Go, I Dare You!

In his book, Next Christians, Gabe Lyons describes a new generation of Christians using six clarifying phrases, the first of which is Provoked, Not Offended.  While reading the book I applauded this concept, believing in my arrogance that this included me.  However just this weekend I had a chance to review my own actions and I fell short.

I’m a nerd.  Even worse, I’m a Bible nerd.  I say worse because nerds tend to get pretty arrogant, but Bible nerds can get arrogant and self-righteous.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the trap of judging my own actions through rose-colored glasses and judging other much harsher.  For instance, on Sunday my family and I went to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City FL.  We passed a man wearing a sandwich signboard that stated that final judgment was coming on May 21, 2011.    I’m going to be completely honest.  I had several responses, all of which were ugly:

• arrogant, “Obviously that man doesn’t know scripture.”
• amused, “What a silly little man making a fool of himself.”
• offended, “Doesn’t that man know he’s making all Christians (like me) look bad!”
• frightened, “I hope my kids don’t see the crazy man.  Don’t make eye-contact.”

Was I provoked?  Yes I was, but only later when I reflected on my own actions.  I should have acted better than that.  What would Paul or Peter have done when passing by this man?  What should I have done?

Thinking back, I should have talked to the man.  I don’t know what I should have said – that would have depended on the conversation.  And entering into a conversation with the sign holder doesn’t mean that I need to draw large crowds and lead a revival.  My conversation with this man didn’t need to result in him burning his sign board.  If I had just been bold enough to engage him in conversation it would have been a win for me in spite of his choice.

If I had a chance to talk to him, perhaps it might be meaningful to him on a later date (say perhaps on May 22).  Or perhaps my children would have seen the type of loving boldness that marked those of the early church, modeled for them by their own mom.

I fell short yesterday but I am provoked now.  I’m looking for the next opportunity with bright faith, knowing that God will lead me and He hasn’t given up on me.

I want to take a few posts and give my thoughts on what Gabe Lyons wrote in his book, The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America.  The title is sure to catch a person’s eyes (as is the predecessor, Unchristian).  This book excited me because I felt as though he told my story.  The author put into words what I had been feeling since my teen years and captured the discontent I had felt about the church in America.

He calls this next generation, Restorers, referring to the complete telling of the gospel which he lays out in the beginning of his book.  Restorers are those who pursue a world that is more closely aligned to how God intended it to be.  This is the world of beauty, character, and expression that God created and was lost in the fall.  He describes six characteristics of these Restorers which I will save for subsequent posts.

He portrays next Christians as those who seek to go beyond the mere act of evangelizing others.  This notion challenged me, after all weren’t we called to go and spread the gospel?  But upon further reflection I completely agree with Mr. Lyons.  After all the gospel is the good news–the good news of restoration.  Isaiah 61 does a great job of describing this good news .   Some of the actions we are commanded to do include

• preach good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted
• bind up and heal  the brokenhearted
• proclaim liberty to the physical and spiritual captives
• open the prison and the eyes of those that are bound
• proclaim the year of God’s favor and
• comfort those who mourn.

This is good news!  Jesus did save us from sin, but it’s not only so we can go to Heaven!  There is work for us to do here on earth.  We are called, even commanded, to present this good news to all creation.  The story of Jesus saving us from our sin is a portion of that good news, but it’s not all of it.

Job’s words in Job 6:26 could very well be the words of those needy, struggling lost souls we are called to serve, “You pretend to tell me what’s wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air.”  We gain no traction or credibility with desperate souls if we spout platitudes about their need to accept Jesus as Saviour while ignoring their cries and holding them out at arm’s length.  Do we really think they won’t pick up on our disapproval of their lifestyle choices, their clothes, and their addictions?

God, help the church of today and tomorrow!  And if  Jesus left incomprehensible glory to live in the poorest of stations, can’t we at least cross the street and show love to someone who needs it?

God is in the light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live in the truth.  But if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:5-9

Looking back, I can see how God used broken people to rescue me.  Many of the leaders in the ministry were hiding secrets that hurt others.  What breaks my heart even more is there seemed to be little accountability.  To protect the ministry secrets were swept under the rug by those who should have encouraged, or even forced, the secret-bearers into accountability.  The advice I give my children would have proved useful for these men and women and that is to live in the light.

