The fear if (inter)faith

I have been charged with leading a group of leaders from various faiths on campus. It is, in a word, hard. In theory, our campus wants to be able to connect with leaders from all faiths so we can have better communication, share resources, and be able to connect students to the spiritual dimensions of their development.

The problem is, nobody wants to come. For our last meeting, we invited 48 groups and 4 people showed up.  A few years ago, I was pretty afraid of other religions. Now I recognize the value of getting these groups together, not to pretend we all agree about theology, but to collaborate around student success. I think interfaith dialogue and connection is pretty rare, and I think many of these groups have the same fears I used to.

So, we (in theory) sit in a room with people representing traditions that have thousands of years of less than positive history with one another. Muslims and Jews, Hindu and Taoist, Protestants and Catholics, Athiests and Ba’hai. What good could come of this?

I propose another question: Why did Jesus heal people? The people he healed died later anyway, right? My guess is that he loves people so much he can barely help himself, he knew that miracles pointed to something miraculous, and that healing touches people’s hearts (thank you Hugh Halter).

Can you imagine if we were able to create relationships where these historically hostile groups respected and cared for one another? Could you say it was anything but miraculous? Could you say that people’s hearts were not touched? Furthermore, what if Christians were the group that was over-the-top loving and sacrificial and caring?

If we believe we have the truth, why are we afraid of people asking questions? Why would we ever be afraid of being around people who believe something different? I work on this project with a fabulous graduate student (who also attends a local seminary) who studies Paul’s interaction with the Greeks. She says, “We need to know someone else’s language well enough to use it to our advantage.”

We should see interfaith as an opportunity to build relational bridges. One leader told me, “I would come, but what would the perception of my students be if they saw me there?” Instead, our biggest Christian groups on campus are being shown up by the Mormons.

Showing up to a conversation doesn’t mean you agree with everyone there, it just means you respect them and care about them enough as people to listen and maybe work together. Rather than showing up ready for a debate, Christians ought to actively pursue places and people they don’t understand so they can listen. How can we become all things to all men if we don’t get to know them?

What nobody else is doing

When I was in college, our college president shared a thought with me that he had presented to a collection of other Christian college presidents: We are competing for the same students. That is, if 10% of high-school students choose Christian colleges, the Christian colleges’ admission folks put lots of resources into getting a chunk of those 10% to come to their college. Why not instead focus on the 90% that choose another college, or no college at all? We have a huge field of opportunity and we’re competing over the same acre. This means they can’t just get louder and shiny-er and more tech savvy - they have to try some new things.

Craig Groeschel says, “If we want to reach people nobody else is reaching, we have to do things nobody else is doing.”

I read an estimate that between 40,000 and 80,000 people in my hometown don’t consider going to churchwhen they wake up on Sunday morning. Maybe if we want to reach some of these people, we’re going to have to try some new things. Let’s be honest – most of our local churches are doing basically the same things. We may have different dress code, or a different order of service, different music – but we’re not really doing anything that different.

What an opportunity we have! What if one church tried something drastically new? They may lose some folks who like the same old, but let’s be honest – there are dozens of other churches they can attend. Why would we spend time putting energy into doing something a hundred other groups are already doing? That need is already being met in our community!

I’ve heard of churches who change the oil in cars of single moms, who create bands of musicians to go into local bars, who sit at tables and discuss instead of in rows and listen, and who have laundromats in their basements as a resource for the community.  That’s thinking differently, and meeting people who aren’t already being met.

Pastors, let’s not hide behind, “Well, I have to shepherd the whole flock, I can’t leave them behind to try something new.” Sure you can! They have plenty of other places where they can meet God, worship Him, and become disciples. Continuing to provide only for those who are already “insiders” not only neglects our calling, it also creates a culture of consumerism.

What if our church did this? Even if the new thing we try falls flat on it’s face, that’s a vision I want to get excited about.

