Christian Jihad Anyone?

The picture on my Facebook page startled me. No joke, I was shocked.

I immediately thought to myself: "Something has gone terribly wrong with our vision of what Christianity is supposed to mean." 

Two young soldiers each holding a M-16 rifle in one hand and the Bible in the other. The caption beneath the photo read:

“These soldiers are serving our country in Afghanistan right now!”

Okay I get it! I get all the patriotic posts on Facebook over the past couple of days. I get all the “Support our troops” hype. I get all the heartfelt memes honoring our war dead. I get it.

But I don’t get this picture.

It makes absolutely no sense. As hard as one might try there is no way to harmonize this photo with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No way Hosea! Sorry, I find it to be in bad taste as well as in violation of the core teachings of Jesus on non-violence.

When I first saw this picture my mind immediately went to the Gospel of Matthew and the story of when Jesus was arrested. Trying hard to protect Jesus from the Roman soldiers who came to arrest him, Peter drew his sword and swiped off a soldier’s ear.

Immediately Jesus responded: 

“Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”

Peter was simply responding like any of us would have, given the situation. I mean, we humans are taught from an early age that the only appropriate response to a threat of violence is with further violence.

I am willing to bet that Peter’s dad probably trained him in the art of school yard fighting: When hit you must hit back and twice as hard! My father taught me never to start a fight but if one came my way hit back.

So we can’t beat up on old Peter too badly, can we? He was only reacting according to his childhood training. We probably would have done the same thing if we were in Pete's sandals.

It is ironic that this Facebook post was a testimony to the ultimate consequence of human violence and war, especially violence that is authorized and sanctioned by the State.

Jesus was quite clear about what happens when the sword is unsheathed: 

Death will occur!

But not just physical death: War has a way of eroding the life out of the human soul. The effects of war live on long after the shooting stops. The lives that are ruined are too many to count. The damage done to destroy the joy of living is immeasurable. 

Plus I would like to suggest that war is the ultimate act of resistance to the grace and mercy of God.

Jesus knew this, he must have or he would have never instructed Peter to sheath his sword. In fact he told Peter that if he could call down legions of angles. A legion was a Roman military term. Jesus’ use of this term was no accident.

Yet I suppose the most offensive thing about this photo was the implication that Christianity supports and justifies war as a holy endeavor. A holy jihad of sorts. To take this a step further is to say that Jesus preached a Gospel of justified violence: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

It implies that we are authorized by God to hate our enemies enough so to kill them all: “Nuke’em for Jesus!”

Fundamentalists seem to believe this.

But Jesus had other ideas about how we are to respond to threats of violence:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven . . .”

The normal response to this teaching is:

“Well this is just too hard!”

Well of course it is. Faithfully following Jesus is mot difficult. This is why the world for the most part has ignored his teachings on the non-violent approach to human conflict. The world sees no value in such an approach. It’s really a matter of a lack of trust in Jesus’ prescription for peace.

So honor your warriors if you must, but please keep Jesus out of the picture. He had far greater ideas about how to deal with human conflict and it wasn’t a Christian Jihad.

A Memorial Day Reflection

My college Greek professor was fond of saying: 

“Confession is good for the soul, but bad for the reputation.” 

Confession can indeed harm one’s reputation but sometimes one must take that risk.

So here goes . . .

As a pastor, especially near the end of my career, I became conflicted over being expected to shape our Sunday worship services around two of our National holidays. The two holidays in question are:

Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November.

A caveat of sorts is in order before I proceed.

I love America. I served in the United States Air Force and Navy for a total of twenty years of active military service. I’m proud of my service. I believe as a nation we must have a military for reasons that are often forgotten: National defense as opposed to offense! You may disagree with that but you cannot question my patriotism. 

I thought it was important to mention this.

I was born on May 30 sixty nine years ago, the day that Americans used to commemorate Memorial Day. In 1968 it was moved to the last Monday of May. Memorial Day and Veterans Day are quite different however. One honors veterans killed in war while the other honors those who are still living.

Though these two days are often confused they are still valued as important days for us to remember. I proudly honor them.

Yesterday in church the pastor said what I have said a hundred times before as a pastor:

“We honor those who gave their lives so we could be free to worship here this morning.” 

The usual chorus of “Amens” and enthusiastic applause followed.

He was expected to say something that validated a common American narrative that so many assume to be true without ever once questioning the validity of such a claim:

That all our American wars were about our American freedoms—or the preservation of our freedoms.

As a pastor I was expected to pay tribute to this common narrative by at least mentioning how so many have died to preserve our American freedoms.

Look, it’s an easy narrative to uncritically embrace. In fact, to question this popular freedom narrative would be a risky thing to do. Being branded as either a traitor or one who no longer loves America is not very appealing.

Yet I must question the narrative that all American wars were fought to protect our freedoms. Even the ruling elites in Washington know this is to be untrue and often play the “national interests” because they know that our freedoms are not always at stake in the wars they authorize.

As a pastor and an armature historian of sorts, I found it increasingly difficult to bend a knee to this freedom narrative. History, I’ve learned, simply does not support such an idea.

Yet I still consider it important that we as a nation honor all those who have served in our Armed Forces, especially those who died in service to our country. The truth is:

Military folks are not the ones who start the wars. 

Wars are begun as the result of political conflicts not because military personnel are itching for a fight (well at least most aren’t). They know firsthand the real costs of war.

