Steve, one of the guys we work with is like you, a “re-born” Christian.  He gives 10% of his salary to his church which we always told him was crazy.  Now that he and his family are going through a hard time we keep telling him that with all the money he has given to that church over the years he should ask them for a little help now. 

Of course he won’t ask though and the church doesn’t bother to see how they are doing but you know, our local Catholic church found all the guys affected by the strike and, whether they were Catholic or not, went around with Thanksgiving turkeys and bags of groceries for the families.  Why don’t the “re-born” churches do that? he asked.

My first thought was that they were probably in the midst of a building program but I kept that one to myself.

Over the years though that encounter has stuck with me, especially now as I wrestle with questioning ‘what did Jesus REALLY care about?’

This last weekend I attended the Justice Conference Asia and in one of the workshops the question got asked, “How do we not overlook the needy around us as we pursue the “sexier” justice issues like child labor and developing world poverty.”  The man leading the workshop admitted it is a concern as certain justice issues are more “sexy” and tend to get more attention than others.

The picture of a child with a bloated belly in Africa will generate more sympathy (and let’s be honest, more fundraising dollars) than the guy at church who lost his job a couple months ago and now whose family is struggling to pay the bills.

But shouldn’t the justice Christ brings compel compassion for BOTH?

I wonder though if the “prophet has no honor in his home town” (Mark 6:4) principal affects Christians and the church when we engage in areas of justice. In fact, sometimes a focus on injustice which is safely “over there” allows us the privilege of ignoring justice issues on our own doorsteps.

There is a cure God gives us for this area of need and injustice on our doorstep though; something we often overlook.

The Eucharist!

Many evangelical traditions (my own included) tend to put the focus of Communion on examining one’s individual heart before partaking of the wine and the bread.  However the Lord’s Table is so much more;  it is the antidote for injustice and need in our midst.  When we go beyond our “self” and also examine our community, church group, or neighborhood before enjoying communion we create opportunities to corporately address areas of need in our often ignored immediate surroundings.  Blind spots are revealed!

Rob Bell was asked if he were to pastor a church again would he do anything different.  He responded:

“I would have Eucharist a lot. .. if you have the bread and the wine, and on a really regular basis, you put the bread and wine on the table and you say “Okay everybody – here you go: Body broken, blood poured out…Has everyone got their rent paid?  Anyone have any medical bills”

What if our communion at the Lord’s Table involved an examination, a taking of the pulse, of what is going unspoken by the people we interact with on a regular basis?  What would that look like?

I’ll finish with a Bible verse that scares the bejeebees out of a lot of Christians.  In fact, it’s so terrifying that a thousand and one explanations have been given as to why it doesn’t necessarily apply in the same way today.

  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.   With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Acts 4: 32- 35

Interesting it was God’s Grace at work that met people’s need.  Christ’s blood offered…Christ’s body broken.  Could meetings people’s need for justice be all about Christ and not us?  What happens when we turn to Heaven to banish “need” instead of Earth?

I don’t know about you, but after 37 years of Christian life, I’m ready to give it a try!

The last 2 days I took a LOT of notes.

The inaugural Justice Conference Asia kicked off in Hong Kong with a desire to bring together men and women working in areas serving the the needy and oppressed, to inspire churches to how they can get involved, and to provide a theological underpinning for why justice should matter to God’s people.

We believe that justice matters. Our conviction is that it sits at the very heart of what God’s Kingdom on earth is all about. Together we desire to encourage a conversation and a movement that is already at work in Asia but is in many ways still in its infancy. We believe that this generation and the one emerging can have a major impact in all spheres of society, helping to bring freedom, dignity and restoration to all who need it most. (from the Justice Conference Asia 2013 website)

A lot of my aforementioned “notes” I’ll unpack in future blog posts so let me just give some of my personal highlights.

Gungor: The conference kicked off with a concert Thursday evening by Michael Gungor and his whole band. The creative talent alone was an inspiration. I mean how many “rock” bands can have a kickin’ cello solo that works? Tammy leaned over to me and whispered, “It has that Boulder Colorado feel.”… which is high praise from her indeed.

