Founder's Corner

“Not in it to win it!” by Andy Stanley   https://youtu.be/KXDIwU9cgf0

This was the source of our discussion today addressing the reasons why we, as people of faith, do what we do…or should do.  Forget about what I write below and just listen to the YouTube.  It is excellent.

Philippians 2: 4-8  “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to b grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” 

A few of my “Take-Aways:”:

1.       There seem to be few neutral topics.  We are living in a political polarized society.

2.       We are also living in a cancel culture.  What I mean by that is that we can be friends and colleagues for a long time and if I say something or express an opinion different than yours, the very relationship, friendship, membership in a church or organization might well be canceled, voided, or ended.  Suddenly a person becomes labeled and is no longer valued.  How sad is that?

3.       If there is a societal role for the church and people of faith it is to be the conscience of the nation.  

4.       Without Jesus as the foundation of everything we do, we can easily be swayed and become a body where the majority determines morality.  

5.       Jesus was not here to win it for himself or one political party or ethnic group.  He played to lose so that we might win.

6.       The church is never more Christ like than when defending someone else, someone more vulnerable, helpless, or impoverished…giving away rather than demanding our way.

7.       As people of faith, we definitely need to be in it (Engaged) but not to win it.  

8.       How many times do I listen to respond as contrasted to listening to understand?

9.       The defining virtue of the church is winning for others.

Questions to ponder:

1.       Do you think Christians and churches identity themselves with the servant, humble nature of Jesus on the cross?

2.       What kinds of things did the watching world see when they looked at the church in general this past year?  For better or worse, is that now our identity?  What does the world see when it looks at your local church?

3.       Did your church specifically address political alignments, political divisiveness, covid response, racism, or any other current events in sermons, teaching, or small groups in the last year using scriptural principles?  

4.       How do we weigh the need for unity with the need to speak the truth in love to each other?

5.       What types of temptations do politically liberal believers need to resist when it comes to how they want their churches to make decisions and policy?  

6.       What types of temptations do politically conservative believers need to resist when it comes to how they want their churches to make decisions and policy?  

P.S.  I just completed the book The Color of Compromise  (The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism) by Jemar Tisby.  After reading this book I feel like Hosea.  He was instructed to back to his harlot wife and love her.  I feel betrayed by my institutional church and yet cannot leave her.  

Your thoughts are always appreciated.  Responses are welcome.  Next week promises to be thought provoking. 

A few thoughts that I will reflect on this next week.

1.       Trumpism is a mirror to who we are.  There are two significant issues:

a.       What is happening in our society?

b.       What is happening in our faith community (churches)

2.       Sometimes it is easier to determine what is not true than what is truth.

3.       The Barman Confession of 1934 gives us some historical context to understanding the relationship between the organized church and political affiliations.

4.       We are citizens and carry a passport from Heaven.  Wayne Dyer put it this way, “I am a spiritual being having an earthly experience.”

5.       The question to us is how do I open a door to a Kingdom perspective for myself and others without denigrating others?

6.       Making a statement, a “Standing stone,” without a clean definition of terms would not be helpful.  Still, we must try.

7.       We each have our own stories and perspectives.  The question is how we fit into God’s story.

8.       We are a work in progress, an unfinished product, listening and learning from those who have a totally different perspective, perhaps even a wrong perspective, or we may recognize our perspective is wrong.  

9.       The purpose of a discussion (Argument/debate) is not to win but to understand.

Bill and I started this small discussion group with four or five of us, thinking we will commit to 12 weeks. Neither of us had used zoom in the past.   We are now on week 42.  I have learned so much, read things I never would have read, had my eyes and heart opened, been challenged, and my mind changed.  Of all the things that I can complain about in 2020, this is one endeavor for which I am most grateful. I have met people I would never have met.  Those I knew, I now know better and deeper.

For me, faith has never been a theological issue but rather a practical one.  James 2: 14-18 is what it is all about for me.  I want my faith to make a difference in my life and in the lives of others.  Each of you are helping me achieve that.  Thank you!   Happy New Year!  Lou

Isaiah 9:6  “…and the government shall be upon His shoulder…”

