Live Generously

Even though it happened more than seven years ago, it remains tattooed on my brain.

It was my senior year in high school, and I was a member of my high school’s student newspaper staff. At the time, I was still in my they-will-know-we-are-Christians-by-all-of-the-Christian-junk-we-show-off stage, so I took pleasure in advertising my Christian faith through t-shirts, jewelry, as well as stickers and drawings on notebooks, backpacks, and other personal items (even though, lets be honest, adherence to the radical way of Jesus was the furthest thing from my mind). To a lesser degree, I advertised it on my journalism computer’s desktop background as well.

For most of my senior year I was seated in my journalism class next to a gentleman who was somewhat hostile towards Christianity. I certainly don’t mean to say he was a bad guy, I only mean to say that he often spoke pejoratively about Christians, church, etc. He was very intelligent, and was, as I remember, an excellent writer. He and I had actually been good friends when we were kids, but had long since had a falling out, and by this point we had no relationships to speak of, excepting the proximity of our journalism computers.

At the time I was a big fan of the now disbanded (moment of silence) Christian ska band Five Iron Frenzy. I had found a cool collage of various Five Iron photos, fliers, cd covers and what not, and had set said collage as my desktop background. One of the concert fliers in the collage advertised Five Iron Frenzy as one of the bands performing at an event (or maybe it was a tour) called “Ska Against Racism”.

This deeply troubled the guy sitting next to me. He refused to believe, and in fact vehemently denied, that Five Iron Frenzy was a part of “Ska Against Racism”, something he was somewhat familiar with given his affinity for punk/ska etc. music (out of shear curiosity I googled “Ska Against Racism”, and the tour happened in 1998 and yes, Five Iron Frenzy was in fact a part of it). Now, the next couple of sentences are speculation, but I’m fairly certain my speculation is correct. This guy refused to believe that a Christian band would be involved with a project seeking to combat racism. That simply did not fit with the picture of Christianity he had been given. Christians are socially conservative, white bigots, who do nothing but sit on their ivory tower of superstition and look down upon others who don’t share their views while saying absurd things like “the reason God allowed 9/11 to happen was because there were homosexuals in the building”. They dress alike, they talk alike, and they have no tolerance for anyone who is different from them.

In other words, Christians don’t fight racism. Christians don’t stand up for the marginalized. Christians are self-righteous. Christians are closed-minded and anti-intellectual. Christians are homophobic. I could go on, but you get the idea.

On one level, this guy’s comments reflect obvious ignorance of Christianity, something that was expressed through a number of comments he made throughout the year (including saying that he wanted to go to the mega-church I attended dressed in all black goth-ish clothing and “see what people would do”….”I’m guessing nothing”, was what I wanted to tell him…not sure why I didn’t). His understanding of Christianity was shaped largely by the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons of the world, and as such his understanding was sorely misguided.

That being said, he clearly had seen nothing, or at least little, in his lived experience to conclude that the oft judgmental, oft hateful, oft intolerant version of Christianity that he had seen presented by folks like those listed above was inaccurate. I remember the Five Iron Frenzy conversation (and many others), and I think about movies like Saved! (which every Christian should see), and always think, “that is what the world thinks we are.” And this is to our shame. In other words, I don’t hold this guy completely responsible for believing what he did about Christians. The indiscretions of Christians had instilled this understanding of Christianity in him, and that is an indictment against all of us who claim the name of Christ. There are many people in the world like the guy from my journalism class…I meet them every once in a while. It is up to us to demonstrate a Christianity that is different than what they have come to understand, and more important a Jesus who is different than what they have come to understand. I often wonder, what if people in the world, Christian or not, had such a radically different experience of what Christians were like that all of the caricatures that find their way into pop culture simply wouldn’t work anymore because they were so obviously inaccurate?

Jim Wallis likes to talk about changing the wind. He says that politicians are licking their fingers and putting their fingers up to determine which direction the ‘wind’ is blowing so that they can act accordingly. He uses this to encourage people, particularly people of faith, to organize to promote truly biblical values like the eradication of poverty, peacemaking, fair wages for working people, environmentalism, a consistent ethic of life, and a more socially conscious national budget. Not exactly your typical fair of issues that are important to conservatives, but then again, Wallis isn’t exactly a conservative (incidentally, neither is Jesus).

I often wonder what it would take for Christians to change the wind. What would need to happen so that future generations of people in journalism classes would expect that Christian bands would be involved in a concert tour promoting racial equality? What would need to happen to come to a place where people in the world may disagree with our spiritual beliefs but they respect and affirm our contributions to society?

Our task is to change the wind. In our work lives, in our families, in the seemingly meaningless interactions we have throughout the day. In our finances, in our time management, in the way that we show love to our friend and our enemy. In the way that we rise above theological squabbling and agree on the reality of Christ’s body broken and blood shed for the healing of the world.

May we be a people who change the wind.

