right kind of hurt

I am finally coming to the end of Rob Bell’s book and I am sorry for multiple entries related to the same book but I love some of the questions that it is bringing up in my own mind and as usual I would love to hear any thought you might have.

Towards the end of the book he talks about the relationship with Christians and suffering. I am not sure if I understand him correctly and he does not go into it a great deal but here is what is going through my head.

I have grown up with the idea that scripture teaches that Christians who fully live out their faith in an authentic and bold manner are highly likely to suffer because of their faith. Although this has never been a significant focus of any Christian community it has always existed as a theological undercurrent that is important to the faith. According to my best recollections I can’t remember exactly what form of suffering we are to expect or why exactly we are to suffer except that we are ‘true’ Christians.

The impression that I have always had is that we suffer because we oppose something that society holds in high value and because it is evil we stand united against it and thus are ridiculed and persecuted. I still think this mindset makes sense in many situations but I wonder if the promise of suffering isn’t something more.

I think Bell proposes that suffering for a Christian is not about opposing parts of society as much as it is fully engaging and interacting with the suffering that already exists all around us. Jesus followers, if they want to be like him, will jump in two feet first into the pain of poverty, sickness, injustice, sin... And in doing so experience the suffering along with those who suffer. Suffering comes not because we are against popular society but because we draw near to the least. We hold the hand of the AIDS patient and weep with them because we know that the disease is evil that destroys this person who is more loved then we may ever know by the Creator.

This then poses the question in my mind that even if I am right in the previous paragraph, aren't there certain things we should stand against? Or are we merely to be against something by striving to be for its opposite? In what circumstances should we expect persecution that are for what is good and just and not just because we are making asses of ourselves in public?

What is the right kind of hurt?

in the back seat

I am looking out as gray colored fields rush by along the interstate and listening to a mellow attitude producing mixed cds. Christmas celebrations are nearing their end. The Anderson family is packed into a seven passenger van traveling back from spending time with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. The last few days have been inundated with the national pastime of overeating and sweatpants are now the clothing of choice.

The seven of us sitting crammed together for several hours takes me back to younger years. The reality of all of being in the same vehicle is an oddity in and of itself and now when we do find ourselves traveling together we each pull out our personal music players, books and try to squeeze into a comfortable world of our own. It has not always been this way.

Back in the day we had the mini-bus size van with maroon colored paneling and tough plastic covered seats. Each Christmas our family would pack up and travel first to see my mom’s side of the family and then onto my dad’s. We would make the time pass by trying to sleep. Making awkward piles of Anderson kids upon the van benches. Upon waking we would play ever popular games like ‘I spy” or the “alphabet game” which consisted of finding the alphabet in order outside anywhere outside of the vehicle.

It is good to grow up and hard not to romanticize the past. And yet at moments like this where I sit in the back of the van, I am transported back to a time not that long ago where things seem simpler in retrospect and I begin to miss my copy latest copy of the Hardy Boys and snack bag from my stocking that I would munch on without guilty feelings of an expanding waist line.

questions

My job is to direct the middle school ministry at a church. Because of that I tend to ask churchy questions a lot. This week I have been asking the question, ‘how do you best create an atmosphere for ministry to happen?’ How do you call people to journey together to learn what the kingdom of God is and live in that kingdom? At what cost do you try and make Christianity fun and appealing? Is the gospel those things at its nature? It seems that the message of the cross appeals to our deepest desires.

We want community. Jesus invites us to be part of the body of Christ.
We want meaning. God calls us to be the light of hope in a dark and dying world.
We want to be loved. The Son died for our sake while we still hated him.
We want to be known. Our Maker knows us better than we know ourselves.

I am sure there are many many more…

So how does ministry happen? How do we share this life with others? How do we create safe places to ask questions like Matt, Sarah, Cory and Mary do?

