10.24.2020 - week 77
this election season in a way different than i can ever remember before, ‘evangelical’ has become a 4 letter word to many. young folks don’t want to be called one because our group is increasingly understood by our political agenda not our biblical distinctives. i think before abandoning the word it’s worth going backwards just a bit to understand how we got here.
i was raised and educated and discipled by a variety of conservative evangelical institutions. evangelicalism as the large, broad coalition of christianity in america was organized in the late 1940’s coalescing around the ministry of billy graham. evangelicals wanted to hold to biblical truth as a contrast to the slippage they saw in main line denominations. they also wanted an outward focus as a contrast to insular fundamentalists.
the movement (which now includes 1/4 of christians worldwide) is framed around 4 ideas: crucicentrism, conversionism, biblicism, cctivism. while these concepts can be studied + nuanced forever, they are pretty straight forward. historically, evangelicalism focuses on.
1. the work of Jesus on the cross,
2. a personal response to that work,
3. a high regard for the book that tells it’s story,
4. a commitment to tell as many people as possible about it.
do you nod your head as you read that list and wish our team had stayed a little more focused on its main components? i believe the church must make a critical shift in how these 4 concepts are executed and perceived to be viable for the generations ahead. rather than badmouth others who got it wrong or something unprofitable like .. i have been thinking about a pivot. if we add to the good foundation, we might find some fresh wind in the sails of the church in america.
from cross central negativity to resurrection central triumph
from easy conversion experiences + rigid discipleship systems to relationally anchored maturity -
from bible believing intellectualism or bible discounting emotionalism to a bible behaving lifestyle
from activism as political achievement and evangelistic pugilism to gracious presence and faithful service
i could write 10 pages about each of these (maybe i will :), but for now just wanted you to be stirred by thinking. i’m not fighting for the continuation of a label, maybe it should die. i’m not fighting at all really. simply observing that like many things, over time mission drifts. before we were picketing abortion clinics + lecturing the politicians of the 90s about marital fidelity, we had a really attractive simple emphasis that brought many to faith. maybe if each of us individually got back to that, there would be more good news in the neighborhood.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
Felicity’s preschool Bible verse this week was Psalm 144:15, “Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.” I’ve been meditating on it this week, sometimes what we teach to our kids I think we need more for ourselves. Incidentally, Felicity means happiness. We had always named our kids based on names we liked rather than the meaning of the name. As I have learned more about the Bible I have realized that in the Old Testament often the meaning of the person’s name had so much to do with how God used them. All of that to say when we found out that Felicity meant happiness we felt it fit our demeanor of her arrival and of what we hoped she would be. I always say to her that the happiest girls are the prettiest girls because I have found that to be true.
One of the friends that I have made in California is named Rachel. She is happy personified. She is happy to see you, she is happy to hear about you and tell you about what God is doing in her life. She is happy about good food and she is happy about her family. But sometimes I think we can feel like a person who is always happy feels inauthentic; she on the other hand is happy but she is real and can tell you if something difficult is happening in her life. When I first met her I thought, “Wow, she’s really happy, she must have a great life.” And as I have gotten to know her she does have some great parts to her life but she has gone through some really difficult things too. I tell you about her because when I thought about this verse, I think of her as I read it. A woman who is happy because no matter what is going on in her life both positive or negative, she implicitly trusts God and believes him for all he says he is and more. Furthermore, she has taught me that even in difficulty I can still choose to be happy.
The truth is sometimes I meet people who don’t have Jesus and I am blown away by how happy they are. Whereas I have met Christians who seemed so bummed out it gives reason to wonder why anyone who knows them would even be compelled to be a Christian. The truth is that we have much to be happy in : we have the hope of eternity with no pain or tears or death, we have a relationship with the person who rules the universe and is sovereign over all. We have churches we can worship in and we have his Word that he uses to actively speak to us. He provides us with community through our churches to help us grow and flourish in our faith. We have the opportunity to seek him through prayer minute by minute through everyday. That right there is a list of a few things that are not based on circumstance but are reasons to be happy.
I guess if I slim it down to the singular thought that has been on my mind as I meditate on this verse this week I think : wow, what a testimony our demeanor can be to those around us! It’s not the only thing that matters but let’s remember all God has given to us as his good gifts to be happy about.
parent corner
so carter is 11. 11 going on 20. these days, he has so many opinions. about the election. about the chicago bears. about the masks (it drives him nuts when people wear them driving in the car alone). each wednesday, he has a free hour before school starts. i have been learning that the most productive use of that time is to ask him questions and let him talk. some of his opinions are smart. lots are not (he really believes mitch should be the bears qb). but interestingly enough, after enough time goes by, his opinions morph into questions ….
so wait, dad why do the white christians vote one way and the black christians the other?
so wait, dad how does a person actually become homeless?
i end up getting to share insight without jamming him, because by listening first i opened him up to me and all of a sudden, he’s curious to know what i know. simple, but i think we so often miss it. take the time to listen and you will be amazed what you end up being able to say.
(stuff i’m learning .. which is not advice. because people who have never parented teenagers shouldn’t be giving parenting advice)
book review
how we think about money influences almost every decision we make. the choices we make aren’t purely rational, but rather influenced by our background + experiences in many ways. as we see our biases + financial hangups more clearly, we can make better choices for our lives. this book has an almost proverbs-like quality to it without actually containing any purposeful spiritual truth. calm down. save more. stop trying to impress people. take the long view. etc … housel explains these concepts in vividly memorable way.
super christian guy
stuff for you to click on
1. we continue through the book of mark called ‘the real jesus’ // message #10 on podcast + youtube
2. my boys + i have been BLASTING the new justin bieber song ‘holy’ the last few weeks. reid even has the rap in the middle of it memorized. my friend anthony wrote a beautiful reflection on the song + a powerful moment of transformation in his own life.