As a pastor I became increasingly uneasy with these two holidays simply because they do not represent the honest truth about our nation’s addiction to war. The common narrative represents a denial of this addiction of course. Is it right for American citizens to honor their war dead? Absolutely. I do and so should you.

But I found it very difficult to craft a worship liturgy around the theme of war no matter how many of our brave ones have died on the battlefields of the world.

As a pastor my job was to proclaim the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to call attention to the Shalom of the living God. It was not my job to be a cheerleader for a common narrative that is not altogether true.

Patriotism is honorable. But it has no place in Christian worship. Our allegiance is to one Lord. Our faith is not in America or even Democracy but in the resurrected Christ who is in fact the Prince of Peace. 

Let us honor our fallen veterans. It is a good thing to do. But let us honor them with a confessional heart asking God to forgive us for the wars we humans seem to love so much. Go to a national cemetery today; lay a wreath, say a prayer, honor the fallen dead.

But remember this:

Only Jesus Christ the resurrected One can give true freedom.

Christus Victor (Victory of Christ) was the cry of the church for the first one thousand years. It was his death on the cross that provided real freedom to all those who embrace him as Lord. 

For Christians the real Memorial Day is Good Friday! 

Let us honor the death of the fallen One whose sacrifice provides us all real freedom.

Donald & Hillary Aren't the Problem!

We all have heard it so many times over the past several months: the vitriolic rage against two of the most well known names in America today. 

Donald and Hillary.

Let either name slip from your lips at a dinner or cocktail party and standby for a barrage of lethal expletives aimed at either one of these two political figures. Profess support of either Hillary or Donald and be prepared to lose friends or at least be thought certifiable.

In the movie “Apollo 13” actor Tom Hanks uttered what has become one of the most recognized lines in cinema history (almost rivaling Clark Gable’s famous “Gone With the Wind” line: “Frankly darling, I don’t give a damn!”). Said Hanks: 

“Houston, we have a problem!”

Well, I must say after enduring several months of this 2016 campaign circus I am prepared to say: 

“America, we have a problem, and it ain’t Donald or Hillary.”

Disclaimer: My point of view, my worldview such as it is, and my politics are shaped by my allegiance to and faith in a humble yet radical Rabbi from Galilee who lived over two thousand years ago, was crucified and resurrected. If he isn’t the shaping force of your worldview or your politics then I doubt you will grasp what I am about to say. 

So that’s my disclaimer for what it’s worth.

In his thought provoking book, Reviving Old Scratch, author and psychologist Richard Beck offers an interesting approach for the way we Christians ought to engage the political process and the respective candidates running for office. 

According to Beck so many Christians in America today have lost their sense of connection to an invisible reality that lies behind all of life. Quoting the Apostle Paul Beck points us towards the force that lies behind human affairs, political or otherwise: 

“For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:24).

Read this verse carefully? Who really is the enemy? It is not flesh and blood (Donald or Hillary) but rather “spiritual forces of evil.” It is crucial for Christians to acknowledge this important reality that undergirds all of life.

Because we have forgotten this truth, says Beck: “ . . .our political discourse has become so hostile and violent: spiritual virtues and weapons such as confession, self-control, repentance, humility, peacemaking, forgiveness, joy, mercy, and love have all gone missing. A disenchanted political struggle is reduced to a bloody, winner-take-all cage match.”

By “disenchanted political struggle” Beck is suggesting that the candidates themselves are not the real problem and therefore to demonize or scapegoat them is, quite frankly, missing the point. 

What lies behind this entire presidential political campaign are dark and dangerous systemic (spiritual) forces that are responsible for much of the anger and violence this campaign seems to have unearthed. The 2016 Presidential campaign thus far has revealed the deep dark underbelly of our nation.

So Donald and Hillary are not the problem: 

The real culprit is a deep spiritual sickness whose physical symptoms are playing out on the campaign stages of political actors who themselves are agents of these adversarial spiritual forces (as we all are). 

What we do need to recognize is that there is a deeper systemic sickness that has infected the American soul and this sickness affects us all. The Russian novelist, historian, and activist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn so insightfully observed:

“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts.”

The antibiotic for this infection that has come upon the American soul is not the elimination or victory of either one or both of these candidates (Donald or Hillary, or even Bernie). Once either is elected the problem will persist. To think otherwise is nothing more than groundless utopianism that is certain to unravel and fail.

Demonizing either one of these candidates is not helpful nor does it come close in touching America’s real problem: 

A Spiritual sickness that is both lethal and toxic. 

So how do we heal from this sickness? We must be willing to ask ourselves at least two questions:

“Am I a part of the problem?” and “What can I personally do to help fix it?”

Blaming or demonizing Donald or Hillary, or the Republicans or Democrats, or the Conservatives or the Progressives is not the solution to what’s wrong with America. A good dose of humility and reflective honesty with regards to what’s in our own hearts will go a long way in fixing what is wrong with our country as a whole. 

Until we examine the condition of our own hearts America will continue to slide into what might be described as a spiritual wasteland rivaling that of a nuclear winter.

Guess what? 

When it happens it won’t be Donald or Hillary’s fault.

The Truth Will Set You Free

I love the Bible. 

But the reasons I love my Bible may surprise you.

I don’t love the Bible because it’s perfect and without any error, because it isn’t. 

I don’t love the Bible because God Himself dictated its contents, because he didn’t.

I don’t love the Bible because it is a flawless rules book that provides clear black and white answers to every difficult question, because it doesn’t.

No, I love the Bible because of its flaws, its messiness, and most of all its brutal honesty. 

