Lost in Translation

"Solitude is often maligned in our culture. It is taken as a sign of weakness, and confused with loneliness. Yet those who accept solitude as an opportunity for spiritual growth and inner healing experience it as a great blessing. Why do we run from solitude? Why do we hate to be alone with ourselves? Because in solitude, our fears, insecurities, brokenness, hatred, and inner violence easily reveal themselves. Solitude can be terrifying at first. It reminds us of the deep loneliness we carry. But if we want real peace, we have to face our inner demons and transform our loneliness into love. Solitude is essential for this inner transformation. As we learn to sit in solitude and silence and turn down the noise of our mind, we create a sacred space for God to move within us. Paradoxically, if we seek out that lonely place within, as Jesus advises, we realize that we are not alone." -- John Dear

I've read these beautiful words seven or eight times now and simply cannot escape the frightening realization that the discipline of contemplative solitude has been all but lost in our Ameri-Christian culture.

I am constantly doing...stuff. Why? Because I have a unhealthy desire to avoid the possibility of waking up one morning and discovering the fact that I am lonely. I am afraid of truly facing my deepest fears (I guess you call that "fearophobia"?). Fears of rejection, fears of inadequacy, fears of abandonment. By remaining occupied, I feel more useful...more worthwhile. I run myself completely dry in pursuit of fleeting fulfillment and incomplete joy. What is it about the human condition that makes it so awkward, so difficult, so incongruous to be alone? The continual occupation of our minds with mundane activity cripples our ability to explore thoughtful introspection. Yet, when I consistently engage God in active prayer taking time to explore the caverns of my heart and letting God explore the depths of my soul, I emerge refreshed, cleansed, and thankful for God's mercy and grace.

"When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are. Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense. When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies. Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant. Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are 'somebodies.' But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people's responses to us but God's eternal love for us." -- Henri Nouwen

To claim the truth of ourselves we have to cling to our God in solitude as to the One who makes us who we are.

--Brimas

The Kingdom of God

This last year I experienced a paradigm shift in terms of my faith and worldview. It all has to do with the Kingdom of God as the message and purpose of Jesus. I have never been exposed to an idea that has had more of an impact on my faith than the Kingdom. To steal from Brian McLaren, I have become 'a new kind of Christian'. OK, that was cheesy but its true.

Speaking of Brian McLaren, this is from his blog:

...I'm hard at work on my next book - "The Secret Message of Jesus" - which will explore the idea of the Kingdom of God. I feel that my own thinking is growing clearer and deeper through the writing process. My admiration and love for Jesus and his message have never been greater; writing this book feels like an experience of devotion and worship for me.

So Brian is beginning to write about the Kingdom of God. Brian's audience is HUGE and if this idea begins to trickle down into mainstream Christianity I think that it could literally change the world. After all, that is the message of the Kingdom--transformation of the world.

I was at the 2005 Willow Creek Leadership Summit this weekend at a megachurch here in the DC area and I have a lot of thoughts on what I heard there and what it means for the Church in America. I have never been a big supporter of Rick Warren bascially because I am a judgemental person. I pretty much figured that he was selling 'Self Help' Christianity and making people feel good about themselves. I was completely wrong. I won't go into it here (maybe I will post another time on my thoughts from the conference) but Rick was speaking to a bunch of ultramodern, middle-aged, megachurch-aspiring pastors and he was speaking Kingdom language! He was preaching the Kingdom of God to a bunch of people who are still preaching 'personal Jesus' and 'Save your soul' Christianity. No one--NO ONE--has a bigger audience than Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life is the best selling non-fiction book...ever) and no one has more influence. His words were this: "We are going to experience a 2nd Reformation. The first one was about creeds, this one will be about deeds. The first was about belief, this one is about behavior. We know what we believe! Let's live it out!" That is the Kingdom of God, friends, and that is exciting to hear.

I was going to post this on my blog but I decided that I would put it here. I want to open up discussion on this idea because I think 'ideas have legs' and wrestling with these things together is how we were designed to work. If we're serious about being followers of Jesus I hope it is our goal to at the very least understand exactly what he was doing. If we can begin to come to grips with what the Kingdom might mean for us as a community of believers I think we are on the right track.

Read/Listen if you want to learn more about the Kingdom of God so we can discuss:

Audio - NT Wright: Jesus and the Kingdom
Audio - NT Wright: Jesus and the Cross
Audio - NT Wright: Jesus and God
Audio - NT Wright: Jesus and the World's True Light
Creation Regained
Engaging God's World
Gospel of the Kingdom
Bible Study: Introduction to a Kingdom Perspective

peace
kc

In Job I Trust

Recently, I have found myself overwhelmed with the unpleasant combination of feeling pressure to make the "right" decisions concerning my future and an unavoidable longing to live multiple lives. No, not multiple lives like a Russian spy (see: Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie "True Lies"). I mean literally living six or seven entirely separate and unique lifetimes. You see, I cannot decide whether I should be a youth pastor, a musician, a marketing executive, an entrepreneur, a day-laborer, a consultant, or a shepherd. Ok, I'm not really considering becoming a shepherd...but you get the idea. The question, then is "Does it really even matter?" I mean, mustn't we believe that God will meet us wherever we are? There is so much banter in the Christian world about "following God's will" and "choosing the path that God has lined up for us".

