Yoke

I'm doing a second reading through Rob Bell's book, "Velvet Elvis." I read through it last summer and really connected with it. I was, however, in the process of leaving full time ministry and I was very preoccupied. As I thought back on the book a few months ago I realized that even though I recalled enjoying the book, I couldn't remember any of the major points that he raised.

I've spent the past week slowly reading through his second chapter, Yoke, and it is phenomenal. Now, I don't think that I would say I agree with Bell on every point, but I think that's precisely how he would like it because that is the major point of the chapter.

I particularly enjoyed the thought of what it means for Scripture to be interpreted and learned in community. That is how it was written and that is how it is best understood. Sadly, we are so entranced in the pastor=guru model of church that we can't fathom working through the Scriptures in a group setting. Christian learning is limited to me sitting in a pew and hearing from the only guy in the room who has had to crack the book open all week in order to accomplish his purpose in life. Anyway, Bell's thoughts have me imagining church as a place where ideas and interpretations are worked through by everybody, where a sermon isn't judged by it's wow factor but by the level to which it involves others in the process of trying to understand the meaning of things.

Bell follows up this idea by discussing our warped view of the Scriptures in general. His perception is that we treat them as nothing more than a rule book or instruction manual. His assertion is that a true appreciation and correct appropriation of Scripture means that you are changed by the encounter. You can't merely crack open the book, read a bit, hear a sermon, and then walk away unchanged. If that happens then you've missed the point. He refers to a metaphor used by rabbis in their understanding of Scripture. The metaphor is the O.T. story of Jacob when he wrestles with God. It is a deep and intense struggle, exhausting, and in the end he walks away with a limp. He is injured and experiences pain because of the encounter he had with God. He sums it up like this:

"Some people have no limp, because they haven't wrestled. But the ones limping have had an experience with the living God."

I see so little limping in church today. Church in America is populated by self-sufficient people or anesthetized people who can have an encounter with Scripture that is nothing more than an intellectual assent or a task to be checked off the to-do list. I have this insatiable desire within me to see that changed. I honestly believe that this sort of transformation could radically affect other weak areas within the church as well, areas such as materialism, service-involvment, giving, ignorance, apathy, and more!

I just wanted to share that with you all because Bell does a great job articulating abstract ideas and the ideas he articulates in this chapter have been floating around in my head for quite some time.

As Rob says, "God has spoken, the rest is commentary."

If Not Now, then When?

Yesterday the Oklahoma State Legislature finally got a budget passed. It was nearly a month late and it was nowhere near the budget that either side wanted. Quite honestly I'm incredibly frustrated by what was accomplished. This year's legislature had the job of setting the states largest budget in history due to record revenue collection and there were very clearly two oppossing opinions on what should be done with the money. One side was bent on slashing taxes and the other side wanted to put some money back into government programs, some of which had seen their budgets dangerously slashed in recent years because of an economic downturn.

Now, I'm all about less taxes, who wouldn't be? But I don't think that Oklahoma has a particularly high tax burden and I just believe that the money could be better spent helping those less fortunate, who aren't really even going to be helped by a tax break in the first place. Unfortunately, in the end cutting taxes always trumps bigger government. It goes back to that foundational principle of American culture: I earned it, it's mine, and I should get to spend on me (now where is the Christian principle in that?).

As a result Oklahomans on average are going to pay a few hundred bucks less in taxes each year, but education, health, and human services will continue to be under-funded. The Department of Corrections is still going to require additional hand-outs from the legislature just to make it through the year. And the people in Oklahoma who are most in need are going to feel little relief.

Ironically, the Democrats, who had favored a smaller tax cut and increased spending on essential programs, actually offered a plan that would have helped people and still give tax-payers a break on their taxes. They favored raising the Oklahoma standard deduction to match the federal deduction. That would have saved middle class citizens much more than even the most drastic tax cuts. What it would not have done, however, is give any meaningful breaks to the uber-wealthy who make so much money that raising the standard deduction a couple thousand bucks would simply be a drop in the bucket. It's an election year and the poor and middle class of our state aren't the ones shelling out the bucks.

I guess I don't expect everyone to share my view on this, but I certainly expect Christians to share it. The Bible teaches that "to whom much is given, much is required." That is the antithesis of "it's my money." Further the WHOLE story of Scripture is that we are blessed to be a blessing - from Abraham to Israel to the Church. We live in the most wealthy nation in the history of the world, accounting for approximately 40% of the world's consumption while having only a fraction of the population. It's time for us to quit moaning about what it's costing us and how we've earned it. The idea that everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and that comfortable, middle-class America is attainable for anyone who just works hard enough is a farse! God has blessed us so that we might be a blessing to those who haven't gotten the opportunities and the breaks that we have been given.