The Bible is the most honest book you will ever read. Believe me. It doesn’t sweep the unpleasant parts of its history under the rug. It reveals the undiluted facts. It simply tells its story without any editorial makeover. It is unashamed of the whole truth.

For example, one of the Bible’s most honored heroes is King David. To this day observant Jews still honor him, as do most Christians. But David was a deeply flawed and devious human being and the Bible seems to go out of its way to point this out about him.

 Great nations and great people are unafraid of the raw truth about themselves. 

Neither attempt to camouflage the hard facts with pristine optics or a revisionist version of history. 

What follows are the remarks of a recent American President in his second inaugural speech. You make your own judgment call as to the historical validity of his comments:

"From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation’s security, and the calling of our time."

These brief remarks reflect how our Nation’s history is too often remembered. 

Such a fallacious understanding of history helps create a false narrative that is far removed from actual reality. 

This is not healthy.

Fortunately the Bible is much more forthright and honest and healthier in its historical memory. The authors, compilers, and editors of our sacred texts were not afraid of the raw truth, the whole truth, and neither should we.

They were unconcerned with optics or with sanitizing the real story as it were. When we read the Bible we are indeed getting the whole truth, even in the ways it remembers its heroes. 

We humans are not perfect. We live in an imperfect nation. Our lives are often impacted by our own messiness. Each one of us carries around deep secrets that dwell in the dark recesses of our individual souls. 

Our own Nation harbors shameful secrets. The inaugural remarks previously cited were simply not true. They represented a revisionist narrative of our Nation’s history. 

This kind of revisionism is unhealthy and unfruitful.

As bad as King David was, he faced his own darkness and was reconciled to the light of God’s grace. The same may be said for Peter whose own denial of Jesus could have lured him into creating his own false narrative. Peter befriended his own darkness and was liberated from his own shame and guilt.

I don’t need a perfect Bible to be a Christian. 

I don't need a perfect America to love my country!

I just want the whole truth such as it is.

All of us are on a journey towards our ultimate renewal. Until such time it would be wise for us to learn to befriend the darkness in our lives and confront the things that are preventing us from thriving as human beings. 

As the Psalmist so declares: 

“Darkness is my best friend” (Psalm 88:18 NLT). 

Until we befriend the darkness within us and around us we will never be free.

Christianity in Crisis!

Christianity in America is in a crisis.

It is not a theological crisis.

It is not a doctrinal crisis.

It is not a moral/ethical crisis.

It is not a science/faith crisis.

It is an identity crisis. 

Such a crisis is nothing new. When the ancient Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land God gave them strict instructions to maintain their chosen identity. 

They didn’t!

As one reads the story of Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures one senses a gradual loss of identity by the people of God. It eventually caught up with them. The consequences were dire.

There’s a technical term for this loss of identity. It is syncretism.  Syncretism is defined as “the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought” (online dictionary)—a hybrid blend of faith and culture.

The Hebrew Bible is replete with passages reflecting God’s displeasure with Israel’s attempt to mimic her surrounding culture. The Israelites sank to an all time low when they mimicked the hideous Canaanite practice of child sacrifices.

They lost their identity as  people of Yahweh.

Of course this is nothing new. According to the late author and philosopher René Girard we humans all have a desire to mimic those around us, to want what they have, to covet another’s prized possession, to be like another. Such mimicking is what lies behind human conflicts, according to Girard.

Such mimicking eventually led to the demise of Israel both as a kingdom and as nation. 

Yet America is not Israel. We exist in a much different culture, in a much different place, in a much different time and in a different time zone to be sure. But the desires of the human heart are not any different today from what we might expect of the ancient Israelites (Girard’s point in fact).

There has been almost universal recognition of the demise of Christianity in the West and in North America. Churches are declining. Congregations are getting smaller and older. Financial resources are drying up.

The reasons for this decline perhaps are many and complex. The solutions to negate this decline are at the moment unclear.

But here is what is clear: American Christianity in its most popular form in the United States today looks very dissimilar to the early Christ movement that literally turned its world upside down with its radical devotion to Christ.

Somewhere along the line Christianity began losing its identity. Some claim it began in the 4th century under the Roman ruler Constantine. We’ve compromised that early non-violent peace loving agape centered movement known as “the Way” and have become an unrecognizable religion of the State. I believe the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard offered a similar 19th century critique of Danish Christianity. 

We’ve invented a theory of war that justifies the killing of other human beings by Christians and aptly named it the “Just War Tradition,”thus  allowing the Church to sanction what once was taboo for believers: War!

Interestingly enough, Christians in the first two centuries were forbidden to serve in the Roman army because of their adverse views on war and violence. After the 4th century it became a requirement to embrace Christianity (Constantinian style that is) in order to serve in the military.

We enslaved thousands of Africans and justified institutional slavery by cherry picking verses right out of the Bible in support of such an atrocious practice. We subjugated women and relegated them to a form of second-class citizenry while appealing to the Scriptures for support.

Today we marginalize those within the LGBT community while also appealing to the Scriptures and proof texting our position of such exclusion.

Yes we have climbed into bed with our culture and have become cultural warriors as we confess, “Jesus is Lord” out of one side of our mouths while at the same time reciting, “I Pledge allegiance to the flag” out of the other side. No thought is given to the apparent contradiction between these two confessions.

Because we have lost our unique identity as Christ followers we have also lost the respect of the culture-at-large. We have lost the much-needed voice of protest because no one cares what we have to say, for we sound no different from the other cultural warriors around us.

