Marcus Lynn’s adventures in life and ministry
Like last week’s inspiration, this is a new song that I just heard. I think the music is good…but the message again, broke me. So watch (the video is well done) but more importantly, listen to the words. And tell me what you think. Would this be a good song to learn at your church? Why or why not?
Today I’ve been thinking about “cruise control” spirituality versus “race car” spirituality (Jerry Bridges coined the terms). Most of us are on cruise control. We’re not living in “disobedience.” It’s just that we’re content to be “in the pack” and just keep up with everyone else so as not to feel out of place or inferior.
Race car Christians want to keep growing. They don’t care about how they compare to others but how they compare to Christ’s likeness.
Which am I? Which are you?
I recently heard Jorge Acevado say something to the effect,
Spiritual malpractice is offering Jesus as the HEALER but not offering the safe PLACES, SPACES, PEOPLE, and PROCESSES for people to heal.
Wow! Read that slowly again. Is our church (your church) guilty of spiritual malpractice? Why or why not?
The question cannot be answered if Jesus, Himself, had never existed. So maybe a corollary question would be, “Has the existence of Jesus Christ caused more harm or done more good?”
If that be the case, then the answer is easy. Besides the impact Jesus has made on individuals’ lives, their impact is widespread and more so for the good.
Despite its humble origins, the Church has made more changes on earth for the good than any other movement or force in history. Here are a few highlights:
What else am I missing? What am I overstating? Christ’s influence on the world is immeasurable. And yeah, some have really screwed that up. But they don’t speak for God or the Church.
Recently I had an on-line dialogue with a few secular humanist friends of mine on Facebook. It started when one of them saw a billboard that said something like, “God does exist so deal with it!” My friend thought it was rather silly and didn’t really help either side. I had to agree. How does that further dialogue. How would that sign possibly convince someone who doesn’t believe that there is an actual God?
But then his brother jumped into the conversation and again I don’t have his exact quote but he said something like, “See, look at the evil that religions can perpetuate by trying to force their views. It ultimately leads to violence like the Crusades, etc.”
Of course, I took offense to that statement because TRUE FOLLOWERS of Jesus who have submitted to God’s ways would not perpetuate violence in ways that the institutional church has advocated or turned its eye to. But as much as I didn’t like his statement, he’s right. So-called Christians and the institutional church are responsible for untold violence, bigotry, racism, hatred, etc.
At the same time, that has been true of pretty much every culture and religion. It’s not just certain Christians that have been responsible but we see this in other world religions and even in secular states. In fact, between Hitler’s pure race ideology and Stalin’s pursuit of secular power, more lives were destroyed by those 2 men than any other 2 men to my knowledge. Don’t think that “the absence of a belief in God” is not a belief that can be just as dangerous.
See, religion is a dangerous thing. But true faith in Jesus Christ is not. Because following Jesus is not about how “I’m better than you.” It’s about realizing that “I’m not better. In fact, I have a propensity to screw up and sin. I need forgiveness. I need grace. I need love. And only God can really provide that through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.” And then here’s the difficult part…after I confess that I have to start living like Jesus wants me to live. I don’t see Jesus advocating anything remotely close to the horrors that Christians have perpetuated. And even when we’re not “violent” but arrogant or self-righteous we injure the Body of Christ, the True Church. Why would arrogance or self-righteousness help someone far from God, see God’s love? It can’t. How can we be arrogant about our beliefs or self-righteous about our behavior when we must recognize how SINFUL we were and are?!
So…Have Christians caused more harm or done more good in history? I’ll answer that tomorrow.
The most important question we can ask of a Bible text is not, “What does this mean?” but “What can I obey?” A simple act of obedience will open up our lives to the text far more quickly than any number of Bible studies.
Soren Kierkegaard said,
The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.
Review questions 1 and 2 in the first 2 parts and then return here.
Question #3: What is in my hand?
This is another way of asking, What has God already given me? Instead of wishing for and complaining about what I don’t have, what do I have today? Instead of dangerously comparing myself with others, what is within my grasp relationally, historically, and resources-wise right now?
In ministry, I’ve seen how easy it is for us to focus on what we lack: money, staff, encouragement, education, buildings, experience, etc. Instead, what is in our hands? What is in your hand? God’s ready to use it now.
Question #2: “What is my pain?”
I’m discovering that most people can’t relate to our achievement or successes. However, most people can relate to our pain and our losses, our disappointments and our suffering.
Personally, as I’ve periodically inventoried my life, I’ve listed all the painful memories, the moments of sadness and suffering involving the people in my life. And I’ve realized again and again that my pain was a gift from God. As I do open myself up to others, it is the pain that draws people in, far more so than my limited talents, skills, and accomplishments.
As a side note, as I contemplate future writing opportunities, I think this may be where God is ultimately leading me. But I’m not sure I can handle the pain of that kind of internal investigation and whether I’m at a place where I can do that in peace. Maybe I need to go back and read The Shack again! More on this soon…
I had a great vacation…OK, I’m lying. It was good, but not great. The weather was spotty. We blew a tire. One of Reagan’s good friends was killed in a car accident while we were gone. OK, it wasn’t even good. But we’re alive and blessed so I’ll stop grumbling.
Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling….”
I really need to work on that. The goal is blamelessness and innocence. Grumbling hinders that.
What has God taught you recently regarding your marriage or parenting?
Today’s question may not pertain to everybody. I know many single people without children. If that describes you then maybe you can answer a slightly different question, “What has God taught you recently about relationships?”
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