Story

I love a good story.  When I was younger I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and often found myself day dreaming about life in Narnia.  I was captivated by those stories of kings and queens and talking animals and of the great lion, Aslan.  I also loved reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  These incredible stories of good triumphing over evil were captivating to me.  What is it about a good story that we just lose ourselves in?  

Recently I finished reading “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller.  In his book, Miller talks about what makes a story great.  He discusses that what makes a story great is also what makes a life great.  He talks about character development and how we deal with the problems we face.  Life isn’t easy all of the time.  In fact Miller writes that if the story doesn’t have some kind of problem to overcome it won’t be a great story.  Perhaps that’s why these stories are my favorites; because the characters face seemingly impossible situations which they overcome by the help of some good force.

My question is “What kind of story am I telling with my life?”  Is my story compelling?  Do I overcome the obstacles I face and develop my character?  Would anyone be interested in my story or is it boring?  We tell stories with our lives.  Sometimes we tell great stories and other times our stories are more of a tragedy.  Both Lewis and Tolkein knew the great Good that lies behind life and bore witness to it in their stories.  Will we bear witness in the stories that we will tell with our lives?  Will our stories be compelling to others?  Will we allow God to develop our character through His grand story?  So go read a good book and go tell a better story.

Identity

I just got back from a great weekend with our senior high youth.  Despite being the coldest weekend of the year, so far (that seems to happen a lot with this retreat) we had a blast.  Our main speaker talked about who we are in Christ with the theme of "Identity".  Our breakout sessions focused on God's dream for us, committed faith, re-envisioning what Salvation is (not just a moment, but an ongoing process) and how we define ourselves.

I think this idea of seeing ourselves as God sees us is so important especially in a youth culture that tries to define teens by what technology they have, how athletic they are, what kinds of clothes they have and numerous other factors having nothing to do with how God sees us.

Several years ago our youth put together a video about how God sees us as "holy and dearly loved" taken from Colossians 3:12.  Jesus calls us to not conform to the standards of the world, but be transformed into who Christ calls us to be (Romans 12:2).  Culture has all kinds of ways that it wants us to conform.  But Jesus calls us to follow him.

My hope for our youth and any others who read this is that we will continue to wrestle with how God is calling us to live, and how we can find our true identity in Him.

"Identity" from Mechanic Grove Youth

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

Back in the Fall I decided I should start attending the Men's Bible Study at Mechanic Grove.  The catch was that it meets at 7:00 Saturday morning, and I struggle to operate that early on Saturday morning.  But it turned out to be an incredible blessing as I began to meet and have conversations with men of different ages.

Our focus has been guided by "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" by David Platt.  The book focuses on how we were created to proclaim the glory of God.  Platt discusses how our pursuit of the American Dream and materialism has taken us away from our goal of proclaiming God to the nations.  Platt advocates for a reduction in our pursuit of material wealth and radical devotion to God.  He shares many stories of people in his faith community who have sacrificed their own pursuit of the American Dream in order to allow themselves to better proclaim God's glory to the nations.

One story he shares that hit me was about a business man who wrestled with what Platt was saying about giving up our stuff.  The man came to the conclusion that he couldn't see God telling him when he got to heaven, "I wish you would have spent more time building wealth for yourself" (my paraphrase).

Platt discusses how millions of people are dying every day of starvation, poor water and preventable disease.  Billions more are doing so without a knowledge of Christ.  He also bears witness to millions in the underground church who have a fire for God not found in comfortable "Christian" America.

The book has some very provocative ideas.  The discussion within the Bible study has been incredible and convicting.  It has been interesting for me to read this book.  The theology used to build his case is somewhat Reformed which is very different for an Ana-baptist audience.  But the living out is very similar.  I think the discussion of how materialism is taking over in the American church is one that needs to take place and Platt's book helps to advance that conversation.

One of the men in the Bible study is fond of reminding us, "It's just like the title says.  It's radical."  But maybe that's the way a disciple is supposed to be.

The Upside-Down Kingdom

My goal, at least to start, this year is to be more consistent in writing, if not for anyone else's benefit, than for my own.  I will start to include book reviews of some of the things I'm currently reading either for church or for my own.  With that said, here's "The Upside-Down Kingdom."