• The Hebrew idiom uses “shoulder” to indicate acceptance of the burden of a responsibility. There was a practice in the East of wearing a key on the should as an emblem of the office and authority. 
• It means He, Jesus, will rule and have dominion.  It is a prophesy that is yet to be fulfilled and at the same time is fulfilled.  It is and it is yet to be.  Evil still exists in the world.
• Our time is not unlike the time of Jesus birth when the civilized world was dominated by Rome’s military might and King Herod’s greed and pride. There was violence, chaos, political and social unrest.  It was a dark time.
• Never have I felt the need for a more complete Jesus than I do now…that is more than a savior, a friend, my personal Lord.  I need a King Jesus.  I need a new kingdom.  I need leadership with moral authority, integrity, and justice.  I thank God that the Bible is full of examples of God being a nation builder.  Although the New Testament gave us a different idea of what the Kingdom was about, it is indeed an alternative reality.  It is the Kingdom of God that I seek, not a political party that I can affiliate with. 
• The Atlantic printed an article entitled A Political Obituary for Donald Trump.  No matter your political affiliation, this article gives us the real reality of an “America First,” a very sad commentary on the state of affairs of our nation and our leadership.  
• After listening to a number of “Christian” leaders telling their followers that “God spoke to them, that Trump was God’s chosen leader for another four years, that the election was a fake; I am reminded of these verses Matt 7:15, Matt 24:24, and II Thessalonians 2:11.  
• We are in a battle.
• I would like to quote what a friend (Albert Hamstra) recently wrote.  I cannot say it better than he did.  “Something is going on, a lot more important and powerful than just normal politics.  The media and a lot of pundits still seem completely unable to understand what is happening.  We still operate under the ludicrous misunderstandings like: ‘we’re too partisan,’ or ‘we’re too divided,’ or, the most ridiculous of all, ‘we just need to have a conversation.’  All of these sentiments represent what seems to me an incredibly naïve underestimation of what is actually going on…I think we could make a good argument that it is not that we are too divided.  It is that we are not divided enough.  We have those among us who would make laws further advantaging the rich and disadvantaging the poor…This is what I see as being demonic.  The giving over of one’s soul to the attainment of advantage, the desire and the need to do this becomes a matter of basic identity.  So, when Trump claims to have won the election and no rational or legal factors support this…It does not matter.  They need Trump to be a winner because they have identified with him.”  
• The question really comes down to identity.  I believe Christianity as largely experienced in white North America is associated with success, wealth, and power/influence.  Should it not be better identified by sacrifice and service?  
• These are a few of my thoughts after my reading, reflection, and discussion this Sunday.  I welcome your views.
• More on this subject next Sunday.
• Christmas Jesus cannot come too soon!  Merry Christmas Indeed! 

Faith and Current Events

Personal:

I often say to myself after our Sunday discussion group, “That was one of the better ones!”  Then the next week comes and I say the same thing.  Today, our group of 16, simply took five to seven minutes to briefly answer several questions which gave us a glimpse into each other’s lives, passions, and faith.  The last question was, How has Covid19 changed your world?  This group would not exist had not Covid shut down our church discussion group.  We have come together out of our need to find some common ground, community, and a way forward in this time of uncertainty.  

Our core group consists of three couples, three single ladies, five single men, another seven people who attend periodically, aging in range from 23-75, from three countries, life experiences from dozens of countries, and a variety perspectives.  I am so grateful to be in this life’s journey together.  

My Take-Aways:

Some comments on our definition of a “person of faith:”

·       Living it out

·       Belief without proof

·       Searcher of truth/recognizing the role of doubt

·       Pursuer of love

·       Being like Jesus

·       Abraham (The patriarch of faith in the O.T. but also flawed and weak.)

·       Caring for and identifying with the least, lost, lonely

Hebrews 11: 1 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Another version puts it this way, “What is faith?  It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.  It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.  

James 2: 18 “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 

May the Spirit of Christ through this advent season invade and seep deep into our souls giving us a sense of peace, hope, and joy.  Best…Always,  Lou

I just have a couple of personal take-aways and two items we wanted to share with everyone.

1.    We are in the middle of Advent, a time of expectation.  Will I (not just can I, but will I) live in expectation of more integrity, be more loving, and clearly see and seek God’s Kingdom here on Earth?

2.    Can I identify my own confirmation bias?  

3.    Voting is the least civil action I can take as a citizen.  There is a lot more I can do locally.

4.    Two factors stand out for me as cause of our great divide as a nation and that need to be addressed as we seek a common good.

a.    Who is it we trust, listen to, has credibility?

b.    What is it that we fear?

This comes to us from Becky and John Patrick.

Here is the link to The Colossian Forum:  https://colossianforum.org/the-colossian-way-experience/

Here is their mission statement: to equip leaders to transform cultural conflicts into opportunities for spiritual growth and witness. And our . . .

VISION is a Christian community that acts Christian, especially in the face of conflict.

I’ve watched two of their on-line discussions (Conversation with Sid Jansma, and Michael Hoogeboom from LaGrave Church on using TCF methods with small groups there). Both were excellent and worthwhile. Michael Gulker is the Executive Director of TCF, and I’m impressed with him, too.  He was raised in a Reformed faith background, and is now a Mennonite pastor. Very calm, thoughtful guy.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Meanwhile, grace and peace –

This comes to us from Bev Abma.

PRAYER OF THE FARM WORKERS’ STRUGGLE 

“Show me the suffering of the most miserable; So, I will know my people’s plight. Free me to pray for others; For you are present in every person. Help me take responsibility for my own life; So that I can be free at last. Grant me courage to serve others; For in service there is” true life. Give me honesty and patience; So that I can work with other workers. Bring forth song and celebration; So that the Spirit will be alive among us. Let the Spirit flourish anti grow; So that we will never tire of the struggle. Let us remember those who have died for justice; For they have given us life. Help us love even those who hate us; So, we can change the world. Amen.” 