Ken Wytsma: Ken is the founder of the Justice Conference in the USA and his first day main session really set the tone for the weekend. His talk was on creating a “theology of justice”. Why should justice be important to God’s people and those wishing to see the Kingdom of Heaven established. (Favorite quote: “Justice is God’s intention for the relational side of his creation”)

Keith Wright: Keith’s talk focused on the need for churches, NGOs, and individuals to do justice together. It’s not enough to be doing “stuff” but are we working well together. He highlighted that sustained impact can only happen when we are joined with others. (Favorite quote: “Don’t be tempted to go alone just because you can go fast.”

Matt Friedman: Matt did a workshop breaking down the steps involved with both labor and sex trafficking as well as sobering statistics that had everyone a little dumbstruck and wondering what we can do to help. (Tragic quote: “One girl we worked with told me she had been raped 1242 times. When I asked her how she knew that she looked me in the eye and said, ‘Because I have been raped one thousand two hundred and forty two times”

Joann Flett: Joann did a workshop entitled: Business, Social Justice, and Restored Beauty and if I am honest, it was the talk that did the most for me personally. Her focus was how to redirect business ventures to serve the community and social good. In the same way pastors publicly pray for missionaries being sent out, she challenged that young business people be prayed over publicly in church by pastors and other business leaders before also being “sent out”. (Favorite quote: “I do not do secular work, I do work that builds the Kingdom of God when I go to work”

Twitter Tweets

Social media was alive and well at the Justice Conference Asia and an online conversation was ongoing throughout the two days. Here are some random tweets from the talks and workshops:

“Emotion should be the catalyst, not the entirety of our response to issues of social justice.” -Helen Sworn #justiceconfasia #conviction

Justice has to be our priority, not a hobby #JusticeConfAsia

“What quality sustains me? Love. Love them, like Jesus loved me.” — Margaret Kendall #justiceconfasia

“The goal of Christian ministry is to see God’s justice in every nook and cranny of this earth.” Dr. Viv Grigg #justiceconfasia #fb

Daddy, when is the last time you actually sat down with a poor person & made a difference in their life?” – @KeithPWright #justiceconfasia

Friendship is at the heart of the local church and the essence of Justice. #justiceconfasia @stephanjbauman

As a prophetic people, we must think critically to act compassionately. – Jarrod McKenna #justiceconfasia

Conclusion

I think a lot of us left the conference wondering, “Ok, what do we do now?” We’ve been educated, inspired, challenged, and entertained. Where do we go from here? Tammy and I have been talking about what we can do to partner with people already doing some incredible work. I know that at the Justice Conference Asia 2014 next year we will have taken a few steps forward in Asia to seeing it “being on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

I want to end by thanking The Vine Church for bringing the Justice Conference to Hong Kong. Tony Read, Tom Read, Andrew Gardner, John Snelgrove and an army of volunteers from the church that made the whole endevour a success. Thanks again for the ongoing blessing you are to this city and region.

Over the years I have become pretty good at finding “the Kingdom of God”  poking through different stories in both film and TV.  My wife and teenage son have gotten used to me jumping up while we’re all watching a movie together and declaring, “See there…right there!  Now that is the Kingdom of God in action!”

So I thought I would start an occasional post titled Finding God at The Movies highlighting some key movies or TV episodes that reveal God’s Kingdom in action.  No “deep theology”…just some fun finding God operating in modern day stories. For the first installment I chose the movie I saw last night: Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3

Date Night with Tammy also meant an evening with Robert Downey Jr.  Really, since Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday in Tombstone, has there been a cooler character portrayed on film than Downey’s Tony Stark?  Thoughts on this?

Warning *MINOR* Spoilers Ahead! (Really…only minor)

Anyhow, there is a great scene toward the end of the movie when Air Force One gets attacked and 11 innocent people get whisked out the blown door of the plane.  Iron Man / Tony Stark  dives out the opening and identifies all 11 victims currently plunging toward their inevitable deaths.  He then asks his on board computer, Jarvis, how many of the people in free fall he’d be able to catch before they reached the ground.  Jarvis responds, “Four.”

Stark looks out over the eleven and has to decide who lives and who dies.