Creative

In the resurrection, we’ll probably hear Jacob tell a story about a rock pillow and a ladder. Daniel will talk about lions and Ruth about a threshing floor. Noah will talk about a boat, Jonah a city. David a sling, Paul some fish scales, Peter a storm, Mary a tomb, Elijah a whisper, Elisha an axe, Esther a beauty contest, Isaiah a coal, Joseph a dream, and Moses a bush. The story of God’s interaction with mankind is compelling because he is so creative in every story.

Yet, many of us expect God to only connect with us in the same old ways. We get discouraged when we can’t connect to him best in a way we think we’re supposed to. Sometimes, if we don’t like singing or journaling, we feel less spiritual. Very few of our church gatherings empower us to explore how God may connect to us in different ways based on our personalities, the things we’re good at, things we like to do and in our everyday world. He says that he knew us from the womb, don’t you think he has a unique plan to connect to each of us? I wonder if God looks differently at things we don’t think or label as particularly spiritual (i.e. rocks and ladders and beauty contests).

Even more so, very few of our evangelism and outreach strategies are designed with the belief that God can (and does) use incredibly diverse ways to connect to people. The journey to God only goes through one door: Christ. And, can’t he bring us to that door in a number of different ways?

Mission and mode

We should be obsessed with our mission, not with our mode of doing mission. I tell my staff that our mission  probably isn’t going to change, but the way we do our mission is and should. We probably won’t talk about changing the mission, but the way we do it is always open for discussion. Many campus ministries, churches, and parachurch orgs are stuck doing the same mode of mission – their mission is more relevant than ever, their mode is far outdated.

We honor those that came before us best, not by doing exactly what they did, but by embracing the same mission they did. Rather than trying to duplicate John Calvin’s teaching today, maybe we should do what John Calvin did – immerse ourselves in the word of God to figure out what it says and then do it. Rather than trying to duplicate Bill Bright’s ministry style, maybe we should pray like Bill Bright did for the world. Instead of copying Bill Hybels’ church, we should ask the kind of questions he was willing to ask 30 years ago.

Try as we might to fight it, the mode is still the message (thank you, Marshall McLuhan). Are we more married to and serious about our mission, or our programs and events? Do we get defensive at change because the mission is at stake, or because our comfort, creation, or control is threatened? Do we leave those that come after us with a sense of, “we should do whatever we can to accomplish this mission” or “we just can’t let that program die.”

Trust vs suspicion

Trust is harder than I think. I got an email from a colleague today, Sarah, a fellow RD who is openly gay. A few of her staff members want to come work with me next year. She says…

“My Christian RAs are really appreciating what you have to offer. Please do me a favor… and keep challenging them to think outside of their comfort zone. I’ve done my best to challenge and support their identities in their roles, but I need some help from people like you to talk about the privilege they have here and how to navigate their beliefs while remaining inclusive.”

Here’s my response…

“Absolutely, that’s partly what (RA) and I talked about today. In the past, I’ve been leery of hiring Christians who want to work with me because I’m a Christian. In the past they have made assumptions that I will allow them to be less “PC” or inclusive or inviting of other identities. Quite the opposite is true. I do think I have an important role to help them navigate their beliefs and identity as Christ followers. I realize I could type a lot about this because it’s something I care about a lot, would love to dialogue more about it sometime. All that to say – yes, you can absolutely count of me to challenge people to think, welcome, love, and engage outside their comfort zone. I think it’s what Jesus would do anyway.”

I’ve worked with Sarah for almost 2 years. For her to trust me, I need to be someone who is challenging fellow-believers to be welcoming, loving, and caring outside of their comfort zones. I’m not trying to make a political statement. I’m trying to say – every day we demonstrate whether we can be trusted. I gain trust by what I do proactivly, not just by what I do reactively. If I don’t challenge fellow believers to be more uncomfortably loving, I lose Sarah’s trust. More imporantly, I think it begs the question – as his followers, are we reflecting the heart of a God that can be trusted?

