A Meaningful Life

Marcus Borgman, quoted by Randy Harris, lists a few statements that you should be able truthfully to say often. If you can't say these things much of the time, it is likely you could be doing much better with your life:

There’s no other place I’d rather be.
There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.
There’s no one else I’d rather be with.
I’ll remember this.

Being Interesting 04 - The Excluded Middle

There is a classic missions article from Paul Hiebert called, "The Flaw of the Excluded Middle," that I think has some real value for Westerners. In our Western mindset, we have categories for things that are transcendent and we have categories for things that are empirical. Religion speaks to one, and Science speaks to the other, and never the twain shall meet.

But in much of the world, along with having these two categories, there is also a middle category. Many peoples of the world still believe actively in ghosts, evil spirits, and in supernatural explanations for things we would explain scientifically. When a missionary from the West is approached by a tribal African to use prayer to heal their child's disease, the missionary often doesn't know what to do. The end result is that many Christian converts in non-Western nations still consult witch doctors to help with a number of pragmatic things, because the missionaries will either have no response, or will deny the existence of whatever the convert feels is a threat or problem. (There are no ghosts...the sickness isn't because of a spirit...etc.)

I'll quote a couple of paragraphs from Hiebert about this middle area of experience:

On the middle level, a holistic theology includes a theology of God in human history: in the affairs of nations, of peoples and of individuals. This must include a theology of divine guidance, provision and healing; of ancestors, spirits and invisible powers of this world; and of suffering, misfortune and death.
On this level, some sections of the church have turned to doctrines of saints as intermediaries between God and humans. Others have turned to doctrines of the Holy Spirit to show God's active involvement in the events of human history. It is no coincidence that many of the most successful missions have provided some form of Christian answer to middle level questions.

I think most of us ministering to Westerners don't have any people actively worried about displeasing the ghosts of their ancestors (unless you are ministering to Glenn Beck--ha!). But there is something to be said for reflecting on what the middle areas are in our culture.

We tend to talk about God entirely in theological terms. When we speak about history, if its biblical history, we see God hard at work. If it's U.S. History, we have no paradigm for how to speak about the involvement of God in any of what we're doing.

But I do think it makes for good sermons when we speak about God at work in our time, in our lives, and in our communities of faith. In your sermons, don't separate the "theological" from the "practical". Theology, if it is done right, ought to affect everything else. If Jesus is Lord, then he is Lord of all parts of our lives. If God is not at work in our churches, then what are we doing anyway? Let's embrace a worldview that God is active now, and not just in the ancient past or in the distant future. I've found that people feel really empowered when you as a leader will stand up and boldly proclaim the actions of God in the world, and envision what else God can do in your own setting through your own hands. If that isn't relevant, then what is?

Incidentally, Patrick of Ireland was great at ministering to the middle area. There is an old Irish prayer for just about every aspect of a person's life, from getting up, to working, to eating, to laying down at night. If you've never had a look at the Carmina Gadelica--a collection of old Irish religious prayers and poetry, it is worth your time (and it's cheap on Kindle!).

Being Interesting 03 - How To Order Multiple Illustrations

This is a practical piece of advice I got from David Fleer. If you ever have multiple illustrations for a single point, you should always order them from smallest to largest. What happens is that when the ear has heard one illustration, whenever you start into another one, the brain says, "This will be at least as long as the previous one."

If you start out with a really long illustration, then go into another, people's ears will instantly shut down. They'll be thinking, "I don't want to sit through another one of those just yet." But if you start with the smaller one, then move to the bigger one(s), it will work better for your listener.

So if you had a good quick joke, a one-line quote, and a short story, the best order would be (1) one line quote, (2) quick joke, and (3) short story. It doesn't matter which is the best of the bunch, because if your quick joke is your best one, but it is after a longer one, no one will still be listening to hear it. And if they are listening, they'll feel tired.

Being Interesting 02 - Tension and Release

I'm an avid lover of music. I think what makes really good music are the dynamics of a song. When the music builds or falls along with the content of the lyrics, it just feels right. Most any good melody somehow ends on the root note of whatever key of the song is. Everything up until the root hits is the anticipation of that resolution. Sometimes we know what note is supposed to come next, even if we've never heard the song. Think of all the dynamics in "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. There are the varying types of music, there is the loudness and softness, the fastness and slowness. It all weaves together into an experience that leaves you feeling satisfied.

Likewise, every movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat has some sort of tension that needs to be resolved. The greater the tension, the more satisfactory the conclusion. Or at least, the more potential for satisfaction the conclusion will have available.

I have found that creating tension in the progression of a sermon works just as well. If you have a really good story that illustrates your main point, rather than tell it all at one point, try splitting it in half. Tell enough of it to let them get attached to what is going on, but don't give them "the rest of the story" until you've finished working through the other material. Even better, don't tell them there is any more to the story. It is difficult to restrain yourself from giving away the rest, but if you can hold on to it, it will pay off.