Its here when I leaned over to Tammy and whispered, “He’s going to save them ALL!”

Stark flies down to the first woman who is in terror.  He calms her enough to explain he’s going to send an electronic charge through her arm.  Although she’ll no longer be able to bend it her arm will be strengthened and she then has to link to the next man who will then also carry the power charge.

Iron Man flies with the woman to the man who then link up..

to the next person…

and the next

and the next…

Until all 11 people are in a chain with Iron Man at the center providing the power (you see where I’m going with this don’t you )

As the last of the eleven people hook on, Iron Man slows everyone enough to drop them as a group gently into the Potomac River.  Everyone is saved!

I actually clapped at that moment (cheesy I know) and said to Tammy, “See, that is “Kingdom” right there.”

If Iron Man had just saved 4 people and the other 7 people fell to their deaths we would have congratulated the super hero for doing all he could do.  But what made the story amazing was when Iron Man was told he could save only some, he did the impossible and saved them all!

And he saved them all by providing the strength they needed to reach out to one another.  This “body” of people were able, after overcoming fear, to extend their hands out to others to join and be “saved”.  The power for the whole rescue operation being provided by Iron Man acting as “the chief cornerstone”.

So Steve, are you suggesting God will save all people?

Well, this is not a theology heavy post and I don’t want to open a can of worms.  My friend Paul over at Escape to Reality has done a really good examination of this issue which I resonate with.  Check that out here and here.

If I had to sum up my view simply though it would be “Jesus will save anything in us than can possibly be saved”!

So I don’t know if “All will be saved”?  It’s probably not even the right question.

But, like Iron Man, wouldn’t it be cool if he did?

Let me start with a passage in Luke:

John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

Luke 7:18-22

When Jesus was questioned by John if he was the Messiah Jesus doesn’t quickly respond, “Of course I am”. Instead he tells John’s disciples to look at the people I have interacted with. Like a jet plane, look at the jet stream I am leaving behind me. Where I meet people, those people receive sight, hearing, and are empowered to walk on their own.

“I am Life and I bring life to people in abundance” (John 10:10)

The testimony of others is a powerful testimony. Jesus is telling John’s disciples that they KNOW what Messiah is supposed to do, now look at what I’m doing and go tell John he’s right about me.

Likewise the tell tale evidence of our Christianity resides in the jet stream we leave behind us. What is the result of the interaction we have with people?

Christian means “Little Christ”. A Christian is someone who is being “Christ” to people at work, at home, and to strangers on the street.

Would those people around you say, “Now there is a Christian” Does your interactions and exchanges with others mark you as someone who has had an encounter with the living God?

…or not so much?

If you proclaim you are a “good” Christian but everyone around you thinks you are a bit of an jerk, well, you can do the math.

Perhaps when we get asked if we are Christians we need to get into the habit of responding, “Well look at my reputation. Ask others about me.” They’ll tell you whether I am or not.

When we have exchanges with others, do we give life or steal it?

Then think what makes someone a “good” Christian!

I did!

In fact I was so intrigued…I watched it twice back to back.  (Truth be told, it’s the one movie I don’t take off my iPad)

The movie stars Brad Pitt and tells the true story of Billy Beane, General Manager for baseball’s Oakland Athletics, and his attempt to create a championship team by using very unconventional ways. As he begins his “mission” he quickly discovers that “baseball” has very set ways of doing business. Coaches, scouts, players, and even fans rise up against Beane as he dares to challenge some of the sacred foundations of America’s Pastime.

As I watched I was struck by some of the parallels between Billy Beane and those of us within the Christian faith that are trying to “do”, “undo” and “re-do” church.

There is an epidemic failure within the game to understand what is really happening and this leads people who run major league baseball teams to misjudge their players and mismanage their teams... Baseball thinking is medieval, they are asking all the wrong questions and if I say it to anybody I’m…I’m ostracized. I’m a rebel. (Peter Brand from “Money Ball”)

Likewise there is a epidemic failure within Christianity to understand what is really happening…or what is really important! That failure manifests itself by worshiping Jesus on one hand, and then completely marginalizing what He actually cares about on the other. (Matt 15:8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.)

And yes, if you do ask too many questions, you will be ostracized and declared a rebel.

