A great work on missions

After spending more than 20 years as a missionary in India, Lesslie Newbigin returned to England to discover himself a stranger in a strange land.

Things he had never seen before in his own culture stood out now like a sore thumb--and sorely in need of change.

Coming particularly from the point of view of a Christian missionary, Newbigin's culture shock brought him to some discoveries about missions and the nature of the Gospel that shaped much of his writing.

Most of his books focus on subjects related to culture and kingdom. In fact, Newbigin's insights have influenced me a great deal, even to the naming of this blog--but that's another story.

I'm working on two of Newbigin's books: The Gospel in a Pluralist Society and Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture.

Both of these works give excellent insights into the true nature of a 21st century missionary. I was first turned on to Newbigin by a network of church planting churches I am a part of, called Acts 29. I've since seen threads of Newbigin's ideas running backwards into teachers and pastors I respect and admire, which I take as confirmation of being "on the right track."

For example, for anyone who has heard of Van Til's presuppositionalism, Newbigin does a very solid job of laying out the principles of the transcendental argument, and an apologetic that both engages, and challenges, significant non-biblical ideologies.

What makes Newbigin worth reading, though, is that he challenges significant so-called biblical ideologies as well.

There are a lot of us that need coverting to Jesus, in the end, aren't there?

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Christian Rock Hard

A couple of years ago (Feb 2005), Kenneth Yu writes a helpful summary of an episode of South Park that parodies the Contemporary Christian Music scene:

In Christian Hard Rock, Cartman concocts another scam in an effort to win yet another bet with Kyle. This time round, the challenge takes the form of who will first earn a platinum record. Cartman decides that the fastest way to achieve that is to break into Christian rock. The formula of imitation is ludicrous, which in his words, is to "take regular old songs, and add Jesus stuff to them". Hence, we have such lyrics as "I need you in my life, Jesus" and "I just can't live with you, Jesus" in place of terms of affection like "babe" and "darling". Unfortunately, the parody hits closer to home than one cares to admit. As the faith it represents transcends new grounds beyond the layer of judgmental fundamentalism, its music still has a lot of catching up to do.

It is hard to believe now, in today's cultural scene, that Amy Grant took flak in 1986 for a song which made no explicit reference to God ("Find a Way" on Unguarded) or, even worse, for later releasing an album on a "secular" label (Heart in Motion, 1991).

(Thanks to the St. James Encyclopaedia of Pop Culture for reminding me of these dates and song titles, and for Google's cacheing old articles!)

What was seen then (and perhaps now, by some still) as a compromise in fact represented a holy rebellion against bad art for the sake of the "not much better" message.

Now, almost 20 years later, so much has changed. Thanks to a number of cultural developments, the Church is growing up. No longer content with "seeker sensitive," she is thinking more about mission.

Some of the same controversy remains in worship debates, but in terms of popular music, many understand today what seemed obscure two decades ago: our faith ought to compel us to hate bad art, not baptize it with an explicit "message" about God.

Perhaps better than any other recent band in the genre of "Christian but Mainstream," Relient K typifies this new paradigm. They make good music, enjoy doing it, and along the way, here and there, we discover a parable-like quality to their poetry that connects people to transcendence across the religious spectrum. That includes Christians who are tired of platitudes.

Part of that "connecting" includes the element of surprise.

With their most recent release, Five Score and Seven Years Ago (March 2007), Relient K does a great job of

5 Score and Seven

An analysis by one music critic gives this explanation:

Infatuation is viewed through a fisheye lens in "Faking My Own Suicide," wherein the narrator (with a wink and a nod to the classic 1970's comedy Harold and Maude) fantasizes about faking a suicide attempt to gain the attention—and affection—of his dream girl.

Maybe the folks don't get it because they've not seen the film?

In any event, everyone agrees though that this song is typical of a band who likes to defy expectations with their work. Hmm. Seems like another Teacher taught in unexpected ways as well.

"Why is the Rabbi speaking with a woman?" or "Why do you heal on the Sabbath?" or "Why are you in a Tax Collector's home?" How about, "If the Rabbi knew she was a sinner, He wouldn't let her touch him."

Behind all of Jesus' surprises is a Big Story that shows a God of the upside down: raising up sinners, exalting rejects, beautifying the ugly, and...those who are in power and prestige are left holding the bag. And its empty.

Here are the lyrics to that song. Can you find the Big Story in these?

Faking My Own Suicide

So I've made up my mind
I will pretend
To leave this world behind
And in the end
You'll know I've lied
To get your attention
I'm faking my own suicide

I'm faking my own suicide
Because I know you love me
You just haven't realized
I'm faking my own suicide
They'll hold a double funeral
Because a part of you will die
Along with me

Wish you thought that I was dead
So rather than me
You'd be depressed instead
And before arriving at my grave
You'd come to the conclusion
You've loved me all your days
But it's too late
Too late for you to say

Because I'm faking my own suicide
Because I know you love me
You just haven't realized
I'm faking my own suicide
They'll hold a double funeral

Because a part of you will die
Along with me

I'll write you a letter that
You'll keep
Reminding you your love for me
Is more than six feet deep
You say aloud that you
Would've been my wife
Right about that time
Is when I come back to life
And let you know
I'd let you know (whooaa)

I was faking my own suicide
Because I know you loved me
You just never realized
I was faking my own suicide
I'll walk in that room and
See your eyes open so wide
I've been so lost
Because you know
Because you know
You will never leave my sight
(you will never leave my sight)
Until the day that I die for the first time
(until I die for the first time)
And we'll laugh, yeah we'll laugh
And we will cry
So overjoyed with the love
That saved my life
Our love is so alive

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To welcome December and the Advent Season, a meditation on the Incarnation seems apt. This one is provided for us by C. S. Lewis, who, musing on the nature of God says...