I did this several weeks ago, and was amazed how effective it was. Long story short: when I was teaching at Harding, I had a student who was a new Christian, and wanted to study the Bible with his dad. He was short on cash, so I helped him purchase a Bible for his dad, shortly before we moved to Tennessee. About two years later, I got a Facebook message from this student, telling me that he had just baptized his father, having studied with him using the Bible I helped him purchase. It was an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, and I am still moved to tears thinking about it.

The way I used this was to tell the story up until the part where I bought him the Bible and we moved away. I talked about my regret in having to move, but my trust that God would continue to work in that situation, even if I couldn't be physically there any more. After I was done making my other points, at the very end of the sermon, I said, "Do you remember the student I told you about? I got a message from him I want to let you hear..."

What was cool was how so many people came up to me and said, "I just KNEW there was more to that story!" That tells me that it kept them plugged in, but it also told me what a terrible blunder it would have been to create the tension without giving them the resolution.

If used properly, I think sermons that utilize tension and release can provide extremely engaging experiences for the listeners.

Positive Comments from a Methodist about Churches of Christ

Dr. Oster from the Harding Grad School shared this article on Facebook. For obvious reasons, I absolutely loved it. I think we have a lot of positive things to offer, and I personally don't get the zeal I'm seeing in my peers to throw away a lot of the aspects that make us unique among Christian movements.

Being Interesting 01 - Sensory Language

In telling a story, I think a primary goal is to get your audience to feel connected to the situation. I think a great way to do this is to specifically talk about what the audience would gather through their senses in the encounter; particularly the sense of smell, which is a very strong memory device.

A good example would be John 5.

A bland way to describe the Pool of Bethesda:

Bethesda was a pool of water located near the Sheep gate. It was surrounded by five columns. There was a large number of invalid and unhealthy people who always stayed around the pool. They believed a legend that when the pool waters stirred, presumably by an angel, the first one into the pool would be healed.

A more interesting way to describe the Pool of Bethesda:

As Jesus and his disciples walked the roads of Jerusalem, then ended up near the Sheep Gate, at a pool called Bethesda. If you were to go to Bethesda, you could smell it before you could see it. It was a place of sickness and sadness. Walking past each of the five columns around it, you would see people huddled in their shade, trying to avoid the scorching sun. There was the constant tension, pushing and shoving. Countless people who were blind, lame, and paralyzed laid there trembling with anticipation that maybe, just maybe, today would be their day to get in first. You see, they were clinging to a legend that when the waters stirred, the first one to get in would be healed. But with eyes that couldn't see and legs that couldn't carry them there, what hope did they have of being first? Even more, was their hope in this pool an empty wish to begin with?

In this particular passage, there is some great stuff you could do with the details about the man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Look at current events from 38 years ago, and walk a person through all that someone would have lived through in our own history in 38 years time.

But I think the story really comes to life when they can smell the stench, when the heat burns their skin, and when they experience the hopelessness of never being first.

Being Interesting

I don't pretend to be the world's greatest speaker, nor do I think I'm even in the running. But I do a lot of speaking and presenting, and over time, I've found certain approaches that have helped me to improve at connecting with my audiences. It's been a while since I've done a blog series, so I thought it would be worthwhile to make a few small posts about some things I keep in mind as I speak and present. These will certainly be applicable for preachers, but I think many will have uses beyond the pulpit. As always, I'll welcome your input.

James Frey's Final Testament of the Holy Bible

There really isn't anything that new or innovative about this, but I thought it would be worth mentioning. Lots of authors/artists/singers/movie makers think they're being really edgy when they try and picture Jesus with a decreased set of personal standards. James Frey has a new book coming out on Good Friday which is a supposed third and final testament for the Bible.

He's tried to imagine Jesus living today in New York, going by the name Ben Jones. Frey's Jesus lives with a prostitute, performs gay marriages (he even messes around with guys some himself), smokes pot, and is an alcoholic. Though Jesus is radically different, Judas is the "same as he was two thousand years ago", a "selfish man who thinks of himself before the good of humanity, who values money more than love."

Frey is known for his controversial, heavily embellished personal memoirs called Million Little Pieces, for which he ended up taking a lot of flack. He published them as true and accurate, but as people began fact-checking, other than the fact that Frey was actually a criminal and drug addict, not much else can be verified. Oprah was particularly displeased with him.

I bring this up to say/observe:

1. Many of my readers are Christians, and I think it's prudent of us to be aware of cultural trends on the front end when we can. This book may not make too much of a splash, but if it does, let's be aware of it.

