May 2009 Archives
The Limits of the Law
The Limits of the Law
One of our favorite radio programs around here - other than White Horse Inn of course - is This American Life. Rarely does a week go by without the program taking up some theme that makes us pause and reconsider some great truth about Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation.The May 1, 2009 broadcast (available on the show's archives page at thisamericanlife.org) begins with a story of one Florida judge's attempt to instill shame in young convicts who have been caught stealing from local stores. The law-breakers must wear a sign indicating their crime ("I stole from this store") and parade themselves in front of the store so that everyone who drives by can observe their humiliation.
The show's producer asks the court minder what the percentage is of those who have been sentenced to this shame who eventually commit another crime. Although statistics aren't available, the lady says she can see it in someone's eyes. And so the stage is set to determine what course the young woman wearing the sign that day will do: she is unapologetic, the sentence has done nothing to dissuade her from crime, and she will definitely steal again, she says.
The law, even in the hands of an imaginative Florida judge, cannot create righteousness, nor as he found out after hearing this episode of This American Life can it always prevent sin. All the law can do is create a reluctance to sin again (because of fear of consequences) or shame over sin (because one has been exposed) or begrudging acceptance of a power that constrains our behavior.
Righteousness can't be created out of whole cloth; it can only be given to those who do not deserve it, don't expect it, and wouldn't accept it unless they had been transformed by the new birth. Sadly, the church (in it's effort to replicate a form of godliness without the power thereof, otherwise known as Christless Christianity) has settled for morality instead of the gospel. We are happy if people are reluctant to sin. We are still happier if they feel shame over their sin. We are living off of a fading power to constrain behavior, a power that has already disappeared in some sectors of society.
The health and eventual success of the church depends not on regaining this power of constraint, nor even of moral influence. It depends solely on our ability (or is it willingness?) to proclaim again the gospel of a righteousness that comes to us while we were yet sinners. Anything more or less is a corruption of the gospel.
Eric Landry
Executive Editor, Modern Reformation
Presbyterian is a verb
To get the background on this story, click here.
To learn how this could have been avoided and why church government is such an important topic, click here.
Reminder: Matt Haeck Live
Join your other fanboys and girls for a lunchtime concert after church tomorrow at Barley n Hops Old World Tavern at 1:15 (31045 Temecula Parkway, on the southeast corner of Jedidiah Smith in The Temecula Creek Plaza, one traffic light east of Pechanga Pkwy, behind Long's Drugs on the right).
This is a perfect way to spend the afternoon before coming to the VBS planning meeting at 4:00 p.m.!
HOA for Jesus
HOA for Jesus: Serve Your Neighbors
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative.Just serve!
Rather than complain that your neighbor doesn't mow his lawn often enough (no joking about my own lawn!), get the lawnmower out and do it for him. Don't grumble while you do it; do it out of love and service. You may not win them to Christ, but you can express kindness to them. This aspect of service is part of the liturgy of our lives (Romans 12:1). These mundane good deeds that we can do are aspects of the masterpieces that God is creating out of each of us (Ephesians 2:10).
Citizen Christian
Citizen Christian: Participate in City Events
Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
You live here. You pay taxes. The health and the welfare of the city should matter to you (regardless of your religious beliefs). But common social causes and the good of the city give you an opportunity to not only share the gospel with new friends, but to also reveal your dedication to your dual citizenship. God has saved you, now go plant a tree (paraphrasing Martin Luther a little there). Don't focus on heaven to the detriment of your earthly calling, vocation, and citizenship.
Looking For Grace
Gerson writes:
"But Putnam regards the growth of the "nones" as a spike, not a permanent trend. The young, in general, are not committed secularists. "They are not in church, but they might be if a church weren't like the religious right. . . . There are almost certain to be religious entrepreneurs to fill that niche with a moderate evangelical religion, without political overtones.""
What does "moderate evangelical religion" sound like? In Gersom's opinion, it would be marked by "grace, hope and reconciliation...a message of compassion and healing...."