Is there hope for reversing the decline of Christianity in America?

I would suggest that it is but only as we rediscover whose we are and who we are by peeling off all those layers of cultural sediment that conceal our true identity as radical Christ followers. 

Until such time we will just be ordinary American Christians who look no different from anyone else.

Hypocrisy Knows No Limits!

Ranting seems to be popular these days so I think I’ll take a stab at it. 

There are those times when a person just needs to vent. Today is one of those times so please indulge me and forgive me if you can. Here goes . . .

The other day I was playing golf with an old Navy buddy of mine whom I have known for a long time. We have sailed the high seas together and been in some dangerous places together. We've played a lit of golf together as well.

At some point in the round the topic of politics came up, as it always does. 

Our discussions are friendly in spite of the fact that we are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. But this time my good friend made a statement that really raised my eyebrows. 

He said and I paraphrase due to my own geratic memory deficiency: 

“I could never forgive Hillary for what she did to our Embassy folks in Benghazi.” 

That ended our political discussion for that round of golf and I’m certain we’ll continue the next time we play.

I cannot count the number of times I have heard people criticize Hillary Clinton for the Benghazi disaster. Of course it was tragic to lose the lives of fellow Americans in such a way and I do hope my rant is not perceived as my belittling their deaths. It is not!

But let’s get real, shall we? 

Let’s compare what happened in Benghazi to what happened on 9/11. Four precious souls lost their lives in Benghazi. 

That’s bad enough for sure and there’s an unwritten rule that states that someone needs to be punished for such a disaster. A Scapegoat is needed to satisfy America’s need for justice and revenge. I get that, I really do although I don't always agree with it. 

From my perspective we all make mistakes and imparting grace is much more generative than scapegoating.

Yet Hillary Clinton seems to have been the prime candidate for blame regarding Benghazi. She is still haunted by that unfortunate tragedy that occurred on her watch as Secretary of State.

Now not so long ago, on a clear September morning the United States of America was attacked in what is now simply referred to as “9/11”. The scope of this national tragedy far exceeds that of Benghazi in terms of the several thousands of innocent lives killed that day and the estimated cost of about $178 billion in property damage and economic consequences.

9/11 changed us as Americans. It contributed to a national obsession with fear that still persists today. It helped create a hard edge on the American soul that is easily detectable in ways we Americans relate to one another and others in the world. 

America sensed her own vulnerability for the very first time in her short history and it unsettled us. 

In light of these horrific attacks on 9/11 historian Andrew Bacevich points out: 

“In the performance of their most fundamental mission—the Bush administration and the world’s largest and ostensibly most sophisticated national security apparatus failed utterly.”

In the days, weeks, and months following 9/11 not one U.S. official lost his or her job. Not one! Not one of those responsible for the security of our Homeland was fired or reprimanded. Not one!

Not one U.S. official was called on the carpet. No special congressional hearings were conducted to determine who might be responsible for the attacks. At least not anyone I am aware of.

Heads rolled following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor but not as the result of the most unprecedented tragedy ever to occur on American soil. Not one! Nada!

And if the hypocrisy of the GOP isn't blatant enough over this, 15 of the 19 young men who attacked the Untied States on 9/11 were Saudi Arabians, yet the Bush administration simply turned a blind eye to this fact. Sometimes I suppose political expediency and hypocrisy move in the same circles.

After two of the most protracted wars in U.S. history as the result of this administration’s apparent security failures Republicans are still calling for Hillary’s head. Unbelievable!

So here’s my rant for the summer: 

Hypocrisy knows no limits!

I’m done. 

Calling a Spade a Spade (Part 2)

To lament is to expose anything that stands in the way of our thriving and living as full human beings.

Lamenting is more than just complaining or grieving. Author Rob Bell claims that lamenting is “the fierce and fearless naming of what’s wrong.”

My experience tells me that there is plenty in life about which we all can lament. There is indeed quite a lot that happens to most of us that should compel us to lament.

So here’s the deal: Psalm 88 is a Psalm of Lament. Lamenting is good for the soul! It is a healthy person who has learned the art of lamenting, of naming what is wrong in one’s life, of what’s out of order in one’s life that is preventing that person from thriving.

Even as a nation we need to learn to lament in all the healthy ways evidenced in the Scriptures. To name and call out the things that is standing in the way of our thriving as a nation.

Do you remember the early days following the attacks on 9/11? In fact on the very day that 9/11 occurred songwriter Alan Jackson wrote a very thoughtful and reflective song entitled: “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?” Jackson’s hit song was a lament that America needed to hear at that time. 

Shortly thereafter Toby Keith wrote another lament that was filled with anger: “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (the Angry American).” Both songs, one reflective and sad the other filled with anger, rage, and revenge can be helpful in healing a broken and battered nation. 

When we lament as individuals and as a nation we are demonstrating our willingness to befriend the darkness that is all around us, even within each of us. 

And herein lies the problem with our ability to lament. We fear the darkness that dwells in each of us. We resist darkness. We run from darkness believing it to be too demonic for human consumption.

But let’s remember the final words of the Psalmist: 

“Darkness is my closest friend.”

How can darkness be my friend you ask? 

Well befriending the darkness within us and around us is in fact learning to lament in a healthy way.

Alcoholics in recovery for example have learned to lament in ways that bring sanity and health back into their lives. The very first thing they learn to lament over is the fact that they have no control whatsoever over their addiction. Anyone who is in a twelve-step program understands that healing and sobriety will not come unless the darkness of addiction is named and exposed and that one’s addiction thrives in the darkness of the human soul.