Chances are if Jesus came back and visited your church, there would be shouts of praise and Hallelujah ringing through the air. Yes indeed, the congregation would welcome him with open arms…on day 1. But what if Jesus then hung around for a while and joined the church?

In six months they would want him gone!

If you think not, you better think again. Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise and Hallelujah; then one week later those same people were calling for his execution. Even his disciples deserted him.

And why? Because he challenged a very entrenched system; He upset the applecart to much.

At the end of Moneyball Billy Beane gets some words of encouragement from the owner of the rival Boston Red Sox. He sees what Beane was able to accomplish and explains:

I know you’ve taken it in the teeth out there, but the first guy through the wall, It always gets bloody, always. It’s the threat and not just the way of doing business, but in their minds it’s threatening the game. But really what it’s threatening is their livelihoods, it’s threatening their jobs, it’s threatening the way that they do things. And every time that happens, whether it’s the government or a way of doing business or whatever it is, the people that are holding the reins, that have their hands on the switch, they go batsh$t crazy!

I understand the feelings, particularly pastors, have at challenging the way of doing things. To be told that the system you have invested your life into needs to be reorganized from the ground up can be tremendously unsettling. As a Christian minister myself I am not unsympathetic to the real fallout a reworking of the church will have on people whose identity and economic livelihood is connected to the current system.

I recently watched a pastor and church planters leadership talk. The guy leading the conference asked by a show of hands how many in the room where over 50 and then how many were under 50. He then told the guys over 50 “You’ll be OK, there is enough of the old system to sustain you financially for the immediate future.” To the pastors and church planters under 50 his recommendation?

“Get a job”, he said, “the landscape of the church in the 21st century is going to be much more organic with leadership shared among a greater number of the local churches.” He elaborated that there will be fewer “paid” positions and recommended that people called to ministry have a Pauline “tent-making” trade that can do to sustain themselves and their families.

Jesus is coming…which means change is coming. A lot of people ain’t going to like that!

Now when these lists are done they usually tend to be “Western” Christianity in general and “American” Christianity specifically. I apologize in advance as I suppose my list, because of my experience, will be as well.

So without further ado here is my 10 Changes on Christianity’s Horizon

1. Partisan Politics will increasingly not be welcome

This first “change” is the most “American” as the U.S. is probably the poster child of what happens when faith and politics mix.  Since 1980 evangelical Christianity has been singularly identified with the Republican Party.  It was a loveless marriage of convenience with each spouse getting what it needed from the relationship.  The Republicans got a loyal “base” of voters to zealously man the polls and evangelicals gained access to a political hammer they could use mold and shape American society.

In this Faustian pact however the church ended up losing its prophetic voice  and now a lot of Christians are seeking for ways to gain it back.  Look for the church to grow more accepting of Christians voting according to their conscience and more wary of dogmatic party loyalty at the expense of a loving heart.

2. “Worship” will expand beyond music and singing

The spread of worship music in church culture has been a blessing but the downside is that our idea of “worship” has been reduced to the 30 minutes of singing before the sermon (or if you are charismatic, 45 minutes to an hour).  In fact, when someone introduces themselves as a “worship leader” you immediately know they are a musician.  The Bible however is full of references to worship beyond music and singing.

On the horizon, music will continue to be the communal centerpiece of worship but look for poetry, film, art, and yes even social justice events to be promoted as “worship”.  Won’t it be great when a worship leader is also the person who leads us out to give food to the homeless?

3. Sunday Morning will be less central to Christian life

17 years ago when I planted a church in Hong Kong we met on Wednesday and Saturday nights to break the “Sunday Morning is Real Church” mentality.  About 2 months later I caved.  It was just too big of a battle then.  People were hard wired to do church on Sunday morning…”why fight it” I thought.

I recently joked with a friend that you can do a “home group” any night of the week and its just a “home group”.  If you do the exact same “home group” on a Sunday morning…you’ve just planted a church. Such is the power Sunday morning has over the Body of Christ.

But change is coming.  People’s lives and work schedules are not what they used to be and Sunday, although still the tent-pole gathering, will be less central in the years to come.  Church is going to be seen beyond “Sunday”!