How do you work with a population whose god is fun and meet them where they are? The above questions/blogs and being part of a number of interesting conversations this week makes me want to start a church. How awesome would it be to journey together with people you love looking at God’s Word and wondering along the way…

Does Satan exist?
What kind of life does God want us to have?
What role should Jesus followers play in their country's government and if we were in charge how would we govern with kingdom ethics?
Is the Bible really literal?
Does it have errors?

So many questions.

a little dancing

I love this video: http://www.worldonfire.ca/ There are few things that bring tears to my eyes but the half-second shot of the kid doing that little dance in the streets is one of those few things. There is just something I find incredibly beautiful about scenes of joy in the midst of extreme hardship. A smile of joy in the midst of a garbage dump. It is as if to say that even when evil is at its worst, glimpses of God can be seen and those glimpses seem more real than God’s reflection in the midst of comfort. Maybe it is the contrast, maybe it is the hope for something better, maybe it is an honest picture of the state of this world compared to what is to come… I don’t really know what it is but I love that dancing kid.

for cory

Cory you asked me to check out some of the reviews concerning Bell's new book so I went on Amazon and copied parts of the one that seemed to have the most issues with his work. Here are some of my thoughts as a reaction. (I see no reason to react to reviews that say, "I loved it! Best book ever.) Also I should give this reviewer credit but I could not find his name again so sorry...

He says:
The Good 1. Importance of Context - Rob is excellent on the importance of context in interpretation. He has read widely and deeply on the culture at the time of Christ, and it shows. Excellent. 2. Community - Points out the weakness of radical individualism and how it has infected the church. Calls us to community! Great! 3. A place for doubt - One of the great strengths of the book. As Frederick Buechner said, "Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it alive. They keep it moving. 4. Humility - As Millard Erickson said, we need to hold our beliefs with some humility, because we might be wrong. Rob agrees and points out the dangers of arrogance in belief. He is correct.

I argree with all this. Especially the point about asking the reader to challenge all that he writes. I love it when people present their ideas not as truth but as stabs at truth and are open to being questioned. I find myself disarmed by this approach and am more willing to listen and learn.

The Bad 1. Foundationally wrong on Adam and Eve. Rob asks, "Is the importance of Adam and Eve because it 'happened' or because it 'happens?'" He says because it 'happens,' i.e. because Adam's experience [of sin] is our experience. This is directly at odds with Paul's understanding of Adam (and of the rest of the NT's understanding for that matter) - see Romans 5 - 8, especially Romans 5. This is a foundational and crucial error. It is very important because it colors all of Rob's theology.

I think this just means that Bell would be from the Arminian camp and believes that people are not born sinful but at some point choose sin and become sinful. If my understanding is correct, then I may disagree with his statements but I do not think his stance is dangerous. I know several amazing Christians who are Arminian and truly love God.

2. Interpretation/Opinion. Rob seems to imply that one's "interpretation" of Scripture cannot be separated from one's "opinions." Of course the book is full of his own "interpretations" of Scripture, though he does not explain why his "interpretations" are any more valid than anyone else's. A non-Christian reading this book would say, "see, this is what I have been saying all along, why is your interpretation any more valid than mine?" If Rob has an answer for this, he does not give it.

This seems to be a good critism to me. Bell does seem to go out of his way to say that we bring ourselves to the text and that our worldview and culture deeply colors our interpretation of the Bible. While I personally agree with this, it also seems to me that as a statement of faith I believe the text does have a foundational truth and it is that truth we are seeking. It may be hard and we may never get there but that should be our journey. We should be careful to fully embrace our culturally influenced vision but instead see it as a reality that should be recognized as often getting in the way of seeing Truth.

3. Rob's trampoline/brick analogy is weak - and so sets a weak foundation for the book as a whole. For instance, can one deny the virgin birth and be a true, believing Christian? Sure. See Romans 10.9,10. Of course if one does not believe in the virgin birth, that is one spring on the trampoline that is broken. I assume Rob believes that there is a limited number of springs that can be broken and/or stretched beyond recognition before the trampoline fails and one injures oneself. How many springs would this be exactly? Rob doesn't say.

