Filed under: Madison, Wisconsin, Mission Leadership | Tags: 2001, 9/11, Assyria, Assyrian, Biblical, Christian, cultural, Dar Ul-Harb, dialog, Egypt, English, epistemological, fundamental Christian beliefs, future, gospel, Hospitality, ideal, Iraq, Islam, Islamic, jihad, Madison, Maghreb, Mohammed, Muslim, Pakistan, pluralist, Religion, secularist, September 11, spiritual war, tolerance, utopian, UW, Wesli, William Taylor, Worship
With no epistemological base on which to build, the secularist in Madison grasps for a utopian future in which tolerance is the ideal. This ideal, however, is inconsistently applied to those with fundamental Christian beliefs.
Since September 11, 2001, the UW has created opportunities for dialog with the world of Islam. The vision and history of Mohammed contains the implication of violent Islamic expansionism; non-Moslem territories are Dar Ul-Harb, or the “Sea of War.” From the Maghreb to Pakistan, the jihad, properly translated as “struggle,” for a new world order is underway. How should the Church in Madison respond? Several families in Madison, some of whom are Christians, befriend and/or host Muslim students who come to the UW or seek to learn English at the Wesli school. Christian mission has always been the expression of the gospel across cultural barriers, including hospitality to strangers. The opportunity for such gospel witness in Madison is significant, since over 4000 international students attend the UW.
The secularized Madisonian may fail to recognize the conflict within a pluralist culture is more than modern, economic, political, or ideological. William Taylor writes, “We cannot seek harmony by revitalizing the truth claims of religions. We (must) commit to be agents of reconciliation.” As agents of reconciliation, we must see that we are in the midst of a spiritual war with amazing biblical promise:
“In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria (modern day Iraq). The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (Isa. 19:23)
Rather than react to the forces of secularism and pluralism, the Church in Madison has opportunity to proactively respond by loving our neighbors in the public arena of the university community.
Filed under: Bible | Tags: elders, Eternity, heaven, humanity, incarnation, Jesus, justice, King of Kings, Leadership, peace, Revelation, spheres of society, Worship
The revelation of a “new heaven and new earth” offers a destination, where Jesus will “dwell” with “his people” and all things are “new” (Rev. 21:1, 3, 5). Like John who was commanded to “come up here” (Rev. 4:1), Paul also claimed higher ground with his “revelations” (2 Cor. 12:1, 7) of God’s eternal plan. Paul emphasized the vision of one new humanity (cf. Eph. 2:15). Revelation exhorts the church to “wake up and strengthen what remains” (Rev. 3:2-3) in order that they may fulfill their calling to “reshape a humanity previously warped by sin.”
Jesus’ eternal nature, embodied in human flesh, implies a very human understanding of eternity, with limitations of embodiment. Just as John by implication, dramatically portrays the eternal nature of Jesus’ incarnation, he likewise implies the nature of the structures and spheres of life are eternal. The “harp” and “trumpets” imply the arts (Rev. 5:8, 8:2, 6, 13); “leaves for healing” imply health care and counseling (Rev. 22:2); the “scroll” (Rev. 5:1-9) and “golden bowls” (Rev. 5:8) imply the media; and “every tribe” implies that family will exist for eternity (Rev. 7:4-9, 13:7, 14:6). Education (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14) is implied where learning is present (cf. Rev. 3:9). And as the elders present their “crowns” (Rev. 4:10) in worship to Jesus, the King of Kings who became a servant of all, the model of governmental leadership is made plain for all eternity. Perhaps to communicate this point was not John’s intention. Little matter, the implication is evident. Revelation is a message of God’s rule, bringing peace and justice to all creation, every nation, and every structure of human existence, for all eternity in the new heaven and new earth.
