Being Christian and Being a Disciple

I was attending a seminar and the thought came to me (either by the speaker, Brian McLaren, or the random firings of my brain) that being Christian can be approached the way people sometimes approach being an American.

If you think about it, what does it take to be an American? For most people, all it takes is being born on American soil or of American parents. At the most, the minimum requirements to being an American are a period of residence and passing a test to see if you know some basic facts about American, plus a pledge of allegiance to the nation.

While it would be nice if there were more to it, that really is all it takes to be considered an American. You really don't have to do anything else for the rest of your life to be considered an American.

I think there is a significant number of people who have a similar idea about being a Christian. Being Christian is something that you are born into, or at the most, when you have your confirmation of baptism, you pass a test and make a vow of allegiance.

And pretty much after that, while it would be nice to do more, the attitude becomes that you really don't have to do anything else for the rest of your life to consider yourself a Christian.

That certainly is not what Jesus intended for his followers. To be Christian is to pursue a life that become closer and closer to Christ so that your life is as nearly interchangeable with the life of Christ as is humanly possible.

Maybe what we should do is change the name we most use. The term "Christian" appears in the Bible only 3 times. The term "disciple" and its derivatives appear in the Bible 261 times (this one I did get for sure from Brian McLaren). That means, as far as I'm concerned, that being a disciple is 87 times more important than being a Christian.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ or a Christian? It makes a huge difference.

Between the Trees

If you look through the Bible, you will notice that there is one object that basically begins the story of faith and ends the story of faith. From the beginning in Genesis 2, to the end of Revelation, the tree of life is mentioned. It’s the key to life and anyone who touches it will have life everlasting.

One problem: in Genesis, there is another tree, the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve, goaded by the serpent to become like God, take a taste of the fruit of that tree, and suddenly, there is no access to the tree of life.

Incidentally, the fruit of this tree has traditionally been the apple, although the exact fruit is never mentioned in the Bible. One theory is that the Latin word for evil and for apple is the same: malus.

The wonderful thing about the Christian faith is that time and time again, the story is about failure, death, and hopelessness being completely turned around.

In 1 Peter 2:24, it says: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

The tree that the writer is talking about is the cross. Think about that for a moment. The crucifixion cross was the most horrific method of execution of the Roman Empire. It was known by some to be the tree of death. The crucifixion was such a horrific symbol, that it was not used as a symbol of Christianity for the first 300 years of the faith, until the Roman Emperor Constantine had a dream about the cross, and when he decided to follow the Way of Jesus, he made the cross the symbol of Christianity.

The reason? Because Jesus Christ, by his resurrection and triumph over death, has turned the tree of death into the new tree of life! We live between the trees but no matter what challenges face us, through Christ we have the possibility of that turning around for good. And that’s wonderful assurance.

Passing on the Faith

For those who missed the sermon series at the church, :Passing on the Faith," here's a recap of the important points:

1. The realization that our society is becoming more individualistic and inwardly focused. Listen to the words of the song "The Greatest Love of All." A previous generation would have said "the love of God," "a mother's love of children" or "love of country" as the greatest love of all. The song says that the greatest love of all is "me."

This is good in creating self-expression and creativity. But it also leads to vastly increased rates of depression and anxiety. It also lowers the ability to relate to others effectively.

Look at the narcissism in a song taught in preschools all over the nation (sung to "Frere Jacques"):

I am special, I am special
Look at me, you will see
Someone very special, someone very special
It is me, it is me

Our task as parents and mentors: teach that it is the love of God that is greatest of all, and move the focus from ourselves to God.

Listen to this great song: "Jesus, Lover of Me Soul" ("It's all about you, Jesus...it's not about me, as if You should do things my way").

A great book: "Generation Me" by Jean Twenge, which gives facinating (and sometimes frightening) analyses of research done over the past 50 years of college freshmen and their attitudes.

2. Is God a hobby for you? Are church and faith in the optional category? In passing on the faith, you need to move church and faith from the optional to the essential category.

3. Learn to communicate Gary Chapman's Languages of Love:

a. Words of encouragement
b. Quality time
c. Gifts
d. Acts of service
e. Physical touch

Which one of these is what you prefer to receive. It may be that you commuicate love in this manner as well. It's important to learn how the other person prefers to receive love, and learn to express it that way as well.

4. Grace (unconditional love) and Hesed (steadfast love) are important biblical understandings of love to keep in the forefront of your mind and to instill in your children and loved ones.

