The Compelling Need for Spiritual Giants--part 1

As a pastor and preacher, I continually wrestle with the content of the sermon.  On the one hand, we have people who have been in church for decades; people who have heard the story of God over and over again. On the other hand, we have people who are very new to the faith--every story, every thought, is new.  If the sermon goes too deep, it can lose those who are still drinking the milk of God's grace.  Offer too much milk and those who need sweet potatoes and salad and chicken either walk away malnourished, apathetic, or bored.

For the first 22 years of my ministry my sermons were geared primarily to those who were, for the most part, unfamiliar with the Gospel story.  And there are a lot of them!  In those days, one of the compelling ways we reached those not yet connected to the church was through an inspiring, engaging worship event that presented the story of Jesus in a relevant, dynamic, fashion--using dramas, contemporary forms of music, and messages that dealt with every day life and how Jesus can make a difference.    This form of ministry worked well with my generation--Baby Boomers--because most of us had church exposure.  And while we didn't like what we grew up with, we were attracted to churches speaking in our musical and life language.

It's not the same world anymore.  My kids generation did not grow up in the church.  My grandkid's generation will be increasingly "unchurched."  So, while it may work for some, trying to attract new generations to Jesus through a relevant, hip worship service won't cut it for most.  Instead, what new generations want to see is a dynamic, deep, passionate faith lived out in the lives of followers of Jesus--augmented by a worship experience that says: This is a congregation that takes Jesus and grace seriously.

To say it another way: The world today needs Spiritual Giants.  It's had enough of shallow faith--the kind of faith that doesn't think for itself; that comes across as judgmental; that's driven by consumerism and what the church can do "for me;" that seems to always put everything else ahead of faith.

If following Jesus is really what life is all about--people want to see it.  They want to see commitment.  They want to see faith lived compellingly.  They want to see Christians and churches serving, giving, sacrificing, living grace-based lives.

The world needs Spiritual Redwoods.  Men and women of deep-rooted, lived-out faith.  That deep faith will look differently for each of us depending on where we are in our spiritual journey--but it's time for all of us who call Jesus our Lord and Savior, to step up our game and begin to live the compelling Jesus-life we were created for and that the world needs.

During our first 9 years as a congregation God has been shaping us into Spiritual Giants.  In the next 10 years, I believe he's going to ramp up his work in us, so that we as a church and as his followers can be the Spiritual Giants the world desperately need.

In the next few weeks I'll try to tease out what I think I'm talking about!  :)

What Makes Grace Grace?

Even though I played hooky from Grace this past weekend, I did attend worship.  I visited a church I have been reading about for years.  This church is doing incredible things in terms of serving their community and in terms of being an inclusive church.

I hesitate to critique any church but this church was such a mixed and challenging experience for me that I wanted to use it to say some things about Community of Grace.

I arrived 30 minutes early so I had a chance to talk with one of the ushers.  While it is a denominational church, he said, they are open to anyone and everyone.  He mentioned that they serve free meals three times a day (they are in the heart of downtown San Francisco) for over a million meals a year.  After the first song the leader announced that the church needed 5 people to volunteer immediately to pack lunches for the homeless--that's immediate mission!  The choir was made up of a variety of people and sexual identities.  I've never seen that kind of living picture of an inclusive church before.  It really is a magnificent mission--one that is embraced by the city of San Fran. Almost 2000 worship there per weekend, with about half being visitors!

The usher mentioned that they took down the cross from the worship center so as not to offend anyone.  The opening prayer was a further demonstration of that desire not to offend.  They prayed to the God who is known by many names, who is found through many paths, and a special prayer of thanks was given for the truth of God found in the Hindu scriptures.

The music was amazing--a large choir backing up vocalists with a strong Black Gospel feel (one of the soloists was probably in his 70's and he sang a couple of spirituals in a Louis Armstrong vibe including Amen!).  In between the songs the pastor or others would talk--and they always talked about the congregation and the great work they were doing.  Again and again they upheld their openness, their often radical take on inclusiveness, and, after awhile it seemed to me--did a lot of patting themselves on the back.  I understand the importance of a congregation owning its mission and feeling good about what they are doing.  But after awhile it got a bit much for me.

That's the critique.  It seemed to me to be all about them.  About their mission.  About how unique they are among churches.

What was missing (and I missed the message--I could only stay an hour; the service was 90 minutes) was that this is all about God in Christ.

I came to this conclusion: When your vision of God is squishy (and in my opinion, this church has a squishy view of God--all paths lead to the same God, God is known by many names, all religious texts are equal to the Bible, the cross has been removed from the worship center so as not to offend anyone, etc.), then promoting the church becomes the focal point--because the church and its mission becomes concrete while God remains somewhat abstract.

This is in no way meant to demean the amazing work this world-class church is doing.  But I disagree with their theological center.  And at the same time, I was deeply challenged by how we talk about Grace and what makes Grace Grace.

If we claim to be Christians, or a Christian Church, then Jesus is not optional. The cross is not something we remove from the worship center so as not to offend.  Paul says the cross is the great offense. The cross means God isn't squishy.  He isn't known by many names.  He's known only by the name Jesus.  His inclusive grace doesn't come to us through many paths, all of them equal, it comes to us through the cross and only the cross.   God isn't squishy.  God comes to us on a rugged cross with nail holes in his hands and a wound in his side.  And that can be a stumbling block for many.  But that's how God chose to make himself known to us--using the scandal and recklessness of the cross.

And so, with Paul, as a church we should ultimately be known for one thing and one thing only: Christ and him crucified.

