and faithfulness we demonstrate that our treasure is to be found in the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 6:20). Even in various end-time scenarios—in which economic turbulence often seems to figure—we must shift the focus away from mere self-preservation, whether spiritual or physical.

Adventist writer Chris Blake offers an inspiring alternative vision of the people of God responding to potential crises:

Let God’s people transition to new models of transforming grace of Christian community. Christianity has never been about isolationism, and never will be. . . . In the midst of imminent collapse, Adventist homes open to the dispossessed and fearful. Adventist churches and schools become cities of refuge and outposts of mercy. Sanctuaries house the homeless. Playing fields plough up into gardens. As a world self-destructs, chapter 2 of Acts emerges before our wondering eyes. . . . This is our finest hour (Swimming Against the Current).

Rap Session: Brian McLaren on Useful Perhaps

Christianity Today recently published a semi-negative review of Brian McLaren's most recent title, Everything Must Change. Brian is an author, speaker, networker and much appreciated voice in the Emergent conversation. Here was his response to the CT article...


A statement like "this changes everything" or "everything must change" is what one might call idiomatic hyperbole: rhetorical exaggeration for the effect of conveying an overall meaning that is larger than the sum of its parts. Thus, when I came to the book Everything Must Change, I didn't expect it to be a literal "theory of everything." That would be too much expectation for any treatise to bear. However, I was hoping for a way forward out of the gridlock of integrity that occurs when people of faith no longer expect of themselves that "words of wisdom would be ways of wisdom" (Arrested Development, 1992).

However, I do understand why some might take exception to Brian McLaren's most recent book , released October 2007. One major reason for consternation may be that Everything Must Change offers a hearing of the Jesus message that takes the gospel out of the battle for primacy in the global theater of self-aggrandizement. McLaren deconstructs the age-old debate of whose religion deserves top billing by conspicuously not participating in it. As opposed to hearing in the message of Jesus an exclusive call for Christians and the Christian church to be central in world affairs, he implores any (Christian or otherwise) who finds the way of Jesus inspiring to become integral in seeking justice, truth, peace and beauty in dealing with the biggest problems facing the world. Such a subtle yet profound shift undoubtedly unsettles many.

John Wilson, Editor of Books and Culture for Christianity Today, was certainly among those unsettled by Everything Must Change—in ways that he apparently did not appreciate.

I attended the launch of McLaren's Deep Shift Tour in Charlotte, NC. We gathered in a most beautiful urban arts commune, Area 15, embedded in the reconstituted NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte. The artists' home is an old warehouse that has been converted into gallery, gathering and prayer space and has had such an affect on the community that the City of Charlotte has asked the creatives of Area 15 to open a second studio in another distressed portion of the city. While there, I took the opportunity to invite McLaren's clarification of any of the issues raised by Wilson's article.

You may ask who am I to seek to challenge the collective wisdom of the Evangelical world's foremost public marketplace of ideas. To be honest, no one of much significance. Publicly, I am a simple storyteller, writer, activist and friend. Nonetheless, in a brave new wiki world, post-modernity, we are finally coming to recognize everyone's stake and the value of everyone's voice. And it just didn't seem right for Wilson's review to be the final word in Christian circles for what I and many others have found to be a most unsettling yet also inspiring declaration of revolt.

Q: Were you surprised to hear about the Christianity Today review?

A: In early or mid-January, a friend called me to express his condolences about a negative review in CT and to tell me not to let it get me down. I said, “What review?” It was a couple weeks before I actually saw the review, so over those weeks I imagined the worst. The review ended up being less negative than I had imagined it would be. John Wilson is arguably the best-read Evangelical in America and editor of a premier Evangelical publication in America, so I’m pleasantly surprised that someone of John’s stature would take the book seriously enough to engage with it.

CONTINUE READING This Changes Everything>>>

The sins of Sodom

by Nathan Brown

If I were to ask about the “sins of Sodom,” chances are there would be those who would almost automatically launch into an almost perversely vivid description of various sexual and other depravity. After all, that’s where the term “sodomy” is derived and “Sodom and Gomorrah” have become bywords for a plethora of lascivious and decadent behaviour.

Interestingly though, that’s not the answer the Bible gives. Consider Ezekiel’s description: “Sodom’s sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door” (Ezekiel 16:49). Contrasting with our assumption of sexual outrage, Ezekiel’s focus is on economic injustice.

And it’s not something confined to Ezekiel. From Amos’ description of the rich women of Samaria as “fat cows” (Amos 4:1) to Mary’s song describing how God has “sent the rich away with empty hands” (Luke 1:53) to the “anti-Beatitudes” Luke records, which contrast the blessing of the poor with “woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:24, NIV), to Paul’s repeated condemnation of the greedy (see, for example, Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5; Titus 1:7), it seems the Bible has something against the rich and their/our accumulation of wealth.

