Reformission #5: "going to seminary at the grocery store"

Acts 17 is a classic missions passage. It shows how Paul takes the countless gods in Athens, particularly "the unknown god," and uses them to point to the One True God revealed in Jesus. Paul didn't take the time to refute everything that was wrong with their religion - though he certainly confronted culture. He used what was there to point them to the truth. He was opportunistic with cultural opportunities, including quoting some Greek poets. Driscoll states, "In our day, this would be akin to unearthing partial truths about God from a culture's film, music, comedy, sports, literature, theater, philosophy, economics, medicine, or politics and working from those truths to the truth of Jesus as the ultimate answer to all human questions and cultural problems" (p. 121).

After discussing some of the erroneous views of Christians in culture - that all culture is bad and we need to flee it (we need to avoid loving the world - wordliness - but culture itself is a mixed bag), Driscoll reminds us that God's people have often lived in exile ... pilgrims. This world is not our home, but we are called to love it and transform it because God loves it and wants it transformed.

In short, we need to wade into our culture and look amid the mixed messages we see around us to find, and affirm, truth. I'm not a real edgy movie guy. Not much of a movie guy at all, to be honest. But I heard a speaker at a camp tell about how Crash is a great movie that will move people closer to God than a sermon. I watched it. It has a ton of stuff you don't want to see - disturbing language, images, and everything. And it is, in my mind, a tremendous picture of humanity. It doesn't so much tell us about our Savior as it shows us our need for one. The people I started out liking in the film ended up being "less than perfect," at the end. And the ones who were rotten at the beginning had some redemptive qualities near the end. A powerful picture, in my mind, of humankind created in the Image of God, but corrupted through sin. I'm sure there's many more connections between the gospel and culture if I was better attuned to it.

Driscoll's questions (prepare to be challenged ... and maybe offended)...

• Try shopping at a new grocery store, reading magazines (especially their ads) you would never pick up (middle-aged male plumbers could read Cosmo Girl), listening to new music (Christian-pop fans would do well to tune into the hardcore station), listening to new teachers (Christian-radio fans should tune into a sexual talk program like Tom Leykis or Howard Stern), and watching a movie you normally would not.

  During the week, make an effort to learn from the people whom you encounter in public settings, such as the bank teller or grocery store clerk. Simply ask them what they've learned about people after interacting with so many. You will find that they are a wealth of insight.

  Most important, speak with lost people who are not like you, not for the purpose of converting them but rather for the purpose of learning what life is like for them in their culture.

  After you have undergone your reformission refocus and have returned to your normal routine, ask the following questions about your culture, including your Christian culture. If youa re reading this book as a part of a group experience, your group may find it helpful to share your answers to these questions.

  Where do people spend their time and money?

  What do people do during their free time?

  What do they fear?

  What do they dream about?

  Where do they shop?

  What cultural experiences do they value?

  What are the most painful experiences they have had?

  What music do they listen to?

  What film and TV do they watch?

  What do they find humorous?

  In what ways are they self-righteous?

  What do they read?

  What is their spirituality?

  Whom do they trust? Why?

  What do they think about the gospel?

  What sins will the gospel first confront and then heal for these people?

What do you think?

Reformission #4b: "Elvis and Eden" - evaluating culture

Post "Reformission #4a" talked about ways to evaluate culture in terms of thoughts, values, and experiences. Now Driscoll tackles high culture, folk culture, and pop culture. You probably have a good idea of what these mean. What's more important is what they mean for the church and its mission. Are you trying to do a ministry that is pop culture oriented when your culture is folk - sometimes the anti-pop culture? Good luck with that. Or are you doing "high culture" church in a pop culture area? These are things worth thinking through if your church is on mission.

What I want to talk about more in this post is Driscoll's discussion of universal Sins and particular sins. Universal sins are the ones that are sins for everyone - sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, etc... (see 1 Cor. 6.9-10). Particular sins are the ones that might be sin for some, but not others. This is that area of weak and strong brothers and sisters. Driscoll states, "...in some areas, we all need to restrict our freedoms because of our weaknesses, while we are able to use our Christian liberty in areas which we are strong" (p. 102-103). This would be the idea that it would not be sin for someone to go into a bar, theoretically, but it may be sin for someone who has a weakness with alcohol - they are setting themselves up for a fall.

Driscoll offers the following ... Biblical Principles for Cultural Decision-Making

• Is it beneficial to me personally and to the gospel generally (1 Cor. 6.12)?
• Will I lose self-control and be mastered by what I participate in (1 Cor. 6.12)?
• Will I be doing this in the presence of someone I know will fall into sin as a result (1 Cor. 8.9-10)?
• Is it a violation of the laws of my city, state, or nation (Rom. 13.1-7)?
• If I fail to do this, will I lose opportunities to share the gospel (1 Cor. 10.27-30)?
• Can I do this with a clear conscience (Acts 24:16)?
• Will this cause me to sin by feeding sinful desires (Rom. 13.13-14)?
• Am I convinced this is what God desires for me to do (Rom. 13.5)?
• Does my participation proceed from my faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 14.23)?
• Am I doing this to help other people, or am I just being selfish (1 Cor. 10.24)?
• Can I do this in a way that glorifies God (1 Cor. 10.31-33)?
• Am I following the example of Jesus Chrsit to help save sinners (1 Cor. 10.33-11.1)?