4. Clergy and Pastors will increasingly be bi-vocational “tentmakers”

My advice to young men and women wanting to “pastor” or “minister” in the church is to make sure you have some form of trade.  The Disciples of Jesus whether they were fishermen, tax collectors, or tent makers all seemed to have professions in addition to their calling.

And there is the crux.  In the coming years church ministry will be more of a calling and less of a profession.  In Acts 18 we see Paul continuing to make tents as a profession even as he pursued his ministerial calling.  That’s not to say that there is not times for people to receive their life’s sustenance from acts of ministry…but this will be, like Paul the Apostle, in various seasons.  Having a “tent making” profession gives added flexibility to advancing the Kingdom of God.

Also, as we will see in the next trend, people are less enthusiastic about giving to churches perceived to have bloated budgets that serve only themselves.  Expect pastors of the future to also be “butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers.”

5. Social Justice issues will become central to mainstream evangelicals.

I grew up in conservative evangelical circles where ministry to the poor and disenfranchised was always viewed with a little skepticism…for no other reason than those issues tended to be championed by “liberals” and “Democrats” which made them immediately suspect.

It’s been increasingly hard though for any follower of Christ to not see the emphasis Jesus placed on the poor and the expectations he had of his church to act as his body on their behalf.  Now there are even Baptist churches talking about protecting the environment. (Who saw that coming?)  Social justice ain’t just for liberals anymore.

Aslan is on the move!

6. Team Leadership in churches will become a reality.

Team leadership has been talked about for years but it has tended to be more “honored in the breech than in the observance”.  Churches still tend to be personality driven with congregations being identified with a charismatic pastor or couple.

Isn’t it amazing though that Paul could write two letters to the church in Corinth (one of them 16 chapters long) and not mention who the Senior Pastor was?  In fact Paul wrote 9 letters addressed to churches and never mentions who the “guy” is in any of them.  Try doing that today.  Could you imagine writing a 16 chapter letter to the congregation at your present church and not mention or identify the Senior pastor once?

Chew on that one for another moment yet…

True team leadership with the saints “leading” the church in their giftings and letting others lead in theirs will become more the norm.  Also, as pastors and other leaders become more bi-vocational (See trend 4) the opportunity for the church to share the load will increase.  The body will become The Body!

7.  Christians will be comfortable with “doubt” and “un-knowing”

Christians have gotten pretty good at quick answers to tough questions in the last 30 years.  As science, social norms, and the world in general changed around us we got a little nervous and looked for vanguards who would defend our faith and whose books we could pull out when we got asked something that made us uncomfortable.  Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, and a host of others came to our defense.  But we forgot one thing…

Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross didn’t need to be defended.  Loving our brothers and sisters didn’t need to be defended.  Showing mercy and forgiveness to our enemies didn’t need to be defended.

I’m quite comfortable not knowing everything these days and I believe a lot of the church does too.

So when someone asks me if I believe the earth is 10,000 years old or 4 billion I can honestly say, “I have no idea,”  and be consoled by the fact that neither my relationship with God, nor my Christian faith has been compromised in the slightest.

8. The Church will focus more on redeeming the world than escaping it!

N.T. Wright has been crucial in helping a generation of Christian leaders understand that everything that Christ did was for HERE on Earth.  I grew up being taught that this world was destined for destruction so don’t focus attention HERE.  The whole purpose HERE was to get as many people saved HERE so we could get them to Heaven which is THERE.  HERE is perishing but don’t worry, Jesus will bring us home to THERE.

What we missed was that Jesus loves HERE.  He died for HERE.  We are not to abandon HERE but are called to redeem HERE.  In fact one of the main reasons Jesus did what he did was to provide a way for THERE to come back to HERE.

This is a much more exciting story!

9. Grace will replace performance

Paul the Apostle preached grace…and got a lot of flack for it.  People who preach grace today are getting a LOT of flack for it as well.  I know some of them personally and believe me, they get some nasty attacks from their “brothers and sisters in the Lord”.  (At times like this I’m somewhat happy to be a small blog flying under the radar)

But make no mistake, a focus on the grace of God will be a welcome trend that continues in the church.