In this regard I'm left asking of the state legislature, and particularly Republicans in the state legislature, if not now, then when? If you can't do it in a year of record revenue precisely when are you going to commit to making a difference in the lives of those in need and to improving the quality of life for ALL Oklahomans? In a state that is so proud of it's Christian heritage I expect much more from my elected officials than just the leanest budget they can pass so that I can get a couple hundred dollars back to buy another Ipod or gas up my SUV!

So Much to Blog, So Little Time

I'm still relatively new to the world of blogging but I'm beginning to learn an important secret about it. Blog it when an idea is fresh or you never will. I can't tell you how many times in the past several weeks I've wanted to blog something but didn't have the time right then and just assumed I'd get around to it later. But of course later never really comes and it fades into the recesses of my brain to be replaced by the next major thing.

Blogging is supposed to be a sort of online journal and journals can't capture a moment three weeks after the fact. They've got to be fresh and alive and even a little raw. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm going to try to be better at bringing things up in the moment instead of waiting for a more convenient time.

So that is my commitment to you, my loyal blog readers, and believe it or not there are apparently more of you out there than I had originally thought. Keep looking here for my thoughts and feelings on current events locally and globally.

Peace,
Paul

I'm a Geek

So I thought I would devote a post to giving myself props for my true geek-ness. It's been a rather successful couple of weeks for this tech-nerd. I completed my first Novell to Windows migration. It was a network of approximately 75 computers. I am now a full-fledged Microsoft lackey. I thought about bucking the system and running Linux or a newer version of Novell, but in the end the power of the evil empire was just too great to resist and so the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System is a officially a Microsoft shop. I also just finished downloading the public beta version of Microsoft Vista, the new operating system due out next year and I'm really, really, really excited about it. I've seen some demos and screenshots and it looks pretty tight (whatever that means). I think it takes a computer the size of the Pentagon to run it, but apparently it's worth the cost. And finally, in a couple of weeks I'm going to Tulsa for Exchange training. Exchange is Microsoft's version of e-mail, complete with bells and whistles. That'll be fun. There's just something about getting away from the norm and learning all kinds of new stuff. Not to mention the fact that when I went to previous training in March I found Tulsa to be a really interesting city. It was my first time there and just a week confirmed my theory that Tulsa doesn't fit in Oklahoma. They're just a little too cosmopolitan for us. Maybe that's why I liked it so much.

Anyway, as I've encountered old friends recently they all want to know what I do. I'm not sure they understand exactly what I'm saying when I tell them I'm the Network Administrator for the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System so I thought I would translate it for them here. Basically it's summed up best by saying, "I'm a geek."

One Nation Under God

The Religious Right, under the leadership of men such as James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and Richard Land have begun putting pressure on politicians to start implementing some of the moral legislation for which they were divinely elected. In disregard for the sovereignty of God and in the true nature of Christian charity they have threatened to take their toys and go home if President Bush and the rest of the Republican party don't start playing by their rules. In light of that the President is attempting to re-invigorate the debate for a marriage amendment that prevents homosexual marriage. I am personally opposed to such an amendment because it is presumptuous and definitely crosses the line between Church and State but that's not really my point. On another side-note, one wonders how much more healthy the Church would be if Christian leaders would put more energy into fixing marriages inside the church rather than meddling in relationships outside the church. But obviously that will never happen. No time to worry about the logs in our eyes, we're busy condemning people for the twigs in their eyes.

Invariably as this debate picks up steam we will hear more and more about the godly intentions and the near holy status of our Founding Fathers. Apparently these men are turning over in their graves at what we've made of the "Christian Nation" they fought to establish. And THIS is where I take issue with our interpretation of history. This essential element of their argument is weak to say the least. Without too much thought I have put together a list demonstrating that a truly "Christian Nation" was not so much what these Founding Fathers intended.

