This is your life...or some thoughts on re-engaging culture

My written notes for the presentation I gave while in Fairbanks:


Some thoughts on re-engaging culture:

We're often caught in a bit of a dichotomy in how we set out to interact with our culture. We struggle to balance the idea of "meet people where they are" with "be in the world but not of the world." If you're anything like me you probably are constantly asking yourself what that even means in the context of your life. Am I being "of the world" if I go out to a bar to meet some friends or to the movies or to a rock concert? For me the answer is no, but the Christian community has often been very much the opposite. Unless It's a Christian branded version of those things then you shouldn't participate. Only do things with other Christians so that the world doesn't drag you down. Stay inside the bubble. It may seem I'm exaggerating a bit, and probably am, but over the last 30 years it really is how Christians in general have migrated and built this isolated culture that has grown to somewhat mammoth proportions. This sprang out of the ideas of attractional ministry and building programs and myriad methods for reaching the people once we get them through the door, but it was also reactionary to what was seen as a decline in the world around them.

This idea of a segregated individual pocket was not at all what was intended by the exhortation to be in the world not of it, and when we look at how Jesus interacted with the world around Him we can see that being separate and waiting for the world to come to Him was not at all what he had in mind. Word of mouth spread and lots of people heard about Him and were intrigued enough to look for Him to hear Him speak or seek healing, but Jesus wasn't just holed up in a single synagogue waiting for their arrival. He was out traveling the countryside and visiting the region, teaching His followers and everyone He met about the Father and His kingdom. Jesus wasn't looking to create a separate identity for those that followed and believed in Him but rather a fulfillment of their true identity. In the same way, He wasn't looking to segregate the people out of their culture but to transform it from the inside. Jesus wasn't afraid that the world around Him was going to infect Him....He was called a friend of sinners by the religious leaders. They were so caught up in their own rules that they missed the point of what God was after - relationship. It was this that Jesus came to model and He went to those that needed it; and then He commissioned those that believe to follow the same path.

So what does that mean for us? For starters, we have to put away the "field of dreams" mentality and stop waiting for the world to come to us - we have to go out to them. Does that mean everyone needs to abandon their work and dreams and ship off to another country to be a full time missionary? Not at all! I am in no way saying that being a missionary in a foreign country isn't something worthwhile or amazing but I would challenge the idea that impacting those around you for Christ means being somewhere different from where you already are. In the same manner, it also doesn't mean that you should all have to be a pastor or teacher at your church to be sharing the good news of the gospel. 95% of us are not called to be in "full-time ministry" positions but I would again challenge the idea that being in ministry means teaching at church or leading a bible study or running a prayer meeting is all there is to it. Those things are part of it sure, but you're engaged in ministry every time you interact with the world around you. God is not expecting you to give up your dreams or careers or the things He blessed you with the talent to do; He wants to see you blossom in those things and use them to glorify Him! He has gifted you with those dreams and talents to provide you with ways to impact the culture you are a part of. He doesn't need a separate pocket of people who are only interacting with each other and using a lure to try and entice people to join; He wants to see all people reconciled to Him and to be in relationship with them and that can only happen if we are making the effort to meet them where they are. That means going out to a bar to meet a friend who's having a rough time or going to a family event to celebrate even though you're the only Believer in the group. It means talking to your neighbors and coworkers even though their lifestyles are not the same as yours. We cannot sit back and wait for them to be ready. We have to go and we have to be a part of their lives....because more than anything else people want to feel like they matter and that they are valued. It's not just random street corner evangelism or revival meetings...those things can be valid...but getting involved in people's lives, no matter how messy, and loving them and pointing the way to Jesus by our actions and sometimes our words. Bottom line: to truly impact your culture you have to be a part of it and influence it from the inside, you can't pull up the stakes and retreat to the sanitized bubble and wait for the end to come.

There's a Resurrection underway...or the essence of Peter

I've been thinking about Peter's story for awhile....it's one I relate to in my own journey of following Christ...I so often go back and forth between bold proclamations of undying devotion and bitter denial...I think in some ways we all do...it is the constancy of the struggle we have to push beyond the flesh we want to leave behind....anyway I thought I would share a new piece and find it appropriate to do so on this wonderful Easter Sunday...

It started with the fish and a spirit crying out

longing to be filled with revolution and redemption

We'd read the prophets and followed John in the desert

we could sense something was coming

and then He was there calling to us

asking us to follow Him

We left our nets there on the beach

and wandered off into a new adventure

Three years in and things have been a whirlwind

so many wonders these eyes have seen

and I couldn't even begin to tell you them all

I sometimes scarce believe them myself

and yet I know deep within that everything He's taught

is the embodiment of truth and righteousness

It strikes me in those moments

The divinity of my Lord

and I wonder when He will finally reveal Himself

to everyone and purge our land of these oppressors

Tonight there's an uncertainty hanging in the air

covering our somber meal while He talks about his impending death

There is mention of betrayal, abandonment

but surely He can't mean me

yet He tells me of the onrushing denial

three times and the rooster song

Steadfast I hold to my proclamation

and we retire to the evening prayer

Roused from our unexpected dreams

greeted by the forewarned betrayal

by one of our own

anger and rage welling up within me

and my sword lashes out

to protect my Lord

yet He will not have it

He continues to proclaim events

are unfolding as they must

and we all scatter in fear and disbelief

bringing our dinner conversation

into the light

I cannot let this lie

circling back in the shadows

to watch as they take Him

into the proverbial lion's den

where hungry jackals wait

to pick his bones with the teeth

of their envy

Faces coming into view

questioning me while I try to remain apart

marking me as one of His men

I deny each one more fervently than the last

and on the third I see His eyes upon me

as the rooster song fills my ears

His words thundering in my mind

Turning away at a dead run

molten torrents of tears

carving down my face as my body

is wracked with bitter sobs

The day drags on and the crowds have gathered

covering Golgotha to see this execution

My disbelief can hardly be contained

Why has my Lord allowed this to happen?

I can hear the pounding hammer and the throaty screams

the result of nails piercing flesh and bone

and they raise Him up

hanging on this tree between two thieves

breathing prayers of forgiveness to the very last

Confusion clouds my thoughts

and we run

Three days in and things look bleak

none of us know what comes next

our world is shattered

our Lord is gone

When Mary burst in with incredible news

I could hardly believe it

We ran to the tomb

He was nowhere to be found

and His words flooded in

He is risen...could it be?

Back to the fishing nets, to what I know

maybe the adventure was just for a little while

but the fish will always be there

even if none appear to be available for the catch

Yet someone calls from the shore

"Throw your nets to the other side"

resulting in more fish than can be hauled

and I know my Lord is there

swimming for my life

in a rush to greet Him

A meal prepared to share

as was always our way

and He asks me of my love and devotion

Three times I answer

and feel the warmth of restoration

So many years have passed since then

so many trials we've faced and miracles we've seen

The revolution we craved but never really understood

is now engulfing the world

A revolution of the heart and mind

A rebellion against the power of eternal death

which forever lost its grip that black Calvary day

our Lord Jesus reclaimed the keys

and restored creation to its rightful path

I am old now and the oppressors have finally

pronounced my sentence

They are leading me now to that place

and I see the instrument of my demise

wooden crossbeams gnarled and splintered

tied and stretched out

yet I will not let them set me upright

I am not worthy to die like my Lord

hang me upside down