While the message of the cross will always be foolishness and a scandal to some, we're trying to heed this sound advice here at Christ Presbyterian Church. We believe that our ministry must be in accord with Paul's view of the church's mission:
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore,we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become sthe righteousness of God. (1 Corinthians 5:18ff)
Words of grace, hope, and reconciliation can be heard every Sunday at CPC and we believe that they are transforming words that belong both to those in the church and those out of the church.
(HT: mockingbirdnyc)
Participate
Participate: Volunteer with Non-Profits
Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
Maybe it's because I've worked at non-profits, maybe it's because I think that unofficial associations can drive social change, maybe it's because I don't want every good deed that can be done to be given over to a church committee...but I like this idea!
Do you care about homelessness, children's issues, green spaces, art? Whatever the cause go out and participate as an expression of your gratitude for the gospel. You are free to serve your neighbors as an expression of your worship to God.
Open Your Mouth
Open Your Mouth: Talk to Your Coworkers
How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
Ok, here's your permission to grab a beer with a coworker after the day is done. And ask your spouse to do the same, or if you stay home, find a neighbor! So much of he negative connotations that our culture has about Christians is because of a false sense of piety: if we get too close, we'll get dirty. Read Mark 7:14-23, repent, and find someone to talk to (have an iced tea if you need to).
Share Your Joy
Share Your Joy: Hobby with Non-Christians
Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
This one will look different for each of you. Softball on Thurday nights just isn't as much for for some as wine tasting at the local wineries is. So, follow your passion and share your joy! (This has got to be one of the best arguments against church sports leagues I've ever heard.)
Be Known
Be Known: Be a Regular
Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.
A good friend and world-class theologian I know did this very thing with his barber. Now the barber and his family are regular guests as said theologian's house for family events and holidays. They have created a space for good conversations about Jesus to be had. Who do you know? Who knows you?
Missional Living: Start with Food
Start with Food: Eat with Non-Christians.
We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
For most of us it isn't the Christian subculture that we need to flee, it's our own selfishness when it comes to time spent with our family. After the hard day at work, the long commute, and/or the stressful day with the kids, we just want to retreat into our homes. Frankly, it' hard work to build relationships. I've even heard complaints from people in the church that midweek fellowship is difficult to come by because families have (or make) little time to be available.
Here's a point where we can all improve. You won't have even opportunities to share the gospel with your friends, coworkers, or neighbors if you never make yourself available to them. Identify two or three individuals or families that you'd like to build relationships with over the next several months and begin making plans to do so. Pray that God would bless those relationships and give you an opportunity to share the gospel, too.
Get Out!
Get Out: Walk, Don't Drive
If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.
Ok, so this doesn't really work in the suburbs, but you can make work in your immediate vicinity: walk the neighborhood, stay outside, say hello to the kids who ride their bikes across your lawn (don't just glare at them). You could even go back to yesterday's post and "start with food." Organize a block party; have the different families bring food that celebrates their countries of origin. The mission field starts at your front door!
Broken: Redemption
Last week we began our new series, "broken," with a sermon on sin: what it is, how it affects us, and what hope we have to be free from it. This week, we take the next step and start asking questions about redemption. In too many circles, redemption looks like an episode from "This Old House." Our spiritual lives are in a state of disrepair and Jesus comes to fix us up. But after Jesus and the camera crews leave, we can still see the scars of sin. And it seems that every attempt we make to keep up the repairs (using the cool, new tools Jesus left us) leads to more decay. What is redemption, especially when it doesn't feel like we've been redeemed? That's the course our conversation will take this Sunday. Hope to see you there.
Matt Haeck Live
Join your other fanboys and girls for a lunchtime concert after church on Sunday, May 17th at Barley n Hops Old World Tavern at 1:15 (31045 Temecula Parkway, on the southeast corner of Jedidiah Smith in The Temecula Creek Plaza, one traffic light east of Pechanga Pkwy, behind Long's Drugs on the right).
This is a perfect way to spend the afternoon before coming to the VBS planning meeting at 4:00 p.m.!
Simplified Missional Living
Over the next several days, I'll post each of Dodson's ideas. You can find them all here. I'd love to hear from you about how these strategies for fleeing our Christian subculture are useful for you and your family.
Women's Study
The Recipes
Happy eating!
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/steak-and-potatoes-00400000001256/
Women's Brunch
Hemet Bible Study