This is me, not Driscoll: I like this list (I'm sure Driscoll does, too) because I often focus, when it comes to this discussion, on avoiding sin and enjoying the freedom we have in Christ. I don't look at it as opportunities for the gospel that might be lost if I don't exercise my freedom appropriately. That raises the stakes to making it about more than just me and my relationship with God - someone else's relationship with Him may be at stake, too.

Driscoll concludes this chapter by noting that we can't change culture through political structures, but through transformed lives. Culture, he says, is the megaphone of broken humanity's hearts. Hearts need to be transformed by the gospel, not the culture. Culture will be changed as there are more hearts changed within it.

Here's some more questions to chew on...

• Do you prefer high, folk, or pop culture? Does your church mediate the
  gospel primarily through high, folk, or pop culture? Where do high, folk,
  and pop culture exist in your local culture?
• For what issues in your culture do you need wisdom and discernment to
  understand? In what areas are you culturally weak? In what areas are
  you culturally strong? For you, what sins are particular sins, instead of
  universal sins?
• Do you have a new heart that loves God, hates sin, and causes you to become a
  new person more like Jesus? If so, in what ways has your new heart caused
  change in your life?
• In what ways have you or your church wrongly sought to change people's
  behavior (including your own) rather than first focusing on their hearts?
• In what ways have you or your church placed faith in institutions to change
  people at the expense of placing your faith in God and in God's working through
  you?

What do you think?

Enlightenment, "Candide," and Mission

Just finished Candide by Voltaire and it was a wee bit confusing for me -until I read some commentary on it. It was a pessimistic book, which confused me in light of Bosch's (Transforming Mission) summary of the Enlightenment being, among other things, high on optimism to confront issues and a general "faith in humankind." After reading some commentary, it makes sense that Voltaire is rejecting an optimistic view of the world, but embracing the concept that man should do what he can to "tend his garden" for a tolerable life. The key point is that it is up to man to make his own way.

Bosch shares the effects of the Enlightenment on Christianity and mission. I'll first deal with the faith in general, and then look at mission. 1) Reason is supremely important, making God obsolete. The effect of this was the focus on experience, privatize religion, make religion a science, form "Christian socieites," and then, ultimately, embrace secular society. 2) Strict separation between subject & object made its way to theology, not just science. This eliminated purpose, instead focusing on direct causality. Progress is also assumed (closely aligned with Western culture), including the idea that all problems were solvable. And finally, Bosch notes that each individual is "emancipated, autonomous."

Most interesting in this chapter was the implications for mission. The Puritan/Calvinistic motivation for mission was God's glory, but a shift came into play as the Enlightenment worldview began to hold sway. The motivation became more "anthropocentric," human-focused. Motivation shifted from God's glory to God's love for mankind to those perishing without the gospel to the social gospel (Bosch 284-286). This brief survey of gospel emphases was jarring to me. I think the church, despite all the talk about postmodernism, still has an Enlightenment foundation, at least the circles I've run in. I'm definitely more comfortable there, which is why I find myself reading a fair diet of emerging church stuff.

I hadn't thought of these emphases that Bosch brings out. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing - so long as the key elements of the gospel are there - sin, rescue through Jesus, and following Him.

I'm no Enlightenment, or even philosophical, scholar. If you have any insights, let's hear them. What do you think?

Young Adult Ministry (YAM): Fellowship

Thanks for a great night again at the Bujarski's. I enjoyed spending time getting to know some people in small groups that I didn't know as well. I hope you were encouraged in getting to know some people, too. Maybe you'll even invite some of your new Christian friends over to watch "Lord of the Rings!" We talked a lot about fellowship tonight. Feel free to share anything you'd like to add to the discussion, or where you need to grow in fellowship and what you're going to do about it this week.

I need to track down some more people and invite them to next Thursday. There are some people who weren't interested in the college group so I figure they wouldn't be interested in the YAM, either. This is a new thing so I need to get over it, and my own insecurity, and make sure I give them an invite on Sunday.

What about you? Where do you need to grow in fellowship?

Why "Weaver on Strategy"?

I was perhaps the worst elementary aged baseball player ever. No kidding. I think my batting average my first year was .039, .059, or .089. Whatever it was, if it starts with a zero, you're pretty rotten. I remember hitting the ball pretty hard to right field near the end of the season at the baseball field in Black Diamond - I think I closed my eyes on that one. It went for a triple. It probably would have been a homer, but it took me a minute to gather myself from the shock.