The Huddle (part 2)

The Superbowl is tomorrow, and I’ll bet both teams will be in a huddle at some point. It’s necessary to get on the same page, review the play, and execute it well. But the game wouldn’t be very interesting if it was just a huddle, even with the commercials.

We know this principle in watching a game, but it’s easy to forget it with regards to church. Is it important to gather – of course! But gathering implies that we were scattered. Wouldn’t it be silly to put all our effort into our huddles? We know what our church huddles are – church services, retreats, even Bible studies. You may say, “but Jesus made sure to get away with his disciples.” Yes, but the New Testament wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if all Jesus did was go on retreats and do bible studies with the 12. Important – yes. Captivating? Contagious? World changing? Huddles should be where we catch our breathe, not where we expect to play the bulk of the game.

We talk about being a blessing to the world, but sometimes the world may think we mean each other. Or at least the world we’re comfortable in. How many youth groups are equipping teenagers to spend time at gay groups or with Muslims? Even on campus, it seems like most of our college ministries are extensions of youth groups, holy huddles wondering why the rest of the world doesn’t view them as relevant. A resounding “ready, break!” may be what we need from each other, taking on the world with the encouragement that we’ll be back together to catch our breathe.

I would be remiss to share this without thanking my friend Michael for first sharing this insight (and huddle metaphor) with me. He, without a doubt, is living outside the huddle.

Why are you reading this?

Have you ever read something and thought, “They said that so much better than I ever could have”? I have, a lot lately. It’s tough to try to keep up with thoughts, ideas, questions, and processes in text when life doesn’t happen in text. Here are four books that say it way better than I can.

The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. If you’re going to go read one, get this one. The author (who also wrote Unchristian) describes the kind of Christian who is restoring the world as it was meant to be. He says, “they are purposeful about their careers and generous with their time and possessions. They don’t separate from the world or blend in; rather, they thoughtfully engage.”

Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright. N.T. Wright (pictured to the left) is deep, theological, approachable, and practical. He would be the perfect Bible teacher. The subtitle says it all, “rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church.” This is one of the first books that got me thinking differently. Here’s a favorite quote (though practically the whole book is underlined) “The Bible…is designed…not only to provide us with true information about God’s fresh, resurrection life, but also to foster that work of new creation in the churches, groups, and individuals who read it.”

The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. Here are two guys who almost gave up on church, and then moved to Denver to start a small community that has embraced what the “ancient” church did and how to do it now. It reads like a conversation. Here’s a quote: “I lobbed up this question: If Christianity was only about finding a group of people to live with, who shared openly their search for God and allowed anyone regardless of behavior, to seek too, and who collectively lived by faith to make the world a little more like Heaven, would you be interested?” “Hell yes!” was his reply…”

To Change the World by James D. Hunter. This is the thickest and heaviest book written by a true academic who proposes that the traditional ways Christians have tried to impact culture don’t work. He describes an understanding of living with faithful presence to truly impact the world (the mandate of creation). This book helps unpack what it means to be a cultural insider.

Glad the dozen or so of you tune in to read this every week. I hope you’ll take a look at one of these books too – they can say it way better than I ever could.

 

Brain freeze

I am in the thick of training, sitting in a classroom 8 hours most days. By the end of yesterday, I had a seven page to-do list. By the time I remember to post something here, my brain is mostly dead. However, I am prepared for such occasions! As I come up with new ideas, I usually jump on WordPress and at least start writing some notes down which I come back to later. However, today I jumped on, and all I have is 5 or so titles with no content. I have no idea what I meant to write about, but here are some titles that at one point I thought would be interesting:

Glory in the Muck

The 4 Ms of My Life

The 4 Cs of Church

Two Hurdles

Bringing you in (iv…sort of)

A few interesting titles – no interesting content. Here’s the thing – as long as I only do this with a blog, I’m not really hurting anyone. The problem is when I do this with my relationships. Have you ever asked a canned question, not really thinking about what you are asking or too terribly interested in their response? I have. Usually its harmless things like, “hows it going?” but sometimes its more deep things like, “What do you need this week?” or “How did that make you feel?” or “What dent do you want to make on the world this year?”