Filed under: Mission Leadership | Tags: All India Christian Council, Caesar, Christ, Christian, discipleship training, Empire, Freedom, India, Jesus of Nazareth, martyrdom, New Life Church, Orissa, pagan, Paul, Persecution, Philippians, political revolution, Roman, sponsor, Worship, Youth With A Mission, YWAM
I was fascinated when I recently read how Christian persecution began locally as early believers refused to participate in pagan rituals. Freedom to worship was supposedly protected by Rome. It was a time of relative peace, depending on who you were. Special protections were available to Roman citizens and wealthy landowners in occupied territories. Most everyone but Caesar was taxed, however, even the emperor had to pay tribute to the gods. So why did persecution of the early Christian Church become Roman policy?
The early church practices were very different from local religions in the Roman Empire. The early Christian believers were not isolated ethnic groups worshiping their pagan gods or ancestors. They appeared very different to Roman observers. Their multi-ethnic character and their rapidly spreading distribution made them look like one of two things; they were either a merchant class marketing something throughout the Roman empire, or their were fomenting political revolution. As evidence emerged that these people were declaring a new ruler, Jesus of Nazareth, a peasant Jew who was publicly executed and rose from the dead, the Romans became alarmed. Their political and economic system relied on the ultimate worship of only one god-man, Caesar. This growing movement was worshiping Jesus as Lord!
Most of us know Christians were persecuted in Rome. However too few appreciate how fierce that persecution became and how much it occurs today.
Do Christians experiencing persecution today? Many Western Christians do not experience persecution or martyrdom to the extent that they did in the time of Paul. On the other hand, believers around the world may be experiencing more persecution and martyrdom than any previous period in history. I can’t be sure, however. I’m not sure how well documented are the persecutions in the 7th and 8th centuries, particularly toward the Church of the East.
Consider one of the more recent persecutions of Christians in Orissa, India. This is a briefing from Wikipedia on the total damage:
“According to All India Christian Council, the 2008 violence affected in 14 districts out of 30 and 300 Villages, 4,400 Houses burnt, 50,000 Homeless, 59 People killed including at least 2 pastors, 10 Priests/Pastors/Nuns injured, 18,000 Men, women, children injured, 2 women gang-raped including a nun, 151 Churches destroyed and 13 Schools and colleges damaged.[75] The violence targeted Christians in 310 villages, with 4,104 homes torched. More than 18,000 were injured and 50,000 displaced and homes continued to burn in many villages. [76] Another report said that around 11,000 people are still living in relief camps. [77] Some of the tribals even fled away to border districts in neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh and took shelter in churches of those districts.”[78]
Dear friends in India are helping hundreds of Orissa refugees right now. You too can help by sponsoring an Orissa Christian for discipleship training.
I want to mention how stories of persecution are close to home for me. First, I must help end the rumor that Youth With A Mission was attacked in Orissa. See this official message for further clarification.
As a YWAMer, I learn of persecutions against our missionary community and fellow Christians around the world. Persecution and martyrdom, such as occurred in Orissa, has not occurred in the West in recent years. But there is persecution. It’s just not reported as such. To find out about it, we may need to read reports from other than secular sources.
In Dec. 2007, two of our Youth With A Mission staff and three others at New Life Church were gunned down in Colorado. The murders were committed by a young man with mental disorder, according to the reports. The response, on the part of the YWAM community, was to forgive and pray for the gunman’s family.
Today, I believe we need to prepare to respond to persecution. The more we are given to Christ’s mission, the more we will experience and taste persecution. Paul’s example in his letter to the church in Philippi, is useful for us:
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
Phil. 1:20-27
Filed under: Church | Tags: Abraham, economic, forgiveness, Gentiles, Hanson & Oakman, Jesus, pilgrims, political, purity, reconciliation, religious institutions, Temple, Worship
Jesus likely knew that religious protest movements of his day sought “to become ‘political’ by contesting elite control of religious institutions.” (See Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts, by Hanson & Oakman, p. 125) When Jesus drove out all those selling animal sacrifices and the money changers, he was not merely driving out a few opportunists trying to profit off religious pilgrims. He was single-handedly confronting the Temple’s political establishment and redistributive economic system. Amid all that blood sacrifice, Jesus overturned the Temple’s aim of purity in worship, replacing it with the aim of reconciliation with his Father.
