This week at InVia Cape Town we concluded the series Living Winter, a set of messages dealing with the seasonal changes in our spirituality. This weekend we focused on how winter can raise doubts, self doubts as well as intellectual, doctrinal and existential doubts.
We looked at Gen 32 and John 20. The Genesis 32 passage is particularly interesting when it comes to self doubts because Jacob, having some very serious family of origin fractures, wrestles with God and ends of being renamed God-Wrestler in the process. The idea that the people of God are NOT named “Certainties” or “We-have-it-all-figured-out” or or or, but instead are named God-Wrestlers should tip us off to the basic invitation God makes to us. Self doubts like all doubts, including “Doubting Thomas’” resurrection doubts of John 20, are always invitations to possible faith transition.
Doubt instead of being the opposite of faith (which is often how it is presented) is actually a mid way point between belief and unbelief. Doubt registers for us the need to do some hard interior work where the self doubts are, or some deeper heart and head work for the more existential or intellectual doubts.
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If you haven’t gotten an opportunity to see the one hour presentation this week that happened in NYC the video is below. Having watched the video and read the full book Love Wins, not just the pre-release chapters, I think it might be helpful to highlight a couple things I think are being overlooked in the exchanges so far and the ones that are sure to go on for some time.
First, per Rob’s book preface and the video, this book really suggests nothing new, novel, innovative or dramatic. This has actually been a conversation going on since Jesus came on the scene.
Second, this conversation/debate has gone on within the broad framework of Christian orthodoxy for centuries; both groups claiming their position is the biblical, more faithful, Jesus position. In other words this is an in-house conversation
Third, the issue of orthodoxy is in itself a hot topic of conversation these days. You can’t help but read the works of people like Bart Ehrman (think Lost Christianities or Lost Scriptures) and his debates with the likes of Scot McKnight or William Lane Craig and not realize the very issue of Christianity being a monolith of beliefs is simply modernist wishful thinking.
Before we go calling people heretics, unorthodox or even worse, wouldn’t it be a good idea to know exactly what standard we are using when we are doing the comparisons and making the charges? When we say the orthodox position, what orthodox position do we refer to? And is there such a thing as THE orthodox position? And if we think there is just who said so? It will not be good enough to say, “the sweep of Christian history purports this or that.” Christian history is broad, diffuse, incorrigible, conversational and patient of a large circumference.
I think there is a much more productive way forward however and it has to do with how we handle the very text we claim holds the answers. More of that to come.
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As a “listening” we create a false self that is different from the made in the image of God self deep in the core of our being, the self that is “hidden with Christ in God (Col 3.1-3).” One of the things I am realizing about my teaching and writing is that if I am not careful I will help strengthen the false self by subtly teaching people that behaving a certain way is what Christianity is all about.
Behavior of course is part of the outflow of our relationship with God. But if we aren’t careful we will let the wristband religion of WWJD (what would Jesus do?) become the point. I am afraid that isn’t to go far enough or shall we say deep enough. Jesus was big on living a certain way, of helping people and of a life change that is demonstrated with certain attending “fruit.” But that is not the beginning point, the origin of this journey is inward.
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After my quick casting lesson we were off. Off quietly walking in calf to knee deep water watching for the glint of bone fish fins. The surroundings were spectacular. Large rock outcroppings into the water. Little cul-de-sacs where water would slowly and gently wash in and out. Gorgeous crystal clear water, through which the brilliant sun beamed to the sand floor.
The setting was incredible, the experience? Well….
We hadn’t been walking, well sleuthing quietly is more like what we were doing, for no more than 15 minutes when Clint held his hand up. You know a kind of military navy seals, “stop, silence, enemy ahead, prepare yourself.” Quietly he turned to me and semi-whispered, “do you see those fins over there, those thin silvery fins just above the water line reflecting the sun?” Squinting, like it would help me see better, I began scanning the water line about the area Clint was pointing. “uhhhh….” before I could say yes or no Clint said, “right over there…see them…right there!” Well what apparently wasn’t obvious to Clint was that I WAS NOT seeing these fish fins. He cast got a nibble but nothing more.
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Tomorrow is ship day. And most of you are eagerly waiting.
We know that the current religious church systems “works” for about 70% of the people. That is, for that number of people the current answers given to the questions asked, the level of engagement requested and the goods and services offered is satisfactory. Some people are cut out for that system. Some are content with the status quo, have no intention or even reason to rock the boat and have no idea what the big problem is for those experiencing discontent. Though a vast majority of them, by their own admission, have not one time experienced the presence of God in their personal lives or their church in the last 12 months, they remain committed. (see Barna’s Revolution for this stat and others like it)
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“50% of pastors would leave the ministry tomorrow if they could. 70% are fighting depression and 90% can’t cope with the challenge of ministry…..
1,500 pastors walk away from ministry every month because of moral failure, burnout, conflict, discouragement or depression. He was also shocked to find that 80 percent of seminary and Bible school graduates will leave the ministry within their first five years”
Those are the stats Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Jerry Falwell said at their recent ReFuel conference a week ago.
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True transformation must include this element of human development. Transformation in the biblical world is the metamorph word group (a word incidentally only occuring 4 times in the entire NT). Metamorphosis is stage by stage development. The inform- so I can get you to conform – models of ministry will not move people stage by stage to anything accept doctrinal acceptance, mental assent and rule and boundary acquisition. In other words in keeping with the socialized mind we looked at last post, the inform/conform models of “formation,” if they can even be called that, tell people what to believe, what rules to live by, what standards are in force, what to see. This stage of development is telling people what , not telling them how. Therein lies the crucial developmental distinction.
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Human development can go further than the socialized mind. Informing people and getting them to fit in or conform to everything from doctrinal statements to more pious sounding “requirements” so they can be accepted and belong is the doorway in and in some cases goal in many of our churches. James Fowler calls this the “mythic literal” stage of development and a remarkably high number of people stay here their entire lives. They conform to doctrinal standards, think denominational distinctives, to stock answers to the standard questions, if you don’t ask many questions or question the systems certainty or become too independent in your thinking you can belong for a lifetime. This is mythic-literal faith. If you haven’t read Fowler you need to.
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The church system is stuck. Admission is the first step forward. Informing, conforming and believing are what the modern church system are built on. You know what? I haven’t gotten any push back on that statement? I haven’t gotten one email, tweet or fb comment that people want to challenge the last several posts. But there is pain being expressed because many of us are still neck deep in the modern system and would love to try and make changes. I have heard from several friends, “but what about us Ron do we just abandon ship and all the people on it?” Fair questions and fair concerns.
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We all knew it would come. We all have anticipated it for over a decade. We can no longer wait the time has come for a new way forward.
Every 500 years the church has to have a giant rummage sale to sell of the junk she has accumulated from the dying age she is exiting in preparation for the new age she has to engage. The sale is on.
Life is loud, busy, hectic and harried. People want a sense of wholeness, wellness, peace, joy, even dare I say a quiet interior space in the midst of it all.
We are all crying out for personal transformation, knowing it holds the key starting point for the larger issues we face of community development and global change. Where can you find this life? What are the practices and rhythms that lead to this sort of peace and joy?
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This week at InVia Cape Town we concluded the series Living Winter, a set of messages dealing with the seasonal changes in our spirituality. This weekend we focused on how winter can raise doubts, self doubts as well as intellectual, doctrinal and existential doubts. 