All three persons of the Trinity are declared ‘incomprehensible.’ God is pronounced ‘inexpressible, unthinkable, invisible to all created beings.’ The Second Person is not only bodiless but so unlike man that if self-revelation had been His sole purpose He would not have chosen to be incarnate in a human form. (C. S. Lewis, Miracles, chapter 10, “Horrid Red Things,” page 77)

Now think about the implications of this truth for our lives. Those who claim to follow Jesus should perhaps remember the saying, "You are the only Jesus some people will ever see." Try turning the incarnation from a noun (something to see) to a verb (something to do). God's Incarnation redeems. As we incarnate God to others, they are, by God's grace, redeemed.

Merry Christmas world!

How can you bring the good news of the Incarnation to others this season?

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One business commentator I like, Dale Dauten, aka the Corporate Curmudgeon, wrote in his column this past week of the art and science of conversations.

The Conversation

What is Ryssdal's advice on how to have a great conversation? Stay away from "yes" or "no" questions and be persistent in keeping the conversation going.

Dauten at this point recalls a line from a 1974 movie, The Conversation, in which Gene Hackman plays a surveillance expert whose job it is to listen in on conversations. I've not seen the film, but I like this quote.

"At one point," Dauten writes, "Harrison Ford's character tells him: 'I'm not following you, I'm looking for you. There's a big difference.'"

By analogy, I think, in evangelism, God calls us to not simply follow someone in a conversation. We need to know "Who is this person, how has God made them? What makes them tick?"

I believe this is the secret for relationship building and  for finding opportunities to enter into people's spiritual lives to point them to Jesus. You must LOOK for the other person. When you find him or her, you're in a good position to show and tell them the good news.

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FOM

Here you'll find a list of qualities of a missional church, as well as those which do not characterize a missional church. Some I agree with; some I do not.

For example, one quality of the missional church is that it is an alternative community. If it is in fact true that the Church is to be an alternative community, not one that simply "mimics" the surrounding culture, does that mean we're going to wear black cotton clothes with no buttons or zippers?

How alternative does a missional community need to be before it is unrecognizable as such?

Another example of this kind of loose reasoning is this bit by Horrox, the author of an article commending the views of prominent missional author, Darrell Guder:

[In the missional church,] [n]ew yardsticks would be the norm: To what extent is our church a 'sent' community in which each believer is reaching out to his community? To what extent is our church impacting the community with a Christian message that challenges the values of our secular society? (click here for the full article)

That makes sense; an alternative community will challenge the secular society. However, is this not just another version of the fundamentalist retreat we weathered over the past century?

Likewise, in articulating distinctions, a "friend of missional" will move from professional to passionate. Since when are passionate disciples less than excellent in their kingdom ministry? The kind of "mission" that I imagine God sending out His disciples for is not "amateur hour."

So, as with most movements, "friend of missional" has in places been tempted to substitute slogans for substance.

A better path, I think, is to signify concretely, not just in terms of epigrams, what the Church ought to be doing in this generation in light of a carefully articulated foundation.

Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton

Such a conversation with history was part of the motivation of the famous thinker and writer, G.K. Chesterton's conversion to Roman Catholicism last century, and while he may not have chosen the "better part," he has laid out a path for us to follow in the current missional church discussion.

Chesterton might have said, in this case (a favorite quote of his):

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around." - Orthodoxy, 1908 (Quote from here.)

This sounds to me like missional church Chesterton style. Ancient modern. Relevant. Historic. What are we waiting for? Let 's get started!

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Jesus' Seamless Robe

The church is largely misunderstood in today's world. Most folks who are not part of the Church don't wake up Sunday mornings thinking, "Gosh, I think I really should go to church today!" This reality is part of what leads many to conclude that evangelism has as its heart the building of relationships.

Along with this relational orientation of the average unbeliever, or "spiritual but not religious individual," it should go without saying that distinctions among different flavors of Christianity are difficult to grasp. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism--seem like odd, intramural debates to the average person.

Not that the things which distinguish these three great Christian traditions are irrelevant or meaningless. But, it presents a credibility issue. And we're not even talking about different strands within Protestantism, or, dare I mention, strands within the reformed movement of the Protestant world.

All this paints a giant canvas of unintelligibility for many in our society, one in which traditional Christian and Protestant assumptions are no longer valid.

This leads some thinkers and strategists in the church planting world to think and talk in terms of Christians in this country being forced to live more like missionaries than like people at home. As individual Christians live like missionaries, the churches they are a part of become less part of the establishment, and more like missionary outposts in the midst of an alien culture. Such churches are MISSIONAL.

Van Til is famous for articulating a robust viewpoint of common grace; that is, non-saving goodness of God that reflects the Father's orientation of the mercy "of delay" in this season when the People of God await the final consummation of the Ages. Judgement is coming, but this is an age when the rain "falls on the just and on the unjust."

So, when gathering together a new faith community--when church planting--it is important that the stout theology reformed Christians are known for is more like the skeleton of a beautiful figure than the armor on a warrior. It is what gives form and structure to our whole beings, rather than what people have to penetrate in order to find out who we really are as persons.

I think of this as Calvinism without the seams. That being so, let's get dressed!

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