As a nation we will never heal from our past sins unless we are willing to lament in healthy ways: To name the things that we are collectively ashamed of and want to keep hidden and expose them for what they are. 

Look, lamenting is hard work. It takes boldness and courage to name the things that is wrong, that are out of order in God’s world anf in our lives that stand in our way of thriving.

You and I will never thrive as full human being until we learn to lament in healthy ways; to call out those things that are preventing us from thriving as full human beings. Can you name what those things are in your life? Are you willing to lament over them, calling them out and exposing them to the light of the Gospel?

As a nation are we willing to lament over the things that are wrong and are out of order and preventing us from thriving in the world? 

Okay I’m going to wind all this up. In some ways Alan Jackson and Toby Keith taught our nation to lament in order to begin the process of healing both as individuals and as a nation. 

But know this: all lamenting has a shelf life. 

Those songs of lament served a greater purpose but are no longer valid laments fifteen years later. We need new songs. New laments. Fresh laments. But we also need to allow our lamenting to become praises unto God.

Psalm 89 is another Psalm of lament. It is filled with anger and rage against God. In fact the Psalmist offends most of us by calling God a liar. He had to in order to heal. He had to be so brazen and bold before God. God can take it friends. He can handle our laments no matter how vicious they can be. 

But please notice the last line of Psalm 89: 

“Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.”

After all the ferocious lamenting against God the Psalmist finally came to the place of praise and worship of a faithful and loving God. His spirit was healed within him. His place of darkness became his brightest light. He discovered grace. He discovered the salvation of healing from God. Darkness was no longer his enemy; it became his friend.

To lament is to be fully human in every way. To befriend the darkness is as important for us as befriending the light. This is living as full human beings.

Calling a Spade a Spade (part 1)

In his new book, The Sin of Certainty, author Peter Enns suggests that we never seem to read some parts of the Bible in church, but we should. This 88th Psalm (the 89th as well) is one of those passages that rarely sees the light of day in public worship, but it is one that we need to resurrect from the darkness of exile simply because it can teach us so much about what it means to be fully human.

Speaking of what it means to be fully human, I believe this is one of the bigger reasons Jesus came in the first place. Jesus did not come primarily to rescue us from this life but rather to teach us by word and example what it means to be a full human being. I’ll need to unpack this idea for you this morning so please be patient with me.

Those ancient Israelites, when they wrote and edited their Scriptures (the Old Testament), decided to give us the whole enchilada. That’s right, they didn’t delete or edit out all those messy, nasty, hard to understand parts of their national story; parts that most good Public Relations people would have never allowed to see the light of day, let alone become sacred Scriptures.

Those Hebrew authors and editors were brutally honest with the full facts of life. They were not concerned with the “optics” as politicians seem to be today. They didn’t seem to care that their story as God’s people was deeply flawed, imperfect, messy, and not a very flattering narrative. It was a compelling story but not a complimentary one for sure.

I am convinced that much of American History as we know it today is one of the greatest con acts of all time. We Americans want our national history to be sterile and unblemished. Yet one historian a few years ago wrote an unedited version of American history. His name was Howard Zinn.

The title of his work is A People’s History of The United States. Zinn wrote our national history from the point of view of America’s underbelly, or from the perspective of those oppressed.. It is not the version of American history we learned in school; it does, however, fill in the gaps intentionally left out by mainstream editors. Our school children deserve to know our history from this perspective as well. It is brutally honest to say the least.

Okay, my point is this; In a way similar to those ancient Israelites, if we don’t know our full history we will lose our ability to lament and if we can’t lament we can’t live fully as human beings. Let me explain what I mean by this.

Psalm 88 is a Psalm of Lament. It reminds us that the editors of the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms, were willing to make unflattering parts of their history a part of their sacred Scriptures. (National story) They became a part of their public worship in fact.

The author of Psalm 88 is not happy with God. He is not a happy camper by any means. Life is not all a bed of roses for him. His faith is conflicted, messy and filled with uncertainty. Truth is this Psalmist seems to be having what we might call today a “crisis of faith” and this does not make him a very joyful person.

In other words, as far as he is concerned God is not acting according to the popular script. God isn’t acting, as he should. God has gone offline and cannot be reached. This causes a crisis of faith for the Psalmist.

But wait a minute: Doesn’t this guy know that he himself isn’t acting very spiritual? Doesn’t he realize that he isn’t coming across as a very good Israelite with all this complaining to God about how his life has unraveled and is unfair?

Isn’t all this complaining a sign of a weak faith?

And then the Psalmist delivers his left hook: “Darkness is my closest friend.”

Now my guess is that this final lament creates some difficulty for us. It could have easily been edited out of our Bible but it wasn’t. The Psalmist is being a real human being. In fact there are voices of lament scattered throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments.

A number of Psalms are known as “Psalms of Lament.” Then there is the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes, both of which highlight the voices of lament of people struggling with their faith. Let’s not forget Jonah and his lament at the end of the story.

And if that isn’t enough to get our attention there is the voice of lament from Jesus himself as he hangs on the cross: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Earlier while praying in the garden he cried out in lament: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” These are words of lament.

So what is a lament and why is it important? Why is calling a spade a spade good for our soul?Why did the ancient Israelites and the Gospel writers believe it was crucial for them to include these voices of lament in our Bible? Why not just edit them out to make faith a bed of roses?

Part 2 has the answer to these questions. Stay tuned.

Image above is the Weeping Prophet Jeremiah.