I sit back, exhausted, just glad I got the question out. Then, as someone pours out their heart, and my eyes can barely focus, I realize the trap I’ve set for myself. I’ve asked a good question, and now I’m getting a good response, but I’m not listening and they know it (or at least I know it). Sometimes, I think we learn things about our character when we are very very tired. I hope my intrigue into people’s lives is always sincere, even when I’m exhausted. I know that my conversations, my intention, my care, and my ability to listen may be the biggest witness to others about how I care for them.

Back to work:)

Among or afar

This weekend I was asked to fill in to teach at a youth group. I was thrilled, I love teaching and miss it. But here’s what I realized as I was preparing – I don’t know these kids, and I don’t know what they need. If I hadn’t had someone who does life with these high schoolers, I would have just talked about what I wanted to talk about, rather than what they needed to hear.

Of course, this is why pastors are described as “shepherds.” They are, in theory, among the flock enough to know their needs. What a novel idea! In larger churches, hopefully there are many such ‘shepherds’ who are able to communicate to the teacher what the ‘flock’ needs to hear. Otherwise, it’s going to be tough for the teacher to really know their congregation’s needs (as gifted a speaker as they may be).

This, of course, is not rocket science. (Though it has certain ramifications for recent political decisions, I’m not going to go there.)

What I’ve realized is that I can’t possibly know the needs of my students, my staff, or my community if I’m not consciously among them. In student affairs, we do a lot of assessing and surveying, and I often wonder if our time would be better spent just listening. If I spend ten hours crafting an assessment, would I be more effective to go find some students and get to know them, be among them, listen to them? How many hours do we spend in meetings, in committees, and in training talking about student needs and development when we may increase our impact by ditching the meeting to hang out with a freshmen?

We do this in two areas, which are even more heartbreaking. The first is with non-Christians. The second is the poor. We spend a lot of time in church, small groups, in books, and trainings talking about evangelism and the poor. But honestly, how can I possibly know their needs if I am not among them? In fact, the further removed I get (i.e. in suburbs, in exclusive groups, in the ‘holy huddle’), the less in touch with reality I am about their needs, or how to reach them. Worse yet, I even begin to forget they exist. Sadly, I feel like I’m in this boat. Do I know the needs of the poor or hurting in my community? Nope. So, how do I begin to do this? Not sure, hoping I can start somewhere.

Bringing you in (III)

Dear Tony,

Woohoo! I’m on cloud nine today after talking to you. This morning you texted me, “hey man, hows colorado and married life? i’ve been really depressed ever since (girlfriend) broke up with me.” So, naturally, I called you up (apparently I don’t follow Facebook enough to know you broke up). I was so excited I called you in the middle of a double date, which I was kinda eager to get out of anyway.

We talked for almost an hour about you and (girlfriend). After a while you change gears and bring up a conversation we had months ago about forgiveness. “I used to think we could, or were supposed to, do it all on our own. I’m not sure if you were talking about spiritual stuff, but all this crap with (girlfriend) has really shown me that I’m not supposed to do it on my own.” We talk a bit about that and then you start talking about the wedding. You say, “the people I met at your wedding and at Cru are really changing my perspectives about Christians. I definitely feel like I met some people that don’t fit the stereotype I’ve had in the past. I’m so glad I got to be there.” Me too!

Thank you so much for that confirmation. I never know what words I say stick and what don’t. It’s amazing how God puts pieces of the puzzle together and that I get to help. I’m excited for you Tony, it’s cool how a little brokenness showed you what you couldn’t do, and interacting with a few broken people showed you that maybe that’s okay.