While it's important to hold up how God is at work through us as Community of Grace to inspire us to continue to follow him, ultimately, if we aren't known for our passion for Christ, for being a faith community gathered around the cross of Christ, then we've lost our way.

What makes Grace Grace? The cross of Jesus.  The call of Jesus to take up the cross and follow him.  Following him on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of bringing grace to the world.

This is going to be increasingly important these next 10 years as we begin to transition to the next generation of leadership.  It's not about Tim Wright.  It's not about the staff or worship team or volunteers. It's about Jesus the crucified one, using us to bring his grace to the world for generations to come.

My prayer is that Grace increasingly gains a reputation in the community for being a church that really believes in Jesus and really follows the Crucified One.

A Story of Repentance

9 years ago my back told me it was time to stop running.  I didn't want to listen.  I knew I was probably hurting myself.  I knew that I could cause further damage.  But I loved running.

Finally, moved by my need to protect my back and yet keep exercising, I was lured to cycling.  I bought a road bike (not cheap) and began a new chapter in my life.  I changed direction, so to speak, and moved from running to biking.  Sort of.  While I loved riding my bike, it was hard to give up running.  So for a couple of years I also tried to add running back into the program but I always ended up hurting my back.  In the end, the pain in my back and the new passion and promise of cycling got my attention and there was no turning back to running.

About a year ago I started having more issues with my back.  The sitting position of my road bike (learning forward) was irritating my lower back and tailbone.  I bought a new bike saddle.  I raised the handle bars.  And I had relief for awhile, but it didn't last.  Again, pain in my back forced me to look in new directions for exercise.

So I did something few road cyclists would ever do...I bought a hybrid bike.  A bike that allows me to sit up.  And...dare I admit it...I love the ride.  It was hard giving up the road bike but this bike has in many ways renewed my love for cycling.

But I knew that if I kept that road bike in the garage, it would keep calling to me.  So I had to make a clean break.  This week I gave it away to the Arizona Foster Care Agency.

A day later, when I went to ride my new bike, I looked at the place where my road bike had been.  Almost 19,000 miles on that bike. Great moments outdoors praying and enjoying nature.  8 years riding it.  And I wondered if I had made a big mistake.  But after my morning ride on my new bike, I knew there was no going back.  I was now a hybrid bike rider, no longer a road cyclist.  And that, for me, is a good thing.

Repentance is one of those big Bible words that people often misunderstand.  We often see it as something we need to do to get right with God.  We see it as a form of confession.  A form of turning from a life of sin and turning to God.  It's something we do.

Repentance is the act of turning from sin to God, but it's not something we do.  It's an act initiated in us by our Creator.  God's grace comes along and creates in us a sense of dissatisfaction with life as we are living it or creates in us a hunger for something different or it forces us to take a long look in the mirror revealing the sin and guilt and pain we've been living in for years.  At the same time it captivates us with a promise of something better--Grace, life, forgiveness, peace, joy, and hope, among other things.  And lured by that dissatisfaction with life and the promise of something more, God's grace empowers us to turn from our old life to the new life in Christ.  That's repentance.  It's turning from the old to the new.  But it's not done to get right with God.  It's done as a result of God making us right with him through the grace revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The old life, however, lingers.  The desire to keep running after repenting of it and leaving it behind for cycling entices us.  We find it easy to fall back into old patterns or behaviors or habits.  As Martin Luther says, the old Adam/Eve doesn't die easily.  But God's grace keeps calling us, shaping us, leading us into the new, drawing us to a new life with the promise of grace.

Sometimes we need to get rid of remnants of the old so that they don't tempt us.  That might mean giving away the running shoes or the bike or joining an AA meeting or getting rid of certain magazines or no longer attending certain events.  But even the power to get rid of the old is a gift of grace.

The main message of Jesus was a message of grace: God's kingdom of forgiveness has broken into human history in Jesus.  And that promise of grace calls us to repent...not to earn that grace but as a result of that grace.  But like Paul, we need the grace to die (repent) daily.  A grace God gives.

As you look at your life...what might God be calling you from...and to?

Wrapping up Outrageous Grace

For the last five weeks we've been looking at the 5 most outrageous stories Jesus tells about grace.  You can view the various messages here.

In these stories Jesus makes several outrageous claims about God's grace:

1) God's grace is far more expansive than we can ever imagine.

2) God's grace is only offered to sinners/losers/spiritually dead people.

3) God's grace is always unfair.

4) God's grace will go to death and hell to find the "lost."

5) God's grace covers and embraces us before we can ask for it.  In fact, we can't ask for it because we are spiritually dead.

6) Faith in God's grace is a result of God's grace--God's grace resurrects us, breathing faith into us.

7) It is not our job to determine the parameters of God's grace.  That's God's job.  And as all of these grace stories remind us, this grace is far more expansive than we can ever imagine (see point 1).

One final word on grace...for now.  Grace is never forced on us.  It wouldn't be grace if it was.  We can never do anything to get God to grace us.  It wouldn't be grace if we could.  But grace is ultimately an irresistible force.  It is a power, a love, a compassion, a hope that keeps on calling to us until finally we can resist the gift no longer.  As I said this past weekend: Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, (in heaven and on earth and under the earth) that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).  This is not a threat.  This is not coercion.  This is a promise of grace.  It is the reality of an irresistible grace.  No one can resist that powerful, sacrificial, unconditional, transforming gift forever.  It's too explosive.  It's too combustible.  It's too overwhelming.  It's ultimately too good.

And that irresistible grace will lead us into life and it will lead us home!