Is America a Christian nation?

There is serious debate these days over whether the United States is a Christian nation. Of course not everyone agrees on this issue. Growing up in an Evangelical church I never once questioned the
assumption that God had blessed America like no other nation on earth, thus making her Christian. 

For me America was indisputably a Christian nation. For many she still is. I wonder.

We may have churches scattered all over the American landscape; we may have “In God We Trust” stamped on our money; there may be American Flags and Christian Flags bracketing the cross in houses of Christian worship; but does any of this make us a Christian nation?

Perhaps asking if America is a Christian nation is the wrong question to ask. 

Echoing the words of G.K. Chesterton, author John Shelby Spong offers a telling observation: 

“Perhaps we need to confront the possibility that Christianity hasn’t failed, as our critics constantly assert; the reality, I believe, is that Christianity has never been understood and thus has never rally been tried” (Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy).

In other words, it’s one thing to make the claim that one’s nation is in fact Christian, it’s quite another thing to make that claim stick with solid evidence. In fact, there is considerable evidence to the contrary.

Perhaps we would be on more solid ground were we to claim that America reflects some of the better Christian values rather than claiming she is unquestionably a Christian nation. I think perhaps we might be able to gather more telling evidence to support this less ambitious claim. Maybe.

But there is compelling evidence today that our nation continues to drift far from many of those endearing Christian values that some believe have made us a great nation. If the current presidential race hasn’t alarmed us that we as a nation are in serious trouble with our naive claim of being a Christian nation, then I suspect we are blinded by our own Laodicean heart—a heart characterized by its own lukewarmness. 

As Spong suggests, have we really misunderstood what Christianity is about? Have we mindlessly latched onto the Christian moniker without any serious thought as to what that might mean?

In 2007 a Christian pastor dared to question the notion that America was a Christian nation. He preached a series of sermons that later became a book entitled, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church.

To say the least Greg Boyd’s sermon series as well as his book were controversial. His conclusion was that America in fact is not a Christian nation, if one understands what being a Christian nation fully implies. Many of his church members bailed on him, angrily renouncing their church membership. 

Do I want my nation to be unapologetically Christian? Only if her leaders fully understand what it means to become a follower of Christ. Do I object that America is really nothing more than nominally Christian? Of course I do. 

America has not lost her way; she never quite found it in the first place. I know this is a hard pill for many Christians to swallow. Some will become angry with me for suggesting such a thing.

But history bears the truth given the opportunity to expose its true self. 

When thousands of American Christians jump on a political bandwagon that is built upon exclusion, fear, a disrespect for women and the poor, hatred for those who are different from us white folks, and promises to make America great again, I suspect there has been a horrible misunderstanding of what being a Christian really means, let alone being a Christian nation.

For many of these Christians the Gospels have been covered over by increasing layers of Nationalism and white supremacy. Fear has become the rallying point around which so many are placing their hopes on the aspirations of a white messiah whose messianic promises of greatness have garnered so much appeal to so many Christians. 

I fear for America’s soul. 

Not because she isn’t truly Christian, but rather because so many believe she is when there is no real evidence to support such a claim.

But more importantly I fear for our Nation's soul because so many are trusting the claims of a man whose promises are going to lead us to nothing but disillusionment and disappointment. False messiahs are a dime a dozen--history verifies this truth.

Time will tell if this is the case.

The Honey Badger Rides Again!

The Honey Badger doesn’t care! He’ll eat anything! He’ll fight anything! Honey Badgers are mean buggers! Fierce! Determined! Bull headed! Killers!

A couple years ago there was a video floating around on the net about Honey Badgers. It’s actually quite funny although the language is a bit acidic. But hey, I’ve heard sailors and Marines cuss so what’s the big deal, right?

Well guess what? There are Christian Honey Badgers as well. Not literally of course so if you take everything literally (especially in the Bible) then lighten up a bit.

We’ve all encountered Christian Honey Badgers from time to time.

You see Christian Honey Badgers have this incredible need to be right—about anything and everything. They measure your spiritually by whether you agree with them or not.

Christian Honey Badgers are great doctrine police. They are constantly checking you out to see if there are any holes in your belief system. They are relentless; they won’t give up until they are either proven right or you are proven wrong.

These human Honey Badgers are just as fierce as the real deal itself.

Christian Honey Badgers are lurking around every corner just waiting to engage you in a brutal debate over some fine point of Biblical interpretation, or theology, or how Christianity ought to respond to the so-called “cultural wars.”

I recall some years ago having my first encounter with a real live Christian Honey Badger.

This guy was as fierce a debater. He had all the answers and was immovable on any of his positions. He defended God like no other. He was one angry Honey Badger whose Christianity was all about being right! The word "Zealot" was a mild descriptor for this dude.

I will never forget the night he showed up at my door locked and loaded with a brand of Christianity and an image of God that would have made any real Honey Badger proud. He couldn’t wait to get into my house and attack me—and attack he did.

I was no match for him. I was an easy picking for this incredibly fierce defender of the Faith—his faith that is. I was not in this guy’s league for sure. It wasn’t that he was smarter than I am, but rather he was simply better at being a Honey Badger than I would ever be.

I suspected that he had attacked, chewed up, and spit out more unsuspecting Christians that one could count. I was just another notch in his Honey Badger belt.

I never saw that Honey Badger again after that night. I never really knew his name. He was just the Honey Badger to me. I also wish I hadn’t answered the doorbell that night.