2. I am always amazed how that when people try to re-imagine Jesus, he ends up looking exactly like them. This is certainly true of the Jesus Seminar. They have even published their own version of the Gospels with color coded texts. The colors indicate the level of certainty that the words present are actually the words of Jesus, or are historically reliable. The amazing thing is, if you only read the passages that they have voted--yes actually voted--are truly attributable to Jesus, he only teaches exactly the things that they happen to think and believe. We all wrestle with the aspects of Jesus and his teaching that call us into obedience to him, and rather than submit, it's more convenient to trim Jesus down to fit our comfort levels.

3. Frey's Jesus is no better than his Judas. The obtuse irony here actually made me chuckle to myself. Judas is a "selfish man" who thinks of himself and loves money, but Jesus here is a selfish man who thinks of himself and loves sexual indulgence and alcohol. Not much of a point to following this messiah...he's no better than we are, and certainly in no place to instruct people morally.

4. I wonder if Frey's next book will be the sequel to the Quran. Perhaps he can call it "The Great Satan Strikes Back," or , "Mohammed Rides Again." Seriously, though, I'm so bored with people who think they are being edgy by attacking or mocking Christianity. They only do it because Christians won't do anything to endanger their health. I'd like to see someone with the guts to try this approach to interpreting Mohammed's life in a modern setting, especially the part about his six-year-old wife...no worries, he waited until she was at least 9 to consummate it. Of course, in all honesty, I think that such a creation would be a thoroughly unproductive thing. I'm just noting the huge discrepancy about the way in which Christianity gets mocked and slandered without fear of retribution, as compared to Islam.

A Conversation I Overheard

I just overheard one of the dayschool children speaking to one of the teachers as they prepared to leave for the day:

"Mrs. ______, I love you."
"Well thank you, sweetie, I love you too."
"And I also love my mommy. And I love my daddy. But they don't love each other any more."

In divorce, it's always the children who suffer the most. Poor kid.

Help for Shepherds

In churches of Christ, we structure our churches based on what we believe to be the biblical model of church leadership. Namely, congregations are autonomous and each is governed by elders who live up to a set of Scriptural criteria. It's not a perfect system, but I'm convinced that there is much wisdom in it.

One of my greatest areas of concern for us is the imbalance in terms of training opportunities. Ministers, who are leaders but not authorities in our congregations, have many chances to learn and grow. I've just completed all the work on my MDiv, and I could not overstate just how much I have benefited from the classes I've taken and from the friendships I've made in these classes.

Elders, on the other hand, are expected to live up to a certain criteria, yet have very few opportunities for growth and learning other than what they get from week to week at the worship services. Some elderships study books together or have workshops together, and I think this is wonderful, but I have wished for a long time that there was more available for them.

The conflict that results from this situation is that sometimes you have a minister, who might have a vast education but no authority, working with men who have complete authority but often limited education (in terms of ministry...they may be well educated in their respective career vocations). I think often, the elders have a better sense of what the congregation is like because of their time invested in the congregation. Ministers move in with no prior relationship with the people, and push for this or that, based on what they've studied. I think each party has things that they bring to the table, but it is still often a recipe for conflict.

I am of the opinion that though there are some rotten eggs out there, most elders care deeply about the church and want to do a good job. I think they want their churches to prosper and they want to honor God with their service. It's a rather thankless job much of the time. I think most of them do the best they can, but often don't really know where to go to get information about how to be a better leader. It was so difficult starting off as a minister with no experience, and I can only imagine how a new elder must feel with such great responsibility and high expectations placed on him.

And now for the purpose of this post...

There are some workshops for elders in other places, but there really hasn't been much in the Tennessee area that I'm aware of. At the Harding University Graduate School of Religion, I am so excited that Dr. Eddie Randolph is now putting together a group called The Shepherds Network.

Their first workshop is going to be March 25-27, 2011 at HUGSR. What I love about how it is organized is that it is NOT just a place where elders show up and a bunch of college professors tell you what you ought to be doing. Though there are some professors--some really terrific ones!--who will make some presentations, a large part of the workshop involves elders connecting with and helping to mentor other elders. They're even going to study some test cases together, which can be such a great exercise. In churches of Christ, we do not have nearly enough fellowship between our sister congregations, and part of what they are trying to do is to increase the amount of fellowship between us. For a movement that was founded on the principle of uniting all Christians, this ought to be a great fit for us.

Here are their "Core Values" as listed in the brochure about the workshop:

• To provide encouragement for elders and their wives
  
• To assist elders in networking with other elders
  
• To provide resources and case studies to help elders address a variety of needs
  
• To provide a network of relationships with elders in other congregations
  
• To develop new and prospective elders
  
• To provide renewal for experienced elders
  
• To develop and facilitate elder-­‐to-­‐elder coaching
  

If you are within a reasonable distance from Memphis, I would encourage you to tell your elders and their wives about this effort. I would love to see lots of good Christian men and women finding encouragement and renewal from this effort, and I will be praying that it is a success.

You can download an informational brochure here: http://www.box.net/shared/7sxzyek6tk