Screaming for hope

Ambivalence is one of the major roadblocks to the gospel. It's hard getting people who don't think they need anything to see their need for Jesus. People who are affluent are particularly hard to deal with. That is one reason why crisis can drive evangelism. It shakes people's core and makes them open to new ideas and solutions to life's problems. But we don't have to sit back and wait for people's lives to turn to crap. There are already tons of people who live in that reality every day. They are all around if we'll just look beyond the tip of our own noses. These people know something is wrong and, in my experience, have an openness to the gospel that others do not.

Recently, I've been thrust back into the world of hardcore music. One of the interesting phenomena about this scene is that people who associate themselves with it are, generally speaking, very aware that something is wrong in the world. They seem to be very much in tune with the idea that things are not alright and the current state of affairs is not the way it should be. This painful truth is communicated in a violent way that appears to have the intention of shocking the rest of the world out of their hypnotic trance of safety and apathy. The music of hardcore (and it's multiple sub genres)is an attempt to dislodge the mirage of comfort and ease and expose the sickness and disease that lies just beneath the surface. Since music is the language of our culture, this reality is becoming less and less easy to ignore(no matter how hard some may try).

It is in this context that I see great potential for the gospel. The hard work of getting people to understand that everything is not ok is already done. The challenge then lies at establishing relational connections through hospitality and service in order to win the right to be heard. We have to live out genuine faith, hope and love that causes people to ask "Why?". Love is the universal language that we must learn to speak into the lives of those who so very desperately need it. That is what several of my friends and I are attempting to do. So far, God has been pleased to give us favor with this generally forsaken group of people. May God give you eyes to see those hurting and crying out in your geography.

Wise Decisions

UnChristian 6 -Wise Choices from cody pope on Vimeo.

Relational Currency

As I was reading about how the crowds followed Jesus in Mark 1, I wondered what we as his followers have to offer people so that they want to follow us. The context of the passage seems to imply that the draw was two-fold. First, they were curious because of the unique nature of his teaching. Jesus' approach to the religious crowd was very unlike his contemporaries. He did not quote other teachers or quibble about secondary issues. Instead, he focused on God's overarching meta narrative of redemption and freedom from seemingly inescapable circumstances of fear and oppression by religion and demons. Second, he displayed the power behind his teaching by actually healing the demonized and lepers. This was an impossible task apart from the supernatural ability of God.

On to us...
What do we have, in Jesus, that the religious and non-religious, don't? I make the following suggestions. First, in Jesus, we have a holy dissatisfaction with the business as usual, get by, maintainence mentality. Religion is dead (another blog for another day) and relationships are in. Empty tradition is out, adventure is where it's at. Lifeless church going is boring, exciting experiences are attractive. People, particularly young adults and teens, are starving to death for relationships, adventure and excitement. We, as Jesus followers, have access to all these things. We have reconciliation with God and each other (relationships). There is a great mission that is risky and downright insane that we're called to (adventure). Our leader beckons us to love him with all our mind, body, soul, heart, etc. (excitement). The question then becomes, why do so many churches, have to create gimicks, hype, or continue to live in the past, thinking that will be effective in impacting the world?
Of course, I've got some ideas about how to do this, and I'm trying them out. But the point for all of us is to ask, "How does a life lived like Jesus look in my situation?" In faith, we must evaluate our own situations (individually and corporately) then begin to make the necessary changes to move forward. As we build relational currency with people through the avenues created by the gospel, lives will be changed.

Consumerism & Mission

I am a consumer. You are a consumer. We are consumers. We consume food, products and experiences. We like our Chick Fil-A sandwiches, hair products and going bowling. We buy things we need and things we don’t need. Sometimes we buy things that are not the best product for the money, but are the best marketed. Clothing is a good example of this. Brand marketing convinces us that we must have a certain brand name over something else that might be of a better or equal quality for less. Food, clothing, experiences…these are all things that are consumed.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if we’re not careful, we’ll buy into the lie that if we just buy this one more thing, we’ll be happy. The world says that if we just consume this one thing, our troubles will go away. “If I just get that Xbox360, or go to this school trip, or buy a hybrid car…” Of course, that is a problem b/c as Christians we believe that true happiness and fulfillment is found in Jesus and Him alone. Nevertheless, the problem runs much deeper than that. Consumerism, the idea that, I the customer am in charge and can, indeed, should, choose what I want and don’t want, has invaded our idea of church and Christianity as a whole.

What I mean by this is that the idea that church is a religious good and/or service has become prevalent today. Instead of seeing church as the body of Christ, the people of faith, the lovers of Jesus, many see the church as a sort of club, organization or social network. As such, these same people think the church, like other clubs, organizations and social networks, gives them certain rights and privileges. For example, if you join a gym or health club, you get a nametag w/ a card that lets you, but not non members in. You get to use the equipment, have an experience, and they clean up after you. If you don’t like their equipment or training staff, you can either complain about it to the management and try to change things or you can find another health club, since there are tons of them. If you don’t like Fitness 19, there’s Gold’s Gym, or Snap Fitness, or 24 Hour Fitness. If one doesn’t suit you, you can easily go to another. The same is true w/ food (how many burger joints are there?), vehicles car, truck SUV or crossover?(Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Honda, BMW, Land Rove, Hummer, Mitsubishi, Audi), apparel…almost anything. If you don’t like one, you can just pick another that better suits you. Make sense?

When we apply this notion, that I am the consumer, to the church, something goes terribly wrong. When we see ourselves as the customer and the church as the provider, like a health club, or restaurant, this is not good. There are some who, while unaware, have made this terrible mistake of becoming Consumeristic Christians. They believe in Jesus but have a view of church that is really all about them. You know if you’re one of these people if any of the following is true of you:

• You are looking for a certain style of praise and worship music.
• You judge what happens “up front” by the quality of the presentation instead of the content.

-“That was good.” Or “I really liked that.” Or “I didn’t like that and here’s why…”

• You determine whether or not you’re going to attend based on how you feel, personally or about the experience at large.
• You think it’s ok to complain to “management” if your preferences are not being met
• You are a church shopper who bounces from one church to another b/c of your preferences (you like the music @ this place, but the teaching @ this place or the people @ this place, etc.)

I’m just going to say it now…Consumerism, and Consumeristic Christianity has NO Biblical basis and is not God’s will for the church, today or ever. Instead of trying to defend that idea, I’m going to try and show what God really intends for the Church.

Instead of being self centered and consuming, God wants us to give:

Matthew 10:8b “Freely you have received, freely give.” -NIV

2Cor 9:7b “God loves a cheerful giver.” -NIV

Luke 6:37 “Give your life away.” The Message

Instead of being selfish, God wants us to love:

Luke 10:27 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Rom 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Instead of expecting others to serve us, we should serve others:

Gal 5:13c “…serve one another in love.”

Instead of complaining b/c we didn’t get what we wanted from others, we should encourage:

1Thess 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up...”

Instead of sitting back wanting to be comfortable, entertained and engaged, we should be challenging and pushing one another forward:

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Instead of being Consumeristic and bouncing from one church to another:

Rom 12:10 “Be devoted to one another…” Barnet says, “Pick a family and stick w/ them.”

Instead of being about us, we are to be about God’s mission for the world:

Matt 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations”

Give, Love, Serve, Encourage, Spur, Make Disciples…

This is what it means to be a Christian, Jesus lover and Jesus follower. Are you a consumer or a Christian? We believe that true life is found in Jesus and Jesus alone. Through his death, burial and resurrection, we believe that He is the King of everything and we will be happy subjects as we submit to his rule and are on his mission to love and redeem humanity and the world.