• First and foremost, the revolution was primarily political and not religious. These guys felt they were getting jobbed because they were being taxed out the yin-yang with absolutely no representation in Parliament. They were relegated to second class citizens and yet they were the main source of funding for the vast British Empire.
• Second, the above truth demonstrates that these men were really only interested in themselves. They had no problem relegating the Indians, blacks, and women to second class status, they just didn't want to be treated that way themselves.
• Third, many of these men were deists, rather than Christian. These same godly men could barely agree on whether there should be a prayer at the Continental Congress, much less create some Christian theistic nation.
• Fourth, a look at the personal lives of many of these men reveal that they weren't exactly moral beacons of light.
• Fifth, let us not forget that these men are the same who wrote Article II of the Constitution which determines that a black man was worth only three-fifths of the value of a white man, and then only when it came to taking a census. Other than that their value was exactly zero, in that their rights and privileges were non-existent. Incidentally about four score and seven years after they wrote that we had to fight a war to prove they were wrong.

The contention that our Founding Fathers were seeking to create a Christian nation is completely full of holes. I don't have a problem with someone wanting a marriage amendment but I do have a problem with their hijacking and rewriting of history in order to make a case for why that amendment is essential. Please, come up with a legitimate reason before you seek to impose your beliefs on others and deny them the religious freedom that many have died to ensure for them.

I Did It!!

Well it's not official per se, but it's official enough. I graduated!! I found out today that I made an A on my final paper in Daniel/Revelation and that means I passed the class. So I finished my collegiate career at Liberty University with a 3.85. That means that I can tell people I graduated Summa Cum Laude. I may not believe half the things I learned at Liberty but at least I fooled them into thinking I do!! Just kidding, but I certainly think I've earned my Fundamentalism Card.

Is Jesus the Next Killer App?

My worlds collided a few weeks back when CNET (Computer Technology News) posted an article by the above title. You see, on the one hand, I am a minister, deeply concerned about living out the message of Jesus and training others to do the same. On the other hand I'm a computer nerd. Though I've tried to run from each of those callings in the past, they always manage to find me out and draw me back in.

The article was not at all surprising but incredibly frustrating. It's primary focus was to note the burgeoning industry that technology specialists could find in the religious realm. They even have a name for this industry. It's called "House of Worship Technology." It seems that every church is doing their best to convey Christ just like ESPN conveys sports and MTV conveys music. That idea, in and of itself isn't bad. Relavently conveying Christ is an essential duty of Christians. However, when ministry and evangelism become interchangeable with marketing and sales then we've definitely gone too far. This article is all about the excess.

As you can imagine, all the biggest churches devote HUGE chunks of their budgets to cool technology and ensuring the "WOW" factor. These numbers soar into the millions and it is all justified because people are being reached and they're getting the gospel in "their culture." Unfortunately, the message of the gospel isn't getting through, no matter how many people walk through the door. I've been to several of these mega-tech churches and seen the crowds. The message they're getting is not one of sacrifice for the cause of Christ or a life of surrender to His will. What they're getting is that when you don't want to change your lifestyle to come to Jesus, don't worry, He'll come to you. He's so accommodating.

These places are typified by asking as little of you as possible. The gospel is a matter of convenience. You can do what you wanna do and get eternal life too. All we need is one hour a week and we'll make that hour as enjoyable as possible. We'll have specialty coffee and donuts. Our auditoriums will be big and dark so you can get lost in the mix. Worship participation is optional. And heck, if you can't even manage to haul your butt out of bed for that one hour, now you can just roll over and log on and worship with us online.

For those of the modern mega-church variety, it will be too much to expect you to read the full article so I'll just post the highlights. The soundbytes say so much:

• In recent years, members of the clergy have begun competing with MTV, video games and the Internet by jazzing up sermons with image magnification systems and large-screen video displays, a la Apple Computer's Steve Jobs at a product launch.
• "It's like going to a rock concert," says Patrick Teagarden, one of the growing number of sound-and-video technicians whose main customers are churches.
• (Mega mega-church pastor and happiness guru Joel) Osteen employs three massive video-display screens to project his image to people sitting in the nosebleed seats. Illuminating the walls and the giant globe spinning behind Osteen's pulpit are Altman Micro Strips, strip lights that use a range of tungsten halogen lamps to create different lighting effects.
• This kind of spending attracts disciples.
• "There's not one major electronics manufacturer who isn't trying to target this space."
• "Let's face it, we've all experienced the occasional sleeper on Sunday morning," says an Internet advertisement from Audio Visual Mart, an online media tools store. "But it doesn't have to be that way. Technology can inspire your congregation in new ways."
• "We live in a media-driven world!"

So there you have it. Would this be a bad time to start quoting statistics about the decline of giving in churches, the prominence of a lifestyle of moral relativity, the increase in poverty and preventable disease around the world, and the self-serving attitudes and actions of Christians? Probably not. Those are probably more in line with that "Sunday morning sleeper."