Churches are full of Honey Badgers or I should say they have their fair share of them:

There are the protect-the-denomination-at-all-costs Honey Badgers, there are we’ve-never-done-it-that-way-before Honey Badgers, there are the worship-must-be-done-my-way Honey Badgers, there are the Bible-is-perfect Honey Badgers, there are the critique-the-sermon Honey Badgers, there are the traditional-music-only Honey Badgers, and of course there are the sexual purity Honey Badgers—you name it and there is a Honey Badger for it.

The Honey Badger makes the Church Lady look like Mother Teresa.

Here’s what you need to know about Christian Honey Badgers:

• You can’t win an argument with them so don’t try!

• They are not interested in listening to your point of view.

• They really don’t know it all yet they just think they do.

• They are really unhappy people (wouldn’t you be if you were a Honey badger?). 

• They want you to be as miserable as they are.

• They have a small and narrow comfort zone.

• They are joy killers.

• They want you to argue with them.

• They bite and it hurts.

So what do you do when a Honey Badger comes after you?

You run!!!!!!!

Really! It’s easier. Believe me. You can’t beat a Honey Badger.

Why would you want to in the first place?

Pop Music & Jesus

This morning I received an email from a friend who leads a contemporary music band in her church. She told me that she wanted to sing a “pop song with Christian lyrics” in Sunday’s worship service. 

She wanted my opinion on the matter.

One of her band members apparently objected citing the so-called “Regulative Principle.” I have to admit I had never heard of such a principle before, or if I had I had previously dismissed it. 

The basic idea is: We are not free to introduce things into worship that have no Biblical warrant. Below is the article she sent with her email.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-regulative-principle/

So all this raises some interesting questions for me:

Is it offensive to God that we might use music that was originally intended for secular audiences in Christian worship?

Where does one draw the hard line between what is sacred and what is secular?

Who draws this line?

What gives any act of worship “Biblical Warrant?” 

Is there Biblical Warrant for using bands with guitars, keyboards, and drums in church?  

Who then serves as the ultimate arbiter over what is Biblical worship and what isn’t?

Isn’t most of modern worship in American Churches reflective more of our cultural preferences or what we are used to than it is some assumed Biblical mandate? 

Finally, where in the Bible is there a gold standard explicitly outlined for Christian worship?

Quite frankly I find this kind of stuff exhausting. I would prefer to spend my energy on more important things, such as how to feed the poor or minister to the victims of sex trafficking or practicing justice in an unjust world. But that’s just me.

When I hear folks making such hard and fast claims about what one can or cannot do in worship (or anywhere else for that matter) I instantly duck. 

Really, these rules police would not have to look very long to find me guilty of violating some part of Scripture.

Perhaps we have yet to grasp the full meaning of the Good News or Gospel. Like those Jewish Christians in the Book of Acts who wanted all Gentile Christians to become Jews first by submitting to circumcision (Acts 15) we still want to insist that God’s grace is not quite enough to justify us.

We insist that there is something more we must do or not do in order to win God’s favor.

This is sick and toxic Christianity. It is not life giving. It leads to death.

Christianity is not a rules-based but rather a relational-based faith and this is predicated upon God’s grace and not upon any merit of our own.

But still we continue to insist that the rules are the rules and we must abide by them.

All I can say to these modern day Judaizers is this: Knock yourselves out trying to follow all the rules that are mostly made up by folks who need rules to make sense of and give order to their world.

For me God’s amazing grace is sufficient enough to provide all the warrant, Biblical or otherwise, I need to live faithfully and relationally with God. 

Once we get this we then see that there really are no hard lines between what is secular and what is sacred. All of creation is the sacred work of God and that includes the gift of writing music. 

All music is God’s music by virtue of the creation. 

One final thought: To live joyfully in relationship with God is to allow God’s grace to become the anchor of that relationship. Quit trying so hard to be religious, or spiritual, or even Christian. 

Enjoy the ride with God. It really is a matter of grace and not how many merit badges you can earn! 

You’ll feel a whole lot better about yourself. I know you will!

Calvinism Revisited

The words jumped off the age at me. Affirming words of confirmation! 

“You are of eternal worth.”

Okay in order for you to get a better sense of why these five amazing words are so significant for me let me digress a bit.

The year was 1978. I had just entered my first year if seminary and was settling in for a long three years plus of academic preparation for pastoral ministry. Then it happened: I met the guy who introduced me to a brand of the Christian faith known as Calvinism.

What I remember about him the most is that he was so sure of what he believed. His doctrinal system was constructed on the Calvinists acronym TULIP (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints).

The TULIP is a neat little acronym that represents the five points of Calvinism. 

I became what I call a half-baked Calvinist when I look back on my experience. I became a believer in some parts of Calvinism while also feeling really uneasy with other parts. 

I guess I was an ambivalent Calvinist for a long time. 

I happily embraced the Preservation of the Saints part of the TULIP, also known as the once-saved-always-saved understanding of salvation. But I was taught this from an early age in my former Baptist tradition, so this was nothing new for me.

Yet I could never quite swallow the idea that Jesus died only for the elect, or the saved. That just didn’t make any sense to me no matter how much my friend insisted that it did or how many Scripture verses he used to support this belief.

Does God have the right to choose whomever He wishes? Well I kind of suspended judgment on this, believing that God can do whatever He wishes to do. 

But does he?

Is Grace so irresistible that humans can’t say “no” to God? 

Whatever happened to the notion of free will?

Most Christians do not concern themselves with such theological intricacies as the TULIP! They love God and feel loved by God and that’s all that really matters, as well it should.