Perhaps this biblical concern has its high point in Jesus’ parable of the rich fool (see Luke 12:13-21). This story “gives no indication that the greed being condemned involves anything other than the accumulation of wealth by legitimate means” (Brian Rosner, Beyond Greed). But through this parable Jesus leads into a description of a life lived with a different set of priorities (see Luke 12:22-34). Jesus is criticising an approach to life that is “measured by how much we own” (Luke 12:15, NLT).

In Seven Types of Ambiguity, Australian writer Elliot Perlman describes this all-pervading measure of life in contemporary society:

“The relentless pursuit of the bottom line is the siren song of the times and the song is played over the public-address systems in banks, in stores and supermarkets. . . . It has never been so loud. It’s never been so ubiquitous. It has never before so routinely, so blatantly, ousted and nullified citizenship and notions of the common good. . . . It has never before so successfully colonised men’s souls.”

The economic mythology criticised by both Jesus and Perlman is that of the supposed “trickle down” effect of prosperity. While economic prosperity can bring some benefits to all, generally only a small portion “trickles down” to the people who most need it. This is compounded when the economic growth is driven by exploitation in its various forms—people, labour, the environment and other resources. So a small portion of the gains are “generously” made available to alleviate the suffering from which those gains were derived, all the while “the rich get richer.” It is a downward spiral with a veneer of economic growth and upward mobility.

And if the prosperity is derived from unsustainable development in whatever form, the prosperity will only ever be an illusion bought at someone else's expense, whether it be at the expense of the working poor, those marginalised by society, developing countries or future generations.

Clearly this is not the way of God:

“Economies built on destruction and exhaustion must be replaced with economies that model hospitality and care. We need to see that our economic lives give the most honest portrayal of how we understand salvation” (Norman Wirzba, The Paradise of God).

The connection of economics and our appreciation of salvation is one usually only employed in announcing the offering at church, but it isn’t limited to that small part of our income. It’s about all our lives, how we arrange all our finances, our priorities in our work, our families and our faith. Jesus said, “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21). One evidence of that “rich relationship” is our focus on material resources and what we do with the resources we are given.

In the midst of our market-driven, consumer-focused and advertising-saturated culture, the economics of the Bible call for a radical reordering of our priorities. As Will O’Brien has put it, “When we truly discover love, capitalism will not be possible and Marxism will not be necessary” (quoted by Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution).

Peace in the Middle East

In this Advent season the hearts of those who follow in the way of Jesus can't but feel ambivalence as we celebrate the coming of the world's lord and saviour to bring "peace on earth" and "goodwill to all humanity" and then must acknowledge our shortcomings in not doing all we can to make this dream of God, which God has entrusted to us, a reality. Kid Cultivators' Love Your Neighbor Advent Campaign is just one small way we might make God's missional hopes come true.

Two summers ago I met a young man, Elias D'eis, at a Peace Workshop. Elias is a 20-something-year-old Palestinian from a town you might recognize, Bethlehem (of Judea). He is working to bring about peace in his homeland through his social service work with children and entrepreneurial work with young adults. Peace is more difficult than most of us are even capable of imagining when everyday those who live in the region must wake up and face the very real possibility that some member of their household will not return home that evening. Can you imagine? As I heard him tell his story my heart broke. We were sitting in a circle sharing what we were grateful for as we brought our Peace Workshop to a close. I will never forget that Elias thanked us for giving him a brief space in time where he could feel safe and know hope. I want to invite us to help Elias provide moments of safety and hope for other Palestinian and Israeli children.

The concept is simple, yet unique. We are inviting you and your constituencies to give a monetary gift that is a multiple of 12 ($120... $240... $360...). Why 12? Because for every $12 dollars, $6 will purchase a gift for a Palestinian child who frequents the YMCA where Elias works and the other $6 will purchase a gift for that Palestinian child to give to an Israeli child. Imagine with me the goodwill that might be engendered should the next generation of Israeli and Palestinian children grow up giving gifts to one another. Imagine further how the cause of peace would be abetted should these young people become pen pals sharing their lives with each other. The opportunity to be a small part of embracing Israel and Palestine in the peace and goodwill that the birth of Jesus was intended to hail brings tears to my eyes.

Kid Cultivators will take donations by check (payable to Kid Cultivators) or online via PayPal. All donations should be received by Monday, 18 Dec. Tuesday the 19th we will transfer all funds to Elias (c/o the East Jerusalem YMCA). Gifts will be purchased in Palestine whose economy has been devastated by the continued strife and distrust in the region. The gifts for Israeli children will be olive wood carvings made by young adult Palestinian artisans who have embraced hand-craft (which Elias markets and sells for them) in a desperate attempt to etch out an honest, peaceful living in an economy with few options. In this way our help becomes truly contextual and maybe even prophetic. Gifts for the Palestinian children will be distributed at their YMCA's annual Christmas party, 23 Dec. Gifts for Israeli children will be delivered shortly thereafter.

Will you join me? Make your donation online.