Sitting at Pier View on a Monday afternoon (man, if I keep doing this so often I’m going to be like Ron Gollner and his St. Arbucks….only with smaller biceps).

I’m reading Stanley Hauerwas for my political theology class, and at the moment I’m reading a chapter out of his book The Peaceable Kingdom. It’s terrific, which is more than I can say for most of the other reading I’ve done this quarter.

As most of you know, a big part of my job is teaching at the college and young adult service at my church on Sunday nights. Teaching the Bible is a funny thing, because no matter how much study or practice I put in, it always seems like I actually have to give the sermon before I’m ever able to really understand what a particular passage said or what I really wanted to say about it. I’ve joked with some friends that I would be a much better teacher if I taught on Mondays. Teaching is also funny in the way that it tends to, quite literally, consume me. My wife knows that from about Saturday evening on I am rarely fully present in conversations I am having. My mind is constantly drifting to the next night’s message. This was true even this last week, as I was standing in a bar in Oceanside sipping a Red Trolley and waiting for Mike’s band to play. By Saturday night I can practically see the manuscript in my head, I can see the faces who will be there, I can even construct imaginary dialogs that I anticipate taking place when I open things up for discussion. Then Sunday night comes and goes, and I end up reflecting on the things that I said or didn’t say for the next day or so. I am a Monday morning (and afternoon) quarterback. I replay the whole thing in my head, scolding myself for mistakes and taking joy in the times when it really seemed like God spoke. More than that, though, I think through the implications of what I talked about.

Mark 11:12-25…Jesus cleanses the temple. It’s an interesting passage. Last night after I got home from church I was listening to a sermon (don’t worry, I don’t normally listen to sermons on Sunday night after attending two church services that day), and the speaker referred to that passage as Jesus’ “temple tantrum”. Say that out loud. Really, do it. It’s funny.

The passage does what so many other passages in the gospel of Mark do. It confronts us with the radical nature of Jesus’ message. And, to be honest, it does a lot to explain the temptation that a lot of Bible teachers (myself included) often feel to water down the message of Jesus to make it more sensitive to our post-modern, pluralistic, meta-narrative rejecting ears. Jesus categorically denounces the ‘appearance’ of authentic spirituality. That is offensive on a number of levels. Our society, sacred or secular, worships at the altar of appearance. Even those who claim they don’t care what people think all seem to rebel in the same ways. And yet here is Jesus, categorically cursing spirituality that is concerned only with outward appearance. Worse yet, he is suggesting that those who think they have it all together are in fact the ones most guilty of engaging in a sort of spirituality for show. That’s scary.

After leaving the temple Jesus begins speaking of things like faith in God, confidence in prayer, and mutual forgiveness. My goodness. If only we could truly learn those things. If only I myself could learn to exercise faith in God that transcends intellectual belief. If only I could manifest a faith in God that would summon in me radical obedience. Obedience beyond Bible reading, prayer, and the avoidance of the more noticeable personal sins. If only that could manifest in me a bigger heart for justice. If only that could manifest in me radical generosity. If only that could manifest in me real love for my neighbor (I realize even the tax collectors do that, but if I’m honest I realize that I need to work on loving my enemies and my neighbors). That is what real faith is. That is the sort of faith that Jesus desires to awaken in his disciples in that day and this. The faith to say mountains can be moved. The faith to say we don’t need to buy into this system of Wal Mart, American imperialism, and systemic economic injustice. Heck, faith to believe that the church need not simply be a place that provides spiritual entertainment for an hour and a half a week, but instead can be a true community of the risen that lives by radical faith and radical obedience.

As I reflect on this passage, and on the things that God has been doing in my own heart of late, those are the things that come to mind. The last thing I mean to do is blog about it as a sort of cathartic release that excuses me from action (imagine Derek Zoolander talking about volunteering to help under privileged children learn how to read), but I suppose all I’m doing is getting my thoughts on (virtual) paper to clarify my own thinking and perhaps see if anyone else is struggling through these sorts of issues.

Check out this article about Radiohead’s partnership with MTV on their EXIT campaign, and watch the videos on the page…I’ll be blogging about this later.

I received an e-mail today from Sojourners that I thought I would also share on here. I would encourage you to follow the link at the bottom and urge your congressperson to vote to ensure that hungry people around the world are able to receive rice in the quickest and most cost effective manner. While I understand the need to stimulate our economy, it simply does not make sense morally to pursue economic stimulus in a way that keeps the poorest of the poor hungry. I would encourage you also to pray for our nation’s leaders that they would pursue a policy that would benefit the least of these.

You’ve probably seen the headlines about record food prices, which have led to deadly violence and panic across the globe.

The U.N. Secretary-General said last week that the situation has “become a global crisis,” and the World Food Programme is warning of a “silent tsunami” of hunger. Even here in the U.S., grocery stores are starting to ration sales of rice.

Sadly, this desperate situation is being worsened by our own government’s policies. While we spend billions of dollars on food for the hungry overseas, Congress requires that all of it be purchased from farmers in the U.S. and shipped halfway around the world — wasting money and delaying the food’s arrival.