Men prefer darkness to light because their deeds are evil.  This statement should not be true for God’s own people.  God is light and God is truth – if we are burying some secret in the darkness, we will find that it will get more complicated, more harmful – harmful to the very ones God has called us to lead and to love.  Warriors, I plead with you to remain accountable;  I plead with you to confront your God-following co-warriors in love when you see indications of secrets.  Unveiling the lies early will prove to be less painful than clutching that lie for years.  Lies and secrets are like cancer and disease.  Please don’t be a soldier who packs away an ugly lie into the dark recesses of your life and don’t be a warrior who turns a blind eye to something in your fellow soldier’s life.  Don’t deceive yourself in saying that it’s for the good of the ministry or for the good of the family.  Some secrets hurt, so don’t allow them.

Finally, when you hear or see some ugly sin in another warrior’s life don’t write that soldier off.  Consider it what it is, that soldier has been wounded by the enemy and needs help.  There should be no sin that is so gross or so gruesome that we throw away the life of that soldier.  There is no sin so great that the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse it.

Daniel calls to us from ages past.  Though he lived so long ago, the choices he made, his actions and his wisdom are relevant to us now.  He lived as a man loyal to God in the midst of a kingdom given to excess and ambition.

Daniel dares us to respect and love our enemies. (Daniel 4)

It surprises me that the kings of Babylon ever sent for anyone other than Daniel.  For it seems that every time a dream or a sign needed interpretation, they first went through all the wise men and the magicians, the enchanters and the astrologers.  Imagine having a whole team on staff that failed to give the king God’s message.  So finally Daniel gets called in and the news is bad.

Now put yourself in Daniel’s shoes.  Imagine that Nebuchadnezzar conquered and destroyed your home city.  He killed many of your friends and relatives, and he took you from everything familiar, even stripping you of your own name.  Don’t you think you might gloat a bit?  Daniel didn’t.  He showed genuine concern for God’s judgment of the king.  He pleaded with him to change his ways so that God might delay his punishment. We know from reading the text that what Daniel prophesied came to pass, and the king lived as an animal for seven years – but what’s most remarkable in this story is the compassion Daniel had for the king.

Here’s where it gets personal.  Many of your friends and family have a judgment coming.  As Christians we often treat non-Christians with a little self-righteous pride, but like Daniel, our heart should be breaking for their coming judgment.  We, like Daniel, should be pleading—not that they change their behavior—but that they seek to know God.

Daniel seems unreal – he’s too wise, too smart, and too good to be true.  But the Bible tells us that God gave him intelligence, a special gift for understanding visions and dreams, and favor with his captors.  So what really separates us from Daniel isn’t all the wonderful gifts God gave him– after all, He still gives gifts to believers today.  What separates us from Daniel is also something we have in common with him.  It’s our will, our determination.  Daniel yielded his will to God’s will and if we can just do that one continuous act, all the gifts we need to do the work God has set apart for us will be provided.

Daniel dares us to look beyond our circumstances.

Daniel could have seen himself as a defeated man.  He could have seen God as a defeated God.  After all, Babylon stripped him of everything Jewish – his homeland, his family, even his name.  And in spite of it all, he remained faithful to his Jewish God.  Babylon conquered Judah.  Babylon conquered Jerusalem.  But Babylon did not conquer Daniel.  Instead, he stood beside God and participated as God showed Himself time and again to be sovereign over Babylon and sovereign over Nebuchadnezzar.

We look at Daniel as something special, but truly his story is about the special God of Daniel.  This same God is with us today, but in a greater capacity since we have access to His Holy Spirit which lives within believers.  Daniel’s story reaches through the years and dares us to look beyond our circumstances.  Though we experience hardships, we are not defeated.  For we serve a God Who will never be conquered.  Daniel dares us to stand beside our God and watch as He shows Himself sovereign over all.

Daniel’s life speaks loudly for he demonstrated wisdom and discretion in difficult times.  He lived in Jerusalem as a young boy and witnessed the fall of Jerusalem at the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar.  The Babylonians carried off the strong, healthy, handsome boys from noble families, which included Daniel.  Because the fall of Jerusalem was God’s judgment on a wicked Jerusalem, we can know that when he lived in Jerusalem and later when he lived in Babylon, being a worshipper of the one, true God was unpopular.  Like Daniel, we live in a time when being faithful to God is counter-cultural.

Daniel dares us to remain pure.

The Babylonians educated the young men they captured from Jerusalem.  The captive Hebrew boys received the best teachings and new Babylonian names that referred to foreign gods.  They also were served the best choices of food from the king’s table.  Daniel dared to remain pure.  It would have been so easy for him to make excuses and eat the foods that God’s law disallowed, but he did not.  Instead he asked for vegetables and water.  How relevant and timely is this message for our culture?  As a group, we lack self-restraint giving into our lusts and desires.  Though overweight, we want more food.  Though deep in debt, we want more stuff.  As a culture, we want easy sex, fancy technology, fast cars, a quick high, nicotine, and alcohol even when they are harmful or bought on credit.  Daniel lived in a similar culture and his faithfulness and his trust in God speak to us today.  He dares us to remain pure.