Donald Kraybill's book originally published in 1978 has continued to be printed and edited.  I finished reading the 25th Anniversary Edition from Herald Press.  Kraybill gives new insight into the world surrounding Jesus.  "The Upside-Down Kingdom" describes the radical message Jesus brought to his world and connects it to the message the church continues to live in a foreign, worldly kingdom.  He goes into detail about the history, culture and politics that surrounded the first century Jewish world with all of it's revolutions, religion, and empires.  Kraybill then discusses how Jesus message differed with that of the surrounding culture.  He discusses how Jesus consistently broke with cultural conventions to minister to the Gentile, Samaritan, sinners, women and multiple other people groups who Jesus should not have had contact with had he followed the culture.  Kraybill ends by challenging the church to continue to be a community that bears witness to and upside-down way of living.

I enjoyed this book.  Recently I've read other books (Myth of a Christian Nation, Jesus For President) which have a similar message.  Kraybill shows that this is not a new idea.  I learned a lot about the religious background and make up of the 2nd Temple period of Jewish history.  I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

As an additional plug Don will be speaking at Mechanic Grove March 6.  He'll be talking about Discipleship and also Amish faith during our Sunday School hour.  For more information visit: www.mgcb.org

Upside Down Christmas

I've been reading "Upsidedown Kingdom" by Don Kraybill recently.  In it he talks about the social world of Jesus time being like a checker board.  People placed themselves in boxes of Pharisee, Wealthy, Jew, Gentile, Samaritan, Man, Woman, etc.  These boxes were important.  You only associated with those in boxes like your own.  But Jesus comes and begins stepping all over the boxes.  He associates with the lowly despised Samaritan woman at the well, the greedy manipulative tax collector and the uneducated fishermen.  Today our society is based on similar boxes.  Those that are college educated or trade school.  Those that have money and those that don't.  Those that are like us and those that aren't.

As we get close to Christmas and hear the same Christmas story read again, it occurs to me that Jesus started stepping across boxes from the very beginning.  A teen, unmarried mother, dirty shepherds, foreign Gentile wisemen.  From the beginning Jesus is reaching out and doing things in a way that are upside down.

So what am I doing this Christmas to celebrate in way that is upside down, that reflects the first Christmas.  How am I showing love, hope, peace and joy to the world around me and specifically to those whose boxes are farthest from my own?  How will I be like Jesus and step out of my comfortable box and into one less comfortable?  How will I live an upside down Christmas?

Together

The early church had to come together and rely on one another for their survival.  They were a persecuted group mostly of outcasts.  They needed to come together.  The same was true of the early Brethren.  Amidst a culture of war over religion, the Brethren’s view of peace and simplicity put them at odds with the ruling religious and political leaders.  They came together to live and work and challenge each other spiritually.  During the month of December and into January our Youth will be talking about how we work at growing together.  The Holy Spirit has blessed each of us with gifts and talents to use for his glory.  When we use these gifts together we see the Body of Christ more fully realized. 

Gemeindschaft

Often translated simply as community, this is how the early Brethren chose to see themselves.  They lived together, worked together, ate together, worshipped together and read the Bible together.  But this wasn't a Brethren invention.  The Bible itself is written to communities of people meant to be read in community and practiced in community.  Consider Romans 12:3-8 that talks about us being the Body of Christ each with our own gifts that are used to form one body.  Philippians 1:27 instructs us to contend as one.  Later Philippians 2:1-5 instructs us to share love and purpose and to put each other first.  Acts 2 is the vision realized as the early church shared everything in common.  Life, possessions, love of Christ.  In fact the early church chose to see themselves as ekklesia and koinonia.  Ekklesia was a community of people proclaiming a new lord and new kingdom.  Koinonia is often translated as "fellowship."  Over time the church became more individualized.  The Brethren chose to return to the idea of community.  This often seems like a strange concept in a culture drenched in individualism.  In fact individualism is often glorified. Being self sufficient, doing it on your own, "I can do it myself."  But Jesus never intended for us to do it ourselves.  More and more we see people yearning to be part of community.  Consider the rise of social network sites in the last few years.  Millions of people connecting in virtual communities.  But as Shane Hipps puts it they are virtual, but they are not community.  Community is a place where people come and share their hopes and dreams, the struggles and brokenness.  They help one another grow spiritually, but they also help each other in real, concrete ways as well.  And so we as Brethren seek to live life together and pursue God.  We seek to live in peace and to share Christ's peace with the world.  We seek to put Christ above all else and to help the poor and outcast by living a simple life.  And we seek to understand the Bible and be disciples of Christ together as a community.  As one Gemeindschaft.