Wooden Excellence

I just back from Kansas City for the second time in two months. Yes...I did have more barbecue, this time having Jack Stack's and Gates' versions. Now that I've had the top rated barbecue places (see my earlier post), I have to say that Arthur Bryant's is the best, with Jack Stack second.

But I didn't just go to eat barbecue. I learned a lot at the School of Congregational Development. Here are two things:

1. One of my workshop leaders, Doug Anderson, shared a story about Coach John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA basketball titles at UCLA in the mid 60's through the mid 70's. One of the things he always reminded his players: "Gentlemen: never substitute activity for achievement." In all of life, we often are busy and do lots of things, but what do we do that is truly noteworthy? Especially when it comes to our faith? We might pray, read the Bible, help out...but is it with passion, is it with excellence?

2. In many places, including and especially church, we often lose effectiveness. Why? A common cause, according to Doug Anderson, is that there is an emphasis on personal preference and a tendency to stay within your own comfort level, instead of focusing on the mission and purpose you have for your life, your church, your career, etc. Move toward a mission focus in all things, and you'll be surprised at how much more your life has focus, direction, and effectiveness.

A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition

In my sermon for July 8, I mentioned the below printed prayer, which is just key to finding a fulfilling faith life, which is to take the attention from one's self and put into covenant with God. A covenant is a mutually beneficial, mutually responsible, mutually faithful agreement between two parties. Here is a Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition. It's not an easy prayer to say, but if you can incorporate this into your life, it will make all the difference in the world:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield

all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

Cathedral Thinking

I found this great article called Cathedral Thinking. If you've ever been to any of these great buildings, you are amazed by the scale, the beauty, and the engineering that went into it. The Washington National Cathedral (pictured here) is a good example. It's just down the street from where I go to school a couple of times a year. It is a magnificent example of Gothic architecture and was voted one of the three most beautiful buildings in America by the American Institute of Architects (The Empire State Building was ranked No. 1, and the White House, No. 2; go here for the full list; the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island was the only Hawaii building listed)

The article pointed out that many of the great cathedrals were built in a span of time that exceeded the lifetime of any of the participants of the planners and original builders.

For example, the Washington National Cathedral was first envisioned with the setting aside of land for a national church in 1792. Plans to build the cathedral weren't renewed until 1891, and construction didn't begin until 1907. The cathedral was completed in 1990. This means that 198 years passed from the beginning of the vision to its completion.

The people who first thought about building the cathedral knew that they might never see their ideas and dreams come to complete fruition in their lifetimes. That did not keep them from going ahead and putting this dream into reality. They wanted to build a place that would serve untold generations of people.

In anything in life, I think that cathedral thinking is important. Our thinking, planning, and dreaming should have the future in mind - what we do now will affect future generations, for good and for bad.

May what we do be remembered as something that was a blessing.

Of Barbecue, Strip Steak, and Resurrection

I made it home to Hawaii last Friday afternoon, bringing along a little cough. I was in the Kansas City area for my Doctor of Ministry program.

It was great to be able to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.

Those of you who know me also know that I am always interested in the local cuisine. Kansas City is known for two things: barbecue and the famous Kansas City Strip Loin steak. Over the two weeks I was there, I tried three barbecue places: K. C. Masterpiece, Gates, and Arthur Bryant's. Arthur Bryant's was by far the best, but to be honest, either of the other two places would be considered the best barbecue in Hawaii.

I was also able to find a delicious, but reasonably priced steak for lunch at Plaza III, where the price goes up double for dinner. Great steak, full of flavor.

Of course, I didn't go to Kansas City just to eat. For this session, we were blessed to spend time at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in nearby Leawood. It is one of the largest churches in America, with over 14,000 people. What it is unique to me about the place is that it is proud to call itself United Methodist.

The pastor of the church, Adam Hamilton, spent the entire second week with us. It was a great experience to be with someone who built up the church from just his family to that size.

What's his secret? I don't think there is really a secret. He has a strong vision, he is well thought out, and plans out ahead of time in great detail.

Oh yes...and it seems that everything his church does is dedicated to letting people know about the good news of Jesus Christ in some way. It isn't a hard sell like the stereotypical televangelist. Hamilton's way is invitational, low pressure, and friendly.

I learned a lot about how to do ministry there. It may very well be the most influential visit of my ministry. I've been to Willow Creek Church and Saddleback Church, and they are very impressive, but it seemed that what they did was just so out of reach, it was almost surreal. There is nothing about the Church of the Resurrection that any church couldn't do; maybe not as fancy - such as super high tech video - but they even taught us how to take consumer level equipment and produce good stuff.

I'll be unpacking a lot of stuff as we head into a great future at our church.

P. S. their website is cor.org.