So why am I reading a baseball book? I really enjoy baseball, despite my nightmarish skills - or lack thereof. I thought it was the dullest game imaginable until my freshman year of college. My roomate was a good baseball player and was watching the postseason when we started at Central Washington University. I got sucked in to the great NLCS between the Pirates and the Braves, and then the Braves/Twins World Series. I'm a sucker for the underdog so the "worst to first" World Series was compelling.

But the stars really aligned in 1995 - when the rest of the world was bitter at baseball for cancelling the World Series. I was away from home going to school in the San Diego area and the box scores were always a nice, daily reminder of home. The Mariners were also decent that year, which, for Seattle fans, means .500-ish. And then the run came. They came back 13 or so games on the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels to win the AL West in a one game playoff - Randy Johnson beat Mark Langston, the man the Mariners traded a few years earlier to get Johnson. The Mariners won their first pennant in thrilling fashion, beat the hated Yankees in a five game playoff, after losing the first two in NY, and then, ultimately, fell to the Indians in six games in the ALCS. It hooked me. Now I try to read a baseball book every year (I got two in last year, though!).

I occasionally get lost in a site, www.ussmariner.com, where they get deep into baseball from non-traditional perspectives. They have a book list that I'm working through slowly. I just started Weaver on Strategy and it is incredibly commonsensical, but kind of boring. Not just because it is a little older and I don't know many of the players he talks about, but because he seems to be a pretty "hands-off" manager so far. He gets his players ready to play and lets them hit the ball. He doesn't dink around by giving outs away for bunts and what not, or stealing unnecessarily. He gets guys on and wants his big sticks swinging the bat. I look forward to reading more, but right now he sounds like the manager Billy Beane would be happy with based on Moneyball - my favorite baseball book (of the four I've read).

Any great suggestions on books I just gotta read about baseball?

Reformission #4a: "Elvis and Eden," evaluating culture, part 1

It has been hard to post daily so I’m going to try something new to have more, smaller posts. As I go through The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll, I’m going to spend a few posts on each chapter, instead of trying to summarize one chapter per post. It may be too drawn out, but it will be more manageable to do it regularly. I’m just not getting it done otherwise. So here goes…

Chapter 4 in Radical Reformission deals with culture and he begins with the Fall from Genesis 3. Driscoll states, “People create culture because God made them to fill, work, and keep the earth. But because of sin, the innate desire God has placed within us to create culture has become bent and crooked” (p. 93). I think that’s why I liked the movie Crash. Lots of pain and sin and evil – people are a mess, but these same people are capable of good and beauty, like each of us who make up culture.

Since culture is made up of people who are created in God’s image and yet fallen, it is something we need to evaluate. This section will deal with “how to evaluate culture: thoughts, values, and experiences”…

Much of what people do in culture is based on three things: thoughts, values, and experiences. Driscoll calls them “tribes.” Thoughts theoretically determine why we do things, thinking it is based upon a cognitive cause and effect. While it is a factor, Driscoll insists most people live contradictions – like when I cut out sugar to lose weight, but eat bags of chips and take multiple trips to various fast food joints.

Next is values, which are “widely assumed, but rarely articulated or defended” (p. 95). People can value independence or family or religious tradition. Driscoll says the way to uncover these values is to see what people spend their time, passion, and money on. The only trick here is that people can confuse ideals for values. Ideals are what you wish you did, values are what you do. Christians ideally read their Bible, but that doesn’t mean it is valued.

Finally, experiences shape people within culture. These experiences can be chosen, or thrust upon people. When we live closely within our culture and get clarity on these areas, we can see the obstacles and opportunities for the gospel.

“What are the dominant thoughts, values, and life experiences that have shaped you and your church? What are the similarities between your thoughts, values, and experiences and those of the average lost person in your culture?”

"Amazing Grace," ... how sweet the film

SPOILER ALERT … KIND OF … FOR AMAZING GRACE

I went with my lovely wife the other night – a couple of friends had our girls over for a slumber party (they’re either saints or marginally insane). We went to see Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was used of God to end the English slave trade in the early 1800s. He was torn between serving God in vocational ministry, or fighting the slave trade in Parlaiment. One of the most powerful moments to me was when a group of people told him, rightly, that serving God and working in Parlaiment to end the trafficking of human beings for labor fit together quite nicely. God has placed each of us in a particular place to make a difference for Him. Serving God and our vocation go hand in hand … it is how we honor God. Some do it in the “vocational” ministry while most pursue other vocations. “Vocation” is a key word, however. God has called us to be used wherever He has called us to do good in His name. Embrace your calling.

There’s other great moments and powerful thoughts (John Newton: “Two things I know. I am a great sinner. Christ is a great Savior.”).

There were no explosions or special effects, but it was a great film for showing what God can do through those who “do not weary in doing good” in His name. Try to get out and see it soon so Hollywood might put out more like it.

For more information on the film, go to http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/. And if God moves you to work on behalf of working against slavery today, go here: http://www.theamazingchange.com/.

Have fun at the movies,
Justin