Why?

Because grace places everything on the shoulders of Jesus Christ!  Under grace we are all uniformly lifted up to the position of a Child of God.

Likewise we are all equally humbled before God’s Grace.  For under it, both King and slave, lawyer and janitor, pastor and prostitute stand shoulder to shoulder on the exact same sacred ground of mercy and forgiveness.

…and this scares the bejeebees out of a lot of religious folk!

Christians increasingly see that their identity as a Son or Daughter of God  is not dependent on performance.  The church has been guilty of often inferring that behavior was proof of identity.  Grace comes along and says your new nature (and behavior) is instead shaped by your identity.

10. Jesus: It will be about HIM and not us!

Somehow in all the Sunday meetings, youth group meetings, home group meetings, leadership meetings, worship meetings, prayer meetings etc…etc we’ve sometimes forgot why we are doing all of this.

Jesus…its about Jesus!  The Alpha and Omega, The First and the Last.

This is a man who responds to the criticism of how he could presume to speak with such authority about issues concerning Abraham given his young age responds, “Before Abraham was, I AM!”

That has to be just about the coolest argument shut down line ever to be uttered!

And then he redeems the world through the most amazing act of sacrificial love ever to be witnessed.

That’s the God I’m following and sharing with others.  That seems to be where other Christians are trending too!

There you have it.  My 10 changes I see on the horizon.  You may agree…or disagree.  Let me know!

Cheers…Steve

my iPad, I wanted to keep in touch with a short post!)

For the past 3 weeks I have had the opportunity to travel around Europe chaperoning high school students on an educational trip outside the class room. Part my responsibilities as the school chaplain is to have periodic devotionals where I lead the kids in a reflection time of their experiences and (try) to connect it to a relationship with God.

I figured I’d start with the churches because, let’s face it, we’re in Europe and we’ve seen a lot of churches.

I began by sharing with the students a story from Brian Zahnd’s Beauty will Save the World when he tells of Prince Vladimir of Kiev who sent out emissaries a thousand years ago to surrounding nations. Their task was to see what religions other countries were using as he was seeking a national faith that would unite his people.

They returned telling tales of various foreign religions; some were theoretical, some were austere, and still others were just plain dour.

But the emissaries returning from Constantinople reported about their encounter with Christianity:

Then we went to Constantinople and they led us to the place where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or earth, for on earth there is no such vision nor beauty, and we do not know how to describe it; we only know that God dwells among men. We cannot forget that beauty.

I explained to the students that churches in Europe were designed to reveal the beauty and majesty of God. They were to be places where one experienced heaven and earth colliding.

So then I asked the kids to describe how they felt when they entered some of these beautiful church buildings.

“WOW” said one student.
“Huge” said another.
“Beautiful” said still another and then finally,
“Elegant”

I told the group those were great descriptions but then I asked them, “How many of you walked into one of these churches and instead of thinking ‘Wow, Huge, Beautiful, and Elegant’ thought to yourself, ‘You know, I really need to be a better person’.

The kids laughed of course. To have that response to such a display of beauty would be absurd.

And yet, by and large, this has been the response many Christians have been conditioned to have when having an encounter with the Living God; “Well, I guess I better get my act together.”

The problem is that when the attention and focus is on us, we lose the “WOW” of who Christ is and what he has done. The transformative power of a “Huge”, “Beautiful”, and “Elegant” God who brings dead things to life and re-boots corrupted human systems gets replaced with “sin management”, guilt, and an endless cycle of accountability and confession.

(Not to mention all those alter calls)

I don’t know about you, but I am trying to connect these kids to the God of the “WOW”. When people see the “WOW”…when they see that everything is about Jesus and what he’s done to bring heaven back to earth…well
…everything else then just has a way of falling into place.

Traveling to work one morning about 9 months ago I was listening to a podcast. (My 50 minute commute to work via train and bus is the perfect place to get some reading and “faith building” teaching in.) The podcast I listened to that morning featured an interview with a guy I had never heard of; a gentleman by the name of Bob Goff.

As I listened to the interview I was struck by how much Bob simply radiated “life”. It was if it was coming through the iPad into my spirit. Apparently I was not the only one who felt this way as at one point the interviewer exclaimed, ” Bob, I just have to hug you!”