Jesus overturned more than tables. He overturned the concern for purity in the Temple, which “attracted and cleansed impurities from the social body.” (p. 135) Jesus presented a new vision and a new Temple (himself), which took God’s purity and forgiveness out of the Temple to touch the people who needed reconciliation with his Father.
When Jesus singled out those who sold doves, saying they have made his “Father’s house” a “marketplace,” he was showing how much he desires to welcome the families of nations. Doves were offered in Temple worship to restore the “postpartum woman to normal life while acknowledging God’s sole authority to establish pure blood relations.” (p. 135) Jesus was appealing for his father’s family, while standing in close proximity to the Temple inscription in the Court of the Gentiles, which restricted those outside the blood line of Abraham.
Filed under: Church | Tags: Bolger & Gibbs, Commission Groups, Dallas Willard, Discipleship Evangelism, Divine Conspiracy, Emerging Church, evangelism, Gospels, Mark Allen Powell, Multigenerational, postmodern, Worship
Many evangelical churches have blended worship styles, including ancient hymns and contemporary choruses, for multigenerational congregations. This generation welcomes this blend of styles. Spirituality is very popular in postmodern culture. Unchurched people are open to talking about Jesus, however Christianity and the traditional church are not welcome topics. Therefore, style alone will not be enough of a change. The emerging church pattern of merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities is to be applied with the other patterns, especially outside the traditional church settings.
Commission Groups have the flexibility to go anywhere inviting neighbors, coworkers, or other associates to explore spirituality, creating environments with ancient and contemporary elements that allow them to seek and respond to God. Commission Group leaders should be equipped to encourage a holistic and mystical spirituality without resorting to confrontational methods of evangelism. Instead, Commission Groups offer the opportunity for discipleship evangelism as described by Dallas Willard’s book, Divine Conspiracy.
This question of methods of evangelism is probably the greatest fault-line dividing the modern and post-modern formations of Christian church. What should be noted is that the Gospel writers were very effective. That we tell the Gospel story today, the life & death of Jesus as well as the most important historic event which may not easily be tested, his resurrection, is definitive proof of something: the Gospel story changed the way we think and live.
The impact of Jesus upon history begs more than an “objective, dispassionate reception” to the Gospel story, the times and the lives of those who told the story and the life of Jesus. As Mark Allen Powell writes, “We are free to accept or reject, belittle or embrace, but whatever our response, we ought to understand what these books intend to do: they intend to convert us.” (Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, p. 9) Rather than confronting our unbelieving neighbors with a “decision,” a practice that did not gain prominence until the 18th & 19th Century revival meetings, perhaps we should allow the story as it is told in the Bible to do the work of bringing people to Christ.
Non-believing members of Commission Groups will respond to discussions of Jesus and the study of the Bible. Commission Groups should be prepared to “connect and communicate their faith within the spiritual language of postmodern culture.” (Bolger & Gibbs 2005: 234)
Next Week’s Emerging Church Pattern: Transforming Secular Space
Filed under: Church | Tags: Church, community, Emerging Church, Generosity, gospel, Grace, missionaries, Vocation, Worship
Grace is the undeserved, overwhelming generosity of God, “the core of gospel.” (2005: 136) Many churches support of missionaries are an example of the generosity of members who pledge contributions over and above their tithe. Emerging churches typically have no building or salaries, and therefore have freedom to financially assist people and projects through personal connections. Because many churches maintain substantial properties and salaries, there is less flexibility with resources. However, they could explore ways to resource Commission Group projects, both locally and globally, by tithing as a church. (2005: 150) With Commission Groups serving through “grass roots initiatives, rather than planned programs,” churches could practice more of the “bottom-up involvement” of emerging churches. (2005: 143) Fostering generosity, they could encourage groups, not only to serve within the larger church community, but also serve Christ in “an unbroken link between worship and vocation.” (2005: 151)
Next Pattern: Creating as Created Beings
