A Costly Decision

Yesterday we had the privilege of having Don Kraybill come and speak at "The Grove".  Don is a scholar from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.  He the author of many books on the Amish and Old Mennonite communities around the country.  He also is the author of "Upside Down Kingdom" (see my review below).

Don introduced our Lenten series on Disciplines of a Disciple with a sermon called "A Costly Decision."  One of the things that he talked about that stood out was what we think of as carrying a cross.  Often we think of any bad thing that happens (illness, family relationships, etc.) as a cross we have to bear.  But, as Don pointed out, a cross is a conscious decision we make to sacrifice for Christ.  It's not something that happens to us that we have no control over.

During our Sunday school hour Don also spoke on Amish spirituality.  He talked about the roots it has along with other Anabaptist groups.  Much of what he was saying sounded just like the original Brethren.  The Amish are dedicated to the community.  They live and worship within one community and aren't able to "church-shop" the way modern Evangelical Christians do.  Instead they are forced to live and work and relate to those people.  The have a communal understanding of salvation rather than an individualized salvation you find in evangelical circles.  He explained that their shunning is to bring an individual into correction and ultimately to restore them to the community.  The Amish communities are each responsible for deciding how they feel is best to follow Christ in their individual lives.  Their decisions are seen as coming from heaven because it is the work of the Holy Spirit that helps the community come to a decision.

Obviously no one, including the Amish, are perfect.  There are certain hypocrisies.  However, I think the intentions of the Amish and their simplicity and daily living a life to honor Christ is something which should teach us modern "Inklish" (English is used for anyone not Amish by the Amish).  It made me think of a section of Shane Claiborne's book called "Amish for Homeland Security" and his call for new communities of a "neo-Amish" movement.

Any comments?
Listen to Don's sermon online  Here

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile by Rob Bell and Don Golden is a re-read for me, but I haven't written about it.  Bell and Golden look at the Exodus story and its implications for the church, especially the American church, of today.  They focus on four key places; Egypt, Sinai, Jerusalem and Babylon.  Egypt is the place where the oppressed Israelites cry out to God and their cry is heard by God.  God responds when he hears the cry of the oppressed.  God sends Moses to lead the people to Sinai, and at Sinai God makes a covenant with his people.  He chooses them to be his people who will show the rest of the world what God is like.  He commands the people repeatedly not to forget Egypt lest they forget how they were once slaves and set free by God.  Jerusalem is where the people begin to see God's blessing.  But soon they have forgotten Egypt.  They are now the ones oppressing, hoarding and protecting that which they feel is their right.  Solomon builds large military bases to protect and defend their way of life.  They are no longer helping other oppressed people.  Now the oppressed are crying out again which results in Babylon.  In exile the prophets begin seeing a glimpse of a bigger picture.  They start talking about a new exodus, one that will be bigger and more complete.  It's one that will be for all the world and not just the Jews.

The authors equate this with the American church's blessing and now responsibility to hear the oppressed.  Thrown in are some sobering statistics of America's wealth, military spending and waste compared with the rest of the world's need.  Bell and Golden encourage the American church to be a Eucharist or "good gift" to the rest of the world.  They ask the pointed question of "Who would care if your church closed?"  Are we making a difference in the world?

The book is written in the typical Bell style if you've read any of the other books he's written.  It's an easy read, but one that will challenge and convict.  Bell and Golden take what they call a "New Exodus Perspective" as they look at the meaning of the events of Exodus.  It's not my favorite Bell book, but one that can be very convicting of us as American Christians.  Overall 4 out of 5.