First of all...God will most certainly take care of His business with or without me. And second, why am I so concerned with "helping" God rather than serving Him. That's like having an ant "help" a team of oxen pull a wagon. Am I living my life with the audacity that each avenue of interest that I explore would best be served by...well, me? I felt the same way in school. I would consistently do entire group projects more or less by myself because I was afraid of other people either:

A. Doing a poor job (that I would have to correct later) or...
B. Doing things (gasp!) their own way

Both of these awkward disturbances that I had in my ability to trust others stem solely from incredible selfishness. It seems that the same lack of trust I had in my fellow students has translated into a distrust of my God. Of that, I am ashamed.

Of course, God uses His people to fulfill His work. But, let us not delude ourselves into thinking that our help is required. It is by God's grace that we are blessed to be active participants in His workmanship. I am more focused on trying to please the Lord (and of course, fulfilling my own dreams) with my choice of career rather than engaging in relationship with Him.

There exists a distinct (yet too often subtle) difference between a person's job and his vocation. Shouldn't we be "vocational" Christians? No, that does NOT mean that each and every Christ-follower should drop what they are doing and go to seminary. What does that mean? Well, much of our culture (Ameri-Christian pop-culture) has mistakenly left "ministry" to ordained church employees. Sure, people do volunteer work, assist troubled motorists, and attend church regularly. But, where along the line did we up and abandon Christ's call to engage culture and move towards the consummation of Christ's marriage to the Church (body of Christ...not a denomination or a building)?

Love God. Love neighbor. This is our mission. Let us examine who/what/where in our lives is in need of Christ's love...and let us go there.

-- Brimas

Risky Business

Where does our assessment of life's risk meet the necessity of a trusting faith? Far be it from me to assert that every important decision I have made was with the utmost divine clarity. On the contrary. The truth is, we make decisions that require faith in something. Faith in income, faith in relational loyalty, faith in ourselves...you name it. How often has that "faith" rested in reliance upon something other than the Lord? So many times my perception of risk in making a certain decision was far greater than its actuality. Frankly, I have always ensured that I had a contingency plan in case things got really difficult. These contingencies often revolved around my ability to bail myself out of a difficult situation in one way or another.

Of course, reckless behavior (whether in faith or action) is almost equally as dangerous. Understand that I am not insinuating that we, in essence, board the Titanic without life boats, cross our fingers, and hope that it won't sink. Rather, I am encouraging us towards a faithful trust that reflects a willingness to abandon the world's view of risk in favor of God's promises. Extending beyond our zones of comfort (whether financially, relationally, spiritually...whatever) allows us to engage in true relationship with God.

Now, I assure you that I am not the most staunch John Piper supporter in the world. I have odds with a lot of what he says. Here, though, I think he is right on...

There is a great biblical legacy of loving risk-takers. Joab, facing the Syrians on one side and the Ammonites on the other, said to his brother Abishai, "Let us be courageous for our people . . . and may the LORD do what seems good to him" (2 Samuel 10:12). Esther broke the royal law to save her people and said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Shadrach and his comrades refused to bow down to the king's idol and said, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us . . . But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods" (Daniel 3:16-18). And when the Holy Spirit told Paul that in every city imprisonment and afflictions await him, he said, "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course" (Acts 20:24).

There is something to be said for embracing an atmosphere in which self-reliance is nearly impossible.

-- Brimas

Rocky Mountain's Majesty

I have just returned from a soulful journey to Southeastern Colorado (specifically Pagosa Springs). The thrust of God's magnificent creation unfolded before my very eyes as I spent time away from highways, construction, and strip malls. Towering peaks and endless valleys served as the backdrop for crisp (yet animated) rivers and curious (yet contemplative) wildlife. Far more than a "battery recharge" or vacation, it was an opportunity to return to the roots of true faith. Prayer, solitude, engaging conversation...each of these was an integral component of the journey. The simple pleasures of waking up to a rising sun, gazing in awe for hours on end at the majestic starry skies, and exploring the heights of a cascading waterfall were magnified ten-fold by the blessing of being able to share the moments with people I love. Why has embracing nature's simple beauty been shoved aside as a periodic opportunity for visual refreshment rather than remaining a daily exploration into the heart of God? How long ago did commerce overshadow contemplation as the driving force behind our decisions? Wendell Berry is correct when he says, "The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."

-- Brimas