AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY 2009

A bit like the Athenians that St. Paul met, it seems to me that American Christians that I have been meeting and worship with lately are very religious and concerned about their relationship with God and whether they are growing in closeness to God. But I wonder, are they hearing anything from God of importance? What seems to me to be lacking is what I am most concerned about presently for myself, perhaps related to our leaving Belize where we had full time ministry opportunities among people needing something from God and us. I wonder very much, what is the heart of God desiring of his people, and me in particular? If I could sense the heart of God when he looks at me- that is what I am seeking after and wishing for others. It is not enough for Christians to be buried in commitments- socially, churchly, financially, in business or in this culture, and not seeking to know first the heart of God in our lives. What would please God the most from us? What is he longing for us to do? What should be the preoccupation of the church, any church?

It seems the biggest problem for Christians around me is that culture and commitments have so swallowed them up that they are not really free to seek the heart of God. People just can’t respond to anything that does not fit their present style and pace. They must first go and “bury their fathers” that is, putting off seeking the heart of God fully because they are wrapped up in the culture and their commitments that must be fulfilled. An economic standard of living dictated by society and our commitment to it is one big rock that weighs down many. They have little freedom to move with God’s heart leading them. Another is the assumption that they are already doing closely what God desires of them. Who would hear it if God would call them to a life of ignoring cultural economic values, (becoming a bit like the poor, for the sake of the Gospel) and perhaps considering geographic displacement? How many would respond to God’s revealed heart to rearrange their whole economic assumptions so that they could share half their wealth so that hundreds of millions could simple eat and hear the Gospel? I suppose most Christians could not imagine that God would desire anything like of them; and if he did, it would be impossible to respond to such a call. What would it take to revolutionize the church structures so that the adequate resources God gave the church for the salvation of the world would be released to meet those needs? When will worship and the church, cocooned now by culture, welcome the heart of God to break through to hear God’s design for humanity?                                                                                                          July 8, 2009

                                 LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

When Jesus was asked by the rich young man what he must do to get eternal life, Matthew 19:12-22, Jesus listed some of the commandments and also, loving your neighbor as yourself. Certainly this was a personal challenge for personal salvation. But what about the salvation of the church- any congregation? What if a congregation was challenged to love its neighbors as itself in order to inherit eternal life? Now the church must ask, “Who are the neighbors of the church?” People may prefer to keep the question local. But when the needs from around the world vividly and repeatedly break through on our big TV screens, there is a whole new dimension to neighborhood compared to when Jesus was on earth. Is not the neighbor anyone whom you see in desperate need? Do not the orphans and all people around the world who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel become our neighbors? The neighbor becomes all people who have the need to experience the whole Gospel.

But back to the church faced with the global neighbor. What concern is the church challenged to have if it loves the ‘neighbor as itself’. Literally it would mean that the church has an equal responsibility to care for the ‘neighbor’ as for itself. Is it too bold to suggest that it might mean to share in equal measure in its prayer, financial, and personnel resources with the world neighbor? If so, a church would spend a lot of time and focus thinking about the needy neighbors around the world, just as it does on its local internal needs. One could ask how much the church is really giving to God’s wider kingdom goals when most of the financial and other resources are simply spent on taking care of its own needs. We pay for a comfortable environment so we can worship and fellowship with each others. The leadership is our servant and we pay them for their services- services to us. Churches have many miscellaneous items in their budgets. Is it really giving an offering to God when most is for our own benefit? Are we not really loving ourselves much more than the neighbor?

A congregation would be faced immediately on how it could help the global neighbor as much as itself. The answer is simpler on paper than in logistics: either cut local expenses or double giving through the church, or a combination of both. Certainly they would still need to meet the needs of the neighbors among themselves locally. They could not be ignored in favor for the neighbor abroad although the church would need to recognize the likely greater desperation of the neighbor around the world.

Remember, this was part of Jesus’ answer to the question of how to get eternal life. He spelled out the condition “if you want to be perfect”, of selling and giving to the poor [neighbor]. Is it too much to say that the church’s inclination to hoard resources leads Spiritual discontent- to “sadness” like it did for the young man rather than to the “perfection” with real happiness? Where does it fit in that God loves a cheerful [hilarious] giver? That sure is a long way from the uneasy church, or perhaps the church does not know how happy it could be if they would follow Jesus’ radical challenge to love the global neighbor like itself.                                                                                          August, 2009