As Congress finalizes the Farm Bill, tell them to fix this misguided policy and help feed more hungry people.

It seems so obvious: When buying food for hungry people overseas, buy from farmers nearby — it’s simpler, cheaper, and better for the local economy and environment.

But even as children are at risk of starving to death, Congress has shown more interest in increasing profits for big American agribusiness than in ensuring that we feed as many hungry people as possible.

These policies are decided as part of the Farm Bill, a mammoth but little-known piece of legislation that governs our nation’s agricultural policies. So far, it’s been shaped mostly by a narrow group of farm-state legislators and industry lobbyists — and it’s become so laden with pork-barrel spending that President Bush is threatening a veto.

But our lawmakers have one last chance to get it right before the bill goes to the president’s desk. One simple change could make a dramatic difference in addressing the global food crisis.

Click here to tell your senators and representatives to fix our food aid policies.

Thank you for raising your voice, as we seek to follow Christ in feeding the hungry multitude.

Blessings,

Patty, Michael, Elizabeth, and the rest of the team at Sojourners

Please click on one  of the links above and fill out the brief form to write to your representative.  Thanks.

I am quickly becoming a big fan of Relevant magazine. It is a refreshing change from the status quo of the Christian media culture, and publishes interesting articles about, as their cover advertises, God, life, and progressive culture.  I appreciate the magazine’s ability to talk about matters of faith in a real way while remaining very much, well, culturally relevant.  Their cover stories are always great, but this issue’s was particularly good.

The story was called 7 Burning Issues, and it featured questions related to injustice, war, consumerism, faith, culture, politics, and gay rights.  You know, standard fare, nothing too difficult or controverisal ;-). To make it even better, the panel answering the questions included Brian McLaren, Shane Caliborne, N.T. Wright, and Jim Wallis, four of my favorite authors/thinkers/cool guys whose books you should all read. Their answers were all really fantastic…here are a few excerpts that really stuck out to me, with my comments in italics (hopefully this isn’t illegal!).

Wallis on social justice: “The message to Christians today is very clear.  Any gospel that isnt good news to poor people simply isn’t the Gospel of Jesus Christ; any evangelism that doesn’t include social justice ignores the perfectly integrated life and message of Jesus.

The false dichotomy of evangelism and social justice simply has to be overcome if either are going to have any sort of significant impact.  I’m reminding of a professor I had at Fuller last quarter who said that Christians must learn to “lead” with social justice, honesty, integrity, humility, and values of that sort, because if we simply “lead” with the four spiritual laws in a culture that doesn’t really much care we aren’t going to get anywhere.  That also kinda sounds like something Hal said yesterday morning in church…good works lead to good will that leads to the hearing of the good news.  There’s a lot of truth to that, and there is also a lot of truth to the idea that to be Christian is to be a person of good works.

McLaren on how we should respond to homosexuality: “When the issue of homosexuality comes up, people quickly say, “What about Romans 1? What about Leviticus?  What about 1 Corinthians 6?” I want to say, “Well, what about 1 Corinthians 13? What about James 3?”

McLaren is right on here.  Passages like 1 Corinthians 13 and James 3 must be our criterion for interpreting passages like Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6.  Does that mean we ignore what Romans 1 and 1 Cor. 6 say?  Certainly not.  It does simply mean that we seek to show love first.  Period.

Claiborne of interacting with culture: “part of what I think we have to do is not just figure out how we interact with the culture,  but create a new culture where we bring one another to life and call each other to the best of who God wants us to be.  So it’s not “How much secularism can I get away with?” but “How can I be set apart is a way that celebrates the distinctiveness of who we are as people in this world who are resident aliens?”

That point is absolutely huge.  At the end of the day it’s really about us as Christians changing the questions we are asking.  He is right to point out that many of us, myself included, are often seeking how much ’secularism’ or ‘worldliness’ we can ‘get away with’, which in my few reflects a major problem with our hearts.  It’s as if our goal is to resemble the world most closely, rather than setting ourselves about from the world for the purpose of living as the people of God.  I guess the question then becomes, are we willing to hold ourselves to the high standard that a new way of thinking would require of us?

And finally, N.T. Wright on money: “Money becomes a god very, very easily.  So giving it away cheerfully and wisely is a step towards really saying money is not the ruling force in our lives.”

I’m currently listening to an amazing series of messages by Andy Stanley at North Point Church where he is talking all about the heart.  One of the messages was on greed. He hammered home the point that prioritized, percentage giving is probably the most effective means of countering greed in our lives.  He added weight and credibility to the point by adding that if people are skeptical of him then they can give somewhere else.  He and Wright and correct is saying that the only way any of us can hope to get a handle on our greed is to make giving a priority.

So those are just a few small excerpts.  I highly encourage you all to pick up this issue and read the full article.  That’s all from me for now…I’m going on a mini technology fast now, so I won’t be back online until tomorrow afternoon.