It is a good question about how far is too far before you lose the faith but does anyone know the answer to this? Not that I know. Also and Bell says this, it is an analogy so don't take it too far. People do the same thing all the time with Jesus' parables.

The Ugly 1. Truth. Rob claims that one reason why teens leave the church when they go out into the world, is because they are met with "truth" that is not found in Scripture and this destroys their whole belief system, because they have been told that the Bible "contains all truth." Is he serious? You have got to be kidding me. I suspect that not one teen has ever left the faith for this reason. Ever. They leave the faith because they get into the world and find that they have been living off their parent's faith, have not made it their own, and this is insufficient to deal with the problems the world throws at them. Because their faith is not genuine! And by the way, if Rob feels that unbelievers also distort the truth due to their own intepretation/sin/opinions, he does not say so.

A little harsh but good point I think. If anyone knows why so many teens leave the church after high school they really should share with the rest of us. I think that question is very complicated and to say there is one simple answer does a diservice to teens and youth pastors everywhere. And I bet at least one teen has left the faith for that reason.

So that seems to me to be the best critique I could find. And I know this is really not that interesting to most people but it was too long for a simple response to Cory.

what jon needs...

Because all the cool kids are doing it...

What to do:
Go to google and write your name and the word ‘needs’, in quotes — as in “matt needs”. notice the first 10 sensical sentences that come up." here's what i got when i tried "jon needs" ...

1. Jon needs a poke in the other eye. (I did not enjoy the first)
2. Jon needs a new name. (agreed)
3. Jon needs help.
4. Jon needs a consequence for misbehavior; time outs usually work well. (they really do)
5. Jon needs to change his classroom management practices.
6. Jon needs to answer some questions.
7. Jon needs to come out of the closet. (hmm idk)
8. Jon needs to move on.
9. Jon needs to raise about $10000 American dollars in financial backing. (please feel free to send checks or cash)
10. Jon needs change for the bus.

(also at #12: Jon needs lots of support at the home front and elsewhere to help him maintain good boundaries.)

bounce bounce bounce

I have been reading Rob Bell’s book, Velvet Elvis the past couple of weeks and one of his metaphors has stuck in my mind. It is about his trampoline and faith. It sticks because it reminds me of many times I have been with middle school students in the same sort of setting he describes.

The other day I was at Isaac’s house for a family dinner and as the food was being prepared the kids in the family and I messed around in their large backyard with footballs, Frisbees and their trampoline. Our time turned into a talent show of sorts as four out of the five kids took turns showing off what amazing things they could do on the trampoline. I swear I saw half a dozen near death experiences in fewer than ten minutes as they flipped, twisted and bounced for glory.

Then it was my turn. They challenged my to try the same things they had been doing. My cynical side suspected they just wanted to see death up close and figured I would be as good as anyone but in actuality I think they had pure motives. They desired that I experience some of the same exhilarating fun they were having. The rush of bouncing eight feet into the air, of being bounced to unexpected heights thanks to the timing of others on the trampoline.

I had a blast. However I need to be honest and admit that I was a wuss. Somehow in my old age I have become fearful of pain and go to great lengths to avoid it. But even in light of my limited willingness to experience all that the trampoline had to offer I had an amazing time.

Bell writes that our faith should be like jumping on a trampoline. I tend to pick metaphors apart and as my friend Cory points out I am cynical. But somehow this image has stuck with me this past week. I want to be experiencing Christ and all the joys and fears and risks that that involves and because of what comes from that ongoing experience I want to invite others to jump with me. Not because I am supposed to or because doing so makes me a better person but because I care about others and I want them to be part of something amazing.

That of course means that I need to think it is worth jumping myself. Do I believe that a life in Christ is something I would want those I love to have as well? Do I live what I confess with my mind? Do I find joy in a life in Christ? I am commanded to be joyful, not necessarily happy, but joyful. Am I?

God help me to learn to jump and by your grace invite those around me to do the same.