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship, he writes of the Catholic Church’s attempt to preserve the rigors of Christianity through monasticism.  The practice of monasticism though, set two standards for the church, the maximum a person could achieve (the monks) and the minimum (the laity).  In speaking of Luther, he went on to imply that for Luther, the rigors of monasticism were not enough.  He writes, ”Luther had to leave the cloister and go back in the world, not because the world in itself was good and holy, but because even the cloister was only part of the world.”

Furthermore, Bonhoeffer writes, “The only way to follow Jesus was by living in the world.  Hitherto the Christian life had been the achievement of a few choice spirits under the exceptionally favorable conditions of monasticism; now it is a duty laid on every Christian living in the world.”

You have to wonder, how closely some of our Christian lives are to monasticism.  We live in a “Christian” world because we surround ourselves with Christians only.  We go to church, send our kids to Christian school, and only hang out with our Christian friends.  Like Luther, it’s time to leave our cloisters and go back into the world – not to live like to world or look like the world, but to follow Jesus as he takes us there.  The call to go back in the world is likely to cost us everything we have and everything we are — not because we give it up as a monk would do, but because we yield it ALL for his purposes.  This is the call for every disciple, every follower, for every one who confesses Christ as Lord.  We are the light of the world and whether we use a basket or a spotlight, we should not hide our light.

This world needs what I have…what you have.

When we shine brightly or live our faith out loud, it not only attracts those non-believers who seek God, but also encourages active believers.  This type of life strengthens the bonds between the believers, building a camaraderie that leads to a life that shines even brighter — proving that close relationships with other believers can draw us closer to God.

These precious friendships suffer attack, from both the busyness of our world and from our true enemy.  Battle against the busyness that keeps us from these types of friends begins by recognizing them as vital and not optional.  Spiritual friendships draw us closer to God, unite us in spiritual causes, and provide a support structure that can withstand tragedy — as such they become weapons for spiritual offense and part of our protection against spiritual attack.  Battle against our true enemy means being vigilant against the types of behaviors that can split friendships, such as gossip, misunderstandings, unforgiveness, and jealousy.

To recap — shining brightly helps us, our spiritual friends, unbelievers who seek God, and most importantly, bring glory to God.  We shine bright, not with our own willpower, but by spending time with God.  Willpower alone results in that revolting fake plastic shallow Christian image that repels God-seekers.  Willpower alone results in self-righteousness.  Spending time with God results in life transformation and an overflowing of light that emanates from God.  It results in Christ’s righteousness.

God directs us to shine for a purpose beyond our own desire to be remembered.  He directs us to shine brightly for a few reasons, first and foremost because this is his plan for reaching the world.  Our compassion, our works, and our impact reflects the goodness of God’s heart.

Like the shining city on a hill, we attract true light-seekers… truth-seekers… God-seekers.  We aren’t attractive when we portray the plastic, practiced image of shallow Christianity that resembles something akin to Stepford Wives, but when we demonstrate the genuine transformation of our lives, a demonstration that is inexplicable outside the hand of God.  Doctrine is important and as God’s ambassadors in a foreign land, we should be able to defend the beliefs of our faith, but it isn’t the study or explanation of doctrine that causes us to shine.  Just like Moses whose face shone after being in close proximity to God while on the mountain,  it’s the daily walk with God and the daily meditation on his word that causes us to shine.

Spending time with God causes us to overflow with his light.  When that happens we can’t help but shine brightly.

“Better to burn out than fade away.”  This miserable quote seems to make the most of our short lives.  It’s the type of quote that can inspire us to use our life for a good cause or, as in the case of Kurt Cobain, cut it short.  The quote stems from an either-or-perspective, like we have to choose between burning brightly for a short time or burning dimly for a long time.  But we do have another option.  We can burn brightly for a long time.

Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world and encourages us to shine brightly for the whole world to see.  The light we shine doesn’t bring glory to us, but to our Heavenly Father.  And it is good that it does so.  If it were to add to our own egos, our own glory, it would not be enough.  We find only temporary satisfaction from the approval of others.  We get it once and it’s like a drug we become dependent on, always needing more and more approval – soon like a junkie, we need approval just to feel normal.  Instead, our good deeds, shining like bright lights in a dark world bring glory to God.

As we get older our lights become even brighter.  God fuels our light, our power, and our fuel.  We don’t need to settle for a burn out or fade away trade-off.  We can burn brightly now and burn more brightly later.