So what is the secret to Bob’s uncanny ability to affect people so positively? It probably comes down to one simple thing.

He makes time for people…

Bob Goff has learned the secret that if you truly want to demonstrate to people that you love them then you have to make time for them!

In his book Love Does, he mentions some of the guiding principals he lives his life by. One of these principals is that he doesn’t let his phone go to voice mail. As much as possible he attempts to answer each phone call he receives. Even more incredible is that at the back of the book he provides his personal phone number.

Goff explains that rather than seeing phone calls as a nuisance, he views them as opportunities to engage with people. People are always “busy” but Goff remarks that it seemed the busier Jesus got, the more time he had for people. Love doesn’t talk…Love does.

The book chronicles some of his extraordinary achievements and ways of doing life:

• Because of his relief work in Uganda, the Ugandan government has made him a diplomatic counsel for the country
• His grades weren’t good enough for law school so he sat outside the Dean’s office until they let him in.
• He doesn’t make appointments. He wants to be available as much as he can “now” for people.
• Every Thursday he quits or gets rid of something. He says our lives get to full and this allows God opportunity to open up new opportunities.

Since reading Love Does I have given a few talks using Goff and his book as an inspiration. A Sunday morning church service, a work leadership weekend, and a book and coffee club. Of all the references to different teachers and books that have inspired me recently, Bob Goff and Love Does are what people most come back to me and want to talk about.

Why you may ask?

Because Bob Goff imitates Christ.

• He doesn’t do clever theology
• He doesn’t “wow” people with deep insights into the nature of God.
• He doesn’t cast a vision for people to follow.

He simply loves people and makes time for them… And like Jesus that’s made him a pretty popular guy.

God isn’t looking for witty insights into his character to be shared on Facebook near as much as he is looking for sons and daughters who know Him and are ready to take up their position in the Kingdom primarily by displaying compassion to those around.

I know this because I’m pretty good at the former and a little weak in the latter. I’m trying to reverse that and people like Bob Goff are an inspiration to do so. He not only teaches but sets the example of how to live a Christ fueled extraordinary life in an ordinary world.

* Friends let you down
* The boss at work just doesn’t understand you
* Your (insert relevant family member here) is driving you crazy
* You make a bad decision that comes back to haunt you
* Dreams that you thought would succeed crash and burn leaving a trail of tears.

In those moments people often turn to a number of life’s little vices to numb the pain and provide a little “pick-me-up”.

* a comfortable couch with a TV remote

* food

* a credit card powered shopping binge

* a bottle of wine or other “adult” beverage.

It seems that we humans are in a never ending quest to fill something we  feel is missing in our lives; something that takes away the pain.

For some though the pain can be so great that drugs become the pathway to happiness.

God as a drug!

What happens though when God becomes the drug?  When church becomes the “meth house” for obtaining a “high”?  Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin once called religion the “opiate of the masses”.  Christians may dismiss this statement as the vitriolic ravings of a violent revolutionary…but is there a kernel of truth lodged in there somewhere?

I tend to think so…

When Saul, the King of Israel, continually rejected God’s ways for his own, God let Saul know he was removing the Kingdom from him and would give it to another.  The Bible goes on to say,

At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and in its place a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified.

 Saul’s advisers said, “This awful tormenting depression from God is making your life miserable. O Master, let us help. Let us look for someone who can play the harp. When the black mood from God moves in, he’ll play his music and you’ll feel better.

 Saul told his servants, “Go ahead. Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.

One of the young men spoke up, “I know someone. I’ve seen him myself: the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, an excellent musician. He’s also courageous, of age, well-spoken, and good-looking. And God is with him…

…After that, whenever the bad depression from God tormented Saul, David got out his harp and played. That would calm Saul down, and he would feel better as the moodiness lifted.

1 Samuel  16: 14-17, 23

Saul was depressed.  Through his selfishness he managed to lose the anointing and presence of God operating in his life.  This put him in a foul mood.  The Young’s Literal Translation says that the spirit that came over Saul was “sadness”.

So he was depressed and sad.