Written by Cesar E. Chavez, UFW Founder (1927-1993) Cesar E. Chavez Foundation 1741 s. Harvard Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90006 213-733-6346 e-mail <chavezfdtn@igc.apc.o

So many of our discussions are just scratching the surface of topics that many books have been written.  I appreciate so much the articles and insights that are shared after the discussion.  Below are a few of my “Take-Aways.”  This does not come close to reflecting the breath of our thoughts nor even the best ideas on the topic.  For that you are welcome to join the group.

1.       The Apostle Paul talks about the flesh as being our personal temptations, weaknesses, failures, our private crimes and sins.  We accept much of this because of number two.

2.       The deeper issues of evil are the intrinsic cultural acceptance of norms that we accept but are untrue.  Some examples:

a.       Proud of our military might, war is justified but murder is bad.

b.       Protecting our institutions, (denominations/government), the “common good,” even if the lie itself is unjustified.

c.       National pride, being patriotic is good but personal pride and vanity is bad.

d.       Being entrepreneurial, successful, profitable, becoming a monopoly in the marketplace while destroying competition and the little guy is bad.

e.       The media creating its own truth is ok until it is unacceptable.

3.       This level as described in Colossians 1:16 of “powers, principalities, and thrones” are pre-modern words for what we now call corporations, institutions, nation-states, political parties that in themselves (in the beginning) are often good but over time become idolatrous, too big to fail, demanding full allegiance, driven by profit and power,  intolerant of criticism.  

4.       Another level of evil is the acceptance of what we cannot challenge nor change, colossal political expenditures (Georgia for example), wages of our corporate executives having salaries 200 times regular workers that are sanctified and romanticized and idealized necessities.

5.       We often feel helpless in the face of injustice.  Yet, we see people standing up for what is right, paying the cost, and making a difference.  Good people, righteous people, are often a part of institutions and policies that are not acting for the common good.  Therein lies the challenge of discernment and groups such as this Sunday group where we can together evaluate, encourage, and empower each other. 

6.       One of our members asked us to recall a time in each of our lives when we surprised ourselves with our level of both goodness (Fruits of the Spirit) and a time when we surprised ourselves with how evil was alive and well in our life.  I don’t think we have the capacity to see and experience the limits of both until we are placed or intentionally place ourselves in situations of high stress.  I can see myself doing some atrocious evil deeds and also dream of being a saint.  Both evil and goodness reside in my life.   

7.       Facing evil just at the personal “flesh” level does not seem to me to be sufficiently Biblical.  Rather, we need a deeper understanding of what the “Kingdom” on earth really is all about.  Next Sunday is coming.

This is a personal reflection arising from reading, thoughts, and discussion arising from a Sunday morning discussion group.

1.    It seems to me that we as a people have an innate desire to acknowledge, and give thanks, to one greater than ourselves, whether we be Christian, Muslims, Hindus, or otherwise.  Life itself is a gift.  Health, Family, Friends, adequate shelter and food, are not guaranteed.  End of year harvest celebrations are practiced around the world.

2.    Thanksgiving as a social and cultural event is never a pure experience of thanks.  It is always experienced within the context of social, political, and economic issues.

3.     Many of the historical experiences of thanksgiving are based on some event of survival or success in the face of famine or war.  Even the Thanksgiving celebration of I Chronicles 16: 7-43 was based on the return of the Ark of Covenant.  Thanksgiving is not always because something good or righteous was done or experienced.

4.    What gives meaning to the Celebration of Thanksgiving are the traditions and practices we embrace: Examples are, voluntary food delivery, writing or stating what we are thankful for, inviting strangers and neighbors to our thanksgiving table, reconnecting with loved ones, eating well, games, fun, and the list goes on.  Be intentional.

5.    Communion and the Eucharist are acts of remembering which in turn are acts of thanksgiving[LH1] .

6.    Thanksgiving can be both private and public but is so much more when experienced and practiced as a community of people.

7.    Covid19 is forcing us to isolate and social distance ourselves such that we can, if we desire to do so, have a hard and clear look at who we are as a people.  It has exposed our selfishness, our prideful independence, and disregard for caring for others (eg. Refusing to wear masks in public).  It has also demonstrated great caring and compassion among our front-line care givers.

8.     When we cannot think of anything to give thanks for, we respond in a spirit of Sacrifice of Praise, that is, we still give thanks to our creator, although we do not understand.  With that attitude we can face anything.

9.    Covid19 has caused us to slow down, to move toward one on one relationships, that life and health are indeed gifts of grace that without notice can be taken away.  It is reminding us to give thanks for the people in our lives that are really important, to affirm them right now.

10. Covid19 has demonstrated to us that as a society we value our individualistic personal freedom more than the common safety and welfare of others.  What value is freedom if not to serve others?  I would guess that most of us would agree with that statement but few of us practice it as we should.

11. Covid19 has taught us not to trust government and hence, not to trust ourselves.

12. Attributes of Thanksgiving in scripture are remembering, singing and being joyful, knowing His name, keeping promises and covenants, God is great, God is love, God is good! 

Have a meaningful, thankful week of powerful and impactful relationships and remember the Creator who gave all of us life.  Best…Always,  Lou