But the part of Calvinism that is relevant for this article is the Total Depravity part. 

The idea that we humans are totally depraved is taken to the extreme in many Calvinistic belief systems. Churchgoers are bombarded each Sunday with messages telling them how depraved, sinful, and wretched they are or how there is absolutely nothing good in them, producing incredible amounts of personal guilt.

Those who believe in Total Depravity insist that unsaved people can do no good because they are so corrupted by Sin.

So who wants to get beat up with such horrific messages each Sunday? Who wants to sit in church for an hour and sing hymns and listen to liturgies and sermons telling folks how sinful they are and all they have to do is say some formulaic prayer and suddenly their lives become meaningful to God?

Or who wants to pray a prayer of confession each and every Sunday? I thought Jesus’ death on the Cross took care of my sins?

“You are of eternal worth.”

What if each and every life really does matter?

Well actually each and every life does matter to God and is of incredible value to Him. How can I make this claim?

Because the method God uses to measure the value of every living human is grace! This is so different from the ways we humans measure value in other human lives.

So when I attend church now I prefer to hear a message espousing how blessed we are, whether we are saved or not. I want to worship a God who is big enough to value each and every person sitting in that place of worship. I want a God who values all people, including people from other faith traditions (yes even Muslims).

Yes we are of eternal worth to God. Each of us is created in God’s image and we have this incredible potential to live our lives as God intends for them to be lived. No magic prayers necessary, no denominational criteria required, no churchy hoops to jump through, and no belief systems to embrace.

Your value to God is not in what brand of Christianity you profess, or what political party you support, or what nation you pledge allegiance to, or what the color of your skin is, or on what part of the economic ladder you currently are, or how much education you have, or whether you live in a gated community or in government subsidized housing.

Your value is grounded in the unconditional love and grace of God. 

Period!

Trust God for the value you possess in the His eyes. 

Stephen Hulsey: Praying to a God Who is Present!

Stephen Hulsey: Praying to a God Who is Present!: “If I hear one more person say, ‘I believe in the power of prayer’ I just might blow a gasket!” Okay, before you hit the delete butt...

Praying to a God Who is Present!

“If I hear one more person say, ‘I believe in the power of prayer’ I just might blow a gasket!”

Okay, before you hit the delete button let me explain why I once said this:

What does believing in the power of prayer really mean? When someone makes such a claim what are we to understand it to mean? Is it?

“God will give me what I ask for?”

“God will respond to my prayer in ways I want Him to respond?”

“God will heal my cancer upon request?”

“God will make my medical tests tomorrow show negative results.”

“God will fix my troubled marriage if I ask him?”

“God will cure my spouse’s alcoholism if I pray hard enough?”

“God will help me pay my bills it if I pray in faith.”

Most of the prayers I’ve said in church as a pastor and many I’ve heard others pray in church are really childlike prayers that are directed to a God who lives somewhere else in this expanding universe.

That’s right, I confess: I prayed for so long, even as a pastor, like God was somewhere else waiting on my requests.

This kind of praying no longer works for me anymore.

In fact I haven’t prayed this way in a good while. I pray of course, but not like a child asking Santa Clause to give me what I want (or even need).

You see I no longer believe in what is called a “Theistic” God, meaning that God is some Divine Being who resides separately outside of my earth experience and may or may not intervene in my life based on the sincerity or faithfulness of my prayers. 

It is time to put this image of God to bed.

God is not Santa Clause. He is not some fickle Deity who exists in some far off heaven listening to my prayers and making decisions on whether He should answer my prayers or not. 

This was the God of my childhood but as St. Paul so cleverly said: “When I became an adult I put an end to childish ways.”

Of course one’s understanding of God will determine how one prays for sure. So much prayer in churches today reflects a childlike understanding of God: A Being sitting behind a cosmic computer punching all the right keys based on our prayers and His decision on how to answer those prayers.

But when our image of God changes our method of praying changes as well. I no longer envision God up there (wherever “up there” is) but rather right here in our midst. “He is closer to us than we are to ourselves” as the old saying goes.

Paul was reported to have told the Athenians: “In him we move, and live, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Theologians today refer to this understanding of God as “panentheism.” Stick with me now, it only gets better.

Panentheism is a combination of three Geek words: pan-en-theism. Pan meaning everywhere or all around, en meaning in, and theism meaning God. A homemade definition of panentheism means this: 

God lives in the heart and soul of His creation. 

If this is true, and it is for me, then praying is an exercise that can take place even without words. Mature praying is letting go and letting God! Prayer is being connected to the Divine presence within your heart and soul. This connection does not need words to coexist.

Prayer is making that human/Divine connection as an act of trust. 

Prayer is more an act of trusting than it is talking to God. 

Yet for many talking is the only way they know how to pray. That’s okay because this is what we have been taught as children of the faith.

I don’t pray like I used to. I rarely use words. They are not needed. Often times they simply get in the way between God and me.

I’ve quit asking God for this and that. God is not a cosmic vending machine into which I place a coin (verbal prayer) and select what I want.

What is the power of prayer? Well, it certainly isn’t what many think it is and what I thought it was for such a long time.

Prayer receives its power in the dynamic between my life and the life of God within me. When the two connect my prayers are effective, transformative, and life giving. 

This is the power of prayer. This is the kind of praying I want in church. Adultlike praying that is grounded in radical trust. This is transformative praying rather than transactional praying. 

When you pray just be with God. Rest in Him. Trust Him. Connect with Him!