Hey I understand.  I think we’ve all been there and we tend to look for anything that will dull the pain.

Because Saul’s pain came from his broken relationship with the Spirit of God, he sought solace in the music of David whose spirit radiated love for God.

How many of us as Christians do this?

When we feel “distant” from God or have done what we feel is a “big sin” what do we look to do?

* click on a worship CD,

* find the next church service that has an alter call

* commit to reading a chapter of the Bible everyday.

* pray without sleeping…I mean ceasing

Anything that will take away the feeling of a (perceived) distance from the Spirit of God…

…that will take away the pain.

The problem though was  Saul never allowed the Spirit to change him and conform him into the image of God.  The Spirit was simply a vice for taking away the pain.  The music would dull the sadness for a while but sooner or later David had to be summoned again so Saul could get his “fix” of God.

David we will learn later will sin big…arguably in ways much “bigger” than Saul.  The difference though is that for Saul, God’s Spirit was a narcotic to be used for the benefit of Saul.  David, in contrast, was a son who was constantly seeking to do his Father’s will.  It’s never about the degree of sin, it’s always about the attitude of the heart.

When we fail to allow the Spirit of God to transform us into the image of Christ, God becomes just a drug used to give us a “high”.

How many of us go to church meetings, revival meetings, Bible studies, home group meetings, prayer meetings, Men’s Groups, Ladies Groups, Youth Groups, and yes, even “Leader’s Meetings”, to feel good for a couple hours only to leave the same person that went in.

So the question becomes:  Is God your Father…or your “fix”?

I was sad to learn this week of the death of Brennan Manning at the age of 79.  He was the “grandfather” so to speak for an up and coming generation in the church who have looked for the Grace of God to be revealed in a fresh way.

I mentioned his passing to a Christian friend who is familiar with the “grace movement” and was surprised to hear she hadn’t heard of him before.  How can you even know about Grace and not have read Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel?

…Ok, just kidding

It is important though that Christians know of those who have “plowed the ground” before us.  Even here at Beyond the Pale I freely acknowledge that most of the views I share are the result of standing on others shoulders.

So who was Brennan Manning?

He was simply a man who desperately needed the Grace of God and having received it, desperately then wanted to reveal it to others.

Manning became a Franciscan priest in 1963 and worked with the poor throughout Europe and America living a “contemplative, uncloistered existence”.  In Spain he delivered water to rural villages and even spent 6 months living in a cave in Zaragoza desert.

He left the priesthood and got married only to later divorce.  He later fell into alcoholism whose six month rehabilitation process put him back on the road to recovery.   It was then that he began writing on the Grace of God starting with The Ragamuffin Gospel.

When Tammy and I church planted in Boulder Colorado back in 2002 I started a little lending library.  As you can tell from this blog I have a nasty habit of telling people what they should be reading …and a couple copies of the Ragamuffin Gospel were always available there to read.  I love the introduction to the book:

The Ragamuffin Gospel was written for

The bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out.

It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other.

It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don’t have it altogether and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.

It is for inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.

It is for poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents.

It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay.

It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God.

It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags.

The Ragamuffin Gospel is a book I wrote for myself and anyone who has grown weary along the Way.”

Brennan Manning – The Ragamuffin Gospel

The book had such an impact on singer Rich Mullins that he subsequently named his band after the book.

Manning went on to become a very much in demand writer and speaker.  He was passionate that Christians understood that God had a “furious love” for them that was in no way dependent on their performance.

And he would know as he was an ongoing testimony  to God’s Grace.  Most speakers on the “teaching circuit” might have a testimony of some bad stuff before they were “delivered”.

Not Brennan Manning…

He struggled with alcohol throughout his ministry.  He was brutally honest about his own dishonesty and about his short comings in a way that tends to scare off a lot of religious folk.

But for many others, he was the bruised believer who understood he was loved by his Father in Heaven and that nothing could separate him from that love.  He was someone who really understood Grace in a way probably few really have.  It was this assurance of God’s love and the security that he found in it that I think is what most attracted people to the teachings of Brennan Manning.

I know now Brennan is resting in his Abba’s arms because as he often said, “God is really quite fond of me”